David Bobb, one of the earliest settlers oF Stephenson County, occupies a comfortable homestead near the village of Orangeville, in Oneco Township, where he has for the last forty-two years been pursuing the even tenor of his way as an intelligent and industrious farmer and law-abiding citizen. He has lived to witness the remarkable growth and development of the country around him and to rejoice in the prosperity of his adopted State.

Our subject was born May 18, 1813, in that part of Union County now included in Snyder County, Pa. His father, Peter Bobb, was also a native of the Keystone State, while his grandfather, Conrad Bobb, was of German birth. The latter emigrated to America with his parents when seven years of age. The family located in Pennsylvania, where Conrad grew to manhood and was married to an American lady. He was one of the pioneers of Union County, settling on a tract of land which was afterward a part of Beaver Township in Snyder County. He felled the forest, cleared a farm from the wilderness, and there spent the remainder of his life. Among his sons and daughters was Peter, the father of our subject, who spent his entire life in his native county, settling upon the farm after his marriage and remaining there the rest of his days. He was married to Miss Wilhelmina Hassinger, who was a native of Beaver Township, and the daughter of Daniel Hassinger, of German ancestry. She also died on the old homestead in Pennsylvania.

The subject of this history was reared to farming pursuits, attended the district school during the winter season, and remained a member of his father’s household until his marriage. He then rented the home farm, which he occupied until the spring of 1845. The reports which now came from the rapidly growing State of Illinois decided him to seek its borders, and in the fall of the year mentioned he started with his wife and six children for Stephenson County. Their outfit consisted of a wagon and one pair of horses, and they carried their provisions and household goods, camping out at night and cooking by the wayside. The journey, however, was not without its pleasures, as they were accompanied by a number of families from their old neighborhood in Pennsylvania, which formed quite a gay and cheerful colony, laughing at difficulties and hopeful of the future. The journey occupied six weeks less one day. Mr. Bobb landed in this country with a cash capital of $1,100, located on a tract of land in Buckeye Township and proceeded to establish his home. He first entered forty acres on section 10 and afterward purchased 280 acres on sections 3 and 23. On section 3 there stood a log cabin. The family sojourned at Orangeville until spring, when they took possession of the cabin and occupied it for several years thereafter. The nearest markets were at the mining town of Galena and at Chicago. Mr. Bobb took one load of wheat to the latter place which was then an unimportant town. The round trip consumed eight days and his wheat only brought sixty cents per bushel. He sold dressed pork at the mines for two and a half cents per pound, taking his pay in trade. He, in common with his brother pioneers, in due time mastered all these difficulties, brought his land to a good state if improvement and built up four different homesteads in this county, and now lives, like the patriarchs of old, surrounded by his children and enjoying the love and respect of many friends.

David Bobb was married, Jan. 11, 1835, to Miss Eliza Bingman, who was born in Snyder County, Pa., Sept. 29, 1815. The record of the ten children who filled the household circle is as follows: Isaac is farming in Oneco Township; Daniel B. (see sketch elsewhere), is a practicing physician of Dakota; Amelia, the wife of Jonathan Gross, is a resident of Osceola County, Iowa; Reuben is farming in Buckeye Township; Allen lives in Jasper County, Mo.; Sarah A. is the wife of A. P. Haupt, of Cleveland, Ohio; Emma married M. J. Bolender, a prosperous farmer of Buckeye Township, of which Aaron F. is also a resident; Mary became the wife of Wallace Shipton, and is now deceased; Delia, Mrs. J. H. Miller, is a resident of Orangeville. Mr. Bobb, politically, is a straight Republican, and in religion is a member in good standing of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

Contributed by Carole Parrish - Portrait and Biographical Album of Stephenson County, Ill.