History of Bureau County, Illinois, Part 53

Author: Bradsby, Henry C., [from old catalog] ed
Publication date: 1885
Publisher: Chicago, World publishing company
Number of Pages: 776

USA > Illinois > Bureau County > History of Bureau County, Illinois > Part 53

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

397

HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY.

Indiantowu Township, including part of Tis-

kilwa Towu. 1507

Tiskilwa Town (part of) 419

Lamoille Township including Lamoille Town 1391 Lamoille Town 488 Leepertown Township, Including Bureau Junc- tion Village 450

Bureau Junction Village. 240

Macon Township. 768

Manlius Township 984 Milo Township. .

990

Mineral Township, including Mineral Village 997

Mineral Village 173

Neponset Township, including Neponset Vil- lage . 1467

Neponset Village. 652 Ohio Towuship, including Ohio Village 1314

Ohio Village 385 Princeton Township, including Princeton Town 4810

*Princeton Town. 3439 Selby Towuship, including De Pue Town 1684 De Pue Town. 323

Walnut Township, including Walnut Town. 1377 Walnut Towu. 515

Westfield Township, including Arlington Vil-

lage 1319

Arlington Village 447

Wheatland Township. . 506

Wyanet Township, including Wyanet Town. . 1800

Wyanet Town 737

Tiskilwa Town (in Arispie and Indiantown) .. 753

Postoffices .- In previous chapters we have given the history of the first postoffices in the county. In the hunt for information on this subject, as well as all other subjects about the county, we made application to Hon. John Wentworth, of Chicago, the early Member of Congress in the days when this district in- cluded nearly all northern Illinois. We had reasons to know that he was the best posted man on many points of the history of north- ern Illinois now living. After renewed ap- plication to him he replied: "I am afraid of my memory; running back,as it does to October 25, 1836, when I first came here. Farmers then and for many years afterward came here with loads of produce to be ex-

changed for their home necessities. I was publishing a newspaper, the Chicago Demo- crat, and I boarded at a public hotel. Our population was small, and we would natural- ly fall into one another's company of even- ings, there being no particular amusements. There were a great many very good farmers in the Paw Grove region, with whom I early became acquainted, and Paw Grove then cov- ered a large tract of country running into Lee and DeKalb Counties, and the farmers in the northern part of Bureau would come into town along with the Paw Paw Grove folks. The Chicago fire destroyed my old Democrat subscription books, and also the old document books which I used during the eight years in which I represented Bureau County in Congress. Therefore, I have noth- ing to guide my memory as to names. My earliest acquaintance in Bureau County seems to have been in the Lamoille region and thence westward to Windsor. I remember the Fassetts-I think Elisha was the eldest. I early became acquainted with DeGrass Sal- isbury and his partner, Benjamin L. Smith. They would come often to Chicago for goods, and they would vend the news to the Chicago Democrat. Salisbury was Postmaster and B. L. Smith was in the Legislature in 1844- 46. Then, there were John and Moses Ste- vens and their families, whom I had known in my native State, New Hampshire. Then the historic Bryant family, and there was a family of Moseleys-very much respected. In the Dover region there were the Rackleys -George and Nathan and others -- whom I always held in the highest esteem.

"If I could sit down with some of the old settlers a short time, I probably could remem- ber from fifty to over a hundred families at whose houses I had stopped whilst I was a candidate for Congress. I had a horse and buggy and endeavored to go to all the settle-

*The census of the City of Princeton, in February, 1884, shows a decrease of 329.

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HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY.

ments and give every house a call. It took me about three weeks to get around my district.

"I send you an official statement from an old Blue Book of the names of Postmasters in the County, with the bi-annual receipts from the offices from 1839 to 1853, covering my term." * *

1839 .- French Grove, Moses Stevens, $1.16; Princeton, De Grass Salisbury, $310.72.

