Sad day

[DPittman]

Keeping it brief, in 1848 T.N. McKinney start farming 120 acres in Piatt county Illinois, specifically just south of Cerro Gordo. He was one of several McKinneys that settled in the region and the family not only farmed but were busy with community activity as well: church,school and a postmaster.

Over the course of time the farm was expanded to 200 acres and the farm stayed in the McKinney-Vest ownership till April 2 2025 at which time it was sold for a fair price. The details of why it was sold is too much to talk about here but it needed to happen, so a sad day indeed.

The only thing left in our possession is letters T.N. sent home from the Civil War along with his paycheck and instructions on what building materials to buy and have ready to start building their house when he got home, which she did and he did a good job building it and that house still stands today. Some of the changes the farm went through happened in my lifetime but I would have liked to have learned more.

 

[super99]

Life sucks sometimes! Sorry it had to be sold, but it happens too often.

 

[Tgrasher]

When my family farm sold it made me sick, because of the work I had invested growing up, and with the thought it would always be there.

 

[DPittman]

Only bright spot in the day was I got to hold a check with a lot of zeros on it for a few minutes. Not my check. My mother in law’s

 

[teddy52food]

There was a Mc Kinney lived near me in mid Mn. Named Bart. Wonder if they were related?

 

[wore out]

When my family farm sold it made me sick, because of the work I had invested growing up, and with the thought it would always be there.

X2!

 

[Steve in VA]

Life sucks sometimes! Sorry it had to be sold, but it happens too often.

Agree

 

[used red MN]

There was a Mc Kinney lived near me in mid Mn. Named Bart. Wonder if they were related?

How rare is the last name McKinney?
According to the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname McKinney saw a slight dip in popularity between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, it was ranked 353rd most popular but dropped to 377th place by 2010, a decrease of 6.8%. However, the actual count of people with the surname increased from 80,616 to 83,616 during this period, showing a growth of 3.72%. The proportion of McKinneys per 100,000 people also fell from 29.88 to 28.35, marking a decrease of 5.12%.
My guess is if your last name is anywhere in the top 500 most popular, finding a relative 3 states away is not very likely. But, stranger things have happened. In comparison my last name is 14,316th most common in the 2010 US census.
To DPittman The sharp increase of the value of farmland in the last couple of decades often makes the possibility of finances available to keep the ownership of a family property within a blood line very difficult. Sorry you and your wife have to go through this difficult process. Were you involved with farming the land?

 

[plattman]

Keeping it brief, in 1848 T.N. McKinney start farming 120 acres in Piatt county Illinois, specifically just south of Cerro Gordo. He was one of several McKinneys that settled in the region and the family not only farmed but were busy with community activity as well: church,school and a postmaster.

Over the course of time the farm was expanded to 200 acres and the farm stayed in the McKinney-Vest ownership till April 2 2025 at which time it was sold for a fair price. The details of why it was sold is too much to talk about here but it needed to happen, so a sad day indeed.

The only thing left in our possession is letters T.N. sent home from the Civil War along with his paycheck and instructions on what building materials to buy and have ready to start building their house when he got home, which she did and he did a good job building it and that house still stands today. Some of the changes the farm went through happened in my lifetime but I would have liked to have learneIl

Ill keep it brief also. Was confronted last Sunday while walking with a friend by someone offering to consul us about any problems we may have. My short answer was I never look back. Same for selling family farm a few ago. Never looked back. The future in ahead.

 

[Vito]

Unfortunately not much carries on forever. Every generation has their own twist on how they want to lead their life. Farming or holding on too land isn't for everyone.

Vito

 

[Pete-IN]

120 acres seems like a really lot of ground to farm in 1848 unless a lot of it was wooded or swampland and not tillable. That would be a lot of walking behind a mule with a one bottom plow.

 

[Goose]

We hate to have to make decisions like that, but time marches on, and sometimes you have to march with it and not look back.

My great grandfather bought our family farm in 1903 and it was handed down until my late sister and I each owned an undivided half. Then our attorneys pressured us to divide it for our own estate planning. So, how do you divide a farm with 20 acres of timber on one end, a farmstead on the other, and a creek with odd shaped fields in between between two people and be fair about it? you can't. We finally decided the simplest was to sell it, split the money, and move on. I'd bought her out on the 10 acre plot my house sits on when I built the house so that wasn't involved.

 

[Not db4600]

120 acres seems like a really lot of ground to farm in 1848 unless a lot of it was wooded or swampland and not tillable. That would be a lot of walking behind a mule with a one bottom plow.

I can’t speak for Cottage Grove back then, but the Red River Valley had vast reaches of good soil which is still farmed today.
Cottage Grove is all sub divisions.
Great Grandpa was a herdsman on the Dalrymple Farm tending to just horses.

 

[SweetFeet]

Keeping it brief, in 1848 T.N. McKinney start farming 120 acres in Piatt county Illinois, specifically just south of Cerro Gordo. He was one of several McKinneys that settled in the region and the family not only farmed but were busy with community activity as well: church,school and a postmaster.

Over the course of time the farm was expanded to 200 acres and the farm stayed in the McKinney-Vest ownership till April 2 2025 at which time it was sold for a fair price. The details of why it was sold is too much to talk about here but it needed to happen, so a sad day indeed.

The only thing left in our possession is letters T.N. sent home from the Civil War along with his paycheck and instructions on what building materials to buy and have ready to start building their house when he got home, which she did and he did a good job building it and that house still stands today. Some of the changes the farm went through happened in my lifetime but I would have liked to have learned more.

Thanks for sharing.

The farm where I grew up was a Century Farm in our family. My parents are the generation who sold it... I cried my ever lovin' eyes out.

 

[DPittman]

Used Red, I never have farmed but I grew up with it. Circumstances in my early life pulled me away from any men in my life that would put me in the seat of a tractor and learn anything putting in a crop and getting it out when it was ready. I have detassled many rows of seed corn and walked many rows of beans and helped with livestock and used to read the Prairie Farmer magazine so I’m not ignorant but as much as I know there’s probably 10 times more I don’t know. Got no regrets

 

[ss55]

Keeping it brief, in 1848 T.N. McKinney start farming 120 acres in Piatt county Illinois, specifically just south of Cerro Gordo. He was one of several McKinneys that settled in the region and the family not only farmed but were busy with community activity as well: church,school and a postmaster.

Over the course of time the farm was expanded to 200 acres and the farm stayed in the McKinney-Vest ownership till April 2 2025 at which time it was sold for a fair price. The details of why it was sold is too much to talk about here but it needed to happen, so a sad day indeed.

The only thing left in our possession is letters T.N. sent home from the Civil War along with his paycheck and instructions on what building materials to buy and have ready to start building their house when he got home, which she did and he did a good job building it and that house still stands today. Some of the changes the farm went through happened in my lifetime but I would have liked to have learned more.

Cherish the memories. At the time there was probably a very good reason you chose not to buy it yourself.

At $10,000 to $15,000 per acre 200 acres would have cost two or three million $$$. If you didn't have that kind of cash on hand at the time, trying to make that investment pay for itself and also provide a living could have changed those great memories into a much much worse experience.

Cherish the memories.

 

[sms]

We sold the last of the family farm a few years ago. Didn't like the way the area is going, high taxes, and development. My material grandparents had a beautiful farm but sold off land to survive, I lived there for ten years after they passed. I can't even drive by now, it's all developed. Good memories though. Both farms were in the families for several generations.