History

Early History of Mason County- Biographical Sketches from Sherman Township

Tom Knuppel History
Early History of Mason County- Biographical Sketches from Sherman Township

 

We continue and finish up our look at the history of Sherman Township in Illinois. I hope you have enjoyed this and continue to follow along for the next several months and I bring every township and village to you in Mason County,

 

SHERMAN TOWNSHIP BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES

JOHN G. CONOVER, farmer; P. 0. Biggs. As early as 1790, Peter Conover, of Monmouth Co., moved with his family to Woodford Co., Ky., where, in December, 1812, the subject of this sketch was born. The elder Conover was the youngest
of five brothers, and the four oldest were all soldiers of the Revolution. In 1822, the
Conover family, with a large number of relatives and acquaintances, desirous of locating
beyond the influence of slavery, moved by wagons to this State, the journ ‘y occupying some months, and attended with hardships that would have deterred any hut the stout- hearted. The party reached Springfield in June,- and, after an examination of the
country, chose the Jersey Prairie, in what is now Morgan Co., as the site of their future
home. Peter Conover and his wife remained in this locality until their death, which
occurred to the first in May, 1835, and to the latter ia October, 1846. John G. Conover was married, in 1833, to Miss Susan Houghton ; she died in 1845, and he was maVried, in 1846, to Mrs. Hannah Mitchell. He moved to this county in 1841, and settled in the vicinity of Bath. In 1849, he crossed the plains to California, and returned by way of the Isthmus in 1851. In the early days of Morgan
and Menard Cos., he enjoyed the acquaintance of Lincoln, Yates and Col. Hardin, the
latter making his home, in his youth, with the Conover family. Mr. Conover settled upon the place he now occupies, on Sec. 31, in 1866, consisting of 160 acres, well improved, and worth about $30 per acre. His business capacity and integrity have been
recognized by the people of Sherman Township, ‘and on various occasions they have
chosen him Justice of the Peace, and, for five years in succession, Assessor.

J. H. CUNNINGHAM, druggist, Easton ; was born in 1844, in Louisiana; in 1854, he came to Mason Co., Ill/, and engaged in teaching school a few years prior to 1874, when he began in the drug business at Topeka, 111 ; in about six months
he sold out and came to Easton, 111., where he engaged in the same business, in addition to which he has added hardware, books and stationery; ; he is having a good trade,
and his honesty and uprightness, together with his work and the benevolent enterprises
of his county, and interest in literature, which he prides himself in, will win him
friends and prosperity. He was married, in 1874, to Anna Walker, daughter of John
Walker, a farmer of Havana Township.

ISAAC W. DEPUE, farmer; P. 0. Easton ; was born in New Jersey in 1847 ; in early life, he emigrated, with his parents, to Pennsylvania, and from that St;ite to Illi-nois in 1853, settling on Sec. 23 of this township. He was married, in 1866, to Rebecca
Jones, who died in 1878. He has two children a son n Iinod Corydon, born in 1876,
and a daughter named Lula, born in 1871. He is now serving the people of the township in the capacity of Justice of the Peace. He is proprietor of the Easton House,
in the village of Easton, and also cultivates his farm of 120 acres on Sec. 23, which is in a fair state of cultivation, and worth about $30 per acre.

CHARLES W. HOUGHTON, physician and surgeon, Eiston ; was born in Menard Co., in what is known as Rock Creek Precinct, in 1836, and came to this county in 1854, and finished reading medicine with Dr. Mastick, with whom, after finishing his medical course, he entered into partnership in the practice of medicine near where the
village of Kilbourne is located. This partnership continued until 1860, when it was
dissolved, and Dr. Houghton moved to the town of Bath in this country. In August
of the following year, he relinquished his lucrative and extending practice, and ruis d a company for the war, which was mustered into the service as Company D, 85th I. V. I. He continued with the company as its commander through all the campaigns and battles
in which it was engaged, until 1864,. when he resigned his commission and rcturncd to Bath and to his practice, which he continued f -r five years ; he then moved to Newmanville, Cass Co. On the completion of the I., B. & W. Railroad, he returned to Mason
Co., in 1873, and took up his residence at the new vi’Iage of Easton, on that lino, building the first residence in the place; here he has continued until the present time, and
enjo)S an extensive practice. The Doctor was married, in 1856, to Miss Mary F.
Mitchell, a step daughter of J. G. Conover, one of the early and prominent pioneers of
Illinois and of this county. They have had two children a sun named Corry F., who
died in 1876, aged 17, and a daughter Eva, born in 1865.

AMOS HEATER, farmer; P. 0. Havana; is a son of Jacob Heater, of Pennsylvania ; born in 1790, and died in 1863; was a farmer, and married Elizabeth Gulden;
she was born in 1793, and died in 1866. The subject of this sketch was born in 1818,
in Berks Co., Penn. ; in 1842, he moved to Mason Co., 111., and engaged in farming for two years, and then worked on a steamboat on the Mississippi River for one year. In 1846, he was married to Rebecca Bailer, aiughter of Philip Bailer; she was born in 1S^7, in Pennsylvania, and came to Illinois in 1845. After marriage, they rented for four years, and, by frugally saving their means, together with the little talent (50 cent>)
which they began with, they were then enabled to purchase a piece of land which now
contains 200 acres; it was then raw prairie, but now has become one of fine quality,
and of good improvement. Mr. Heater makes a specialty of raising hedge-plants, and has on hand thousands of fine quality ; they have had eleven children, the living are Augustus, Jennie, Ninnetta, Catharine, Jacob, Fannie, Perry, Adelbnrt ; three are dead. Mr.
Heater has held offices of Constable and School Director and Treasurer. He and wife are members of the M. E. Church, also all the family belong; he has also been Superintendent of Sabbath schools and taught classes.

JOHN LANDWER, farmer ; P. O. Biggs Station ; is a son of Harinan Landwer
and Mary (Spode) Landwer ; he was of Germany, and died 1835 ; she was a daughter
of John Spode of Hanover, Germany ; she died about 1830; they had ten children,
three survive. The subject of this sketch was born Jan. 9, 1829, in Hanover, Germany.
In 1849, he engaged in carpentering in connection with farming ; he then came to
Illinois, and engaged in farming for Henry Cramer, one year; he then rented of D. Strube
near Matanzas, for four years ; he then joined his little resource thus gained with the
improved talent (45c.) which was his only treasure at his landing, and bought 80 acres, a part of the present farm of 700 acres, and has made it one of beauty and fine quality.
He was married, Aug. 18, 1854, to Catherine Busch, daughter of Henry Busch, of
Hanover, Germany. She was one of five children, and was born Dec. 3, 1872. Their
marriage blessed them with three children, all living Mary, married to R. Keest, now
living in Bath Township, Harmon, living at home, Anna, living at home. They are members of the Lutheran Church.

PETER MORGENSTERN, farmer; P. 0. Havana; is a son of Peter Morgenstern of Europe, who came to Pennsylvania in 1847, and in 1850, to Illinois; he died
in 1878. The subject of this sketch was born Sept. 15, 1828, on a farm in Europe,
and c’ame with his father, as stated ; he remained at home until 1851, when he was
married to Caroline Louvine, daughter of a noted shoemaker of Germany ; she was born
in 1831, and came to Illinois in 1850. They settled on a farm of 140 acres, in Sherman Township, and remained there until 1865, when they moved to the present farm of
1 60 acres, which they have improved and made one of value ; they have added to
this until now they own 1,175 acres attained mostly by their own management. He
has held offices of schools, and is at present Director ; he and wife belong to the
Albright Church, in which he has held office of Class- Reader and Superintendent of Sabbath schools, and is now teacher of a Bible class in the same. Nine children were the
fruits of this happy marriage, living are Caroline, Lucinda, Lizzie, Emma, Anna,
Sammy, Charlie, Henry, (infant dead).

