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 78

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 78
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 78

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HOLLAND TOWNSHIP.

(SHELBY COUNTY.)

HIS township contains fifty-four sections, the north half of town nine, range four east, and the whole of town ten, range four east. The greater part was originally timber ; part of the surface is quite broken in the central and northern por- tions of the township; there is also good prairie land, and generally well-improved. There were no very early settlements made here. The Okaw river flows through part of sections nineteen and thirty. Jordan creek passes through the north-west part of the township,-it enters it in section five, touches section eight, and passes out in section seven. Richland creek flows through almost the entire township in a south-westerly direction. Brush creek- a tributary of Richland creek-drains the southern part of the township, where it enters Jordan creck in section eight, town ninc, range four. The township is bounded on the north by Shelbyville

township, west by Dry Point, south by Effingham county, and on the east by Prairie township.

Elisha Fortner, oue of the first settlers of this township, came to Shelby county in 1829, and first located in the Sand creek settle- ment. In 1834 he came down into what is now Holland township. His widow tells of being frightened by a painted Indian, who, be- cause of some grievance, took this plan of [revenge : the Indian sat grumly on his horse, without speaking, in front of the cabin. Mrs. Fortner had securely fastened the door, and trembling, watched his motions through a crack between the logs. Actions of this kind appeared a little threatening, but the settlers paid no attention and were not molested. It is the almost unanimous expression of the early settlers, that the Indians were the best of neighbors. As a general thing, they were polite and friendly.

David Miller, a native of Tennessee, came to Shelby county in 1828, settled three miles east from Shelbyville, where he lived six

295

HISTORY OF SHELBY AND MOULTRIE COUNTIES, ILLINOIS.

for seven years, and then located on Richland creck, in the south- west part of Holland.

LAND ENTRIES-T. 9, R 4 E.

Mar. 10, 1838, John Surgeon,

S. E. 4 scc. 17, 160 acres.

13, " Arthur W. Hoyt, E. ¿ S.W. } " 17, 80

66 do. W. & N.W. } 18, 80 66

do. N. W. + 17,160

do. W. & N. E. ¿ 17, 80

June 1, 1838, Chas. V. Reber, N. W. } N. E. }

T. 10, R. 4.

May 9, 1836, John Pritchard, " 1836, do. E. ¿ S. E. { " E. ¿ N. E. 4

" " 1836, do. W. ¿ N.E. } " 16, 80

9, 1836, Bailey Phillips,

W. ¿ N. W. }

16, 80 66

July 21, 1836, Jane S. Huges, E. ¿ S. E. } 17, 80 "

Hunters would come and go, remain a short time hunting and trapping, and then go elsewhere. Josiah Daniel built a cabin on Brush creek, trapped and hunted for a living, and left, after the Mexican war, for Missouri-this country was settling up too fast for him. Zane Daniel hunted and trapped here for a short time on Brush creek.

Jacob Elliot came to this country and settled on the head waters of Richland creek, in what is now Richland township in 1825. He came here from Clay county, Ill., where he lived for three years. Ile was originally from North Carolina ; his parents moved from that State to Indiana when he was quite young. In 1837 he moved farther down the Richland creek on account of milk-sickness, and settled where he now lives. The cabin he built in 1837 still stands and is a part of the house he now occupies. For a number of years he went to Cold Spring to Wakefield's horse mill to get his grinding and would often have to wait all night for his grist. In those days the green headed flics were very numerous and almost an Egyptian plague. They became so troublesome that during two months of the year in fly time, travelers were obliged to go on their journeys at night, and even then they were troubled to some extent. Their bites were so severe that a horse, if turned loose during that season of the year, was liable to be goaded to death with pain, loss of blood and incessant kicking and running to become rid of these insects. They were the most troublesome on the main roads where travelers usually passed with their teams.

Edward Pritchard settled on Jordan creek in 1832. John A. Pritchard made an improvement ncar the center of the township in 1842.

