Isaac Crosby is a native of Shrewsbury, Worceter county, Massachusetts, and was
born March 11, 1805. He came to Garden Plain, then Albany Precinct Whiteside
county, in May, 1838, and settled first on the farm now owned by Mrs. S M KILGORE.
Here he remained until 1844, when he purchased his present farm, situated on
section 14, on the ALbany and Morrison road, a little east of Garden Plain Corners.
When he purchased the land it was all wild prairie, and the hard work of breaking
it was done by himself. He has now one of the most beautiful farms in the
township and upon it on eof the largest and most thrifty orchards. Mr. CROSBY
was married to Miss Lury B KNOWLTON, at the town of Grafton, Worcester county,
Massachusetts December 2, 1830, the Rev. Otis CONVERSE, a Baptist clergyman,
tying the nuptial knot. Mrs. CROSBY is also a native of Shrewsbury, Worcester
county, Massachusetts and was born January 31, 1810. There are no children to
bless this union, as there outght to have been, for a more amiable couple do
not reside in Whiteside county. Mr CROSBY has followed farming since his
residence in this county and has held no office, always saying, when he was
solicited to accept one by his fellow citizens, that he would rather pay a
fine than be troubled with the duties of a public position. It is needless
to say that he has never been troubled in that respect, nor been called upon
to a pay a fine, as office-seekers and office-holders are not rare birds in
any community. He states that in going from Albany to his first place on the
Kilgore farm, he hitched a yoke of oxen to a tree and had it dragged there ,
so as to make a trail by which he could return without getting lost. For
three weeks, during the year 1839, he did not see a living person, except his
wife, and was on his bed sick at that. Mr. CROSBY is one of the hale, genial
pioneers of Whiteside County.
Extracted from Bent & Wilson History of Whiteside County Page 213-214
