USA > Illinois > Warren County > Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of Warren County, Volume II > Part 32
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TRACY & RENY.
THE DEEP SNOW.
The winter of 1830-31 was known all over this section as the "winter of the deep snow." At one time about two and one-half feet of snow fell, followed by rain which covered it over with a glare of ice. Another snow made it three feet deep on the level, and for six weeks there was an embargo on all travel. There were no roads and crossing the prairies in the snow was not safe. The hollows were filled to the level, and
.
726
HISTORY OF WARREN COUNTY.
one was liable to get beyond his depth. The wind blew the snow all the time, and the wagon or foot tracks were filled up almost as soon as they were made. When the spring rains came, the deep snow melted, and the small streams of the country were turned into raging floods. The spring was a fine one, and the settlers ploughed and planted corn and made gardens. The crops, however, were almost a failure on ac- count of a remarkably cold summer. Corn did not ripen and was so soft that water could be squeezed from the ear and cob with the hand. The next winter a rain and freeze covered. the whole surface of the county with a sheet of smooth ice, and travel was largely on skates. Toward spring a heavy snow fell and there was a period of magnificent sleighing.
CHAPTER XIX.
Data Concerning the Weather, Compiled from the Records, by D. J. Strang, Voluntary Observer of the Government Weather.Bu- reau at Monmouth.
Like every other place, Monmouth has climate and weather, but not being a watering place or a health resort we are not in the habit of bragging about them. As far as I can ascer- tain, meteorological instruments were first re- ceived for furnishing reports to the Depart- ment of Agriculture about twenty years ago, but I have not been able to find the earlier rec- ords. The present instruments were turned over to me by Prof. S. S. Maxwell in the win- ter of 1893. Eight years seem a short time in the history of a community that has been set- tled for over seventy years, but it is the best I can do. I know that in the past thirty years the thermometer has gone lower than at any time noted in the reports below, and possibly there have been greater storms, but I can not give the dates.
The reports from which the following synop- sis is condensed seem to show that we have had about the average weather of the State, or at least the "northern section," which lies
north of a line crossing the State between Knox and Fulton counties. The temperature only varies a few degrees and the difference in rain- fall has seldom been over an inch. Only four times has Monmouth been referred to in the summary of the State reports as having ex- ceptional weather. Twice the monthly rainfall was the lowest in the State; once our tempera- ture was the highest, and once the rainfall was excessive.
JANUARY.
TEMPERATURE.
PRECIPITATION.
' Rainfall .*
YEARS.
Averages.
Highest
Temperature.
Lowest
Temperature.
Amt. in in.
and hundr'ths
Storms.
Snowfall in in.
trace, is less
than a tenth).
1894
26.3
64
-20
1.78
1.18
19
2.7
1895
17.4
49
-15
1.42
1.10
26
12.
1896
27.5
53
- 7
1.10
.62
22
1.8
1897
21.6
63
-19
5.14
1 89
2
8.2
1898
27.0
47
1
2.80
.79
25
23.2
1899
23.6
48
-16
.18
.10
4
3.
1900
28.4
55
-
9
1.73
.95
17
1.2
1901
26.6
55
-
4
1.13
.49
10
1.2
FEBRUARY.
1894
24.1
54
-1
1.35
.75
13
7.7
1895
17.5
67
- 22
.17
.15
27
1.7
1896
27.8
65
- 7
1.35
.64
12
13.
1897
29 2
51
- 5
.82
.30
20
4. 7
1898
27.
57
-10
1.48
.78
19
6.8
1899
10.5
54
-25
1.37
.70
26
1.8
1900
19.4
53
- 6
2.92
.78
4
14.4
1901
17.
41
-- 13
1.19
.60
3
12
MARCH.
1894
47.3
80
2.22
1.45
5
5.
1895
37.9
84
8
.85
.53
31
4.2
1896
34.6
74
8
.68
1897
30.9
69
6
2.63
.76
23
12.3
1898
41
64
18
3.65
1.44
27
3.8
1899
30.7
64
-
3
3 05
.91
17
11.
1900
31.2
62
--
1
2.10
.83
5
3.4
1901
36.2
69
·
5
2.00
.92
10
1.8
APRIL.
1894
55.8
90
29
2.10
.90
9
.0
1895
53.1
91
91
2.54
1 00
11
1.0
1896
58.
85
4.50
1.40
8
1.5
1897
49.6
80
27
3.25
1.45
1
.0
1898
49.2
81
21
2 73
96
13
.0
1899
51.6
87
10
2 65
.91
26
1.0
1900
52.2
85
26
1.01
.48
16
1.5
1901
48.4
90
23
1.23
.48
16
trace
MAY.
1891
61.4
89
32
2 10
.81
9
1895
62.8
91
25
2.04
.62
4
---
1896
68.4
90
45
4.76
1.28
18
---
1897
59 4
85
32
94
.34
26
1898
60.8
88
38
6.60
1.35
19
1899
61 6
85
39
6 85
1.19
26
1900
64.
89
22
2.93
.43
19
1901
61.
89
33
1.28
,35
5
-
Greatest
Dates.
and tenths (a
.35
5
4.9
.
727
HISTORY OF WARREN COUNTY.
JUNE.
1894
71.3
98
33
2.04
.90
--
1895
73.2
95
47
2.97 3.56
.99
1897
71.
98
38
2.00
.68
23
1898
72.2
93
50
4.67
1.13
7
1899
72.
92
44
1.24
20
1900
70.7
95
45
.82
.73
26
1901
73 2
100
41
4.96
1.40
1
JULY.
1894
75.8
105
43
1.02
.94
28
1895
71.2
99
40
5.30
1.39
27
1896
73.8
95
43
5.79
1.38
19
1897
76.1
96
53
5 26
2.46
4
1898
74 2
98
45
1.50
.53
7
1899
74 8
98
47
1.49
.56
4
1900
72.4
97
50
2.65
.84
24
1901
80.4
107
47
5.44
3.04
2
AUGUST.
1894
73.4
103
44
2.00
1.08
17
1895
73 8
97
48
3.14
1.80
23
1896
79.4
95
44
6 68
3.35
15
1897
70.2
96
40
.65
.53
4
1898
72.
93
50
9.27
4.90
16
1899
75.
98
50
3.27
1.00
5
1900
79.
100
58
4 23
1.26
13
1901
71.3
96
47
.37
.24
17
SEPTEMBER.
1894
66.5
96
37
5.61
3.14
14
1895
68.
94
31
4.26
1.79
25
1×96
61.1
90
29
6.02
2.01
11
1897
71.6
99
35
2.78
1.78
16
1898
67.8
92
41
7.15
2.43
6
1899
64.
102
18
2.26
.92
8
1900
67.6
94
5.81
3.58
19
1901
64.1
98
32
3.00
1.42
14
OCTOBER.
1894
55.4
82
25
1.16
40
2
.0
1895
48.5
13
.78
.46
6
.0
1896
49.8
21
1.76
.80
29
.0
1897
59.1
93
30
.13
.11
11
.0
1898
49.6
85
20
2.34
.98
25
2.6
1899
58.4
90
28
2.38
.81
26
.0
1900
60.
87
28
2.86
1.62
7
.0
1901
52.1
85
26
1.03
.51
8
.0
NOVEMBER.
1894
37.1
69
7
1.52
1.11
2
trace
1895
37.
4.4
1896
37.6
33
1
.81
.21
3
1.3
1897
38.4
73
2
1.87
.90
9
trace
1898
35.6
69
-
4
1.53
.50
4
5.4
1899
46.1
71
.65 2.27
1.49
18
2
1901
37.8
69
87
.41
3
trace
DECEMBER.
1894
31.
55
-
4
1.49
.80
10
trace
1895
29.1
59
1
4.81
1.66
17
1896
31.
63
3
.35
.25
17
4.
1897
29.6
55
8
1.69
.59
4
7.6
1898
24.7
55
7
.47
.28
22
1.
1899
25.8
- 6
1.42
.92
11
2.
1900
27.
55
4
.25
.25
23
.5
1901
22.2
54
-- 16
.70
.38
13
1.6
YEARS.
1894
52.1
24.39
1895
49.1
30.44
1896
51.2
37.85
1897
51.1
25.14
1898
50.1
44.45
1899
50.
27.13
1900
50.8
--
1901
48.4
22.33
*In the winter months this includes melted snow. 10 in. of snow generally meltsinto 1 in. of water.
CHAPTER XX.
Early Homes in Warren County-Old House Erected by John B. Talbot Early in the '30s Still Standing-Some of the Old Residences in Monmouth.
[By Mrs. Emma Roberts Hubble. ]
The history of a county is a compilation of the biographies of its men and women. They penetrate the wilderness, clear the land and cultivate the soil; they build cities, make events; events make history. The crude early life of the West developed depth of character which found expression in the artificial environ- ments with which men and women surrounded themselves, and left its strongest impress on the home. Changes have come with the years, bringing phases and conditions of life un- dreamed of by our forefathers. The old homes are gone, but the sturdy faith, the love and devotion which made them, still invest the old locations, making them very dear to us. The log cabin is a thing of the past, and in its place stands a mansion. The story told is one of progress.
Edward Everett Hale says it was an advan- tage to Plutarch that he wrote several cen- turies after the men he described had died. Plutarch, writing in an age when manuscripts were not only difficult of access, but costly, called not these things obstacles, for he gath- ered facts from the minds of men. The ancients gave special attention to training the memory, in order that history might thus be transmitted from generation to generation. When printing was invented, this system became one of the lost arts, since which time history necessarily has not recorded the minutes of daily life-the struggles in the fight for existence, which ought to stand as milestones for posterity. Not even one century, but only a few decades have passed since Indians dwelt on the peaceful prairies of Warren county, yet the records of our early homes exist only in the minds of a passing generation. Monmouth is peculiarly rich in beautiful homes, whose history would fill vol- umes, but this sketch, limited to a few pages, must necessarily deal only with the oldest homes and those inseparably interwoven with the history of the city.
21
3.
1900
37.3
67
8
29.14
1.61
17
1896
70.
91
44
2.06
1.05
6
.33
The first white settlers in Warren county
728
HISTORY OF WARREN COUNTY.
were John Talbot and his mother, of Ken- tucky. In the spring of 1827 Mr. Talbot and his cousin, Allen G. Andrews, came from Ken- tucky on horseback to see the land which they had acquired through a trade in New Orleans. On reaching Peoria, then only a mission, they remained over night with Father Marquette, a French Catholic priest. He loaned them fire- arms, which were returned to him as the trav- elers made their homeward journey. The next year John Talbot and his mother moved here, and built a log cabin two and one-half miles southeast of Gerlaw, on the northeast quarter of Section 2, Monmouth township. This first home in the county was rude and plain, but it was a shelter much appreciated after the long journey by wagon. It consisted of only one room, with a chimney built of logs and plastered with clay. The fireplace and hearth were lined with rocks. Sometime between 1830 and 1832, after a saw-mill had been erected on Cedar creek, Mr. Talbot built, in front of the old house, a new one which is still standing, owned at present by Mr. Ryan Smith. It is built of walnut lumber, great logs split in two being used for the framework and joists. Mrs. Tal- bot was eighty years of age when she moved here, so she did not survive many years. She was buried in the old Monmouth cemetery, near the center of the eastern boundary line, but the exact location of the grave is not now known.
Dr. Isaac Garland, the first physician in the county, built a cabin at Yellow Banks in 1828. He and his teamster employed several Indians to assist them in building the cabin, and the Indians not only demanded pay for each log as it was rolled into place, but had to have a drink apiece.
In 1829, Allen G. Andrews, Mr. Talbot's com- panion on his first journey, moved to the county and took a squatter's claim on the north half of the southwest quarter of Section 2, Monmouth township, at present known as Thorndale, or the Owens farm. Here he built a log cabin which served as a shelter for his family during the first winter. In the spring of 1830 he sold his claim to John E. Murphy, and with the assistance of Mr. Talbot and four Indians, built another cabin on the hill north of Cedar creek, on the southeast quarter of Section 6. Four years later he built in front of the cabin the frame house which still stands there, at present owned by John and Clarence
Fairburn. The exterior of the house remains unchanged, but the interior has been remod- eled. It originally had a big chimney in the center, with a stone fireplace opening into each room, but several of these have been removed. Mr. Andrews died in 1849, and is buried in the present city cemetery. His son, Talbot An- drews, lives near the old home on Olmsted hill, in a house which is also historic in point of age, having been built by Silas Olmsted prior to 1837. The house is in excellent repair, and many of its quaint features have been preserved, notably the big fireplace with a little cupboard built in at the end for books, and the front door set in a frame of tiny panes of glass. Time and paint have erased the date of its erection, which was marked upon the cornice. Not far down the road to the east, stands the wreck of an old house built in 1832 by Mr. Avery.
During 1828 and 1829 about twenty-five fam- ilies moved to the county. They built their cabins in settlements as much for the value of association as for protection from the Indians, and named each place for the first man locat- ing there.
Findley's Grove in Hale township was named for David Findley, father of Mrs. Wm. Hanna, .and was populated by two other families, those of John Caldwell and James Junkin. This was also called Frenchman's Point, because a party of Frenchmen had camped there during the winter of 1827.
Sugar Tree Grove was settleu in 1828 by Matthew, Adam and Thomas Ritchey and their families, and was originally called Ritchey's Grove.
James Hodgens and Jacob Rust located at Hodgens grove (the present Lundborg's), nam- ing it for Mr. Hodgens of Hodgensville, Ken- tucky.
A man named Schwartz built a cabin north- east of the town site of Monmouth, on the southeast quarter of Section 20, but soon sold his claim to Jacob Rust, who for many years occupied the only home in Schwartz's Grove. The land on which this cabin was built is at present owned by Mrs. Jane Quinby Bucknam.
Eight men with their families settled Cold- brook and called it Butler's Grove. They were Peter Butler, Peter Peckenpaugh, Josiah Whit- man, Lewis Vertrees, Marsham Lucas; John, Henry and Patrick Haley.
These early settlers braved the dangers of
729
HISTORY OF WARREN COUNTY.
frontier warfare and planted the civilization which has made possible our luxurious homes. Their dwelling places were simple log cabins, many of them affording poor shelter from the cold. Hardship, toil, deprivation and worst of all, the terrible loneliness of this western coun- try, made up the daily program of their lives. Indian alarms were frequent, and although the red men were friendly, their depredations caused the settlers much annoyance. During the winter of 1830 500 Indians camped on Section 26 in Spring Grove township, which was afterwards called Indian Grove. They were peaceable, and supplied tne white people with moccasins in exchange for pumpkins.
Greene county, Ohio, gave many of her citi- zens to people this new and growing colony in western Illinois. John Gibson, Samuel Gibson, John Kendall and their families were the first to arrive, reaching Hodgens' Grove in October, 1830. During the first winter they occupied rented cabins consisting of one room each, with the usual outside chimney built of logs, lined with rocks and plastered with clay. One small opening in the wall, which served as a window, was covered with oiled paper brought from Ohio for that purpose. These people had no carpets, and only such furniture as could be brought in wagons, on a journey of several hundred miles. Their first winter in the county was one of many hardships, the severity of the weather adding much to their discomfort. Two and one-half feet of snow fell, followed by rains, which covered everything with a glare of ice. There were no roads, and as the hol- lows were filled to the level, crossing the prairies was unsafe, and the settlers suffered more from lack of food than from the cold. Neighbors shared their provisions with each other, but were reduced to a diet of potatoes and salt before the condition of the country permitted them to go to mill, or to the trad- ing-post at Yellow Banks. From the eastern borders of the county it was quite a journey to the mills, and both during the severe winter and following spring when streams were un- fordable, many families had to do without bread. The Indians had killed nearly all the game, and cattle were so scarce that the set- tlers could not afford to butcher. The next summer bountiful crops were raised, and the imported poultry and swine began to increase, which relieved the fear of further suffering from hunger. Before the cold weather began, the
