Sarah Clow’s last wish before she died in Scotland in 1832 was for her husband, Robert, to move to a place where all their sons could own farms.
In Scotland, only the oldest son could inherit land upon his father’s death. But in America, that was not the case.
After Sarah died, Robert acted to make her dream come true. He headed to the United States with eight of his children. The family spent several years farming rented land in New York state before heading to Illinois, where homestead farms had recently become available…