USA > Illinois > Randolph County > A directory, business mirror, and historical sketches of Randolph County > Part 1
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This re-issue of the 1859 History of Randolph County, Illinois, by E. J. Montague, is a contribution of the Ran- dolph County Historical Society to the celebration of the American Revolution Bicentennial, the 200th Birthday anniversary of the United States of America-1776-1976.
Randolph County, "Where Illinois Began," the West- ern Frontier during the American Revolutionary War, is rich in history. To have had five flags fly over her lands -French, British, Commonwealth of Virginia, the United States and finally the State of Illinois bespeaks of her importance and her play in United States history.
In grateful acknowledgement to the 1968 Randolph County Board of Commissioners and the members of the Randolph County Historical Society, we give you this . pportunity to gather insight on that which was-and is- Randolph County, Illinois.
First Edition - Book No.
A DIRECTORY,
BUSINESS MIRROR,
AND
HISTORICAL SKETCHES
OF
RANDOLPH COUNTY:
CONTAINING THE NAME, RESIDENCE, AND OCCUPATION OF EVERY CITI- ZEN OF THE COUNTY; WITH A CONDENSED SKETCH OF KASKASKIA AND PRAIRIE DU ROCHER, COMMENCING WITH THEIR INDIAN HISTORY: A SKETCH OF CHESTER, SPARTA, RED BUD, LIB- . ERTY, STEELESVILLE, EDEN, EVANSVILLE, COULTER- VILLE, LAFAYETTE, PRESTON, FLORENCE, SHILOH HILL, RANDOLPH AND CAMPTOWN. ALSO,
A CONDENSED SKETCH OF RANDOLPH COUNTY. FROM THE TIME OF ITS ORGANIZATION :
WITH BRIEF NOTES OF THE PIONEER SETTLERS.
BY E. J. MONTAGUE.
ALTON, ILL .: COURIER STEAM BOOK AND JOB PRINTING HOUSE.
1859.
A Reproduction by UNIGRAPHIC, INC. 1401 North Fares Avenue Evansville, Indiana 47711 Nineteen Hundred Seventy Four
977, 392 M76dt 1974
Que. Hist. Lurer.
NOTICE.
The matter which this work contains suggests its object, and demonstrates its value and necessity.
No attempt has been made to write history-only an effort to collect the materials and place them in preservation, to be used by some one who shall write that history at some future day. The pioneers, from whom the history must be gathered, are fast passing away; and if the brief sketches here prepared will, pre- serve their memory and the events in which they figured, until they shall be placed in some more enduring form, the object of the writer will have been fully attained.
The difficulty which has been experienced in . obtaining defi- nite information respecting those early settlers, leads the writer to believe that slight inaccuracies may have occurred, and some omissions made, but these were unavoidable.
The imperfect sources from which the names, residences, and occupation of the inhabitants of the county have been obliged to be gathered, have rendered slight omissions probable. Such imperfections necessarily occur in the preparation of such a work for the first time.
SKETCHES OF KASKASKIA.
INDIANS.
For many years before Kaskaskia was known to the white man, it was an Indian village, around which the crude natives hunted and fished, boiled their corn and venison, smoked the calumet, and danced to the guttural notes of discordant music. Without a reference, there- fore, to the Indian tribe from which Kaskaskia has taken its name, a sketch of the place, however complete in other particulars, would yet be imperfect.
At the time when the first white adventurers ex- tended their explorations into Illinois, a confederation embracing five tribes-the Kaskaskias, the Cahokias, the Tammarais (or Tamaroas,) the Peorias and the Mitchigammies-were found inhabiting the Illinois country, and were called the "Illinois Confederacy."
