USA > Illinois > Montgomery County > Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of Montgomery County, Volume II > Part 42
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One of the chief attractions at Thomasville has been the Thomas Grove, Mr. Thomas planted two or three groves, the principal one at his residence, consisting of fifteen acres of woods indigenous to this county. There for many years the Old Settlers Association of Macoupin and Montgomery counties held their annual picnics.
OFFICIALS, PAST AND PRESENT.
The leading men who make a township impor- tant are usually to be found among those selected to fill its local offices. We give a list of those who have filled some of the more important positions during the last forty-three years, in Bois D'Arc Township.
SUPERVISORS.
At the time of the adoption of township organ- ization, Samuel R. Thomas was selected as the representative for the newly created county board. He served during 1873 and 1874, and
was succeeded in 1875 by W. S. Garrettson, who served four years. In 1879 William Evans was elected, serving two years. He was followed by Absolom Clark for 1SS1; Lewis H. Thomas for 1882; H. M. Thomas for 1SS3; John Newport for 1884 and 1885, and he was again elected in 1887, during which year he was the chairman of tbe board. A. J. Witt served in 1SS6, and in 18SS Samuel R. Thomas was again on the board. In 1SS9 F. J. Bulberry acted in the office, fol- lowed in 1890 by William H. McLain, who served five years in succession. In 1895 William H. Leahan was elected, serving two years; and he was succeeded by P. J. Howard in 1897 and 1898; and by Joseph F. Ebers in 1899, 1900 and 1901. In 1902 John Welch was in the office; William Heins was elected in the year following, and Thomas Aheren served during the next two years, he being followed by J. J. Murphy dur- ing 1907 and 190S. Then Michael L. Gorman was elected, serving for six years, after which in 1915, George C. Browning was elected for two years, and in 1916 Mr. Browning had the distinc- tion of being the board's honorable chairman.
JUSTICES OF THE PEACE.
Andrew J. Armstrong, 1857 and 1861; J. B. Newell, 1857; Louis Dalton, 1864 and 1865; Henry W. Whipple, 1869; John Newport, 1870; Andrew W. Miller 1871; Cullen Criswell, 1869 ; |H. K. Watkins, 1869; John Newport, 1873 and 1877; Wm. Evan, 1873; Benj. Evan, 1874; Chas. Caselberry, 1877 ; Andrew W. Marshall, 1878; Samuel B. Steidley, 1SS1; Wm. K. Bowling, 1881; Thomas Lisles, 1885; Andrew J. Witt, 1SSS and 1SS9; H. M. Thomas, 1890, 1893 and 1897; Jasper N. Witt, 1891, 1893, 1906, 1909 and 1913; Elias Walton, 1901; Charles McAnarny, 1897 and 1901; S. B. Thomas, 1901, 1905 and 1913; L. B. Sheets, 1905; O. B. Vangeisen, 1915.
CONSTABLES.
Elias Waldron, 1860 ; Irwin M. Clareday, 1866; J. B. Newell, 1868; Joseph N. Witt, 1870 and 1877; John Beckenaugh, 1870; Geo. A. Camp, 1872; Ben Evans, 1872; Francis M. Paul, 1876; John A. Hill, 1877; Johnson W. Wright, 1SS1; Adison G. Chapman, 1SS2; Wm. T. Newport, 1885; William S. Hart, 1885; Jacob Henziker, 1877 and 1SSS; Theodore Hutton. 1SS9. 1897 and 1901; Stenison Hart, 1889 and 1893; Chas. Karnes, 1897; S. L. Carmody, 1901; H. K. Wil-
15
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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY
liams. 1905; Arthur Williams, 1905; Samuel A. Witt, 1909 and 1913.
CHAPTER XXIII.
BUTLER GROVE TOWNSHIP.
