USA > Illinois > Perry County > Combined history of Randolph, Monroe and Perry counties, Illinois . With illustrations descriptive of their scenery and biographical sketches of some of their prominent men and pioneers > Part 75
USA > Illinois > Randolph County > Combined history of Randolph, Monroe and Perry counties, Illinois . With illustrations descriptive of their scenery and biographical sketches of some of their prominent men and pioneers > Part 75
USA > Illinois > Monroe County > Combined history of Randolph, Monroe and Perry counties, Illinois . With illustrations descriptive of their scenery and biographical sketches of some of their prominent men and pioneers > Part 75
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Mr. Gordon is a Democrat in his political principles, and has voted generally for the candidates of that party ever since attaining his majority. His industry is fast gaining for him a large and lucrative practice, whilst his eminent sucial qualities make for him hosts of friends.
WILLIAM M. HOLMES,
Editor and proprietor of the Valley Clarion, Chester, Illinois, is a native of Randolph county, having been born here November 5th, 1856. His father, of whom portrait and sketch can be found elsewhere in this work, was Joseph B. Holmes, a native of Pennsylvania and early settled here, hav- ing come to Kaskaskia in 1829, where he prosecuted milling and merchandising. His mother was a daughter of Gov. Shadrack Bond. The remains of both were laid away in Evergreen cemetery, Chester.
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HISTORY OF RANDOLPH, MONROE AND PERRY COUNTIES, ILLINOIS.
William M. Holmes chose the profession of law and pur- sued its study with Messrs. Hartzell and Morrison aud was admitted to practice in 1878. Soon after he made au ex- tensive western trip, occupying a year and a halfs time. Returning he bought the Valley Clarion aud entered upon a journalist career. He is making the Clarion the leading
democratic journal of southern Illinois. As a writer of political articles, Mr. Holmes wields a graceful pen, and is forcible and vigorons. In compilation of news he gives particular attention to local correspondence, a feature that makes his paper a welcome visitor to many homes.
KASKASKIA.
RANDOLPH COUNTY.
HIE exact date of the founding of Kas- kaskia cannot be stated with certainty. It has been supposed that members of La Salle's party stopped here on their way hack from their voyage of discovery to the mouth of the Mississippi in 1682, and gave rise to the present town. The conjecture has also been made that Tonti here established a trading-post in 1686. The evidence, however, seems conclusive that the birth of the town arose from the transfer of the Jesuit mission from the banks of the Illinois river to this spot about the year 1700.
This mission was established by Marquette in the year 1675. Its site was the Indian village of Kaskaskia, near the present town of Utica, in La Salle county, Illinois. The Kaskaskia Indians then inhabited that region. After the death of Marquette, Father Claude Allouez had charge of the mission at different periods from 1677 to 1690. From 1691 to 1693 Sebastian Rasle was the priest, and he was succeeded by James Gravier. The latter was ardent and enthusiastic in his work. He reduced the language of the Illinois Indians to grammatical rules, and made many con- verts among the savages to the Christian faith. The journal of Gravier, written in the years 1693 and 1694, shows that the mission, at that period, was still located on the banks of the Illinois. Fathers Bineteau, Pinet aud Gabriel Marest labored there as missionaries in 1699. Letters and journals written in 1699 and 1700 indicate that up to the latter year the mission retained its original site. Its removal to where the town of Kaskaskia now stands, likely, took place in the autumn of the year 1700, when the Kaskaskia Indians, to escape the ravages of their powerful and warlike enemies, the Iroquois, journeyed to the South and founded their vil- lage near the mouth of the river to which they gave their name.
For the first years of its existence Kaskaskia obtains little uote except as a missiou station. Its history is chiefly drawn from the parish records, now in the keeping of the bishop of the diocese, and the letters and journals of the early priests Its population was increased by the arrival of hardy French voyageurs from Canada and adventurous immigrants direct from France. Marriages between the Freuch and Indians were frequent. Marest was joined in
1707 by Father Mermet, who had previously labored as a missionary at the great village of the Peorias. Mermet, whose health was feeble, remained at the village for the in- struction of the Indians ; while Marest, who describes him- self as " so constituted that I can run on the snow with the rapidity with which a paddle is worked in a canoe, and who have, thanks to God, the strength necessary to endure all these toils," roamed through the forest with the rest of the Indians, who spent a great part of their time in the chase. "Our life," he writes, " is spent in roaming through thick woods, in clambering over hills, in paddling the canoe across lakes and rivers, to catch a poor savage who flies from us, aud whom we ean tame neither by teachings or caresses."
