Hon. Jesse Darnell Biographical Review

HON. JESSE DARNELL, deceased, a resident of Rushville township, and one of the oldest settlers of the county, is worthy of representation in this history. He was born eight miles from Wooster, Wayne county, Ohio, October 4, 1811, a son of Henry Darnell, a native of West Virginia. The father was a volunteer in the Colonial army, participated in the battle of Yorktown, and was present at the surrender of Lord Cornwallis. About the year 1800, with his own and nine other families, he emigrated to the Northwest Territory, being among the earliest settlers of Ohio. He first located in the Scioto valley, but as it was sickly there, he went to Wayne county; here he secured a tract of land which was part timber and part prairie. For several years there were no other settlers in that section. Indians were numerous and often hostile. The colony built a block-house with a stockade around it, and it was within these walls that our subject was born. The father improved a fine farm there, on which he resided until his death in 1847. His wife’s maiden name was Elizabeth Lee, also a native of Virginia; she died in 1818. Jesse Darnell, whose name heads this notice, was reared in his native State, where his educational opportunities were limited to the subscription schools, which were taught in private houses. There were no railroads or canals: consequently no market towns. The people lived upon the products of their own land and wild game, which was plentiful. The mother carded, spun and wove all the cloth used by the family. At the age of fifteen years our subject went from the home which had sheltered his childhood, out into the world to begin life for himself. He remained in Ohio until 1833, and then came to Illinois via the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, landing at Oquawka, where he remained about a year, after which he came to Schuyler county. There were few settlers in the county, and agriculture was carried on in a most primitive fashion. He settled at Frederick and engaged quite extensively in the manufacture of fanning mills, which he continued for seven or eight years, and then turned his attention to farming. He lived in Frederick township until 1886, at which time he removed to a farm he had purchased several years before; this is a tract of 160 acres, the greater portion of which is well improved; he also owned another farm of 200 acres in Frederick township. Mr. Darnell was married in April, 1841, to Louisa Utter, a native of Illinois and a daughter of Lyman and Martha Utter, natives of the State of New York and pioneers of Schuyler county, and located on a farm east of Pleasant View. His wife died in 1847, but he never married again. Two sons and one daughter survive him: John Monroe, James K. Polk and Mrs. H. A. Nelson, the latter living in Santa Barbara county, California. His son James is a resident of Breckinridge, Colorado, having located in that State twenty-two years ago. Mr. Darnell was a sincere Democrat, and had been from early youth. The principles laid down by Jefferson were thoroughly instilled into his very being, and he was always found allied with the cause he believed to be right. In 1848 he represented this county in the Legislature, and for eight years he was Supervisor from Frederick township, filling the position of chairman of the board for several years. He was a prominent member of Rushville Lodge, No. 9, A.F. & A.M., to which he had belonged for nearly half a century. He was a man of sterling integrity, esteemed and respected by all who knew him.