Visit, Pass On The StoriesThe Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
Visit, Pass On The Storiesby Dessa Rodeffer, Quill Publisher/Owner
April 21, 2010
Sunday, I enjoyed meandering through the country side to take my husband to his tractor located on farmland we have east of Fountain Green. Afterwards, I wound on down the gravel road to neighbors, Judge and Mrs. Steven Evans who built a beautiful home on a hillside surrounded by beautiful woodland and dappled with fruit trees here and there and of course, Mary Evelyn's two beautiful horses nearby.
In their genealogy search for the first owners who had occupied the land, they found it was Mark Alton who came from New York and settled on their place in 1848. Our land, too, had been settled by Altons. He said Mark got married to a lady from McDonough County, they built a 16' x 20' log home, had six children and he went to war and died leaving her with the six children.
The Evans found the foundation where the house had stood and decided to put the area into prairie grass mowing an outline of where the log cabin had been. In their digging to seed the yard, they found evidence of the family's life in that cabin.
The Evans continue their research but it reminds me of the vast history under our feet in Illinois as well as in the U.S. and how others paved a way for what we have today.
As we teach our children to prepare for the future, I hope we take time from the TV or our work and visit about the stories and lessons of yesterday. Our American heritage is worth passing on.