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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD
OF
DOUGLAS COUNTY
ILLINOIS
COMPILED BY
JOHN GRESHAM
U. S. A.
JUNE, 1900
253120
I ROM PRESS OF WILSON, HUMPHREYS & CO. LOGANSPORT, IND.
PREFACE.
After several months of tedious work, I present this volume of Douglas County Biography and History to its subscribers. Like all local works of its nature there will be no doubt criticisms, as it is impossible to please every- body. I have endeavored to do the work conscientiously. The biographies were all carefully written and submitted in type to each individual and the errors consequently reduced to the minimum. Hoping the book will fully come up to your expectations,
I am yours respectfully,
June, 1900.
JNO. GRESHAM,
Logansport, Indiana.
. do
EARLY SETTLEMENT
OF
DOUGLAS COUNTY.
CHAPTER I.
EARLY SETTLEMENT OF THE COUNTY.
ORIGINAL INHABITANTS.
Archæologists tell us that the white race is the third, and perhaps the fourth, race that has possessed this land. The evidences of the pres- ence of the earlier races are not abundant in all parts of the country, but sufficient is learned of their habits, numbers and power to lead to the conclusion that they dominated the region within which the territory of Douglas county lies. Robinson Crusoe's unexpected discovery of a human footprint upon the sands of his deserted island was hardly more startling than have been the discoveries of antiquarians in Europe within the past twenty-five years. Scientific followers of Usher and Petarins had placed the various migrations of men, the con- fusion of tongues, the peopling of continents- the whole evolution of human society-within the narrow compass of a little more than forty centuries, when the discovery of the geologist and ethnologist developed the trace of human existence dating back to a possible period of 30,000 years. Nor are confirmatory evidences wanting to show that the "elder man" had found a place in the New World. The gold-
drift of California has supplied abundant tes- timony to the high antiquity of man, and notably the "Pliocene skill," the popular con- ception of which is derived more widely, per- haps, from a characteristic poem by Bret Harte than from scientific publications. Explorations in Illinois, Missouri and South Carolina have yielded similar testimony, and while it should be stated that in many cases these evidences rest upon the testimony of single observers, and that there is not that recurrence of "finds" which would render "assurance doubly sure," yet there seems no room to reasonably doubt the presence here of that "oldest inhabitant."
MOUND-BUILDERS.
Descending to a later time, and one prob- ably falling within the historic period, the more tangible traces of an early race of men are found. Of this race, named from the character of their remains, the Mound-Builders, the evidences are found vastly multiplied, and of such a character as to afford means of a reason- able conjecture as to their mode of life, their advancement in civilization, and final destiny.
8
BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL.
These evidences, though first accepted with unmistakable form of man. These, though great distrust, have been so amplified and con - not raised high above the surface, and even in some cases represented intaglio, attain the largest dimensions ; one, representing a serpent, extending seven hundred feet, and another, representing a turtle, had a body fifty-six and a tail two hundred and fifty feet long. The significance of these peculiar forms has not been determined, but unmistakable evidences have been discovered which mark them as the wor kof the same race whose structures are found elsewhere so numerous throughout the Mississippi Valley. firmed by more recent researches as to leave no room for intelligent dissent to the former exis- tence of this race. The remains upon which this conclusion is based, "consists," says Mr. Foster in his "Pre-historic Races of the United States," "of tumuli, symmetrically raised and often inclosed in mathematical figures, such as the square, the octagon and circle, with long lines of circumvallation ; of pits in the solid rock, and rubbish heaps formed in the pros- ecution of their mining operations, and of a variety of utensils, wrought in stone, copper. or moulded in clay." To the uninstructed mind the mounds. doubtless, seem a very slight foun- dation upon which to rear the fabric of a national existence, and yet to the archæol- ogist they furnish "proof as strong as Holy Writ;" in them they find as distinctive charac- teristics as mark the pre-historic remains of the Pelasgi. the wall-builders of Europe, a not dissimilar race in many respects, and one which long ago found a place in the realities of his- tory; and while they differ in external form, and are scattered over a wide scope of country -characteristics in marked contrast with those of the aboriginal race found here in possession of the county; yet the scientist finds in each mound the never-failing marks of a race peculiarity.
