Early History of Mason County- Crane Creek pt 1

Tom Knuppel History
Early History of Mason County- Crane Creek pt 1

Last week was history of Sherman Township

Next Week is Pennsylvania Township

 

This Week: Crane Creek

PART ONE

CRANE CREEK TOWNSHIP

Casting our mental vision backward along the stream of time half a century, we behold the region of country now embraced in Mason County one unbroken wilderness. Here and there, near some point of timber, or hard by

the bank of some creek or bubbling brooklet, might be found the log cabin of

the sturdy pioneer, with a few acres rudely cultivated. These were the only

indications of an approaching civilization. Emigrants, regarding these plains

and sand ridges as fit only to unite other and better portions of the country,

avoided them as unworthy of their notice. Now and then one from a passing

train dropped out, more from necessity than choice, and started an improvement In this manner the earliest settlements in the county were made. The

settler very soon discovered, however, that the forbidding appearance of the

surface was a false indication, that an exuberance of productive power lay here

concealed under an exterior show of poverty. This fact being discovered led to a steady, uniform and onward progress in the settlement ‘and development of

the territory. Despised and neglected as she was in the beginning, Mason

County to-day may safely challenge the State to produce better crops with an

equal amount of cultivation. Crane Creek Township, one of the civil divisions

of the county, is situated south of the center, and, in extent, contains a little more than one Congressional township. Originally, it embraced the eastern

half of what is now Kilbourne Township. It is bounded, north and east, by

Sherman and Salt Creek Townships respectively ; south by the Sangamon

River, and west by Kilbourne Township. The surface is about, equally divided

between prairie and woodland. The extreme southern portion of this section

is subject to overflow, and is valuable for pasturage only. The southwestern

part of the timber district has a fine growth of young and valuable timber,

which has sprung up within the memory of some of the earlier settlers yet

living. A county ditch crosses the northwest corner and, with its tributaries,

drains a large extent of its productive land. Much of the timber-land is high

and broken, and the soil of an unproductive nature. Yardley, Revis and Long

Lakes are small bodies of water found in the south part of the township, tributary to the Sangamon River. Taken throughout its entire extent, it is not the

best, nor yet the least productive of the various divisions of the county. In

point of settlement, it reaches back through a period of fifty years, and to this

feature of its history we will now direct our attention.

 

EARLY SETTLEMENT.

The earliest settlement made in the township was in that portion of the

woodland section first known as Price’s, afterward Walker’s Grove. To Henry

Sears, who, although he has passed his threescore years and ten, is still in a

fine state of physical and mental preservation, we are largely indebted for much

that is interesting in the early history and settlement of this section. In 1829,

the year in which 0. M. Ross is said to have settled permanently in Havana,

George Garman and brother, from North Carolina or Kentucky, made a squatter’s claim on the east side of the grove. They built a cabin and broke forty

acres of the adjoining prairie. Like many other first settlers, they did not

remain long before selling out their claim and returning to their native land.

The year 1830 brought in a man by the name of Rose, also James Price, Enoch

Estep and Spencer Clary. These all settled in the grove, excepting Estep, who

located farther south. Of Rose no record has been given, either as to his for- mer place of residence or whither he went. He led a kind of nomadic life, and

was probably more or less intimately connected with Price, with whom he

came. James Price is well remembered from his intimate relation to the noble

red men of the forest. His wife was an Indian squaw, a woman of fine muscular development and great physical endurance. On leaving Walker’s Grove,

Price next made a claim farther east, at what is known as Lease’s Grove, in Salt

Creek Township, and, after a few years, went west of the Mississippi to the reser- vation allotted to his red kinsmen by the General Government. Here he soon

afterward lost his life while engaged in boating. Clary remained a citizen until

the date of his decease, and his remains lie buried on land now owned by Uncle

Henry Sears. He was a soldier in the war of 1812, and is referred to by those that

knew him as a clever, hard-working man, but one who did not have the faculty

of acquiring property’. He began life with nothing and held his own remarkably well to the date of his demise. His family and immediate descendants

have long been absent from the citizenship of the township. Estep was from

North Carolina, and built his cabin at Revis’ Springs, in the south part of

this section. After a residence of some years, he moved to Jasper County,

where he died. James A. Revis, from Warren County, Ky., came in 1831.

From him Revis Lake and Springs derived their names. His father, Charles

Revis, had been in the Territory .in an early day, and is said to have erected

the first hotel in Vandalia in 1816. James A. died in 1838, and, with his

companion and some of his children, was buried on a knoll overlooking the

Sangamen. The plowshare of the more recent settler has long since made

deep furrows over their last resting-place, and but few remain to-day who

can point with any degree of certainty to the spot of their interment. Long

since, their moldering bodies have passed away, and the earth above them

has settled in to supply their places. This suggests to us the sad but certain

fate that awaits all private places of interment. The little mounds recently

formed in the old family burying-ground, where the violets and primroses,

planted by surviving love, have blossomed but a few short years, will, when

the old homestead shall have passed into the hands of those who knew not

the loved sleepers, be trodden beneath unhallowed feet, and children’s children

shall look in vain for the graves of their grandsires.

