USA > Illinois > St Clair County > Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of St. Clair County, Volume II > Part 14
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Later, the pioneers and their descendants in this precinct improved their lands and houses, erected modern school and church buildings, and bettered their condition and environments in every way. The precinct was organized June 5, 1839. The first election was held at the house of Robert Higgins, and the judges of the election were Nathan Arnott, Edward Tate, and John McCully.
The first land entries were made by Samuel Scott, Sr., and heirs of J. H. Moore, December 3, 1814; Hugh McClintock, September 17, 1817; Henry Carr, September 11, 1817; Balser Null, January 10, 1817; Thomas B. Talbot, Septem- ber 15, 1817; John Reynolds, Sr., December 21, 1818; James B. Moore, December 22, 1818. Before any government surveys had been made General John Edgar, the largest landowner of his day in Illinois, located claim No. 2209, and under his direction survey No. 607 was made, including 6,325 acres, November 20, 1798. Of this tract, 5,828 acres lay in this precinct, and is known as the "Tamarais Prairie tract." Ed- gar obtained the claim by buying up 400-acre head-rights, and the militia rights of men who did soldiers' service in 1790, by virtue of which each of said ex-soldiers or his assigns was en- titled to 100 acres of land. It is said that Edgar thus got possession of about 40,000 acres of the best land in Illinois. In the northeast- ern part of the precinct were located several claims like these, some of them extending into contiguous territory. Such were claim 992, survey 390; claim 350, survey 382, and survey 772, all selected in the years 1798 and 1799 and confirmed later.
There were in Richland Precinct formerly several villages: Georgetown, Smithton, Flora, Paderborn, and Douglas. Now, however, since the division into townships in 1884, Pader- born and Flora belong to Millstadt Township.
part of T. 2 N., R. 9 W., and part of T. 2 N., R. 10 W. Much of its territory is included within the city of East St. Louis. Officers in 1906: Supervisors-Le Roy Browning, C. A. Scherer, Robert Lowery, Max Oppenheim, D. M. Sullivan, Adam Harwell, Thomas L. Fekete, Jr., Patrick Kelley, Fred Stoppacher, Albert R. Erlinger, A. Cushenberry and Sam Youiss; Town Clerk-Thomas J. Williams; John Niems, Collector; Thomas Stanton, Police Magistrate.
STITES TOWNSHIP was organized from a part of East St. Louis Precinct and the northwest corner of Caseyville Precinct in 1886, and con- tains a fraction of T. 2 N., R. 9 W. Officers in 1906: C. B. Jones, Supervisor; George P. Doscher, Highway Commissioner; Andrew Bal- den, Sr., Town Clerk; Bob Monroe, Collector; William R. Arthur, Justice of the Peace; Sher- man Dolman and George Hicks, Constables; William Cooper, Police Magistrate.
CENTERVILLE STATION TOWNSHIP was organ- ized from French Village and Cahokia and parts of Caseyville and East St. Louis Precincts, and includes most of T. 2 N., R. 9 W., part of T. 2 N., R. 10 W., part of T. 1 N., R. 9 W. and part of T. 1 N., R. 10 W. Officers in 1906: Adolph Sanboeuf and William Rosselat, Su- pervisors; Joseph Dashney, Highway Commis- sioner; Daniel Koeningstein, Town Clerk; Jo- seph Mozer, Collector; Tony Vondrie and Wil- liam J. Gohn, Justices of the Peace; William H. Harris, Police Magistrate.
CASEYVILLE TOWNSHIP was organized from parts of Caseyville and O'Fallon Precincts and comprises congressional township 2 N., R. 8 W. Officers in 1906: William C. Elliott, Super- visor; C. C. Mees, Highway Commissioner; C. Schannel, Town Clerk; William Kersey, Col- lector; John B. Huddle, Police Magistrate.
TOWNSHIPS.
EAST ST. LOUIS TOWNSHIP was organized from parts of East St. Louis Precinct and includes
SUGAR LOAF TOWNSHIP was organized from a part of Centerville Precinct and embraces parts of T. 1 S., R. 10 W., and T. 1 N., R. 10 W.
716
HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY.
