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PAST AND PRESENT
OF
GREENE COUNTY ILLINOIS
BY
HON. ED. MINER EX-SECRETARY OLD SETTLERS SOCIETY
ILLUSTRATED
"A people that take no pride in the noble achievements of remote ancestors will ner achieve anything worthy to be remembered with pride by remote generations."-MACAULEY.
CHICAGO: THE S. J. CLARKE PUBLISHING CO. 1905
-
371156 C ..
L
DEDICATED TO THE PIONEERS OF GREENE COUNTY
PREFACE.
HIE publishers take pleasure in presenting this volume to the public. The history is written by IIon. Ed Miner, and no better qualified man could be found in the county for that purpose. In addition, our corps of writers have gone to the people, the men and women who have, by their enterprise and industry, brought this county to a rank second to none among those comprising this great and noble State, and from their lips have the story of their life struggles. No more interesting or instructive matter could be presented to an intelligent public. In this volume will be found a record of many whose lives are worthy the imitation of coming generations. It tells how some, commencing life in poverty, by industry and economy, have accumulated wealth. It tells how others, with limited advantages for securing an education, have become learned men and women, with an influence extending throughout the length and breadth of the land. It tells of men who have risen from the lower walks of life to eminence as statesmen, and whose names have become famous. It tells of those in every walk in life who have striven to succeed, and records how that success has usu - ally crowned their efforts. It tells also of those, who, not seeking the applause of the world, have pursued the "even tenor of their way," content to have it said of them, as Christ said of the woman performing a deed of mercy-"They have done what they could." It tells how many, in the pride and strength of young manhood, left the plow and the anvil, the lawyer's office and the counting-room, left every trade and profession, and at their country's call went forth valiantly " to do or die," and how through their efforts the Union was restored and peace once more reigned in the land. In the life of every man and of every woman is a lesson that should not be lost upon those who follow after.
Coming generations will appreciate this volume and preserve it as a sacred treasure, from the fact that it contains so much that would never find its way into public records, and which would otherwise be inaccessible. Great care has been taken in the compilation of the work and every opportunity possible given to those represented to insure correctness in what has been written ; and the publishers flatter themselves that they give to their readers a work with few errors of consequence. In addition to biographical sketches, portraits of a number of representative citizens are given.
The faces of some, and biographical sketches of many, will be missed in this volume. For this the publishers are not to blame. Not having a proper conception of the work, some refused to give the information necessary to compile a sketch, while others were indifferent. Occasionally some member of the family would oppose the enterprise, and on account of such opposition the support of the interested one would be withheld. In a few instances men never could be found, though repeated calls were made at their residence or place of business.
May, 1905.
THE S. J. CLARKE PUBLISHING CO.
INDEX
HISTORICAL
GEOGRAPHICAL .
17
GREENE COUNTY CULT HOUSE.
EARLY SETTLEMENTS
20
ASSESSED VALUE OF FOOPERIY . .
ORGANIZATION
30
CITY OF CARROLLIDN
EARLY RECORDS
36
CITY OF GREENFIELD
EPISODES
40
CITY OF WHITE HALL 150
EARLY CONDITIONS
58
ROODHOUSE 108
THE FIRST SENATORIAL. ELECTION. ..
60
ROCKBRIDGE
176
SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES
60
KANE 178
COUNTY OFFICERS
INDIANS
65
WRIGHTSVILLE 185
SLAVES 66
ELDRED
THE WHIPPING POST
67
BERDAN 186
ATHENSVILLE 187
MEANS OF COMMUNICATION
69
PATTERSON
GREENE COUNTY'S MEHILLARY RI.COM
FIRST BLACK HAWK WAR.
THE OLD SETTLERS ASSOCIATION
76
MEXICAN WAR
JUDGE COOPER 81
THE CIVIL WAR
SOLDIERS' MONUMENT AT CARRO LION 252
TOWNSHIP ORGANIZATION
85
L'UNERAL OF GENERAL. CARLIN. . -53
GEN. J. B. FRY
RURAL EDUCATION IN GREENE COUNTY. .
94
CAPT. WILLIAM M FRY
BIOGRAPHICAL
PAGE.
