USA > Illinois > Montgomery County > Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of Montgomery County, Volume II > Part 2
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 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111 | Part 112 | Part 113 | Part 114
CHAPTER XXXIV. RAYMOND TOWNSHIP.
Reasons for Superiority-Boundaries-Early Settlements-Pioneer Con- ditions-Churches-City of Raymond --- Raymond City Churches- Early Events-Raymond Today-Raymond Post Office-Fraternities -The Independent-St. Raymond Parish-Raymond Police Magis- trates-Raymond Township Officials-Justices of the Peace- Con- stables-Supervisors .953-961
CHAPTER XXXV.
ROUNTREE TOWNSHIP.
Unusual Conditions -- Boundaries-Early Settlers-Churches -- Pioneer Events-Peculiar Conditions-Township Officials-Assessors- Col- lectors-Highway Commissioners-Justices of the Peace-Con- stables-Supervisors 961-965
CHAPTER XXXVI. WALSHVILLE TOWNSHIP.
Reasons for Agricultural Supremacy-Boundaries-Natural Resources- Early Settlers-Pioneer Incidents-Walshville Village-Churches- Incorporations-Schools-Old Settlers-Walshville Recollections- Walshville Reminiscences-Bits of Walshville History-Prominent Settlers-Walshville Police Magistrates-Walshville Township Offi- cials-Town , Clerks-Assessors-Collectors-Township Commission- ers-Justices of the Peace-Constables-Supervisors. 965-975
CHAPTER XXXVII. WITT TOWNSHIP.
In General-Boundaries-Early Settlers-First Mills-Witt Township's Beginnings-Early Churches-First Business Men-Some Wittites -Good Roads Movement-Chance Versus Witt-City of Witt- Churches-Fraternities-City Organizations -- Prospects-Witt Cor- porate History-Township Officials-Town Clerks-School Treas- urers-Justices of the Peace-Constables-Supervisors. 975-981
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
ZANESVILLE TOWNSHIP.
Peculiar Experience-Boundaries-Mound Builders-Early Settlers- Early Roads-Early Mills-Pioneer Incidents-Churches-An Ex- Citing Event-Another Crime-Zanesville-Old Zanesville-Town- ship Officials-Town Clerks-Justices of the Peace-Constables- Supervisors-Summary 981-987
CHAPTER XXXIX.
The Part of Biography in General History-Citizens of Montgomery County and Outlines of Personal History-Personal Sketches Ar- ranged in Encyclopedic Order .989-1195
PORTRAITS
Altgeld, John P .. 270
Angle, Franklin C. and Family. 626
Armentrout, Clarence L. 630
Armentrout, Mrs. Clarence L.
630
Covington, Jesse H.
682
Covington, Mrs. Jesse H. 682
Cress, Daniel and Family.
686
Cullom, Shelby M.
266
Bateman, Newton
. Following Title Page Vol. I
Beardsley, Charles. W. 634
Best, J. Peter and Family 638
Best, Charles W.
642
Best, Mrs. Charles W.
642
Betty, W. E. and Family
646
Beveridge, John L.
266
Bissell, William H. 258
Black Hawk (Chief) . 170
Blackwelder, Daniel M. 650
Blackwelder, Mrs. Daniel M. 650
Blackwelder, Isaac S.
694
Bliss, Alfred. 654
Bliss, Mrs. Alfred. 654
Bond, Shadrach. 250
Browning, George C
658
Butler, Homer S.
694
Dancisak, George and Family
690
Deneen, Charles S.
274
Duncan, Joseph
254
Dunne, Edward F 274
Durston, Joseph J. and Family
704
Edwards, Ninian.
250
Ewing, William L. D.
254
Fifer, Joseph W.
270
Fish, Edmund.
708
Fish, Mrs. Edmund. 708
Ford, Thomas.
258
Foster, John F. and Family
712
French, Augustus C.
258
Garst, Cassius A.
716
Gudder,
720
Carlin, Thomas. 258
Casseday, Benjamin B. and Family. 662
Chicagou (Chief) 246
Clotfelter, David H. 666
Clotfelter, Mrs. David H
666
Coles, Edward.
