William Rock

 

SOURCE: "Portrait and Biographical Album of Champaign County, Illinois," Chapman Brothers, Chicago, 1887
SURNAMES: BEAVERS, BRYANT, CHAMBERS, COLER, ROCK, SHREVE

WILLIAM ROCK, deceased, one of the honored pioneers of Sadorus Township, and who improved one of the first farms laid out on section 24, became one of the prominent landmarks of the county, and left to his descendants a name and a record of which they may well be proud. He was born in Alleghany County, Md., Feb. 17, 1799, and departed this life at his home in Sadorus Township, in 1883. He remained a resident of his native State until 1831, and in the spring of that year emigrated to Indiana, and in March, 1835, came to this county. Soon afterward he took up a claim of forty acres in Sadorus Township, and built the house which continued his residence the remainder of his life.

The career of Mr. Rock illustrates in a remarkable manner the result of determination, perseverance and industry. Upon coming to this county he had only money enough to pay for his forty acres, at $1.25 per acre. At the time of his death he was the owner of nearly 2,400 acres of land, which, with the exception of 190 acres purchased after his will was made, was divided in an equitable and satisfactory manner among his children.

William Rock spent his boyhood and youth as a member of his father’s household until his marriage in 1824. His first wife, formerly Miss Nancy BEAVERS, was born Aug. 15, 1808, and of this union there were eleven children: James is deceased; Catherine, Mrs. BRYANT, resides near Parkville; Elizabeth is deceased; Andrew J. is written of elsewhere in this work; Jane and William H. are deceased; mary, Mrs. Newton COLER, lives in Sadorus Township; Rebecca married Pierce S. COLER, and lives in Sadorus Township; George is deceased; Ann is the wife of Dr. J. G. CHAMBERS, of Sadorus Township; John is deceased. The death of little Jane occurred about two years after the arrival of Mr. Rock and his family in Sadorus Township. There was scarcely enough suitable material in the neighborhood in which to enshroud the child, but a small piece of white muslin was finally secured from Mrs. Henry Sadorus. There were not even boards to be obtained large enough to make a coffin, and the father and brother hewed out a receptacle for the remains from a log. The mother of these children passed from earth Nov. 28, 1847. A year later Mr. Rock was married to Miss Nancy SHREVE, by whom he had one child, Martin V., who died Jan. 9, 1864. The second wife, who was born Jan. 25, 1808, still survives him, and is living in St. Joseph, this county.

When Mr. Rock commenced farming in this county, his stock consisted of a light four-horse team, three cows, a few calves and about a dozen pigs, which he had brought with him. The first dwelling was built of round poles, and contained a solitary room 16x18 feet. In this the family dwelt for about eight years. The next residence was built of strewn logs, and was one and one-half stories in height. The more pretentious residence , which was erected in 1848, was built of brick, made and burned on his land. The first school in that locality was a private one, conducted in a little house, which Mr. Rock built especially for that purpose. In this five of his children learned their letters at the same time. Mr. Rock himself learned his letters in the evenings after he was married, from a man who was working for him, and felt quite proud of his later accomplishments in reading. His first lessons in arithmetic were obtained by counting the chapters in the Bible, which was the first and only reading book he ever had. He was a Universalist in religious belief, and meetings were sometimes held at his house or in the neighborhood.

In this sketch, necessarily brief, there is scarcely space to detail the experiences of Mr. Rock, as one of the earliest pioneers of this county. His family never suffered for food, because there was plenty of wild game, and when not able to reach the mills, which were twenty to sixty miles away, they pieced out their meager fare on home-made hominy. The epicure of to-day might seriously object to the "menu" of those times, but the pioneers possessed in a remarkable degree the quality of contentment and made the best of circumstances.

Mr. Rock politically was a stanch Democrat, and seldom permitted any other duties to interfere with casting his vote on election days, although this at first involved a journey to Urbana. He was a remarkably healthy man, although at long periods suffered from inflammation of the eyes, which finally destroyed his eyesight. In the management of his business affairs he was prudent and far-seeing, and looked upon death as one of the least calamities that can befall a man, making his arrangements for that event with as much calmness as he would to start upon a journey to see a friend. He had erected a monument on the private burying-ground on his farm, and there, according to his request and his previous arrangement, his body was laid for its final rest. The memory of "Uncle Billy Rock" is held in kind remembrance by all who knew him, and who will often speak of him to their children and grandchildren as one of the resolute spirits who aided so materially in developing the resources of this section and opening a path for the march of a later civilization.