USA > Illinois > De Witt County > History of De Witt county, Illinois. With illustrations descriptive of the scenery, and biographical sketches of some of the prominent men and pioneers > Part 11
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We are heirs and also debtors of the past. It is not creditable to us, that we so easily forget our great obligation to the hardy men and women who more than half a century ago traveled west- ward into this part of the great Mississippi valley, and changed the wilderness into fertile fields of plenty. Most of their num- bers have gone to the narrow house appointed for all the living, and the tombs which received their worn frames, received with them the host of recollections, anecdotes and reminiscences of almost priceless value. A few, blessed with stout hearts and robust health, frugal and virtuous, still survive, and by their very appearance gladden the hearts of the generation of this day, for whom they have done so much. From them have been gathered, directly and indirectly, the facts recited in this chapter. They deserve well of their country ; and as we reap the grand barvests their hands have sown, we can at least canse them to feel that they are held in high honor, and that their deeds, trials and distresses will be ever held in grateful remembrance.
Before speaking more specifically of the pioneers and first settlers of De Witt county, it is proper to speak briefly of the
Indians who roamed over this land at the time the pioneer built his hut.
It seems clear th it they were not the first denizens of the soil but America was the home of a prior race, and evidence is not wanting that this race was preceded by another. Of the race directly preceding the Indians, there remains but a meagre record. A few mouuds, some beads, a small variety of earth- made wares, stone hammers, implements for dressing skins, and now and then oue of their idols of religious worship, together with a few articles for ornaments are all of their domestic life left to us.
The Indian race which succeeded the mound-builders was numerous, less thau a ceotury ago, but we know little of them. They were a race of hunters ; they practis d scarcely any of the arts of peace. They were sheltered by wigwams; they had rarely fixed boundaries for their tribes. And so we can remem- ber ouly a brief day of their history. They preceded us, but left the county no better for their labors. We can scarcely he grate- ful. We find their gimlets, arrow-heads, spear-heads, flesh- scrapers, spades and hammers, all made of stone, and demanding infinite patience for their manufacture. They delved as patiently as their neighbors, the beavers, yet despised labor, and imposed it as a degrading burden on their women. We alternately pity and despise them ; even admire their sublime stoicism, but sicken at their abominable cruelties. We use the maize which they sometimes cultivated, and enjoy the smoke of the tobacco they taught us to consume. Their modes of life were individual rather than social. They were cunning and cruel, cautious and brave. Like the lion, they sprang unawares from ambush upon their victim, and from a Inrking place would speed the arrow into the back of an enemy. Yet they could endure torture with stoic indifference, and look a single foe in the face with Spartan deter- mination.
The Kickapoo Indians occupied this portion of the country before the advent of the whites, and a remnant of this onee power- ful and warlike tribe was found here, when the first settlements were made. This trihe was at peace with the whites, so that there are no blood curdling tales of midnight attacks on defence- less settlements to recount. Fully ten years before the orgaui- zatiou of the county, the last of the Kickapoos had been removed to their reserve in the easteru part of Kansas. Civilization has subsequently crowded the poor remnants of the Kickapoo away from their beautiful Kansas home.
EARLY SETTLEMENT.
The history of De Witt county differs from that of many sister counties in this, that its pioneers became permanent settlers. The "squatter," so frequently met in a new county, was of rare occurrence in De Witt.
The pioneer proper is the skirmisher of the vangnard of civi- lization, and rarely goes into permanent quarters. He sows the seed, but leaves others to gather the harvest. He is never happy, but when upon the frontier. When the columns of those seeking homes appear, he plunges deeper into the westeru wilderness. Let him not be despised. His mission is to spy out the land, and direct the footsteps of the swarming millions behind him.
Gov. Reynolds, in his history of Illinois, says of the pioneers : "They were rough in personal appearance, yet kind, social and generous. They were hunters and stock-growers, and confined their agricultural operations chiefly on corn. They were brave, prompt and decided in war, yet liberal and magnanimous to a defeated and subdued foe. They were hospitable and generous,
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HISTORY OF DE WITT COUNTY, ILLINOIS.
and ready to share with newly arrived strangers their last loaf."
