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NYPL RESEARCH LIBRARIES 3 3433 08182405 8
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MenardConI. Miller
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http://www.archive.org/details/pastpresentofmen00mill
PAST AND PRESENT
OF
MENARD COUNTY, ILLINOIS
BY
REV. R. D. MILLER
ILLUSTRATED
"A people that take no pride in the noble achievements of remote ancestors will never achieve anything worthy to be remembered with pride by remote generations." - - MACAULAY.
CHICAGO : THE S. J. CLARKE PUBLISHING COMPANY
1905
PUELA LIBRARY 370976 ASTIN LENOX AND TLENF UMT . 3. R 196 L
Dedicated to the Pioneers of Menard County
PREFACE
It is an intuition in man to desire to know the events of the past. It is, also, a com- mendable trait in the race to desire to perpetuate their own good and praiseworthy acts for those who come after them. Who would not wish to know the history of the first inhabi- tants of this country-the Mound Builders? But that part of history, the every-day routine. the ordinary affairs of life, are the ones that we most desire to know and are the very ones least likely to be preserved. A local history-a history of a county. like this is the most difficult to write. Matters the most likely to interest and entertain a community are the hardest to write. More than twenty-five years ago, when writing a history of Menard county for a company. I learned the fact that the very matter that the people would want was the very matter that the company refused. So I began then to note down items of interest and have kept it up ever since, expecting that at some time this matter would be arranged, sistema- tized and published. Speaking of the past of this country. what an interesting field open- before us. If some supernatural power would enable some one to give a correct history of the events which have taken place just in the small territory of Menard county in all the past ages who would refuse to buy it. no matter the price? But these things are gone to eternal oblivion. Nothing is left but the testimony of a few inanimate and dumb witnesses: yet with what eagerness and patient toil we strive and starch in the effort to decipher the obscure hieroglyphics which dimly outline some of this dark past. How men have sweat and dug and toiled in the few small mounds of earth in this county. We unearth a stone ax, flint arrow - point or piece of hammered copper, and with a thrill in every serve-fiber we grasp it with the thought that no human band had touched it till ours since it was grasped by the swarthy hand of the long-departed Mound Builder. Then we wonder and imagine concerning the condition of this country at that time: the animals that roamed these prairies and woods; the kind of people these beings were; and how many hundreds of years have rolled of siner they gave place to the "noble red man." We know that they must have been numerous and powerful, and that they must have been organized in some way o have performed the vast amount of labor that was required to creed the vast monuments. Then came the Indians with their tribal wars and forays of murder and torture: how this story would thrill with interest the hearts of men to-day. If all this is true, what a debt we owe to those who will come after us to leave a record of the events of the present that they may know to he reliably true. Events, commonplace in themselves, in the lives of our fathers and grandfather, will not only be interesting, but they may be of in stimable value in the years to come. Such has been the writer's aim to gather up facts of local interest : of family history of social. political and religious importance, which. in years to come, will give due credit to men for the part that they performed in the work of the development of the country, socially, civilly. religiously and financially. No effort at display has been made: no effort to over-draw or exaggerate: but the plain. simple truth has been aimed at in every case. Bulwer says: "One of the most sublime things in the world is plain truth." Sydney Smith says: "Truth is the handmaid of justice: freedom is its child : peace its companion : safety walks in its steps : victory follows in its train. It is the brightest emanation of the gospel -it is the attribute of God." And Dryden said: "We find int few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth. It is their common method to take on trust what they distribute to the public. by which means a falsehood once received becomes traditional to the public." 1 have tried. in the following pages, to tell the plain. simple. unvarnished truth.
February, 1905.
