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- http://archive.org/stream/cu31924028805641/cu31924028805641_djvu.txt
Abraham Stansberry. Abraham Stansberry was born June 19, 1807, on a farm about thirteen miles from the town of Greenville, in Greene County, Teunesse. His ancestors were of German and "Welch stock. He was one of a family of fifteen children, eleven boys and four girls, all of whom grew up to manhood and woman- hood. Eleven are now living. The youngest son served in the army for three years ; after receiving his discharge, and while on his way home, he visited an old mill, and was there killed by the rebels. Abraham's education was not very extended. He was obliged to work very hard, and attended school very little, and when he did so he had a much more thorough acquaintance with the schoolmaster's rod than with his books. The schoolmaster thought a great deal of his rod, and used what was called leather-wood, which grew in the clefts of the rocks. This wood was very tough and pliable and made a barbarous instrument of torture; but the schoolmaster was obliged to flog unmercifully in order to keep up his reputation as an excellent teacher. When Abraham was about seven years old his' father died, and his mother took charge of the farm. "When he was twenty- two years of age he was a strong, healthy man and loved horses better than books. He wished to go West and lead an active life, where his vigorous nature could have play. Although only a young man, he did not wish to live in a slave state, and could plainly see the evils brought about by this system. He said it resulted in forming three distinct classes, those who owned slaves, those who were rich, but owned no slaves, and the poor whites, who had neither negroes nor money. All these causes induced- Mr. Stansberry to leave for the "West. He had heard a great deal of Illinois through various pamphlets setting forth its fine climate and rich soil. He started as the driver of a five- horse team for a man named Henry Pain, who emigrated with his wife and seven children to the Vermilion and Big "Wabash Rivers, Mr. Pain left for Illinois because he was anxious to have his family grow up in a free state. The journey lasted forty- three days, and it rained almost incessantly. They first came to Bear Station, in Tennessee, from there to the Clinch Mountains, crossed the Tennessee River, went to Cumberland Gap, crossed the Cumberland River, went to Crab Orchard in Kentucky, then to Danville, then to Louisville, crossed the Ohio to Few Albany and went to Salem, thence to Greencastle, thence to Bloomington, Ind., and to Rockville. Between those places they crossed Salt Creek by putting their wagon in canoes lashed together, as the creek was high. Although it was rainy, Mr. Stansberry en- joyed the trip, as there were two young ladies in the family, and of course they made matters pleasant for him. They crossed the Big "Wabash about six miles from Rockville and went to New- port on the Little Vermilion, and from there to the town of Eugene, the point of destination. There Mr. Pain expected to find a brother who had lived in the place some time before, but his brother had died a short time previous to Pain's arrival. Abraham celebrated his first year in the West by working on a farm, but from the fall of 1830 to the spring of 1832 he carried the mail between Eugene and Fort Clark (Peoria). He traveled, on an average, forty-five miles per day, and could make the trip to Fort Clark and return in seven days. At that time the streams were not provided with either bridges or ferry boats, and Mr. Stansberry was obliged to cross them by tying his clothes and mail bag to his shoulders and swimming over with his horse. He often met Indians on his route, and they were always glad to see him. He had three stations where he stayed over night on his journeys; these were Ponge Station, Cheney's house and Robert McClure's house. The number of letters carried varied from one to a dozen. Postage was twenty-five cents per letter. Mr. Stansberry received for his services twelve and one-half dollars per month. On the sixth of June, 1832, Mr. Stansberry married Mary Cheney. He had formed her acquaintance while carrying the mail. He lived on a farm in Cheney's Grove until the year 1864, when he moved to Bloomington. He has had two chil- dren, a son and a daughter, who both grew up to years of dis- cretion, but both are now dead. But he has three grandchildren who will inherit his property. His son died while fighting in the army. His wife died of consumption on the ninth of August, 1866. When Mr. Stansberry commenced farming at Cheney's Grove, he entered thirteen hundred acres of land, a part of which he sold for twenty-three dollars per acre, a part for thirty dollars and his timber land for fifty dollars. He afterwards bought three hundred and twenty-four acres, which he has di- vided into three farms. On the twenty-seventh of April, 1869, Mr. Stansberry mar- ried Mrs. Matthews, a widow lady, a daughter of Esquire Robb. She is one of the most agreeable of women, and has that politeness of the heart, which comes from wishing well to others. Mr. Stansberry never held a public office, and never sought one; he was an " old line "Whig," and is now a Republican. He is a man of medium stature, strong and well proportioned, his hair is light brown, turning gray. His eyes are gray and he wears spectacles when he reads or writes. He was always very fond of horses and greatly enjoyed riding. During the fall of 1827 he rode to Tennessee on horseback, and returning brought his mother and niece to Illinois in a carriage. Afterwards three brothers and three sisters came to the West, and one brother and three sisters are still living at Cheney's Grove.
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The H600 Project Genealogy DB
1807 - 1877 (70 years)