Rock Island County, Illinois Genealogy Trails

Cordova Township

In the fall of 1836, two men on horseback set out from near Geneseo in search of new land. Amiziah Rathburn
(or Rathbun) had traveled from McDonough County to the home of Dr. Thomas Baker who lived on Green River near the present Geneseo. He and Dr. Baker set off to find new unsettled country, and proceeded to the Archibald Allen Trading Post, which is now the Village of Port Byron, on the Mississippi.

After spending the night there, they traveled north to a wide bend in the river, where gently sloping land, and the existence of a small log fort captured their interest, and they decided to stake out their claims side by side. The fort (or blockhouse) had been erected by soldiers from Fort Armstrong in 1833, and would give them shelter while building their first cabins.

In the spring of 1837 the Baker and Rathburn families loaded their Pennsylvanian Schooner, drawn by four yoke of oxen, with their household goods and started on their way to their new home, which was later to be called Cordova, Illinois. On the 17th day of March in the year 1837 the families arrived at their new home. Cordova was born...