The labors of these missionaries are not without their fruits. In 1820 the Illinois Indians are spoken of as nearly all Christians. They cultivated the ground in their own way, and under the influence of religion had become indus- trious, raising poultry and live stock to sell to the French. The women were adroit, weaving of buffalo-hair a fine glossy stuff, which they dyed of various colors and worked into dresses for themselves, manufacturing a fine thread with great ingenuity. A parish was regularly formed in 1719, of which in 1720 Father Nicholas Ignatius de Beaubois had charge. Separate missions were established. One " about half a league above Old Fort Chartres, within gun-shot of the river," was under the direction of Father Joseph Ig- natius le Boulanger, who is spoken of as a man of great missionary tact and wonderful skill in languages. His Illi- nois catechism and instructions in the same dialect for hear- ing mass and approaching the sacraments, were considered by other missionaries as master-pieces, and, for their benefit, were literally translated into the French language. Boul- anger, in 1721, was assisted by Father de Kreben. Another Kaskaskia village was six miles inland from the Mississippi, and of this Father John Charles Guymonneau, who, it ap- pears, was the leading authority of the church in Illinois, had charge. On the organization of Louisiana as a colony, Illinois became subject to its government, and the superior of the Jesuits at New Orleans had the superintendence of the Illinois mission.
The first military occupation of the village was late in the year 1718, when Pierre Duqué Boisbriant, commandant at the Illinois, arrived with a detachment of troops. He did
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HISTORY OF RANDOLPHI, MONROE AND PERRY COUNTIES, ILLINOIS.
not, however, long make the place his residence. Selecting a site for a military post on the bank of the Mississippi, six- teen miles above Kaskaskia, he sct his men industriously to work, and by the spring of 1720 bad completed Fort Char- tres, which thenceforth was the residence of the commandant and the centre of military authority. About 1718 the vil- lage sprang into new life, and the arrivals from France and Canada were numerous.
In 1721 a monastery and college were established by the Jesuits In 1725 Kaskaskia became an incorporated town, and Louis XV, the French king, made a grant of commons to the inhabitants.
THE PARISH RECORDS.
During this period the records speak of baptisms, wedt dings and deaths, and thus some idea is obtained of the social life of the place and the names of its principal citizens. In the early baptisms it is noticeable that the names of the women are mostly Indian, though occasionally both parents are French. On the register in 1720, appear the signature of Le Sieur Pierre D'Artaguiette and Le Sieur Girardot the former eaptain, and the latter, ensign of a company of troops, both godfathers at baptisms. D'Artaguiette was the gallant young French officer who subsequently hecame commandant at the Illinois, and in 1736, led an expedition against the Chickasaws, which resulted in his capture by the enemy and his death at the stake.
In 1721, the register is signed by Le Sieur Nicholas Miehel Chassin, commissary of the Company of the West, in the country of the Illinois, and Le Sieur Phillippe de la Renaudiere, director of mines for the same company, both leading men in the colony. The rites of the church fre- quently solemnize marriages between Frenchmen and Indian women. The wedding of a native of Brittany with Anne, a female savage of the Nachitoches tribe, in 1724, is wit nessed by Girardot and other citizens, and in 1726, the mar- riage of Jacques Hyacinthe, of the Pawnee nation, and Therese, a freed savage woman of the Padoucah tribe, is celebrated. In 1725 two Indian chiefs, one the head of the Tamaroa tribe, make their marks as witnesses of the mar- riage of a Frenchman with a German woman. The names of the witnesses to the marriage of Joseph Lorrin and Marie Phillipe, on the twentieth of October, 1727, shows that it was one of the notable social events of the day.
The Chevalier Vinsenne, commandant of the port on the Wabash, where the city of Vineennes now stands, and one of his officers, St. Angefils, made their toilsome journey by river and through forrest, to sign their names on the regis- ter and to dance at the wedding. A long entry on the seventh of January, 1748, tells of the wedding of Monsieur Joseph Buchet, " Principal Sceretary of the Marine, Sub- delegate of Monsieur the Commissary Ordonnateur and Judge at the Illinois," once a widower, and Marie Louis Michel, twiee a widow. The ceremony is performed by the Reverend Father Guyenne, Superior of the Missions of the company of Jesus, in Illinois. The Chevalier de Bertel, major commanding for the King at Fort Chartres, aud Benoist de St. Clair, captaiu commanding at Kaskaskia, are
among those who sign their names as witnesses. Afterward follows the wedding of the daughter of Sicur Leo- nard Billeront, royal notary at the Illinois, with the son of Charles Vallée. The last name will be recognized as that of a family conspienous in the early history of Kaskaskia, representations of which may still be found throughout the Mississippi valley. In April, 1873, occurs the marriage of Phillipe Francois de Rastel, Chevalier de Rocheblave, to Michel Marie Dufresne, daughter of Jacques Michel Du- fresne, offieer of Militia. This Rocheblave became became commandant of the Illinois, after the cession of the country to Great Britain, and was the last British Governor. In July, 1778, he was taken prisoner at Fort [Gage, by George Rogers Clark, who took possession of the Port in the name of the Thirteen American Colonies, then engaged in their struggle for independence from the British crown.
