USA > Illinois > Christian County > Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of Christian County, Volume II > Part 6
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80
sticks. The only ventilation was afforded by the door, and the chinks between the logs which escaped the mortar of mud. Makeshift furni- ture was fashioned from logs, and the packing boxes in which the household goods had been packed for the long journey, and yet from all records it would appear that the pioneer and his family prospered, and certainly the mem- bers of such families apparently agreed much better than some of the present generation.
EARLY CULINARY METHODS.
The labor of conducting such a household was very great, for the pioneers had no modern appliances, and their cooking was carried on in the open fireplace, while the baking was done in a covered kettle, or in some cases among the more prosperous in a Dutch oven which had been brought along in the wagon. The house- wife not only knew how to prepare excellent meals from such food as she could secure, but she understood the value of wild herbs and roots, and prior to the advent of the physicians, she ministered to her family medicines she brewed from what lay at her hand in the woods and prairies. Oh, they were smart, these pio- neer women, for to them also is largely due the awakening of the religious spirit, and they were always back of any movement looking toward the opening up of a school. Some of those who possessed more educational faculties than others, held little schools in their own homes, not only teaching what they knew to their chil- dren, but to those of their neighbors as well.
DEEP SNOW.
Christian County was settled earlier than many of the other counties of Illinois, especially those further north so that many of its pioneers had time to become comfortably established be- fore the winter which has come down in history as that of the Deep Snow. There is no record of such a snow either before or since in the his- tory of this state, and it is to be hoped that conditions will never again be such as to bring upon the people such an infliction. It is esti- mated that between December 25, 1830, and Jan- uary, 1831, snow fell all over Illinois to a depth of fully three feet on the level. Following this came a fall of rain, with weather so extreme that it froze as it fell, forming a crust over the three feet of snow, in many places strong enough
646
HISTORY OF CHRISTIAN COUNTY
to bear the weight of a man. Over this crust more snow fell, and then came weather so cold that the average temperature for two weeks was twelve degrees below zero. In some places it was May before all the snow melted, and the ensuing summer was very cold. During the long winter months all wild things suffered terribly, and some species perished, never to be found again. In fact game of all kinds has never been as plentiful as it was prior to that winter. Vegetation suffered too, and for some years afterwards it was no uncommon occurrence for seemingly healthy forest trees to blow down, they having received vital injuries during the long period of extreme cold. The settlers, iso- lated by the terrible drifts, for unfortunately the snow did not lie on a level, were hard pressed for food and fuel, and there are some records of deaths which occurred before inter- course with the outside world could be resumed.
AN INCIDENT OF THE DEEP SNOW.
A former history of Christian County relates that during the "deep snow," Martin Hanon in company with Vandeveer and three or four others of the "Richardson Settlement" in South Fork started for O'Banning's horse-mill about three miles northeast of the present site of Tay- lorville. They made a beeline passing through the prairie north of the present county seat. Vandeveer had a horse; the others ox-teams. Having to break the snow ahead of them, they made very slow progress. Finally they were compelled to abandon their wagons, and loading the sacks of grain on the oxen, they mounted and resumed their journey. Vandeveer, having a horse, pushed ahead and built signal-fires at night to guide the others. All of the party suf- fered greatly from the extreme cold, but finally succeeding in accomplishing the purpose of the journey.
SUDDEN FREEZE.
Another hard winter with the pioneers was that of 1836. It was during the month of Janu- ary in that year that a change occurred that seems to outdistance any other natural phe- nomena, not excepting that of the deep snow. The day was mild, and the slight fall of snow on the ground had melted into slush, when about noon, within a moment, so sudden a change occurred that rain which began to fall froze in the
falling, and cattle standing in what had a mo- ment before been slush, were frozen so tight that it was necessary for the men to chop them out with axes. A number of people abroad during this sudden change, lost their lives, and animal life suffered terribly. When the snow and ice melted in the spring, hundreds of dead animals and thousands of birds were found that had fallen victims to the sudden freeze.
RAINY SEASON.
