By Charlene Shields
Notes from the White County Historical Society as they appear in "The Carmi Times."
Copyright ©2000 by "The Carmi Times" Permission to reprint granted to Cindy Birk Conley and the ILGenWeb by Tammy Knox, editor, "The Carmi Times."
SUNDAY OPENING: The White County Historical Society's buildings will
be
open from 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday, June 4, and on the first Sunday of each
month through the summer months. In accordance with that, our Genealogy
Library will be open this Sunday from 1 to 3 for researchers and/or
visitors.
+++++
Last week this column started reprinting a newspaper account written
by
Mrs. Carson Hon, the former Mary Ellen Crowder (1848-1912). She
narrated how the family went West to the Gold Rush and remained to
farm.
In 1854, Carson Hon of Phillipstown went out and joined the group,
working part-time on the farm and part-time in mining. We continue
the
story:
"Mr. Hon and I were acquainted several years, and on April 10, 1866,
we
were married at 11 a.m. We went to Sacramento by canoe, stayed one
week,
then went to San Francisco and took a ship (for there was no railroad.)
We were out one week and landed at Acapulco, Mexico, took on fuel and
water, and the next stop was at Panama, where we spent the day. The
sailors had been unruly and when we left, they had them all handcuffed
on the deck. We crossed the Isthmus on May 1, 1866, by rail, and took
a
ship on the Atlantic to New York and were on the water 30 days. We
went
by rail from New York to Cincinnati, then took a stage coach to
Evansville, Ind. and on to New Harmony.
"Mr. Hon went out in town and met Allen Stum, father of the late A.
M.
Stum of Crossville, and he let him have his horse and buggy to come
over
to Phillipstown and meet his brothers.
We lived in Phillipstown and near Calvin 20 years. When I went back
to
California, my mother didn't recognize me. We stayed in California
for
about three years, then came back to our farm near Calvin. In 1900
we
went to Roswell, N.M. for the benefit of Mr. Hon's health and lived
there 12 years, when he passed away.
"Since that time I have resided in Long Beach and Los Angeles, Calif.;
Phoenix, Ariz.; Deming, N.M.; Chattanooga, Tenn.; and White County,
Ill.
"I came back to attend the Baptist Association which convenes Tuesday
of
this week at Little Wabash Church, of which I have been a member since
1863."
........
This concludes Mrs. Hon's account of her life. The 1883 White County
History states the couple owned 330 acres of good farmland in Phillips
Township, that Mr. Hon had accumulated considerable money and voted
the
Democratic ticket. Also, according to the history, the couple were
parents of Edward Everett, Louisa Anzella, Clarence Herman, Lena Leota,
Lotta Viola and Ernest Wilmer Hon.
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The Genealogy Library is open regularly Wednesdays from 11 a.m. to 5
p.m.
Return to the White County ILGenWeb Page
The Coordinator for the White County, Illinois ILGenWeb page is Cindy Birk Conley
Copyright © 2000 byCindy Birk Conley, all rights reserved. For personal use only. Commercial use of the information contained in these pages is strictly prohibited without prior permission. If copied, this copyright notice must appear with the information.