Perhaps Sterling never saw a more thoroughly social occasion than Feb. 22, 1858, when the early settlers had their first formal reunion. The affair had been duly announced, and the veterans came from all parts of the county. They came by cars, and they came by wagon. The delegation from Jordan, chiefly of the Coe family, arrived in a large sleigh, with canvas cover, camp kettles, and other paraphernalia of the emigrant, drawn by six large horses, geared with old Pennsylvania harness, with saddle and driver on the nigh wheel horse. The meeting was held in Wallace Hall, Nelson Mason as president, and Col. R. L. Wilson, secretary. There was great enthusiasm, and hilarity ruled the hour. The following old settlers, many with wives and families, reported, giving the date of their location in the county :

Sterling: Hezekiah Brink, 1834; Nathan Hicks, L D. Crandall, 1835; Edward Bush, Van J. Adams, Luther Bush, Nelson Mason, M. R. Adams, PI. Bush, 1836; Hugh Wallace, W. M. Kilgour, Noah Merrill, George W. Woodburn, C. H. Crook, E. L. Worthington, H. Tu'ttle, Thos. Mathews, E. J. Kilgour, W. H. Whipple, 1837 ; C. C. Judd, Hiram Platt, R. C. Andrews, J. Pettigrew, J. W. Shannon, J. M. Whipple, Andrew Bush, C. M. Worthington, George H. Wells, L. J. Whipple, D. 0. Coe, Wyatt Cantrell, M. M. Warner, L. B. Wetherbee, C. A. Wetherbee, E. C. Wetherbee, 1838 ; A. McMoore, Edwin Judd, M. C. Stull, Jesse Penrose, F. Sampson, J. A. Gilbert, 1839; R. L. Wilson, John Dippell, C. P. Emmons, 1840.

Jordan: 1835, James Talbott, 0. Talbott, J. W. Talbott, S. M. Coe; 1836, M. M. Hubbard, F. W. Coe; 1837, J. W. Thompson, L. G. Schenck, D. F. Coe, H. A. Coe; 1838, M. L. Coe, J. F. Coe; 1839, L. S. Pennington, Jabez Gilbert.

Hopkins: 1837, W. F. Hopkins; 1838, Joel Harvey, S. C. Harvey, 0. A. Fanning; 1839, N. A. Sturtevant, E. C. Whitmore, George Sturtevant, A. C. Merrill, W. S. Wilkinson, A. S. Sampson.

Coloma: 1839, Frank Gushing, John Enderton, L. H. Woodworth, Sugar Grove, 1838, M. S. Coe.

Union Grove: 1836, Henry Boyer, W. F. Boyer; 1837, J. C. Young,

D. B. Young, J. P. Garlick; 1838, A. N. Young.

Mt. Pleasant: 1835, William Knox; 1836, H. Heaton; 1837, G. Heaton; 1838, A. C. Jackson; 1839, C. P. Emery.

Lyndon: 1835, 0. Woodruff; 1837, A. Hubbard, R. G. Clendenin; 1838, S. Hubbard; 1839, J. Ware, J. D. Coyne.

Prophetetown : 1834, J. W. Stakes; 1835, N. G. Reynolds, J. C. South- ern; 1836, E. S. Gage; 1837, T. J. Walker, A. J. Warner, E. B. Clark, L. Walls; 1838. W. S. Reynolds, R. Crook, W. T. Minchen, A. S. Dickinson,

E. H. Nichols, E. B. Warner, J. W. Beeman, H. C. Smith, G. C. Reynolds, S. Johnson; 1839, A. J. Tuller, 0. W. Gage, J. W. Gage, W. E. Smith.

Hume: 1839, Charles Wright, H. Cleveland.

Portland: 1835, S. Fuller P. B. Besse; 1836, E. Seely, L. M. Seely, A. J. Seely, M. V. Seely, R. M Besse; 1837, R. Woodside.

Albany: 1838, B. S. Quick; 1839, W. S. Barnes, W. A. Gilbert.

Clyde: 1838, S. Currie.

Erie : 1835, S. D. Carr.