IN GENERAL-BOUNDARIES-FIRST SETTLERS-EARLY INCIDENTS-EARLY MILLS-EARLY SETTLERS- MEN OF PROMINENCE-BUTLER-EARLY HISTORY -FIRST SCHOOLS-BUSINESS MEN- BUSINESS MEN OF 1881-FIRES-EARLY SCHOOLS-EARLY CHURCHES-PRESENT CHURCHES-FRATERNITIES -CLUBS-PRESENT CONDITIONS-POLITICS-SU- PERVISORS-JUSTICES OF THE PEACE-ASSESSORS - COLLECTORS - HIGHWAY COMMISSIONERS - TOWN CLERKS - SCHOOL TREASURERS - CON- STABLES. -
IN GENERAL.
This splendid township is well located, the Big Four Railroad runs through it, with a sta- tion and an important little village on it near the township's center. As a residence township possibly there is no better in the county. It lias a large telephone patronage and its rural mail service is very complete. Its earliest set- tlers were among the first to come to the county, and while Butler as a village has never grown to large dimensions, it has been, and now is, in- habited by good citizens who maintain an excel- lent school and whose interest in religious, edu- cational and social affairs is ever manifest in the active part they show toward all upbuilding enterprises of the county. The township has furnished the county with three superintendents of schools, with one or more circuit clerks, and with other men and women prominent in pub- lic affairs. The first settlements in the town- ship were made in 1818, the first settler being James Cress, others soon following him.
BOUNDARIES.
Butler Grove Township was one of the first sections of Montgomery County to be settled, and the government survey of it took place in 1819,
at which time it was found to have a settler. It is in the central part of the county, being bounded on the north by Raymond Township; on the east by Irving Township; on the south by Hillsboro Township; and on the west by North Litchfield Township. The land is fine fertile prairie, and in the early days there was considerable timber. The natural timber em- braced black and white oak, hickory, walnut, cottonwood willow and sycamore.
The township was named from Butler Seward, one of the oldest settlers. His place was known as Butler's Grove, and hence the name of the township, Butler Grove.
It is watered by Brush Creek, the Middle Fork of Shoal Creek and their tributaries. Prior to the establishment of proper drainage, a considerable portion of the land along these water courses was subject to overflow, and con- sequently was not nearly as valuable as it is now.
When the pioneers of Butler Grove Township came here they found Indians and the wildest of conditions prevailing. Wild game was plentiful, but the settlers were in danger of attacks from wolves and other denizens of the forests and prairies, and every inch of land had to be either cleared of forest growth or cleared of the heavy sod, the latter being almost as difficult a task as the former. There were no roads ; railroads were not thought of for many years after the begin- nings of the county, and none of what are now regarded as the necessaries of life could be ob- tained.
FIRST SETTLERS.
The first white settler of Butler Grove Town- ship was Jacob Cress, who came here during the spring of 1818, and settled what later became known as the old Cress farm, still later owned by Jacob Scherer, and now the property of the Jacob Cress heirs, on section 34. Jacob Cress was a native of North Carolina, who first sought new environments in Indiana, and then came still further west to Illinois. Although the jour- ney had to be made along the buffalo trails from Indiana to Illinois, the hardy old pioneer brought with him horses, cattle and a drove of hogs, and in order to keep from losing the latter on the prairie, he had them belled, and this measure of precaution indicates his resource and capability. Nothing daunted by the hardships of his new home, he began to clear off his land, and became one of the leading men of lis com-
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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY
munity. His descendants are still to be found in the county, and his name is held in the high- est respect.
The second settler of the township was Israel Seward, who came here from Hamilton County, Ohio, in 1819, locating about one-half a mile south of what later became the village of But- ler, his farm being known as Seward's Hill, or Butler's Grove. He was a man of commanding character and exerted an influence for good on this section that has never been lost. George C. Seward, a son of Israel Seward, who suc- ceeded to the homestead, was the first white child born in Butler Grove Township, his birth occurring October 11, 1821. Israel Seward was a cousin of the distinguished statesman, William H. Seward, secretary of state under President Lincoln.
