Combined history of Shelby and Moultrie Counties, Illinois : with illustrations descriptive of their scenery and biographical sketches of some of their prominent men and pioneers, Part 11

Author:
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Philadelphia : Brink, McDonough & Co.
Number of Pages: 458

USA > Illinois > Shelby County > Combined history of Shelby and Moultrie Counties, Illinois : with illustrations descriptive of their scenery and biographical sketches of some of their prominent men and pioneers > Part 11
USA > Illinois > Moultrie County > Combined history of Shelby and Moultrie Counties, Illinois : with illustrations descriptive of their scenery and biographical sketches of some of their prominent men and pioneers > Part 11

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Benjamin Moberly, another well-known " old settler," was born in Madison county, Kentucky in the year 1799. His father, Isaac Moberly, moved to the southern part of Illinois in 1812, where they lived a number of years in a Fort in what is now Franklin conuty. He was quite a noted Indian hunter, and was also an adept in pro- curing all kinds of game. It is said that with his rifle he could strike the eye of a deer at the distance of a hundred and fifty yards. He was one of the best rifle shots in all that section of country, and was a man noted for his bravery and agility. In the early part of the year 1827 Benjamin Moberly moved north and made a settlement on Sand Creek, in Shelby county, where he afterwards improved a large farm. He now lives in Windsor, and is a hale and hearty old gentleman, and delights to talk about the early times.

Jacob Cutler and son, John C., came to Shelbyville in the fall of 1827. They opened a small store, and brought the second stock of goods to the county. Jacob Cutler sold goods here until 1833, when he moved to Fort Madison, Iowa, and was one of the first merchants in that place. Hle resided there until his death. John Cutler is still a resident of Shelbyville.

John Frazer, who was for many years a prominent man in the eastern part of the county, settled in what is now Ash Grove town- ship in 1828. He was a native of North Carolina, but moved t) Kentucky with his parents when a youth, and came here from the latter State at the time indicated above. Mr. Frazer and wife raised a family of eight children, and he continued to reside in this township until his death, which took place in the spring of 1855.

CAMP MEETINGS IN EARLY TIMES.

The first camp meeting held in Shelby county was near the cabin of Thomas Robinson, on Robinson's Creek, in 1828 or '29. This meeting was held by the Methodist denomination during the month of Angust, and the weather was very warm and sultry. Jonathan Howard's wife was at the altar ( which was a round pole laid on two logs). Howard thought the place too warm for her, and he made an attempt to take her out and away from the altar, so she could " cool off," as he expressed it, when the preachers (four in non- bery objected, saying they would attend to her bodily welfare as well as her spiritual This Howard could not stand, and he be- came boisterous, divested himself of part of his clothing, walked into the surging and sweating crowd, took his wife by the hand and " led her out." Coats flew off in an instant ; loud talking and angry imprecations were indulged in, and for a few minutes it looked as though a fight was imminent. Robinson took Howard's part. Men seized hold of clubs, and the preachers of that early day could handle a club with a great deal of grace, and they were not easily scared. The mecting soon became one of confusion, and very near a riot, in consequence of which the meeting was broken

HISTORY OF SHELBY AND MOULTRIE COUNTIES, ILLINOIS.

up, as the preachers had their friends, as well as Howard and his crowd, and both seemed willing to show the power of muscle. We simply mention the above circumstance of the pioneer era in order to exhibit the customs and peculiarities of that period. The above incident was narrated to the writer by a participant of that to him pleasing occasion.

One of the early settlers of Shelby county was John Tackett, a native of Virginia. He emigrated to Kentucky, where he lived several years. In the fall of 1829 he moved with his family, which consisted of a wife and two children to Shelby county, Illinois. Here one child was born to them. Mrs. Tackett died soon after- ward. Some time after a second marriage was cousumated, and from this union two children were born. ' Soon after the arrival of Mr. Tackett in Shelbyville, he bought the hotel built by Thomas Lee. He continued in the hotel business for seven or eight years, when he embarked in the mercantile business with Dr. Headen, which occupation he followed for several years. Becoming tired of this pursuit, he again fell back to his old business, that of a land- lord. He died in Shelbyville in 1850. Three of the family are still living in the above city, namely, William J., John A., and Mrs. Edward Hopkius.

