USA > Illinois > Johnson County > A history of Johnson County, Illinois > Part 12
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three quarters of a century in age. It is situated four and a half miles east of Vienna. Some of the first official mem- bers were M. B. Bain, J. M. Williams, P. W. McFatridge, William Thompson, William Murrie, and Louis Siebman. Regular services are not held here at the present time but it belongs to the Burnside circuit.
Chism was an appointment on record in 1865. The meetings were held in the Chism school house which took its name from William Chism, an old resident of the northern part of Tunnell Hill Township. Some of his de- scendants still reside there. This church has been aban- doned for more than fifty years.
Grantsburg is another appointment given about the same time as Chism. The services were held in the school house of that locality, and J. L. Thomas, A. Franklin, J. and W. L. Young were given as official members. There is no record of a church building having been erected and this class has long since ceased to be.
Union Hill is given as an appointment on the Quarterly conference records, 1865, but no knowledge of its location or members can be found. Stewart school house appoint- ment three miles north of Vienna was taken in 1868, also Whiteside school house appointment, the same year. Mor- gan school house was an appointment in 1869. No further knowledge of these classes could be obtained.
Some of the presiding elders for the early period of the M. E. Church were Reverends J. H. Hill, J. W. Lowe, G. W. Hughy, A. B. Morrison, W. J. Grant, C. D. Lingen- felter, James Harris, J. L. Wallar, J. W. Van Cleve and J. B. Ravenscroft.
Cross Roads does not appear later than 1865, as its name was changed to Reynoldsburg. Zion was just across the county line in Union and near Moscow. County Line was in the northen part of the county near the present site of Creal Springs. Richie Oliver was a local preacher be- longing there. His family, John Oliver and family, and the McMahans were among the members of this church, which has been dormant many years. Hooker's appointment was located on what is known as Chestnut Hill Farm. It was discontinued in 1867. Sutliff, an M. E. appointment was located at or near the residence of H. B. Stuliff. He
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was a faithful and active member of this denomination throughout his life. Cave Creek M. E. Church must have been a short distance east of Vienna. All the definite infor- mation in regard to it is that Christopher T. Ellis and Issac Perry were two active members about 1863 to 1865. There has been no Methodist organization there for years and it was doubtless absorbed by the Cave Creek Baptist church, which is now an active society in that section.
Sugar Grove M. E. Church was somewhere in Elvira Township, and R. W. Brown and J. C. Bottom were the moving spirits in its beginning. This church asked per- mission to sell their building in 1871. This appointment was possibly transferred from Saratoga circuit in Union County. A new church house was erected a little south of the present site of Buncombe. R. W. and Reuben Brown, Oliver Ragsdale, Garner Pearce, John Nobles, J. B. Gilles- pie, J. W. Hacker, and George Boomer and their families, with possibly some others, constituted the membership of this church. It was called Salem, and did service for this congregation until the Chicago and Eastern Illinois. Rail- road was built and the town of Buncombe began to grow. It was then moved to that village and became the Methodist Episcopal church of Buncombe. J. J. Robertson was a strong supporter and a faithful member of this church during his life. Some of the present members are Mrs. J. J. Robertson, C. C. and C. J. Walker, Douglas Rose, Mrs. Martha McCall, their families and Miss Lou Smith, and others just as faithful and earnest, whose names were not obtained. Buncombe belongs on the Cypress Circuit.
Bloomfield M. E. Church was organized 1874, and held in the school house. Dr. William Thompson was the founder. J. Williams and wife, James and Lucinda Powell are among the first members. The present church house was built about 1882. The best list of members to be ob- tained since 1886, are Casper Goddard, Nathan Westbrooks, F. S. Thompson, Samuel Williams, Adeline Bridges, Ma- linda Bain, Martha J. Waters, Flora Goddard, Alice Dunn, James and Betty A. Hood, A. S. and M. C. Dill, S. T. and F. Williams, John Crowder, Lida and Ella Davis, Charles and Martha Thacker, W. H. and Nancy Jobe, Susan Melton, Still later members are Mrs. George Mathis, Gussie and Mabel Mathis, Clarice (Pfleuger) Dunn, Viva Corbett, Newton Davis, Dr. R. A. and Mrs. Maude Hale, Alonzo
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and Sadie Mathis. There is no pastor at this church at the present, although there is a neat little parsonage.
Sanburn M. E. Church was organized about 1870. E. M. Miller and family were among the first members, also W. H. Nipper and wife and W. E. Galeener and wife and Abraham Cover's family. Tunnel Hill church was organ- ized about 1878, taking in the Sanburn organization. Some of the present members are Mr. and Mrs. T. H. Taylor, Mrs. Ada Fern, Mrs. Nora Gilliam, Mrs. Kate Cruse, Mrs. Niecy Cover and family and Misses Maybelle and Eva Verble.
Gorville M. E. Church was organized about 1900 by Reverend McCammon, and the church house was built with only five members, four of whom were ladies. Mesdames Lily McCormick, Mattie Gore, Jones and Bradley were charter members. Some of the present members are Mrs. Syble Williams, H. M. and Add Foster's families. Miss Gertrude Williams, Charles A. Walker and family, Mrs. William Hubbard, Mrs. Nola Maze, Mr. and Mrs. J. L. Wiggins and Mrs. Essie Jobe and others making a member- ship of about fifty. Reverends Connett, Hammons, More- head, and Bernieking are some of the ministers serving this charge in recent years.
Burnside M. E. Church-Reverend Charles Botarf came to Burnside, in 1872, and held a revival meeting. An M. E. class was formed of twelve person as follows: Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Cook, Mr. and Mrs. Jasper Cross, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Bradford, Mr. and Mrs. J. C. Caldwell, Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Ballance, Mrs. Alvira and Miss Anna Whiteaker. Most of these members belonged to a church north of New Burnside, known as Walnut Hill. All of these charter members are dead except T. J. Cook who is in his ninetieth year. They later built a church house which is still in use. Lewis Epperson and Samuel McNeil were the builders. John Dupont, a business man of Burnside donated as much as any other one person for its construction. Charles Bradford, T. J. Cook, J. H. Ballance, the three Whiteaker brothers and many others gave liberally. The pastors have been Rev. Charles Botarf, Charles Young, J. R. Reed, E. Root, A. Wright, Leech, J. S. Whittenberg, W. P. Hammons, A. B. and M. B. Holloway, W. J. Peterson, C. E. Parker, H. Hutchcraft, W. J. Hopper,
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C. T. Douthill, C. E. Sale, L. C. Wilkins, J. B. Cummins, T. Cates, C. B. and J. B. Whiteside, J. H. McGriff, J. E. Jones, E .B. Timmons, W. G. Hale, A. C. Margrave, J. L. Rentfro, O. E. Connett, W. A. Sharp, J. N. Presley, W. C. Bruce, T. C. Stokes, J. L. Miller, W. E. Shaffer, C. J. Strubeing, I. G. Flick and G. B. Ramsey. This church has had much to do with the moral and spiritual life of the town.
(Information given by H. C. Laybon.)
The Belknap M. E. Church was organized about 1875, most of its members coming from West Eden church. They were Mr. and Mrs. R. A. Martin, Mr. and Mrs. George Ax- ley, Mr. and Mrs. John Shadrick, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Kuy- kendall. After the founding of the church a new circuit was formed including Belknap, also West Eden, Cedar Grove, Mt. Pisgah, on the west side of Cache and Tucker's Chapel and Salem in Massac County. Reverend Bowers was appointed on this circuit with headquarters at Belknap, which was also the name of the circuit. For two years church services were held in a large cooper shop belonging to George Axley. Seats were made of rough lumber, a large box heating stove occupied the center of the room, and smoky coal oil lamps hung from brackets on the wall. The congregation usually filled the room, especially at the evening service. Many men from the logging camps and saw mills, (for this was a wooded section) attended the meetings, and all seemed to appreciate these services. Later W. L. Williams moved to Belknap and built a large flour mill. As soon as it was enclosed religious services were held in the second story of this building until the machinery was installed. The following year a new school house was built in Belknap and the church proceeded to occupy it for services. In the meantime a parsonage had been purchased and the membership had grown until they were able to erect a church house, which they did in 1883 under the pastorate of Reverend William Hammond. This is a neat and well arranged frame church, lighted from the private Delco plant of Mrs. O. P. Martin and at her expense. She and the late Dr. Martin have been among the most interested members of this church for many years. Belknap and Karnak are served by the same pastor.
This youngest organization of the M. E. faith is the West Vienna church, which was formed, 1910 or 1912.
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Two of the charter members were William Martin, Hazel (Brown) Edmonson. They have a neat frame church which was dedicated by Dr. John Harmon. Some of the present members are Samuel Horsely and family, Mrs. Willis Ragsdale, Mrs. Lowery, Mrs. Avis Brown, Jacob Mc- Coy and other faithful ones that go to make up a fine work- ing church. They belong to Cypress circuit and maintain regular services.