DANIEL ‘MARTZ, farmer ; P. 0. Topeka ; is the oldest son of Abraham Martz. who was a shoemaker by trade and died about 1856. The subject of this sketch was born in 1811, in Pennsylvania; when 16, he began mining, and, at the age of 24, he was selected as ” boss” of the company. He opened several important mines in Pennsylvania and was very successful in his management, not even losing a single man under
his orders ; he continued this business until 1861, when he came to Mason Co., 111., and
settled on the present farm of 120 acres, attained entirely by his own management. It
is probably worth $35 per acre. He was married, in 1833, in Columbia Co., Penn., to Elizabeth Henninger, daughter of Frederick Henninger, of Pennsylvania; they had
eleven children, five living, six dead ; the living are Sarah, Lavina (has taught school
and married John Allen, of Fulton Co.; is now living in Ipava ; is a druggist); Emma
E. (married R. B. Leonard, of Mason Co.) ; Ellen, Charles (living in Topeka.)

SUSAN TROUT, farmer; P. 0. Topeka; is a daughter of Elias Musselman, of
Pennsylvania; he was a farmer and came to Illinois about 1847 and died in 1859 ; her
mother’s maiden name was Messinger, of Pennsylvania ; she died in 1864 ; they were
both members of the Lutheran Church of Pennsylvania, and had a family of ten children, four of whom survive. The subject of this sketch was born Jan. 2, 1820, in Pennsylvania, and came to Illinois in 1847. In 1849, was married to William Trout, son of George Trout, of Pennsylvania; after marriage, they settled near Havana until 1861, when they moved to Forest City Township (then Mason Plains) ; one year after- ward moved to the present farm of 280 acres, attained entirely by their own labor and
management ; Mr. Trout died Aug. 31, 1873 ; he was a member of the Lutheran
Church of Erie Co., Penn ; they had five children George (he married Carrie Morgenstern, of Mason Co., daughter of Peter Morgenstern whose sketch appears else- where), Israel, Aaron ; and two are dead William and an infant.

 

NEXT WEEK: 

Monday- History of Crane Creek Township  pt1

Tuesday- History of Crane Creek Township pt2

Thursday- History of Crane Creek Township pt3

Friday- Crane Creek Biographical Sketches

Early History of Mason County- History of Easton

Tom Knuppel History 1 Comment
Early History of Mason County- History of Easton

This is Mason County, Illinois from 1854 to circa 1880. PLEASE SHARE with others.

 

THE VILLAGE OF EASTON.
This village is situated on the C., H. & W. R. R. about midway between
Havana and Mason City. It is very near the geographical center of the county,
and from this fact it is thought by many that should the question of the removal
of the seat of justice again come before the people of the county, a large vote
would be polled in favor of Easton. The town site was surveyed and platted by
John R. Falkner for James M. Samuels, in 1872. The original plat contained
about twenty acres, to which an addition has since been made on the north and
east. Edward D. Terrell began the construction of the first building in the
village, in the latter part of November, 1872, but did not get it completed and
ready for occupancy until the 1st of March, 1873. He then opened out a
stock of general merchandise and has since continued one of the leading merchants of the village. Diebold Furrer, in the meantime, erected a small building
and feeling that the enterprise needed spirit to make it a complete success, rolled
in a few barrels and opened out a saloon. He is at present a citizen -of the
village, engaged in the sale of dry goods and groceries. Henry Cooper built
the first private residence in the village during the summer of 1873. It was
quite ample, designed for a boarding-house, and is now owned and operated by
Charles C. Dorrell as the Easton House. A drug store, in name, was started
in the summer of 1874, by David Carter, but was in fact little less than a second-class doggery, the life of which was somewhat ephemeral. James M.
Samuels built a blacksmith-shop during the summer of 1873, and was the first to set his bellows roaring in the village. A fine steam elevator, costing $7,000, was built by Low, McFadden & Simmons, in 1874. A large amount of grain
is shipped annually from this point, the territory from which it “draws”
extending north two-thirds of the way to Forest City and south to the mouth
of Crane Creek on the Sangamon bottom. Low & Foster, of Havana, are at present engaged in handling grain at this point. A neat frame school building,
costing $3,000, was put up in 1877, and is an ornament to the village. A substantial frame church, free to all denominations, is now in process of construction, which, when completed, will cost about $2,000. The post office was established in 1873, and E. D. Terrell was the first Postmaster. The first physician
to locate was Dr. C.. W. Houghton, formerly of Newmanville, Cass County.
Dr. L. T. Magill, a promising young physician, formed a copartnership with
him in 1876, and these two are the representatives of the medical fraternity in
the village to-day. Easton was laid out and recorded by the name of Shermanville, but when a petition was sent to the Post Office Department asking for the
establishment of an office by the name of Sherman, owing to the fact that an
office of the same name already existed in Sangamon County, the petition could
not be granted. After various names had been proposed, Mr. Samuels, as proprietor of the village, requested 0. C. Easton, Postmaster at Havana, to aid in procuring the establishment of an office and granted him the privilege of naming it. Easton elected to name it for himself. Soon after the post office was established,
the name of the village was changed to correspond, though it stands recorded
to-day as Shermanville. .No public sale of lots was ever held, the proprietor
preferring to superintend largely the interests of the village himself, and to introduce that class of citizens which gave promise of thrift and enterprise. It
is doubtless owing to this, that so few of that objectionable class found in most
small villages are to be met with here. It has two general stores, two drug
stores, one hardware and two smith shops, a boot and shoe shop, one saloon, one hotel and a citizenship of about one hundred. Situated as it is in the
midst of the finest agricultural district of the county, it may yet, at no very
distant day, grow to rival the more important towns of the county.
Briggs’ Station, three miles west of Easton on the same line of railroad, was laid out in April, 1875, but with the exception of a residence, a small store- room, in which is kept a general store, and a small building for the handling of
grain, all owned and operated by Paul G. Briggs, the proprietor, no other
improvement marks the site. A post office was established here in 1877,
which is a matter of some convenience to the immediate neighborhood. Poplar
City, laid out by Martin Scott in 1873, on the extreme west line of the township, has failed to rise into a village of any importance. In its palmiest days,
its population did not exceed twenty-five souls, and recently it seems to have
entered upon a decline. Some grain is shipped from this point. A post office at one time exeisted here, but latterly has been discontinued

Early History of Mason County- Sherman Township PT 2

Tom Knuppel History
Early History of Mason County- Sherman Township PT 2

Please SHARE this with others that may wish to know more about Mason County, Illinois. This history is 1841 to circa 1880.

 

Passing down through the years 1849 and 1850, we find the names of Samuel Adkins, Granville Cheny, Vincent Singleton and Alexander Holler.
These all settled in the southwest corner of the township, on what is known as Bull’s Eye Prairie. Adkins and Holler were from Tennessee, Cheny from Tennessee or Kentucky, and Singleton probably from the State last mentioned.
Adkins settled in the northwest corner of Bull’s Eye, and, after three or four unsuccessful attempts at farming, sold out to Henry Cease, lived in different parts of the township until five or six years ago, when he went west to Kansas.
Cheny located on the north edge of the prairie, but finally moved to De Witt County, where, quite recently, he lost his life by accident. Singleton remained
a few years, moved to Salt Creek, thence to Mason City, of which he is at present a citizen. Alexander Holler lived in the township but a short time,
moved into Havana Township, and died a number of years ago.

William G. Stone, now a resident of Havana, was a citizen of Sherman as early as 1850. Stone was originally from New Jersey, but came from Pennsylvania to Mason
County. John Spellman and Amos Heater came in 1851, and were both Pennsylvanians. Heater settled on Section 9, and resides on the farm originally entered and improved. Spellman lived only two weeks after completing his house and moving into it. His widow, since married, is still a citizen of the township. His sons, Henry and George, went west to Nebraska some years since. William entered the army in the early part of the war. He was, doubtless, an ardent admirer of the sentiment expressed in the couplet,
” He that fights, and runs away,
May live to fight another day,”
for, after the first engagement, he ingloriously deserted, and was seen among his
comrades no more. He is supposed to have died some years since, though this BB fact is not definitely known. H. Elderbush settled in the edge of Crane Marsh timber about 1852 or 1853 ; the exact date of his coming cannot now be ascertained. James M. Samuels, one of Sherman’s most prosperous citizens, located on the northwest corner of Section 36, where he still resides. The family,
originally from the Old Dominion, had emigrated to Kentucky in 1815, and settled near Hopkinsville when that thriving city was a small village of not more than one hundred inhabitants.