Aker, A. E. .. 627
Baldwin, F M. 313
Baldwin, John A
603
Barnard, E. C. 606
Barrow, .A. H. 621
Bates, C. T 272
Baner, Phillip 480
Beche, Warren
344
Belknap, E. 560
Bell. 11 E. 482
Callaway. J. T .
488
Converse. Dr Harry
Boehm, John 591
Bowman. J. C .. 41.3
Carmody, Connor
Bradshaw, Charles 490
Carmody, Michael 1.
Bradshaw, W. M., Jr (11,3
Carter, J. W. 1.44
Brodmarkle. J. B. 28,3
Casey. J W. Chapin. Dr. Il 855
Brown. E. B. 44,3
Brown. W. A. 5.37
Chapm, S. D.
Bundy. George E. 604
Chapman, Dr 11 W 4-5
Burns, Dr. Howard . 428
Christy, George
Bushnell, Mrs. Lodelia 628
Collins, Walton M. Sr
Conlee, Isaac 542
Campbell, W' \
638
Converse, Uriah
THE DEEP SNOW AND OTHER EVENTS 69
EARLY INCIDENTS 73
WALKERVILLE
THE COURT HOUSE 67
THE CELEBRATION 82
THE COUNTY FAIR. 88
L'AG.F.
PAGE.
INDEX
PAGE.
Cooper, Edmund L. 370
Cooper, R. R. 528
Cox, William 453
Crist, Charles H. 585
Culbertson, David 481
Cunningham, G. M. 612
Cunningham, George W 380
Cunningham, Samuel M. 302
Curnutt, E. Z. 380
Damm. Christian 388
Damm, Dieter 282
Danforth, George B. 457
Darr. G. W. 328
Davis, Dr. R.
575
Dill. Theodore 531
Dohm, Jacob 558
Dowdall, W. F. 455
Doyle, C. J. 369
Dressel, Joseph 446
Dressel, Dr. W. E.
554
Driver. Greene
542
Driver. J. W. 612
Edmondson, M. E. 378
Edwards, B. F. 479
Edwards, C. G. 563
Edwards, Estes 624
Edwards, H. S. 390
Eldred, E. A. 566
Eldred, J. B. 316
Eldred, John L. 274
Eldred, S. W
349
Eldred, William
396
Ellis, Alonzo 287
Fain. R. G. 500
Farrelly, J. K. P. 420
Fenity, Dr. Edward W 560
Fenity, Dr. Peter 440
Fisher, R. C. . 494
Fishback, D. M .. 41g
Flatt, Daniel 458
Flatt. Dr. Stephen 608 Foreman, Dr. C. B. 298
Frech, Frank 532
Fry, Gen. Jacob
538
Fry, William M. 525
Gano, J. W 414
Gay, Sumner 57T
(ammy. John 505
Goroch, Dr E. S
633
Marsh, W. 11.
551
Meek, T. M. 336
Melvin, G. W. 445.
Melvin, Sylvester
432
Melvin, T. E. 327
Metcalf, E. K. 277
Metcalf, George B. 364
Metcalf, J. A. 276
Metcalf, Ralph 557
Million, John M. 520
Miner, Edward 281
Morrow, George B. 616
Morrow, W. M.
617
North, Marcus 390
Ozbun, Daniel T
526
Parker, T. S. 3-42
Pierson, David 268
* Pierson, J. H. 465
Pierson, Ornan 278
Pierson, Robert
299
Pegram, E. B. 576
Pegram, Dr. E. C.
588
Raffety, John C.
502
Raffety, Thomas J 477
Rainey. Henry T. 260
Rainey, William C. 521
Redwine, Dr. J. W.
565
Richards. C. G. 298
Rives, J. H. 642
Robertson, G. W 407
Robinson, W. B. 108
Robley, Arthur 322
Robley, Harry A. 606
Roodhouse, C. B. 553
Roodhouse, Edward I. 472
Ross, Dr. G. W.
437
Ruckel, A. D.
