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LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
977.348 H62
I.H.S.
LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS.
FIRST COURT-HOUSE 1823
14
HISTORY
OF
FULTON COUNTY
ILLINOIS;
TOGETHER WITH SKETCHES OF ITS CITIES, VILLAGES AND TOWNSHIPS, EDUCA- TIONAL, RELIGIOUS, CIVIL, MILITARY, AND POLITICAL HISTORY; POR- TRAITS OF PROMINENT PERSONS AND BIOGRAPHIES OF REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS.
HISTORY OF ILLINOIS,
EMBRACING ACCOUNTS OF THE PRE-HISTORIC RACES, ABORIGINES, FRENCH, ENGLISH AND AMERICAN CONQUESTS, AND A GENERAL REVIEW OF ITS CIVIL, POLITICAL AND MILITARY HISTORY.
DIGEST OF STATE LAWS.
ILLUSTRATED.
PEORIA: CHAS. C. CHAPMAN & CO., ' 1879>
977.348 HGZ
J. W. FRANKS & SONS, PRINTERS, BINDERS AND PUBLISHERS, PEORIA, ILL.
977.348 H62
IRX. History
PREFACE.
For centuries prior to the coming of the pioneers the woodland and prairie of Fulton county had been the home of the red man. He had full sway over this, one of the finest sections of the globe. But nature's hand had been too ) lavish in the distribution of natural advantages to let it remain longer in pos- session of those who refused to develop, even in the slightest degree, any of her great resources, accordingly she directed hitherward the Anglo Saxon. The westward tread of the sturdy pioneer was heard and felt by the savage race during the early part of the present century. On they came with a firm resolute step, until this fair clime and country was reached, when they pitched their tents and ere long a fruitful field was blooming where the large forest trees and wild grass had waved in the breezes for hundreds of years, undis- turbed. They transformed the wigwams into cities; dotted the knolls with school-houses and churches; replaced the buffalo, deer, elk, and wolf, which had been driven further westward, with domestic animals; erected factories, built railroads, and reared a refined, enlightened and cultured people.
In this volume we have attempted to portray these changes; to picture them that future generations, as well as the present, may know something of what it cost to give them such a fair land. That they may have an idea of its once primitive condition, and learn of the brave men and women who have subdued the country; converted the wilderness into what we now behold. If we have placed facts upon record so that they are thus understood we will have fulfilled our mission.
We have taken much care in recording the pioneer history, that coming generations, those who will not have the carly settler to relate to them the history incident to the settlement and development of this county, may famil- iarize themselves with it through this medium; and that the reader may see the county in its various stages of progression. We do not profess to have fully delineated the trials, s fferings, and hardships that were experienced in converting even this fertile land from its virgin wildness into the luxuriant and densely populated country it now is. No! for human tongue or pen is far from being adequate to that task.
35054 r
1
PREFACE.
Different persons have given us honest and sincere, but nevertheless conflicting accounts of the same events, and it has been both a difficult and delicate task to harmonize them, and draw therefrom reasonable and approximately correct conclusions. We had only one aim in view, one plan to carry out, and that was, to record events impartially-to detail them as they actually occurred.
That we have completed our work, fulfilled all our promises to the utter- most, we feel conscientiously assured, and we submit the result of our labors to the charitable consideration of this intelligent and liberal people. It must not be expected that, in the multiplicity of names, dates, and events, no errors will be detected. We do not dare hope that in the numerous and varied details this book is absolutly correct, nor is it expected that it is beyond criticism, yet we believe it will be found to be measurably correct and reliable. We have labored assiduously and with studious care to make it a standard work of reference, as well as an authoritative record for future histo- rians to build upon.
Believing a work of this nature would be comparatively incomplete with- out speaking of the history of the State, of which Fulton county forms no unimportant portion, we have carefully prepared a condensed, vet very com- plete history of Illinois, which we incorporate in this volume. And as a valuable aid in transacting every-day business, we append a carefully com- piled digest of Illinois State Laws, which both the business man and farmer will find of great value.