Daniel and Jacob Gallagher, two brothers from Fairfield county, Ohio, came into the county in 1839. Danicl settled the place on section twenty-nine, the same year, where he lived until his death. Jacob resided in Shelbyville township for two years, and then re- moved to where he now lives in 1841. For some time after the Galla- ghers settled herc there were only three houses north of them in the township, viz : E. Howe, M. Owens and John Pritchard, and a

few " squatters " lived along on the north side of the creek in the timber south of them.

E. Howe settled on section seventeen, now the S. Wilhelm place. M. Owens settled the A. Hahn place, on the north side of Jordan creek

John Middlesworth came here in 1838 and settled on section thirty-one, where his widow now resides. He was from Fairfield county, Ohio. A view of the household is shown on another page of this work. Charles Reber also from Ohio and the same county, located on section thirty-two the same year ; he only remained here about two years and then returned to Ohio.

Wesley and Henry Gallagher settled on section four in 1840.

The first school-house was built on section twenty-nine, near Gallagher's about 1845; it was a small log building. Willian Howe was one of the first teachers. Other early settlers of Holland who deserve mention arc John Black, George Supernoskite, W. J. F. Howe, J. B. Leathers, J. Hubbart and C. Giles.

Brush Creek post-office was established a number of years ago on section twelve, in the south part of the township, with .D. M. Fitch as post-master; the office was kept as his residence. It was discontinued about four years ago ; the office had an existence of about two years at this place.

MODE.

Jacob Smith laid off the village of Mode in 1866, calling it Smithville. The post-office was kept by Elisha Roley, one half mile south-east, and was called Mode, which name gradually was given to the village. It is situated in the edge of the timber on section twenty-three, south-east part of the section. The first store, dry goods and groceries, was opened by Richard Miller and David Wright in the year 1870. Dr. John Duncan was the first physi- cian ; he located here in 1866. Solomon Swingle erected a saw mill here in 1870, which he still operates. The business of the place is as follows :

Dry Goods .- D. Wright. Drugs, Groceries and post-master .- Dr. J. Duncan. Blacksmith Shop .- Jacob Smith.

Wagon Shop -A. M. Howe.

There are two churches, Unitarian and Christian Union. One of the churches is not in the village, but near by, a short distance north- east. Mt. Zion church on section sixteen is of the Methodist deno- mination.

The following have been Supervisors for the township : William J. F. Howe, clected in 1860; W. J. F. Howc, elected in 1861, rc- clected in 1862 ; Jos. Leathers, elected in 1863, re-elected in 1864 ; J. Gallagher, elected in 1865; W. J. F. Howc, elected in 1866 ; Joe Leathers, elccted in 1867, re-elected in 1868; S. R. Graybill, elected in 1869 ; D. Brown, elected in 1870; D. V. Brown, elected in 1871; S. R. Graybill, elected in 1872; J. Allen, elected in 1873; W. J. F. Howc, elected in 1874; T. J. Graybill, elected in 1875, re-elected in 1876 and 1877 ; J. P. Graybill, elccted in 1878, re-elected in 1879 and 1880, and is the present incumbent:

8, 40 16, 80 16, 80

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

CHARLES COMPTON.

