History of Crawford and Clark counties, Illinois, Part 29

Author: Perrin, William Henry, d. 1892?
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Chicago : O.L. Baskin & Co.
Number of Pages: 826

USA > Illinois > Clark County > History of Crawford and Clark counties, Illinois > Part 29
USA > Illinois > Crawford County > History of Crawford and Clark counties, Illinois > Part 29

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).

The condition of society, and the moral de- portment of the early settlers were very good for a new country, where the laws were lax, and feebly enforced, where schools were few and inferior, and where religious instruction and church organization were rare, and not publicly carried on as in later years. Candor, honesty, and a readiness to help a friend or neighbor in distress, were the chief character- istics of the early pioneers. They were in- dustrious as a class, generous in their hospi- tality, warm and constant in their friendships, and brave in the defense of their honor. As is the case in all newly-settled countries, there was among them a rough and boisterous ele- ment, a low grade and type of civilization. An element ignorant, vicious and uncouth; its

230

HISTORY OF CLARK COUNTY.

members loud in their denunciations of any innovations tending to better their condition, or that looked toward the erection of Christian institutions.

The lives of the early pioneers must indeed have been monotonous. The settlements were scattering, and the population sparse. There was no general system of schools, or of reli- gious teachings, and as a consequence, for years the Sabbath was simply observed as a day of rest by the young and old. When any future event, that promised to relieve the tedium of their existence became bruited throughout a settlement, its coming was im- patiently awaited. A house or barn raising, or log rolling, a quilting frolic, or husking bee- each and all of these were looked forward to with liveliest anticipation. But nothing stirred society to its remotest depths like the announcement of a wedding. A marriage was a momentous event, and was looked forward to with eager expectation by young and old Mrs. Judge Stockwell relates that she was. present at the marriage of Stephen Archer to Nancy Shaw, and that the wedding and "infare" carnival lasted three days and nights in one continuous round of merry-mak- ing, and was only terminated by exhaustion and loss of sleep on the part of the guests.

There was a rapid influx of population after the year 1825. The census of 1830, at which time the county had been greatly reduced in territorial extent, being somewhat over twice its present size, showed a population of 3,921 white, and 19 colored. The increase in num- ber of white people being over four hundred per cent. over the census of 1820. The ma- jor part of this immigration was from the Southern and Middle States. Nearly all the necessaries and the few luxuries of frontier life, which had hitherto been wagoned over the mountains to Pittsburg, thence floated down the Ohio to the mouth of the Wabash, and pulled and poled up that stream on keel

boats, were now transported by steam-boats, quite a number of which plied the waters of the latter stream. About all the surplus products of the county, such as corn, bacon, and the like, together with lumber, staves and hoop-poles, were generally shipped to New Orleans, an undertaking that involved a long, perilous and tedious voyage, often re- quiring two and three months for going and returning. The journey home was generally performed on foot, through three or four In- dian tribes inhabiting the western parts of Mississippi, Tennessee and Kentucky. There are citizens now living in the county, who have each made five different pedestrian trips from New Orleans to Darwin; carrying with them, over all the long and weary miles, the proceeds of their cargoes, which were invari- ably in silver coin. This system of co : merce was carried ou regularly, and quite exten- sively for many years, and was the principal channel of shipment for surplus. but the railroad system of the present day has changed all this.

The taxes during the first decade or two were neither heavy nor burdensome. The total amount of taxes for each of the ten years, ranged from two to five hundred dollars. Yet these insignificant sums were to defray all the contingent expenses of the county, which was then larger than many of the principali- ties in Europe. Lands were taxed by the State, and were divided into three classes : first, second and third, and were valued at four, three and two dollars per acre, and were taxed respectively, two, one and a half, and one cents per acre. In 1821 the first tax was levied, and the property included was horses and cattle, clocks and watches, town lots and pleasure carriages. The last item was evi- dently a mild bit of pleasantry on the part of the early authorities, as such things existed only in the imagination, in Clark County. In 1823, slaves, registered and indentured ne-

231

HISTORY OF CLARK COUNTY.

groes and mulattoes, and distilleries, were made taxable by the county commissioners. A stout, lusty negro servant or slave was as- sessed at about the same as five good horses. In 1827, hogs, sheep, and ferries over the Wabash, were made taxable.

