USA > Illinois > Champaign County > Early history and pioneers of Champaign County : illustrated by one hundred and fifteen superb engravings by Melville : containing biographical sketches of the early settlers, the early history of the county obtained from the most reliable sources and many graphic scenes and incidents from the bright and shady sides of pioneer life > Part 18
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The foregoing is a synopsis of the busi- ness transacted in the county from 1833 to and including February term, 1852. While some of the business might seem insignifi- cant, yet it was entered of record by the clerk, T. R. Webber, in detail, and there was no mistaking the meaning of the per- sons doing the business for the people.
SCHOOLS.
We have the record of two school houses in the county in 1832. One was on the west side of the Big Grove and was taught by Claude Thompkins. The other was in the vicinity of the old Brumley place, near Ur- bana, the latter being the first school house, as far as we can learn, erected in the county.
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FIRST SCHOOL HOUSE.
It is a substantial structure. It will be noticed that the windows are small, and in- stead of window glass, greased paper was used. The light thus admitted might have answered all purposes on a bright day but no one suffered from its being too bright. The seats of this school house were hewn slabs and not hewn so very smooth either. As far as we can learn, the first teacher in the Big Grove was a lady who boarded at the house of Martin Reinhart. In 1832, Asahel Bruer taught school in the school house above de- scribed, in fact he taught eighteen months. The first Christmas he treated the scholars, according to the custom, to one gallon of whiskey and a bushel of apples, and every- thing passed off harmoniously. When the next Christmas came around, on arriving at the school house he found the door barred, and in answer to his request for admittance a note was handed him through the erack between the logs asking that he treat to a bushel of apples and one gallon of whiskey and that he give the scholars a vacation for one week. He answered that he would not, and soon mounted the house. The clap- boards being held on the roof of the house by weight poles, he had no difficulty in tak- ing ont enough to cover the top of the chim- ney. As there was a large tire made from green wood, in the fire place below, the room was soon filled with smoke. James Kirby, one of the older scholars, took the poker, a piece of a pole, and by throwing it up the chimney knocked the boards off. They were soon replaced by Mr. Bruer and on a second attempt to knock them off Mr. Broer caught the poker and threw it on the outside and re-covered the chimney. The house was then soon filled with smoke, almost to suffocation. The smaller children began to ery and every one seemed to wish there was an end to the matter. About this time William Trickle crawled into the gar- rett, pulled aside the boards and jumped out and down to the ground with Mr. Bruer after him. The boys seeing Mr. Bruer
catching Trickle, threw open the door and every one piled out smoke and all.
ASAHIEL BRUER SMOKING OUT THE BOYS
The boys soon caught Mr. Bruer and be- gan rolling him in the snow, and he said, pulling his hair, He protested that they had no right to do this, when the boys sub- mitted the matter to Stephen Boyd and Mr. Bromley who decided that they had a right to bar him out of the school house but not to pull his hair or roll him in the snow. As soon as Mr. Bruer was released he made a run for the school house, closely followed by James Kirby and the balance, but the old gentleman was first in the school house, where he was master of the situation for a short time, when the boys surrounded him and he surrendered saying. "I just wanted to see if you had any Kentucky blood in you." le then told the boys where to find a gallon of whiskey, and a bushel of apples, hid a short distance from the school house, which were soon pro- dneed and the afternoon spent in roasting apples and drinking apple toddy. James Kirby, William and Ashford Trickle, James W. Boyd, Moses Deer, Mrs. Mary Ann Moore, of Danville, Fount Busey. Sol Nox, James Roland, Susan Trickle, now Mr. Kir- by's wife, were present and will long re- member the circumstance above narrated. It is especially vivid in the mind of James Kirby, one of the early settlers who gave us these facts. Mr. Kirby, in speaking of the early weddings said, that no special invita- tions were issued to attend, but every one attended who felt so inclined. Whiskey was as free as water. At one wedding ho attended (the parties now tiving across the grove) nine gallons of whiskey were used and not a man was drunk. The drinks they used those days were mint slings, black strop, tansy bitters and ogg-nog.
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URBANA AND SOMER TOWNSHIPS.
Read at Old Settlers' Reunion, July 20, 1886.
BY J. O. CUNNINGHAM.
The local history of these two townships, and in fact the early history of the county during the period to which I shall refer, which will be anterior to the period of histo- ry of others given here to-day, are practical- ly one, for around the Big Grove, and npon territory embraced in both townships, were made the first settlements of the county.