In 1832, a number of additions were made to the settlement in this section.

John Yardley and his sons James and John, originally from North Carolina,

but here direct from Kentucky, came and stopped a short time in Menard

County. Soon afterward, they located on Crane Creek. The old gentleman,

his son John and his son-in-law, Sol. Norris, after a few years’ residence, sold

out and moved to Texas. All are now numbered with the dead. James,

and a number of his descendants, are still citizens of the township, all of whom

have led upright and honorable lives. The same year, Josiah Cook, from Green

County, Ky., put in an appearance. He made a small beginning in the way

of an improvement, but did not move to it. He died, a number of years ago,

in Menard County. He is represented as one of those shiftless fellows

often met with, whose greatest gift was that of talking, and who moved from

place to place as circumstances might permit or occasion demand. By his death,

many promises to pay were canceled. About the same date, James Sutton,

from Maryland or Virginia, came to Walker’s Grove. He bought out the

claim of Rose, who has previously been mentioned. The year following, he

sold to James Estep, brother to Enoch, and moved to Havana Township. The

Esrep family, originally from North Carolina, on leaving that State, first set tled in Tennessee. From there, in an early day, they carne to St. Clair

County, 111. In the spring of 1820, James Estep and his family came to Sangamon (now Menard) County. He laid a claim on land now included in the

city limits of Petersburg. The first claim he gave up to his father, Elijah Estep, who came in the following fall or early spring of 1821. Elijah Estep

built the gear horse-mill, full account of which may be found in the history of Menard County and Petersburg Precinct. James, after giving up his claim to his father, moved across the river and located on what is known as Baker’s Prairie. Being of a somewhat rambling disposition, he occupied various localities in the few succeeding years, but finally came and improved the north half

of his first claim, and when the market opened entered it. In 1832, he moved to Arkansas, but returned in the fall of 1833, when he made his purchase at Walker’s Grove, as above stated. He afterward sold out, moved to Menard County, thence to Southwestern Missouri, but again returned to Mason County.

He died in 1857, on the farm where his son J. M. Estep now resides. His

remains, with those of his faithful companion, who had preceded him to the

spirit-land some two years, lie interred in New Hope Cemetery, in this township. Mr. Estep, unlike most of his sons, was not successful in acquiring

property. He came poor and at no time in life was he possessed of great means. He was somewhat eccentric in his habits, he never rented but always

bought and sold, sometimes more and sometimes less, always being governed by

his financial ability to meet his promises. A number of his sons, who are among the substantial, well-to-do farmers of this section, are still residents of

the township. Harvey Haskiris was in and about the grove as early as 1833.

No very substantial marks of improvement were ever known to have been the

result of his indefatigable industry. He was one of those to whom the term

“lived round,” would aptly apply. It is said of him that he was able to change his location at almost any time with little or no inconvenience, as by

walking and carrying the baby, attended by his wife who carried the household

effects in a “poke,” the feat of moving was readily and easily accomplished.

 

 

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

Fork in the Road: Trader John Hughes,The Big Cornstalk and Pocahontas

Tom Knuppel Family 3 Comments

We’re All Family: Trader John Hughes,The Big Cornstalk and Pocahontas

  First White Man Trading Post

Vol 2

 

Trudging along on this genealogy adventure of 2020 for my family and that of my wife, I have stumbled upon some really interesting stories. Here is one of those. 

This takes place in Linda’s maternal side of her family. Her parents are Paul and Donna (Callaway) Meeker and living in Manito, Illinois. Grandma on her mother’s side was Bertha (Hughes) Callaway. This is all the current information you will get for now as we jump many, many generations for our story of Trader John Hughes and his life. 

 

John Rice (Rees) Hughes was born in 1615 in Anglesey, Wales. Historical records have not been able to locate his parents names. John cme over to the United States at a young age and loved to hunt, fish and trap. His first real job was as a ship captain that brought immigrants from other countries to the United States. He would get the government to deed land to him and then when he got to the US, that land was divided among the parties on the ship. 

In the mid-1600s, Captain John Rice Hughes, a Welshman known in the area simply as “Trader” Hughes, established a trading post at Jamestown, Virginia, in order to trade primarily with the Powhatan Indians in the area.  It has been said that if the Jamestown colony had not been trading with the Native Americans in the area, they would not have survived their first winter.  

It is here that Hughes met a beautiful woman of the Powhatan tribe known as Nicketti or ‘She-Sweeps-the-Dew-from-the-Flowers” as she is known by her tribe members. There is contention about whether John Hughes married her or not. According to historians, white men didn’t marry Indian girls as a rule. It was forbidden in the white world. Whatever. More on that later. 

 

Nicketti and Her Family

Everyone has heard of Pocahontas of course. our ancestor was a niece of Pocahantas. In English she was called Nicketti. But because of her great beauty she was called ‘She Who Sweeps Dew From Flowers’ in the Algonquin tongue. She was the daughter of Cleopatra (so named as the suggestion of John Smith whom Pocohantas has saved from death earlier), a younger sister of Pocahontis.

Pocahontas was the princess daughter of Powhatan the powerful chieftain whom was the first Indian leader in America to deal with the Europeans. Cleopatra was married to Opechancanough, the brother of Powhatan. Opechancanough succeeded Powhatan as chief or their tribe and a large coalition of neighboring tribes. Opechancanough was much more warlike than his brother. In 1640 he initiated a sustained war against the whites. Although almost half the whites died, Opechancanough was finally forced to give it up.

Nicketti, his daughter even married an Englishman in the end. The first of many unions of Europeans and Native Americans began with Pocahontas and John Rolfe. Our ancestors must have certainly been amongst the very earliest.

He was Capt John Rice “Trader” Hughes. He sailed a supply ship to the Jamestown settlement. After he sold the ship, he found and married the princess Nicketti, moved them up into the mountains as yet never entered by the whites, built a cabin which served as a home and trading center. There they had their children and raised them amongst the Indians. Even during the big uprising of 1640 when half the whites were killed, the Capt. & Nicketti lived without troubles.

 

We start with Chief Morning Ripple of the Powhatan Tribe who was born in 1410 in Werowocomoco, Powhatan/Orapax Nation, Pre-Colonial Jamestown, Virginia. He died in 1495 in Powhatan, Virginia, having lived a long life of 85 years.

His son, also known as Morning Ripple was born in 1389. He married Ripple on an unknown date. He died in 1470 before his father. 

In 1440, they had a daughter, Murmuring Stream who was born in 1440 in Virginia, her father, Chief, was 51, and her mother, Ripple, was 28. She had one son with Chief Dashing Stream–Great Chief Powhatan (father of Emperior Wahunsonacock Powhatan) in 1517. She died in 1525 in her hometown, having lived a long life of 85 years.

Their son, Great Chief Running Stream Mamanatowick Ensenore Don Luis Velasco of the Iroquois Powhatan was born on June 3, 1517, in Staunton River, Virginia, his father, Chief, was 43 and his mother, Murmuring, was 77. He married Amopotuskee Nonoma Scent Flower Amonsoquath Winanske of the Algonkian in 1547 in Powhatan, Virginia. He died in April 1570 in Jamestown, Virginia, at the age of 52.

Next in line is Chief Running Stream Wahunsonacock Kocoum Powhatan of the Patawomeck Tribe and he was born on June 17, 1545, in Village, Virginia, his father, Great, was 28 and his mother, Amopotuskee, was 28. He had one child with Matatishe Winanuske Nonoma Powhatan and children with Matatishe Pocahon Morning Flower Nonoma Powhatan. He died in April 1618 in King William, Virginia, at the age of 72.

They had a daughter Scent Flower Powhatan Cornstalk was born on June 3, 1517, in Staunton, Virginia. She married Running Stream in 1520. She died in 1600 in Virginia having lived a long life of 83 years.

OK, here we go. 

The Great Cornstalk enters the family. Chief Opechan Stream Cornstalk (Opechancanough) Powhatan was born on June 17, 1545, in Virginia, He married Cleopatra Shawano Powhatan in his hometown. He died on October 5, 1644, in Jamestown, Virginia, at the impressive age of 99.

Here is where we find that Cleopatra was younger sister (by 17 years) to Pocahontas. Yes, that one. The John Smith one that eventually married John Rolfe. Pocahontas was only 27 when she died in the arms of her husband as she was leaving Britain to return to Virginia.  They had just sailed away and were leaving the Thames estuary when she became very sick and the ship pulled to shore where she died. Some people claim she was killed or poisoned. There are many stories about Pocahontas, many of the popular stories that everyone assumes are true are not.  The real story is much darker.

Previous to her marriage to Rolfe, Pocahontas had been married (very, very young) to Kocoum, a Patawomeck chief (the English called him a “private captaine”) who was killed by the Jamestown settlers when they captured Pocahontas in 1613. They had a daughter, Ka-Okee, who was left behind to be raised by the tribe. Ka-Okee was regarded as Native American royalty and she married the high-born Englishman, Thomas Pettus. 

Now back on track.

Cleopatra had several children but for our purpose we focus on Nicketti that was mentioned above. He married Trader John Hughes and built a cabin deep in the woods on the Indian territory. 

Hughes was the first permanent settler in Amherst Co. Va. He and his Indian wife established a trading post on the north side of the James River, west of the Tobacco Row Mountains (circa late 1600’s). His wife was a niece to Pocahontas.

Traders began to move their goods along the upper James River around 1720. According to Alexander Brown in his 1895 book, …”Cabells and Their Kin”…, Hughes was the first known white man to open a post for Indian trade above …the falls…. He built his cabin deep in the silent forests along the Blue Ridge. Hughes traded with the local Monacan Indians and was accepted by them because of his wife’s heritage

Tracing back quickly we find Mathias Hughes-Samuel Hughes-Aram Hughes-John Taylor Hughes Sr.-John Taylor and now I slow down as the family moves to Illinois.