Bushrod Washington Henry was born in Culpepper conuty, Vir- ginia, February 4, 1805. In the fall of 1830 he came to Shelby from Rutherford county, Tennessee, where he had lived about three years. He was oue of the pioneer preachers of the county, and from the consistency of his daily walk as compared with his creed and faith, he became one of the most popular advoca es of Chris- tianity in this region of country. He was an untiring worker, and in 1832 had succeeded in establishing a church with a large mem- bership in Shelbyville. It was denominated the First Baptist Church of Christ of Shelbyville. He was three times married, and at his death . his descendants numbered fifty persons-children, grand-children, and great-grand-children. He died the 20th day of Angust, 1879, and will ever be remembered by the people of Shelby conuty as one whose virtues and walk in life would benefit the world were they imitated.

The subject of this sketch, Gen. William F. Thornton, was not only one of the prominent men of Shelby county, but of the State of Illinois. Although not one of the pioneers of the State, he be- came an early settler, and figures largely in the rise and progress of the State. He was for years a member of the Legislature, and was also a man of education and broad culture. As an advocate and public speaker he ranked among the first in the State. His patriotism is beyond question, as the records at Washington will show that he commanded a company of soldiers in the war of 1812. His broad mind and excellent business capacity brought him in contact with the first talent of the State. He was one of the three commissioners appointed by Gov. Duncan, in 1836, for the purpose of constructing the Illinois and Michigan canal. Subsequently he proved an important auxiliary in the negotiating of bonds in the European market for the above object. In 1840 he was deputed to go to London with the bonds, where he effected the sale of $1,000,- 000 at 85 cents on the dollar, which was ten per cent. better than his instructions. Later in life he became a prominent banker in Shelbyville, and was one of the moneyed kings of central Illinois. He died a few years siuce with a name placed alongside of the prominent and active men of the West.

THE FIRST GERMAN FAMILY IN SHELBY COUNTY.

John P. Freyburger was a native of Bavaria. Germany. He emigrated to America with his family in 1831. On his way from New York to Ohio he was taken with the cholera, and on his arri-

val at Ætna, Ohio, he died. The family lived in the State until 1835, - when they moved to Shelby county, Illinois. With a family of four children in a new country, and among strangers, it took all a mother's tact to bring up her little family and make them useful members of society. They settled in Okaw towuship, where her son, Michael Freyburger, now lives. The mother died in 1870, at the age of 78. Three of her children yet reside in Shelby county, and one in the State of Arkansas. It was the mother's intention, when she moved to Illinois, to settle at Peoria, but when near Shelbyville one of their horses gave out, and hence they were de- tained a few days in this viciuity. In the meantime they found warm friends among the settlers, and were persuaded to remain in their midst, where they yet reside honored and respected citizens .*

" THE DEEP SNOW."

One of the important epochs in the early history of this part of Illinois was what is familiarly known as the "deep snow," which occurred in the winter of 1830-31. Iudeed, it prevailed throughout the western states and territories On account of the meager pre- paration for so severe a visitation, the early settlers suffered many hardships. It is difficult for those of to-day to comprehend the sufferings of cold and hunger that those sturdy pioneers underwent. The snow commenced falling as early as the first of December, and continned almost without abatement throughout the winter. The measurement in the timber was from four to five feet deep. The stumps standing, where trees had been cut for fire-wood, after the snow had passed away, had the appearance of having been felled by giants, as some of them measured from six to seven feet in height. The roads were completely blockaded, the fences were wholly under the snow. so that the people passed with their teams over them from one settlement to another. For weeks the settlers were virtually buried in their cabins, and only went forth, as food and fuel demanded, from dire necessity. A large portion of the stock perished from cold aud starvation. The wild game, such as deer, prairie chickens, quail, etc., was found in immense numbers, frozen in their tracks.

THE "SUDDEN FREEZE."

This occurred in January, 1836. It was one of those sudden changes, a regular "Manitoba Wave," that only occurs once in several decades. Up to noon, of the day of this phenomenon, it was rather warm than otherwise ; in fact, it had been raining some. Soon after mid-day the storm broke forth, when every puff of wind seemed to be borne from the point of an icicle. Boiling water cast into the air came to the ground a sheet of ice. Ponds and streams werc almost immediately locked in ice. Some old settlers say that the frogs had not time to pull their heads below. One tells us, that in passing over a pond, a day or so afterwards, he kicked off, by ac- tual measurement, the heads of a bushci and a half of frogs. This, however, we cannot vouch for ; it seems a little overdrawn.

'Thus we close the history of the long-to-be-remembered, sturdy pioneers of Shelby county, and turn to open the pages of her pros- perous offspring of Moultric.

MOULTRIE COUNTY.

The county of Moultrie, as stated elsewhere, is an offspring of Macon aud Shelby counties.