Garden Plain: 1839, Jas. A. Sweet.

Col. Seely called the meeting to order, and after an hour of handshaking and reminiscence, a procession was formed and marched to the dining room of the Wallace House. The tables seated four hundred. Rev. E. Erskine of the Presbyterian church asked a blessing. After ample justice to a bountiful supper prepared by Mr. and Mrs. McCune, who for years managed that well known hostelry, the festive company repaired to the hall which was brilliantly illuminated for the exercises. We shall condense the responses of the various speakers as they were reported at the time in the Sterling Gazette.

County of Whiteside : Col. E. Seely of Portland. He came in 1835. At the first county election in that year about thirty votes were cast. No roads but the trails of Indians, and here and there a log cabin. Much hardship, but the people were hospitable.

Union Grove: Henry Boyer. He made the claim where he now lives in 1836. The population then comprised two families, now over a thousand people.

Lyndon : R. G. Clendenin. This town was noted for the steady habits of the people and their love of education and good morals.

Garden Plain: James A. Sweet. There were five hundred people, four schools with an average attendance of forty scholars each.

Jordan : L. S. Pennington. In 1835 Simeon M. Coe built the first house. James Talbot was the next settler, who broke the first prairie in the township. Joseph M. Wilson began his flour mill in 1835, and completed it the next year. It was of logs. John Brookie opened the first store in 1837. There were six schools, and the population numbered about one thousand.

Portland: P. B. Besse. The first prairie was broken in August, 1834, and twelve votes were cast at the first election held at the house of Asa Crook. He acted as clerk. The town had more timber land than any other in the county. There were nine schools.

Prophetstown : Mr. Nichols. It was the site of an old Indian village, where the Chief, Prophet, had lived. The town was celebrated for the enterprise of its men and the beauty of the women.

Sterling: Nelson Mason. "I came to the place in 1836 with John Barnett and found John Chapman and Wright Murphy living in a cabin on the farm of Capt. Woodburn. Here I spent my first night on Rock river. At the head of the rapids I found three families, H. Brink, E. Worthington, and S. Gear. Brink was the man who built the first cabin, broke the first prairie and raised the first corn in the town of Sterling. Late that fall J. D. Barnett and myself opened the first store in the town. Dixon was the nearest postoffice. We applied for one in 1837, and it was granted. Barnett was appointed P. M., and I had the contract for carrying the mail. In May, 1837, we formed an association to protect individual claims on government lands. What changes since ! Then a man with a family of five or six had to grind all his grain in a coffee mill, now our mills send 1,400 barrels of flour to market every week. Then we had neither churches, schools or ministers, now we have four churches, as many ministers and six schools. Then we had no newspaper nearer than Chicago or Peoria, now we have two journals, well conducted and supported. What will this town be when all her natural resources are developed?"

Coloma: Frank Cushing. The first settlement was made in 1836 by Isaac Merrill, A. R. Whitney and Atkins. Our sand banks furnish Sterling sand for her brick blocks, our quarries furnish stone, and our prairies supply the surrounding country with hay.

Hume: Charles Wright. After a few pleasing remarks on the excellence of his town, he closed with this sentiment: "As Jacob of old loved Benjamin above all his sons, because he was the youngest, so may the town of Hume, being the youngest of nineteen sisters, stand highest in the estimation of old Father Whiteside."

Erie: S. D. Carr. He located at Erie in 1836. Then only one house, built and occupied by Orville Brooks. Peter Guile, David Hunt, and L. D. Crandall were among the first settlers. The town now has from three to five hundred people. Well timbered with coal beds near at hand.

Clyde : Samuel Currie. He was not the oldest settler, but thought Messrs. Wing and Baker had that honor. Four schools, well attended.

Mt. Pleasant: H. A. Johnson, Esq. He did not claim to be an old resident, but was included in the invitation because his wife, a daughter of Royal Jacobs, was of the number.

