January and February in 1916 were busy months for the auctioneers of McLean County and other nearby counties. There were itemized sale ads for at least 15 sales on the 18th and a long list of sales that would be held in neighboring communities. In the ad the farmer might say, "Having decided to quit farming" or "Having decided to farm on a smaller scale" or "Having decided to move to Missouri (or Kansas)" in explanation for the sale. Other times the reason for the sale is made evident by the names of the sellers. Mrs. Jose Stokes sold the farm after her husband's death. Apparently their son Hiram had no interest in farming. The family returned to Ohio, where Hiram's wife's family lived, and Hiram was a truck driver there.
J W Schertz rented out his farm and then sold off all the livestock: 18 head of horses, including a bay and a black team, mares that were in foal, many young horses and a coach horse that was safe for ladies to drive. He also sold 22 cattle, five of which were milk cows, 7 spring calves, 4 yearlings and 6 suckling calves. He sold 60 hogs and many many implements that included one gas engine, a cut binder, a Papec ensilage cutter, a corn shredder, a corn planter, a disc cultivator and a collection of harnesses for the horses to pull these implements.
One unusual term (to me) describing milk cows was "fresh." I assumed this had something to do with their milk cycle, and a dairy website tells me it means a cow that has recently given birth.
There were nearly as many auctioneers represented here as there were sales. The present economy does not support so many auctioneers in one locality, but farms were much smaller and the people in this country were on the move, seeking new places to live and spread themselves across the land.
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