This information is part of the Champaign County ILGenWeb Project. If you have reached this site by means other than The USGenWeb Project, The ILGenWeb Project, or directly, please visit the main Champaign Co, ILGenWeb site for more information regarding Champaign County, IL ancestors. Information contained here was transcribed by Celia Snyder. Please do not repost this information without the express written permission of Celia Snyder.

Champaign County, Illinois

Biography of Samuel Osgood

SOURCE: "Early History and Pioneers of Champaign County, Illinois," by Milton W. Mathews and Lewis A. McLean, editors of the Champaign County Herald, published by the Champaign County Herald, 1886

SURNAMES: CHEEK, OSGOOD

LIEUT. SAMUEL OSGOOD. Was born in Gardiner, Maine, in 1807. His father and mother were puritans and came to this country from England and settled in Massachusetts.

Samuel, when a young man, came to Lawrenceburg, Ind., and was married there in 1830 to Miss Huldah CHEEK, whose father was a wealthy slave owner named Page CHEEK and noted for his hospitality and generosity. The children of this marriage are as follows: Orlando, Mary, William, Loranda, Belle, Eva, Missouri, Charles, Samuel, Collins, Emma and Anna. He, with four of his children, united with the Baptist church in 1848.

He was a whig while that party lived, was an original abolitionist, and later a republican, until his death. He served two terms as sheriff, of Dearborn county, Ind., was a leader in politics and on account of his popularity, a town was named after him—"Osgood," in Indiana.

At the close of his second term, his eldest son being a mute from the time he was three years old, and having graduated from the deaf and dumb institute in Indianapolis, came to Kankakee where he accidentally shot himself while hunting. This led Mr. Osgood to move to this state. When his son recovered, he moved to Urbana, in 1854, and bought 160 acres of land one and a half miles south of Urbana. He served as justice of the peace here for several years.

When the war broke out he was 54 years old, but when urged to remain at home, he replied "I'll never be too old to serve my country, and I'll never surrender to the rebels." He kept his word by offering up his life; at the battle of Cumberland Gap, January 3, 1864, our troops were driven back; he refused to fall back with his regiment, and when told to surrender, for answer fired into the ranks of his would-be captors. Six times he thus answered the command of the enemy to surrender and sacrificed his life then and there by refusing to be taken alive. Charles at eighteen and Samuel at the age of sixteen entered the service with their father, in the same company. His son William was captain in the 25th Ohio regiment. In the same battle in which Lieut. Osgood was killed his son Charles was taken prisoner and sent to Libby prison where he died of starvation in a few months. His son Samuel was wounded in the same battle, taken prisoner and sent to Andersonville, but by the aid of an old negro he escaped, traveling eight nights and lying in the swamps by day.

Lieut. Osgood was a man of strong intellect and was impulsive and generous to a fault. He was an incessant reader, Shakespeare being his favorite author. He was as brave a man as ever gave his life to his country.

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