The first settlers in the present limits of De Witt county were a party of six persons: Zion Shugart, Edom Shugart, their mother, Elisha Butler, and his wife and John Coppenbarger, of whom the only living member is Edom Shugart, who now resides in Marysville, Nebra ka. The party arrived in what is now section 7, Tunbridge township, (on the Emily Hays farm), on October 29th, 1824. They put up a hastily constructed Jog-cabin, and made ready for winter.
During the winter of 1824, Nathan Vester, with a large family, moved in and settled a short distance from the Shugarts, and in the spring John Coppenbarger moved his family into the neighborhood, and thus was commenced the settlement of that portion of the Illinois territory now known as De Witt county.
During the winter of 1824, a little girl of Nathan Vester died, and was buried on the hill, near Emily Hay's residence. As there was no lumber in the country, a coffin was made by split- ting slabs out of trees, and hewing them into shape. The nearest settlement to the Shugarts' at that time, was the residence of a man named Laughery, ten miles Jown Salt creek, in what is now Logan county.
The next settlement of which we have any record was that of John Barr, and Prettyman Marvell, in Big Grove, 'now Waynes- ville), in February, 1826. After them, came Ezra Knapp, Ta- rusey Cline, Abram Onstott, Samuel Glenn, Benj. Day, Tim. and Samuel Hoblit, Hiram Chapin, Tilmau Lane, Samuel Curt- right, Samuel Spencer, the Scotts, Josiah Clifton, Matthew Mar- tin, and others, until this became the most populous settlement in the county. About the year 1832, the town of Waynesville was laid out by George Isam, and for a long time was the prin- cipal trading point of the county. As to who sold the first goods in Waynesville, there has been discussion. The following account is given by Hugh L. Davenport, and it is considered correct :
" The first goods that were sold in this part of the country, I hauled for a man named Jerre Greenman, who kept them in a Jog-house, owned by a man named Davis, and Thomas Dunham was his clerk. I hauled the first load from Pekin, on the Illinois river ; one article was a barrel of good peach brandy, which found some warm friends soon after its arrival. Where these gouds were sold, in a short time there sprang up a small town, which was afterwards called New Castle ; it was located near where Atlanta now staods. In 1831, I think a man by the name of Isam laid out the town of Waynesville, on the south side of Kickapoo creek, and a man named Post, kept the first goods there, if my memory is correct."
The next settlement in the county was made in the north-east part of the county, near where Farmer City now stands, in what was then called Hurley's Grove, abuut the year 1830. Dennis Hurley, Richard Kirby, Henry Huddleston, Nathan Clearwater, and Daniel Webh, being the earliest settlers, coming in the order in which they are named.
The next settlement was made in what was called Fork Prairie, in the vicinity of the present town of Marion or De Witt, in 1831 and 1832; the first settlers being Thos. R. Davis, James Morris, John Miller, Benj. Lisenby, Alex. Dale, Josiah Harp, Chas. McCord, and Hugh Davenport.
The first settlement about Clinton was made by Joseph or , ductive and thickly-settled county.
Josiah Clifton, in 1830. Hle erected a cabin on what is now known as the Pascal Mills farm, one mile west of Clinton. The early settlers of this county were generally Kentuckians, although
there were a few from some of the other southern states. They came into the county by the way of Springfield ; the route from Kentucky being by way of Indianapolis, Danville, Springfield, and thence up the streams.
Coming from a timbered country, they held the prairies as of no value, and settled along the edge of the timber, thinking that no one would ever settle upon the prairies, they could hold it forever for grazing; it was not until after the Illinois Central Railroad was built through the county that the prairies became of any value. The prairies in those days are represented as pre- senting a lovely sight in spring and summer, being covered with large bright flowers. The grass grew so high that a man riding through it after a rain was literally drenched. The county abounded in game, and for years there was scarcely a day that the settlers' tables were not bountifully supplied with venison or wild tu key. The early settlers had few wants to supply, being simple in their habits and dress. Their greatest difficulty was getting bread-stuffs ; mills being few and far be- tween, they very often had to go from thirty to sixty miles to get a saek of corn ground They were a social and hospitable peo- ple, and a stranger was warmly welcomed and aided on his way, while a new settler was helped in building his cabin, and getting a start in this new world. As an illustration of the character of the people of that day, we give an incident related by John J. McGraw.
Mr. McGraw and a neighbor got out of corn one winter, aud had no money to buy any. The neighbor said he thought he could get some from John Barr, who lived near Waynesville. So they mounted their horses and rode to Barr's, and arrived towards evening. Upon making their errand known, Mr. Barr told them that they could have the corn, and they could pay for it by making rails in the spring. Said he, " A man came along the other day, and wanted to buy some corn, saying he had the money to pay for it. I told him that if he had money he could buy corn almost anywhere, and I would save my corn for some one who had no money." McGraw and his neighbor shelled each a sack of corn, and the next morning took it to a horse- mill and had it ground. In the spring they paid for the corn by making rails; and Mr. McGraw says he never made better rails, nor gave better count, than he did in paying that debt.
The nearest post-office was Springfield, and the postage on a letter from Kentucky was twenty-five cents. If a man got a letter once in three or six months, he thought he was doing well. They really had no market for their produce, Pekin, St. Louis, and Chicago being their nearest trading point, and thirty cents per bushel for wheat and ten cents for corn was the ruling price. Of money there was little or none, all transactions being carried on by trading. For a number of years there was little more raised than was necessary for home consumption. While the early settlers suffered from lack of what we term necessaries of life, they performed but little lahor, in comparison with the people of to-day, and seemed to enjoy life in their way better than we of to-day, while their simple life seemed to prolong their years, as is evidenced by many of the early settlers who are living in this county to-day. Indeed it is astonishing to see how closely is con- nected the early settlement of this county with the present day, for daily, men may be seen on the streets of Clinton who have seen this county grow and develop from a wilderness to a pro-
A history of De Witt county without an account of the " deep snow" would be like the play of Hamlet without the Prince of Denmark, and a short description of it, and an incident which
45
HISTORY OF DE WITT COUNTY, ILLINOIS.
1
occurred at the time, as related by one who passed through that remarkable winter, may follow here. The snow commenced falling about the 8th of December, 1830, and snowed, either day or night, for twenty-one days, until it was four feet deep on a level in the timber, while around the edge of the groves it drifted from fifteen to twenty-five feet high. Several settlers from the vicinity of where Clinton now stands were over to a mill about two miles from where Waynesville now stands. The weather was mild, and the snow fell very fast. They got their grist and started for home. At that time there was no house from the timber on Kickapoo to Ten-Mile Creek, near Clinton, a distance of twelve miles. When they got about three miles from Kicka- poo timber, it snowed so fast that they could not see any distance before them, and their team (two yoke of oxeu), gave out. The wiud changed, and they got lost. The snow was from two to three feet deep, and it began to get very cold, and their clothes froze hard on them. They did not see any timber, and could not tell which way they were going. Finally they unyoked their cattle, and let them go their own way. One of the oxen took a straight course, and they followed him till one of the party, John Clifton, gave out and laid down. The other two dragged him through the snow and cuffed him about to keep him awake. About sunset it quit snowing, and they could see timber and a house about three miles away, and their ox going straight towards it. But it was getting colder, and their pilot gave signs of giving out. They drove the ox before them and dragged their com- rade, the ox going a few rods and then stopping to rest, while they rubbed their comrade and cuffed him about, to keep him and themselves from freezing. About dark a erust had formed on the snow hard enough for a man to walk on So they got their sick comrade upon his feet, and left the ox, to walk upon the snow. The sick man was the first to get to the house, he being the lightest, while the others would occasionally break through the crust down into four-feet of snow, causing them hard labor to regain their footing on the crust; they were nearly frozen to death by the time they got to the house. The house was that of John Robb, who lived on Rock Creek, four or five miles east of Waynesville. They got their oxen to the house in about three days; but their sled and meal laid where they left them until the next spring.
The names of the three men were Josiah and John Clifton, and David Moffit. " The snow was so deep, and the sharp hoofs of the deer penetrated the crust so easily, that we could ride up to them, and jump from our horses' backs on to their backs and cut their throats with a hunting knife. They were so plenty, we could kill all we wanted. Our corn was generally out in the field, and we had to wade through the snow up to our wastes, gather it in sacks, and carry it on our backs, to feed our stock, make hominy, or pound it in a mortar.