1841 .- Brush Creek, Brown Searle, $7.18; Dover, Isaac Delano, $50.67; French Grove, Moses Stevens, $11.88; Lamoille, Tracy Reeve, $91.74; Princeton, De Grass Salis- bury, $357.86; Windsor, Morris Spalding, $5S.48.

1843 .- Brush Creek, Brown Searle, $22.57; Dover, Isaac Delano, $116.18; French Grove, Shalor Brainard, $35.94; Lamoille, Tracy Reeve to 31st of March, 1842, then John Kendall, $77.30 ; Perkins Grove, A. G. Por- ter, $105.16; Princeton, De Grass Salisbury, $603.03; Providence, Mathew Dorr, $91.12; Windsor, Morris Spalding, $91.02.

1845 .- Brush Creek, Brown Searle, $9.87; Dover, Isaac Delano, $71.82; French Grove, Shalor Brainard, $23.80; Lamoille, John Kendall, $66.79; Perkins Grove, Albert G. Porter, $32.14; Port Arlington, George W. Gilson to February 7, $4.19, then Freeman Mills from February 7, one year, 52 cents; Princeton, De Grass Salisbury, $317.09; Providence, Mathew Dorr, $55.51; Windsor, Morris Spalding, $63.14; Winnebago, Jacob Sells, discontinued December 31, 54 cents.

1847 .- Brush Creek, Brown Searle, three years, $6.55; Dover, Isaac Delano, to August 17, $12.31; Theodore Humphrey, $64.68; French Grove, Shalor Brainard, $22.93; Lamoille, John Kendall, $69.02; Perkin's Grove, A. G. Porter, $29.90; Arlington, Freeman Mills (no returns); Princeton,

De Grass Salisbury, $304.10; Providence, Mathew Dorr, $35.21; Windsor, Morris Spalding, $36.23.

1849. - Arispe, James B. Chenoweth, $3.31; Barren Grove, John Hall, $12.53; Brush Creek, Brown Searle, $10.61; Dover, Theo. dore Humphrey, to June 9, $84.80; Solomon Hubbard, $3.63; French Grove, Shalor Brainard, $23.74; Lamoille, Tracy Reeve, $103.12; Perkin's Grove, A. G. Porter, $25.06; Princeton, De Grass Salisbury, to May 9, $362.67, Nathan Gray, $49.59; Prov- idence, Mathew Dorr, $52.66; Selby, Ezekiel Piper, $4.46; Windsor, Morris Spalding, $47.90.

1851 .- Arlington, James Waugh, three years, $734; Arispie, David Brown, from April 29, $254; Barren Grove, John Hall, $28.69, Brown Searle, to August 24, $1.27; Brush Creek, discontinued; Dover, Solomon Hubbard, $144.20; Enon, J. M. Yearnshaw, $9.65; French Grove, S. Brainard, to March 17, $20.40, Amos Whittemore, $14.03; In- diantown, Hezekiah B. Smith, two years, $58; Lamoille, Tracy Reeve, $190.30; Lee- pertown, James Nickerson (no return); Lone Tree, Jonathan Reid, $9.68; Milo, Isaac Sutherland, $28.68; Perkin's Grove, A. G. Porter, $35.89; Princeton, Nathan Gray, $626.16; Providence, M. Dorr, to January 10, $34.06, Daniel Williams, $33.55; Selby, Ezekiel Piper, $27.63; Indiantown (changed from Windsor), $37.07.

1853. - Arispe, David Brown, $8.25; Bar- ren Grove, John Hall, $33.55; Dover, H. C. Humphrey, $74.25; Enon, Elizabeth Sparks, $8.28; French Grove, Amos Whittemore, $52.86; Hollowayville, James Holloway, $37.44; Lamoille, Tracy Reeve, $91.94; Leepertown, Timothy Searle, $15.41; Lone Tree, Nelson Bullman, $11.99; Magnolia, Amos Wallace, $4.36; Milo, Isaac Suther- land, $25.70; Perkin's Grove, Libbeus Stan-

---

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HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY.

ard, $31.51; Princeton, S. Limerick, $48.50; Tiskilwa, H. B. Smith, $48.50; Winnebago, J. A. Kelly, $11.06; Yorktown, Rufus Shel- don, $7.92.