In the spring of 1835, his father, Andrew Samuels, came to Illinois, and first settled in Morgan County. Ten years afterward, he settled in what is now Bath Township, Mason County, on the
farm now occupied by his youngest son. The remains of himself and wife lie entombed in the cemetery at Bath. ^When James M. settled here twenty-four years ago, there were none living east of him in the township, and, with the exception of Mrs. Devenport and family, none south before reaching the set- tlers in Crane Creek. To one visiting his pleasant home, occupying as it does, one of the most eligible sites in the entire township, the matter of wonder is, that a location so desirable should have been left unoccupied to so late a date, while others, far less so, had been occupied and improved fifteen or twenty years earlier. His connection with the village of Easton will be given in the
history of that village. Jacob Kissler and family, consisting of Mark A., William, James, Thomas, Charles, John and three daughters, came from Washington County, Penn., and first stopped in Havana. In 1859, they came to the township, and, with the exception of Thomas, are enterprising citizens to-day.
Thomas returned to Pennsylvania not long after coming. There are others, doubtless, whose names are worthy of mention as being among the early settlers of this section, but whose time of coming and date  of settlement cannot beaccurately given.
TRADING-POINTS, MILLING, ETC. What Chicago is to Illinois and the West, Havana was to the early settlers of Mason County the point to which all their produce must be brought to find
sale and shipment, and in which they obtained their dry goods and groceries. Hogs were sometimes driven to Beardstown and slaughtered, as, at one time, it enjoyed the distinction of being the ”
Porkopolis ” of the entire region. Meal was obtainable in limited quantities at Mount’s mill, on Crane Creek, but,
when flour was to be procured, they were obliged to make the journey to Woodrow s or Kinman’s mill, on Mackinaw, or to Wentworth’s, on Otter Creek, in Fulton County. The former, though more distant, were generally preferred on account of the scarcity of the ‘ ; needful “to pay the toll at Ross’ Ferry (now Havana) which was 87 cents the round trip. It was by no means an unusual
occurrence to consume four or five days in making the journey back and forth to mill, the length of time being governed somewhat by the period one might be required to wait for his grist to be ground.

The mills of Sim monds andMcIIarrv, on Quiver, built at a later date, brought almost to their doors con- veniences which the early settlers scarcely dared dream of, much less expect in
their own day and generation. All mail matter was received at Havana. There was never a mill built or a post office established within her borders until since the advent of railroads through this part of the county. They enjoyed the distinction of having a blacksmith-shop convenient to them at quite an early day. Martin Scott opened a shop just across the line, in Havana Township, as early as 1848 or 1844.

Eli Hibbs built a shop in 184 8, the first in the township, and has worked at his trade more or less every year since.
Before t he building of schoolhouses, the “school marm ” was abroad in the land. Miss Eliza Dentler was the first to instruct the youthful Suckers in this part of the county. The school was kept at the residence of her mother. She was regarded as a first-class teacher at the time, though it is probable that herliterary attainments would fail to secure for her an appointment in most of our
city schools of to-day. The first schoolhouse built in the township was designed to be located on the southeast corner of Section 8, on land belonging to James H. Chase. Upon a more accurate survey, it was found, however, to be on Section 9, on the land of Amos Heater. The building was erected in 1846-47, and Abe Millerson presided over the destinies of the first school. At present, the township has seven good school buildings and makes ample provision for the education of all her youth. The circuit-rider, who came to proclaim messages
of divine love, followed early in the wake of the first settlers. Rev. Michael Shunk was, perhaps, the first through this section. Revs. Moreland and Hardin Wallace were here in an early day. Moreland was a man remembered for his more than ordinary ability in the pulpit, while Wallace was a young man noted for his fine singing. Of the latter, it is said he could open services, deliver his
sermon, and close the exercises all inside of twenty minutes, especially when a few handsome young ladies were in his audience. Moreland was sent from his
charge here to Purgatory Swamp, a name suggestive of the fact that all his eloquence and persuasive powers would be needed to reclaim its inhabitants.
A small frame church, the only one in the township outside of the village of
Easton, was erected by the German Evangelical Society in 1855 or 1856.nAmos Heater and wife, John Shinglemeyer and family, Jacob Shinglemeyer and family, Henry Mehlhop, P. Morgenstern and others were among the early communicants. The first practitioner of the healing art was William Coder, who had settled in the eastern part of Havana Township in 1838. He was a
minister of some reputation as well as a physician, and sought by his labors to heal spiritual as well as physical infirmities. Dr. Allen, from Indiana, was a man of fine abilities, and was also here at quite an early date.
FIRST BIRTHS, DEATH AND MARRIAGE.
Elizabeth Hampton, daughter of John Hampton, born January 24, 1840, and Mahlon Hibbs, son of Eli Hibbs, born May 8, 1840, were the first births to occur in the township. Hampton’s daughter attained to womanhood’s estate, and was living a short time ago. Hibbs’ son died at the age of nine months.
The first death to occur was that of Mrs. Thomas K. Falkner, whose death took place in May, 1839. She was buried at the then recently established burying-ground on the farm of Robert McReynolds. The first interment in the cemetery was that of Grandma Fessler in 1838. The honor of the first wedding in this section belongs either to John McReynolds and Catharine Dentler, or to Alfred Howell and Eliza Falkner, but which was first, no one living here, at present, is able to assert with positive assurance. Their example, in that respect at least, has been followed by many others of later years.

The war record of Sherman is alike creditable to herself and the county of which she is a part. The patriotism of her citizens was equal to the demands of her country upon her at all times. All calls were promptly filled, and she furnished men even in excess of her quota. At one time, the Republican party was in the ascendancy, but gradually the scales turned, and, for the past few years,
the Democratic party has carried the day. M. H. Lewis was the first Supervisor of the township. Alfred Athey guards her interests at present, and ha held the office by successive re-elections for several terms.

 

FRIDAY- Part 3, The History of Easton

Early History of Mason County- Sherman Township

Tom Knuppel History ,
Early History of Mason County- Sherman Township

For the next several weeks I will be bringing to you some history. What I am giving you if from a book titled “The History of Menard and Mason Counties, Illinois” The author is anonymous so this is free reign to copy and give to you. The book covers Mason County from 1841 to circa 1879. On thing to remember is I didn’t write this material. If things appear to be not quite right then it is from the book and not from me.

I will start with the history of the townships and then a brief history of any towns or villages found in that township. Let’s get started!

 

FEEL FREE to SHARE this link to anyone that might be interested in this subject.

 

The History of Sherman Township Part 1

When, in 1862, in accordance with a vote of the citizens adopting township organization, the county of Mason was divided into eleven townships.
Sherman had no part or lot in the matter. The voting-places of its citizens were Havana, Forest City, and in the eastern portion of Pennsylvania Township. The distance to be traveled and the difficulty experienced in reaching them, often deterred them from exercising this most inestimable right of the
American citizen. In September, 1866, a petition was presented to the Board of Supervisors, praying that a new township by the name of Jackson might be created out of portions of Havana, Pennsylvania and Mason Plains (now Forest City) Townships.

After mature deliberation, the prayer of the petitioners was granted. Though the name by which it had been christened was
one which the American people had twice honored with the highest gift in their power to bestow, and was calculated to perpetuate the memory of the hero of
New Orleans, yet a greater in military exploits than he had arisen. Sherman, who, at the head of his noble and victorious army, had ” marched down to the
sea,” and by his successful warfare, waged in behalf of his country, had endeared himself to every true patriot heart, was a name well-pleasing to many
of its citizens. At the January meeting of the Board, in 1867, upon motion, the name Jackson was stricken out, and that of Sherman substituted. It is designated as Town 21 north, Range 7 west of the Third Principal Meridian, and comprises thirty-six sections a Congressional Township. The woodland districts are of a very limited extent. Excepting a small grove in the northeast
corner, known as Crane Marsh timber, and the outskirts of Bull’s Eye Prairie timber, along the western edge, the entire township is prairie. A county ditch,
finding an outlet through Crane Creek, crosses the southeastern corner, and, with its tributaries, affords drainage to an extended scope of its territory. The
C., H. & W. R. R. (formerly known as the Havana extension of the Indianapolis, Bloomington & Western) crosses its southern portion, the length of line
through the township being about seven miles.

The geographical position of Sherman is south of Quiver and Forest City
Townships, west of Pennsylvania, north of Crane Creek, and east of Havana.
As an agricultural district, at present it ranks lower than any other township in
the county. This is owing to the large amount of wet, swampy land included
within its limits. Fully three-fourths of its entire area was comprised in that
portion of the county known, a few years ago, as “swamp-lands.” Many of
its broad acres were at one time held by the Government at the small sum of
25 cents per acre, and even this mere pittance it failed to realize. These lowlands, when effectually drained, have proved to be very productive, and the
township, by a thorough system of artificial drainage, may be made to compare favorably with other portions of the county in its annual products. With
this glance at its topographic features, we come at once to a notice of its EARLY SETTLEMENT.
The first improvement made in what is now Sherman Township was that of
Thomas K. Falkner. The family, originally from the Empire State, had set- tled in Dearborn County, Ind., in 1815. In 1830, Thomas, then a married
man, moved to Madison County, and settled on the bank of White River.
Eight years later, he removed to Illinois, and entered lands in Section 7, Town
21 north, Range 7 west of the Third Principal Meridian, then Tazewell, now
Mason County. He built a log cabin, and, on the opening of spring, began to break prairie. After a residence of ten or twelve years, he sold out to Henry
Cease and moved into Salt Creek, where, in 1865, he died. In the summer of
1839, Mahlon Hibbs and his sons, William and Eli, together with his son-inlaw, John Hampton, came from Columbia County, Penn., and settled on the
same section. Mahlon Ilibbs settled on the southeast quarter, made an improvement, and died the fall after coming. William Hibbs entered land on the
northwest quarter, improved it, and, after a residence of some six or eight years,
traded it for mill property in Island Grove, Sangamon County. From there
he removed to Missouri, and, a few years since, to Kansas, in which State he
at present resides. John Opp is the owner, at present, of the land he entered.

Eli .Hibbs made his farm on the northeast quarter, lived there some years, and
then moved to the farm entered by his father, where he still lives. John
Hampton located west of his father-in-law, and lived on the farm he entered
and improved till October, 1878, when he moved to Shelby County, Mo.,
where, at last accounts, he was still living. About two weeks subsequent to the arrival of the Hibbses and Hampton, Mrs. Catharine Dentler and family
came from Northumberland County, Penn., and settled on Section 18, south of
the settlements already mentioned. She moved to Nebraska seven or eight
years ago, and died there in the winter of 1878. Solomon Dentler, a young
man, nephew of Mrs. Dentler, came with the family. He entered eighty acres on Section 20, but did not improve it. In the fall of 1839, he returned East,
and, having traded his land to Henry Cease, did not again come West. The
settlers already mentioned comprised the entire citizenship of this section prior
to 1844. West of their location, toward the town of Havana, there were seven
or eight families along the border of the woods, to wit, Coder, McReynolds,
Robert Falkner, Eli Fisk, Brown, Fessler, and a few others. These constituted
the inhabitants in the first thirty miles or more east of Havana. Nearly the
whole country was a vast, unbroken prairie, over which roamed at pleasure
vast herds of deer and wolves. Mr. John R. Falkner relates that, in the
spring of 1840, he, with two others, counted on Bull’s Eye Prairie fiftynine deer in one herd, and forty-two in another, all in sight at the same
time. James H. Chase was the next in order in the township. He came
from Pennsylvania to Hamilton County, 111., in 1839, and from there to Mason in 1844. His improvement was made on the northwest quarter of Section 8, where he remained till the date of his decease, an event which occurred some years ago.

Joseph Lehr settled in the northwest corner of the township in 1845. He purchased two acres of William Hibbs for a building-site, on which he erected a cabin. He laid a claim on Section 6, which he improved and owned to the date of his death. Lehr came from the Buckeye State, but was a native of Pennsylvania. He moved to Wabash County and lived one
year, thence to Wisconsin and remained one year, finally returning to Havana,
where, a few years ago, he died. Among the list of settlers as early as 184849,
we find the names of Henry Cease, John Blakely, William and John Alexander
and Charles Trotter. Cease was from the Keystone State, and was the fore- runner of a large number from the same section that settled, at an^early date,
in what is now Pennsylvania Township. He purchased the improvement of
Thomas K. Falkner, and, a few years later, moved farther east into the township, on land now owned and occupied by J. H. Kellerman. He moved to Missouri a few years ago, and at present resides there. Blakely and the Alexanders were from Ohio, and settled east of those already mentioned. Blakely continued a citizen till the date of his decease. The Alexanders first settled in
Havana Township, but came, as above stated, to Sherman. William located near the edge of Crane Creek timber, and, several years ago, went to Missouri.
John sold out some three or four years after coming,, and returned to Ohio.
Charles Trotter was an Englishman by birth, and came to this section from the Bay State. Peter Morgenstern now owns and occupies the farm he improved.
He remained in the township but a few years, then moved to Beardstown, Cass County, where, some years later, he died. About the time of the last mentioned
date, Mrs. M. B. Devenport and family, consisting of her sons Henry, Lewis,
William, Joseph and Marshall, settled in the southern part of the township,
about one mile southeast of the present village of Easton. Her husband, Marshall B. Devenport, commonly known as Booker, came from Kentucky to Illi- nois in 1832, and died in what is now Salt Creek Township in 1840. Joseph died here a number of years ago. Henry is still a resident of this part, while
Eli T. resides across the line, in Crane Creek. Marshall Devenport took up his residence in the Golden State some years since, and, when last heard from, was living.

 

Wednesday is Sherman Township part 2

Friday is the History of Easton

Baseball History- The Beginning Stage

Tom Knuppel History , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Baseball History- The Beginning Stage

People ask me what I do in retirement. For the most part, I research baseball. The St. Louis Cardinals History became my first passion and I have produced a website of over 650 pages called History of Cardinals. I update and research that almost daily. Also, in this research, I have come across all kinds of stuff related to baseball and its history.

This post today and others to follow will be about baseball and its beginning and how it has changed over the years. I hope you enjoy this information and come back for more. The next segment will be in about two weeks when I get into the rules and how they have changed over the decades of baseball.

Feel free to email me (Tom Knuppel) at tknuppel@gmail.com for any thoughts, questions or other things concerning these posts.

 

The Beginning of Baseball

 

    Baseball likely originated from a game that was played in Great Britain called “rounders.” It had several other names but this is the most widely used name. But America wanted its own game. One that they could say was invented and played in the United States first. Herein, lies the rub. It may have been an original but can we be sure? Abner Doubleday is known as the inventor of the game. Let’s look at some facts.

 

 

  • During the 1950’s, the game in Massachusetts was played on a square field that had four foot high posts in the ground as bases. Each team had 10-14 players and the umpire would ask those in attendance for help in making the calls. Also, the umpire awarded the win to the first team to score 100 runs.

The first games of baseball by Doubleday were said to be played on a smooth section of a field near Cooperstown, New York in 1839. That was said to be the beginnings of baseball. But there are issues with this story. Abner Doubleday was a young cadet at West Point in 1839 and never got to Cooperstown.

