USA > Illinois > Douglas County > Historical and biographical record of Douglas County, Illinois > Part 10
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Pioneer personals .- Isam Garrett, in com- pliment to whom the township was named, lived to the advanced age of eighty-two years. He died February 14, 1880. It is the popular opinion that Mr. Garrett never used tobacco or drank spirits, never served on a jury, never was a witness in court, never sued and never was sued, and that he never told a lie in his life. He was an educated free-thinker, and held that life is a terrific problem ; that we are placed upon this earth without being consulted, and removed without our consent; and that the golden rule was the only guide; and to "do good and throw it into the sea; if the fishes don't know it, God will."
Dr. Thomas Parsons, of this township, was a noted hunter and marksman, and now, at the advanced age of eighty-three, shows with pride some thirty targets which he has pre- served for many years, representing his vic- tories. These are about two inches in diameter, and show the size of a rifle ball repeated to any extent and cutting into each other at all edges. The Doctor was once the preceptor of Caleb Garrett, at Terre Haute, as a carpenter and builder.
Mr. Caleb Garrett, son of Isam, represented the county of Vigo in Indiana in 1842, and was re-elected at the age of twenty-one. He settled in Douglas county in 1847, served on the first grand jury, was justice of the peace in 1854, and for some years after. He was also first supervisor of Garrett township. He first bought land in the west part of the township, subsequently accumulated other and larger tracts, and in May, 1865, sold out and trans- ferred his farming interests to Tuscola town- ship by purchase.
Harvey Otter, James Drew, Jacob Mos- barger, Dr. D. A. Meeker, William Howe and William Ellars were of the early settlers. Howe arrived in the present bounds of Doug- las county in 1838. He went to California in 1850, and returned in 1853; he was one of the largest land owners in the township; was elected supervisor of the township in 1876, and again in 1883, and in 1884 William Ellars' family came from Ohio and settled in the Okaw timber near the north line, in 1849, at which time there was not a settler on the prairie to the west.
Joseph Moore, or, to put it more exactly, "Old Joe Moore," arrived in the present bounds of Douglas county in 1832. He was the re-
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pository of all the jokes, good, bad and indif- ferent, illustrative of the manners and customs of the earlier days.
Thomas Goodson entered the north half of the southwest quarter of section 27, town- ship 16. range 7. July 9. 1850, and other lands; he continued a resident until lately, when he died, leaving numerous descendants and a large estate. Goodson was a great hunter ; he once killed two deer with a single ball, on what is now the farm of William Brian in the north- east part of the township; he assisted in the ex- termination of the very last family of wild cats found in the Okaw timber. He relates that he cut a large tree for rail timber in the exact spot where he had cut a similar one thirty- six years before. Notwithstanding the large quantities of timber used for building, fuel and fencing in the early days, the question whether the timber is holding its own or not is an open one. It is a noteworthy fact, in this connection, and without the slightest intention of reflecting upon any old settler, it may be stated that the timber belonging to the lands of actual settlers remained in good condition much longer than that of the government, it being understood that all settlers had a kind of right to use gov- ernment timber; the timber lands of non-resi- dents, which were called speculator's lands, were included under the same head, and some of the early debating societies had up the ques- tion, whether the owners of such lands had any rights which anybody was bound to respect, and being decided in the negative,"bowed the woods beneath their sturdy stroke."
John Lester and his sons, Samuel and Sigler H., were of the first comers. Samnel Lester entered his first land in section 1, township 15, range 7. in 1835, and up to 1838 had entered
all the north half of the section, eight hundred acres. Sigler H. entered, in April, 1836, the west half of the northeast quarter of section 25. township 16, range 7, and subsequently other lands. These sons died, Samuel in 1860 and Sigler in 1864, leaving large estates to numerous descendants, which lands, however, by either mischance or choice, have passed out of the hands of the families. The Lesters were men of great natural force and decision of char- acter, and like most other people were great hunters. Goodson related that John Lester once cut a large bee tree, and converting it into a gum, stood it upon end full of honey and cov- cred it with a slab, leaving it for a more con- venient season. Goodson had just killed three deer, and finding the gum ready to his hand, filled it up with tallow, and did this to save it from the ravens, for at that time ravens were plenty; they were larger than the common crow, and are since extinct here. Lester, re- turning and finding tallow in the place of his honey could not understand how anybody would rob him of his honey and leave tallow in exchange, the latter being much more valuable.