We are indebted to J. W. Templeton, present Postmaster in Princeton, for the fol- lowing statements of the receipts of his office from the year 1876 to 1884. For each fiscal year, ending June: 1876, $6,951.21; 1877, $6,536.37; 1878, $6,859.34; 1879, $7,036.85; 1880, $7,503.43; 1881, $7,685.46; 1882, $8,367.57; 1883, $8,826.57; 1884, $7,582.91.

The reduction in receipts of 1884 is caused by the reduction of postage from 3 cents to 2 cents.

While on the subject of the Princeton post- office we may as well conclude with such items as we find in our note book concerning this office. The first office where the Prince- ton people would get their little mail in those days was kept by Elijah Smith, north of Princeton, near the Schugart farm, on this side of Bureau Creek. It was called Green- field. When Smith left this place the office was discontinued. Dr. N. Chamberlain then was the next Postmaster, and it was one and a half miles south of Princeton on the Tis- kilwa road. Then John M. Gay took the office next, and it moved into the town proper and has remained here since. Gay was succeeded by D. G. Salisbury, Nathan Gray and Sam Limerick, as given above. The successor of Limerick was W. H. Win- ters, who continued in office until 1856, when C. N. Pine took the office. June 1, 1858, J. M. McConihe became Postmaster. He continued in the place until May 15, 1861, when James H. Smith took the office. 1865, Daniel McDonald took it, and discharged its duties until 1871. Then Miss Ida Lovejoy was appointed and held the position four years, or 1875, when the present Postmaster, J. W. Templeton was appointed, and has

held the office continuously since. And in his behalf we may here say, and say with truth, that he is an efficient and capable officer, and one, too, that the better the peo- ple come to know him the better they like him.

The present postoffices and Postmasters of the county are as follows: Lamoille, J. H. Smith; Ohio, William Ross; Van Orin, Ste- venson; Walnut, W. Wolf; New Bedford, J. W. Spratt; Arlington, S. T. Meriam; York- town, O. W. Mckenzie, and Henry Cooley, Deputy; Malden, F. H. Page; Dover, R. L. Dean; Manlius, M. R. Robinson; Holloway- ville, Chris Stadler; Laceyville, W. R. Og- den; De Pue, E. Tinley; Princeton, J. W. Templeton, and Deputy, I. O. Brokaw; Wya- net, D. Spangler; Buda, J. D. Page; Shef- field, C. A. Davis; Mineral, Mrs. G. T. Squires; Bureau, Peter C. Jensen; Tiskilwa, William F. Dunn; Providence, E. B. Anthony; Neponset, L. O. Morse; Lone Tree, Andrew Anderson; Milo, Joseph Sutherland; Limer- ick, James Ross.

Wolf Hunts. - It was a long struggle with the early settlers to rid themselves of the prairie and timber wolves of this section of the country. These beasts were destructive to sheep, pigs and young calves, and at first they so overran the country that the greatest vigilance was necessary in order to save any of the young stock. As the people of those days made the most of their own apparel, it is apparent the importance they would attach to their few geese and sheep-the sources of their clothing and bedding. The State and the counties entered heartily into the work of exterminating these pests. Wolf traps and poisoned meats were placed, and men and dogs pursued them relentlessly. The counties freely gave bounties for wolf-scalps, and a feature of the early day sports were the great wolf hunts that were organized, in

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HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY.

which the people of several counties would form a circle of many miles in extent, and drive the wolves to a common center. Some of these occasions were so great that they be- came historical events in the early history. C. C. P. Holden, of Chicago, thus describes a wolf hunt in Will County, as well as the operation of the " underground railroad," of which we have given an account, and of the active managers here under their noble lead- er, Owen Lovejoy:

"Do not let me overlook the great wolf hunt of 18441. It was a memorable occasion. The boys were left at home, and the heads of families were the participants. The general plan adopted by the hunters was to form a ring or circle, the outer edge of which was to be Joliet, Hickory Grove, Skunk's Grove, Thorn Grove, Beebe's Grove, Yellow Head Grove, Bourbonnais Grove, Todd's Grove, Wilmington, Reed's Grove, and Jackson's Grove. Twelve-Mile Grove, where old "Put" borrowed, was to be the common center where all the hunters were to come simultaneously together in a circle enclosing the grove.

"Early in the morning of that beautiful Indian summer day might been seen horse- men coming from the various settlements, and taking their positions in the grand circle, which it was estimated was more than eighty miles in circumference. Each horseman was armed with rifle or shotgun. They all made for the common center, which they reached at about 4 P. M.

"Thousands of deer broke through their lines, but, as they were after wolves, little heed was paid to them. The wolves they had surrounded with large numbers of deer in the grove. At about that time my father left for his home, which he reached late in the eve- ning, cold, tired, and hungry. Wolf-scalps he had none, and his case was no exception to the general rule. Ever after that it was a

hard thing to find anyone who had partici- pated in that grand wolf hunt, which it was claimed would rid Will County of its wolves, and give perfect security to its increasing herds of sheep.

"A little later, in 1843, there was another hunt, not for wolves, however, but for human beings-a hunt, which in its time became national. There had previously been organ- ized and placed in good running order the underground railroad, with a directory second to none for its actual efficiency. Its main line touched Alton, Quincy, Rushville, Gales- burg, Knoxville, Princeton, Ottawa, and Jol- iet, at which points were first-class stations.

"At Joliet the main line curved to the east, taking the route of the old "Sac trail" to La Porte, Ind., and thence by a carefully select- ed line on to Canada. Its branches entered Jacksonville, Springfield, Peoria, Blooming- ton, and other noted points. One of its branches took in Chicago, where one of its resident directors lived. Its patrons came wholly from the colored race, who were en route for freedom. The organization which controlled this great national highway was composed of some of the most noted men of their day, among whom were Giddings, Chase, Birney, Lovejoy, Phillips. Sumner, and Greeley. The working directory of the same lived along the line of the road and the branches thereof, which were located princi- pally in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio. The local directors for Will Conuty consisted of many of her best men, like Samuel Haven, Ezra Goodhue, Allen Denny, John Atkins, Sr., Elias Haven, Moses Cook, Peter Stewart, Samuel Cushing, and others. These officers were ever on the alert to the end that there should be no delay to passengers who had through tickets over any of their lines. Dr. Charles V. Dyer had charge of the Chicago end, with able assistants. It was in July,

m LB-

Joseph Allen

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HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY.

1843, that four passengers on one of its trains were overhauled and detained by legal process-three colored men and a colored woman. They were from Missouri and en route for freedom. Four human beings were thus arrested by civil process here in your county while passing through the same, by their owners, who lived in an adjoining State. These four passengers were slaves, and their owners wanted to take them back to slavery. Think of it! To say that Joliet was excited at the event would be to place it very mild. There was virtually an eruption; the very rocks in her midst seemed to crack open, so great was the shock. But there were cool heads in the directory who had guaranteed to these colored people safety from all harm un- til Canada was reached, and from the speak- er's recollection this promise was made good with but very little delay while in transit.

"The owners were chagrined. The law was on their side and under it they had claimed their property, but the law of human reason as interpreted by the managers of this great highway was greater than the statutory laws of the land. The owners, not to be thwart- ed, though they had lost their property, were determined to know the reason why, aud at once, through their attorneys, took the neces- sary legal steps to that end. Charges were preferred before the grand jury at the Octo- ber term of the Circuit Court against several of the managers of the underground road, and true bills of indictment were found against Samuel Haven, Samuel Cushing, and Peter Stewart, for aiding fugitive slaves to escape and for harboring the same. The no- table grand jury before whom these charges were brought, and who returned a true bill were as follows: Cornelius C. Van Horne, foreman; John Runyan, John Tanner, Jr., Moses Porter, Jr., J. T. Reynolds, William Wigant, Robert Strong, William Rowe. John

Robb, James Walker, Ashur Holmes, Reu- ben Willard, George Woodruff, Titus S. Ab- bott, Dennis Kelly, Lyman Meacham, Lucius Robinson, and Horace Messenger. Patrick Ballingall was the State's Attorney. Some of Will County's best men were on the jury, but by the law the indictment was sure to follow.