Before laying aside our pen, we desire to express our warmest thanks to the editors of the various newspapers published throughout the county ; to the county officials, and to the people in general for the assistance and liberal patronage given us.
CHAS. C. CHAPMAN & CO.,
1- 1879.
Publishers.
1
CONTENTS.
HISTORY OF ILLINOIS.
MOUND-BUILDERS.
17
INDIAN TROUBLES 83
Winnebago War .. 83
BLACK HAWK WAR 84 Stillman's Run ...
Battle of Bad Axe. 90
Black Hawk Captured ..
91
Biographical Sketch of Black Hawk. 92
Single-handed Combat with Indians ... EARLY DISCOVERIES 91
Nicholas Perrot
31
Joliet and Marquette
31
LaSalle's Explorations.
33
Great Battle of the Illinois.
31
Tonti Safe at Green Bay.
11
LaSalle's Assassination
FRENCH OCCUPATION 11
First Settlements .. 44 15
The Mississippi Company.
ENGLISH RULE
47
Gen. Clark's Exploits. 51
ILLINOIS ...
55
County of Illinois 55
NORTHWESTERN TERRITORY 55
Ordinance of 1787. 56
St. Clair Governor of N. W. Territory .. 59 ILLINOIS TERRITORY. 59
WAR OF 1812-THE OUTBREAK Massacre of Fort Dearborn.
59 60
GOVERNORS OF ILLINOIS Lieutenant Governors
State Officials
161
U. S. Senators.
162
Representatives in Congress
165
CIIICAGO
170
The Great Fire.
172
Commerce of Chicago
173
STATES OF THE UNION 177
HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY.
CHAPTER I.
EARLY SETTLEMENT.
191
The Military Tract.
191
Fulton County ..
191
Dr. Davison, the Ilermit .. 194
John Eveland
195
Ossian M. Ross 196
Feuner Brothers 197 The Sergeants and Barnes 197 Sergeant's wedding. 200 "When my Commission "'omes". 202
Other Settlers. 203
The First Mail Carriers
203
A Trading Expedition
204
Frightened by Indians ...
201
The Battle of Malony's
Ferry
205
Trouble in Settling the
Military Tract 206
Robert Fulton ...
209
CHAPTER II.
EARLY SETTLEMENT- CONTINUED 211
Early Preachers. 211
Training day
212
A Few First Things.
214
Organization of Fulton
County.
218
Trade ... 219
Early Milling. 221 Wild Hogs. 29 The Deep Snow 22.1
Sudden Change
227
High Water ..
227
The Severe Winter of 1842-3 22S
Money 228 The Beautiful Prairies .. 230 Incidents of Pioneer Life. 202
What the Pioneers Have
CHAPTER III.
IMPORTANT LABORS OF
COUNTY COMMIS-
SIONERS' COURT 237
First Meeting.
237
County-Seat Located
239
Tavern Lieenses.
939
Ferry Licenses.
More Justices of the Peace . 241
The First Court-House .. 241
First Treasurer
245
First Grand Jury
2.15
First Marriage ...
245
Pay for Assessment of
Taxes ..
246
First Petit Jury
247
ARCHEOLOGY
Militia Preeincts
247
First Marriage in Chi- eago 2-18
New Commissioners
and a New Clerk ..... 248 First Marriage License .. 249 Estray Pen ... 249
County Revenue.
250
A New Court-House
250
Another Jail.
251
The
Present
Court-
Ilouse
252
First Temperance Work 254
Paupers old
255
A New Jail ..
255
First Poor Farin
255
Last Meeting
256
CHAPTER IN.
GEOLOGY. 257
CHAPTER V.
ZOOLOGY
265
CHAPTER VI.
BOTANY
271
CHAPTER VII.
IMPORTANT LABORS
OF THE BOARD OF
SUPERVISORS
282
Done
235
County Court
982
Township Organization 283 County Expenditures ... 288 CHAPTER VIII.
BLACK HAWK WAR
259
Troops Raised.
290
Stillman's Defeat ..
.....
292
Horrible Massacre
The Westerfield Defeat. 294
CHAPTER IX.
CRIMINAL RECORD
307
CHAPTER X.