F. C. Mullen entered his first land in sec- tion 28. township 16, range 7, in 1850. He came from Delaware, and was the second county judge of the new county of Douglas. About these days Judge Mullen was traveling toward his home from Vandalia, where he had been entering land, and upon reaching Sulli- van, in Moultrie county, his traveling com- panion suggested that they should go at once to the tavern and take a drink. Mullen pre- ferred to first take care of the horses, and did so, which made some delay; they then pro- ceeded toward the tavern, and learned that William Campbell, an old resident of this town-
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ship, had been robbed of one hundred and fifty dollars in gold; that every man in the saloon had been searched and the money not found. It is somewhat interesting to speculate as to what might have been the consequences to the Judge on this occasion, if he had not been for- tunately delayed, for he had just arrived a per- fect stranger and had on his person in gold precisely the amount they were looking for.
The chase .- Hunting at the proper season occupied the attention of the early settlers con- siderably, and a principal part of the living was venison ; this, with the natural love of the sport born in and with more enterprising and vig- orous of the settlers, made the pursuit a fa- vorite. Isaac L. Jordan and his brother "Wash," Caleb and Nathan Garrett, Thomas Goodson and the Lesters were enthusiastic hunters. The Garretts and Jordans had amongst them about twenty-five hounds. In 1853, while on a wolf hunt, Jordan and Garrett had followed the trail from their neighborhood to the present site or Tuscola, eight miles, and the peculiar action of a favorite hound attract- ing the attention of Jordan, he, with his ex- perience as a hunter, immediately called the dogs off the trail of the wolf, though it had been getting warm, and began cautiously to explore for deer, the nobler game. In a few moments, in the low ground, just about where the Illinois Central Railroad depot now stands in Tuscola, he raised the largest buck ever seen in their experience. The buck started off south- west and was run down and killed by the dogs in the Gruelle farm, four miles southwest.
notion. The dogs, after running down, would kill a deer and eat till satisfied, and the only trophies secured in the first case was the head, horns and a foot, as the relics of the "biggest bitck." In this flat country there was almost no vantage-ground for the deer ; he ran till he could run no more, and was too much ex- hansted to fight. . \ "stag at bay" was rare, and to be in at the death took rapid riding and good shooting; the horses enjoyed the sport and learned to run by sight.
Many persons remember the reception these hounds gave every visitor to the various farms. lle would ride up to the house, and if he passed along, all right, but if he stopped and gave the customary "hello!" ten or a dozen hounds rushed toward him, with an open-mouthed deep baying salute that would make the hair of a timid man "stand on end," but all he had to do to restore perfect peace was to "light." It was only a bay of welcome, and a notice to the family that perhaps a wayfarer wanted his supper and a bed.
A lynching .- Mr. I. L. Jordan, of this town- ship, informed me that in the case of lynching of "Dolph" Monroe, of Coles county, in 1854. the entire jury was selected from the present area of Douglas county. He shot and killed his father-in-law, N. Ellington, the circuit clerk of Coles county, and was hung by a mob in January, 1855, at Charleston. The jury was composed of William and James R. Ham- mett, Coleman Bright, Henry Lowe and John Frahme, of Camargo township; Amzi Wild- man, I. L. Jordan and Israel Harris, of Gar- rett ; S. Meyers, Daniel Martin, Squire Adams and Dan Foster; they brought in a verdict of "murder in the first degree." This mob had
On another occasion a trained hound com- pelled the attention of Garrett and conducted him to a place where the dogs had killed a deer, which they had chased of their own no occasion to violate the law, but having
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come to see the show, and fearing disappoint- ment, concluided to have the show anyway. Mr. Jordan, and others of the jury, think they could have prevented it, if present. It is the blackest blot on Coles county, of which Douglas was then a part.
By the way, is not the fact that burglaries and robberies in the earlier days were rare, owing to something besides the honesty and scarcity of valuables amongst the people. The perception, memory and observation of the residents were sharpened by the want of gov- ermment, and no man could pass through the country without being especially marked and remembered ; not from suspicion-this rarely obtained-but from a habit of observation, born partly of their isolated position, and some- what of their thirst for news. A man on horse- back, or "any other man," who went through the country, could be traced a hundred miles, and if necessary, overtaken.
