He married Elizabeth Dixon in June 1814. In April, 1830, having bought Dixon'c claim at the grove moved his family and resided there for 14 years. A Post Office named Boyd's Grove was established here. There nearest neighbors in 1830 were Henry Thomas 16 miles to the north and J.B. Meredith 20 miles to the south. During the Black Hawk war Charles stayed on the homestead with his three sons to raise the crop; while all the County residence fled to safety.
It will be interesting in this connection to note something of the history of Mrs. Paddock's people. Her parents were Charles S. and Elizabeth (Dixon) Boyd, early settlers of Illinois. They lived for some years in Springfield and thence came to Princeton in 1842. Charles S. Boyd and Elizabeth Dixon were married in New York city, June 6, 1814, by the Rev. Archibald McClay, and seven children were born to them, five sons and two daughters. About fourteen months after the birth of their third son, Nathaniel Boyd, the father, with his brother-in-law, John Dixon, who was the founder of the city of Dixon, Illinois, became imbued with the desire to emigrate to what was then known as the "far west"—an uninhabited and almost unbroken wilderness, the abode of roving tribes of Indians and savage wild beasts. The point they intended to make was the marine settlement, so called from the fact that the first settlers were mariners. This is now the city of Springfield. They left New York city, April 13, 1820, and reached their destination on the 24th of June of the same year, having made the journey with ox teams in seventy-two days, for the roads or trails were impassable for horses. At Pittsburg they bought a flatboat for sixty-five dollars, and putting the teams and all on board, floated down the Ohio river to Shawneetown, where they sold the boat for five dollars, resuming their journey with their teams. After about two months travel they reached their destination.
Mr. Boyd dug the first well and built the first brick chimney in Springfield. His house stood about where the state capitol now stands. During his residence in Springfield he conducted a merchant tailoring establishment in connection with a general mercantile store, the latter being in charge of his partner, William S. Hamilton, who was a bachelor and boarded in the Boyd home. During this period of their residence in Illinois a daughter was born to them in 1828, which Mr. Hamilton named for his sister, Angelica H., whom, he claimed, was the best woman inn the world. Mr. Hamilton was a son of the illustrious statesman, Alexander Hamilton, who was killed in a duel by Aaron Burr.
After ten years residence in Springfield, from 1820 until 1830, Mr. Boyd removed northward to a place now known as Boyd's Grove, purchasing a claim which Mr. Dixon had secured there two years before. Mr. Dixon afterward removed farther north to what is now the city of Dixon, but which was then and for many years afterward known as Dixon's Ferry. Boyd's grove was an important station on the stage road from Peoria to Galena, and a postoffice was established there in 1830, which, however, was discontinued after eight years. Mr. Boyd was postmaster during that time. Boyd's Grove was originally in Putnam, county, but in the division of Putnam into Stark, Marshall, Henry and Bureau counties it was included in the last named. About 1830 a stage line was established between Peoria and Galena, four horse coaches making the trip three times weekly. At Boyd's Grove a relay of horses was kept and the stages met here at night to exchanger mail, passengers and horses. Travelers considered themselves fortunate if allowed space enough to lie down on a straw covered floor and were stoyed[sic] as carefully as possible in a large room adjoining the kitchen, in which place Mrs. Boyd and her culinary staff reigned supreme, being always on duty preparing breakfast for the sleepy crowd upon the floor, which meal was served at exactly four A. M., as all must be fed at this hour and started in their different directions. An eventful night was that of February 18, 1832, when between the hours of twelve and one o'clock the house was found to be on fire and the family barely escaped with their lives. This was a very serious calamity in those days, especially in midwinter, for it was twenty miles or more to the nearest neighbor. The family therefore took shelter in a smokehouse, which had fortunately been saved from the flames and in which happened to be some bacon and ham, on which they subsisted until other supplies could be obtained. The next morning the stage came from Peoria, and finding the family in such circumstances, hastened on to Dixon, a distance of fifty miles, with the news of the disaster. Mr. Dixon at once sent some food and clothing to the Boyds, who were thus made as comfortable as possible by the end of the second day. It was necessary that shelter, however, be provided at once for the family, and they decided to build a temporary camp in the woods on low ground near a creek, thus obtaining the hills and trees for shelter. This change was made in about a week and they were safely located in their camp near old Shabbona, a chief of the Winnebagos, and his four wives. The chief never forgot a friend, no matter what his color or condition, and was devoted to the Boyd family. The stage sought out the camp in the woods and there the passengers were provided for in the best possible manner. Mrs. Paddock spent many a happy day at Shabbona's camp, playing and shooting at a mark with the young Indians, and the chieftain would always reward the best marksman with a silver quarter of a dollar. When spring approached the snow began to melt and the Boyd family moved their camp to a hill near by above high watermark. Mr. Boyd and his sons spent the winter in hewing timber for a new home, and when spring came they built a new house on the site of the old one. This was the spring of 1832, and rumors of an Indian uprising having been heard, Shabbona, a friend of the whites, advised them to take all the women and children to the fort, which was done as soon as possible. Mrs. Boyd and the children were sent to Fort Clark (Peoria), while Mr. Boyd and the sons remained at home. The summer passed away without any dangerous results, and in the fall, the Indians having settled down somewhat, Mrs. Boyd and the children returned to Boyd's Grove and she again began to prepare for the accommodation of the passengers on the stage routes.
As the children grew older and the question of educating them became an important one Mr. Boyd built a log schoolhouse in the yard and employed a teacher by the year. This he continued to do for eight years, and Mrs. Paddock remembers with much pleasure her last teacher in this school—the venerable Lucy T. Butler. Mrs. Paddock still has a sampler made under her instruction, on the face of which is wrought in silk the fact that she was six years old. This was embroidered seventy years ago. The difficulty of securing and keeping competent private teachers finally decided Mr. Boyd to sell his farm of twelve hundred acres and move his family to Princeton, which he did in 1842, after twelve years' residence at the grove. He lived thirty-nine years in Princeton, an honored and respected citizen. On the 6th of June, 1872, the fiftieth wedding anniversary of this worthy couple was celebrated by their many friends at an outdoor meeting, nearly all of the old settlers of the county being present, And as a token of respect and friendship Mr. Boyd was presented with a valuable ebony gold headed cane and Mrs. Boyd with an elegant coffee urn, goblets and a sugar bowl suitably engraved. Mr. Boyd was born September 19, 1794, and died November 12, 1881, at the age of eighty-eight, while his wife, who was born February 20, 1796, passed away October 17, 1875, at the age of seventy-nine years.
It will be interesting in this connection to note something of the history of Mrs. Paddock's people. Her parents were Charles S. and Elizabeth (Dixon) Boyd, early settlers of Illinois. They lived for some years in Springfield and thence came to Princeton in 1842. Charles S. Boyd and Elizabeth Dixon were married in New York city, June 6, 1814, by the Rev. Archibald McClay, and seven children were born to them, five sons and two daughters. About fourteen months after the birth of their third son, Nathaniel Boyd, the father, with his brother-in-law, John Dixon, who was the founder of the city of Dixon, Illinois, became imbued with the desire to emigrate to what was then known as the "far west"—an uninhabited and almost unbroken wilderness, the abode of roving tribes of Indians and savage wild beasts. The point they intended to make was the marine settlement, so called from the fact that the first settlers were mariners. This is now the city of Springfield. They left New York city, April 13, 1820, and reached their destination on the 24th of June of the same year, having made the journey with ox teams in seventy-two days, for the roads or trails were impassable for horses. At Pittsburg they bought a flatboat for sixty-five dollars, and putting the teams and all on board, floated down the Ohio river to Shawneetown, where they sold the boat for five dollars, resuming their journey with their teams. After about two months travel they reached their destination.
Mr. Boyd dug the first well and built the first brick chimney in Springfield. His house stood about where the state capitol now stands. During his residence in Springfield he conducted a merchant tailoring establishment in connection with a general mercantile store, the latter being in charge of his partner, William S. Hamilton, who was a bachelor and boarded in the Boyd home. During this period of their residence in Illinois a daughter was born to them in 1828, which Mr. Hamilton named for his sister, Angelica H., whom, he claimed, was the best woman inn the world. Mr. Hamilton was a son of the illustrious statesman, Alexander Hamilton, who was killed in a duel by Aaron Burr.