254
Hamilton, John M.
266
Hand, William and Family
724
Heim, John 728
Heim, Mrs. John A. 728
Hermon, P. J.
732
Hermon, Mrs. P. J 732
Concidine, William M. and Family. 678
Hitchings, Henry H. 736
Cooper, George R. 674
Corlew, J. Morgan.
670
Hitchings, Mrs. Henry H 736
Hodges, David F.
740
Corlew, Mrs. J. Morgan
670
Hodges, Mrs. David F
740
Hoehn, Fred. 744
Holderread, Henry and Family. 748
Hood, Humphrey H. 752 Munday, Charles B. 860
Huber, Charles I
760
Huber, Harry J.
760
Huber, John L.
756
Huber, Mrs. John L.
756
Huber, Leo
760
Huber, Olivia K.
760
Hueschen, Diedrich .
764
Hueschen, Mrs. Diedrich
764
Janssen, Frank.
768
Janssen, Mrs. Frank 768
Jett, Thomas M. 694
Johannes, Clement.
772
Jones, Alva W. and Family
776
Kelmel, Charles
780
Kelmel, Mrs. Charles. 780
Krager, John C .. 784
Krager, Mrs. John C.
784
·
Lane, Edward.
788
Langen, John and Family 792
La Salle, Reni Robert 246
Lewey, Christopher C.
796
Lewey, Mrs. Christopher C.
796
Lewey, William A.
800
Lewey, Mrs. William A.
800
Lincoln, Abraham
Frontispiece Vol. I
Lowden, Frank O.
274
Lyerla, E. A. and Family .
804
Lyles, E. N. and Family.
808
Matteson, Joel A. 258
Maxey, John P. and Family . 812
McGee, George H. 820
McGee, Mrs. George H.
820
McLean, Donald.
824
McLean, G. C. 828
Mehl, T. J. 832
Miller, Frederick. 836
Miller, Mrs. Frederick. 836
Miller, George W. and Family 840
Miller, Harry C .. 844
Miller, William C.
852
Miller, Mrs. William C. 856
Mitchell, Frederick. . 816
Munday, Mrs. Charles B 860
Nail, Richard H 864
Nail, Mrs. Richard H.
864
Nantkes, Henry.
868
Nantkes, Mrs. Henry 868
Nantkes, Thomas.
872
Nantkes, Mrs. Thomas 872
Neisler, Daniel W. and Family. 876
Neisler, Joseph L.
880
Neisler, Mrs. Joseph L. 880
Nobbe, William H.
918
Nobbe, Mrs. William H.
918
Oglesby, Richard J. 262
Orpin, William.
932
Orpin, Mrs. William. 932
Paden, Robert N.
936
Paden, Mrs. Robert N
936
Palmer, John M.
266
Phillips, Jesse J.
694
Platt, Joseph and Family 940
Poggenpohl, Tony F.
944
Poggenpohl, Mrs. Tony F.
944
Pope, Daniel.
952
Pope, Mrs. Daniel. 952
Pope, Richard and Family 962
Pope, Willis G. and Family. 968
Potter, George W.
974
Potter, Mrs. George W.
974
Rasor, John H. 980
Rasor, Mrs. John H. 980
Reynolds, John. 254
Rives, Alfred and Family
986
Rountree, Hiram
694
Scheffel, Frank J 992
Selby, Paul.
Following Title Page Vol. I
Sharp, James L. and Family 998
Sievers, John and Family 1004
Smith, John L.
1010
Smith, Mrs. John L.
1010
1
St. Clair, Arthur 250
Strange, Alexander T.
. Frontispiece Vol. II
Tanner, Jolm R.
270
Tarro, James
1016
Tarro, Mrs. James A 1016
Taylor, David.
1022
Telken, James A.
1028
Thomas, George H.
1034
Thomas, Mrs. George H.
1034
Welsh, James G.
1080
Todt, Herman J.
1040
Todt, Mrs. Herman J.
1040
White, Mrs. Joseph A.
1086
Tonty, Henry de.
246
Wood, John.
262
Vawter, William.
1046
Yates, Richard, Jr.
