USA > Illinois > St Clair County > Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of St. Clair County, Volume II > Part 15
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Also there were the Journey family, who were noted rangers and Indian fighters; Thomas and Josiah Shelton, who lived here before 1810; Julius and Pleasant Nichols, from Kentucky, who located southeast of Lebanon in 1807; Sam- uel and George McDonald, who settled south of Lebanon in 1807; Wiley Lovings; David, Isaac, Ezekiel and William Smith, and the Downings and Dunnavans along Silver Creek. Several freed negroe slaves settled here, among them Austin Lyons, John Titus, and John Shaves.
In 1810, Robert McMahon, from Kentucky, set- tled northeast of Lebanon. Late that year his house was attacked and most of his family were killed by Indians. He himself, with his daughters, was taken prisoner. He escaped and later ransomed his daughters. An account of this tragedy is given elsewhere in this volume. It is believed that others lived here before 1812; but their names cannot be ascertained. After the War of 1812, Simon Lindley, from Kentucky, a pioneer surveyor and Baptist preacher, fifty years old, of some education, settled here with his family of three sons- John, Joseph and Simon-and four daughters- Mary, Sarah, Anna and Elizabeth. John had
M. H. CHAMBERLIN
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HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY.
been a ranger in the war. The family later moved to Sangamon County. In the fall of 1814 there came from North Carolina through Tennessee the Townsend brothers, Edmond and Whitfield. Edmond had three children-Thom- as, John, and Nancy-who left no descendants. Whitfield had seven children: Alfred, Adeline, Elizabeth, Edmond, Nancy, Whitfield, and Wil- liam. Other early comers here were: Jesse B. Thomas, December, 1814; William Brazel, Jacob Tetrick, Abraham Baker, Henry White, and Joseph Penn, all of whom came in Septem- ber, 1814; Richard Vanarsdale, October, 1814; Gillis Maddeaux, September, 1814; William Biggs and J. Lunceford, December, 1814; Charles Wakefield, Zachariah Hays, Leaven and Wingate Maddeaux, David S. White, Robert Moore, and Miles Abernathy, all in September, 1814; Daniel Murray from Boston, John Thom- as, who came with his nine children-Mary, John, James, Catherine, Jacob, Elizabeth, Abra- ham, Calvin, and Emeline-from Virginia in 1817; and Nicholas Horner, who came from Maryland in 1817, and settled one and a half miles north of Lebanon, with his two daughters, Rachel (Mrs. Thomas Ray), Sarah (Mrs. David Chamberlain), and his sons, Nathan, John, and Charles. Nathan became a prominent merchant in Lebanon.
Noteworthy was John M. Peck, D. D., a Bap- tist minister, from Connecticut. He founded in this county, under the name of Rock Springs Seminary, the first literary institution in the State above the common schools. In 1831 this was removed to Upper Alton and became Shurt- leff College. Dr. Peck was also a writer of ability, especially in the line of history. His "Gazetteer of Illinois" was especially valuable to early emigrants. (See "Peck, John Mason," in Vol. I.)
William Nichols, from Kentucky, settled southeast of Lebanon in 1825. The Rev. Wil- liam L. Deneen, from Pennsylvania, who set- tled here about 1828, was a mathematician and civil engineer of note. He had three children: Sarah (Mrs. A. W. Metcalf), Risdon and Sam- uel H. Joseph Hypes came from Virginia in 1821; Dr. R. F. Cunningham, from Maryland, settled here in 1834; J. L. Sargent, from New York, came in 1821; W. E. Willoughby, from Delaware, in 1835; N. Perrin and H. P. Munie, from France, in 1831; Jeremiah Bennett, from North Carolina, in 1835; and Edward Luckner,
from Germany, in 1838. H. H. Horner was born in Lebanon in 1821; Thomas Moore was born here in 1825; Isaac Nichols, in 1816; A. J. Moore, in 1816; and William Darrow, in 1837.
SUMMERFIELD PRECINCT was in the extreme northeastern quarter of St. Clair County, oc- cupying the eastern two-thirds of T. 2 N., R. 6 W. It included the present Lebanon Town- ship and part of the present Mascoutah Town- ship. The surface is a gently undulating prai- rie, with rich soil, and drained by several small tributaries of Silver Creek. The Mobile & Ohio (formerly Ohio & Mississippi) Railroad runs through its territory from east to west. It was bounded north by Madison County, east by Clinton County, south by Mascoutah Pre- cinct and west by Lebanon Precinct.
About 1806, Nathan Chambers, the first set- tler, located on Section 33, in what was later known as Union Grove Settlement. About 1811 he built a blockhouse called "Chambers Fort," which was used by the people of the neighbor- hood as a refuge from Indian attacks. Mr. Chambers, who was a man of talent and re- source and a thoroughly capable pioneer, held a number of minor county offices in early days. Following is a list of some of the other prominent pioners: Robert and James Moore and John Broom; William Padfield, who came from Ken- tucky and settled here in 1815, had several sons -Thomas, William R., Henry, James R., Joseph, and Hiram-and was a prominent member of the Methodist Church in those days; Robert Farrar, Samuel and Alfred Ryle, Henry Hut- ton, John Dew, and Thornton Peeples, Dr. An- thony W. Casad, Edmond Randle, Malcolm John- son, Peter Wright, William Lunceford, Samuel H. Thompson. Several of these, including Dew, Dr. Casad, Samuel 'T'hompson and others, were Methodist ministers and men of much influ- ence in their day. Joshua Barnes was both a preacher and a teacher.
Among the men who settled north of Union Grove were: W. W. Roman, William Frazier, Michael Keith, J. McKee, John Lord, William Anderson, Joseph Schrougham, John Marney, Captain Morris, Preston Utley and James Pay- don.
The men here named entered land in this pre- cinct in 1811: Daniel Simmons, George Nich-
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HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY.
ols, Pleasant Nichols, Nathan Chambers, Fran- cis Swan, Robert Frazier, John Brown, John Nicholas and Henry Hutton. In 1830, John Wordsworth, from Clinton County, settled on Section 16. In 1834, G. H. Appel, from Ger- many, settled on Section 35. About 1834, John H. Calbreath (father of William Calbreath, born in 1825), settled on Section 11. James Whit- taker, a resident of the northern part of this precinct, was an early Associate Judge, and held a number of minor offices.
Very early in the history of the county, a log school-house was built at Union Grove, which for some time was the only school-house in the neighborhood. About 1820, a Methodist church was built here. This was burned by some unknown outlaws, but was later replaced by another building. In 1826 William Padfield built on Section 2 the first mill, an ox-mill, sixty by eighty feet, and five stories high. It was a grist and saw-mill, propelled by ten oxen. This mill, which was the largest ever known in this region up to that time, was pat- ronized by the settlers throughout a large ex- tent of country. Mr. Padfield had also a black- smith shop here, and a store was kept by Thom- as Padfield, opened in 1818.
In 1848, Frederick Hecker, who had woll great notoriety by his efforts in behalf of pop- ular freedom in his native country, arrived from Germany. A sketch of his life is given in another part of this work.
BELLEVILLE PRECINCT included the city of Belleville, all of the present St. Clair Town- ship and parts of Stookey, Shiloh Valley, Free- burg and Smithton Townships and, outside of the city, was devoted to coal mining and farm- ing operations. It was bounded north by French Village and O'Fallon Precincts, east by Shiloh and Mascoutah Precincts, south by Fay- etteville, Richland and Centerville Precincts and west by Centerville and Cahokia Precincts. Occupying comparatively high ground, it was drained by the headwaters of Richland, Du Pont and Loop Creeks. The history of its early set- tlement is given elsewhere and, in a way, all its history is identified with that of the city of Belleville and the townships above men- tioned.
SHILOH PRECINCT, which included a part of the present Shiloh Valley Township, formerly occupied that part of the northern half of T. 1 N., R. 7 W., west of Silver Creek. That stream and its tributaries furnish the water supply and drain the land. The land is roll- ing in some places, rugged and well-timbered along the streams; hence it was a favorable location for saw-mills, of which there were sev- eral in early days. The chief product is wheat.
Evidently Shiloh was settled before 1800; but who were the very first settlers cannot now be definitely ascertained, as many settled here only temporarily and moved away when other settlers came. The first permanent settlers were the Scotts, who settled here in 1802-sons of William Scott, who settled on Turkey Hill in 1797, among the earliest American families. William Scott had several children: James, born in 1772; William, 1774; Samuel, 1777; Jo- seph, 1781; John, 1784; Alexander, 1786; and Elizabeth (Mrs. Jarvis). The Scotts floated down the Ohio River to "Fort Massacre," and traveled overland to New Design, where they lived a few months, then settled on Turkey Hill, and, working together, opened a large farm.
James Scott married Sarah Teter, settled in 1802 in Shiloh Precinct, south of Shiloh Village, where he built a log cabin, and began farming and cabinet-making. He had seven children: Mary, William, Franklin, Sarah, Madison, Zeno and Philip. William and Sam- uel Scott, sons of William Scott, Sr., early set- tled west of Shiloh village. William married Mississippi Biggs, daughter of Judge William Biggs. Their children were: Nancy, George (who served in the Black Hawk war), William (who died), Margaret (died), Whitfield (who died on the way to California), and several who died quite young. Samuel Scott married Nancy, daughter of William Biggs, and had several children: Benjamin (killed by Indians, in the Black Hawk War), William (died in Missouri), John Milton (who became a State Supreme Judge), Harrison (who died), James, Eliza- beth, Sarah and Margaret. The three daugh- ters died.
Joseph, son of William Scott, Sr., married Nancy Harrison, a niece of General William Henry Harrison, of Ohio. She lived in New Design in 1800. Mr. Scott settled two miles
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HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY.
south of Shiloh in 1805, and in 1809 built a grist and powder-mill on a tributary of Sil- ver Creek. This was a log building and the machinery was propelled by an undershot water- wheel. For his powder he got nitre from the caves on the Gasconade River in Missouri, dur- ing the winters when the land was full of hostile Indians. His powder-mill was the first in the State, and furnished powder to the rang- ers and hunters, but never to Indians. In 1828 he built the first wool-carding machine in Belle- ville, where he settled in 1838, and was Jus- tice of the Peace for twelve years. Mr. Scott, who was an enterprising, industrious, upright man, a Whig in politics and an opponent of slavery, died in 1866. He had nine children: Mary (Mrs. James Parker-died), Felix (later lived in Belleville), Thomas (died young), Isaac (died), Joseph, Elizabeth (died), Sarah (died), Elias (died), and William (died in 1840). Alexander and John Scott lived in Belle- ville Precinct.
The Jourden family settled near Shiloh very early, and built a strong block-house enclosed with a palisade, which later fell to Silas Bank- son, and finally to Daniel Pierce.
Among the settlers here in the early part of the last century were: Joseph Dixon (in 1806), a hunter who made long trips to trade for furs and the like; William Adams, a blacksmith; Hugh and William Alexander, who located south- west of the village in 1811; David Everett; Mat- thew Cox, a son-in-law of William Biggs; two William Calbreaths (cousins) ; John Middlecoff, on Silver Creek; Joseph Griffen, Sr .; James Mc- Cann; Henry Isballs; Josiah Hawkins; the Prentices; Deacon Crocker; William Moore; Benjamin Watts; Walter Westfield; and Daniel Pierce, from Pennsylvania, Section 8. Pierce had seven children, of whom Hiram later became a leading man in the district. The elder Pierce died in 1846. There also came Ira Man- ville, who was born in 1795, and removed from Pennsylvania, first settling in Kaskaskia, and later in New Athens, where his father, Ira Manville, kept a ferry until his death in 1821. Ira, Jr., served in the War of 1812 and in 1822 moved to Shiloh Precinct. In 1814, among others mentioned in records of land entries here, we find Silas Crane, William Biggs, Mat- thew J. Cox, William Kinney and William Adams.
