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 76

Author: McDonough, J.L., & Co., Philadelphia
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Philadelphia : J.L. McDonough & Co
Number of Pages: 578


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 76
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 76
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 76


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Dr. George Fisher, one of the early physicians, became a citizen of Kaskaskia in 1798. He was a Virginian by birth. He was the first sheriff of Randolph county, a member of the first and third territorial legislatures, in which he served as speaker of the house of representatives, and delegate in 1818 to the convention which framed the first constitution of the State. Among the other physicians was Dr. William L. Reynolds, who came from Bracken county, Kentucky, and settled at Kaskaskia in 1809. He was a man of good professional education and ability, and for a long time stood at the head of his profession. Dr. Truman Tuttle came in 1802 as surgeon in the United States Army. After the removal of


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HISTORY OF RANDOLPH, MONROE AND PERRY COUNTIES, ILLINOIS.


the troops he remained at Kaskaskia and practiced his profession. Both he and Dr. Reynolds removed to Cahokia. Dr. James Rose reached Kaskaskia from Kentucky in the year 1805.


To the town belongs the distinction of being the home of the first Governor of the State of Illinois, Shadrach Bond. He was born in Frederick county, Maryland, in the year 1773, and in 1794 came to Illinois with his uncle, Shadrach Bond, settling in the American Bottom in what is now Monroe county. He was elected a member of the legisla- ture of Indiana territory, in 1812 the first delegate to Con- gress from the territory of Illinois, and afterward was appointed receiver of public monies at the Kaskaskia land office. He removed to Kaskaskia in 1814, and made a large farm west of the village. The house in which he lived may still be seen. At the expiration of his term of office he became register of the land office. He died in April, 1830. Hle was buried at his farm. His grave being threatened by the encroachments of the Mississippi, his remains, within a year or two, have been removed to the cemetery at Chester, where the State has erected a fitting monument to his memory.


Of the early lawyers. James Haggin came to Kaskaskia in 1804, Beujamin F. Doyle in 1805 and John Rector in 1806. Haggin returned to Kentucky, and there became a distinguished lawyer. Doyle served as attorney general for the territory in 1809. Nathaniel Pope, the first secretary of the territory of Illinois, come to Kaskaskia in 1804. He resided at St. Genevieve till 1808, and then returned to Kaskaskia. He was territorial secretary from 1809 to 1816, and in 1817 and 1818 was the delegate to Congress. On the admission of the State into the Union he was made judge of the United States district court, and held that office for more than thirty years. He removed to Alton in 1844, and died in 1850. His son, General John Pope, now of the United States Army, was born in the Bottom near Kaskaskia. Elias Kent Kane began his brilliant career as a young lawyer at Kaskaskia in 1814. He was a native of New York, and a graduate of Yale college. He was appointed by Governor Boud secretary of State on the organ- ization of the State government in 1818. (Sce Bench and Bar for further sketch).


Sidney Breese came to Kaskaskia in 1818, and Gen. James Shields located here in 1×32 as a school teacher. They both became prominent in politics and eminent jurists. (A more extended sketch of these gentlemeo may be found in the chapter on Bench and Bar.)


KASKASKIA SINCE 1800.


In the last century Kaskaskia was essentially a French village. The French style of architecture prevailed, and rows of low one-story houses lined the streets. The only brick house in the place was built about 1750 with bricks brought in boats from Pittsburg. Gradually the old French exclusiveness broke away, and a few years before 1800 the leading places in business and society began to be taken by men of English blood. Early in the present century a large floating population poured into the town. Immigration to


Illinois had set in rapidly, and every new settler directed his course to Kaskaskia, from which point he explored the country and selected his location. From 1810 to 1820 the town probably contained more people than at any other period of its history. A census taken at that time showed a population of seven thousand. Its merchants carried on a heavy trade, and an air of bustle and activity pervaded the streets. About 1820 other towns began to spring up; it was no longer the center of immigration, and gradually and quietly it lost its importance, and gave way to rival settle- ments. The flood of 1844 gave the finishing blow to its prosperity. Many of the inhabitants left after that disaster. It was the seat of government of the Territory of Illinois from 1809 to 1818. It was the county seat of Randolph county from 1795 to 1848. The first newspaper was estab- lished here in 1809, by Matthew Duncan.