2nd Great Grandfather of my wife

When John Demoss Hughes was born on October 9, 1819, in Holmes, Ohio, his father, Taylor, was 27 and his mother, Mary, was 21. He married Minerva Jane Snodgrass. He died on January 29, 1905, in Fulton, Illinois, having lived a long life of 85 years.

When Benjamin Scott Hughes was born on August 31, 1855, in Fulton, Illinois, his father, John, was 35 and his mother, Minerva, was 35. He had one daughter with Jennie Bailey in 1905. He died on October 21, 1928, in Pekin, Illinois, at the age of 73.

Linda’s Grandmother

When Bertha Hughes was born on January 22, 1904, in Easton, Illinois, her father, Benjamin, was 48, and her mother, Jennie, was 31. She married Elmor Clyde Callaway on August 4, 1923. She died on August 30, 1979, in Pekin, Illinois, at the age of 75.

One of Elmor (which everyone called him Clyde) and Bertha’s daughters is Donna Lee Callaway and she married Paul Meeker which are my wife’s parents.

 

Now we can apply for minority scholarships with Indian blood. 

We are back to where we began!

 

Hope you enjoyed the trek.

 

Please feel free to share! 

Volume 1- The Covingtons

Fork in the Road – We are All Family

Tom Knuppel Family 1 Comment
genealogy

This is an installment into my search of the genealogy of my family and that of my wife. There will be tons of stories that I will write about after searching. Keep in mind I have tried to get all correct information but I can guarantee you there will be mistake and they are unintentional. Enjoy these and please let others know about my search.

It is my goal to keep the Knuppel search and the Sawrey search ongoing. Those are from my dads side and my moms side. Along with that, I will be looking into my wifes family with searches of the Meeker family and the Callaway family.

But these on this website are just a Fork in the Road. What that means is I have gone off the beaten path a bit, but still a direct descendant and looked for stories. As an example, it might be the 5th great-grandfathers wife side that I found something interesting. After all, it is the family of my 5th great-grandmother!

genealogy

The Covingtons

my 9th great-grandfather

 

 

The Covington family can be traced back in Harrold, England to Elizabethan times when William Covington was born in the village in around 1593. There were Covingtons in other parts of North Bedfordshire, including Bedford and nearby Turvey and, of course, in the village of Covington just across the county border in the Kimbolton part of Huntingdonshire.

Where is Harrold?

Harrold is a civil parish and electoral ward in the Borough of Bedford within Bedfordshire, England, around nine miles north-west of Bedford. The village is on the north bank of the River Great Ouse, and is the site of an ancient bridge, linking the village with Carlton with Chellington on the south bank.

 

We know little of the early life of William in Harrold or of his wife, but a son George was born in 1617 and sadly died that same year. In November 1618 a second son William was born and eventually there were three more children, Joan, Hannah and Robert. The family all grew up in Harrold and in 1639 William was married in nearby Pavenham to Ann. Within the first few years of this marriage Ann died and, sometime in the 1640s, William emigrated to America (this coincided with The English Civil War).

We know that he was transported to Virginia as an indentured emigrant and that his transportation had been arranged by brothers John and George Mott. He arrived in Old Rappahannock County of the colony of Virginia (now known as Essex County). The Mott brothers were agents in recruiting and shipping colonists for Virginia and for this service they received a patent for 15,564 acres of land on waters draining into the Rappahannock River on 17 October, 1670.

This was for 313 indentured workers known as “headrights”. William’s name was on that list and so too was the name of Thomas Howerton (born in England around 1640 and shipped to Virginia in the 1660s. Thomas and William became partners and William subsequently married Dorothy Howerton who was probably Thomas’s sister.

William and Dorothy Covington raised a family. Thomas and William were obviously involved in the tobacco trade because in 1670 they purchased a small part of the Mott plantation for 3,000 pounds of tobacco. Originally this was for 300 acres, but by 1683 the partners had together acquired 1000 acres and they then divided this up by an “Agreement between Howerton and Covington to divide land from Mr. Mott. Howerton to have land on the south side and Covington to have land on the north side of Dragon Swamp”( 4th April 1683).

The Dragon Swamp is also Known as the Dragon Run; it is a stream which flows into a tidal tributary of Chesapeake Bay. In 1607 it was first explored by Captain John Smith and became a popular area for settlement in the 1640s by what are still referred to in Virginia as the Cavaliers.

William Covington’s will was made in 1696 and proved the next year when he died at the age of 77. He left the plantation, which by then included a mill known as Covington’s Mill, to his three sons. A daughter and a grand-daughter each received a cow.

