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373
Colonel Sylvester Blish, (***) 6 [m]
6th Generation

Personal Details
Born December 31st, 1790
Birthplace Glastonbury, CT, USA
Baptized No Entry
Baptized at... No Entry
Baptized by... No Entry
Baptized in... No Entry
Occupation(s) No Entry
Died October 8th, 1855, aged about 65 years
Died at... Wethersfield, IL, USA
Cause of Death No Entry
Burial Place No Entry
Disposition No Entry

Parents
Father [169]Deacon Thomas Blish, (***) 5 No Image On File
Mother [169_sa]Prudence (Hubbard) Blish 5 No Image On File

Spouses, Mates & Children
Wife #1
[373_sa] - Rhoda (Cheney) Blish 6

Married by: No Entry
Married at: South Manchester, CT, USA

Children by this spouse:
I [667]+ William Henry Blish 7 b. May 25th, 1812 c. August
II [668]+ Thomas Blish 7 b. September 8th, 1815 c. December No Image On File
III [669]+ Charles Cheney Blish, (***) 7 b. May 26th, 1820 c. August
IV [670] Prudence Hubbard (Blish) Knox 7 b. March 26th, 1822 c. June No Image On File
V [671]+ George Cheney Blish 7 b. January 12th, 1831 c. April

Immediate Family Tree
Gen. 6 Gen. 5 Gen. 4 Gen. 3 Gen. 2
Colonel Sylvester Blish, (***)Deacon Thomas Blish, (***)David Blish, (***)Tristham Blish, (***)Joseph Blish, (***)
Hannah (Hull) Blish
Anne (Fuller) BlishMatthew Fuller
Patience (Young) Fuller
Zeruiah (Skinner) BlishDeacon Nathaniel Skinner? Skinner
? (?) Skinner
Mary (Gillett) Skinner? Gillett
? (?) Gillett
Prudence (Hubbard) BlishElizur Hubbard? HubbardNo Entry
No Entry
? (?) HubbardNo Entry
No Entry
Abigail (Hollister) Hubbard? HollisterNo Entry
No Entry
? (?) HollisterNo Entry
No Entry