310
Scott, Walter A. 638
Scott, W. T 549
Shannon, S. E. 541
Sheffield, G. T. W 401
Sheffield, John R. 519
Simons, Matt 614
Smith, Edward 480
Smith, James W. 635
Snyder, John 466
Starkey, Horace W 403
Steelman, Andrew J. of9
Stock, E. J.
573
PAGE.
Gray. Joseph H. 439
Greene, R. W. 296
Greene, S. F. 290
Greene, W. B. 297
Greene, W. E. 395
Greer. J. F. 405
Griswold, A. C. 536
Griswold, F. C. 444
Griswold, Loyal P 356
Griswold, Lucien G. 363
Griswold, O. F. 582
Griswold, Seth N.
288
Hand, Dr. Henry W. 350
Hanks, E. L.
637
Hannaford, A. M. 594
Haven, Victor H. 267
Hays, Dr. J. B. 416
Henshaw, Thomas 387
Hoag, Dr. Arthur E.
454
Hodges, Charles D. 257
Holmes, C. O. 476
Holnback, C. W 301
Hubbard, William A
389
Hudson, John 618
Huff. John 470
Hussey, Thomas C. 499
Husted, E. M.
262
Johnson, William A
544
Jones, Norman L.
394
Kesinger, J. L. 634
King. D. F
337
Kreider, W. J. 601
Lavery, William 169
Lawson, A. J. 592
Lovelace, A. P. 625
Ludlum, J. A. 580
Lynn. Luther 495
MacFarland, H. L. 6or
McConathy, Edgar 564
McFarland, Leroy 47 [
AcGrew. B. F. 510
McMahan, B. F. £19
McNabb, James
315
Mc Pheron, James A 5ET
Mann, B. F. 58t
Manning. H. L 275
Marsh, F. M. 551
PAGE.
INDEX
PAGE
Strang, Frank E. .
415
Watson. Lorenzo
Wami. W 1
Strang, W. HI.
6.36
Weisner, J. B. . 324
(26)
Withers. Wildeny
Teeple, W. T. 450
5,30
Whiteside, F. . 1.
456
Wood. Paul W ..
3.4.
Thomas, Dr. C R.
50.3
Whiteside, Levi T
300
Woods, John C .
Tolman, W. O.
376
Whiteside, William L
62,3
Wordson, David M 3.3%
Tucker, J. M.
427
Wieser, J. C. 593
Tunison, George C .. 547
Wilhite, S. F.
354
Worcester. R S ..
Vedder, Frank L. 580
Wilkinson, Henley
429
Wyatt. J. F.
527
Vedder, Isaac D
574
Williams, Frank P.
572
Wyatt. J. W.
Vosseller, G. S.
490
Williams, W. L.
512
Walls, Henry MI
626
Winn. William A 596
Young. F. Il. 4,30
West. Charles G
White. Alfred
454
Witt, George W
Thaxton, T. P
Worcester, I. F ..
PAST AND PRESENT
OF
GREENE COUNTY
GEOGRAPHICAL.
Greene county lies in the southern part of the valley of the Illinois river, near the western border of the State. It is bounded on the north by Scott and Morgan counties, on the east by Macoupin, on the south by Jersey and on the west by Pike and Calhoun, from which it is separated by the Illinois river. It contains five hundred and seventy- six square miles of territory. Its countless fertile acres are supplied with splendid run- ning streams, the more important of which, besides the Illinois river, are the Macoupin, Apple creek and others smaller, which, with their numerous affluents, drain and at the same time fertilize the land. Along the Illinois bluffs on the west part of the county fine springs are abundant, and good water can be had almost anywhere by digging not more than forty feet. There are also min- eral springs in the county. The old precinct of Mineral Springs in the northern part of the county received its name from the springs located there and which at one time attracted mich attention. These springs were dis- covered soon after the first settlement of the county by a party who were following an Indian trail, and shortly after, in 1825, Gov-
ernor Reynolds and a gentleman named Cook, of Springfield, entered the land, be- lieving that the presence of the springs would make the property valuable. For many years people suffering with various diseases resorted thither from all parts of the adjacent country to obtain the benefit of the waters and in many cases received im- mediate relief. As many as two hundred to three hundred and fifty have been known to be encamped there at one time. In Octo- ber, 1852, the property was purchased by B. G. Hopkins, having previously been owned by Samuel Hopkins, Abraham Eas- ton and others, who built a large hotel the same year. The main building was forty feet long by about thirty feet wide, with a commodious "L" in the rear and a wing forty feet long on either side of the main building, giving a total front of one hundred and twenty feet. After the erection of this hotel the springs rapidly acquired popular- ity, and often more people applied for board than could be accommodated at the hotel and the neighboring dwellings were fre- quently filled. Later B. MeGlothlin came into possession of the property, but under his management the springs began to loose their popularity and the ownership passed
18
PAST AND PRESENT OF GREENE COUNTY.
