Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of Montgomery County, Volume II, Part 49

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

USA > Illinois > Montgomery County > Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of Montgomery County, Volume II > Part 49

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Mr. Woods was not slow in securing a post- office for the new town, and he himself was asked to have charge of it. When a name was to be selected, he did not object to having it named for him, so confident was he in its permanency, and that the monument would be a perpetual remembrance when he had "shuffled off this mortal coil." A wagon and blacksmith shop was soon in operation and a tin and cooper shop followed. Quite a number of residences were erected, three of which were built by Mr. Woods himself. The town assumed important propor- tions and a public spirit was manifested not common in enterprises of that size in that day. The people elected Mr. Woods justice of the peace, and he administered justice with his ministrations in Sunday school and church work. Yes, the town had an active Sunday school and men like Milt Paden and many other prominent men as well as women were its promoters.

It was there that a militia company was or- ganized and Mr. Woods was elected its captain, and thereafter was known as Captain Woods. Notable celebrations were held in the new town and county picnics were given, drawing the people of the whole county and many from be- yond the county lines. The town assumed the airs of a county metropolis, much to the chagrin of the less enterprising towns. But alas! The long-discussed railroad from Alton to Terre Haute began laying its sinuous track from Alton over the route having the least grading, and as Hillsboro had been selected as the county seat, that town was naturally made an objective point. From Bunker Hill the route lay direct to Hillsboro, but to get there a bend was made northward and the Butler people were made happy. Hardenburg, having been missed a cou- ple of miles, moved north to Huntsville in a day, and merging the Hardenburg business into that of the easterners who came with the railroad, the town, now city, of Litchfield was born, and Hardenburg soon became a thing of the past.

Mr. Woods was too keen a man not to sce failure to the town child of his creation and bodily putting his store on wheels he moved to the location where Butler was built, and was the first to sell and bargain, barter and trade in hides, eggs and family necessities in that early historic town.

Woodsboro is now only a reminiscence, but it is a pleasant one. It never was the scene of murders, as Leesburg was ; it was not started by false schemes, as was Chance; nor was it bol- stered up by overreaching ambition, as was Audubon. Its people lived humble, economical and unostentatious lives, and happiness was theirs even in adversity. Godfrey Steeples with his hammer, tongs and anvil sharpened the bull tongue plows of the ruralists ; John Armentrout, with saw, chisel and auger, mended the wooden skein wagons and the one-horse carts of the mechanic and tradesman, and the tin cups, water buckets and milk pails were the workmanship of Levi Nelson's shears and compress; while old Doctor Nelson treated the mothers and fast- coming children, and set the broken bones and doused the chills and ague for the workers in the field.

The corn husking, the log rollings, the apple parings, the carpet tackings, and the kissing parties are gone, but not forgotten. There being no newspapers, no telegraph, no telephones, little mail. these gatherings were a social necessity for business and news exchange, as well as occasion- al scandal. But these went with the town, or were scattered to re-appear somewhere else. The old men of today have not forgotten the old flag pole with its patriotic ensign which flew to the breezes till worn into shreds. Nor is the old homestead and tavern forgotten, nor the cyclone which demolished the building after it had ceased to be the habitation of life except that of the owl and the bat.

The old ladies of the county have not forgot- ten the weaving of the jeans, the woolseys and the flannels, from rolls of home-grown wool or cotton made by Anthony Street down by the Pepper Mill. The Street carding machine, as well as the old worm-still, were well patronized in those days. Nor will the old mothers forget soon the baby cradle, the tin lantern, the tin candle moulds, the iron pot and oven and the corn pone that was made before the open fire- place, with its gigantic back log and swinging crane with pot hooks. Nor the shuck scrub broom, the floor broom made by tying broom

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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY

corn'or prairie grass around a round stick got- ten from the woods. These remembrances of Woodsboro early life are only examples of every other community of that day. We do not wish for their return, but we do hope that their memory will ever be fragrant, that our children may be better able to appreciate the advantages and pleasant environments of modern life.

LOCATION OF EARLY BUILDINGS,

The following is written by S. Z. T. Kessiger : "As there is much controversy about the loca- tion of some of the early buildings I will try to locate a few of them.