INDIAN OCCUPATION.
Our earliest historie accounts accord the territory in this part of Illinois to the own- ership of the Kickapoo Indians, as Indian titles were then regarded. In the year 1819, at Edwardsville, Illinois, at a treaty between the Kickapoo nation and the United States government, represented by Ninian Ed- wards, a treaty was concluded by which that people relinquished their rights here, and then passed west of the Mississippi. The Indian occupation spoken of here to- day, was subsequent to this date, and by bands of the Pottawotamies who hunted, and at times abode here. Tradition, support- ed by the testimony of many old settlers, some of whom are here to-day, says that the site of Urbana and along the Bone Yard Branch was the site of an Indian village of the Pottawotamies. The presence there of good water, fuel and an abundance of game, made it a favorite camping ground with them. They also frequently camped at the Clements or Clay Bank ford, further down the creek. They buried their dead at Ad- kins' Point, near where John Thornburn now lives.
FIRST WHITE OCCUPANCY.
So far as I am informed the first white men to see this country, were the United States surveyors who divided the country into townships and sections. These town- ships were surveyed in the summer of 1821 by Benjamin Franklin Messenger, under the authority of the Federal government. There doubtless were hunters, trappers and traders, and perhaps squatters here before that date, but they left no name. The earli- est squatters known to us, were Runnel Fielder, who is said to have been the first white inhabitant of the county, who settled in 1822, near the north east corner of Sec. 11. Urbana, and built a cabin there, which I have often seen. Fielder entered no land until June 21, 1828, when he entered the W12 NW Sec. 13, a part of the Roe farm now owned by Bate Smith, on which he planted an orchard, the first in either town if not the first in the county. Some ot the trees
may be seen yet. Then there were John Light who had a cabin where Tom Brown- field now lives; Gabriel Rice, who had his cabin on Sol Nox's place; Phillip Stanford, who lived near where William Roberts now lives and afterwards entered part of that farm, and David Gabbert, who built his cabin just north of this park. This cabin was the first home of the family of Col. M. W. Busey, who came here in 1836. The Col- onel had been here before, for he entered the 80 where we now are, in 1830. Besides these, there were Daggett, who settled on the west side of the grove, and Win. Tomp- kins who built his cabin on the creek, near where Halberstadt's mill is, afterwards, in 1828, entering the land which he sold to Isaac Busey in 1830. Tompkins had a son living in a cabin near the Harvey cemetery, who was also a squatter for he never owned any land. In his cabin, it is said, was born the first white child in the county. Soon after 1828, permanent settlers began to come in. Thomas Rolland, in 1828, Matthew Bu- sey, in 1829, Isham Cook, in 1830, and soon thereafter, and in some cases before, came James T. Roe, John Brownfield, T. R. Web- ber, W. T. Webber, Jacob Smith, Jacob Heater, John G. Robertson, Isaac G. Beck- ley, Sample Cole and James Clements. Be- fore many of these, perhaps, was Phillip M. Stanford, Sarah Coe, the Trickles, Robert and William, Elias Kirby, Mijamin Byers, the latter of whom was a justice of the peace for this part of Vermilion. They all settled about the Big Grove in these two townships and soon began to enter the lands. These names I love to recall as being the names of those who laid the foundation of our present greatness.
FIRST LAND ENTRIES.
The first entry in Urbana was made by Fielder, as above stated, in 1828, and the first in Somer was made by Sarah Coe, who, in 1829, entered the W12 S E14 Sec. 27, now in William Roberts' farm. During the three years following, entries of lands now lying in both townships, were made by Mijamin Byers, Isaac Busey, John Whitaker, Will- iam Tompkins, Philip Stanford, Charles Bnsey, Martin Rhineheart, Walter Rhodes, John Light, John Brownfield, Robert Trickle and others.
DISEASES.