The county commissioners had broader and more extensive powers than our present law- inakers. They not only had authority to license certain occupations, but also to fix and establish a scale of prices for conducting the same. They issued license to the keeper of a tavern or house of entertainment, speci- fied the amount he should pay for the same, and then arbitrarily fixed the rates he should charge his gnests; and if the wayfarer was bibulously inclined, and desired a stimulant, the law stepped in, and not only scheduled

the kind and quantity of his potation, but fixed the maximum price for it. To illustrate, a specimen is herewith given: At the March term, 1820, of the commissioners' court, ap- pears the following: "Court grant license to Silas Hoskins to keep a tavern in Aurora, at the rate of two dollars per year, to be paid into the county treasury, and fix his rates as follows: for one night's lodging, per man, 12} cents; one meal's victuals, per man, 25 cents; one feed for horse, per gallon of corn, 12} cents; one horse to hay and oats, per night, 3%} cents. For one pint of rum, wine or brandy, 75 cents; for one half pint of same, 3%{ cents; for one pint of whisky, 25 cents; for one half pint of same, 12} cents; for one gill of same, 6} cents; ale, beer or cider, per quart, 25 cents.

About this time the Galena lead mines were at the height of successful operation, and our people would run up the Mississippi in the spring, labor in the mines during warm weather, and then return to their homes in the fall, thius establishing, as was supposed, a similarity between their migratory habits and those of the piscatorial tribe called suck-

ers. For this reason the name "Suckers" was applied to the Illinoisans, at the Galena lead mines by the Missourians, and which has stuck to them ever since, and no doubt al- ways will. Missouri sent hordes of uncouth ruffiaus to these mines, from which our people inferred that the State had taken a puke, and had vomited forth all her worst population. As analogies always abound, the Illinoisans, by way of retaliation, called the Missourians " Pukes," a name they will be known by for all time.

The Indians were quite numerous in the county at the time of its early settlement. There were camps on Mill Creek; one about a mile and a half southeast of what is now Marshall, on what is now known as the Wat- son quarry; one a short distance north of the present town of Livingston, and one south of the same, near the Alwood hill. But the largest camp was on Dial's Creek, in the Rich- woods; a large majority of these Indians were Kickapoos, and the remainder chiefly Potta- watomies. They were generally quiet, peace- able and friendly, spent their time in hunting and trapping, and bartered the proceeds of the chase with the whites, for corn, powder and lead, salt, etc. They about all disap- peared during the Black Hawk War. Though during the war, and while a large portion of our male population was absent in the army, there was a large number on Mill Creek that threatened hostilities, to the great apprehen- sion of the remaining settlers. They held pow-wows, danced their war dances, and at night their fierce and savage yells could be heard a great distance, to the terror of de- fenceless women and children.

There then lived in the northeastern por- tion of the county, a man beyond middle age, named John House, who was a second Lewis Whetzel. When a boy the savages had massacred nearly all. his father's family, and he had sworn eternal vengeance, and im-

232

HISTORY OF CLARK COUNTY.

proved every opportunity to gratify it. IIe was well known to the Indians as " Big Tooth John," on account of his eye teeth projecting over his under lip, like tushes. It is re- lated that on one occasion, while hunting, an Indian stepped from an ambush, and ex- plained how easily he could have killed him. House pretended to be quite grateful, but watching his opportunity, shot the Indian dead. He enlisted in the Black Hawk War, and was in the memorable engagement on the banks of the Mississippi, of August 2, 1832, in which the Indians were routed and which terminated the war. During the battle, a Sac mother took her infant child, and fastening it to a large piece of cottonwood bark, consigned it to the treacherous waves rather than to captivity. The current carried the child near the bank, when House coolly loaded his rifle, and taking deliberate aim, shot the babe dead. Being reproached for his hardened cruelty, he grimly replied, " Kill the nits, and you'll have no lice."