William Covington was probably the first person from Harrold to set foot in the New World. His arrival in the 1640s was just over 20 years after the Pilgrim Fathers had made their epic journey to New England and when settlement in Virginia was in its infancy. Other members of the Covington family later came from England. Nehemiah Covington from the Huntingdonshire village of that name arrived in the 1660s.

Today there are more than a thousand names of the direct descendants of the Harrold branch stemming from “William Covington the Immigrant”.

Genealogical records based on primary sources such as wills, land registration, state and county records and family bibles, etc. show the spread of these Covingtons through the states of the USA over 13 generations. A random sample of 62 of these Harrold descendants (all those named William Covington) have revealed that they were born in 12 states of the USA:

Within this single branch of a family is the story of the making of America – early settlements in Virginia and the Carolinas, wagon train migration to Tennessee and to Missouri, and military involvement in the Revolutionary War the Mexican War, the American Civil War (on both sides) and two world wars. Between these major events ordinary people were involved in farming, setting up businesses, missionary involvement in the churches, public service, academic life and, even, rocket science. The Harrold branch of the Covingtons certainly played its part in the foundation of modern America.

 

 

The Family History Project

Tom Knuppel Family
genealogy

The Year 2020 is here. I made a decision to deep dive into the genealogy of my predecessors and those of my wife Linda. So here is my plan. I will trace back four families in our history. The Knuppel’s, the Meeker’s, The Callaway’s and the Sawrey’s are the sources of my work. However, those will be done on ancestry.com and family search. It is my hope to make that into a book that I can write. What about the other stuff not included in the book?

From there I will feature side stories on different family members or there spouse on this website. From there I will venture off the path and delve into some historical context as to what I have found. Let me tell you now that what I have found spans many centuries spread among different several continents. In fact, my son Randy and I have been able to go back as far as 30 AD in some cases.

The stories as amazing. It is fun to go back and find references to slave trading, war heroics, settlers and traders of the early days of this continent along with the fact the some of the bloodlines are directly linked to famous historical figures.

Look for this to begin soon RIGHT HERE.

 

-Tom

Women in Baseball- Required Charm School

Tom Knuppel Baseball History
Women in Baseball- Required Charm School

The following text was taken from the charm school guide located in the collections of the National Baseball Hall of Fame Library.

 

When you become a player in the-American Girls Baseball League you have reached the highest position that a girl can attain in this sport. the-American Girls Baseball League is getting great public attention because it is pioneering a new sport for women.

You have certain responsibilities because you too are in the limelight. Your actions and appearance both on and off the field reflect on the whole profession. It is not only your duty to do your best to hold up the standard of this profession but to do your level best to keep others in the line.

The girls in our League are rapidly becoming the heroines of youngsters as well as grownups all over the world. People want to be able to respect their heroines at all times. The All-American Girls Baseball League is attempting to establish a high standard that will make you proud that you are a player in years to come.

We hand you this manual to help guide you in your personal appearance. We ask you to follow the rules of behavior for your own good as well as that of the future success of girls’ baseball.

In these few pages, you will find many of the simple and brief suggestions which should prove useful to you during the busy baseball season. If you plan your days to establish an easy and simple routine, so that your meals are regular and well balanced, so that you have time for outside play and relaxation, so that you sleep at least eight hours each night, and so that your normal functions are regular, you will be on the alert, do your job well, and gain the greatest joy from living. Always remember that your mind and your body are interrelated, and you cannot neglect one without causing the other to suffer. A healthy mind and a healthy body are the true attributes of the All-American girl.

    Beauty Routines

    Your ALL-AMERICAN GIRLS BASEBALL LEAGUE BEAUTY KIT Should always contain the following:

    • Cleansing Cream
    • Lipstick
    • Rouge Medium
    • Cream Deodorant
    • Mild Astringent
    • Face powder for Brunette
    • Hand Lotion
    • Hair Remover

    You should be the best judge of your own beauty requirements. Keep your own kit replenished with the things you need for your own toilette and your beauty culture and care. Remember the skin, the hair, the teeth and the eyes. It is most desirable in your own interests, that of your teammates and fellow players, as well as from the standpoint of the public relations of the league, that each girl be at all times presentable and attractive, whether on the playing field or at leisure. Study your own beauty culture possibilities and without overdoing your beauty treatment at the risk of attaining gaudiness, practice the little measure that will reflect well on your appearance and personality as a real-American girl.

    Suggested Beauty Routine

    “After the Game”

    Remember, the theAll-American girl is subjected to greater exposure through her activities on the diamond, through exertion in greater body warmth and perspiration, through exposure to dirt, grime and dust and through vigorous play to scratches, cuts, abrasions and sprains. This means extra precaution to assure all the niceties of toilette and personality. Especially “after the game,”the All American girl should take time to observe the necessary beauty ritual, to protect both her health and appearance. Here are a few simple rules that should prove helpful and healthful “after the game.”