men cut a supply of red cedar, ash and oak lumber, and hung it on the walls of their cabins to dry. Then during the dreary winter days and by the light of the flaming logs on the hearth at night, they made the lumber into tables, bedsteads, tubs, washboards, churns, buckets, benches for seats and keelers for milk. In October, 1831, another delegation came from Greene county, Ohio. On reaching Canton they were met by two men who told them the settlers in Warren county were starv- ing, so they purchased supplies and hastened with all possible speed to the relief of their friends. At Hodgens' Grove they received a delightful surprise. In the cosy cabin of John Kendall, which he had built the preceding summer, a big dinner was awaiting them. The cabin door had been taken from its hinges, and with the addition of a box, made into a table. This was covered with a cloth and laden with a generous supply of wheat bread, roast beef, roast chicken, fried pork, baked potatoes, beets, cabbage, pickles, cheese, cucumbers, ap- ple-sauce, pumpkin sauce, preserved plums, honey, wild crab-apples, pumpkin pies, peach pies, custard pies, coffee and tea. (This menu has been preserved by one of the guests.) Dear, sweet Priscilla and her merry assistants plan- ning and cooking the first Thanksgiving dinner at Plymouth were not happier nor had greater cause for rejoicing than these reunited friends. The cheerful cabin nestled among the trees that were radiant in the red and yellow tints of autumn, and the big table with snowy linen and quaint old blue Liverpool china, formed a picture never forgotten by the weary travel- ers. Through the open door floated the fra- grance of the forest, and the soft cool breezes bore to heaven the prayers of thanksgiving with which these people filled their day. Sixteen of the guests lodged that night at the cabin, the men and boys sleeping in wagons. The others were dispersed through the settlement, and during the winter almost every cabin contained two families. In the spring "raisings" became the chief social events. At an appointed time the men would assemble to "raise" a cabin, while their wives, sisters and sweethearts pre- pared the dinner, which was spread upon the fresh green grass, and enjoyed with the hap- piness and simplicity of Arcadian life.
No sooner were the cabins built than the settlers were alarmed by the reports of an Indian outbreak, so several forts were built.
730
HISTORY OF WARREN COUNTY.
One was located a mile northwest of town, on the northeast quarter of Section 30. It stood about 200 yards north of the old home of O. S. Barnun, and was built of split logs twenty feet high, pointed at the top and pierced with port-holes. Another was built on the hill near Rockwell's mill. A part of this old block house is still standing, and has been made into a comfortable dwelling. These war preparations proved to have been unnecessary, although the settlers were frequently alarmed, and fled to the forts until the danger was over. No serious trouble took place until in August, when Will- iam Martin was murdered near Little York by the Indians. He was cutting hay alone on the prairie when five savages rushed from the tim- ber, shot him and fled. This aroused intense excitement, and messengers were sent to warn the scattered settlers. A circuit rider mounted on a magnificent gray horse rode through the settlements spreading the news that the Indians were coming 1,000 strong. This belief probably arose from the fact that a small band of savages had started south from Rock Island, but on seeing Adam Ritchie and a companion who were fleeing in terror from them, supposed they were rangers rousing the settlers to arms, and turned back. That night was a terrible one throughout the county, and very few of the people were able to sleep. Those who were not close enough to reach the forts assembled in the strongest cabins, barricaded the doors and windows, and prepared to fight. Many of them had left supper cooking on the hearth, as they knew delay was dangerous. Their faithful Eng- lish watchdogs were placed on guard in front of the barricaded cabins. These dogs had been brought from eastern states, as they were pe- culiarly hostile to the Indians, and much feared by them. All night the settlers kept their weary vigils, women as well as men watching at the port-holes with loaded rifles, but no Indians appeared. The next morning those outside the forts moved into town and remained several weeks before regaining sufficient courage to re- turn to their homes. At that time Monmouth was not as large as Coldbrook, as it contained only five families, but these received the fright- ened people into their homes and made them as comfortable as their limited accommodations permitted. The families of Jacob Rust, John Shehi, Sr., James Hodgens, Jacob Buzan and Hugh McDaniel occupied the log court house which stood on the east side of North Main
street. On the opposite side of the street, in a little hut of one room which originally had been built for a blacksmith shop, were domi- ciled the families of Robert Black, Samuel Gib- son, John Gibson and John Kendall. Their cooking was done over a fire built out of doors, and boxes were used for tables. Wheat was ground in a coffee mill and made into bread, and water was carried from springs running into the stream which crossed East Broadway just west of Fifth street. After two or three weeks the scare subsided. This ended the trou- ble with Indians in this county.