The widest divergence from the typical mound is found in Wisconsin. Here. instead of the circular or pyramidal structure, are found forms, for the most part, consisting of rude, gigantic imitations of various animals of the region, such as the buffalo, bear, fox, wolf, etc .; of the eagle and night-hawk, the lizard and turtle, and in some instances the
Typical Structures are sometimes classified with reference to their purpose, as Inclosures -1. for defense: 2, sacred: 3. miscellaneous. Mounds-1, of sacrifice; 2, for temple sites; 3, of sepulture: 4, of observation. Of the first class, the inclosures for defense seem to have been constructed simply for protection against hostile attack. The locations chosen are those best adapted naturally to repel a military ap- proach. The inclosure is gained usually by a steep and narrow way, requiring the assail- ant to place himself at immense disadvantage, while the garrison, provided with parapets often constructed of rubble stone, coukl fight under cover, and perhaps found in these stones his store of ammunition. The sacred inclosure included within its lines the mounds of sac- rifice, temple sites, and sepulture, as all of these uses were sacred to the Mound-Builders, and yet in the "American Bottom" where the mound system reached its highest development, the mounds of these classes is not inclosed. The mounds of sacrifice, or altars, as they are variously termed, are generally characterized by the fact, "that they occur only within the vicinity of the inclosures or sacred places; that
9
BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL.
they are stratified; and that they contain symmetrical altars of burned clay or stone, on which were deposited various remains, which in all cases have been more or less subjected to the action of fire." (Squier and Davis' Ancient Monuments.) In relation to this later characteristic, it should be said that it is not at all plain that the use of fire was intended for cremation. A thin coating of moist clay was applied to the body, nude or wrapped in cloth, and upon this a fire was maintained for a longer or shorter period, but in most cases the heat was not sufficient to destroy the cloth, sometimes found in a good state of preserva- tion. This evidently did not result from a lack of knowledge, as cremation and urn burial was also practiced.
Temple mounds are described by Squier and Davis as "distinguished by their great regularity of form and general large dimen- sions. They consist chiefly of pyramidal struc- tures, truncated, and generally having graded avenues to their tops. In some instances they are terraced, or have successive stages. But whatever their form, whether round, oval, octangular, square or oblong, they have invari- ably flat or level tops," and upon these were probably constructed their temples, but which, constructed of perishable materials, have left no trace of their existence. This class of mounds is not found alon the lage region, or that line which seems to mark the farthest advance of this people. The principal struc- tures of this class are found at Cahokia, Illinois; near Florence and Claiborn, Kentucky; at Seltzertown, Mississippi; at Marietta, Newark and Chillicothe, Ohio, and St. Louis, Missouri. The mound at Cahokia, "the monarch of all similar structures in the United States," may
well serve as a type. When in all its integrity, this mound formed a huge paralelogram, with sides at the base, respectively five hundred and seven hundred feet in length, towering the height of ninety feet. On the southwest there was a terrace, one hundred and sixty by three hundred feet, which was reached by a graded way, and the summit was truncated, affording a platform two hundred by four hundred feet. This structure, upon which was probably reared a spacious temple, perhaps the principal one in the empire, covered an area of about six acres, while in close proximity were four elevated platforms varying from two hundred and fifty to three hundred feet in diameter. The great mound at St. Louis reached a height of thirty-five feet, and that at Marietta to about the same height.
"Sepulchral mounds." says Mr. Foster "consists often of a simple knoll, or group of knolls, of no considerable height, without any definite arrangement. Examples of this char- acter may be seen at Dubuque, Merom, Chicago and La Porte, which, on exploration, have yielded skulls differing widely from the Indian type. The corpse was almost invari- ably placed near the original surface of the soil, enveloped in bark or coarse matting, and, in a few instances, fragments of cloth have been observed in this connection. Sometimes a vault of timber was built over it, and in others it was enclosed in long and broad flags of stone. Sometimes it was placed in a sitting position, again it was extended, and still again com- pressed within contracted limits. Trinkets were often strung about the neck, and water jugs, drinking cups and vases, which probably contained food, were placed near the head. Over the corpse, thus arrayed, a circular mound
IO
BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL.
