USA > Illinois > Warren County > Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of Warren County, Volume II > Part 25
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As originally constituted Warren county extended from the Fourth Principal Meridian to the Mississippi river, but by act of the Gen- eral Assembly of 1841 all the territory west of Range Three was detached and created into a new county with the name of Henderson. Both Warren and Henderson counties, like all others in the Military Tract, were named in honor of heroes of the War of the Revolution.
All the surveys in Illinois are made from three established lines, known as the Second, Third and Fourth Principal meridians. The Second Principal meridian runs due north from the mouth of the Little Blue river in Indiana; the Third Principal meridian due north from the mouth of the Ohio river; and the Fourth Principal meridian starts at the mouth of the Illinois river, follows the stream up to a point opposite Beardstown in Cass county, then runs due north. The Base Line extends from this point opposite Beardstown due west to the Mississippi river, and at right angles to the meridian. Townships lying west of the Illinois river are numbered north and south of this base line, and the ranges are numbered from the Fourth meridian, east or west, as the case may be. Each township is six miles square, or as near as the surveyors
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HISTORY OF WARREN COUNTY.
were able to get them so, taking all local dif- ficulties into consideration.
Warren county is located on the west side of the Fourth Principal meridian, the south- east corner being seven townships or forty- two miles north of the base line. The south- east township is therefore Township 8 north, Range 1 west of the Fourth Principal meridian. The county includes fifteen townships, num- bered 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12, in Ranges 1, 2 and 3 west, and is eighteen miles east and west by thirty miles north and south. When Hender- son county was a part of Warren the latter included all of Townships 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12, from the meridian west to the Mississippi river, making twenty-eight townships in all, five of them along the river being fractional.
Middle Henderson creek rises in Township 12 north, Range 1 west, (Kelly), in the north- east corner of the county. The headwaters of this stream cross or touch every section in the township, then run west through Spring Grove and Sumner townships into Henderson county, where the North Henderson, Middle Hender- son and Cedar creeks unite to form the Hender- son river, which empties into the Mississippi river. There is considerable timber along the line of the Middle Henderson. Cedar creek heads or rises a few miles east of the east line of Warren county, entering the county near the center of the east line of Coldbrook township. It runs a little north of west, sup- plied by many laterals, passing through Cold- brook and Monmouth townships, cutting off a little of the northeast corner of Hale town- ship, thence north and west through Sumner township, passing into Henderson county from Section 30 and uniting with the Middle Hender- son creek in the eastern part of that county. Talbot creek rises in the northeastern part of Coldbrook township and flows west to Sec- tion 9 in Monmouth township, where it empties into Cedar. David and John creeks rise in Hale township and flow north into Cedar in Sumner township. There is yet considerable timber along Cedar. South Henderson creek rises in the north part of Lenox township and flows west through Lenox and Tompkins town- ships, emptying into Henderson river a little way north of Gladstone in Henderson county. Another Cedar creek, and known in the early records very properly as the Cedar fork of the Spoon river, starts in Roseville and Lenox townships, then runs southeast and with its
laterals waters Roseville, Floyd and Berwick townships, Roseville being more broken land than prairie and with plenty of timber. The principal branch in Floyd and Berwick town- ships is known as Slug run. Ellison creek rises in the north part of Point Pleasant town- ship and flows northwest through Ellison town- ship and on through Henderson county to the Mississippi river. Nigger creek, as it is now known, but Negro creek as it is an the early records, rises in the west part of Roseville town- ship near the village of Roseville, passes in an easterly direction through that township, then south into Greenbush township and west into Swan township, then returns into Greenbush, uniting with Swan creek on the line between Sections 9 and 16. Swan creek has its rise in Point Pleasant township, flowing east through Swan township and into Greenbush, uniting with Nigger creek, and passing on in a winding course eastward, leaving the township and the county from Section 13. These two streams and their laterals supply water for stock in Greenbush and Swan townships all the year round. There is also plenty of timber along their banks.