The Kaskaskias occupied the country around the village which bears their name, and claimed for their hunting grounds the district which now embraces the counties of Randolph, Jackson, Perry, Washington, and portions of St. Clair and Monroe. The Cahokias in- habited the region around Cahokia-another Indian village-whose history commences and runs along with that of Kaskaskia-situated on the eastern bank of the Mississippi river, in St. Clair county, a little below a
*]
6
HISTORICAL SKETCHES
point opposite the city of St. Louis. The Tammarais have left no traces of their locality, except that the Twelve Mile Prairie, in St. Clair county, was formerly called "Prairie Tammarais," which gives foundation to the opinion that that was the place of their residence. It was an Indian tradition that this tribe was nearly exterminated in a battle with the Shawnees, fought on Six Mile Prairie, in Perry county. The bones of the slain, and other evidences of the battle were to be seen there not many years ago. Sometime afterward, this tribe lost its national identity and united with the Caho- kias. The Peorias ranged along the Illinois river in the region of the now flourishing city of Peoria, and left the evidences of their battles with other tribes in that coun- try, which are yet visible. The Mitchigammies were first found along the shores of Lake Michigan. But they removed in a few years afterwards, and settled about Fort Chartres and Prairie du Rocher. Soon after- ward they ceased to exist as a distinct tribe, and the remnants blended with the Kaskaskias.
These tribes were once numerous and powerful in war, and successfully defended their claims to the coun- try around the southern borders of Lake Michigan; but a series of disastrous conflicts with the doubly savage Pottowatomies-a powerful branch of the great Chip- peway nation, who claimed and exercised hunting and fishing dominion over that vast extent of country which now embraces the States of Wisconsin, Michigan, In- diana and the northern portions of Illinois-so reduced their numbers that they were forced southward in search of relief from their cruel adversaries. But even here they were not secure from their savage kinsmen. Pred- atory bands of Kickapoos and Shawnees occasionally engaged them in war, and reduced them in numbers.
7
OF RANDOLPH COUNTY.
One by one these tribes ceased to exist, and united with another, until finally, in the year 1830, the whole Con- federacy was merged into the Kaskaskia tribe, and known only as the "Kaskaskia Indians."
Thus banded together, and having only about one hundred and fifty warriors, they were in a condition to love peace rather than war, of which they had had more than sufficient to satiate the ferocity of their savage natures. They hailed the advent of the whites among them with joy, and cultivated their friendship as a source of protection against the attacks of their Indian enemies. For this reason, they became the friends of the whites, and often rendered valuable services in the capacity of spies and guides. It was the boast of DUCOAGNE, Or DUCOGNE, their last chief, that his tribe had never shed the blood of the white man.
They cultivated some corn in the American Bottom, which, with the game they obtained by hunting, fur- nished them a subsistence. They exchanged their furs with the French traders for such articles of apparel as their habits of life and tastes demanded. Leading a listless, indolent life, with no higher aim or ambition than obtaining sufficient food and raiment to supply the wants of nature, they became lazy, drunken, degraded- and debauched, and lost that noble spirit of dignity and independence which pulses in the veins of the true Indian.
In the year 1833, finding their hunting grounds ocen- pied by the industrious white man, and not fitted to enjoy the privileges of encroaching civilization, they bade fare- well to the land which had been the lifetime home of themselves and their fathers, and joine.l that stubborn tide of emigration which has borne away towards the Pacific Ocean all that wild race of men, who once held
8
HISTORICAL SKETCHES
undisputed possession of the Continent. With tear- ful eyes and bitter lamentations, they turned their backs upon scenes familiar and dear, and sought new hunting grounds towards the setting sun. The tribe is now extinct, but a few of the descendants still live with other tribes of the West. The common fate of the Indian race is a source of saddening reflection; but the contributions to christianity, to science, to industrial en- terprise, and the world's material wealth, and to the political elevation of mankind, which have followed in their retreating wake, sufficiently vindicate the usurpa- tion.
DISCOVERY AND SETTLEMENT OF KASKASKIA.
The precise time of the discovery and settlement of Kaskaskia by the whites is not definitely fixed, but the best known data determine it to have been in the year 1686. Exploring parties had been traversing the Miss- issippi valley for some time before Kaskaskia was marked for settlement. A brief reference, therefore, to these successive' expeditions becomes necessary in com- pleting the chain of events which gave an origin to Kas- kaskia.