PIONEER LIFE
318
CHAPTER XI.
CIIAPTER XII.
MEXICAN WAR
340
CHAPTER XII
TIIE REBELLION.
342
First Indications of the
War ..
342
First Call for Troops .....
343
Various Meetings Held
in the County
313
Deatlı of Senator Doug-
las
346
A Picture of a Sad and Desolate Ilome ......... 346
Soldier's Aid Society ... 348 Soldiers in Fulton Co ... 349 The Close. 353
Fulton County Volunteers 355 CHAPTER XIV.
THE BAR OF FULTON
COUNTY
392
Pioneer Courts.
392
Court Days.
394
Circuit Judges
39-4
Prosecuting Attorneys .. The Bar ...
Present Bar
95
PRAIRIE PIRATES 102
MORMON WAR 104
MEXICAN WAR. 118
Battle of Buena Vista. 119
125
States Seceding. 126
127
Call for Troops Promptly Answered 128
The War Ended-The Union Restored .. 137 Schedule of Regiments. 138
DUELS ..
141
DRESS AND MANNERS. 149
154
PHYSICAL FEATURES OF ILLINOIS. AGRICULTURE
155
157
160
Expeditions up the Mississippi
71
ILLINOIS AS A STATE. 74
Organization ... 74 77
Derivation of the name "Illinois"
State Bank.
IS
LaFayette's Visit. 79
Grammar and Cook Contrasted .. 82
21
Illinois Confederacy
Starved Rock 23
Sacs and Foxes. 21
Manners and Customs
27
FROM 1834 TO 1842 95
Internal Improvements.
95
Ilinois and Michigan Canal. Martyr for Liberty
97
THE WAR FOR THE UNION.
The Fall of Sumter
INDIANS
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XV. TOWNSHIP HISTORIES :-
Astoria .. 409
Banner. 469
Buckheart 477
Bernadotte 506
C'anton 515
Cass 582
Deerfield 602
Ellisville.
615
Fairview 623
Farmers'
615
Farmington 678
Harris 697
Isabel 712
Joshua ..
724
Kerton .. 718
Lee 760
Lewistown. 769
Liverpool 820
Orion ...
813
Pleasant 84.5
Putman .. 865
Union. . 880
Vermont ... 897
Waterford.
936
Woodland
9.10
Young Hickory. 969
CHAPTER XVI.
POLITICAL 975
Election Returns ...... 976
CHAPTER XVII.
COUNTY OFFICIALS
984
CHAPTER XVIII.
THE PRESS 990
Fulton County Ledger .. 991
Lewistown Democrat ... 993
Canton Register 995
News-Chronicle ..
997
Vermont ('hroniele
1000
Farmington News .1001
Weekly Times 1002
Stream of Light
1004
Avon Sentinel.
1005
CHAPTER XIX.
RAILROADS 100€
C., B. & Q .-
Rushville Branch 1006
Quincy Branch
1009
&t. L. Division
1009
T., P. & W. Ry. 1010
Fulton Co. N .- G. Ry 1038
CHAPTER XX.
MISCELLANEOUS 1014
C. & L. Plank Road
1014
County-Seat Contest ...
.1015
Matrimonial
1018
School Statistics.
.1020
Table of Distances. 1022
Population. .1023
Wealth of Fulton Co ... 1023 Fulton County Fair. .1025
Avon Fair
.1027
Reminiscences.
1028
" Fulton County ".
.. 1032
Miscellaneous
Biog-
raphies ..
1035
ILLUSTRATIONS.
Starved Rock. 25
An Iroquois Chief 37
Gen. Geo. R. ('lark. 19
Gen. Arthur St. ('lair. 56
Old Fort Dearborn
Old Kinzie House
65
Pontiae
69
Black Hawk $5
Abbott. Daniel 395
Addis, A. D .. 465
Babcock, W. H
468
Barker, J. W. 661
Beam, O. J 883
Bearee, Orson. 369
Benson, Ilon. Jesse 2225
Boyington, E. L
Hummel, Mrs. 1. M.
Quillin. E.
