USA > Illinois > Vermilion County > History of Vermilion County, together with historic notes on the Northwest, gleaned from early authors, old maps and manuscripts, private and official correspondence, and other authentic, though, for the most part, out-of-the-way sources > Part 1
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HISTORY
OF
VERMILION COUNTY,
TOGETHER WITH
HISTORIC NOTES ON THE NORTHWEST.
GLEANED FROM EARLY AUTHORS, OLD MAPS AND MANUSCRIPTS, PRIVATE AND OFFICIAL CORRESPONDENCE, AND OTHER AUTHENTIC, THOUGH. FOR THE MOST PART, OUT-OF-THE-WAY SOURCES.
BY H. W. BECKWITH,
OF THE DANVILLE BAR ; CORRESPONDING MEMBER OF THE HISTORICAL SOCIETIES OF WISCONSIN AND CHICAGO.
WITH MAP AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
CHICAGO : H. H. HILL AND COMPANY, PUBLISHERS. 1879.
ILL 93389
COPYRIGHT, 1879. BY H. W. BECKWITH AND SON.
KNIGHT & LEONARD CHICAS PRESSO
PREFACE.
In the following pages the writer has limited himself, for the most part, to the ter- ritory watered by the Illinois, the St. Joseph of Lake Michigan, the Maumee and the Wabash rivers. He has chosen to do so to the end that the early history of the country treated of might be the more fully considered. The topographical features of, and the military and eivil events occurring in, localities beyond these limits have been noticed only in so far as they are directly connected with, or tend to illustrate the field occu- pied.
It has been an aim of the writer to perpetuate the history of the relations which the discovery and early commerce of the northwest has sustained to its peculiar topograph- ical features. Nature made the routes and pointed out the means of our inland com- munication. The first explorations of the northwest were made by way of the lakes, the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers, the St. Josephs of Lake Michigan, the Illinois River and Chicago Creek, the Maumee and the Wabash and their connecting portages. These were also the routes by which the first commerce was carried on. Formerly the country was a wilderness of forests and prairies, and the abode of wild animals and the wild men who hunted them for their furs and skins, which were the only commodities for export. In the progress of time the fur-bearing animals and the Indians have dis- appeared. The wilderness has been subdued, and the products of its cultivated fields now find their way to the marts of Europe. The canoe which carried the furs and pel- tries to tide water gave way to the canal boat, and the canal boat has been supplanted by the steamer and the railway ear. The routes hare always remained essentially the same. They have merely been enlarged and perfected from time to time, to meet the ever-increasing demands of the west in the successive stages of its development.
The country drained by the rivers we have named is rich in the poesy and romance of history, reaching back nearly two centuries in the past, where the outlines of written records fade away in the twilight and charm tradition. By the routes we have named came the Jesuit Fathers, with crucifix and altar, bearing the truths of Chris- tianity to distant and savage tribes. Along these routes passed the Coureurs-de-bois and the Voyageurs,-gay and happy sons of France- with knives, guns, blankets and trinkets to exchange with the Indians for products of the chase. Following the traders came French colonists, who, on their way from Canada to Louisiana, passed up the Maumee and down the Wabash, nearly three-quarters of a century before the Declaration of Independence was proclaimed.
Along these streams were the villages of the most powerful Indian confederacies. It was but natural that they should defend their country against the encroachment of another race; and the strife between the two for its possession furnishes material for many thrilling events in its history. In treating of the Indians, the writer has had no theories to advocate or morbid sentiments to gratify; he has only quoted what he has found in volumes regarded as standard authorities, without prejudice in favor or against this people. They have given away before an inexorable law, the severity of which could have been only modified at best. The writer believes the dominant race, out of their love for truth, will accord the Indian that even-handed justice to which he
166880
1
PREFACE.
is historically entitled. Our knowledge of this people is fragmentary at best. They kept no records, and have no historians. All we know of them is to be found in the writings of persons who, if not their open enemies, at least had little interest in doing them justice. As a rule, early travelers have only alluded in an incidental way to the aboriginal inhabitants, or their manners and customs. We know, at best, but very little of the Indians who formerly occupied the country east of the Mississippi. They have passed away, and the information that has been preserved concerning them is so scattered through the volumes of authors who have written from other motives, and at different dates or of different nations, without taking thought to discriminate, that anything like a satisfactory account of a particular tribe is not attainable. However, the writer has in the following pages given the result of his gleanings over a wide field of authors .- French. Enghsh and American, -so far as they relate to the several tribes who formerly occupied that portion of the Northwest to which the attention of the reader has been called. The writer has preserved the aboriginal, as well as the French and early English names of the lakes, rivers, Indian villages and other locali- ties possessing historical interest, whenever attainable from books, maps or manu- scripts to which he has had access.