The romantic adventures of JAMES MARQUETTE, the Jesnit Missionary, and Chevalier JOLIET, a merchant of Quebec, are familiar to the readers of Western his- tory. These two indefatigable and fearless men were the pioneers of those explorations which opened the Wes- tern wilderness to the ingress of a white population. Their first expedition was commenced on the 10th day of June, 1670. They started from Green Bay, accom-
9
OF RANDOLPH COUNTY.
panied by five others, and crossed the country on the head-waters of the Fox river to the Wisconsin, which stream they descended to its mouth, and floated out upon the broad bosom of the majestic Mississippi, on the 17th of the same month. From the time the he- :oie adventurer, DE Soro, and his brave followers discovered this great river, in 1542, its mighty current had swept along unseen by the eye of civilized man, until the day these two Frenchmen entered it at the mouth of the Wisconsin river. They beheld its gran- deur and magnitude, MARQUETTE remarks, "with a joy [ cannot express."
Resolving at once to descend and see where the fresh, clear waters of this noble river were lost in the ocean. they lost no time in prosecuting their perilous journey. As they passed along, they noticed the Piasau-a paint- ad rock standing on the margin of the river, near the present city of Alton; the confluence of the Missouri's muddy current with the pure waters of the Mississippi; the Grand Tower-a high, perpendicular rock standing near the middle of the river, about thirty miles below the present city of Chester; the mouth of the Ohio, which they thought was the Wabash. Finally, reach- ng an Indian village in Arkansas, where they found the natives savage and ferocious, almost beyond control, and learning it was yet a long distance to the mouth of the river, they determined to return, and accordingly, on the 17th of July, one month from the day they first saw the river-they commenced their homeward jour- ney. Instead of returning by the Wisconsin river as they had come, they ascended the Illinois and reached Lake Michigan about the locality of Chicago, from whence they went direct to Green Bay, at which place they arrived in September.
10
HISTORICAL SKETCHES
The pious and holy MARQUETTE went about his mis- sionary labors with the Indians, and died suddenly soon afterwards. JOLIET went immediately to Quebec, and spread an account of their discoveries before the peo- ple, who become so electrified by the thrilling narrative of their voyage that the spirit of adventure rose to fever heat. The news soon reached France, and pro- duced a similar excitement there. Impelled by the feverish zeal which these reports created, came ROBERT DE LA SALLE, whose enthusiastic composition was al- most melting with the cagerness of adventure. Upon his arrival at Quebec, he conceived the project of estab- lishing a line of posts from Canada, through the Illinois country, and down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexi- co. Securing the approbation and influence of FRON- TINAC, then the Governor-General of Canada, he re- turned to France, and laid the plans of his enterprise before COLVERT, the King's minister. Meeting a fa- vorable consideration from the King, he was created a Chevalier, and received a commission to return and rebuild Fort Frontinac. Upon the reconstruction of the Fort he labored with indefatigable zeal until the Autumn of 1677, when he sailed again to France.
Having fulfilled his mission to the satisfaction of the King, he received an outfit for a voyage, and brought with him thirty-four emigrants to the New World, among whom was Lieutenant M. TONTI, an Italian, who became the devoted friend and faithful follower of LA SALLE in all his expeditions and enterprises. During the next five years he traveled the wilderness almost con- stantly, around the Lakes, and from St. Anthony's Falls to the mouth of the Mississippi, encountering difficul- ties, perils and privations almost beyond human endur- ance. In the autumn of 1683, he sailed a third time for
11
OF RANDOLPH COUNTY.
