Saturday, February 25, 2017

Early Days in Lyman # 45

EARLY DAYS IN THE TOWN OF LYMAN
by Bela Foster


Continuing . . .
John Phipps was a native of New York. He came to Illinois when a small boy and grew to manhood in Kendall County. In 1862 he enlisted in the army and saw many of the hardships of war. In 1865 he was honorably discharged and returned to this home in Kendall County....
In 1865 he was wedded to the daughter of James and Eliza (Courter) Britton. Miss Britton was born in Pennsylvania in 1841. In 1856 she came with her parents to Kendall County, Illinois.
In 1867 Mr. and Mrs. Phipps and family came to Ford County and settled on the northwest corner of the northwest section of the Town of Lyman, then a part of Brenton. Mr Phipps was a good farmer and kept good stock. Had he been buying twenty or thirty years later perhaps he would have bought the flatter land, but in those days, the land looked different from what it did after tile was used. He could see the most of his land in the wettest weather. I imagine in 1869 he looked over his farm and was thankful that it was different from thousands of acres he could see covered with water.
Mr. Phipps died in 1889 and Mrs. Phipps several years later.
Their son, Edward, worked the farm after his father died. In 1888 he married Mammie, the daughter of Oliver and Olive Kilpatrick Woodrow. She was their only daughter and was a school teacher. She and her parents and two brothers, Bert and William, resided two miles northeast of Thawville for several years, then moved to section one of the Town of Lyman. The family was regarded with much respect. Bert is the only member of the family living. He lives in Missouri. He was a good worker in the Congregational Church at Thawville where they held their membership.
Mr. and Mrs. Edward Phipps had four sons and one daughter. One son is deceased. The other sons and daughter are married. The father and mother are both deceased. The daughter married Lewis Koonconourt. John Phipps lives on the home place and James lives on the C. Holmes farm in Brenton.

Edward Phipps' sister, Ada, married John Hawthorne, on of Lyman's early settlers.  He came here when the tall grass was plentiful and it was so wet and being a sailor managed to farm a little.  He told me he raised 300 bushels of corn that year.  I think his corn was all sod corn.  He did well to raise so much with water all around.
Mr. and Mrs. John Hawthorne farmed near Roberts until they moved to Chatsworth about 20 years ago. They had two daughters and one son. Agnes, Myrtle and Roy. Myrtle married Lewis Ristoe. She is deceased. The younger one is attending school. They live on the northwest corner of section 5, where they farm 240 acres.
John married Ada Phipps.
Mr. and Mrs. John Hawthorne reside in Chatsworth at the present time.
Robert Hawthorne Sr. farmed for some 25 years, then moved into Roberts with his wife. They had four sons and four daughters. Hugh married a daughter of James McBride of Brenton. They farmed for several years and then retired to Piper City. They had one son, Kirker, who lives in Piper City. Mrs. Hawthorne died several years ago.
Their daughter, Lillian, married Frank Britton, the brother of Mrs. John Phipps, Sr.
Rebecca married Wilbur Woolsoncroft (deceased). They had three sons and three daughters. Mrs. Harvey and Edward are deceased.
Mary married F. A. White, a native of Kentucky and a very fine man. He was in business in Roberts for many years. He died a few years ago. He left, besides his wife, two sons and three daughters all of whom are highly esteemed. Two daughters and one son are teachers.
Janet Hawthorne married Chas. E. Bressie, the son of L. E. Bressie, an early resident of Lyman. Mr. and Mrs. Charles Bressie are deceased. They left five daughters: Mrs. Jessie Samuels of Clinton; Mrs. Lessie Joseph and Mrs. Lillian Kenward, of North Dakota; Mrs. Autie Minch, of Roberts, Ill.; Mrs. Edith Roberts of Roberts, Ill.
Robert Hawthorne Jr. married Susan Swanick, the daughter of Arthur Swanick, a native of Ireland.

Mr. and Mrs. Swanick and family of three daughters and one son came to Lyman from Mendota in the early seventies. I think he must have bought the only raw prairie land on section 6 at that time. They resided on their farm unitl nearly 1890 when they moved to Paxton for a short time, then moved to Roberts where they lived until Mr. Swanick died....
Their oldest daughter, Alice married D. B. Smith. She was killed in a railroad accident in Guthrie in 1892. She was a teacher for several years. She left beside her husband, two daughters, Gertude and Emma. Gertrude married Elmer Squires, the son of Philip Squires. They have three daughters, all attending school.
Emma married a Mr. Henry, deceased. She has two girls both attending school. Mrs. Henry is a successful school teacher.
Susan Swanick Hawthorn the wife of Robert Hawthorn taught school for several years before her marriage. She died last year and left, beside her husband, two daughters. They have resided at Urbana for several years, having gone there to educate their daughters, Rosine and Mary Frances. Mrs. Swanick died in Champaign. Mr. Hawthorn was a business man of Roberts for many years. He was a man with a jovial heart. He had a smile and a pleasant word for all of his customers.
Sarah Swanick married Edward Roberts, a druggist in Roberts for several years. He died several years ago. His widow lives in Champaign. She has many friends to whom she is very dear. Her brother, John visits her quite frequently and stays for several days. He nearly makes her home, his home. He has no family. He owns the homestead and land in Livingston County and some land in Canada in which place he holds his citizenship.

 
--Roberts Herald. 12 February 1936. Bela Foster.

No comments: