Family Nibbles

Val Maninger arrived in central Illinois in the summer of 1854. He was age 18. He probably stayed with a local family until he could arrange a place to live.

Let’s look at where Val lived. Then we’ll meet his future wife’s family.

Val located in Montgomery Township in Woodford County. Here are some maps to get oriented.

Farnisville and Slabtown

Brothers Christian and Peter Farni were Amish immigrants from the Lorraine district in France. They came first to Lancaster, Pennsylvania and then to Canada, finally arriving in Montgomery Township in 1835.

They acquired land along the Mackinaw River, the largest waterway in the township. There was a natural low-water ford across the river, funneling travelers and commerce through the Farni property. Christian built a log house on the south side of the river.

The brothers partnered with Joseph Guingerich to build a sawmill along the river. Later they partnered with Christian Ropp to build and operate a grain mill.

A settlement developed on each side of the river. First, Farnisville on the south side, then later Slabtown on the north.

In 1850, Isaac Evans built a general store and grocery on the north side of the river. The building was constructed with large slabs of wood from the Farni’s sawmill. That’s the origin of the name Slabtown.

In 1849, the Farni brothers partnered with two St. Louis businessmen to build a distillery. The plan was to market the products in the St. Louis area. The distillery thrived in the early 1850s, employing as many as 50.

It looked like Farnisville and Slabtown were destined to grow. As Val Maninger was a shoe and boot maker, he began to ply his trade in Farnisville.

Christian and Magdalena Smith

Let’s introduce the Smith family. They’re our grandparents. In future years, Magdalena Smith will become Val’s wife. Magdalena Smith is our 3rd great-grandmother.

Magdalena’s father Christian Smith was born in Lorraine, France in 1810. He married Magdalena Schrock in Butler County, Ohio. She was also born in Lorraine in 1811. These are our 4th great-grandparents.

It’s hard to remember that each person in this diagram is our grandparent. Marie Neuhauser? Joseph Schrock? Veronique Gerber? We just mention them here, but each of them is a branch of our DNA tree. Take a moment to reflect on that.

The Smith farm

After a few years in Butler County, Ohio, Christian and Magdalena Smith arrived in Woodford County in 1835. They acquired land in Montgomery Township, two miles southeast of Farnisville.

The Smith family

Here’s Christian and Magdalena Smith’s family in the 1850 census.

Christian and Magdalena Smith had married in Ohio in 1833. They had four children in Ohio, and four more in Illinois.

• Mary b. 1832
• Barbara b. 1836
• Peter b. 1837
• Anna Nancy b. 1837
• Magdalena b. 1841 *
• Joseph b. 1843
• Christian b. 1846
• John b. 1848

* Magdalena, born 1841, is our 3rd great-grandparent. She will someday marry Val Maninger.

The Smiths were members of the Amish congregation. They were related to the Schrocks and Neuhausers and the Garbers and others. They knew most everyone in the community.

The Amish Meetings

Sunday meetings were an all-important event in the Amish community. Families looked forward to a day of prayer, Bible readings, and socializing.

For several years after the first pioneers arrived, the various settlements in Woodford and Tazewell counties formed but one congregation, and all-day services were held on alternate Sundays in private houses in each locality in turn. A lunch was served at noon. It was not an uncommon thing for members to drive 15 or 20 miles to attend church.

Usually the whole family would attend. Since houses generally were small, they looked forward to having a good day so their beds and a few other articles of furniture could be put outside to make room for benches to be erected.

Sometimes if the weather was fair, services were held outdoors under shade trees. They were not the most convenient seats to be used for sometimes two hours of service while two or three ministers would preach to them. But people had a desire to hear the Word of God. People would travel for many miles, usually in a lumber wagon and sometimes in a spring wagon, as they had no buggies. Often they put chairs on the wagon in order to be as comfortable as possible. Discipline was held in high esteem, and members were cautioned to abstain from worldly pleasures and amusements. After the services were ended dinner was served consisting of bread, butter, molasses and sometimes apple butter, coffeecake, raised doughnuts and coffee cooked in a wash boiler.

Sometimes after the meal was finished, the dishes washed, the young folks would gather together and sing spiritual songs, while the older folks would discuss various religious topics. After enjoying themselves thus for several hours they departed for their respective homes.

Amish Mennonites in Tazewell County, Illinois

By the 1840s, there were at least four Amish meetings in Tazewell and Woodford Counties – the Partridge Creek Meeting, the Dillon Creek meeting, the Wesley meeting, and the Mackinaw meeting.