Like all new countries, blessed with a soil holding the elements of wealth, this country, when first settled, and until by cul- tivation and artificial drainage facilities were afforded for the surface water to pass rapidly away, was the home and nursery of malarious diseases. They appeared in the form of agne, chill fever, thuix, and other
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bowel complaints and were a great hin- (trance to the rapid settlement of the coun- try. These diseases were universal and the latter part of every summer and every fall people looked for a visitation from these diseases as much as they looked for the ripening of their erops. It was understood that unless the work of the season was com- pleted before the sickly season came on, it had to go over, for during that period all would be sick, or if some were spared, their time would be monopolized in the care of their sick. Many times there were not well persons enough in a family or neighborhood to care for the siek. Physicians were few or entirely wanting. Dr. Fithian, the veter- an physician of Danville, was often called to this county, while Dr. Stevens of Homer, and Dr. Somers of Urbana, who were early on the ground, had a wide range of practice in these diseases. The effect of these annul- al recurrences of miasmatic diseases upon the individual was to weaken and sap the constitution of the strongest. The death roll of the first thirty years of our history, if it could be ealled, would startle us even at this distance of time. Strong men and women gradually weakened and finally fell before the unseen foe, while little children, ague ridden from their birth, endured a dwarfish growth for a few years, and went shaking to their graves. While this is true of many, we yet have monuments of the olden time in many whitened heads all around us, which have reached or long since passed the allotted three score years and ten, and still linger as good specimens of well preserved mannood and womanhood, equal in healthful appearance to any found in our more favored localities-men and women who have here spent their thirty, forty, fifty, or even near sixty years, We may now congratulate ourselves that, drain- age accomplished, we can compare with any country for healthfulness.
EARLY DEATHIS,
So far as I can ascertain the first death among the white inhabitants of the county, was Isham Cook. In 1830 he entered land in seetion 5, north of Urbana. In the fall of that year he died and was buried there. The farm is known as the Dean farm. In 1831, a woman named Pugh, a member of a family traveling through, died at Rhine- heart's, and was the first death in Somer township. The wife of Isaac Busey died in 1834, and was the first to be buried in the old cemetery in Urbana. In 1833, several members of the Moss family and others died of cholera, north of the grove. The deaths were startling and spread consterna- tion among the people. I mention also
others who died within a few years after coming here, as follows: James Brownfield, brother of John, and father of Robert. Thomas Rolland, father of Mrs. Wm. I. Moore of Danville. Isaiah Corray, father of Elisha. John Truman, the ancestor of those remaining of that name. William Boyd, the grandfather of James Boyd. Isaac Bnsey, and his son John, and grand son Isaac. David Shephard, father of Par- ris. William T. Webber, father of T. R. and W. H. Webber. James Brownfield, grandfather of William and Thomas. Jesse Tompkins, who was a squatter on the gov- ernment lands. Samuel Brunnley, father of Mrs. T. L. Truman. Jacob Bradshaw, Ste- phen Gulick, Charles Busey, and the list might be much extended but space forbids. Two of the earlier deaths were of men who were veterans of the revolutionary war. One was Robert Brownfield, above noted, who died in 1841. The other was William Hays who died since that date. Both are buried in Somer, and in ummarked graves. It would redound to the credit of the people to ereet lasting monuments to mark the last resting places of these patriots, and to keep these spots in remembrance upon each re- curring decoration day.
SCHOOLS.
John Light, the squatter, probably taught the first school within the territory of these townships, in a cabin near where Frank Apperson now lives. James Boyd, who is with us to-day, was a pupil of Light's and believes this to have been the first. It was taught in the winter of 1832-3. Charles Fielder and John B. Thomas, afterwards a lawyer and judge of the county court. also taught school in the settlement in the north part of the grove. Asahel Bruer, a veteran of the war of 1812, who died five years since, also taught early in the thirties, in the grove.
MILLS.
The first mill for grinding corn was brought by Robert Trickle from Butler's Point, in 1826. It consisted of a hollow log or "gum" in which were inserted the upper and the nether mill stones, These stones were worked out from rough boulders and with the appliances for making the upper stone revolve served a very good purpose. Fielder in 1828 and John Brownfield in 1836, built horse mills which were improvements on the hand mill. Brownfield's mill was quite pretentious and was built by James Holmes, a preacher of the M. E. church. The frame of the building used still stands. The stones were subsequently removed to a water mill built on the creek in 1842 by Mr. Brownfield, which superseded the horse mill. These stones are still preserved by
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PIONEERS OF CHAMPAIGN COUNTY.
Tom Brownfield as mementoes of other days. John Haptenstall built a saw mill on the creek below town about 1840, and Jacob Mootz in 1842 built another on a site here in the park for Col. Busey. These mills were not attended with success and were super- seded by the first steam saw and grist mill built in the county erected in Urbana in 1850 by William Park.
