USA > Illinois > Montgomery County > History of Bond and Montgomery Counties, Illinois > Part 48
USA > Illinois > Bond County > History of Bond and Montgomery Counties, Illinois > Part 48
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389
HARVEL TOWNSIIIP.
which he deserted and came to this part of the State, during the last year of the rebellion. The first sale of real estate in the new town was made to William Van Sandt, who pur- chased a lot on which he erected a residence and storeroom in the year 1870. He stocked this room with a general assortment of mer- chandise, and soon had a large, flourishing trade, which was well sustained for a year and a half, when the store was sold to other parties. A second store building was erected in 1870, by B. Tulpin, whose stock of goods consisted of dry goods, groceries, boots and shoes, cloth- ing and drugs. This store has become a per- manent fixture in the town, and the proprietor is deserving of the success which has attended his efforts in building up his large and increas- ing business. The Harvel Post Office was es- tablished in the year 1870, with George Van Sandt as Postmaster. It is at present kept by George Ramsey. Nestor De Moline built the first blacksmith shop in the fall of 1870, which he operated several years. A large elevator was erected by Ira Nelson and D. O. Settle- mire in the year 1873. It is now controlled by Settlemire alone, who handles many thousand bushels of wheat and corn annually. Finding that one elevator was not sufficient to receive all the grain handled here for market, Henry Niehaus built a second and larger one about the year 1876. This is one of the most capa- cious warerooms on the line of the railroad, and is second to none in the amount of busi- ness transacted yearly. Niehaus sold the ele- vator to H. C. Millot in the year 1879, who at present operates it, doing a flourishing business. A flouring-mill was moved from Litchfield to Harvel in the year 1871, by George Slater. The venture proved a success in every partic- ular, as the mill has been extensively patron- ized by the citizens of this and adjoining town- ships for many miles around. The mill is built of brick, operated by steam, and has a grinding capacity of perhaps forty-five barrels of flour per day.
Henry Bennett was the first physician to practice the healing art in Harvel, having lo- cated here and built a small office the same year in which the town was laid out. There are now in the village three disciples of Escu- lapins-John W. Petrie. F. M. Cox and W. D. Matney all of whom are graduates of first-class medical colleges. The legal profession is rep- resented by G. W. Slater and L. L. Slater, at- torneys at law and Notaries Public. The vil- lage schoolhouse is situated just over the line in Christian County, but as almost the entire town lies in Harvel Township, we think it proper to give the school history in connection with the history of the village.
The first school in the town was taught in Leonard May's hotel, by Miss Effie Kinser, about the year 1871. The present building was erected one year later, and cost the sum of $1,200. It is a brick house containing two commodious and well-furnished schoolrooms, in which schools are sustained during the greater part of the year. The first pedagogue to wield to birch in the building was Samuel Nelson, who taught in the years 1873-74. The present teachers are Misses Ida Clark and Clauson. The first hotel in the place was built by Leonard May, about the year 1870, and kept by him for several years. The large brick hotel, situated opposite the depot, and kept by Henry Hauptman, was built in the year 1878, and cost about $3,000.
The growth of the village during the last five years has been steady, many neat residences having been erected and several new stores es- tablished. The business interests of the town presents the following exhibit : William Vasel, dealer in groceries and general merchandise; B. Tulpin, keeps a good line of ready-made clothing, drugs, groceries, etc .; Henry Haupt- man, makes groceries a specialty; George Van Sandt, Hendricks Bros., John Rogers and II. Tomlinson, keep general assortments of goods, and all report their business good.
