Cornelius, Jr. (1804-1868), moved from Kentucky to Clark County, Indiana where he met and married Mary Barbara Ashabrenna in 1825. She would have been about 15 years of age, Cornelius about 21. Mary Barbara (1810-1900) was born in North Carolina on May 21, reportedly of Pennsylvania Dutch parents who left for the northwest frontier in 1819. Cornelius and Mary Barbara had at least one daughter, Margaret, while living in Indiana.
In the year 1818, the Illinois territory had achieved statehood, despite having less than the required 60,000 inhabitants needed for statehood. One of the earliest settlements in Central Illinois was Stout's Grove.
The community of Stout's Grove was founded in 1825 by Ephraim Stout. The Stouts lived on their farm for many years, building a mill in about 1830, "which was for many years a favorite resort of the settlers every Saturday…to tell the news to each other and talk over the affairs of the neighborhood." Reportedly, he and his family later moved to Oregon. His brother, Hosea Stout, was the second school teacher in the area. He later converted to Mormonism, moved to Nauvoo, Illinois, and later Salt Lake City, Utah, and became one of Brigham Young's 12 Apostles.
In 1830 the Old Northwest Territory was comprised of the three states of Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, as well as the Wisconsin and Michigan Territories and had a combined population of 1,470,081. It was the timber groves, not the prairie, which attracted early settlers to the McLean County area. The grove acted like an oasis in the desert of prairie grass that the pioneers had been traveling through. The timber areas provided the settlers with materials to make tools, construct homes, and erect churches and businesses. The most important timber in McLean County was Stout's Grove and it attracted early settlers who located along the south and east sides of the Grove.
Until 1831 the settlers had a variety of game. Prairie chickens and wild turkeys were plentiful and wildcats and wolves were so common that they were often seen during the daytime, within fifty yards of the houses. A widely used trail was originally called the Old Indian Trail, later Old State Road. Most of the people who lived along the Indian Trail were of Scotch, Irish or English descent. There were few settlers of German descent at this time. This road later was called the Peoria Road and connected Bloomington and Peoria.
In September of 1832, an order came down from Washington for all Indians in the area to move to their lands west of the city of St. Louis. Most of the Indians at that time were of the Kickapoo and Potawatomi tribes.
It was during this time that Cornelius and his family settled in McLean County, Illinois, where they began farming near Lexington, Illinois, and had nine children. According to family history, they also ran an inn and tavern for the accommodation of the stagecoach travelers on the Old State Road (Old Indian Trail) between Bloomington and Peoria but as of yet, there is no verification of this report. The only inn/tavern on a stagecoach line that can yet be verified, the Wayside Inn, belongs to Alvin Goodenough, a settler from Massachusetts.
In September of 1836, just southeast of Stout's Grove in Dry Grove Township, the towns of Concord (later renamed Danvers) and Wilkesborough were established as speculative ventures. Less than a mile apart from each other, these two towns spent the next two decades battling for inhabitants and commerce. Wilkesborough flourished for a while and had 70 lots, including a village common or square, a post office, blacksmith shop, and a store. In 1837, there was a national depression and many McLean County communities collapsed. Those towns which managed to survive grew slowly, attracting few residents or businesses.
Cornelius is listed on the IL McLean County 1840 Federal Census, for the first time, as Cornelius Bess. According to the Census, he was between 40 and 49 years of age, with a male under the age of 5, two females under 5, two females between 5 and 9, and one female between the ages of 40 - 49. His occupation is listed as ‘agriculture.' According to a descendent of theirs, the Best surname changed to Bess after ‘some kind of scandal back in Kentucky', but there is no verifiable information on this as yet.
Within 30 years, between 1830 and 1860, the population of the Northwest Territory had grown to nearly 7 million. Immigration was responsible for this increase, with most people coming from the South or the eastern United States, but large numbers also appearing from Ireland and the Germanic states.