Among the diversions of the early times, were shooting matches for beef, turkeys, whisky and sometimes for wagers of money. When a beef was shot for, it was divided into five quarters. the hide and tallow being the fifth, and considered the best of all. Among the inost noted marksmen of the day, were Judge Stephen Archer and Stump Rhoads. Indeed, so expert were they, that both were generally excluded from the matches, and the fifth quarter given them, as a sort of a royalty, the possession of which was usually decided by a contest between themselves. The Judge had been several times victorious over his rival, who finally procured a new rifle, and badly defeated his opponent on a most momentous occasion. Smarting under his discomfiture, the Judge had a heavy, target rifle made, with especial reference to accurate shooting. This artillery he dubbed "Sweet Milk and Peaches," and patiently bided his time to

vanquish his adversary. An opportune occa- sion soon arrived. It was in the summer; the usual donation had been made to these cham- pious, and Rhoads' best shot had just grazed the center. The Judge's breeches were of the usual tow linen, and worn without drawers. As he was lying down, taking long and deliberate aim, his rival, by some means, slipped some bees up the leg of his pantaloons. These hostiles, after a short voyage of dis- covery, began to ply their harpoons. But so completely absorbed was the Judge in this struggle for victory, that he stiffened his limb, elevated it straight in the air, and crying :-- " Stump Rhoads, you can't throw Sweet Milk off that center with no dod-blasted bee," pulled the trigger, clove the center, and was declared the winner.

Though society was rude and rough, that curse of humanity, intemperance, was no more prevalent, in proportion to population, than now, perhaps not as much. Scarcely was the nucleus of a settlement formed, ere the steam of the still tainted the air. The settlers en- dured privations and hunger, and their children cried for bread for want of mills; they groped in ignorance for want of schools and churches, but the still was ever in their midst, where the farmer exchanged his bag of corn for the beverage of the border. I:1 every family the jug of bitters was an insep- arable adjunet, and was regularly partaken of by every member of the household, espe- cially during the chill season. The visit of a neighbor was signalize I by pro.lucing the bottle or demijohn. At all rustic gatherings, liquor was considered an indispensable arti- cle, and was freely used. Everybody drank whisky, ministers and all. True, there were some sections, in which the people resisted all advancement and progress. In these, liquor was used to great excess, and then, as now, was an active promoter of broils, disturbances and fights. In these affrays, to their credit

HISTORY OF CLARK COUNTY.

be it said, fists and feet were alone used, and were called "rough and tumble." The knife, the pistol and the bludgeon, were then unknown, and are the products of a much later and more advanced civilization. These sections were known as the " hard neighbor- hoods," and were always shunned by re- speetable immigrants seeking homes. There is a story that an itinerant teetotaler onee strayed into one of these haunts of immorality, and threw a fire-brand into the camp by de- livering a terrific discourse against the use of intoxicants. The speaker was interrupted by the representative man, who introduced him- self, and described the society of his locality, as follows: "I'm from Salt Creek, and the folks thar are all bad and wooley; and the higher up you go, the wuss they air, and I'm from the headwaters. I'm a wolf, and it's my time to howl. Now, Mr. Preecher, what would we do with our corn erop, if there wuz no still-houses?" " Raise more hogs and less hell around here," was the ready, but vigor- ous reply. The speaker was interrupted no more.

The old time ministers were characters in their way. A distinet race so to speak, and were possessed of an individuality, peculiarly their own. As a class, they were uneducated, rough and resolute, and encountered and overcame obstacles that would appall the effeminate parsons of later days. They were suited exactly to the civilization in which they lived, and seem to have been chosen vessels, to fulfil a certain mission. These humble pioneers of frontier Christianity, pro- claimed the " tidings of great joy " to the early settlers, at a time when the country was so poor that no other kind of ministers could have been maintained. They spread the gospel of Christ when educated ministers with salaries could not have been supported. They preached the doctrine of free salvation, without money and without

price, toiling hard in the interim of their labors, to provide themselves with a scanty subsistence. They traversed the wilderness through sunshine and storm; slept in the open air, swam swollen streams, suffered cold, hunger and fatigue, with a noble heroism, and all for the sake of their Savior, and to save precious souls from perdition. Many of these divines sprang from, and were of the people, and without ministerial training, except in religious exercises, and the study of the Scriptures. In those times it was not thought necessary that a minister should be a scholar. It was sufficient for him to preach from a knowledge of the Bible alone; to make appeals warm from the heart; to paint the joys of heaven and the miseries of hell to the imagination of the sinner; to terrify him with the one, and exhort him, by a life of righteousness to attain the other. Many of these added to their scriptural knowledge, a diligent perusal of Young's Night Thoughts, Milton's Paradise Lost, Jenkins on Atone- ment, and other kindred works which gave more compass to their thoughts, and brighter imagery to their fancy. And in profuse and flowery language, and with glowing enthusi- asm and streaming eyes, they told the story of the Cross.

Sometimes their sermons turned upon mat- ters of controversy-unlearned arguments on the subjects of free grace, baptism, free will, election, faith, justification, and the final per- severance of the saints. But that in which they excelled was the earnestness of their words and manner, the vividness of the pict- ures they drew of the ineffable bliss of the redeemed, and the awful and eternal torments of the unrepentant.

" They preached the joys of heaven and pains of hell, And warned the sinner with becoming zeal, But on eternal mercy loved to dwell."

Above all, they inculcated the great principles of justice and sound morality,

234

HISTORY OF CLARK COUNTY.

and were largely instrumental in pro- moting the growth of intellectual ideas, in bettering the condition, and in elevating the morals of the people; and to them are we indebted for the first establish- ment of Christian institutions throughout the county. These old-time evangelists passed away with the civilization of the days in which they lived and labored. They fought the good fight, well and faithfully performed the mission, and bore the burdens their divine Master assigned them, and may their sacred ashes repose in peace, in the quietude of their lonely graves, until awakened by the final trump.

The white population of our county has steadily and rapidly increased, as will be seen by the following exhibit by decennial periods: In 1820 the white population was 930; in 1830, 3,921; in 1840, 7,426; in 1850, 9,494; in 1860, 14,948; in 1870, 18,698; in 1880, 21,843. The increase in colored population has been small, both by emigration and otherwise, in- creasing from one slave in 1820 to fifty-one free colored in 1880. After 1830 the moral and intellectual condition of our people grad- ually improved, each passing year recording a marked change for the better. But what it lacked in refinement it made up in sincerity and hospitality. The establishment of com- merce, the forming of channels of intercourse between distant sections by building exten- sive highways, the regular exportation of all our surplus prodluets, were among the first means of changing the exterior aspect of our population and giving a new current to pub- lic feeling and individual pursuit. The free diffusion of knowledge through schools and the ministry of the gospel also largely con- tributed to the happy change, and to all these influences are we indebted for the civilization of the present. But still, when we ponder on those olden days, rude and rough as they were, we almost wish for their return. Those

good, old days, when the girls rode behind their sweethearts to church or party, and when the horses always kicked up, and the maidens held tightly on; when wife and hus- band visited on the same nag, the former in front of her liege, with sleeping babe snugly cuddled in her lap. Those good old days, when the hypocrisy, shams, and selfishness of modern society were unknown. When the respectability of men and women was not measured by their bank accounts and bonds, nor by displays of finery, but by the simple standard of worth and merit; by their useful- ness in the community, by their readiness to aid the suffering, to relieve the distressed. When there were no social castes or dis- tinetions, and when honesty and uprightness were the livery of aristocracy. When the turpitude of vice and the majesty of moral virtue were regarded with stronger sentiments of aversion and respect than they to-day in- spire.

It is a well-established fact that the settle- ment and cultivation of a country have a noticeable effect upon the general tempera- ture of the climate. But the change has been so gradual that it is a matter of difficulty for our few surviving pioneers to distinctly rec- ollect and describe. At the first settlement of the country the summers were much cooler than now. Warm evenings and nights were not common, and the mornings, frequently, uncomfortably cold. The coolness of the nights was owing, in a great degree, to the deep, dense shade of the forest trees and the luxuriant crops of wild grass, weeds, and other vegetation, which so shaded the earth's surface as to prevent it from becoming heated by the rays of the sun. Frost and snow set in much earlier than now. Snowfalls fre- qu ntly occurred during the latter half of October, and winter often set in with severity during November, and sometimes in the early part of it. The springs were formerly later

235

IHISTORY OF CLARK COUNTY.