There was a church house known as Old Concord Meet- ing house, situated on the west side of the county, near the line of Union, as early as 1814, and possibly earlier. The petition for a road designates the locality of the house, but nothing is known as to what denomination worshipped there. It is probable it was Methodist as Hezekiah West lived on that side of the county and was a pioneer minister of that faith. There is a cemetery called Concord about where the location of this meeting house was described, but whether it is the same place and took its name from the old church is not positively known. "Aunt" Nancy Mad- den, as she was known during her later years, was a native of Union County, born in 1818. She married Joshua Peter- son and moved to Cypress at the age of fifteen years. She said the first church she ever attended was at Concord at or near Concord Cemetery .. This was in 1833 and before Mt. Pisgah was built (from her daughter.)
H. C. Laybourn published in 1923 some information regarding the Sunday Schools of the county. He thinks the Reynoldsburg Sunday School dates back eighty-five years. There are several Sunday Schools more than fifty years old. Cedar Creek and Friendship, Baptist; Gillead and Concord, Presbyterians; Benton, Central, Casey Springs, West Eden and Vienna, Methodist. There are fifty three schools in the county at the present time. The de- nominations are divided about as follows: Methodist, 24; Baptist, 22; Presbyterian, 5; Christian, 5; Pentacostal, 2; Latter Day Saints, 1; Catholic, 2; colored Baptist, 1; total 162. Johnson County had a Sunday School organization as early as 1869. There were twelve living Sunday Schools in the county that year, with an average attendance of six hundred. There were six Methodist Sunday Schools in the county in 1868. The officers of the County Sunday School Association for 1881, were president, G. B. Bomer; Bun-
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combe; secretary, Louisa Copeland, Vienna; treasurer, P. T. Chapman, Vienna. The township presidents were Vienna, M. A. Smith, Grantsburg, W. L. Smith; Cache, O. P. Hodges, Elvira, G. B. Gillespie ; Goreville, B. G. Mangum ; Burnside, F. M. McGee; Simpson, J. H. Morphis; Tunnel Hill, J. M. Benson; Bloomfield, W. A. Looney.
METHODIST MINISTERS
Some Methodist Episcopal Ministers serving that de- nomination in this county were: Peter Cartwright who was a well known character visited Southern Illinois on at least two occasions; one writer says of him, "there is no better type of pioneer preacher." He christened Nancy Spence (Madden) who was born in 1818. He again visited here in 1870 and was a guest of Mr. and Mrs. John Bain of Vienna. He dedicated the New Columbia church, and also Central church of this county.
T. C. Lopaz was an itinerant preacher in this section in 1830, continuing his work for the Master for more than forty years. He was an eccentric character, was very de- vout and did much valuable service in building up Metho- dism. He never married and had no home, but carried his wordly possessions in his saddle bags, also umbrella strapped behind his saddle. He always rode a good horse and saw that it was well treated.
William Standard and John Rentfro were two early local preachers. Moulton Carter, J. S. Whittenberg, James Harper, J. G. Hardy, D. Williams, J. L. Gillespie, James Scoot, R. Oliver, William Finley, Micajah Rose, James Burk, David Stewart, William Thompson and J. L. Thomas were ministers here before 1865. M. W. Russell, Richard Thatcher, Fred L. Thompson, C. T. Ellis, A. Jones, Ambrose Seay, H. S. Ausbrooks, Ed Brown and Joseph Edmonson in 1870. John W. Wright of Vienna and Issac D. Peterson of West Eden were licensed to preach in 1870.
