Combined history of Edwards, Lawrence and Wabash counties, Illinois. With illustrations and biographical sketches of some of their prominent men and pioneers, Part 68

Author:
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Philadelphia, J. L. McDonough & co.
Number of Pages: 490

USA > Illinois > Edwards County > Combined history of Edwards, Lawrence and Wabash counties, Illinois. With illustrations and biographical sketches of some of their prominent men and pioneers > Part 68
USA > Illinois > Wabash County > Combined history of Edwards, Lawrence and Wabash counties, Illinois. With illustrations and biographical sketches of some of their prominent men and pioneers > Part 68
USA > Illinois > Lawrence County > Combined history of Edwards, Lawrence and Wabash counties, Illinois. With illustrations and biographical sketches of some of their prominent men and pioneers > Part 68

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died in Lawrenceville, in 1851. Among the later im- migrants to the township was Benjamin Price, who moved from Delaware to Ohio, and thence to Lawrence county, in 1837, and settled on the W. } of the S. W. ₮ of section 21, township 2, range 12, where he resided till his death. He reared a family of nine children, seven of whom were immigrants. The township was re- presented in the Black Hawk War by William and Basil Jackman, Joseph Selby, Abner Johnson, James H. Buchanan, Mason Jones, Jacob Young, and Franklin Genereux. The following are the first land entries, all in township 2, range 12. Oct. 10, 1811, August Tougas entered the N. E. } of section 14 ; October 2, 1816, Alex. Banks, the W. } of the S. W. } of section 28 ; November 25, 1816, Andre Des Bines, the N. E. } of section 12 ; July 27, 1816, John B. Valcour, the S. E. } of section 12; December 1, 1817, William Leach, the S. W. } of section 23; December 8, 1817, John Leach, the N. W. ֏ of section 26. The Leachs were from Tennessee, and were slave owners, who came for the purpose of establish- ing a plantation. The admission of Illinois as a free state frustrated their plans. The following are the names of those who have been members of the board of supervisors : James Bonner, 1857 ; Victor Buchanan, Sr., 1858-1859; A. H. Grass, 1860-1861 ; resigned 'in 1862, and Victor Buchanan, to fill vacany; L. W. Gee, 1863 to 1865; Victor Buchanan, chairman, 1866 ; Alfred H. Grass, 1867; Philip Snyder, 1868-1869; Jacob Potts, 1870- 1871; William T. Buchanan, 1872; chairman in 1873, 1874, and 1875, chairman in 1876 1877, chairman in 1878; Jacob Potts, 1879 to 1881 ; John Jackman, 1882 ; Francis Tougas, 1883.

ST. FRANCESVILLE.

This village is situated on the Wabash river, in location 1, township 2, range 11. It was laid out in 1835 or 1836, by Frances, widow of Joseph Tougas, and the plot was filed of record in 1837. Francis Tougas sold the first goods about the time the town was laid out. Mason Jones built the first blacksmith shop shortly after, on a lot of land, donated by the proprietor for that purpose. Jackman's saw and grist mill, stood near the present site of the depot, and was built about 1837. There it was also that the post-office was established. About 1840, Decudra, a catholic priest, built a frame school house, in which a free school was taught by two nuns. He subsequently sold it, and a public school building was put up, which served its purpose till 1873, when the present one was erected. A Catholic church house was built about 1835. It was displaced by the present frame church edifice, about 1850. The town was first incorporated, in 1869, and the first election of officers was held, February 27th of that year. In Janu- ary, 1873, the town was incorporated as a village, under statutory provisions relating to cities and towna.

PRESENT BUSINESS. Physicians .- Charles Frazer, Thomas Grayson.

General Store .--- - Reinbold.

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HISTORY OF EDWARDS, LAWRENCE AND WABASH COUNTIES, ILLINOIS.

Drug and Notion Store and Post Office .- Jesse Tralor. Hotels .- L. W. Gee, Benjamin Umfleet. Blacksmith .- John A. Quick. Burber .- James Lacost.

The Good Templars have an organization, which was formed December 12, 1880. It has a membership of forty-two persons, and is in a very good condition finan- cially.

