A
worthy representative of one of Macoupin county’s pioneer families is to
be found in the person of Leonard Ketchum, who is cultivating the farm
on which he was born on the 21st of April, 1842. His parents were Ira
and Phoebe (Fitzgerald) Ketchum, the father of English and the mother of
Irish extraction. Ira Ketchum was a native of Vermont, his birth having
occurred about 1816, and he is a son of Ira and Rebecca (Palmer)
Ketchum, his father having been born and reared in the vicinity of
Waltham, Vermont. When a youth of sixteen years he came with his mother
and her brother, William Palmer, to Illinois, locating on what is now
known as Palmer’s Prairie in Jersey county, Illinois. There he lived
with his uncle William until about 1837, when he took possession of
eighty acres of land preempted for him by his uncle in Macoupin county.
He subsequently purchased another eighty acres adjoining his tract,
making the aggregate of his possessions one hundred and sixty acres. It
was all raw prairie, never having been broken or improved in any way. He
erected a log cabin and such other buildings as were necessary to
shelter his stock and began breaking the land, placing it under
cultivation as rapidly as he was able. The operation of his home farm
continued to engage his attention until his demise on the 5th of May,
1853. The mother of our subject was a native of New Jersey, her birth
having occurred about 1816 also. In 1833 she came with her parents to
Illinois, the family locating near Palmer’s Prairie in Jersey county,
and there Mr. and Mrs. Fitzgerald died about 1854.
To Mr. and
Mrs. Ira Ketchum eleven children were born: Alfred is living in the
vicinity of Pasadena, California; Daniel, who was a member of Company F,
Thirty-second Illinois Volunteer Infantry, during the Civil war, and was
with his brother when wounded at the battle of Shiloh, is now living
near Pattensburg, Davis county, Missouri; Leonard is the next of the
family; David, a member of Company F, Thirty-second Illinois Volunteer
Infantry, died in the army from the effects of wounds sustained at
Shiloh; Edmund H., also deceased, was a member of the One Hundred and
Twenty-second Illinois Volunteer Infantry; Franklin is residing in the
vicinity of Jerseyville, Illinois; Rebecca is the wife of James Chism,
of Medora; Charles is living in Alton, Illinois; Ira is a resident of
Macoupin county. The two youngest members of the family died in infancy.
After the death of her first husband Mrs. Ketchum married Henry Cooper,
by whom she had one son, Eli, who is living in Pasadena, California.
In general the early life of Leonard Ketchum did not differ from
those of other lads of the pioneer period. Upon him early devolved many
chores about the home, these being increased with the development of his
strength, while his education was pursued in the district schools near
by. He remained at home until he was seventeen years of age and then
worked by the month as a farm hand until the breaking out of the Civil
war. When Lincoln’s second call came for troops, the patriotic spirit of
the youth was deeply stirred and he responded by going to Springfield,
where he enlisted in October, 1861. His brothers Daniel and David had
gone to the front in the preceding August, and the younger brother,
Edmund H., joined near the close of the war, four members of the family
having been in the army. He became a member of Company F, Twelfth
Illinois Cavalry, his regiment being sent to the Shenandoah valley,
Virginia, joining General Buford’s command. His first experience on the
battlefield was at Sharpsburg, where his command had a severe engagement
with Ashby’s Black Horse Cavalry, this being the first sabre charge of
the Civil war. He was captured at the surrender of Harper’s Ferry by
Stonewall Jackson’s command and held under parole about six months and
was then exchanged. He rejoined his regiment at Dumfries, Virginia,
being assigned to do skirmishing and scouting duty throughout the state.
His most notable battle was probably that of Gettysburg, in which he
participated for two days, and then returned with his regiment to Brandy
Station, where they wintered. He did skirmishing in Virginia until
mustered out in October, 1863, for reenlistment in the same company and
regiment and was sent to New Orleans. He was assigned to duty along the
Mississippi river and was in the Red River expedition under General
Banks, and was at Memphis at the time of Lee’s surrender. His regiment
was held in service until 1866, being sent to Texas on scout duty, and
they received their discharge at Springfield, Illinois. Among the most
valued possessions of Mr. Ketchum are the sabre and carbine he carried
during the entire period of his service in the army.
After he
was mustered out he returned to Macoupin county and rented land, which
he cultivated for five years. At the expiration of that period he
removed to the old family homestead, a small portion of this being his
heritage, while the remainder he purchased from the other heirs. This
consists of one hundred and sixty acres of land on section 18,
Chesterfield township. He has wrought many changes in the place since he
settled here, all of the buildings now standing having been erected
during the period of his occupancy. It is one of the most attractive and
valuable properties of Chesterfield township, being well improved and
under a high state of cultivation. Mr. Ketchum calls his place Corn Land
Farm, and here he devotes much attention to stock feeding, making a
specialty of raising Poland China hogs and fine horses.