After the time of Morrison, one of the leading mercantile firms was that of Menard & Valle, composed of Pierre Menard and Jean Baptiste Valle. They began business about 1824 They also carried on a store at St. Genevieve, where Valle lived. Their trade was chiefly with the Dela. ware, Shawnee, and Peoria tribes of Indians in Missouri and Arkansas. They owned part of the stock of the American Fur Company. They sold guns, ammunition, strouds, and other articles of Indian use, and received in exchange furs and peltries. Their trade was remunerative, and out of it they were said to have made half a million of dollars. Mather, Lamb & Co. carried on business at the same time with Menard & Valle. This firm had for its members Thomas Mather, Stacy B. Opdycke, James L. Lamb, and Edmund Roberts. A branch of their business was estab- lished at Chester on the commencement of the growth of that place, and the members of the firm subsequently be- came residents of Springfield. Hugh H. Maxwell also had a store during the same period. He was a native of Ire- land, and a man of some education. He married Mary O. Menard, a daughter of Pierre Menard, in the year 1811. He did in 1832. His widow survived him thirty years. In more recent years George W. Staley was one of the mer- chants of the place. His store was burned down. William and J. P. Lakenan were engaged in the mercantile business before 1844, and removed to Chester. Thomas Short was another merchant. Gustavus l'ape, who now has the only store in the place, has been in business for many years.


Among the physicians in former days was Dr Josiah P. Betts. He was successful in his practice. Soon after Chi- cago began its growth he went there, but returned to Kas- kaskia about the year 1844, and a few years subsequently died. Dr. Thomas M. Hope hecame a resident of the place about 1836. He married a daughter of Judge Nathaniel Pope, and removed to Alton. Dr. James Burch, previous to his death in 1878. had practiced his profession at Kas- kaskia for many years.


In 1844, before the flood of that year, the town was more than twice as large as now. The population, by the census of 1880, was three hundred and fifty. It is now not more than two thirds of that. The washing away of the neck of land separating the Mississippi and Kaskaskia rivers, in


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HISTORY OF RANDOLPH, MONROE AND PERRY COUNTIES, ILLINOIS.


April, 1881, placed the town on an island, and took away a considerable portion of its trade. The bank of the Mis- sissippi was once three miles distant. The river has gradually crept to within a mile of the village, and further encroachments are feared. Some of the old buildings still remain. On Chartres street is the old hotel, a large build- ing with porch fronting the street, and a spacions room in- side in which balls and parties used to make gay the social life of the village. In the dining room Lafayette sat down to a bounteous collation in 1825. Farther up Chartres street, on the corner of Poplar, is the brick building in which the Bank of Kaskaskia, chartered by the legislature in 1817, transacted business. Its walls are now leaning and threatened with destruction. It was originally built for a dwelling, and it was once the residence of Elias Kent Kane It was used for a time, also, as the United States land office, which afterward transferred its location to a frame building across the street.


The old state house, in which the territorial and state legislatures held their sessions, stood on the north side of Elm street, the second block above the residence of William Morrison. It was a store building. The legislature is also said to have met in the second story of the building now occupied by Pape's store. This is one of the oldest build. ings that have survived from ancient times. The old county court house has been rebuilt, and presents a modern appear- ance It is used as the public school building. A brick house on Elm street, above the site of the state house, is one of the oldest buildings still in existence. It was once the residence of Mr. Ayrondale, magistrate and register of the land office. . In a stone house east of the old convent site an Indian chief, Louis Duquoin, lived many years. On his death he was buried in the Catholic grave yard. Raphael Widen, a clerk for Menard & Valle, and a justice of the peace, also lived and died in this house.


In place of the log mission chapel built on the establish- ment of the mission, a stone church was erected as early as 1720 at the expense of the French government. This was replaced io 1774 by another structure, which was taken down in 1801 on account of a fissure in its walls. The next church building stood till 1838, when it was likewise demo]- ished. The present church was built in 1843. In it hangs the old bell, cast at Rochelle in France in the year 1741, and sent to Louis Buyat, by him to be given to the infant church in America. It was the first church bell that ever rang west of the Allegheny mountains.


The Convent of the Ladies of Visitation was established at Kaskaskia in May, 1833, by a colony from the parent house at Georgetown, District of Columbia. With it was connected Menard Academy, patronized with much zeal and benevolence by Pierre Menard. A large building was erected for the accommodation of its inmates. It was opened for pupils in 1836. During the few years of its ex- istence it enjoyed a high reputation. The flood of 1844 compelled an abandonment of the institution.


