CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATED BY MRS. DICY R. DUNLAP. NOTABLE GATHERING OF DESCENDANTS AND FRIENDS OF MORGAN COUNTY'S OLDEST INHABITANT-FAMILY HISTORY IS FULL OF INTEREST. Mrs. Dicy R. Dunlap, who has been one of the most noted characters in the life of Morgan county celebrated her 100th birthday on Feb. 10, 1911, surrounded by her relatives and friends. Although Mrs. Dunlap has rounded out the century mark, she is still hearty and hale and although it is the habit of old people to dwell in the past, she is still deeply interested in the questions of the day and has a marvelous recollection. She was the daughter of William and Mary Runkle and was born in Champaign county, Ohio, Feb. 10, 1811. It is a notable circumstance that on the same day Stephen Dunlap, the man who was to become her husband, was born in Lexington, Ky. The Ohio home and the one in Kentucky were not many miles apart and in the course of events it happened that the young people became acquainted and May 29, 1834, their marriage was solemnized. In 1840 there came a change of residence. to Jacksonville and six years later the family removed. to the present home of Mrs. Dunlap. That was in 1846, so that for sixty-four years Mrs. Dunlap has been sheltered under the same roof. Mrs. Dunlap's grandparent's came from Germany. Her grandmother on the mother's side came as a child with her parents, and while the ship was making the journey both parents died. The little girl was later adopted by a family on board the ship. The family settled in Virginia and their descendants moved to Ohio. As before mentioned, Mrs. Dunlap was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William Runkle, and following her marriage the parents came to this country and subsequently moved to McDonough county, where their descendants live to-day. Stephen Dunlap, tenth child and sixth son of the Rev. James Dunlap, was married to Dicy Dunlap in Champaign county, May 29, 1834, by the Rev. John Poerson, and died May 29, 1877. He emigrated from Ohio to Morgan county in 1840, and became a man of great influence. A staunch Democrat in 1876, he cast his last presidential ballot for Samuel J. Tilden. For eight years he served as associate judge of Morgan county. For many years he filled the office of elder in the old school Baptist church. Over six feet tall, weighing 260 pounds, he was always a commanding figure. Irvin Dunlap, the eldest son; Mrs. Mary Farrell, wife of Felix G. Farrell, the only daughter, and James M. Dunlap, were born in Champaign county, Ohio. The other three sons, William R., Stephen and Samuel W., were born in Morgan county, Illinois. After the family came to this county, Mr. Dunlap engaged in business on the north side of the square at Jacksonville. In 1846 Mr. Dunlap moved to the farm, east of Jacksonville. The land was purchased from Mr. McMurray and other tracts were acquired until Mr. Dun lap owned 1,200 or 1,500 acres. The first of the Dunlap family in Morgan county was Rev. James Dunlap, who was born in Augusta county, Virginia, July 10, 1773, and died in Jacksonville, Feb. 28, 1866, in the ninety-third year of his age. He was the son of William Dunlap, who was born in Virginia in 1743. William Dunlap served in the revolutionary war until the surrender of Lord Cornwallis in October, 1784. The family has in its possession letters which authenticate the statement that Dunlap was on the street when Edward Payne had an altercation with George Washington, who was then a colonel. Lossing in his Field Notes, says that Washington afterwards apologized handsomely to Payne. William Dunlap was the son of Prof. John Dunlap, professor of Greek in the University of Glasgow, Scotland. William had three sons, one of whom was the famous James Dunlap who went with his father's family to Kentucky when a boy. He married Emily Johnson in 1794. He moved his family to Jacksonville in 1845. At the time of his death his posterity consisted of thirteen children, six of whom were living; eightythree grand-children, of whom forty-nine were living, 106 great-grand-children, and seven great-great-grand-children, making a total generation of 209 with 144 surviving. Millard F. Dunlap, who is president of the Ayers National bank and member of the Dunlap-Russel Banking company, is a grandson of Mrs. Dicy Dunlap. Mr. Dunlap is well known in financial circles of the State, and during the second presidential campaign of William J. Bryan for president, he was president of the State Democratic organization, and also former candidate for State treasurer on the Democratic ticket. February 10, 1911, was a day long to be remembered in the Dunlap family, and many were the tokens of esteem and love sent Mrs. Dunlap, whose life spanned five score years. STANFORD LIBKAR, CELEBRATION, BY THE WOODFORD COUNTY Woodford county was formed Feb. 27, 1841. Our local historical society on deciding to celebrate the seventieth anniversary of this event, asked the Board of Supervisors for an appropriation of fifty dollars with which to carry out our plans for the celebration and other work the society has under contemplation. The board willingly made this appropriation. We then advertised the meeting in all the newspapers of the county and neighboring towns, requesting those living, who were residents of the territory when the county was formed, to send their names to the secretary, and also to give any items of interest they remember relating to the early history of the county. Ninety-six names were handed in, the oldest person being one hundred and two years old. The list of names was published twice before the celebration. Much to our pleasure there are more of the "charter members" of the county living than we anticipated. Doubtless there are others whom we have not reached. February 27 was a beautiful day. A large and interested audience gathered in the Presbyterian church to help celebrate the seventieth birthday of the county. Thirty-three of the settlers of 1841 were present. Quite a number came from a distance. It was home coming to them. After enjoying a short reception in the auditorium of the church they gathered in front of the court house where a picture was taken of them in a group. Reassembling in the church the rest of the program was given. The invocation was pronounced by Rev. D. W. McMillin of the Presbyterian church. Excellent music was furnished by Miss Ada Holbrook, Austin Kershaw and the Eureka College Quartet- Messrs. Reichel, McGuire, Higdon and Carr. Prof. B. J. Radford of Eureka, gave an address on "The Beginnings of Woodford County." The Professor was a mere boy when the county was formed, yet he remembers the stirring events incident to the steps taken for the formation of the county. He knew the men who took the leading part in securing names on the petition asking the legislature that the territory be formed into a county, the party who went on horseback to Springfield to place the petition before the legislature and the men who signed the petition. He stated that at the time the county was formed considerable territory now in the county was taken from McLean and Tazewell counties. Large areas of it were uninhabited. Government land could be bought for $1.25 per acre, now worth $250 per acre. He traced the growth and development of the county and recounted the movements leading to the formation of the county; the location of the seat of justice at Versailles; the removal of the county seat from there to Hanover, now Metamora; and later to Eureka. A considerable portion of his address was devoted to social conditions and general government. According to the census of 1850 the population of the county was 4,415. By the census of 1880, 1890 and 1900 the population was little more than 21,000. In 1910 it fell to 20,506. The settlers of Woodford county were of a high type of citizenship. They early devoted themselves to the development of their spiritual and intellectual natures by the location of churches and school houses in their midst. Hon. J. A. Ranney of Cazenovia, gave an address on "The Early Settlers of Woodford County." It was a |