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 60

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 60
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 60

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

WILLIAM T. HADLEY.

WILLIAM T. HADLEY, who has served for a number of years as justice of the peace in Cold Spring township, is a native of Ohio, and was born in Xenia, Greene county, December 28th, 1838. His ancestors came from New England. His grandfather, Levi F. Hadley, was born among the Green mountains of Vermont, and took part as a soldier in the war of Revolution. He afterward be- came one of the pioneer settlers of Ohio, locating at Xenia, when

land in that vicinity could be bought for twenty-five cents an acre, where it is now worth two hundred dollars. Simon P. Hadley, father of the subject of this sketch, was born at Xenia in the year 1812, and in the city of Cincinnati married Martha Taylor, who was a native of Covington, Kentucky. Her ancestors were early settlers of Kentucky, and originally came from Virginia. Squire Hadley was the third of a family of eight children, consisting of five boys and three girls. In the year 1848, his father moved with the family to Illinois, and settled in Bond county, where he resided till 1858, and then moved to Cold Spring township, Shelby county. Squire Had- ley received an education in the common schools, which in those days offered poor advantages in comparison with the present. For most of his education lie is indebted to his own efforts. It has been obtained by extensive reading and practical experience with business affairs. On the 6th of March, 1869, he married Jane E. Shay, a native of Kentucky, and a daughter of Thomas Shay. By this marriage he has four children, one daughter and three sons. Ile has formed his opinions about politics from his own convictions. He is the only one of his family, who is a democrat, but his demo- cracy is of the strongest type. He believes in the old-fashioned doctrines of democracy, and considers that its principles are best adapted to preserve our institutions and perpetuate our government. He voted for Douglas in 1860, and has never supported anything else but the democratic ticket. He represented Cold Spring town- ship in the Board of Supervisors ; for nine years has filled the office of justice of the peace, and for four years previous to his clec- tion to the latter position acted as constable. As a magistrate he has given excellent satisfaction, and his decisions have been much cominended for their ability and fairness. He has given considerable attention to the study of law, and has a connection with the law firm of Mouser & Kelly at Shelbyville. He has frequently appeared before adjacent magistrates' courts, and in the argument and trials of cases has crossed swords with some of the leading lawyers of the surrounding county seats. He is favorably known as a political speaker, and has taken an active and conspicuous part in politics. Mr. Hadley now has charge of the post-office at Beck's creek, where his father for fourtcen years previous to his death acted as post-master.

JOHN T. SIMPSON.

MR. SIMPSON was born in St. Clair county, ten miles south of Belleville, January 7th, 1834. His father, James Simpson, was born in Yorkshire, England, on the 24th of February, 1809. When eighteen he cmigrated to America. For three or four years he lived in Philadelphia, where he worked in a woolen factory. He was married in that city to Ann Iveison, who was born in Liverpool, England, January 30th, 1799. From Philadelphia they came to Illinois, and after living a number of years in St. Clair county, re- moved to Shelby county in 1841, and settled on section 13, of town- ship 9, range 2 east. James Simpson and his wife are still living in Cold Spring township, and are among the oldest citizens of that part of the county. For several terms he acted as township treasu- rer. John T. Simpson is the oldest child of the family now living. He went to school a short time in St. Clair county. He remembers the first school he attended as taught by an Irishman, who was a good teacher, with the exception that he was too fond of whiskey. The directors, finding that he was accustomed to slip out in school hours and take a dram from a bottle hid in the woods, discharged him. After Mr. Simpson came to Shelby county he at- tended the ordinary subscription schools, in the old-fashioned log school-houses. A log was omitted from the side of the building, and

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HISTORY OF SHELBY AND MOULTRIE COUNTIES, ILLINOIS.

some greased paper pasted over the aperture conveniently answered the purposes of a window. Poles, flattened on top, served as benches. The chimney was built of sticks. He lived at home till his marriage, which took place on the 27th of March, 1856, to Mary Jones. Her father, Elijah Jones, was one of the old settlers of Cold Spring township, in which part of the county Mrs. Simpson was born. After he was married he rented land and went to farming. He afterwards secured enough money to buy forty acres of land from the Illinois Central Railroad Company. He is now the owner of a farm of one hundred and fifty acres, with good improvements, consisting of a substantial house, and an excellent orchard. The names of his children are as follows ; James Franklin, Cynthia Ann, Elijah A., Miranda Alice, Margaret Ellen, Saida Lois, John Wes-

ley, Joseph Edward, Mary Syrena, Laura Frances, and Thomas Fritts. In his politics he began life as a member of the democratic party, and cast his first vote for president in 1856, for James Bu- chanan. In 1860 he voted for Douglas. Soon afterward he became dissatisfied with the position of the democratic party on the slavery question, and became a Republican, with which party he has since acted. He has been a member of the Methodist church for a nuin- ber of years, and is one of the Trustees of Pleasant Grove Method- ist church. Deeply regreting the inferior school facilities he enjoyed in his boyhood, he has been a warm friend of the cause of education, and has taken an interest in the educational affairs of the township. His name is worthy of a place in this work as one of the representa- tive and progressive citizens of Cold Spring township.