PHYSICIANS.
The first physician who located here was Dr. Fulkerson, who came in 1830 and board- ed with Mrs. Coe, a widow lady who had improved land in Sec. 27 Somer. Ile did not remain long but moved on. Dr. Lyons stopped at John Shepherd's in Urbana town- ship for a time, before locating permanently at Sidney. Ile subsequently represented the county in the legislature. Dr. John Saddler located in Urbana in 1839, leaving not long after and was followed by Drs. Winston and W. D. Somers in 1840 and 43. The former honored his profession until his death, in 1871, the latter soon entered the law practice as the first lawyer of the county.
RELIGIOUS.
One Mahurin, a Baptist, was the first minister to proclaim the gospel here. He became chaplain of a regiment in the Black Hawk war and never returned. John Dun- ham, of the United Brethren church, early became noted as a religious leader all through this part. Alexander Holbrook, who lived where Capt Howell now lives, was a Methodist exhorter and often made the woods ring with his wild eloquence. William Phillips, known to the settlers as "Bub Phillips, " and Rev. J. Holmes, who was a transient mill wright, were local preachers of the same persuasion and materially aided the moral work. Father John G. Robertson, who in 1830 entered land in Sec. 10, Urbana, and who, as a Baptist layman, was ever a zealous christian worker, is said to have held the first religious meetings in the then village of Urbana. Ile died at Mahomet a few years ago. The first Methodist class and the germ of the present society in Ur- bana, was organized in 1836, at the house of Walter Rhodes, the first leader. The Bap- tist church of Urbana was organized in 1841, at the Bruinley school house, two miles east. The Roes, Brumleys, Trumans, Cooks, Coxes and Nancy Webber were among the con- stituent members. The officiating clergyman was Rev. Newell.
COUNTY SEAT.
On February 20th, 1833, John Reynolds, governor of Illinois, signed the art of the legislature creating the county of Champaign from the lands attached to Vermilion. The
act appointed John F. Richardson, of Clark county, James P. Jones, of Coles county, and Stephen B. Shelledy, of Edgar county, commissioners to locate Urbana, which it was declared should be the county seat. These men met, as required by law, at the house of Phillip M. Stanford and found va- rions points contesting for the honor of be- ing the capital of the new county. Stanford wanted it at his house, north of the grove, where the principal part of the population of the settlement was then located, in which his neighbors all joined him. At that time the only post office in this part of the coun- ty, known as VanBuren, was kept on the adjoining farm of Mathias Rhineheart. Isaac Busey and William T. Webber, own- ers respectively of the w13 nw14 and e12 ne14 of section 17, in Urbana, and Col. M. W. Busy who owned contiguous lands, were making liberal offers of land for county pur- poses. The Stanford location was on the Ft. Clark road and was surrounded by a con- siderable population, while the latter site was covered by hazel brush and decidedly in the backwoods. It was thought that the commissioners had decided in favor of Stan- ford's, when Isaac Busey prevailed upon them to go home with him to stay all night before driving the stake that was to settle the controversy. They went, and before another sun rose, tradition informis us, the stake was driven in a pateh of hazel brush where the court house now stands. The driving of that stake, although an unimport- ant cirenmstance at that time, has proved an eventful one upon many things happen- ing since. There are those who indulged in dark hints at the time of undue influences, the echo of which may be heard yet, but no doubt the commissioners acted from honest motives. Had Stanford's been accepted Somer would have been the site of the coun- ty seat instead of Urbana. The circum- stances soon began to work necessary changes. Population began to gather on the south side of the grove; stores, limited however to a few articles only, were open- ed in Urbana. Courts were held here and roads were opened leading to other parts of the county. The postoffice had its name changed from Van Buren to Urbana, and T. R. Webber, in addition to the office of clerk of the cirenit court, and perhaps other offices, became postmaster.
The location of the county so far from the Wabash and Illinois rivers and from Lake Michigan, the only public means of trans- portation, from necessity made its growth in population slow. It is probable that in 1833, when this county came into existence. its population did not exceed 800. En 1835.
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it was only 1250 and in 1850 only 2,649.
MY OWN OBSERVATION.