Among other early settlers of this township were the Wares. Obadiah Ware came to Mont- gomery County in 1823. locating on the west half of the northwest quarter of section 15. A native of New Hampshire, he married in his native state in 1821, when twenty-six years of age. He and his bride made their way to St. Louis, and for two years he was engaged in farming in the vicinity of that city. However he was not entirely satisfied with conditions. and so made a prospecting trip into Montgomery County, where he found land that suited him and which he could enter from the government, so he and his wife again severed their home ties, and came to the new region, where both spent the remainder of their lives. Mr. Ware was very active in the work of the Lutheran church of his neighborhood. Benjamin Ware, a brother of Obadiah Ware, located on land ad- joining his brother, and lived there until death claimed him. Both the Wares left children. Other early settlers are mentioned in the order of their arrival. With the early settlers came the necessity for schools, and these were in- variably the first public work of the pioneers.
EARLY INCIDENTS.
The first school in the precinct was taught by Mrs. Townsend in a log cabin near the south- west corner of the township in section 31. Other schools were taught in such cabins as were available till Capt. Thomas Phillips built a schoolhouse in section 29. He was assisted by Reuben Ross in fitting the house up for school purposes. The next schoolhouse was a log struc-
ture built in 1849, and Miss Mary Burnal was the first teacher in the new house.
The first marriage in the Butler precinct was that of William H. Brown to Miss Harriet Seward.
EARLY MILLS.
The first mill in the township was erected by Jacob Cress in 1825, and was a very crude one, being run by horse power. However, crude as it was, the demand for its services was so great that it was kept working day and night to grind the grain for the farmers in a wide territory, people coming from a radius of twelve miles, which in those days was more than ten times that distance today. Sometimes patrons came from points still further off, taking several days to the journey, for mills were very scarce in those days, and the labor of grinding by hand almost endless. In those days a threshing ma- chine was unknown, the grain being tramped out by horses and sifted by hand through a large sieve made for that purpose. Horse power was the only power used until 1845, when the build- ing was remodeled, new machinery installed, and the mill was then operated by steam. It was kept in operation until the machinery wore out, and then in 1SS1 the engine was taken to the village of Butler. For some years afterward the old mill stood and was pointed out as a monu- ment of pioneer days. The second mill was built by Mr. Seward about one-half a mile south of Butler, in 1839, and was operated by steam. but did not prove a success, as it was built upon too expensive a scale for the neighborhood. In later years the mill was torn down and the machinery taken to Butler. A third flour mill was built by a Mr. Hoffman, west of the town of Butler, but was torn down in 1881. In 1882 a somewhat larger mill was built at Butler, it being a brick structure 23x36 feet, with an en- gine room 40x18 feet, with a three run of stone burrs and a capacity of about thirty-six barrels of flour per day. It was built by J. S. Emery. who was a lifelong miller. D. W. Manners built and operated a planing mill one-half mile west of the town of Butler, but the structure was destroyed by fire, as were several other plan- ing mills in the township.
EARLY SETTLERS.