LOVINGTON TOWNSHIP

(MOULTRIE COUNTY.)

OULTRIE COUNTY deserves favorable mention from the fact that it was among the first settled, and contains some of the richest farming land in this section of the country ; splendid farms and farm-improvements abound throughout its territory. It is situated in the extreme northern central part of the county, bounded on the north by Piatt county, with Lowe and Jonathan creek townships on the east; on the south by Sullivan and west by Dora and Marrowbone. It is rectangular in shape, and contains 32,926 acres of improved land, valued at $328,819, without any land not under improvement. The surface lies gently undulating, and has excellent facilities for good drainage. Nu- merous streams wind through the township, the largest of which is the West Okaw, which extends nearly north and south through its entire western part. It is thus well calculated for both general agriculture and stock-raising. The Midland, Wabash, St. Louis and Pacific Railroads cross at nearly right angles in about the center of the township.

The first land entered was by James Cunningham, May 17th, 1830; the W. ¿ of the S. E. } of section 29, T. 15, R. 5 E.

The second entry was made by Zenas N. Prather, July 1st, of the same year, and described as follows : the W. } of the N. E. } of section 32, T. 15, R. 5 E.

Oct. 25th, 1830, Joshua Selby entered the E. ¿ of the S. W. } of section 10, T. 14, R. 5 E. At the same date, Jacob Pea entered the W. ¿ of the S. W. } of the above section, town and range.

William H. Martin entered the S. E. } of section 28, T. 15, R. 5 E. on the 15th of November, 1830.

* We are under obligations to the following for information relating to this township history : Elder H. Y. Kellar, Judge Arnold Thomason, and Elijah Wingate.

We have only given a few of the first entries, but think they will prove of interest to not only the present but to coming gene- rations.

THE FIRST SETTLEMENTS

Made in this township were prior to the organization of Moultric, and when it was a part of Macon county. The first two settlers were John Davidson and William Martin, in 1829, who settled on the S. E. { of section 28. The former, better known in his day as " Johnny Slick," came from Macoupin county in the fall of 1829, and squatted on the above-named section, in the edge of the Okaw timber, where he built a small log cabin. The roof was of the primitive clap-board style, fastened down with knee and weight- poles, while the chimney was constructed simply of mud and sticks. The family remained here but a short time, when they left for parts unknown.

William H. Martin settled about three hundred yards south- west of Davidson, on what is now known as the Clore branch, where he constructed a double log cabin, very much in the style of the above-mentioned. He was a blacksmith by trade, and erected a rude shop at this point, where the ring of the first anvil sounded in the township. He was a good mechanic and a genius withal, constructing his own bellows and most of his mechanical tools. In the fall of 1833 he sold out his possessions to Col. Allen Clore, who still occupies the same ground. Martin afterwards moved with his family to Fayette county, Ill.

Another old settler, James Cunningham, sen., came from Clark county, Ind., in the spring of 1830, and located on the west side of the West Okaw. on sec. 29-15-5. He had a large family of chil- dren, and commenced paving his way for a livelihood by tilling the soil, where now many of his descendants still live. He died at the old homestead about the year 1846. The first election held in this

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HISTORY OF SHELBY AND MOULTRIE COUNTIES, ILLINOIS.

precinct, (then Macon county,) was at his residence, in 1832, where the votes were polled for several years thereafter.

In 1830, Joshua Selby came from Indiana, and settled on sec. 10-14-5. He had quite a large family, some of whom are still residing in the county,-Nicholas Selby, near Cushman, being one well known in this part of the country.

Jacob Pea came about the same time and located a little west of Selby. Several good citizens of Moultrie still represent the name.

Zenas N. Prather, another old settler, and son-in-law of James Cunningham, came the same year as his father-in-law, 1830.

