USA > Illinois > Madison County > Centennial history of Madison County, Illinois, and its people, 1812 to 1912, Volume I > Part 50
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LIBERTY PRAIRIE AND OMPHGHENT
Another pioneer Cumberland Presbyterian church deserving of mention is that of Lib- erty Prairie, which seems to have been orig- inally a branch of the Omphghent church. It was constituted in 1850. Among the pastors who served these churches for considerable
periods were Revs. T. K. Hedges, W. W. Brown, William Turner and J. W. McDavid, names prominent in the annals of the church in this county. Intimately connected with the history of the Omphghent church was Samuel A. Miller, who settled in the town- ship in 1839 and was clerk of the session for 27 years. He was noted for his generous benevolences. He was eminent in other cir- cles and was the founder of Odd Fellowship in Illinois. He died at his home in Omph- ghent July 25, 1879, aged 76 years. He came from Baltimore and resided for five years in Alton prior to moving to Omphghent. Two other laymen of marked prominence were John Estabrook and J. Russell Newman.
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN MADISON COUNTY
The first Catholic service in the Altons was held in a small frame building in Upper Alton in 1840 and a mission was established by Fa- ther George Hamilton. He was succeeded in 1841 by Father Michael Carroll, who re- mained until 1857. In 1842 a stone church was erected in Alton at the corner of Third and Alby streets on the site now occupied by the Unitarian church. This building was de- stroyed by fire in 1853. Property was then purchased on State street, on which the splen- did Cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul was erected, the first service therein being held in 1856. Alton became an episcopal see June 9, 1857. The bishop's elegant residence, ad- jacent to the cathedral, was built in 1863. St. Mary's church was erected in 1858-9 at the corner of Third and Henry streets. It was destroyed by the great tornado of June, 1860, but was speedily rebuilt. This building was succeeded by a magnificent church on the cor- ner of Fourth and Henry streets. It was built of Bedford stone at a cost of $100,000. St. Patrick's church, on the corner of East Fourth street and Central avenue, is the latest addi- tion to the Catholic church facilities of the Altons. The growth of Catholicism in Alton has been remarkable. From a weak mission
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in 1840, it has become a power in the land. It is now represented by three spacious and costly churches, a bishop's residence, two par- sonages, the Cathedral High school, an acad- emy, several parochial schools, an orphanage, a hospital and an old folks' home. The value of the church property in Alton approximates $500,000.
The following sketch of "Catholic Progress in Madison," by Frank Riley, will be read with interest: "Catholic history in Madison county begins with Father Marquette, the Jesuit, and Joliet, the trader, who were the first white men to visit the county. They came down the Mississippi in canoes in the early summer of 1673 and Marquette has left us a description of the scenery in his Journal, giving a detailed account of the famous Piasa bird, which was painted by the Indians on the bluffs above Alton.
"The next event of interest occurred in 1810, when a colony of Trappist monks set- tled in the southern part of the county and built a group of monastery buildings on what has since been known as Monk's Mound. An epidemic of fever devastated the community some years later and the settlement was aban- doned in 1813, the remnant of the monks re- turning to France.
"The first permanent settlers in Madison county came partly from Kentucky and the southern states, and partly from New Eng- land. They were mostly native born Ameri- cans and there were few Catholics amongst them. The pioneer Catholic population was mostly of foreign birth. A colony of Swiss Catholics settled at Highland in 1836. The Irish and German Catholic immigration began in the thirties and spread over the county as farmers or settled in the towns as laborers. There were also a few French Catholics de- scended from the early French settlers.
"Father Marogno, of Highland, and Fa- thers Geo. Hamilton and Michael Carroll, of Alton, were the most active and prominent of
early Catholic priests. They built churches and schools and gathered the people into con- gregations. By 1857 the Catholic population had increased in numbers and influence to such an extent that the city of Alton was made the see of the second diocese of Illinois on January 9 of that year.
"Henry Damien Juncker (1857-1868) was the first bishop of Alton. He was succeeded by Peter Joseph Baltes ( 1869-86), a very able man whose reforms in matters of liturgy and discipline made him one of the prominent prel- ates of his time. The present bishop, Rev. James Ryan, was appointed in 1888.
"There are in Madison county at the pres- ent writing twenty churches, thirteen parochial schools with an attendance of about 3,000 chil- dren, three hospitals, at Highland, Granite City and Alton; an orphanage, an old folks' home, a young ladies' academy and two con- vents.
"The Knights of Columbus, Western Cath- olic Union and Knights of Father Mathew have large memberships, while the state head- quarters of the Federation of Catholic So- cieties is located at Alton. The Catholic pop- ulation of the county is estimated at about 8,000."
