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 72
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 72
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Physician .- William J. Thurman.
Church .- Christian denomination.
The Widow Royse, who came from Kentucky in 1830, settled
on or near the present site of the Antioch church. By thrift and industry she reared a family of seven children. The old homestead is now owned by John Barrickman. John Royse, a stepson of the widow, came with her, and located south of the Elm Spring place, now owned by John Weakly. He lived here a number of years, and was killed by the bursting of a boiler in a saw mill which he was operating, the property of himself and son.
John Small, from Penn, settled his place as early as 1838, and resided here until his death. In the same year came John Hart from Penn, who settled on section 34.
We subjoin a list of the Supervisors since the organization of the township :- David Ewing, elected in 1860, re-elected in 1861, 1862, 1863, 1864, 1865, and 1866; E. L Calvert, elected in 1867 ; H. H. Carpenter, elected in 1868; E L. Calvert, clected in 1869, re-elected in 1870, 1871, 1872, and 1873; R. Roessler, elected in 1874; J. Funk, elected in 1875; J. M. Mercer, elected in 1876, re-elected in 1877; E. L. Calvert, elected in 1878; J. L. Small, elected in 1879; E. L. Calvert, elected in 1880, and is the present incumbent.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
WILLIAM SMITH,
M. SMITH, now one of the old settlers of Ridge township, is a Kentuckian by birth, and was born in Nicholas county of that state, Janu- ary 30, 1820. His father, Nathan Smith, was born in Maryland, removed to Kentucky, and April 22, 1819, married Mary Ki lam, who was born in Nicholas county, Kentucky, De- cember 2, 1799. Nathan Smith died in Ken- tucky, August 15, 1830. His widow died in Shelby county, January 30, 1880. William Smith was the oldest of six children. In the fall of 1831, the family moved to Shelby county, Illinois. Mr. Smith's grandfather, Peter Killam, moved to the county at the same time. The subject of this sketch was at that time nearly twelve years of age. After living seven years west of Shelbyville, his inother entered 240 acres of land a short distance south of Prairie Bird, in Ridge township, and afterward bought 120 additional acres. Mr. Smith, in company with his two brothers, Samuel and Daniel Smith, built a house and improved this land, every year fencing forty acres. On the 2d of March, 1843, he married Lucinda Virden, who was born on Shoal Creek, April 17, 1823, the daughter of James and Nancy Virden. Her father was born in South Carolina, and her mother in Alabama. The same month Mr. Smith moved to his present residence in Section 31, of Ridge township. This place was first settled by Imri Jackson. A small cabin and a garden patch were the only improvements at the time he purchased it. He went to work with industry to improve a
farm. He was then considered an excellent hand at cutting rails and breaking prairie. He has now lived on this place about thirty- eight years. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have had five children : Sarah, the oldest, died at the age of three years; Josephus, the oldest son, is farming in Tower-hill township; Nancy A., now the wife of R. H. Bullington, resides in Rose township ; Mary, the next daughter, died in February, 1867, at the age of thirteen; the remaining daughter is Elizabeth. In his politics Mr. Smith is a democrat. In 1844, he cast his first vote for President for James K. Polk, and has voted the democratic ticket ever since. He has never desired to hold any public office, and his attention has been wholly given to his business affairs. He bears the reputation of a peaceable and law abiding citizen, who has lived on good terms with his neighbors. He and his wife have been members of the Christian Church for more than thirty years, and have been connected with the church of that denomination at Prairic Bird ever since its organization. His mother was a member of the first Christian Church ever es- tablished in Shelby county, and at the time of her death was the last survivor of the original members. Mr. Smith retains in his memory many interesting incidents concerning the early settlement
of the county. In his boyhood there was a horse-mill occasionally throughout the county. A water-mill was built on Robinson Creek, to which the settlers were accustomed to go, carrying their grist on horseback, after the old-fashioned Kentucky way. It was a com- mon thing in about 1841 or 1843, to take wheat to St. Louis, where it sold at from thirty to forty cents a bushel. This was the mar- ket where groceries, salt and other necessary articles were ob- tained.
HISTORY OF SHELBY AND MOULTRIE COUNTIES, ILLINOIS.
