USA > Illinois > Christian County > History of Christian County, Illinois > Part 66
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JOSIAS H. ADAMS.
THIS gentleman, who is now farming in King township, was formerly for a long number of years engaged in the hat business, at Springfield. His father, Josias Adams, was descended from the old Adams family which has been so prominently connected with this country, and in Wilmington, Delaware, learned the trade of a hatter. From Wilmington he emigrated to West Virginia, then a wild and unsettled country. He married Hannah Moore, whose family was of English origin, and was well connected in Virginia. Mr. Adams' father became an extensive land-owner, owning 17,000 acres in one tract alone and 19,000 in another, and a man of a great deal of wealth. Most of this large estate still belongs to the heirs. The subject of this sketch was born at Clarksburg, in Harrison county, West Virginia, on the 2d of May, 1817, and lived at that place till he was sixteen years of age. At that time there were 110 public schools in existence, and Mr. Adams attended pri- vate pay schools in his native town. One of the instructors whom he principally remembers was an Irishman, of small stature,-a bachelor, who tried to inculcate the principles of reading, writing and arithmetic in the minds of his pupils. Mr. Adams was a boy of some size and considerable strength when he went to school to the Irishman, and one day when the teacher attempted to chastise him, as Mr. Adams thought wrongly, for some mischievous con- duet, he gave battle to the school-master who got the worst of the encounter and found himself sprawling on the floor. Some of Mr. Adams' brothers adopted professions and received a liberal educa- tion. One attended the military academy at West Point, three studied law, and one became a merchant.
When sixteen he left home, and during the next ten years was living for short periods at different points in Kentucky, Ohio, In- diana, Illinois, Missouri and Arkansas. Part of the time he was working at his trade of a hatter, which he had learned with his father at Clarksburg, and which he followed in nearly all the im- portant towns then in existence in the West. After working for various firms in St. Louis, in 1844 he came to Springfield, Illinois, with the purpose of permanently locating there. Springfield was then a place of only four or five thousand inhabitants. He bought out all the hat stores in Springfield, and embarked in the business quite extensively. Some of the shops had previously employed three or four hands, and Mr. Adams managed them all in one establishment, having as many as eighteen or twenty hands in his employment. He carried on this business in Springfield for up- wards of thirty years. In the year 1844 occurred his marriage to Miss Harriet Taft, who was born in Addison county, Vermont, on the 18th of April, 1822. Her ancestors came from England, and settled on Long Island at a period previous to the Revolutionary war. Her paternal grandmother was Ann Cook, a relative of the celebrated Capt. Cook, the great English navigator. Mrs. Adams' grandfather bought large tracts of land in Vermont, to which he removed after the Revolutionary war. Her father, Josialı Taft, raised a company of men and served in the war of 1812 against Great Britain. He took part in the battle of Plattsburg, where he received a serious wound, half of his foot being shot away, by which he was maimed for life. After the death of Mrs. Adams' father, her mother moved, with her two children, to Illinois, and settled at Springfield. Mrs. Adams was then a girl of sixteen. Her older brother, William Taft, had emigrated to Illinois at an carly date and settled at Rochester, in Sangnmon county, where he became the owner of a Inrge body of rich land.
Several years ago Mr. Adams had purchased a quarter section of land in King township, to which he concluded to remove on re- linquishing the hat business at Springfield. He had no previous
The Library of the University of Illinois
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RESIDENCE AND STOCK FARM (320 ACRES) OF H , GASKINS, SEC. IS, T. 12, R.4, (KING TP,) CHRISTIAN CO., ILL.
FARM RESIDENCE OF G.W. MORGAN, SEC. 5, T. 12, R.3, ( BEAR CREEK TP.) CHRISTIAN CO. ILLINOIS.
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HISTORY OF CHRISTIAN COUNTY, ILLINOIS.
experience in farming, with the exception of some work on his father's farm in Virginia. Since luis residence in the county he has made constant improvements on his farm, an illustration of which is shown elsewhere. Mr. and Mrs. Adams have been the parents of seven children. The oldest daughter, Phoebe, is the wife of C. C. Cromwell, of Springfield ; Emma married William Gill, a merchant of Jacksonville; Annie is the wife of P. C. Sloan, of Tuscola, the circuit clerk of Douglas county ; Lizzie married B. F. Conner. The next daughter, Jessie F., died on the 25th of Dc- cember, 1878, at the age of twenty-two; Joseph H., the oldest son, died on the 2d of January, 1875, from an accident occasioned by the discharge of a gun, while he was hunting. He was a young man of brilliant promise, and was preparing for a collegiate course at the time of his death. Maud is the youngest child.