In 1853, twenty years after this became a county, I first saw these beautiful land- seapes, then ahnost in a state of nature, and determined to make this my future home. Except in the limited increase in population, the county had made but little advancement in twenty years. From two postoffices, Van Buren and Luddington, afterwards changed to Homer, the number had increased to five only. None of the streams were bridged except the Salt Fork at Homer. The roads were little better than traces across the prairie and through timber belts, with but little improvement in the lanes in the way of grading and entverts. The settlements were confined to the groves and timber belts almost exclusively. I only remember a few farms opened a mile from the timber. The road from Urbana to Mahomet-from timber to timber-had perhaps not to exceed six farms opened upon it. Few could be found who were daring enough to assert that these prairies would ever be settled. Lands could be had at from a few cents per acre ťor gov- ernment lands under the graduation law, to $10 per acre, for choice improved locations. There were, perhaps, five or six cheap church buildings, one of which was in Ur- bana, and not to exceed a dozen school hous- es of all kinds. No railroad or other public means of conveyance touched the county, although the Illinois Central, the pioneer railroad, was located and partly graded. Transportation to the county was conducted entirely by private conveyanee, and mostly from the Wabash towns, to which merchan- dise was brought from the eastern cities by canal and by river steamers. The county had advanced to its third court house, a fair looking two story brick structure. The public business was mostly transacted by T. R. Webber, Esq., then and for many years elerk of both courts and master in chancery. His office held all the records of the county, which were well and neatly kept. The population of these two towns, not then as now divided into two towns, for not until long thereafter was township or- ganization adopted, was confined exclusive- ly to a little belt immediately about the Big Grove, there being no settler in the neigh- borhood more than a mile from the timber. Of those known as old settlers who have sinee removed or died, I knew and ean name many: James and Asa Gere, Areha Camp- bell, Edward Ater, M. P. Snelling, Robert Logan, T. R. Webber, James Porter, J. W. Jaquith, Penrose Stidham, Jacob Smith, Mathew Busey, Bartlett Elrodd, Joshua Tay- lor, John Shepherd, D. O. Brumley, T. L. Tru-
man, James T. Roe, John Gilliland, John, Robert, Benjamin, Joseph, Samuel and Joseph F. Brownfield, Jacob Heater, James and Waitman T. Somers, Lewis Adkins, Mathias and Martin Rhineheart, James C. Young, William Adams, James Dean, John Cant- ner, Dr. Winston Somers, A. G. Carle, J. D. Wilson, Stephen Boyd, Elisha Harkness, Wilson Lewis, Asahel Bruer, C. M. Van- derveer, William and Z. E. Gill, John Crabb, James Myers, James Clements, John Shep- herd, John Campbell and Benjamin Chil- ders.
There were few houses in the settlement of a character much above the pioneer cabin or block house and few permanent barns. The people were mostly from Indiana and the southern states, with a few from New York and the eastern states. From habit and taste hospitable, the stranger who came among them was kindly received and hos- pitably entertained. What they wanted most was emigrants to fill up their mag- nificent country, and so the stranger was warmly welcomed. The principal business of the farmers was the raising and fatten- ing of cattle and hogs for the market. Very little grain was raised for sale, other than to cattle feeders, owing to the want of transportation. Such was this county when in 1853 my eyes were gladened by what seemed to my enthusiastic gaze the most enchanting prospect under the sun.
The next year, 1854, the trains of the Illi_ nois Central railroad awoke the echoes on our prairies and in our groves and proved, in fact, the turning point in the history of this county. Population flowed in and capi- tal sought investment. Lands were greedi- ly sought out and the echoless prairies be- came the home of civilization. The pio- neers became restless under the pressure and many of those above named sought broader fields in the far west. Sehool houses, churches and railroads multiplied, our villages became eities and populous vil- lages sprang up all over the county. The State University eame and sat down in our midst, bringing with it eulture, taste and refinement in the liberal arts, and the ham- let, which I found in 1853, with but one lit- tle wooden church and no house fit to be called a school-house, has become a great seat of learning where our sons and our daughters may, if they choose, drink deeply from wisdom's fount. The population of less than 3000 has become 50,000 and the county holds a position in the political and educational affairs of the state second to few.
All this and much more has been brought about in this one eounty under the liberaliz-
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ing influences of our free institutions, in a third of a century.
Loooking to the near future to be partici- pated in by many of us we wonderingly ask, "What next." Withdrawing our gaze from what we may yet see and participate in, and looking to the far away future of our county and city, when we and those with us shall have been gathered to our fathers, we also naturally ask :
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