NUMBER OF CHURCHES IN COUNTY
It is a far cry from the rude log hut with a single window to the stately cathedral with its lofty stained glass windows and tall spire pointing heavenward, but it marks the archi- tectural progress of church building in Madi- son county in the last century. What a con- trast between the primitive shack reared with- out money by the voluntary labor of the pio- neers and the splendid edifices of today built by their descendants at an outlay of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Yet each class was the measure of the ability of the builders. But in the still earlier day, before the advent of even the primitive churches of the border set- tlers, "the groves were God's first temples"
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and their beauty and glory have never been surpassed. And the preachers of the early day have never been surpassed in earnestness, devotion and self-sacrifice by their successors. Some of them were illiterate, but gifted with persuasive oratory and powerful in prayer ; others were the most highly educated and cul- tured graduates of eastern colleges who had dedicated their lives to missionary labor on the frontier and the building up of schools and colleges. Each class did a great work in its own way and in looking today at the re- sults of their high endeavors who can say which is entitled to the greater honor?
The splendid fruitage of the labors of the pioneer preachers and their successors is seen in the following list of church organizations in the county, many of them dating back near- ly a hundred years of continuous existence, a power for good through three generations. While the majority of the churches are located within the bounds of the cities and villages, there are many country churches, and for that reason the enumeration is by townships :
Alhambra has three churches-German Evangelical, Baptist and Methodist.
Alton has twenty-four churches and mis- sion chapels-three Catholic, two Presbyte- rian, one Unitarian, one Congregational, one German Evangelical, four Methodist, three Baptist, one Episcopal, one Lutheran, one Plymouth Brethren; also three Baptist Mis- sion chapels, one Episcopal Mission chapel, one Congregational and one Presbyterian.
Chouteau has three churches-one Baptist and one Catholic, both located at Mitchell and Brockmeier, German.
Collinsville has ten churches-two Baptist, one Lutheran, one Episcopal, two Methodist, one Presbyterian, one Catholic, one German Evangelical and one Lithuanian.
Edwardsville has eleven churches-three Methodist Episcopal, one Presbyterian, one Episcopalian, two Baptist, one Christian, two Catholic, Evangelical, Trinity Lutheran.
Fort Russell has seven churches-Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist, Catholic, one each, and three Presbyterian.
Foster, six churches-three Baptist, two Presbyterian and one Methodist.
Godfrey, four churches-two Methodist, two Congregational, one of these at Godfrey village and one at Melville; one A. Methodist Episcopal at Rocky Fork.
Helvetia, six churches-Baptist, Catholic, Congregational, German Evangelical, Metho- dist and Plymouth Brethren.
Jarvis, nine churches-two Catholic, two Methodist, two E. Reform, Baptist, Lutheran and Presbyterian one each.
Leef, but one church in township, Catholic. Marine, three churches-St. Elizabeth's Catholic, German Evangelical and Christian.
Moro, five churches-St. John's Evangeli- cal ; Lutheran, Prairietown ; Christian, Ridgeley; Presbyterian, Moro; Lutheran, Dorsey.
Nameoki, eight churches-Baptist, Episco- pal, German Evangelical, Lutheran, St. John's Evangelical, St. Joseph's Catholic, Christian and Presbyterian.
New Douglas, six churches-Catholic, Ger- man, N. Methodist, S. Methodist, Baptist and Christian.
Olive, three churches-Lutheran, German Evangelical and Methodist.
Omphghent, five churches-German Evan- gelical, Baptist, Christian. Methodist South, Mt. Zion Methodist South.
Pin Oak, one Baptist church, African.
St. Jacob, four churches-Catholic, Metho- dist, Baptist, German Evangelical.
Saline, two churches-Catholic at Pierron; German Evangelical, at Grant Fork.
Venice, nine churches-Methodist, First Presbyterian, (Granite City) Presbyterian (Madison) Dewey Ave. Methodist, St. Peters Evangelical, St. Mark's Catholic, Baptist, Ger- man Methodist. All the churches in Nameoki
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and Venice townships are in Granite City and Madison except one.
Wood River has fourteen church organiza- tions-five Baptist, four Methodist, one Free Methodist, two Presbyterian, one Catholic and one Union.
This shows a total of 143 church organiza- tions in the county. Calling the population 90,000, as per census of 1910, gives an aver- age of one church for every 634 of popula- tion.