was often raised, but sometimes nothing more than a hillock." Other mounds have been found that favored the theory that many of these structures were used for miscellaneous burial. Mounds of observation is rather a fanciful classification intended to mark mounds found on elevated points of land. The authors of this classification think that these may have been used as platforms on which to build sig- nal fires, and such are their elevation and out- look that such signals could have been seen at a great distance. This theory of special purpose, however, has not been accepted as supported by any speciol evidence. They may have been so used, or simply as an eligible site for resi- rence.
There is, in addition to these mounds, a large number of which are not embraced in this classification, which, following Mr. F. W. Putnam, whom Mr. Foster quotes at length, may be called "habitation mounds." A large number of these are described as located at Merom, Indiana, and a group of fifty-nine mounds at Intsonville, Illinois, a few miles above the former place and across the Wabash river. These mounds were carefully examined, to ascertain if they were places of burial, with- out discovering a single bone or implement of any kind, but, on the contrary, the excavations showed that the mounds had been made of various materials at hand, and in one case ashes were found, which had probably been scraped up with other material and thrown upon the heap. In the ancient fort at Merom, in depressions found within the earth works, were found striking evidences of food having been cooked and eaten there, and the conclusion drawn by Mr. Putnam is that these pits were the houses of the'inhabitants or defenders of
the fort, who were probably further protected from the elements and the missiles of assailants by a roof of logs and bark, or boughs. Another writer, (Hlon. William McAdams, Jr., Otter- ville, Illinois), in a paper read before the American Association for the Advancement of Science, at their Boston meeting, AAugust. 1880; says : "There is in this region a peculiar class of mounds, that was for a long time a puzzle to me. They are usually found in groups of fron two or three to twenty or thirty, and even more, and are generally on some pleasant knoll or rising ground in the vicinity of a spring or water-course, especially in the vicinity of our prairies or level areas of land. The mounds are from one to three, and in a few instances even four feet in height, and from twenty to fifty feet in diameter. One mound of the group is always larger than the rest, and always occu- pies a commanding position. Sometimes the group is arranged in a circle ; other groups have no apparent design in arrangement. Numbers of these mounds can be seen in the cultivated fields. Although I have made excavations in them, and dug trenches entirely through them, I have found nothing but ashes, charcoal, decayed portions of bones of fishes and animals partially burned, shells from adjacent streams, flint clippings, and in one or two instances a flint implement of a rude character.
"After examining many of these structures, I am induced to believe that they are possibly the remains of ancient dwellings, made by plac- ing in an upright position the trunks of young trees in a circle, or in parallel rows, the tops of the poles inclining inward and fastened together. the whole being covered with earth and sod to form a roof, or in the same manner as many Indian tribes make their mud lodges; as, for
BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL.
instance, the Mandans and the Omahas. Such a structure, after being repaired from time to time by the addition of more earth on top, would finally, by the decay of the poles, fall inward, and the ruins would form a slight mound. Consant and Putnam describe such mounds in Missouri and Tennessee, some of the largest of these ancient towns being provided with streets and highways. They are also found in southern Illinois, Indiana and Ohio. Putnam hias described an inclosed town in Tennessee, in which were many low mounds, or rather, as he calls them, earth circles, that he has pretty conclusively shown to be sites of the lodges or houses of the people."
These are the main evidences brought for- ward to show that the Indian was the author of the mound system, and probably describe the character of the mounds found in Douglas county. On the farm of Wesley Blaase, in Bourbon township, some mounds have been found, from one of which human remains were taken. Other elevations, evidently formed by human hands, are found elsewhere in the county, but no proper investigation has been made of them to determine their relation to this race, if indeed they are true mounds. There is no presumption against the facts ; but the data given are so insufficient as to leave no ground to base an intelligent opinion. This region was undoubtedly within the range of their influence, and doubtless these mysterious beings roamed over the place now possessed by successive races of red and white men.
THE INDIAN.