Children have hit balls with bats as long as there have been children, but baseballs most direct ancestor was probably the  British game of cricket. Americans began their variations of the game and called it names such as, “old cat”, “one old cat,’ “two old cat,” “goal ball,” town ball,” “barn ball,” “string ball,” stick ball,” “base,” and “Base Ball.” Even Lewis and Clark while exploring our country tried to teach the game to the Nez Perce Indians.

  • Forest City, located near Cleveland, defeated the Brooklyn Atlantics in five innings in 1870 by the score of 132-1. In another game during the same time frame, Forest City scored 90 runs in the first inning when the rains came while they had bases loaded. The game got rained out. 

 

Many historians have turned their attention to Andrew Cartwright as possibly making the largest contribution to the invention of baseball. In Cooperstown, NY, where the Baseball Hall of Fame is located, they have given Cartwright the title as “Father of Modern Base Ball.” as can be read on his plaque in the building.

Cartwright was a bank teller in New York and he organized the first team called the Knickerbockers. He wrote a set of rules for the game and set bases 90 feet apart, had teams set a batting order that was static and each half inning ended after three outs.

The bases were made of about anything including rocks. The batter or runner could be out by someone simply hitting them with a thrown ball. Many times, it was squarely in the middle of the back. The first game played under his rules ended when the New York team scored their 21st run (which was called an ace) in the fourth inning (innings ere called a hand). The game ended with the Knickerbockers losing 23-1. The first game was played on Elysian Fields (which they rented for $75 per year) in Hoboken, New Jersey on June 19, 1846.

 

Cartwright was the pitcher and umpire for this game. His intention was to teach the players the rules he had written. In fact, he was unhappy with a player swearing and fined the player six cents for the tirade. By 1849, the game was common enough that players began wearing uniforms to play the game. It wasn’t until 1857, that the nine inning rule replace the 21 runs to end the game.

Knickerbockers New York Nine
Turney Davis
Adams Winslow
Tucker Ransom
Birney Murphy
Avery Case
H. Anthony Johnson
D. Anthony Thompson
Tryon Trenchard
Paulding Sandy Rantos

One player from the Knickerbockers that stands out is Doc Adams. He was a Graduate of Yale and Harvard Medical School. He loved baseball and was the inventor of the shortstop position. He stated that a fielder was needed to handle short throws from the outfield as other players had to cover their base. He also was instrumental in the elimination of the “bound rule.” Previously, if you caught a ball on one bounce the batter was out. Another rule was the pitching rubber would be 60 ft from the rubber.The person who set up the first field had trouble reading the measuring stick and mistook a 6 for a zero. Therefore, he set it at 60′ 6″. Even though accidental, this has stayed constant through the years. Doc Adams went on to be the President of the Knickerbockers along with being a member of the State Legislature in Connecticut.

The Start of League Play

Games became popular and teams sprung up in many areas of the country. Chicago businessman, William Hulbert, was part of the Chicago White Stockings governing board. He had a plan to get some teams together and schedule regular games. Some teams met in Louisville in 1876 and established the National Association of Baseball and eventually shortened to the National League. That is the reason it is known as the “senior circuit” because it started first. Hulbert is in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Eight teams started the league that planned to play a 70 game schedule. The teams were the Chicago White Stockings, Philadelphia  Athletics, Boston Red Stockings, Hartford Dark Blues, New York Mutuals, St. Louis Brown Stockings, Cincinnati Red Stockings and the Louisville Grays. Before the conclusion of the season, the Mutuals and Athletics were expelled for not taking their final trip to the western cities. At each National League game, the cost of admission was 50 cents. However, if you waited until the 3rd inning was over, you could get in for 30 cents.

  • On May 2, 1886, the first National League home run was hit by Ross Barnes of the Chicago White Stockings. He never hit another homer in his career. 

 

Problems with the Game

The game of baseball had issues. The biggest problem was player movement. Nothing kept them with one team. After a season, there was a raid on the best players by giving them more money. In 1879, the first reserve rule was put in place. Each team could name five players as untouchable. Later, it moved to 11, then 15 and finally the entire roster.

The big test came in 1882 when a new league was formed called the American Association. They had no allegiance to the National League and went after players. Eventually, an agreement was made and rules were set in place in 1883. Abraham Mills, president of the National League got the agreement signed that set up an 11 player reserve list, guaranteed territorial rights, minimum salary ($1,000) and a postseason game between the two best teams of each league. This created the World Series.

 

  • Old Hoss Radbourn won 309 games in 11 seasons which included a 28-0 shutout for his Providence team over Philadelphia on August 21, 1883. In those early days of baseball, pitchers were to throw underhand and keep their elbow wrist straight. The batters got three missed swings before they were called out. 

Back in the earlier days, Chadwick was concerned that the “seedier” element of man might get involved in the game. Sure enough, people, including players, began betting on the game. The Mayor of New York, William “Boss” Tweed, the corrupt boss of Tammany Hall,  got involved to the detriment of the game. A scandal came about in New York as the mayor gave his catcher, third baseman and shortstop each $100 to throw the game (it was called to “heave” a game in the olden days). These players were banned to play in their league.

 

  • Did You Know? Abraham Lincoln played baseball in the late 1850’s and early 60’s? Lincoln was playing baseball in 1860 when a messenger showed up to deliver the news. Lincoln insisted he didn’t want to be interrupted and had the guy wait until the game was over. The news was telling him he had been nominated to become President of the United States. Later while President, he could be seen on the White House lawn with a bat an ball in his hand. It is reported that apparently, he skipped cabinet meetings to play on the White House lawn. 

 

American League

A new league was attempting to form from the outshoots of the American Association. It used the goals of promoting honest competition that wouldn’t use the reserve clause to make up teams and would cater to crowds with low ticket prices. The president of the new league, called the American League, was Ban Johnson. The new league formed on November 14, 1900, and had eight cities with franchises. they were Washington, Philadelphia, Milwaukee, Detroit, Cleveland, Chicago, Buffalo and Baltimore.

They decided on a 140 game schedule and each team was allowed 24 players on their roster. The players for this new league were primarily from the National League. As an example, Cy Young left the Cardinals to play in the American League. The best player in the league was Nap Lajoie who left the National League Philadelphia team to play for the American League Philadelphia squad. He hit .426 for his new team and it caused controversy in Philadelphia. People were not nice to him which caused his trade to the Cleveland Indians. Things got so bad that when the Indians came to town, Lajoie left the team and spent those days at the beach so the chaos didn’t prevail.

In January 1903, the two leagues got together and created an agreement to not allow players to wander from team to team. Also, they realigned the teams in the leagues to create balance. Baltimore player/manager John McGraw discovered a talented second baseman but the problem existed that he was black. Black players were not allowed. So he tried to hoodwink the league and claimed the player, Charlie Grant, was a Cherokee Indian named Tokomoma and should be allowed to play. other executives saw through this ruse and he was not allowed to play in the American or National Leagues.

 

  • The Deadball Era was just as it sounds. In 1906, the Chicago White Sox hit seven home runs in 154 games. In the World Series of the season, the White Sox and Cubs hit no home runs at all. 

 

  • Cy Young was one of the most dominant pitchers of his era. In 1904, he tossed 23 straight hitless innings. He tossed two hitless innings on April 25th, six hitless innings on April 30th, a perfect game on May 5th and six hitless innings on May 11th. 

 

The next section in a few weeks will be The Rules. I will look into how they have evolved and some strange things that have happened under those rules. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He Put His Hand on My Thigh

Tom Knuppel History

Just a note to let you know the for past month Linda and I spent it in Florida. This made it hard to continue my blog but for the most part I kept it going. There were many things in the way such as sun, grandkids games, sun, beach, sitting outside, sun, playing games with the kids, helping with homework and of course sun.

I haven’t written many stories about myself as an adult but today I will do that. A reminder, my recollections aren’t coming in any particlar order. Today I write about my first time in college.

Winston Churchill College

winstonchurchillcollegeThis college recruited me to play basketball. It all started after my senior season of basketball ended and one day coach Chuck Conrady pulled me aside and said he got a letter that a school was interested in me playing basketball for them in college. I asked him what it was called and he said Winston Churchill College. Now I knew my history rather well and stated,”cool, England sounds like a great spot” when he informed me that WCC was located in Pontiac, Illinois.

I took the information home and discussed it with my parents. My dad was saying that sounds good if someone is willing to pay some of your college. We made the appointment and visited their campus. We didn’t get to meet the coach as they were “in transition” of coaches. That is another few words for “we fired one and are now looking for another.” Before we left, we worked out a scholarship deal (Wallace Scholarship)  that was acceptable to both parties and I signed my letter and was now one of the  “Bulldogs.” Just a sentence out of order here is that the best class I took there that I still have use for today was a Speed Reading class that they had all the basketball players take. It has paid off for me. It was taught by the basketball coach’s wife and was really just a measure as to whether you could read or not. It was helpful to me.

The Dorm Area

I was in a single room. There study spot was for every four persons. It had a double and two single rooms in each area. The single next to me was a young skinny black kid from Chicago, Heights. His name was Julian and we had nothing at all in common. He came to WCC to get out of the city. He was really weird and preferred to be by himself. That was fine with me. The other two, in the double, were from the suburbs and both were white and very talkative and they also had a propensity for getting in trouble. The dorm was split in half with the right side for the girls and the left side for the guys. In the middle was a big room and then there was a door to the “house parents” residence. There was probably only about 40 men and 40 women in this living quarters and it was the house parents job to be the psudeo-parent when needed. There names were Jim and Jody and they host a Christmas Party in early December.

“Don’t Eat the Brownies!”

This story involves the guys in the C room (the double) and I suppose me to some extent. These guys were always hitting on this good looking girl and were getting nowhere. They kept trying and she tried to be nice and reject them. She knew I lived in the same study area as they do. I probably had talked to her about twice in my life before this event occurred, oh and her name was Carlotta.  I was walking down the hall between classes when she stopped me and said, ” don’t eat the brownies.” I looked at her with a baffled look and asked her what she just said. She said you will find out tonight and “don’t eat the brownies.” So ok. that evening she came to our studying area and entered with a pan of brownies and knocked on the C room. The two guys opened it and had a large smile on their face as Carlotta was standing there with a large pan of brownies and told them she had baked something “special” for them. She handed the brownies to them and turned around to leave. I was standing behind her about 10 feet away when she walked past me. She walked straight ahead and just before she passed me she smiled at me and winked. The boys asked me if I wanted some brownies and I refused. They closed the door and I thought that was it for the night. As the evening went on they ate about 5 pieces each of the brownies and now they were up and making noise in the bathroom as they each had to “go” again and again. I smiled inwardly and went to bed. The next day I saw Carlotta in the hall and she asked me how things went last night and I told her of the bathroom situation and how it went on all night. She smiled and said, “good”, maybe they will leave me alone now.” I asked her about what was “special” in the brownies and she told me they were baked with care and consideration using Ex-Lax as the main ingredient. The guys never bothered her again.

Christmas Party

I went home many weekends and didn’t stay in the entertainment city of Pontiac. What I could see is the town offered a prison, a high school, a college and a Mr. Quick fast food on the north end of town. Other than that, it was rather plain. I stayed for the Christmas party and it was relatively lame but about 50-60 people were in the house parents residence sitting on the floor and on their furniture. I don’t remember what really went on but eventually I left and went to bed. The next morning I heard a key enter the lock of my door as I was in bed and three members of the administration walked in, looked around, open drawers and snooped throughout my room. The never spoke and then they looked at me and left as they re-locked the door. What the heck! In a few minutes I heard a ruckus in study area and got up to find the admins in and out of the double room carrying wine bottles out and sitting them on the table. The two guys had spotted them under the house parents Christmas tree and stole them, drank them and discarded the bottles. Julian and I were questioned about it and let go as we knew nothing about it. The two thiefs were told that when the semester was over in 2.5 weeks they would not be allowed to re-enter Winston Churchill College.

Basketball

I went to Winston Churchill College on a basketball scholarship so let me tell you a bit about that. We had several open gyms after a coach was hired. It was the former high school coach at Pontiac. He was white ane he had two black assistant coaches. In open gym I did fine. I could tell I was not the best player on the team but I was probably third best. Another oddity for me, coming from Forman High School, was that all the other players were black. I was the token. Open gyms got more and more volatile as it as apparent I was going to play and somebody would get left out. I was not feeling much love from any of my teammates. Which leads us to this story. It was in october about 1-2 weeks before practice was to begin when a student-faculty touch football game was to be played. I played in it and late in the game as things were going well I was playing wide receiver when I went across the middle of the field, caught the ball and turned upfield when I was hit in the right knee by two players and down I went. I tore my cartilage. The oddity was the two faculty members that “clipped” were the two assistant basketball coaches. My season was done before it started. I had surgery just before Thanksgiving and was enrolled at ICC for the second semester.

Phi Kappa Tau

The college had a onesorority  and one fraternity on campus that didn’t appear to have much of a profile around town. The Phi Kappa Tau was recruiting heavily but couldn’t get many to be considered plus they had a few rules. I was asked several times about joining but was unclear as to what value it would have in my life. Finally, Joe Skowronski, got me to join. He thought of himself as a combo of Fonzie and James Dean. So installation was to take place and it as just weird. I was blindfolded and led around somewhere until the blindfold was taken off. I was in a room with other people and they all had maskes on and holding a lighted candle. I was asked a few questions and I answered them to their acceptability and then I was blindfolded again and led around until outside. When I was free again I was told I had one more thing to do to be accepted. Joe was my sponsor and he told me I had to drive to Odell (about 15 miles away) and steal the town sign at the edge and bring it back within the next 90 minutes. I drove their and with tools they provided removed the sign and was back in plenty of time. But by now I wasn’t happy with the Tau group nor did I like stealing things. I gave the sign to Joe and the whole group was there as the president of the chapter told me I was an official member. I told him I quit. I walked away and never heard from them except for once when Joe stopped me and thanked me for the sign in his bedroom.

Student Government

I went to Pontiac to study Political Science. Since that was my new passion I decided to sign up for a Politics class. In that class on the first or second day they allowed a Student Government speaker to come in and discuss their role at WCC. Each year they were required to elect two freshman to their association. I decided to run but I had no realassociation to people yet. I wanted students to remember my name and who they were voting for. I developed a slogan—- ” Have no Scruples, Vote for Knuppel” – At least now they knew it rhymed with scruples. Four ran for two spots and I won. I was part of the college government. Looking back the meetings were like something you would do in high school as it had very little impact and was mostly social.

Meeting the President

I probably should have gotten to know more people in my time at Winston Churchill College. I was clueless when I got a notice to meet the President of WCC. I went to his office and his wife let me in and they had a chair for me in the middle of the room. There was another chair sitting next to it. I was told to sit down and the president would be there soon. He showed up quickly and introduced himself and then sat in the chair that was smack dab next to me. He as on my right and he said he just wanted to get to know the new students and (this is where I think I know what he said next but he placed his left hand on my thigh) asked how things were around campus. He never moved his hand but I felt his sweaty hand through my jeans and he continued to ask me several more questions. He ended by saying that is all, he nodded to his wife and she led my out the door.

What I didn’t know was the college leader was (let me say it as it was said in 1969) queer. He was rumored to like guys. Several around the college told me he often had young boys over to his house for the weekend and the stories were bizarre. I guess I didn’t make the cut because I was never invited. That’s a big thank you!

 

*Winston Churchill College was only in existence from 1965-1973. It was privately funded and that became the problem. I was there one semester.

 

Previous Blogs

Remembering My Time Around Easton

Oh Well, I Will Strike Her Out Anyway”

What Were Our Parents Thinking?

Call the Sheriff

Kilbourne Condom

I’m Still Paying For It

My First School Basketball Team

The History of Me- My Birthday

 

 

“Kilbourne Condom”

Tom Knuppel History

That title. It’s correct. I am not doing a switch-and-bait on you. But let’s get a bit of a background before we turn to the main event.

After College

After college I worked a few years at Firestone Tire Company in Pekin in various capacitites with the last one as Credit Manager. I decided to leave the company after they wanted to slate me for store manager training. I went to substitute teaching while working on a few requirements including student teaching. I completed those and was ready to teach.

I heard about and applied for a 6th grade teaching position at Balyki that included coaching. Why not? I applied and got an interview. I had never heard of a full school board interview but that is what I had. Most of the questions were led by Donald Conklin and things went smoothly. I thought, and rightfully it turned out so, he was in my corner.

Teaching and Coaching

I was out working for Country Companies (that’s a stroy coming) doing hail adjustment when Linda got the call I was hired and would get an extra $500 for coaching. We were pumped! We talked about how it work for both of us teaching and the things involved. Then it dawned on me the extra $500 for coaching. What was I coaching? I called them and asked that question and they answered it with “all of them”. There it was I was coaching Junior High baseball, basketball and track(without a track).

Year One

The first year went well. I loved teaching and the people I was working with. I had a cozy huge room upstairs with one other classroom and the office. Jim Doolan had the other room and he was the varsity basketball coach so we talked sports. At the conclusion of the season they told me I was a good teacher but they weren’t thrilled with my coaching and were going to find a coaching replacement for me. I had heard rumors that Eric Sarff, a local boy hero, would be available the following year. I didn’t mind as I was umpiring and refereeing now and also working 25 games as an analyst on WDUK radio station.

Tornado Rips School

One week after the first school ended a tornado came through and knocked the school building into disarray. It was totaled. Year two was interesting as we had portable classrooms that were rented from the State of Illinois. I was teaching in a small classroom that was independent of itself with a bathroom. It was kind of fun as you were basically on your own and you had a good view if anyone was coming to your room. The coaching was interesting as they hired a guy from the northern part of the state with no sports background. None. That became evident when he lined the diamond for his first home game. He lined from home-to-first-to-second-to-third-to-home. He was clueless but it wasn’t my concern. I went to umpiring and refereeing( that’s another story) and liked it.

hometown-heroes

The next year came and lo and behold Eric Sarff was hired to teach and coach (color me not shocked). They moved my classroom to another area and now Eric and I shared rooms next to each other with a bathroom and a hallway connecting the front and a door in the back. We had a good year and it was a fun year. He taught a couple of the subjects and I taught a few and the kids changed classrooms for them. We each had a PE class and the administration didn’t bother us. That was nice.

Kilbourne Condom

One day, for some reason I needed to get some from the back of Eric’s classroom. I told you there was an adjoining backdoor as I went through the door I surprised a young man. He quickly put something from his hand into his pocket with a guilty look. Of course, I confronted him and he kept refusing. I took him to the front of the room and Eric and I took him into the hallway in front and grilled him with questions. Finally, he took something out of his pocket and opened it. It was a condom. He said, ” I was walking to school this morning and found it. I don’t even know what it is.” We looked at each other and kept our professional decorum and then I heard Eric say, ” What did you just say?”

The kid recounts the same mantra and looked innocently at us. Now remember early in the story I told you Eric was the local hometown hero? I almost choked on the next words out of Eric’s mouth as he sternly looked at the kid and said, “how in the Hell can you live in Kilbourne and not know what that is?” The kid said nothing and we sent him back to class.

Our professional decorum went away as he left the hallway.

Look for Kilbourne Part 2 in a month or so.

 

The Wild West- John “liver eating” Johnson

Tom Knuppel History

 

John “Liver-Eating” Johnson  (born circa 1824 and died 1900)

johnsonlivereater
Rumors, legends, and campfire tales abound about Johnson. Perhaps chief among them is this one: In 1847, his wife, a member of the Flathead American Indian tribe, was killed by a young Crow brave and his fellow hunters, which prompted Johnson to embark on a vendetta against the tribe. The legend says that he would cut out and eat the liver of each man killed. This was an insult to Crow because the Crow believed the liver to be vital if one was to go on to the afterlife. In any case, he eventually became known as “Liver-Eating Johnson”. The story of how he got his name was written down by a diarist at the time.
One tale ascribed to Johnson ,while other sources ascribe it to Boone Helm, was of being ambushed by a group of Blackfoot warriors in the dead of winter on a foray to sell whiskey to his Flathead kin, a trip that would have been over five hundred miles. The Blackfoot planned to sell him to the Crow, his mortal enemies, for a handsome price. He was stripped to the waist, tied with leather thongs and put in a teepee with only one, very inexperienced guard. Johnson managed to break through the straps, then knocked out his young guard with a kick, took his knife and scalped him, then quickly cut off one of his legs. He made his escape into the woods, surviving by eating the Blackfoot’s leg.

 

Ed Barrow- Major League Manager Born in Springfield, Il

Tom Knuppel History

A bit of a deviation from players but this manager from Springfield has some really cool things in his background.

Legacy

  • Barrow was the first executive to put numbers on player uniforms.
  • He also announced the retirement of Lou Gehrig’s uniform number, the first number to be retired.
  • Barrow was also the first executive to allow fans to keep foul balls that entered the stands.
  • Barrow was also the first to require the playing of “The Star-Spangled Banner”, the United States’ national anthem, before every game, not only on holidays.
  • In May 1950, an exhibition game was played in honor of Barrow, with Barrow managing a team of retired stars.
  • Barrow was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 1953.
  • On April 15, 1954, the Yankees dedicated a plaque to Barrow, which first hung on the center field wall at Yankee Stadium, near the flagpole and the monuments to Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Miller Huggins. The plaques later moved to the stadium’s Monument Park.
  • Barrow was an able boxer. He once fought John L. Sullivan in an exhibition for four rounds

 

 

BarrowEd

Edward Grant Barrow (May 10, 1868 – December 15, 1953) was an American manager and front office executive in Major League Baseball. He served as the field manager of the Detroit Tigers and Boston Red Sox. He served as business manager (de facto general manager) of the New York Yankees from 1921 to 1939 and as team president from 1939 to 1945, and is credited with building the Yankee dynasty.Barrow was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1953.

Born in a covered wagon in Springfield, Illinois, Barrow worked as a journalist and soap salesman before entering the business of baseball by selling concessions at games. From there, Barrow purchased minor league baseball teams, also serving as team manager, and served as president of the Atlantic League. After managing the Tigers in 1903 and 1904 and returning to the minor leagues, Barrow became disenchanted with baseball, and left the game to operate a hotel.

Barrow returned to baseball in 1910 as president of the Eastern League. After a seven-year tenure, Barrow managed the Red Sox from 1918 through 1920, leading the team to victory in the 1918 World Series. When Red Sox owner Harry Frazee began to sell his star players, Barrow joined the Yankees. During his quarter-century as their baseball operations chief, the Yankees won 14 AL pennants and 10 World Series titles.

Barrow was hospitalized on July 7, 1953 at the United Hospital of Port Chester, New York and died on December 15, at the age of 85, due to a malignancy. His body was kept at Campbell’s Funeral Home and interred in Kensico Cemetery in Valhalla, Westchester County, New York.

 

Ed_Barrow_plaque

Elkhart – Illinois Born “Boys of Summer” Series- Jake Stahl and Tommy Thompson

Tom Knuppel History
Elkhart – Illinois Born “Boys of Summer” Series- Jake Stahl and Tommy Thompson

Continuing on with the Illinois born major league players takes me to a Logan County small town of Elkhart. I found an interesting tidbit that I didn’t know in the story of Jake Stahl. Here are two players born in Elkhart.

