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ANNALS OF KNOX
COUNTY
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LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 977.349. An7
HUNOIS HISTORICAL SURVEY
:
ANNALS OF
KNOX COUNTY
Commemorating Centennial of Admission of Illinois as a State of the Union in 1818
AUTHORIZED BY THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
ANNALS OF KNOX COUNTY
Commemorating Centennial of Admission of Illinois as a State of the Union in 1818
AUTHORIZED BY THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
REPUBLICAN REGISTER PRINT GALESBURG, ILLINOIS ·
LIRARY
PREFACE
This book is the product of the attempt in 1918 to cele- brate the Centennial of the admission of Illinois to Statehood. In accordance with a state-wide movement, designed to pre- serve the annals of all the counties, and properly to commem- orate the creation of Illinois as a State, the County Judge, Walter C. Frank, Superintendent of Schools W. F. Boyes, State's Attorney A. J. Boutelle, County Clerk Frank L. Adams and A. O. Lindstrum, Chairman of the Board of Supervisors, were designated by the Hon. Hugh Magill, who had the State work in charge, to form in this county a Knox County Centen- nial Historical Association, which should originate and carry out in the schools of the county fitting programs, and which should arrange for the collection of material for township an- nals, that should, with the co-operation of the Board of Super- visors, be published and be preserved in the schools and librar- ies of the county and in the State Historical Library.
At a meeting held on January 22, 1918, the County Cen- tennial Historical Association was formed with Superintendent W. F. Boyes as president and Fred R. Jelliff as secretary, and with the following advisory committee: Mrs. A. J. Boutelle, president of the Galesburg Woman's Club; Mrs. G. W. Thomp- son, Mrs. T. C. Minehan, George A. Lawrence, Fred R. Jelliff, William Pearson, president of the Galesburg Trades and Labor Assembly ; Professor D. E. Watkins, of Knox College; Presi- dent J. M. Tilden, of Lombard College, and W. F. Boyes.
At a meeting of this committee on February 5th, 1918, there was appointed a committee, consisting of Professor Watkins, Mrs. Thompson and Mr. Jelliff, authorized to arrange for the material for the township annals. Requests were sent to a well qualified person in each township in March, 1918, and in nearly every instance there was a cheerful response. The late W. L. Steele, so long superintendent of schools of Gales- burg, was deputized to prepare a general review of the county annals, while Mrs. R. W. Colville, Mrs. Martha Farnham Web- ster and George A. Lawrence were authorized to arrange for the marking of historical points in this county.
The advisory committee, of which W. F. Boyes was chair- man, also considered and outlined an elaborate program of celebrations for the schools of the counuty, which was to cul- minate in a stately and beautiful pageant in Galesburg with the entire county as guests. All plans, however, were inter- rupted by the dreadful epidemic of influenza, which swept
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through the county the fall and winter of 1918, bringing sor- row to many scores of homes. The pageant and many other features of the year's program had to be abandoned. Schools generally were closed to prevent the contagion from spreading.
Meanwhile several of the township historians died. Su- perintendent Steele suddenly passed away. Illness and other causes delayed some. The committee, however, felt that it was due to those who had so generously prepared manuscripts, to persevere in the preparation of material, with the result, that due to the generosity of the Board of Supervisors, the publica- tion is at last made.
The committee is under great obligations to all who have contributed annals, and to all others who have in any way assisted.
FRED R. JELLIFF, Secretary
WALTER F. BOYES, Chairman
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KNOX COUNTY ANNALS
By FRED R. JELLIFF
Knox County was named after General Henry Knox and was established as a county, January 13, 1825.
Knox county has had several and varied shapes. Under the division of Illinois, made in 1790, more than the east half of that part of the State south of the Illinois river was known as Knox county. Changes and further subdivisions were made in 1793, 1801, 1803, 1809. Then the name drops out. In the subdivisions of 1801, 1803 and 1809, its territory was in- cluded in St. Clair county. In 1812 and 1813, the subdivision covering much the same ground, was called Madison county, and in this the Knox territory was included until 1821, when that part of the State lying between the Illinois and Mississ- ippi river was called Pike county. In 1823, Pike county was cut down, and Fulton county was laid out so as to include the south four townships of Knox. The rest of the land compris- ing Knox county and the territory north and east was attached to Fulton county for judicial purposes.
