Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of Montgomery County, Volume II, Part 21

Author: Bateman, Newton, 1822-1897, ed. cn; Selby, Paul, 1825-1913, ed. cn; Strange, Alexander T., ed
Publication date: 1918
Publisher: Chicago : Munsell Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 810

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Mound Grange in Fillmore came into exist- ence about here; Washington Wright was its presiding officer and G. C. Poland the secretary. Aaron Butler was a member and the Grange materially aided in his election as sheriff. Sunny Side Grange, No. 1270, eame next, and was an- other Fillmore effort, but never attained a very large membership and soon withered and died. Grisham Grange, No. 1290, was an interesting organization for many years. Its meetings were held at the residence of A. B. Copeland and among its officers and members were : Mr. Cope- land, A. F. Weathers, William Jordan, Black Bostiek, Henry Root, William Burke, Robert Logsdon and ye writer. It maintained a pur- chasing agency, had a library of several hun- dred volumes, and its esoterie work was recog- nized as the best in the county.

Fairview Grange, No. 1367, was the next to enlist. This was three miles east of Hillsboro, and among its members were: William R. Linx- wiler, who was a state deputy organizer ; George B. Mitchell, who for awhile was in the St. Louis Grange agency of Dolton ; Prof. A. C. Williams ; George B. Linxwiler, who as "correspondent" contributed largely for the Independent edited by Mr. Alexander, his articles being largely along Grange lines; Abner and John Short; C. R. Davidson and R. B. Haygood. This Grange was an active one. It was literary in its tastes, and carried on some interesting farm experi- ments that were highly educational from the standpoint of the farmer. This completes the list. There were thirty-nine in Montgomery County and over 2,000 in the state. The mem- bership in the county was about 2,000, and the membership in the state was over 10,000. So far as we know there are now only a few Granges that are still in working condition in the state.

The State Railroad and Warehouse Commis- sion was the direct result of the Grange agita- tion. The free delivery of mail was first pre- sented to the public for discussion at a meeting of the Illinois State Grange by John M. Stahl, who had studied the question at close range in Europe, at its annual meeting held in Bloom-

John a Heim alma W. Herm.

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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY

ington. In 1875, after a large number of these Granges had been organized, a county Grange was organized. William R. Linxwiler was its first master and W. J. Richmond its first secre- tary. This body held its meetings for four years, when so many of the Granges had ceased to meet, that it also quit. Of all the parties men- tioned in this brief history of that once popu- lar organization the writer can only count seventeen that he knows yet to be alive, though their descendants in the county are as the sands on the sea shore.

THE FARMERS' MUTUAL BENEFIT ASSOCIATION.

An organization known as the Farmers' Mutual Benefit Association created much in- terest in the country, beginning about 1890. The organization in this state was, as we remember, it, a year or two prior to that date at Mt. Ver- non. It was a farmers' organization, and was different from that of the Grange, in that it proposed to deal more with the material needs of the farmer instead of his social needs. In 1890 the state president was Cicero Lindley of Bond County, and the secretary was William E. Robinson also of that county. James Moody of Fillmore became a deputy and organized several lodges in this county. There were lodges in Hillsboro, Litchfield, Fillmore, Walshville, Zanesville and other places. The order became political wherever organized and was used by those having political ambition. Colonel Oller of Litchfield, E. J. Alexander of Hillsboro, Alfred Sawyer of Hillsboro, D. J. Snow of Fill- more, James D. Kendall of Atwater, John D. Wallis of Litchfield, John Landers of Fillmore, and Dr. Haines of Donnellson were among those most active in appearing before the public in its interest. Its political meddling was its downfall. After several unsuccessful attempts to control elections, it began to wane, and its decline was as rapid as its growth. The only lodge in the county that continued to hold meet- ing for any great length of time was that at Enterprise in the southwestern corner of Hills- boro Township.

It was put to one good purpose that we will make mention of. There was a desire in the townships surrounding Hillsboro to organize a mutual insurance company, and some efforts had been made without success. Some five or six of those attending the Farmers' Mutual Benefit Association conceived the idea of making use

of the association to organize the company. Among them were James Moody, C. H. Edwards, H. F. Mansfield, H. A. Cress, and others. They had a special meeting of the county Farmers' Mutual Benefit Association called in the county seat for the purpose of taking a vote on organ- izing such a company, and the meeting was largely attended and the program as prepared by those most interested was carried through, although an attempt was made to interfere and divert the meeting into other channels. A com- mittee was appointed to organize the company, and in accord thereto the Hillsboro Farmers' Mutual Fire Insurance Company, now the Montgomery County Fire Mutual Insurance Company, was organized, which is noticed in another place.

