The Home is 153 Years Old!!!
I love history. I love history even more when it involves details...and actual relatable people.
Well, I have been feverishly searching for information about this farmhouse. How old is it really? If I am going to bid, I really want to know what I am bidding on. So I started looking at old plat maps to see when this little square (representing a house) first came on scene.
It was a bit tricky! I had to figure out what Section this house was in. And several of the online databases were anything but user-friendly!
But I plodded along.
And then I found it. In Section 15 of Cotton Hill Township. A little square set back off the road in the middle of a massive piece of farmland! 246 acres! But there it is!!! It says the owner's name is B. Taintor.
Wait, could it be?! I was looking at a plat map from 1874!!! But the house was RIGHT where it is today! WOW!!! This house is at least 145 years old!!! I wasn't expecting THAT old! But it matches up perfectly.
And then I kept on searching. And the fun had only just begun. Who is this B. Taintor anyway?
So I looked him up. B. Taintor is actually Burgess Taintor. And Burgess Taintor actually has a story. A story to be heard. A LIFE story!!!
I kid you not, I found a little biography about this man. This comes from page 985 of "Past and Present of the City of Springfield and Sangamon County Illinois," by Joseph Wallace, M.A. of the Springfield Bar, The S.J. Clark Publishing Company, Chicago, Illinois, 1904.
You ready?!
From page 985..."Burgess Taintor was for many years identified with agricultural interests in Sangamon county, but is now living retired at No. 702 Black avenue. He was born in Harford, Cortland county, New York, on the 30th of December, 1834, and was educated in the public schools of that state, while upon the home farm he spent the days of his boyhood and youth, there remaining until the spring of 1854, when, at the age of twenty years, he went to Moravia, New York. At that place he worked in order to earn money to bring him to Illinois, where lived his uncle, Eli Taintor, and on the 13th of December, 1854, he arrived in Springfield. This was the year the Chicago & Alton Railroad was built to Chicago. Our subject began working for his uncle, who was owner of a brickyard at the corner of Washington and West Grand avenue, and was to receive thirteen dollars per month for his services. As his uncle conducted a boarding house, he also lived with him.
In 1860 he returned to Harford, New York, and was there married, on the 23d of June, to Miss Sallie A. Reed, a sister of Charles D. Reed, of this city. She was also born in Cortland county, New York, and by their marriage they became the parents of five children, but four died in infancy. One daughter, Ella May, born June 11, 1862, reached mature years and became the wife of Daniel A. Hillman. She died June 18, 1889. Mrs. Taintor, who was born August 21, 1838, and was a daughter of Asa and Laura Reed, passed away October 8, 1872. On the 6th of March, 1873, Mr. Taintor was again married, his second union being with Mrs. Mary Trotter, the widow of George Trotter, who by her first marriage had a daughter, Jennie, now residing in St. Louis. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Taintor were born three children. Alvah Burgess, born March 15, 1875, and now residing in Springfield, married Alice Woodruff, and they have three children, William Burgess, Esther and Harry. Effie, born May 10, 1878, is the wife of Forbes Stanton and by a former marriage she had a daughter, Ruth Hodges. Jessie, the third member of the family, died in infancy, and the mother passed away January 15, 1883. On the 4th of October of the same year Mr. Taintor wedded Mrs. Anna Mowery, a widow, who had three children.
After his first marriage, in 1860, he spent about a year in New York and then returned to Springfield. Not being able to collect the money he had earned while he was employed by his uncle, he brought suit in the United States court and in this way obtained a ten-acre tract of land, located at the corner of Washington and West Grand avenue. He moved into a log cabin, which stood upon that place, and cut wood for a living. During the period of the Civil war he also made brick by the thousand for the firm of Keys & Philip, and he built the brick house which is now standing on the piece of ground which he secured through the lawsuit. He also excavated the cellar for the Leland Hotel and made various other excavations of a like nature. In 1866 he sold his place in the city and the same year purchased a farm of two hundred acres on section 15, Cotton Hill township, and forty acres of timber land on section 4 of the same township. After cutting off the timber he sold the latter tract, but to his farm he kept adding from time to time until he now has three hundred and twenty acres of valuable land on section 15. This he cultivated and improved, carrying on general farming for eight years. He lived upon his place until 1875, when he removed to Springfield township and purchased a fruit farm of forty-three acres, of which he sold thirty acres to his brother, P. E. Taintor. For twenty-three years he resided upon that place and then disposed of that property, in 1898, and purchased his home in Springfield. His life has been one of untiring industry and his unremitting diligence has been the means of bringing to him creditable success, enabling him at the present time to live retired. In addition to his own residence in the city he has four dwellings which he rents. He has always been generous to his family, finding his greatest happiness in providing for their welfare. When in Cotton Hill township Mr. Taintor served as town clerk for one term and he has ever been interested in measures of a public nature which have for their object the welfare and progress of the community. In demeanor he is modest and reserved, yet the true worth of his character is recognized by all with whom he has been associated."