Mr. Adams is known as a man of good business capacity and strict integrity. Among Mrs. Adams' characteristics is a praise- worthy energy and perseverance, which well fits her to be the head of a household. In politics, Mr. Adams was first a whig, and voted for Harrison, in 1840. Before the war of the rebellion, he became a republican, and in 1860 had the pleasure of casting his vote for Abraham Lincoln, an old acquaintance and customer, at Spring- field.
HATTEN GASKINS.
AMONG the pioneer settlers of North King township, Mr. Hatten Gaskins deserves special mention. He is a native of Saline county, in this state, and was born on the 6th of May, 1835. Wilson Gaskins, the father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Howard county, Kentucky. His father, grandfather of Hatten Gaskins, was one of the pioneers of Kentucky. Wilson Gaskins was one of a family of eleven children, and removed from Kentucky to a wild and thinly settled territory, but which has since become the great and prosper- ous state of Illinois. He settled in what was Gallatin county, but afterwards became a part of Saline county, in about the year 1812. We have no data by which to fix the exact date, but as nearly as can be ascertained, in the year 1818 he was married to Lydia
Bracken. Eleven children have been born to them, six boys and five girls, nine of whom still survive, and of these seven are living in this state. One brother is now living in Missouri, and one is steamboating on the Mississippi river.
Hatten Gaskins moved from Saline to Montgomery county, and from Montgomery to Christian county in the spring of 1861, and bought a farm of 240 acres, to which by industry and good manage- ment he has added until he has one of the best improved farms in Christian county. On Christmas day, in the year 1857, he was married to Delia Davis. Her father, Moses Davis, was a native of Vermont. He descended from the hardy pioneers of New England. Her grandfather was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and was with Ethan Allen, in the capture of Ticonderoga. He had the con- tract to furnish poles for the first telegraph line in the United States. He came west and died in 1872.
To Mr. and Mrs. Gaskins eight children have been born, four of whom are dead and the others are living at home. Like all pio- neer settlers of a new country, Mr. Gaskins had poor advantages for obtaining an education. He built the first school-house in King township, in 1857, and thus manifested the desire that the rising generation should not be deprived of privileges of which he had so much felt the need.
He and his wife have been members of the M. E. church for a great many years, uniting with the society when they held meetings in a log school-house. Now the services are held in a neat, com- modious frame building in the northern part of the township.
In politics, he has always been identified with the democratic party, but has not been so closely tied that he could not vote for a good man of any party.
Mr. Gaskins is a good example of what a man may accomplish by persevering efforts. He and his good wife started in life without any capital except stout hearts and a determination to succeed, and they have accumulated property until now they are in easy cir- cumstances. Mr. Gaskins is esteemed and respected by all who know him, and is one of those men who by aiding every laudable enterprise, is a benefit to the community in which he lives.
MOSQUITO TOWNSHIP.
HIS township embraces all of town 15, Range 1 West, together with that part of 16-1 W., lying between the former and the Sangamon river. It is bounded on the north by the Sangamon river, east by Macon county, south by Stonington, west by Mt. Auburn township. It is drained by Mosquito creek, which enters the township on section 13, and runs in a north-westerly direction to the Sangamon river. In the early times the borders of this stream were greatly infected with mosquitoes, and it was from them that the creek derived its name. Mosquito township originally formed a part of " Mt. Auburn Pre- cinct," and remained in this connection for many years, and until the adoption of township organization in 1866. Among the early settlers were the following ; some of whom could antedate the " deep snow." James Saunders came in 1825; Thomas Russell, John White, Truman White, 1832; Jacob Wydick, Elias Copenbarker, came in 1830; James Fletcher, 1833; father of Griffin T. Fletcher,
1833 ; Martin White, A. D. Northcutt, W. H. Masterson, 1835; John G. Fletcher, in 1830; R. B. Osborn, in 1830; and Berry Rose. Most of these settled in the neighborhood of Mosquito creek. Jas. T. and Wm. Armstrong, came in 1841. James Saunders, the old pioncer backwoodsman, was among the first settlers of this town- ship. He was noted as being a great deer hunter, and a man of strong character. Mosquito was also noted as the carly home of " poor Martin White," of Kansas fame. His farm is now owned by Moses Stafford. He was a Predestinarian Baptist preacher, and was a strong believer in the doctrine that a man will not die till his time comes. He was a correct type of the backwoods preacher, and when preaching in warm weather, would lay off his coat, open his shirt collar, turn up his sleeves, and fairly make the woods ring with his stentorian voice. Martin White was the first representa- tive from this county in the legislature, in 1840. He seems to have attained to some notoriety. The following " card " of Mr. White,
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HISTORY OF CHRISTIAN COUNTY, ILLINOIS.
appeared in the Springfield "Journal," of February 19th, 1841. It says, " We cheerfully insert the communication of Mr. White, Rep- resentative from Christian county, in answer to some remarks re- specting his official conduct, in the last issue of the paper. We most certainly excuse his bad grammar and spelling. We have no longer any cause to wonder that he should refuse to obey his con- stituents ; he is certainly just such a man as we should naturally expect would treat his constituents with " 'contempt.'"
REPRESENTATIVE WHITE'S LETTER. " Springfield, Feb. 13th, 1841. " To the Editor of the Sangamon Journal.
SIR :- I se A Card in your paper the 11 of Febuary : In which it had sum Direct alusion to my vote on the judiciary. You stated that I was Instructed By a majority of my Constitants to vote Against the Judiciary Bill, and that I would feel the Pangs of my Insulted Constitants, thare was a majority of names on the defferent Petetions : But tha ware mostly whigs and i did not no That tha Put thare naims to the Petitions Purticular those from Christian so Far I understand that a Curtan Whig who Lives in springfield went to Christian Co. with the Petition to get my Constitants to in- struct me to go against the Bill And Buy lying he got Cum of my DimoCratiC friends to sine it. But I want this Springfield Junto to understand that tha Cant Cum it For I wont obey the Proscrip- shun of this Springfield wig Junto. the Plans ware all made out in Springfield without My Constitants asking for it And then the Black lage hoo tuck Thoas Petitions ware a shaimed. to give me the l'etitions. I don't no but what that scoundral forged the names that was on the Petition that he CerCulated-now I will give my reasons for not obeying the InStruCtions, the reason Is the Peti- tions ware gotten up in Springfield and unCaled for By my Con- stituants and a great menny of them had not herd of it tel the Pe- tition ware Presented to them and then it ware very rougley stated and false statements maid concerning it
Now Mr Editor i think those silk glove and Ruffell shirt dandys about Springfield Hoo have never got thare bred by the swet of thare Brow will begin to find that Tha Cant. Cum it over the labor- ing Class of Community
" A word to you Mr Editor-now Sir I think you will find a nuff to doe if you will tend to your own bisness, And keep your own house swept and garnished ' First take the Beem out of thine own eye and then you can ce to take the mote out of Thy brothers eye I will Conclude for the present by saiing to you if you Pour out enny more of your slang About me I will expose The Conduct of your Whig clan excuse my grammar and bad spellin as I am a hoam spun farmer and have but Little Education, and have some- thing Else to do besides lisning to the slang of your blue light federal Paper. M. WHITE."
In reference to the above The Register of Feb. 19th, 1841, says " Rep. White had not been instructed by a majority of his constitu- ents ; and as to whig instructions, said Mr. White, 'They need not send such documents to me. Previous to the Aug. Election, said Mr. White, these same Federal Gentry tried to instruct me to stay at home, but they couldn't come it then, and they can't come it now' The Junto of Springfield tried to play a trick on some of the constituants of Mr. White, about some local matters, promis- ing them a slice off-of Old Sangamon, if they would instruct their Representative, but the trick failed."
The Cumberland Presbyterian church had an organization on Mosquito at an early day. In 1838, they built a C. P. church on Berry Rose's land. Elder Northcutt says he assisted in its building.
It was a frame-every stick of which was hewed or shaved. They made out to raise money to buy nails, and glass for the two small windows. It burned down about twenty-five years ago.
The following amusing anecdote is related of James Saunders and John G. Fletcher, old pioneer citizens of Mosquito. The latter was something of a bee-hunter, and on one occasion having cut a large bee-tree, converted it into a "gum, " covered it with a split slab and left it for a more convenient time. Uncle Jimmy Saunders, as he was always familiarly known in the settlement, as it happened, had just killed three deer, and finding the "gum," not seeing the honey, filled it up with deer tallow, thus to keep it from the ravens, which were plenty-and somewhat larger than a crow-since extinct in this region. Fletcher returning first could not understand how anybody could rob him of his honey, and leave tallow in exchange, the latter being much more valuable.
Berry Rose, whom all the old settlers will remember, lived furth- er up the creek. He was fond of telling yarns about the "var- ments of Mosquito." He related one that wolves were very numer- ous and very troublesome. One by one they would steal away his geese, pigs and sheep, and one night he was awakened from a profound sleep by a noise in the yard ; and on looking out, found one of his sheep running around his cabin with a wolf after it, and the dog after the wolf.