The name of Rhodes is well known throughout the county. This family have descended from John Rhodes, a native of Indiana, who settled with a large family on section 7-14-5, in 1831. One of the daughters is now the wife of Isaac Souther, who resides in Texas. Others of the family are still living on or near the old place.

Among the most enterprising of the settlers of those days was Henry Snyder, a native of Virginia, who migrated here with a large family in Oct., 1831. He located on section 27, about half a mile west of where the village of Lovington now stands, on the Springfield road. Prior to this, that is in the spring of the same year, he had preceded his family, and located 960 acres of land lying a little north and west of Lovington, where he erected a log cabin, fenced in forty acres, and raised a small crop. He then returned to Kentucky, where his family still resided, and proceeded to re- move them and his possessions to his new-found home. They came in two farm-wagons drawn by oxen, and a light two-horse spring wagon. Among his effects was a good supply of provisions and clothing, with fifty-two head of cattle, and ten or twelve fine Ken- tucky horses. It would be superfluous to say that he ranked among the first of his neighbors. He moved to Decatur in 1836, where he lived until his deatlı, 1863. His only representative in this county is J. H. Snyder, now residing in Sullivan.

Nathan Stephens, also a native of Virginia, caine from Kentucky, and settled about a mile and a half S. W. from Lovington, in the latter part of 1831. He had two sons, Henry and William ; the foriner was elected the second sheriff of the county. Nathan, the father, died suddenly by a stroke of lightning, many years ago.

Among the most prominent and active men of those early tinies was Abraham H. Kellar, a native of Virginia. His parents moved to Tennessee when he was but an infant, and thence to Kentucky, where he grew to manhood, and, at the age of twenty-one, married Miss Nancy J. Hitt. In the fall of 1831, Joel, his eldest son, in company with Nathan Stephens, moved with ox-teams to what is now Lovington township. Stephens stopped on section 3-14-5. Joel remained with Mr Stephens until the fall of the following year. Abraham and three of his sons, however, came early in the spring of 1832, and raised a crop of corn, and in the fall returned and brought the family.

Mr. Abraham H. Kellar figures largely in this history, as among the first brains of the county, and further mention of him will be found in the pioneer and civil chapters. The only survivors of Abraham H. Kellar now living in the county are Elder H. Y. Kellar, of Lovington, and Dr. A. L Kellar, of Sullivan, both representative citizens.

In the spring of 1832 Joseph and Solomon Hostetler, two bro- thers, and natives of Kentucky, located in this township. Joseph settled on what is now the farm of O. T. Atchison, south of Loving- ton. He was a Christian minister, and helped to organize the first Christian Church in this part of the county; he also practiced medicine. He died here August 27, 1870. His only descendants in the county are : Frank L. and C. M. L. Hostetler, engaged

now in the drug trade in Lovington. Solomon has no descendants in the county.

Abraham Souther, another old settler, was a native of Virginia, and removed with his father's family to Kentucky when he was quite a small boy. Here he grew to manhood and married Catha- rine Hardin, by whom he had a large family, mostly boys. In 1832 he moved to Illinois and settled on section 33, 15-5 Lovington township. He erected a small hewed log cabin, and laid out his work for a permanent settlement. He was an enterprising man, and to him is due the honor of constructing the first and only water mill in this part of the county. He died in 1858 at a good old age, enjoying the fruits of his labors.

Samuel Finley migrated to this township from Indiana at an early day, and in 1833 sold his improvements to David Howell, who was a native of Kentucky. Mr. Howell had a family of seven children, all of whom are dead, except Elizabeth, who lives in Champaign county, and Charles, residing a little north of Loving- ton. The latter has one of the finest farms and farm-houses that the county can boast of. As a stock-raiser and thrifty farmer, he ranks among the first in the state.

Col. Allen Clore, a native of Kentucky, was born in 1810; he came to this county in the year 1833, and bought out William Martin, as has been already stated. In an early day he married a Kentucky lady, and from this marriage quite a large family was born, five of whom are now living in the county. The Colonel is still a hale old man upwards of seventy years of age.

William Wood was born in the Carolinas, and afterwards mi- grated to Kentucky. In 1833 he moved to Moultrie; he raised a large family of children ; several of his representatives still live here, and rank among the first citizens of the county. Henry Wood, a brother of William, also came in an early day, and settled in the same section of country. Those of the family still reside here, or near the old home.

Among other earlier settlers were the Caziers, the Newlands, the Samson family, John and Andrew Love, John Poor, Tobias Rhodes, William and Henry Bailey, Alexander Porter, F. W. Maddox, the Roland family, the Fosters, the Newlands, Elihu Welton, Joseph Hartman, Hiram Luster, the Knights, Edward Keedy, and the Deeds family.

