History of Crawford and Clark counties, Illinois, Part 56

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 56
USA > Illinois > Crawford County > History of Crawford and Clark counties, Illinois > Part 56

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).

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HISTORY OF CLARK COUNTY.

his family in York until he had built him a cabin on the prairie. The land was at that time wet and unprepossessing, and his choice was considered by the rest of the settlement as the height of folly. His cabin stood near an old Indian trail which was subsequently used by the Kentucky immigration. The de- mands of the situation induced the opening of his cabin for public entertainment, which was the first hotel in the township. Mr. Dol- sou sold out in 1832, and removed to Martins- ville, where he opened a hotel on a larger scale on the National Road. He is remem- bered as one of the most athletic and powerful men of his time; a good hunter, a man of quiet demeanor, of few words, and singularly well preserved. He died in 1842.

The community seemed to have received no further accessions of importance until 1828, when a number of families came into the township. Of these were Jonathan Met- sker, a native of Kentucky, came from Indi- ana and settled on section seven; Benjamin Odgen settled on the same section; Benja- min Long, a native of Virginia, Joseph Evans and James Hayes on section eighteen. Others came in from time to time, but of whom it is impossible to learn anything defi- nite. Among these may be noted the names of Joseph Edwards, a native of Virginia, who settled on section 19, in 1831; Cooper in southern part of township in same year; Natham Wells, from North Carolina, in 1832; Peter Dosher, from Tennessee, and settled on section 18, in 1832; Levi Sharp, from Ken- tucky, in 1836; Isaac Welden, in same year, and others.

Among the various belongings brought in by the settlers none proved more useful than the gun with which each man was provided. Next to his ax and plow, he depended upon it for support in subduing the wild land in which he reared his cabin hoine. The wood- land abounded with game, which at first was

his principal dependence for sustenance, and later his greatest annoyance and chief cause of damage. Deer and wolves were found in large numbers, with occasionally a wild cat and bear to vary the sport. The wolves were of the large timber variety which attacked young pigs, calves and sheep almost with im- punity. A story is told of a settler who was aroused in the night by a disturbance among his stock near his cabin and suspecting the cause, rushed out of doors with but very lit- tle clothing. A large wolf broke for the woods at his approach, and determined that he should not escape, the settler hallooed his dog to the pursuit and followed on forgetting his gun and outer clothing in the excitement of the chase. It was early spring and not warm enough to warrant so light clothing but cheered by the baying of his dog and that of a neighbor's dog which had joined the chase, he pressed on and found the wolf sitting on the ice of the creek keeping the untrained dogs at a safe distance by snapping at them vigorously. Not a stick or weapon of any sort was at hand, and it occurred to the set- tler that if he could seize the wolf by the tail and swinging him over his head he could bring him down on the ice with fatal force. He made the attempt and succeeded in seizing the animal, but the rest of the pro- gramme was seriously interfered with. The wolf turning, cat-like, upon its new enemy closed its teeth upon the hunter wherever op- portunity offered. To add to the predica- ment the dogs ceased their attack and began fighting each other, leaving the man and wolf to settle it for themselves. In the midst of the short and sharp struggle that ensued, the ice broke and precipitated both combat- ants in three or four feet of cold water. This aceident suggested the idea of drowning the wolf, but at this juncture the dogs tired of their own diversion, renewed their attack on the wolf, and no sooner would the man

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get the wolf, as he hoped, nearly drowned than the dogs would fasten on it and in the struggle bring its head to the surface. The struggle went on in this way for a half hour when the noise of the dogs and shouting of the man brought a near neighbor, and the two dispatched the animal.

Wolves were hunted on horseback when the ground was frozen and was counted rare sport. Organized hunts were frequent, when relative values were put upon the different kinds of game and the defeated party paid for the whisky. A keg of the liquor woukl be provided, and a day or two after the hunt both parties would gather at some point and if the liquor lasted a day or two would be spent in shooting at a mark, athletic sports, etc., which not unfrequently included two or three serious bout of fisticuffs. In such a country, and in a community very largely from the south, there would be a good many who were more or less noted as hunters. Melrose had its full share of these characters, and their adventures formed the chief tome of the early fireside talk. Among this class is remembered Levi Wells, a native of North Carolina, who settled on section 30, in 1833; and William Maxwell, a New Yorker, who settled here in 1836. Another man who gained some celebrity as a hunter was Wil- liam Maple. He was an old man upward of seventy years of age when he left the town- ship in 1847. He was a gunsmith, and lived in a retired cabin by himself, and gained his livelihood principally by hunting. He re- newed his youth and startled the community somewhat by eventually eloping with a young woman of the settlement.