J. K. Rose and Robert Smith were ministers of a later period.
The following were prominent laymen in the Methodist Episcopal Church between 1860-70; J. N. Benson and Charles Damron were among the early Methodist of the county and both were exhorters. They lived their religion
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and no neighbor ever wanted for attention when sick or in need if they knew it. If a man was sick and unable to harvest his crop, with the help of the neighbors they did it for him. Others were A. Franklin, Elijah Hood, G. H. Har- wood, J. Oliver, William Harper, William Hoker, William Helm, Wesley White, Chas. N. Gutley, M. Bain, P. W. Mc- Fatridge and William Murray were appointed as a building committee for Cosey Springs, 1870. Jessie Hunter, Daniel Morris, Thos. J. Cook, C. W. McCoy, H. C. Frazier, Lewis Siebman, W. L. and D. T. Reid, C. W. Miller, H. B. Sutliff, Dr. N. M. Gray were prominent laymen. In 1866, a com- mittee was appointed to look after a site for a church in Vienna, the committee was Dr. W. A. Lonney, Dr. D. T. Whitnel and Samuel Jackson, N. Jones, L. W. Marberry, J. J. Pearce, B. L. Phelps, William and B. L. Reid, William Chisom, W. O. Stevenson, Frances Elkins, W. L. Young, J. M. Williams, B. S. Rude, John Caldwell, S. A. Cummins, O. L. Ridenhower, James M. Holt, Issac Perry, W. H. Cul- ver, F A. Fisher, J. B. Smith, W. T. Cagle, J. D. Helm, C. T. Reid, H. Mercer, Linsfield Shadrick, F. M. McGee, J. P. West, W. K. Harvel, P. W. Axley, W. D. Deans, Joel DuBois, A. W. Carter, G. B. Hood, O. G. Peterson, James McNealy, T. Chapman, W. E. Galeener, James A. Smith, Pleasant and Green Thacker, J. C. Green, James Daniels, J. B. Kuykendall, James Hacker, A. J. Kuykendall, James Slack, Wiliam and T. G. Peterson, H. R. Ragsdale, A. E. Francis, D. H. Rendleman, J. M. Ridenhower, M. A. Smith, J. R. Reaf, Hiram Chapman, I. N. Benson and many others did good church work in this county.
TRAGEDY
This county has had its share of crime and much to our shame one man executed by the law. Harrihon Burk- low, a man belonging to an old respected family, while under the influence of liquor, shot and killed a man by the name of Wagner. Wagner tried to persuade him not to kill him, as Burklow had gone with that intent, to where Wagner was working, but crazed with liquor he would not listen to the pleadings and shot him outright. Burklow had served in the Civil War, and had many friends and relatives in the community, who would have assisted him, but the case was so aggravated, the death penalty was in- voked, and he was hanged in the old jail yard just à little
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above where the present jail now stands; in spite of the fact, that the hanging was private, as the gallows had been built in a large inclosure people filled the town to its limits. J. H. Carter was the sheriff and W. R. Wiley was the deputy who carried out the sentence of the law about 1877. An- other crime occurring here before the Civil War, which was as useless as heinous, was the whipping of a negro to death on the streets of Vienna. Dr. Gerry kept a hotel on Third and East Main streets, where Issac Hook now lives. A traveler on horseback came to the hotel to spend the night. Some time while there he had three hundred dol- lars taken from his saddle bags. A colored boy who did the chores around the hotel, was accused of the theft. A com- pany of citizens took him out, drove him from place to place, beating him with switches, hanging him up by the thumbs at intervals to make him tell where the money was. Although he would tell them the money was in different places to get a respite from the punishment, he stoutly denied it in the beginning. This continued until the negro finally dropped dead on the street, just south of where the library now stands. It is said the wife of Doctor Gerry later confessed to taking the money, establishing the inno- cence of the negro.
Franklin J. Chapman, son of Samuel the pioneer, was shot and killed at Old Foreman, while he was asleep in his room. The perpetrator of this deed or the reason for it was never known.
James Arnett, who lived west of Vienna, about four miles, near Cache River was tried three times in our courts for murder, but never convicted. He was shot from ambush about a mile west of Vienna, on his way home from the town by Burbe Stanley, a neighbor, who was convicted of insanity and committed to the Southern Illinois Hospital at Anna for a short time. William Arnett, a brother of James, also living on the west side of the county, while hauling a load of wheat to market was shot from ambush on the road near the present home of Roy Shelter. This murder occurred about 1876 and was committed by Powell Short, who was never apprehended.
Another crime of the same nature was the killing of John Murrie near his home, now the home of John Farris,
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about four miles east of Vienna, on the Metropolis Road. This murder was supposed to have been done by a man named Holt, but no certainty is attached to this and no arrest was ever made.
The killing of Young Elkins was a much talked of incident, and occurred sometime in the fifties in Vienna. There was a "clock-tinker," as they called them in those days, who came here with his wife from Jonesboro. His name was Merriman. John Bridge's young boys had been in the habit of going to his house and throwing rocks through the windows. One day he caught one of the boys and gave him a whipping. Young Elkins, was an uncle of these boys, and it seems, prided himself on his physical prowess, being full of liquor, went down in company with Ross Sanders, with rocks for weapons to give the old man a "licking," as he called it. Merriman ordered Elkins not to come in, but Elkins paid no attention to the old man's order. He shot Elkins with a gun which he had made some time before by cutting off a rifle. The old man had used this improvised shot gun in the peaceful occupation of killing birds. It is supposed that he had expected trouble after he whipped the boy, and had loaded the gun with buck shot to defend himself. The sheriff put the old man in jail to keep Elkin's friends from mobbing him, and after- wards turned him out and ordered him to leave the com- munity, which he did.
