Pgs 412-686 - Illinois Ancestors

ESSEX TOWNSHIP. 501
was no school nor schoolhouse, and on the 4th of July, 1834, the peoplecamet-ogetherforthe
purpose of huildingone. % * * *
In IS39 several families inoved froin Pennsylvania and settled in
VITyoming, and ~vllile they dicl not particularly 'want the conn ty seat,
they thought theinselves entitlecl to the postoffice, so got it cllangecl
froin Essex tlo that place, 'CVilliam Goclle~~ being nl)l~ointecl postmaster.
The East~uans cawe 'f~o1-n Sew IIampshi~e in 183s. and started a
b1:tcksinith shop in JIoulton, a little south of John Lefler's. Here you
conltl get anvtlling done, POI^ tllle weltling of a Bnitti~ig needle to ironing
n wagon. It is cl;%i~ned the\. ironed the first wagon and buggy
th;~t was made in the county, anti' tlmt Calvin L. made the first plow
that ~vould scour in this soil.
Up to 1835 inost of the t~*acling \vas tloue in Peoria. In August of
this year the Esses a.nd Cooper t';nnilies 1~;111 sllort of groceries, so tJhey
filled t \vo grain sacks with meat, sat ltlletl two lro~ses. Cooper tdting
one :~ntl BL~dison Winn the other, ;tnd with sa,cbs across the aulclle,
st;l.i*tetl for the city. taking an Intlinn trail, going throuyll Princerille
itnil crossii~g tlle Kiclinpoo at 1 )nnlap, arrivetl at T1lom;ts Esses's I:bt1e
in tlr e i~fternoon. The (lay was esceetlingly u*~I,I~~II, ant1 \\rllat had
Ijecol~ie of the ine;~~t
the st$cks was a ~!lyst~e~~y. Winu was a
mess of glae:tse from his \\.;tist to 11is lleels. Tlle\y nintle the trip in
tl~ lee th)-s. EIenrv Col\vell calm f 1201n Ross cobut\-, Ohio, in 183'7,
and \vasCtlle first shck aucticmeer in this county. ;~nd'llas no\\. heen an
;mctioneer for forty-nine yeibrs, being sei-ent!r-fou~ y earas old. IIe is
the 'ather of nineteen clliltlre~~ - nine sons and ten tlu~~gllters.
Other pioneers ant1 oltl settlers of Essex are naillet1 in the pages
de\iotecl to biogrty~hy in cllapter 16, as well as in this part.
Shkets Cel~,eteqy.--Tlle interments in Sheets Cemetery are listed
as follows : Lettice L. Smith, '62 ; C+i*eenle;~f Smitll, '4s ; eenj. S~nith,
'47 ; Dwid Cooper. '(iO ; Argelon C+rares, '56 ; Ann Boardlnan, '47 ;
Moses I