857
Brown, Jacob. 715
Brown, Mrs. Jacob. 715
Bybee, T. T. 4.55
Chapman, S. S. 419
Coleman, W. D ... 537
Colter, Hon. Il. R 243
Cummings, Hon. S. P. 431
Curtis, Dr. L. W 537
Custer, P. Y. 571
Foutch, John ... 721
Gallagher. P. W 873
Gardiner, J. H. 727
Gardiner, Margaret. 727
Haacke, Capt. David 297
Orendorff, W. J 519
Worrell, J. . J
679
DIGEST OF STATE LAWS.
Laws 1039 |
Jurisdiction of Courts. .1039
County Courts .. 1040
Com. of llighways. 1010
Fences. .1042
Drainage 1044
Trespass of Stock 1044
Estrays 1045
Horses. 1046
Marks and Brands .1047
Articles of Agreement. 1047 Notes .1045
Judgment Note .. .1049
Interest 1049
1051
nt 1055
es and Trust Deeds1057
eeds 1058
1055
℮ 1060
Days of Grace .. 1061
Limitation of Action .. .1061
Receipts.
.1062
Exemptions from Forced Sales .1062
Landlords and Tenants. 1063 Sunday
Criminal Law 1066
Taxes.
1068
Subscription .. 1069
Contract for Personal Ser- vices 1070
Newspaper Libel. 1071
Tender 1071
Drunkenness 1073
Marriage Contract .. 1074
school Months 1076
1056 Infants 1076
Adoption of Children
.1077
Church Organizations ...
.1077-1-
Game ..
Millers. 1080
Paupers .. 1080
Public and Private Convey- ances. 108.
Wages and Stakeholders ..... 10833
.1085
Definition of Commercial Terms .. .1085
Legal Weights and Meas- ures. 1055
Bees
10×4
Dogs
Cruelty to Animals 1086
Names.
U. S. Mails
1086
Rates of Postage ..
1088
Rates of Postage on Third-
Class Matter.
.1089
Registered Matter .....
1090
Money And
.1090
315
Breed, C. G .. 571
Hummel, Jessie L ≤01
Ross, Mrs. Mary Robb, Andrew.
771
Rothman, J. R 279
Savill, J. M. 315
Shepley, T. J. 571
Smith, Wm. H 46%
Standard. Thos 75
Standard, Rachel. ,39
Stockdale, Jas 537
TenEyck, Peter. 625
Toler, Dr. B. C 113
Turner, James 465
Welch. Dr. J. K
873
Orendorff. John 519
Central Insane Hospital. 160
Industrial University. 160
Deaf and Dumb Institute ... 115 The Crib. 176
Court-House ... 190
Map of Fulton County ... .14-15
Present Jail
643
Old Court House. 811
First Court-House. Frontispiece
PORTRAITS.
Ilartough, II. H. 625
Herring, J. R. 867
Herring, Mrs. M. A. 867
Higgins, H. 369
Phelps, Wm. 791
Phelps, Mrs. Wm. 791
Potts, L. W.
825
Hummel, I. MI $01
Powell, E. G.
679
Johnson, B. C. 733
Leslie, L. T 369
Maus, Jacob .. 825
McCall, J. H. 207
McCune. J. L .. 851
McCune, Mrs. J. L. 851
McDowell, W. M 261
Merrill, H. S. 413
Miner, Wm. 661
Moore, B. Il ... 537
Mowery, Jacob 393
Onion. J. M. 369
Parlin, Wm .. 351
Peirsol, J. E ... 333
Peirsol, Dr. J. H. 781
Holmes, C 733
Hulit, N. $57
C., R .- I. & P. R. R. Depot ... 99
Eve and Ear Infirmary 111
Scene on Fox River .. 221
61 \ Lincoln Monument .. 137
Asylum for Feeble Minded 143 Southern Normal Univer-
sity 151
Wedge, Dr. D. O. 825
LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
R.1 E.
R.2 E.
R. 3 E.
R. 4 E.
C. B. & Q. R. R.
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SECTIONAL MAP C. OF. C
FULTON COUNTY
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24.1
LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS.
HISTORY OF ILLINOIS.