Here is a link to previous Illinois Born players.

 

 

 

 

 

 ThompsonTommy  Rupert Lockhart “Tommy” Thompson was born in Elkhart, Illinois on May 19, 1910. He made his debut as an outfielder for the Boston Braves on September 3, 1933. He went 0-for-4 with one walk in his team’s 14 inning loss to New York.

He went on to play for the Boston Braves (1933–36), Chicago White Sox (1938–39), and St. Louis Browns (1939). He made his last major league appearance on June 9, 1939. In his career he batted .266 with 9 home runs and 119 runs batted in. He may have put it all together in 1945 when he was in the Pacific Coast League playing for the San Diego Padres as he batted .346. 

His Transaction Review

September 2, 1933: Purchased by the Boston Braves from Albany (International).
December 4, 1936: Traded by the Boston Bees with Tiny Chaplin and cash to San Diego (PCL) for Vince DiMaggio.
October 5, 1937: Drafted by the Chicago White Sox from San Diego (PCL) in the 1937 rule 5 draft.
April 27, 1939: Purchased by the St. Louis Browns from the Chicago White Sox.

He died at the age of 61 on May 24, 1971 and is buried in the New Auburn Cemetery, Auburn, California. 




JakeStahl   Garland “Jake” Stahl was born on April 13, 1879 in Elkhart, Illinois as the the third son of Henry and Eliza Stahl. He grew up to be 6’2” and 195 lbs and many considered him a beast, particularly on the football field. He graduated from high school (which was 10th grade) and went to work at the family store while attending the University of Illinois. While there, the football coach, George Huff, encouraged him to tryout for the football team.

  He made the team and quickly became a two-way football star with a great season 1901. He was named captain of the team in 1902. Football was not the only sport he excelled at as Huff was also the baseball coach and made Stahl his catcher. He batted .441 during his sophomore season.

He graduated with a law degree in 1903 from the University of Illinois. He clearly was a good student but he wasn’t with adventure and a keen interest in females.  The University of Illinois yearbooks of the time contain two references to Jake’s social activities, including a poem describing his carriage ride with a young woman named Clara. Jake met his future wife, Jennie Mahan, at the university.

 

 He graduated from the University of Illinois as a Kappa Kappa member of the Sigma Chi fraternity. Stahl made his major league debut as a catcher on April 20, 1903 for the Boston Americans. In 1904 he was traded to the Washington Senators and they converted him to first base.

  His best season was probably 1910 when he led the American League in home runs with 10 as a player for the Boston Red Sox but also fanned 128 times.  He played from 1903-1913 with four different teams.

 He was known in baseball circles as a player that went through the motions and had a large tendency to loaf as a player. He last played on June 13, 1913 for the Red Sox. In his career he hit 31 homers, drove in 437 runs, stole 178 bases and ended with a .261 batting average.

1912WorldSeries  He was a player/manager and guided the Red Sox to a World Series Championship in 1912. For his managerial career he was 263-270.

NOTE: This was one of only four World Series to go to eight games, and the only best-of-seven Series to do so. While the 1912 Series was extended to eight games due to a tie game being called on account of darkness, the 1903, 1919, and 1921 World Series were all best-of-nine affairs that happened to run eight games.

MGR NOTE: Stahl was ejected 8 times in his managerial career.

 

He was fired the next season due to a disagreement with management. Many people around baseball believed it was a mistake to fire Stahl but he ended his baseball career and retired to banking. He joined his father-in-law and the Washington Park National Bank. He became very successful in that business but soon came down with an illness. He died of tuberculosis at age 43 in Monrovia, California on October 18, 1922.

 

WPNB

 

 

 

Exterior view of Washington Park National Bank, located at East 63rd Street and South Evans Avenue in the Woodlawn community area of Chicago, Illinois.

WPNB2

 

 

Here is the same bank in 2015.

 

 

 

 

SABR Article

Retrosheet on Stahl

Where is Elkhart, Illinois?

Elkhart is a village in Logan County, Illinois, United States. The population was 443 at the 2000 census.

Village Website

Elkhart Historical Society

 


Early history from wikipedia


In some respects the history of Elkhart dates from the first settlement of James Latham at Elkhart Grove (Elk Heart) in the spring of 1819. From the very earliest times Elkhart Hill has been the scene of activity. James Latham’s house, and later Richard Latham’s place on the brow of the hill further south, were stops on the early stage routes from Springfield to Bloomington, and here travelers were received with true pioneer hospitality. In later days, Abraham Lincoln, David Davis, John T. Stuart and others, when traveling the judicial circuit frequently tarried overnight at Elkhart Grove. In about 1820, James Latham also built a horse mill at the Grove. Before this, the early settlers had been compelled to go to Edwardsville to mill. During the mill’s existence, settlers came a great distance to get their grinding done and frequently camped overnight waiting their turn.

A town site was at one time projected by Aquilla Davis. But nothing definite was done in that direction until the Alton & Sangamon (now the Chicago & Alton) railroad came through in 1853. Once the tracks were laid, an old horse mill, owned by Seneca Woods, was brought from Springfield by William Mozee and converted into a warehouse. This was the first building in the town of Elkhart. In 1855, John Shockey, of Franklin County, Pennsylvania, laid out the town, which was surveyed by County Surveyor Conaway Pence on April 11 of that year. Christian Shockey and John Rinehart were chain carriers, Wm. F. Elkin and A. E. Constant were witnesses to the survey, and the town was given the name of Elkhart City to distinguish it from Elkhart Hill and Elkhart Grove. The same year Mr. Shockey erected a large, frame hotel. J. R. Saunders also built a brick store and offered the first general stock of goods for sale in the town. A few goods had been for sale in the old warehouse, but no regular stock had been kept. Quite a number of houses were built that same summer, and the town experienced quite a growth spurt during the later 1850s. J. R. Saunders served the first postmaster and railroad agent, and William Rankin was his assistant. In 1858, John Gibbs erected a warehouse. Shockey’s 16-acre (65,000 m2) addition was added to the original town in January 1858. Rigney’s addition was laid out in 1863, and Thompson’s addition was added in 1865. A small district school house was moved into the town in 1856, which gave way to a larger structure in 1865.

For many years Elkhart was one of the largest shipping points on the C&A Railroad. This was due in part to the large stock farms of John D. Gillett. The town was incorporated Feb. 22, 1861 by special legislative charter. The first officers were James Rigney, president; W. M. Helm, clerk; T. H. Cantrall, treasurer; L. D. Dana, justice; Martin Buzzard, constable; and A. H. Bogardus, street commissioner. A Methodist church was built in the village in 1863, a Catholic church in 1864, and a Christian church in 1867. Captain A.H. Bogardus was a resident of Elkhart at the time he was crowned American Wing Shot Champion and when he won the world championship medal in London in 1875. A new rail depot was built at Elkhart in 1888.

Like many frontier towns, Elkhart has had its share of fires. The nearby residence of the rancher John D. Gillett was destroyed by fire on Feb. 14, 1871, although he rebuilt on the same site. On March 2, 1891, Gov. Richard J. Oglesby’s residence was consumed by fire. A new residence was erected by Gov. Oglesby but on a site further to the south and east, now known as Oglehurst. Gov. Oglesby died in this home on April 24, 1899. On May 24, 1889, lightning struck the Crang Building, which was occupied by the Hughes & Mendenhall General Store. The fire spread to adjacent buildings and destroyed most of the commercial buildings in the village. In all, the fire destroyed ten businesses and one home.

In 1885, the town was incorporated as a village under the general laws of the state, relinquishing the special legislative charter. The first board under the new incorporation consisted of Henry Stahl, C. P. Bridges, A. H. Bogardus, C. B. Taylor, David Lippet and Luther Wood. A handsome new library building was erected in 1904, the gift of the Gillett family. Elkhart was a station on the Illinois Traction System, which was built through the village in 1904.