The "spirit of the times."-The residence of I. L. Jordan, north half of the southwest quarter, and southeast quarter of the south- west quarter of section 29, township 16, range 7 (lands which he entered in 1852), being cen- tral in the township, was a point for elections and other public meetings ; it was also made a center for the collection of taxes by the sheriff, who was then "sheriff and collector" under the old regime (before 1868) and county organiza- tion. Upon one occasion, 1859. the first sheriff, Sam Logan, had made his collections at "Jor- dan's," as it was called, when not only had the people generally met him there to pay taxes according to notice, but Jordan was shelling corn with twelve or fourteen hands. Sam had his saddle-bags with him, containing the re- sults of two or three days' collections, which
were augmented at this place. About night, after "Sam" had partaken of the hospitalities of "Ike." which any old settler who knows either will certify were not stinted, he mounted his horse and started for Tuscola, to deposit his money. At about half past ten o'clock- pretty late, in those days, for men who began work at four A. M .- Jordan, in bed, heard the customary "hello," and, as usual, responded promptly, expecting to entertain a belated trav- eler. It was "Sam;" and the next word was. of course, "light." But Sam said, "No, I can't stop. 1 hung my saddle-bags on the corner of the stable, forgot them, and went off, and now they are not there." Ike, after joking him a good deal, which he coukin't help, handed him to him, and Sam went on his way rejoicing. The saddle-bags contained about twenty-five hundred dollars. This little incident is related to show the spirit of the times. Sam probably took his "pile," and going on to Tuscola quietly deposited-well, simply woke up some mer- chant, at a store, and, making up his package, a conglomerate mass of wild-cat money issued by almost every bank in North America, slapped it into such a safe as was used, and calmly went on his way, or more likely went to bed where he struck. The only banks were the safes of merchants-Wyeth, Craddock & Co., J. M. Smith, Davis & Ensey, etc. Every fellow called for his money when he wanted it, and always got it. The depositors would often permit the merchant to use some of the money, and always got it on call. This mutual con- fidence was never abused, though they never took receipts.
ATWOOD VILLAGE.
The village of Atwood is situated on the
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west line of the township, at the county line, and blocks, with some reservations. This led lying partly in both the counties of Douglas to some confusion, many deeds having been made without the signature of all the parties, but which was finally cured by quit-claiming back to the first owners of the land. and Piatt, and on either side of the east and west railroad, its location being in section 30, township 16 north, range 7 east. Harvy Otter contributed the southwest quarter of the First storc .- The first store in the village was a dry goods establishment by Helton & Barrett, at the southwest corner of County street and South Front street. northwest quarter, and George Nolind the north half of the southwest quarter; Ritchie and others "put in" land in Piatt county. It was laid off on paper by Patterson, first as- sistant engineer of the railroad, and surveyed by Mr. Niles, the then county surveyor, in 1873. In those years, the county surveyor was, by law, the only person qualified to survey town lots, the law being changed, so that any com- petent surveyor can now act.
The streets are named East A street, East B street and East C street, etc., and North Front, North Second, North Third, etc., The Douglas county plat consists of blocks, which are generally forty feet front by one hun- dred and fifty feet ; streets. lanes and alleys are parallel with and at right angles to the railroad, and the whole is compactly and conveniently arranged. The railroad, be- sides the usual right-of-way reserved of one hundred feet wide, has also reserved a tract north of its line one hundred and fifty feet wide, and extending east from the county line eleven hundred feet, nearly four acres. The dedica - tion of the lots and blocks, in the signing of the plats for record, was made jointly by the orig- inal proprietors of the land, and H. C. Moore, the superintendent of the railway, Hammond, the president, and T. H. Macoughtry, the rail- road attorney, the owners of the ground hav- ing, for certain considerations, agreed to give these gentlemen a half-interest in all the lots
Churches .- The first church erected in the village is the New-Light Christian church, which was built in 1880 at an expense of about fourteen hundred dollars. It is furnished with a good bell, costing eighty dollars, and commands in its membership many of the best citizens. They are not the same as the Disciples of Christ, which is the Christian church, who added the present edifice subsequently, at a cost of about sixteen hundred dollars. This church has also a good bell. These bells chime in lov- ing unison, and in their sweet accord give no intimation of their preferences.
The Methodist church was removed from Mackville as part of the exodus therefrom in 1883. The building is worth about twelve hundred dollars, and the cost of moving it was about two hundred dollars.
We have in little Douglas the Presbyterians and the Cumberland Presbyterians, the Meth- odist Episcopal, the Methodist Protestant, the Free Methodist, the Episcopalians, the Chris- tian church and the "Old New-Light" Chris- tian church, and two kinds of Baptists, etc., and are thus able to offer facilities to truth- seekers not to be surpassed by any county of our size in the state.