CHAPTER XLVI
A LOOK BACKWARD
GEN. Z. M. PIKE'S NARROW ESCAPE FROM DEATH IN MADISON COUNTY-SOME NOTED EX- PLORERS-GERSHOM FLAGG'S PIONEER LETTERS-THE OLD CABIN-NOT A SUCCESSFUL POL- ITICIAN-REMINISCENCES OF GAIUS PADDOCK FAMILY-MADISON COUNTY'S PIONEER SUR- VEYOR.
In the year 1805 an Englishman, a "Mr. J. H.," of Cornwall, crossed the sea to America and made his way over the Allegheny moun- tains into the valley of the Mississippi where he led an adventurous life among the Indians and in voyaging in his canoe on the Ohio, the Mississippi, the' Missouri and other rivers. Thirty-eight years later, in London, he related to Mr. George Catlin, the great interpreter of Indian life and painter of Indian portraits, an incident of his western career in which he saved the life of Lieut. Zebulon M. Pike, the renowned explorer. The incident took place in what is now our own county of Madison. . The story is a long one and I necessarily must condense it. In the year 1806 "Mr. H." was in St. Louis and concluded to pay a visit to his friend, Daniel Boone, then living up the Mis- souri at the mouth of the Femme Osage. He spent several weeks with his old friend and then proceeded to St. Charles, following an Indian trail on horseback. Intending to re- turn to St. Louis in a canoe he sold his horse on his arrival there. Before he was ready to start he learned that his friend, Lieutenant Pike, who has just returned from his expedi- tion to the Rocky Mountains, where he dis- covered Pike's Peak, had passed up from St. Louis to a settlement a short distance below the mouth of the Missouri, on the east bank of
the Mississippi to attend a wedding which was to take place the very evening of the day Mr. H. received the information. The groom, it seemed, was also a friend of Mr. H., and he at once resolved to attend the wedding, also, although not invited, knowing that he would have been had the groom known of his being in that part of the country. He endeavored to get a canoe but could not obtain one for love or money. But, resolved to be present, he lashed together two logs of wood lying at the landing in front of the village, and procuring a paddle launched forth on the muddy stream, straddling the logs. His embarkation was a short time before sundown. Drifting down on the swift current, often narrowly escaping shipwreck by collision with snags in the dark- ness, he at length, after a voyage of some twenty miles entered the broad expanse of the Mississippi and soon perceived on the east bank the lights in the cabins of the settlement where the wedding was to take place. Strug- gling with all his might to guide his clumsy craft to the shore he suddenly became aware . of dark objects gathering around him in the gloom and recognized them as a party of In- dians in canoes. There were no squaws with them and he knew it to be a war party. All were armed with bows and war clubs. Mr. H. said
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"They gave the signal for silence as one of them, a tall, powerful man, seized me by the collar. Having partially learned several In- dian languages I understood him when he said in the Ioway language: 'Not a word, if you speak you die.' Finding that I understood the language he made a sign to the other canoes to fall back a little while he addressed me in a low voice. 'Do you know the white chief (Pike) who is visiting his friends this night on the bank yonder where we see the lights ?' To which I replied: 'Yes, he is an old friend of mine.' 'Well," he said, 'he dies tonight and all those wigwams will be laid in ashes. Stet- enoka was a cousin of mine and Quetunka was a good man, and a friend of the white people. The pale faces hung them like two dogs by their necks, and the life of your friend, the white warrior, pays the forfeit this night, and may be the women and children will die by his side.' I explained to him as well as I could that my friend, Lieut. Pike, had had no hand in the execution of the two Indians; that they were hung below St. Louis when Lieut Pike was on his way home from the Rocky Moun- tains. I told him also that Pike was a great friend of the Indians and would do anything to aid or please them; that he had gone over the river that night to attend the wedding of a friend, and little dreamed that among the In- dians he had enemies who would raise their hands against him.
'My friend,' he said, 'You have said enough; if you tell me that your friend, or the friend of or enemy of any man, takes the hand of a fair daughter on that ground tonight, an Ioway chief will not offend the Great Spirit by rais- ing the war cry there. No Ioway warrior can spill the blood of an enemy on the ground where the hands and hearts of man and wo- man are joined together. This is the command of the Great Spirit and an Ioway warrior can- not break it. My friend, these warriors you see around me, and myself, had sworn to kill the first human being we met on our war ex- Vol. I-23
cursion ; but we shall not harm you. So you see I give you your life. You will therefore keep your lips shut and we will return to our village which is far up the river. We shall do no harm to any one. We shall hereafter meet our friends, the white people, in the great city (St. Louis) as we have heretofore done. My face is now blackened and the night is dark so you cannot know me-but this arrow you will keep-it matches with all others in my quiver, and by it you can always know me, but the meeting of this night is not to be known. He gave me the arrow, turned his canoe and, with his companions, was in a moment out of sight. Finding that, by this time, the current had drifted me a mile or two beyond the place where I designed to land, and that it was im- possible to return with my two awkward logs of wood I continued on down to St. Louis, where I arrived safely."