In 1822, besides many of those already men-
tioned, the following were among those who lived in Shiloh Precinct: Robert and James Thomas; Robert Hughes; David, Hugh, and William Alexander; James McCann, Louis Lar- amie, David Paine, Joseph Land, Ebenezer Harkness, Isaac Swan, the Rev. William Moore, Stephen Cooper, the Scotts, the Simonses, the Ricketts, Samuel Allen, David Everett, Jesse and David Walker, Ebenezer Allen, a Revo- lutionary soldier who died in 1828; William Parker, Samuel Tozer, Anthony Thomas, Daniel Willbanks, Jerry Black, Benjamin Woods, Joshua Winters, James Park and Peter Wright.
The earliest German settlers in this precinct were the Michel family, Henry Knoebel, who settled on Section 3 in 1833, and Peter Weil, who settled on Section 11 in 1837.
In 1831, S. G. Clark came from Tennessee and settled on Section 15.
Very early the first school-house, a log cabin, was built on the premises of H. A. Pierce, op- posite the site of the later Cherry Grove school- house. There was also a school-house on the site of Shiloh Village. The Rev. Mr. Clark, a Baptist minister, was an early teacher.
In 1818, a postoffice was established at Cherry Grove, with Daniel Willbanks as Postmaster. In 1845 this office was removed to Shiloh.
James McCann erected the first mill, a horse mill on Section 2; Hugh Alexander, a saw and grist-mill, with a distillery connected, on Sec- tion 4, and Daniel Pierce early operated an ox- mill and distillery.
MASCOUTAH PRECINCT included parts of Mas- coutah, Engelmann, Freeburg and Shiloh Val- ley Townships. It was bounded north by Shi- loh, Lebanon and Summerfield Precincts, east by Clinton County, south by St. Clair and Fay- etteville Precincts, and west by Fayetteville and Belleville Precincts. Silver Creek flowed south through the precinct, another small creek, ris- ing near its northeast corner, drained the east- ern portion, and the Kaskaskia River flowed along a portion of its southern border. The town of Mascoutah occupied the geographical center as nearly as that point can be located off hand.
The first settlers came from Kentucky, North Carolina and Virginia as early as 1810, and fixed their habitations along the timber edges near
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HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY.
Silver Creek. These settlers came on horse- back, bringing their little furniture and house- hold goods on pack-horses. Old Fort Peters- burg stood on the east bank of Silver Creek on Section 24. Near this site, in 1810, James Anderson, Sr., built his first cabin, but two years later moved to an adjoining section with his three sons-James, Martin, and Abraham- and died there about 1835. James, Jr., became prominent, was a County Commissioner and a Captain in the Black Hawk War, and later moved to Missouri.
About 1810, Robert Abernathy settled on Sec- tion 9. His son Miles settled a little east of him in 1815, and put up a cotton-gin-the first in this part of the country-which proved use- ful to the farmers for miles around. It is interesting to us, now that this phase of agriculture is so rare here, if it exists at all, to know that in those days many farmers raised each as much as four or five acres of cotton every year.
In 1810 or 1812, Job Van Winkle settled here and, in 1814, entered Section 8. About the same time James Bankson and Thomas Crocker came and each entered 160 acres of land. Bankson settled on Section 12 and built his cabin near Silver Creek, while Crocker set- tled on Section 18. In 1814, Thomas Knighton settled on Silver Creek, on Section 25. De- cember 24, 1814, Jonathan Gaskill settled east of Knighton, and some days later James Gil- breath settled on Silver Creek, one-half mile south of Knighton. About the same time Wil- liam Rittenhouse and Joshua Clark came and Lemuel Dupuy three years later, settling in Mascoutah Precinct in the part that is now Freeburg Township.
Late in 1814 came John Steel and settled in the western part of the precinct. In Janu- ary, 1815, Isaac Quick settled a short distance east of Rittenhouse. Ten years later he sold his land to Moses Hering. The latter later be- came a Mormon, and in 1837 left for the Mor- mon settlement in Missouri. Paul Zugweiler bought his land and settled on it.
In 1810, Brice Virgin, from Kentucky, set- tled a short distance southwest of the present site of Mascoutah, where he resided until his death. His sons, William, Hiram, and Brice, settled near him. William Virgin was a sol- dier in the War of 1812, a government ranger up to 1815, and a soldier in the Black Hawk
War. He died in the old settlement in 1855. Some time before 1824, Green Baker settled on Section 9, and as early as 1818 William Mc- Nail settled on Section 35. He had been a ranger in the War of 1812, and lived in this section until after 1847, when he moved to Washington County, Missouri. His son Wash- ington settled south of Mascoutah in 1832, and left for Missouri with his father in 1847. John Ward and James Reed settled here in 1818. In 1810, Simeon Wakefield settled near Strass- burg, but moved to Iowa in 1855.
About 1828, John Jackson, born in this county, settled south of Mascoutah, but moved to Missouri in 1835. In 1830 Major H. G. Brown, who had served in the Black Hawk War, Jarvis Jackson and George Raybill were the only settlers on the Shawneetown road, be- tween Middleton's Ferry, on the Kaskaskia, and Silver Creek.
In 1825 Joseph Land settled southwest of Mascoutah, where he improved a farm, but aft- erwards moved to Mascoutah. Moses Land, his father, was a pensioner for services in the Rev- olutionary War, and for many years drove in a one-horse wagon to Kentucky each year to re- ceive his pension.
In 1812, William Padfield came from Ken- tucky and settled in the northern part of this precinct, where he resided until his death in 1848. He had twelve children. Henry Hut- ton settled north of Padfield's place in 1810. The northeastern part of the precinct, which- according to the old settlers-was a very de- sirable hunting ground, traversed by large droves of deer in early days, was not settled before 1830. In 1833, George Swaggard, born in what is now East St. Louis in 1821, came here to live.
In 1831, Elisha Bagby, with his widowed mother, Mrs. Nancy Bagby, bought 160 acres and settled three miles west of Mascoutah, on a tract of land later owned by Henry Staub.
In the 'thirties came the German settlers, many of whose descendants are now promi- nent citizens. Among these were John and Balthazar Knobloch-the former in 1831 and the latter in 1832; Peter Fries, a noted hunter, who later kept a hotel in Mascoutah, and John Barth, Jr., in 1835, with his wife and five chil- dren. In 1837 Philip H. Eisenmayer came to Mechanicsburg, and in 1839 went back to Ger- many, but soon returned to America with his
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HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY.
brothers, Conrad and George. Fritz Hilgard, Chris. Heimberger, Conrad and the three Eisen- mayers were the first Germans to settle in Mas- coutah village. In 1839, George Eisenmayer bought sixty acres of land, which now make up his addition to Mascoutah-the land be- tween the depot and the business part of the city-at $6 an acre. The Eisenmayers have always been public-spirited and prominent citi- zens of Mascoutah. Philip Eisenmayer was Mayor of the city.
TOWNSHIPS.
SMITHTON TOWNSHIP is bounded north by St. Clair Township, east by Freeburg Township, south by Prairie du Long Township and west by Millstadt Township. It was organized from parts of Belleville and Richland Precincts and includes T. 1 S., R. 8 W. It is drained by the headwaters of Richland Creek and is made up of excellent farming land. Its trading points are Smithton, on its southern border, and Freeburg, Millstadt and Belleville, the three latter all being outside its boundaries. The township officers in 1906 are: A. A. Miller, Supervisor; G. G. Bock, Highway Commission- er; William T. Kung, Town Clerk; William Brenner, Sr., Collector; H. T. Frien and A. M. Carr, Justices of the Peace, and George Lan- nert, Constable.
ST. CLAIR TOWNSHIP was organized from part of Belleville Precinct, and consists of congres- sional township 1 N., R. 8 W., except so much of it as is included in the township and city of Belleville. It is bounded north by Caseyville Township, east by Shiloh Valley Township, south by Smithton Township and west by Stookey Township. It is drained by the head- waters of Richland Creek and other small streams, and is a profitable region for the farmer. Extensive coal-mining operations are carried on within its borders. Here may be said to be the railway center of the interior of St. Clair County. Township officers in 1906: Adolph J. Fehr, Supervisor; Alpheus Boling, Highway Commissioner; John Mann, Town Clerk; Louis F. Merker, Collector; August Ver- nier and L. F. Duitchmann, Justices of the Peace; Herman Bartel, Constable.
