The 1885 History of McDonough County records that Charles B. Gilchrist was born in Walpole, New Hampshire, in 1802, the son of Samuel and Betsy (Allen) Gilchrist. His mother was a niece of Revolutionary War figure Colonel Ethan Allen. On December 31, 1829, Charles married Minerva H. Holton in New Hampshire.

In 1837, the Gilchrists moved to McDonough County, though no record explains what drew them to the area. Gilchrist first rented land in Tennessee Township and, the following year, purchased property in Section 32. About twenty years later, he acquired a farm in Section 29, where he established the family homestead.

Like many prominent farmers of the time, Gilchrist commissioned a lithograph of his farm for the 1871 Atlas Map of McDonough County, which is shown here.
Charles and Minerva Gilchrist had five children: Helen (Mrs. L. F. Ferris), Charles A., who became a Civil War general, Van B., Erastus H., who was killed by a horse in 1851, and Edward M., later of Keokuk, Iowa.

Pioneers of the Past is furnished by Julie L. Terstriep, of the McDonough County Genealogical Society, facebook.com/mcdcgs. For this story, go to https://www.mcdcgs.com/pioneers-of-the-past/

From the 1871 Atlas Map of McDonough County, Illinois.