V
390
HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
In addition to the stores already ennmerated there is a hardware and drug store kept by George Ramsey & Bro .; Philip Mangers, boot and shoe maker; Henry Beesman, harness maker; William Putney and Jefferson Davis, black- smiths; Oscar Young, wagon-maker; John Rogers, barber; Adams & Nelson, dealers in lum- ber. In a religious point of view, the village is up with the times, as there are two good churches, both well sustained. The Harvel Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in the winter of 1874, under the labors of Rev. John Cum- ings. The first public services were held in the district schoolhonse, and it was not until the year 1879 that a house of worship was erected. The original members of this society were eight in number. Their names appcar on the church records as follows: George Van Sandt, Isabella Van Sandt, Moses Wright, Mrs. Wright, E. B. Young, Orson Young, Mrs. Orson Young and Mrs. John Hawkins. From this small beginning the church steadily increased, until now the congregation numbers more than forty members, and is in excellent condition. Rev. Cumings preached for the church one year, on a salary of $35, but being a man full of zeal in the cause of his Master, did not hesi- tate on account of small pay, but put forth all the energies at his command toward building up the congregation, and was soon gratificd to note a large increase, both in members and in- fluence. He was succeeded by Rev. W. Roberts, who filled the pulpit for one year and was in turn followed by Rev. John Beckhart. The latter had charge of the congregation one year, also. Rev. - Slater preached acceptably for the church one year. The present pastor, Elijah Haley, is on his second year's pastorate, and is working in harmony with his congrega- tion, which is considered one of the strong or- ganizations in Raymond Circuit. The present
church edifice was built in 1879. It is a neat frame structure and cost the sum of $2,000.
The St. Jacob's Evangelical German Lu- theran dates its history from the year 1879, at which time a small organization was effected by Rev. Lewey Sahn of Nokomis, in the Liberty Schoolhouse. At the first meeting ten persons enrolled their names as members. The school- house was used as a place of worship until the spring of 1880, when a very commodious frame building was erected, which is one of the chief ornaments of the village. This house cost the congregation about $3,000, and will comfortably seat 350 persons. The first pastor was Rev. L. Miller, who taught school in the village ; served the congregation until the year 1881. The present pastor is Rev. Fred Berger. A denominational school was established in con- nection with this church in 1880, with an at- tendance of fifty pupils. It is, at present, under the management of the pastor, and is held in the neat little school building which was erected for the purpose in the fall of 1881. The school is well attended at present, and much good promises to grow out of it.
IIarvel Lodge, No. 706, I. O. O. F., was in- stituted on the 23d day of March, 1882, by J. F. Harvel, P. G. of Lodge 413, as Deputy Grand Master for the occasion. The dispensation was granted by Alonzo Elwood, Grand Master of the State of Illinois. The charter members were John W. Petrie, P. G. ; Andrew J. Nash, Taylor Boyce, Reuben Rambo, J. M. Williams, Leonard Nash, Newton Corn, C. C. Young and J. J. Carey. First officers elected : Reuben Rambo, N. G. ; A. J. Nash, V. G. ; Taylor Boyce, Secy ; Newton Corn, Permanent Secy ; L. Nash, Treasurer. The membership at pres- ent is thirteen, and the organization is reported in good working order.
ROUNTREE TOWNSHIP.
391
CHAPTER XXVII .*
ROUNTREE TOWNSHIP-SOIL, DRAINAGE AND TIMBER-THE FIRST WHITE MAN- PIONEERS- SCHOOLS-ROADS-THE VARIOUS RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS.
NIFTY years ago, the territory now known as Rountree Township was a wide, unsettled expanse, wild in every sense of the word-in- habited by wild men and infested by wild beasts. In this year, it is in every part an ex- hibitor of the highest civilization. Where the cereals and fine fruits of all varieties now grow in abundance, tall prairie grass and rank weeds covered a soil of wealth unknown. Blooded herd and flock now loll and graze where. less than three score years ago, the timid deer fled from its crouching foe, the panther, only to be pursued by the gaunt, hungry wolf.
Fields, now joeund with the merry song of the contented farmer, were once lurid unto the glare of the Indian camp-fires, or made hideous by the discordant yells of the savage war dance.
But the deep prairie soil held abundant food for civilization, and it needed but stout hearts, strong wills and sinewy hands to set it free. They, in time, came, and stout hearts they were, both from necessity and from nature. Rountree is one of the northern townships of Montgomery Connty, and possesses a pleasant diversity of surface and soil. Large tracts of rolling and undulating prairie occupy the southern portion, which form a striking con- trast to the level surface of the country farther north. The only water-course of any note in the township is the Middle Fork of Shoal Creek, which flows in a southerly direction through the western part, receiving in its course several smaller streams not designated by any particular names. These streams afford
an excellent system of drainage, and to the stock raiser are a necessity that could not be dispensed with. A good growth of timber once covered that part of the territory through which these creeks and rivulets run, consisting mostly of walnut, sycamore, maple, elm, and the different varieties of oak common to this part of the State. Forty years have served to change the appearance of this wooded district, the greater part of the timber having been cut and sawn into lumber by the early settlers along the creeks. The attention of the pioneer was early called to the necessity of supplying himself with a means of procuring timber for his necessities, and a number of large artificial groves were set out, from which the owners now obtain both lumber and fuel.