January 13, 1825, Knox county was formed by act of the legislature, covering the same territory as at present (the four townships at the south being accorded it), save that the four north townships were attached to Henry county. This gave Knox sixteen townships. In 1831, however, the row of town- ships on the north was restored to Knox and two on the east were added. March 2, 1839, these two east two townships were allotted Stark county. This change in the boundaries of the county occasioned interesting incidents of travel, business and politics in the early history of this section.
The land comprising Knox County has been under ten ter- ritorial jurisdictions, two of them being under extinct races, one under the Indian race, one under France, one under Eng- land, one under Virginia, one a territory of the United States, one the territory of Indiana, one the territory of Illinois and lastly, the State of Illinois.
The history of Knox county is one that reflects honor on Illinois for it has been marked by devotion to high ideals. Illi- nois was orginally a part of the northwest territory which by the ordinance of 1787 was made free soil. As a county of the State Knox has shared this blessing. Illinois was admitted to the Union in 1818, and the issuance of this book is to commem- orate the centennial of that event. By the act of June 30, 1821, Pike county was created, including the area north and west of the Illinois river. By the act of February 10, 1826, Knox
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County was attached to Fulton county for governmental pur- poses. May 15, 1830, a public meeting was held at the store of S. S. White, in Henderson, to consider the question of county organization. Dr. Hansford and John G. Sanburn, were authorized to address a petition for the organization of Knox county to Richard M. Young, judge of the Fifth Judicial Cir- cuit. This petition was presented to Judge Young at Lewis- town by Pennington, Hansford, Stephen Osborn, the first sheriff and Phillip Hash, and the judge was convinced that the county contained 350 inhabitants, the number required by law, and on June 10, 1830, he declared the county organized, and fixed the date of the first election at July 3, 1830. This was held at the home of Jacob Gum, four miles northwest of Galesburg, the whole county forming one election precinct.
The First Government
Under the constitution of 1818, county government was committed to three commissioners. On July 3, 1830, when the county was organized, Riggs Pennington, Philip Hash, and Charles Hansford were elected, to serve until their successors were elected the following month. They first met at the home of John B. Gum, appointed him clerk, but he, declining to serve, two days later they again met and appointed John G. Sanburn clerk, and Mr. Gum treasurer. On July 17th, the commissioners met again and divided Knox County into two precincts for the coming election, one precinct being known as the Henderson and the other as the Spoon River district. At the election on August 2, 1830, the first board of commis- sioners for a stated term was elected, the successful candidates being Riggs Pennington, Philip Hash and Alexander Frakes, while Stephen Osborn was elected sheriff. Thus Knox county, organized and empowered to choose its own officers and col- lect its own taxes, started on its political career. The com- missioners had general supervision of the affairs of the county. By the same law which defined its boundaries and located its county seat, Henry county was attached to it for governmental purposes and so remained until 1837. It was an economical and judicious system. The county was then in its primitive state, and roads had to be laid out and constructed, bridges had to be built, a jail and court house had to be provided and other large works undertaken, all of which seems to have been effi- ciently done.
Government By Judges
By the constitution of 1848, the offices of county com- missioners and probate justice were abolished, and the office of county judge created. On him and two associate judges was the power previously exercised by the commissioners in county government, conferred. George S. Lanphere was elected
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county judge, and Alfred Brown of Henderson and James M. Hunter of Salem were elected associate judges, November 6, 1849, and they served four years. Their last meeting was held on March 4, 1853. The county on April 5, 1853, adopted
township organization and elected supervisors. It has since remained under this system. There had been two previous attempts to change the county government, one on November 6, 1849, and one on November 5, 1850, but as the majority secured was not a majority of all the votes cast at these elec- tions, the proposition failed to carry,
Township Organization
It was shortly after the election of 1849 or on January 14,
1850, that the people of the townships met to select the names
for their respective townships. The present names were
adopted save these of Cedar, Haw Creek, Copley and Elba.
The names chosen for these were respectively, Cherry Grove, Ohio, Ritchfield and Liberty, but these the Secretary of State refused to register and they were accordingly changed to the names they now bear.