Personalized History Timeline, 1790 to 1855
1231-1808:
Papal Inquisition from before birth until age 18
1478-1834:
Torquemada's Spanish Inquisition from before birth until age 44
1760-1820:
Reign of King George III (Hanover) from before birth until age 30
1789-1796:
George Washington selected 1st President from before birth until age 6
1790:
1st official US census at age 0
1790:
Rhode Island enters the union - 13th at age 0
1790:
Coast Guard Established at age 0
1791:
Federal Bill of rights adopted at age 1
1791:
Vermont enters the union -14th at age 1
1792:
Denmark 1st to forbid trade in slaves at age 2
1792:
Kentucky enters the union - 15th at age 2
1792-1815:
Napoleonic war from age 2 to age 25
1793:
Marie Antoinette beheaded at age 3
1793:
Eli Whitney invents Cotton Gin (increases need for slaves) at age 3
1794:
Slavery abolished in French colonies at age 4
1794:
US Navy Established at age 4
1794:
US Post Office Established at age 4
1796:
Tennesee enters the union - 16th at age 6
1796-1800:
John Adams elected 2nd president of US from age 6 to age 10
1796:
France's presses get right of free speech at age 6
1796:
Vaccination against Smallpox at age 6
1798:
Lithography at age 8
1798:
US Marine Corps Established at age 8
1798-1800:
Undeclared war with France from age 8 to age 10
1798:
Mississippi organized as a territory at age 8
1799:
Rosetta Stone found at age 9
1800:
US capital moves from Philadelphia to Washington DC at age 10
1800:
Russia annexes Georgia at age 10
1800-1809:
Thomas Jefferson elected president of US from age 10 to age 19
1800:
1st Battery (Volta) at age 10
1802:
Babylonian cuniform deciphered at age 12
1803:
Louisiana Territory Purchased at age 13
1803:
Fulton propels vessel by steampower at age 13
1803:
Ohio enters the union - 17th at age 13
1804:
Haiti independent - 1st black country in West. Hemis. at age 14
1804-1806:
Lewis and Clark Expedition from age 14 to age 16
1805:
Thomas Jefferson re-elected president of US at age 15
1805:
Morphine isolated at age 15
1807:
Robert Fulton makes 1st practical steamboat voyage at age 17
1808:
Import of new slaves into US Is banned at age 18
1808:
Pompeii excavation begins in earnest at age 18
1809-1816:
James Madison elected president of US from age 19 to age 26
1809:
Charles Darwin born at age 19
1810:
Homeopathy founded at age 20
1810:
US pop. reaches 7.2 million at age 20
1812:
Missouri organized as a territory at age 22
1812-1814:
War of 1812 from age 22 to age 24
1812:
Louisiana enters the union - 18th at age 22
1815:
Sumbawa volcano (Indonesia) erupts; 50,000 killed at age 25
1815:
Battle of Waterloo at age 25
1815:
French outlaw slavery in France at age 25
1816:
Photographic Negative at age 26
1816:
Indiana enters the union - 19th at age 26
1816:
Stethoscope at age 26
1817:
Alabama organized as a territory at age 27
1817-1825:
Erie canal constructed from age 27 to age 35
1817:
Pentrich Revolution - England's last revolution at age 27
1817-1824:
James Monroe president of US from age 27 to age 34
1817:
Mississippi enters the union - 20th at age 27
1817-1823:
1st Cholera pandemic from age 27 to age 33
1818:
Savannah 1st steamship to cross the Atlantic at age 28
1818:
Illinois enters the union - 21st at age 28
1819:
Arkansas organized as a territory at age 29
1819:
Oersted discovers electro-magnetism at age 29
1819:
Alabama enters the union - 22nd at age 29
1820:
Maine enters the union - 23rd at age 30
1820-1830:
Reign of King George IV (Hanover) from age 30 to age 40
1821:
US pop. reaches 9.2 million at age 31
1821-1829:
Greek war of Independence from age 31 to age 39
1821:
Missouri enters the union - 24th at age 31
1821:
1st US women's college at age 31
1822:
Florida organized as a territory at age 32
1824-1828:
John Quincy Adams president of US from age 34 to age 38
1824:
Erie canal finished at age 34
1824:
Internal Combustion Engine at age 34
1826:
1st railroad tunnel (England) at age 36
1827:
1st Black newspaper Freedom's Journal at age 37
1827:
Ohms Law formulated at age 37
1827:
Ship's propeller (screw) at age 37
1828:
1st Webster's Dictionary at age 38
1828:
1st railroad in the US at age 38
1828-1836:
Andrew Jackson president of US from age 38 to age 46
1829:
1st US patent on a typewriter at age 39
1829-1851:
2nd Cholera pandemic from age 39 to age 61
1830-1837:
Reign of King William IV (Hanover) from age 40 to age 47
1830-1860:
Underground railroad leads 100,000+ slaves to freedom in US from age 40 until after line end
1830:
Mormons (Latter Day Saints) founded at age 40
1832:
Horse-drawn trolleys in New York at age 42
1833:
Slavery abolished in British Empire (home and colonies) at age 43
1833:
Telegraph at age 43
1834:
Modern computer conceived by Charles Babbage at age 44
1835-1842:
2nd Seminole War from age 45 to age 52
1835:
Halley's Comet at age 45
1835:
Mormon leader Joseph Smith prophesies of 'coming of lord' by 1891 at age 45
1836:
Texas war for independence from Mexico at age 46
1836:
Battle of the Alamo at age 46
1836:
Arkansas enters the union -25th at age 46
1837:
Depression and Panic in the US - inflation, speculation at age 47
1837:
Michigan enters the union - 26th at age 47
1837-1901:
Reign of Queen Victoria (Hanover) from age 47 until after line end
1837-1840:
Martin Van Buren president of US from age 47 to age 50
1838-1839:
Forced relocation of Cherokee from age 48 to age 49
1839-1842:
Opium war between China and the English from age 49 to age 52
1841-1844:
John Tyler president of US from age 51 to age 54
1842:
Chinese cede Hong Kong to the English at age 52
1844:
1st telegraph line message, Washington to New York at age 54
1845:
Texas enters the union - 28th at age 55
1845-1849:
Irish Potato Famine from age 55 to age 59
1845:
Florida enters the union - 27th at age 55
1845-1848:
James K Polk president of US from age 55 to age 58
1846:
Iowa enters the union - 29th at age 56
1846-1848:
The Mexican-US War from age 56 to age 58
1848:
Oregon organized as a territory at age 58
1848-1856:
1st gold rush in California -- Sutters Mill from age 58 until after line end
1848:
NY allows women to own real estate at age 58
1848:
Wisconsin enters the union - 30th at age 58
1849-1852:
Zachary Taylor president of the US from age 59 to age 62
1849:
Fizeau measures speed of light at age 59
1850:
California enters the union - 31st at age 60
1850:
World pop. est. at 1.1 billion at age 60
1850:
New Mexico organized as a territory at age 60
1850:
US pop reaches 23 million at age 60
1850:
Utah (included Nevada) organized as a territory at age 60
1851:
Gold rush in Australia at age 61
1852-1859:
3rd Cholera pandemic from age 62 until after line end
1853-1856:
Franklin Pierce president of US from age 63 until after line end
1853:
Washington (included pt. of Idaho) organized as a territory at age 63
1854:
Kansas organized as a territory at age 64
1854-1856:
Crimean War from age 64 until after line end
1854:
Nebraska organized as a territory at age 64