About 1850, according to family history, Cornelius and Mary Barbara cleared and farmed land purchased from the Government in the NE corner of Section 18, in Danvers Township, later known as the Robert Kaufman farm. According to the 1850 Federal Census of Dry Grove Township, McLean County, Cornelius and Mary Barbara are listed as farmers, with seven children. Their son, Jackson, our great-grandfather, was 7. Other children included Margaret, 21, who had been born in Indiana, George W, age 19, Sarah J, age 18, Elizabeth 9, Catherine 6, Allan 5, Marion 3, and Moses 1.
In 1860 the family is listed in the Census as living in Danvers Township, with the post office being at Stouts' Grove. They have seven children, a real estate value of $600, and personal estate value of $300. The innkeeper, Alvin Goodenough, appears listed directly after the Bess family in this Census where both he and Cornelius are listed as Farmers. The Census reports Cornelius and Mary as both being 53 years of age (ages listed in Census Reports seem to be notoriously inaccurate). George is now 27, Elizabeth is 20, Jackson is 19, Catherine is 17, Allen is 16, Marion is 13, and Moses is 10. Soon, Andrew Jackson and his brother, Allen, will be recruits in Co. D, 3 IL Cavalry and fighting in the Civil War. Sarah has probably married Mr. Jacob Irons and is living in Congerville. In those days of no doctors, Mary's medical remedies and nursing skills were known and appreciated by many of her neighbors, it is reported.
In the year 1818, the Illinois territory had achieved statehood, despite having less than the required 60,000 inhabitants needed for statehood. One of the earliest settlements in Central Illinois was Stout's Grove.
The community of Stout's Grove was founded in 1825 by Ephraim Stout. The Stouts lived on their farm for many years, building a mill in about 1830, "which was for many years a favorite resort of the settlers every Saturday…to tell the news to each other and talk over the affairs of the neighborhood." Reportedly, he and his family later moved to Oregon. His brother, Hosea Stout, was the second school teacher in the area. He later converted to Mormonism, moved to Nauvoo, Illinois, and later Salt Lake City, Utah, and became one of Brigham Young's 12 Apostles.
In 1830 the Old Northwest Territory was comprised of the three states of Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, as well as the Wisconsin and Michigan Territories and had a combined population of 1,470,081. It was the timber groves, not the prairie, which attracted early settlers to the McLean County area. The grove acted like an oasis in the desert of prairie grass that the pioneers had been traveling through. The timber areas provided the settlers with materials to make tools, construct homes, and erect churches and businesses. The most important timber in McLean County was Stout's Grove and it attracted early settlers who located along the south and east sides of the Grove.
Until 1831 the settlers had a variety of game. Prairie chickens and wild turkeys were plentiful and wildcats and wolves were so common that they were often seen during the daytime, within fifty yards of the houses. A widely used trail was originally called the Old Indian Trail, later Old State Road. Most of the people who lived along the Indian Trail were of Scotch, Irish or English descent. There were few settlers of German descent at this time. This road later was called the Peoria Road and connected Bloomington and Peoria.
In September of 1832, an order came down from Washington for all Indians in the area to move to their lands west of the city of St. Louis. Most of the Indians at that time were of the Kickapoo and Potawatomi tribes.
It was during this time that Cornelius and his family settled in McLean County, Illinois, where they began farming near Lexington, Illinois, and had nine children. According to family history, they also ran an inn and tavern for the accommodation of the stagecoach travelers on the Old State Road (Old Indian Trail) between Bloomington and Peoria but as of yet, there is no verification of this report. The only inn/tavern on a stagecoach line that can yet be verified, the Wayside Inn, belongs to Alvin Goodenough, a settler from Massachusetts.
In September of 1836, just southeast of Stout's Grove in Dry Grove Township, the towns of Concord (later renamed Danvers) and Wilkesborough were established as speculative ventures. Less than a mile apart from each other, these two towns spent the next two decades battling for inhabitants and commerce. Wilkesborough flourished for a while and had 70 lots, including a village common or square, a post office, blacksmith shop, and a store. In 1837, there was a national depression and many McLean County communities collapsed. Those towns which managed to survive grew slowly, attracting few residents or businesses.
