Farm families By KATRINA J.E. MILTON – kmilton@shawmedia.com
“A GREAT PLACE TO GROW UP,” DAYTON FARMS FAMILY NAME: DAYTON TOWN: SYCAMORE YEAR FARM STARTED: 1837 GENERATIONS: SEVEN
Their story: Friends Alvin Dayton and Ralph Wyman visited DeKalb County in 1836 and staked out a claim for farmland before they returned home to Townsend, Massachusetts. The two friends married each others’ sisters and then returned to Illinois. After the 70- to 80-day trip in a small wagon, the families arrived to their farmland and built a 100-square-foot cabin. Later, Ralph Wyman and his wife moved a mile north with their children, and Alvin and Abigail Dayton remained on the original homestead.
In the 1870s, the Daytons’ son, James M. Dayton, began raising sheep on the farm. The sheep would be taken to Sycamore weekly, and then on to Chicago by train. James M. Dayton bought five farms, one for each of his children, including Nora Dayton, John Ward’s grandmother. Ward and his family live on Nora’s farmland, and his son, Stephen Ward, and his wife, Jolene, reside on the original homesite. John Ward raises hogs on his farm and Stephen Ward farms grain. The family no longer raises sheep. Quote: “I love farming; it’s a hard way a life but it is very, very rewarding and a great way to raise your family,” John Ward said. “The major changes to the farm have been the addition of electricity and mechanization of the equipment.
“Tractors can now drive themselves and monitor the grain harvest as you go. We take a great deal of pride in what we do, we enjoy feeding the world and there’s great family times and memories on the farm.”
“OUR PRIDE AND JOY” BLUE ARROW FARM FAMILY: LENSCHOW TOWN: SYCAMORE YEAR FARM STARTED: 1904 GENERATIONS: FOUR
Their story: William Lenschow purchased the farm from a relative, possibly an uncle, in 1897. There, he had a dairy farm and kept chickens. William Lenschow’s son, Walter, delivered farm-fresh eggs door-to-door twice
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