Mr. H. in continuing his narrative related how he afterwards met the Indian in St. Louis at an audience with Gov. Clark and was recog- nized by him, the mystic arrow being the means of identification. They became fast friends, and Mr. H. was adopted into the tribe as Bobashela, or brother.
The wedding party proceeded undisturbed, and the danger they had been in was never made known to them as Mr. H. promised not to reveal the matter on condition that the war- rior carried his purpose of revenge upon inno- cent parties no further.
Nearly forty years later, in a foreign land, there was a strange sequel to this well-nigh tragic incident: In 1845 Mr. Catlin was in Europe with a party of Ioway and Ojibeway Indians. , The warriors gave exhibitions in London and Paris in connection with Mr. Cat- lin's displays of Indian portraits and specimens of their handicraft. The royalty and nobility of both countries attended these exhibitions. At one of these, in London, a venerable war- rior suddenly caught sight of a face in the audience that caused him intense excitement.
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With a wild whoop he made his way to the man he recognized and crouching before him exclaiming "Bobashela!" Mr. H., for it was he, responded "Yes, Bobashela !" and there was a joyous reunion. But Mr. H. had lost the mystic arrow, the seal of their friendship by the sinking of his canoe in the Cumberland river, which misfortune he explained. After the dance the seal of secrecy was removed and, Lieut. Pike being long since dead (he was killed at the siege of York in the war of 1812, then a general) the tale was told for the first time by either party. General Pike never knew of the peril he escaped on his visit to our county.
Nothing seems to be known of the settle- ment which so narrowly escaped destruction. That it was in Madison county, a short dis- tance below the mouth of Wood River, is plain, as the Missouri then entered the Mis- sissippi nearly opposite what is now Maple island. That the village soon became extinct is equally plain, and the spot where it stood was long since swept away by the encroach- ments of the river. The story, which is re- corded by Catlin in his works, is an illustra- tion of Indian chivalry or superstitution of which I have never read the parallel. Mad- ison county had its instances of Indian massa- cres, in those early days, but this incident of the escape of one of its early settlements from Indian vengence, is known to few. The rea- son given by the Indian chief for sparing it opens a new phase of Indian character and the alleged revelation of the Great Spirit which controlled it.
EARLY EXPLORERS
It is of interest to note the connection of Madison county with the four greatest of early American explorers of the far west in the early days of the nineteenth century. For in- stance Mr. Catlin, after a year spent among the Comanches and other tribes of the south- west returned to Alton in the fall of 1834 to
rejoin his wife who had remained in that city with friends during his absence. His letters written from Alton, relating to his latest ex- pedition, appear in his published works. He left Alton late in 1834 for the Gulf coast for the benefit of his health which had been shat- tered by his late privations and exposures.
The connection of Gen. Zebulon M. Pike with the county is related above and the won- derful way in which his death was averted on our soil and his life preserved for still more distinguished service to his country is one of the strangest tales of the border.
The history of the Lewis and Clark expedi- tion to the upper Missouri and thence to the Pacific coast, under orders of President Jef- ferson, is known to all, but it is not so gen- erally known that the expedition encamped during the winter of 1803-4 in Madison county, at the mouth of Wood river, imme- diately opposite the mouth of the Missouri. There the explorers were prepared and fitted out for their expedition, starting from the mouth of Wood river and entering the Mis- souri on the 4th of May, 1804. Captain Lewis was the private secretary of President Jeffer- son and Clark was a captain in the regular army, and a younger brother of the celebrated Gen. George Rogers Clark who, by his capture of Kaskaskia, on July 4, 1778, and his subse- quent capture of Vincennes, extended the do- main of the colonies from the Alleghanies to the Mississippi during the Revolutionary war. Clark was subsequently governor of Missouri territory and it was from him that Catlin learned of the famous Mandan Indians of the upper Missouri with which the great portrait painter spent the year 1832. Lewis was made governor of Louisana territory in 1807 and died two years later, near Nashville, Tennes- see. He took his own life while temporarily insane through illness brought on by the hard- ships he endured during his explorations.