INCREASE IN LAND VALUES.

The first settlers, as soon as the land of Montgomery County was open for entry, secured their farms from the government by the pay- ment of an entry fee of $1.25 per acre. Since then the value of this land has been steadily increasing until today it is held at $50.00 to $200.00 per acre, for well improved lands, with- out valuing the buildings. There is no reason for its ever decreasing as farm land has ever been considered the first source of material wealth.

PRODUCE.

All kinds of small grain and grasses are grown in this county, the soil being especially favorable to corn, wheat, oats, timothy, red clover and stock peas. Other produce may be recorded as follows: Sweet clover, Hungarian and millet grasses, stock beets, turnips, pump- kins, squashes, beans, cabbage and nearly all kinds of vegetables commonly grown in the garden. The farmers are meeting with success in the growing of alfalfa, the annual yield dur- ing 1915 having been about four tons per acre. Stock raising is a very important feature of the agricultural life of this section, and some fine horses, cattle, hogs and sheep are raised here, and marketed at prices that leave a good margin to the farmer.

MACHINERY AND IMPLEMENTS.

Perhaps in no section of the state are the farmers more thoroughly alive to the fact that

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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY

in order to produce effective results it is neces- sary to have a proper equipment. The intro- duction of machinery into farm work in this county occurred at a very early date, and today there is probably not a farmer here who has not some of the latest improved appliances for enabling him to do his work with the least out- lay of strength and time. These labor saving devices have practically revolutionized farming, as they have work in every line, and the agri- culturist of today conducts his farm upon en- tirely different methods than did his fore- bearers.

PRICES OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS.

We are living, and preparing this history, in an age of ·wonderful changes. The war in Eu- rope, now raging, together with the spirit of greed among business men and the habits of ex- travagance among the masses of the people, are evidently the leading causes for many changes in the affairs effecting the agricultural classes. Nor are these entirely without benefit, while the price of land has not materially advanced, the price of farm produce has as will be seen by the following prices as compared with four years ago. Prior to 1912, prices of produce had in- creased but slightly, while land values had made rapid increase, but the four years last past have reversed the order. Land has depreciated in this county from twenty to thirty percent and produce appreciated as much. For instance : Hogs advanced from $8.50 to $10.50; beef cattle advanced from $8.50 to $10.50; sheep advanced from $6.50 to 10.00; wheat advanced from $0.90 to $1.85 ; corn advanced from $0.60 to $1.00; oats advanced from $0.35 to $0.60; eggs advanced from $0.20 to $0.35; butter advanced from $0.25 to $0.40. During the same period labor has ad- vanced to the highest figures ever known in the history of the world.

It is for philosophers to explain why it is that as the price of labor goes up, the value of farm land goes down. The city laborer at the time of this writing is not satisfied with less than $5.00 per day, while his brother farm la- borer is contented with $1.50, and when the writer was a young man seventy-five cents was considered ample. May we not prophecy a collapse in the labor price bubble and an in- creased interest in farm lands as the first source of all wealth?

FARM PRODUCTIONS.

We have mentioned the farm crops that are raised in the county but all these are not for the market. The chief products raised for the market are corn, wheat, timothy, and hogs and beef cattle, and latterly dairy products are be- coming quite large. It is estimated that we are now annually seeding in this county not far from 75,000 acres of land to corn, and 30,000 acres to wheat, with smaller acreage to timothy, red clover, alfalfa and other crops. From these crops are produced not far from 3,000,000 bushels of corn. The wheat crop of a fair year will not fall far if any below 1,000,000 bushels, and timothy, red clover, alfalfa, cow peas and other crops in quantities large enough to be con- sidered very important. Hogs and beef cattle have at all times been a source of wealth to the county. Lately there is an active interest being taken in dairy products, which is now on the up grade. Orcharding, thoughi sadly neglected, is known to pay well when properly cared for. In 1915 the apple crop was enormous though largely allowed to decay and go to waste above that used for home consumption. The crop of 1916 is not so large, but sprayed orchards are at this writing being sold at a good profit in several localities. It here may be said, that farm help is almost impossible to secure, the price paid for labor in the mines and factories and other city work being so high that the farmer cannot get help at prices that he can pay and make anything out of the labor. In consequence of this condition farms are neg- lected. and lands frequently uncultivated, which condition will continue until there comes in some way a better distribution of labor and equalization of labor earning prices.

