of Menard and Mason Counties
By T.G. Onstott
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CHAPTER XXV Page 260 The first white man to settle in Havana township was believed to be James Hokum. It was known that he kept the ferry for Ross, where the city of Havana now stands and it is supposed to have been established on this side of the river as early as 1824. There is but little doubt that he was the first white man that squatted on Havana's sandy soil. He did not remain long, however, and O.M. Ross may be set down as the first permanent settler. Ross came from New York to Illinois in 1819 and first settled in Madison county. In the spring of 1821 he moved to Lewistown and was one of the proprietors of that town, which was named for his son, Lewis Ross. Ross established the ferry at Havana in 1823 or '24. Prior to this there was an arrangement for taking people across the river on a Saturday of each week. He would take their baggage in a canoe, while their horses were made to swim beside it. Ross built the hotel in 1829, which was the first hotel in Mason county. He had a brother Jim who lived there for a number of years but moved away. The Ross family consisted of four sons and two daughters; Lewis, Harvey, Leonard and Pike were the sons. One of the daughters married A.S. Steel and the other married Judge William Kellogg. Henry Myers came about the same time as Ross, but moved to Fulton county in a short time. John Barnes settled at the mounds above Havana in 1829 or '30. He sold out and moved up to Quiver. When a school was established, he took his plow and made a road for his children to go to school. His girls used to bring cord wood to Havana by rafting it down the river. He finally moved to Kansas. Reinforcements arrived in 1835; these were Owen Foster, N.J. Rockwell, Abel Kemp, Eli Fisk and the Wheadons. The Wheadons were from New York; they did not stay long in Mason county. The settled in Fulton county. Silah Wheadon was well known in Mason county in after years as a newspaper man. Fisk was a Yankee and settled in 1837, where his son, Cooley, now resides. Foster, Kemp, Adams and Rockwell came from Canada. While making a trip east, Adams lost his life during an altercation on a steamboat. Kemp moved to Wisconsin and Rockwell back to New York. Kemp celebrated his golden wedding in 1874. He has no doubt been dead for many years. He first located in the Sangamon bottom, but nearly shook his life out with the ague. He next moved three miles south, east of Havana, and then to Havana. Owen Foster was originally from Vermont and came west with the colony. He engaged in the hotel business and kept the second hotel in the county. He finally bought a farm east of Havana. He was the father of Jad Foster, the grain merchant. His widow married Life Low. A many by the name of Blair was here for a short time but sold out to Rockwell. In 1836 the following recruits were added: The Low brothers, Pulaski Scoville, Pallard Simmons, C.W. Andrews, Ephraim Burnell, John and William Alexander. The Lows came from the old Bay state. There were three brothers, Frank, Thomas and Eliphaz. Frank is the only one living at an advanced age. The Lows, with Pulaski Scoville, built a saw mill at Havana in an early day and sawed timber for building in Alton and St. Louis, and for building the first railroad in the Mississippi Valley. Frank Low was deputy sheriff of Tazewell county and the first sheriff of Mason county. He has always been an active, energetic man and takes an interest in the welfare of the county. Thomas Low was an old bachelor and died in 1846, while Eliphaz died in 1864. Scoville came from Cincinnati to Illinois and, in connection with the Lows, built a steam saw mill which did an extensive business for many years. He owned a large tract of land. C.W. Andrews came from Watertown, New York, and located in Havana, and was partner with N.J. Rockwell. He then moved to Fulton county and afterward moved back and again became a merchant. Andrews was a justice of the peace for one term. Ephraim Burnell lived near the mounds above Havana and then started for California, but died on the way. Erasmus and Evander were his nephews. Evander died and Erasmus was living, at the last account, in Kansas. From Germany, the fatherland, came the Krebaums, the Dinkers, the Havenhorsts, John H. Schulte, John W. Netler, Fred Speckman, Herman Tegerdes and John Hultsgrave. The Krebaum family consisted of Bernhart Krebaum and five sons, Adolph, William, Edward, Fred and Charles G., the youngest, who was born in Havana and supposed to be the first child born there. The Krebaums are said to be the third family born in the township and the fourth in the county. Fred was a lawyer, Adolph was a county clerk, William was a carpenter, Edward was a farmer, and Gus was a grain dealer. Adolph, though nearly ninety years old, knows as much about the history of Mason county as any man living. Daniel Dieffenbacher came from Pennsylvania in 1837. He was noted, during his life, as a zealous Methodist, and always stood high in social and religious circles. Charles Howell was one of the old timers and at last account was still living, though at the advanced age of ninety. B.F. Howell and his brother, Theodore, both died in the last three years. Charles Howell first settled in Mason county near McHarry's mill and at one time was the owner, with Julius Jones and William Pallard as partners. They built a saw mill on the north side of Quiver. Charles Howell was as great a traveler as the Arkansas traveler. He made several trips to California. He certainly saw as much of the country as any other man. He finally settled down on his farm and manufactured furniture. We have a set of chairs that he made over fifty years ago. Robert McReynolds was another pioneer of Havana township. He, too, was a zealous Methodist and a Jackson Democrat of the Peter Cartwright stripe. His house was the Methodist preacher's home. He finally moved to Havana and during his later years held many important offices. He left his impress on many sons and daughters. Jacob Mowder and John R. Chaney came from Kentucky in 1837. Asa Langford came from Tennessee and settled in Lewistown in 1824. Afterwards he moved to Point Isabel and then to Havana. Langford was a noted character as long as he lived. There is not an old resident of this county but what recollects Asa Langford. Luther Dearborn was as well known as any man that ever lived in the county. He did not remain there long, but moved to Kane county. In 1850 he was elected sheriff and had for deputy the celebrated detective, Allen Pinkerton. He came back to Havana in 1858 and opened up a law office. Luther lived in advance of his age. We heard him twenty-five years ago, at a grange picnic at Forest City, make a prophesy that before another twenty-five years had elapsed, that electricity would be the motive power that would drive the machinery and do the work of the land. How true the prophetic utterance. Jonathan Dearborn was the father of Luther and Marcellus Dearborn. He built the Mason House that stands on the river. He was also the postmaster. We have seen him on a public day, when he wanted to be out with the crowd, put the letters in the top of his silk hat and when he met a man on the street that he had a letter for give it to him. Quite a change in the postoffice business now. Dr. E.B. Harpham came to Havana in 1844 and practiced medicine for forty years. James, Silas and Levi came soon afterward. James and Silas are dead. Levi moved to California about ten years ago. Higbee was from Lexington, Kentucky. He finally, after several moves, located in Havana, where he died. Alexander Gray came from Scotland. Reuben Henninger, Philip Ott and Simon Frankfield were from the state of Pennsylvania. Henninger lived on his farm for many years. He raised a large family of boys and girls. He moved to Havana before he died. Sam Conwell came to the county and engaged in farming and raised Berkshire pigs. He raised a large family of boys and girls. He moved retired from public life and shut himself up at home and was seldom seen. The name, Havana, was given in honor of the capital of the Isle of Cuba. The island just above Havana was called Cuba. In early days it was covered with a growth of burr oak timber, some of which were of enormous size, but it was all sawed up by Low & Scoville's mill and shipped out of the country so, as we said before, the mill was a curse, instead of a blessing to the country.
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