Christian County was visited during 1876 and 1877 with such an excessive rainfall that the farmers were unable to get in their crops, and the yield per acre was lower than in any pre- ceding or succeeding year. The rains continued until early summer, the streams were swollen way beyond bounds, and the farms were flooded, not only in the lowlands, but in portions usually entirely free from freshets. As a result of these two disastrous seasons, many of the farmers were forced to place mortgages upon their farms that it took years to lift, and the value of the land depreciated very materially.
DISASTROUS STORM OF 1880.
The following is an extract from the "Morri- sonville Times" :
"Saturday, April 24, 1880, will long be remem- bered by the residents of Christian County as an epoch in its history, fraught with desolation, ruin and death. On Sunday morning vague rumors were afloat, as to the awful calamity caused by the dread cyclone's resistless march. The storm seems to have gathered in the south- west, and traveled almost a northeastwardly direction, with but little deviation from a direct line from whence it came, until eleven miles of a beautiful farming country had been utterly stripped of buildings, fruit trees, fences, etc., the accumulation of years of toil of many a sturdy tiller of the soil, leaving in its track three dead and many wounded, several of whom will prob- ably die: besides stock of every description, strewn about, and mangled in every conceivable manner.
"The first place in the track of the storm was the home of Mr. Thomas Smith, four and one half miles from Morrisonville. Mr. Smithı, in his delineation, represented the storm as seen by lıimself, as gathering in mid-air preparatory to the fell onslaught. and remaining stationary for
647
HISTORY OF CHRISTIAN COUNTY
a few seconds, then with a rush beyond con- parison, swooped down, lifting the house clear of the foundation and partially turning it about, dropped it some twenty-five feet away, over- turning the kitchen stove and a dish safe, the latter falling upon his little boy of three years, but, fortunately, doing him no harm. The out- side of the house presents the appearance of having withstood a siege from a battering ram, the shingles being torn off in many places, while a great hole in the side of the house shows plainly that a missile of some weight found a lodgment there.
"Next in turn came the house of S. W. Haw- kins, on the farm of Andrew Simpson, of Tay- lorville, and full two miles from Mr. Smith's and four miles northwest of Clarksdale, the intervening property seeming to have escaped with very little, if any, damage. The buildings on the Simpson farm were a farm house one and one-half stories in height, an old house used for storage, a smokehouse and a barn, of which hardly a vestige remains. A son of Mr. Haw- kins, in reply to a question of your correspon- dent, said : 'On the approach of the storm the whole family gathered in a room in the south- east corner of the house, and that at the first burst of the cyclone it wrenched the door open, and being shut in the interval of a momentary lull, was kept shut during the rest of the gale. Just here it may be well to state that everyone in speaking of the gale, agrees in the one state- ment that there were but two blasts, and that the second one did the damage-the second tore the house from its accustomed resting place, tearing away the top story, and, bursting out the north side, left the wrecked hull thirty or thirty- five feet from the foundation blocks. On the
"From the Simpson farm to the home of the widow Carlton, two and one-quarter miles away, the cyclone seems to have raised and passed harmlessly over, there dropping low enough to catch up the house, unroofing it, and, like the two dwellings before spoken of, leaving the re- mains several feet from their former resting place. Mrs. Carlton was alone and sick at the time, but in some manner escaped unhurt.
"At Mr. Edward Leigh's, the gale struck with terrific violence, sweeping everything before it; dealing out pain and death, devastation and its manifold accessories more cruel in its mighty wrath than the vaunted fire fiend or mighty waters of the vast deep. Mr. Leigh and family (eleven) sought safety in the cellar, to which, no doubt, they owe their happy escape from death. The house, a handsome two-story frame dwell- ing, erected last fall at a cost of $3,000, was swept away with as little ceremony as one would toss an objectionable bit of board from the sidewalk, and, as a spectator said, grinding it into fragments while it was suspended in the air. The family are all uninjured, except Liz- zie, aged twelve years, who was slightly bruised. Mr. Leigh's loss will probably amount to $5,000.
"Next in the track of the storm came the resi- dence of Mr. John Gessner, who with his fam- ily-like Leigh-took refuge in the cellar, all escaping unhurt. Mr. Gessner's house and barn were utterly demolished, and one horse and one cow killed, three horses injured, besides losing furniture, clothing etc., entire.