274
Vawter, Mrs. William.
1046
Yates, Richard, Sr.
262
Wanless, Edward A
666
Wanless, Mrs. Edward A.
666
Ware, Arthur.
1052
Ware, Mrs. Arthur. 1052
War Eagle (Chief) 246
Weaver, Alson F.
1058
Weaver, Mrs. Alson ]
1058
Wellar, Henry N. and Family.
1064
Wellar, Conrad.
1074
Wellar, Mrs. Conrad.
1074
Wellar, Joseph C.
1070
White, Joseph A
1086
Zimmer, Charles P.
1092
Zimmer, Mrs. Charles P
1092
ILLUSTRATIONS
Burbank School, Hillsboro. 894
Catholic Church, Litchfield. 928
Catholic Church, Nokomis. 914 City Hall, Litchfield. 921
City Park, Raymond. 956
County Jail, Hillsboro.
898
Court House, Hillsboro
700
High School, Hillsboro.
894
High School, Litchfield . 928
High School, Nokomis 914
Hillsboro Hotel. 898
Jackson Street, Litchfield . 924
Lutheran Church, Hillsboro
890
Lutheran Church, Irving.
908
Map of Montgomery County
Following Title Page Vol. II
Masonic Hall, Irving.
908
Methodist Church, Irving. 908
Methodist Church, Litchfield 928
Methodist Church, Nokomis. 914
Old Zanesville Mill. 886
Post Office, Litchfield.
924
Presbyterian Church, Hillsboro. 890
Presbyterian Church, Raymond. 956
Public Library, Hillsboro. 890
Public School, Raymond. 956
Residence of Jesse H. Covington 682
Residence of Joseph J. Durston. 704 Residence of William Hand. 724
Residence of Harry C. Miller 844
Residence and Greenhouse of B. B. Pohlmann 948
Residence of Dr. E. B. Strange 902
South Main Street, Hillsboro. 898
South School, Hillsboro 894
Store of James G. Welslı. 1080
The Hillsboro Academy. 886
-
Alex J. Strange.
HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY
CHAPTER I.
GENERAL HISTORY AND EARLY SETTLERS.
1
HUMAN TENDENCIES-ILLINOIS UNKNOWN-LOUISI- ANA PURCHASE-LEWIS AND CLARK-OUTPOSTS OF CIVILIZATION-PLYMOUTH ROCK SETTLEMENT -CAHOKIA AND KASKASKIA SETTLEMENTS- ILLINOIS A PART OF VIRGINIA-COUNTRY OF ILLI- NOIS-ST. CLAIR COUNTY-BOND COUNTY-ILLI-
NOIS ORGANIZED-MONTGOMERY COUNTY OR- GANIZED-FIRST SETTLERS-FIRST CHURCHES- SELECTION OF HILLSBORO AS COUNTY SEAT-FIRST COURTHOUSE-JOHN TILLSON-FIRST SUNDAY SCHOOL-COMMISSIONERS-COUNTY BOUNDARIES -FIRST PROBATE JUDGE-FIRST COUNTY CLERK- FIRST SHERIFF-FIRST COUNTY TREASURER --- FIRST JUSTICES' AND CONSTABLES-FIRST SCHOOL- HENRY PIATT'S ACCOUNT-HIRAM ROUNTREE- WHO SURVEYED ILLINOIS NORTHERN BOUNDARY- HOME SWEET HOME-EARLY FAMILY LINES-THE SCHERERS-THE MC ADAMS-THE WASHBURNS- THE BLACKWELDERS-THE WARES-JESSE J. PHILLIPS.
HUMAN TENDENCIES.
The natural tendency of mankind is to forget the past with its lessons of development and overcoming forces, and to push on with faces turned toward a prospective future. The first hundred years of our territory and state life is now history, and we have well entered into the second. While that proneness to forget the past exists, yet there is nothing that inspires patriotism and chivalry more than a retrospec- tive study of the trials, privations, and hopeful trust in God and Country, of our forefathers. Hence we have historical societies, and written
histories as guide posts to civilization and greater achievements. Other histories of Mont- gomery County have been written and acknowl- edgements are gratefully made for help from them. We believe, however, that the time is ripe for a more up to date work of historical record, and we undertake the work, with the hope that the spirit of historical research may be stimulated and the public benefited thereby.