The latter, George Deeds and family, were formerly from Ohio, and moved to this county about 1835. It is related that the old gentleman, George Deeds, when a boy, was taken prisoner by the Sandusky Indians and grew up among them, marrying one of the tribe. He remained with them for several years, until they made a raid upon the whites, when he left them and made his way to Pittsburg, Pa. He afterwards married, reared a family and moved to Illinois, as above stated. In the winter of the " sudden freeze " two of his sons were frozen to death while returning from Lake Fork, where they had been in search for hogs. It was twelve days after the storm that they were found. One was in a kneeling atti- tude, apparently about to kindle a fire, as he had a steel and flint in his hand, with punk and a tuft of grass lying by his side. His brother was lying on the ground near him, while one of their horses stood close by, nearly starved to death, with his bridle rein frozen in the ice. Wild game abounded largely in those days, such as deer, wild turkeys, ducks and geese, prairie chickens, and several species of the furry tribe. These served among the early settlers as articles of food and commerce.

First Death-Probably the first death in the township was the father of Wm: Martin, who died in 1832, and his remains were interred in the Snyder burying ground, situated on what is now Col. Clore's farm. The first child born, as nearly as can be ascer-

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HISTORY OF SHELBY AND MOULTRIE COUNTIES, ILLINOIS.

tained, was a babe of Wm Martin; of the exact date of this birth we can give no authentic account Among the early marriages were Joel Kellar to Mildred Snyder, in May, 1833; the ceremony was performed by Elder Joseph Hostetler. The following April, Elder Hostetler also united in the holy bonds of wedlock, Albert G. Snyder and Elizabeth Kellar.

The first graveyard was the private ground of Henry Snyder, and situated about half a mile west of Lovington village, on section 28, now owned by Col. Clore; there were only about twenty per- sons buried here. The first school taught in the township was at the private residence of Solomon Hostetler, in the winter of 1832- 3, by Mary Hostetler, the wife of the above. Among her pupils were H. Y. Kellar, A. L. Kellar, Wm. Souther, Mary Ann Souther, Rebecca Selby, Sarah Selby, Newton, John, and Nancy Hostetler. A description of the house and the manner of teaching will be found in the chapter on schools. The first school-liouse was built in 1834, on section 28, 15-5, in the Snyder settlement. It was con- structed in the primitive log school-house style, and the first school taught in it was in the fall and winter of 1834-5, by John Allen. The house was afterwards moved to the village of Lovington, where it still stands on a lot just west of the Lovington hotel. For other early teachers see early school history. At present there are ten school districts outside of the village, and all have neat, commo- dious school buildings, where school is taught the greater part of the year.

The first sermon preached in the township was by Elder Joseph Hostetler, at the house of Nathan Stepliens, in the fall of 1832. Rev. Jacob Swaford, Rev. Bird, and Eiders A. H. Kellar, Bush- rod W. Henry, John W. Tyler, and Rev. Wm. Crissy, were among the pioneer preachers in this township.

The first church was built by the Christian denomination on sec- tion 3, now included within the Lovington Cemetery. This was a franie building, 24x30 feet, erected in the spring of 1845. The old structure still stands upon the original site, a memento of the days of yore. It is now seated for school use, and occupied as such. Until 1857 this was the only church building in the township.

Among the first justices of the peace we are able to mention Henry Snyder, A. H. Kellar, Geo. Hewitt, and William R. Lee. Dr. John G. Speer, whose residence was near Decatur, was the first regular physician. The first resident physicians, however, were Dr. William Kellar and Dr. Hendricks. At an early day, before physicians were to be had, the old settlers practiced among them- selves, using domestic remedies, such as roots and herbs that they were familiar with. A. H. Kellar and Joseph Hostetler, became famous practitioners under this kind of Thompsonian system. Steaming the patients for all diseases, under that practice then, was as popular as bleeding used to be under the old school regime. It is said these sons of Bolus tried the steaming operation upon a case of rheumatism, and it worked admirably. In course of time Dr. A. H. Kellar (?) was taken down with the malarial fever, and Uncle Joe Hostetler called in to perform the steaming process. The result was, the patient grew worse, and it was with the greatest skill that his life was saved. From this experiment they concluded that the theory might do for rheumatism, but was not worth a continental for bilious fever.