It was not until eight years had elapsed from the time when Il- linois was admitted into the Uuion as a state, that the first white

# There are many other old settlers who are spoken of in the histo- ries of the respective townships, where they located, and hence are not inen- tioned in this chapter.

HISTORY OF SHELBY AND MOULTRIE COUNTIES, ILLINOIS.

man ereeted his cabin of rough, unhewn logs within the present boundaries of Moultrie county. Owing to this fact, there is but little genuine pioneer history. However, we seek to place upon the historic page the names of the first settlers, and what they did to make their county the just pride of the great Prairie State of the American Union. Those early settlers were of one origin, language, religion, with political and patriotic sentiments identical with a common history and the same traditions. They were of the intel- ligent working class, having community of purpose, which they pursued by the same methods and in the same field, with results not widely dissimilar. The journey, arrival, fortune, and career of almost any one of these resolute, vigorous, thrifty families was the counterpart of the history of all the others. Hence to avoid repe- tition in this chapter, we will simply follow up the arrivals as nearly as possible, of the early families who settled here, knowing that the privations and hardships, incidents and anecdotes related in the foregoing, are about the same as experienced by the first settlers in this county.

SETTLEMENTS.

The honor of first settling in the territory comprising Moultrie county, belongs to John Whitley. Ile with his wife and sons John, Sharp, Mills, Randall, William, Josiah, his son-in-law Samuel Linley, and two or three daughters, settled in Section 12, T. 12, R. 6, at the point of timber which has ever since been known as Whitley's Point, in the fall of 1826. This farm is now owned by J. M Edmonds. Here he erceted the first cabin and broke the first prairie in what is now Moultrie county. All his sous but Josiah were married, and some had children, when they came and settled in the same vicinity, as did also the son-in-law, Samuel Linley. William Priec, a single man, came a short time after their arrival and married one of Whitley's daughters, and located near the old gentleman. The senior Whitley was a native of Maryland, and it is thought came from Kentucky here. He and all his sons were very fond of sport, great horsemen, and always kept a number of fine thoroughbred Kentucky race horses. They would frequently ride some distance to settlements and raee for money ; in fact, gambling in general seemed to be their chief oceu- pation. The sons were all large, athletie men, and inclined to fight nt the slightest provocation. It is said that they and some of the Waggoner's had an interesting combat at one time. Mills and Sharp Whitley and Samuel Linley emigrated to Texas about 1836 ur '37, and John, Randall, and William died several years ago in Missouri, whenec they had moved. Josiah, the last known of, was living in Bond county, this state. The elder Whitley moved up the Okaw river, in Coles county, about 1838, where he died a few years later, and his wife soon followed him in death. Although none of their descendants live in the county, the name of Whitley, united as it is to township and stream, resists decay. Hal Mc- Daniel, a native of Tennessee, who either came with the Whitley's or about the same time, squatted a mile west of them on Whitley creck. He had a wife and four or five children, but remained here only a short time.

The next settlement was made on the place now owned hy Chleb Evans, in Section 1, T. 12 R. 5, in the extreme southern part of the county, by two brothers, Samuch and Jonathan Anderson. They left here about 1834. The next arrival was of a different class. They were permanent settlers, and to-day their descendants are as numerous in this locality as any family that ever settled here. We will mention the Waggoners'. They settled in the Whitley settle- ment late in the month of March, 1828. Grandfather Isaae Wag- gone? was a native of South Carolina, where he grew to manhood,

and where he enlisted in the Revolutionary war, and after sery- ing three years returned to his native state, and married Emsey Holeyfield, by whom he had a family of thirteen children, all born and reared in the Carolimus. Mr. Waggoner moved into North Carolina a few years after his marriage, where he lived until he emigrated to Illinois. There came with him his wife, four sons- George, Amos, Eli-ha, Gilbert and Enscy, the youngest daughter, Mary and her husband, Noah Webb, and one child. George also brought with him his wife and four children, viz. : Alvin, Robert, Celia, and Sally. Amos, Elisha, and Gilbert cach brought wives but had no children when they came. They left Rutherford county, North Carolina, their home, in the latter part of Noven- ber, 1827, in two covered wagons ; one drawn with four horses and the other with a two-horse team, and came as far as Temeste, where they stopped a few weeks for rest, and then continued their journey through Kentucky, and up into Illinois, reaching Section 7, of what is now Whitley township, in the latter part of March, 1828, where they immediately constructed cabins of the usual pioneer description, and made preparations for a erop of corn the coming season. The prairie was broken for them with ox teams by Samuel Linley. This was on the place now occupied by T. Leggett, near the Whitefield Church. In the fall of the same year (1828), John, his oldest son, Isaac, Jr., the next oldest, and Harmon Smith came with their families John had a wife and nine children, and settled on Section 12, on the place where David Pierce now resides. Of his children only two are now living : Sally, the widow of David Harrison, and Naney, the wife of 1. 11. Edwards. John Waggoner died about 1844, and his widow sur- vived until 1849. His sons who have left descendants here are William and Edward. William married Naney Walker, and several of their children are living here. Elder John G. Way- goner, a Christian minister residing at Shelbyville, is a son of Ed- ward and grandson of Isaae Waggoner. Isaac Waggoner, Jr., had a large family, some of whom have died, others moved away, and at present none are living in this state. He died in the fall of 1853, and was buried in the Linn ereck grave-yard.