The first members of the board of supervisors, twenty in number, met June 5, 1853, and elected Daniel Meek as chair- man. Following are the names of the members of the historic First Board :
Indian Point
Henderson
Rio
Chestnut
Orange
Sparta
Ontario
Maquon
Haw Creek Persifer
Walnut Grove Salem
Truro Elba
Victoria
Lynn
Knox
Galesburg
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Daniel Meek
E. P. Dunlap Peter Franz R. Heflin Samuel Collins
Asa Haynes
T. H. Taylor
Ed Crane
J. M. Foster
W. M. Clark
G. W. Manley J. O. Stanley Ames Ward S. S. Buffum J. H. Nicholson A. Lapham J. L. Larnagan J. M.&Hodgson
I. P. West
W. S. Gale
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Honor is due the memory of this first board for building so well the foundations on which the business of the county
has been conducted.
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Cedar
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Copley
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Growth of County Business
The business of Knox County is now conducted from Galesburg, the county seat, and its place of business is the stately Court House Square with its beautiful embellishments of lawn and trees. And still John B. Gum's log cabin on Sec- tion 32 in Henderson township was the first seat of justice in the county and was so designated by the commissioners on July 9, 1830. It was a one-story, two-room log structure and was used for county purposes until January 15, 1831. By a law passed January 15, 1831, the county seat was fixed in Knox Township, where the commissioners platted a village, that they first called Henderson, and which afterward was changed to Knoxville. March 12, 1831, the commissioners contracted with William Lewis to erect a log court house and with Parnach Owen to finish it. The total cost was $395.43. This lumber structure was 28 feet long, twenty-five feet wide, and two stories high. It was occlupied in October, 1832. It was soon outgrown and on March 14, 1838, Zelotes Cooley and Alvah Wheeler took the contract for the erection of a new building at Knoxville which was completed May 1, 1840. At the time it was regarded as one of the handsomest buildings in the State, and it is still attractive because of its classical lines. It was the scene of many noted legal battles, and men, who subse- quently became famous in State and Nation appeared in cases there. A crude jail was built in 1832 and in 1840 another was erected by Alvah Wheeler. Also on the court house ground at Knoxville was built in 1854 a fire-proof building containing two rooms.
County Seat Contest
Meanwhile Galesburg, due to its railroad facilities, was in population outstriping Knoxville, and there grew up a demand for the removal of the county seat to the larger city. A long and acrimonious contest ensued that lasted for years. The roal battle started with the passage of a bill introduced by W. S. Gale, of Galesburg, then a member of the Legislature, for the removal of the county seat. This bill became a law. The elec- tion under it was held in April, 1869, but the issues were not settled until January, 1873, when the Supreme Court of Illinois upheld the contention of Galesburg. Through the efforts of friends of Knoxville another election was called and was held on November 11, 1873, which resulted in favor of Galesburg by a vote of 3,785 to 3,309. This ended the controversy.
Under the stipulations by Galesburg, the county was to furnish a place for holding court for ten years, a site for a court house to be constructed in the future, a site for a jail and $20,000 toward its erection, to provide a site and fire-proof building for a clerk's office, and to pay the expenses of the
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transfer of the effects of the county to Galesburg, all of which conditions were honorably and satisfactorily met.
The Court House
The movement for the erection of of a court house on the park site provided began in 1883 with the appointment of a committee to report a resolution. A building committee was appointed, consisting of W. S. Gale, A. G. Charles, William Robson, John Sloan, M. B. Hardin and William H. Leighton. The next year the place of Mr. Charles, who was no longer a member of the Board, was filled by R. W. Miles, and a year still later, L. A. Townsend succeeded M. B. Hardin. The plans of E. E. Myers of Chicago were preferred, bids were finally passed on October 3, and the contract was let to Dawson & Anderson of Toledo, Ohio, for $114,311.52. The corner-stone was laid June 24, 1885, under the auspices of the Masonic Grand Lodge of Illinois. The edifice was completed January 26, 1887. The cost all furnished was $156,261, and when completed it was practically paid for. The building is of Berea sandstone, of a pleasing and impressive style of architecture, and contains all rooms necessary for the conduct of all phases of the county business.
The jail was built earlier by Ira K. Stevens in 1874, for $34,900, and Hon. A. W. Berggren was the first sheriff to occupy it.