Commercial enterprise led to the exploration of the northwest. It was competition for the fur trade between rival races, the French and the Anglo-Saxon, that produced the collision between the subjects of the two colonies in America, that finally cul- minated in a war between France and England, aided by their respective colonies, that resulted in the loss of the whole Mississippi valley to its first discoverers. It was a desire to retain control of the fur trade that contributed largely to the bitterness of the Indian border wars that commenced as soon as emigration began to extend itself west of the Alleganies; and the same cause prolonged the Indian troubles for years after the country had ceased to be a part of the dominion of either France or Great Britain.
Beginning with the mission work of the Jesuit Fathers on the southern shore of Lake Superior, in 1660, and extending down to 1800, but little is known of the country lying north and west of the Ohio river; and the meagre material is only to be found in antiquated books and maps long out of print, or in manuscript correspondence of a private or official character. none of which is accessible to the general reader. It is chiefly from these sources that most of the matter contained in the present volume has been collated. As far as practicable the writer has preferred to introduce his author- ities upon the stand and let them tell their stories in their own language, leaving the readers to draw their own conclusions from what the witnesses have stated. Wherever attainable, original sources of information are given.
Besides such anthors as Hennepin, Charlevoix and the invaluable translations and contributions of Dr. John G. Shea, the writer has availed himself freely of the Jesuit Relations and the publications of the historical societies of Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New York and Wisconsin.
The writer is conscious that his task, voluntarily assumed, has been but indifferently performed. H. W. B.
DANVILLE, ILL., Nov. 5, 1879.
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
Topography - The drainage of the Lakes and the Mississippi, and the Indian and French names by which they were severally called 10
CHAPTER II.
Drainage of the Illinois and Wabash -Their tributary streams - The portages connecting the drainage to the Atlantic with that of the Gulf
17
CHAPTER III.
The ancient Maumee Valley -Geological features - Formerly Lakes Michigan and Superior drained into the Illinois, and Lakes Huron and Erie into the Wa- bash - The portage of the Wabash and the Kankakee 21
CHAPTER IV.
The rainfall - It has increased, although the rivers seem to have diminished, since the settlement of the Northwest - Cultivation of the soil tends to equalize rain- fall, and prevent the recurrence of drouths and floods 26
CHAPTER V.
Origin of the prairies - Their former extent-Gradual encroachment of the for- est - Prairie fires - Aboriginal names of the prairies, and the Indians who lived exclusively upon them
29
CHAPTER VI.
Early French discoveries-Jaques Cartier ascends the St. Lawrence in 1535- Samuel Champlain founds Quebec in 1608- In 1642 Montreal is established - Influence of Quebec and Montreal upon the Northwest continues until subse- quent to the war of 1812 - Early explorations of the French missionaries along the shore of Lake Superior - They first learn of the Mississippi - Father Mar- quette desires to explore it - The French government determine on its explora- tion - Theories as to whether the Mississippi emptied into the Sea of Califor- nia, the Gulf of Mexico, or the Atlantic - Joliet and Marquette selected to solve the problem -Spanish discoveries of the lower Mississippi in 1525. .... 37
CHAPTER VII.
Joliet and Marquette's Voyage-They leave Mackinaw May 17, 1673-They pro- ceed, by way of Green Bay and the Wisconsin, as far as the mouth of the Arkansas-Return by way of the Illinois and Chicago Creek-Father Mar- quette's Journal, descriptive of the journey and the country through which they traveled - Biographical sketches of Marquette and Joliet.
43
6
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
CHAPTER VIII.
La Salle's Voyage - Biographical sketch of La Salle-His concessions and titles of nobility - Preparations for his explorations-Sketch of Father Hennepin and the merit of his writings- La Salle reaches the Niagara River in Decem- ber, 1678, builds the ship Griffin and proceeds up Lake Erie, and reaches Mackinaw in August, 1679.
54
CHAPTER IX.
La Salle's Voyage continued - Mackinaw the headquarters of the Indian trade- The Griffin starts back to Niagara River with a cargo of furs, and is lost upon the lake- La Salle resumes his voyage in birch canoes, south along the west shore of Lake Michigan, and around its southern extremity to the mouth of the St. Joseph, where he erects Fort Miamis.
