The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1855-04-25
Jacob Strawn,
OF MORGAN COUNTY, ILLINOIS,

one entitled "The Napoleon Of Cattle -
Jacob Strnwn" in the Prairie Farmer
from the pen of the editor. II portrays
the career of one of the representative
men" Of the times -
Mr. Strawn is a nan of about five
feet and six inches in stature, stoutly
built, with a chest of great capacity
measuring about the breast, as we are
told. fifty.two inches in grth. He is
now ffty-four years Of age little upon
the down hill side of life, with hair turn
lug gray and as he himself says. get.
ting little lazy !" that is, obliged to
sleep as many as about four hours every
night lie has large aud pleasant face
and is man Of good appearance. His
farm consists of two tracts of land lying
firstly in the heart of Morgan county.
and next in the county of Sangamon.
The first consists Of $500 acres. in one
body being six miles in length bv three
and half in BREADTH the other. $500
acres; Or together something over 10000
acres, of as good land as the sun aud tho
moon ever shone upon. These lands,
all their improvements. stock, aud fix
lures. are his individual earnings being
the product Of no speculation, either in
lands. stocks. or matters and the result
of no - rise in real estate :" for We have
not been able to learn that Mr. Sirawn
ever sold an acre of land since he came
to tie State. Nor has he bought lands
for the sake of mon"polizing. or " hold.
ing on" or for traffic IN reality his pur.
chases have been for use, and when OBJ.
tanned have been. and are. used
Jaccb Strawn was born in Somerset
County, Pa. His PARENTS We infer to
have been either poor or in snch circum-
stances as to leave him to shilk pretty
much for himself. His mother we learn
was = terriblch workeran1 the boy Ja-
cob was taught in her ways We hear
Of his endcavors at clearing farm, after
his first marriage, which took place at
home in Pennsylvania Of his chopping
till far into the night. by the light of
fires kindled by his wife, of the fallen
trees, and after short sleep being at it
again, after the same fashion, bv the
same mid. At an early day he left Penn.
sylvona for Licking county. Ohio.wherc
he remained eleven years, and then pnll-
ing up stakes again. camo to Illinois, arr
irving in lS3 aud pitching upon small
tract of about 500 acres, where bis
house how stands
The great business of his life had how
ever, been long commenced. Indeed in
his own words, he began it at ten years
ofagc. and has driven it to this time;
with all the wind and credit he could
command" The great passion of his life
was ond is-Stccrs-c cattIe; to drive them.
feed them, feed them, buy them, sell
them and then own other steers, to 20
through tho like process that was to
him and is yet, what books were to Kirk
White. or armies to Napoleon. lie pur.
sued il eleven years in Ohio, and at the
end had cash enough to purchase the
aforesaid 800 and odd acres in Morgan
county, three miles from jacksonville,
Ill. He got him up a small log house,
good as those ofhis ncie hbors. and which
stands yet, where he resided till 1888,
when his present dwelling was erected
The partner Of his early life died, how.
ever, about one year after his arrival in
Illinois, leaving him three sons who still
survive. Twenty years since his present
wife was joined to him, and five living
children are the result of this marriage
From that day to this his life has been
an undertaking pursuit of his absorbing
idea. His were the first steers fed in
Morgan county, aud he has probably fed
more since that time than all other men
in the county together. The industry
with which this business has boon pur.
sued by him is wholly without a parallel
in all the histories of business ever pcrus.
ed or heard cf by us, Mr. Strawn is
not and never has been in any proper
sense of the term, a breeder of cattle
IIo bnys them. feeds them till fattoued,
and then soils them. As his business in.
creased he increased bis farm until it has
grown to its present size. He has now
upon it 2900 acres of corn, 600 head Of
cattle-having just sold 400 whose
places must soon be again flled-700
hogs to follow aud fatten after his cattle,
about so horses, and from so to 100
vi othSi ttuth lie Uus llttlt. Ills
only experience in sheep he gave as fol.
lows " He once bought &c head tho
dogs killed l6 of them, aud the balance
he sold to butcher. who has not yet
paid him" For turkeys, hens. or other
poultry, be cares little or nothing. lie
raises few steers yearly,and one of these,
Que year and Lalf old, sold the present
season, weighed 1850 lbs.
His sales of stock the present season
have amounted to something over $780,
600 those of cattle alone exceeding
100000.
The style of farming pursued by Mr..
Strawn may easily be gathered from the
foregoing: He raises no wheat, oats, or
other small grain tho whole surface Of
his domain is devoted to timber, grass,
corn. We were, however, shown one
6elo, now fifteen years in grass, which
the plough had never touched. 1t was
piece of rough bog lowland, given over
to weeds and brush. 1t was brought
to" by clearing the surface, smoothing it