Although the Kaskaskia Indians and others were friendly, there is evidence that depridations were frequently commit- ted by members of hostile tribes. An entry on the parish register in 1722, reads as follows : The news has come here this day of the death of Alexis Blaye and Laurent Bran- sart, who were slain upon the Mississippi by the Chieka- saws." Immediately afterward eomes a statement that on the twenty-second of June of the same year was celebrated in the parish church at Kaskaskia, a solemn service for the repose of the soul of the lady Michelle Chauvin, wife of Jaeques Nepven, merchant of Montreal, aged about forty-five years, and of Jean Michelle Nepven, aged twenty years, and of Elizabeth Nepven, aged thirteen years, and Susanne Nep- ven, eight years, her children. They were slain by the savages from five to seven leagues from the Wabash.
THE EARLY FRENCH SETTLERS
in Kaskaskia, ineluded Bazyl Lachapelle, Michael De Rousse, Baptiste' Montreal Boucher De Mon brun, Charles Danie, Franeis Charlesville, Antoine Bienvenu, Louis Buyat, Alexis Doza, Joseph Paget, Prix Pagi, Michael Antoyen, Langlois De Lisle, and families by the name of La Deroutte and Noval.
Bazyl Lachapelle came from Canada in company with eleven brothers, but he alone remained permanently in Kas- kaskia. Antoine, Louis and Baptiste were his sons. Mich- ael De Rousse was the ancestor of the most numerous Freneh family in Illinois. In Franee the home of the family was the village of St. Pierre, and from this circumstance its early members in Illinois were ealled St. Pierre De Rousse. Michael De Ronsse was the father of Michael, Joseph, Phillip, Jerome and De Bordeau, each of whom left descendants. Jean Baptiste St. Gemme, called Beauvais, from the faet that the family came from Beauvais in France, became a resident of the village about 1750. Capt. Pitman, in 1766, speaks of him as the wealthiest citizen. He purchased the property of the Jesuits on its sale under the decree for the suppression of the order. He kept eighty slaves, and fur- nished eighty-six thousand pounds of flour "to the King's magazine," which was only part of his harvest for one year. He left six sons, Raphael, Antoine, Charles, Joseph, Vitol and Baptiste. Raphael and Charles became citizens of Louisiana, and Antoine of Arkansas. Vitol and Baptists
304A
RESIDENCE .
OFFICE .
RESIDENCE, OFFICE AND OTHER DWELLINGS THE PROPERTY OF DR. WMR.MCKENZIE CHESTER, ILL.
OLD HOMESTEAD.
.
-
RESIDENCE AND FARM (320 ACRES) OF THOMAS GANT, SEC.24 T.6 R.7 (CHESTER PRECINCT) RANDOLPH CO. ILL.
HISTORY OF RANDOLPH, MONROE AND PERRY COUNTIES, ILLINOIS.
were among the early Freuch settlers of St. Genevieve, and left numerous descendents in that part of Missouri. Raph- ael St. Gemme took part in the defense of Fort Duquesne, and was among the French force which defeated Gen. Brad dock in 1755. Baptists Montreal came from Canada, and was a man of industrious and quiet disposition. Boucher de Montbrun became one of the prominent citizens of Kas- kaskia. His wife, who belonged to the Lauglois family, was a woman of much beauty and respectability. Charles Danie was a quiet farmer. The earliest grant of land of which there is any record was made to him on the tenth of May, 1722. Francois Charlesville was among the early ar- riva s in the village from Canada. He engaged in the river trade to New Orleans, and by his industry, shrewdness and energy amassed a considerable fortune. His four sons were Francois, Baptists, Charles and Louis. Antoine Bienvenu reached the village from France by way of New Orleans, and brought with him abundant means,
Kaskaskia in 1766 is spoken of by Capt. Pitman of the British army, " as by far the most considerable settlement in the country of Illinois, as well from the number of inhabi- tants as from its advantageous situation." The water-mill bu lt by Monsieur Paget, on the site of the present Reiley's mill was in use at that time both for grinding corn and sawing boards. The principal buildings in town were the church and Jesuits house to which a small chapel was at tached. These were built of stone, as were some of the other houses in the village, and in the opinion of the writer made a good appearance, "considering this part of the world." The Jesuits plantation contained two hundred and forty arpents of land, well stocked with cattle, and with a brewery . This property was sold for the crown by the French com- mandant, after the country had been ceded to the English under the decree for the suppression of the order of the Jesuits. The population of the village, in 1766, is placed at sixty-five families, " besides merchants, other casual people and slaves."
