ROSE TOWNSHIP
(Shelby County)

ROSE TOWNSHIP
(Shelby County)

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES
ROSE TOWNSHIP (Shelby County)

THIS township is situated near the center of the county, and contains thirty-six sections. It is bounded on the north by Ridge, south by Dry Point, east by Shelbyville, and west by Tower Hill townships. It is drained by the Kaskaskia river, Robin son's creek, Mud creek, Rocky Branch, and Swafford's Branch. It was originally considerably more than half timber. There is some very fine farming land here, and considerable broken land, fit only for pasture. The Illinois and St. Louis Railroad passes through the center of the township from east to west; Robinson's creek is a flag-station on this road, at the Robinson creek bridge. The city of Shelbyville lies partly in this township, on sections twelve and thirteen. There are several coal banks on Robinson's creek, affording a good quality of coal.

John Mosley is supposed to be the first settler. He located in the north-west part of what is now Rose, as early as 1824; was a native of Tennessee when he came to Shelby county. He was quite an old man, and had a family grown. He afterwards moved to M issouri.

Jesse Combs settled in the township about the same time, three miles south-west of where Shelbyville now is. In 1827 he had quite an orchard set out, and this was the second bearing orchard in the county, now known as the Swallow-place. Combs was from K entucky. He afterwards moved with this family into Bond county.

William South built a cabin in the extreme north side of the township in 1826, near where the county poor-house now is. He was from Kentucky, and came to this state with the Calverts, who were early settlers of Ridge Township. Mr. South was a physician, and the first that practiced in the Robinson creek settlement. He also preached to the early settlers, and subsequently moved to Missouri.

James Rowling lived on section three as early as 1826. He was a Kentuckian. The place is now owned by the widow Corley. Levi Virden settled in the same section the same year. He was a brother of James Virden, one of the early settlers of Ridge townshi p.

Isaac Perteitt came into the township in 1828. He had two sons, John and Barney, who were well known to the old settlers of this county. Jonathan Hill located on the Vandalia road in 1827. Sherman Rose settled on the same route about a mile from Shelbyville in 1830. Jacob Cutler bought his improvements and afterward entered the land. The property is now known as the Woodward place.

James B. Stanly settled on the road near Robinson's creek in 1830. He was a native of Tennessee. His principal occupation was hunting, and this was the cause of his death; he accidentally killed himself some years ago while hunting deer. The widow Smi th emigrated from Kentucky with her family of six children, and settled near where P. Roessler now lives in 1831. William Smith, her eldest son, at that time was eleven years of age. He now lives in the south-west part of Ridge township, where he settle d in 1843.

Dr. Bayles Williams came into the township in 1830, and practiced medicine for ten months when he died. Mrs. P. Graham, now living in Shelbyville, is the only member of the family living in Shelby county. In 1833, Richard Howard put up a grist and saw m ill on Robinson's creek, a short distance above where the railroad station now is, known as Craddick's mill.

The Howard Bro's came to the county near the same time -- John, Jonathan and Richard. They were men of good education, and all mechanics. They were from Maryland. John Howard made a little improvement west of Mud creek, in an early day, where he lived a short time; then made a permanent settlement on section nine, near the Litton Smith coal bank, where he raised his family, and resided until his death.

Joseph Renshaw settled the Samuel Igo place in about 1835. He was the contractor that built the brick court-house in 1835. The building of the court-house ruined him, financially, but he afterward recovered, and when he died he was in good circumstances . John Igo, a native of Ireland, came into that township in 1840.

George Wendling, Sr., a native of France, settled in section twenty-one in 1837. He raised a family of seven children; four now living in Shelby county -- Mrs. Barbara Stilgebauer, George Jacob and Michael. Mr. Wendling followed farming all his life, an d died on the place he improved here.

Abraham Stretch settled in 1841. Buckner Laws, the Boswell family, and the Bowmans came in the same year.

First Church, built on Robinson's creek, was a good-sized hewed log building, and stood on the west side of the creek, not far from where the county poor-house now is. It was built by the Methodists as early as 1830, and it stood so near the township lin e, that it is a question with the first settlers whether it was in Rose or Ridge township. It was used for a church many years, and was afterwards used as a barn by Litton Smith.

Supervisors since township organization: J.C. Selley, elected in 1860; Ed Roessler, elected in 1861; Martin Bechtel, elected in 1862, re-elected in 1863; Ed. Roessler (chairman), elected in 1864, re-elected in 1865, 1866, 1867, 1868, 1869 and 1870 ; J. White elected in 1871, re-elected in 1872 and 1873; M. Henderson elected in 1874; B.C. Ward, elected in 1875; M. Mercer, elected in 1876; J. Hoffman, elected in 1877; John Funk, elected in 1878; L. Perryman, elected in 1879; A. Rosessler, elected in 1880, and is the present incumbent.