271
M.B
6. L Culbert
ELISHA LINDER CALVERT, who for several terms has represent- ed Ridge township in the Board of Supervisors, was born in Ridge township, July 4th, 1833. He is a lineal descendant of George Calvert, Lord Baltimore, the founder of the colony of Maryland. From Maryland the Calverts scattered to other states. Mr. Cal- vert's great-grandfather, whose name was George Calvert, married Lydia Rogers, and emigrated from New Jersey to Culpepper coun- ty, Virginia, where John Calvert, grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was born, in the year 1773. He married Sarah Adams, who was born in the same county in 1777. She was a daughter of Thomas Adams. Her mother's family name was Henry. They removed to Bourbon county, Kentucky, in 1809, and to Hardin county, Kentucky, in 1823, where John Calvert died in 1850, and his widow in 1867. Mr. Calvert's father, Ralls Calvert, was born on the 15th of March, 1804, and consequently was about five years of age on the removal of the family to Kentucky. He was raised in Kentucky, and about the year 1823 or '24 married Levina Tur- ner, who was born in Hardin county, Kentucky, January 17th, 1805. She was also descended from a family connected with the early set- tlement of Maryland. Her great-great-grandfather, Robert Rich- ardson, was an Englishman who settled on the site of the city of Baltimore. Her great-grandfather, John Richardson, was born in Worcester county, Maryland. He was drowned in Chesapeake bay about the year 1783. He had three daughters; the oldest, Ann, was born in Worcester county, Maryland, February 26th, 1756. She married Charles Sawyer, who was born in England, November, 1755. At the age of seventeen he went from England to South America, and thence to Worcester county, Maryland. Charles and Ann (Richardson) Sawyer settled in Hardin county, Kentucky, in
1795. The former died in Kentucky, and his widow moved to Shelby county, Illinois, where she died in 1834, at the age of seven- ty-eight. Of their nine children, five of whom were boys and four girls, Sarah Sawyer was the mother of Levina Turner. She was born in Maryland, April 22d, 1786; accompanied her parents to Kentucky ; and from there, in 1826, moved to Shelby county, Illi- nois, where she died March 29th, 1864.
One child, a daughter, was born in Kentucky to Ralls and Levi- na Calvert, and then in the fall of 1826 they emigrated to Illinois, and settled in Shelby county. For the first year the home of the family was on section 33 of the present Ridge township, and the latter part of the year 1827 a permanent settlement was made on section 15 of the same township. At that time the population of the county was very small, and the number of families in what is now Ridge township could not have exceeded more than ten or twelve, nearly all of whom came about the same time with the Cal- verts. The settlements were confined to the timber. The prairie was uncultivated, and at that time no expectations were entertained that it would ever be brought under cultivation. Mr. Calvert re- members hearing, in his boyhood, a party of early settlers discussing tlic future prospects of the country. His father predicted that when the boys then living should become as old as himself, they would see Robinson creek fenced completely in on both sides. This prophecy was met with derision. It was thought that scattering settlements might be made along the timber, but that the prairie would always be a range for cattle. Mr. Calvert's father died on the 17th of March, 1847, and his mother on the 30th of April, 1880. The latter was born January 17th, 1805, and at the time of her deatlı was upwards of seventy-five years of age. Both were mem-
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HISTORY OF SHELBY AND MOULTRIE COUNTIES, ILLINOIS.
bers of the Methodist church from an early period of their lives, and at the time of his mother's death she had been connected with the Methodist denomination longer than any other person then living in Shelby county. The house of the Calverts was the usual place for holding the early Methodist meetings, and was the frequent resort of traveling Methodist ministers. As class-leader and ex- horter, and an earnest and active Methodist, Ralls Calvert did much to promote the cause of religion, and the interests of the Methodist denomination. His personal character was beyond reproach, and he lived without an enemy. He had considerable inental force, but was retiring and modest in his disposition. He was a democrat in politics, but took little part in public affairs, though he acted as jus- tice of the peace, and county commissioner. He came to the county without any means. The money with which to purchase the first horse he ever owned, was accumulated by working at thirty-seven and a half cents a day. At his death he was, for those times, in good circumstances. He had six children, of whom four, (Mahala, now deceased, William, Thomas, who died in 1854, and Elisha Linder) reached years of maturity.
