History of Crawford and Clark counties, Illinois, Part 5

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 5
USA > Illinois > Crawford County > History of Crawford and Clark counties, Illinois > Part 5

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 act creating the County of Illinois had been passed by the Legislature of Virginia, and at Williamsburg, the capital then of the

* By W. H. Perrin.

HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY.

newly ma le State, in the very mansion of the royal rulers of the whiloin Colony, Pat- rick II .nry indited his letter of appointment t, John Todd, and entered it in the book already referred to. It occupies the first tive pages and is in Patrick Henry's own hand- writing. This book, made precious by his pen, was intrusted to a faithful messenger, who carried it from tidewater across the mountains to Fort Pitt, thence down the Ohio until he met with its destined recipient, and delivered to him his credentials. It is supposed that Todd received it at Vincennes, then known to Virginians as St. Vincent, not long after the surrender of that place on the 24th of February, 1269, and thereupon as- sumed his new duties.

This old record book, of itself, forms an interesting chapter in the history of Illinois; but our spice will admit of only a brief ex- tract or two from its contents. The follow- ing is in Todd's own handwriting, and no doubt will sound strangely enough to many of our readers at the present day. We give it verbatim et literatum, as follows:

" Illinois, to-wit: To Richard Winston, Esq., Sheriff in chief of the district of Kas- kaskia.

" Negro Manuel, a slave in your custody, is condemned by the Court of Kaskaskia, after having made honorable Fine at the Door of the Church, to be chained to a post at the Water Side and there to be burnt alive and his ashes scattered, as appears to me by Record. This Sentence you are hereby re- quired to put in execution on tuesday next at 9 o'clock in the morning, and this shall be your warrant. Given under my hand and seal at Kaskaskia the 13th day of June in the third year of the Commonwealth."

It is a grim record and reveals a dark chapter in the early history of Illinois. It is startling, and somewhat humiliating, too, to reflect that barely one hundred years ago,

that within the territory now composing this great State, a court of law deliberately sen- tenced a human being to be burnt alive! It is palpable that the inhuman penalty was fixed by the court, and as the statute deprived the commandant of the power to pardon in such cases, it is probable that the sentence was actually executed. The cruel form of death, the color of the unfortunate victim, and the scattering of the ashes, all seem to indicate that this was one of the instances of the imagined crime of Voudouism, or negro witchcraft, for which it is known that some persons suffered in the Illinois country in the early period. Reynolds, in his " Pioneer His- tory," recites a similar instance to the one above given, as occurring in 1790, at Ca- hokia.

A few words additional, of John Told, the first civil Governor of " the Illinois Country," and we will take up the organiza- tion of Crawford County. In the spring of 1280, Todd was elected a delegate from the County of Kentucky to the Legislature of Virginia. In November following, Kentucky was divided into three counties, viz .: Fayette, Lincoln and Jefferson, and in 1781, Thomas Jefferson, who had become Governor of Vir- ginia, appointed Todd Colonel of Fayette County, and Daniel Boone, Lieutenant-Col- onel. In the summer of 1783, Todd visited Richmond, Va., on business of the Illinois Country, where, it is said, he had concluded to reside permanently, and stopped at Lex- ington, Ky., on his return. While here, an Indian attack on a frontier settlement sum- moned the militia to arms, and Todd, as senior colonel, took commind of the little army sent in pursuit of the retreating sav- ages. It included Boone and many other pioneers of note. At the Blue Licks, on the 18th of August, 1782, they overtook the enemy, but the headlong courage of those who would not follow the prudent counsels of

HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY.

Todd and Boone, precipitated an action which proved more disastrous to the whites than any ever fought on Kentucky soil-that early theater of savage warfare. One third of those who went into the battle were killed out- right, and many others wounded. Among the slain was the veteran Todd, who fell gal- lantly fighting at the head of his men. Near the spot where he fell, ou the brow of a small hill overlooking Blue Licks, his re- mains repose under the pines. On the 18th of August last (1882) the centennial of the dis- astrous battle of Blue Licks was held upon the ground where it was fought, and a resolu- tion adopted to erect a monument to the heroes who there fell in defense of their country.

