Dover

James Coddington, father of the above named gentleman, was born January 25, 1798, in Allegheny County, Md. He was reared on a farm, but after starting in life for himself engaged in teaching and surveying. Much of his early life was spent in hunting, and in that way he gained an acquaintance with the mountains and passes, which was of great value to him when engaged in surveying for the National Turnpike and the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. In the spring of 1831 he came to Bureau County, but soon afterward returned to Maryland, where he remained till 1833, when

Rodolphus Childs, Dover, was born in Deerfield, Mass., October 23, 1815. He is the son of Erastus and Mercy (Hawks) Childs, who were born in the same village as their son and lived there until death. Our subject was one of seven children. He remained on his father’s farm until 1836, when he came to Bureau County, arriving here the day he was twenty-one. He came in company with Elijah Smith, for whom he worked the first year. In 1842 he began the improvement of his present farm of 200 acres, 160 of which he entered from the Government, forty

The Brigham family came to this country at a very early date in the history of America, having formerly resided on a tract of land called Brigham lying between Scotland and England, and at that time belonging to neither country, but now owned by England. From this family are descended all the Brighams now in America. They are of remarkable longevity; on one tombstone in the old burying ground in New Hampshire is recorded the age of one hundred and three years. Another family of seven children lived till their average age was eighty years, and one member yet survives.