WHAT?! Are you kidding me?! I couldn't believe it! The biography mentions the part where he moves out to the country! To Cotton Hill Township, Section 15!!! In 1866!!! To this house!!! So this house was built sometime between 1866 and 1874 when it shows on the map!!!
Also, I don't know this man, but I am getting to know this man! And what I love about him is his old-fashioned hard work. I mean, literally, this man WORKED. "His life has been one of untiring industry and his unremitting diligence has been the means of bringing to him creditable success..." If that isn't the American Dream in a nutshell. Work hard, be rewarded. Of course, it could have been he was a mean slave-driver type, working at all costs. That's the beauty of unknown history. He could have been a great hard-worker, or he could have been married to work. Who knows?!
But wait!!! As if this wasn't fun enough, I kept on looking through the same plat map. And that is when my jaw nearly dropped. Because not only did I have a story about Mr. Burgess Taintor (and his seemingly hard life, by the way!), but I had what has become a treasured picture for me. Yes, a PICTURE!!!
An artist drew this map of the "Farm Residence of Burgess Taintor" in 1874. I still can't believe it!!!
Not only do I have an original "photo" of the house as it used to look, but I learned so much about the home by this simple photo, too! Before seeing this, I was POSITIVE that the house had numerous updates over the years, especially in the back. Additions can be problematic because you don't know what they did or how they did it. But those back sloping roof tops just looked like additions, maybe 50 years in or 75 years in, or...you just don't know.
But after looking at this photo from the auctioneer's website, I was just positive that I was looking at one, maybe two, or possibly three additions.
But after looking at the "original photo" from 1874 and comparing it to the above, I took note of the windows there on the right. And the sloped roof. That middle portion of the house is original! Why, it's not an addition at all! Even the windows are all lined up! The only thing that has changed is the side porch has been changed to a double-window, and this windowed porch has been added.
But what is more, I was able to see the BEAUTY of this home in its original form! It had working shutters! It had a front porch! And that's when this all started making sense. The house was now talking to me...
You see, from the road and the loooooong driveway, the house is ugly. And I mean ugly. Thankfully, you can't see it very well from the main road because of the long driveway...because I'm telling you, it is UGLY!!! It has zero curb appeal and even a negative curb appeal.
I remember when I first pulled up, I was thinking, "Man, the front porch is gone, the front door is gone, and now they have added an A/C unit in the front which just looks awful." WHY WOULD THEY DO THAT?!
And that's when it hit me. The picture above is NOT the front of the house at all! I mean, NOW it is, but it was not supposed to be this way! I am actually looking at the side of the house when I pull up!
The FRONT of the house is actually beautiful if you can see it. It is missing the front porch (I will definitely add that back if I get the house) and shutters (I am a HUGE shutter guy...two of my previous homes didn't have them, and adding them just brought the whole house together). I mean, with a front porch and shutters, this house would be so inviting!!!
So how in the world did this happen?! Well, more research!!! The "original photo" shows the road or lane coming right in front of the property, providing a lovely view of the front of the home. However, the current driveway negates all of that! Oh, if only I could move the driveway over to the side of the property to get this view back!!!
The downsides are the work in moving the driveway (don't have a front-loader) and the possibility of people mistaking your driveway for an actual extension of Thomas Road (thankfully it's a very low-traveled country road anyway).
But the upsides are a gorgeous view of the FRONT of the home when you pull up (instead of the ugly side) AND the ability to have a very nice rectangular piece of acreage in the front yard for either hay, row-crop, or easily-fenced pasture. As it is now, the fence would have to line the driveway, or you would have to open and close a gate each time and deal with manure in the driveway, as well. I actually like this second positive the best. An easily-fenced in area is just a no-brainer, really. And what a nice rectangled pasture that would be!!! A quick online tool shows me that that would give you a beautiful 4.8 acres of flat grassy pasture! Plus it allows you to utilize the lean-to shed (now used as a garage) for cow cover. It would be a project, but I think it would be worth it.
All in all, I've just had a blast learning about this old home, and I can't wait to see it. I mean, admittedly, I'm a bit nervous about seeing it, as it may be a piece of junk. But I can almost guarantee I'm the only one that knows the backstory behind it, and that is part of why I want it! No one cares about this stuff anymore! But being able to share the history, the family, the man, the year it was built, and more just brings life to this old home's bones. At least it does for me anyway.