Gen. Arthur St. Clair, Governor of the Northwest Territory, in company with the Territorial judges, went, in the spring of 1:90, to Cahokia, where, by proclamation, he organized the County of St. Clair, the first formed in what now comprises the State of Illinois, and its capital was fixed at Kaskas- kia. Randolph was the next county created in Illinois, and its organization dates back to 1:95. No more counties were made until the session of the Territorial Legislature of 1811-12, when there were three formed, viz .: Madison, Gallatin and Johnson. At the ses- sion of 1814, Edwards was created, and at the session of 1816, White, Jackson, Monroe, Pope and Crawford were formed. At the last session of the Territorial Legislature, and previous to the admission of Illinois as a State, Franklin, Washington, Union, Bond an . Wayne Counties were organized. Thus it will be seen, that Crawford was the elev- enth county formed in the State. It is he- lieved to have been named for Gen. William Crawford, a Revolutionary soldier, who com- manded an expedition against the Wyandot Indians in the "Ohio Country," in 1:82; was captured by them and burned at the stake, at

a spot included in the original limits of Crawford County, Ohio. The act of the Ter- ritorial Legislature for the formation of this county was passed at the session of 1816-17, and is as follows:

An act for the division of Edwards County: Be it enacted by the Legislative Council and House of Representatives of the Illinois Territory, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same: That all that tract of country within the following boundaries, to- wit: Beginning at the mouth of the Embar- ras River, and running with the said River to the intersection of the line dividing Townships number three and four north, of range eleven west of the second principal meridian; thence west with said township line to the meridian, and then due north until it strikes the line of Upper Canada; thence to the line that sepa- rates this Territory from the State of Indi- ana, and thence south with said division line to the beginning, shall constitute a separare County, to be called CRAWFORD; and the seat of justice shall be at the house of Ed- ward N. Cullom, until it shall be permanently established, in the following method, that is: Three persons shall be appointed, to-wit: John Dunlap, Thomas Handy and Thomas Kennedy, which said commissioners, or a majority of them, being duly sworn before some judge or justice of the peace of this Territory, to faithfully take into view the situation of the settlements, the geography of the county, the convenience of the people, and the eligibility of the place, shall meet on the second Monday in March next, at the house of Edward N. Cullom, and proceed to examine and determine on the place for the permanent seat of justice, and designate the same: Provided, the proprietor or proprietors of the land shall give to said county, for the purpose of erecting public buildings, a quan- tity of land at said place not less than twenty acres, to be laid out in lots and sold for the above purpose. But should the said propri- etor or proprietors refuse or neglect to make the said donation aforesaid, then in that case it shall be the duty of the commissioners to fix upon some other place for the seat of just- ice, as convenient as may be to the different settlements in said county, which place, when fixed and determined on, the said commis-

HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY.

sioners shall certify under their hands and seals, and return the same to the next county court in the county aforesaid: and as a com- pensation for their services, they shall each be al owed two dollars for every day they be necessarily employed in fixing the aforesaid seat of justice, to be paid out of the county levy, which said court shall cause an entry thereof to be made on their records, etc., etc. SETH GARD, Speaker of the House of Representatives, pro tempore.

PIERRE MENARD, President of the Legislative Council. Approved, December 31, 1816. NINIAN EDWARDS.

The remaining sections of the act, of which there are two or three, are not pertinent to the subject under consideration. From some cause, the commissioners did not locate the seat of justice at the time specified in the foregoing aet, as will be seen further on in the proceedings of the court.

At the time of organization all county business was done by justices of the peace, instead of by county commissioners, as was the custom a few years later, or by supervis- ors as at the present day. The first term of the County Court was held at the house of Edward N. Cullom, near the present town of Palestine, on the 26th day of February, 1817. From this record it will be seen that the county was fully organized and its civil ma- chinery set in motion, without any unnecessary delay, from the approval of the act (December 31, 1816.) This first term of court was held by Edward N. Cullom and John Dunlap, jus- tices of the peace; Edward H. Piper, clerk, and Francis Cullom, sheriff. The first act of the court was to accept the bond of Cullom as sheriff. Then Joseph Malcom was sworn in as a constable. The next act was to "di- vide the county into districts or election pre- cinets," as follows: The first comprised the traet of country from the month of the Ein- barras River, which was the southern bound-