"The speaker has no knowledge of the final outcome of the case, but thinks the whole matter walked out of court in due time. The court, Jesse B. Thomas, the entire jury, the three that were indicted, Carlos Haven, a wit- ness on the back of the bill of indictment, aud Patrick Ballingall, the prosecutor, E. C. Fellows and J. M. Wilson, attorneys for Haven, Cushing, and Stewart, have all gone where colored men as well as white are at rest. And thus ended the most notable hnut ever had in this county."

Roads .- The energy and activity of the people of Bureau County in securing hard roads is manifest in the joy of her people in riding and driving over the many miles of splendid gravel roads they now possess and that are being so rapidly extended in every direction. The people, it seems, fully agreed with that American statesman who said, when asked what would make the country prosper- ous, answered: "Roads." What would make it wealthy? "Roads." What would make it happy? "Roads, roads, roads." Thirty years ago Thomas H. Benton said: "Give our children good paths to school, and give the people good roads to market."

In the extent of gravel roads Bureau County to-day is in the proud position of the second county in the State. This we account one of the best and greatest of public bene- fits vet conferred upon the people of the conuty. The peculiar soil of this section, the black humus, and its great depths, when thoroughly saturated in the winter and spring,

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HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY.

is almost literally an impassable sea of mud. And as if anticipating the eventual necessi- ties of the present race of men who are here, nature has provided within the county's limits an abundant supply of the finest road gravel in the world.

It is safe to anticipate that in the next dec- ade every section road at least in the county will be a splendid graveled road.

An Old Relic .- The following venerable document was found among the papers of one of the county's oldest families, and explains itself even to the quaint spelling:

"SEPTEMBER 15, 1815. This indenter wit- nesseth that Frances Webb sun of John Webb late of Penselvany hath put hymself and by these presents doth voluntarily put hymself a prentice to Aaron Mercer fuler of harison county State of Ohio to larn his art trade or mystry aud after the manner of an apprentice to serve hyme five years from or after the above date during which time the sade aprentice Shal his master fathfuley serve, his secrets Keepe his law fule command obay, he shall do no damage to his sade mas- ter nor se it done by others without leting or giving notice thare of to his sade master."

[It then proceeds to enumerate all the things he shall not do, as marrying, etc., and then provides what the master must do as follows:]

"And the sade master use the utmost of his indevors to teach or caus to be taught and instruct the sade apprentice in the trade and mystrey he now profeseth occupieth or fol- loweth and procure and provid for him the apprentice suffishent meat drink and proved washing, loging and apperel fiting for an apprentice decency the sade term, one good fredum soote supposed to be worth thertey dolars, one horse sadel an bridel supposed to be worth sixty-five dolares, one weak in har- vest also nine month scooling and for the

trew performence of all and every of the sade covenants and agreements wee either of the sade biud ourselves unto the other by these presents," etc.

We have already pretty fully spoken of the first lawyer resident in the county, and members of his family, survivors of whom are still in the county. We find the follow- ing interesting items in our note book:

The Kinneys .- Old Simon Kinney was probably the first lawyer to locate in Bu- reau County, or rather what is now Bu- reau County. He was originally from Ver- mont, and a neighbor of the Websters and a warm friendship always existed be- tween Daniel Webster and the Kinney fam- ily. In 1839 Webster visited Kinney, and spent some time in this part of Illinois, and invested in Burean County lands, and im- proved what is to this day known as the Webster farm, near the county line toward Peru. He presented Kinney a pair of dun colored mares, much better stock than was then common here, and we are told descend- ants of these animals are yet to be distin- guished in the county. It was on this visit West that Mr. Webster made a speech at Peru, from the hurricane deck of a steam- boat.