Much of its area is in the American Bottom. Its soil is very fertile, producing excellent crops of wheat, corn, oats and garden vegeta- bles. It is connected with the world at large by the following railroads: Mobile & Ohio, East St. Louis & Conlogue, the Belleville & Carondelet (now of the Illinois Central System), and the St. Louis Valley (a division of the Iron Mountain System). Stolle's stone-quarry, at Falling Springs, employing a few hundred men, produces limestone of excellent quality, some of which is crushed by a steam crusher and used for railroad ballast. The Meyer Iron Works, at one time the largest smelting fur- nace in the West, was erected in 1874-75 and was dismantled in 1884. While in operation it gave employment to 350 men and produced 120 tons of pig-iron daily. The Standard Ce- ment Company some years ago did a flourish- ing business. The plant is not far from Fall- ing Springs. The buildings still contain all machinery necessary for the manufacture of cement. This part of the county suffered from floods in 1844, 1858, 1876, 1878, 1883, 1892 and 1902. The greatest damage was done in 1892 and 1902, when thousands of acres of ripening grain and other agricultural products were totally destroyed. The destruction of levees also caused much damage to railways.
In the southwestern part of Sugar Loaf Township are several curious mounds. In 1874, John Eisentrout, while plowing over one of them, struck a pile of stones, and on exam- ining more closely, found an odd relic, a ves- sel of hard cement, about eighteen inches long, with the upper portion representing the head of a baboon, the base being in the form of an ordinary bust. At the top of the vessel is an opening as large as a silver dollar, in- dicating that it may have been used as a drink- ing jug. A photograph of it was exhibited at the Philadelphia Centennial in 1876.
In the western part of the township the peo- ple are chiefly of Canadian French descent, in the central and eastern part they are nearly all German. The township has ten public school buildings of modern construction. There are five churches-two Catholic, one Baptist, one Evangelical Lutheran, one Protestant. The old Catholic church at Cahokia, erected in 1740, is in a good state of preservation. It is constructed of cedar and walnut. The Cath-
olic church now in use at Cahokia and the Catholic church at East Carondelot are brick structures. The villages of Prairie du Pont, Bixby, Vulcan and East Carondelot are within the limits of this township and Cahokia is at its border.
Township officers, 1906: John F. Adelsber- ger, Supervisor; Charles Heseling, Highway Commissioner; J. L. Parrin, Town Clerk; John O. Gray, Collector; J. C. Thomas, Justice of the Peace; John Mayfield and Albert Enge, Constables.
STOOKEY TOWNSHIP .- This township was or- ganized from parts of Cahokia, Centerville and Belleville Precincts and comprises most of T. 1 N., R. 9 W. Stookey is practically a farm- ing community, with no town or villages. Pitts- burg is merely a railway station on the South- ern Railroad. In Stookey Township are also the Imbs elevator and the Phoenix powder-mill, which is owned by Eastern capitalists. Town- ship officials, 1906: Walter Eyman, Super- visor; John Schmartz, Sr., Highway. Commis- sioner; H. F. Betz, Town Clerk; Richard Rohr. Collector.
MILLSTADT TOWNSHIP comprises parts of Rich- land and Centerville Precincts and includes T. 1 S., R. 9 W., and half of T. 2 S., R. 9 W. Within its borders are Millstadt, a flourishing village, and Roachtown, Saxtown, Flora and Paderborn. Township officers, 1906: William Baltz, Supervisor; Henry Bruehle, Highway Commissioner; A. C. Kern, Town Clerk; Fred Krapp, Collector.
PRAIRIE DU LONG TOWNSHIP was organized from a portion of Richland Precinct and com- prises T. 2 S., R. 8 W. It is drainel by Rich- land Creek and west fork. Hecker is a ham- let near its southern border. Smithton, just over its northern line in Smithton Township, is a convenient trading point. Officers, 1906: Louis C. Miller, Supervisor; Henry Huber, Highway Commissioner; George Leilich, Town Clerk; Warren Hamill, Collector; George Tal- bot, Justice of the Peace.
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717
HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY.
CHAPTER XV.
PRECINCTS AND TOWNSHIPS.
(NORTHEASTERN.)