Butler Grove Township was, as before stated. first settled in 1818 by Jacob Cress, coming here
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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY
from Indiana when his son Jacob, who later occupied the farm for many years, was only a few weeks old. Among those who came to that township soon after Mr. Cress may be men- tioned the following: Joseph McCoy came from Ireland in 1855 and was married to Nancy E. Hathaway, from New York ; Dr. Charles Harper came from Ohio in 1849 and was married to Harriet King, from Pennsylvania; John C. Sam- mons came from New York in 1855 and was married to Eliza Bedell, from New York; Dr. Daniel Scharden came from Germany in 1842 and was married to Cornelia Buwell, of East Fork Township; Rev. Elisha Barett came from Virginia in 1860 and was married to Mary Bardon, from North Carolina; Mrs. Eliza Jndd, widow of William B. Jndd, came from Ohio in 1863; Mathew McMurty came from Ireland in 1831, was a millwright. by trade, but was a grain bnyer here; Rev. J. Livingwood came from Pennsylvania in 1854, was married to Amanda Beyer, from Ohio; William Seward came with his parents, Israel and Margret Seward, in 1818; George Seward, son of Israel, was born in this county in 1821; William Watson came from Ireland in 1839 and was married to Mary Taft, from New York; Thomas Colvin came from Ireland in 1858 and was married to Matilda Williamson, from Ohio; Samuel Berry came from Pennsylvania in 1842 and was married to Lydia Moore, from Ohio, before leaving for Illi- nois ; John Hostetter was born in Pennsylvania, was married to Lucretia Wolfe, from Pennsyl- vania. and came to this county in 1856; Mrs. Rachel Wright, widow of Thomas Wright, of Madison County, Ill., came to this county in 1863; Rev. Michael Stuckey came to this county in 1855, and to Butler in 1864, and his wife was Lncy Macauley, of Christian County, Ill. ; Henry Harper was born in Ohio, was married to Canda P. Wright and was the father of Mrs. Mc- Clure (Melvina P.), of Andubon, came to Butler in 1868; Henry Bremer, born in Germany in 1827, first located in East Fork Township, later in Butler, was married to Johannah Bremer of the same name but not related ; Mrs. Rachel DeKay came to Montgomery County from New Jersey in 1863; William Summers came here at qnite an early day; Joseph Bnrnet came with his par- ents from Ohio in 1832; Albert Dryer was born in Vermont, came here from New York, after being married to Eunie Weber in 1835; Lemuel D. Washburn was married to Lucinda Wilson in New York and came to this county in 1859; Mrs.
Eliza Hoes, the wife of Hartman Hoes, was mar- ried in 1837, in Pennsylvania, and came to this county in 1SCO ; Elijah Hngg came to this county in 1845 and was married to Deliverance Hugg. Alexander Gray, born in Virginia, was married to Amanda B. Cheat in Kentucky, and came here in 1845 ; Moses Barry, born in Ohio in 1823, came here in 1855, and was married to Eliza VanSandt in Ohio before coming here; William Williams, born in 1818 in Ohio, was married to Eliza Swallow in 1838, and came to this county in 1843; Myndert Vrooman, born in New York in 1807, was married to Julia Sammons in New York in 1832, and came to this county in 1854; Francis Phillips, born in Illinois in 1828, came to this county with his parents in 1834, and was married to Sarah H. Scherer in 1856; Benjamin Wikoff, born in New Jersey in 1801, was married to Anna Slaybach in Ohio, and came to this county in 1838 ; Oliver H. Bewley, born in Penn- sylvania in 1809, was married to Charlotte Fitz- jerrell in Ohio in 1830, and came to this county in the '30s. Orlando Mack, born in New Hamp- shire in 1799, came to Montgomery County in 1840, and in 1824 was married to Myra Eaton, from New Jersey ; Perry Masters, born in Ohio in 1806, was married to Ann Peters, and later to Nancy Bathes, and came to Illinois in 1855; Daniel Berry, born in Ohio in 1827, came to Illi- nois in 1855, and was married to Margaret Mar- tin, of Ohio; Thomas E. Harris, born in Massa- chusetts in 1812, came to this county from New York in 1838, and was married to Hulda Ware in 1845; Beniah Kelly, born in New Hampshire in 1807, came here from Boston in 1837, and was married to Sarah McAdams in 1842; Stan- ford Robinson, born in North Carolina in 1809, was married to Milicent Commins in 1833, and came to Illinois in 1863 from Tennessee; Robert Bryce, born in Scotland in 1821, came to this county in 1856 from Ohio, and was married to Sophia Heath in 1852, and to Sarah McMerty in 1861; Jacob Weber, born in New Hampshire in 1821, came to this county in 1840, and was married to Jane Kendrick in 1852; DeWitt C. Burris, born in Ohio in 1826 was married to Ruolina Mack in 1857, and came to Montgomery County prior to his marriage; Isaac Betty, born in Tennessee in 1820, was married to Louisa Allen, from Tennessee, in 1840, and came to Illinois soon afterwards; Henderson Herman, born in Tennessee in 1826, in 1834 removed to Illinois with his parents and to Montgomery County about 1849, and was married to Mary J.
