Biography of Colonel George Davenport

Colonel George Davenport was the first white man to make a permanent settlement in what is now Rock Island County, arriving here in the spring of 1816. He was a native of England, born in Lincolnshire, in 1783. At the age of seventeen he enlisted as a sailor on a merchant vessel, and for the next three years he visited France, Spain and Portugal. In the fall of 1803 his vessel sailed from Liverpool to St. Petersburg, Russia, and shortly after its arrival there an embargo was laid upon all English vessels in that port, the vessels taken possession of … Read more

Biography of P. C. Young, Hon.

Hon. P. C. Young. High on the roster of Wilson County’s distinguished citizens appears the name of Hon. P. C. Young, for years one of the most brilliant and astute attorneys practicing before the Fredonia bar, an author and poet whose talents have gained for him wide reputation, and a man who as a citizen, neighbor and friend is universally esteemed and respected. A resident of this city during the most important era of its development, his personality is indelibly imprinted upon the home of his adoption, and both as attorney and legislator he had evidenced the inheritance of many … Read more