to C. G. Simonds. In 1862, while still occu- pied by McGlothlin, but owned by Simonds, the hotel was burned to the ground. The property now belongs to E. C. Lee. That the waters of these springs had, and have, pronounced medicinal properties goes with- out saying. Dropsy, rheumatism, kidney complaints, dyspepsia and sore eyes are prominent among the ailments they have been known to cure. Then just northeast of Greenfield are the Greenfield Springs, which are impregnated with iron, magnesia, cal- cium and other ingredients, which, for de- bilitated persons, act as a tonic and assist nature in its work of rejuvenating the sys- tem. Many persons who have visited Sar- atoga and the Sulphur Springs of Virginia consider the Greenfield Springs their equal in every regard. An effort was made at one time to establish a watering place but it was unsuccessful.
.
On the farm belonging to the Malichi Carmody heirs in the northeast corner of Carrollton township is another. spring which is, or was at one time, a natural font of heal- ing. and in earlier years they were fre- quented, especially on Sunday, by large num- bers of citizens where they spent the day drinking the waters and quietly resting in shade of the sturdy oaks that abounded. Another similar spring is located on the farm of Thomas Lunneen, southeast of Car- rollton just beyond the city limits, which was much resorted to in former years.
In the matter of timber Greene county is abundantly supplied. although of late years the consumption has perceptibly increased, and many predict that, on account of the increasing value of lands, the forests must continue to give way for them and conse- quently a timber famine may ensue before many years shall have elapsed. Among the
trees that are indigenous to the latitude of Greene county we may mention the bass, red maple, sugar maple, honey locust, per- simmon, white ash, white and red elm, cot- tonwood, black and white walnut, shellbark hickory, and post, swamp, white, black, red, pin and shingle oaks.
As an agricultural region Greene county does not take a back seat for any of the galaxy of counties that go to make up our great commonwealth. The surface of the county is generally rolling, but in the west- ern tier of townships in the neighborhood of the river and the bluffs that line it it be- comes broken and hilly: the valleys of the smaller streams being from one hundred to two hundred feet below the level of the up- lands. As the county proceeds eastward it is of a milder, gentler form, rising and fall- ing in graceful undulations. The bluff lands are well adapted to the cultivation of fruits as well as wheat and other cereals, and the soil is rich and fertile. The prairie lands are covered with rich black alluvial loam, char- acteristic of the prairies of northern and southern Illinois, the fertility of which is not surpassed by any land in the world.
Several lines of railroads cross the coun- ty, each having several stations within its border, thus bringing the cities and towns of the county into direct communication with the markets. The Chicago & Alton railroad, the second and final survey of which started from Jerseyville in Jersey county, in September, 1856, enters the north line of the county at section 5, township 12, range II, and passes through the city of Carrollton, White Hall and Roodhouse and the villages of Berdan and Kane. The Kan- sas City branch of this road leaves the main line at Roodhouse and running west crosses the Illinois river at Pearl, on its way to Kan-
19
PAST AND PRESENT OF GREENE COUNTY.
sas City. The Rock Island and & St. Louis branch of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy railroad enters the county from the north on section 2, township 12, range 12, passing about a mile west of Roodhouse to White Hall, where it crosses the Chicago & Al- ton railroad, thence running southeasterly through Wrights, Greenfield, Rockbridge and Medora, passing from the county on the south line of township 10, range 10. The Litchfiekl, Carrollton & Western railroad (now Litchfield, Carrollton & St. Louis). running from Litchfield to Columbiana, en- ters the county at Fayette on the eastern line and passes through Greenfield, Daum, Car- rollton and Eldred, which is now its western terminus.
