Person:Ransom Pangborn (1)

RANSOM B. PANGBORN, of Onarga, has prominently figured in the history of Iroquois County for fifty-five years, and with its upbuilding and development has been identified. He was born October 16, 1812, in Essex County, N. Y., and when only four years of age removed with his parents to Ohio, where his boyhood and youth were quietly passed. When a young man he determined to seek his home on the prairies of Illinois with the hope of bettering his financial condition, and in 1837, at the age of twenty-five years, he came to Iroquois County in company with his brother, Judge Pangborn, and his family. Securing one hundred and sixty acres of raw land, three miles southeast of the present site of Onarga, he began the development of a farm.

The following year, on June 21, 1838, Mr. Pangborn married Miss Margaret K. Harper, daughter of Samuel H. Harper, an honored pioneer of this county. They became the parents of a family of seven children: Lorenzo, born December 9, 1839, was killed by lightning when only four years of age; Olive was born August 14, 1842; Lorenzo, March 5, 1844; Mary Jane, September 7, 1848; Maria Amanda and Margaret Louisa, twins, October 27, 1851; and Charles Albert, July 31, 1857. Mary Jane is now the wife of Henry J. Swim, who resides in the extreme northeastern part of the State of Washington. They have two children, a son and daughter, Arthur P. and Margaret Louise. The latter is now the wife of Matthew Paul Watson, and her daughter, Cecil Watson, is the great-granddaughter of our subject. Charles Albert, the youngest child of the Pangborn family, was married to Miss Lucy Haven, daughter of Henry Haven, and they have three children: Margaret, Harry R. and Olive. The mother of this family died about 1871, and her remains were interred in the Onarga cemetery. On September 24, 1874, Mr. Pangborn was a second time married, being united with Mrs. Cornelia Lash, daughter of Nicholas and Maria (Burst) Burnside, of Otsego, N. Y.

Mrs. Pangborn was the widow of David Lash, by whom she had four children, two yet living: Anna M. is the wife of Edwin J. Yeomans, a resident of Lamar, Mo., by whom she has three children, Bertha Louise, Grace and Jessie; Enos L. is married and resides in Ritzville, near Spokane Falls, Wash. They have a son and daughter, Freddie and Clara Bell.

Mr. Ransom engaged in the operation of his first farm from 1837 to 1868, when he removed to Onarga, but he still owns one hundred and thirty-seven and one-half acres of land, which is now rented. He has always been a prominent character in the development and upbuilding of the village, and has been a friend to all educational, social and moral interests. He is a public-spirited and progressive man, and has given his support to all enterprises calculated to promote the general welfare. In politics, he is a stalwart Prohibitionist, and himself and wife are faithful members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. They took a prominent part in wiping out the saloons in Onarga. In the community they are highly respected, and their circle of friends is extensive, for their many excellencies have won them the warm regard of all.
Portrait and Biographical Record of Iroquois Co., IL; 1893

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} The Pacific Pilot
   13 Apr 1905.

   In Keene township, Essex County, New York, at the foot of the Adirondack Mountains, was born in 1812, Ranson (sic) Belden Pangborn. When four years of age his parents emigrated to Ohio, where he grew to manhood. In 1837, with family and friends, he again moved to new and untried scenes, locating in Iroquois County, Illinois. One brother, Cyrus S. Pangborn of Burr Oak, Kansas, is the only member of his family living.
   
   June 21, 1838, he was united in marriage to Margaret K. Harper, whose death occurred March 19, 1871. He was married September 24, 1874, to Mrs. Cornelia E. Lash, who survives him. They came to Washington in June, 1900. At twenty-six years of age Mr. Pangborn was happily converted, united with the Methodist Church, and has lived a faithful and consistent life. About two years ago he entered into a richer experience of grace. Judge Williams, an old-time friend, said of him and the little band of pioneers that it was due to them that the foundation of the Church in that section was laid broad and deep on a firm and enduring basis. Very few are left of the representatives of a grand race of pioneers. They wrought faithfully and their words do follow them. They found the country wild and unproductive; they left it a rich legacy to their children. The weary itinerant received cordial treatment in the home of the subject of this sketch. His was a religion that spoke eloquently in generous, kindly deeds rather than words. His life and personality were a living embodiment and illustration of the simple life, a life hid with Christ in God.
   
   In 1863 he helped to organize a school in Onarga, Illinois, and he never lost interest in everything pertaining to it. Since coming to Washington he has dictated messages of greeting and reminiscence to the friends of what is now an important and endowed institution, growing, as he expressed it, into a giant oak from the acorn which he assisted in planting so many years ago. The influence of his personality upon the plastic minds and hearts of the younger generation will be a constant and potent factor for good, extending in ever widening circles as time rolls on. Gladly he obeyed the summons of the Master, "Thou has been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many."