In the autumn of 1830 Daniel McNeil was at Lower Yellow Banks, but when the county seat was transferred to Monmouth, he was com- pelled to move, as he held the office of circuit clerk, probate justice, recorder and clerk of the county commissioners' court. The only available shelter was a deserted cabin a mile east of the town site, which he occupied nearly a year, both as dwelling and office. It was 16x18 feet in size and had a good fireplace, but no floor. There was an opening for a door, but no door, and a small square hole left in the wall was the only window. When the wintry winds whistled around the cabin and sought refuge within, Mrs. McNeil draped these openings with quilts, more for utility than artistic ef- fect. A fence, or stockade, encircled the cabin, but was too small for a pasture, so the family cow was decorated with a bell and turned loose. She frequently wandered so far away that toward nightfall Mr. McNeil was accus- tomed to go in search of her, and on such oc- casions Mrs. McNeil mounted the house top and at intervals blew the dinner horn, lest her hus- band should lose his bearings. He was a short, stout man, and the tail prairie grass grew so high above his head that he was in constant danger of losing his way. In June, 1832, he built a log house on the site now occupied by the residence of Mrs. Mary E. Carr. This cabin became historic by reason of being the first home in Monmouth, also because the first birth and death in the village occurred within its walls. It originally consisted of two rooms and a loft, the latter used as a sleeping room. The front, or sitting room, contained a fire- place, the stairway and a huge high post bed- stead draped with curtains white as snow. Mrs. McNiel was a famous housekeeper, and on her kitchen hearth cooked many a savory meal for distinguished guests. Lincoln and Douglas
731
HISTORY OF WARREN COUNTY.
were at different times entertained there. Mc- Neil's lantern, which every night was lighted and hung to the top of a tall pole in front of the house, was a guiding star to travelers lost upon the prairies. This was only one of the many kind acts for which Daniel McNeil was noted. The older generations now living are familiar with his history, as he held nearly every office within the gift of the county, and was one of the leading spirits in advancing its interests.
Joel Hargrove, Elijah Davidson and General James McCallon built houses the same year (1832), but the village, and especially the square, was inhabited principally by prairie grass until 1834-35. Joel Hargrove's dwelling stood on the Richardson Hotel corner. Elijah Davidson's in the center of the lot now occupied by McQuiston's book store and the Daily Re- view office. (Lot 2 Blk. 11). General McCal- lon built on the next block south, but soon after sold his cabin and built a cozy home in the northwest corner of the square, on the site of the Patton block. The new house had four large rooms, with a fireplace in each, a com- modious house in those early days.
In 1833 the county contained between thirty and forty families, seven of these constituting the village of Monmouth. The ambitious little town was in that year dignified by the addi- tion of a tavern, called Garrison's Inn. It stood on Broadway, one block west of the square, and has only recently been demolished. On November 2d, the villagers were on the qui vive, for a wagon had just arrived, bringing ten additions to the population. These were Hezekiah Davidson, his wife and eight chil- dren. Three of his children were already here. The only available house was one near Ber- wick, in which they spent the winter, and the next spring Mr. Davidson built a home on East Broadway, one and one-half miles from the square. The house was torn down in 1900. Of this large family of thirteen only one is left. One of the boys in the wagon which ar- rived in 1833, Thomas H. Davidson, lives in this city at No. 313 South First street. The substantial house which he built there in 1844 is in an excellent state of preservation. Dur- ing fifty-seven years of its existence there has been no death within its walls.
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