The early settlement was scarcely younger than that of York, and the only outlet was by the ferry across the Wabash and thence to Vincennes. After the first crop of corn was secured they were pretty independent of out- side resources. The woods furnished meat

and sugar, and with the various wild fruits, and the different forms in which the corn product was made up, the pioneer's fare was not such as to invite starvation at least. It was not very long before the growth of York sup- plied such groceries as the pioneer could afford to buy and mills on the adjacent streams afforded facilities for turning their own crops to available use without the inconvenience of going long journeys over almost impassable roadways. An early mill was erected in the west part of town by Lewis Huckabee. This was a horse mill with "nigger-head buhrs," and did good service for some fifteen years. The patrons were obliged to bring their teams and run the mill, paying toll for the use of the machinery. Jacob Shelter who settled on section 26, built an early saw-mill on Raccoon Creek, and when water was plenty did a good business. In the low stages of the water he turned his attention to making brick, which found a sale quite early. The number of mechanics who gathered here in the early years was quite remarkable, and solved many a problem that often prove vexatious to the first comers to a new country. As early as 18-8 Benjamin Odgen settled on section 7, and set up a blacksmith shop. He was quite as well skilled in shoeing men as horses, and in the winter turned his attention to shoemak- ing. Metsker was quite a mechanical genius and did a general wagon making business, making plows, etc., as well. Armitage Kin- derdine who settled early on section 35, com- bined the qualities of a carpenter and mill- wright. None of these men devoted them- selves exclusively to their trades, but added the cares of a backwoods farm.

But with these advantages there was plenty for each household to do in preparing the clothing for the family. The lack of facili- ties to prepare wool and flax and the distance of any place of supply obliged the early set- tlers to resort to such material as could be

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HISTORY OF CLARK COUNTY.

prepared without machinery. The men gen- erally wore buckskin pants and shirts. Flax was early raised and as this could be prepared entirely at home came into general use for clothes of both sexes. Sheep were early brought in, and though they were protected from the ravages of the wolves only by con- stant and laborious care, the wool product amply repaid their toil. The yield was not large but such an absolute necessity that one can hardly imagine the community getting along without it. For years this wool had to be taken long distances to be carded. Then the work of the housewife began. From this and flax were made the serviceable jean and linsey-woolsey with which young and old were clad. Boots were unknown, and both sexes wore moccasins at first and a little later coarse shoes made by traveling workmen.

Their amusements grew out of their work. "Loggings, raisings, and hunting were the oc- casions when men got together for a frolic as well as work. Quilting and spinning bees gave the women an opportunity for social in- tercourse, the occasion generally closing with a generous supper and a dance at night, when the gentlemen came in. Dancing was the favorite amusement of the time. Notwith- standing the dancers had only rough puncheon floors, and no better refreshments than whis- ky sweetened with maple sugar, there is probably to-day no more happy company than those who danced the " scamper-down, double-shuffle, western-swing and half-moon," a half century ago .*

The growth of the school idea iu this town- ship was slow. There were the usual d.ffi- culties in the way. The scholars were few and the population so scattered that there was

some difficulty in fixing upon a satisfactory location for a house, and a more effectual hindrance than either was the idea that chil- dren should early learn to be useful. It was not until about 1834 that the first school-bouse was put up. This stood near Melrose village, on section seventeen. This structure was a split-log cabin, covered with shakes, and one end entirely occupied by a mammoth fire- place. The floor was of puncheons, the desk was a puncheon supported by pegs driven into the wall, and before this was placed the rude puncheon bench on which the scholars sat. Joseph Claypool, a native of Virginia, who settled on section seven, was the first teacher. He was hardly fitted to suit modern demands, but in that day was about the only one to be got for the position, and doubtless filled the place acceptably. He was rather pro- fane and did not hesitate to use such language in the school room. School government in those days was a "rough-and-tumble" affair in which the scholar frequently got the better of the set-to. In one of these encounters Claypool was put out of the house, but he subsequently paid tribute in whisky and ma- ple sugar, on which the whole school got drunk. Claypool afterward joined the church through the influence of a Methodist revival, but even then his habit of swearing got the better of him, and would occasionally break out and command the "d-d lazy little cusses to get still and go to work." The house burned down the next year, but was replaced in ten days by the neighbors. A second school-house stood in the northwest corner of the township. S. C. Fox was the first teacher here, and an exceptionally good one. He was a minister and held services here on Sunday. Liberty school-house, in the north- east part of the township, was built in 1840. and was first used by John Page as teacher. These old log structures have final y all passed away, the last one di, appearing in 1881. The

* The first wedding in this community was that of Nathan Wells and Susan Wwlard, and the second that of Samuel Ogden and Martha Morgan. The first birth was a daughter of Daniel Wells, now Mrs. Mary Dodds. The death of John Beauchamp, in 1828, is the first noted in M Irose.

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first frame school-house was built in Melrose village in 1850, and in it was taught the first public school. Hitherto schools were sup- ported by subscription or pro rata payment according to the number of scholars sent, and these payments made in such property as the patron had to spare. There are now seven districts all well supplied with frame buildings.

Among the early settlers were several preachers who early introduced public relig- ious worship. Among these was John Salmon, a native of New York, who settled in 1832 on section 25. He was a Methodist minis- ter, and early held services in his own and others' cabins. He was a man of some ability and made a valuable impression on the com- munity. Robert Bailiff was another early minister, who came from Tennessee to Craw- ford County in 1830, and a year later came to Melrose. He was a man of fine character and great energy. He made the journey to this State in an ox cart, and started his new home here with $10, as the sum of his earthly capi- tal. He was a Cumberland Presbyterian, and notwithstanding the pressing need of his family, added to his cares of a frontier farm by preaching in various parts of the county. Ile was pastor of a single church for forty years, and died, universally beloved, in 1879. Ilis son and grandson both followed in his steps and are in the ministry now. James McCord was an early Methodist circuit rider, and preached the first sermon heard in the log school-house near Melrose Village. Revs. Chrissey, Chamberlain, Massey, McGinnis and McMurtry were early and devout Method- ist missionaries of the Baptist church. Revs. Thomas Young and Richard Newport were carly preachers.

The first church organization was the " New Providence Cumberland Presbyterian Church." Services were held at the cabin of Robert Bailiff in 1833, by Rev. Silas Osborne. In the following year a church was organized by

Rev. Henry Groves at Mr. Bailiff's residence, with Mr. Bailiff and wife, Joseph Green and wife, Sarah Buckner and Thomas Handy as members. For ten years meetings were held at Mr. Bailiff's residence; a log house 20x26 feet was erected on section 36, the land being donated for the purpose by Mr. Bailiff. This building served for a place of worship until 1867, when it was torn down and the material used to erect a dwelling where it is still doing service. In 1867 a frame building, 26x36 feet, was erected on the site of the old log structure at a cost of $1,100, and is still doing service. It was ded- icated in the same year by Rev. Jesse Beals. Rev. I. C. Hill was pastor of this church until 1838, when Rev. Robert Bailiff was called as pastor, and continued in the service of the church until his death, in 1829. His son, Thomas succeeded him, and is now the pas- tor. The membership numbers fifty-eight persons.

Plymouth Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in 1838 at the old school-house near Melrose Village, by Rev. William Blundell. The original members were Nixon Evans and wife, T. Handy and wife, R. Handy and wife and Hannah Willard. The first meetings were held at the residence of Mr. Evans and at the school-house until 1859, when a frame building, 27x30 feet, was erected at a cost of $1,000. This is an appointment on the Liv- ingston circuit. The church has at present fifty-seven members.

Potter Ilall United Brethren Church was organized in 1863, and a frame building put up for its use at a cost of $1,000 in the same year. The church is located in the northern part of the township, and was organized by Rev. Helton, with a fair membership. The number has somewhat diminished since then, though regular services are still maintained. Rev. Hartwell is the present pastor.

The growth of the early settlement in Mei-

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HISTORY OF CLARK COUNTY.

rose Township was not such as to warrant the laying of any village. The two thorough- fares that cross the county from east to west and from north to south, do not touch this township. The York and Charleston road, a route which was originally blazed out by Nathan Wells when he came to his place in the west part of town, was located in 1838. It was extensively traveled, and through the exertion of Colonel W. B. Archer, the Legisla- ture made an appropriation for improving it. In later years it lost very much of its early im- portance. The York and Martinsville road was established about the same time, but neither of these roads brought with it such influences as to develop village growth. In May, 1847, however, the village of Melrose

was platted on the corner of sections 17, 18, 19 and 20), the land belonging to Nathan Wells, Joseph Edwards and Samuel Keline. This was simply a business venture which has resulted in a village of some eighty inhabit- ants, two stores, a blacksmith shop and a combined saw and grist mill.

The first store was put up soon after the laying out of the village by John Gwin, but two years later it was destroyed by fire, the stock and building proving a total loss. Nathan Wells succeeded him, erecting a building and putting in it a general stock, but it was closed out a year later at his death. The Melrose mill was erected in 1868 by Sibley at a cost of $4,000.

CHAPTER XX.

JOHNSON TOWNSHIP-LOCATION AND BOUNDARIES-TOPOGRAPHY-PIONEER SETTLE- MENT-EARLY MILLS-FIRST BIRTH, MARRIAGE, DEATH- SCHOOLS-CHURCH HISTORY.

TOHNSON Township lies in the extreme southwestern part of Clark County, em- bracing an area of 23.040 acres, or thirty-six square miles of territory, and in the congres- sional survey was designated as town 9 north, range 14 west. It is bounded on the north by Casey township, on the east by Orange, on the south by the counties of Crawford and Jasper, on the west by Cumberland County, and received its name in compliment to Thom- as Johnson, a man prominently identified with its early growth and development. The surface in the northern and central portions is pleasantly situated, being principally a fine rolling prairie, in some places almost level, but nowhere without sufficient slope to drain the surface water. Elsewhere throughout the township the land is more undulating, the principal irregularities being in the eastern part along the North Fork of the Embarras River, where for several miles on both sides of the stream the country is considerably broken and in some places precipitous bluffs are to be seen. This creek which affords the principal drainage of this region is the only stream of note in the western part of the county. It en- ters the northern boundary of the township in section 1, flowing a southwesterly direction, passes out of section 34, and receives in its course a number of small tributaries, which are not designated by any particular names. The current is very sluggish, having a fall of but three and a half feet per mile, and during the spring freshets and rainy seasons is not

sufficient to carry off the water which flows into it.

As a consequence the bottom through which the creek runs is frequently overflowed, and entire crops sometimes completely destroyed. Many pe sons have abandoned farining on these lowlands altogether, and use them for grazing purposes only.

This township is very well timbered, fully two-thirds of its area being woodland. The best timber is found in the eastern and west- ern parts and along the various water-courses, and consists principally of the following vari- eties: walnut, hickory, poplar, maple, ash, linn, some beech, and several different kinds of oak, elm and sycamore grow along the streams, and sometimes attain gigantie size.

Much valuable timber was ruthlessly de- stroyed by the first settlers in clearing up their farms, which, if standing to-day would b : worth more than double what the lands would bring at the highest market price. A number of saw-mills were erected on the North Fork in an early day, and for years the lumber business was an important indus- try in this part of the country, consequently but little walnut and poplar are left standing. The woods skirting the North Fork were at one time the rendezvous of and hiding place for all kinds of wild animals, and early at- tracted the attention of the hunter and trap- per, several of whom made temporary settle- ments along the banks of the stream for the purpose of hunting their favorite game. A

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HISTORY OF CLARK COUNTY.

diminutive cabin with a small patch of cleared ground surrounding it was the extent of this transient settler's improvement, the greater part of his time being spent in the woods, where he led a wild free life in his favorite pursuit.

As game became scarce, and as population increased these hunters left their rude homes and moved further west, all the time keeping in the van of civilization. The first actual settler in Johnson was one John Burris who came to the township in the year 1833, al d entered land in section 32, which he improved, and on which he lived until the year 1848.