BIOGRAPHIES.

SIMON VANDERMARK.

AMONG the energetic, pushing farmers of Lawrence county, Simon Vandermark takes rank. He was born in Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, February 27th, 1829, in the home of his forefathers for the last three genera- tions, his great-grandfather, a native of Germany, who came to Pennsylvania and served faithfully as a captain in the Revolutionary war, having located there. His father, James Vandermark, was a farmer. His mother, whose maiden name was Susannah B. Kethline, was of German lineage. In his father's family were eight children, five being boys and three girls. In the year 1841 the family came to Lawrence county, and located about two miles east from where Simon now lives. Four years prior to this time his father had made a prospect- ing trip, going down the Mississippi river and finally locating a thousand acres of land around the old Van- dermark homestead. In Pennsylvania he was not a landed proprietor, but had made much of his opportuni- ties and was enabled, by the exercise of economy, to make this purchase of government lands. Simon Vander- mark was married to Frances West, daughter of John West, of Gibson county, Indiana, Dec. 25, 1857. Mrs. Vandermark's mother, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Brown, once belonged to the Unity, of New Harmony, in which cause her people had enlisted under Robert Dale Owen. To Mr. and Mrs. Vandermark have been born five sons and three daughters, by name, Lyman, died Sept. 9, 1881; Ezra, Howard, John, Lawrence, Ella Passmore, Elizabeth Ryan and Maude, who died in infancy. Politically, Mr. Vandermark is a pronounced Republican. Religiously an adherent of the Methodist faith. He is a man of fine social qualities, a kind - neighbor and most excellent citizen,

CYRUS VANDERMARK.

THE biographical sketch of Simon, brother of Cyrus Vandermark, briefly sets forth the lineage of these two brothers. Cyrus Vandermark was born in Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, February 26, 1832. As a youth he had like advantages with those offered thirty or forty years ago throughout Luzerne county, for acquir- ing an education, his father having moved here in 1841. He was married on the 29th of April, 1857, to Elmira Collins, daughter of William Collins, of Vir- ginia. William Colins was among the pioneers of this part of the state, having located here in 1833. By this wife Mr. Vandermark had ten children, two of whom died in infancy, and four are now living, James William, Mary Jane, John Hardin, and George Logan. The three others, now dead were Malinda Augusta, Idumea Emeline and Charles Alfred. Of the daughters, Mary Jane married George Swift, Dec. 25, 1878. Mrs. Van- dermark died February 7th, 1869. Mr. Vandermark was married to Lucy Elmore, his present wife, Aug. 29, 1871. She was the daughter of Mrs. Maria J. Sumner, nee Gresham, of the eminent Indiana family of that name, being the daughter of Dudley Gresham and wife, whose maiden name was Sarah Stevens. The fruits of this marriage are four children : Cyrus Hayden, Mar- tha Ellen, Annie May, and Omer Garfield. Mr. Van- dermark is a Republican of the strictest school. His first presidential vote was cast for Gen. Winfield S. Scott, and never since has he departed from that faith. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which he has been active for the past twenty-five years. His hospitality receives universal recognition, and his kindness and sociability have gained for him hosts of friends.

12 00,1%

FARM RESIDENCE OF ANSEL GOULD JUN'R. SEC. 5, TI, R 14, (BLACK OAK TP) EDWARDS CO., ILL.

811 Of THE !NIVERSITY TO

DIXON.

EDWARDS COUNTY.

HIS precinct is situated in the extreme south- west part of the county, is nearly rectangu- lar in form, and bounded as follows : On the north by Big creek and Albion pre- cinct, east by French creek, south by White county, and on the west by Wayne county. It receives its name in honor of John Dixon, who was a prominent settler of 1841, and includes a part of two townships-numbers two and three-range ten east. Originally it was tim- bered land, interspered with small glades which were covered with fine grasses. Large belts of timber yet exist within its boundaries, sufficient to supply the in- habitants with all needed lumber, fuel, and fencing for years to come. The surface is undulating and well formed for surface drainage. The principal streams are the Little Wabash, and Big creek. The former extends through the southwest, and the latter constitutes the northwest boundary. The soil is a chocolate-colored clay subsoil, and well adapted to the raising of an ex- cellent quality of wheat. Corn is cultivated sufficiently to supply home consumption. Oats, grasses, potatoes, and fruit are among the products. In an early day corn constituted the principal product, but for many years wheat and pork have furnished the main revenue for this part of the county. But little, if any, lands lie in the precinct that are not susceptible of improvement the drainage being such that even the low lands can be cultivated.

FIRST SETTLEMENTS.

The first white man to venture into the wilds of this precinct was Joseph Boltinghouse, in the fall of 1816. He was a single man, and came from what is now White county, with a drove of hogs to let them forage on the mast of Big creek timber. A little south of the creek on what is now the Churchill lands, he established his camp and became monarch of the woods; but his reign was a short and eventful one. The particulars of his death cannot be recorded, but enough is known to assert that he was massacred by a band of Shawnee Indians. When found his head was severed from the body and stuck upon a pole by his camp, the body lying near in a mangled condition. The remains were buried near where the body lay. Tradition says that the Rangers pursued the Indians, finding them encamped near the Wabash. They captured them, tied stones to their bodies, and sunk them in the river.

The first to make a permanent "location here were

Daniel and James Boltinghouse, brothers of the above This was early in 1817. They were. formerly from Kentucky, but on coming to Illinois, they settled with their father in White county. Daniel was a man of a family, and his brother James lived with him. They located in section 26, township number two south, range ten east, a little south and east of Big creek, in the edge of the timber. The prairie stretching northward toward Albion receives its name from these early setters. They remained here until about 1837, when they moved to the State of Arkansas.

Thomas Riley, a native of Ireland, settled in the pre- cinct the same year as the Boltinghouses. He was then a single man, and in 1822, married Sarah Morris, a daughter of one of the pioneers. Mr. Riley located in section 17, township 3 south, range 10 east. He im- proved a good farm, upon which he resided until his death, which occurred about 1852, bis widow surviving him but a few years. None of his descendants are now living in the precinct. Another pioneer of 1817, was Isaac Morris, who was an emigrant from the south. He had a large family, and was a pure type of the back- woodsman and hunter. He located in section 5, town- ship 3 south, range 10 east, where he built a rude log cabin, containing one room, which supplied the entire purpose of kitchen, dining, and sleeping apartment for his numerous family. He, like all the old hunters, was noted for relating exaggerated accounts of his hunting expeditions, one of which we will place before our readers. One morning, before breakfast, he concluded to go out and bring in a deer or two, as the family had been without fresh meat for a few days. He had been in the timber but a short time when he brought down a fine buck. Throwing him across his shoulder, he had pro. ceeded but a short distance, when a large black bear jumped up before him, and with the crack of his rifle bruin bit the dust. He placed the huge carcass on the other shoulder and proceeded homeward. Breakfast was waiting, and he dumped the bear upon the floor and sat down to the table with the family. His wife asked him if he proposed to eat his meal with that deer upon his back. He apologized by saying, that he felt so light after dropping the bear, that he had entirely forgotten about the incumbrance on the other shoulder. The ob- ject of relating the above is to more fully portray the character of the man ; and the pith of the whole story is, it was related by him as being an absolute fact. He and

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HISTORY OF EDWARDS, LAWRENCE AND WABASH COUNTIES, ILLINOIS.

his wife died, at the old home long ago, and the children have all removed to other parts of the country.

There was quite an influx of immigration in 1818, among whom was William Brown, a native of the state of Maine. When twelve years of age his father pre- pared to emigrate to Ohio, but died on the way. Wil- liam fell in with emigrants coming to Illinois, and in 1818, reached the new formed state. Here he remained, and in 1828, entered a quarter section of land in section 10, township 3 south, range 10 east. Subsequently he married Mary Harper, from which reunion nine children were born, six of whom are now residing in the county. Mr. Brown improved an excellent farm, on which he lived to a good old age, enjoying the fruits of his labor. He died in 1877. His widow is yet residing at the old farm, now 72 years of age, and is the oldest pioneer citizen of the precinct. Alfred, a son, is living on a portion of the original homestead, and is one of the staunch and public-spirited men of the county. Thomas Harper was born in North Carolina, and emigrated to Kentucky in an early day. He removed to Indiana, and in 1818, came to Illinois and located in White county. In 1822, he moved into this precinct and settled in section 3, township 3, range 10 east. At his coming he had a family of five childen, James, William, Thomas, John, and Mary. The latter is the only one of the family now living, being the widow of William Brown, above men- tioned. Mr. Harper was a representative citizen, having served as the first magistrate of the precinct for several years. He died in 1829. Mrs. Harper lived to a ripe old age, passing away in 1875.

Robert Willis was born in England, and emigrated to the States in 1817. Soon afterward he located in Dixon precinct, section 14, township 3 south, range 10 east. His family consisted of his wife and three children, Sarah, Hannah and E izabeth. He improved a good farm, and was considered one of the most kind and chari- table citizens of the settlement. He died about 1863, mourned by many warm friends. Mrs. Willis survived him but a few years. One daughter, Hannah, widow of Edward Kershaw-another early settler-is residing at Grayville. The family of Threads came from England in the same year as the above, and located in the north part of the precinct. The old folks died long ago; several of their descendants are now residing north of Albion. Hester, a daughter, was the wife of Elias Chism, now a citizen of Albion. William Everly, Charles Birks, James Kenedy, Thomas Sloan and James Jordan all came in 1818. Mr. Everly and Mr. Sloan remained here until their decease, which occurred in an early day. Mr. Jordan was elected to the State Legislature for one term, but subsequently moved to In- diana. Mr. Birks also moved to Indiana. Mr. Kenedy remained for some time, when he located in the northern part of the State. None of their descendants are living in the county. John Burton was a pioneer of 1819. He came from England with his family and settled in section 14, township three south, range ten east, where

he remained until about 1830, when he moved to New Harmony, Indiana, where he resided until his death. His children went with him, so that none of his descen- dants are now in this part of the country. Joel Churchill was a settler of 1819, a brief sketch of whom will be found in Albion chapter. Other old residents of the precinct who are now living are Charles Baxter, John Hallam, Thomas Frankland, Charles Potter and others.

First Land Entries .- The first land entered in Dixon precinct was June 6, 1816, by. George Morris, and de- scribed as follows : The N. W. } of section 5, Tp. 3 S., range 10 E. The following are also in the same town- ship and range: September 26, 1818, William Adams entered the N. W. { of section 4; November 2, 1818, Robert Willis entered the E. } of the S. E. { of section 15; April 21, 1819, Jonathan Williams entered the S. E. } of section 3; same date, John Burton entered the E. } of the S. E. } of section 14. The following entries are in Tp. 2 S., R. 10 E .: August 30, 1817, James Boltinghouse entered the N. E. } of section 26; Sep- tember 20, 1817, James Meredith entered the S. W. } of section 27; September 4, 1817, Isaac Ellison entered the N. W. } of section 33; May 4, 1819, Joel Churchill entered the S. W. + of section 34.

The first settlers were far more sociable and hospita- ble than the people of this age of gain and greed. A man was a neighbor if he lived ten miles away, and it was no uncommon thing for them to go that distance to aid one another in raising their cabins. At the house raisings and log rollings, it was customary to have a large supply of whisky on hand, and the jug was passed around at least every half hour, so that by afternoon many of them would be more or less hilarious. Then would commence the boasting and hantering by those who considered themselves the " best men." A wrest- ling match or a "rough and tumble" would soon follow, and sometimes the curtain would drop with bunged eyes and bloody noses behind the scenes. .. Bee- trees and wild honey was so common in those days that it was not uuusual for the hunters to find a half dozen trees in as many hours, and thus honey and beeswax be- came staple articles for harter. Mills for grinding their corn were few and far between. The first mill built in this precinct was about 1840, by John Elder, and was located on his farm in section 4, township three south, range ten east. It was a horse mill capable of grinding about twenty bushels of meal daily. The first blacksmith was John Smith. His shop was established about 1847, and was situated in section 10 township three south, range ten east. He died here several years ago. The first goods were sold by Joseph Shaw in 1846. His store was located in section 3, same township and range as the above. Mr. Shaw died in a few years and the business ceased.

The first school was taught in a log cabin situated on the Churchill land. This was in 1824, and the teacher was Daniel Bain, who was considered a good instructor

HISTORY OF EDWARDS, LAWRENCE AND WABASH COUNTIES, ILLINOIS.

291

in those days. The first to administer to the spiritual wants of the people here was the Rev. Roberts, of the Baptist persuasion, in 1823. The services were held in the private residences of the settlers. Reverends Rob- ert Delap and James Jagers were also early preachers. The first church building was erected in 1849 by the Methodist denomination. It is a log building-and is situated in the northwest corner of section 10, town- ship three south, range ten east. The first burial ground was established on the farm of Daniel Boltinghouse in

the north part of the precinct. The first interment was a child of Mr. Boltinghouse. This cemetery has been neglected, and but few if any interments have been made here for several years. The first to attend to the sick was Dr. Archibald Spring, of Albion, who died in that town several years ago. The first justice of the peace was Thomas Harper, and John Elder was his successor. But few of the pioneers now remain of this settlement to give the history of the olden time.

WABASH.

WABASH CO.

S bounded on the north by Lawrence coun- ty, on the east and southeast by Indiana, and the Wabash, on the south by Mt. Car- mel, and on the west by Friendsville pre- cinct. Its territory stretches west from the Wabash to a line one mile and a half east of the thirteenth merid- ian, and north from the base line to the north tier of sections, inclusive of T. 2 N. The surface generally is broken. There were originally a few patches of open prairie, and northwest of an irregular line bounding the timber belt about three miles wide, along the Wa- bash, was an area called the "Barrens," covered with brush and saplings, interspersed with scattering post- oaks and hickories. The soil of this area was clayey and contained less loam than the timbered parts. Drain- age is derived mainly from Crawfish creek and Rac. coon creek whose name is self-explanatory. The earliest occupation of the people, aside from hunting, was the raising of corn, cattle and hogs. The progress of agriculture was very slow, as the inducement offered by convenient markets was absent. The people lived within themselves, merely aiming to supply their own immediate demands. The difficulties they had to over- come, with this limited end in view, were not small. For a period of four or five years, they were obliged to guard their wives and children against the hostile Shaw- nees. The younger Tecumseh began to excite the Indi- ans to a feeling of hostility against the whites, about the year 1810 or '11, and fort-building and armed defense began. Rattlesnakes were very numerous, and destruc- tive of horses and cattle. There was a den of them on the old Fox farm, one on the Mc Intosh farm, one on the Spencer Wood farm and one on the bluff near the old Buchanan mill. Samuel Mc Intosh killed thirteen of this species of snakes, one morning " before breakfast." This fact is noted down to show the present and coming generations how numerous these reptiles were. But they have perished by the plowshare. They have gone with the wolf, the bear, the panther, the deer, the Indi-

an and the forest, and their haunts and lurking places are now productive fields. The chief industry of the people is agriculture, and wheat is the staple product.