and colder than they now are, but the change in this respect is not favorable to vegetation, as the latest springs are generally followed by the most fruitful seasons. It is a law of the veg table world that the longer the germi- nating principle is delayed the more rapid when put in motion. Hence those far north- ern countries like Sweden, Norway, and Russia, which have but a short summer and no spring, are among the most productive in the world. While, in this latitude especially, vegetation, prematurely started by reason of open winters and delusive springs, is often checked by " cold snaps" and untimely frosts, and frequently fails to attain its ultimate per- fection. From this imperfect account of the weather system of early times, it appears that

the seasons have undergone considerable change. As a rule, our springs are earlier, summers warmer, the falls milder and longer, and the winters shorter and accompanied with less cold and snow than formerly. These changes can be partly, if not wholly, attrib- uted to the destruction of the forests. Every acre of cultivated land mustincrease the heat of our summers, by exposing an augmented extent of ground surface denuded of its tim- ber, to be acted upon and heated by the rays of the sun. But, by reason of there being no mountainous barriers either north or sonth of us, the conflict for equilibrium between the dense and rarified atmospheres of these two extremes will most likely continue our changeable and fickle climate forever.

CHAPTER III.

ORGANIZATION OF THE COUNTY-THE LEGISLATIVE ACT CREATING IT-LOCATION OF THE SEAT OF JUSTICE-THE COURTS -- AURORA AND DARWIN-REMOVAL TO MARSHALL-BITTER CONTESTS-THE QUESTION FINALLY SETTLED- DIVISION OF THE COUNTY INTO PRECINCTS-ENGLISH TITHINGS-TOWNSHIP ORGANIZATION-BEN- EFIT OF THE SYSTEM, ETC., ETC.

RAWFORD County, from the territory C of which Clark was taken, was created under the old territorial laws. It embraced a vast extent of country, including all of East- ern Illinois to the Canada line, and as far west as Fayette County. In order to form a new county, the law required the proposed district to have at least 350 inhabitants. The northern portion of Crawford having the req- uisite population a petition was filed in the Legislature for a separate county. That body, at the session of 1819, passed the fol- lowing act: An Act Forming a new County out of the County of Crawford.

SEC. 1. Be it enacted by the people of the State of Illinois represented in the General Assembly, That all that part of Crawford County lying north of a line beginning on the great Wabash River, dividing townships eight and nine north, running due west shall form a new and separate county to be called " Clark."

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That for the purpose of fixing the permanent seat of justice for said county the following persons are hereby appointed commissioners, viz .: Smith Shaw, Thomas Gill and James Watts, which commissioners or a majority of them shall meet at the house of Charles Neely be- tween the first and second Mondays of May next, and after having been duly sworn before

some justice of the peace within this State, faithfully to take into consideration the situa- tion of the settlements, the geography of the country and the convenieney and eligibility of the place, shall then proceed to establish the permanent seat of justice for the said county of Clark, and designate the same, provided however the proprietor or proprietors owning such land on which the seat of justice may be fixed, shall give to the county of Clark twenty acres of land for the purpose of erecting public buildings, to be laid out into lots, and sold for the use of said county, but should the proprietor or proprietors neglect or refuse to make the donation as aforesaid, then and in that case, the commissioners shall fix upon some other place for the seat of jus- tice for said county as convenient as may be to the different settlements in said county, which place when determined on by said com- missioners they shall certify under their hands and seals to the clerk of the commissioners court, and it shall be the duty of the said clerk to spread the same on the records of said county, and the said commissioners shall receive two dollars per each day they may be necessarily employed in fixing upon the afore- said seat of justice, to be paid out of the county levy.

SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That until the county commissioners shall other-

237

HISTORY OF CLARK COUNTY.

wise direct, the court and elections for said county shall be held at the house of Charles Neely in said county.

SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That the citizens of Clark County shall be entitled to vote for Senator and Representatives with Crawford County in the same manner as they would have done bad this act not passed.

SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That the said county of Clark be and form a part of the second judicial district and that the courts therein be holden at such times as shall be di- rected in the act regulating and defining the duties of the justices of the Supreme Court.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of Crawford and Clark counties, Illinois, Part 29

Author: Perrin, William Henry, d. 1892? Publication date: 1883 Publisher: Chicago : O.L. Baskin & Co. Number of Pages: 826

Author: Perrin, William Henry, d. 1892?
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Chicago : O.L. Baskin & Co.
Number of Pages: 826