France: The energetic industry he had displayed in prosecuting his adventurous exploits, secured for him the cordial approbation of the King, who placed under his direction a fleet of four vessels, carrying two hundred and eighty emigrants for settlement in the wild country which he had been exploring. It was the intention of LA SALLE to make the mouth of the Mississippi river; but, dissensions of' a most discordant and disastrous character arising between him and M. DE BEAUGEU, the marine commander, the fleet drifted slowly and sluggishly across the ocean. and finally, after a voyage of six month's duration, they reached Madagarda Bay, in Texas, having drifted southward of the Mississippi. After exploring the coast for a few months, the com- mander left La SALLE and His party to search alone for the "hidden river," and returned with the fleet to France. With hope and courage such as few men ever possessed, did LA SALLE continue to search for the mouth of the Mississippi, by which he wished to return to Canada. Disappointment met him in every expedition ; but his spirit was a stranger to despair, and he contin- ned to traverse the marshy country along the Gulf coast, until his followers, less courageous than himself, and dying from fatigue and fever; became dispirited and sullenly refused to obey him. Mutiny arose, which 'alone would have disappointed the object of the search; but fate had decreed a more tragic termination to the Chevalier's exploits. He was way-laid and shot dead by one of the chief conspirators.
During the two years which LA SALLE had been ab- sent, his lieutenant, TONTI, who had been left in com- mand of the Illinois country, was engaged in explora- tions, and building forts. The long absence of LA SALLE, from whom he could get no intelligence, was a
12
HISTORICAL SKETCHES.
source of melancholy speculation for TONTI. Finally, hearing a rumor that LA SALLE was in the West Indies, he organized an expedition, and descended the Missis- sippi in search of him; but, on reaching the mouth, he was compelled to return without any tidings of his long lost friend. In making this voyage he established 8cv- eral trading posts, and the weight of authority estab- lishes the opinion that Kaskaskia was one of them. The presumption, therefore, is irresistable, that M. TONTI was the first white man whose foot pressed the soil on which Kaskaskia was afterward built. As it became a permanent settlement, its existence may date from that period-1686.
Father ALLOUS, a companion of LA SALLE, and a de- voted christian missionary, came to Kaskaskia soon after the visit of TONTI, and established a missionary station. He was probably the first white man who made a permanent residence in Kaskaskia. In a short time afterwards the French traders made their advent into the place, and then commenced the transition from an Indian to a French village. This transition, how- ever, was rather slow for several years, as the French who came at that time were chicfly traders, whose avo- cation required them to be transient rather than per -· manent inhabitants. Probably Kaskaskia could not be considered anything more than a trading post and mission station, before the year 1712. The mission be- came a very flourishing one soon after it was estab- lished by Father ALLOUS. In 1690, Father GRAVIER took charge of the station, and christened it "The Village of the Immaculate Conception of the Holy Virgin." A chapel was erected, probably on the east- ern side of the Kaskaskia river, near the residence of Mr. MENARD, the remains of which are still to be seen.
13
OF RANDOLPH COUNTY.
The ruins of another Jesuit chapel, erected just in the rear of the present church edifice, are also visible, but at what time it was built is now unknown. A Jesuit register, commencing in 1695, has been preserved, and is now among the church papers of the parish. At what particular period the first permanent settlers came to Kaskaskia, and who they were, is a matter more of conjecture than certainty; no record of them having been preserved. It is known, however, that previous to the year 1720, a considerable emigration had arrived from Canada and France, by the way of New Orleans, and made permanent settlements. As to the names of these pioneers there is also an uncertainty, but the most authentic traditions which the writer has been able to gather, coroborates the well established belief among the present inhabitants of Kaskaskia, that the following were among the principal ones of those early settlers, viz: BAZYL LA CHAPELLE, MICHAEL DEROUSE, (called ST. PIEKRE,) JEAN BAPTISTE ST. GEMME BEAU- VAIS, BAPTISTE MONTREAL, BOUCHER DE MONTBRUN, CHARLES DANIE, FRANÇOIS CHARLESVILLE, ANTOINE BIENVENU, LOUIS BUYAT, ALEXIS DOZA, JOSEPH PAGET, PRIX PAGI, MICHAEL ANTOYEN, LANGLOIS DE LISLE, LA DERROUTTE, NOVAL, and some few others.