Two attempts have been made to bridge the Kaskaskia. The first bridge was built about the year 1824 by William


Morrison It was constructed of trestle work, and after being used a year or two, fell to the water. The second bridge was erected by the Kaskaskia Bridge Company, whose capital stock was twenty thousand dollars, of which the county sub- scribed one fourth. Work was commenced on the structure in 1840. It consisted of three spans, and on the west side was to be a drawbridge The plan on which it was built was deficient, and in May, 1843, before it was opened for general use, it fell by its own weight. A ferry has been maintained across the Kaskaskia from an early date in the history of the town. The franchise was formerly owned by Pierre Menard, and it is now in the possession of his son Edmond Menard.


The old records of the town have been destroyed. For about thirty-five years no officers were elected under the charter. In 1871 it was resolved to revive the town govern- ment, and Julien Chenu, the only surviving member of the old board of trustees, made appointments to fill vacancies in the board. On the 24th of May, 1873, the citizens voted to incorporate as a village under the general law.


To the town of Kaskaskia belongs the Commons, com- prising nine thousand acres of rich land in the point between the Kaskaskia and Mississippi rivers. Abont seven thousand acres is capable of cultivation. Three thousand acres are now nnder lease, and furnish a liberal income to the village for school and church purposes. Under the old management all the inhabitants had equal access to the Commons for pasturage and fuel. By an act of the legislature passed in 1854, the citizens were authorized to elect five trustees every two years, who should exercise charge of the Commons, lease portions thereof, and apply the proceeds to church and school purposes only. The first trustees to serve under this act were Savinien St. Vrain, Edmond Menard, Dennis Kav- anaugh, Joseph Baronowski, and Adam Feaman. The Common Field was also originally owned jointly by the vil- lagers, though each resident was assigned an individual por- tion. The United States commissioners, in 1809, determined the rights of each citizen, and the lots have since been held in fee simple.


The business interests are now represented by Gustavus Pape as general merchant and postmaster. Donatus Beiter deals in drugs, and Charles M. Wheeler in drugs and gro- ceries. Dr. H. M. Boldt is the only physician. Beside the public school. there is a school conducted under the care of the Catholic church.


KASKASKIA POINT


Embraced a rich body of land below the village of Kas- kaskia, between the Mississippi and Kaskaskia rivers, occu- pied by the Common Field and Commons of Kaskaskia. Two ferries over the Kaskaskia river furnish easy access to Chester. The town of Dozaville, on the Mississippi, was projected by William Doza in 1872. There is a general store, of which the proprietor is Leon E. Delassus, also the owner of a saw mill. A drug and grocery store is kept by E. Ellison. It is without a postoffice, mail matter being received at Kaskaskia.


308A


2


ST. MARY'S OF HELP - ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH PROPERTY, CHESTER, ILL.


FARM RESIDENCE OF J.M.CRISLER, SEC 36, 16, R.7, (CHESTER PRECINCT ) RANDOLPH CO. ILL.


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HISTORY OF RANDOLPH, MONROE AND PERRY COUNTIES, ILLINOIS.


LAND OFFICE AT KASKASKIA.


We append the following letter received November 25, 1882, from the Commissioner of the Genaral Land Office. Washington, D. C., in regard to the land office at Kaskaskia : " GENTLEMEN :- In reply to your letter of the 16th inst., requesting information concerning the land office at Kas- kaskia, Illinois, I have to inform you that the land distriet was created by Act of Congress approved March 26, 1804, and it was discontinued by order of the President dated November 12, 1855. The transfer of the records to the office at Springfield was effected on February 25, 1856.


I am unable to furnish you with a complete list of the names of the officers prior to 1821 for the reason that this office was formerly a branch of the Treasury Department, and the records then in that Department were destroyed by fire in 1832. A partial list, however, was obtained from other sources, and the following embraces all the data I am able to give you.


REGISTERS.


Nicholas Jones, commissioned .


. March 7, 1821.


Shadrach Bond


January 28, 1823


Miles Hotchkiss


. April 30, 1832


Jacob Fearman


June 20, 1841


Ferdinand Maxwell


September 24, 1849


Daniel P Roberts


March 28, 185.3.


Each of these officers retained his position until the ap- poi tment of his successor.


RECEIVERS.


Edward Humphries, commissioned .. March 5, 1821.


Samuel Crawford,


August 5, 1840


Richard B. Servant, ..


March 17, 1843.


John A. Langlois,


August 2, 1845.


Ezra C. Coffey,


.4


June », 1850.


William Adair,


June 3, 1×54.


From original papers on the files of this offiee dating from 180I to 1809, the names of Michael Jones and E. Baekus appear as Regi-ter and Receiver, and in 1815 Michael Jones and Shadrach Bond appear as holding the office of Register and Receiver respectively. 1 regret that I am unable to furnish you more specific information.


