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BIOGRAPHIES
Source:
HISTORY OF
LIVINGSTON COUNTY, ILLINOIS
Containing
A History of the County - its Cities, Towns, &c.; a Directory of its
Tax-Payers; War Record of its Volunteers in the late
Rebellion; Portraits of Early Settlers and Prominent Men;
General and Local Statistics; Map of Livingston County
History of Illinois, Illustrated;
History of the Northwest Illustrated;
Constitution of the United States,
Miscellaneous Matters,
&c., &c.
- ILLUSTRATED -
Published Chicago:
Wm. Le Baron, Jr. & Co., 186 Dearborn Street
1878
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Amity Twp. -
WILLIAM McVAY (deceased), farmer; P.
O. Cornell; was born in Washington Co., Penn., July 15,
1820. He married Dec. 2, 1847, Greene Co., Penn., to
Matilda Mills; she was born in Washington Co., Penn.,
Jan. 18, 1826. He followed farming after his marriage,
until 1857, when they came West, locating in Livingston Co.,
Amity Tp., where his family now resides, at the time of his
death, which occurred July 15, 1874, he owned 280 acres of
land, valued at $30 per acre; had since coming to this
township held the offices of Road Commissioner and School
Director, also was Deacon of Christian Church. They
have had eight children, five living - Almina, Isabell,
Albert (dead); Francis, Ida (dead); Ira,
Willie P. (dead); Willis. Mr. McVay was
much respected by all who knew him, and his loss was deeply
felt by his family and friends.
Source: History of Livingston Co.,
Ill. - Published Chicago: Wm. Le Baron, Jr. & Co. - 1878 -
Page 703 |
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Amity Twp. -
JOHN MITCHELL, farmer; P. O. Cornell;
when old enough, Mr. Mitchell went on the ocean as
seaman, on merchant vessels, and was in part in America
twice before coming here to settle; he also was at different
ports in different countries, sailing for nine years; in
1847, he came to America, locating at no particular place,
but going from Chicago to New Orleans, working for two years
in Louisiana and adjoining States on the levees; he also ran
a boat from La Salle to Chicago, and the Canal; his first
location was on Otter Creek, in La Salle Co., in 1850.
Dec. 1, he married Bertie Oakland, in Ottawa;
she was born in Norway, in 1831; they have six children -
Isabella C., Albert N., Johnnie, Elizabeth M.; James Murry,
Joseph D. In 1853, he came to Amity Tp., and took
up forty acres; when he came he had only horses and wagon,
and the third year he was taken sick, not being able to work
for two years, and was obliged to sell everything he had in
order to pay his doctor bill; but through hard, honest,
persistent industry, has accumulated around him 766 acres,
all in good cultivation, and among the best buildings in the
township; he also owns in Iowa, 150 acres; the land at home
valued at $40 per acre, and the Iowa land at $10 per acre,
besides owning considerable personal property. Mr.
Mitchell for many years in the early times was called
"the Norwegian King," a name give by his generosity to his
fellow countrymen.
Source: History of Livingston Co.,
Ill. - Published Chicago: Wm. Le Baron, Jr. & Co. - 1878 -
Page 703 |
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