The Mackinaw meeting was formed by the Farni brothers around 1838. Peter Farni was minister, followed by Christian Ropp. The Christian Smith family were ardent followers.

By 1850, there were more Amish meetings in Tazewell and Woodford Counties than in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

A family tragedy

The most feared disease in the mid-1850s was Cholera. Some victims would die within a few hours after the onset of symptoms.

During July and August 1855, Asian Cholera swept through the Central Illinois counties. Magdalena Smith’s family suffered greatly.

Father Christian died Aug. 2, and mother Magdalena followed Aug. 4. Magdalena’s brother Andrew Schrock, and neighbors John Lantz and Jonas Kauffman died the following day.

Minister Daniel Zehr was called to attend to the family. Zehr delivered the graveside eulogy at a funeral Aug. 10, spent the evening at home, and died the following morning.

Daughter Barbara Smith died Aug. 14 or 17, and son John Smith died Aug. 19. The victims were hastily buried in Slabtown Cemetery.

Amish Mennonites in Tazewell County, Illinois

After the cholera deaths, relatives and neighbors raised the surviving children. Magdalena was age 14. We don’t know where she lived after her parents died. It’s possible she stayed with her older sister Mary Smith Fellrath in Farnisville.

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Sources:

• Image – Pioneer farm family – Jackson County, Wisconsin – 1889 – Charles Van Schaick Collection – Wisconsin Historical Society – Image 25040 – https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Image/IM25040
• Map –  Johnson’s Illinois By Johnson & Browning. No. 40. – A.J. Johnson – 1860 – David Rumsey Map Collection – https://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~2513~310025:Johnson-s-Illinois-By-Johnson-&-Bro
• Map – Montgomery Township, Woodford County, Illinois – 1873 – Historic Map Works – https://www.historicmapworks.com/Map/US/1257297/Montgomery+Township++Bowling+Green++Versailles/Woodford+County+1873/Illinois/
• Map – Peoria Woodford Tazewell Counties Illinois – Campbell 1870 – Maps of the Past – https://www.mapsofthepast.com/tazewell-peoria-illinois-il-co-map-campbell-1870.html
• Map – Montgomery Township, Woodford County, Illinois – 1860 – Woodford County Historical Society – https://www.facebook.com/WoodfordCountyHistory/photos/pb.100023131398029.-2207520000/5265073113511528/?type=3
• Image – Christian Smith land patents – General Land Office Records – Bureau of Land Management – https://glorecords.blm.gov/results/default.aspx?searchCriteria=type=patent|st=IL|cty=203|ln=smith|twp_nr=25|twp_dir=N|rng_nr=1|rng_dir=W|sp=true|sw=true|sadv=false
• Image – Engel barn near Metamora, Illinois – submitted by Julie Engel Schertz – Historic Metamora – https://www.historicmetamora.com/Yesteryears.htm
• Census – Christian and Magdalena Smith – Woodford County, Illinois – 1850 – ancestry.com – https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/8054/images/4181051_00369?pId=16750318
• Quote – Amish meetings – Amish Mennonites in Tazewell County, Illinois – Part One of Five – Joseph Peter Staker – 2022 – https://tcghs.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Amish-Mennonites-01.pdf
• Image – Amish meeting – AI generated – Copilot Designer – Image Creator – Microsoft
• Quote – Asiatic Cholera in Central Illinois, 1834-1873 – Milo Custer, J. E. Marvel – Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society (1908-1984), Vol. 23, No. 1 (Apr., 1930) – https://www.jstor.org/stable/40187655
• Quote – Smith family deaths from Cholera – 1855 – Amish Mennonites in Tazewell County, Illinois – Part 4 of 5 – Joseph Peter Staker – https://tcghs.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Amish-Mennonites-04.pdf
• Image – Cholera victims buried – artist Bill Yund – The Pantograph – Bill Kemp – June 25, 2013 – https://pantagraph.com/news/local/dread-executioner-cholera-was-once-on-the-march-in-central-ill/article_a0aa2a94-7b7e-11e1-8ea7-0019bb2963f4.html
• Family Tree diagrams – Ancestry.com and Mark Jarvis
• Music – West Fork Gals – Shake That Little Foot – Free Music Archive – https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Shake_That_Little_Foot/Shake_That_Little_Foot/West_Fork_Gals_vbrmp3/