ILLINOIS UNKNOWN.
To the student of history, or in fact to any close observer of current events, it appears al- most incredible that not a century has elapsed since Illinois became a state, and that a century and a quarter ago, all of the region now in- cluded in the present commonwealth, was prac- tically unknown to the English speaking people of the New World. Here and there were little settlements about the forts which held the wil- derness for France or Spain, but aside from these, the territory not only of Illinois, but that later to be divided into many states, might just as well have been undiscovered as far as any influence the land or people had upon civiliza- tion. Up to the beginning of the nineteenth cen- tury little progress was made in extending the frontier beyond the small strip along the eastern seaboard, although there were a few venture- some souls who had pushed forward, and explor- ing, brought back glowing accounts of the possi- bilities of the regions lying in the valley of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, with their tribu- taries.
LOUISIANA PURCHASE.
Without doubt the greatest impetus to western development up to that time, came in the Louisiana Purchase by this government from the French, of the vast region vaguely known as the Northwest Territory, negotiated by President Jefferson. Looking back upon those times, it is
623
1
624
HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY
difficult for the intelligent person to comprehend the hostility which met the president's action with reference to this purchase, nor can he ap- preciate the attitude of those who held that the $15,000,000 paid for a dominion greater than the kingdom of any existing power save that of China, of that day, was an excessive amount, and money literally thrown away. Had it not been for the broad vision of President Jefferson, and the faithfulness of the men, Lewis and Clark, whom he sent upon the exploring expedi- tion to take over the land thus acquired, it is doubtful if the twentieth century would have dawned upon a nation of the size or strength of ours. Had Napoleon better appreciated the value of the possessions he so lightly bartered to provide funds for his military campaigns, it would not have been so easy for our government to secure ample space in which to carry on the making of the greatest nation on earth.
LEWIS AND CLARK.
The conquest of this new territory was not carried on without toil and danger, each onward step was to be freighted with human blood, and the bones of the martyrs to the cause of civilization were to mark the trail which the pioneers blazed so dauntlessly. It was no easy task, that which the forerunners of civilization undertook in making a way for the homeseekers which were to come after them. Their days were filled with endless toil and discourage- ments, and discomforts of which we of today know nothing, while their nights were fraught with dangers from the wild beasts and the more savage Indians. The qualities which kept these frontiersmen on the path of discovery must not be underestimated. They may have lacked some of the modern virtues, but they were filled with courage, faith in the future, and a blind trust in a providence that would shape their end, or a willingness to sacrifice themselves for the spirit of adventure. The best pen picture of these men lies in the words "The largest glory to be accorded them is that they found their ambition and their content in the day's work well done."
OUTPOST OF CIVILIZATION.
1
These men of the outposts of civilization have passed. Their work is done. The wonderful tid- ings which they read in the great mountains,
the sighing pines, the mineral loaded earth, the broad prairies, the vast forests, in the waters of the great rivers, through long days and still longer nights, the subsequent hundred years have made public to the merest school child. Then these wonderful secrets of the wilderness had to be wrung from nature; now they are every- day matters because of the pioneers. Those days of pioneer privations and venturesome incident can never return. Even the outposts of the world are known. Mystery no longer hangs over any land, nor does the wilderness retain its secrets. For these and other reasons it is but fitting that a true and copious record be kept of the events pertaining to each region by those who have come into contact with the makers of its history, so they can give impres- sions secured first hand from the ones who knew because they had lived the events about which they spoke. In such a record the people of succeeding generations will take pride, pleasure and gain inestimable profit, for it is only by con- trasting the past with the present that the future can be imagined, and acts properly shaped. The face of the world has changed; new in- ventions and discoveries have revolutionized life, but human nature is the same today as it was when the dawn of creation still hung heavy in the morning mists, and the motives which actu- ated our forefathers are those which sway us most powerfully today.
