USA > Illinois > Clark County > History of Crawford and Clark counties, Illinois > Part 53
USA > Illinois > Crawford County > History of Crawford and Clark counties, Illinois > Part 53
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There is a small society of the Adventists in the township, a few miles south of Mar-
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HISTORY OF CLARK COUNTY.
tinsville. They have a neat frame building, and are at present under charge of Rev. M. Taggart, pastor.
The Baptist Church of Martinsville was organized February 22, 1879, by a council consisting of Elders F. J. Thornton, John Bratton, and others. The original members were the following: John Roberts, Lucinda Kemper, Nannie Randal, Lucy Laingor, Catherine Howell, Julia Grey and Martha Maxwell. The first pastor was Rev. T. J. Thornton, of Westfield, who served six inonths, when he resigned. The church was without a pastor for one year, when Elder J. L. Parker, of Casey, was called. He served one year, and was succeeded by Elder S. T. Reynolds, who served the same length of
time. At the expiration of Reynolds' term as pastor, T. J. Thornton again took charge of the church, and is the present pastor. The membership is about twenty-eight.
The Christians have an organization in the village, and a neat, brick house of worship. Their number, at one time quite large, his diminished considerably during the last few years, and at the present time, they do not maintain a pastor.
The Mount Pleasant Christian Church was organized in 1879, by Elder C. W. Hill, with fourteen members. Soon after the organi- zation, a good, hewed log house was erected, in the southeast corner of section 14. The present membership is about twenty-five. The pastor in charge, is Rev. James Hill.
CHAPTER XVI .*
DOLSON TOWNSHIP-TOPOGRAPHY AND PHYSICAL FEATURES-THE COMING OF THE PIO- NEERS-CHARACTER OF THE PEOPLE-MILLS, ROADS AND OTHER IMPROVE- MENTS-SCHOOLS, CHURCHES, ETC .- VILLAGE OF CLARKSVILLE, ETC.
ITHREE quarters of a century ago this section was a wilderness undisturbed by the enterprise of the white man. Its history begins with the year 1828, when the first set- tlers made their appearance, and the influx of population, which commenced with the dawnl of that year, ceased not until all the vacant land was taken up and improved. The in- ducements which invited immigration to this part of the country were all that the most exact- ing could demand, or that nature in her most pleasant moods could offer. Forests of the finest timber, streams of flowing water and broad stretches of fertile prairie lands, were considerations not to be overlooked by the pioneers in selecting homes for themselves and their posterity.
Dolson is situated in the northern tier of townships, and originally included within its area forty-five square miles of territory, but in the year 1859 four and a half sections were taken off the southeast corner and used in the formation of Auburn township. It is bounded on the east by the townships of Douglass and Marshall, on the south by Auburn and Mar- tinsville, on the west by Parker and Westfield, on the north by Edgar County, and forms part of two congressional towns, the northern part being known as town 12 north, range 13 west, and the southern half as town 11 north, range 13 west. The country presents a pleasant diversity of surface and soil, with prairie and woodland in about equal propor-
tions, the timbered districts being confined to the eastern and western parts, where the land in many places is considerably undulating and broken. The luxuriant forest growth which once covered these portions of the township has largely given way to meadow land and grain field, save where each farmer's woodland gives token of what the country was before disturbed by the innovation of the settler. The timber consists of the varieties common to this part of the State, and, at the time the first settlements were made, was entirely devoid of undergrowth, owing to the prevalence of fires, which swept over the country in the fall of every year. Dolson prairie, from which this division derived its name, occupies the central part of the town- ship, extending from the northern to the southern boundary, and presents one of the finest agricultural regions to be found within the limits of the county. Its surface is gently undulating, and was originally covered with a dense growth of tall grass, which at- tested the fertile quality of the soil beneath, which was not brought into cultivation until several years had elapsed from the date of the first settlement, on account of its wet, slushy nature, and the prevalent belief that it was totally unfit for farming purposes. In time, however, this delusive belief was dis- pelled by the enterprising settlers who first turned over the tough sod, and who were re- warded for their labors by ample crops, pro- duced from the rich soil, a soil, which, after more than forty years of constant tillage, still
* By G. N. Berry.