" The wolves g ew fierce, and attacked man and killed calves and sheep, carried off small pigs, came close to our houses in daytime and killed our dogs."
The territory now embraced by De Witt county was first em- braced in Sangamon county, which, in the early history of the State, embraced all the northern part of the State. Afterwards we fell unto Tazewell county, which was again divided up, and this territory was placed in Macon and MeLean counties. Through the exertion of Hon. James Allen, of Bloomington, the Legislature, in 1839, passed an act organizing De Witt county, from territory taken from the counties of Macon and MeLean; the county line between those two counties running four miles south of the present northern boundery of De Witt county.
We are informed by the old settlers that they could have, very easily, gotten another tier of townships from Macon county, embracing the present town of Maroa; but the country then presented such a low, flat appearance, that it was thought it would never be settled to any extent, and it would prove more a burden than an advantage to a new county. That county now produces the best crops of corn of any section in central Illinois.
The county theu embraced what is now known as Atlanta township (then known as Four by Six), Blue Ridge, Goose Creek, and Sangamon townships, in Piat county.
The county was named after De Witt Clinton, the governor of York State.
On the sixth day of May, 1839, an election was held for county officers aud for permanent location of county seat, when four hundred and ninety-three votes were cast.
The contest between Marion and Clinton was hot; and as in those days voting had to be done viva voce, it may be said that a vast deal of dodging had to be done. The founders of Marion were as ambitious as their neighbors in Clinton, and the magni- tude of the town and its prospects for prosperity had been her- alded to the world by advertisements and posters. One of the latter, dated July, 1836, is as follows : -
" TO TIIE PEOPLE.
" Marion is located on the head branches of Sangamon River. The first glance at the geographical situat on of this town is suf- ficient to discover its great importance. There will and must be one great central town in Iilinois where the internal improve- ments of the State will cross and intersect, and this point appears to have been destined by nature for that purpose. High, healthy, and beautifully undulating, the prairie is about four miles across, nearly surrounded by a splendid mill-stream, which affords a number of seats. Mills are now building and contemplated which will be ample for any amount of lumber for building. The timber is as fine as can be found in the Western States, and is inexhaustible. A number of important roads already cross at this point, and the east and west railroad, now locating, passes near enough for all the purposes of commerce. The north and south railroad will pass directly through Marion. The first house was put up last winter ; it is already quite a village, affording one store, one grocery, and a number of dwellings, and others now building. Within the last six weeks our lands have been nearly all taken, and such is the present prosperity of this country, that there must be a speedy and great advance on property in a short time.
" A map of Marion and its additions, showing its streams and the prairie, can be seen at the room of Garrett, Brown & Brother. " July 2d, 1836." " D. ROBBINS.
We have already mentioned that the county of De Witt had a voting population of about five hundred at the time of its or- ganization. The list of voters contained in the poll-books of the first election has been lost with those hooks. Hon. John J. McGraw, for what purpose he does not now remember, took a complete census of all the voters of the county in August, 1844.
These lists are still in existence, and from them the following data are culled :
Former citizens of the county now no more-Clinton Precinct .- Levi Spencer, Lorenzo D. Scott, Thomas Bevan, Thomas Jenkins, James Brown, a physician, zealous member of the Lyceum (see it) ; Nelson Davis, a teacher ; Poetan Bennett, Peter De Spain, at one time connty treasurer ; Greenberry Hall, John MeAboy,
46
HISTORY OF DE WITT COUNTY, ILLINOIS.
Jonathan Curtright, Rufus Mills, Dawson Beatly, Darius Hall, Josiah Downen, Thomas Hutchin, G. W. Cox, Jacob Kranish, Paseal Mills, Archibald MeCollough, Thomas Blaloek, William Neal, Fred. Troxel, B. R. Warfield, Isaac Hutchin, G. W. Mills, Alfred Murphy, Joseph Malson, W. McPherson, John Lowry, Lewellen Hickman, John Springer, J. B Allsop, Ezekiel Lane, James Ennis, Joseph Howard, Thomas Allsup, Gabriel Watt, R. Richards, Mablon Ifall, a Virginian, settled on seetion 33 in township 20 R. 1 East in 1830; was in 1839 the largest land- holder in the county, owning 1200 acres of land, valued at $4,600, died in 1856; