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WILLIAM M. CONNELY
farmer and stock-raiser, P. O. Westfield, is one of the oldest
residents of the township, having been identified with its interest since the fall of 1832.
He was born February 7, 1822, in Lawrence County, Ind., and is
the third son of Josiah Connely, a native of Ashe County, N. C., whose father, John
Connely, came from Ireland to North Carolina, and raised
a family of several children, six sons and three daughters. The sons were: William,
John,
Elijah,
Josiah,
Edmond and
Joel, all of whom, with the daughters, were raised in North Carolina;
Josiah removed to Indiana at an early day, locating in Lawrence,
and entered land here; he was three times married, first to Sallie
Miller, who bore him three children: - Josiah, Demiah and Sallie, all now
deceased. His second wife was Sallie E. Terrill; by her he had the following: Nancy, Joel A., Elizabeth, William M., Josiah, Timothy H., Temperance and Judah. Of this number is our subject, William
M., who was a mere lad when he came to the county with
his parents. His father was one of the pioneers of the township, and in early life our subject was inured to farm
labor, and before coming to his majority he formed a matrimonial alliance with Sallie
Robinson, who was born in Edgar County in 1825, and was
a daughter of Richard
and Sallie Robinson
she died in 1852, having borne him five children - Elizabeth, Edmond R., Sallie, Emily and Nancy; Elizabeth married William
Rush; Sallie, I.
N. Bean; Emily, John
F. Barbee; Nancy, Benjamin
F. Perry, all of whom reside in this township. Shortly
after his marriage, he moved on the place he now owns, Section 3, locating on land his father had entered. He was
married, in 1855, to Lydia Hammond, who was born August 22, 1834, a daughter of Alanson
Hammond. By this marriage five children were born - Amanda Lydia, Josiah, Alanson and Francis.
Mr. Connely has given his attention to farming pursuits, having
been successful in his business. He has made several trips to California, first in 1849, going with an ox team
which required six months to make the trip returning in 1851. In 1859, he went out to Pike's Peak, and was one
of the delegates assisted in organizing the Territory. In 1864, he organized a company of men and went to Idaho
and California, and in 1867 made another trip to Pike's Peak, this time took five men.
Mr. Connely has farmed quite largely, and has opened up seven farms
on this prairie. He had 1200 acres of land before making any division. Has now over 600 acres. In politics, he
is Democratic, and a member of the Masonic fraternity, being affiliated with Westfield Lodge.
ALFRED G. COWDEN
The subject of this sketch is the second son of James and Elizabeth Cowden,
he was born in Knox County, Ohio, June 8, 1834 ; removed with his parents to Clark County, Ill., in the year 1839,
and lived on a farm the greater part of his life ; received a liberal common school education, and by close application
to his studies was able to pass a successful examination, and began teaching in the year 1856 in the Martinsville
district, where he first learned his letters in the year 1840, sixteen years prior to the time he taught his first
school. Since that time he has taught twenty-four terms of school in the county, fifteen of which he taught in
Melrose Township ;
he has passed successful examinations under the supervision of
all the County Superintendents of Schools since 1856, and has kept pace, and by dint of hard study has been able
to hold an honorable place with the craft, and a first-grade certificate.
In politics he is a Republican, and early in life denounced human
slavery in all its forms as a sin against God and man, and cast his first vote for the Pathfinder for President
(1856), and since that time has espoused the cause of Republicanism.
He was married, April 1859, to Margaret
Wells, the youngest daughter of Nathan Wells, of the town
Melrose, she then being in her eighteenth year, having been born in the year 1841, in Melrose.
six children being the result of this union:
Emma F.,
born February 2, 1860, and in her sixteenth year was a teacher the common schools ; she was married July 14 1878,
to Charles Hodges,
and resides in Merose Township on a farm.
Nora
was born May 17, 1862, and is now a teacher in the common schools ;
Minnie A.
was born November 15, 1866 ;
Ola
was born March 3 1869 : May was born March 20, 1871 ;
Nettie C.
was born August 31, 1874,
there having been no deaths in the family of either parents or
children.
He has held all the offices in the township, and was never defeated;
was elected Justice of the Peace in the year 1876, and re-elected in the year 1881.
He resides on a farm on Section 8, in Melrose Township, is a successful
farmer and stock raiser, teaching in the winter months.
He was representative to the Grand Lodge of I. 0.
O. F. for eight
consecutive sessions.
James Cowden,
who now resides with his son, A. G. Cowden, on Section 8, Melrose Township, Clark Co., Ill., was born in Loudoun County,
Va, March 26, A. D. 1805 ; emigrated with his parents in his early boyhood days to licking County, Ohio, where
he received a liberal common school education. His parents were of English stock. He chose farming and teaching
as an occupation, and became inured to all the hardships of a pioneer life.
Was married in the year 1826 to Elizabeth
Goff, who was, strictly speaking, of pure Yankee extraction,
having been born and reared in Rutland County, Vt., her parents being of English extraction. She was born November
6, 1802. Died August 12, 1866.
She was a good scholar ; early espoused the doctrines of Methodism,
and was unflinching in her religious belief. Her oldest brother, Abner
Goff, was a noted pioneer Methodist preacher.
Seven children were the result of this union - four sons and three
daughters.
Angelina,
the oldest, was born December 9, 1827, married to A. J.
Howerton in 1845, died March 29, 1865, leaving a large
family of children, all of whom are now living save one.
Caroline,
the next in age, was born June 29, 1829, and is still living with her husband, William
Cox, and family, in the city of Lockport, Will Co., Ill.,
their family consisting of one son, James A. Cox.
Abner G.,
the third in age, was born December 30, 1831 ; died October 15, 1855 ; he was single at the time.
Benson L.
was born September 17,1836, died February 28, 1858, he was unmarried.
James Orin
was born January 10, 1839, died September 10,1843.
Almira M. was
born November 8, 1841, and is still living with her husband, John
0. Elston, in Anderson Township, and is, the mother of
four children, namely, Frank G., James D., Leroy and Maud. All the children of James Cowden, with the exception of Almira, were born
in the State of Ohio.
In the fall of the year 1839, he removed to Clark County, Ill.,
and bought Government land near Martinsville. At that time Clark County was almost an unbroken wilderness. Four
or five log houses constituted the village of Martinsville, which was then the business center for the inhabitants
of the surrounding forests ; wild deer would occasionally gallop through town chased by some hunter's hound. James
Cowden has killed ninety-six deer with one gun ; they were so plentiful that it required but little effort to secure
a buck. In the year 1848, he settled on Section 16, in Melrose Township, and made a farm in the timber, where he
resided till the year 1866 ; since that time he has resided with his son, A.
G. Cowden, and is at this time hale and strong, though
in his seventy-ninth year ; he was the first Supervisor of Melrose Township, after the adoption of township organization.
His parents' history in brief : David
Cowden was born September 7, 1785, died April 5, 1839,
aged fifty-three years. Rebecca Cowden was born February 28, 1785; died July 16,1855, aged seventy years ; they were born
and resided in Loudoun County, Va.
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