Colonel Stephen H. Long divides honors with General Pike, Captain Clark and Captain
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Lewis as one of the great explorers of the western country, though entering upon the work some ten years later. He was a native of Hopkinton, New Hampshire, and was born December 30, 1784. He was graduated from Dartmouth college and later entered the U. S. Engineer Corps. Being promoted to the rank of major in the corps of topographical engineers in 1816 he was assigned to the work of western exploration. In this service he continued for many years and his services in this capacity were longer continued and covered more ter- ritory than those of any other government of- ficial. Long's peak in the Rocky mountains was named after him. He was a man of the highest scientific attainments and was a pio- neer in the work of railroad construction, act- ing as chief engineer of various roads. In 1861 he was promoted to the position of chief of topographical engineers, U. S. A. He made his home in Alton and died there at a good old age. He is buried in the Alton City cem- etery. He was a devoted Christian and an official of St. Paul's Episcopal church of Al- ton. His descendants still reside in that city.
PIONEER LETTERS OF GERSHOM FLAGG
The Illinois State Historical Society lately issued a pamphlet containing the Pioneer Let- ters of Gershom Flagg, edited, with introduc- tion and notes, by Prof. Solon J. Buck. Ger- shom Flagg, descendant of an old colonial and Revolutionary family of Vermont, was born Nov. 26, 1792, and emigrated to Illinois in 1817. His letters, written to his relatives in his old Vermont home, are of rare interest, and some extracts therefrom are given below to show the condition of the country in pio- neer days :
To ARTEMAS FLAGG, September 12, 1818-ED- WARDSVILLE, MADISON COUNTY, ILLINOIS TER- RITORY, 12 Sept. 1818-DEAR BROTHER : Your letter of the 3Ist May mailed June 8, I re- ceived, the 23d July which informed me that you were all well at the time. May this con-
tinue [to] be your good fortune and may these lines reach you as they leave me in good health. As you may wish to know something of the Country in which I live I will write a few lines respecting it. The Territory of Illinois contains nearly all that part of the United States Territory east of the Mississippi and N. W. of the Ohio & Wabash Rivers. The late law of Congress enabling the people to form a Constitution & State Government makes the boundaries on the S. & W. Ohio & Mis- sisippi Rivers on the East by Indiana State N by 42° 30' N. Lat. The conjunction of the Ohio & Missisippi Rivers is in Lat. 37º N so that this Territory is 350 miles in length. The face of the Country is very level without any mountains and but few hills. It is not ex- ceeded by levelness [or] richness of soil by any in the United States. The prairies are very large while the timbered land is con- fined almost wholly to the intervales and low rounds. Where ever the land is high and dry enough for the fire to run in the spring & fall the timber is all destroyed. The Soil is of such an alluvial nature that the water courses cut out deep chanels from 6 to 20 feet deep generally. Where this is the case the streams do not overflow.
"We have all kinds of soil from midling poor to the very best. It produces Corn & Wheat better than any other Country I have seen. It also produces hemp, flax, Mellons, Sweet potatoes, Turnips & all kinds of veg- etables except Irish Potatoes as good as any other Country. Cotton is raised sufficient for domestic use a very small piece of ground pro- duces enough for a family.
"We have plenty of Apples Peaches &c in places. Grapes & of several kinds and several kinds of Wild plumbs & Cherries in profusion also Dew Berries Black Berries Strawberries The bottom Prairies are covered with Weeds of different kinds and grass about 8 feet high. The high Prairies are also thickly covered with grass but finer & not so tall. The prairies are
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continually covered (in the summer season) with wild flowers of all colors which gives them a very handsome appearance. These high Prairies are smoother than any intervale & not a stone, log, or anything but grass & weeds to be seen for miles excep[t] where they border the timber there is generally a thicket of plumb bushes, hazel grape vines, &c &c. The Roots of the grass are very tough it generally requires 3 yoke of Oxen or six horses to plough up the prairies & the plough must be kept at a keen edge by filing often, the steel not being hardened, but this is all that is to be done excep[t] fencing to raise a crop. After one year the ground is mellow and re- quires but a light team to plough it. The tim- ber in this Country is very different from any you have seen. The most Common timber is White, Black, Spanish, post, Chincopin, Pin, and Burrh Oak, Walnut Black & White, Bass- wood, Cherry Button wood Ash, Elm, Sassa- fras, Sumach, Elder, Honey locust, Mulberry, Crab Apple Thorn of different kinds Red-bud, Pecon, Hackberry Maple, Cotton Wood, Paw- paw which bears a fruit larger than an apple. The timber is not so good as I have seen, gen- erally, the fire kills & checks the growth every year. When the fire gets into high thick grass it goes faster than a horse can Run & burns the Prairie smooth.
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