Very Respectfully,


N. C. MCFARLAND, Commissioner.


FORT GAGE


During the progress of the war with the Chickasaws and other hostile Indian tribes, a fort was built on the high hill opposite Kaskaskia for the defense of the town. The date of its construction was the year 1736. Of its size and strength tradition gives no information. In 1756, during the old Freneh and English war, it was repaired and strengthened, and occupied by a French garrison. From that time to the present the bluff' on which it stood has borne the name of Garrison hill. In 1766 the old fort was destroyed by fire, and soon after another was built on the same spot by the English. Its shape is described by Capt. Philip Pitman as that of an oblong quadrange, of which the exterior poly- gon measured 290 by 251 feet. It was constructed of very thiek squared timber, dovetailed at the angles. Within the walls were a stone magazine, the commandant's house, and other smaller buildings. On the abandonment of Fort Chartres in 1772 the British garrison occupied the fort to which the name of Gage had been applied in honor of the commander-in-chief of the British forces in America. On the night of the 4th of July, 1778, it was captured by Col. Clark. The garrison then consisted of twenty soldiers un- der command of M. Rocheblave, the British commandant iu Illinois. Its approaches were guarded by four eannon. The records of the English possession of the country are said to have been destroyed on the night of the surrender by the wife of M. Rochehlave, so that many valuable documents belonging to that period were lost. While Colonel Clark remained in Illinois he occupied the fort as his headquarters. At the elose of the war of the Revolution the fort remained unoccupied until 1801, when it was garrisoned by a detach- ment of United States soldiers. Colonel Pike's regiment was stationed here for a short period. It was soou abandoned. The walls crumbled and fell to the ground and the building decayed. The lines of the fort are now marked by embank- ments of earth. The parade ground north of the fort is grown up with timber. The site commands a beautiful view of the Kaskaskia and Mississippi rivers. and the adjacent bottom.


BIOGRAPHIES.


LOUIS I. DEROUSSE, JR.


ONE of the younger representatives of the family of that name, so conspicuous during the past in the history of Ran- dolph county, was born in Kaskaskia, September 22, 1854, being the son of the late Louis Derousse, who was for many years a well known citizen of this town. His father died in 1878. A portrait and sketch may be found of him on another page of this work. He has followed farming and mereantile persuits all his life. On the eighth of November, 1881, be was married to Miss Odial M. Chann, daughter of


Joseph M. and Sophia A. Chann. Captain Chann was for- merly the proprietor of the landing on the Mississippi river a few miles from Kaskaskia, and known as Kaskaskia land- ing.


Louis J. Derousse is following the footsteps of his de- ceased father, in that he is an office holder. Ile was elected constable in 1881, a position his father had held many years before. Hle is an ardent working Democrat, a member, to- gether with his wife, of the Catholic church.


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HISTORY OF RANDOLPH, MONROE AND PERRY COUNTIES, ILLINOIS.


0


E Menard


THERE are names cherished with pride by every lover of the early history of his commonwealth. Among such in Illinois is that of Menard. Pierre Menard, a Frenchman, came to Kaskaskia in 1790. He married Angelique Souci, in 1792. He traded with the Indians, taking their furs, pelts, etc, in exchange for goods, also engaged in farming. He was a prominent citizen, and took an active part in every public enterprise. Upon the organization of the State, he was elected Lientenant-Governor. His father, John Menard, fought at Quebec under Montgomery. Edmond, a son of Pierre, was boru in Kaskaskia, February 7, 1813. He in- herited much of his father's disposition. In 1837 he was elected a member of the Legislature, which then convened at Vandalia, and was continued during the first session after


the removal of the capitol to Springfield. He has followed merchandising and farming. His neighbors held him in high esteem, be anse of noble qualities, and generous, im- pulses, prompting him to deeds of charity. The poor of the old town of Kaskaskia, recognize in him a benefactor and friend. His little acts of kindness, such as supplying a dis- tressed family with meat or provisions, furnishing them with horses to enable them to drive the plow, etc., are many, and treasured in memory of all who know him. Among his fellow- citizens and to each one of them he is "Uncle Edmand." So much is said of his father and family in the pioneer and other chapters of this work, owing to their great prominence that a lengthy sketch is deemed unnecessary in this connec- tion.


HISTORY OF RANDOLPH, MONROE AND PERRY COUNTIES, ILLINOIS.