FORMER OCCUPANTS.
MOUND-BUILDERS.
The numerous and well-authenticated accounts of antiquities found in various parts of our country, clearly demonstrate that a people civilized, and even highly cultivated, occupied the broad surface of our continent before its possession by the present In- dians; but the date of their rule of the Western World is so re- mote that all traces of their history, their progress and decay, lie buried in deepest obscurity. Nature, at the time the first Euro- peans came, had asserted her original dominion over the earth; the forests were all in their full luxuriance, the growth of many cen- turies; and naught existed to point out who and what they were who formerly lived, and loved, and labored, and died, on the conti- nent of America. This pre-historic race is known as the Mound- Builders, from the numerous large mounds of earth-works left by them. The remains of the works of this people form the most in- teresting class of antiquities discovered in the United States. Their character can be but partially gleaned from the internal evidences and the peculiarities of the only remains left,-the mounds. They consist of remains of what were apparently villages, altars, temples, idols, cemeteries, monuments, camps, fortifications, pleasure grounds, etc., etc. Their habitations must have been tents, struc. tures of wood, or other perishable material; otherwise their remains would be numerous. If the Monnd-Builders were not the ancestors of the Indians, who were they? The oblivion which has closed over them is so complete that only conjecture can be given in answer to the question. Those who do not believe in the common parentage of mankind contend that they were an indigenous race of the West- ern hemisphere; others, with more plausibility, think they came from the East, and imagine they can see coincidences in the religion of the Hindoos and Southern Tartars and the supposed theology of
.
18
HISTORY OF ILLINOIS.
the Mound-Builders. They were, no doubt, idolators, and it has been conjectured that the sun was the object of their adoration. The mounds were generally built in a situation affording a view of the rising sun: when enclosed in walls their gateways were toward the east; the caves in which their dead were occasionally buried always opened in the same direction; whenever a mound was partially en- closed by a semi-circular pavement, it was on the east side; when bodies were buried in graves, as was frequently the case, they were laid in a direction east and west; and, finally, medals have been found representing the sun and his rays of light.
At what period they came to this country, is likewise a matter of speculation. From the comparatively rude state of the arts among them, it has been inferred that the time was very remote. Their axes were of stone. Their raiment, judging from fragments which have been discovered, consisted of the bark of trees, interwoven with feathers; and their military works were such as a people would erect who had just passed to the pastoral state of society from that dependent alone upon hunting and fishing.
The mounds and other ancient earth-works constructed by this people are far more abundant than generally supposed, from the fact that while some are quite large, the greater part of them are small and inconspicuous. Along nearly all our water courses that are large enough to be navigated with a canoe, the mounds are almost invariably found, covering the base points and headlands of the bluffs which border the narrower valleys; so that when one finds him- self in such positions as to command the grandest views for river scenery, he may almost always discover that he is standing upon, or in close proximity to, some one or more of these traces of the labors of an ancient people.
GALENA MOUNDS.
On the top of the high bluff's that skirt the west bank of the Mis- sissippi, about two and a half miles from Galena, are a number of these silent monuments of a pre-historie age. The spot is one of surpassing beauty. From that point may be obtained a view of a portion of three States,-Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin. A hundred feet below, at the foot of the perpendicular cliff's, the trains of the Illinois Central Railroad thunder around the curve, the portage is in full view, and the " Father of Waters," with its numerous bayous
19
HISTORY OF ILLINOIS.
and islands, sketches a grand pamorama for miles above and below. Here, probably thousands of years ago, a race of men now extinct, and unknown even in the traditions of the Indians who inhabited that section for centuries before the discovery of America by Colum- bus, built these strangely wonderful and enigmatical mounds. At this point these mounds are circular and conical in form. The larg- est one is at least forty feet in diameter at the base, and not less than fifteen feet high, even yet, after it has been beaten by the storms of many centuries. On its top stands the large stump of an oak tree that was cut down about fifty years ago, and its annual rings indicate a growth of at least 200 years.