The geological features of this county, according to Professor Worthen, are by no means so varied as those presented in the adjoining county of Jersey, for the reason, as he says, that the disturbing influences that have elevated the Devonian and Silu- rian beds above the surface in that county did not extend into this, and consequently we don't find any beds exposed here below the carboniferous limestones. Professor Worthen gives the following vertical section of the several formations in the county which will illustrate their thickness and rela- tive position : Quaternary deposits, allu- vium, loess and drift, one hundred to one hundred and twenty feet : coal measures, one hundred and fifty to one hundred and sixty feet : St. Louis limestone, eight to forty feet ; Keokuk limestone, one hundred to one him- dred and twenty-five feet : Burlington lime- stone, one hundred and twenty to one him- dred and fifty feet ; and Kinderhook group. fifty to sixty feet."
The principal alluvial deposits in this county are those forming the bottom lands
on the Illinois river, a belt fron three to five miles in width and extending the whole length of the county on the west inom north to south. These lands are exceedingly fer- tile and amongst the most valuable and pr )- ductive farming lands in the state, the greater portion being prairie and, adjacent to the river bluffs, sufficiently elevated to be out of reach of overflow from the river, while those bordering on this stream which were for so long subject to overflow, are now being reclaimed by means of dikes and ditches, so that when the government dam at Kampsville shall have been removed or lowered, as has been ordered by the govern- ment, many thousands of acres of the best and most productive lands in America will be added to swell the wealth of the county. Belts of heavy and valuable timber occupy some portions of these bottom lands and skirt the small streams by which they are intersected.
The coal measures of this county com- prise about one hundred and fifty feet in thickness of sandstone, shales, and thin bands of limestone, including three seams of coal, and comprise all the strata from the horizon of coal No. 6 to the base of the measures as they are developed in this por- tion of the state. The general thickness and relative position of these strata may be seen from the subjoined general section, which was compiled from many local sections in various parts of the county : Compact brown limestone, two to four feet; bituminous shale, one foot : coal No. 6, six feet ; shaly clay and nodular limestone, three to four feet : shale, fifteen to twenty feet ; bituminons shale, two to three feet : coal, No. 5. two to three feet ; arenaceous shale and sandstone, twenty-five to thirty feet : bituminous shale passing to coal No. 3, two to three feet;
20
PAST AND PRESENT OF GREENE COUNTY.
sandstone and shale, forty to fifty feet ; coal No. I, two to.three feet ; nodular steel gray limestone, four to six feet ; shale and sand- stone, conglomerate, fifteen to twenty feet.
In the bluff of Hodge's creek on the northeast quarter of section 36, township IO, range 10, just on the county line between Greene and Macoupin, is found the only outcrop of Belleville or No. 6 coal in the county. In 1864 Thomas Rice owned and operated this bank, the seam varying in thickness from four feet to seven feet.
A few years since Ellis Briggs, of Rood- house, sunk a shaft for coal in connection with his mill site and at the depth of some three hundred feet struck a good vein of coal, but on account of the water was unable to mine it in paying quantities. Quite an extensive mine is located east of Roodhouse, and is furnishing large supplies of good coal.
EARLY SETTLEMENTS.
To the isolated dwellers of the territory of Illinois at the beginning of the war of 1812 the aspect of affairs was far from hopeful. While immigration had expanded the settlements and scattered them over a wide territory ; they were very weak. Along the western border of the Wabash river a few improvements had been made, and a number of settlements existed in southern Illinois, but the Wood river, near Alton, was the northern frontier. There was a little hamlet at Chicago, and a few French vil- lages in the northern part of the state, but altogether the whole territory contained but twelve thousand people.
The prospect of an Indian war caused imuch alarm. The people were poor, and
almost entirely without forts or other pro- tection, and the prices of guns, rifles and powder had advanced so that a good rifle sold for fifty dollars ; so that a war with the Indians was dreaded as a terrible calamity. The English had stirred up the Indians to the most bitter hatred against the American settlers, and the old prophet, Tecumseh, had sworn to drive every pale-face beyond the Ohio river. The government was petitioned to send a body of soldiers for the protection of the colonists, but in the weak condition of the federal resources the request could not be granted. Being compelled to defend themselves, a body of volunteer mounted soldiers was organized in Goshen settlement in 1811, and they were called the Rangers. Colonel Judy, of Madison county, was at the head of one of the companies. One of the camps was at Fort Russel, nead Ed- wardsville.
