News Progress

Revolutionary War Connections

•April 15, 2026•

by Janet Roney

I’m sure you all know that this year is the 250th anniversary of our country’s independence. Even though the first white settlers did not come into our county until 1826, fifty years after the United States began, we have at least three Revolutionary War veterans buried in Moultrie County. They are John S. Howell, Isaac Waggoner, and James Patterson. I’ll tell you more about them soon.

Besides these patriots, many of our early settlers were children and grandchildren of Revolutionary War veterans. One of those grandchildren was Samuel Washington Lindley.

You may remember from a previous article that Lindley was the son-in-law of John S. Whitley, the first settler in Moultrie County. He brought his family with Whitley in 1826 and settled along the Kaskaskia-Detroit Road in Whitley Township. The first sermon delivered in Moultrie County was at Lindley’s cabin in 1828.

Although Lindley was born after the Revolutionary War in 1788, he had very interesting Revolutionary War connections through his grandfathers, Dr. John Pyle and Thomas Lindley, who were neighbors in North Carolina before the war.

•April 8, 2026•

For the 3rd year, the Illinois Department of Health (IDPH) will recognize “30 Days of Public Health” throughout the month of April. The initiative is designed to raise awareness of the role public health plays in keeping all Illinois communities healthy and safe. 

•April 8, 2026•

Essex

by Janet Roney

I left you guessing last week why a Massachusetts seaman, Ebenezer Noyes, bought 2000 acres of rattlesnake-infested flat prairie land in the Whitley Township area in 1833-34. All his pioneer neighbors thought he was crazy because no one, including Noyes, knew that the black prairie land was among the most fertile soils in the world. Noyes wanted it because it was flat, high, and dry. Why? The late E. D. Hortenstine of Gays, who wrote about Noyes in the 1955 Mattoon centennial newspaper, as well as other sources, explained why.

Although Noyes was trained by his father to be a doctor, he went to sea instead. After surviving a near shipwreck, he left the sea and went west. In 1833, he stayed at Hayden’s Tavern at Whitley Point for some time and eventually married the innkeeper’s daughter. There, he was surrounded by a different kind of sea...a green sea of prairie grass as far as the eye could see. He learned how to survey that sea of grass and helped lay out some early stage/mail routes for the state.

•April 8, 2026•

High school and college students are invited to a Virtual Healthcare Careers Panel Discussion at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 16th, hosted by the Illinois Rural Health Association. Healthcare professionals will share firsthand what their job really entails, in easy-to-understand terms, and answer students’ questions. The purpose is to give students insight into these high-demand careers and the best paths to get there. 

•April 8, 2026•

Aaron Cole and Sandy Brix will be demonstrating their art process in acrylics, oils, and watercolors at the Shelby County Art Show that is open to the public on Saturday, April 11 from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. and Sunday, April 12 from noon to 5:00 p.m. at the Lake Shelbyville Visitor Center. They are among others of interest one or both days that include Shirley Buescher with watercolors, Joni Shanks with acrylics, Bobbie Dimock with watercolor brush pens, Paul Dimock with watercolor pencils, Carol Kessler with oil paint sticks, Kathy Marshall with gel printing, Karen Cherry with colored pencils, Val Gaddis with antique machines, and Cecelia Hicks with antique sock machine.  

Also available for viewing will be a large exhibit of art creations by k-12 students and adults with ribbons attached from the Saturday morning judging. All will have been created within a year from last years show and within Shelby County and adjacent counties.