While in part this work is given over to a faithful transcript of the personal lives of the men and women who have made Montgomery County, it is but right and fitting that consider- able space be given to their work as a whole inasmuch as it resulted in the county as it now appears, its institutions, its settlements, large and small, its broad, cultivated fields, and its industries. From the early events, passing on down through those of later years, have come the ideas and creeds of today. The public spirit and enterprise of its people have placed Mont- gomery County in front rank among those simi- lar divisions of Illinois, and the successors of these pioners, have a right to the proper recog- nition of the services of their forebears.
PLYMOUTH ROCK SETTLEMENT.
In order to properly appreciate the conditions which led finally to the settlement of Illinois, a brief review of the history of the country up to that time is given. For the first hundred
625
HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY
years after Columbus and his immediate suc- cessors discovered various portions of the new continent, very little real development was done, it taking a spiritual revival, a protestation on the part of the oppressed against the oppressor, to effect settlements of lasting importance. With the coming here of the Pilgrim Fathers in 1620 came the beginning of American history. In the archives of the state house at Boston, care- fully preserved beneath glass is the original diary of Governor Winthrop, signed by the origi- nal voyagers of the Mayflower, and this may well be said to be the foundation stone of the mighty edifice of the present government. From then on the people of the new world have stood for free- dom of thought. humanitarism, and inclination to live and develop according to personal con- science, rather than according to wornout doc- trines. From the original Plymonth Rock settle- ment spread out, like the waves from a stone thrown into the waters of a large body, count- less ripples upon the undisturbed surface of the wilderness, not ending until time itself has set its seal upon eternity.
CAHOKIA SETTLEMENT.
Illinois derives its name from the Algonquin word Illini or Innini which means a perfect and accomplished man. The Illinois was an Indian tribe of the Algonquin nation which occupied a portion of the state which now bears their name. Sixty-two years after the arrival of the first permanent settlers in the new world, a settle- ment was made by the French at Cahokia, and another was made that same year at Kaskaskia, and these two were the beginning of history in what was to become Illinois. Until the Eng- lishi secured these settlements through a treaty with France in 1763, the French flag floated above the little forts, and beneath its folds it is but the truth to state that little or no ad- vance was made. The English had scarcely time to begin extensive colonizing after securing pos- session of these points, for their attention was soon absorbed by the affairs of the American Revolution, and in this conflict Kaskaskia, Ill., with Vincennes, Ind., were captured by Col. William Clark for the new government. Until 1787 what is now the commonwealth of Illinois, remained a part of Virginia, but in that year was conceded to belong to the Northwest Terri- tory, so continuing until 1800. By this time there were enough settlers within its confines
to make a separate territorial government pos- sible, and this gave impetus to emigration to such an extent that Illinois was admitted to the Union December 3, 1818.
Withont going into the minutia of the varions changes of territorial allegience during the formative period of the state's history, it may be here said that during the larger part of that time Patrick Henry was the governor of Vir- ginia and as such governor, the territory now comprising Illinois, was under his control. Therefore he may with propriety be called the first territorial governor of Illinois.
A brief paragraph covers a long period of time. Yet little is to be gained in lingering long over this part of the general history, for it was not until after Illinois became a state that the people of that part of Bond County now comprised in Montgomery County, began to look to the legislature to afford them relief from the cumbersome machinery engendered by the large area contained in the original county of Bond, by forming a separate county. Their efforts met with success and on February 12. 1821, the legis- lature approved the act creating Montgomery Connty, and the actual history of this period as an individual unit begins. To be sure there are records, carefully preserved, which are to be included in the subsequent pages, relative to the settlers prior to -county organization, but their history exists more as the action of individuals and not as a corporate body. In following this history from the organization of the county to the present day, it will be seen that the people have gradually evolved their own development, progressing in a sane and healthy manner, and not by any sensational leaps and bounds. The influx into this section has been natural and not the result of stampedes after rainbow "Pots of gold," or as the outcome of dishonest realty booms. The principal industry is farming and stock raising, and the people of this region have developed farms second to none in the state, or country. They have gradually introduced high grade stock and bettered their mode of living. erecting modern residences and outbuildings, and invested in valuable machinery and ap- pliances. Many of the farmers own automobiles, and many of the farmhouses are fitted with con- reniences that would do credit to a city apart- ment house. Those who have gone into dairying have their plants in a sanitary condition so as to meet all the requirements of the state and national laws and to handle their produce rail-
·
626
HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY
roads have built lines running through the prin- cipal portions of the county. The natural re- sources are many and varied, the climatic condi- tions are excellent, and the people being indus- trious and thrifty by nature, have reaped abundantly from their harvests, and few there are in the county who are not in comfortable circumstances. From out of Montgomery County have gone some of the men and women who later developed into the very backbone of their new neighborhoods, and the county has furnished professional men and statesmen who are a credit to it and to their forbears. While no large cities are to be found in Montgomery County, there are a number of important communities of the smaller size, and the rural neighborhoods are much above the standard. Schools and churches are important factors in the cultural life of the county, and different movements looking toward moral uplift and civic betterment find warm and intelligent supporters here. Taking the county as a whole, it would be difficult to find one that can surpass it not only in Illinois, but any of the states, while many fall far behind in almost every particular.
