HISTORY OF FORD COUNTY
ROGERS TOWNSHIP
Rogers township is the extreme north township of the county, bounded on
the north by Kankakee county, on the east by Iroquois, on the south by Mona
township and on the west by Livingston county.
It derived its name from Jeremy W. Rogers, its first supervisor. This
township was originally called Grant, and when organized composed the
present townships of Mona and Rogers.
A petition from the citizens of Grant to the board of supervisors to change
the name to Rogers was granted in the spring of 1864.
This is considered the best township in the county, with at least
seventy-five per cent of the area, suitable and adapted to farming purposes,
that can be made to produce excellent crops.
It is peopled with industrious, enterprising and progressive farmers,
showing many well improved farms.
Among the early settlers were Jeremy W. Rogers, William Atherton, Jared
Williams, James Clayton, Henry Clayton, John Clayton, William Clayton, Mary
Clayton, James Taylor, Edward Clayton, Samuel Clayton, Peter Taylor, David
Rogers, A. Saddler, Peter Minich, Abraham Cook, D. and S. Burroughs, William
Bonk, N. Wagner, Samuel C. Farley, Charles Shumacher, Wright Kemp, George
Hargreaves, Jacob Hare, J. C. Eldridge, E. Quayle, D. F. Brenisa, D. B. Case
and J. Broadbent.
The first church built in the township was the Catholic church in Cabery.
The next church was built at Eldridgeville by the Methodists.
In 1873 the Germans erected a chapel on Henry Clayton's land, called The
Church of God. J. M. Castle was the first German preacher.
The first postoffice was at Eldridgeville, with John Eldridge as postmaster,
although at an early date the farmers took turns in bringing the mail from
Dwight, which was left at Jared Williams' house.
The first schoolhouse was built on the farm owned by George Riggs and Miss
Laura Cook, who afterward became Mrs. Charles Bouk, was the first teacher.
CABERY
Cabery is the principal village in Rogers township, situated on the middle
division of the Illinois Central or Kankakee & South Western Railroad. It
lies on the county line, the largest half in Rogers township, which was
first laid out. It was incorporated as a village in the fall of 1881 and
contains stores of various kinds and a newspaper called the Cabery
Enterprise. There is a public hall and one Masonic hall. The place is a
wide-awake, go-ahead one, containing a class of good citizens, who heartily
unite upon any enterprise or improvement for the public good.
The supervisors of the township have been Jeremy W. Rogers, 1864; John C.
Eldridge, 1866; D. B. Case, 1867; Edward Clayton, 1868; Thomas Winstanley,
1872; Samuel Clayton, 1873; James Ogilvie, 1876; W. B. Sargeant, 1881;
re-elected 1882 and 1883.
The following is a brief mention of some of the old settlers who have lived
and are still living in Rogers township:
Peter Taylor, a native of Morgan county, Ohio, came to Rogers township in
1865, settling on section 35.
Frank M. Cook was born at Elkhart county, Indiana. He came to this township
in 1864. settling on a fine farm one mile from Cabery.
James Ogilvie, a native of Licking county, Ohio, coming to this township in
1866; he settled on section 22.
Samuel Clayton, a native of England, came to Rogers township in 1865,
settling on section 33.
James Clayton, a native of Chester, England, came to this country in 1849,
and to Rogers township in 1868, settling on a fine farm in section 31. He
laid out a part of the village of Kempton, called Clayton's Addition.
David Huntley, a native of New York, came to this township in 1859, and
became the owner of two hundred and forty acres in Ford county, and eighty
acres, the home place, just over the line in Livingston county.
George Hargreaves was born in England, coming to America in 1854; he first
settled in Kendall county, Illinois. In 1867 he moved to this township,
settling on section 36.
W. B. Sargeant, a native of England, came to Cabery in 1865, being engaged
in the hardware business.
James F. Wright was born in St. Lawrence county, New York, in 1840. He came
to Cabery in 1876 and engaged in the lumber business.
Andrew Stuart, a farmer, native of Canada, settled in Grundy county,
Illinois in 1843. He enlisted in the One Hundred and Twenty-ninth Illinois
Volunteers in 1862, remaining in the field until the war was over.
Joshua Henthron came to this county from England in 1856. He settled on
section 28, Rogers township. He purchased one hundred and sixty acres of
good land from the Illinois Central Railroad Company.
Frank McLaughlin was born in Grundy county in 1853. He came to this township
in 1880. He married Elizabeth, daughter of Henry Clayton, in 1874.
Frank Stuart, son of Andrew Stuart, was born in Livingston county in 1856.
He married Alice, a daughter of Henry Clayton.
John and Alfred Clayton, sons of Henry Clayton, were born in Chester county,
Pennsylvania. John came to this township in 1865, and Alfred in 1868, both
owning homes on section 25.
Charles Curd was born in the county of Kent, England. He came to America in
1846 and to section 20, this township in 1876.
William Naas, a native of Germany, came to this township in 1870, locating
on section 29.
In 1865, Mrs. Priscilla Taylor, widow of James Taylor, deceased, together
with Samuel and Edward Clayton, Peter Taylor and others, came from Ohio to
Rogers township, Mrs. Taylor with her children, residing on section 35.
Mrs. Elizabeth Clayton, widow of William Clayton, an early settler, came to
Rogers township from Noble county, Ohio, residing in a beautiful home on
their farm on section 27.
FIRE AT CABERY IN 1885
On Sunday morning, May 3, 1885, Cabery was visited by a disastrous fire, and
the town was almost obliterated by the flames. Twenty-four business houses
and fourteen dwellings went up in smoke. The total loss was estimated at one
hundred thousand dollars, with about twenty-five thousand dollars insurance.
The village was without fire protection, and no aid from other towns could
be secured in time to stay the devouring flames. The fire originated in a
millinery store at 3 o'clock in the morning. Several guests were in the
Commercial Hotel, which was destroyed, and barely escaped with their lives.
Extracted 06 Jun 2018 by Norma Hass from History of Ford County, Illinois, Volume 1, pages 183-186.