There is coal along several of the streams of the county. The finest strata is along the Middle Henderson in Sections 23, 24 and 25 in Spring Grove township. The vein is forty- eight inches thick, with excellent roof, and is an excellent quality of coal. There is also some coal along the same stream in Kelly town- ship, one of the first coal banks in the county having been on Section 30 in that township. Along Cedar creek on Sections 13, 14, 23, 24 and 33 in Monmouth township, there is a vein ranging from twenty-two to twenty-eight inches thick of good soft coal but the roof is not of the best quality. There is coal on Sec- tions 32 and 33 in Tompkins township, but it is not now being worked. In Roseville town- ship there is coal on Sections 5, 6, 11, 12, 13 and 14.
Along the banks of Cedar creek on Sections 6 and 7 in Monmouth township, Section 1 in Hale township, and Sections 35 and 36 in Sum- ner township, there is a fine strata of lime- stone which has been worked and found to be good both in quantity and quality. Also on Cedar fork in the southeast part of the county, on Sections 14 and 23 in Greenbush, there is a rather soft sandstone, but good for building purposes.
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HISTORY OF WARREN COUNTY.
On Section 33 in Monmouth township has been found a valuable strata of tile clay, from which the manufacture of tile and sewer pipe has been carried on since 1875 by the Mon- mouth Mining and Manufacturing Company. Below the tile clay is a strata of fire clay of excellent quality.
Five railroad lines traverse the county: The main line of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy railroad from east to west through Coldbrook, Monmouth, a corner of Hale, and Tompkins townships; the Rock Island and St. Louis division of the same railroad, north and south, through Spring Grove, Monmouth, Lenox, Roseville and Swan townships; the Iowa Central railroad, northwest to southeast, through Sumner, Hale, Monmouth, Lenox, Ber- wick and Floyd townships; the Atchison, To- peka and Santa Fe railroad, from southwest to northeast, through Ellison, Tompkins, Lenox, Floyd and Coldbrook townships; and the Quincy branch of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy railroad, cutting off the southeast cor- ner of Greenbush township. Kelly and Point Pleasant townships are the only ones not touched by a railroad.
CHAPTER II
Early Settlement of the County-Isauc Galland the First White Resident-Murder of Daniel Harris-Prairie Homes Not Popular.
The early settlement of Warren county is closely linked with that of Henderson county, which, it will be remembered, was at first a part of Warren. The first of the pioneers as a rule settled along the streams and in the tim- bered regions, looking with little favor on the broad prairie lands which have proved such a factor in the development of the Great West.
Perhaps the first white man to make his home in the county was Dr. Isaac Galland, who located on the present site of Oquawka in what is now Henderson county, in 1827. He remained but a short time, selling his claim to Stephen S. Phelps, who came the next year from Fulton county, where he had resided since
1824 or 1825. Phelps established an extensive trade with the Sac and Fox Indians who oc- cupied this portion of Illinois and adjoining parts of Iowa, which was then a part of Wis- consin Territory. He was the first sheriff of Warren county and one of the original owners of the Oquawka townsite. He remained at Oquawka until his death about the first of Janu- ary, 1861. Soon after Galland came, Capt. Rezin Redman settled on Ellison creek, and in 1826 several new settlers arrived. John Camp- bell located a couple of miles east of Oquawka, James Ryason a few miles south, and Jeremiah Smith located on Henderson river east of Oquawka, where he built a sawmill, and later added a grist mill. Martin Woods settled at the mill later called Jack's mill, which was owned at one time by Andrew T. W. Jack, from whom it got its name. Daniel Harris was one of the early comers, and settled in a small cabin on Ellison creek. He was shot and killed in his own home on or about March 7, 1831, and his estate was the first settled by the Probate court of Warren county. He was found sitting at the table, with his head bowed over a bowl of soup, and it was supposed was shot through the window while eating a meal. His was per- haps the first death in Warren county; it was the first violent death at least and the first coro- ner's inquest was held over his body. More than twenty years after the murder a Cincin- nati paper told of the hanging of a criminal who on the scaffold confessed to the murder of Harris. He said he saw Harris draw a large sum of money from a bank in a New York town, and followed him through to this county to obtain it. He dressed himself as an Indian and shot his man as he sat at supper. He, however, failed to find any of the money on his person or in the cabin and left in dis- gust. Harris was from Toronto, Canada. He brought a lot of apple trees from Prince's nurs- ery at Princeton, and set out the first apple or- chard in the county.
Other early settlers in what is now Hender- son county, and whose names are found in early records, are: James, William R. and John C. Jamison, with their relatives, Abner and Gabriel Short, who came in 1829 and set- tled on South Henderson, about seven miles southeast of Oquawka; David Findley and his sons, who took up their homes in the same neighborhood the same year; James Ritchey, who settled near Biggsville; James Ryason,
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HISTORY OF WARREN COUNTY.
who located on South Henderson about the same time as the Jamison's or perhaps a little earlier; William Beatty, east of Oquawka in 1830; Joseph DeHague, a Frenchman, in the Gladstone neighborhood in 1832, but sold in 1837 to J. J. Brooks and built a tavern several miles south of his first home; John McKinney, at Salter's Grove in 1832; and a little farther south Amos Williams, Abraham Hendricks and Ezekiel Smith; Major James C. Hutchinson, east of Oquawka in 1833; John Gibson in Olena township in 1833; Frederick Davidson on Elli- son creek in 1833; Robert and Wilson Kendall at Olena in 1834, the former laying out the vil- lage of Olena, opening the first store and being the first postmaster there; Dr. Alpheus Lewis, the first physician to settle in Oquawka, in 1834 or 1835; Lambert Hopper, who erected a lumber mill near the present site of Biggsville, later adding a grinding mill; and Samuel L. McDill, Andrew Graham, Benjamin Thompson and Dykeman Shook, also in the Biggsville neighborhood.
Early in 1828, James B. Atwood settled on Section 27 in what is now Kelly township, so was the first white man to make his home in the territory now included in Warren county. The same spring Adam Ritchie and family came into the county, setting up their tent at the south end of Sugar Tree Grove on the farm later improved by Mr. Quinn, in Hale town- ship. They stayed here six weeks, when rumors of trouble with the Indians drove them back to Fulton county, where they had spent the previous winter. There they met with John B. Talbot, who with his mother and his cousin Allen C. Andrews, had settled in the north- east corner of Monmouth township in August, building a cabin with two rooms on Section 1, about eight miles northeast of Monmouth. Mr. Talbot offered Mr. Ritchie the use of one room in his cabin if he would occupy it that winter, and his offer was accepted. The next year Mr. Ritchie improved the property on Section 6 where the Olmsted mill was later built. With him came his brother John and his sis- ters Mary and Jane. Jane married David Findley, Sr., and they were the first couple licensed to marry in the county. Mary mar- ried James Findley, a brother of David, and they were the parents of Mrs. William Hanna, who still makes her home in Monmouth. With- in the next year or two Andrew Robison set- tled at "Robison's Point" in the southeast
part of Kelly township; Adam Ritchey, Sr., at Sugar Tree Grove in Sumner township; Field Jarvis and Cleveland Hagler at Ellison; Abra- ham Swartz, James Hodgens, the Kendalls, Gibsons and others north of Monmouth; some of the Kendalls at Center Grove (now Kirk- wood) ; Thomas Pearce and others near Ber- wick; James and Rolland Simmons at Green- bush; and in a very short time several settle- ments had been established. The early settlers and their homes are mentioned more particu- larly in the histories of the several townships in another part of this work. A 'large num- ber of the earliest pioneers came from Ken- tucky, some were from other parts of Illinois, some from Indiana, quite a number from Ohio, with some also from Pennsylvania, Virginia, New York and the Carolinas.
CHAPTER III.
The Act Creating Warren County-Attached to Schuyler, then to Peoria County-First Election Held July 3, 1830-The Officers Chosen - Tem- porary Seat of Justice.
Warren county was created by act of the General Assembly approved January 13, 1825, and bearing the endorsements of Thomas Mather, speaker of the House of Representa- tives; Adolphus F. Hubbard, speaker of the Senate; and the Hon. Edward Coles, the sec- ond Governor of the State of Illinois.
Section 1 of the act referred to defines the boundary of Schuyler County, comprising then what are now Schuyler and Brown coun- ties; Section 2 gives the boundary lines of Adams County, and Section 3 those of Han- cock county. Says Section 4:
"Be it further enacted, that all that tract of country within the following boundaries, to- wit: Beginning at the point where the town- ship line between townships seven and eight north touches the Mississippi river, thence east on said line to the Meridian; thence north
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HISTORY OF WARREN COUNTY.
on said Meridian line to the northeast corner of township twelve north, range one west, thence west on said township line to the Miss- issippi river, and thence down the said river to the place of beginning, shall constitute a county to be called Warren County."