"The Melchoir cabin was on the top of the bluff east of Lake Fork, about 200 yards north of where the road now runs, on the place recently bought from Fred Boyd by J. B. Barringer. Or say about 200 yards north of the Joseph Green Spring. Ilere John Fogelman was born on Easter Sunday, April 11, 1819, being the first white child born in Walshville Township, if not in the county. Penter's cabin. Sam Penter, son- in-law of Henry Briance, built his house about a halt mile north of the Fogelman residence in the northwest corner of the southeast quarter of section 1, town 7-5; and the blacksmith shop of Mr. Fogelman was near the Penter residence. Melchoir Fogelman's sawmill was about a quarter of a mile east and at the foot of the hill slightly north of the house where John N. Green lived on the south bank of the creek, where the sill can now be seen.

"The Street carding mill was just east of the John Crabtree residence. The water at this place has fallen a depth of about eight feet, and as the mill was to have a six or eight-foot over- shot power wheel, it could not be located higher up stream. The Pepper mill was built by Mel- choir Fogelman, while he was living on the Grove Branch, east of Walshville, and was located south and west of where John Beal now lives. From the sources of the stream in the present timber of C. C. Lewey on to the carding mill, the race course ran on the west bank of the stream, there it furnished the power to run the carding mill. The water was there forced back into the race course and pursuing the stream on south on the east bank some halt mile further it se- cured an elevation sufficient to run the thirty feet overshot wheel that furnished the power for grinding out the corn and wheat that was bronght to it.

"The fort built as a safety from Indian dep- redations was not far from the Pepper mill, and was the refuge of supposed safety for seven families. The cabin where the family was mur- dered was in the Nicholson clearing just east and a little north of where Lewis McPherson lives. The Indian trail then followed the course of the stream northward into and across South Litch- field Township and after entering North Litch- field Township, a camp was located northwest of the grounds of the Chautauqua. Somewhere near here the captured girls were overtaken, and there one of the girls was nearly killed by the stroke of a tomahawk thrown with homicidal in- tentions."

HILLSBORO PIONEERS DESCRIBED.

There are men and women in every place and age that rise above the level of their environ- ments by achievements, and, such lives of use- fulness become a part of the history of the place and time of their activity. Edward Young Rice, a scion of the Blue Grass state, born February 8, 1820, of an English ancestry, who previous to the Revolution had settled in the old Dominion state, saw Illinois soil at the age of fifteen. His father was a Methodist Episcopal itinerant min- ister who was sent into Macoupin County and there between preaching and teaching and farm- ing with his devoted mother, gave young Edward the early training that fitted him for the career that materially aided in making our county what it is today. In 1840 we find Edward in Shurtliff College. Alton, Illinois. In 1843 he was study- ing law with ex-Governor John M. Palmer, in Carlinville. Admitted to the bar in 1845, he located in Hillsboro immediately thereafter. Elected recorder of the county in 1847; in 1848 he was sent to the lower house of the general assembly ; the following year he was elected judge of the county. In 1853 he was master-in- chancery ; in 1857 the call came to serve as cir- cuit judge of his judicial district, to which posi- tion he was re-elected twice, having the office altogether fifteen years. In 1870 he was elected to Congress, and also to the Constitutional Con- vention of 1870, an unfolding panorama of active life that knew no intermission till death called him at a ripe old age.

James M. Truitt, also a Kentuckian, born February 28, 1942, and of English ancestry, but American before the Revolutionary struggle, came to Illinois with his parents when one year

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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY

of age. When a boy he was tutored in the old Hillsboro Academy, from there going to Mc- Kendree College, and being graduated from its law department in 1867. In the meantime the War of the Rebellion had called for his young manhood and Company B, of the 117th Illinois Infantry. became his sphere of service till the close of the war. There from private, he went by steps to lieutenant and was recognized as one of the most efficient soldiers. His home legal studies were pursued in the office of Judge Jesse J. Phillips. with whom he was for several years in partnership after his admission to the bar. A strong Republican in politics, his abilities were frequently called into requisitiou as a speaker both at home and abroad. Not an office seeker, he answered the call to a position in the state legislature which he filled with marked ability. Dying in his young manhood, the county lost one of its ablest devotees to its interest.

Edward Lane. a native of Ohio, of humble parentage. landed in Hillsboro at the age of sixteen. That was in 1858, and by dint of hard work and economy, he was soon able to enter the Hillsboro Academy and from there went to the study of law with the Hon. James M. Davis. He was admitted to the bar in 1S65, at the age of twenty-three. Elected judge of the county in 1869. he also served his district in the fiftieth, fifty-first and fifty-second congresses. In all these positions his native ability asserted itself and every part of our county's activities felt the impress of his personality. Wealth seemed to How toward his master touch, and his influence was strongly felt in banking circles. Though dead. his personality still lives in the memory of all who knew him.

The reputation of Harry. Wilton was more state-wide than perhaps any of his compeers. For a half century he was active in state and county politics and governmental affairs. Born in England. July 4, 1779. he came with his parents to America in 1797. and to Illinois in 1811. In 1813 young Harry was a mail carrier ; in 1818 he was sheriff of Clinton County; in 1825 lie was deputy circuit clerk of the same county. and also postmaster at Carlyle and a jus- tice of the peace as well. Only a few years after this we find him judge of the County Court, and also acting United States marshal of the state. Presidents Jackson. Van Buren and Pierce, each continued him in the position of United States marshal and recognized his great courage and indefatigable ability. In 1842, he was chairman

of the State Convention which nominated Thomas Ford for governor. It was Harry Wil- ton who induced Stephen A. Douglas to accept public office. Under President Buchanan he was United States pension agent for Illinois. Hills- boro having one of the best colleges in the state in his day he located in Hillsboro for the benefit of his children. His reputation as a great man has preceded him and was in no way dimmed while spending his latter days here.

Few men served Hillsboro and Montgomery County longer in public places of trust than Capt. John T. Maddox. Born in Greenville, Illinois, April 5, 1833. he came with his parents to Hillsboro in 1836. Educated in the public schools and in the Hillsboro Academy, he soon entered business life ; was a mail clerk and the first mayor of Hillsboro after its organization as a city. He was also county clerk four years. In 1862. he went into the Civil War as captain of Company C, in the Seventieth Illinois In- fantry. After his return from the war he was deputy circuit clerk. He was a Knight Templar Mason. a Methodist, and we may say an all- around useful and successful citizen.

Among the most active and progressive old settlers of Montgomery County, was Jacob Cress, born in Indiana in the same year that Illinois was admitted to the Union. He was married to Helena Scherer iu 1840 and soon after their marriage they secured the large farm north of Ilillsboro. which has ever been known as the Cress farm. For more than sixty-five years this farm has been one of the most productive and beautifully located farms in the county.

Captain E. Taylor Sammons first saw the light of day in New York, in 1835. Coming to Illinois at the age of nineteen. he began a career which at this writing is still in progress. His wife to whom he was married in 1855, was a native of the county and came of a prominent family, the Boones. Mr. Sammons engaged in the trade of carpentering till the breaking out of the Civil War aroused his fighting blood to defend the Union, when he enlisted as a private in Com- pany D, of the One Hundred and Twenty-sixth Illinois Infantry, and advanced step by step till he was captain of the company. After the war Mr. Sammons served the city as postmaster one term. Mr. Sammons and wife have lived here so long, and been associated with so many of Hillsboro's industries and developments, that it is refreshing to talk with them with reference to the history of the county. These are only a few

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of the many that we would like to mention, not alone because of kindly remembrances, but be- cause their lives have been devoted to the up- building of the county and its enterprises.

MONTGOMERY COUNTY REMINISCENCES.

The following is written by William Bowles : "I came to Montgomery County in 1841, with my parents and first located three-fourths of a mile south of the present line of the Big Four Rail- road, at Litchfield. I was then thirteen years of age. In 1844, I went back to Madison County, from which county father had come, and stayed with him. That was the year of the 'Great Flood,' when the Mississippi was unusually high. The winter of 1843-44 was unusually warm and wet, till March, when a sudden and severe freeze came killing all kinds of vegetation which had already begun to grow. While at my uncle's I drove three yoke of oxen hauling cordwood and staves from the bluffs west of Edwardsville to Edwardsville. The staves were made into wine casks and shipped to Germany, by a company of Dutch coopers. After coming home in 1844, I soon determined to strike out and do for my- self, and with no money and well-worn clothes, I left home, and after wandering till seventeen years of age, I engaged myselť to William Jar- retto to blow for him in his blacksmith shop for $6.00 a month. I worked there six months. In June, 1846, I went to work for Godfrey Steifels, where I worked twenty-one days in the harvest field for $1.00 per day, which I regarded as a very big pay. With the fifty dollars which I saved, I determined to go to school, and hearing that Jack Crawford was teaching a school at Clear Springs, I obtained board with Oliver Lewey and started to school, but, owing to ague and fever I was not able to go a great deal. When summer came my money was gone and I was unable to work. I tried to get a place where I could work enough to pay for my board, and eventually Mrs. Andrew Briggs took me in and I worked for my board till she cured me of the chills with a concoction of herbs with enough of whisky to keep it from spoiling. It was nauseating and very unpleasant to take. I next went to work in the Iloxey settlement where I worked till I owned a horse, bridle and saddle and a government rifle. I was then as well off as any other young man of my ac- quaintance.

"After becoming very hot in exercising a

stallion for Alex West on the Evans farm south of Walshville, I became somewhat congested by cooling too fast, and brought on a spell of rheu- matism, from which I went to bed and could scarcely move for a long while. When I got so I could hobble around, all my earthly pos- sessions had gone and I had little strength and no work. However, I gained in strength and worked during the summer in the harvest field, and then went to Hillsboro, and with the aid of Riley Scherer, I got into the Hillsboro Academy, boarding with Prof. A. A. Trimper. This was in 1850. I sawed wood and did other odd jobs for my board and tuition. At the age of twenty when I entered the academy I did not know the multiplication table, had never studied grammar ; all I knew had been obtained from the 'blue back speller.' At the end of the school year I went to the Voluntine settlement, where I taught a three months school on probation. If I did not give satisfaction I was to have no pay, but I got the pay which was $50.00, raised by sub- scription. That was the extent of my schooling and teaching. On October 19, 1850 I married Mary A. Killpatrick, Rev. Moses Lemon perform- ing the ceremony. Soon after this I entered eighty acres of land and built a small one-room house on it, and on the 29th day of March, 1851, we moved into it which I think was the hap- piest day of my life."

We desire to add to the above, that at this writing both William and Mrs. Bowles are alive and hearty for their age, and that on November 25. 1916, MIrs. Bowles celebrated her eighty- ninth birthday by inviting a number of her old friends to meet with her and enjoy a meal pre- pared by her and her daughter Laura.

The history of Hillsboro Township, like that of all townships having a large town or city within its borders, becomes merged into that of the city of Hillsboro, in nearly all its enterprises, as well as its educational, social and religious interests. What would otherwise be rural cen- ters of influence and accomplishments in the various lines, become a part of the interest and advance of the city.

CITY OF HILLSBORO.

As has been related in a preceding chapter, Hillsboro grew out of a dissatisfaction on the part of the people of Montgomery County with the selection made by the first commissioners. of Hamilton, as the seat of justice. It was con-

LUTHERAN CHURCH, HILLSBORO

PUBLIC LIBRARY, HILLSBORO

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PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, HILLSBORO

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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY

tended that it was not properly located, and that in time the fact that it was not the geologi- cal center of the county might give rise to some of the endless controversies which have so dis- rupted some of the other counties of the state. Other reasons were also given as to the undesir- ability of Hamilton, and all of them proved co- gent enough to induce the state assembly to take action and an act was passed January 30, 1823, authorizing the re-location of the county seat, and the appointment of three new commissioners, who selected the site of the present city of Hillsboro.

LOCATION.

Hillsboro is beautifully located on high roll- ing ground, commanding a delightful view of the surrounding country. It is sixty-five miles north- east of St. Louis, and about 200 miles southwest of Chicago. It has a population of about 8,000, and for its size is one of the most important business centers of southern Illinois. Owing to the natural conformation. Hillsboro owes some of its present shape to artificial conditions, but enough of the original divisions have been left to afford a delightful change from the somewhat cut and dried appearance of many of the cities of this part of the country.

FIRST SETTLERS.

The first person to locate on what is now Hills- boro, was John Nusman, a German by birth, who after a period of residence in North Caro- lina, left that seaboard state for the wilds of Illinois. His cabin was erected on the site later occupied by the residence of Judge Rountree, now owned by his granddaughter, Etta Stubble- field and husband, and when the little county seat village grew up about him, he became one of its early mechanics, carrying on a wagon making business in a shop he also built. To John Nusman was born Eli Nusman in 1823. being the first white child born in the village. He died only a few years ago at the age of eighty-four, Mrs. Catherine Wise, a daughter six years younger, died in 1916.