Zimri Augur opened the first farm on the south side of Mosquito, between Mt. Auburn and the Macon county line. He settled on his place November, 1839; emigrated from Connectieut. Ifis farm lay one mile cast from Mt. Auburn, now occupied by his son An- drew L. Augur. This old resident died in 1870, at the ripe age of 78 years.
On the adoption of township organization in 1866, " Mosquito " was formed into a justice's preeinct, and the place of voting fixed at Eagle school-house, on the lands of R. B. Osburn, where lived for- ty-five years ago the veteran pioneer, Elder Northcutt. At an elee- tion held April 3d, 1866, James Davidson was elected Super- visor, Andrew L. Augur and Jonathan A. Sprague were elected Justices of the Peace. Mosquito has no towns or villages within its borders excepting a small place called "Randellsville," in the south-east corner of the township. It formerly contained a Post-of- fice, a church, school-house and several dwelling-houses. Blue Mound has somewhat dwarfed its future prospects. The lands of this township were originally surveyed in the summer of 1821, by William V. Rector. and the same year township 16-1 W. was sur- veyed by A. L. Langham. Mosquito, at the Presidential election, in November, 1876, cast a vote of 358. The first board of school Trustees, in the county were appointed by the eouuty Court, at their second term or meeting on the twenty-fourth of June, 1839, for town 15-1 W. Martin White, John G. Fletcher and Griffin T. Fletcher. It was decided at the same term of the court that the Trustees sell the 16th section, and the money thus obtained, to be used for school purposes.
The first land entries in this township as taken from the county records, township 16, 1 west,October 8, 1832, Truman White, N. W. }, N. E. } section 35, 40 acres; John White, W. 3 N. W. } section 35, 80 acres ; November 5, 1832, Accabud Stamphill, S. E. & N. W. } section 28, 40 acres, township 15-1 west, November 16, 1826, Ja- cob Fletcher, S. & N. W. I section 4, 78.56 acres; November 6, 1829, Martin White, W. 3 S. W. 1 section 3, 80 acres; November 16, 1829, James Fletcher, W. 3 S. E. 4 section4, 80 aeres.
We append the following list of township officers.
Supervisors .- James Davidson, elected 1866; E. H. Hineline, 1867; M. Stafford, 1868; John L. Drennan, 1869, re-elected 1870 and 1871 ; Andrew L. Augur, 1872, re-elected 1873 ; J. L.
The Library of the University of Illinois.
RES. FROM NORTH WEST
RES. FROM SOUTH WEST.
VIEWS ON THE STOCK FARM OF COL. LEONARD CRAWFORD, SEC. 15, T.15, R.I.W. (MOSQUITO TP., CHRISTIAN CO., ILLINOIS.
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HISTORY OF CHRISTIAN COUNTY, ILLINOIS.
Drennan, 1874, re-clected 1875, 1876 and 1877 ; R. A. Gray, 1878; Robert Gray, 1879; R. A. Gray, 1880.
Assessors .- Elias Bramel elected 1866, J. A. Henderson appoint- ed ; J. A. Henderson, J. L. Drennan, Richard Coliver, John Scott, George McQuality, Oliver White, 1876; H. T. Davidson, 1877, re-elected 1878, 1879 and 1880.
Collectors .- B. D. Cross, elected 1866; Henry C. Crawford, 1867 ; Thomas J. Lanton, 1868, re-elected each year up to 1875 ; J. F. Ferguson, 1875 and 1876; Jesse Ryan, 1877, 1878 and 1879; Robert Elder, 1880.
Town Clerks .-- E. J. Davidson, David Clements, Joseph Roberts,
Johu Hughes, E. M. Burns, W. T. Watts, J. F. Ferguson, Louis Clark, 1876, aud re-elected each succeeding year.
Commissioners of Highways .- A. J. McVey, Daniel Daniels, William Leeper, George Overmeir, William Morgan, Hezekiah Davidson, Francis Stewart, 1876 ; Robert Elder, 1877 ; J. F. Fer- guson, 1878 ; J. L. Drennan, 1879; A. W. Smart, 1880.
Constables .- William Morgan, now serving; J. R. Foster, George Neeley now serving.
Justices of the Peace .- H. L. Hugur, J. A. Sprague, B. D. Cross, Ira Ellis, F. M. Sanders, E. M. Burus, Samuel Betz and Jewillis Wood elected iu 1877 and now serving.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
COL. LEONARD CRAWFORD.
COL. CRAWFORD was born in Westchester county, New York, on the first day of January, 1805. On his father's side his ancestors were Scotch and on his mother's Welsh. His father, Caleb Craw- ford, was also a native of Westchester county, and served for a short time against the British in the war of 1812. His mother's maiden name was Phobe Kniffin. In the year 1813, the family moved from Westchester county, New York, to Cincinnati, Ohio. Col. Crawford remembers New York city, as he passed through it on his way West, then a boy cight years of age, as a town of about forty thousand inhabitants, confined to the extreme lower point of Man- hattan Island. All that constitutes a great part of the present me- tropolis was then a country district where property now worth millions could be obtained on cheap terms. Few people expected the city to reach its present remarkable growth. An emigrant wagon conveyed the family across the Allegheny mountains to Pittsburg, from which place they floated down the Ohio to Cincin- nati in one of the broad-bottomcd " Broad-Horns," then used for transportation on western rivers.
Cincinnati was then on the extreme frontier, and a town of less than nine thousand inhabitants. His father was one of the first men to engage in the pork-packing business in that city. For a couple of years he carried it on quite extensively. But he was a farmer by occupation, and had a strong inclination for agricultural pursuits. The lands of the Wabash valley in Indiana, known as Harrison's Purchase, were about that time offered for sale. His father was one of a company which purchased from the government the plat on which the city of Terre Haute now stands, and immediately set out by keel boat down the Ohio and up the Wabash river to Fort Harri- son, then garrisoned by United States soldiers as a frontier post. This was in the year 1816. His father's family was the third to settle in Vigo county. The place where they located was at the head of Harrison prairie, five miles above the present city of Terre Haute. Fort Harrison, two miles and a half above Terre Haute, was then the principal military post for the Northwestern Territory. Gen. Harrison was in command and frequently visited the post. Col. Crawford's boyhood was principally spent among the Indians, with whom he associated on terms of perfect friendliness, even at times when a hostile feeling existed between the tribes and the gar- rison of the fort. The Kickapoos, Miamis, Delawares and Pottawat- omies, then inhabited that locality. On one occasion, when the
settlers were all gathered together at Fort Harrison, expecting au attack from the Indians with whom there had been some serious misunderstanding, the iumates of the fort were reduced to great straits by reason of a lack of provisions. Col. Crawford, then a boy of eleven or twelve, was sent on horseback out through the Indian camp and brought back to the fort the herd of cattle on which the inmates relied for food. No schools had of course been established in Indiana at that time. His parents were, however, persons of good information, aud the Col. learned the rudiments of a good English education at home. But his boyhood and youth was prin- cipally spent amid the wild free scenes which marked life on the frontier, roaming through Indian camps, hunting, fishing, and en- joying to the utmost the unrestrained liberty of life in the wilderness and on the prairie. His father's investments in the Wabash lands proved unremunerative and unfortunate. He was unable to meet the successive payments, and finally lost almost the entire tract he had originally purchased. It has, of course, since become of great value.
As he grew older Col. Crawford went to farming for himself. He raised one large crop of corn which he sold for six cents a bushel. The Wabash valley between Vincennes and Terre Haute had by that time become quite well settled. The farmers were accustomed to ship their produce in flat boats down the Ohio aud Mississippi, and dispose of it in New Orleans.
About the year 1823, when he was eighteen, there came to Terre Haute a Zoological exhibition under the control of Harvey Bailey, a son of the well-known Hackaliah Bailey, who exhibited the first elephant ever brought to the United States, and from it made a large fortune. Hackaliah Bailey had been raised on an adjoining farm to the Crawfords, in Westchester county, New York, and the two families had consequently been on terms of some intimacy. Col. Crawford was induced to accompany the exhibition, and he thus began a career which he followed for several years, and which was the occasion of his visiting all the inhabited parts of the United States, and of his experiencing numerous adventures. He proved an apt man at the business, and in a few years was made manager of an exhibition. For a great part of the time he had charge of the advertising. With the Washburns and Spencer Gregory, of New York, he was a stockholder in a Zoological and Ornithological association, which at the time of its organization was the most com- plete in the whole country. These exhibitions traveled largely
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HISTORY OF CHRISTIAN COUNTY, ILLINOIS.
through the West and South, and Col. Crawford became familiar with almost every town and village of importance in the whole country. His winters were spent principally in the southern cities. He was at Charleston during the winter of 1832-3, at the time of the famous nullification excitement. South Carolina was in a fever heat, and a conflict between the Federal and State authorities in Charleston Harbor was momentarily expected. His travels and associations also made him familiar with many occurrences and in- cidents between public men, which have since become matters of public history. Like most men in his position he spent his money freely. Although in the receipt of a liberal income he saved com- paratively little from his many years of service in this field.
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