63
CHAPTER X.
The several rivers called the Miamis-La Salle's route down the Illinois-The Kankakee Marshes-The French and Indian names of the Kankakee and Des Plaines - The Illinois - "Fort Crevecoeur "- La Salle goes back to Canada - Destruction of his forts by deserters-His return to Fort Miamis, and the successful prosecution of his exploration to the mouth of the Missis- sippi-The whole valley of the great river taken possession of in the name of the King of France
72
CHAPTER XI.
Death of La Salle, in attempting to establish a colony near the mouth of the Mississippi-Chicago Creek-The origin of the name- Fort St. Louis built by Tonti at Starved Roek-La Salle assassinated and his colony destroyed - Joutel, with other survivors, return by way of the Illinois-Second attempt of France, under Mons. Iberville, in 1699, to establish settlements on the Gulf-Cession of all Louisiana to M. Crozat-Crozat's deed from the King- The Western Company-Law's scheme of inflation and its consequences- New Orleans founded in 1718-Fort Chartes erected, and its appearance .... 87
CHAPTER XII.
Surrender of Louisiana to the French Crown in 1731 - Early routes by way of the Kankakee, Chicago Creek, the Ohio, the Maumee and Wabash described- The Maumee and Wabash, and the number and origin of their several names - Indian villages. 96
CHAPTER XIII.
Aboriginal inhabitants-The several Illinois tribes - Of the name Illinois, and its origin-The Kaskaskias, Cahokias, Tamaroas, Peorias and Metehigamis, sub- divisions of the Illinois Confederacy- First mentioned by the Jesuit mission- aries in 1655 -Their habits and morals -Their country and villages -Their wars with the Iroquois and other tribes-The tradition concerning the Iro- quois River-Their decline and removal westward of the Missouri . ...
105
7
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XIV.
The Miamis -The Miami, Piankeshaw and Wea bands -They are kindred to the Illinois, originally from the west of the Mississippi-Their superiority and their military disposition-Their subdivisions and various names-Their trade and difficulties with the French and the English-Their migrations -They are upon the Maumee and Wabash -Their Villages - From their position between the French and English they suffer at the hands of both-They defeat the Iroquois-They trade with the English, and incur the anger of the French -Their bravery-Their decline-Destructive effects of intemperance-Cession of their lands in Illinois, Indiana and Ohio-Their removal westward and present condition 119
CHAPTER XV.
The Pottawatomies -They and the Ottawas and Ojibbeways one people - Origi- nally from the north and east of Lake Huron -Their migrations by way of Mackinaw to the country west of Lake Michigan, and thence south and east- ward-Their games-Origin of the name Pottawatomie-Allies of the French - Occupy a portion of the country of the Miamis along the Wabash -Their villages - At peace with the United States after the war of 1812-Cede their lands -Their exodus from the Wabash, the Kankakee and Wabash -Their condition in Kansas-Their progress toward civilization. 137
CHAPTER XVI.
The Kickapoos and Mascoutins reside about Saginaw Bay in 1612; on Fox River, Wisconsin, in 1670-Their reception of the Catholic fathers - Not inclined to their teachings - They kill one missionary and retain another in captiv- ity - On the Maumee in 1712-In southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois - Migrate to the Wabash - Derivation of the name Mascoutin - Dwellers of the prairie- Identity of the Kickapoos with the Mascoutins -Their destruction at the siege of Detroit-They were always enemies of the French, English and Americans-Nearly destroy the Illinois and Pianke- shaws, and occupy their country -Join Tecumseh in a body -They, with the Winnebagoes, attack Fort Harrison - Pa-koi-shee-can's account of the engagement - Ka-en-ne-kuck becomes a religious teacher-The wild bands make trouble on the Texas border -Their country between the Illinois and Wabash - Their resemblance to the Sac and Fox Indians 153
CHAPTER XVII.
The Shawnees and Delawares- Originally east of the Alleghany Mountains - Are subdued aud driven out by the Iroquois - Marquette finds the Shawnees on the Tennessee in 1673 - At one time in Florida - In 1744 they are in Ohio -They war on the American settlements - Their villages on the Big and Little Miamis, the St. Mary's, the Au Glaize, Maumee and Wabash - The The Delawares -Made women of by the Iroquois-Their country on White River, Indiana, and eastward defined - Become friendly to the United States after Wayne's victory at Maumee Rapids, in 1794-They, with the Shawnees, sent west of the Mississippi - They furnish soldiers in the war for the Union - Adopting ways of the white people
170
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TABLE OF CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XVIII.
