John F. Stager, born in 1833 in Pennsylvania, is a successful farmer and mechanic who has lived in Palmyra Township since the early 1860s. He owns a 316-acre farm, equipped with buildings he constructed himself, and enjoys a retired life. Stager began with humble beginnings and credits his success to perseverance and his late wife, Harriet, who supported him throughout their marriage. They had four children, with only one surviving.
Calvin Cooper, Mineral, is a native of Killingly, Windham County, Connecticut, born March 20, 1810. His parents were of English descent, the father being a Baptist clergyman. Calvin learned the carpenter and joiner trade when a young man, which furnished him employment for a number of years. August 26, 1833, he married Miss Harriet Kies, a native also of Windham County. She was born December 23, 1812. They resided in Connecticut until the fall of 1854, when they came to Illinois, stopping in Stephenson County until the following spring, when they settled on a farm in Bureau County. At the … Read more