Frank Dora Willard

 

SOURCE: "History of Champaign County, Illinois," by J. O. Cunningham, 1905

SURNAMES: WILLARD, MURPHY, WADE, MICHAELS, MCCARTNEY

FRANK DORA WILLARD was born, lived, and died entirely in Champaign County. He was a farmer all his adult life and was born during a time in Champaign County history when soft water came from a bucket put outside the house during a rainstorm, butter was really butter, the icebox was a stream of constantly running water in the basement that was so cold that it hurt to the touch, butterflies were abundant, the doctor came to your house, and husbands, wives, and children died suddenly and often tragically. They died too young, too soon, and too often. FD (as his family and friends called him) was born January 29, 1870, to Charles Henry, Sr. and Ruth Ditto Willard of rural Urbana. During his lifetime, he was married three times, fathered 16 children, witnessed the death of two of his wives, and lost two children in infancy. He successfully farmed about 1,000 acres of land in Champaign and Vermilion Counties until the Great Depression in 1930. He also owned the first Thomas Flyer in the county, ran for but lost the election for road commissioner on the Democratic ticket (which was alright with him because he didn't like politicians anyway and therefore had no interest in being one), was an avid reader of the Chicago Herald Examiner, always patronized Urbana businesses (M. Lowenstern & Son, Milton Meis & Company Department Store, Drs. James S. Mason and D. E. Yantis), smoked Owl cigars, wore tailor-made suits (Hart, Shaffer, and Marx), and thought that all attorneys were crooks--especially H.I. Green and Thomas E. Lindsey. About Green he said, "Green is so crooked that he can't sleep straight in bed." He loved fried catfish, Grandma Werts' gooseberry and custard pies, was generous with his time and money to his wives, children, and the Urbana community (donating money to both the original buildings of Carle Hospital and the Universalist Church), paid all his debts, said what he meant and meant what he said. Babies loved to be with him, honest men liked him, blatantly dishonest men avoided him, and his children feared but respected him. FD's first wife was Maggie Murphy. They were married on July 2, 1889, and lived on a small farm outside Sadorus. They had three children: Hazel Gertrude, Ervin Elmer "Bud", and an unnamed baby boy. Maggie died in childbirth on March 11, 1894, and the baby died three months later when an attending nurse fed the baby sour milk. FD then took Hazel and Bud to an elderly couple in Indiana to live until he remarried. FD's second wife was my grandmother, Lydia Clementine Wade. They were married January 1, 1895. FD brought Bud and Hazel back from Indiana and settled with his new wife and children in his father's house located in the southeast part of Champaign County (Section 24, Township 19, Range 9) and farmed this land for his father. Seven children were born to Frank and Lydia Willard over a period of 15 years. After the first five children were born, FD bought a house situated on 231 acres from Henry M. Sewall. The house and land were located in the southeast part of the county, Section 27, Township 19, Range 9. FD paid $40,425, and the date of purchase was October 16, 1906. The farm picture was taken shortly after they had moved in. A traveling photographer came by one day and offered to take a family picture. FD and Lydia willingly agreed since they were anxious to show off their new home. From left to right are: Agnes Luella; Dora Alta, Erwin "Bud" Elmer, Arthur Wade (Lydia's father), Hazel Gertrude, Charles "Chuck" Henry, Frank Glen, Lydia Clementine, Frank Dora Willard (FD), and Harold Bryan. Two more children were born since 1906 to Frank and Lydia. Russell Lloyd was born 1909, and my mother, Frances Elizabeth, was born 1910. Lydia died at home of cancer on January 3, 1915, at the age of 39. Visitation was held in this house, and her burial was at Mount Olive Cemetery located on Route 150 East. FD's third wife was Rose Ersig Michaels. They were married in 1919. Rose was a widow and had one child, Elma, who was 10 years old. Five children were born to this marriage: Byron James, Orville Leslie, Ralph Franklin, Joan Catherine, and Ruby Irene. By the beginning of the Great Depression, FD was facing the painful reality of losing his land and farm--all that he had worked so hard for for so long. During the latter part of March 1931, he became critically ill and was taken to Mercy Hospital in Urbana. His appendix was infected and immediate surgery was imperative in order to save his life. However, he refused to allow the doctor to operate and died on April 4, 1931. Visitation was held in this house and burial was at Mount Olive Cemetery between Maggie and Lydia's plots. At FD's funeral, a black man came to pay his respects to the family. His appearance surprised everyone for two reasons. He was the only black man there, and no one knew who he was--except for my mother. She knew. He was FD's barber. The barbershop was located in Champaign on the north side of University Avenue, and was FD's only exception to his rule about only patronizing Urbana businesses. On February 24, 1932, Sections 24 and 27, as well as farm land in Vermilion County, were auctioned off at the Champaign County Courthouse. H. I. Green and Thomas E. Lindsey, the same attorneys mentioned before, bought most of FD's land in the county. However, the winds of fate instead of the decision of man determined the future of Section 27. On the morning of March 17, 1942, shortly before noon, a tornado appeared in Piatt County. The funnel stayed on the ground for 60 miles following a straight path through Piatt, southern Champaign, and Vermilion Counties. It destroyed numerous farms throughout the three counties, killing 11 people, injuring 14, and leaving 100 people homeless. An eyewitness on a farm north of Alvin (Vermilion County) stated, "It hung close to the ground and never lifted. It didn't make much noise. It looked like a big black cloud with lots of timber flying around in it." The Willard farm, now owned by Lindsey, was one of the 13 farms that was completely destroyed. The timber that the Alvin witness saw in the cloud could have very well been the timber from my grandfather's farm. The March 17, 1942, edition of the Urbana Courier, stated that this storm was a "freak" storm, and that no tornado of this magnitude has been recorded in this county before or since. John L. Page, assistant professor of geography at the University of Illinois, stated, "The destructive Monday morning tornado in Champaign and Vermilion counties apparently was a 'freak' storm. It was a freak for this part of the country at least as far as the atmospheric conditions that produced it were concerned." The only remaining evidence of the Willard farm was a house pillar that was found in St. Joseph. The 231 acres that Frank Willard owned has had 12 owners since the U.S. Government sold the land to Charles H. Mills in 1855. Current ownership is divided between Dr. Adolf Lo and Bank One Farm Management. The current assessed valuation of the 231 acres averages $577 per acre. The lot where the house and farm buildings were located is still vacant. All that remains today as a reminder that a farm was once there is a water pump, small brook, cottonwood tree, my mother's memories, and family pictures. During the past few years I have listened to my mother, Frances Elizabeth Willard McCartney, talk about her childhood. I have been continually fascinated, enriched and blessed while listening to every detail. Mother was an attentive listener. She listened to her father, her brothers, and her sisters as they shared with her their lives, thoughts, feelings, sorrows, and joys. And as my mother has reflected on her childhood days on the farm, she has arrived at two contradicting conclusions: "I regret that I did not have time to study when I got home from school, but I couldn't. There was too much work to do." "The best place to raise a child is on a farm." "Stories From the Farm Down the Road" told by Frances Elizabeth McCartney and written by her daughter Georgia Kay