Will County IL Archives Biographies.....Sanders, Michael F 
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Deb Haines http://www.rootsweb.com/~archreg/vols/00003.html#0000719 February 14, 2008, 2:13 am

Author: Past & Present Will County IL 1907

MICHAEL F. SANDERS. No history of Will county would be complete without 
mention of Michael F. Sanders, the first settler of Green Garden township. For 
many years he was closely identified with the pioneer development of the 
county, and an active participant in the events which shaped the annals and 
molded the destiny of this part of the state. A native of Vermont, he was born 
in Rutland county on the 17th of August, 1819, and in the year 1847 he arrived 
in Will county, where he afterward continued to make his home. He settled in 
Green Garden township, although the district at that time had no township 
organization. In fact there was not a settler residing within what is now the 
borders of the township, and around him stretched the wild, unbroken prairie, 
upon which not a furrow had been turned or an improvement made. He undertook 
the arduous task of developing the land and transformed his place into a good 
farm, and in course of time he gathered rich and abundant harvests as a reward 
for the labor that he had bestowed upon the fields. As time passed and his 
financial resources increased he added to his property until he became the 
owner of five hundred and fifty acres of rich farming land, which was very 
valuable. He added to his place all modern equipments and accessories and as 
the years passed by became one of the substantial agriculturists of the 
community. He was, moreover, connected with many important events of the early 
days. In politics he was a stanch republican and he served as supervisor for 
several years and also as township clerk. He was likewise the first justice of 
the peace of Green Garden township after its organization and performed the 
first marriage ceremony there. His own marriage was celebrated on the 13th of 
November, 1844, while he was still a resident of New England. He wedded Miss 
Sarah Davis, who was born in Windsor county, Vermont, March 8, 1823, and they 
became the parents of seven children, of whom the living are William H., 
Charles R. and Josephine V. The last named is the wife of W. E. Wheeler, a 
merchant of Joliet, who is mentioned elsewhere in this volume. The wife and 
mother, who was a consistent and devoted member of the Christian church, died 
on the 4th of October, 1886. Mr. Sanders, a man of genuine personal worth, 
remained upon the old homestead farm until his death, which occurred January 
7, 1903. All who knew him respected him and the part which he took in the 
early development and progress of the county well entitles him to 
representation in this volume. 

Additional Comments:
PAST AND PRESENT OF WILL COUNTY, ILLINOIS By W. W. Stevens President of the 
Will County Pioneers Association; Chicago: The S. J. Clarke Publishing 
Company, 1907

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