Section 5 defines the boundaries of Mercer County, while sections 6, 7 and 8 do the same for the present counties of Henrv. Putnam and Knox, respectively.
Section 9 enacts "that it shall be the duty of the presiding Judge of the Circuit in which the counties of Adams and Schuyler are situ- ated to grant an order for the election of county officers, naming the day for said election, the judges, and the description of the officers to be elected, which day shall be on or before the before the first Monday in July next, and first Monday in July next ,and after the election of said county officers the counties of Adams and Schuyler shall be entitled to the same rights and privileges as other counties are."
Section 10 names the commissioners to carry out the provisions above, further defining their duties in locating the seats of justice, and naming the amount of their compensation, and how it should be paid.
Section 11. Be it further enacted, that the County of Hancock shall be attached to the . County of Adams for county purposes, and all that tract of country north of the counties of Schuyler and Hancock and west of the Fourth Principal Meridian shall be attached to the county of Schuyler for county purposes, until otherwise provided by law; Provided, however, that when it shall appear to the satis- faction of the Judge of the Circuit Court that any of the above named counties shall contain three hundred and fifty inhabitants, he is hereby required to grant an order for the elec- tion of county officers as described in the ninth section of this act.
"Section 12. Be it further enacted, that the several counties created by this act, shall be- long to the First Judicial Circuit, and vote for Senator and Representative as heretofore; and whenever any of the above-named counties shall be organized, the Governor shall appoint all the necessary officers, as in cases of vacancy by resignation or otherwise."
The act above placed Warren County with that of the present Schuyler County for county purposes, but subsequently it was joined to Peoria county. The thoroughfares between
this county and the city of Peoria were mere by-paths in many places, and in going to and from the Kickapoo and Spoon rivers had to be forded, which was a dangerous act during many weeks in the year. Discontent in pay- ing taxes to Peoria County, with no returns in the way of improvement of the roads or the construction of bridges hereabouts, caused an agitation for forming the independent county organization as contemplated in the foregoing act. Peoria County, however, was loath to re- lease the territory, and a commission from the County Court of that county reported but three hundred inhabitants in the area included in what is now Warren and Henderson counties. In the spring of 1830 a petition was circulated, and the statement made that the county con- tained the requisite number and some fifty people more. The claim of population was further backed by a report of a United States marshal that the required three hundred and fifty persons resided here, and the organiza- tion followed.
The petition was carried to Judge Young at Peoria by Daniel McNeil, who had a promi- nent part in public affairs in the county in the early years. He was a native of Hills- borough, New York, coming to this state in 1824, and to the Yellow Banks (now Oquawka in Henderson County) in 1830. He reached Peoria June 8, 1830, and found Judge Young holding court in a building sixteen by twenty feet in dimensions, situated upon the bank of the Illinois river near the lake. Judge Young granted the petition, and ordered a special election to be held at the house of Adam Ritchey, Jr., July 3 following, to organize the county and choose county officers. Mr. Ritchey lived near the center of population of the County in Section 11, in what is now Hale township. At the same time Judge Young called the election he also entered an order authorizing the organization of Knox and Mc- Donough Counties. The order for the election in Warren County was as follows:
"State of Illinois, Fifth Judicial District, ss.
The People of the State of Illinois, To all who shall see these presents, Greeting:
Whereas, By the ninth and eleventh sections of the act entitled, "An Act forming new Coun- ties out of the Counties of Pike and Fulton, and the attached parts thereof," approved January 13, 1825, it is made the duty of the Presiding Judge of the Fifth Judicial Circuit
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HISTORY OF WARREN COUNTY.
