ROBERT INGERSOLL CHURCHILL, son of Leonard Hubbard and Harriet (McBrrom) Churchill
Robert Ingersoll was born near Fiatt in 1862. That same year the C. B. & Q. railroad reached Canton. This would be the closest railroad to the Churchill home for several years as the first railroad to reach Joshua Township was still several years away (1880). In 1862 also, Congress passed the "Homestead Act" which provided that any man living on and cultivating the land would be given a tract of land not to exceed 160 acres without "money or price."

Robert may have started his schooling in Buckhart Township while his parents were living on the Buckhart farm his father had purchased in 1865 from Hewit McBroom Sr., Leonard Hubbard Churchill's Father-in-law. The exact year that Leonard Hubbard and his family moved back to the farm south of Fiatt is not known but it was before 1870. Robert's name was on the school roll at the Fiatt Brick School in March of 1874, as were the names of his brothers, Alexander, John and Frank.

Robert seldom related any of his boyhood experiences but the writer recalls one such story. When a boy, it was Robert's job to bring in the cows each evening. In the fall he would do this on horseback because on foot he couldn't see the cows over the tall grass. At that time the grass land of the area was prairie and covered with prairie grasses, mostly big bluestem (sometimes locally called "turkey foot" because of the peculiar branching heads). Individual plants or small patches of these grasses can still be found throughout the eastern prairie region as far east as Michigan. Plants of big bluestem often grow to a height of five or six feet.

As a boy too, one of Robert's late summer jobs was to drive the team on the sweep that powered his father's threshing machine (steam engines for threshing didn't come into the neighborhood until after 1875). Although barbed wire had been invented in 1861, it was not used much for fencing until after 1870. Farms were fenced in various ways but in 1870 the "worm fence" (split rails laid zigzag) was still the most common on Illinois farms. Post and board fences accounted for 32%; worm fences 43%, and hedge (Osage Orange) 23%. Hedge fences were most common in the prairie areas of the state. Rail fences fenced in the farm and post and board fences inclosed the buildings and feed lots.

In March 1889 Robert purchased an 80 acre farm in Putman Township (E1/2 of the SE1/4 of Section 5) from Emanuel Feeser. The farm was located east of Put Creek bridge in an area at that time known locally as Oklahoma. In October of 1889 Robert married Fannie Dilts, daughter of George and Susan Dilts. In 1890, Robert and his brother Frank purchased a 160 acre farm in Joshua Township (the SE1/4 of Section 30) from Alfred Hubanks. They farmed both farms until 1898 when the Feeser farm was sold to J. B. (John) and A. H. (Alexander) Churchill

In 1900 Robert and Frank bought 160 acres of pasture land in Deerfield Township, the NE1/4 of Section 36, from David Failing. In 1905 they bought the Steve Boswell farm, the S1/2 of the SW1/4 of Section 29, in Joshua Township. In 1914 a set of buildings, including a house, was built on the Failing Place and in December of 1914 the family moved there. In 1916 Robert and Frank dissolved partnership, divided the assets, and Frank moved to the Boswell farm. In 1946 Robert sold the Hubanks farm to Clyde Ludlum and in 1947 traded the Failing farm to Ronald Keefauver, receiving as partial payment, a house in Fiatt.

In June, 1911 Robert purchased his first automobile, a Rambler. It was the first model of rambler that had front doors. The steering wheel was on the right side, the lights were gas with the tank on the rear. The spare tire was a complete wheel with wooden spokes, on the right running board and the gasoline tank was under the front seat. There was no self-starter; the car had to be cranked. Cars were for summer; in winter they were put away, covered up; the radiator drained and the car set up on blocks. Cars were few and they yielded the right-of-way to a horse and buggy. If the horse was frightened, they almost always were, you were supposed stop the motor and wait until the horse and buggy passed. Going up the big hills, Robert's wife walked up the hill. So did one of the children who carried a rock to block the rear wheel when Robert changed gears. Eventually the family became accustomed to the ordeal; Robert learned to change gears without completely stopping the car and everyone rode up hill.

Robert served several terms as Township Supervisor of Joshua township, was a Director of the local school board in Deerfield Township and later was a member of the school board of the Cuba Community Schools. He lived in Fiatt until a short time before his death. When he became ill, his daughter June took him into her home, the original Leonard Hubbard Churchill farm south of Fiatt. Thus Robert died in the same house in which he was born eighty-seven years before.

MARY ELMINA "MINY" CHURCHILL, daughter of Leonard Hubbard and Harriet (McBrrom) Churchill
Mary Elmina (known by most, as "Miny") was born near Fiatt and lived in the Fiatt-Cuba neighborhood all of her life except a year or two, when as a young girl, her parents lived on a farm in Buckhart Township near Shields Chapel. Cannah Jones, her husband, was the son of Reverend John R. and Emily (Sells) Jones.

CHARLES HUBERT CHURCHILL, son of Leonard Hubbard and Harriet (McBrrom) Churchill
Charles Hubert Churchill was born near Fiatt, Illinois. As a young boy he attended the Fiatt Brick Country School, (actually two and one half miles southwest of Fiatt) as did his brothers and sisters, and later his daughters. In 1877 he married Mary Stevenson. She was born in Scotland and came to America with her parents and two sisters in 1862. After marriage, Charles rented a farm southwest of Fiatt where his two oldest daughters (Mabel Elizabeth and Jessie Blendena) were born. In January 1891 the family moved back to Fiatt, renting a farm again southwest of Fiatt. It was while living hear that his three oldest daughters attended the Fiatt Brick Country School. IN 1905 Charles purchased a farm, the SE 1/4 of Section 5 in Putman Township, east of Put Creek. While living here three of Charles' daughters graduated from Cuba High School In February of 1909 Charles sold the farm and moved to Hereford, Texas. He farmed here until 1934 when he retired and moved to Hereford. Charles and his wife Mary are buried in the Fiatt Cemetery.

ALEXANDER HULL "DOC" CHURCHILL, son of Leonard Hubbard and Harriet (McBrrom) Churchill
Alexander Hull (the "Hull" was after the Doctor that brought him into the world) was a twin to Chester Douglas. "Doc" (as he was called by everyone who knew him) was born south of Fiatt and lived in that vicinity most of his life. Doc and his younger brother John, bought a farm southeast of Fiatt before either of them were married. They lived on the farm and batched. When John was married in 1887, Doc continued to live with John and his wife Mary. Doc's marriage in 1890 resulted in separation soon afterward and Dock lived on with John and Mary the rest of his life. After John's death in 1934, Mary and Doc moved to Cuba, where Doc died in 1936. He is buried in the Fiatt Cemetery.

JOHN BENJAMIN CHURCHILL, son of Leonard Hubbard and Harriet (McBrrom) Churchill
John was born near Fiatt and lived in the Fiatt neighborhood all but a year or two of his life. About one month before John was born, the famous Pony Express between Sacramento, California and St. Joseph, Missouri for U. S. Mail delivery was established April 3, 1860. Mail had been delivered on horseback many years earlier but not on so grandiose a scale. There were eight riders and one hundred ninety relay stations; the riders changing horses every ten miles. The service was discontinued October 24, 1861 when the first transcontinental telegraph line was completed. The symbol of the horse and rider has hung in Post Offices throughout the United States ever sine (reorganization of the Postal Department in 1971 will replace this symbol with one of an eagle). Closer home(Canton, Parlin and Orendorff established the P & O Plow Company.

John probably first attended school in Buckhart Township southwest of Canton since his parents lived there for a time (probably between 1866 and 1868 and 1869). He was listed in the roll of pupils at the Fiatt Brick School in March 1874. Before marriage, John and his brother Doc (Alexander) purchased a farm southeast of Fiatt (in section 33) where they farmed and batched. This farm was John's home for the rest of his life.

In December of 1887 John married Mary Manion, the daughter of Martin and Elizabeth Manion. Besides farming, John operated a thresher machine in the neighborhood for many years. After his death, Mary and Doc moved to Cuba. Doc died in 1936 and Mary continued living in Cuba until her death in 1943. All three are buried in the Fiatt Cemetery.

Sons of Cannah and Mary Elmina (Churchill) Jones:

FRANKLIN GUY JONES
Frank moved to the Leonard Hubbard Churchill farm south of Fiatt soon after his marriage. Leonard had just left the farm and moved to Cuba. Frank farmed here for several years and then moved to a farm in Putman Township west of Stringtown and east of his mother's farm. After farming here for several years, Frank and his family moved to the Rosa Miller farm (Frank's parents-in-law) east of Stringtown. They lived here until after the death of Frank's brother Fred and then moved to the home farm where Fred had been living. When Frank became ill, he was taken into the home of his son Robert, where he died June of 1957. After his death his wife Mary moved to Cuba where she died in 1965. They buried in the Fiatt Cemetery.

ROSS HAROLD JONES
Ross farmed with his brother Fred until World War I at which time he was in the Armed Services. Ross relates that the ship he was on going over required 14 days to cross the Atlantic (normal crossings require nine days). A zig-zag course was taken to avoid mines and to otherwise insure the safety of the troops. He returned to the United States in 1919 and was discharges from the Service in July of that year. After marriage, Ross and Olive lived at the home place with Fred for two years. In 1924 they moved to Cuba and Ross worked for the United Electric Mining Company, which had started the first coal stripping operation in Fulton County in 1923. Ross continued working with United Electric until his retirement. Olive is a graduate of Cuba High School They are still living in Cuba.

CHARLES FRED JONES
The U. S. Census report of Fulton County in 1880 lists Fred's name as Charles F. He was never known by any other name than Fred (probably short for Frederick). He was never married and he lived with his mother until her death in 1920. He continued to live at the home place and farmed it until his death. He is buried at the Fiatt Cemetery.

Daughters of Charles Hubert Churchill, granddaughter of Leonard Hubbard Churchill:

JESSIE BLENDENA [BLENNIE] CHURCHILL
Jessie Blendena (Blennie) was born near Fiatt, Illinois but the family moved to Independence, Kansas about 1883 or 1884. they returned to Fiatt in 1891, and in January 1892 Blennie and two of her sisters were attending the Fiatt Brick School. In 1902 she married James (Jim) Quick. They lived one-fourth mile south of the Free Will Baptist Church until 1918 when they moved to a farm one-half mile north of the church. Jim continued to live on the farm after Blennie died until about 1950 when the coal company exercised their option on the farm. At that time Jim moved in with his son Beriah in Cuba and lived there until his death in 1955. Blennie and Jim are buried in the Fiatt Cemetery.

MABEL ELIZABETH CHURCHILL
Mabel was born near Fiatt, Illinois but moved with her parents and younger sister Jessie Blendena to Independence, Kansas when she was only a child. In 1891 the family moved back to Fiatt and in January 1892 her name was included in the list of pupils at the Fiatt Brick School. In 1899 she married Duke Story, son of Bigelow and Margaret Story. Duke farmed in the Canton and also the Cuba neighborhoods until 1921 when the family moved to Summerfield, Texas. He retired from the farm and moved to Hereford in 1938. They are both buried in Hereford.

ADAH HARRIET CHURCHILL
Adah was born near Independence, Kansas. Her parents moved from Kansas back to Fiatt in 1891. She attended the Brick Fiatt School and later, Cuba High School where she graduated in 1907. After graduating from high school she taught country school. Her husband Frank, graduated from Cuba High School in 1908. After marriage, they lived in Chicago for several years and then moved to Clinton, Illinois. According to the Cuba High Annual of 1925, Frank was a Mail Clerk at Clinton in 1924. Frank retired in 1948 and they moved to Phoenix, Arizona. After Frank's death in 1959, Adah moved to California to live with her daughter Helen.

MARY FERN CHURCHILL
Fern was born near Fiatt, Illinois and attended the Fiatt Brick School near her home. She attended Cuba High School and graduated from there in 1909. Her parents moved to Hereford, Texas in February of that year. Presumably Fern stayed with relatives (possibly her Grandmother Harriet) in Cuba to finish her senior year. She completed two years at West Texas Normal (now West Texas State University) and taught school for two years. After her marriage to Robert Rowan in 1913, they lived in Waco, Texas where he taught school. Robert then taught school successively in Meridian, Rusk, and Hereford, Texas and in Taiban, New Mexico. IN the summer of 1923 they moved to Las Vegas, new Mexico where Robert taught and coached in the Public Schools and at Montizuma Baptist College.

In 1925 they moved to Lake Arthur, New Mexico where Robert was Superintendent of schools. In 1927 the family moved to Roswell, New Mexico where Robert taught school for one year. From 1928 to 1945 Robert was engaged in the Insurance Business; living in Canyon, Texas from 1928 to 1936, Amarillo from 1936 to 1940, and in San Antonio from 1940 to 1945. In 1945 they moved to Carlsbad, New Mexico where Robert returned to Public school teaching and administration. Later they presumably moved back to Canyon, Texas where (according to their son Robert) they are both buried.

LAURA RUTH CHURCHILL
Ruth was born near Fiatt, Illinois and attended the Fiatt Brick Country School. When her parents bought the farm east of Put-Creek in Putman Township, she went to the Stringtown School. Neither of these school houses are in existence now. Ruth's high school education must have been at Hereford, Texas since her parents moved to a farm near there in February 1909. She married James Florey in Hereford in December 1916. After their first child was born in Amarillo, they moved to Summerfield and lived there two years. They moved from Summerfield to Amarillo and lived there until Jim's death in 1946. Ruth continued living in Amarillo, and for a time continued operating the warehouse business. In 1963 she married Walter Wieland and they continued living there.

CHARLES MANION CHURCHILL, Son of John Benjamin and Mary E. (Manion) Churchill, Grandson of Leonard Hubbard Churchill
Charles was born near Fiatt and attended the Jones country school. He graduated from Cuba High School in 1908. He worked with his father on the threshing runs and after marriage, he farmed north of Cuba. He and Hazel are buried in the Fiatt Cemetery.

ERNEST EMERY CHURCHILL, Son of John Benjamin and Mary E. (Manion) Churchill, Grandson of Leonard Hubbard Churchill
Ernest "Ernie" attended the Jones country school and in 1910, graduated from Cuba High School He taught country school in Fulton County and after marriage, became a farmer. He farmed his grandfather's farm south of Fiatt for several years and his three children were born there. Later he moved to a farm east of Cuba in Putman Township. After retiring from the farm he and his wife moved to a home near Cuba where she still lives. Ernie died in 1965 and was buried in the Fiatt Cemetery.

CHESTER ARTHUR "ART" CHURCHILL, Son of John Benjamin and Mary E. (Manion) Churchill, Grandson of Leonard Hubbard Churchill
Art lived his entire life near Fiatt. After marriage, he farmed the Chester B. Churchill farm east of Fiatt. As a young man he worked with his father and brothers on the threshing runs. For a considerable time he operated a clover huller in the neighborhood. Art is buried in the White Chapel Memory Gardens east of Canton.

FRED H. CHURCHILL, Son of John Benjamin and Mary E. (Manion) Churchill, Grandson of Leonard Hubbard Churchill
Fred attended the Jones country school and in 1919 graduated from Cuba High School. He was a life-long resident of the Fiatt community and farmed all of his life. Fred and Marie are buried in the Fiatt Cemetery.

GEORGE LEONARD CHURCHILL, son of Robert Ingersoll and Fannie Blanche (Dilts) Churchill, Grandson of Leonard Hubbard Churchill
As a young man, George's pride and joy was his horse and buggy. Both George and his brother Ross had their own. This was true also for all the young men of the neighborhood. It was their means of transportation for dates and all social gatherings. When first married, George rented a farm in Young Hickory Township of Fulton County, southeast of London Mills. He farmed here for two years and then moved to the home place of his father's when the latter moved to the Failing Farm. IN 1922 George purchased a farm north of Herman in Knox County, and farmed there for ten years. It was while living here that he son Wayne went to high school in Abingdon.

In 1932 he rented a farm south of Herman, selling his own farm. In 1933 he rented the Locke (his father-in-law) farm in Young Hickory Township west of Fairview and farmed there for three years. In 1936 he rented a farm in Astoria Township, Fulton County, south of Astoria for one year. In 1937 he purchased a farm southeast of Ipava, where he farmed for twenty-three years. In 1959 he bought a home and twenty acres on the outskirts of Astoria and lived there until 1966, still farming the Ipava farm. At that time he sold the two properties and purchased a sixty acre farm west of Blandinsville in McDonough County where he still farms.

For thirteen years George was a local 4-H Club leader. For sixteen years he exhibited livestock at the county fairs and has shoe boxes filled with prize ribbons. He still takes sheep and hogs to the fairs but hires a young high school boy to exhibit them.

GEORGE WAYNE CHURCHILL, son of George Leonard and Blanche Leonne (Locke) Churchill, grandson of Robert Ingersoll Churchill, Great Grandson of Leonard Hubbard Churchill.
     Wayne started school at the Fiatt Scott school He was less fortunate than his father for the school house had just been moved to Fiatt which gave Wayne a walking distance of one and one-quarter miles. Previously the school house had stood on the corner only one-fourth mile east of the home farm. This is where the school house stood when Wayne's father, George, was in school Wayne graduated from Abingdon High School in 1931 and from the University of Illinois in 1936.

After graduating from the University, he taught Vocational Agriculture at Bardolph, Illinois from 1936 to 1938. From 1938 to 1945 he was Assistant Farm Adviser in Sangamon Co., Illinois (Springfield). In 1945-1946 he was Farm Adviser in Jo Daviess County, Illinois being stationed at Elizabeth. From 1946 to 1953 he was Farm Adviser in Will Co., Illinois (Joliet). In 1953-1954 he was Publicity Director of the Producers Commission Company of Chicago but continued living in Joliet. From 1954 to the present time (1972) he has been Market Promotion Specialist for the American Dairy Association but still lives in Joliet.

Imogene is a Certified Social Worker for the State of Illinois and has worked for Public Aid thirteen years.

ROSS ALEXANDER CHURCHILL, son of Robert Ingersoll Churchill, Grandson of Leonard Hubbard Churchill
In the spring of 1914 after his marriage in January, Ross rented the Boswell Farm from his Uncle Frank and farmed the place for two years. In 1916 he rented the Tyler Farm northwest of the Free-Will Baptist Church and farmed there for one year. In 1917 he rented the Bowen Farm south of Fairview where he lived for six years. In March 1923 he purchased an 80 acre farm near Herman in Knox County. In February 1924 he sold this farm and purchased a 160 acre farm southeast of Abingdon in Knox County. In 1946 he purchased a home in Abingdon and retired from farming. In 1948 he purchased an 80 acre farm in Cedar Township west of Knoxville in Knox County which his son-in-law farms. In 1960 he built a house in Abingdon and sold the former Abingdon home. In 1965 he sold the 160 acre farm southeast of Abingdon. Ross and Onie are buried in the Abingdon Cemetery.

BEULAH MAE CHURCHILL, Daughter of Robert Ingersoll Churchill, Granddaughter of Leonard Hubbard Churchill
In the fall of 1916 and the spring of 1917 Beulah attended Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. In March 1921 she married Edward C. Schmidt. Ed's parents had recently moved to Freeport, Kansas from Quincy, Illinois. Ed had served in World War I and was discharged from the Army June 13, 1919. After marriage Beulah and Ed lived near Freeport, Kansas and he farmed until 1951. At that time he retired and built a house in Wellington, Kansas. In the fall of 1958 Beulah returned to Illinois, renting an apartment in Canton. The next year she sold the Wellington home and purchased a house in Canton, where she lived until the fall of 1971. At that time she sold the home and moved to an apartment where she is now living. Ed is buried at Freeport, Kansas.

MINNIE BLANCH CHURCHILL, daughter of Robert Ingersoll Churchill, granddaughter of Leonard Hubbard Churchill
When Blanche was a young girl she often helped with the chores; feeding and watering livestock and milking the cows. She could handle a horse and buggy or a team and wagon on the road and did field work after the older brothers were married. She cultivated corn in June and helped to pick it in November. In 1921, she married Herman McConnell of Robinson, Illinois. Herman had graduated from Robinson High School and served in World War I. He was a commercial beekeeper and sold honey, queen bees, beeswax and occasionally worker bees. Queen bees were mailed to all parts of the United States.

After marriage they rented a small farm where Herman continued in the bee business. He also substituted on the mail route. Rural free delivery had been established in 1896 and Herman's father carried mail on a rural route out of Robinson from March 1, 1909 to August 31, 1934. Herman served as a regular substitute on his father's route from August 26, 1914 to August 31, 1934. Both of Blanche's sons also have a long record of employment at the Robinson Post Office; the three generations having a total of 93 years. In Fulton County the post office had been established at Fiatt on July 1`7, 1843 with Matthew Mitchell as the first Postmaster. A rural route had been established out of Fiatt on September 15, 1903 and was terminated November 30, 1934. Charles W. May was the first and last rural mail carrier there. Several homes including the Robert Ingersoll Churchill place were not on the rural route; the mail picked up at the Fiat Post Office. when the Robert Churchill family moved to their new home in 1914, they were on a rural route for the first time. their old home place was still not on the rural route in 1945 when Robert N. Churchill left the farm.

In 1946 the McConnell family purchased the farm where they had been living since 1921. In 1952 they moved into a recently built honey house. The old house was torn down and construction of a new house on the same site was begun. IN 1954 they moved into the new house. Blanche still lives there with her two sons and grandsons. Herman died in November 1969 and is buried in the Robinson New Cemetery.

FLORENCE HARRIET CHURCHILL, daughter of Robert Ingersoll Churchill, granddaughter of Leonard Hubbard Churchill.
When Florence was a young girl growing up on the farm, there was no such thing as Boy Scouts (started Feb. 8, 1910) or Girl Scouts (started Mar. 12, 1912). Neither were there 4-H Clubs nor FFA and FHA (Future Farmers of America and Future Homemakers of America). However there were chores to do, wood to carry in; and both boys and girls learned to drive a team and milk a cow at an early age. Florence loved the outdoors and did outdoor work including field work with horses. She could harness and unharness a horse and cultivate corn.

Florence and Ralph lived in Fiatt for one year after their marriage and Ralph trucked livestock to Peoria. In the spring of 1923 they moved on her father's farm west of Fiatt where they farmed for two years until her death in October 1924. She is buried in the Fiatt Cemetery.

BOYD RANSOM CHURCHILL, son of Robert Ingersoll Churchill, grandson of Leonard Hubbard Churchill.
Boyd attended the Fiatt Scott country school one mile west of Fiatt (the building was moved to Fiatt about 1919) through the seventh grade. When his parents moved to Deerfield Township he attended the Roberts school three miles west of Fiatt for the eighth grade. As a child he had most of the children's diseases of the time; mumps, chicken pox, measles, scarlet fever and pneumonia. There were no shots for measles, mumps, whooping cough or diphtheria. The best treatment was to keep from being exposed. When the flu epidemic was so severe in 1918 this writer recalls that his mother sewed asafetida in his overalls. This certainly was practicing preventive medicine for the smell was so disagreeable that everyone kept a good distance away.

For the first time (after the family moved to the new house in 1914) there was central heating with a furnace in the basement. The old home had a dark basement where home canned foods, apples and potatoes were stored. The house was heated by the kitchen range and heater stoves in the "sitting " room and the "parlor." There was no heat up-stairs, not even floor ventilators from the heated room below. When winter came, blankets replaced sheets, a feather bed was added and more blankets were piled on. On the colder nights heated bricks or flat irons were wrapped in towels and placed in the bed just before bedtime for the children. Baths were taken in a wooden tub; in the kitchen in winter, in the woodshed in summer.

In the late fall of 1916, a Delco Light Plant was installed. The house had been wired for electricity when it was built in 1914 but Kerosene lamps were used until the Delco plant was purchased. This gas driven dynamo furnished electricity until 1937 when the electric high line came to the community. During the years in high school, Boyd was responsible for his own transportation to and from school (five miles each way). The trip to school was made with horse and buggy. In 1917, Beriah Quick started high school and he and Boyd would alternate weeks driving. When the roads were extremely bad, both boys rode horseback. There were no school buses and no paved roads. Illinois had passed its new road bill in 1913 and Congress had passed the Federal Aid to Roads Bill in 1916 but it would be several years (1927) before there would be a paved road to Cuba.

When cars first replaced horses as a means of transportation, people traveled farther from home. This brought about the need for road markings to guide the traveler. IN Illinois these guides took the form of road names, many of which were Indian in nature such as Kickapoo trail, Waubaunsie Trail, Pontiac Trail, Black Hawk trail and Indian Head Trail. A road map of Illinois published February 1917 listed fifty-one named roads. In Fulton County the Cannon Ball Route crossed the northwestern edge of the county following somewhat the C. B. & Q. railroad. The Waubaunsie Trail crossed the county from near Banner on the east to Bushnell just outside the county on the west. This Trail was later changed to the "Military Tract Trail." All of these roads had signs or symbols which were painted various colors on the telephone poles along the route. These road names were replaced with state and federal numbers after about 1925. The old Military Tract Trail is not Illinois State Highway 9. The old "Egyptian Trail" from Chicago to Cairo, Illinois is now Interstate 57 and the "Corn Belt Route" from Peoria east to the Indiana line is now U. S. 24.

Boyd graduated from Cuba High School in 1920 and that fall enrolled at Kansas Agricultural College. He worked on the Agronomy farm on Saturdays for twenty cents an hour. In the spring of his junior year he was elected to Alph Zeta, an honorary fraternity in Agriculture. He spent the summer of 1923 working at the U. S. Dry Land Experiment Station at Akron, Colorado. In the fall of his senior year he was a member of the College Grain Judging Team that competed in the Collegiate Grain Judging Contest held in connection with the International Livestock and Grain and Hay Show in Chicago. At the close of his senior year he was elected to Gamma Sigma Delta, an honorary Society in Agriculture. He received his B. S. Degree from Kansas Agricultural College in the spring of 1924.

The summer of 1924 was spent at home. That summer one of the bedrooms was converted to a bathroom with hot and cold running water and for the first time one could take a bath in something bigger than the old wooden tub. That fall Boyd received a scholarship for graduate studies at Michigan Agricultural College and enrolled there in September. In the spring of 1925 he was elected to Phi Sigma, an honorary Society in Biology. He received his M. S. Degree in August, 1925.

September 1, 1925 he was employed full time by Michigan State College and stationed at the Michigan State Experiment Station at Chatham in the Upper Peninsula. For two years the winter months (November to March) were spent in Menominee, Michigan, teach Agricultural Short Courses. It was in Menominee that he met his wife Grace Pierce. Grace was born in Belding Michigan. The family moved to Eugene, Oregon in 1907 but moved back to Howell, Michigan in 1916. After Grace graduated from high school the family moved to Ann Arbor where she attended the University of Michigan. She graduated from the University and taught high school English and History at Goodrich for two years and for three years at the Menominee Agricultural School.

Beginning in the fall of 1927 Boyd taught short courses during the winter months at Michigan State in East Lansing. From 1933 to 1939 he was stationed the year round at the Upper Peninsula Station. September 1, 1939 he was transferred to Michigan State at East Lansing. For three years, 1939 to 1941, he was a grain judge at the International Livestock and Grain and Hay Show at Chicago. In May 1955 he received the Michigan State University Distinguished Teacher award. In August 1956 he was given an honorary membership in the Michigan Association of Teachers of Vocational Agriculture. In May 1959 he was elected to the honorary Society of the Sigma Xi, which is devoted to the promotion of Research until his retirement July 1, 1967. Since then one of his major projects has been the preparation of this family history.

ROBERT NELSON CHURCHILL, son of Robert Ingersoll Churchill, grandson of Leonard Hubbard Churchill.
Robert attended the Fiatt Scott School until his parents moved to Deerfield Township and then finished his elementary education at the Roberts School west of the Free Will Baptist Church. He graduated from Cuba High School in 1923. He attended Western Illinois State Teachers College and Michigan State Agricultural College but preferred farming. He farmed with his father until 1929. The next two years he was employed by the Brown Lynch Scott Company in their Canton Store. In 1931 and 1932 he worked for the State Highway Department. In the spring of 1933 he rented his father's farm west of Fiatt and farmed there for twelve years. While farming the home place, he served two terms as a member of the school board of the Cuba Community Schools (until he moved out of the district). In 1945 he quit farming and opened up a Men and Boys clothing store in Lewistown. They purchased a home on East Euclid in Lewistown where they lived until 1956. At that time they sold the home and purchased one on South Main where they are still living. On April 1, they rented a larger building and opened a Department Store. They sold the business in 1962.

Margaret graduated from Cuba High School in 1928 and took a business course at Browns Business College in Peoria. She worked in the store and did the bookkeeping. Since the sale of the store she had been employed in the office of the Farm Bureau in Lewistown.

MYRTLE JUNE CHURCHILL, daughter of Robert Ingersoll Churchill, granddaughter of Leonard Hubbard Churchill.
The summer of 1908 was an eventful one for the Robert Churchill family. In late spring they moved to the Boswell Farm while the house on the home place was remodeled. Several of the children came down with the measles. Later Boyd stepped on a nail (the children went barefoot most of the summer) and he still remembers the home remedy for that. The foot was washed and a fat piece of bacon soaked in turpentine was bandaged to the spot. It is hard to tell which hurt more, the wound or the medicine but there was no infection. That summer too, when a storm brought George in from the corn field, his team became frightened and ran away with the cultivator while he was closing the gate. On the nineteenth of June, Myrtle June was born (all of the children were born at home, hospitals were for people who needed major surgery). That fall the family moved back to the home place and the Boswell house was rented. June attended the Roberts Country School through the eighth grade and graduated from Cuba High School in 1925. Her parents thought she was too young to go away to college so she worked at home for two years and then attended Illinois Wesleyan University at Bloomington for one year. From December 1929 to January 1, 1931 she was employed as cashier at the Brown Lynch Scott store in Canton. On January twentieth 1931 she married Burnett Pilcher. After marriage, they rented and farmed her father's farm west of Fiatt for two years. In 1933 they rented the TenEyck farm north of Fairview and farmed there for one year. In December 1934 they moved to Fiatt where they lived for one year. In September 1935 Burnett purchased a one acre lot at Cuba Junction, one mile west of Fiatt. He bought and moved a house onto the place; remodeled it and built a gas station on the corner which he operated for ten years.

In 1946 they purchased the Leonard Hubbard Churchill farm south of Fiatt and in 1947 remodeled the house. They moved to the farm the last of December 1947, selling the house and gas station at the Cuba Junction corner. They purchased a home in canton and moved there in January 1951, selling the farm. In 1955 they purchased the Jacobus farm southwest of Fiatt and moved there after remodeling the house. Later the Canton property was sold. In 1961 Burnett purchased several hundred acres of land northwest of Cuba from the mining company. He farmed the tillable land both before the coal was mined and after the mined area had been leveled. In 1967 he purchased 137 acres of farming land northeast of Fiatt. Most of the land is now rented and Burnett has retired from farming.

LEONARD FRANKLIN CHURCHILL, son of Leonard Hubbard Churchill.
Leonard Franklin (called Frank by everyone who knew him) was born in Buckheart Township southwest of Canton. His parents moved back to the home farm south of Fiatt before he was of school age. He attended the Fiatt Brick School and was on the roll of pupils there in March 1874. For several years, he lived with his brother Robert and they farmed in partnership until about 1916. At that time the partnership was dissolved and Frank moved to the Boswell farm which they had purchased in 1905. For a time Robert's daughter Florence kept house for him there. He married Alta, the daughter of Wilder and Mary Guernsey, in 1921. Alta still lives on the farm west of Fiatt. Frank is buried in the Avon Cemetery.

DANIEL WEBSTER CHURCHILL, son of Leonard Hubbard Churchill.
Dan was born near Fiatt. His parents had been living in Buckhart Township but moved back to Fiatt sometime between Frank's birth (Mar. 25, 1867) and Dan's (Jan. 12, 1870). On January 12, 1899 he married Caroline Stuckey. After marriage they lived on a farm north of Cuba. The family lived here until 1904 when they moved in with Caroline's father east of the Hipple School, in an area known as Bybee. Caroline's (everyone called here Lena, or Lenie) mother had died in 1902. Later they moved to the Boswell farm that had been purchased by Dan's bothers Robert and Frank in 1905. Dan rented this farm for one year and when Duke Story moved (he had been renting Dan's farm) he moved back to his own farm north of Cuba. They lived here the rest of their lives. They are buried in the Fairview Cemetery.