"Thomas J. Langley's house stood about 200 yards east of John Gessner's. Here the cyclone, terrible in its frenzy, snatched up a human being and dashed it down to death. Mr. Langley's Mrs. Langley was instantly killed ; the body, as found after the storm had abated, presented the appearance of having been struck with some projectile, tearing a great hole in the side of the body-undoubtedly the death wound. Mr. Lang- ley is horribly bruised and cut but with the chances in favor of his recovery. One boy of eleven years was cut about the face and arm. Mr. Brents, a visitor at the Langley home at the time of the disaster, escaped with a scalp wound of three inches in length and a few bruises.
upper floor were three beds and a lot of family consisted of himself, wife and two boys. canned fruit, of which not a particle can be found ; the stable is a mass of ruins. The old house and smokehouse are utterly obliterated ; one new wagon and sleigh were broken to pieces ; one wheel and a part of the axle of a wagon were found across a hedge 100 yards away. A colt standing in the stable remained unhurt through the demolishing of the structure. The poultry belonging to the farm were either killed or scattered, as none can be found. Luckily the orchard escaped without serious damage. The family were fortunate in passing through the whole disaster without a scratch, but how, no "Mr. A. Elliott suffered to the extent of hav- ing several ribs broken, also the bridge of his nose. Mrs. Elliott, who with a mother's devo- one can imagine. Surely a higher power than that of the storm king kept watch there.
648
HISTORY OF CHRISTIAN COUNTY
tion sought to shield her offspring from harm, regardless of the peril menacing herself, clasped a child under each arm with another in her lap, awaiting the onset. Mrs. Elliott was severely injured, while the children escaped unhurt. The house is a total ruin.
"Of Rynaldo Carlton's house not a piece remains. Mr. and Mrs. Carlton attempted to hold the door, but without success. They then ran out and were uninjured.
"Willow Ford bridge, across the south fork of the Sangamon River, and four miles southwest of Taylorville, was next caught up and hurled to destruction, pieces of the timber being found on the bluffs a mile away. On the west side of the bridge the tornado had swept through the timber, laying in waste everything in the road of its merciless march. One curious feature of the storm was here manifest. Huge trees that had been standing side by side, the one would be found with the top directly in the path of the storm, while its mate was prostrate in the opposite direction. At the bridge, the track of the cyclone, as shown by the devastation, could not have been more than 100 yards in width.
"James J. Williams and wife saw the storm approaching and took refuge in a cave. Al- though the door was blown down and death seemed inevitable, they escaped unhurt. Noth- ing was left of the house but the parts on which it had stood. The furniture, bedding and cloth- ing were blown away, not a vestige remaining. A horse and mule were killed and ten head of cattle are missing. A new wagon that he had only taken home on Saturday was torn to pieces and one of the tires was found several hundred yards away, wound around a long. A quarter of a mile beyond his house was another house, owned by him and occupied by A. J. Cutler. As the storm approached, Mr. Cutler, who was at Williams' house, attempted to reach home, but was overtaken by the hurricane and compelled to run the gantlet of flying rails. boards and timber. How he escaped a violent death is indeed a wonder, as his clothing was literally torn from his body. When nearing his home, the tornado lifted the house from the ground and he saw the form of his little daughter car- ried away, high above the tree-tops; the body was found the next morning quite a distance from the house, in a brush pile with the upper part of the head gone, the skull crushed. His little son was found a short distance from the house, horribly mutilated and dead.
"Frank Peters occupied a house near the Cutler family. On the approach of the storm the family took refuge in a log stable; turning the horses out, they placed the children in the manger and tried to hold the door shut, but without avail. The structure was almost en- tirely destroyed; happily the whole family escaped with but a few slight bruises. The house, so lately deserted, was so completely demolished that hardly a log or piece remains. The horses trotted off to the west of the track of the storm and came through unhurt.
