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This charming sketch of 130 years ago depicts the Illinois farmscape of Civil War veteran William Hawkins and his wife Duanna Burgoin of the family of James and Mary (Miner) Burgoyne. It originally was published in the 1889 book, Portrait and Biographical Album of Vermilion and Edgar Counties Illinois, Vol. 1, by Chapman Brothers. This charming sketch of 130 years ago depicts the Illinois farmscape of Civil War veteran William Hawkins and his wife Duanna Burgoin of the family of James and Mary (Miner) Burgoyne. It originally was published in the 1889 book, Portrait and Biographical Album of Vermilion and Edgar Counties Illinois, Vol. 1, by Chapman Brothers. Visible are his home and barns, livestock, windmill, buggy and many more elements of farm life. The marking in the caption shows that the farm was located in Section 7, Township 18, Range 12.
William served in the 125th Illinois Infantry during the war. While on picket duty one day in Dallas, GA, he used his wits to elude capture by the enemy and was able to remain with his unit for the balance of the conflict. He returned to Illinois after his discharge and purchased a farm in Catlin Township, Vermilion County. He received a nearly full-page biographical profile in the 1889 history, which said:
He is actively engaged in tilling the soil and raising stock... as finely improved and well cultivated a farm as is to be found throughout the length and breadth of this rich agricultural region.... He of whom we write was the eldest of the family, and was bred to the life of a farmer, and habits of industry and frugality were early taught him by precept and example. He engaged in farming, tending sawmill, and in other occupations till he had obtained man's estate, and in the spring of 1860 sought the fertile prairies of Vermilion County, this State, accompanied by his wife and child, with a view of establishing a home here permanently. He has since been a valued resident of Catlin Township, with the exception of the bitter years spent on Southern battlefields, when with true patriotism he heroically gave up home and tore himself from his loved ones to aid his country in the time of her greatest trial... [For] three long and weary years [he] served faithfully and efficiently through many hard campaigns and suffered the hardships and privations of a soldier's life without a murmur... He owns 170 acres of choice, ell-tilled land, on which he has erected a fine set of buildings, including a roomy, substantially built residence, a view of which with the surrounding lawns, beautified by lovely shade trees, is an attractive addition to this volume.... Mr. Hawkins is a valued member of this community, and his loyalty to his country is as marked as in the days when he courageously took his life in his hands and marched forth to do battle for its honor and the preservation of its integrity.
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Copyright © 2019 Mark A. Miner. |