LAND DIFFICULTIES.

We have said in another chapter that the one great motive that induced the early pioneer to come into the wild and uninviting country was the laudable desire to secure a home. The pos- session of a home with the freedom which the possession gives is the greatest possible incentive to that spirit of patriotism that underlies Ameri- can progress and liberty. Even in this day the man who owns or is seeking to own a home, is, . with few exceptions, the most desirable citizen. Land could be entered in the early days by the payment of $1.25 per acre, and yet that small

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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY

sum was extremely hard to secure. Many men coming here had never seen a hundred dollars in their lives and it took years to accumulate that much cash, and meet the burdens of family life under the difficulties with which the pioneer was confronted. For these reasons most of the early comers selected a desirable tract of land. · and built a cabin on it before attempting to buy or enter the land. These men were called "squatters," and often lived on the land as such from one to three years before entering it. There was recognized among such early settlers a sort of "squatters' sovereignty" judiciary by almost universal consent, and which was rarely violated. It was purely a "gentlemen's" law, and the early settlers were ready to defend the law as a matter of honor by "fist and skull" if necessary. That this law was occasionally broken there is plenty of evidence, and when found out the others made it very uncomfort- able to the violator. The intention to enter was recognized by the work of the "squatter" in building his cabin and making other improve- ments, and no man of honor would discredit such intention.

In the earliest days the land could only be entered at Kaskaskia, the capital of the state, but before Montgomery County had been organ- ized Edwardsville had been made a govern- ment land office and our "squatters" went there to register their claims. The Edwardsville of- fice was continued several years and later this county was transformed to the Vandalia district. These land offices gave certificates of entry and after the reports of the land office had been made and approved at Washington, a patent to the land was made out and signed by the presi- dent and forwarded to the purchaser. Many of these land titles are now in the hands of the present owners and are not only valuable but are prized as relics of the pioneer times.

We name an instance or two of the violating of the "gentlemen's squatter" rights as currently reported. Capt. Thomas Phillips, a "squatter" on a piece of land west of Hillsboro was "entered out" by a once prominent Montgomery County citizen. It is related that John Cana- day, the grandfather of Senator Canaday, was about to be headed off in making his entry and but for the timely aid of Captain Phillips the attempt would have succeeded. Another in- stance related is that of the father of Capt. John Glenns, who had "squatted" and was pre- paring to enter a tract when he learned that

another man had decided on the same tract, but by hard riding and intense suffering from cold he managed to reach the land office first and head off the unprincipled man with "enter out" designs.

Another serious difficulty that the settlers had to encounter was the depreciation and insta- bility of the money then in circulation. About the time of the admission of Illinois into the Union the banks in older states had by law or otherwise issued more money than their credit would sustain and depreciation resulted. Illi- nois, too, fell into the prevalent fatuous delusion and issued large quantities of paper money that the settlers, to their dismay, found the land officers, by instruction from Washington, refused to accept in payment of entry fees. This was indeed a hardship. as specie had been driven out by the bank delusions and failures, and was ex- ceedingly difficult to obtain. So difficult was it to obtain money, that when Hillsboro was to be adopted as the county seat and $50.00 was re- quired to secure a title to the land, there was but one man in the county that was known to have enough money for the purpose, and he was sent for and induced to part with it for the purpose, an act of patriotism seldom exceeded in any county.

DAIRIES.

The dairy interests are extensive and profit- able. The men engaged in the production of milk and its products have plants that meet every state and local requirement with reference to sanitation, and the success those in the busi- ness are having is influencing others to turn their attention to this feature. While it must be admitted that the farmers of Montgomery County have not in the past given their atten- tion to the dairy interest their fertile soil and good pasturage lands would seem to justify, yet here and there for many years isolated farmers have shown their faith in the business by for a time engaging in the profitable work. For the past twenty years the farmers found it profitable to organize milk routes and by concert of action deliver their milk to the railroad, where it was received by a representative of the large city dairies. It is now conceded that the better way is to either have dairies in the local small towns for the manufacturing of butter and other products or to organize dairies by co-operation among the farmers themselves.

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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY

Recently the town board of trade and the banks of the county are encouraging the farmers to improve their breeds of cattle for dairy pur- poses and enter more actively in the dairy busi- ness, believing by so doing that more will be made thereby by both the farmers and the local business man.

THE FARMERS' INSTITUTE.

The present Farmers' Institute is a develop- ment of the educational features of the old fair, and the grange, and it is the opinion of the writer that if the managers of the institute want to further popularize the enterprise, and encourage further attendance on the meetings, that more of the old fair idea, that of exhibits and demonstration of the best, must be fostered and encouraged. In 1895 the State Legislature passed an act "To assist and encourage useful education among farmers and for developing the agricultural resources of the state, that an organization under the name and style of Illi- nois Farmers' Institute is hereby created and (leclared a public corporation of the state." Under this act a state organization was affected about nineteen years ago, and as its excellent work is public and held for the benefit of the public, we only mention here the work of the local county institute.

Meetings are held annually at some point in the county. These meetings are great events and liberally patronized by the public. Addresses are delivered by the ablest agriculturists obtain- able and demonstrations conducted. Recently the institute has assumed in part the character of the old fair in having extensive displays of farm products for which premiums are awarded. The ladies of the county have organized and are successfully conducting a household science division in connection with the institute which is highly successful and splendidly attended. The present officials of the institute are here given : President, John M. Hampton, Donnell- son, Ill .; vice president, William R. Acree, Litchfield, Ill .; secretary, J. H. Rainey, Butler, Ill. ; treasurer, Edward Grimes, Raymond, Ill. ; and H. A. Cress, Sr., Hillsboro, Ill .; Charles L. Laws, Donnellson, Ill .; Charles Poland, Fil- more, Ill., directors. The officers of the Mont- gomery County Household Science Department are as follows: President, Mrs. Frank Black- welder, Litchfield, Ill .; vice president, Mrs.

Effie Ash, Honey Bend, Ill .; and secretary, Miss Lena Laws, Donnellson, Ill.

FARM FORECAST.

Not only is the farmer determined to make his equipment as nearly perfect as possible, but he is not content until he has provided for his family proper surroundings, and many of the rural residences compare very favorably in point of comfort and convenience with those in the cities. Nearly all of the farmers own auto- mobiles, and many of them have steam tractors, or those operated by electricity, for doing their field work. Water for the house and stock by some is pumped by machinery, and in some cases an elaborate water system has been in- stalled that provides running water in house and barns. It would be possible to go on in- definitely expanding upon the improvements that have been made upon these very farms that less than a century ago, or even in many in- stances, half a century ago, were wild prairie or dense forest land, but which now are so valuable that their owners will not consider any ordinary price for them. However, the space is limited, and it is sufficient to state that not only will the farmers of Montgomery County compare favorably with any other similar sec- tion, but that in many instances they outclass their sister counties not only in Illinois but in the adjoining states where conditions are about the same.

CHAPTER XII.

BANKS AND OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS.

IMPORTANCE OF BANKS-FIRST BANK IN UNITED STATES-EARLY BANKS OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY -FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF LITCHFIELD-HILLS- BORO NATIONAL BANK-LITCHFIELD BANKING AND TRUST COMPANY-MONTGOMERY LOAN AND TRUST COMPANY-LITCHFIELD NATIONAL BANK - PEOPLES NATIONAL BANK OF HILLSBORO - FARMERS NATIONAL BANK OF NOKOMIS -

NOKOMIS NATIONAL BANK - FIRST NATIONAL

MR. AND MRS. P. J. HERMON

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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY

BANK OF RAYMOND - RAYMOND STATE BANK -FILLMORE BANK - FILLMORE STATE AND SAVINGS BANK - FARMERSVILLE BANK - COF- FEEN NATIONAL BANK - AMERICAN EXCHANGE BANK OF COFFEEN - WITT NATIONAL BANK --- OLAND NATIONAL BANK-BANK OF WAGGONER- IRVING NATIONAL BANK - FARMERS BANK OF OHLMAN-STATE BANK OF DONNELLSON-BANK OF PANAMA-LITCHFIELD COOPERATIVE SAVINGS

AND LOAN COMPANY - OIL CITY BUILDING AND LOAN ASSOCIATION - LITCHFIELD ABSTRACT COMPANY ---- SOUTHERN ILLINOIS LIGHT AND POWER COMPANY-J. J. FREY BOND AND MORT- GAGE COMPANY -- NOKOMIS BUILDING AND LOAN ASSOCIATION.