"John Hays, a tenant on the farm of Mr. Valentine, narrowly escaped. The house was lifted from over the head of himself and family, leaving them on the floor ; none were hurt save Mr. Hayes, who received a fracture of the skull. One horse, a dog, several hogs and some poultry were killed. The roof was taken off the house of William Welsh, who lives close by the Hayes family. Here the tornado left the timber and shot across the prairie, tearing up hedges and fences and laying waste everything in its course, hogs, cattle and livestock of every kind being killed and horribly mangled. The barn of E. A. Miller was utterly demolished, and a large amount of stock killed or crippled so as to render them worthless. A house owned by Mr. Miller and occupied by Andrew Olliver was blown down, the family remaining unhurt. Mr. and Mrs. George Higgins were found a few hours after the storm had subsided, a quarter of a mile away from where the house had stood ; locked in each other's arms. They were cov- ered with mud, insensible, bleeding and horribly inutilated. James Watts and wife lost their home, household goods and a great deal of stock. They are both seriously injured. Not yet satis- fied with the destruction already wrought, the hurricane swept on, next striking and demolish- ing the house of Mrs. Holfner. She, with five children, were caught in the falling building, injuring Mrs. Holfner and two children so badly that their recovery is despaired of. Frank Har- kett's house came next in route, one end being blown out and the roof lifted off, although the occupants were uninjured. Joseph Kimmerer's barn went next, together with several buildings and sheds adjoining ; all the stock on the place was either killed or so maimed as to render it utterly worthless. The Perkins schoolhouse is a complete wreck; nothing remains to show where it once stood.
"The last stroke of the terrible cyclone fell
--
-
Joseph D. Beyers & Family
649
HISTORY OF CHRISTIAN COUNTY
on the 40x110 feet barn and elegant buildings and sheds on the fine stock farm of I. J. Perkins, lit- erally demolishing the whole and sweeping them away with such velocity as to not leave a trace behind. Most of the stock having been sold dur- ing the day, the loss in the killed and injured will not affect Mr. Perkins heavily.
"Here the reign of the storm king seems to have ended after having run his mad race and laid in waste miles of the most prosperous part of Christian County ; and it is with thankfulness that we lay down the recording pen-glad to know that here ends the most disastrous chapter in the history of old Christian, but with sad memories of the scenes of suffering, devasta- tion, woe and death."
REYNOLDS' HISTORY.
A very entertaining account of log rolling and house raising is given in that valuable addition to the historical records of Christian County, "Reynolds' History," as follows :
"At all log rollings and house raisings, it was customary to provide liquor ; excesses were not indulged in, however. The fiddler was never forgotten. After the day's work had been accom- plished out doors and in, by men and women, the floor was cleared and the merry dance began. The handsome, stalwart young men wliose fine forms were the result of their manly, outdoor life, clad in fringed buckskin breeches and gaudily colored hunting shirts, led forth the bright-eyed, buxom damsels, attired in neatly fitting linsey woolsey garments, to the dance, their cheeks glowing with healtlı and eyes sparkling with enjoyment, and perhaps tender- est emotion."
This historian speaks further of some of the amusements of those days, as follows :
"In pure pioneer times the crops of corn were never husked on the stalk, as is done at this day, but were hauled home in the husk and thrown in a heap, generally by the side of the crib, so that the ears, when husked, could be thrown directly into the crib. The whole neigh- borhood, male and female, were invited to the 'shucking,' as it was called. The girls, and many of the married ladies, generally engaged in this amusing work.
"In the first place two leading expert huskers were chosen as captains, and the heap of corn divided as nearly equally as possible. Rails were laid across the pile so as to designate the
division, and then each captain chose, alter- nately, his corps of huskers, male and female. The whole number of working hands present were selected, on one side or the other, and then each party commenced a contest to beat the other, which was in many cases truly excit- ing. One other rule was that whenever a male husked a red ear of corn he was entitled to a kiss from the girls. This frequently excited much fuss and scuffling, which was intended by both parties to end in a kiss. It was a universal practice that taffa or Monongahela whisky was used at these husking frolics, which they drank out of a bottle, each one, male and female, tak- ing the bottle and drinking out of it, and then handing it to his neighbor without using any glass or cup whatever. The custom was con- mon and not considered rude. Almost always these corn shuckings ended in a dance. To pre- pare for this amusement fiddles and fiddlers were in great demand; and it often required much fast riding to obtain them. One violin and a performer were all that were contemplated at these innocent rural games.
