Selected Families and Individuals
Source Citations
John BROWN
1Olsen, Wayne, PAF file: Boslow_Anc_Stevens.paf, rec'd via EMail 0n 14 APR 2002.
Mrs BROWN
1Olsen, Wayne, PAF file: Boslow_Anc_Stevens.paf, rec'd via EMail 0n 14 APR 2002.
Isaac DODGE
1Olsen, Wayne, PAF file: Boslow_Anc_Stevens.paf, rec'd via EMail 0n 14 APR 2002.
Oliver DODGE
1Olsen, Wayne, PAF file: Boslow_Anc_Stevens.paf, rec'd via EMail 0n 14 APR 2002.
William TRYON
1Raven, Alice (contact) , Raven Genealogy and Family History, Ancestry.com.
Rebecca
1Raven, Alice (contact) , Raven Genealogy and Family History, Ancestry.com.
Daniel BLACK
1Census, Federal - 1850 - Jo Daviess Co., Illinois, Irish Hollow Precinct, ancestry p. 3, 16 Nov 1850.
2Census, Federal - 1880 - Jo Daviess Co, IL, Elizabeth, p.315A.
3Census, Federal - 1860 - Jo Daviess Co., IL, Elizabeth Twsp, p. 621, Ancestry.com.
4Jo Daviess County, Illinois Personal Property tax roll for 1855. Daniel Black was assessed for $503 worth of personal property.
5H.F. Kett & Co., "The History of JoDaviess County Illinois"
Chicago, Illinois1878, Elizabeth Township, a Biographical Directory, Jo Daviess County website.
6Census, Mining Districts - 1840, Jo Daviess Co., WI - p. 384.
Margrett BLACK
1Census, Federal - 1850 - Jo Daviess Co., Illinois, Irish Hollow Precinct.
Sam BLACK
1Census, Federal - 1850 - Jo Daviess Co., Illinois, Irish Hollow Precinct.
William BLACK
1Census, Federal - 1850 - Jo Daviess Co., Illinois, Irish Hollow Precinct.
2Jessie R. Sanborn, Sherard Family, from a book, "The Centennial of Hurley South Dakota" p. 532. "Sherard Family by Jessie B. Sanborn
James Sherard Sr. was born in the year 1842, in the county of Tyrone in that old congested country of Ireland. He passed away November 11, 1919, at the age of 77 years, 6 months, 5 days, in the home of his daughter Mrs. F. A. Cue, Hurley, South Dakota.
He heard of America and since he longed for more freedom, he left his native home and arrived in the new land at the age of 22. Six years later in Galena, Illinois he married Martha Jane White, a young Civil War widow, with two little boys; and became a father to these two boys, raising them to manhood - namely Samuel and Robert White.
Then he wished for a home of his own, but, alas, no money to buy. He heard of Dakota Territory and a county called Turner with Swan Lake as the county seat. After he investigated and found the county seat with its half dozen settlers his mind grasped the possibilities.
On the 17th of May, 1872, Mr. and Mrs. James Sherard and sons, Samuel and Robert White, also James and William Black, came to this new land. They drove through from Galena, Illinois by team and had some unpleasant experiences. At one place Mr. Sherard got stuck in a swollen creek and had to get out in water waist deep, unhitch his team and hitch a chain to the end of the wagon tongue to draw the wagon out. At one farm ranch they were charged seventy-five cents for a single feed of hay for each team "Evidently there were monopolists then as well as at the present time." (Quote from Joseph Andrew-Early Days in Spring Valley).
They were three weeks on the road. The claims near Swan Lake had been filed on. He pushed on a few miles west, stuck his stakes, built a new prairie home which was a sod cabin and a warm cave in which they spent the winter. On the 22nd of May, 1872, his little family moved out of the covered wagon. According to W. W. Stoddard Turner County Pioneer History this gave Mrs. Sherard the distinction of being the first woman to make actual settlement in Spring Valley Township, although there were others that settled there that same summer.