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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY
Brown, from Mason County, Ill., in 1848 ; Charles W. Jenkins, born in South Carolina in 1827, came to Montgomery County in 1837, and was married to Camilla Burnap in 1854; William Brewer, born in North Carolina in 1803, was married to Delilalı Hough in Kentucky, and came to Illinois in 1859; Thomas D. Washburn, born in 1819 in Massachusetts, came to Montgomery County in 1856, and was married in 1846 to Anna Joslin ; Jacob Cress came to Illinois in 1818 with his parents, was married to Helen Scherer in 1840, and lived and died in this county.
The first roads through the township were of a hit or miss character. They were really trails made by the settlers, who tried to take the short- est route between two points, and considerable trouble was experienced in having these highway straightened out. The old Springfield road runs through Butler Grove Township from northeast to southwest. As early as 1825 it was one of the most traveled thoroughfares in the southern part of Illinois, and brought people through Butler Grove Township who would otherwise never have seen this locality. The Taylorville road passes through the southeastern part of the township, intersecting the St. Louis road, not far from the line that separates Butler Grove and Hillsboro townships; in fact, the St. Louis road forms a part of the southern boun- dary of the township, and is probably the oldest road in Montgomery County.
Since the movement has been inaugurated for good roads, Montgomery County has profited. and the history of this agitation in Butler Grove Township, with its results, is as follows :
By means of frequent use of the split log drag the roads have long borne the name of being the best in the county. The Big Four Trail from the east to the west crosses the township, passing the village of Butler.
The Black Diamond Trail crosses the town- ship from north to south, intersecting the Big Four Trail, about two miles east of Butler.
One railroad runs through the township-the Cincinnati, St. Louis, Chicago and Peoria Rail- road, which is the successor to the old Indian- apolis and St. Louis Railroad, and the village of Butler is located on it.
MEN OF PROMINENCE.
When a man or woman, though located in a given community, becomes noted for his or her
activity along useful lines, then we do them an injustice to say that they belong alone to the township which gave them birth or resi- dence. Prof. Jonathan B. Turner loved Butler Grove Township and was proud of his home there, but he belonged to the whole state. Born in Massachusetts in 1805, of parents of European descent, whose ancestors came to the country in the Mayflower, and who fought for independence in the Revolution, he took an academic course in Massachusetts, farmed and taught school, then went to Yale and from there to a professor- ship of rhetoric and elocution in a college. Later he was engaged in traveling over Illinois and addressing the people to awaken an interest in the public schools, not withholding his views against slavery and religious intolerance, and be- ing keenly alive to the cause of agriculture, he invented tools for the bettering of farming. He also did editorial work and lectured on finance and Mormonism along with the one great cause of education, pressing the government to estab- lish a bureau of agriculture and advocating nor- mal schools in the state. His efforts resulted in the establishment of the Normal University at Normal, and other great activities, in all of which he was successful in arousing public in- terest and awakening a state-wide co-operative spirit in these economic and educational lines. Such a man cannot be said to belong to Butler Grove Township, nor to Montgomery County, but to the State of Illinois, the nation and humanity. That his work was appreciated has been shown in the fact that the educational authorities of the state recommended his name for a position in the Hall of Fame.
Israel Seward, although the chief organizer of Butler Grove Community, belonged to the whole county. As a commissioner of education, the promoter of township endowment funds, through the sale of the sixteenth section of land set apart by Congress, and his occupancy of many other positions of honor and trust, places him well up in the county's early pioneer heroes.