The First Settler of Whiteside: John W. Stakes. He wished to correct a wrong impression. A lady present, the wife of P. B. Besse, is the oldest settler now living in Whiteside. Her father settled here in May, 1834. The land was then a waste, inhabitated only by roving Indians. The first pro- visions for his family he procured at Peoria, and packed the flour and groceries eighty miles on a horse, following an Indian trail. No store nearer than Galena, and Rock Island was an Indian trading post.

The Hardships of Early Settlers: Col. R. L. Wilson. "When we have fully made up our minds to emigrate, the work is almost 'done. All that remains is to wait for the wagon, and take a ride to our future home in the west. The wagon box serves for a house, being at once the parlor, the kitchen, the pantry. We finally arrive at our claims, and then comes the raising of log cabins, on which occasion every pioneer within twenty miles is in attend- ance. By and by a schoolhouse and a church are wanted, and if the husband is not able to assist, his wife calls a meeting of the ladies and the thing is done."

Hospitality of the Early Settlers : Marcus L. Coe. Nowhere does the stranger meet a more hearty welcome than with the old pioneer. Always welcome to his corn dodger or roast turkey. The latch string always out.

Teachings of a New Settlement: Col. Hugh Wallace. He came here fitted for the practice of law, equipped with ruffled shirts and law books. But he found the really valuable tools were plows and hoes, and these his old friend Gear was ready to supply his neighbors. His Chitty and Blackstone were not in demand. At the conclusion of his remarks, he presented to the audience, the pioneer baby of Chatham, now part of Sterling Mrs. John A. Bross, of Chicago, eldest daughter of Nelson Mason. There was much applause, and in response to a call, Mr. Bross made a neat speech, closing with the suggestion that all sing - " Should auld acquaintance be forgot" - Nelson Mason led the chorus of several hundred strong voices.

Pioneer Farmers of Whiteside: L. B. Wetherbee. "The pioneers of Whiteside left happy homes and pleasant firesides in other lands to make new farms and new homes, and we may hope to build up the cause of education, virtue, temperance, piety. The calling of the farmer is the basis of society. Here it may not be amiss to glance over the county, and see what the farmers of Whiteside have been doing for the last 18 years. Within that time all the land of the county has been bought, and if we estimate the cost at five dollars per acre, it will amount to $2,910,000; if we estimate the same amount for improvement, it will amount to $5,820,000, which the farmers have paid out within the last 18 years. If then the farmer is the foundation of society, his energies should be directed in the most skilful manner. With such a soil as Whiteside possesses, we may soon expect to see farmers rising to fame and wealth in their department."

Pioneer Mechanics of Whiteside : A. McMoore. Permit me to speak of the improvements mechanics have set in motion. Wyatt Cantrell, an old settler, introduced the denion or slinker in plows. Jonathan Haines invented a harvester. John Ogle did much to make cabins comfortable.

The Boys of Our Pioneer Fathers: W. M. Kilgour, Esq. In March, 1837, I first saw the beautiful prairie where Sterling now stands. As children we have not had the advantages of the east watches, liquors, colleges, cities. We got our education in the old log cabin schoolhouse. Biography shows that more men of sterling worth have sprung from such sources than from many of the colleges.

The Pioneer Pomologist of Whiteside: Dr. Pennington. There is something in the growth of trees and plants so enchanting that it must be admired. What would a country be without fruits? On emigrating to this state in 1836 I was struck with the healthy aspect of the trees, and the luxuriance of the fruits. My first fruit trees were planted on the farm in the fall of 1839. As far as I know, this was the first effort at raising cultivated fruit in Whiteside county. The man who planted the first fruit-bearing tree in this county may never be known, but may many blessings rest upon his head.

Whiteside county when her sons wore buckskin trousers and wolfskin caps: Joseph Ware, Esq. It is useless for me to speak to this audience of this land in its original beauty. You saw these prairies before they were marred by the plow.

Of these early settlers who wore the wild caps and hunting shirts, your recollections are as good as mine. Some of you may recall John B. Dodge of Mt. Pleasant, the strongest man in northern Illinois, who could kill a wolf with his naked hands. Of the future of our county it is useless to speak, but she has all the elements of prosperity, and must advance.