The obvious inquiry suggested by these conclusions is, Who succeeded this extinct race? To this question science offers no com-
plete answer. Two hypotheses are entertained as to the origin of the Mound-Builders here. The one supposes them to be of autothionic origin, and that semi-civilization originating here flowed southward, and culminated in the wonderful developments of the Toltecs, of Mexico; the other supposes them to have orig- inated in the South American continent or in Central America, and to have emigrated north- ward from natural causes, and later to have returned to Mexico, driven from their northern empire by an irresistible foe, or by a powerful political eruption among themselves. Upon any theory, the line of their most northward advance is pretty clearly defined, and writers upon this subject generally agree that the line of defenses, "extending from the sources of the Allegheny and Susquehanna in New York diagonally across the country, through central and northern Ohio, to the Wabash," accurately indicates the region from whence attacks were made and expected, and marks the farthest extent of the Mound-Builders' empire. But what was the character of the foe, what his action on the retreat of the Mound-Builders, and what his final destiny, is an unwritten page of science, for which there exists little data. It is a later sugestion that the North American Indian may be a degenerate but legitimate descendant of the dominant race, or even the Mound-Builders themselves, but there is a broad chasm to be bridged before these early races can be linked with the aboriginal tribes. With- out making any such attempt, however, the Indian naturally succeeds this people in regular historical order, and, passing over the vexed question of his origin, it is sufficient that the whites everywhere found him in full possession of the country.
12
BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL.
The natural habitat of the Indian is in the timber, and Douglas county possessing but little, there are few or no local traditions con- cerning them. The early French explorers found the tribes of the Illini nation along the banks of the Illinois river, where, under La Salle's influence, they were re-enforced by other tribes or remnants of eastern savages. Sub- sequently the Iroquois devastated the upper waters of the Illinois, and the land was occu- pied by other tribes, among which were the Kickapoos. The later treaties of the general government brought a number of other tribes to this vicinity, which remained until the gen- eral removal from the state about 1832. The grand prairie, however, served only as a great hunting ground to the various tribes located in the state, and seldom afforded a site for a vil- lage, save in the heavily timbered margin at some points. In Douglas county there were no such sites, and while there are evidences of their having been here, it was probably only for the purpose of hunting. There is a tra- dition that the government surveyors were attacked by a roving band in the eastern part of the county, and while it is quite possible there is no definite information in regard to it. But few of the early settlers saw any here, as they had generally left before the date of the earliest arrivals. John Hammet, who came to Cam- argo township in 1830, was visited by a large number of Indians during his first winter here. Harrison Gill came to Camargo in the same year, and it is related that on one occasion he visited a camp of the natives at Hugo, where his uncle jocosely informed the chief that the younger man was in quest of a wife. The announcement created some commotion among the fair sex, and there was "gathering in hot
haste." There was no objection to color, pro- vided he could hunt, and so pressing was the interest manifested by these untutored maidens, that Gill was forced to escape under the plea that he was a poor hunter. During all the intercourse of the savages with early settlers, the Indian showed himself a good citizen. and did not exhibit his usual propensity to steal or molest the whites in any way.
THE PIONEERS.
The open prairie country of Douglas county greatly retarded the settlement of this section of Coles county. A few came here previous to 1850, but the great bulk of the pub- lic lands was occupied by actual owners subse- quent to that date. The first settlement in Coles county as originally formed was about 1824. and subsequent additions to the white population found homes at widely separated points, from the Cumberland road on the south, to Camargo on the north. The original pioneer of Douglas county was John Richman, who, in 1829, settled in Camargo township. He was a native of Greenbrier county, West Virginia, and came with his father when a lad of sixteen years to Vermilion county, Illinois. The journey was made over the tedious roads of the frontier in wagons accompanied by a drove of sheep, horses and cattle. Here the family lived on and worked a rented farm for two or three years. In the meanwhile the father, ac- companied by a friend, made a visit to the Em- barrass timber in quest of honey. Here in eight or ten days they secured several barrels of honey, and in the course of their rambles became so enamored with the country that Mr. Richman determined to remove to this region,
BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL.