    1. Shower well and soap the skin.
    2. Dry thoroughly to avoid chapping or chafing.
    3. Apply cleansing cream to face and remove with tissue.
    4. Wash face with soap and water.
    5. Apply skin astringent.
    6. Apply rouge moderately but carefully.
    7. Apply lipstick with moderate taste.
    8. Apply eye makeup if considered desirable.
    9. Apply powder.
    10. Check all cuts, abrasions or minor injuries.

    If you suffer any skin abrasion or injury, or if you discern any aches or pains that do not appear to be normal, report them at once to your coach or chaperone or the person responsible for the treatment and first aid. Don’t laugh off slight ailments as trivialities because they can often develop into a serious infection or troublesome conditions that can handicap your play and cause personal inconvenience. See that your injuries, however slight, receive immediate attention. Guard your health and welfare.

    Additional Beauty Routine

    “Morning and Night”

    In the morning, when you have more time to attend to your beauty needs, you will undoubtedly be enabled to perform a more thorough job. Use your cleansing cream around your neck as well as over the face. Remove it completely and apply a second time to be sure that you remove all dust, grease and grime. Wipe off thoroughly with cleansing tissue. Apply a lotion to keep your hands as lovely as possible. Use your manicure set to preserve your nails in a presentable condition and in keeping with the practical needs of your hands in playing ball.

    Teeth

    Not a great deal need be said about the teeth, because every All American girl instinctively recognizes their importance to her health, her appearance and her personality. There are many good tooth cleansing preparations on the market and they should be used regularly to keep the teeth and gums clean and healthy. A regular visit to a reliable dentist is recommended and certainly, no tooth ailment should be neglected for a moment.

    Body

    Unwanted or superficial hair is often quite common and it is no problem to cope with in these days when so many beauty preparations are available. If your have such hair on arms or legs, there are a number of methods by which it can be easily removed. There is an odorless liquid cream which can be applied in a few moments, permitted to dry and then showered off.

    Deodorant

    There are a number of very fine deodorants on the market which can be used freely all over the body. The most important feature of some of these products is the fact that the fragrance stays perspiration proof all day long. These deodorants can be used especially where excess perspiration occurs and can be used safely and effectively without retarding natural perspiration. The All-American girl is naturally susceptible because of her vigorous activities and it certainly pays dividends to be on the safe side. Deodorant keeps you fresh and gives you assurance and confidence in your social contacts.

    Eyes

    “The Eyes are the Windows of the Soul”

    The eyes indicate your physical fitness and therefore need your thoughtful attention and care. They bespeak your innermost thoughts. They reflect your own joy of living, or they can sometimes falsely bespeak the listlessness of mind and body. Perhaps no other feature of your face has more to do with the impression of beauty, sparkle, and personality which you portray.

    A simple little exercise for the eyes and one which does not take much time can do much to strengthen your eyes and add to their sparkle and allure. Turn your eyes to the corner of the room for a short space of time, then change to the other corner, then gaze at the ceiling and at the floor alternately. Rotating or rolling your eyes constitutes an exercise and your eyes will repay you for the attention that you give to them. There are also vitamins prescribed for the care of the eyes. Drink plenty of water and eat plenty of vegetables. We all know well that the armed forces found carrots a definite dietary aid to eyesight. Use a good eyewash frequently and for complete relaxation at opportune moments, lie down and apply an eye pad to your eyes for several minutes.

    Hair

    “Woman’s Crowning Glory”

    One of the most noticeable attributes of a girl is her hair, a woman’s crowning glory. No matter the features, the clothes, the inner charm or personality, they can all suffer beneath a sloppy or stringy coiffure. Neither is it necessary to feature a fancy or extravagant hairdo because a daily program for the hair will help to keep it in healthful and attractive condition.

    Neatness is the first and greatest requirement. Arrange your hair neatly in a manner that will best retain its natural style despite vigorous play. Off the diamond, you can readily arrange it in a softer and more feminine style, if you wish. But above all. keep your hair as neat as possible, on or off the field.

    Brushing the hair will help a great deal more than is realized. It helps to stimulate the scalp which is the source of healthful hair growth. It develops the natural beauty and luster of the hair. And it will not spoil the hairdo. When brushing, bend over and let your head hang down. Then brush your hair downward until the scalp tingles. Just a few minutes of this treatment each day will tend to keep your scalp in fine condition and enhance the beauty of your “crowning glory”.

    Mouth

    Every woman wants to have an attractive and pleasing mouth. As you speak, people watch your mouth and you can do much, with a few of the very simplest tools, to make your mouth invitingly bespeak your personality. Your beauty aids should, of course, include an appropriate type of lipstick and a brush. They should be selected with consideration and care.

    With your lipstick, apply two curves to your upper lip. Press your lips together. Then, run your brush over the lipstick and apply it to your lips, outlining them smoothly. This is the artistic part of the treatment in creating a lovely mouth.

    Patient practice and care make perfect. Open your mouth and outline your own natural curves. If your lips are too thin to please you, shape them into fuller curves. Now, use a tissue between your lips and press lightly to take off excess lipstick. If you wish to have a “firmer foundation,” use the lipstick a second time and use the tissue “press” again.