The earliest mill built in the township was a grist-mill, by A. H. Kellar, on section 34, 15-5, in the fall of 1832, soon after his removal here. It was a "Stump Mill" propelled by horse power. It was constructed over a stump, and the whole machinery revolved as the horses passed around. This mill cost about $50. In 1838 Mr. Kellar built another mill, costing about $150, and was a great improvement on the former. Again in 1844, he built still

another at a cost of $250. This was constructed of cast-iron, and had French burrs. This, it is said, was the best of the kind in this part of the State ; people came for thirty or forty miles to have their milling done.

The first steam mill in the township was built by Colonel Allen Clore, in 1852. It was a saw-mill, and constructed on his farm. A water saw-mill was built on the West Okaw, in section 32, in 1843, by Abraham Souther. It had a Parker cast-iron water wheel and a vertical saw. This was the first and only water mill in the town- ship. The first merchandize sold in this territory was by A. H. Kellar, who kept a small stock of goods in one of the rooms of his house. This was in 1833. He bought his goods in Louisville, and had them shipped to Terre Haute, where they were carted in wagons to his place. This was the only store in the township until those established in the town of Lovington. The first fine stock introduced was a Durham bull in 1835, by William Snyder, since which time several enterprising men in the township have made fine stock raising a speciality.

The old plowed-furrow Springfield road which passed through the present village of Lovington was the first one made in this part of the county. It extended from Paris. Edgar county, to Spring- field, and was surveyed about 1828. This was the only public highway in the township until the organization of the county. The first settlements were made on this road west of Lovington. As they were scattered along for several miles this part of the township becaine known as Stringtown. At this writing it abounds with good roads and substantial bridges. In short, the township is one of the best improved and wide awake in the county. Two tile factories have been recently constructed near the village of Lovington, one by Jas. A. Gregory, the other by Jasper Dyer. The latter was built in 1877, the former in 1879. They each have a capacity of mann- facturing about 200 000 feet of tile per annum.

The following are the supervisors and the time of their election since township organization to present time: Alexander Porter, elected in 1867, and re-elected in 1868 and served until 1872. George Hetherington elected in 1872, and served till 1874 ; lie was chairman of the board for the year 1873. Joel Freeman was elected in 1874, and served one year. W. Weakly elected for 1875. Jas. A. Gregory elected in the spring of 1876, and served until 1878. Ar- nold Thomason elected in 1878, and afterwards resigned, when H. Y. Kellar was appointed to fill the vacancy. F. M. Porter was elected in 1879, and served one year. H. M. Minor was elected in 1880, and is the present incumbent.

VILLAGE OF LOVINGTON.

The present site of this thriving place was originally entered by the following parties, the S. E. } of section 27 by A. H. Kellar ; the W. ¿ of the N.E } by John Love, and the S.W }. also the S. E. } of the N. W }, by Colonel Allen Clore, all of section 27.

The first building, erected within these limits was the old Black Horse Tavern in 1838, by James Kellar. It was a two story building and was located just soutli of where the Benson House now stands. The same well that was used for the Black Horse is still used by the Benson House. The Paris and Decatur stage-line passed by the tavern, and three times a day the old stage horn night have been heard sounding over the prairie. The post-office was established about the same time the Black Horse tavern was built, and was kept by Andrew Love at his private dwelling about half a mile west of the tavern. It was afterwards for a short time in charge of John Love at his residence, and finally moved to the Black Horse tavern. It was named Lovington after Andrew Love,

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HISTORY OF SHELBY AND MOULTRIE COUNTIES, ILLINOIS.

the first post-master, from which the village and township both re- ceived their names.

The first building in the village proper, after the Black Horse, was built in the fall of 1849 by Elijah Wingate. It was a small frame dwelling, and occupied the lot where the residence of Andrew Foster now stands. The timber for the frame was hewn by Mr. Wingate ; the lumber was sawed at Souther's mill on the West Okaw. The third house was built in the spring of 1850, by John Tiffin. It was a log building, and was constructed for a dwelling. Mr. Tiffin had an aged wife and several children who lived in a covered wagon until the house was completed. The next house was a log dwelling, built by Edward Bell soon after Tiffin's was com- pleted. These buildings were built on a small patch of land that the above parties had purchased from Colonel Allen Clore. In the spring of the same year, Parnell Hamilton, then surveyor of Moul- trie county, was employed by Colonel Clore, Edward Bell, Madison Tiffin, son of John Tiffin, and George Turflinger, to survey and plot a part of the N. E. } of the S. W. } of section 27. This formed a nucleus from which the village of Lovington has grown and prospered.

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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 60

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