The County Home
Another fine institution that the county has maintained for over sixty years is the County Home at Knoxville. For twenty-five years after the organization of the county paupers were farmed out to the lowest bidders. With the adoption of the township system, the board of supervisors bought an alms- house site for $3,000 of M. G. Smith. The farm house was converted into an almshouse but proved a wretched makeshift. In 1866 the Board of Supervisors determined to erect a new almshouse and R. W. Miles, L. E. Conger and Cephas Arms were appointed a committee on building. After some compe- tition between Galesburg members and Knoxville, the present site, adjoining the old poor farm and comprising then 69 acres, was purchased for $5,340. The contract for the main building was let to William Armstrong for $26,000 and its equipment and stocking of the farm brought the total to $39,037.21.
Parry & Stevens built the east wing for $17,400. An insane annex was erected in 1890 for $26,459 by Peter Munson, and in 1899 an insane annex for females was built by Munson & Ting- leaf at a total cost of $32,000. A new laundry building was built in 1899 by F. W. Hawkin for $16,000. The entire group of buildings is one of the handsomest in the state and the
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grounds have been developed along artistic lines. Many inn- provements on and in the buildings have been made from tinie to time, so that they are supplied with modern facilities.
Growth of Population
The Indians were in Illinois before the Whites and the early settlers of the county were not unmindful of their presence. The Foxes, Sacs, Kickapoos and Pottawatomies roved over the prairies and their trails were used by the early settlers. In the vicinity of Maquon another tribe lived. The flint im- plements of the Aboriginies are still found in many parts of the county. There are traces of a still earlier race supposed to be identified with the mound builders.
Daniel and Alexander Robinson and Richard Mathews, who came to the county and settled in the edge of Henderson Grove in February, 1828, are credited with being the first permanent settlers, although there is a report that a man named Palmer, a bee hunter, lived in Maquon township in 1826-27. It is certain that the first considerable migrations came from Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia, and that they were a substantial and worthy element. The tide of immigra- tion from the east set in in 1836 and with the coming of the Galesburg colony in 1836, the movement of population was accelerated.
Meanwhile in the early annals of the county, the Black Hawk War from 1831 to 1833, growing out of the belief of the Indians that they had been unfairly dealt with, was the out- standing event. In this county a company was raised, to assist in the war, and several forts were erected, one known as Fort Aggie, on Section 27, in Rio township; Fort Lewis, on Section 33, Henderson township; an unnamed fort on Section 10, in Henderson township, and one in Orange township. No harm came to the settlers, although the period was one of much stress and many alarms.
In addition to the immigration from the South and East following the founding of Henderson, Knoxville and Galesburg and the founding of Knox College, the establishment of gov- ernment, and the improvement of highways, there came groups of foreigners. The Swedes appear to have been first on the field, John Hedstrom arriving in Victoria as early as 1838. But the steady stream did not set in until the completion of the C., B. & Q. railroad to Galesburg in 1854, from which time for several years the growth was rapid. This transportation en- terprise with the branches soon afterward constructed from Galesburg and making access to markets easy, gave a tremend- ous impetus to agriculture, to the building up of towns, and to industrial interests· Settlement, before desultory, now became
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rapid. Educational and religious growth kept pace. The large Swedish emigration was augmented by sturdy colonists from Scotland, by the warm-hearted and eager companies from Ireland, and by the quotas from Germany and England. The following figures speak eloquently of the growth of the county :
Date
Population
1830
400
1840
7,060
1850
13,279
1860
28,663
1870
39,522
1880
38,344
1890
38,752
1900
43,612
1910
46,159
1920
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_46,678
This shows that for two decades between 1870 and 1890 the population was nearly stationary. The building of the Santa Fe late in the 80's and other causes again produced a steady growth in population.
The fact that in the county there was previous to the Civil War a strong anti-slavery sentiment caused a movement of Negroes this way, and this continued after the Civil War, resulting in a large Negro population, especially in Galesburg, where the Negroes have their own churches and where they have proved an industrious and useful element.
Of late years the character of immigration has changed. That from Sweden, Ireland, Scotland and England has become negligible, while that from the southern part of Europe pre- dominates. In Galesburg, more than in any other part of the county, these concentrate. Italians, Hungarians, Roumanians, Greeks and many others not listed in the census. Mexican laborers have in considerable degree supplanted other races on the railroads. It is this large need of common labor that is in great measure responsible for this draft on Southern Europe. The fact that they are proving a worthy element is dissipating the prejudice first created.
