Becks among the first to come here

The log cabin pictured with this column stood for generations in the Wright’s Corner neighborhood, sheltering the Beck family from wind and rain.
It has seen the birthing of babies and been at center stage as the old folks died and their funerals were held from the front room.
This particular log house was built by Miles R. Beck in about 1875.  Beck, who was born on March 22, 1846, in Fayette County, was the son of Joseph and Lydia Bankson Beck.
Fayette County had experienced several major migrations of people from Ohio, with the Durbins and Logsdons coming in about 1836 from Knox County.

The second migration a few years later included families from Holmes County. In this group were John and Hester Parcel Beck and their children, Joseph, Nathan, George Washington and Calista.
Joseph, the eldest son, was a recent widower when the move to Illinois was made, his wife, Grace dying in childbirth. In Ohio, he was a school teacher and taught the first school in Loudon Township, known as the “lost” school.  
Several years after his arrival in Fayette County, on Sept. 8, 1842, he married Lydia Bankson. At the stirrings of the Civil War, Joseph joined up and served in Co. A, 115th Illinois Infantry. He was honorably discharged six months later.
Joseph and Lydia were parents of 11 children, including Miles R. of our story, Gracy, John Marshall, Hester, Fillmore, Joseph, Jane, Silas, Amos, Daniel Webster and Elijah Corrington Beck.
Miles and Eveline Radcliffe were married in Fayette County on Sept. 2, 1869 and their cabin was built on his father’s land.
Doyle Beck, who is a distant grandson of the pair, tells that dovetailing corners was a frontier art and men who were good at it were in demand. Two-man teams worked on each of the four corners.
Unusual as it may sound, the names of the frontier artists who worked on three of the corners are known  – the northwest corner was done by Jim Dial and Allen Hissong, the southeast by Dave Bowers and Ben Metheny, and the southwest by Tom Tucker and probably Miles Beck.
The roof was made of cedar shakes and the spaces between the logs were filled with a concrete mixture. 
Soon after building the house, Miles and Eveline moved to Denton County, Texas, remaining there seven years. His mother, Lydia, occupied the house during their absence.
Returning in 1883, they once again took up residence, living out their lives inside the log walls. Miles died in 1916, with Eveline surviving to 1929.
Following their deaths, their son, Alvin, moved into the cabin.  It was his son, Alvin D. Beck, who was the last to live here; he moved to Florida in 1952. 
It hasn’t been that many years ago that a trip to the Wright’s Corner neighborhood would provide the visitor with a glimpse into the past.
    
 

Pictured above, from left to right, Eveline Radcliff Beck, Millie Griffey (who came with the photographer), Susan Beck, Alvin M. and Miles R. Beck, the cabin’s builder.