The press .- The first newspaper published in the village was the Atwood Independent,
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and, under the charge of S. W. and F. E. Lucas, made its salutatory on December 14, 1883. (See sketch of William E. Means.)
Incorporation .- December 14, 1883, a pe- tition was filed with W. H. Bassett. county judge, signed by thirty legal voters residing within certain territory, the greater portion of which lies in Douglas county, setting forth a desire to become incorporated as the "village of Atwood:" that the number of inhabitants in the proposed bounds was three hundred. The county judge accordingly fixed upon Janu- ary 9. 1884. as the time, and the office of J. W. Merritt. J. P .. as the place, when and where the election should be hell, and he appointed as judges of election James .A. Ilawks, M. C. Drake and .A. L. Marshall, which gentlemen, in due course, made the following report :
There were cast at such election : For vil- lage organization, sixty-six votes ; against vil- lage organization, forty-two votes; total, one Iindred and twenty-eight votes.
The area of the village .- The territory in- cluded in the village incorporation is com- prised of the west half of the northwest quarter of the northwest quarter, and the southwest quarter of the northwest quarter, and the west half of the southeast quarter of the northwest quarter, and the west half of the northeast quarter of the southwest quarter, and the north half of the southwest quarter of the southwest quarter, and the northwest quarter of the south- west quarter in section 31, in Douglas county ; and the east half of the northeast quarter of the northeast quarter, and the southeast quarter of the northeast quarter, and the cast half of the southwest quarter of the northeast quarter, and the east quarter of the northwest quarter of the southeast quarter, and the northeast
quarter of the southeast quarter, and the north half of the southeast quarter of the southeast quarter in section 36 in Piatt county, all in township 16 north, being in area two hundred and ninety acres, of which one hundred and sixty acres are in Douglas, leaving one hun- dred and thirty in Piatt county.
The matter was prepared and concluded by C. G. Eckhart. Esq .. of Tuscola.
Atwood at present has several first-class stores, a bank, a good hotel. a newspaper, good churches and schools and has a population of about six hundred people.
Garrett has been represented at the county seat by F. C. Mullen, who was elected county judge in 1861. This was under the old style of county organization which stopped in 1868. 1. L. Jordan was elected sheriff in 1864. Caleb Garrett was the first supervisor of the township. elected in 1868. He was succeeded by William Ellars in 1869, who was re-elected in 1870- 71-72, being followed by J. W. Hackett in 1873, Thomas Owen in 1874, and by Josiah Hoots in 1875. William Howe was in the same position in 1876, 1882 and 1883; Jason Green was elected in 1877, and is the only Democrat placed in that office to date. He was re-elected in 1878-79. Claus Greve, a naturalized Ger- man, was sent in in 1880, and Green was re- turned again in 1881, and returned in 1882.
The village of Garrett has of recent years became quite a trading point ; with good school and church. It has a population of about two hundred and fifty.
SARGENT TOWNSHIP.
Derivation of name, bounds, arca, etc .- Sargent township takes its name from that of
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one of its oldest settlers and who was one of the most prominent business and cattle farmers- Snowden Sargent. In the old Coles county days it was a part of "Oakland precinct," set off for election purposes, and that part which remained in Douglas, after the formation of the new county, took the name of Sargent precinct, and was very small, having only about twenty-three square miles. It was bounded on the east and south by the county line, on the north by a line from corner of sections 16, 17, 20 and 21, running east to Edgar county, and it had a southwest boundary at the Embarrass river, which separated it from Deer Creek, since Bowdre township. Sargent at the time of township organization, in 1868, was made into its present shape, and is bounded on the east and south by the county line, on the west by Bowdre and on the north by Murdock and Newman, the north line beginning at the north- east corner of section 9, township 14, range 14 west, and running thence west on the sec- tion lines about seven miles to the northwest corner of section 9, township 15, range 9 east, and thence south on the section lines eight miles to the south county line. It contains fifty-two sections of land, which includes, however, only 46.45 square miles, and consequently comprise 29,728.94 acres, and in area ranks No. 5 in the county, the discrepancy between the number of sections and number of square miles being accounted for by the fact that many of the sec- tions are very small-those in what is called township 15 north, of range II east, running from two hundred to three hundred and fifty acres, their surveyed width being little over one quarter of a mile. The smallest government section of land in the county is in this town-
ship-section 7. township 15, range II-and has only 198.38 acres.