Miss Camilla Jenkins claimed Butler Grove as her home, but her real home was in the school room and in the hearts of her pupils. From a teacher in the common school to a similar posi- tion in the academy and then to that of normal instructor, she quietly advanced, not by seeking to influence support, but by love and unselfish- ness and devotion to her pupils, to a position more than county wide, and with the sweet and
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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY
tender ties that helpfulness bestows, preparing her mind and heart for the reward which is higher than earth can bestow.
Moses Berry was an ideal Butler Grove cit- izen. but with a force of character and pro- gressive ideas that impressed people beyond the limits of his home life. An educated man, with no book learning, he was a temperance advocate who never tasted booze in his life, a successful business man from the walks of menial labor, butcher, farmer, trader, stock raiser, never tak- ing advantage, or permitting advantage to be taken of him, never evading the truth or shun- ning its consequence; a promoter of education because he had none, and of Christianity because he telt its drawing and uplifting forces, the county claimed him here, and heaven owns him now.
George W. Brown was an Ohioan of Englishi descent, a merchant, and the founder of a fam- ily of merchants and railroaders, a Mason, and worthy progenitor of good Browns galore. But- ler Grove Township owes much to George W. Brown. as much also to George W. Brown, Jr.'s heirs and Hillsboro owes as much as Butler to this family ; and other parts of the county are not without the fruits of their personalities. Space forbids mention of others.
BUTLER.
Butler is quite an old village, having been started about the time of the building of the St. Louis and Terre Haute Railroad. It has been so fully described in connection with the town- ship of Butler Grove that we here only state its present condition. Its proximity to IIillsboro and Litchfield has seemingly retarded its growth. But during its whole career as a burg, it has ever borne the reputation of being a very desir- able residence village, and it would be difficult indeed. today to find a more enlightened and agreeable people to consort with.
EARLY HISTORY.
Butler was built upon land entered by William Seward, and was laid out in 1855 and incorpo- rated in 1865, the first survey of lots being made by James Starr, and the remainder of the sur- vey was done by John Bayliss. The first busi- ness house was a store house moved there from Woodsboro by "Uncle" Billy Woods. This was
in 1855. After .Woods had got his store ready for business, Henry Berry walked up to the counter and laid down a mink skin and called for ten cents' worth of pepper and this was the first commercial deal ever transacted in a public store in this historic village. Other early mer- chants were: Samuel Haywood, Alexander Coudy, Thomas Morrison, C. Meisner, G. Geist, Henry Wilson, S. M. Hedges, J. R. Roth, Slaten and Wickersham, L. D, Washburn, A. W. Mar- shall, Cheatham and Bros., A. H. McAlister, Fred Arnsted, Watkins and Mackey, A, B. Seward, J. H. McGowan, Brown and Brothers, Carman and Williams, Colvin and Son, McReynolds and Gar- rett, Frank Lyford, John Nelson, Davis and Alliman, the latter three dealing in grain. Be- fore Hillsboro attained its present importance and Litchfield became a mercantile and commer- cial center, Butler was one of the most impor- tant trading points in the county but now it is more of a residence district. In 1865 the place was incorporated as a village and reorganized in 1873. The first officers under the reorganiza- tion were: Thomas Colvin, president ; Joseph Hickman, clerk; and Geo. W. Brown, Jr., Thomas Elliman, Carl Brell, William Keeley, William Seward and Thomas J. Watkins, trustees.
The first physician to locate at Butler was Dr. Charles Harper who came here in 1857, and was in active practice for many years, although his last years were spent in retirement. Other physicians who have practiced here have been : Drs. Sargent, J. B. White, Jesse Stick, C. R. Ross. Daniel Schadron, P. L. Brown, Benjamin Perlee J. II. Kesler, A. Gifford, M. L. Moyer, A. W. Dryer, Dr. Edwards, Henry Gray, and the present resident, Dr. Benjamin Buckman.
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