One of the most singular earth-works in the State was found on the top of a ridge near the east bank of the Sinsinawa creek in the lead region. It resembled some huge animal, the head, ears, nose, legs and tail, and general outline of which being as perfeet as if made by men versed in modern art. The ridge on which it was situated stands on the prairie, 300 yards wide, 100 feet in height, and rounded on the top by a deep deposit of clay. Centrally, along the line of its summit, and thrown up in the form of an embankment three feet high, extended the outline of a quadruped measuring 250 feet from the tip of the nose to the end of the tail, and having a width of 18 feet at the center of the body. The head was 35 feet in length, the ears 10 feet, legs 60 and tail 75. The curvature in both the fore and hind legs was natural to an animal lying on its side. The general outline of the figure most nearly resembled the extinct animal known to geologists as the Megathe- rium. The question naturally arises, By whom and for what pur- pose was this earth figure raised? Some have conjectured that numbers of this now extinct animal lived and roamed over the prai- ries of Illinois when the Mound-Builders first made their appearance on the upper part of the Mississippi Valley, and that their wonder and admiration, excited by the colossal dimensions of these huge creatures, found some expression in the crection of this figure. The bones of some similar gigantic animals were exhumed on this stream about three miles from the same place.
LARGE CITIES.
Mr. Breckenridge, who examined the antiquities of the Western country in 1817, speaking of the mounds in the American Bottom, says: "The great number and extremely large size of some of
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HISTORY OF ILLINOIS.
them may be regarded as furnishing, with other circumstances, evidences of their antiquity. I have sometimes been induced to think that at the period when they were constructed there was a population here as numerous as that which once animated the borders of the Nile or Euphrates, or of Mexico. The most num- erous, as well as considerable, of these remains are found in pre- cisely those parts of the country where the traces of a numerous population might be looked for, namely, from the month of the Ohio on the east side of the Mississippi, to the Illinois river, and on the west from the St. Francis to the Missouri. I am perfectly satisfied that cities similar to those of ancient Mexico, of several hundred thousand souls, have existed in this country."
It must be admitted that whatever the uses of these mounds- whether as dwellings or burial places-these silent monnments were built, and the race who built them vanished from the face of the earth, ages before the Indians occupied the land, but their date must probably forever baffle human skill and ingenuity.
It is sometimes difficult to distinguish the places of sepulture raised by the Mound-Builders from the more modern graves of the Indians. The tombs of the former were in general larger than those of the latter, and were used as receptacles for a greater number of bodies, and contained relics of art, evincing a higher degree of civ- ilization than that attained by the Indians. The ancient earth- works of the Mound-Builders have occasionally been appropriated as burial places by the Indians, but the skeletons of the latter may be distinguished from the osteological remains of the former by their greater stature.
What finally became of the Mound-Builders is another query which has been extensively discussed. The fact that their works extend into Mexico and Peru has induced the belief that it was their posterity that dwelt in these countries when they were first visited by the Spaniards. The Mexican and Peruvian works, with the exception of their greater magnitude, are similar. Relics com- mon to all of them have been occasionally found, and it is believed that the religious uses which they subserved were the same. If, indeed, the Mexicans and Peruvians were the progeny of the more ancient Mound-Builders, Spanish rapacity for gold was the cause of their overthrow and final extermination.
A thousand other queries naturally arise respecting these nations
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HISTORY OF ILLINOIS.
which now repose under the ground, but the most searching investi- gation can give us only vague speculations for answers. No histo- rian has preserved the names of their mighty chieftains, or given an account of their exploits, and even tradition is silent respecting them.
INDIANS.
Following the Mound-Builders as inhabitants of North America, were, as it is supposed, the people who reared the magnificent cities the ruins of which are found in Central America. This peo- ple was far more civilized and advanced in the arts than were the Mound-Builders. The cities built by them, judging from the ruins of broken columns, fallen arches and crumbling walls of temples, palaces and pyramids, which in some places for miles bestrew the ground, must have been of great extent, magnificent and very pop- ulous. When we consider the vast period of time necessary to erect such colossal structures, and, again, the time required to reduce them to their present ruined state, we can conceive something of their antiquity. These cities must have been old when many of the ancient cities of the Orient were being built.
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