O'FALLON TOWNSHIP .- O'Fallon Township in- cludes T. 2 N., R. 7 W., and was organized from what was originally a part of Lebanon Pre- cinct. It is bounded north by Madison County, east by Lebanon Township, south by Mascou- tah and Shiloh Valley Townships and west by Lenzburg Township. It is drained by Silver Creek and some of its tributaries, including Ogle Creek. Farmers are prosperous here and coal-mining is carried on quite extensively. The village of O'Fallon, in O'Fallon Township, and Lebanon City, just over the line in Leb- anon Township, are convenient trading and shipping points. Township officials in 1906: Rudolph Ochs, Supervisor; George Schildnicht, Highway Commissioner; William Reiss, Town Clerk; George C. McGee, Collector; Horace Simmons, Justice of the Peace; Winfield S. Bowler, Police Magistrate.
LEBANON 'TOWNSHIP is the northeastern town- ship of the county, having Madison County for its northern boundary, Clinton County on the east, Mascoutah Township on the south and O'Fallon Township for its western boundary. It was organized from portions of Lebanon and Summerfield Precincts and includes T. 2 N., R. 6 W. It is made up of good farming land, watered by small tributaries of Silver Creek. Summerfield, south of its center, a good rail- road town, is an advantageous shipping and merchandising point. Lebanon, on its west- ern border, is a trade center of importance and is famous as a seat of learning. Township officers, 1906: Louis Zerweck, Supervisor; John Hahrein, Highway Commissioner; C. L. Robinson, Town Clerk; John Widdeus, Collect- or; Adam Schmald, Police Magistrate.
MASCOUTAH TOWNSHIP, organized from parts of the original Mascoutah Precinct and Fay- etteville Precinct, includes T. 1 N., R. 6 W., and part of T. 1 S., R. 6 W., and is bounded as follows: North by Lebanon and O'Fallon Townships, east by the county line, south by Engelmann and Freeburg Townships and west by Shiloh Valley Township. Mascoutah City, in the southwest corner of the township, is one of the most noteworthy towns in the county.
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HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY
At the present time Mascoutah City has a population of about 2,500. The land of Mas- coutah Township, drained by tributaries to Sil- ver Creek and the Kaskaskia River, richly re- pays the labors of the farmer. Township offi- cers, 1906: Peter W. Lill, Supervisor; Ger- man Frey, Highway Commissioner; Charles Stock, Town Clerk; Emil Pfiefer, Collector; Ju- lius C. Bocquet, Justice of the Peace; John Scharth, Constable; John H. Anderson, Police Magistrate.
BELLEVILLE TOWNSHIP, embracing the city of Belleville, lies south and west of the center of T. 1 N., R. 8 W. It was organized from Belle- ville Precinct and is surrounded by St. Clair Township, its area being identical with Belle- ville City. Township officials, 1906: John Schultz, John Voegtle, Louis Tiemann, August Barthel, Henry J. Frick, John Wamser, and John Bauth, Supervisors; Gustave Bienecke, Town Clerk; Henry Dietrich, Collector; Fred E. Evans, Police Justice; B. Lantz, Peter Jaf- fray, William C. Hess, Gustavus Klanne and Henry Yiek, Constables.
ENGELMANN TOWNSHIP .- Formed from parts of Mascoutah and Fayetteville Precincts, Engel- mann Township includes most of T. 1 S., R. 6 W., and is bounded on the north by Mascoutah Township, on the east by the county line, south by Fayetteville Township and west by Free- burg Township. The Kaskaskia River, flowing along a portion of its southern border, with one of its tributaries, affords excellent drain- age and enriches otherwise good farming ter- ritory. The township is occupied entirely by a community of farmers and stock-raisers. It was probably named for Hon. I'neodore Engel- mann, one of the most prominent of the early settlers. The township contains no villages or churches.
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