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IIISTORY OF CLARK COUNTY.
retains all of its original fertility. The soil of the woodland differs very materially from that of the prairie, being principally of a light, elayey nature, and not so well adapted for general farming. But it is fertile, neverthe- less, and well calculated for wheat and the other cereals usually grown in this part of the State, and produces many fine varieties of fruit, in abundance.
North Fork which affords the principal drainage of the western part of the county enters the township in section 2, flows almost due south along the western boundary and receives in its course a number of small trib- utaries, chief among which is Slater's Branch. The latter stream has its source near the cen- tral part of the township, passes through parts of sections 5, 8 and 17, unites with North Fork in section 18, and affords ample drain- age to that part of the country through which it flows. The principal stream of note in the eastern part of the township is Mill Creek. It crosses the northern boundary in section 21, flows through an irregular channel in a southeasterly direction and leaves the town- ship from section 13. A tributary of North Fork in the southwestern part, known as Blne Grass Creek, completes the list of the more important water-courses of the township. Water is everywhere easily accessible. Springs abound along the streams, while in other portions of the township, no special dif- ficulties have been experienced in securing good wells. The soil is the chief resource, and as an agricultural district, the township was first sought by the early settlers. Such a country generally attracts hardy, enterprising immigrants through certain and thrifty re- wards it offers to well-directed labor. The carly pioneers brought families with them and came to found homes and fortunes, and to gain both by industrious and thrifty lives; frugality and industry were the cardinal vir- tues of the pioneer farmers who first felled the
forests and turned the prairie soil of Dolson. Years of self-denying effort made up for the price which the settlers paid for their lands where their descendants now live in comfort and plenty.
The first permanent settlement in Dolson, according to the most reliable testimony, seems to have been made in the northeastern part near the present village of Clarksville, as early as the year 1828, by three immigrant families from Kentucky. The heads of these families were John Drake, William Rogers and William Smith, all of whom erected cab- ins and improved small patelies of ground in the same locality. Drake settled temporarily on a piece of land lying south of Clarksville a part of which he improved and on which he lived for six years, when he sold the improve- ments to Daniel Lycan, who entered the land. A son, John Drake, was born the year after the family moved here, which was the first birth in Dolson, two years later Mrs. Drake died. This was the first death that occurred in the township. Drake afterward purchased land and resided in the township until the time of his death in 1847.
Rogers remained where he originally set- tled but a short time, when he moved further south and improved a smill farm in the south- west quarter of section 1, which he entered in the year 1833. He occupied this place about one year, when he sold it to Daniel EI- ledge and moved to Martinsville. From the latter place he went to Texas, where he died a number of years ago. William Smith settled the farm where J. G. Lycan lives, to whom he sold his im rovements, in the year 1834. He was a man well calculated for a pioneer, and raised a family of stalwart sons, who partook of his adventurous nature to a great extent. Among these son was Willam or " Snorting Bill " as he was more familiarly known in the early history of the country and who figured prominently in the pioneer settle-
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HISTORY OF CLARK COUNTY.
ment of Dolson. He was an eccentric char- Heter and spent the greater part of his time with a tribe of Indians, who had a village a short distance north of the little settlement. He seems to have been a great favorite with the "redskins " and adopted their style of dress and conformed to their manners and customs of living, but for no good purpose, as he secretly despised the race and never let an opportunity of sending one to the " happy hunting grounds " go by unimproved. After several of their number had unaccountably disappeared, the Indians began to suspect foul play on the part of the whites, and made strenuous efforts to discover their secret ene- my. Bill was not suspicioned by his savage companions. He took an active part in the search, and was instrumental in averting the indiscriminate vengeance which the Indians proposed to wreak upon the settlement. Bill's father, who had long suspected him of being the cause of the trouble, at length charged him with it, which Bill would not deny, neither would he plead guilty. This so enraged the old gentleman that he determine 1 to exercise his parental authority in such, a manner as to extort a confession. Accord- ingly he procured a ramrod which he applied so vigorously over the shoulders and back of his undutiful son that it was soon reduced to splinters. Bill bore the cruel punishment with heroic fortitude until a second rod was obtained, when he acknowledged that the last he saw of the missing redskins, " they were lying on the ground unable to get up." He afterward became a great athlete and fighter and was never better satisfied than when en- gaged in tests of physical strength, or a rough and tumble knock-down. Becoming dissatis- fied with the tame life in this part of the country, he went further west, and finally made his way to Texas at about the time of its struggle for independence. Ile joined the patriot army, participated in many of the hot-
ly contested engagements of that war, and fell with the noted David Crockett at the tak- ing of the Alamo.