R. D. MILLER.
THE NEW YORK PLULY LIBRARY
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HISTORICAL
It is said that when Frederick the Great would have his secretary read history to him he would say: "Bring me my liar." But his- tory. to be such, must be the statement of facts, and where such is not the case it is not history. General history may be gathered and compiled from various reliable sources, but the history of events and occurrences of a locality, as a county in Illinois, is a very different and. in fact, a more ditlicult thing. In olden times a good man could wish no greater evil to be- fall an enemy than that he were compelled to write a book, for good old Job cried out in the anguish of his soul, "Oh, that mine enemy would write a book." and surely this should be enough to gratify the enmity of a much worse man than he of Uz, especially if the book was to be a detailed history of a county in Illinois, nearly one hundred years after the county was settled. No doubt many important events. as well as the deeds of individuals, which are important items in the history of this county are completely lost, but it is the aim of the writer to record all such facts as have been preserved, and to give nothing but what he honestly believes is authentic and true. The object of these pages is to record the known facts in the history of the past so as to pre- serve to those who come after us those facts, events and individuals. that will serve to in- struct and influence for good those whom may read them. One especial aim is to do justice to those noble men and women who, though perhaps unlearned and unrefined in the modern
sense of that term, were God's chosen agents in preparing the priceless heritage that they have left us in this land with its institutions and civilization. They made possible and gave to us this priceless boon.
Immediately after the close of the war of 1812. or at least as soon as the news of peace was confirmed through the country. the mass of the people was seized with a mania for west- ern emigration, and, although the sagacious editor of New York had not then given the advice to young men to go west and grow up with the country, yet thousands of both young and oldl were seized with the fever, and as a result, the "Western Territory" began to fill up very rapidly from the older settled portions of the country. During almost the whole of the eighteenth century the name of Illinois was applied to all the known region lying west of the Ohio river. As early as 1623 French col- onies established themselves at Kaskaskia and Cahokia. Just one hundred years from the establishment of these colonies, the territory. of which they were the nucleus in conjunction with Canada, was ceded to Great Britain. This was transferred to the United States in 1787. In the same year that this territory was acquired Congress passed a law or ordinance that the territory lying west and north of the Ohio river was to be divided into not less than three nor more than five states. Congress also divided the region named into Ohio, Indiana and Illinois. When we remember that this legislation was only a little over a hundred
PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY
Years ago. we may smile at the short-sighted- ness of our statesmen, especially when we re- fleet that the territory was bounded on the north by the British possessions.
So rapidly did this northwestern country fill up. that in 1810. the Illinois territory. which then included a part of Wisconsin and Minnesota, contained a population of tuche thousand two hundred and eighty-two. Mich- igan had been formed into a separate territory in 1805, and Indiana in 1809. The reader i- perhaps acquainted with the history of the controversy with Wisconsin over the northern boundary of llinois. If the people of Wis- consin are correct in their views of the matter. then Illinois ha- no northern lim t save that tirst given to the territory, and her area still extends to the British possessions in Canada.
Illinois. like other new territories, was at first divided into counties covering very large areas. in fart. the entire state was once "Illi- Hois county." but as the country became more thickly settled these counties were subdivided and in many cases re-divided a third and fourth time. Illustrative of this fact. it may be stated that at the time of the admission of Illinois into the Union. it comprised only fifteen counties. As the settlement of the state began in the southern portion and extended north- ward. it is not at all surprising that in more than one case it would have been impossible to find the northern boundary of the county. unless it were considered as extending to the northern line of the state. As an illustra- tion of this subdivision of counties, it may be stated that the city of Chicago. or at least the land that it now stands on, was once in Fulton county : whereas the nearest point of Fulton county to the city of Chicago is now one hun- dred and fifty miles on an air line. Another il- Instration of this may be briefly given : If the reader will turn to the map of Illinois he will observe that Crawford county is the eighth county south on the state line from Chicago. This county at first included Chicago ; but when Clark was formed it embraced Chicago: and when Edgar was ent off of Clark the "windy city" was in it : and then when Vermilion was formed from Edgar. Chicago fell in it : so that
a number of Illinois countries can boast that Chicago was once in their territory.
