The Farm with Glen and Frances Arnold

My dad, Glen Arnold and his only sibling, Frances (Arnold) Stephens at the farm they both grew up on.  Both are deceased.  Dad was born in 1933; so I would guess photos are from the early to mid 1930s to early 1940s.  The location is also the farm where their father and his siblings lived, northwest of Roberts, Illinois, in Lyman Township, Ford County.
I recognize some of the out buildings.  Frances is standing in front of the "cob shed."  This building was actually the home of my great-great grandparents, Carl and Tena Zwig.  It was moved to this location from the end of the north lane at the farm.  I was in the building when it was the cob shed.  I recall old wallpaper, junk and darkness, that's about it.  All the buildings are gone now.  But I was so happy to find these photos.  I am always looking for photos of the farm house. 
The bottom photo is the home, but it looks nothing as I remembered.  Gray asphalt siding was added, a basement, and a front porch over the years, and possibly a second story. 

 

 

AMOS ARNOLD COMES TO ILLINOIS --PART 2--

Continuing . . .

Johnson Arnold married Rebecca Swigg (Zwig, Zwieg).  They had eight children:  Amos - died in infancy, Clyde, Roger, Michael, David, Henry, Ernest, and Samantha. 

I have yet to find an adult photo of Johnson Arnold, but Beckie Zwig Arnold appears in many Arnold family photos.  If any family member has a photo of Johnson Arnold, please email me jandowell@hotmail.com

Johnson Arnold

Becky (Zwig) Arnold

 

--From the History of Ford County, Illinois.  1985. 

Johnson D. Arnold (1862-1938) was born in Schuyler Falls, New York, the second child and first born son of Amos and Lora.  He married Beckie Swig (1869-1938) April 6, 1886.  Her parents, Carl and Ernstine Swig, were both born near Piro in North Germany as was Beckie.  Johnson and his wife set up housekeeping in a small home on the land given to them by Amos and Lora.  This home was later moved to the present site where the home still stands with additions made through the years.

 

This would be the location where the home stood when I lived there and what it looked like when I lived there.  My dad, mom and I moved into this home shortly after my dad was discharged from the Army.

My Grandma Mildred Arnold's address book has in Grandma's handwriting recorded the date of their moving into town and our moving on to the farm. September 1955.  I assume we moved in to the home shortly after Grandma and Grandpa moved to town. 

 

And as I suspicioned the home had additions and alterations over the years.  Mom thinks possibly the far west end of the home may have been the original as it had a small attic above this room and a door toward that faced the north, but really opened to nowhere (just the middle of the back yard.)

 

 

 

 

They also built a small home on the North East corner of the North 80 for Beckies' parents to live out their lives. 

 

I was in this small home that Beckie and Carl lived in.  I always envisioned it sitting at the end of the primary lane at the farm, but this document states the home was on the North East corner of the North 80, putting the home on the hill at the end of the lane over the ditch to the north of the main home.  This two room framed home sat just to the south of the main house when I lived on the farm.  A sidewalk ran from our home and extended past the "cob shed." We called it the cob shed.  I did enter it on a few occasions, but it was very dilapidated by the late 1950's.  I so wish I had a photo of this small home.  For more details and pics of the buildings on the farm see this post:  https://amosarnoldgenealogy.blogspot.com/search/label/The%20Farm

This previous post details the wedding of Johnson David Arnold and Beckie O. Zwig:  https://amosarnoldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2016/04/mr-and-mrs-johnson-arnold.html

Johnson and Beckie Arnold had 8 children, I will document all info separate for them and add the link here as I complete each.

The Farm

Sometime in the 1980's I discovered this aerial shot of the farm where I lived until 1963.  My dad lived here and my Grandpa and my great grandpa.  This property was purchased by Amos Arnold father of Johnson Arnold.  Johnson and Beckie Zwig Arnold set up housekeeping here in a small home given to them by Amos and Lora Johnson Arnold. 
It must have been pretty cramped when Johnson and Beckie lived here as they had seven sons and one daughter:  Amos (died at 6 months), Clyde, Michael, David, Henry, Roger, Ernest and Samantha. 
But additions were made over the years.  A cousin, Jerry Shambrook, remembers in the 1940's that the basement was added to the home.  So I would assume the front porch was added then too, as the basement stairs were wide open in this enclosed entry room.  The photo below is the front of the house, it faced all the outbuildings.  You can see the choppy additions/rooms.  The only bedroom downstairs was the room located to the far left (below).  If I remember correctly, the garden and clothesline were located to the west of the bedroom.  This possibly was the main house when first constructed.  It had an attic above the room and a door that lead to nowhere on the north side of the home. 
A story (that I discussed in an earlier article) states the home was moved to this location. 

 

The property is surrounded by "the ditch."  The ditch was a necessity to drain the land that was actually a lake for probably thousands of years.  We drove up a long lane to the reach the house and outbuildings.  On the rare occasion "the ditch" would seclude us to the home. 

The home is to the left of the lane in the very top photo.  Two barns are visible.  There were several storage sheds and two wooden cribs. 

A row of walnut trees sat behind the house and the cattle had a path there to the water trough located at the end of the lane.

A long row of Osage Orange trees lined the lane going to the north with another small bridge.  Actually the property did have three bridges, one was located to the south also. 
An apple orchard is seen in the first photo, the last group of trees in the middle left. 
Another significant building on the property was what we called the "cob shed."  I had sneaked a peak inside on several occasions.  It had two rooms and flowered wall paper on every wall.  Pretty fancy for cobs.  This small building was the home of Beckie Zwig's parents, Carl and Tina Hermann Zwig.  When the building was their home it was located at the end of the north lane.  Later moved very close to the main home when no longer used as a home, it stored cobs for heating purposes.  I wonder where the stoves were located.

I'll update this as I run across more stories and photos.