Page 317

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES

GEORGE WENDLING

WAS born in the Province of Alsac, in Lower Germany. At the time of his birth, in 1812, the province was a part of France. It is now a member of the States composing the German Confederation. His father and his family emigrated to America in 183 2, and from New York immediately went west and settled in Wooster, Ohio, where the family remained until 1839, when they came to Illinois and settled in Rose township, Shelby county, where the subject of this sketch still resides. In 1844, he married Cat herine Wagoner. She was born in Germany in 1820. She came to America and settled in New Orleans. Her father was in the military service of his native country at the time. As soon as his term of service expired he also came to America, and together the y came to St. Louis, where Miss Wagoner remained until her marriage to Mr. Wendling. By this union there were four children. Margaret died in her twelfth year; George, William, and John are the names of the remaining children. The latter is the younges t of the family. He was born July 27th, 1857, in Rose township, Shelby county, Ill. Both Mr. and Mrs. Wendling are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, as are also his family. Mr. Wendling is a young, uncompromising democrat, and has been since gaining a residence in this country. His sons have followed in the footsteps of their father, and have been consistent democrats. He has been engaged in farming and stock-raising, since he has been a resident of Illinois. The family from time immemoria l have been engaged in agricultural pursuits. Mr. Wendling is one of the old settlers and pioneers of the county. He has been a permanent settler here since 1839, nearly half a century ago. In that time he has seen the county grow from a sparsely and t hinly settled district to one of the most populous of the state, in proportion to the area of territory, and inland disadvantages. He is much respected in the county, and among the people with whom he thus lived for many years.

LIEUT. JOHN E. LANE

THE Lane family are of English descent on both the paternal and maternal sides. John Lane, the grandfather of John E., was a native of Pennsylvania; he removed to Ohio and settled in Fairfield county at an early day, and remained there until his d eath, which occurred about the year 1824. He married Rachel Hoard, also a native of Pennsylvania; she died in 1876, at the advanced age of one hundred years. There were ten children by this marriage. Jesse D., the father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Fairfield county, Ohio, in 1814, where he grew to manhood, and remained until 1864, when he came to Shelby, Ill., and settled in Rose township, and entered land. In 1868 he moved to Ridge township, and a few years later purchased land, and at present is still a resident of the latter township. He married Miss Matilda Loofborough; she was born and raised in Fairfield county, Ohio. By this marriage there were eleven children, eight of whom are living, six sons and two daughters. John E. is t he oldest of the family. He was born in Fairfield county, Ohio, January 1, 1841. He was raised upon the farm, and attended the district schools in the winter months, and received a fair English education. In the summer of 1861 he went to school in Roya lton, Ohio. During this time the war broke out. He put aside his books, and on the 31st of August, 1861, he entered as a private for three years in company E, 17th Regt. Ohio Vol. Infty., Col. Cormel commanding. The 17th Regiment was organized at Lanca ster, Ohio, and was attached to Gen. Geo. H. Thomas' Division. The first regular battle in which the 17th Regiment was engaged was at the Wild Cat Hills. Mr. Lane participated with his regiment in the battles of Shiloh, Stone River, Chickamauga, Mission ary Ridge, and after that in the continuous battles occurring every day from Ringgold Georgia, to Atlanta, and in the siege and capture of the latter place. After the fall of Atlanta, the regiment went with Sherman on his famous march to the sea, up thro ugh the Carolinas and on to Washington where with his regiment he participated in the Grand Review, which was the proudest moment of "Old Tecumseh's" life. He was mustered out and honorably discharged July 23, 1865. He veteranized with his regiment in D ecember, 1864, while the army was at Missionary Ridge. He entered as a private and passed through all the grades up to the lst Lieut. of company B, and held that rank when mustered out. He received his commission as 1st Lieut. in May, 1865. He held the arduous position of orderly sergeant of his company for eighteen months. He passed through nearly four years of hard active service, participating in every battle in which his company was engaged, and while hundreds fell by his side and around him, he e scaped without a wound. After his discharge from the service he returned home, and in the fall of the same year came to Illinois, and settled in Rose township, this county. In 1871 he purchased land in Tower Hill township. The same year he was appointe d superintendent of the county farm, and held that position until 1877, when he removed to his farm in Tower Hill township; he remained there two years, when he was again appointed to the same position, and at present is still superintendent.

On the 23d of November, 1865, he was united in marriage to Miss Ellen Crist. She was born in Fairfield county, Ohio. She is the fifth in a family of eleven children, and was born August 9th, 1844. Her grandfather, Simon Crist, was a native of Union cou nty, Pennsylvania, and removed from that state to Ohio about 1820. His son Samuel, father of Mrs. Lane, married Margaret Myers. Both were natives of Ohio.

By the union of John E. and Ellen Lane, there have been six children, five of whom are living -- three sons and two daughters. The names of the children in the order of their birth are, Cora Edith, Wellington, who died in his third year, John Clarence, A rthur, Walter, and Nellie Lane. Mrs. Lane is a member of the Presbyterian Church; Mr. Lane is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and belongs to Tower Hill Lodge, No. 512. Politically, Lieut. Lane was formerly a republican. He cast his fi rst vote for Abraham Lincoln for President in 1864, while in the army, and on the march. He continued a republican until 1873, when he joined the Farmers' movement, which has since developed into the National Greenback party. In the last presidential co ntest he cast his vote for Gen. Weaver. He takes no further part in politics than to declare his preference by the right of suffrage. While a resident of Tower Hill he represented that township in the Board of Supervisors for one term. He is an earnest advocate of the cause of temperance, and practices what he preaches. Few men in the community stand higher in the estimation of the public than Lieut. Lane. He is of a quiet, retiring, gentlemanly disposition, conceding the rights of others, and firmly demanding his own in return. He was a brave soldier, and is an honored citizen.

Page 318

|| Return to Main Site Index ||