"Towards dark, and the supper half over, then it was that a bustle and a confusion commenced. The confusion of tongues at Babel would have been ashamed at the corn-shuckings. The young ones hurrying off the table, and the old ones contending for time and order. It was the case nine times in ten that but one dwelling house was on the premises, and that used for eating as well as dancing.
"But when the fiddler commenced tuning his instrument the music always gained the victory for the young side. Then the dishes, victuals, table and all, disappeared in a few minutes, and the room was cleared, the dogs driven out, and the floor swept ready for action. The floors of these houses were sometimes the natural earth, beat solid, sometimes the earth with puncheons in the middle over the potato hole, and at times the whole floor was made of puncheons.
"The music at these country dances made the young folks near frantic, and sometimes much excitement was displayed to get on the floor first. Generally the fiddler on these occasions assumed an important bearing and ordered, in true professional style, so and so be done; as that was the way in North Carolina where he was raised. The decision ended the contest for the floor. In those days they danced jigs and four-handed reels, as they were called. Some- times three-landed reels were also danced. In
650
HISTORY OF CHRISTIAN COUNTY
these dances there was no standing still, all were moving at a rapid pace from the beginning to the end. In the jigs the bystanders cut one another out, as it was called, so that this dance would last for hours. Sometimes the parties in the jig tried to fire one another down in the dance, and then it would also last a long time before one or the other gave up."
The settlers enjoyed athletic pastimes as well as dancing, for as was but natural in pioneer days a higher value was placed upon physical prowess than upon mental endowments. Skill in woodcraft, superiority of muscular development, accuracy in shooting, and swiftness in running, were all very necessary attributes of the fron- tiersman, and he enjoyed those pastimes that would enable him to display his prowess. Foot- racing, target shooting, jumping and wrestling were all favorite
amusements. Shooting matches were held for prizes which usually consisted of a turkey or a gallon of whisky. Those who owned good horses were very fond of racing them, and the bystanders enjoyed the sport in an innocent manner that savored little of the gambling spirit which later developed to such an extent that this form of sport has been practically closed in the majority of the states.
From the above it can be easily seen that while the pioneer was forced to work hard, he was not without his pleasures as well, and when he played he did it as thoroughly as he worked. There was no listlessness about amusements dis- played in those early days. Enjoyment of pas- times was a part of the game, and all lived up to expectations in this line.
AN EARLY JUSTICE OF THE PEACE.
W. T. Vandeveer relates an interesting story of "Old Billy" Thomas, a brother-in-law of W. C. and Moses H. Brents, who was a justice of the peace at an early period in Christian County history. Thomas had served as a soldier in the War of 1812 under Gen. Andrew Jackson and had learned to love him as did everyone who came in contact with that rugged, honest leader. After locating in this county Thomas was elected a justice of the peace, a position of much im- portance in those days. His knowledge of the law was very meager, indeed, but his decisions were nearly always right, being based on the equity of the cases tried before him. His way of arriving at conclusions and his love for Gen-
eral Jackson are both illustrated by the following incident : William Durbin and a man by the name of Meade came to Taylorville one day, and, after taking a few drinks, became involved in a heated political argument. Meade, sud- denly incensed at some remark of Durbin's, as- saulted the latter. Whereupon Durbin struck him with a small knife, breaking the blade off close to the handle at the first blow. He con- tinued to strike with the broken knife until he had made some seventy-five cuts or scratches upon Meade's body, none of them being serious. Durbin .was taken into Thomas' court and left in charge of the justice while some preliminaries were attended to. Seeing an opportunity to learn some facts in the case before the trial commenced, Thomas began a conversation with the defendant as follows :
"Now, Billy, being a justice of the peace, it would not be right for me to give my decision in a case before the evidence is heard, but if you will tell me truthfully just how this hap- pened, I might intimate to you how I will decide the case, provided the evidence shows that you told the truh."
Durbin replied : "Well, your honor, after we had taken a few drinks we began to argue poli- tics and Meade said that John Calhoun was an old traitor."
"And, Billy," said the justice, "what did you say to that?"
"I told him that his opinion of Calhoun did not concern me at all," said Durbin.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.