As soon as the site was determined upon, the land properly entered and the town laid off, set- tlers began to flock in, and among those who may be numbered among the earliest were the Wrights. Joseph Miller, John Tillson, Lloyd Martin, David B. Jackson who built the first

frame house at Hillsboro, Hiram Rountree, James Rutledge and others. Mr. Jackson's resi- dence was later incorporated in the American House. He was one of the leading men of Hills- boro in its early days, being a merchant, tavern keeper, surveyor, owned and operated a saw- · mill, and took part in the public affairs of his day. Joel Wright, one of the first settlers, was the first sheriff of the county, serving from 1821 to 1826. James Wright, who was no relation to Sheriff Wright, was the son of Mrs. Wright, familiarly known to the pioneers as "Granny Wright." It is told of her that being a thrifty woman she often had corn to sell when others were out of that staple article of food. Realizing that those who came to her, needed the corn, she always asked a high price for the grain, but in order to square her conscience, insisted that the measure be heaped to overflowing, thus striking a fair average after all. She often used to laugh- ingly say that if the Devil ever claimed her it would not be for scant measure, although it might be for high prices.

John Tillson was the first treasurer, and his was no light task. for although he was not bur- dened by seeking investments for the surplus of moneys in his hands, he was kept busy trying to raise the scanty funds necessary for the conduct of county affairs. Mr. Tillson first located on the Scherer place some three miles southwest of Hillsboro, but after the county seat was estab- lished, came to it and built the first brick house in town. Although the house stood for many years, it was not considered a success as it was built of locally made bricks that were not of good quality. In addition to his other duties, Mr. Tillson served as the first post office official.

James Rutledge came to Hillsboro about 1825, and located on a lot later owned by George Pais- ley. As one of the first tavern keepers at Hills- boro, Mr. Rutledge became very well known throughout the county, and one of his sons, Dr. H. R. Rutledge became a dentist of Hillsboro, later moving to Springfield. where he died. Other early settlers will be given with their business ventures further on. Among those to come a few years later were: Joseph Eccles, A. H. Bell, George H. Richards, Edumond Fish, Dr. I. W. Fink, W. H. Brewer, James W. Bass, Levi Boone, Ira Boone, Daniel Lingofelter, C. B. Blockburger, Paul Walter, Frank H. Gilmore, John T. Maddox, and many others.

The city of Hillsboro remained without any corporation municipal government till 1855, when

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the General Assembly passed an act incorpor- ating the "Town of Hillsboro." The charter thus obtained was amended in 1867 and again in 1869. A previous act of the General Assem- bly made certain grants to the Hillsboro Acad- emy, and in the last act to the town of Hillsboro, authority was made therein for the merging of the academy's interest into the Town of Hills- boro.

SOME EARLY HILLSBORO BUILDINGS.

Aaron Rountree, writing nearly half a century ago of some of the landmarks of Hillsboro says in part :

"The architecture of the early days was not equal to that of today. Log cabins were the first residences." He then speaks of the first brick house ever built in Hillsboro in this way :

"Soou after Hillsboro was laid ont John Till- son built the brick house that was afterwards torn down and the brick used to build three dwellings near the depot."

That first brick house, according to Mr. Starr, was located on the rear portion of the land on which the Judge Lane property now stands, and the brick that went into it was made about where the Clint Dort property is now located. 'The brick was made under the direction of a Mr. Dickerman, a colored man doing the moulding and David Eddy building the house which was a two-story one. The three houses that were made of the brick are, the house now owned and occupied by W. H. Hayes, the house south of that, now owned by Mrs. Gilmore, and another that stood where Mr. Gilmore now lives, just south of the last mentioned, all in North Hills- boro. These houses are over fifty years old, and the brick in them are over ninety years old. When it is remembered that at the time this brick was manufactured, it was not considered to be of good quality, the thought arises that the pioneers must have been very exacting in their requirements not to have passed favorably upon the bricks that have withstood the storms of ninety years, and the wear of a tearing down and rebuilding.

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Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of Montgomery County, Volume II, Part 49

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