A large proportion of the pioneers of Stephenson County came from across the sea, and from their experience in the mother country were admirably calculated to contend with the difficulties of life on a new continent. They have properly placed themselves among our best and most reliable citizens, and can boast an ancestry of which they may well be proud as having possessed the stern and sturdy character so necessary to success on a strange soil and in an undeveloped country.

The youth and early manhood of our subject were passed among the hills of Sussex County, England, where he imbibed healthy morals and was trained by his excellent parents to habits of industry and economy. His birth took place Jan. 24, 1815. His father, William Daws, and his grandfather, Frank Daws, were natives of the same locality, the latter being a farmer and gardener, and spending his entire life in the rural districts. William Daws also followed agriculture in England until 1841, and on the 7th of May of that year bade adieu to old friends and associations and embarked with his family for the New World. After a voyage of eight weeks on a sailing-vessel they landed in Quebec, Canada, and from there at once proceeded westward to Jefferson County, N. Y. The father of our subject followed farming there for three years, and then started for the West, which journey was made partly by the lakes and partly overland. He first located in Rock County, Wis., but a year later, not being satisfied with the outlook in that vicinity, he hired a team and came to this county, the family having preceded him six months. He worked land on shares two years, and in the meantime made a claim on section 31 of what is now West Point Township, but of which he did not take possession till 1847. Afterward he brought his land to a good state of cultivation and remained there until retiring from active labor. Finally he removed to Lena, where his death took place Feb. 3, 1870. The mother of our subject in her maidenhood was Miss Mary Davis, also born in Sussexshire. She came to this country with her husband and family, and died at Lena March 23, 1867. Of her marriage with William Daws there were born six children, one dying in infancy. Four sons and one daughter came with them to America, locating in Stephenson County, Ill.

Thomas Daws, of our sketch, the eldest child of his parents, was reared to farming pursuits and early became acquainted with the duties and responsibilities of life as his father possessed but modest means, and the children’s labor was made available at an early age. He was married in his native county, in 1837, to Miss Charlotte Neves, also a native of that county, and born Jan. 11, 1818. Mr. Daws remained in England until the spring of 1841, when in company with his father’s family he set sail for the United States, having then three children. After leaving Quebec they went up into New York, whence after three years Mr. Daws came to this county and made a claim to the land which constitutes his present homestead. Although not considering it advisable to settle upon it at once, he determined to remove his family to this vicinity, and accordingly returned to Wisconsin for that purpose. The household goods were loaded on a wagon, and with a team of oxen they set out, following a track across the unbroken prairie, and in due time, after a journey of three days, reached their destination. Mr. Daws, as soon as possible, provided a shelter for his family, and rented a tract of land not far from his purchase. In the fall of 1845, he erected a small log cabin upon the land, to which he had now obtained a title, and commenced its cultivation. He has had an intimate acquaintance with the difficulties and hardships of pioneer life, but has prospered in his labors and now possesses a good homestead, including 120 acres conveniently laid off for grain fields and pasture lands. The first humble dwelling has been replaced by a modern frame structure, while his barns and other buildings are of substantial character and well adapted to the purposes for which they are intended. Upon the farm there is a good orchard, and around the residence choice fruit and shade trees. Mr. Daws, in 1862, purchased forty acres of good land in Kent Township, and has also a quarter section in Guthrie County, Iowa. He has given considerable attention to the breeding of swine, being one of the first men to introduce the full-blooded Poland-Chinas into this section. His pork product each year yields him a handsome sum, and at the county fairs he invariably carries off a large share of the blue ribbons.

Of the twelve children born to our subject and his wife the record is as follows: Thomas is farming in Howard County, Iowa, of which State Ann, the wife of B. F. Wire, is also a resident, living on a farm with her husband in Guthrie County; Henry is farming in West Point Township. These three were born in England. Alfred is with his brother and sister in Iowa; Sarah married Eliab Meyers, and lives in Shelby County, Iowa; Margaret, the wife of Aaron Kleckner, lives with her husband in Kent Township; Carrie, Mrs. Silas Graves, Elias and Charles are in Shelby County, Iowa; Ida married Harry Royal, of West Point Township; Martha and Retta died in early childhood, and were laid away by their sorrowing parents in the cemetery near the homestead.

Contributed by Carole Parrish - Portrait and Biographical Album of Stephenson County, Ill. (1888