When his father died Mr. Calvert was in his thirteenth year At that time educational advantages were poor in comparison with those of the present day. All the schools were, of course, sub- scription, or pay schools. The first school which he attended was in a building constructed of round logs. A log conveniently left out on the side formed the only apology for a window. The benches were made by splitting a log in two, and fastening supports to the round side. A plank secured to the side of the room formed the writing desk. The course of instruction was meager and limited ; grammar was not taught at all. His home was on the old home- stcad place till his marriage, on the 23d of March, 1854, to Serena A. Marts, who was born in Sullivan county, Indiana, on the 11th of August, 1835. Her father, Chamberlin Marts, was a native of Kentucky, and her mother, whose maiden name was Emily Pound, of Indiana. Her father moved with the family to this county in the fall of 1850, first settling in Rose township, and the following year in Ridge. Previous to his marriage, at the first opening of the land office, after its close consequent on the building of the Illinois Central railroad, Mr. Calvert had secured one hundred and twenty acres of land in section 9 of Ridge township. After living on this land one year, and making some improvements, he sold it for $13 00 an acre; and for $15.00 an acre, purchased 176 acres, which now comprise part of his present farm. He is now the owner of 216 acres of land in Ridge township, and 120 in Flat Branch. He believes in progressive and modern methods of agriculture. He has made a specialty of extensively raising Poland China Hogs, and has made preparations to go into the business of raising short horn cattle. He has had eight children, all of whom are now living. Their names are as follows: Lydia F., now the wife of Calvin L. Smith ; William T. Calvert, a farmer of Flat Branch township; Nancy Jane; Edward Cyrus; Julia Ann ; Charles Turner ; Ceci- lius R. and Elisha Linder Calvert, junior.
He was brought up to believe in the principles of the democratic party. His first vote for president was cast for James Buchanan, in 1856. In later years he found much to oppose in the policies of both the old political organizations, and in 1874 he became an in- dependent. On the formation of the National Greenback party he was one of the first to join the new organization, and indeed his efforts materially assisted to place the party on a good basis in liis part of the county. He was one of the twelve men in Ridge town- ship who in 1876 voted for Peter Cooper for president. He holds to his political views from sincere and honest conviction, and has been one of the leading representatives of the National Greenback
party in Shelby county. The people of Ridge township have seve- ral times chosen him as a member of the Board of Supervisors, and to other public positions. He was first elected supervisor in 1867, and re-elected in 1869, 1870, 1871, 1872 and 1873, and again in 1878 and 1880. His record on the Board of Supervisors is well known to those familiar with the public affairs of the county. He has been one of the active and influential members of the Board, and while thoroughly believing in progress and public spirit, has used his efforts in the direction of an honest and economical ad- ministration of the affairs of the county. His theological belief coincides mainly with that of the United Baptist church. He is a gentleman of independent and liberal views, and has formed his opinions from his own judgment, and his convictions of right and wrong, and not simply because they have been the established be- lief of any sect or party.
WILLIAM CALVERT.
WILLIAM CALVERT is now the oldest resident citizen born in Ridge township. His birth occurred March 8th, 1827. He is descended from a family of English origin, prominently connected with the early settlement of America. The first of the Calverts to come to America was George Calvert, Lord Baltimore, who, under a grant given by Queen Mary, founded the colony which gave birth to the present State of Maryland. His colony was composed of Roman Catholics, and the Calvert family for several generations have adhered to this faith though Mr. Calvert's father became a Protestant. From Maryland the family found their way to Virgin- ia. John Calvert, grandfather of the subject of. this sketch, was a resident of Culpepper county, Virginia, where Ralls Calvert, his next to oldest child, was born on the 15th of March, 1804. John Calvert emigrated with his family from Virginia to Kentucky, and settled first in Bourbon and then in the south-western part of Har- din county. When the family came to Kentucky, Ralls Calvert was a small boy. When a young man he experienced deep reli- gious conviction, was converted, and joined the Methodist church. This was in opposition to the prevailing religious sentiment of the family, and was bitterly regretted by his father. He refused, how- ever, to yield his convictions, and remained true to his new religious belief. In the year 1823 or 1824, he married Levina Turner, a na- tive of Hardin county, Kentucky, who was born on the 17th of January, 1805. Her grandparents on her mother's side were of the names of Sawyer and Richardson, and emigrated to America from England.
In the fall of 1826, Ralls Calvert left Kentucky with his family to find a new home in Illinois. On their way across the State of Indiana they traveled three days through a complete wilderness without seeing a road or any other sign of civilization. The whole journey was slow and tedious. On their arrival in this State they settled in Shelby county. After living about a year in the southern part of what is now Ridge township, about Christmas, 1827, he moved to a new location in section fifteen, where he resided till his death, which took place on the 17th of March, 1847. Ralls Calvert was a man much respected throughout the county. To his religious views, which he had adopted in the face of so much opposition, he remained steadfastly attached. His piety was of a deep and sincere character. His house was an important point for holding the early Methodist meetings. He was class-leader and exhorter. He was unnsnally gifted in prayer. He was jealously devoted to the inter- ests of the Methodist church, and to his personal efforts may be traced much of its success among the early settlements on Robinson creek. His views were broad and liberal, and were not sectarian.
FARM & RESIDENCE OF LOUIS MITTENDORF, SEC. 10, ROSE TP. (II) R. 3, SHELBY CO. ILL.
OLD HOMESTEAD, SETTLED BY ISAAC KILLAM 1830. STOCK FARM OF JOHN T. KILLAM, SEC.23, RIDGE TP. (12) R.3, SHELBY COUNTY, ILL.
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HISTORY OF SHELBY AND MOULTRIE COUNTIES, ILLINOIS.
Though he was a Methodist, he was still more a Christian. He was naturally averse to holding public office, but for a time served as justice of peace, and also filled the office of county commissioncr. He died leaving behind him no enemies, and a memory fragrant with good deeds. His widow survived him thirty-three years, and died on the 30th of April, 1880.
Mr. Calvert's birth-place was on section thirty-three of Ridge township. There is now living only one male person older than himself who was born within the limits of Shelby county, and it is believed that the two were born in the same house. The subject of this sketch was the oldest son, and the second of a family of six children. Two of these died in infancy. Of the four who grew to maturity, a sister, Mahala, and a brother, Thomas, have since died, and he and his brother, E. L. Calvert, are now the only survivors. The whole of his life has been spent in Ridge township. The early schools which he attended were not of a description to afford any considerable advantage in the way of acquiring an education. He attended the old pioneer subscription schools. The first school house he remembers on Robinson creek contained no windows, a space being left between the logs to admit the light. The building was only inhabitable in mild weather. The large fire-place occu- pied almost the entire end of the building. His sister, who was older than himself, was a pupil of the first two teachers who ever taught in Ridge township, Dr William Hayden and James Hutson. Tuition in the subscription schools was high, his father was a man in moderate circumstances, and Mr. Calvert went to school but lit- tle. From the time he was ten years old he was obliged to take the plough and assist with the work on the farm. Ploughing in those days was by no means an easy task. The plough was an awkward contrivance made of wood with the exception of an iron point, oxen were used instead of horses, and its successful manage- ment required much skill and patience. He went to school mostly at odd spells and on wet days when work on the farm was impossi- ble. One winter he attended regularly three months ; and this was about the total amount of schooling from which he received any benefit. His education has been chiefly acquired by self-study after growing to manhood. By an extensive course of reading he has gained much information.
His boyhood was spent in the carly pioneer times, when few of
the conveniences of civilization were in existence. He was often sent to Springfield to mill. Groceries, salt, and other articles for family use, were obtained in St. Louis. The last time his father drove his hogs to Alton (in 1843) he received for them a dollar and a half, net. He was in his twenty-first year when his father died. He purchased the interest of the other heirs in the old home- stead, where he lived four years subsequent to his father's death, and then moved to his present place of residence. With a land warrant which he had bought he entered eighty acres of land, now comprised in his present farm. For the balance of his land he has paid from two dollars and a half to forty dollars an acre.
His marriage took place on the 12th of August, 1852, to Martha E. Marts, who was born in Sullivan county, Indiana, May 29, 1832,-the daughter of Chamberlin and Emily (Pound) Marts. Her grandfather was from Virginia; her father was a native of Shelby county, Kentucky ; removed to Indiana, and from Indiana to Illinois, in 1850. Her mother was born in Indiana, and raised in Orange county, of that state. Mrs. Calvert was the oldest of ten children, all of whom are now living. Mr. and Mrs. Calvert have been the parents of four children. John C. Calvert, the oldest, resides in Ridge township; a daughter died in infancy, and the two youngest, Sarah Ann and Wm. R. Calvert, are still living at home. In his politics, Mr Calvert was originally a democrat, and from 1848, when he voted for Lewis Cass, supported every subsequent nominee for President till 1876, when he was one of the few men in the county who voted for Pcter Cooper for Presi- dent on the national greenback ticket. He has preferred the quiet life of a private citizen, and has never desired to hold public posi- tion. He has been a warm friend of the educational interests of the county, and for a number of years has been school trustee of his township. Since March, 1865, he has been a member of the United Baptist Church. He is now one of the oldest residents of the county, has been closely identified with its interests, and has been a progressive, liberal-minded, public-spirited citizen.