Cornelius is listed on the IL McLean County 1840 Federal Census, for the first time, as Cornelius Bess. According to the Census, he was between 40 and 49 years of age, with a male under the age of 5, two females under 5, two females between 5 and 9, and one female between the ages of 40 - 49. His occupation is listed as ‘agriculture.' According to a descendent of theirs, the Best surname changed to Bess after ‘some kind of scandal back in Kentucky', but there is no verifiable information on this as yet.
Within 30 years, between 1830 and 1860, the population of the Northwest Territory had grown to nearly 7 million. Immigration was responsible for this increase, with most people coming from the South or the eastern United States, but large numbers also appearing from Ireland and the Germanic states.
About 1850, according to family history, Cornelius and Mary Barbara cleared and farmed land purchased from the Government in the NE corner of Section 18, in Danvers Township, later known as the Robert Kaufman farm. According to the 1850 Federal Census of Dry Grove Township, McLean County, Cornelius and Mary Barbara are listed as farmers, with seven children. Their son, Jackson, our great-grandfather, was 7. Other children included Margaret, 21, who had been born in Indiana, George W, age 19, Sarah J, age 18, Elizabeth 9, Catherine 6, Allan 5, Marion 3, and Moses 1.
In 1860 the family is listed in the Census as living in Danvers Township, with the post office being at Stouts' Grove. They have seven children, a real estate value of $600, and personal estate value of $300. The innkeeper, Alvin Goodenough, appears listed directly after the Bess family in this Census where both he and Cornelius are listed as Farmers. The Census reports Cornelius and Mary as both being 53 years of age (ages listed in Census Reports seem to be notoriously inaccurate). George is now 27, Elizabeth is 20, Jackson is 19, Catherine is 17, Allen is 16, Marion is 13, and Moses is 10. Soon, Andrew Jackson and his brother, Allen, will be recruits in Co. D, 3 IL Cavalry and fighting in the Civil War. Sarah has probably married Mr. Jacob Irons and is living in Congerville. In those days of no doctors, Mary's medical remedies and nursing skills were known and appreciated by many of her neighbors, it is reported.
Cornelius, Jr. (1804-1868), moved from Kentucky to Clark County, Indiana where he met and married Mary Barbara Ashabrenna in 1825. She would have been about 15 years of age, Cornelius about 21. Mary Barbara (1810-1900) was born in North Carolina on May 21, reportedly of Pennsylvania Dutch parents who left for the northwest frontier in 1819. Cornelius and Mary Barbara had at least one daughter, Margaret, while living in Indiana.
In the year 1818, the Illinois territory had achieved statehood, despite having less than the required 60,000 inhabitants needed for statehood. One of the earliest settlements in Central Illinois was Stout's Grove.
The community of Stout's Grove was founded in 1825 by Ephraim Stout. The Stouts lived on their farm for many years, building a mill in about 1830, "which was for many years a favorite resort of the settlers every Saturday…to tell the news to each other and talk over the affairs of the neighborhood." Reportedly, he and his family later moved to Oregon. His brother, Hosea Stout, was the second school teacher in the area. He later converted to Mormonism, moved to Nauvoo, Illinois, and later Salt Lake City, Utah, and became one of Brigham Young's 12 Apostles.
In 1830 the Old Northwest Territory was comprised of the three states of Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, as well as the Wisconsin and Michigan Territories and had a combined population of 1,470,081. It was the timber groves, not the prairie, which attracted early settlers to the McLean County area. The grove acted like an oasis in the desert of prairie grass that the pioneers had been traveling through. The timber areas provided the settlers with materials to make tools, construct homes, and erect churches and businesses. The most important timber in McLean County was Stout's Grove and it attracted early settlers who located along the south and east sides of the Grove.
Until 1831 the settlers had a variety of game. Prairie chickens and wild turkeys were plentiful and wildcats and wolves were so common that they were often seen during the daytime, within fifty yards of the houses. A widely used trail was originally called the Old Indian Trail, later Old State Road. Most of the people who lived along the Indian Trail were of Scotch, Irish or English descent. There were few settlers of German descent at this time. This road later was called the Peoria Road and connected Bloomington and Peoria.