The cession of Illinois to Great Britain deprived Kaskas- kia of many of its wealthy citizens. Some removed to St. Genevieve, and others joined in founding St. Louis. It is supposed that one-third of the inhabitants left the village. These removals took place about 1765, at which time the British troops took possession of Fort Chartres. The terri- tory had been ceded three years previous, but the fact for some time was not generally known. By taking up their residence west of the Mississippi, these people supposed they could remain under the French Government though, in fact, by a secret treaty made in 1762, the country west of the river had been ceded to Spain. On Clark's conquest the citizens of the village readily transferred their allegiance from Great Britain to the sea-board colonies. Indeed, some enthusiasm for the American cause seems to have been shown by the leading inhabitants. A militia company volunteered to assist Clark in the capture of Cahokia, and Father Gih- ault visited Vincennes and induced the inhabitants there to sever their relations with the British government and to take the oath of allegiance to the commonwealth of Virgin- ia. Kaskaskia in 1778, is said to have been a village of
two hundred and fifty houses. If this statement is true it shows a considerable growth from 1766 when Capt. Pit- man reported that sixty-five families resided here, " besides merchants, other casual people and slaves." Capt. Pitman's enumeration, however, was taken at a time when the popu- lation was doubtless at its lowest ebb, on account of the re- cent hegira of wealthy families, with large numbers of slaves, to the west side of the Mississippi to escape the English rule. Up to this time the population of Kaskaskia was wholly French. The great part of the families had come from Canada, and some up the Mississippi direct from France. After the conquest by Clark there began an immigration from the coun- try east of the Alleghenies. Enterprising merchants seized upon the advantages of the place as a trading point ; English blood became infused into the village; and the slow and sleepy life of an exclusive French settlement gave way to the vigor of Anglo-Saxon methods. It was during this period, the half century succeeding the American Revolution, that Kaskaskia made its greatest progress and reached the zenith of its prosperity.
FORMER PROMINENT CITIZENS.
Among the men who assisted in inaugurating the new era was John Edgar. By birth he was an Irishman. He had been an officer in the British Navy, and at the beginning of the revolutionary war resided at Detroit, his wife was au American by birth, and her sympathies were warm for the colonial cause.
The British commander at Detroit seized Edgar, on ac- count of his openly expressed sympathy for the American cause, and he was sent as a prisoner to Quebec. On his way there he escaped near Montreal, and found his way within the American lines. Remaining for a time with the army of the colonists, he then sought greater safety in the wilds of the west, and in 1784, settled at Kaskaskia. His wife joined him two years later with twelve thousand dollars which she had saved from the confiscation of his property. This was the necleus of a large fortune. For many years he was the wealthiest citizen of Illinois, and paid more taxes then any other person in the territory. He adopted a mer- cantile career, and his store contained a large stock of goods. He rebuilt Paget's flouring mill, which had fallen into a ruined condition, and before the year 1800, made large quantities of flour which he shipped to the New Orleans market. He was large and portly in person and genial and benevolent in di-position. He was elected a member of the legislature of the North Western territory which con- vended at Chillicothe, Ohio, during the administration of Gov St. Clair. He was appointed by the United States, Major General of the Illinois militia, and at the annual general musters deported himself with great dignity. On the organization of St. Clair county in 1790, he was made one of the judges of the common pleas court, and thence- forward his name frequently appears on the court records for more than a quarter of a century. The Edgar mansion on Elm street, the ruins of which could still be seen a few years ago, was one of the finest residences in Kaskaskia, and was the resort of distinguished visitors. On Lafayette's visit to
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HISTORY OF RANDOLPH, MONROE AND PERRY COUNTIES, ILLINOIS.
the place in 1825, a reception was given in its parlors in his honor. Mrs. Edgar, a woman of grace and accomplishments, was the acknowledged leader of the fashionable society, which made Kaskaskia gay in the old days of its prosperity. Gen. Edgar died without children in 1832.