THE subject of this biography was born in Martinsburg, Berkeley county, Virginia, January 1st, 1815. Isaac Compton, his grand- father, was a native of New Jersey. He settled in Virginia soon after the revolutionary war. Jonathan, his son, and father of Charles, married Mary Young. Her father, Charles Young, was a soldier of the revolution, and served seven years in that struggle. Charles' father died while he was young, and he has but little re- collection of him. He left his family in limited circumstances ; the children therefore, as soon as possible, became self-supporting. Wages were low in the then slave state of Virginia, and a poor boy had but few opportunities for getting on in the world. Charles de- termined to leave as soon as possible. His brother Jonathan had been a resident of Ohio, and had returned home to visit the family after a three years absence. When he returned Charles accompa- nied hin, both walking the entire distance to Fairfield county, Ohio. He found work on a farm at six dollars per month. He saved his money, and from it paid his tuition and board, and went to school to get an cducation, of which he was much in need, and felt the ne- cessity of having. He labored on, and continued to save his money; laying by a little each month. In 1839 he and his brother concluded to come to Illinois and invest their savings. They walked the entire distance, and came to Shelby county, and together en- tered 160 acres of land in Holland township. The following winter they made rails, and in Junc of the next year footed it back to Ohio. After his return to Ohio in 1840, he married Louisa Swope, of Fairfield county. He then rented land and farmed it on shares for four years, then paid money rent, and continucd as renter until, the fall of 1852, he came west, landing here October 15th. He rented a piece of land where he now lives On it was an old build- ing in which he wintered. In the spring he was dispirited and would have gone back to Ohio, but his wife was sick, and it was impossible. He hung on, and gradually became more reconciled. In the spring of the next year he bought a farm of 120 acres and became a permanent settler, and therc he has continued to reside until the present. He has added to his original purchase until he has now 680 acres, all of which he has made by his own industry and energy. After he left Virginia and settled in Ohio, his mother and two sisters, without his or his brother's knowledge, moved to Missouri. The family thereby lost all trace of each other, and did not discover each other's whereabouts for thirty-onc years, and then only by accident. The two sons paid a visit to their mother, but so long a time had intervened, and they had changed so much, that she did not recognize them for a long while. By his marriage with 296

Louisa Swope there were nine children, four of whom are living. Two of them died in infancy. Jonathan, the eldest son, enlisted in Co. "B," of the 41st Regiment Illinois Volunteers, in the late war. He died in St. Louis, May 26th, 1862, from disease contracted in the service. Thomas was also a soldier. He died in July, 1869, in his twenty-fifth year. Francis Marion died December 3d, 1878, in his twenty-second year. The names of the other children are : Mary Jane ; Charles E., who married Mary Alice Merrick ; Sarah Elizabeth ; and Louisa, who is the wife of William Flenner, of Clark county, Ill. Mr. Compton is a member of the United Brethren church. He has been a republican since 1860.

JOHN MIDDLESWORTH. (DECEASED.)

THE subject of this biography was during his life one of the promi- nent farmers and stockmen of Shelby county. He was born in Fair- field county, Ohio, November 8th, 1812. The Middlesworths came originally from Pennsylvania to Ohio, and were among the early settlers of that state. Abraham Middlesworth, his father, came to Shelby county in 1840, and settled near Windsor. John was the eldest of seven children. He came to Shelby county, Ills., in 1837, and stopped the first year north of Shelbyville. In 1838 he entered land in what is now known as Holland township, and there made his home until his death, which took place December 19th, 1862. His death was regretted by a large circle of friends and acquain- tances. He was a very active man, and whatever. he undertook to do, lie brought all the force possible to bear upon it. As a conse- quence, he soon rose in importance, and added to his wealth. In his home he was of a domestic turn of mind, and was a kind hus- band and an affectionate father. On the 20th of November, 1836, before coming west, he married Charlotte McDermith. She was born September 2d, 1819. She died March 15th, 1839. By this union there was one child, named Sarah Ann. She died July 26th, 1838. After the death of his wife, Mr. Middlesworth returned to Ohio, and on the 19th of March, 1840, married Isabella Leist. She was born September 20th, 1820, and died May 29th, 1852. By this marriage there were six children, five of whom are still living. Belinda, wife of Mathias Kensil, of Shelbyville; Ncr, the eldest son, is a farmer and resident of Mount Air, Iowa; Louisa, wife of Lafayette Higginbotham, present sheriff of Shelby county ; Ellen Isabella, wife of Benjamin Powell, of Shelbyville; and Josiah, a farmer in this county.

After the death of his second wife, he returned to Ohio, and on

PRINCE ALBERT

I WALNUT GROVE

STOCK FARM & RES. OF Z.B.WHITFIELD. SEC.7, WHITLEY TP. (12) R.6, MOULTRIE CO.ILL. FORMERLY THE PROPERTY OF WILLIS WHITFIELD DEC.

RES.OF THE LATE JOHN MIDDLESWORTH DECEASED DEC. 1862 SEC.3I, HOLLANDTP. (10) R.4 SHELBY CO. ILL.

297

HISTORY OF SHELBY AND MOULTRIE COUNTIES, ILLINOIS.

the 20th of March, 1853, married Catherine Hege. She was born in Fairfield county, Ohio, November 25th, 1828. Her family were from Franklin county, Pennsylvania. By this union there are five children,-two sons and three daughters. Their names are as fol- lows : Chester, eldest son, yet at home; Mary Emma, Anna Barbara, wife of Charles Tull, teacher in Stewardson; Charles, a farmer, yet at home; and Ida Jane, yet beneath the parental roof.

In the death of Mr. Middlesworth, the poor of his neighborhood lost their best friend. He was kind and charitable to them, and would not allow them to be cheated or wronged if in his power to prevent. His idea of justice was to render unto every man what was his due, and he held in contempt any man who would by false or unjust means obtain the advantage of another. His widow, Catherine Middlesworth, still resides on the homestead in Holland township.

JOHN DUNCAN, M. D.

DR. DUNCAN is among the old practitioners of Shelby county. He was born in Parke county, Indiana, in 1826. His parents, Na- than and Elizabeth Lavinia Duncan, were natives of North Caro- lina. They emigrated to Indiana about 1820, and remained in that state until 1834, when they removed to Macoupin county, Illi- nois, and settled near Clyde, where Nathan Duncan still resides. They were among the first settlers and pioneers of both Indiana and Illinois. When the subject of this biography reached his ninth year, he was afflicted with that terrible disease known as the white swelling, in his right leg, which rendered lim a cripple, and incapacitated him from performing active or manual labor. He therefore concluded to adopt the profession of medicine as the

business of his life. With this idea in view he commenced the study under the tuition of his father, who was a practicing physi- cian, and after making suitable progress in his studies, he com- menced the practice in connection with his father and continued with him until June 20th, 1865, when he came to Shelby county and settled in the village of Mode, in Holland township. There the doctor continued the practice with great success from that time to the present. A few years ago, from sympathetic action, his sound limb became diseased also, and so terrible were his sufferings that in order to save his life, the limb had to be amputated above the knee. In consequence of this he was unable to continue his hitherto active practice, and in order that his time might be em- ployed profitably, he opened a small drug, dry goods and general notion store, and now practices his profession in his office by pre- scribing for all those who call upon him for professional advice or medicine. He still visits patients in extreme cases where it is ne- cessary to see them in order to treat them intelligently. During his residence in Macoupin county he was post-master of Clyde for twelve years, and was also agent for the I. & St. L. R. R. He has been post-master of Mode for the last three years. In March, 1858, he married Nancy Jane Jones, a native of Macoupin county. By this marriage there were three children-one living named Zacha- riah Turner Duncan. His wife died in 1866. In 1871, he married Catherine M., widow of Jefferson Hidden, nee Kerns. By her for- mer husband she had two children, and by Dr. Duncan five, two of whom are living. Politically, Dr. Duncan is a democrat. Both he and his wife are members of the United Brethren Church. The doctor, under all his suffering, is a cheerful man, a good talker, and a man of most general information, and of a pleasant and so- ciable disposition.

OKAW TOWNSHIP.

(SHELBY COUNTY.)

HIS township is comprised within the bounda- ries of town 12, range 4, Shelby county. It has an area of thirty-six square miles, bounded on ,the north by Moultrie county and Todd's Point township, east by Windsor, on the south by Shelbyville township, on the west by Ridge.

Drainage .- It is drained on the east and south by the Okaw river, Coon and Sand Creeks, furnishing an abundant supply of water for stock and other purposes. The greater part of this town- ship was covered with a heavy growth of timber, the only place the early pioneer thought a man could exist in, therefore we find settlers here in 1823. Daniel Francisco, a native of Alabama, in the year 1832 came and settled on Section 33, on the east side of the Okaw; the cabin stood a little south of the mouth of Coon Creek, on 38

the hill side ; about four years after he bought the Ledbetter pro- perty, on the Okaw or Kaskaskia river, where the Lcdbetter mill stood; this nill was washed away in one of our old time freshets, and Francisco built another on the same site; that was the first water- mill built in this part of the county, and was considered an excel- lent mill for those times. The lumber used in the building of this mill was sawed out by hand. It was a saw and grist mill combined and the bolting chests were run by hand for a number of years. Francisco sold the mill to Hadley Brothers, who built an addition to the same and fitted up a distillery, and ran it some five or six years when it was burned down, and as Mr. F. failed to secure his pay, he was obliged to take back the property and again rebuild the mill, which he ran for several years. He raised a family of tell boys; nine are now living in this township, all born in Shelby county ; the oldest is 56 years of age, the youngest 32. Eight of

298

HISTORY OF SHELBY AND MOULTRIE COUNTIES, ILLINOIS.

them served in various regiments through the war of the Rebellion ; one as sutler of the 126th Infantry Regiment. Mr. Francisco died in 1859. At the time of his death he was possessed of about 2,230 acres of land, and quite an amount of personal property.

Daniel Dawdy settled in the edge of the timber in what was called Lakey Bend, in the year 1827, also James E. Rose, who settled on Section 11, and has been a resident of this county since the year 1827. His father, Sherman Rose, was one of the first settlers on the Vandalia road, in what is now Rosetownship. John, William and James Ward, three brothers from Kentucky, settled in the county in the year 1830. John settled near where his son John W. now lives. William settled in what is now known as Todd's Point. They have all passed away to that " undiscovered country from whose bourne no traveler returns." Simon Earp, a native of Kentucky, settled on Section 2, in 1828, the place now known as the Spicer estate; he purchased the improvements from the widow Kinsey, who had built a log cabin. Earp lived upon this place until his death in 1841. Four of his children reside in the county; one in Moultrie, one in Macon and two in Indiana. William Sandusky and William Dazey came about the same time from Kentucky. Dazey bought the improvements of Nathan Rice, Section 26, near Todd's Point, where he lived about one year; he then moved south and began the improvements where J. L. Walters now resides; he also started the place where James Earp now lives, who purchased them and afterward entered the land.

Sandusky settled on the north-west quarter of scction 2; he only lived here a short time after his arrival. In 1832 came Reuben Terry and Bushrod Henry. Terry settled near what is now the center of the township. Henry settled the place where James Tolly now lives. John L. Walters, who was a native of Virginia, came to this state from Kentucky, where he had resided a few years, ınar- ried, and in 1827, came to Illinois and settled at Brook's Point, five or six miles from Danville, Vermillion county. He lived there se- ven years, then came to Shelby county, and settled in what is now Okaw township, section 14. When he first settled in Illinois, quite a number of the native Red Men were to be seen. He has been twice married, is 80 years of age, hale, hearty, full of life and energy.

Whitfield Turney and William, his brother, natives of Kentucky, came and settled here in 1833. William returned to Kentucky in 1835 ; Whitfield settled on section 16; he died in 1874. F. G. Turney from Kentucky settled here in 1835, on section 11. David F., son of Whitfield, resided on section 16, and is one of our fore- most farmers and a breeder of Cotswold sheep. Lemuel Dazey, father of William, came from Kentucky in 1833, and bought a cabin and improvements of Samuel Hall, situated on section 11, where he lived until his death in 1842. After his demise, William his son resided on the old place until his death.

Littleton Fruit, a native of Maryland, settled here in 1830, on Coon creek, section 21. He improved a farm, raising a family of nine children, five boys and four girls. Two of his sons are prominent farmers of the township. L. W., who was born in what is now Okaw township in 1831, resides on the old homestead.

John Claridge, who settled here in 1830, was the Methodist preacher of early days, who instructed us in the road we ought to travel to the world hereafter,-a good man and much respected ; his son William's widow resides on the old homestead. Randolph Mahony, who settled here in 1835, was a brother, in the name of the Lord, who inclined to the doctrines of Methodism and taught the same to the early settlers, going from house to house, so that none could complain or find an excuse for waywardness. P. Spicer settled here about 1835; he was a native of Kentucky. He came to this county from Danville, Illinois. Other early settlers, were Jacob Meyer, on section 30, from Pennsylvania; R. Inman, Allen Francisco, Samuel Hall, John R. Shanks, who was a shoe- maker; Thomas Hendricks, Richard Little, Green Wamock, Len Mosely ; and Allen Smith settled the place John Ward bought and sold to the widow Freyburg. E. Bryson settled here in 1836, on the Okaw, where he resided until his death. George Hendricks, a native of North Carolina, settled in 1830, near where his son Samuel now lives, he living about seven years after coming to the county. His widow raised the five children on the old place; she died in 1871.

First Land Entries .- Asa Ledbetter, on the 24th of August, 1826, entered the W. ¿ N. 4 Sec. 34, eighty acres; John Wheatley, sr., on the 20th of December, 1826, entered the E. ¿ N. E. } Sec. 33, eighty acres ; W. and F. Jordan, jr., on the 26th of January, 1828, entered the E. ¿ S. E. } Sec 34, eighty acres.

The first school-house built was a log structure, erected a short distance south of the Bushrod Henry place; it was a small house, and B. Henry was the first teacher-this was in 1832. Game was abundant, and fish enough in the streams to entice the old and young to while away their hours of leisure.

Supervisors .- A. Francisco, elected in 1860, re-elected in 1861 ; J. Dazey, elected in 1862, re-elected in 1863 and 1864; William Fruit, elected in 1865 : M. Freyberger, elected in 1866, re-elected in 1867; J. Dazey, elected in 1868; re-elected in 1869; E. K. Schwartz, elected in 1870; J Dazey, elected in 1871, re-elected in 1872, 1873 and 1874; W. J. Boone, elected in 1875; J. Dazey, elected in 1876; J. Francisco, elected in 1877; H. G. Smith, elected in 1878; R. Teny, elected in 1879; J. Dazey, elected in 1880, and is the present incumbent.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH.

ALLEN FRANCISCO,

THE subject of the following sketch, is the oldest born citizen now living, of Okaw township. The date of his birth was May 30, 1825. The place of his birth was on Robinson Creek, Shelby county, Illinois. His father, Daniel Francisco, was a native of Alabama; he came to Illinois in 1813, and stopped in Greenville, at the Fort; he was but a mere lad then; his father and mother were both dead. Some trouble arose among the members of the family as to the division of the property of the deceased ; said property consisted of six dol- lars in money and a gun. In the dispute Daniel picked up the gun, shouldered it, walked out of the house, came to Illinois dircct, and never heard or saw any of the family afterward. How the assets were divided is yet unknown. He left the Fort and went to Montgomery county, and about the year 1818 settled on Robinson Creek, in what was afterwards Shelby county, and from that moved out on the Okaw river, then to Todd's Point township, and died there in 1859. He built a saw and grist mill on the Okaw, which he afterwards sold to some Yankee from Michigan, who converted it into a distillery, which was soon after consumed by fire. He afterwards rebuilt the grist and saw mill and sold it again, and then went back to farming. He was an energetic, business man, and dealt a great deal in stock, which he drove to Chicago and St Louis markets.

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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 78

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