The Indians - Their implements, utensils, fortifications, mounds, manners and customs .. ....... 180
CHAPTER XIX.
Stone implements used by the Indians before they came in contact with the Euro- peans- Illustrations of various kinds of stone implements, and suggestions as to their probable uses. 195
CHAPTER XX.
The war for the fur trade-Former abundance of wild animals and water-fowl in the Northwest-The buffalo; their range, their numbers. and final disappear- ance-Value of the fur trade; its importance to Canada-The coureurs de bois; their food and peculiarities -Goods for Indian trade-The distant parts to which the fur trade was carried, and the manner in which it was conducted - Competition between French and English for control of the fur trade - It results in broils - French traders killed on the Vermilion - The French and Indians attack Fort Pickawillany - War 208
CHAPTER XXI.
The war for the empire - English claims to the Northwest-Deeds from the Iro- quois to a large part of the country - Military expeditions of Major Grant, Mons. Aubry and M. de Ligneris - Aubry attempts to retake Fort Du Quesne - His expedition up the Wabash-Goes to the relief of Fort Niagara - Is de- feated by Sir William Johnson-The fall of Quebec and Montreal -Surrender of the Northwest to Great Britain -The territory west of the Mississippi ceded to Spain 224
CHAPTER XXII.
Pontiac's war to recover the country from the English -The siege of Detroit-The fall of Mackinaw, Saint Joseph, Miamis and Oniatanon-Relief of Detroit- Pontiac's confederacy falls to pieces-Croghan sent west to recover possession of the country from the Indians-Is captured and carried to Fort Quiatanon - The country turned over to the English -Pontiac's death 234
CHAPTER XXIII.
Gen. Clark's conquest of the "Illinois"-The Revolutionary war- Indian depre- dations upon the settlements of Kentucky-The savages are supplied with arins and ammunition from the English posts at Detroit, Vincennes and Kas- kaskia-Gen. Clark applies to Gov. Henry, of Virginia, for aid in an enter- prise to capture Kaskaskia and Vincennes - Sketch of Gen. Clark - His manuscript memoir of his march to the Illinois-He captures Kaskaskia- The surrender of Vincennes-He treats with the Indians, who agree to quit their warfare on the Big Knife-Gov. Hamilton, of Detroit, re-captures Vin- cennes-Clark's march to Vincennes-He re-takes Vincennes, and makes the English forces prisoners of war-Capt. Helm surprises a convoy of English boats at the mouth of the Vermilion River-Organization of the northwest territory into Illinois county of Virginia -Clark holds the Northwest until the conclusion of the revolutionary war. For this reason only it became a part of the United States
245
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TABLE OF CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XXIV.
Illinois county established-The northwest territory -The ordinance of 1787- A bill of rights-Free-school system - Provisions for states -Old boundaries between Canada and Louisiana-Indian wars-The Indian country on the Wabash and Maumee ravaged - England refuses to surrender military posts within the northwest territory-The first treaty between the United States and the Wabash tribes, at Vincennes. in 1792-The great white wampum belt of peace, with medal suspended, delivered by Gen. Putnam -The medal, and where afterward found-The British medal-St. Clair's defeat -Futile efforts to obtain peace-Wayne marches from Greenville to the Maumee and gains a great victory over the confederated tribes-Treaty of Greenville- Wayne's death. 260
CHAPTER XXV.
The northwest territory divided - Wm. H. Harrison appointed governor of the Indiana territory - Its subdivision into counties - Biographical sketch of Gov. Harrison - Tecumseh and his brother, the Prophet - They organize a scheme to drive the white settlers beyond the Ohio - Illinois Territory formed - Its subdivision into the counties of Randolph and St. Clair- Development of Tecumseh's plans - The Tippecanoe campaign - Line of Harrison's march - Official account of the battle -Incidents - War of 1812 - A large part of the Northwest in the hands of the English and Indians - Fall of Fort Dearborn - Siege of Forts Wayne and Harrison - Gen. Taylor's report of the attack on Fort Harrison - The naval engagement on Lake Erie -The battle of the Thames - Tecumseh had "fought it out " with Gen. Harrison - The north recovered by Gen. Harrison -The old boundaries restored -Peace concluded - Advance of population - Conclusion 278
COUNTY HISTORY.