BAZYL LA CHAPPELLE was among the first from Can- ada, and came to Kaskaskia in company with eleven brothers, but he alone of the number remained perma- nently. He left four sons-ANTOINE, LOUIS, LA CHAP- ELLE and BAPTISTE, from whom descended the family bearing that name; LOUIS LA CHAPELLE, now living about two miles south of the village, is the son of BAP- TISTE.
MICHAEL, DEROUSE came also from Canada, and was the progenitor of the numerous family of that name
2
14
HISTORICAL SKETCHES.
now living in and around Kaskaskia. This is the most numerous of any descendency of the original settlers. He was the father of MICHAEL, JOSEPH, PHILLIP, JEROME, DE BARDEAU, who became prominent and in- fluential men in the community. PIERRE DEROUSE, now living in the vicinity of Kaskaskia, at the age of 60 years, is a son of JOSEPH.
[It is proper to explain that thenames by which many of the French are known are those of the names of the places from whence they came. For instance, " BEAU- VAIS" was affixed to the name "ST. GEMME" because that family came from the city of Beauvais in France. In many instances the real name has been lost, and that of the town from which the person came substituted. The DEROUSE family came originally from St. Pierre, in France, which accounts for that affix to their name. The right name of the MONTREAL family, is now un- known. The first of the name who came to Canada, were called "MONTROIS," because they came from Montrois, and after they came to Kaskaskia, they re- ceived the name of MONTREAL, for the reason that they came from Montreal, in Canada. The Sr. GEMME family dropped the affix " BEAUVAIS" after they came to Kas- kaskia, and are now known by the original name. Some of the descendants residing in St. Genivieve, Mo .. are now writing the name "ST. JAMES."]
JEAN BAPTISTE ST. GEMME was the first of that family who located in Kaskaskia. He was a man of some wealth and became a conspicuous constituent of the place. He lived to a very old age, and died leav- ing six sons; RAPHAEL, ANTOINE, CHARLES, JOSEPH, VITOL, and BAPTISTE, and two daughters, one of whom married DE RUISSEAU, and is the grandmother of Mrs. J. H. LUCAS, of St. Louis. JOSEPH, the third son, died in early life, and was buried in Kaskaskia, by
15
OF RANDOLPH COUNTY.
the side of his father and mother; RAPHAEL became a citizen of New Orleans, and died there ; CHARLES died somewhere in Louisiana; ANTOINE moved to Arkansas where he died, at an advanced age. VITOL and BAP- TISTE were among the first French settlers of St. Gen- evieve, Mo., and died in that place, leaving large fami- lies, some of whom are yet living; Mrs. JARROT, of St. Louis, now eighty years old, is the daughter of VITOL ST. GEMME. BAPTISTE had fourteen children, three of whom are yet living, viz: AUGUSTUS ST. GEMME, aged 68 years; ELEANOR, aged G6; and JULIA, aged 76.
RAPHAEL ST. GEMME first located at Fort Du Quesne, and took part in the defense of the Fort, an interesting account of which will be found in SPARKS'. He also aided in the celebrated defeat of Gen. BRADDOCK on the 9th of July, 1755. He afterwards came to Kaskaskia and located permanently. His family consisted of one son, ALEXIS, and five daughters. ALEXIS ST. GEMME was the grandfather of Mrs. MAXWELL, now residing in Kaskaskia.
BAPTISTE MONTREAL came from Canada, and was noted for his industry and quiet deportment. From him sprang the numerous family bearing his name. One of his grandsons died a few months ago, aged seventy-seven years.
BOUCHER DE MONTBRUN was a man of sprighuy ac- tivity, and became very prominent in Kaskaskia. He married a Miss LANGLOIS, a lady of much beauty and respectability. Some of his descendants are now to be found in that country.
CHARLES DANIE devoted his life to the quiet pursuit of farming. The oldest land grant on record that we have been able to discover, was made to CHARLES DANIE, on the 10th day of May, 1722. His descendants
16
HISTORICAL SKETCHES
became very numerous at one time, but now only a few of them remain.
