Two young boys, known only as John and Albert, arrived in 1868 or 1869 on an orphan train that stopped in Davis Junction. Their parents had died during the voyage from Ireland to America. They had been separated from their sister, Mary, who eventually was adopted by a New York family.

John was 8 or 9 and his brother was 7 or 8 when they were taken by the Gales, two brothers who, with their wives, operated adjoining farms at Lambs Tail, a community near Oregon. The boys were given the Gale name.

"He only talked a little about it," says Bill Dowd. "But he did say that after he was picked, the family gave him a 50 cent piece. He'd never had one of those. He went into the general store at Davis Junction and spent it all on gum. He got five or six pieces for a penny. He filled his mouth and then put the rest in his pocket."

Neither of the Gales had children so they wanted the boys to help with farm work. But the families were kind to the boys and they inherited the farms when the Gales died.

Dowd's grandfather farmed his land until 1924, when he sold it. He then moved to Rockford where he worked as a crossing guard for the Illinois Central Railroad.

The two brothers, who remained close, were reunited with their sister when she came here in 1940. John Gale was in his late 80a when he died in 1946 or 47.