PRECINCT HISTORY- O'FALLON, LEBANON, SUMMER- FIELD, BELLEVILLE, SHILOH AND MASCOUTAH PRECINCTS-SOME NOTED PIONEERS-THE OGLES, LEMENS, BRADSBYS, THOMAS HIGGINS, REV. JOHN M. PECK AND OTHERS-SOME LATER COMERS TO LEBANON PRECINCT-PROMINENT CITIZENS OF GERMAN BIRTH-GENERAL HECKER, THE ENGEL- MANNS AND OTHERS-ITEMS OF LOCAL HIS- TORY-PRESENT TOWNSHIP ORGANIZATIONS AND OFFICIALS-SMITHTON, ST. CLAIR, O'FALLON, LEB- ANON, MASCOUTAH, ENGELMANN, SHILOH VAL- LEY AND BELLEVILLE TOWNSHIPS.
O'FALLON PRECINCT occupied the western half of T. 2 N., R. 7 W., and all but fifteen sections of T. 2 N., R. 8 W., including much of Ridge Prairie. The land is high, with undulating sur- face, drained by tributaries of Silver Creek, and the amount of well-watered timber and prairie on it made it attractive to the pio- neer in early days, as well as profitable for the farmer of the present day. The district contained about 15,600 acres of rich agricul- tural land, traversed by two railroads-the Ohio & Mississippi (now Baltimore & Ohio), and the O'Fallon branch, running from O'Fal- lon to Belleville. The precinct included por- tions of the present O'Fallon and Caseyville Townships.
The first known settlement in this precinct was made by the Ogles in 1802. Captain Jo- seph Ogle, whose ancestors were English, was born in Virginia in 1744, served in the Revo- lutionary War, and in 1777 was commissioned Captain of a company of Virginia troops. By his marriage to Drusilla Biggs he had five children: Nancy, Catherine, Prudence, Benja- min and Joseph. His wife died, and he later married Jemima Meiggs, by whom he had four children: Drusilla, Polly, Jacob and Je- mima, all born in Virginia. In 1785 he came with his family to the vicinity of Kaskaskia, now in Monroe County, and in 1802 settled two miles west of the present village of O'Fallon. Captain Ogle was an Indian fighter of recog-
nized ability, a man of little book learning, but of much practical knowledge, of sound judgment, bravery and possessed qualities of leadership. He was a member of the Methodist Church, brought slaves with him to Illinois, and there liberated them. He died on his farm in February, 1821.
Joseph Ogle, the son of Captain Ogle, was born in 1777, and came to thi's precinct with his parents. July 12, 1804, he married Lucinda Pulliam, daughter of John and Margaret Pul- liam, of Richmond, Va., who came west with her parents in 1795 and was, in her time, a prominent local worker in the Methodist Church. They had no children. Joseph Ogle was a soldier in the Black Hawk War, and a farmer well informed and influential.
Jacob Ogle, another son of Captain Ogle, came with his parents, married Elizabeth Te- ter, and very early settled two miles west of O'Fallon. He was a farmer, a Methodist, a Justice of the Peace for many years, and a man of influence in the community. In early days he and James Lemen built and operated a water-mill on Ogle's Creek, three miles north of O'Fallon-a crude affair, which did not suc- ceed well on account of insufficient water sup- ply. Later, Mr. Ogle Built a horse-mill on his farm, which was for many years patron- ized by the people of the settlement. He died on this farm. Two of his sons, George and Jacob, continued to live in this neighborhood.
Of the daughters of Captain Ogle, Nancy married Larkin Rutherford in Virginia, and came here with her family in 1785, but had no children; Catherine married the Rev. James Lemen in Virginia, came to Illinois in 1786, and reared a large family; Prudence married Peter Casterline in Illinois; Drusilla married William Porter in Illinois, and had a large family; Polly married General James Moore, of this State, but had no children; Jemima married Charles R. Matheny, an early resident of St. Clair County, later of Sangamon County, and died in 1858.