After ten years residence in Springfield, from 1820 until 1830, Mr. Boyd removed northward to a place now known as Boyd's Grove, purchasing a claim which Mr. Dixon had secured there two years before. Mr. Dixon afterward removed farther north to what is now the city of Dixon, but which was then and for many years afterward known as Dixon's Ferry. Boyd's grove was an important station on the stage road from Peoria to Galena, and a postoffice was established there in 1830, which, however, was discontinued after eight years. Mr. Boyd was postmaster during that time. Boyd's Grove was originally in Putnam, county, but in the division of Putnam into Stark, Marshall, Henry and Bureau counties it was included in the last named. About 1830 a stage line was established between Peoria and Galena, four horse coaches making the trip three times weekly. At Boyd's Grove a relay of horses was kept and the stages met here at night to exchanger mail, passengers and horses. Travelers considered themselves fortunate if allowed space enough to lie down on a straw covered floor and were stoyed[sic] as carefully as possible in a large room adjoining the kitchen, in which place Mrs. Boyd and her culinary staff reigned supreme, being always on duty preparing breakfast for the sleepy crowd upon the floor, which meal was served at exactly four A. M., as all must be fed at this hour and started in their different directions. An eventful night was that of February 18, 1832, when between the hours of twelve and one o'clock the house was found to be on fire and the family barely escaped with their lives. This was a very serious calamity in those days, especially in midwinter, for it was twenty miles or more to the nearest neighbor. The family therefore took shelter in a smokehouse, which had fortunately been saved from the flames and in which happened to be some bacon and ham, on which they subsisted until other supplies could be obtained. The next morning the stage came from Peoria, and finding the family in such circumstances, hastened on to Dixon, a distance of fifty miles, with the news of the disaster. Mr. Dixon at once sent some food and clothing to the Boyds, who were thus made as comfortable as possible by the end of the second day. It was necessary that shelter, however, be provided at once for the family, and they decided to build a temporary camp in the woods on low ground near a creek, thus obtaining the hills and trees for shelter. This change was made in about a week and they were safely located in their camp near old Shabbona, a chief of the Winnebagos, and his four wives. The chief never forgot a friend, no matter what his color or condition, and was devoted to the Boyd family. The stage sought out the camp in the woods and there the passengers were provided for in the best possible manner. Mrs. Paddock spent many a happy day at Shabbona's camp, playing and shooting at a mark with the young Indians, and the chieftain would always reward the best marksman with a silver quarter of a dollar. When spring approached the snow began to melt and the Boyd family moved their camp to a hill near by above high watermark. Mr. Boyd and his sons spent the winter in hewing timber for a new home, and when spring came they built a new house on the site of the old one. This was the spring of 1832, and rumors of an Indian uprising having been heard, Shabbona, a friend of the whites, advised them to take all the women and children to the fort, which was done as soon as possible. Mrs. Boyd and the children were sent to Fort Clark (Peoria), while Mr. Boyd and the sons remained at home. The summer passed away without any dangerous results, and in the fall, the Indians having settled down somewhat, Mrs. Boyd and the children returned to Boyd's Grove and she again began to prepare for the accommodation of the passengers on the stage routes.
As the children grew older and the question of educating them became an important one Mr. Boyd built a log schoolhouse in the yard and employed a teacher by the year. This he continued to do for eight years, and Mrs. Paddock remembers with much pleasure her last teacher in this school—the venerable Lucy T. Butler. Mrs. Paddock still has a sampler made under her instruction, on the face of which is wrought in silk the fact that she was six years old. This was embroidered seventy years ago. The difficulty of securing and keeping competent private teachers finally decided Mr. Boyd to sell his farm of twelve hundred acres and move his family to Princeton, which he did in 1842, after twelve years' residence at the grove. He lived thirty-nine years in Princeton, an honored and respected citizen. On the 6th of June, 1872, the fiftieth wedding anniversary of this worthy couple was celebrated by their many friends at an outdoor meeting, nearly all of the old settlers of the county being present, And as a token of respect and friendship Mr. Boyd was presented with a valuable ebony gold headed cane and Mrs. Boyd with an elegant coffee urn, goblets and a sugar bowl suitably engraved. Mr. Boyd was born September 19, 1794, and died November 12, 1881, at the age of eighty-eight, while his wife, who was born February 20, 1796, passed away October 17, 1875, at the age of seventy-nine years.
He married Elizabeth Dixon in June 1814. In April, 1830, having bought Dixon'c claim at the grove moved his family and resided there for 14 years. A Post Office named Boyd's Grove was established here. There nearest neighbors in 1830 were Henry Thomas 16 miles to the north and J.B. Meredith 20 miles to the south. During the Black Hawk war Charles stayed on the homestead with his three sons to raise the crop; while all the County residence fled to safety.
It will be interesting in this connection to note something of the history of Mrs. Paddock's people. Her parents were Charles S. and Elizabeth (Dixon) Boyd, early settlers of Illinois. They lived for some years in Springfield and thence came to Princeton in 1842. Charles S. Boyd and Elizabeth Dixon were married in New York city, June 6, 1814, by the Rev. Archibald McClay, and seven children were born to them, five sons and two daughters. About fourteen months after the birth of their third son, Nathaniel Boyd, the father, with his brother-in-law, John Dixon, who was the founder of the city of Dixon, Illinois, became imbued with the desire to emigrate to what was then known as the "far west"—an uninhabited and almost unbroken wilderness, the abode of roving tribes of Indians and savage wild beasts. The point they intended to make was the marine settlement, so called from the fact that the first settlers were mariners. This is now the city of Springfield. They left New York city, April 13, 1820, and reached their destination on the 24th of June of the same year, having made the journey with ox teams in seventy-two days, for the roads or trails were impassable for horses. At Pittsburg they bought a flatboat for sixty-five dollars, and putting the teams and all on board, floated down the Ohio river to Shawneetown, where they sold the boat for five dollars, resuming their journey with their teams. After about two months travel they reached their destination.
Mr. Boyd dug the first well and built the first brick chimney in Springfield. His house stood about where the state capitol now stands. During his residence in Springfield he conducted a merchant tailoring establishment in connection with a general mercantile store, the latter being in charge of his partner, William S. Hamilton, who was a bachelor and boarded in the Boyd home. During this period of their residence in Illinois a daughter was born to them in 1828, which Mr. Hamilton named for his sister, Angelica H., whom, he claimed, was the best woman inn the world. Mr. Hamilton was a son of the illustrious statesman, Alexander Hamilton, who was killed in a duel by Aaron Burr.
After ten years residence in Springfield, from 1820 until 1830, Mr. Boyd removed northward to a place now known as Boyd's Grove, purchasing a claim which Mr. Dixon had secured there two years before. Mr. Dixon afterward removed farther north to what is now the city of Dixon, but which was then and for many years afterward known as Dixon's Ferry. Boyd's grove was an important station on the stage road from Peoria to Galena, and a postoffice was established there in 1830, which, however, was discontinued after eight years. Mr. Boyd was postmaster during that time. Boyd's Grove was originally in Putnam, county, but in the division of Putnam into Stark, Marshall, Henry and Bureau counties it was included in the last named. About 1830 a stage line was established between Peoria and Galena, four horse coaches making the trip three times weekly. At Boyd's Grove a relay of horses was kept and the stages met here at night to exchanger mail, passengers and horses. Travelers considered themselves fortunate if allowed space enough to lie down on a straw covered floor and were stoyed[sic] as carefully as possible in a large room adjoining the kitchen, in which place Mrs. Boyd and her culinary staff reigned supreme, being always on duty preparing breakfast for the sleepy crowd upon the floor, which meal was served at exactly four A. M., as all must be fed at this hour and started in their different directions. An eventful night was that of February 18, 1832, when between the hours of twelve and one o'clock the house was found to be on fire and the family barely escaped with their lives. This was a very serious calamity in those days, especially in midwinter, for it was twenty miles or more to the nearest neighbor. The family therefore took shelter in a smokehouse, which had fortunately been saved from the flames and in which happened to be some bacon and ham, on which they subsisted until other supplies could be obtained. The next morning the stage came from Peoria, and finding the family in such circumstances, hastened on to Dixon, a distance of fifty miles, with the news of the disaster. Mr. Dixon at once sent some food and clothing to the Boyds, who were thus made as comfortable as possible by the end of the second day. It was necessary that shelter, however, be provided at once for the family, and they decided to build a temporary camp in the woods on low ground near a creek, thus obtaining the hills and trees for shelter. This change was made in about a week and they were safely located in their camp near old Shabbona, a chief of the Winnebagos, and his four wives. The chief never forgot a friend, no matter what his color or condition, and was devoted to the Boyd family. The stage sought out the camp in the woods and there the passengers were provided for in the best possible manner. Mrs. Paddock spent many a happy day at Shabbona's camp, playing and shooting at a mark with the young Indians, and the chieftain would always reward the best marksman with a silver quarter of a dollar. When spring approached the snow began to melt and the Boyd family moved their camp to a hill near by above high watermark. Mr. Boyd and his sons spent the winter in hewing timber for a new home, and when spring came they built a new house on the site of the old one. This was the spring of 1832, and rumors of an Indian uprising having been heard, Shabbona, a friend of the whites, advised them to take all the women and children to the fort, which was done as soon as possible. Mrs. Boyd and the children were sent to Fort Clark (Peoria), while Mr. Boyd and the sons remained at home. The summer passed away without any dangerous results, and in the fall, the Indians having settled down somewhat, Mrs. Boyd and the children returned to Boyd's Grove and she again began to prepare for the accommodation of the passengers on the stage routes.
As the children grew older and the question of educating them became an important one Mr. Boyd built a log schoolhouse in the yard and employed a teacher by the year. This he continued to do for eight years, and Mrs. Paddock remembers with much pleasure her last teacher in this school—the venerable Lucy T. Butler. Mrs. Paddock still has a sampler made under her instruction, on the face of which is wrought in silk the fact that she was six years old. This was embroidered seventy years ago. The difficulty of securing and keeping competent private teachers finally decided Mr. Boyd to sell his farm of twelve hundred acres and move his family to Princeton, which he did in 1842, after twelve years' residence at the grove. He lived thirty-nine years in Princeton, an honored and respected citizen. On the 6th of June, 1872, the fiftieth wedding anniversary of this worthy couple was celebrated by their many friends at an outdoor meeting, nearly all of the old settlers of the county being present, And as a token of respect and friendship Mr. Boyd was presented with a valuable ebony gold headed cane and Mrs. Boyd with an elegant coffee urn, goblets and a sugar bowl suitably engraved. Mr. Boyd was born September 19, 1794, and died November 12, 1881, at the age of eighty-eight, while his wife, who was born February 20, 1796, passed away October 17, 1875, at the age of seventy-nine years.
It will be interesting in this connection to note something of the history of Mrs. Paddock's people. Her parents were Charles S. and Elizabeth (Dixon) Boyd, early settlers of Illinois. They lived for some years in Springfield and thence came to Princeton in 1842. Charles S. Boyd and Elizabeth Dixon were married in New York city, June 6, 1814, by the Rev. Archibald McClay, and seven children were born to them, five sons and two daughters. About fourteen months after the birth of their third son, Nathaniel Boyd, the father, with his brother-in-law, John Dixon, who was the founder of the city of Dixon, Illinois, became imbued with the desire to emigrate to what was then known as the "far west"—an uninhabited and almost unbroken wilderness, the abode of roving tribes of Indians and savage wild beasts. The point they intended to make was the marine settlement, so called from the fact that the first settlers were mariners. This is now the city of Springfield. They left New York city, April 13, 1820, and reached their destination on the 24th of June of the same year, having made the journey with ox teams in seventy-two days, for the roads or trails were impassable for horses. At Pittsburg they bought a flatboat for sixty-five dollars, and putting the teams and all on board, floated down the Ohio river to Shawneetown, where they sold the boat for five dollars, resuming their journey with their teams. After about two months travel they reached their destination.
Mr. Boyd dug the first well and built the first brick chimney in Springfield. His house stood about where the state capitol now stands. During his residence in Springfield he conducted a merchant tailoring establishment in connection with a general mercantile store, the latter being in charge of his partner, William S. Hamilton, who was a bachelor and boarded in the Boyd home. During this period of their residence in Illinois a daughter was born to them in 1828, which Mr. Hamilton named for his sister, Angelica H., whom, he claimed, was the best woman inn the world. Mr. Hamilton was a son of the illustrious statesman, Alexander Hamilton, who was killed in a duel by Aaron Burr.