    Caution: Now that you have completed the job, be sure that the lipstick has not smeared your teeth. Your mirror will tell the tale, and it is those little final touches that really count.

    Hands

    The hands are certainly among the most expressive accouterments of the body. They are always prominent and noticeable and while feminine hands can be lovely and lily white, as described in the ads, the All­American girl has to exercise practical good sense in preserving the hands that serve her so faithfully and well in her activities. Cleanliness and neatness again come to the fore. Your hands should be thoroughly cleaned and washed as frequently as seems desirable or necessary, and especially after games, they should be cleaned to remove all dust and grime. Soap and water and pumice will do this job to perfection. Then a protective cream should be applied to keep hands soft and pliable and to avoid cracking and over-dryness. Your nails should be gone over lightly each day, filing to prevent cracks and splits, oiling for the cuticle.

    The length of your nails, of course, depends largely upon the requirements of your play. Keep them neat and clean and your hands will always be attractive.

    Face

    “All Beauty Comes From Within”

    To the theAll-American girl, who is exposed to the elements, to the sun, to the wind and to the dust, it is most essential that every precaution be taken for the care of the skin. It should be covered with a protective substance of cream or liquid, depending entirely upon whether your skin is dry or oily. If it is dry, the cream type is recommended and if it is oily, you should use the liquid type. A good cleansing cream can serve as a cleanser, a powder base, a night cream and also a hand lotion. It is a good idea to have such an all-around utility cream on hand at all times and to use it regularly for these purposes.

    FOR YOUR COLORING – again it depends on your particular complexion and whether you have an abundance of natural color tones or need very little coloring. You can determine this in keeping with good taste to acquire the necessary results. People who are naturally pale, of course, need the coloring to help their complexion.

     

    NEXT: Rules of Conduct

    “You Want to Ride the Ball…..”

    Tom Knuppel Family
    “You Want to Ride the Ball…..”

    (originally written in March 2017)

     

     

    I heard some version of that sentence at least three times. It still haunts me a bit from time to time. Allow me to work up to giving you more information at the end of the blog.

    During the summer of 1978, I began working as a Union Laborer. School was out and I wanted to earn some extra money. One of my brothers knew the Union Steward and he had no problem getting me a union card. That is, he had no problem after I paid $500 for “dues” which was interesting since the union only charged $350. It is called “greasing the wheel” and I was set. I had no issue with paying the money because a union worker made a good wage. I was set to work from June 1- August 10.

    Grab a Broom

    I was assigned to work at the new power station they were building just outside of Havana. The first day they took all my information and assigned a foreman to me. I was to grab a broom and clean all day. They had part of the plant up and union men of all trades were working on it. I was to clean an area that was the outside perimeter of the plant. I was told NOT to clean the inner circle. It was open to the sky in that area and workers were working high and they wanted to keep people out of the area on the ground level. They told me that was to prevent injury and things could be accidentally dropped from high. They assured me nothing had every fallen but it could. By 9AM I am cleaning and sweeping and leaning on my broom like any good union laborer when about 10:30AM I heard a whizzing sound and then workers yelling. One of the groups above had allowed a roll of cable to slip out of their grasp and it can down to the ground with a whizz. Whiping around and it would have decapitated any one in its path. So much for nothing every dropping.

    Geniuses at Work

    A couple of interesting things happened that I want to share that didn’t directly affect me but is related to the power plant construction. The first one deals with a railroad. There was a crew that was to build a railroad track from one end of the site to the other. Rails were mounted on five foot planks and then they were placed together (linked) to form the tracks. Problem was… they started with a crew on one end and another crew on the other end and they miss meeting each other by a good 50 feet. They had to go back and remove some of them and re-do the linking so they could complete the project. This took about 3 days to get it back on track.

    Another day here was a horrible thing happen. Every day new pieces of steel were lifted up and beams were placed in the building of the plant. One particular day I happened to notice them swinging in the beam and a guy standing on the adjacent beam slowly signalling the beam into the correct place. He got to the last part and told the operator to set it down. Just as he did it moved about 3-4 inches and it was set down on the feet of the guy doing the signalling. Long story short he was taken to hospital and had three toes on each foot gone. The beam had crushed them. Ugh.

    Sitting Idly

    Another thing was I was working in the back lot of the site and I came across a guy sitting in a crane. He was just sitting there. He sat there for about 4 hours and then when I came back past him I struck up a conversation. I asked him why his crane was not running and why he just sat there. He said several days before he was sent out there to work and when he was done they instructed him to leave his crane and they would have him bring it up the next day. Problem was… in between that time they had unloaded a very large load of lumber in the path of his return. They couldn’t get him back. He was told to go to his machine and just sit there until the path was clear for him to return. It was 6 days later that they finally got him back. He was paid the entire time to just sit there.