LEONARD ANDREW CHURCHILL, son of Daniel Webster Churchill, grandson of Leonard Hubbard Churchill.
Leonard has lived all of his life on the farm where he was born. The old road passed by the front of the house on the west side but when the paved road (now Illinois 97) was put through to Cuba it passed by the back side of the farm buildings. When Leonard married, he built a house on this highway and used the same farm buildings. He farmed with his father until the latter died and only recently retired and rented the farm. Leoma, his wife is buried in the Fairview Cemetery.

JERRY LOGAN CHURCHILL, son of Leonard Hubbard Churchill
Jerry married Orpha Heller February 28, 1893. They lived in Cuba until about 1898 when they moved to Canyon City, Colorado. In 1901 they moved back to Cuba. Early in 1914 the family moved to St. Thomas, North Dakota where Jerry farmed. IN March 1915 they moved to Kennedy, Minnesota where Jerry farmed until March 1920. At that time the family moved to Herman, Minnesota where Jerry farmed for nine years. In March of 1929 Jerry retired and moved to Minneapolis where he lived until his death in 1951.

Orpha graduated from Cuba High School in 1889 and afterward taught school until her marriage. Information on Jerry's life after he moved to Minneapolis is incomplete. He remarried in 1939, and according to his son Frank, was married a third time. Orpha, her son Howard, and daughters Dorothy and Margaret are buried in the Cuba Cemetery.

OSCAR LELAND CHURCHILL, son of Jerry Logan Churchill, grandson of Leonard Hubbard Churchill.
Leland was born in Cuba, Illinois in 1894. That was the year Thomas Edison gave the first commercial showing of his invention the Kinetoscope (moving picture machine) in New York. It was several years before a moving picture theater was built in Cuba but one of the earliest was the Airdrone. This was a roofless inclosure used only in summer. If it rained during the show, you left or got wet. Piano music accompanied the movie. Every twenty minutes the lights were turned on while the operator changed reels. there was no sound but words appeared on the screen to help the story along. Several people in the audience would read these short explanations out loud. (The first all talking picture "Lights of New York" was presented for the first time at the Strand Theater, New York City, July 6, 1928).

Canton removed the hitch racks from around the square May 5, 1910 and it must have been about this time too that the hitch racks around the square in Cuba were removed. The automobile began to replace the horse and buggy at the Saturday night band concerts. Leland farmed, with his father at first and later for himself. Since 1920 (as far as known) he has lived near Herman, Minnesota and is still living there.

RAYMOND HARRY CHURCHILL, son of Jerry Logan Churchill, grandson of Leonard Hubbard Churchill.
Raymond was born in Canon City, Colorado. His parents moved back to Cuba before June 1903 (Howard, brother of Raymond, was born in Cuba, June 6, 1903). He married Katherine Mell of Herman, Minnesota in 1929. She was born in Alborn, Minnesota. They lived at Wheaton, Minnesota until 941, when they moved to Minneapolis. Ray was employed by the Northern Pump Company there until he retired.

STANLEY L. CHURCHILL, son of Jerry Logan Churchill, grandson of Leonard Hubbard Churchill.
Stanley was born in Cuba, Illinois. He moved with his parents and the rest of the family, first to North Dakota and then to Minnesota. He operated a gas station in Herman, Minnesota.

JOHN H. CHURCHILL, son of Jerry Logan Churchill, grandson of Leonard Hubbard Churchill.
John was born in Cuba, Illinois and moved to North Dakota and later to Minnesota with his parents. In 1935 he left Minnesota and found employment with Caterpillar Company of East Peoria. He is still employed with the Company but works at their Plant at Morton, Illinois. He lives in Washington, Illinois.

FRANKLIN HELLER CHURCHILL, son of Jerry Logan Churchill, grandson of Leonard Hubbard Churchill.
Frank was born in Cuba, Illinois but most of his childhood was spent in Minnesota. In 1935 he married Mary Frances Campbell of Cuba, Illinois. (Mary Frances is a sister to Margaret Elizabeth Campbell, wife of Robert N. Churchill). They lived in Cuba for several years after their marriage and Frank worked for the Mining Company in Cuba and the International Harvester Company in Canton. During World War II he was in the Military Service overseas. After the war, they lived at Herman, Minnesota from 1946 to 1951. At that time they moved to Lewistown, Illinois and Frank worked in Robert Churchill's Clothing store. From 1961 until his retirement in 1967 he operated an oil dealership in Lewistown. He retired in 1967 because of ill health. He died in December of 1969 and is buried in the Lewistown Cemetery.

DOLLY BELLE (DOLL) CHURCHILL, daughter of Leonard Hubbard Churchill.
Dollie Belle (everyone called her Doll) was born near Fiatt in 1875. Her uncle, Charles Belden Churchill II had just held the Grand Opening for his hotel the "Churchill House" on South Main Street in Canton (March 18, 1875). The next year Alexander Graham Bell demonstrated his new invention, the telephone. It was ten years and more before the first telephones would be installed in Canton and another ten or more before rural areas would have them. Actually the first four telephones in Canton (about 1887) were installed in the Churchill House, the two depots, and the office of Parlin & Orendorff. IN 1888 Canton had forty-five telephone subscribers.

Doll was two years old when Thomas Edison invented the phonograph. Years later this was the only musical instrument in the Ash home if the writer recalls correctly. When Doll was in her "teens", the bicycle was very popular. The chain drive had been connected to the rear wheel for the first time in 1884. In 1890 pneumatic tires appeared on bicycles for the first time. However country roads were not well suited to bicycle riding and as far as known, none of Leonard Hubbard Churchill's children had a bicycle.

