| Home Surname List Name Index Sources Email Us | Seventh Generation1772. Whitfield
ACKLEY403 was born
on 15 Jul 1832 in Licking , Ohio.26,743,809,1541,1542
He was living in Mar 1857 in Bloomington, McLean , Illinois.1542 He was living in 1860 in Dry Grove, McLean , Illinois.809 living with the Isaac Forbes
family 1860 census On 23 Jun 1880 he was a farmer at Hudson, Mclean , Illinois.743 He was living between 1880
and 1900 in Hudson, Mclean , Illinois.743,1541 He died on 7 Apr 1907 in
Hudson, Mclean , Illinois.1542
He was buried in Hudson Cemetery, Hudson, McLean, Illinois. He appeared
in the census 1860, 1880 & 1900 in Illinois. 21Jun 1860 he was Farm
Laborer at Dry Grove, McLean , Illinois.809
Biography of1542 ACKLEY,
Whitfield (deceased).-The career of Whitfield Ackley is typical of that of many
others among the strong and forceful upbuilders of the Middle West. Born amid
the crudest of surroundings, in Licking County, Ohio, July 15, 1832, he was a
son of Levi Ackley. who, with the exception of a few months spent elsewhere in
the same State, passed his entire life in Licking County, of which be
was one of the earliest settlers. He found a wife there to share his uncertain
fortunes for a few years. but She died when her son. Whitfield. was very young,
and the meager earnings of the father necessitated an entire breaking
up of the family. When about four years old Whitfield Ackley was bound out to
a man of the name of John Shannon. with whom be remained until attaining his
majority. He still retains vivid recollections of the subscription school where
be gained bi~ first book knowledge, his teachers receiving from $15 to $18 per
month, for twenty-six working days. The educators of that time and place had
troubles of which those of the present are unaware. and not the least of
these was the necessity of doing janitor work on bitterly cold mornings~.
after walking long distances, over frozen ground. Each Christmas the teacher
was expected to “treat” the whole school, and, failing to do
so. was locked in the school room until he experienced a change of heart. and
the “treat” was forthcoming. There was never any loop bole for the
escape of wrong-doers. for when mischief had been perpetrated and it was
impossible to find the real offender, the whole school was subjected to a “bitching.”
Parents of the pupils supplied fuel and other school necessaries, and the secessions
were held in a log cabin, around the stalls of which were projecting wooden pins
which supported the desks. As an apprentice. Mr. Ackley worked hard for his board
and clothing, together with a few educational and social advantages.
The grub worms at that time were very troublesome, and as yet no means had been
discovered for their extinction,. Of ten be grubbed brush an entire day for six
pounds of salt, or cut rails for 25 cents a hundred. The plows were made of hickory.
with hickory traces and one hickory-withe line, and it is a serious reflection
upon the present residents of certain portions of Licking County, that they still
use hickory plows, a fact discovered by Mr. Ackley during a recent visit to his
childhood home. Clothed in a fine new suit, with the sanguine anticipations
incident to his twenty-one years, Mr. Ackley started out in the world to make
an independent fortune, arriving in Bloomington. which then was a small
aggregation of houses. in March, 1857. Continuing his journeyings. he reached
Hudson, McLean County, at ten o'clock. the same night. and, failing to dud other
accommodations spent the night in the station. Soon afterwards be found employment
in a sawmill on Money Creek, near Kappa, and a month later, began to work on
the farm of Jesse Trimmer, where he remained a year. On different farms, he earned
a $1.50 a day by binding wheat and oats. in the mean time living frugally, and
saving always more than he spent. In 1861 Mr. Ackley married Catherine Forbes,
of Dry Grove Township, and forthwith settled upon 40 acres of hind belonging
to Abraham Harrison. on which be remained for a year. In 1863 be purchased of
Samuel Fry, for $1,500, 80 acres of land in Dry Grove Township, paying down $750,
for the loan of which he paid 12% interest. Corn at that time sold for from 15
to 20 cents a bushel, and oats brought 17 cents. In 1877 Mr. Ackley sold his
farm for $3,700 cash, and purchased the SO acres in Hudson Township which is
now his home, being at present operated by his son, Wallace. Mr. Ackley had a
life of unceasing toil, and the gospel of industry and thrift bad no more enthusiastic
believer. He had been a widower since 1892. and of his six children. but three
are living, namely: Jennie, wife of Ira Barsby, who lives in Kansas; Wallace,
who married Cora Ferguson and lives in Hudson Township; and Maggie,
who is the wife of Charles Schlosser, and lives in Blue Mound Township. Mrs.
D. C. Greer, mother of Mrs. Wallace Ackley, died February 2. IOOS. In politics,
Mr. Ackley was a Democrat, but aside from the duty of casting his vote, he was
never active in political affairs. Although not a member of any church.
be was a man of unquestioned integrity and great moral courage. He died
April ,7 1907.
Whitfield ACKLEY and
Catherine (McClure) FORBES were married in 1861.743,1542 They
were married on 22 Nov 1861 in Hudson, Mclean , Illinois.73,1543 Catherine (McClure) FORBES was born on 2 Sep 1830 in Pennsylvania.743 She appeared in the census
in 1880 in Illinois. She died on 24 Jan 1882 in Hudson, Mclean ,
Illinois.1542 She was
buried in Hudson Cemetery, Hudson, McLean, Illinois. Whitfield ACKLEY
and Catherine (McClure) FORBES had the following children:
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