The Rev. David Badgley, a pioneer Baptist minister, born in New Jersey in 1786, came with his brother Anthony to Illinois in 1796, and settled first at New Design. In 1802 he came to St. Clair County and soon he located a three-hundred-acre "headright" on Section 3, T. 1 N., R. 8 W. Together with Rev. Joseph Chance, he organized the first Protestant church
718
HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY.
in the Territory of Illinois. He took a promi- nent part in organizing churches in the West, and died December 16, 1824. He left seven children-David, Ichabod, Job, Abraham, Ra- chel, Mary, and Elizabeth, all of whom had large families.
Anthony Badgley, brother of David, settled on Section 34, T. 2 N., R. 8 W., and had sev- eral children, all of whom were born before he came to Illinois, viz .: Hiram, Butler, Dia- demia (Mrs. David Aikman), Nancy (Mrs. Jo- seph Beer), Elizabeth (Mrs. Thomas Beer), Adelina (Mrs. William Abbott), all of whom are now deceased, leaving many descendants. An- other daughter, Eliza, married G. W. Dixon, and settled on Section 33, T. 2 N., R. 8 W. Both David and Anthony Badgley had been soldiers of the Revolution. Simeon, son of Anthony Badgley, was born in St. Clair County in 1805.
Besides the "Ogle" and the "Badgley Settle- ments," as they were called, there was also the "Lemen Settlement," in O'Fallon Precinct. The Rev. James Lemen, Sr., who was very prominent in early Baptist church history, came from Virginia to Illinois in 1786 and set- tled in what is now Monroe County. His three elder sons-Robert, Joseph and James-settled early in St. Clair County. Robert, the eldest son, born in Berkeley County, Va., in 1783, came to Illinois in 1796 and lived at New De- sign with his parents until he grew up. Then, in 1805, he married Hester Tolin and moved to Section 1, T. 2 N., R. 8 W., where he lived until his death, in 1860. He was of the genuine pioneer material-strong-willed, honest, of keen judgment, tireless energy and undaunted Christian faith. He was primarily a farmer, but for many years was Justice of the Peace, and, during the administration of John Quincy Adams, was appointed United States Marshal of Illinois. He was always a prominent Bap- tist, for a long time served as clerk of the Richland Baptist Church, and later was clerk of the Bethel Church from its organization in 1809 until 1845. He was the father of fifteen children, of whom three were living a quarter of a century ago-Gideon, a farmer residing in Madison County, southwest of Collinsville; Hester, widow of B. F. Bowler; and Emma, Mrs. Joseph Beedles.
Rev. Joseph Lemen, son of the Rev. James Lemen, Sr., was born in Berkeley County,
Va., in September, 1785, and came with his parents to New Design Settlement. He had what, at that time, was considered a good edu- cation, early became a Baptist, and eventually was ordained a minister of that denomination. He married Mary Kinney, settled on Section 1, of T. 2 N., R. & W., and had fourteen chil- dren, all of whom became workers in the church. Mr. Lemen was, for nearly fifty years, a devoted and active minister, preaching and organizing churches at different points from Iowa to Kentucky. He died in June, 1861, and was buried near his old home. Several years later, his wife, Polly K. Lemen, died. Six of his children, viz .: Joseph, a Captain in the Mexican War, and a Major in the Civil War; James, Isaac, Robert, William, and Elizabeth (Mrs. Charles Leslie), long survived him.
James Lemen, another son of the Rev. James Lemen, Sr., was born at New Design, in Oc- tober, 1787, and is believed to have been the second white child. born of American parents in the Territory of Illinois. He grew up on the farm, and studied, under the direction of Rev. John Clark, mathematics, the higher sci- ences, and theology. In early manhood, he was ordained a Baptist minister, and was the first ordained native preacher in Illinois. In December, 1813, he married Mary Pulliam, and settled on Section 1, T. 2 N., R. 8 W. They had eleven children. For over fifty years he did service as a minister, with his brother Joseph, supplying the pulpit of the Bethel Church, organized other early churches in the West, helped to ordain ministers, and gave liberally of his time and money to church work. He was a member of the last Territorial Legisla- ture when it met at Kaskaskia, of the Consti- tutional Convention of 1818, and of the State Senate at Vandalia during the sessions of the Second, Fourth and Fifth General Assemblies (1820-22 and 1824-28). It is claimed that he once received an informal ballot for United States Senator, but declined the office. He was always a Whig, while up to 1856 Illinois uni- formly went Democratic. Mr. Lemen died at his home on Ridge Prairie, February 8, 1870, and was buried in Bethel Cemetery. Of his chil- dren, four long survived him-James, Mary (Mrs. Stebbins), Robert and Joseph.
A little before 1800, John Porter came from Ireland to Illinois, settling first at Cahokia, and later in the Ogle settlement, where he lived
719
HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY.
the rest of his life. He had four sons-Wil- liam, David, Andrew and John-who left large families. In 1805, Dr. Joseph Oglesby, a Meth- odist minister, settled near the Badgleys, but later moved to Indiana. In 1806, the Rev. Charles R. Matheny, a Methodist minister, law- yer, and politician, a son-in-law of Captain Jo- seph Ogle, settled near the Ogles, but later moved to Springfield. Another prominent pio- neer was Henry Mace, born in the Shenandoah Valley, Va., in 1776, came to Kaskaskia very early and married Drusilla Andrews, whose fam- ily were killed by Indians. They had one child, Elizabeth, who married James Tolly. After his wife's death, Mr. Mace entered into a sec- ond marriage and had nine children, seven of whom grew to maturity: Susan, who mar- ried William Hilt, a soldier in the War of 1812; James, John, Catherine (Mrs. John Stites), Sarah (Mrs. Andrew Umberger), Lucy (Mrs. George Hart), and Christina, wife of J. B. Needles, a soldier in the Black Hawk War. Mr. Mace lived in Monroe County until 1810, when he settled in O'Fallon Precinct, on Sec- tion 19 of T. 2 N., R. 7 W., where he lived the rest of his life. He fought in the war of 1812.
The Rev. John Simpson was born near Lon- don, England, married Nancy Ann Ryder, and came as a Baptist missionary to America in 1780. At first he settled in Kentucky, but later moved to Monroe County, Ill., where he preached the gospel. Some of his children lived in St. Clair County. Nancy lived near Bethel Church in O'Fallon Precinct, and was married first to John Best and after his death to Patrick Hogan. Rev. Gideon Simpson, a Baptist minister and Captain in the Black Hawk War, settled at an early day about three miles north of Alma, and had a large family.
Rev. Joseph Chance, a Baptist minister, was born in Delaware in 1765, married Jemima Mor- ris and came at an early day to Kentucky. In 1794 he moved to the New Design settlement, and later to St. Clair County. In 1807 he set- tled in the northern part of O'Fallon Precinct, where he reared a large family.
Other early settlers in the precinct were: William Penn, David Sparks, David McFarland, Isaac Forman, Samuel Redman, who settled on Section 35 of T. 2 N., R. 8 W .; Abraham Clark, a soldier in the War of 1812; Samuel Dorris and Samuel Caruthers in 1811; John Hendricks in 1812; and the Stites family in 1818. About
1811, the settlers built a block-house near Alma for protection against the Indians; however, the Indians never seriously molested them.
The following are recorded as having en- tered land in 1814: James Lemen, Jr., and Daniel White, December 3; Charles R. Ma- theny, September 30; Henry Mace, December 21; Joseph Dixon, September 16; Joseph Ogle, March 7; Robert Lemen, August 12; William Phillips, September 29; Samuel Kinney, Au- gust 23; J. Enochs and J. Waddle, September 29; Jacob Ogle, September 29; Joseph Chance, August 2; George Dixon, August 13; Joshua Oglesby, September 13; John Messinger, Decem- ber 24; David Badgley, September 16; Anthony Badgley, August 13; Samuel Redman, Septem- ber 16.