He appears to have been an intelligent and public spirited man, and accumulated during the period of his residence here, a handsome property which is at present owned and oc- cupied by John D. Bennett. In the fall of 1833 a man by name of Ingraham settled in the northeastern part of the township near where William How now lives, but made no entry of land. He was a noted character in the little community, a great hunter, and was widely known throughout the county for his many eccentricities. In one of his hunting tours, he discovered a salt spring near the North Fork from which he afterward manu- factured salt, not only for his own use, but in quantities sufficient for the entire neighbor- hood, trading it to the settlers for meal, gro- ceries, articles of clothing, etc. He sawed the first lumber ever made in the township with a small whip saw and furnished the material out of which much of the furniture used by the early settlers was manufactured. One day while sawing lumber with Burris, the platform on which the log rested, and under which he was standing, gave way, and fell, and crushed him beneath its weight; from injuries thus received he died a short time afterward.

Conspicuous among the pioneers of Johnson was Daniel Doughty, a Baptist preacher, who came to Illinois from Indiana in the year 1836.

His native State was Kentucky, which he left in early boyhood and had rambled over much of the western country before settling in Clark County. He conducted the first relig- ious services ever held in the township, at his own residence and assisted in the organ- ization of many of the early churches of his denomination throughout the county. He was a noble type of the pioneer, tall, vigorous, endowed with unusual physical powers, and fond of all athletic and out-door sports, partic- ularly hunting, in which he was a great adept. He subsequently moved to Jasper County, where, after a long and useful life, he died about four years ago.

Jacob Janney made the second entry of land in the township in the spring of 1834, and selected for his home eighty acres of land, ly- ing on the east side of North Fork in section 7, where the remains of his old log cabin can still be seen. He did not move onto this land, however, until about the year 1837, though a number of acres had been cleared and put in cultivation before that time. Janney was a man of more than ordinary intellectual ability, a shrewd trader and prominent stock dealer, in which business he amassed consid- erable wealth while a resident of this town- ship. He met with a violent death in the year 1843 by being thrown from a horse.

No other settlements appear to have been made within the present limits of Johnson until the year 1836, when the following en- tries of land were recorded: James Alex- ander in section 3, John L. Mount, James C. Mount and James Megeath in section 4. The first named was never a resident of the town- ship but lived near Darwin. The Mounts were a prominent family in this part of the country, and figure rather conspicuously in the early history of the township. They came to this State from Kentucky, and unlike many of the first settlers in a new country, were men of means and made extensive im-

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HISTORY OF CLARK COUNTY.

provements on their respective farms. John resided here but one year, when he sold his place to his brother and moved to Indiana. James Mount was the first justice of the peace, in the precinct of which Johnson Township at that time formed a part, having been elected in the year 1838, and served in that capacity until his death, which occurred in 1841. Sev- eral descendants of this family are living;in the county. The place where James C. Mount lived is now owned by his grandchildren, Ed. Stevens and sister. James R. Geddes, was among the early settlers of Johnson, having come here in the spring of 1837. He entered land in section 3, and afterward was joined by David How and John Cole, both of whom made entries in the same section. Geddes came from Indiana and lived here until the year 1855, at which time his death occurred. How came from Indiana also and was one of the prominent citizens of Johnson. His son, Joseph How, who now owns the old place, is the oldest living settler of the township. He came here in company with his father when eighteen years of age, and has resided on the same place ever since. Cole moved to Illinois from Ohio, but originally came from Maryland. He earned the reputation of being an energetic, intelligent, and wide awake busi- ness man, and was well respected by all who knew him. He died about twenty-two years ago. One daughter, Mrs. Kline, is now living in Casey Township. The year 1838 was signal- ized by the arrival in Johnson of William D. Crouch, Zachariah Davee, William Hilburn, and Henry W. Owings. Crouch settled in section 11, where Mrs. Williams now lives. He was a native of Ohio and for a number of years after coming to this State was exten- sively engaged in farming and stock raising. He died in the year 1866 leaving a widow and one son, both of whom are still living in the township. Davee settled in section 13, where he entered land on which he afterward built

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History of Crawford and Clark counties, Illinois, Part 56

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