Mr. Burgess, I salute you for the home you built 153 years ago! I can't wait to see it! (And as a fun history perk, I think I am going to believe that you yourself laid those bricks in the foundation. After all, if you owned a brick foundry, laid bricks downtown, supplied bricks in the Civil War, then I have to believe that your own hands wanted to build the best foundation for your own home).
Seriously, though, how fun is this?!
Well, I have been feverishly searching for information about this farmhouse. How old is it really? If I am going to bid, I really want to know what I am bidding on. So I started looking at old plat maps to see when this little square (representing a house) first came on scene.
It was a bit tricky! I had to figure out what Section this house was in. And several of the online databases were anything but user-friendly!
But I plodded along.
And then I found it. In Section 15 of Cotton Hill Township. A little square set back off the road in the middle of a massive piece of farmland! 246 acres! But there it is!!! It says the owner's name is B. Taintor.
Wait, could it be?! I was looking at a plat map from 1874!!! But the house was RIGHT where it is today! WOW!!! This house is at least 145 years old!!! I wasn't expecting THAT old! But it matches up perfectly.
And then I kept on searching. And the fun had only just begun. Who is this B. Taintor anyway?
So I looked him up. B. Taintor is actually Burgess Taintor. And Burgess Taintor actually has a story. A story to be heard. A LIFE story!!!
I kid you not, I found a little biography about this man. This comes from page 985 of "Past and Present of the City of Springfield and Sangamon County Illinois," by Joseph Wallace, M.A. of the Springfield Bar, The S.J. Clark Publishing Company, Chicago, Illinois, 1904.
You ready?!
From page 985..."Burgess Taintor was for many years identified with agricultural interests in Sangamon county, but is now living retired at No. 702 Black avenue. He was born in Harford, Cortland county, New York, on the 30th of December, 1834, and was educated in the public schools of that state, while upon the home farm he spent the days of his boyhood and youth, there remaining until the spring of 1854, when, at the age of twenty years, he went to Moravia, New York. At that place he worked in order to earn money to bring him to Illinois, where lived his uncle, Eli Taintor, and on the 13th of December, 1854, he arrived in Springfield. This was the year the Chicago & Alton Railroad was built to Chicago. Our subject began working for his uncle, who was owner of a brickyard at the corner of Washington and West Grand avenue, and was to receive thirteen dollars per month for his services. As his uncle conducted a boarding house, he also lived with him.
In 1860 he returned to Harford, New York, and was there married, on the 23d of June, to Miss Sallie A. Reed, a sister of Charles D. Reed, of this city. She was also born in Cortland county, New York, and by their marriage they became the parents of five children, but four died in infancy. One daughter, Ella May, born June 11, 1862, reached mature years and became the wife of Daniel A. Hillman. She died June 18, 1889. Mrs. Taintor, who was born August 21, 1838, and was a daughter of Asa and Laura Reed, passed away October 8, 1872. On the 6th of March, 1873, Mr. Taintor was again married, his second union being with Mrs. Mary Trotter, the widow of George Trotter, who by her first marriage had a daughter, Jennie, now residing in St. Louis. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Taintor were born three children. Alvah Burgess, born March 15, 1875, and now residing in Springfield, married Alice Woodruff, and they have three children, William Burgess, Esther and Harry. Effie, born May 10, 1878, is the wife of Forbes Stanton and by a former marriage she had a daughter, Ruth Hodges. Jessie, the third member of the family, died in infancy, and the mother passed away January 15, 1883. On the 4th of October of the same year Mr. Taintor wedded Mrs. Anna Mowery, a widow, who had three children.
After his first marriage, in 1860, he spent about a year in New York and then returned to Springfield. Not being able to collect the money he had earned while he was employed by his uncle, he brought suit in the United States court and in this way obtained a ten-acre tract of land, located at the corner of Washington and West Grand avenue. He moved into a log cabin, which stood upon that place, and cut wood for a living. During the period of the Civil war he also made brick by the thousand for the firm of Keys & Philip, and he built the brick house which is now standing on the piece of ground which he secured through the lawsuit. He also excavated the cellar for the Leland Hotel and made various other excavations of a like nature. In 1866 he sold his place in the city and the same year purchased a farm of two hundred acres on section 15, Cotton Hill township, and forty acres of timber land on section 4 of the same township. After cutting off the timber he sold the latter tract, but to his farm he kept adding from time to time until he now has three hundred and twenty acres of valuable land on section 15. This he cultivated and improved, carrying on general farming for eight years. He lived upon his place until 1875, when he removed to Springfield township and purchased a fruit farm of forty-three acres, of which he sold thirty acres to his brother, P. E. Taintor. For twenty-three years he resided upon that place and then disposed of that property, in 1898, and purchased his home in Springfield. His life has been one of untiring industry and his unremitting diligence has been the means of bringing to him creditable success, enabling him at the present time to live retired. In addition to his own residence in the city he has four dwellings which he rents. He has always been generous to his family, finding his greatest happiness in providing for their welfare. When in Cotton Hill township Mr. Taintor served as town clerk for one term and he has ever been interested in measures of a public nature which have for their object the welfare and progress of the community. In demeanor he is modest and reserved, yet the true worth of his character is recognized by all with whom he has been associated."