Some settlers of a later date were: Merlin Jones, Sr., an active Baptist, a man of liberal education and a prominent citizen who settled southwest of Bethel church; Benjamin and Harrison Scott, brothers; John and Paul Kings- ton. The last four mentioned settled south of O'Fallon. In 1820 Joshua Begole, born of Huguenot parents in Washington County, Md., arrived in St. Clair County, having come by way of New York, Detroit, Cincinnati, and the Ohio River. In 1824, he was married to Mary Terry, by Rev. John M. Peck. He died March 2, 1874, leaving a widow, six sons, and three daughters. About 1800 Isaac Nearen, of Maryland, came to this State. He lived at first in Monroe County, then at Turkey Hill, then moved to Ridge Prairie, whence he removed to Iowa in 1840. Mr. Nearen was a soldier in the War of 1812. He married Nicene Gaskill, daughter of Jonathan Gaskill, from Vermont, who settled south of Lebanon in 1810, and had three children. Another pioneer was George Pousch, who settled on Section 11.
Among settlers of later days was Peter Bow- ler, who located with his family about four miles northeast of O'Fallon. He was an in- fluential Baptist, and was active in erecting Bethel church. He was industrious, capable, and a man of force. He died on his old place, his wife following him several years later. They had four sons: Benjamin F., who died in 1872; George W., a resident and Justice of the Peace of O'Fallon; William P. and John O. F., both of whom removed to Madison County. Among other old citizens who were still living in 1880 may be mentioned: S. S.
720
HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY.
Kirger, a blacksmith who came in 1821; John Eckert, who came from Pennsylvania in 1839; W. S. Scott, born here in 1836; G. W. Dar- row, born here in 1831; George W. Ogle, born here in 1818; William Simmons, born here in 1834; J. M. Ogle, born here in 1834; B. F. Beg- ole, born here in 1828; Mrs. Matthew Smiley, who came from Ohio in 1830; A. J. Cooper, born here in 1829; Mrs. Isaac Forman, who came from Kentucky in 1818; Warren Beadle, who came from Ohio in 1818; Levi Piggott, who came from St. Louis in 1836; Amos Stites, born here in 1830; Jackson Brake, who came from Ohio in 1818; William J. Rittenhouse, born here in 1833; Thomas P. Owings, born here in 1830; Mary Oglesby, born here in 1817 and died in 1879.
LEBANON PRECINCT included part of the west- ern half of the present Lebanon Township, the northeastern part of the present Mascoutah Township and practically the eastern half of the present O'Fallon Township. It was bounded north by Madison County, east by Summer- field Precinct, south by Mascoutah and Shiloh Precincts and west by Shiloh and O'Fallon Pre- cincts. It was drained by Silver Creek and its upper tributaries. Its general surface is rolling prairie and its soil was early found to be very productive. Lebanon was its principal trading and railway point.
It is interesting to note the pioneers who settled in these districts, as the history of a people is largely the history of the place where they abide. The first settlers in this precinct were the Bradsbys, who came from Kentucky in 1804, and were always strong, hardy, good citizens. Early in the spring came William H. Bradsby, the eldest son, with two other young Kentuckians, and located on Silver Creek, about three miles north of the site of Lebanon. In the fall, the father and the other members of the family came from Kentucky and settled on a farm permanently. The father taught school in the American Bottom, west of Collinsville, in 1806, and, in 1807, taught in the Turkey Hill settlement. His sons, William and James, were rangers of marked ability. William was a practicing physician in the locality, was elected a member of the Territorial Legislature in 1816, and later moved to Washington County.
The family of Thomas Higgins, from Bar-
ren County, Ky., relatives of the Brads- bys, came here in 1807. Thomas Higgins was of the good old pioneer stuff-strong, active, quick, discerning, and absolutely fearless, and especially distinguished himself as an Indian fighter. In 1814 he was one of a party of eleven men, under the command of Lieutenant John Journey, stationed at Hill's Fort, about eight miles southwest of the present Green- ville. One August morning, while following up an Indian trail, they fell into an ambus- cade prepared for them by a large party of Indians. At the first attack Journey and three of his men fell, and all but Higgins retreated to the fort. Failing to get away in time, he was left to fight the Indians single-handed. After he had long maintained a terrible con- flict in sight of the rangers in the fort, a Mrs. Pursely started, armed, to his assistance, put- ting to shame the other rangers, who finally came to his rescue and put the Indians to flight. Higgins received a full pension for his service. Later, he moved to Fayette County. He served as Sergeant-at-Arms of the State Sen- ate at the second session of the Fourth Gen- eral Assembly, held at Vandalia in 1826. He died in 1829.
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