The next in the catalogue of early settlers were Isaac and David Murray, two brothers, who came to the county in the spring of 1830. They selected sites for their homes in the northern part of the township, where the first named entered two hundred and fifty acres of government land, a portion of which he sold to his brother a short time afterward. Isaac was a bachelor, and a man of fine business talents and considerable wealth. He expended his means in improving his land, and soon had a fine farm under successful cultivation. A few years later he erected a carding machine on his place, which he operated very success- fully for a number of years. This mill was a very primitive affair, operated by horse- power, and, during the time it was run, did a flourishing business, having been extensively patronized by the early settlers of Dolson and surrounding townships. David Mar- ray, like his brother, was a man of consid- erable enterprise, and was highly respected in the township which he was instrumental in settling. His death occurred in the year 1SS0.
From 1830 until 1834 no other settlements were made within the present limits of Dol- son. During the latter year the following persons made entries in the township: Henry Doughty, in section 35; Henry Harrison, section 34; and Ralph Haskitt, in section 26; all of whom were non-residents. Daniel Elledge, to whom reference has already been made, was probably the next settler; he im- migrated to this State from Kentucky in the year 1833, and purchased land of Willam Rogers, one year later. Ho afterward en- tered forty acres of land adjoining his farm, and in time became the possessor of consid- erable real estate. He was a preacher of the Christian church, and conducted the first
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HISTORY OF CLARK COUNTY.
religious exercises ever held in the township at his own residence. He resided in Dolson until the year 1847, at which time lie sold his property to a man by the name of Saders, and moved with his family to Iowa. De- laney Kidwell located in the township about the same time as the foregoing, but made no entry of land until the year 1835. He im- proved a farm in sections 5 and 6, which he sold to a man by the name of Blackburn, in the year 1845. Among the settlers who came in prior to 1835, were William Spencer and Hiram Taylor. Spencer settled east of Dolson Prairie, in section 22, but made no permanent improvement. Taylor improved forty acres of land lying in sections 21 and 22. He was a man of intelligence, and was the first justice of the peace elected in the township after its organization. J. G. Lycan and Reason Wilson both settled in the town- ship about the year 1831, the former in the northeastern part, on section 1, where he still lives, and the latter on section 21, where he entered an extensive tract of land, on which he resided for about thirty years, when he sold to Isaac Claypool and emigrated to Missouri. During the year 1835 the follow- ing persons selected lands in different places throughout the township: Alfred McCracken, Peter Bartmess, James B. Downs, Edwin Brown, William Brown, Allen Stewart, John Learns, Peter Barrick and Reason Richard- son. James Ennis arrived in the township in the spring of 1836, and located near the central part on section 4. He was a native of Kentucky, a man of sterling integrity, and gave character to the community in which he lived. The farm on which he origi- nally settled is at present owned and occu- pied by Elisha Heath. Jacob and Ben- jamin Bartmess came about the same time, and soon after were joined by George Bartmess. The first named settled east of the prairie, and proved a valuable accession
to the little settlement, owing to his skill as a mechanic. He operated the first black- smith shop in the township, repaired wagons, worked at the carpenter's trade, built chim- neys for the settlers, and was equally profi- cient in a number of other trades. In later years he added the medical profession to his many other accomplishments, and was widely known throughout the county as a "steam doctor." Benjamin located a farm in section 27, while George settled west of the prairie, where he lived until the year 1857. In this year came George Lee, who settled near the northeast corner of the township, in section 36, where he afterward laid out the village of Clarksville; he sold the land in 1862 and emigrated to a distant State. Others came from time to time, to gladden the hearts and share the burdens of the little frontier com- munity.