311


J.B Bunch


ONE of the prominent farmers and large land-holders of Kaskaskia bottoms, is Joshna G. Burch. He was born in Nelson county, Kentucky, November 15, 1815, and has been a resident of Randolph county since 1840. His ancestors were Virginians. In 1770 they located in Kentucky, where they were compelled to live in a fort for protection against the Indians, at that time John H. Burch, the father of the subject of this sketch, was a mere lad.


Joshua G. Burch was married to Bridget Tewel, April 11th, 1837. She was a native of Ireland, but had been prin- cipally raised in Kentucky. By her he had eight children, four of whom are living. She died October 12, 1875, and


on the thirtieth of September, 1876, Mr. Burch was married to Catherine Allen.


To him belongs the credit of having brought the first wheat drill to the county, also the first thresher. The bring- ing of the thresher eaused as much excitement then as would a circus now. The third year after the sowing of the first wheat introduced into the vicinity of Kaskaskia, he threshed out twenty-nine thousand bushels with his new thresher. He devotes much of his attention to the raising of stock, and now in the evening of life rents ont large areas of his farm- ing lands to tenants. He is a Democrat of the old Jackson stamp.


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HISTORY OF RANDOLPH, MONROE AND PERRY COUNTIES, ILLINOIS.


DR. H. M. BOLDT.


GERMANY, the land of scientists and philosophers, has fur- nished this country thousands of men of culture and erudi- tion. Of college professors, lawyers, and physicians, not a few have taken high rank in the country of their adoption. Lovers of the patriotism that comes of American institutions of the liberty thereby extended, they annually come in great numbers. Dr. H. M. Boldt, a young man, belongs to this class; he was born in Dantsic, Germany, July 15th, 1851. Obtained a liberal education, not alone in his native State, but in Berlin, where he completed his college course. In 1872 he learned to love American institutions from koow- ledge gathered respecting them, and announced to his father his determination of crossing the sea. His father thought he was joking, and up to the very hour of his departure would not have it otherwise. Arriving here, he set about mastering the English tongue, then selected medicine as his chosen profession. Most assiduously did he persecute his studies; he entered the office of Dr. Tuholski, in St. Louis, where he remained several years. In 1879 he graduated as Doctor of Medicine from McDowell College, St. Louis. The same year found him in old Kaskaskia ready to prac- tice. The field had been recently vacated and he was anxious to try his powers. Right rapidly has he grown in the estimation of the people among whom he has cast his lot. A student from force of habit, he leaves no investiga- tion, once undertaken, until a proper understanding has crowned his efforts. As a physician he is gaining a good practice, in which he is giving eminent satisfaction. Based upon his knowledge of American institutions, he is an ardent Republican, and cannot understand why any of his fellows, prompted by motives similar to his own, coming from Germay, can be anything else. His characteristics briefly summed up are earnestness, enthusiasm, laborious research and the exercise of sound judgment.


CHARLES M. WHEELER.


AMONG citizens of Kaskaskia who have contributed no little to the rejuvenation of that time-honored spot, none has worked more faithfully than Charles M. Wheeler. He was born in St. Genevieve, Missouri, January 4th, 1844. His parents were James M. and Mary Wheeler. His father was a Londoner, and came to America when he was but fourteen years of age ; he died in Kaskaskia April 4th, 1860 after a residence of about thirty years. His mother, whose maiden name was Mary Boarman, died Sept 15th, 1846, and is, together with her husband, buried in Kaskaskia Cem- etery.


Charles M. attended first the public schools of Kaskaskia and subsequently the seminary at Connewago, Penna., which he entered at the age of fourteen. Here he studied the classics and after three years returned home to enter the employ of Riley as clerk. After a short time he went to Kansas City in the same manner of business. Under force of circumstances he joined the rebel army under General Price. Prior to his doing this he had written a letter to a sister in which he used the expression, " I hope the North will send down enough men to bring South Carolina back; she had no business to secede." Despite his Union sentiments, freely expressed, he found himself compelled to enter the Southern army. His command surrendered to General Canby at Shreveport, Louisiana, in 1865. He remained a year in Louisiana in attendance at school at Mt. Lebanon for a year thereafter, returning to Kaskaskia in 1867, since which time his life has been spent in clerking and merchan- dising in Kansas City, Memphis and Kaskaskia. He was married to Miss Mary Reily, Sept. 1st, 1869. By this union there have been born five children. In 1881 he pur- chased the drug store he now manages. In 1873 he was elected a Justice of the Peace, an office he still holds. He is an ardent, active Democrat, politically, and is quite prom- inent in conventions of that party, being generally a dele- gate. During the last campaign he was made chairman of the Democratic Central Committee for the county.




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