ary of the county, extending up the Wabash River to the center of township five, thence west to the county line, and was named "Al- lison." The second, all that country between the center of townships five and eight, and was called " Lamotte." The third included all north of township eight to Canada, and was named "Union." Assessors were ap- pointed for these precinets as follows: George W. Kincaid in Allison; Joel Cheek in La. motte, and Isaac Moore in Union. The fol- lowing was the tax levied: On all horses, mares, mules and asses, 31} cents per head; on all stallions the sums for which the owners charge for their services; on all unmarried men over 21 years of age, and who had not $200 worth of taxable property, one dollar; on each bondsmen or slave over the age of 16 years, one dollar; on all mansion houses, which included houses of all kinds, thirty cents on the hundred dollars valuation; on the ferry of James Gibson, five dollars; and on the ferry of E. Twombley, three dollars. The rates of ferriage across the Wabash was fixed at the following: a wagon and team, 75 cents; a two-wheeled carriage, 3:3 cents; a man and horse, 123 cents; a man on foot 6} cents; cattle four cents a head, and sheep and hogs two cents a head each. Fence viewers and road overseers were appointed for the different precincts, and then court adjourned, having completed its work for the term.

The second term of County Court con- vened at the same place, and was held by Edward N. Cullom, John Dunlap and Isaac Moore, embracing the 23d and 24th days of June, 1817. Permission was granted by the court to Isaac Parker to build a " water mill"" on Mill Creek, about twenty-five miles north of Palestine. The laying out of roads occu- pied a portion of the time of the honorable court, and we find that James Caldwell, George Catron and William Lockard were

HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY.

appointed to " view and mark out a road " from Edward N. Cullom's, on Lamotte prai- rie, to the head of Walnut prairie, and Smith Shaw, Benjamin Eaton and Francis C'ullom were appointed to view out a road from the same place (Cullom's) to Arthur Jones' ferry. Several other roads were ordered laid out; also the county officers filed their bonds. Edward HI. Piper as county clerk, Allen McGahey as the first coroner, and John Dunlap as first county surveyor, which coneluded the business of the term. A third term was held also at Cullom's, in October, which was taken up mostly in order- ing roads laid out, and other routine busi- ness, not specially interesting to the general reader.

Edward N. Cullom, at this early period, seems to have been the animating spirit of the community, and his bustling activity found ample scope for its exercise. In the newly-formed court lie presided as one of the justices; he originated and superintended many of the public enterprises of the time, and for many years was one of the most ac- tive and enterprising men in the settlement. ITis home for some time was the actual capi- tal of the county, for Palestine

"Was then a city only in name, The houses and barns had not yet a frame, The streets and the squares no mortal could see, And the woodman's ax had scarce hit a tree."

The courts were held at his house; roads were laid out from thence to radiating points, and, indeed, it seems to have been the center round which the little community revolved. The county had no other capital until the laying out of Palestine some two years or more after the organization of the county.

At the fourth term of the court-held, as usual, at Cullom's, on the 6th, 2th and 8th days of April, 1818, by Samuel Harris, George W. Kinkade, James Shaw, Smith Shaw, and Joseph Kitchell, the following re-

port was received on the third day of the term, from Seth Gard and Peter Keene, who had been appointed by the Legislature in place of those mentioned in the original act, to locate the county seat: "The center of the public square to be eighty roods north of the southeast corner of the southeast quarter of section 31, in township ? north, range 11 west. The center of said public square to extend exactly on the line dividing sections 34 and 35 in the township and range above stated. The donation given to the county to be one equal half of sixty acres of ground, to be laid off on the following quar- ter section: To be laid the whole length of the southeast quarter of section 34, as above stated, and on the east side of said quarter, and the whole length of the southwest quar- ter of section 35, to be laid the whole length of said quarter, and on the west side of the same."

On the land thus described in the above report of the commissioners, the town of Palestine was laid out into one hundred and sixty lots, with streets and alleys, and became the seat of justice of Crawford County, an honor it held until the growth and increase of population demanded a more eligible location, when it was moved nearer to the center of the county. The land upon which the town was laid out, was owned by Edward N. Cul- lom and Joseph Kitchell; that on the east side of the square by Cullom, and that on the west side by Kitehell. Each alternate lot was donated to the county by the propri- etors, in consideration of the establishing of the county seat upon their land. David Por- ter was appointed agent of the county, with authority to sell the lots thus donated. Lots were sold by him from time to time, and houses were erected upon them; people moved in and took up their abode, inaugurat- ing business of different kinds, and the place grew slowly, but steadily, into a town. As

HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY.

" - cities rise and sink Like bubbles on the water,"

so Palestine rose to prominence, and for many years was a place of considerable importance --- in fact the Athens of the State. Aside from Kaskaskia and Vandalia, the first two State capitals, there are few points in Illinois richer in historical lore. It was the county seat; the land office was located there, and doubtless it would have become the capital instead of Vandalia, but for its unfortunate geographical position on the extreme border of the State. Within its precincts assembled the wise and great, the pleasure seeker, the rich and the fair-the creme de la creme of the whole frontier, for social interchange and enjoyment. But the gay little city reached the zenith of its prosperity, and then its star began to wane. From the removal of the seat of justice to Robinson may be dated its decline, and the growth of the latter place proved the death of its glory and magnifi- cence. It is almost as dead to the energy and enterprise of this fast age of improve- ment as though lying buried as deep as Pompeii beneath the lava from Vesuvius. Its decaying buildings show the ivy clinging to their moldering turrets and "hoary lichen springing from the disjointed stones." Mocked by its own desolation, the " bet, shrill shrieking woos its flickering mate," and the " serpents hiss and the wild birds scream." As has been said of ancient Rome,

"The spider waves its web in her palaces;

The owl sings his watch-song in her towers."

The agitation consequent to the removal of the county seat commenced as early as 1840. Hutsonville conceived a jealousy of Palestine, and itself sought to become the seat of justice. Originally York had con- tested the right of Palestine to that glory, and losing the honor, had kieked clear out of the harness, and kicked herself into Clark

County. Through the efforts of Hutsonville, and other interested parties, the matter was brought to a vote of the people, at the election held in August, 1843. Hutsonville by this time had given up the contest, and retired from the race. Five other places, however, bid for it, as follows: on 40 acres donated by Finley Paull, Wm. Wilson, and R. A. and Jno. W. Wilson, (now Robinson); 40 acres donated by P. C. Barlow; the same amount donated by Nelson Hawley; Palestine and the geographical center of the county. The vote stood: The donation of Paull and others -213 votes; donation of Barlow-133 votes; donation of Hawley-38 votes; Palestine- 132 votes; and the center-9 votes. No one of these received a majority of the votes cast, and the question was again submitted to the people on the 12th day of October follow- ing, with the condition that the two places re- ceiving the highest number of votes at the first election, should alone be voted on. The result was as follows: The point offered by Paull, Wilson and others-351 votes, and that offered by Barlow-184 votes. Thus Paull and the Wilsons received the majority, and their do- nation became the county seat. A town was laid out, and named Robinson, in honor of Hon. John M. Robinson, a lawyer well known here some years ago.

At the same term of court, at which Gard and Keene made their report, locating the county seat at Palestine, an order was passed making " wolf scalps" at 82 apiece, a legal tender. These "trophies of the chase " passed current for " whisky, tobacco and other nec- essaries of life," and were also receivable, by order of the court, for county taxes. It may be of interest to some of our readers, wlio were unacquainted with the " wolf scalpers " of that day, to give a few of their names and the number of scalps presented by each at a single term of court. They are as follows: Jan Martin, one scalp; J. Gallon, one; John

HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY.

Garrard, one; Chalkey Draper, one; John Berry, one; James Gain, nine; John Allison, three; George W. Carter, one; John Miller, one; Jolin Waldrop, five; Hugh Miller, three; Jacob Blaze, two; Thomas Handy, ten; Wmn. Y. Hackett, one; James Gill, two; Abraham Coonrod, two; Win. Lowe, one; Francis Cul- lom, ten; making a total of fifty-five scalps, yielding quite a revenue for that day. This term of court also regulated the price tavern- keepers might charge for their exhilerating beverages-all who sold whisky at retail had to take out tavern-license and were forced to keep sufficient house room to accommodate a certain number of persons, together with stable room for their borses. The prices were: For half a pint of wine, French brandy or rum, 50 cents; half a pint of peach or apple brandy, 182 cents; half a pint of whisky, 12} cents; for a horse feed, 12} cents, and for a meal's victuals, 25 cents.