In September of 1832, an order came down from Washington for all Indians in the area to move to their lands west of the city of St. Louis. Most of the Indians at that time were of the Kickapoo and Potawatomi tribes.
It was during this time that Cornelius and his family settled in McLean County, Illinois, where they began farming near Lexington, Illinois, and had nine children. According to family history, they also ran an inn and tavern for the accommodation of the stagecoach travelers on the Old State Road (Old Indian Trail) between Bloomington and Peoria but as of yet, there is no verification of this report. The only inn/tavern on a stagecoach line that can yet be verified, the Wayside Inn, belongs to Alvin Goodenough, a settler from Massachusetts.
In September of 1836, just southeast of Stout's Grove in Dry Grove Township, the towns of Concord (later renamed Danvers) and Wilkesborough were established as speculative ventures. Less than a mile apart from each other, these two towns spent the next two decades battling for inhabitants and commerce. Wilkesborough flourished for a while and had 70 lots, including a village common or square, a post office, blacksmith shop, and a store. In 1837, there was a national depression and many McLean County communities collapsed. Those towns which managed to survive grew slowly, attracting few residents or businesses.
Cornelius is listed on the IL McLean County 1840 Federal Census, for the first time, as Cornelius Bess. According to the Census, he was between 40 and 49 years of age, with a male under the age of 5, two females under 5, two females between 5 and 9, and one female between the ages of 40 - 49. His occupation is listed as ‘agriculture.' According to a descendent of theirs, the Best surname changed to Bess after ‘some kind of scandal back in Kentucky', but there is no verifiable information on this as yet.
Within 30 years, between 1830 and 1860, the population of the Northwest Territory had grown to nearly 7 million. Immigration was responsible for this increase, with most people coming from the South or the eastern United States, but large numbers also appearing from Ireland and the Germanic states.
About 1850, according to family history, Cornelius and Mary Barbara cleared and farmed land purchased from the Government in the NE corner of Section 18, in Danvers Township, later known as the Robert Kaufman farm. According to the 1850 Federal Census of Dry Grove Township, McLean County, Cornelius and Mary Barbara are listed as farmers, with seven children. Their son, Jackson, our great-grandfather, was 7. Other children included Margaret, 21, who had been born in Indiana, George W, age 19, Sarah J, age 18, Elizabeth 9, Catherine 6, Allan 5, Marion 3, and Moses 1.
In 1860 the family is listed in the Census as living in Danvers Township, with the post office being at Stouts' Grove. They have seven children, a real estate value of $600, and personal estate value of $300. The innkeeper, Alvin Goodenough, appears listed directly after the Bess family in this Census where both he and Cornelius are listed as Farmers. The Census reports Cornelius and Mary as both being 53 years of age (ages listed in Census Reports seem to be notoriously inaccurate). George is now 27, Elizabeth is 20, Jackson is 19, Catherine is 17, Allen is 16, Marion is 13, and Moses is 10. Soon, Andrew Jackson and his brother, Allen, will be recruits in Co. D, 3 IL Cavalry and fighting in the Civil War. Sarah has probably married Mr. Jacob Irons and is living in Congerville. In those days of no doctors, Mary's medical remedies and nursing skills were known and appreciated by many of her neighbors, it is reported.
In the year 1818, the Illinois territory had achieved statehood, despite having less than the required 60,000 inhabitants needed for statehood. One of the earliest settlements in Central Illinois was Stout's Grove.
The community of Stout's Grove was founded in 1825 by Ephraim Stout. The Stouts lived on their farm for many years, building a mill in about 1830, "which was for many years a favorite resort of the settlers every Saturday…to tell the news to each other and talk over the affairs of the neighborhood." Reportedly, he and his family later moved to Oregon. His brother, Hosea Stout, was the second school teacher in the area. He later converted to Mormonism, moved to Nauvoo, Illinois, and later Salt Lake City, Utah, and became one of Brigham Young's 12 Apostles.