For several years these brave, determined men rode over the bare and silent prairies for hundreds of miles, hurrying to the de- fense of a threatened settlement, or chasing a squad of fleeing savages. They were al- most constantly in the saddle, rarely slept under a roof, were independent of civiliza- tion for food or comforts and exercised al- most superhuman vigilance in keeping the red men at bay. Although rough, warlike men, these Rangers did not fight from love of bloodshed or from a distaste for a quiet, settled life. As they scouted over the state, they kept their eyes open for eligible points for making new settlements. The attrac- tions of Greene county, the beauty and rich- ness of its prairies, the extent of its wooded lands, the beauty and clearness of its streams were first brought to the attention of those at a distance through the agency of these men. Among the members of this band
21
PAST AND PRESENT OF GREENE COUNTY.
who were so pleased with the soil and topo- graphical features of the county as to make it their home later were John W. Huitt. Samuel Thomas, Ornan Beeman, Thomas McDow, Hiram Huitt, John Greene, Wil- liam Greene, Thomas Carlin, Jacob Linder, John Johnson, Martin Wood, Young Wood, Davis Carter and Wiley Greene. Of all the Illinois Rangers not one remains. John W. Iluitt, the last to go, having died in Car- rollton.
Upon the organization of the county in 1821. Thomas Carlin, of the above list, was elected the first sheriff. Ile was succeeded in September. 1822, by Young Wood, also of the above list. Mr. Wood was re-elected in 1824. 1826 and 1837.
A majority of the first settlers of Greene county came here from the south, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia or the Carolinas. Some. however, were from New England and the micklle states, and these two diverse elements being amalgamated made one of the best combinations possible for the task before them-subchuing a wilderness and establish- ing comfortable homes for themselves and posterity.
While there may have been people in Greene county as early as 1813 or 1814 there remains no trace of them. In 1815, in the spring, Daniel Allen and three sons, and James and Paul Ilarriford came to the northern part of what is now Jersey county, near the southern line of Greene, and made a settlement. In the later part of 1816 Daniel Allen, Sr., and two of his sons, Dan- iel and James, moved from their first loca- tion a little west and north into what is now Greene county and settled. John Allen, a grandson of Daniel, also settled in Kane township. Thus the Allens are the first known settlers. During the year 1816 Sam-
nel Thomas, who had passel through this county on his way back and forth after the Indians, when he was in the Ranger service, came to Greene county, and, crossing the Maconpin creek, selected a place on which he intended to locate and make him a home. Hle cut and stacked a large quantity of prai- rie hay, and made some other preparations toward taking up his residence. Then he returned to his home on Wood river, but scarcely had he gotten out of sight ere the redskins swooped down on his site, set fire to his hay and destroyed all trace of his labors. Ile and his wife tarried in the Wood river settlement two years longer, and in the summer of 1818 he, in company with John Ilnitt and Thomas Carlin, set out again for Greene county, where in August the trio came to Maconpin creek, crossing which they ascended the bluffs where a beau- tiful panorama spread out to their vision. Here Mr. Thomas selected a spot for a home, in section 33. township 10, range 12. and at once began work to establish his claim. A beautiful grove and a clear spring were among the attractions that decided him in this choice of location. He killed a deer, cut a bee tree and carved his name on the bark of a monster forest oak as evidence that he claimed the land. He also built a cabin and made some other preparations, and re- turned to Wood river for his wife and house- hold effects, and with these loaded upon an Ox-cart he arrived at his new home, and on the oth day of November. 1818, became the first settler in Greene county north of Macou- pin creek. Thomas Carlin came on further north and settled on a fine piece of land, in- chudling that on which the city of Carrollton now stands, and in the late winter of 1818 or spring of 1819 he built and occupied a cabin which stood in the southern portion
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