Additional Information

From the work of the 1st compiler, JKB-1905

Sylvester Blish was a very active and energetic man. He had the fiery and impetuous temperament of his mother, combined with the determination of his father. He was public spirited and active in politics holding many public offices in Connecticut. He was lister in Glastonbury in 1815, 1817 and 1818; was tithingman 1817, 1819 and 1826; was surveyor of highways in 1820, 1821, 1823, 1824, 1825 and 1827; was on board the relief in 1822 and 1823; was collector of taxes in 1825; was grand juryman in 1828 and 1829; was town agent and fence-viewer in 1830; selectman in 1832 and 1833; and a member of the Connecticut General Assembly in 1835.

He was also prominent in military matters and rose through gradual promotions until he was Colonel in the Connecticut Militia for several years before he left Connecticut, in 1836. He was one of the administrators of the estate of his brother Aaron Hubbard Blish, and also administered on the estate of his father.

In 1835 a rumor was spread throughout Connecticut and Massachusetts that the Catholics were colonizing the fertile Mississippi valley with the intention of founding a Catholic hierarchy there, and a movement was inaugurated with the object of sending out Protestant colonies and settlements to counteract the Catholic movement. A stock company was organized in Wethersfield, Connecticut, for this purpose, the Reverend Caleb Tenney, of Wethersfield, and the Reverend Gardner Spring of New York, being among the leaders of the enterprise. Colonel Blish joined the Wethersfield company, which was called "The Connecticut Association." A find raised, and in 1836, Colonel Sylvester Blish, Elizur Goodrich and Reverend Ithamar Pillsbury were chosen to proceed west and purchase lands. Reverend Ithamar Pillsbury was not a member of the association, but had been in the west the preceding year, in the interest of another similar association, so that his experience was valuable. Elizur Goodrich was a surveyor. They went to Illinois, a trip that was not without considerable hardship at that time. Mr. Goodrich became discouraged by the vastness and seeming endlessness of the prairies, but Colonel Blish, encouraged by the zeal and hopefulness of Mr. Pillsbury, pushed the work to a completion.

They selected and entered over fifteen thousand acres of land in Henry County, Illinois, and returned to Connecticut. Colonel Blish was so impressed with the fertility of the soil in Illinois and the future possibilities of the country, that he determined to make his home there. He sold his lands in Connecticut, and in the spring of 1837, started with his family for Illinois, making the entire trip in a carriage. His wagon, farming utensils and household effects were shipped by water to New Orleans and from thence they came up the Mississippi river to the settlement at Rock Island, about forty miles from the location of the colony lands. These lands were happily chosen. The greater portion lay to the south of a large grove of oak, walnut and hickory timber. To a person reared among the stony hills of Connecticut or Massachusetts, these vast rolling prairies, with their rich, black soil, were at once a wonder and an inspiration. A town site was laid out a little to the south of the grove and called Wethersfield. By the forms of the Association, each share of stock gave the owner the right to select a quarter section (160 acres) of prairie land, a twenty acre timber lot and a village lot, which contained two and one-half acres. A number of other colonists arrived the same year, and the season was taken up mainly with the construction of log houses and the raising of small crops to provide for the coming winter. Space forbids any extended account of the privations of these early comers or the growth and final success of the venture. The Catholic scare was purely imaginary, but the results were good for the parties concerned and for the communities planted in the new country. Three other settlements were made in the near vicinity of Wethersfield, one at Andover, by Massachusetts people, one at Genesco, by New York people and one at Providence by Rhode Island people.

Colonel Blish took an active interest in the affairs of the new country and aided and encouraged its development and settlement. He became a large land owner and prospered beyond his most sanguine expectations. In 1853, a railroad was projected which would give connections to Chicago, and into this enterprise he launched with all his accustomed vigor, and in 1855 the railroad was a reality. From this time the real development of the country began. A railroad station was located a little over half a mile north of the Town site of Wethersfield, which was named Kewanee, that meaning in Indian dialect "prairie hen." Colonel Blish owned a quarter section of land adjoining the new railroad station, which is now a part of the city of Kewanee, and completely covered with factories and residences. That is east of the original village of Kewanee, while the City has now extended a mile to the west and taken in his old homestead and orchard, which was just at the south edge of the grove. Even the old Village of Wethersfield is now putting on city airs with water works, street lights and trolly cars.

Colonel Blish was for many years the post master in Wethersfield and held the same office in Kewanee, until his death, being the first post master in both places. For many years after his arrival in Wethersfield, Colonel Blish kept the only hotel in Wethersfield. The old oval sign stood upon a post, with the words: "S. BLISH INN" painted thereon. His house was the stopping place for the stage lines which traversed the country before the advent of railroads.

The greatest obstacle, with which the pioneers had to contend, was the lack of transportation facilities and their great distance from (orig spelling was "form", believe this to be a typo, CBB) available markets. A limited quantity of wheat was marketed, by teams, at Peoria, Lacon, and other river points, and occasionally at Chicago. The surest source of income was by fattening hogs, butchering and dressing them and hauling the whole carcasses to the river towns and selling them to the packing houses, or by raising cattle and selling them on the hoof to buyers, who took them away in droves to eastern points.

Soon after the settlers arrived in Wethersfield, they organized a Congregational society. Meetings were held at the houses of the members, and Colonel Blish's house being the largest, was usually used. Colonel Blish was the first chorister, and the music was strictly vocal. Later a bass viol was added. In the fall of 1838, a log school house was built, and this was used for church services for some ten years.

Colonel Blish was also an extensive (orig spelling was "etensive", believe this to be a typo, CBB) stock raiser and took especial pride in his horses. He brought the first Morgan horses to Wethersfield, and the effect of his labors is still apparent in the neighborhood. He was an expert horseman, and no animal was too wild for him to handle. He died 8 October, 1855, in the old house on the place on which he located on his arrival in Illinois, a new house which he was building, having been almost ready for occupancy. He is buried in the old Kewanee cemetery, which he donated to the Village, when it was first laid out.


Blish Genealogy Formatting, Timeline Concept and Structure, Database Source and Structure
are all copyright © 1999-2006 Charles Benjamin Blish
Genealogy data is free of copyright restrictions
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