The pioneers of Wabash precinct, and the first two American settlers of Wabash county were Levi Comp- ton and Joshua Jordan. They were brothers-in-law and came about the same time, and probably together about the year 1802. Compton, a married man with one child, in 1791, went from Virginia to Kentucky, and engaged in farming and stock-raising. Here he remained till he came to Illinois. To this state he brought his wife and six children, John, Eli, Mary, Betsey, James and Levi. He settled first on the Wabash in section 26, T. 1 N. R. 12 W., built a cabin and cleared a few acres of land. After a residence here of four or five years, he removed to the N. W. { of section 12, sojourning there about eight years. At this time, or shortly after, he built probably the first horse-mill in the county, on Coco creek, about 200 yards from the passing of the wagon road. Compton's Fort, which was a protective arrange- ment of considerable magnitude, sufficient to accommo- date a hundred families, was built about the year 1810. It consisted of an enclosure of pickets, with the usual arrangement at the corners for protecting its sides. Within it were dwellings, booths, granaries, etc., for the accommodation of the inmates. About the year 1817, Compton moved to T. 2 S. R. 14 W., and settled in sec- tion 13, Coffee precinct, and there spent the balance of his days. He was truly a representative man. He was a member of the first constitutional convention of Illi- nois, in 1818, and in 1818-'20, he was a member of the State Senate. He died in 1844, at the age of eighty years. His son, Samuel, inherited his characteristics of leadership, influence and bravery. He was one of the nine brave men who pursued the Indians that massacred Canons, in the Coffee bottom, and assisted in the burial of the dead. He also assisted in the interment of the man who was shot by the Indians in the " marsh" in Lawrence county. On one occasion, he, Captain Glover,

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HISTORY OF EDWARDS, LAWRENCE AND WABASH COUNTIES, ILLINOIS.

and a few others, left the fort to hunt in the territory lying between Bonpas and Little Bonpas creeks, now in Lancaster precinct. They hoppled their horses, and set out in quest of game. Compton having become separat- ed from his companions, discharged his gun at a bear. Just then one of two Indians within easy range attempt- ed to shoot him, but his gun missed fire. Compton re- treated and failing to attract hia companions to his as- sistance, crossed Little Bonpas in search of more favor- able quarters. He had not gone far when he saw three Indians in pursuit of a deer .. He concealed himself and they passed on in pursuit of their game. The party having missed their companion, returned to Compton's Fort, and Captain Glover, though a stout-hearted man, trembled with excitement as he related the news of the supposed massacre. Some men from the Fort went in search of the missing hunter, and in pursuit of the Indi- ans, but the former was unharmed, and the latter es- caped, or were not found. Compton was hospitable, brave, shrewd and reckless. Apropos, of the latter char- acteristic, it is related of him that he swam the Wabash banks full, with a plow on his back. This bit of biog- raphy appeared in the Vincennes Plowboy, and was de- signed, by the party opposed to him, as political capital. But notwithstanding this, and the popularity of his op- ponent, James Beall, he was elected by a good majority and served in the House, in 1842-'44. Elijah Compton, his brother, was a respectable citizen of Coffee precinct. Joseph Compton, also a brother, residing there, is said to have been the first white child born in Wabash coun- ty.

Joshua Jordan came from Virginia, about the year 1802, with a family of three or four children, among whom were Elizabeth and Caleb. He had been a ten- ant under George Washington, and was with his land- lord in Braddock's defeat. Rumor has it, as a mere sup- position, that the British general fell a victim to a bul- let designed to avenge an insult offered a respected su- perior. Jordan settled on the S. W. } of section 12, where at the time of the Indian disturbances, he built a block-house. He subsequently removed to Barney's prai- rie, and there died. To show the friendly disposition of the natives, prior to the efforts of Tecumseh to excite a feeling of hostility among them, we relate that they were suffered to take little Caleb with them quite fre quently, and keep him for a whole day. They frequent- ly returned him with some little present, as a few beads around his neck. About the year 1804, came John Stillwell, a native of New Jersey, from Kentucky, with a family of two sons, Samuel and James. He settled on the S. W. + of section 12, where he cleared and im- proved about one hundred acres of land, He built a stockade or picket-fort, similar to, but much smaller than that above described. He was very odd in his ways, and went very shabbily dressed, presenting the appear- ance rather of a beggar than that of the well-to-do man he was. Once, as ill-fortune would have it, he lost his hat and thereafter went bareheaded for a period of time

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Combined history of Edwards, Lawrence and Wabash counties, Illinois. With illustrations and biographical sketches of some of their prominent men and pioneers, Part 68

Author: Publication date: 1883 Publisher: Philadelphia, J. L. McDonough & co. Number of Pages: 490

Author:
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Philadelphia, J. L. McDonough & co.
Number of Pages: 490