Two Centuries of Perseverance: Wabash County Farm Has Survived Tests in its Time

BY DEANA STROISCH, FARM WEEK NOW

Robert Wiseman makes a 3 ½-hour roundtrip commute to Wabash County each week to mow his family’s farmstead.

He could easily hire that job out, but he takes pride in completing the task.

“I guess you might say it’s a hobby,” he said.

The land he so meticulously cares for is believed to be one of only two bicentennial farms in Illinois.

The southern Illinois land was purchased in 1818 by James Tanquary, the great-great-great grandfather of Wiseman’s late wife.

The original purchase consisted of 640 acres. Over the years, it was deeded to various members of the Tanquary family. Current acreage now totals 160.

The farm passed down from James Tanquary to his son, William Tanquary, to his son, James Tanquary, to his son, Grafton Tanquary, then to Walter and Tressie Tanquary, and then to their daughter, Nell Tanquary Wiseman.

Wiseman and his wife inherited the farm in 1982. She passed away last year. They were married for 65 years.

“It’ll never be sold as long as I’m around,” Wiseman said.

The farm, located about 2 miles north of Bellmont, originally included corn, wheat and forage. Timber and cattle were raised there, too.

Nell, an only child, grew up on the farm. The family home was built on top of a hill.

Mother Nature had her eye on that hill.

A tornado struck in the late 1930s and again in the early 1990s. The brick house and original barn – both significantly damaged – were rebuilt.

In 1975, Tressie Tanquary woke up to the house in flames. All was lost, including the original land deed believed to be signed by President James Monroe.

“She was lucky she got out of there,” Wiseman said. “There was nothing standing but just brick walls.”

Tressie Tanquary didn’t want to move from the farm. Instead, a mobile home was placed on the site, where she lived until she passed away.

Wiseman recalled stopping at the mobile home one morning in 1990. He had finished mowing and was tired. Nell wanted to go get some artificial flowers from Mount Carmel. He grumbled but finally agreed.

“We got about 2 or 3 miles away and people were standing out on the highway, looking to the west where we just came from,” Wiseman recalled.

“I said, ‘They are probably looking at a tornado. Nell looked back and said, ‘Bob there is a tornado.’

“We turned around and watched. It cleaned off the top of the hill. We had the barn, we had a granary. The mobile home was totally destroyed. It was nothing but splinters. We found pieces of it 2 or 3 miles away.”

Wiseman eventually built two pole barns to house tractors and equipment but nothing more. He’s also spent several years clearing out timber and filling ravines to put more acreage back into production.

Wiseman has ag roots, too. He grew up on a farm in Wabash County. His father and grandfather farmed land west of Bellmont. Wiseman helped out on the farm and also loved tinkering with electronics and electricity.

He served in the National Guard and eventually took a faculty position at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston. He retired a couple years ago after working there for 57 years.

Nell taught at Charleston High School for nearly 60 years. “She didn’t have to be paid to teach,” he said. “She loved to teach.”

The retired EIU professor lives in Charleston and sharecrops the Wabash County farm.

He called it an honor to be recognized at the Illinois State Fair earlier this year. He served as grand marshal and as the state fair parade grand marshal, representing the state that also turns 200 years old.

“Very few families can say they’ve owned the same farm ground since the year Illinois was founded,” said Raymond Poe, Illinois Department of Agriculture Director. “That’s a tremendous feat.”