Biography - John Fogleman
John FOGLEMAN, son of Melchoir and Elizabeth (MEISENHEIMER) FOGLEMAN, was born in Montgomery County, Ill., one mile east of where Walshville now stands, on Easter Sunday, April 11, 1819, and was the first white child born in Walshville Township, and is now perhaps the oldest native resident of Montgomery County. Melchoir FOGLEMAN, the father of our subject, started a mill where the "Pepper Mill" now stands, in 1824, the wheel of which was overshot, the water being brought from one-half to three-quarters of a mile, in oak troughs placed on the hillside, connected with springs of water; the mill, which had a capacity of 100 bushels in twenty-four hours in flood time, did a good business, drawing the patronage of all the early settlement; the buhrs were of native stone, taken from the prairie. Melchoir FOGLEMAN died in 1827; his widow held the mill until 1843, when she sold it to John KIRKPATRICK. Our subject attended school principally at Clear Springs Church; his last school term (in 1835); he attended the school a mile west of Hillsboro, taught by J. GRANTHAM, now a sub-clerk in the United States Treasury at Washington, D. C. In his early days, John worked in his father's mill, and was familiar with all the heads of the families in the county at that time. In 1840, he bought eighty acres of land of John CORLEW - forty prairie land and forty acres in timber - and April 23 of that year moved into a small cabin on the border of the prairie, and the first year tilled six acres, which he had cleared in the timber, but his crop was nearly all taken by squirrels and raccoons, which infested the woods; he soon added twenty acres to his original purchase, and, from 1866, steadily increased his property; till he is now the owner of 300 acres in this township and 200 acres elsewhere. He married, April 18, 1840,Elizabeth KIRKLAND, daughter of Robert and Jane (LONG) KIRKLAND, and from this union ten children have been born, of whom six died in childhood, those living are Daniel M., Israel P., Mary E. U. and Francis M. Mr. FOGLEMAN cast his first vote for VanBUREN in 1840, and has since been a stanch supporter of the Democratic party; he invariably filled the office of Clerk for township and county elections; has been Township Trustee or Treasurer for a great many terms, and has acted on county and township committees; he was elected Sheriff of Montgomery County in 1860, and served one term.
Extracted 19 Nov 2016 by Norma Hass from 1882 History of Bond and Montgomery Counties, Illinois, Part 2 Biographical Department, page 142.