It is not possible, at this time, to learn all the partienlairs of their coming, or even their names. Among those who came prior to 1840, were Harrison Husted, Amos Daniel, George Phelps, Norton Lawrence, John H. Bean, Elzy Neal, Alexander Williams, Elias Hibbard, Ira Harding, Wesley Low, Alfred McClure, John McClure, Moses Stark, Will- iam Fitzgerald, Eli Covington, Enoch Red- man, J. G. Zimmerman, James Schreech, William Comstock, Levi Comstock, William Morris, George Metcalf, James Cunningham, Perry Metcalf, George Coons, Eliphaz Gray, James B. Downs, Philip Boyer, John Coving- ing, Stanford Nay, John Farrell, Samuel Keys, John Matthews, William Murray, Nahum Sargent, James Lowry, Charles Welch, Perry Welch. Ryan E. Welch, Sperry Claypool, Robert Welch, and many others whose names were not ascertaine 1. It may be said that the greater number of these settlers were from the States of Ohio and Kentucky. Several came from the older set- tled portions of the country, and a number
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HISTORY OF CLARK COUNTY.
undoubtedly came in who afterward became dissatisfied with the country, and removed further west, or went back East. By 1840 the townslip was quite well settled up and improvements were pushed rapidly forward, and industries began to rise as the demand for various articles nearer home was created.
As early as 1838, a small horse mill was erected in the northern part of the township, but by whom, was not learned. It was a very rude affair, but did a good business for a mill of its capacity, and was in operation about six years.
Christian Clapp built a water mill on Mill Creek about the year 1840, which proved a very successful enterprisc. It was exten- sively patronized, and, during the first two years after its erection, was kept running al- most constantly, in order to supply the great demand for flour and meal. An addition was afterward built to it, and machinery for manufacturing linseed oil attached. The last venture, however, did not prove very re- munerative to the proprietor, and the enter- prise was soon abandoned. The mill was kept running for about twelve years.
The first roads through Dolson were mere trails made by the Indians, and afterward traveled by the settlers until they became recognized as highways. Several of these crooked roadways were in later years regu- larly established, and are still traveled. The first road legally laid out was the Auburn and Westfield road which crosses the southern part of the township in a northwesterly direc- tion. It was established in the year 1835, and is still one of the leading highways of the western part of the county. The Robin- son or Grandview road was surveyed about the same time. It passes through the central part of the township from north to south, and intersects the Westfield road in the western part of section 21.
Among the early highways is Charleston
road leading from Darwin to Springfield.
It traverses the northern part of the town- ship in a northwesterly direction, and was laid out and established by William B. Archer in the year 1840. Like the other divisions of the county Dolson is well-supplied with good roads which intersect each other at various points throughout the township.
The little hamlet of Clarksville which hard- ly deserves the dignity of a village, is situated in the eastern part of the township and dates its history from the year 1851. It was a cherished thought of George Lee, to be the founder of a town, coupled with the desire of a speculation, which he thought could be realized out of the venture. The outgrowth of these desires was the village, which was surveyed and platted by James Lawrence, county surveyor, in January of the year referred to. The town is situated on the southwest quarter of the northeast quarter of section 36, and commands a very beautiful location. Its close proximity to the city of Marshall, and absence of facilities, prevented business men from locating in the village, and consequently its growth has been very slow. The first house was a dwelling erected by John Myers, who ran a shoe shop in the village for a number of years. Reason Bea- dle erected a store building shortly after the town was laid out, which he stocked with a general assortment of merchandise. He did a good business for five years, when he sold to a man by name of Kline who in turn dis- posed of the store to Mr. Stevenson, the pres- ent proprietor, after having run it a short time.
In the meantime a small grocery store or "gin mill," rather, was started by Joseph Cartwright who erected a small building for the purpose. He continued his business against a popular pressure for five or six years, when he closed out his stock and sought other employment. In the year 1878
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HISTORY OF CLARK COUNTY.
a drug store was started in the village, by Ryley Wealan, and is still in operation. Two stores, one wagon-shop, one harness- shop and a shoe shop comprise the present business status of the town. About twenty families compose its population.
Schools are the offspring of civilization. They are unknown among barbarous people, and are found numerous and perfect in the degree of their removal from the savage state. Among the pioneers of Dolson were a number of men who took a lively interest in educa- tional matters and schools were established in an early day.
Opinion is somewhat divided as to when the first school was taught and where the first house was built. It is known that Reuben Warner taught a term as early as the year 1839, in a little log house which stood in the western part of the township in section 8. The building was about sixteen feet square, and like all the early school-houses of pioneer times was furnished with rough puncheon benches, a wide board desk for writing pur- poses, and the inevitable wide-mouthed fire- place in one end of the room. The structure was erected by the neighbors who turned out en masse for the purpose, and there were probably not five dollars in money expended on the building. Among the families who sent to this school were the Kidwells, Coons, Ennises and Welches. The buikling was in use for school purposes about ten years when it was torn down and replaced by a more com- fortable and convenient structure. The sec-
ond school-house in the township stood about a half mile north of the one mentioned which it resembled in both its construction and fur- niture. Another early school building stood in the southwestern part of the township, and was constructed after the usual pioneer mol- el. As the years went by, these rude log buildings disappeared, and in their stead neat frame houses were erected. There are at the present time eight good school-houses in the township, in which schools are taught from six to eight months of each year.
In the year 1882, there was paid for teachers' salaries in this township the sum of $1,963.26.
The early religious history of Dolson is in- volved in some obscurity, and it can not be determined with exactness who preach 'd the first sermon in the townsh p. Pioneer missionaries of the Metho list church held serv - ices at the residence of George Coons at a very early day. A flourishing society was af- terward organized, which is still in existence and known as the Dolson Metho list Episco- pal Church. They have a good building a short distance southwest of Clarksville.
The United Brethren held services at dif- ferent places in the township in an early dav, but did not organize any society. Among their preachers were John an I Ephraim Shu- ey and a man by the name of Briley. The Bap- tists have a large congregation near Clark :- ville and sustain a good church. They have a good frame building an I report their socie- ty in a flourishing condition.
CHAPTER XVII .*
ANDERSON TOWNSHIP-THE LAY OF THE LAND-ORIGINAL ENTRIES-EARLY SETTLE- MENT-THE BIRCH FAMILY-SCHOOLS AND CHURCHES.
A NDERSON is the name applied to town- ship 10, range 12 west, which is bounded on the north by Marshall and Auburn, on the east by Darwin, on the south by Melrose, and on the west by Martinsville. It is somewhat irregular in outline, occasioned by the surveys on either side of the Indian Boundary line, which passes diagonally through the central part of the township, and the loss of one sec- tion from the northwest corner, taken to fill out the township of Auburn. The area thus included was originally covered with a heavy growth of timber, including all the varieties common to this vicinity, and pleasantly wa- tered by Mill Creek and its tributaries. This stream enters the northern line of the town- ship near the middle point and passes out at the southeast corner, thus marking the line and direction of the natural drainage. There are several tributaries, all of which reach the main stream by nearly a due east and west course. The valleys are well marked and have some breadth of bottoms, but the surface of the township elsewhere is quite broken. There is but very little waste land here, though much of it is too broken for tillage. The present resident population is largely German, a class of people who have more faith in wheat growing than in stock raising, and the result is that too much of Anderson is practically waste land. There is an ob- servable change going on, however, which will eventually correct this error, and stock
will form, in the near future, an important source of income to the farmer.
There is little in the history of this town- ship to challenge the attention of citizen or historian. Its settlement was delayed until about 1836, though for some years before it was occupied by a remnant of a baud of the Kickapoo Indians and certain squatters and hunters who found plenty of game and pleas- ant surroundings here. There was an abun- dance of game as was found everywhere in the county. Deer and small game abounded and contributed to the early settler's comfort and sport. Wolves infested these wooded slopes and made havoc with the young stock, but the bustle and hostility of the new commu- nity soon drove them out of the country. The Indians had long before ceded this country to the whites and were but little seen here. For only one or two seasons did they return for the purpose of hunting and sugar making on their old familiar grounds when they left for their reservations west of the Mississippi.
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