The most important business transacted at the fifth term of court, (held as usual at Cul- lom's) was the passing of an order for build- ing a jail. Hitherto the people were so simple and honest as to require no prison, and indeed, but few of the restraining influences of the law. But as they grew in numbers and in- creased in civilization it became necessary to erect court houses and jails for the purpose of awing evil-doers into submission to the re- quirements of society. This prison was or- dered to be built of hewn timber, twelve inches square, and was considered, in those pioneer times, quite a terror to all who dared trample upon the majesty of the law. The con- tract was let to the lowest bidder, on the 22d day of August, 1818. Joseph Wood drew the prize, and was to receive for the job $514.00, one half of which was to be paid when the work was completed, and the re- mainder twelve months after completion. Mr. Piper, the clerk, was appointed manager of the work on the part of the county. Com-

mencing on the 7th of December, 1818, Jo- seph Kitchell, David Porter and Thomas An- derson, held the sixth and last term of the County Court under the old Territorial laws. The usual routine of business was despatched, but nothing of sufficient importance to ne- cessitate the transcribing of it in these pages.

A new era now commenced in doing the county business. Illinois had been admitted (in 1818) as a State into the Federal Union; a State Constitution had been framed and adopted, and the laws materially changed in many respects. County business was now transacted by three officials, styled County Commissioners, and Wickliffe Kitchell, Ed- ward N. Cullom, and William Barbee were chosen the first Commissioners of Crawford County. They held their first court in the tavern of James Wilson, in the town of Pal- estine, commencing on the 7th day of June, 1819; Edward H. Piper, clerk, and John S. Woodworth, sheriff. Thomas Kennedy was appointed county treasurer. The county was now nearly three years old, its machinery was running smoothly, and everything indi- cated future prosperity.

Court Houses .- At the December term (1819) of the County Commissioners' Court, the jail, which had been built by Joseph Wood, was officially received. A contract had previ- ously been let for building a court house, to William Lindsey, of Vincennes, but some dis- satisfaction was evinced by the commission- ers, as to quality and workmanship of the brick work of the building, and they called'on Thomas Westfall, D. McHenry and Jonathan Young, three brick masons, to judge and determine the work and material, which they did, and decided in favor of Lindsey, the contractor. The building was officially received at a spe- cial term held the latter part of December, and the court paid Westfall, Mellenry and Young $9 for their services as referees. The new court house was occupied for the first

IIISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY.

time at the March term of the court, 1820. The following order was made at a term of court held in October of the same year: " That Venetian blinds be made for the court house in Palestine and slips to shut them against; the two doors be faced with strong 'ruff' scantling, and double batten shutters be made and hung to each; that the windows and doors be hung with good wrought or cast hinges, and each side be cornished up with good, neat, solid cornish, like that on the steam saw-mill at Vincennes."

The court house had been built of very poor material and worse workmanship, but was received by the court. There was trouble, however, between the contractor and the commissioners in regard to the pay for it, and suit was finally brought by Lindsey, in the C'reuit Court of Edwards County, and judg- ment obtained in his favor for $1,768.64. It served as a court house for several years, but the material of which it was composed was of such inferior quality, that the building was never entirely finished. It was struck three times by lightning and the walls so injured that it became necessary to take them down; which was done, and the material sold. A part of the brick is now in Lagow's house in Palestine. The county was now without a court house, and was compelled to rent rooms wherever it could, and often the Circuit Court and grand jury occupied rooms in different parts of the town.

At the March term of the Commissioners' Court in 1830, it was ordered, "that a frame court house be built on the southwest corner of the public square," which was afterward let out to the lowest bidder. David Porter furnished the hewn timbers for $119, and the contract for building was let to Benjamin Myers and others, or, as they were then calleel the " seven Jesses," they being a fam- ily of seven brothers, and Jesse was the lead- ing one of them. The house was completed,

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History of Crawford and Clark counties, Illinois, Part 5

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