On the
14th of December, 1863, Mr. Ketchum was united in marriage to Miss Jane
Hayward, a daughter of Cyrus Tolman and Elizabeth (Olmstead) Hayward.
Her father was a representative of one of America’s oldest families, his
ancestors having been Thomas and Susanna Hayward, natives of Kent
county, England. They came to America on the ship Hercules in 1633,
landing at Plymouth, and were members of the Plymouth colony that
settled at Duxbury, Massachusetts. They were also among the original
settlers of Bridgewater. Massachusetts, and there they died about 1681.
Unto them were born five sons and two daughters, all of the former
having been born in England. In order of birth they were as follows:
Thomas, Nathaniel, John, Joseph, Elisha, Mary and Martha. The two last
named were natives of Duxbury, Massachusetts. Mrs. Ketchum traces her
descent directly to the fourth son, Joseph, who was two years of age
when his parents brought him to America. He married Hannah Mitchell
about 1682, and they had nine children. Their son Edward, born in 1689,
married Keziah, the widow of Edward White, and to them were born four
children. Joseph, their, son, was horn on the 17th of July, 1753, and
married Lydia Barrows, who bore him fourteen children. Their son Joseph,
whose birth occurred on the 10th of October, 1784, married Esther Ripley
and had a family of eight children. George Adoniram, who was born of
this union, married Henrietta Tarbox, who bore him one son, Ansel, who
took for his wife Lucinda Tolman, a daughter of Daniel Tolman, of
Bridgewater, Massachusetts. They became the parents of eight children,
one of whom was Cyrus Tolman Hayward, the father of Mrs. Ketchum. He was
born in Massachusetts on the 4th of June, 1819, and there spent the
first nineteen years of his life. In 1838, Anson Hayward sold his farm
and came to Macoupin county, Illinois, with his family, settling on a
farm on section 18, Chesterfield township. He was a cabinet-maker by
trade, having followed that occupation in connection with farming in his
native state. He retired from active farming during the latter years of
his life and devoted his energies to clock repairing until his death,
which occurred on the 30th of November, 1863. He was a veteran of the
war of 1812. Cyrus Tolman Hayward lived at home until he attained his
majority, assisting his father with the work of the farm. On Christmas
day, 1840, he was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Maria Olmstead,
and unto them were born eight children: Cyrus W., who is living at
Parsons, Kansas; Caroline Matilda, the wife of Frank Silsby; Jane, now
Mrs. Ketchum; William Oscar, also living at Parsons, Kansas; Lucinda
Cornelia, the deceased wife of Melvin Loper, of Chesterfield township;
Eva Josephine, the deceased wife of Emmons Loper, of Chesterfield
township; Eldon O.. who died at the age of three years; and Eldon
Augustus, who died in infancy. The mother of these children passed away
on the 8th of July, 1856. On the 21st of September, 1859, Mr. Hayward
was married the second time, his choice on this occasion being Mrs.
Alary Ann Johnson, a widow. They became the parents of five children:
Lillian O., a merchant at Aledora, Illinois; Herbert, who is living on
the old home place in Chesterfield township; Alary E., the wife of
William Simpson, of Marion, Indiana; Horace L., who is a resident of
Chicago, Illinois; and Ida R., who died in infancy. Mrs. Hayward passed
away on the 22d of August, 1898. Cyrus T. Play ward learned the
cabinet-maker’s trade in his early youth, following that in connection
with farming for many years. About 1846 he bought eighty acres of land
on section 20, Chesterfield township, upon which he settled with his
family. He extended the boundaries of his farm in 1858 by the purchase
of another eighty-acre tract, continuing to make that his home until his
death on the 11th of June, 1904.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Ketchum there
were born ten children, in order of birth as follows: Louis E.,
deceased, who was a real-estate dealer of Stuttgart, Arkansas, and was
married and had three children; Lawrence C., a farmer of Shipman
township, who is married and has four children; Evelina, the wife of A.
L. Carter, of Medora, and the mother of one son; Nellie May, the wife of
Edward Barnes, a farmer of Jersey county; Elizabeth, the wife of Cary
Haynes, of Chesterfield township, and the mother of two daughters; James
Wastler, operating the home place, who is married and has one son; Jane
S., the wife of John Shields, a retired farmer of Jerseyville, and the
mother of two children; and three who died in infancy.
Mr.
Ketchum loyally supports the men and measures of the republican party
and although often urged to enter public life has never held any office
save that of school director. He maintains relations with his comrades
of the Civil war through the medium of his membership in the Grand Army
of the Republic, in which he has always taken an active interest. Mr.
Ketchum is one of the highly regarded citizens of Chesterfield township;
intelligent and progressive in his ideas, and he takes a deep interest
in community affairs, always giving his support to every movement that
promises to serve the best interests of the majority.
Extracted 20 Oct 2018 by Norma Hass from History of Macoupin County, Illinois: Biographical and Pictorial, by Charles A. Walker, published in 1911, Volume 2, pages 240-248.
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