    What to Do With Lazy Workers

    One oddity happened. I had worked there for about 3 weeks with a guy named “Butch”. He didn’t work hard and he showed up about three days per week. The supervisors called a short meeting one morning and informed all of the workers that Butch had been promoted and was to become a supervisor immediately. Wait, this is the guy that doesn’t work hard and only 3 days per week? Yep. About 3-4 weeks later we got the scoop. They put him in that job to make him show up. It worked. Butch was there everyday and didn’t have to work, only supervise. I guess somebody was a genius to think of that.

    Jackhammer

    I had a horrible couple of weeks when I was assigned, daily, to run a jackhammer. They needed concrete taken out of a 80’x60′ area that was 14 inches deep. It was a mistake and they neeed to rectify it. So for about 10 working days I ran that hammer. It was hard work, slow work and when I got home I was shaking a bit like a jackhammer. Then they rewarded me for four days ( I never complained to them about the jackhammer) and was given a job “spotting.”

    Making Sure Nobody Gets Covered Up

    This job is on the ground as the backhoes are working. The holes are about 40 feet deep they have a laborer in the hole doing some digging to make it a clean dig. So I stood on top of the hole and watched the laborer work as the backhoe also worked in the same hole….. if the laborer should get covered by the backhoe I was to signal the operator to stop and then I was to alert others that he had been covered up. Then three of us were to go into the hole and dig him out. It never happened.

    The Ball

    One day my foreman’s boss approach me and ask me if I wanted to work high. I asked him what he meant and he pointed to the top of the building. I stood there for a long while and then I began to talk.

    Me: “You want me to work up there?”

    Boss: “Yes, it’s an easy job. All you do all day is make sure everyone has water. You check the water jugs.”

    Me: “I don’t know.”

    Boss: ” It’s easy. They have flooring and railings up there and besides you make a $1 more per hour.”

    Me: ” Ok, I guess I can.”

    Boss: ” Good. You want to ride the ball up?”

    Me: “huh?”

    Boss: “The ball. The ball on the crane. just grab ahold and ride it to the top.”

    Me: “Nah, I don’t think so.”

    Boss: “Ok, there are steps that go up there. ”

    So off I went. I found the stairs and headed up. Oh but wait! The stairs ended at the fifth floor and there are eight stories to the building. What am I looking at? Oh my. There was a straight up ladder that extended to the sixth, seventh and eighth story. Straight up. I stood there for a few seconds when some random guy came by and asked me if there was a problem. I told him I was unsure about climbing the ladder to the top. He responded with, ” do you want to ride the ball up?” I declined and grab the rungs of the ladder. White knuckling my way one at a time. I reached the top level. What am I going to do now? I had to swing my legs over to get on the flooring of the work area. I froze for a bit. Some guy asked me if I was ok and I shook my head affirmatively and slowly swung my leg over and crawl over to reach the top.

    I was at the top and not feeling very well.  My new supervisor approached me and asked me if I was ok.

    New Boss: ” hey buddy, you ok, you don’t look so good.”

    Me: ” I guess I am ok.”

    New Boss: “Great, let me get you started and you now that you make a $1 more per hour working high, don’t you? (I nodded) You have five areas up here to make sure they have adequate water supply. If a water jug gets almost empty you need to signal the guy down there running the ball. Tell him and he will send a new one up.”

    So he pointed to my first area and I started over there…but one thing didn’t look good. They told me there was flooring a railings up here. Technically, they were correct. BUT it was boards running from beam to beam with a rope railing around the edge. GULP. So I started over. Slowly I inched my way over, holding on to the railing. The boards were bowing in the middle and I felt really uncomfortable. I reached the water and it was fine. I told myself I couldn’t do this job. I inched my way back and got to some solid footing when another random guy stopped me.

    Random Guy: “Hey buddy, you ok?”

    Me: “No I don’t think so. I don’t feel real good working high.”

    Random Guy: “But you get a $1 more per hour working up here.”

    (I thought that $1 more isn’t going to help me when I die up here)

    Me: ” I think I need to go back down.”

    Random Guy: “Ok, you want to ride the ball down?”

    Me: “No thanks.”

    So I decided to forego the dollar more and head back down. I walked over and then it struck me that I need to go back down a straight ladder and I froze. I had to swing my leg over and grab the rungs of the ladder at the same time. I stood there. Another guy asked me if I was ok and repeated the same offer to have me grab the big ball on the crane and ride it down. I mustered the courage to climb down. I finally, reached the ground, and my legs were shaking and I felt ill.

    Once on ground,  the first supervisor came to me and I told him I couldn’t work high. He said it should be worth it for a $1 more. I made some comment about being at the top and seeing Canton from there and how I wanted to live to have a family and the dollar meant nothing to me. I told him I was sick and was going home.

    That night, laying in bed, I could visualize everything I saw from the time starting up to getting back on the ground. I passed up the extra money but that didn’t bother me. The next day back to work, the supervior told me that less than 20% were cut out to work high.

    I wonder if things would have been different if I would have ridden the ball.

     

     

    Previous Blog Posts:

    Sunday Fight Behind the Root Beer Stand

    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