George, the third son of Grandfather Isaac Waggoner, married in North Carolina, Bethany Haney, and raised a family of twelve children, all living, and all but one-Isaiah-are residing in this county. The others are : Alvin, the oldest son, married Mary Ar- mantrout, and is residing on Section f1 in Whitley township. He has a family of six children, all married, and have families. Alvin served several terms in the county court. Robert, William, Isaac, Hezekiah, und Ira also have families, and live in the same neigh- borhood. Five daughters, Elizabeth, the wife of John Dougherty, and Hannah, the wife of Thomas Dougherty, residing in the north- ern part of the county, and Sally, Celia, and Narcissa, muiden ladies, are living on the old homestead in Section 1f.

Amos, the fifth son, married Narcissa Jay, in North Carolina, by whom he bad a large family, five of whom are living, viz. : the widow Scott, residing in Sullivan ; Dr. E. E., at Shelbyville ; Joseph II., ex-Circuit Clerk of Moultrie county (served sixteen consecutive years); Mary Ann, the wife of Charles Carter, resid- ing in Decatur, and Francis M., a farmer in Sullivan township. Amos died ahout 1854 or '55, and his widow still survives (Dec. 10, 1880), at the age of seventy-six years.

Elisha Waggoner died about 1858, and his widow and family moved to Missouri. Gilbert is the only survivor of the old stock. He and his wife Patsey Bailey are both living on their farm in Whitley, he at the age of seventy-three and she in her seventieth year. Their children living are Emsey, Elizabeth, John, Andrew J., Martin V , and George, all having families.

HISTORY OF SHELBY AND MOULTRIE COUNTIES, ILLINOIS.

There were large quantities of game here, for a number of years after the first settlements were made. Uncle Gilbert Waggoner, in his younger days was quite a noted hunter, and very fond of the chase. It was not uncommon to see herds of deer, numbering from thirty to fifty, and so tame that they could frequently bc shot from the cabin door. Harmon Smith. a native of North Carolina, settled on the Whitley Creek in 1828. He had a large family, and some are still living here.

In November of the same year, 1828, Andrew Bone and Elias Kennedy made the first settlements in the eastern part of the county. They and their families came from Tennessee together. Andrew Bone was a native of North Carolina Hc settled on the farm now owned by W. F. Vaughan, where he built the first cabin and made the first improvements in this part of the county. He liad a family of seven children, only three of whom are now liv -. ing, viz. : Joseph M., a Cumberland Presbyterian minister, now residing in Kansas ; Narcissa J., the widow of J. S. Frecland, liv- ing in Bethany ; Mary, the wife of James A. Vaughan, in Sec- tion 11 of Marrowbone township. Those dead are Thomas, whose wife still survives, John C., James M., and Leander. All the mem- bers of the family were married and had familics, many of whose descendants are living in this county. Andrew Bone, died a few years after settling here. Elias Kennedy was a Tennesseean, born in the year 1800. He married Isabelle Dobbins, by whom he had eleven children, four of whom are now living-Alexander, James C., David F., Finis E. ; the latter living in Kansas. He settled and built his first cabin in the edge of timber on Section 35 of that township. Kennedy made several moves, however not out of the county, until 1865, when he went to Kansas, where he died in 1871.

