The second dwelling was erected by Hiram Quinn. The first house that was used for storehouse is now occupied by the Methodists and Presbyterians as a place of worship. It is called the Union Church. The Funks and the Quinns were the most important element in the early history of Shirley. They are still interested here.

Beside the Union Church, mentioned as being the first storehouse, there is another, erected by the Christians. The Union Church has no regular services at present. The two societies-Methodists and Presbyterians-united their strength and fixed this building up so that it affords tolerably comfortable apartments, but the societies are not strong.

The Christian Church was first begun by Rev. Alexander Hutchinson, who held meetings in the schoolhouse at Shirley in the fall of 1868. There was quite a revival inaugurated, so that they began to build, and finished their church in 1869. At this time, the society of Christians, formed at the California Schoolhouse ten years previously, were transferred to the village and united with those just beginning. The church is 36x56 feet, and cost $2,800. At present, there is no regular Pastor. Jonathan Park still lives just north of the village, but does not now preach. The society has a good membership for a country church, and a pleasant house of worship.

We did not learn the particulars of the first school, nor the name of the first teacher. The school-building now standing was erected in 1869. It is a large, twostory frame. It has a large room and two recitation-rooms on the first floor, with a large hall up-stairs. The good people of Shirley must have calculated on a more rapid growth than time has furnished, so far. Only one teacher is employed now, and ten years have gone by since the house was built.

There are quite large elevators in the village, owned by Funk & Douglas. There are two storehouses—one brick and one frame. The brick store is not operating now. It is owned by John Foster. The other store is owned by William B. Lane. Hiram W. Quinn and Benjamin F. Quinn have the house rented and keep a general country

store.

The post office is kept in the station-house, by J. L. Douglas, who is also the agent for the railroad. A blacksmith-shop is run by R. M. Browning. Charles Dunk runs a carpenter-shop and metes out justice to the community.

Foster's brick residence, on the east side of the railroad, is the most prominent dwelling in the town, as the Fosters are the big men of the place.

COVELL.

A little cluster of residences on the Jacksonville Division of the Chicago, Alton & St. Louis Railroad, near the center of Dale Township, is called Covell. The only buildings of a public character are a blacksmith-shop, a store, the elevators and a church. The station is situated in the level prairie that occupies so large a portion of the center of the township. Although the place consists of but few houses, yet it must be a lively place for shipping. If it ships other things in proportion to the amount of corn we saw cribbed up there, it certainly does a heavy business for a place of its size. understand that there is now one-third as much corn here as there is in Bloomington. The elevators are owned by Linebarger & Brother, of Stanford.

Covell was surveyed by George P. Ela, County Surveyor. Date of certificate of survey, October 15, 1867. This survey included 525 acres from the northeast corner

of the northwest quarter of Section 21. The plat was filed, and town laid out by John L. Rowell. This was just at the time of the completion of the railroad through the township.

The first residence here was built by Mrs. Campbell, in the fall of 1867. In the same fall, A. P. Hefner built a shop and lived in one part of it for awhile. His daughter was the first child born in the place. The first building of any kind was a warehouse. In this same fall of 1867, W. G. Witherow built a house and kept a grocery store. Piper & Soulty now own this building, but Mr. H. G. Bomgardner keeps a general country store in it. Mr. Bomgardner is also station agent. A. P. Hefner still runs a blacksmith-shop. There is no schoolhouse in the village. The district is large, and a number of the patrons live to one side, so that the schoolhouse is some distance to the southwest.

There is a very pretty country church at Covell. It was built in the summer of 1867, by the united efforts of the Methodists, Baptists and Old School Presbyterians. Each was to have the church one-third of the time. Prominent among the Methodists were William Rogers and Martin Newton. Their first minister was Elder Barger. Their present Pastor is Col. Johnson. Among the Presbyterians may be mentioned Robert and Crawford Campbell, David Hart and Dr. Mills, now of Normal. The Rev. Robert Criswell was their first minister. Thomas Cutting, John Freed and Mr. Ballard were Baptists. They had preaching occasionally, but no regular pastor. There has been one noted revival since the building of the church. This occurred under the labors of Revs. Criswell, Byerly and others. Criswell continued to preach for the Presbyterians for some time. Byerly was a Methodist. The Rev. Mr. Evans now preaches for the Baptists. The building is 32x48 feet. It cost $2,500.

FUNK'S GROVE TOWNSHIP.

To write the history of this township without making the Funk family the central group would be like an attempt to present the play of "Hamlet with Hamlet left out." We are therefore sure our readers will not feel disappointed or displeased if this chapter partakes largely of the biographical with members of this family mentioned most prominently. Indeed, we are quite certain that those acquainted with the history of the town will fully appreciate the propriety of such a presentation and would criticise us justly were we to write otherwise. The Funk estate, at the death of Isaac Funk, who is the central figure of this group, covered about 20,000 acres, or nearly twothirds of the township. For this reason, therefore, if for no other, should the name figure prominently in the history of this part of the county. But, as we shall presently see, the name extends as high as the lands do in length and breadth.

Two years after the first settlement had been made in the county, this region had not yet been occupied by any white man. In the spring of 1824, Isaac Funk and his brother Absalom came to McLean County, and they, with William Brock, with whom they had resided for a short time in Sangamon County. Brock had been in McLean County (or rather in what is now McLean, as the county had not then been formed), and by his representations of the fine country about Old Town Timber and Blooming Grove, a tour of inspection was taken, resulting in the selection of the grove

now bearing the Funk name as their future home. On their arrival at the grove, the Funks declared that this location was all that could be desired, and, though by persuasion of Brock they continued their survey of the country to Old Town, yet their first impressions of this grove were not changed, and even Brock was forced to acknowledge that he had either overestimated his former choice or that Funk's Grove was so much superior that part of the charm of the country further up the creek had been obscured. It was finally agreed to settle here, and arrangements were at once made to lay claim to large tracts of the lands lying in and about the grove. The Brocks erected a little log cabin at the south end of the grove and began keeping house in the pioneer style, and Absalom Funk, being then unmarried, boarded with them. The land in this part of the State was not then in the market, and settlers simply squatted on the lands which they designed afterward to purchase of the Government. Land was plenty then, and no one thought of disputing the slender title. Brock and the Funks claimed as much as they thought they could enter and then went to work to prepare for its entry when it should come into market. None of them had any means, but all had plenty of ambition and a good amount of well-developed muscle. The father of the Funks had been very wealthy, but, during the war of 1812, had loaned large amounts of money to different persons, and the hard times which always follow a war coming on, his debtors were driven to bankruptcy, and he was, in consequence, ruined. In the fall of the year named, Robert Stubblefield, a brother-in-law of Isaac and Absalom Funk, also from Ohio, came out and settled at the north end of the grove, and then the Funks went to live with them. The Stubblefields have been an influential family in this part of the county and second only to the Funks. The family is a large one and, without an exception, they have been remarkably successful in their various callings.

It may not be generally known that Adam Funk, the father of Isaac, Absalom and the other pioneers of that name, ever came to this country, as he died in 1832; and but few now reside in this part of the country who lived here at the time. Adam Funk was a native of Virginia, but had lived for a number of years in Fayette County, Ohio. In 1824, his wife having died, he removed, with his other two sons, to this place, and resided, until the marriage of his son Isaac, with his son-in-law, Robert Stubblefield. In 1826, Isaac Funk was married to Miss Cassandra Sharp, of Peoria, then called Fort Clark. From the very first, Isaac Funk was the acknowledged leader in politics and every public enterprise, and his reputation as a shrewd business man was not long confined to McLean County, or even the State. Though he met with some reverses and was obliged to undergo many hardships incident to a new country, his energy and pluck were always equal to every occasion. He believed in the old saying that, what is worth doing is worth doing well, and having fixed upon stock-raising as a business, he pursued it with the same spirit that, had his mind been turned specially to politics or religion, would have made him one of the foremost in either. Mr. Funk never left even the details of his business to hired help, but looked after the most trivial matters. His own eye saw that his stock was well cared for, and when they were to be marketed, always accompanied the herd to their destination. In the early times, it was essential that the strictest economy should be practiced by all, and whether this trait was natural with Mr. Funk, or whether he acquired it by the force of habit, he always practiced it. He was distinguished by his plain clothes after he had acquired a fortune. His outfit in this respect would not compare favorably with that of most young men

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