Mr. Sherard filed a premption on the NE 1/4 of Section 10. He at once started his team to breaking and facing the real struggle to gain a home for himself and family and if possible, a little extra. Consequently he was up early in the morning to get the oxen moving to turn the prairie sod, or make a trip to Yankton (30 miles away) for supplies. He bucked the awful prairie fires, braved the terrible blizzards, kept a stiff upper-lip when the hail and grasshoppers descended, and looked steadily forward in faith for better days.
They had been in their new home only three months and six days when twin children were born- James Jr. and Jennie. As these were the first births in the nameless township Mrs. Sherard was given the honor of naming it, and as there were several large springs near, she named it Spring Valley.
That fall or winter, James Sherard proved up on his preemption and filed a homestead on the four south forties in Section 15, where he later moved and made his home for many years. He also filed on the southeast quarter of Section 23 as a timber claim and proved up on the same. He filed a soldiers' orphans homestead for his step-sons and proved upon the same in their name. Later on, on May 24, 1881, he received the Final Receivers Receipt of Homestead Certificate No. 1411 for S1/2 SW1/4 and S1/2 SE 1/4 of 15-97-54 160 acres, Spring Valley Township.
As we read of these experiences does it sound romantic or imaginary? "Let me quote from W. H. Stoddard Turner County Pioneer History: "Let me assure you, there was nothing imaginary in digging a living out of a raw prairie or raising a family in a one-room sod cabin with neighbors few and far between, and the quickest way to call him was to go on foot or borrow an Indian Pony of some six or eight miles away possibly. It was a great game. A few won out. Many families went back east to live with the old folks. Some lost through calamity and running deeply in debt."
In 1875, when a country post office was established in the township, Mr. Sherard was named Postmaster. His name was among early school officers and specifically I note he was elected Treasurer of Spring Valley School on June 26, 1883.
Even though Mr. and Mrs. Sherard had a large family of nine of their own, their big hearts reached out and took two little girls (children of a distant relative out of the poorhouse in an Illinois county and brought them to their Dakota home and raised them to womanhood namely: Mrs. George Muilenberg and Mrs. Joe Verley.
Once again I quote from W. H. Stoddard Turner County Pioneer History: "I do not know as Mr. Sherard ever became a member of any church, but this I do know, that he contributed to the building and maintaining of the early day M. E. Church that was built at Swan Lake and later moved to Spring Valley Township. I have positive proof that at one time he had saved five dollars to buy himself some warm winter underclothing, when a call was made for the help of the church, and upon his wife's declaration that she could mend up his old underwear, he said here goes the five dollars for the church. Of late years he was a yearly contributer to the support of the M. E. Church in Hurley."
Mr. and Mrs. Sherard raised the following children: James, Jennie (Mrs. Joseph Layne), William, Albert, Belle, Charles, Lizzie (Mrs. Festus Cue), and Samuel and Robert White.
James, William, and Charles all married and farmed in Turner County. They all had sons interested in the fertile land. They and their sons continued to work the land. Currently the only Sherards farming in Turner County are Duarne and Darrell Sherard, sons of Clyde Sherard, grandsons of James A. Sherard and great-grandsons of James Sherard from Tyrone County, Ireland." This articles sent to me on 12 Feb 2007 by S. Sherard. "On the 17th of May, 1872, Mr. and Mrs. James Sherard and sons, Samuel and Robert White, also James and William Black, came to this new land. (Turner Co., SD)."
Henry BLACK
1Census, Federal - 1850 - Jo Daviess Co., Illinois, Irish Hollow Precinct.
Stephen TERRY
1Olsen, Wayne, PAF file: Boslow_Anc_Stevens.paf, rec'd via EMail 0n 14 APR 2002.
Phillippe KELLOGG
1Olsen, Wayne, PAF file: Boslow_Anc_Stevens.paf, rec'd via EMail 0n 14 APR 2002.
John BIRD
1Olsen, Wayne, PAF file: Boslow_Anc_Stevens.paf, rec'd via EMail 0n 14 APR 2002.
Prudence
1Olsen, Wayne, PAF file: Boslow_Anc_Stevens.paf, rec'd via EMail 0n 14 APR 2002.
John TERRY Revrend
1Olsen, Wayne, PAF file: Boslow_Anc_Stevens.paf, rec'd via EMail 0n 14 APR 2002.
Mary WHITE
1Olsen, Wayne, PAF file: Boslow_Anc_Stevens.paf, rec'd via EMail 0n 14 APR 2002.
Richard BELDEN Knight
1Olsen, Wayne, PAF file: Boslow_Anc_Stevens.paf, rec'd via EMail 0n 14 APR 2002.
2Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, FamilySearch.com, AFN: 8HTS-52. referred to as Sir Knight.
3Henry R Stiles, A.M., M.D, History and Genealogy of Ancient Wethersfield
, The Grafton Press, New York, 1904
" The author of a Belden genealogy ("Concerning Some of the Ancstors and Descendants of Royal Denison and Olive Cadwell Belden," by JessiePerry Van Zile Belden (Mrs. James M. Belden) Printed for Private Circulation by J.B. Lippincott & Co., Phil, 1898. ) traces the English history of this family for over 800 years from before the battle of Hastings, 1066, and gives the arms.. The arms in posession of the descendants of Richard of Wethersfield have an added motto, "God my Leader." The name was first spelled Baylden until 1641; then on the Wethersfield records Beldon from 1641-1643: Belding from 1643-1736; Beldon from1736-1753; Belding from 1753-1825; Belden from 1825 to the present time. Hinman (NEHGR, vol 15, p 297) says that the spelling of the name was changed and restored to the orig. orthography through the exertions of Rev. Joshua Belden, minister at Newington CT abt 1772 by Col Elisha Williams, at that time Town Clerk of Wethersfield, who showed to him, on the early records, three several and distinct autographs of the elder John Belden.... A tradition in some branches of the family that the family is of Welch origin, that the name was orig. Bellenden, and that there was some connection with the British earldom of that name, need not be seriously credited.
Richard, the Wethersfield settler, is supposed to have been (above ref.) a son of Sir Frances Baylden, of Kippax, Co. Yorkshire, England, and to have been bp 26 May 1591. If he is the same Richard Baylden whose bold well written signature was affixed to a document (26 March 1613) stating that he was aged 19 years of age, born at Kippax, ... it is probable that our Richard of Wethersfield had seen some military service in the Low Countries before emigrating hither. The identification of the Wethersfield Richard with the Kippax Richard seems to have hinged largely in the mind of a member of the English family on his belief that the later "was the only Richard, so far as I know, who would have had money to spend in the purchase of land, as Richard of Wethersfield did."
It is true that the lands belonging to Richard Baylden in Wethersfield comprising 8 pieces in all, are located and described in.... as those given him by the Towne and those he bought of Jonas Woode,but it does not follow that he paid out much hard cash for them. We need not infer that he was a man of much superior means to his neighbors in the new settlement, more especially as the inventory of his etate, taken at his death in 1655 by John Talcott and John Nott, foots up only to 111pounds.
He must have been 48 or 50 years of age when he came to Wethersfieldin 1641, and he died 1655; but during his brief American life he accumulated considerable real estate, which he left to his children; and the family which he founded has certainly exhibited a marked financial ability, as well as a high degree of moral and intellectual force. His home lot was on the corner of Broad Street and the way leading into the Great Plain and was sold in 1742.
Richard Belden was appointed in 1646 one of the Town's cow-keepers or "herders" to look after the settler's cattle, during their daily pasturing in the meadows belonging to the Town - an office which in no wise affects our estimate of his character or social standing - since in those old days, men seem to have been willing to serve the community in any duty which was assigned to them."
Margaret ACKRENDEN
1Olsen, Wayne, PAF file: Boslow_Anc_Stevens.paf, rec'd via EMail 0n 14 APR 2002.