John Maupin was killed near the Johnson Cemetery, three miles east of Vienna, about twenty-five years ago. His body was carried to the home of Charles Farris and left in front of his gate. Marcus Burnett, a brother-in-law of Maupin, was convicted of the crime. The cause was some family feud.
A. Franklin was a captain in the Civil War, serving from this county. He was a farmer and lived near Grants- burg. Some two or three years after the war, two strangers came along by Captain Franklin's about the noon hour, and wanted the Captain to trade horses with them. Franklin discussed the matter with them, but would not trade. The two men went on their way, as the Franklins thought, but shortly after the meal they found the stranger's horse in the barnyard and the horse belonging to Franklin gone. He immediately set out to find the man and horse, over-
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taking them a short distance beyond his home, and on de- manding his horse the stranger shot and killed him. The community was soon aroused and went in search of the murderer, surrounded and captured him, not far from the present residence of Pleasant Rose, on the farm of James Rose. They took him to old Grantsburg, now Wartrace, and placed him under guard, in the office of Dr. W. J. Fern, a young physican, practising there at that time, while some one went to summon the sheriff. During the night a mob of fifty men or more gathered and overpowered the guards took the prisoner to a large group of walnut trees, about two hundred yards west of Wartrace, at the bend of the road and hung him. The tree on which he was hung was pointed out to the youth and strangers for many years, but has since died or been cut away. The prisoner gave the name of Patilo and his home as Kentucky.
Captain Franklin was a very popular man, especially among men who had served under him in the war, and it has been remarked that some of his men were instrumental in raising the mob but no trouble was ever taken to find out who they were.
J. W. Bayles was a bachelor and lived alone on his farm about three miles east of town. He was a native of Baltimore, Md., was well educated and must have belonged to a good family. He was supposed to have money, which was without doubt, the cause of his murder. Some parties went to his house at night, murdered him and left their masks. It is not known whether they secured any money or not. There were arrests made, but no one could be con- victed of the crime.
Daniel Gage a peaceful and inoffensive citizen was shot by David Avery, apparently without any reason, and none was ever found, except it was thought Avery mistook him for another man. There was no jail in the county at this time and Avery, under arrest was being taken to the Cairo jail. He was sitting near a window in the Big Four station waiting for a train, when he was shot from the outside. It has never been known who committed the deed.
Charles Farris drove up in front of his sister's home, Mrs. Joshua Howell, who lives about a quarter of a mile east of Wartrace. Mr. Farris stopped and the family came out to visit with him, when his nephew, Duff Howell, raised
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his gun. It was discharged accidently and shot his uncle through the head, killing him instantly. No motive could be found as no unpleasantness existed between the parties. This accident occurred about 1910, and was no doubt a sud- den and unrealized action of the moment.
TRAGEDY
About the year 1845 there was a gang of horse thieves and counterfeiters carrying on business in the outlying district of Massac County bordering Johnson. The citizens of Massac had been annoyed by this lawlessness until they felt compelled to protect themselves, officers of the law were unable to cope with the situation. They divided into two factions, one called Flatheads the other Regulators. While the majority of the crimes were committed in Massac and the headquarters were in that county the lawless war- fare extended into our borders to the extent that some of our best citizens living near the boundary line arrayed themselves on the side of the Regulators and went out to help their neighbors rid themselves of the undesirables. The following is a letter by Dr. W. J. Gibbs, who was a resident of Vienna and had served in the Legislature in 1840-41.
Head Quarters, Norvoo, Ill., Nov. 3, 1846. Dr. W. J. Gibbs :
Sir: It has been represented to me, that a number of the people of the counties of Massac, Johnson and Pope, in this State; and of the adjoining county in Kentucky, have united themselves into a band of regulators to drive off a band of horse theives and counterfeiters, alledged to exist in the County of Massac, that a number of other good citi- zens deeming such a course to be unlawful and unnecessary, have opposed the regulators; that the regulators now threaten to drive them off with the horse theives, and have ordered several of them to leave the county, under pen- alty of death. It is also represented that the Grand Jury of Massac County, have found indictments against several of the regulators, for violent conduct that the regulators refuse to be arrested or tried by law; and threaten to drive off or kill members of the grand jury, and the witnesses, upon whose evidence the indictments were found; and threaten to drive off or kill the sheriff and several other persons, and civil officers of the county, who have shown
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