After ten years residence in Springfield, from 1820 until 1830, Mr. Boyd removed northward to a place now known as Boyd's Grove, purchasing a claim which Mr. Dixon had secured there two years before. Mr. Dixon afterward removed farther north to what is now the city of Dixon, but which was then and for many years afterward known as Dixon's Ferry. Boyd's grove was an important station on the stage road from Peoria to Galena, and a postoffice was established there in 1830, which, however, was discontinued after eight years. Mr. Boyd was postmaster during that time. Boyd's Grove was originally in Putnam, county, but in the division of Putnam into Stark, Marshall, Henry and Bureau counties it was included in the last named. About 1830 a stage line was established between Peoria and Galena, four horse coaches making the trip three times weekly. At Boyd's Grove a relay of horses was kept and the stages met here at night to exchanger mail, passengers and horses. Travelers considered themselves fortunate if allowed space enough to lie down on a straw covered floor and were stoyed[sic] as carefully as possible in a large room adjoining the kitchen, in which place Mrs. Boyd and her culinary staff reigned supreme, being always on duty preparing breakfast for the sleepy crowd upon the floor, which meal was served at exactly four A. M., as all must be fed at this hour and started in their different directions. An eventful night was that of February 18, 1832, when between the hours of twelve and one o'clock the house was found to be on fire and the family barely escaped with their lives. This was a very serious calamity in those days, especially in midwinter, for it was twenty miles or more to the nearest neighbor. The family therefore took shelter in a smokehouse, which had fortunately been saved from the flames and in which happened to be some bacon and ham, on which they subsisted until other supplies could be obtained. The next morning the stage came from Peoria, and finding the family in such circumstances, hastened on to Dixon, a distance of fifty miles, with the news of the disaster. Mr. Dixon at once sent some food and clothing to the Boyds, who were thus made as comfortable as possible by the end of the second day. It was necessary that shelter, however, be provided at once for the family, and they decided to build a temporary camp in the woods on low ground near a creek, thus obtaining the hills and trees for shelter. This change was made in about a week and they were safely located in their camp near old Shabbona, a chief of the Winnebagos, and his four wives. The chief never forgot a friend, no matter what his color or condition, and was devoted to the Boyd family. The stage sought out the camp in the woods and there the passengers were provided for in the best possible manner. Mrs. Paddock spent many a happy day at Shabbona's camp, playing and shooting at a mark with the young Indians, and the chieftain would always reward the best marksman with a silver quarter of a dollar. When spring approached the snow began to melt and the Boyd family moved their camp to a hill near by above high watermark. Mr. Boyd and his sons spent the winter in hewing timber for a new home, and when spring came they built a new house on the site of the old one. This was the spring of 1832, and rumors of an Indian uprising having been heard, Shabbona, a friend of the whites, advised them to take all the women and children to the fort, which was done as soon as possible. Mrs. Boyd and the children were sent to Fort Clark (Peoria), while Mr. Boyd and the sons remained at home. The summer passed away without any dangerous results, and in the fall, the Indians having settled down somewhat, Mrs. Boyd and the children returned to Boyd's Grove and she again began to prepare for the accommodation of the passengers on the stage routes.
As the children grew older and the question of educating them became an important one Mr. Boyd built a log schoolhouse in the yard and employed a teacher by the year. This he continued to do for eight years, and Mrs. Paddock remembers with much pleasure her last teacher in this school—the venerable Lucy T. Butler. Mrs. Paddock still has a sampler made under her instruction, on the face of which is wrought in silk the fact that she was six years old. This was embroidered seventy years ago. The difficulty of securing and keeping competent private teachers finally decided Mr. Boyd to sell his farm of twelve hundred acres and move his family to Princeton, which he did in 1842, after twelve years' residence at the grove. He lived thirty-nine years in Princeton, an honored and respected citizen. On the 6th of June, 1872, the fiftieth wedding anniversary of this worthy couple was celebrated by their many friends at an outdoor meeting, nearly all of the old settlers of the county being present, And as a token of respect and friendship Mr. Boyd was presented with a valuable ebony gold headed cane and Mrs. Boyd with an elegant coffee urn, goblets and a sugar bowl suitably engraved. Mr. Boyd was born September 19, 1794, and died November 12, 1881, at the age of eighty-eight, while his wife, who was born February 20, 1796, passed away October 17, 1875, at the age of seventy-nine years.
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