The Municipalities
Following are the dates of platting and founding of the municipalities of the county :
Rio
Platted in 1871
Oneida
Sept. 1, 1854
Altona
1854
Victoria
May 11, 1849
Wataga
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In Spring of 1854
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Henderson
June 11, 1835
Knoxville
Aug. 7, 1830
Appleton
Spring, 1888
Dahinda
Summer, 1888
Williamsfield
April 24, 1888
Gilson
July 10, 1857
Delong
1882
Abingdon
1836
St. Augustine
1854
Hermon
May 3, 1842
Rapatee
1883
Maquon
Oct. 24, 1836; Inc., 1857 1
Douglas
Oct. 17, 1856
Uniontown
June 4, 1839
Yates City
Oct. 20, 1857
The influence of railroad construction is clearly evident in the foregoing.
Statistics of Population
The following figures of the population of the county and townships as given in the census returns of 1890, 1900, 1910 and 1920 will be found interesting.
1920
1910
1900
1890
Knox County
46,678
46,159
43,612
38,752
Townships :
Cedar
2,616
2,543
2,220
1,574
Chestnut
751
748
877
919
Copley
691
799
923
910
Elba
558
619
725
775
Galesburg
1,111
1,029
951
708
Haw Creek
788
826
875
951
Henderson
988
1,076
1,162
1,218
Indian Point
1,624
1,516
1,607
1,496
Knox
2,955
3,263
3,366
2,677
Lynn
608
673
719
742
Maquon
1,108
1,187
1,250
1,330
Ontario
1,211
1,252
1,405
1,137
Orange
662
791
868
851
Persifer
787
881
759
711
Rio
734
899
886
925
Salem
1,360
1,416
1,579
1,677
Sparta
1,142
1,102
1,298
1,293
Truro
1,005
1,194
1,129
865
Victoria
1,091
1,047
1,126
1,179
Walnut Grove
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1,103
1,209
1,280
1,350
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Municipalities :
Abingdon, City
2,721
2,464
2,022
1,321
Altona, Village
506
528
633
654
East Galesburg, Village
566
753
663
Galesburg, City
23,785
22,089
18,607
15,264
Henderson, Village
156
171
170
163
Knoxville, City
1,708
1,818
1,857
1,728
Maquon, Village
441
472
475
501
Oneida, City
563
589
785
699
St. Augustine, Village
195
187
229
255
Victoria, Village
415
334
329
308
Wataga, Village
459
444
545
586
Williamsfield, Village
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435
480
447
Yates City, Village
582
586
650
687
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These figures show that in 1890, there lived in the muni- cipalities of the county 22,166 people, and on the farms, 15,586; in 1900, there lived on the farms 16,700 and in the municipalities, 27,412 in 1910, the municipal population was 30,933 and the farm 12,679, and in 1920, the municipal popula- tion is 32,347 and the farm population is 14,363.
The Religious Growth
The early settlers of Knox county, no matter what their origin were religiously inclined, and in an early day the move- ment for the establishment of churches gained momentum. According to some, the Methodists were first in the field, and organized a society in the neighborhood of Abingdon in 1829 and 1830, from which the Methodist church at Abingdon de- veloped. In 1836 and 1837, the First Presbyterian church was organized by the Galesburg colonists and this afterward grew into the Old First Church, with Congregational tendencies. The county within the next twenty years became a field for active missionary effort and by 1860 the religious work of the county was fully organized. Some of the early pioneer churches no longer exist, but there is no denying that the county is well supplied with all needful agencies for effective religious work.
As many as sixty-five churches have done Christian work in its confines and nearly all of these are in operation at the present time. In addition in some communities, there have been occasional services and Sunday Schools have been main- tained in many communities where there were no churches.
The Knoxville Presbyterian Church was organized in 1835. The Lutherans began their fine work in 1851, when the first Lutheran Church of Galesburg was organized. The first Epis- copalian church was that in Knoxville, organized in 1843. The first Catholic parish in the county was formed at St. Augus-
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tine in 1844. The Baptists organized a church in Galesburg in 1848. The Universalists formed a congregation in Galesburg in 1857. Christian Scientists organized in Galesburg in 1886. The Abingdon Congregational Church dates back to 1835 and the Victoria to 1841. Among the later comers are the United Brethren, the Jewish Church in Galesburg, the Salvation Army, the Seven Day Adventists and the Latter Day Saints.
The Methodists probably lead at present in the number of congregations in the county, with the Congregationalists next.
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