John Doyle, who had been a soldier under Clark, returned to Illinois with some of his comrades, and settled in Kaskas- kia in 1781. He made some aspirations to learning, and understood the French and Indian languages, as well as the English He taught school and his name deserves to be perpetnated as perhaps that of the first American who en- gaged in the occupation of a teacher in Illinois. Soon afterward, John and Israel Dodge became residents of Kas- kaskia. The latter was the father of Henry Dodge, who served in the United States senate from Wisconsin, and the grandfather of A. C. Dodge, Senator from Iowa. The Dodge family in 1794 removed to St. Genevieve, and manu factured salt on the Mississippi, a few miles below St. Gene vieve, at the mouth of Saline creek
William Morrison for years the leading spirit in commer- cial circles in Illinois, made his home in Kaskaskia in 1790. He established the firm of Bryant and Morrison long known as one of great wealth and high standing. His partner was his uncle, Guy Bryant, a resident of Philadelphia. The main store, both wholesale and retail, was at Kaskaskia, From it the merchants of St. Louis, St. Genevieve, Cape Girardeau and New Madrid, supplied themselves with goods. His trade extended from Kaskaskia around to Pittsburg, to New Orleans, Prairie du Chien, and the Rocky Mountains. He was a person of vast energy and superior business facul- ties. For many years he carried on a heavy commerce on the Mississippi between Kaskaskia and New Orleans. His boats were the largest and the best that up to that time had ever stemmed the waters of the Mississippi. He accumulated a large fortune. In 1801 he built a fine stone honse on Elm Street and furnished it in a costly and elegant manner; it was considered the best in the Illinois country. He died in April 1837, and was buried in the old grave-yard.
Robert and James Morrison, brothers of William, came to Kaskaskia in 1798. They both became prominent and distin- guished citizens. The wife of Robert Morrison (nee Miss Donaldson) was a lady of much refinement and culture. She frequently wrote for the papers on political and other sub- jects.
One of the most distinguished and worthy citizens of Kaskaskia was Pierre Menard. He was born at Quebec, in Canada, in the year 1767. His father was an officer in the French service. He reached Vincennes in 1786, and was employed by Col. Vigo as agent in the Indian trade. In 1789 he accompanied Vigo across the mountains to Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where they had au interview with President Washington, relative to the defence of the western frontier. In 1790 he came to Kaskaskia, where he established a store. For many years he acted as Indian Agent for the United States Government, and also in several instances was appointed commissioner to negotiate Indian treaties. The Indians had great respect and affection for him. He carried on an extensive trade with several tribes, and it was said
that, at any time, an Indian would prefer giving Menard his peltry for nothing than to receive double value for it from a long knife American. In the early history of Illi- nois Menard was foremost in almost every enterprise. He was elected one of the representatives from Randolph county to the Legislature of the Indiana territory in 1803, and attended the legislative sessions at Vincennes. He was a member of each territorial Legislature of Illinois from 1812 to the organization of the State government in 1818, and during this time served without interruption as presi- dent of the legislative council. He is said to have presided over this body without parade or show, but with great common sense, and to have fostered wise and equitable laws for the growing commonwealth. He was elected the first lieutenant-governor of the State. Menard county, on its organization in 1839, was given its name in his honor. By his mercantile business and investments in land, he ac- quired a large fortune, which, to some extent, was dimin- ished by his liberal disposition and desire to accommodate bis friends, many of whose debts he was obliged to pay. His first partner, on coming to Kaskaskia, was a gentleman of Vincennes named Du Bois. In 1808 he became a partner in the great trading company of Emanuel Liza, for which he transacted business among the Indians in the Rocky mountains. The firm of Menard & Valle was established about 1824, and carried on a mercantile business, chiefly with the Indians, for several years. He died in 1844. The house iu which he lived is still standing on the east side of the Kaskaskia river, just below the town. Of his children, Edmond Menard alone survives.
In the year 1795 Francois and Hypolite Menard followed their older brother, Pierre, to Kaskaskia. The former be- came a noted navigator of the Mississippi, and secured a reputation for judgment, courage and skill as a boatman, not surpassed by that of any other habitue of the river. Hypo- lite Menard was a farmer in the point below Kaskaskia, and an estimable and popular man. He was elected in 1828 a representative from Randolph county in the Sixth General Assembly.
John Rice Jones, the first lawyer that ever practiced before the Illinois courts, became a citizen of Kaskaskia in 1790. He was a Welshman by birth, and from Philadel- phia, where he had enjoyed the acquaintance of Benjamin Franklin, Dr. James Rush and other distinguished men, removed to Vincennes in 1787. Further mention of Jones is made in the article on Bench and Bar.
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