At nearly the same time that Carter’s Settlement was taking shape in southeastern McDonough County, another small community was beginning to form near what is now Blandinsville. William Job(e), his brother-in-law John Vance, and Hugh Wilson were drawn to the area by its promise. Richard Dunn had camped there earlier, but by the time the 1830 Federal Census was taken, he had moved on and no longer appeared in the county.

In 1826, Job(e) and Vance chose land in Section 33 of Blandinsville Township, where they found reliable water, fertile soil, and nearby timber. There, they built their homes and began establishing permanent lives on the frontier. William Job(e) and his wife, Zilphry, arrived with four children and a newborn baby. By 1830, the census recorded Job(e)’s household at eight persons, while John Vance, living next door, counted seven in his own household.

The Job(e) family’s roots in McDonough County have endured. Descendants of William Job(e) still live in the area today, including Frank Jobe of Macomb and the late Don Jobe of Macomb, both third great-grandsons of the original settler.