IMPORTANCE OF BANKS.

Inasmuch as the prosperity and financial im- portance of any community is measured by the character and standing of its banks, it is only proper that a slight review of the history of these institutions as a whole be given before entering into the details relative to the local concerns of Montgomery County. The financial institutions of the United States are divided into national, state and savings banks, the lat- ter being subdivided into mutual savings and stock savings banks. In addition to these there are other concerns closely allied to the banking business of the country, among them being co- operative banks, loan and trust companies and building and loan associations. Of late years the business of writing insurance has grown to such magnitude that this branch of financial history is included in that of banking.

FIRST BANK IN THE UNITED STATES.

The first bank in the United States was organized at Philadelphia in 1780, and was rapidly followed by others at Boston and New York, but the national banking system was not organized until February 25, 1863, and it has been since considerably changed and expanded by subsequent acts, to all of which the banks of Montgomery County are, of course. subject.

EARLY BANKS OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY.

The condition of the banks in Montgomery County could not be better than at the present, but during the earlier days of the county the banks have had some bitter experiences, as is

the case in all pioneer movements. We give a short history of some of the past experiences of the early banks, and showing their develop- ment into strong and confidence-inspiring in- stitutions that we have today. Robert W. Davis at an early day opened up in Hillsboro a private bank, with small capital and little prospects of paying business, as more trade and barter was used in business in those days than was done with cash or commercial paper. After running the bank several years, Mr. Haskell came into the firm with more capital and the bank name was changed to that of Haskell, Davis & Co. Bank. In 1862 this firm established a branch bank in Litchfield called the Haskell Seymour & Co. Bank, and Mr. Seymour becoming inter- ested in the Litchfield branch, sold his interest in the Hillsboro branch to Mr. Morris, and the name of the latter was changed to Haskell, Har- ris & Co. Bank. The Litchfield branch, taking in Mr. Brewer as one of its strong men, changed its name to Brewer, Seymour & Co. Bank, with Mr. Brewer as president and Mr. Moody Grubbs, his son-in-law, as cashier. Later Mr. Grubbs be- came largely interested and the name was changed to Brewer & Grubbs Bank, and Mr. Eli Miller from the Hillsboro bank was made its cashier and Mr. Grubbs became the president. After several years of successful business Mr. Grubbs retired and Eli Miller succeeded him with J. R. Miller as cashier. This bank, in- cluding its line of predecessors, is now the oldest bank in the county. The Haskell, Harris & Co. Bank in Hillsboro continued doing a successful business till in 1881, when, owing to large Hillsboro property investments which proved un- profitable and shrunk largely in value, the bank became cramped and after a struggle had to give up the fight. The remnant of bank equip- ment and business was taken over by another company headed by Glenn Bros. and the Mont- gomery Loan & Trust Co. Bank was organized. James Blackburn was made cashier; he was later superseded by Eli Miller, who resigned to accept the cashiership of the Litchfield bank, and James B. Barringer was elected in his place. He continues in this office to this day, and the present president is Joel K. McDavid.

The Brewer & Grubbs Bank of Litchfield, after the death of Judge Brewer, was incorpor- ated a national bank under the name of the First National Bank of Litchfield, and is now one of the strong banks of the county. The

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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY

present officers are : Eli Miller, president, and J. R. Miller, cashier.

A. H. H. Rountree in the sixties organized the Farmers and Mechanics Bank in Hillsboro, he being the manager and chief stockholder. Mr. Rountree it seems made some bad invest- ments and for other reasons not well under- stood, in about 1878, failed, after having tried to brace up his failing business by establish- ing a branch at Irving, which went down with the other, causing much distress to many people, and which doubtless largely contributed to the untimely death of Mr. Rountree, whose high sense of honor would not let him submit to the humiliation of failure without great mental depression.

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Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of Montgomery County, Volume II, Part 21

Author: Bateman, Newton, 1822-1897, ed. cn; Selby, Paul, 1825-1913, ed. cn; Strange, Alexander T., ed Publication date: 1918 Publisher: Chicago : Munsell Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 810

Author: Bateman, Newton, 1822-1897, ed. cn; Selby, Paul, 1825-1913, ed. cn; Strange, Alexander T., ed
Publication date: 1918
Publisher: Chicago : Munsell Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 810