In 1830 the Old Northwest Territory was comprised of the three states of Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, as well as the Wisconsin and Michigan Territories and had a combined population of 1,470,081. It was the timber groves, not the prairie, which attracted early settlers to the McLean County area. The grove acted like an oasis in the desert of prairie grass that the pioneers had been traveling through. The timber areas provided the settlers with materials to make tools, construct homes, and erect churches and businesses. The most important timber in McLean County was Stout's Grove and it attracted early settlers who located along the south and east sides of the Grove.
Until 1831 the settlers had a variety of game. Prairie chickens and wild turkeys were plentiful and wildcats and wolves were so common that they were often seen during the daytime, within fifty yards of the houses. A widely used trail was originally called the Old Indian Trail, later Old State Road. Most of the people who lived along the Indian Trail were of Scotch, Irish or English descent. There were few settlers of German descent at this time. This road later was called the Peoria Road and connected Bloomington and Peoria.
In September of 1832, an order came down from Washington for all Indians in the area to move to their lands west of the city of St. Louis. Most of the Indians at that time were of the Kickapoo and Potawatomi tribes.
It was during this time that Cornelius and his family settled in McLean County, Illinois, where they began farming near Lexington, Illinois, and had nine children. According to family history, they also ran an inn and tavern for the accommodation of the stagecoach travelers on the Old State Road (Old Indian Trail) between Bloomington and Peoria but as of yet, there is no verification of this report. The only inn/tavern on a stagecoach line that can yet be verified, the Wayside Inn, belongs to Alvin Goodenough, a settler from Massachusetts.
In September of 1836, just southeast of Stout's Grove in Dry Grove Township, the towns of Concord (later renamed Danvers) and Wilkesborough were established as speculative ventures. Less than a mile apart from each other, these two towns spent the next two decades battling for inhabitants and commerce. Wilkesborough flourished for a while and had 70 lots, including a village common or square, a post office, blacksmith shop, and a store. In 1837, there was a national depression and many McLean County communities collapsed. Those towns which managed to survive grew slowly, attracting few residents or businesses.
Cornelius is listed on the IL McLean County 1840 Federal Census, for the first time, as Cornelius Bess. According to the Census, he was between 40 and 49 years of age, with a male under the age of 5, two females under 5, two females between 5 and 9, and one female between the ages of 40 - 49. His occupation is listed as ‘agriculture.' According to a descendent of theirs, the Best surname changed to Bess after ‘some kind of scandal back in Kentucky', but there is no verifiable information on this as yet.
Within 30 years, between 1830 and 1860, the population of the Northwest Territory had grown to nearly 7 million. Immigration was responsible for this increase, with most people coming from the South or the eastern United States, but large numbers also appearing from Ireland and the Germanic states.
About 1850, according to family history, Cornelius and Mary Barbara cleared and farmed land purchased from the Government in the NE corner of Section 18, in Danvers Township, later known as the Robert Kaufman farm. According to the 1850 Federal Census of Dry Grove Township, McLean County, Cornelius and Mary Barbara are listed as farmers, with seven children. Their son, Jackson, our great-grandfather, was 7. Other children included Margaret, 21, who had been born in Indiana, George W, age 19, Sarah J, age 18, Elizabeth 9, Catherine 6, Allan 5, Marion 3, and Moses 1.
In 1860 the family is listed in the Census as living in Danvers Township, with the post office being at Stouts' Grove. They have seven children, a real estate value of $600, and personal estate value of $300. The innkeeper, Alvin Goodenough, appears listed directly after the Bess family in this Census where both he and Cornelius are listed as Farmers. The Census reports Cornelius and Mary as both being 53 years of age (ages listed in Census Reports seem to be notoriously inaccurate). George is now 27, Elizabeth is 20, Jackson is 19, Catherine is 17, Allen is 16, Marion is 13, and Moses is 10. Soon, Andrew Jackson and his brother, Allen, will be recruits in Co. D, 3 IL Cavalry and fighting in the Civil War. Sarah has probably married Mr. Jacob Irons and is living in Congerville. In those days of no doctors, Mary's medical remedies and nursing skills were known and appreciated by many of her neighbors, it is reported.
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