FRANÇOIS CHARLESVILLE came among the first from Canada, and engaged in trading down the river to New Orleans. He was a man of remarkable shrewdness and 'energy, and amassed considerable wealth. CHARLES- VILLE left four sons-FRANÇOIS, BAPTISTE, CHARLES, and LOUIS. ANDREW CHARLESVILLE, now living in the Point, about 70 years old, is the son of FRANÇOIS, and grandson of the first FRANÇOIS.
ANTOINE BIENVENU came from New Orleans, and brought with him considerable wealth. He lived for the sole object of enjoying life, and probably no man ever received a larger share of life's ephemeral joys. He left three sons, ANTOINE, HENRY, and MICHAEL, all of whom lived and died in Kaskaskia. Some of their children are yet living about the village.
LOUIS BUYAT came direct from France to Kaskaskia. He belonged to a family of some rank, and on his arri- val in Kaskaskia, he took a leading position among the people. The bell which hangs by the church, whose mellow tones were the first ever heard in the Missis- sippi Valley, and which has announced the hour of worship for more than a hundred years, was sent as a present to Mr. BUYAT to be given by him to the infant ·church of America. His name is intimately connected with the church and the town. From him sprang a numerous descendency, LOUIS BUYAT, the first son of the pioneer, was the father of Louis, MICHAEL, NICHOLAS, HENRY, and JOSEPH, who became prominent men among the people. JOSEPH the youngest son is still living, and is now one of the oldest men to be found about Kaskaskia. The family is less numerous now than formerly.
17
OF RANDOLPH COUNTY ..
ALEXIS DOZA was from Canada, and possessed a re- markable energy and courage. His son, named also ALEXIS, became one of the most distinguished charac- ters of Kaskaskia. He was fearless of danger, adven- turous, energetic, and possessed a degree of hardihood and endurance which rarely falls to the lot of man. It is related of him that he would start from Kaskaskia at any hour, whether night or day, and make the trip to Vincennes, on foot and alone, in three days. He became a carrier of dispatches between the two posts, and would travel across the country when it was extremely dangerous for any white man to be found outside the vil- lages. Some of his descendants are yet living about Kaskaskia.
JOSEPH PAGET was probably the father of PRIX PAGI, (although there is a difference in the orthography of the names). PRIX PAGI erected a mill on the site where Mr. DANIEL REILY's mill stands. He was mur- dered in the mill by the Indians.
Of MICHAEL AUTYEN, DE LISLE, LA DEROUTTE, and NOVAL, we have been unable to learn anything beyond the fact, that they were among the earliest pioneers, and occupied conspicuous positions in the village.
Mr. LANGLOIS located and lived in Kaskaskia, until the year 1736, when he joined the expedition under D'ARTAGUETTE (then Governor of Illinois,) and VIN- CENNES, against the Chickasaw Indians, and with them was taken prisoner and burned at the stake. Some of his descendants are now living about Prairie Du Rocher.
Though these pioneers in the western world were surrounded by a wilderness, inhabited only by Indians and wild beasts, with no communication with civilized man, except through tedious voyages of the traders *2
18
HISTORICAL SKETCHES
to New Orleans, and the occasional visits to and from the villages of Cahokia and Vincennes, yet no people prob- ably ever enjoyed life better than they did. They were frank, open-hearted, brotherly, unambitious, careless of the acquisition of property, contented and joy- ous. Bringing with them the gayeties and vivacity of Paris life, they indulged in every variety of social amusement, and enjoyed more of life's pleasures than is usually allotted to pioneers. Destitute of a pretext for that strife, contention and bickering which a desire for wealth never fails to create, they lived in peaceful har- mony, and culled from each passing hour the larger share of its moments for enjoyment. Their wealth, their time and labor, were matters of indifference .- With a superabundance of wheat and corn, which they reaped from the soil with but little cultivation, and being supplied by the Indians with plenty of venison and bear meat, they realized no cares or anxiety, and were contented and happy. If the unalloyed happi- ness of temporal life has ever been enjoyed, it was cer- tainly approached by those early pioneers of Kaskaskia.
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