Jacob McCune, was a native of New York, born in 1794. He was one of the patriots in the war of 1812, and in an engagement in Canada between the British and Gen. Harrison's army, he re- ceived a severe wound in the thigh ; he was also at the siege of Fort Meigs. He lived in Ohio for several years where he married his first wife, Miss Smith, and from this union seven children were born. He afterwards moved with his family to Indiana, and thence to Illinois in 1827. He first settled at Jimtown, now Riverton, a few miles east of Springfield. In the fall of 1828, he, in company with his two oldest sons, Samuel and Abraham, and their families moved

to this county. Their first halting-place was at what is known as the Big Elm, on Marrowbone Creek. Here they built a camp-fire in a fallen tree-top, turned their team out to graze, and Mr Mc- Cune started south in search of a settlement. He had only crosscd Wilborn Creck when he discovered signs of domestic swine ; and on looking a little to his right, he saw at a short distance, on a slight prominence, a small cabin. Upon approaching it, what was lıis surprise to see a large black dog which lic recognized as belong- ing to John Wilborn, having lived near the Wilborns in Indiana. He was, of course, received very cordially by his old friend, and after a short consideration he concluded to stop at that point, but he only remained there for a short time, when he moved into what is now Sullivan township. Mr. McCune was a man well-known by all the early settlers, and admired for his humanity to man. He lived to a good old age, and his remains rest in the Camfield Cemetery. His last wife survives him, and lives with her son-in-law, Finley Jeffries.

As early as 1829, a lone cabin might have been seen standing in the edge of the timber of the West Okaw, in Lovington township. The occupant was John Davidson, one of the first settlers. This virtually founded the settlement now known as String Town. In the same year, William Martin and James Cunningham also settled

in the same neighborhood. Several of their descendants still live there.

One of the first settlers of Whitley Creek township was Mr. Wright Little. He located there in 1829, near Isaac Waggoner's, and lived there until his death. The only survivors of this pioneer arc William H. Waggoner's wife, and Robert Little. The latter is now a resident of Shelby county.

Jerre Provolt, a son-in law of John Wilborn, built the first cabin and made the first settlement on Jonathan Creek as early as 1829. John Gordon also settled the same year a little east of Provolt, on the place now owned by James Bolin. They remained there only a few months, when Provolt sold his claim to Benjamin Dabney, and Gordon sold out to Charles Huffinan, Dabney's brother-in-law. Robert Holmes, Evan Waller, Archibald Standerfer, John Drew, Robert and Hamilton Bonham, William Lilly, John Hendricks, John and Jacob Seass, Thomas Fulton, the Underwood's, Frank Taylor, Andrew Mark and the Fleming's were also early settlers on Jonathan Creek.

Early in 1830, Joel and Peter Freeman came with their families. They were brothers, and located in the eastern part of the county, on what is now known as Coons Creek. They were natives of North Carolina. Joel Freeman brought with him quite a family. His son, Calvin, married a daughter of Mr. Selby, an old settler of Moultrie county, and is now a resident of Lovington township; another son, Benjamin, wedded Polly Ann Bonham ; the daughter, Catherine, is the wife of Thomas Dunn. Thomas, William and Joel, Jr., his sons, are all deceased, but some of their descendants are yet living in the county. Jocl Freeman, Sr., died several years ago. Peter only remained here about two years and removed to Missouri. The Purvis family are well known early settlers of this county. James and John Purvis, brothers, located in what is now East Nel- son, April 1st, 1830, and erected a small cabin on Section 7, where George Purvis still resides. They broke the first prairie in . that township. In the month following, their father, John Purvis, his wife and Malinda, their daughter, came from Sangamon county, Illinois, and moved into the cabin with his sons, where they all lived together for a year ; soon after which the elder Purvis moved to the Mill seat, at the bend of the Okaw river, and made liis home with his sons, James and John G. John Purvis the elder, was a soldier in the war of 1812 : he died in this county in 1833. Sarah. his wife, survived him several years. James Purvis married Mahala Jones By that uniou were born two children. James died about the year 1836. His widow subsequently married and moved to California. George Purvis married Cassa Waller, by whom he had four children, three of whom are residents of this county. His wife died, and he afterwards married Mahala Poor. He has held several township offices, and is still living on the place where he settled in 1830. Thomas, a brother of George Purvis, is dead, but some of his children are yet living in the county. Isaac Purvis

with his family, settled here in 1831 ; he and his wife are both de- ceased ; William lives on the same place where he first settled in 1837. He has raised a large family of children, and has held many offices of trust, and was always an active and enterprising citizen of the county. John G. moved to Missouri ; Elizabeth married John Bracken, who came here in 1832, and died making an .over-land trip to California. Mahala Purvis married Jeremiah Standerfer, and is now living in Jonathan Creek township.

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Combined history of Shelby and Moultrie Counties, Illinois : with illustrations descriptive of their scenery and biographical sketches of some of their prominent men and pioneers, Part 11

Author: Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Philadelphia : Brink, McDonough & Co. Number of Pages: 458

Author:
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Philadelphia : Brink, McDonough & Co.
Number of Pages: 458