His farm, of four hundred and twenty-two acres, is of that excel- lent quality of land for which the Robinson creek neighborhood has been noted since the first settlement of the county ; it is amply provided with water, and situated, as Mr. Calvert thinks, in the midst of the finest agricultural portion of the county.
JONATHAN'S CREEK TOWNSHIP.
(MOULTRIE COUNTY.)
T the time this township was organized, in 1867, it was named fron Jonathan's Creek, which rises in section 3 and flows southerly through the terri- tory, and received its name from the following cir- cumstance : Jonathan Anderson, who settled a half mile south of Bruce, in Whitley township, soon after the Whitleys, came up into this region on a hunt- ing excursion before there were any settlements, and on returning to his neighborhood related to the sct- tlers the discoveries he had made, and gave glowing accounts of the 35
stream, the fine walnut timber along its banks, and the beautiful prairie adjoining it. It was afterward visited by the Whitleys, Waggoners, and others, and always spoken of as Jonathan's Creek ; hence it received its name. It had previously been told and written by others, " that one Jonathan Whitley was lost while out hunting, and from hin the creek was named;" but this is a mistake ; for there never was a Whitley by that name that lived in this county.
This township lies in the eastern part of the county; bounded north by Lowe, east by Douglas and Coles counties, south by East Nelson, and west by Sullivan and Lovington townships. It con-
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HISTORY OF SHELBY AND MOULTRIE COUNTIES, ILLINOIS.
tains 23,227 acres, only 72 of which is unimproved. The total value of land is upwards of $233,413. The general surface is roll- ing, becoming more abrupt on approaching the streamns. The tim- ber is confiued to a belt about one mile in width and four miles in length, along Jonathan's Creek, and a narrow strip bordering Two Mile Creek. Jonathan's Creek, as above stated, rises in section 3, and flows a little west of a southern direction, and passes out in the S. W. corner of section 33. The first land entries, as taken from the records, are as follows: May 24th, 1831, John Meatherton (probably Netherton), entered the S. W. quarter of section 15, 160 acres ; and, June 20th, 1831, the W. half of the S. E. quarter of section 22, 80 acres. James Bolin, the S. W. quarter of section 34, 160 acres.
Settlements .- Jerre Provolt, a son-in-law of John Wilbern, built the first cabin and made the first improvement, in section thirty- three, on the farm now owned by the widow Fulton, as early as 1829. About the same time Jolin Gordon settled a short distance east of Provolt, on section thirty-four, on the place now owned by Mr. James Bolin. These parties only remained here a short time, as we find that late in the same year Provolt sold out his claim to Benjamin Dabney ; and Charles Hoffman, a brother-in-law of Dab- ney's, who came with him, bought out Gordon. Robert Holmes settled on the west side of Jonathan's creek in 1829, on the place now owned by Jacob Seass, in section twenty-one. Evan Waller settled south-west of the Bolin place in 1830, and Archibald Stan-
derfer, sen., and his family arrived a little later in the same year. His son, Jerre Standerfer, is still residing here. John Drew, with a large family, came here about 1833 or '34. Thomas Fulton and Hamilton Bonham, with their families, settled a little later on the west side of the creek. John Fleming settled the present Frank Taylor place, and James Fleming settled at the head of the Jona- than's creek timber, where he soon afterwards died, and his family returned to Indiana. .
Besides those above-mentioned, Levi Fleming, Elijah Fleming, Andrew Mark, James Underwood, Jolin and Jacob Seass and William H. Lilly were early settlers here. Benjamin Freeman, who settled in what is now Moultrie county in 1830, is at present a resident of Jonathan creek.
A few years ago there was a village laid out in sec. four, called Wasco. A store or two, blacksmith-shop, etc., were built, and some trade was carried on for a time, but as a village it is now ex- tinct. The inhabitants are strictly an agricultural community that number 1059, as taken by the last census. The principal trading is done at Sullivan and Arthur. The township is well supplied with churches and schools.
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