Simon Kinney had become a bankrupt in New York, and then turned his face west- ward and landed on the Illinois River at Peru in 1833 or 1834, and soon after to where Tiskilwa now stands, where he became a farmer, hunter, politician and lawyer. He was quiet, dignified and gentlemanly in his bearing, and a strong Whig in politics.

Two hundred dollars in money was the sum of the family wealth when they landed in Bureau County.

The children of Simon Kinney were Henry L. and J. Warren, and a daughter, Emily, who married Dwight Brewster, and after his

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HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY.

death, John Chapman; another daughter who married H. O. Merriman.

Henry L. Kinney was one of the most re- markable men of his day. Compared to his pioneer neighbors he was quite a Monte Christo. At all events, his brain teemed with the vast schemes that started more golden streams than has any other one man since his day here. He was guardian of Pelt I. Brewster, and he and Alexander Holbrook, Dwight Brewster and John Chapman soon turned up as large contractors on the canal, and at once all along the line and extending into this county to Tiskilwa, the name aud apparently the exhaustless wealth of H. L. Kinney were as household words. He em- ployed hundreds of men, started up the town, of Peru and Hennepin, and at Tiskilwa he kept an open house and gave every day a great free feed to all who would partake of his hospitality. Here he had another store; while on the river he had his own steamer, the "H. L. Kinney," which he commanded much of the time in person, and where he gath- ered troops of friends and had a royal good time. His style may be known from the fact that even over the good roads of this rolling prairie country, it took four horses to pull him, in his light buggy. He thus showed even the country people that he was no "one horse " arrangement.

He was a man of vast enterprises and great shrewdness, and when he had in hand the greatest work and a vast number of em- ployes, he seemed to ever be at leisure for a royal bout with a few boon companions. It is told of him that he and Fletcher Webster were great cronies, and that when Fletcher was sent out here by his father, to see after his Bureau County farm, that Kinney would go over and help him "bach " and they would frolic and hunt and have a high old time generally. They had raised a very tall

pole, and arranged so the man would run up a lantern to the top of it whenever they did not get in before dark, so they could see it for miles around, and when they would dis- cover the light they would go direct, across lots and streams and fences, and thus they found their way home on many trying occa- sions.

Henry L. Kinney left Bureau County as precipitately as was the collapse of the work on the canal when the funds were exhausted and the State had not the credit to longer prosecute the project. His creditors were numerous and at once noisy; couriers flew from Peru to LaSalle and from LaSalle to Tiskilwa, and so vehement were the credit- ors that they organized after the fashion of mobs generally, and determined to have their money or blood or at least rapine. They looked at what little property Kinney had left behind, and then they concluded to seize the unfinished canal, aud hold that or any- thing else they could find. Armed with spades, pick-axes, shovels and now and then a squirrel rifle, they began to look tolerably war-like, at least to the women and children. The people who had interests in the protec- tion of all property-canal as well as pri- vate property-were finally compelled to re- sist this movement, and eventually there grew to be an organized force on each side, and as all the early wars were called by some Indian name, this finally came to be known along the line as the Ottawa war. A peace was patched np and it was only some years afterward learned that H. L. Kinney had gone to Texas and had there amassed a for- tune in the cattle business. Here, too, he was a man of wide influence and great wealth. He continued in the prosperous walks of life until the late war, when he es- poused the Confederate cause, raised a regi- ment and fought through the war. When

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History of Bureau County, Illinois, Part 53

Author: Bradsby, Henry C., [from old catalog] ed Publication date: 1885 Publisher: Chicago, World publishing company Number of Pages: 776

Author: Bradsby, Henry C., [from old catalog] ed
Publication date: 1885
Publisher: Chicago, World publishing company
Number of Pages: 776