USA > Illinois > Montgomery County > History of Bond and Montgomery Counties, Illinois > Part 40
USA > Illinois > Bond County > History of Bond and Montgomery Counties, Illinois > Part 40
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fey gives the following description of a primi- tive hand-mill used by his father: "The top of a solid hickory stump was hollowed out to the depth of about eight or ten inches. Over this was suspended a heavy iron wedge made fast to a pole, after the manner of an old-fashioned well-sweep. By working this up and down with considerable force, the corn in the hol- low could be crushed and a very good meal obtained." Wild meat of all kinds was plenty, on which the pioneer's family fared sumptuously. Tanned deer-skins formed the wearing apparel of the men, while the women clothed themselves with a coarse cloth manu- factured from cotton, of which each settler raised a goodly patch. The first mill in Fill- more was erected in the year 1825, by John Beck. This was merely a tread-mill, which the proprietor operated with a yoke of oxen, and, although an insignificant affair, it an- swered the purpose for which it was intend- ed, and for a number of years did all the grinding for the entire neighborhood. New machinery was afterward supplied, and, alto- gether, the mill was in operation about twenty years. Benjamin Rose built a little horse- mill in Section 18 about the year 1838, and operated it ten years, when he sold it to a man by the name of Austin. Austin kept the machinery running several years, and did a very flourishing business.
The next mill of which we have any knowl- edge was a steam-mill, built by John Hill, near where the village of Van Burensburg now stands, in 1840. The mill had but one buhr, and was kept running almost constantly in order to supply the increasing demand for its products. It was sold to Harris Wright and James Kirk in 1842, and by them operat- ed until the year 1846. It was torn down a number of years ago. The first lumber man- ufactured in the county was sawed by hand with a whip-saw, and used in the construction
of Newton Coffey's dwelling house. Some of this lumber can still be seen in the kitchen of Cleveland Coffey's residence.
A saw-mill was built by John Fuller, in Fuller's Grove, about four miles west of Van Burensburg, in the year 1840. It was in oper- ation a little more than one year, when it was sold and removed from the township. A steam saw-mill was built on Shoal Creek, near where the Vandalia road crosses that stream, many years ago. It was in operation but a very short time. A great amount of lumber has been sawn in the forests skirting the several creeks, by portable mills, at differ- ent times. Several of these mills are in oper- ation at the present time, and the lumber business still continues to be an important industry.
In educational matters. Fillmore is not be- hind her sister townships in the county. Her citizens have always taken special inter- est and pride in the public schools, which have been well sustained and patronized. Its school history begins with the year 1825, or with the advent of Mr. Hatchett, the first teacher. This gentleman taught school in a little log house that had formerly been used as a residence by the family of Aaron Casey. It was situated in the southeast corner of the township, on Hurricane Creek.
The following winter, Benjamin Robbins taught school in a cabin that stood on the east bank of Shoal Creek, near the eastern boundary. Josiah Whitten was one of the pioneer teachers of the county, having taught several terms in the southern part of Fillmore, when the early settlements were in the infancy of their existence.
In these early schools, nothing but the simplest elementary instruction was imparted. as many of the first teachers were men of lim- ited intellectual attainments. Reading, writ- ing, spelling, and the rudiments of arithmetic,
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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
comprised the sum total of branches taught.
The first schoolhouses were built of round logs, undressed, with chunks in the cracks and daubed with mud. Puncheon at the bot- tom and split sticks at the top were the chim- ney material, with pounded dirt jambs and packed mud hearths. No floors were laid; the earth being smoothed off by constant use, became in time very compact.
There were puncheon and plank seats, with- out backs. A long window around the room, with a rough writing-desk against the wall, complete the picture of one of these primitive college buildings. This may be taken as a sample and general description of the condi- tion of the schoolhouses in this part of the county from the year 1820 to 1845.
The first frame schoolhouse was built about the year 1845, near the little village of Van Burensburg, and was known as the Easley Schoolhouse. The township has a number of good, substantial frame schoolhouses, all well furnished with patent seats and desks, globes, maps, charts, and other necessary requisites to education. The old cramped ideas of in- struction have long since been abandoned, and the schools are now enlivened by an in- vasion of fresh ideas and methods, which have been well received throughout the township. Near the Dry Fork of Hurricane Creek, a burial-ground was staked off in the year 1821. This graveyard is the site of an old battle- field, where at one time, many years before, an encounter took place between a detach- ment of United States troops and a band of hostile Indians. Many human bones, musket balls, spear-heads, knives, etc., have been brought to the surface at different times, while graves were being digged. The first interment in this cemetery was that of Ste- phen White, who died in the summer of 1821. The first marriage in what is now Fillmore Township took place in 1822, the contracting
parties being John Revis, son of Harris Revis, and Patsey, daughter of Newton Coffey. The ceremony was performed by Squire Levi Casey. A daughter of John Beck was the first white child born in the county. This birth oc- curred in 1819, the same year that the fam- ily came to the State.
As the country increased in population, good roads became a necessity, and many of the old crooked by-ways were abandoned. The Vandalia road, which passes through the township in a southeasterly direction, was the first regularly established highway. A county road was surveyed and established through the southern part of the township in au early day, the exact date of which was not learned. Many other roads were laid out and improved as the settlements increased, but, as none of them were roads of much importance, a further description is unnecessary.
Van Burensburg is a small village, situated near the southwest corner of the township, about fifteen miles from the city of Hillsboro. It was founded by Joshua White, in the year 1842, who kept a store there for several years. There are now one store, post office, black- smith shop and two churches. The post office was established about the year 1837, with Benjamin Roberts as Postmaster. The sec- ond Postmaster was Robert White. It is kept at present by a man by the name of Bookstrock. One of the first stores in the place was kept by a Mr. Eddy, whose stock of merchandise consisted of groceries, a few dry goods and a plentiful supply of whisky. A man by the name of Nathan Harmon was killed at this place shortly after Eddy started his saloon, under the following circumstances: It appears that Harmon was a dissipated, worthless character, and, when under the influence of whisky, very quarrelsome and abusive. Upon the occasion referred to, he had been drinking rather freely, and, seeing
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a stranger pass the door of the saloon, made some insulting remark to him. To this speech the stranger paid no attention, but kept on his way, whereupon Harmon became very fu- rious, and started in pursuit, for the purpose, he said, of killing the "damned scoundrel." The stranger tried hard to avoid having any difficulty with the drunken man, but Harmon, with many fearful oaths, sprang upon him. Calmly the stranger met him, turned aside his high, wild thrusts, and, in return, struck him several well-directed and erushing blows on the chest and head. Harmon fell, and in a short time expired. The citizens regarded it as a just punishment, and no arrest was made.
The early pioneers were not derelict in their religious duties, as is proved by the fact that devotional exercises were conducted in the. little settlement on Hurricane Creek the first year in which it was founded. These social meetings were held as often as eireum- stanees would admit, in the houses of differ- ent members of the community. and were led by some one selected on account of his peeu- liar fitness. The first church established was in 1820 or 1821, by the Regular Baptists, who were more numerous than any other religious denomination. This church was organized under the pastoral labors of Elder James Street, a preacher who figures rather promi- nently in the early church history of Mont- gomery County. He was a man of strong powers of intellect, to which were added fair scholastic attainments and a persuasive power of oratory rarely excelled. He assisted in the organization of all the early churches of his sect in the county, and of him it can truly be said, "his life was spent in traveling about doing good."
The first congregation was known as the Hurricane Creek Regular Baptist Church, to which nearly all the early settlers on Dry
Fork and Hurricane Creek belonged. For several years, public services were held in private dwelling houses, but in course of time a log church was built, which stood until the year 1862. At that date, a frame edifice was erected, in which the congregation has wor- shiped until the present time. Among the pastors of this church were the following: Henry Sayers, James Street, --- Prather and Jackson Williford.
The Methodists held meetings at several different places in the township during the early days of its history, as did also the Pres- byterians. Among the pioneer preachers of the latter denomination can be named Revs. Knight, Barlow and Finley. The Shiloh Cumberland Presbyterian Church was in ex- istence as early as the year 1837. It was organized by the Rev. William Finley, in the little village of Van Burensburg, with a eon- siderable membership. The first ordamed Elders were John Blair, James R. Abell and Benjamin Rose. Since its organization, the church has had seventeen ordained Elders. The church was re-organized several years ago, and the place of meeting changed from Van Burensburg to a point about four miles west, where a neat house of worship was erected. The following preachers have min- istered to the congregation: Joseph Barlow, Joel Knight, --- Smith, William Hutchin - son, William Turner, J. B. Mitchell, Linxwiler, --- Porterfield, --- Deather- idge, --- Reppito and T. W. McDavid.
The Methodist Church, known as Fuller's Chapel, was organized at. Fuller's Grove many years ago. A house of worship stood a little north of the grove. It was burned in the year 1880, and since that time the congregation have met for worship in different places. The Lutherans have an organization in the east- ern part of the township, but nothing was learned concerning this church.
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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
The United Baptist Church was organized by Elder Richard Keel, in the year 1860, at the East Fork Schoolhouse. The first mem- bers of this congregation were the following: Richard Blackburn and wife, George Black- burn, Cyrus Whitten and wife, Cleveland S. Coffey, Moses Fuller, Malinda Hurd, Anna Whitten and Betsey Evans.
Richard Keel was the first pastor, in which capacity he acted for two years. Richard Gregg succeeded Keel, and preached about eighteen years. He was followed by David Barber, who had charge of the congregation two years. Newton Coffey has preached for the church about six months. Their pres- ent church edifice is situated about one mile and a half northeast of Fuller's Grove, and was built in the year 1861.
The Methodist Church at Van Burensburg was organized about the year 1877. They have a good house of worship, which cost about $1,200.
In addition to the churches already enu- merated, there are two other organizations in the township, of which no particulars were obtained by the writer.
Fillmore's war record stands out untar- nished. She might risk her reputation on the evidences of loyalty she exhibited during those dark hours when the gallant ship of state was almost stranded upon the rugged rocks of disunion. She furnished her full quota of volunteers, and more. Indeed, Fill- more could not have done otherwise, as loy- alty is a ruling passion among her sons. But few firesides were unrepresented where age would permit. Those remaining at home con- tributed freely and generously of their means, whereby they sought to reward the brave boys who donned the blue. We should be pleased to name each volunteer from this township, and point out his destiny, but space forbids. Broken firesides ever remind us that many a brave boy who responded to his country's call, went, but never returned; and, although no towering shaft nor storied urn marks their last resting-place, a grateful Republic and a grateful people will cherish their memory, and the nation's fame and greatness will be their appropriate monument.
" Their swords are rust ; their good steeds dust ; Their souls are with the saints, we trust."
BUTLER GROVE TOWNSHIP.
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CHAPTER XX .*
BUTLER GROVE TOWNSHIP-BOUNDARIES-SOIL -TIMBER-EARLY SETTLERS-ROADS-EDUCA- TIONAL AND RELIGIOUS-VILLAGE OF BUTLER-BUSINESS INTERESTS-SECRET SOCIETIES, ETC.
TN obtaining the fragments of history con- tained in the following pages, we have been obliged to rely largely for much of the information upon persons who have long been residents of the township, and whose lives have been identified with its develop- ment. It may be that some of the facts and dates which are given are only approxima- tions to the truth; other facts of interest may be omitted, while others still may not be ac- curately recorded, yet we believe that the fol- lowing statements can be relied upon as a brief synopsis of history free from any seri- ous errors.
Butler Grove was one of the first settled townships of Montgomery County, and was surveyed in the year 1819, at which date there was but one white family living with- in its boundaries. It lies in the central part of the county, with the following townships as boundaries: Raymond on the onrth, Irving on the east, Hillsboro on the south, and North Litchfield on the west. Like the greater part of the county, Butler Grove is composed of fine, fertile prairie lands, interspersed with numerous groves and thickly wooded mounds. There are no very large hills, although the southern part is somewhat broken. But lit- tle of the land, however, is too broken for cultivation. The most extensive wooded districts are in the northern, northeastern and southern parts. There is also a grove of
many acres in the central part of the town- ship, known as Ware's Grove, having derived its name from an old settler, who formerly resided there. It is estimated that the wood- land of this township comprises about one- tenth of its area, the remainder being rich, roll- ing prairie, and contains some of the finest farming lands of Southern Illinois. The qual- ity of the soil on the uplands, in the southern part, is rather inferior for agricultural pur- poses, although, by proper tillage, remuner- ative crops are often obtained. The timber is composed mainly of the following varieties: Black oak, white oak. hickory, walnut and cottonwood on the upland, while skirting the creeks on either side are large willows and gigantic sycamore. The best timber has dis- appeared long since, as the lumber business was carried on quite extensively at an early date.
This township is watered and drained by Brush Creek, the Middle Fork of Shoal Creek, and their tributaries. The former has its source in the northern part, and flows in a southwesterly direction, crossing the town- ship line about one mile west of the village of Butler. Shoal Creek flows in a south- easterly direction through the southeast cor- ner of the township, and receives as a tribu- tary the East Fork of Brush Creek about one half mile north of the township line. There is a small creek in the northern part which flows in a northerly direction, but it is an in_
* By G. N. Berry.
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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
significant stream, being dry the greater part of the warm season. Aside from the creeks enumerated, there are no other streams of importance in the township. During very rainy seasons these creeks frequently overflow their banks and do considerable damage to the farms through which they run, often times carrying away many rods of fencing, and sweeping away entire fields of grain.
The early pioneers of this section found no royal pathway to affluence, and have prob- ably witnessed as great changes wrought by the onward march of civilization as any with- in the limits of the entire State. They came here when Illinois was in its infancy as a State and when the great West, particularly that portion lying west of the Mississippi, was occupied almost wholly by wild Indian tribes. They have heard and seen the dy- ing away of the voyager's song upon our western waters. They have seen proud cities rear their regal heads upon the favorite hunt- ing grounds of the red men, and the iron horse, the modern civilizer, dart with the speed of the hurricane along the paths beaten into the prairie by the hoofs of the buffalo ages before the white man ever dreamed of battling with the wilderness of the unknown West. All these and many other changes have these hardy pioneers witnessed since they first made their appearance in this part of the Mississippi Valley, and opened up its broad acres to the world's traffic.
The first white settler of Butler Township was Jacob Cress, whe moved here with his family during the early part of the year 1818, and located the farm known as the "Old Cress Farm," now owned by Jacob Scherer in Section 34. Mr. Cress was from Indiana, but originally from North Carolina, from which State he moved in the year 1815. The journey of this hardy old pioneer to his new home in the West was replete with many
interesting incidents and stirring adventures, and many days were required to reach his destination. It was during the hottest part of the year that this journey was made, and the emigrants found it impossible to travel during the day, owing to the excessive heat and the immense swarms of flies, which proved a serious hindrance to the live stock which Mr. Cress brought with him. At that early date there was not a regularly laid out road in the southern part of Illinois, all roads be- ing mere trails or buffalo paths across the prairies; so Mr. Cress had nothing by which to direct his course but these trails and the stars.
Mr. Cress brought a great deal of live stock with him to Illinois, part of which con- sisted of a large drove of hogs. To keep them from being lost on the prairie, he had bells put upon them, so the loneliness of their night journeyings was relieved some- what by the tinkling music never before heard in this western country. Mr. Cress died in the year 1865, full of years and ripe with honors. By his industry and many sterling qualities, he did much toward de- veloping the resources of his township and bringing it up to its present high standard of civilization. Of the children of Mr. Cress there are living at this time one son and four daughters, all of whom are residents of But- ler Township.
The next settler was Israel Seward, who moved from Hamilton County, Ohio, in the year 1819, and located his home upon what is known as " Seward's Hill," about one half mile south of the village of Butler. Mr. Seward was a noble type of the pioneer, a man of more than ordinary powers of intel- lect, and a devoted Christian. Though dead, he still lives in the influence which he for- merly exerted upon the community that he was instrumental in founding. The exact
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date of Mr. Seward's death was not obtained. was not until 9 o'clock the next day that his friends succeeded in rescuing him by means of long poles and a horse trough. William Seward, a son, was born in Indiana one year before the family moved to Illinois. He was for a number of years mail carrier A daughter of Israel Seward, Mrs. Mc- Gowan, lives in the village of Butler, where she has resided the greater part of her life. Israel Seward was a cousin of the late Will- iam H. Seward, who served as Secretary of State during the administration of President Lincoln, and whose name is among the brightest upon the pages of American his- tory. between the cities of Hillsboro and Jackson- ville. His whole life has been identified with the history of the township and he is justly considered one of its most prominent citizens. The original home of Israel Sew- ard is now owned by his son George C. Sew- ard, the first white child born in Butler Grove Township. He was born October 11, 1821, and has resided at the home he now occupies Prominent among the early settlers of But- ler Grove was Obadiah Ware, who came to Montgomery County in 1823, locating the West half of the north west quarter, and the west half of the northwest quarter of Section 15, upon which land he resided during a period of fifty-one years. The life of this good man demands more than a passing no- tice in these pages. Mr. Ware was a native of New Hampshire, where he was born in the year 1795. Reared upon a farm, his early life was passed in the usual routine of farm labor, and he grew to rugged manhood amid the bracing airs of his mountain home, where he was taught the dignity and nobility of la- bor, and those lessons of economy and fru- gality which so well fitted him to encounter the difficulties incident to the life of a pio- neer. In 1821, after his marriage, he and his young bride started for the Far West to secure a home. Across the great States that stretched away in unbroken and uninter- rupted grandeur from the Mississippi east- ward, they journeyed until they reached the then diminutive city of St. Louis. He lo- cated near that city temporarily, remaining two years, where he engaged in farming. Having a determination to remove to a point where land could be entered, he visited Mont- : gomery County, where he entered the land for the last thirty-six years. One incident in the life of Mr. Seward is remembered with interest by his friends. It was his lot in his younger days to carry the mails, as we have stated. between Jacksonville and Hillsboro, and also between Hillsboro and Alton. At one time there came a freshet which raised the waters of Shoal Creek to an immense height. Mr. Seward tried to cross the creek with a two horse conveyance, but a part of the bridge being carried away by the flood, he found that his vehicle could not with- stand the force of the current; so driver, car- riage and horses were carried a considerable distance down the stream. Mr. Seward got out of the carriage, and, stepping upon one of the horses, caught hold of a small elm tree, which, after becoming thoroughly wet, he succeeded in climbing. The stream at that time was about three fourths of a mile wide, and the current baffled their efforts to reach the tree. The logs which were being car- ried down by the stream would strike the tree with such force that he found it ex- tremely difficult to maintain his hold on the branches. From his lofty perch he could see and hear his friends, which served to be- guile the long, weary hours he was compelled to pass in his airy prison. He remained in his uncomfortable quarters all night, and it . before referred to. At his home, after a long
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life of usefulness, his wife died in the year 1858. Mr. Ware survived her twenty-eight years, dying September 24, 1876. The fol- lowing testimonial appears in biographical sketches of citizens of Montgomery County, from which many of the above facts have been gleaned. " Mr. Ware has been a lead- ing and influential member of the Lutheran Church for nineteen years, during which time he has given liberally of his means for the dissemination of Gospel truths, and for the building of houses dedicated to the wor- ship of God. Educational matters have also elicited considerable attention from him, and he has ever been active and generous in his assistance to every project looking to the ad- vancement of educational facilities. He placed a proper and very correct estimate upon the value of our common school system, regarding it as invaluable to the State and the surest bulwark of constitutional liberty." A very eloquent funeral oration was delivered over the remains of Mr. Ware by the Rev. John Hamilton, which has been published and extensively circulated. Two daughters and one son of Mr. Ware are still living Mrs. Hulda Harris, Elizabeth Wescott and Benjamin Ware. The old Ware farm is now owned by William A. Young.
Benjamin Ware, a brother of Obadiah, was also among the early settlers of the township, locating upon land adjoining that of his brother's. Like the former, he was one of the substantial citizens of the county, and left a reputation upon which no one dared cast a single aspersion. A son, Justus Ware, occupies the farm formerly owned by his father.
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