In consideration of the fact that Menard county was stricken off from Sangamon. it be- comes necessary to give a brief outline of the latter. The reader who is familiar with the history of Illinois will remember that portions of it were settled even infore the close of the eighteenth century. Prior to the formation of the county of Sangamon, In act of the legisla- ture, approved January 30 1821. the territory of which it was formed was included in the counties of Madison and Bond. Sangamon county, when first formed. included all of what is now Logan. Tazewell, Mason. Menard and Cass, and part of Morgan. Melcan, Marshall. Woodford. Putnam and Christian. lis bound- ary remained thus till the year 1521. when the legislature reduced its limits. It -till. how- over. extended to the Illinois river and in- cluded all of Menard and parts of Christian. Logan and Mason. The boundaries of Sanga- mon remained unchanged till the year 1839, when the legislature again subdivided it. ent- ting off Menard. Christian and Logan. The name of Dane was at first given to it but later it was changed to Christian.
During the session of the legislature of 1838-9. Menard county was stricken off from Sangamon and named in honor of Colonel Pierre Menard. a Frenchman who settled at Kaskaskia, Illinois, in 1290. Menard was so popular in his day with the people of Illinois territory that when the convention framed the constitution of the state a clause was included in the schedule to the constitution providing that "any citizen of the I'nited States who had resided in the state for two years might be eligible to the office of lieutenant governor." This was done in order that Colonel Menard.
who had only been naturalized a year or two at the time. might be made lieutenant governor. under Shadrach Bond. first governor of Illi- nois after its formation into a state. As Mio- nard county was named after this popular Frenchman it may be interesting to the reader to give a brief account of his life. Pierre Menard was born in Quebec, Canada, in the rear 1362. He remained in his native city till hi- nineteenth year. when his inherent spirit
PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY
of adventure led him to seek his fortune in the territories watered by the Mississippi and its tributaries. He was, therefore, soon found in the town of Vincennes on the Wabash river in the employ of a merchant, known as Colone] Vigo. In the year 1290 he formed a partner- ship with one Du Bois, a merchant of Vin- cennes, and they removed their stock to Kas- kaskia at the mouth of the Kaskaskia river in Illinois. Menard, though possessed of but a limited education, was a man of quick percep- tion and of almost unerring judgment. He was candid and honest. full of energy and in- dustry. and these qualities soon marked him as a leader among the scattered population of his adopted home. For a miuber of years he was government agent for the Indians, and his candor and integrity soon won for him the esteem and friendship of the Indian tribes. This fact seenred him great advantage as a mer- chant as he could buy their peltries for one-half as much as they could be bought by the "Long- knives." He was a member of the lower house of the legislature while Ilinois was under the Indiana regime and, from 1812 to 1818, he was a member of the Illinois legislative council. lwing the president of that body. He was lieutenant governor from 1818 to 1822, and after that he declined to accept further honors at the hands of the people. He acquired a considerable fortune but much of it was lost through his liberality in going security for his friends. He died in Tazewell county, Illinois. at the good old age of seventy-seven years. Snch was the man for whom Menard county was named.
Menard county is near the center of the state of Illinois and is approximately twenty miles square. It is bounded on the north by Salt ereek : on the west by C'ass county : on the south by Sangamon, and on the east by Logan. The entire area of the county is one hundred and ninety seven thousand nine hundred and sor- enty five acres, but it is estimated that the Sangamon river occupies an area of seven hun- dred aeres in the limits of the county. leaving an entire area of one hundred and ninety seven thousand two hundred and seventy live acres. The Sangamon river flows through the county from south (o north. dividing it into two almost
equal parts. A number of small streams tlow into the Sangamon river, and Salt creek affords an abundance of fresh, pure water for all pur- poses. The surface of the country is gently undulating in the main, though for a mile or two back from the river it is somewhat broken. The great portion of the land was, in its native state, prairie, being covered with a luxuriant growth of nutritious grass, interspersed with a countless growth of wild flowers. Groves and bodies of timber were interspersed all over the entire area of the county, being abundant. had it been preserved. for all purposes of agricul- Inre and manufacture. Along the Sangamon river for a distance of a mile and a half on either side there was formerly heavy timber. while on Rock creek and Indian creek are con- siderable bodies also. In the eastern part of the county are Irish Grove. Bee Grove and Sugar Grove, each of which is a considerable body of timber. On the west side of the river are Little Grove and Clary's Grove, formerly tine bodies of timber. The limber comprises a number of varieties of oak, elm. ash. walnut. butternut. sycamore. linden or basswood. hick- ory, cottonwood, black and honey locust. pecan, cherry, mulberry and maple, hard and soft. There are several sugar orchards in the vicin- ity of Tallula and Sweetwater. Near Tallula Messrs. Speer. Conover, Greene and others have good orchards. Around Sweetwater are the orchards of Mr. Smoot, Alkires and Il. J. Marbold, the last named having one thousand five hundred trees on an area of not more than eighty acres.