WHAT?! Are you kidding me?! I couldn't believe it! The biography mentions the part where he moves out to the country! To Cotton Hill Township, Section 15!!! In 1866!!! To this house!!! So this house was built sometime between 1866 and 1874 when it shows on the map!!!
Also, I don't know this man, but I am getting to know this man! And what I love about him is his old-fashioned hard work. I mean, literally, this man WORKED. "His life has been one of untiring industry and his unremitting diligence has been the means of bringing to him creditable success..." If that isn't the American Dream in a nutshell. Work hard, be rewarded. Of course, it could have been he was a mean slave-driver type, working at all costs. That's the beauty of unknown history. He could have been a great hard-worker, or he could have been married to work. Who knows?!
But wait!!! As if this wasn't fun enough, I kept on looking through the same plat map. And that is when my jaw nearly dropped. Because not only did I have a story about Mr. Burgess Taintor (and his seemingly hard life, by the way!), but I had what has become a treasured picture for me. Yes, a PICTURE!!!
An artist drew this map of the "Farm Residence of Burgess Taintor" in 1874. I still can't believe it!!!
Not only do I have an original "photo" of the house as it used to look, but I learned so much about the home by this simple photo, too! Before seeing this, I was POSITIVE that the house had numerous updates over the years, especially in the back. Additions can be problematic because you don't know what they did or how they did it. But those back sloping roof tops just looked like additions, maybe 50 years in or 75 years in, or...you just don't know.
But after looking at this photo from the auctioneer's website, I was just positive that I was looking at one, maybe two, or possibly three additions.
 |
| The house is original with just the windowed-porch added! |
But what is more, I was able to see the BEAUTY of this home in its original form! It had working shutters! It had a front porch! And that's when this all started making sense. The house was now talking to me...
You see, from the road and the loooooong driveway, the house is ugly. And I mean ugly. Thankfully, you can't see it very well from the main road because of the long driveway...because I'm telling you, it is UGLY!!! It has zero curb appeal and even a negative curb appeal.
I remember when I first pulled up, I was thinking, "Man, the front porch is gone, the front door is gone, and now they have added an A/C unit in the front which just looks awful." WHY WOULD THEY DO THAT?!
 |
| This is the view as you pull up the drive from the main road. It's ugly, uninviting and just doesn't look like the front of a house. |
The FRONT of the house is actually beautiful if you can see it. It is missing the front porch (I will definitely add that back if I get the house) and shutters (I am a HUGE shutter guy...two of my previous homes didn't have them, and adding them just brought the whole house together). I mean, with a front porch and shutters, this house would be so inviting!!!
 |
| The ACTUAL front of the house missing shutters and a front porch. |
The downsides are the work in moving the driveway (don't have a front-loader) and the possibility of people mistaking your driveway for an actual extension of Thomas Road (thankfully it's a very low-traveled country road anyway).
But the upsides are a gorgeous view of the FRONT of the home when you pull up (instead of the ugly side) AND the ability to have a very nice rectangular piece of acreage in the front yard for either hay, row-crop, or easily-fenced pasture. As it is now, the fence would have to line the driveway, or you would have to open and close a gate each time and deal with manure in the driveway, as well. I actually like this second positive the best. An easily-fenced in area is just a no-brainer, really. And what a nice rectangled pasture that would be!!! A quick online tool shows me that that would give you a beautiful 4.8 acres of flat grassy pasture! Plus it allows you to utilize the lean-to shed (now used as a garage) for cow cover. It would be a project, but I think it would be worth it.
All in all, I've just had a blast learning about this old home, and I can't wait to see it. I mean, admittedly, I'm a bit nervous about seeing it, as it may be a piece of junk. But I can almost guarantee I'm the only one that knows the backstory behind it, and that is part of why I want it! No one cares about this stuff anymore! But being able to share the history, the family, the man, the year it was built, and more just brings life to this old home's bones. At least it does for me anyway.
Mr. Burgess, I salute you for the home you built 153 years ago! I can't wait to see it! (And as a fun history perk, I think I am going to believe that you yourself laid those bricks in the foundation. After all, if you owned a brick foundry, laid bricks downtown, supplied bricks in the Civil War, then I have to believe that your own hands wanted to build the best foundation for your own home).
Seriously, though, how fun is this?!
You have me as excited as you about this adventure!!!
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