The soil of the township is a strong, deep. rich loam, with a slight mixture of sand along the streams, and clay on the more elevated portions. Rountree is noted chiefly for its farming interests, and for that purpose it was sought by the early settlers ; and, taken as a whole, its territory presents as fine a tract of farm land as there is to be found in the county. The boundary lines of Rountree are Christian County on the north, Nokomis Township on the east, Irving on the south, and Raymond on the west. The township was named in honor of Judge Rountree, one of the earliest and - most prominent citizens of Montgomery Coun- ty. The name is a fitting tribute to the mem- ory of that most excellent man, who did as much, if not more than any other person toward the development of the county.
From the most authentic sources within the
*By G. N. Berry.
392
HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
writer's reach, John Nusman was the first white man who fixed his residence within the limits of Rountree. He had been a resident of the county several years prior to moving into the township, having settled in the town of Hills- boro when it consisted of but two or three insignificant cabins. From Hillsboro he moved his family to Rountree in the year 1830. and cleared a small patch of ground lying near Shoal Creek, where he lived for a number of years, the only white man in the county north of Irving Township. At that time, the country was wild, game of all kinds plenty, and the family fared sumptuously on venison, turkey, partridge and honey, which was also found in large quantities in the woods.
Elizabeth Nusman says that when they first came to the country the deer were so plenty that her father would stand in the door of his cabin and shoot two or three of them as they sported about near the house; and as for tur- keys, they were almost as numerous then as chickens are now. Near Nusman's residence was a camping place of the Kickapoo Indians, who came into the country once a year for the purpose of hunting. They were not at all troublesome, but on the contrary seemed to take a great deal of interest in the welfare of the family, making them presents of many small trinkets and trading them deer skins and venison for amunition and bacon. Many were the visits they paid to the family, during which the most profound decorum was observed. Their arms were always left outside the gate, a, mark of the greatest respect, and when leaving they would evince their satisfaction by a series of bows, grunts and grimaces that would often cause the younger members of the family to laugh outright. Mrs. Nusman manufactured all the wearing apparel for the family with her own hands. This consisted of thick, heavy jeans, linsey, and a coarse cloth made from cotton grown on the place.
Nnsman lived on the place he entered until
the year 1852, at which time he died. The place is now owned by his son, Henry Nusman, one of the oldest settlers in the township. One daughter, Elizabeth Nusman, lives here also, and it is to her the writer is indebted for many of the facts concerning the early history of Rountree.
In 1833, John Dryer came into this part of the county from Tennessee and settled on the farm now owned by Augustus Carriker, in See- tion 30. When he first came, he bronght his family with him ; and as they had no house to move into, they hastily constructed a rude tem- porary lodge of poles to live in while building their cabin.
The latter edifice was erected in due time, and like all the early houses of that day con- sisted of parlor, bed-room, dining-room, etc., all combined in one apartment. The floor was of puncheon, as there were no saw-mills, and had there been the pioneers were seldom able, either from want of money or time, or owing to distance and absence of good roads, to procure lumber.
No other settlement was made in what is now Rountree until the year 1840, when Will- iam Heffley made his appearance and entered a piece of land in the southern part, which he sold to Wiley Lipe four years later. In 1842, came Wilson Carriker. He settled the farm where Jacob Miller now lives. Two years later, William Tanner and John Ridenour locat- ed in the little settlement and figured promi- nently as early settlers. Tanner purchased a traet of land in the northern part of the town- ship, where he lived until the year 1872. Rid- enour pitched his tent a little farther east, on the place where Martin Lingle now lives. The following year, Nicholas Ridenour, a brother of the preceding, came into the township and set- tled the place where his widow still resides.
These were all men of sterling integrity, and are spoken of by those who knew them as men well calculated to successfully overcome the
393
ROUNTREE TOWNSHIP.
many privations and trials through which the pioneer is called to pass. Again we glean the following who came prior to the year 1846 : George Carriker, Alfred Carriker and Allen Lipe. These have been still followed by a long catalogue of others, the names of whom we were uuable to learn. Will only name a few of the more active and prominent ones who still remain to speak for themselves : Wiley Lipe, Henry Nusman and Noah Lipe. Space forbids a further enumeration. The first frame house in the township was built by Allen Lipe, in the year 1842, which is still standing, though not in use as a dwelling-house.
In an attempt to learn the early school his- tory of this township but limited satisfaction has been derived. Evidently the first session of school was held in a log building near the southwest corner, sustained by subscriptions and taught by Wesley King. This house was erected in the year 1847, and was used jointly for school and church purposes. It was at this place that the first religious services of the township were held by itinerant ministers of the Methodist Church. King was a man of good acquirements and splendid tact as a teacher. He taught in various localities, and everywhere left his impress. While teaching in Rountree, he made his home in Irving Town- ship, a distance of at least six miles from the scene of his labors. This distance was trav- ersed every day, and during the period of his first school not an hour was missed from his work nor was he tardy a single minute. Ac- cording to the best evidence we have at hand, the first structure erected especially for school purposes was situated in the southwest corner of the township, on the farm of Noah Lipe. Lipe took the contract to build and furnish the house for the sum of $75. It was built of hewed logs nicely fitted together, well furnished, and for a number of years was the best school- house in the township. We have not been able to learn the exact year in which this build-
ing was erected, though it is thought to have been in 1846 or 1847. Wesley King taught in this house for about six consecutive years.
One of the earliest schools in the township was taught in a little log cabin on the farm of Tillman Heffley, by a Mr. Miller, sometime between the years 1847 and 1850. The first frame schoolhouse was built in the year 1861. It is still standing and is known as the Hazel Hill Schoolhouse. There are at present five good frame school buildings in the township, all of which are good substantial structures, well furnished.
The earliest birth in Rountree of which we have any definite knowledge was Laura Dryer. a daughter of John Dryer, born in the year 1836, just two years after the family settled in the township. The earliest marriage traceable was that of Peter Cress to Catherine Nusman, in the latter part of the year 1836. William Marks, a Justice of the Peace, from the city of Hillsboro, officiated at the ceremony. The first resident of the township to be summoned away by the death angel was Catherine Nusman, wife of John Nusman. Her death occurred in the year 1846, after having lived in the town- ship fourteen years. The early roads of Roun- tree, like the first roads in most parts of the county, traversed the country in almost every direction, and every man had his own highway. The first road of any importauce was the one which runs from Rountree to the village of Irving, although it has not been very exten- sively traveled of late years.
The Taylorville road was laid out through the township in au early day, and was for many years the most important highway in the northern part of the county. Its course through the township was from northwest to southeast. The most important roads at the preseut time are the roads running east and west on the boundary between Rountree and Irving Townships and one passing through the central part of the township from north to
394
HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
sonth. The last named intersects the former in the southern part of Section 33.
Almost all the roads traversing the township are regularly established on the proper section lines, and are in good condition. The first Jus- tice of the Peace was Henry Freedmeyer, who was appointed in the year 1845 and continued in the office about twelve years. Dr. Elias Petril was the first soother of the sick to locate in the township. He came here in 1850, and for several years made his home with the family of Henry Nusman. Seventeen years later, Dr. Marion Osborne became a resident of Roun- tree and practiced his profession until the year 1880, when he sold out and went to Nebraska. There were no very early mills in this part of the county. The first settlers obtained their flour and breadstuff's from the Cress Mill in Butler Grove Township, and the Fogleman Mill situated south of Hillsboro. A small horse mill was erected by George Carriker on his farm uear Shoal Creek in the year 1842, oper- ated about eight years. During that time, he did a very flourishing business, and was ex- tensively patronized by the neighbors for sev- eral miles around. Carriker sold this mill to Nelson Lipe in 1850, who removed it to his farm farther east, where it is still standing. The bolting apparatus has been taken out and no four has been made for a number of years. Meal of a superior quality is still ground by the old machinery, and the mill is at the liberty of any one who wishes to use it. Noah and Allen Lipe bought and operated a couple of portable steam saw-mills as early as the year 1848. They were located in the southwestern part on the creek, and for several years sawed an immense amount of lumber. Messrs. Rob- ertson & Southworth purchased these mills sev- eral years since and moved them to Fillmore Township, where they are still in operation.
Religion has flourished in the township ever since its first settlement, as is proven by the many church-going people now residing within
its borders. Probably the first minister was the celebrated Peter Cartwright of the Method- ist denomination. At the time he came, in 1842, there were no church buildings in the country, so he was obliged to hold public services in private dwelling-houses and groves. A society was organized in the year 1843, mainly through the efforts of Peter Cartwright, and met for worship in a little log cabin situ- ated in Section 30. Revs. Wiley, Wildman, Frost and Trotter were among the early pastors of this church. Unwritten history tells us that this church maintained its organization until the year 1874, when it was abandoned by mutual consent of the members, a portion of them uniting with Montgomery Church in But- ler Township, while those who lived farther north cast their lots with the congregation that met for worship at Burk's Chapel. The old church building where the congregation held their meetings for a long number of years has disappeared, and nothing remains to mark the spot where the first church edifice in the town- ship stood. The next religious organization of which we have any definite knowledge, is the Mount Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church. This church dates its history from the year 1868, although there had been religious services held in the neighborhood two or three years previous, in private dwellings and schoolhouses. In the year 1868, a meeting of the few scat- tered Christians in the vicinity was convened at the Shoal Creek Schoolhouse for the purpose of discussing the propriety of organizing a church. The meeting was presided over by Rev. J. B. Cromer, and a constitution adopted to which were appended the following names : Martin L. Walcher, Julia M. Walcher, George C. Car- riker, Arvina Carriker, James W. Huffman, Esther Huffman, Mary J. Carriker, Daniel Car- riker, Jr., and Leah Walcher. To this list were added at the next meeting the names of M. F. Pollard, Thomas Sorrels and Amanda J. Sinds. A meeting of several days followed the first
395
ROUNTREE TOWNSHIP.
services conducted mainly by the Pastor, J. B. Cromer, during which many members were re- ceived into fellowship with the church. The congregation used the schoolhouse as a place of worship until the year 1872, at which time the beautiful building in which they now worship was erected. This building is frame, and will seat about three hundred persons. It was dedi- cated the latter part of the year 1872. Since its organization, the church has been ministered to by the following pastors, viz .: J. B. Liv- ingood - Shaver, L. C. Grosclose, G. W. Hammer, M. L. Walcher and Ephraim Kitch. The first member to leave the church militant for the church triumphant was sister Leah Wal- cher, who passed over the river May 1, 1869. In point of numbers, the congregation is not as strong as formerly, quite a number having withdrawn and joined the Free Methodists, a society recently organized in the community. Others have died or moved to distant places, yet the remnant left is in a healthy condition, and are doing a good work in the service of the Master. The present membership numbers about thirty-five. The Sunday school is a flourishing one, and is under the efficient man- agement of Winfield Walcher, Superintendent.
Burk's Chapel Methodist Episcopal Church was organized by Rev. John Chapman in the year 1868 at the Shoal Creek Schoolhouse with a membership of ten. The society worshiped in the schoolhouse until the year 1872, when
they were allowed the use of the Lutheran Church building. They met in this house at intervals for five years, when they commeneed the erection of a new frame house of worship south of the Lutheran Church about two miles. This building was completed in the year 1880, and cost 8600. The following list comprises the ministers that have been pastors of the church since its organization : R. B. Rhodes preached two years; James Stubblefield one year ; J. W. Lapham, one year ; - Schwartz, one year ; E. H. Hammill, one year. C. R. Howard, present pastor, has been with the church since 1880. Like the Lutheran Church, many members of this congregation have been absorbed by the Free Methodists, and the church cannot be spoken of as in good con- dition.
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