We distinctly want it understood that we are not solely engaged in relating the victories gained in war by the citizens of the past of our county, but in giving incidents of the actual life and home making activities of the pioneers, who endured so much, and accomplished so muchi for the moral and material uplifting of the pres- ent generation. We seek to deal with the in- dividual life, the conflicts in overcoming poverty, in conquering the wilds, in encountering disease, in privations, and in efforts along every line of advance from aboriginal life to that of higher civilization and refinement.
ST. CLAIR COUNTY.
1
Prior to 1801, the territory now embraced in Montgomery County was a part of the great Northwest Territory. In 1801, St. Clair County was separated from Knox County, the whole state prior to this being in two counties. At that time the Indian Territory was formed and the territory now Montgomery County fell into St. Clair County alone. The Illinois Territory was formed in 1809, and as a part of St. Clair County, our county territory became a part of that political division.
BOND COUNTY.
Some three years after that event, in more territorial juggling, our county was embraced in the territory alloted to Madison County. About one year later the whole state of Illinois was divided north and south into large divisions, Bond County being the central division in con- sequence of which we became a part of that county. As has been stated Illinois as a state was organized in 1818 and our first repre- sentatives in the state legislature were from Bond County.
MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
Three years after the organization of the state, the people of the territory of our present county, petitioned to be set off into a separate county, and on February 21, 1821, the county of Mont- gomery was formerly created by Act of the Legislature. The territory originally included in its boundaries contained all of its present boundaries, except Audubon Township which did not come in until 1827, it being then a part of Fayette County. In addition to the present ter- ritory, we included all or a part of eight town- ships lying north of our present boundary and east of Bois D'Arc, and Harvel townships. In 1839, Dane County was organized and a year later all that territory north of the line divid- ing towns 10 and 11, except Bois D'Arc, Pitman and Harvel was stricken from our county and made a part of Dane County which at this time was changed to Christian County.
Were there residents in this county prior to 1816? This question has been and is now being discussed in the newspapers with as yet no satis- factory answer. From several traditional sources we have it, that there were residents here as early as 1800. But these traditions are not sufficiently verified to be considered reliable. One of the early traditions, as related by Zack Kessinger in recent newspaper articles, is that his ancestors were here as early as 1800 and that a family who lived near the junction of the town and East Fork of Shoal Creek were mur- dered at about that time. Whether these tradi- tions are true or not, we cannot now say. We do know however that the Indians occupied por- tions of Illinois for more than one hundred years before the territory became a state.
----
Fillingle & wife.
RUSSELL L. ANGLE, RUTH L. ANGLE HAROLD L. ANGLE, FAY L. ANGLE
627
HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY
FIRST SETTLERS.
When and where was Montgomery County first inhabited by the white men, is a question somewhat in dispute. Judge Rountree, in a public address in 1878, said: "Montgomery County with its broad expanse of timber and prairie land, varied by the three branches of Shoal Creek, and their tributaries and by the Hurricane Creek, previous to 1816 was inhabited only by the Red man.
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.