In May of the following year, 1829, the family removed and took up their residence a mile and a half from the present site of Camargo village in the timber skirting the Embarrass river. At this time there was not another white fam- ily within the present limits of Douglass county, and none in Coles north of Charleston. For upward of a year the Richmans lived in this solitude, when they were joined by Harrison Gill, and perhaps some six months later by Isaac Moss, who settled about a mile east of the present village of Camargo. The Indians were in the neighborhood for three years after the advent of these pioneers, their village occupying the present site of Bridgeport. The savages came in the fall for hunting, and stayed through the winter, and in the spring went north to their corn-fields. The first sum- mer, the Richmans lived in a temporary camp built of logs split in twain, while the male por- tion of the family devoted their efforts to breaking the prairie, and securing a harvest, but they soon found their team power inadequate for the undertaking, and resorted to the timber. The work of clearing and putting in the crop consumed the time until the 10th of July, when they had the satisfaction of seeing fourteen acres planted in corn. Their next care was to provide a permanent shelter from the rigors of the winter. Logs were procured and partly hewed, when the grim terror of pioneer life, the ague, laid seven of the eleven members of the family prostrate. For several months the family were obliged to give up further work on their improvements, and the winter found them still occupying the original cabin. On the following year the hewed-log house was finished and occupied, and still remains a land- mark of the olden time.
Harrison Gill, who may be noted as the first purchaser of land in Douglas county, was a native of Kentucky, and belonged to the family noted in that state. Other branches of the family came to Palestine in Crawford county about 1812, and found refuge in old Fort La Motte for some time. At the pacifica- tion of the Indians, the Gills settled on the Sandy Prairie, but James Gill a few years later moved further north and settled on the Embarrass, near the northern lines of the pres- ent Cumberland county. On reaching the age of twenty-one, Harrison Gill found himself possessed of a few hundred dollars, and upon the advice of his father proceeded to Illinois to invest his capital in land. Visiting his family relatives in the state, he found his uncle in Cumberland county busy in shingling his first permanent cabin, and at once engaged to assist in completing the job. This done the two made a tour northward in search of lands for investment. The first point above Charles- ton where a settlement had been made was at the mouth of Brushy Fork, where Maj. Ash- more had begun an improvement. He was pleased with the appearance of the country, and selected land in the northwest quarter of section 35, and the west half of the southwest quarter of the same section, in township 15 north, range 10 east, and at once repaired to the land office at Palestine, where the entry was properly recorded. The patents, which are still retained as a souvenir by the family, were signed by Andrew Jackson, as President, on the 8th of March, 1830. Mr. Gill has not been a citizen of the county, having returned to Kentucky soon after his purchase of the land.
John Hammet was scarcely second to Gill in his entry of land in this county; he visited
14
BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL.
Illinois in 1828, and entered eight hundred acres of land north of the present site of Cam- ergo village, in company with Gill. Mr. Ham- met was a native of Virginia, from whence he moved to Kentucky, where his son, James R., was born. It was not until the fall of 1830 that he moved to his new purchase. The house- hold goods were brought from Kentucky by teams of horses and oxen-Mrs. Haminet and smaller children coming in a carriage. It was November before the family reached the site of their new home, and before the cabin could be erected winter was at hand. The family was therefore obliged to find shelter in a tent with a large fire before the opening to keep off the cold. The under bed ticks had been filled with blue grass seed in Kentucky, and upon these the feather beds were placed and drawn near the firc. This winter was very severe, as was the following one, which is known as the scason of the great snow, and many of the Indians in the vicinity made frequent visits to this new addition to the white settlement. At the time of the arrival of the Hammets, there were only two families of permanent settlers in the territory of Douglas county, though some squatters had taken up their residence in the southern part and who removed soon after- ward. The family suffered great privations during the first years. No provisions had been brought from Kentucky, and everything during the first winter was only to be procured at a point on the Vermillion river, near the present site of Indianola. Their milling was afterward done at a still greater distance, at Eugene, Indiana, some forty miles away. John Hammet died in the winter of 1834, leaving the care of the farm and family to his widow, who discharged her responsibilities in a way to show
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