AGRICULTURE.
The soil of this county is a rich. dark loam, from one to five feet deep. This is the pre- vailing condition, but in the northern portion of the county there are considerable areas where sand mounds exist, but even these are surpris- ingly productive of a favorable season. These sand mounds produce melons and sweet-pota- toes of the finest quality and in profuse abund- ance. More than ninety per cent of the land of the county is in cultivation. in grass or planted in grain.
The county is abundantly supplied with the
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PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY
various kinds of stock, and for many years the farmers have taken great pride in trying to improve their quality, and to this end the best breeds from all over the world have been imported till the finest breeds of horses, cattle, sheep and hogs may be seen on the rich pas- tures or in the comfortable barns of every farm- ing community.
The soil produces abundant crops of corn. wheat, oats, rye, barley. millet, timothy, clover. potatoes. all kinds of vines and vegetables. Grapes and small fruits grow in luxuriant abundance. but while the large standard fruits in past year did well they are now practically a failure. Peaches are winter-killed at least four years out of five, while apples and pears are almost a total failure on account of the numerous fungoid and insect pests that attack them in countless hordes.
Cattle, horses and hogs are raised in abund- ance, while poultry produces no insignificant part of the total income of the farmers. Farm- ing lands are worth from one hundred to one hundred and fifty dollars per acre. The farm- ors are, as a rule. well-to-do. many having grown rich by farming and stock-raising. We have farmers whose wealth is fast approaching the million dollar mark. while estates of a quarter and half-million dollars are by no means rare. The last half decade has been an es- pecially prosperous period to the farmers, but as it is the writer's business to state facts and not theories he can not say whether this is due to the Almighty or to the administration : one of the two did it. "Hoch der Kaiser!"
MINERAL RESOURCES.
Inexhaustible beds of bituminous coal of the best quality underlie the entire county and at such a depth that it can ine mined at a trifling cost. This coal is deposited in three layers, or strata, that have been worked to some ex- tent and the state geologist claims that in this part of Illinois the three strata will aggregate at least twenty-five feet in thickness. A toler- aly correct idea of the wealth laid up here may be gained by considering the miners' estimate that in every foot of the vein, in thickness.
there are twenty million bushels or one mil- lion tons to the square mile. Now, to say nothing of the twenty-five feet of strata, of which we are told. let the reader contemplate the wealth that is stored up in the vein that is now being worked. This vein averages six feet in thickness. This will give us live million tons to every square mile. This alone is a source of inexhanstible wealth. A writer in the London Quarterly Review said a few years ago that no people can succeed in the arts of Christian civilization without a supply of coal, and this is undoubtedly true. When we reflect that manufacturers, commerce and the general enterprises of civilization can not be carried on without a dynamic agent, we see that the fore- going statement is not extravagant. In the sultry cycles of the carboniferous period. the Almighty was laying up the crystalized sunshine in the form of these dusky diamonds in this, then unknown, world for coming Christianity to uncover and use as an energy to bless the world. The same writer, quoted above, says that the paddle-wheels of European civiliza- tion are constantly stirring up the dark waters of superstition in the past and every steamer that navigates those oceans goes as a herald of Christian civilization and enlightenment, and thus we see that coal is becoming the mighty agent in the uplifting of humanity. Such were the stores of coal laid up in the bowels of England, and her supply so inexhaustible, as was supposed. that the expression. "carrying coals to Newcastle," has long been the manner of expressing the inexhaustibleness of the de- posit, but present indications bid fair for it 10 become literally true, and also that the coals carried to Newcastle shall be from America. This mighty force has slumbered for countless cycles under this soil and here is untold wealth for Christian enterprise to utilize for the good of man.
