[Sidenote: Roy. J. M. Sturtevant, "Address to Old Settlers of Morgan
County."]

[Sidenote: Thomas Buckles, of McLean County.]

[Sidenote: J.C. Power, "Early Settlers of Sangamon County," p. 62.]

[Sidenote: "Old Times in McLean County," p. 414.]

[Illustration: GOOSE-NEST PRAIRIE, NEAR FARMINGTON ILLINOIS, WHERE
THOMAS LINCOLN LIVED AND DIED.]

The Lincolns arrived in Illinois just in time to entitle themselves to
be called pioneers. When, in after years, associations of "Old
Settlers" began to be formed in Central Illinois, the qualification
for membership agreed upon by common consent was a residence in the
country before "the winter of the deep snow." This was in 1830-31, a
season of such extraordinary severity that it has formed for half a
century a recognized date in the middle counties of Illinois, among
those to whom in those days diaries and journals were unknown. The
snowfall began in the Christmas holidays and continued until the snow
was three feet deep on level ground. Then came a cold rain, freezing
as it fell, until a thick crust of ice gathered over the snow. The
weather became intensely cold, the mercury sinking to twelve degrees
below zero, Fahrenheit, and remaining there for two weeks. The storm
came on with such suddenness that all who were abroad had great
trouble in reaching their homes, and many perished. One man relates
that he and a friend or two were out in a hunting party with an ox-
team. They had collected a wagon-load of game and were on their way