Surface features .- A large part of the township is prairie, perhaps two-thirds; the balance is the usual proportion of timber land along the borders of the creeks, of which "Brushy Fork," an affluent of the Embarrass river, comes in on the north line, and flows southwesterly toward the west side, when it joins the larger creek, the Embarrass, in sec- tion 28, township 15, range 10, and their mingled waters then run southeasterly until they leave the county at the south side of sec- tion I, township 14, range 10, running two or three miles in Coles county and re-entering Douglas on the east side of section 15, township 14, range 10. Deer Creek comes in from the west, and also joins the Embarrass in the north part of section 33, township 15, range 10. Sev- eral other natural water-courses of smaller di- mensions flow into these creeks at various points, and in the west part provide amply for drainage.
The southeast part being somewhat level, a drainage district is in process of development, under the statute, which, as soon as the advan- tages are realized, will be followed by others, as is always the case.
The highest point in the township, if not in the county, and at least rivaling in elevation the "Ridge" in Newman township, was, upon the farm of Andrew Gwinn, Esq., where the government erected an observatory. This is a wooden structure of a height of about one hundred feet, from which to take instrumental observations for the connection of the triangu- lar survey of the great lakes with that of the Mississippi river and the gulf coasts.
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Old Settlers .- AAmong the most prominent of the earliest settlers was Snowden Sargent, for whom the township was named. He made his first visit to the state in 1830, and entered four hundred acres of land at the office at Pal- estine, and passed through all the usual vicis- situdes and privations of pioneer life, and be- came eventually one of the largest land owners in the county ; dying in 1875, he left a large es- tate to his descendants.
Andrew Gwinn settled here before 1836, from his last location in Indiana, and visited the Richimans in Camargo ( who were the first settlers in the county, 1830). His lands, ad- joining Mr. Sargent's and together occupy- ing so much territory, made the establishment of a school district quite a problem. He had the largest farm in Douglas county-three thousand and one Inindred acres.
1. W. Burgett lived in this township for more than forty years, and controlled about sixteen hundred acres of land, all of which had been accumulated since his residence there. He represented his township for about six consecutive years as supervisor, and afterward for four years more. Mr. Burgett died of typhoid fever February 13, 1884. He was fifty-five years of age, and had resided in the state forty-five years. He was a man of good appearance and fine business ability.
Other carly settlers were the Reddings, Samuel Allison-Casebeer, B. F. Coykendall, William Hancock and W. F. Murphy. Jose- phus Redding was born in Edgar county in 1829, and came to this region in 1831, when two years of age. Samuel Allison arrived in 1853, since deceased. Coykendall arrived in 1847, and I. W. Burgett in 1839. W. F. Mur- phy bought his first land here in 1850.
Land entries .- The first entries of land were made in 1830. We find that in this year lands were entered by Eli Sargent, I. Ashmore, Amos Leslie, Joseph Redding, Jr., David Sears, Samuel Moore, Pharmer Leslie and Hez. Rhoades. North half of the northeast quarter of section 1. township 14, range 10, was en- tered in this year by Sargent, who also took large bodies of other lands in the vicinity. In 1831, June 1, John Laughlin took lot 2, northwest quarter of section 2, township 14, range 10, and other lands. In the same year Stanton Pemberton covered several tracts in section 10, township 14, range 10. Pharmer Leslie, October 29, 1830, entered the west half of the southwest quarter of section 23, town- ship 15, range 10, and cast half of the northeast quarter of section 34, township 15, range 10. In 1834 S. and R. S. Williams entered large bodies of land, taking all of section 9, township 14, range 10, and the school section. Joseph P. Winkler, March II, 1835, took northeast quarter of the northeast quarter of section 7, township 15, range 14. Daniel Landers, 1836, November 30, northwest quarter of the south- west quarter of section 14. township 15, range IO. Snowden Sargent, 1835, November 13, northwest quarter of the northwest quarter of section 1, township 14, range 10, and other lands. Daniel Miller, May 24, 1837, entered east half of the southwest quarter of section II, township 15, range 10, and Reuben Donalds, 1837, February 22, and May 29, northeast quarter of the southwest quarter of section 1, township 14, range 10, and east half of the northeast quarter of section 6, township 14, range 14. Henry K. Potts settled in this town- ship in 1856. Robert Matson, 1835, April 20, entered northwest quarter of section 22, town-
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