Stone of a good quality is also found in ser- eral places in this county that might be made a source of great income. Considering all the natural advantages that we possess, we conclude that few localities have more or better facilities for manufacturing than we. Here is the tim- her. the coal. the stone, the water, the sand and the agricultural products. Look at the vast
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PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY
sums of money that go out from here every year to pay for the very things that we should make and sell to others-plows, reapers, planters. wagons, buggies, threshers, die. It our ad- vantages were utilized not only would all the money be kept in our midst but other great advantages would accrue to us. A market would be created here at home for all our surplus. a demand would be made for greater quantities of coal. and this would call for a greater number of laborers; the erection of factories would create a demand for stone, brick. sand and lime: handling these things would make a demand for teams and laborers. and last, but not least. this would bring me- chanics, and their families would build up the towns and fill up the schools and furnish a market for all our surplus products. Surely our people will not remain blind to this matter many years longer.
The population of Menard county, according to the last census, is fourteen thousand three hundred and thirty-six. Petersburg, the county seat. is situated on the Sangamon river, near the center of the county. and has a population of about three thousand four hundred. Two railroads run through the county. The Chi- cago & AAlton enters the county near the northeast corner of the county and runs through Petersburg and leaves the county near the southwest corner. The Chicago. Peoria & St. Louis runs through the center of the county from north to south. These two roads cross in Petersburg. The Peoria and Springfield branch of the Chicago & AAlton runs for eight or ten miles just in the east edge of the county.
The first settlements of Menard county were made by immigrants from Tennessee. Ken- tucky, Virginia and the Carolinas, with a small per cent from the states farther north. These immigrants were of a class of men and women unsurpassed for bravery, enterprise and de- termination. In fact. we have in the pioneers of Illinois and other western states a wonderful type of men and women. The first settlers of America were of the best stock of the various European countries from which they came. Those first emigrants from Europe to America were the most liberty-loving, most conscientious. brave and determined of the lands they left.
These people by intermarriage through the laws of herality, and amalgamation have produced a new and improved type of the genus homo. We are not English or German or French, but we are distinctively Americans. We are a pro- ple, a race, unique and distinct. adapted to the conditions and needs of this new and unique country. It was the men and women of this new type who made this country what it is to- day. No one dare to limit the achievements of this country in the future unless intermar- riage, idleness, ease and luxury shall enervate. weaken and destroy the power of the people. 11 will relate one peculiar political incident and with this close this chapter. Menard county has been Democratie in all its history, with the exception that in the first years of its existence as a county, it gave a majority to the old Whig party. It was cut off from Sangamon and organized into a separate county in 1839. In 1840 William H. Harrison was the Whig candidate for president. opposed by Martin Van Buren, the Democrat candidate. Menard county gave Harrison four hundred and thirty- four votes and Van Buren three hundred and seventy-four. In 1811 we had a third candi- date for president for the first time: Clay. Whig: Polk, Democrat : and Burney, Free- Soil. The county gave Clay three hundred and ninety-seven : Polk, three hundred and soy- enty-eight ; and Mr. Barnes got one. In 1818 the candidates were Taylor, Democrat ; Cass, Whig: and Van Buren, Free-Soil. The county gave Taylor six hundred and five votes; Cass. four hundred and eighty-eight : and Van Buren one. In 1852 the candidates were Pierce. Democrat ; Scott. Whig : and Hale, Abolitionist. The county gave Pierce six hundred and ninety- eight votes: Scott, six hundred and forty-four : and Hale one. The same old fellow. I suppose. cast that one lonely Abolition vote every time. This was a very discouraging beginning for Abolitionism, but see what perseverance in fol- Jowing honest convictions will do. But "Won- dor's never will cease." Aristotle said, "It was through the feeling of wonder that men. now and at first. hogan to philosophize." But i fear that no philosophy will ever solve this problem. "Little Menard" went Republican in the year of grace. 1901: Yes, the whole thing.
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