History of Danville Township 305
Biographical 367
History of Georgetown Township.
497
Biographical
History of Elwood Township. 560
Biographical
592
History of Catlin Township.
609
Biographical .
628
History of Ross Township
651
Biographical 670
History of Grant Township
701
Biographical
719
History of Carroll Township 761
784
History of Middle Fork Township.
Biographical 814
History of Oakwood Township 834
857 Biographical
Biographical 792
* ERRATA. On account of a want of space. in consequence of more matter than the publishers had provided for, the County History is duplicated in pages with the first seventy-two pages of Town- ship History.
On page 620, line 27, instead of Dan, read II. W.
10
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
History of Blount Township 874
Biographical 894
History of Pilot Township 904
Biographical
914
History of Newell Township 926
Biographical
950
History of Vance Township.
969
Biographical
983
History of Butler Township
1000
Biographical .
1013
History of Sidell Township
1024
Biographical .
1030
Business Directory
1035
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
Map Illustrating French and Indian War Frontispiece
Indian Implements.
197-207
Buffalo
209
Gen. George Rogers Clarke
245
Washington Medal.
270
British Medal
273
Gen. W. H. Harrison
289
The Prophet
282
Fort Harrison in 1812
288
Plan of Battle of Tippecanoe
291
Map of Vermilion County
305
Joseph Barron
305
City Mills, Danville.
311
Amber Mills, Danville
315
High School
329
County Court House.
330
Ellsworth Coal Shaft
337
Coffeen & Pollock's Store.
352
Lincoln Opera House
379
Danville Planing Mill 444
Whitehill's Carriage Shops
466
Hoopeston Public School.
715
McFerron's Bank Building
718
Clark's Hall
745
Pioneer Cabin.
876
LIST OF PORTRAITS.
William 1. Moore 129
John Kyger . 545
John L. Tincher 376 205
Alexander Pollock 625
A. C. Daniel.
337
William Geddings 673
R. T. Leverich. 384
L. W. Anderson 737
O. F. Harmon 417
David Dickson 785
H. A. Coffeen. . 465
J. G. Leverich S17
George Wheeler Jones 497
William C. Harrison 865
William Sheets 513
J. Peters 977
HISTORIC NOTES ON THE NORTHWEST.
CHAPTER I.
TOPOGRAPHY.
THE reader will have a better understanding of the manner in which the territory, herein treated of, was discovered and subse- quently occupied, if reference is made, in the outset, to some of its more important topographical features.
Indeed, it would be an unsatisfactory task to try to follow the routes of early travel, or to undertake to pursue the devions wanderings of the aboriginal tribes, or trace the advance of civilized society into a country, without some preliminary knowledge of its topography.
Looking upon a map of North America, it is observed that west- ward of the Alleghany Mountains the waters are divided into two great masses; the one, composed of waters flowing into the great northern lakes, is, by the river St. Lawrence, carried into the Atlantic Ocean ; the other, collected by a multitude of streams spread ont like a vast net over the surface of more than twenty states and several ter- ritories, is gathered at last into the Mississippi River, and thence dis- charged into the Gulf of Mexico.
As it was by the St. Lawrence River, and the great lakes connected with it, that the Northwest Territory was discovered, and for many years its trade mainly carried on, a more minute notice of this remark- able water communication will not be out of place. Jacques Cartier, a French navigator, having sailed from St. Malo, entered, on the 10th of August, 1535, the Gulf, which he had explored the year before, and named it the St. Lawrence, in memory of the holy martyr whose feast is celebrated on that day. This name was subsequently extended to the river. Previous to this it was called the River of Canada, the name given by the Indians to the whole country." The drainage of the St. Lawrence and the lakes extends through 14 degrees of longi- tude, and covers a distance of over two thousand miles. Ascending
* Father Charlevoix' "History and General Description of New France ;" Dr. John G. Shea's translation ; vol. 1, pp. 37, 115.
11
12
HISTORIC NOTES OF THE NORTHWEST. ,
this river, we behold it flanked with bold crags and sloping hillsides ; its current beset with rapids and studded with a thousand islands ; combining scenery of marvelous beauty and grandeur. Seven hundred and fifty miles above its mouth, the channel deevens and the shores recede into an expanse of water known as Lake Ontario .*
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