of the State of Illinois, wherever it shall be made to appear to his satisfaction that either of the counties of Hancock, Warren, Mercer, Henry, Putnam, and Knox contain three hun- dred and fifty inhabitants to proceed to or- ganize the same, and to grant an order for the election of County officers preparatory thereto; and
Whereas, It has been made to appear to my satisfaction that the County of Warren con- tains three hundred and fifty inhabitants and upwards, and inasmuch as the greater part of the qualified voters of the said county have requested, by petition, that the same be or- ganized with as little delay as possible, I do, therefore, in pursuance of the power vested in me, by virtue of the above-recited Act, order and direct that an election be held in and for the said County of Warren, at the house of Adam Ritchey, Jr., on Saturday, the third day of July, A. D., 1830, for the election of three County Commissioners, one Sheriff, and one Coroner, to serve when elected and qualified, in and for the County of Warren respectively, until they shall be superseded by persons who may be elected at the general election to be held on the first Monday of August next; and for the purpose of having this order carried into execution, I do hereby appoint John B. Talbot, Adam Ritchey, Jr., and Robert K. Hendricks, of said county, judges of said elec- tion whose duty it shall be to set up written or printed advertisements or notices of said election in at least six of the most public places in said county, inclusive of the place at which the election is hereby directed to be held, ( having a due regard to the situation and population of the different settlements), at least ten days previous to the said election, to the end that all persons may have timely notice thereof. The election to be ] held viva voce, between the hours of nine o'clock in the forenoon and seven o'clock in the after- noon of said day, and conducted, as far as may be practicable, in conformity with the Act en- titled "An Act regulating Elections," approved January 10, 1829; and, lastly, the said judges are to certify the result of the said election to the office of the Secretary of State, as soon thereafter as may be convenient, in order the persons who may be elected may be commis- sioned and qualified with as little delay as possible, and after the election of the said county officers I do hereby declare the said
County of Warren to be organized, and entitled to the same rights and privileges as the other Counties in this State.
Given under my hand and seal, at Peoria, this Sth day of June, A. D. 1830, and of the independence of the United States the fifty- fourth. Richard M. Young. Circuit Judge of the Fifth Judicial District of
the State of Illinois.
The election was held as ordered. John B. Talbot and Adam Ritchey, Jr., declined to serve as judges of the election, and the voters selected Sheldon Lockwood . and Peter Butler to fill the vacancies; so these two, with Robert K. Hendricks, conducted the election. The clerks were Daniel McNeil, Jr., and Stephen S. Phelps. Thirty-seven out of the forty votes in the county were polled, and John B. Talbot, John Pence and Adam Ritchey, Jr., were chosen County Commissioners; John Rust, Sheriff; and John Ritchie, Coroner.
Six days after the election, July 9, 1830, the County Commissioners held their first meeting at the house of Alexis Phelps at the Lower Yellow Banks (now Oquawka, in Henderson County ). Daniel McNeil was elected clerk, and the first order entered required him to file his bond. He did so, took the oath, and entered at once upon the duties of his office. Stephen S. Phelps was chosen County Treas- urer, and was directed to give bond in the sum of $1,000. He was also authorized to purchase "a small blank book" for the purpose of keep- ing his accounts as Treasurer. Mr. Phelps did not qualify as Treasurer, as he was elected Sheriff at the regular election in August, and on September 6 the Commissioners declared the office vacant and appointed Jesse Jamison to the position. He was therefore the first Treasurer of Warren County.
At the meeting July 9 the Commissioners se- lected the house of Alexis Phelps as the tempo- rary seat of justice. Two election precincts were created. Precinct No. 1 covered what is now Henderson County, and No. 2 what is now Warren County. The temporary county seat at the Phelps home was made the voting place in the First precinct, with Jeremiah Smith, James Jamison and Thomas D. Wells as judges of election; and the residence of James Hodgens, about one mile northwest of the present court house in Monmouth, was se- lected as the voting place in the Second pre- cinct, and the election judges named for it
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HISTORY OF WARREN COUNTY.
were Thomas C. Jennings, James Findley and James Hodgens. The returns of the special elec- tion were ordered sent "by some suitable and safe hand" to the Fulton County Court House Postoffice, to be mailed there to the Secretary of State at Vandalia, and that official was asked to send the commissions of the sheriff and the coroner to the same postoffice. The commis- sions were delayed, however, and did not arrive in time for those officers to enter upon their duties before the regular election in August.
The first regular election in Warren County was held on Monday, August 2, 1830, the first Monday in the month. It was the day of the general State election, and in addition to vot- ing for State officers, county officers were chosen. They were as follows:
County Commissioners-John B. Talbot, Peter Butler, John Pence.
Sheriff-Stephen S. Phelps.
Coroner-John Ritchie.
Justices of the Peace-John Pence and Daniel McNeil, Jr., for Precinct No. 1; and John B. Talbot and Adam Ritchie for Precinct No. 2.
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