In April 1900 Doll married Lorin (Lon) Ash. Lon's parents lived two miles east and about one mile north of Fiatt. Lon had been married previously to Mary Jane Seery who died in 1891. In 1901 Lon bought a home in Canton and moved to town. IN 1906 he purchased 68 acres of the Divilbiss estate on the southwest edge of Canton which for years was known as the "Owls Nest." The family used this as a summer home for many years, moving back to their town house when school started in the fall.

About 1917 Lon sold the "Owls Nest" and purchased a farm in eastern Illinois in Iroquois County, east of Danforth. Lon and his son Lon C. lived on the farm the year round but the rest of the family lived in Canton during the school year and moved to the farm for the summer. In the fall of 1927 Doll moved to Urbana where four of the children (Russell, Frances, Mary Jane and Mildred Jean) attended the University. Each summer she returned to the farm, alternating between the two places until after the death of her husband. In 1934 she took up permanent residence in Urbana and lived there until her death in 1957. She and Lon are buried in the Greenwood Cemetery in Canton.

RUSSELL LEONARD ASH, son of Dolly Belle Churchill, grandson of Leonard Hubbard Churchill.
Russell was born in Canton and graduated from Canton High School in 1922. He attended the University of Illinois but before finishing college he dropped out for one year and taught a country school. He then returned to the University and graduated in 1928. For seven years (1929 to 1935) he taught Vocational Education at Hume, Illinois and in 1936 at Longview. From 1937 to 1941 he was Farm Adviser in Clark County, Illinois. Since 1941 he has farmed northwest of Hume.

FRANCES HARRIET ASH, daughter of Dolly Belle Churchill, granddaughter of Leonard Hubbard Churchill.
Frances was born in Canton, Illinois and graduated from Canton High School in 1924. She graduated from the University of Illinois in 1928 and later attended the National Recreation School in New York City. In September 1929 she accepted the position of Supervisor of Elementary Physical Education and Assistant Director of Recreation for the City of Lincoln, Nebraska on a half time basis. In volunteer work she is past President of the local P. T. A., City Council P. T. A., State President P. T. A., Lincoln Camp Fire Council, Chapter V P. E. O., and City Round Table P. E. O. She has been Secretary of the Lincoln Park and Recreation Board since 1951, a member Better Lincoln Committee, Community Arts Council and President of St. Paul United Methodist W. S. C. S.

Her husband Ralph is Director of Athletics for the Lincoln Schools and Consultant in Boys Physical Education. He is also P. A. Announcer for the University of Nebraska football and basketball games. He plans to retire in 1972.

MARY JANE ASH, daughter of Dolly Belle Churchill, granddaughter of Leonard Hubbard Churchill.
Mary Jane was born in Canton, Illinois and graduated from Canton High School in 1927. She attended the University of Illinois for one year and in the fall of 1929, married Ercel Kepple. Ercel farmed near Farmington, Illinois for several years and in 1939 purchased the farm on which they now live.

MILDRED JANE ASH, daughter of Dolly Belle Churchill, granddaughter of Leonard Hubbard Churchill.
Mildred was born in Canton, Illinois and graduated from Canton High School in 1927. In 1931 she graduated from the University of Illinois. She taught school in Iroquois County and Champaign County for five years. She worked in research at the University of Illinois under Dr. H. K. Allen from 1936 to 1940. She worked as an employment interviewer for the Illinois State Employment Service from 1940 to the time of her marriage in 1945. After marriage they lived in Elgin, Illinois until 1949 when they moved to Aurora where they are still living. Leo, worked for the State Department of Labor for thirty-four years and retired in 1970.

ROBERT MELVILLE ASH, son of Dolly Belle Churchill, grandson of Leonard Hubbard Churchill.
Robert was born in Canton, Illinois. He graduated from Watseka, Illinois, High School in 1936 and in 1940 from the University of Illinois. While at the University he was a member of Alpha Gamma Rho Fraternity, a member of the wrestling team and had four years of R. O. T. C. In his senior year he was National Commander of Phalanx honorary Military Fraternity. He was commissioned Second Lieutenant when he entered the Marines. After some service i the Pacific in World War II, he was stationed at Quantico, Virginia for Staff Commander School and was graduated from there in June 1944, going again to the Pacific. He was killed in action in Peluieu Island in the South Pacific. He is buried in the Greenwood Cemetery in Canton.

GRACE BLANCHE CHURCHILL, daughter of Leonard Hubbard Churchill.
Grace was born near Fiatt in 1879. That same February the first F. W. Woolworth five and ten cent store was opened in Utica, New York. The next year, 1880, the Fulton County Railway put through its narrow gauge railroad from north to south through the county. It passed through Fiatt only a short distance from Leonard Hubbard Churchill's farm. This railroad was taken over by the C. B. & Q in 1906 and the tracks widened to standard gauge.

Grace attended the Fiatt Brick School; her name was on the list of pupils there for January 1894. She married Frederick (Fred) Stuckey in December of 1900. Fred's parents had come to America from Bavaria, Germany in 1876 when Fred was about two years old. In 1878 the family moved to Joshua Township in Fulton County. After marriage Fred farmed near Bybee, north of Fiatt. In 1914 he purchased 40 acres where he had been living, the E1/2 of the W1/2 of the SW1/4 of Section 8 in Joshua Township, from his father Andrew. Fred and Grace lived here the rest of their lives. They are buried in the Fiatt Cemetery.

MARGARET HARRIET STUCKEY, daughter of Grace Blanche Churchill, granddaughter of Leonard Hubbard Churchill.
Margaret and Franklin farmed after their marriage and rented the Robert Ingersoll Churchill farm west of Fiatt for several years. Later they farmed northwest of there in the Zion neighborhood. Margaret is buried in Zion Cemetery.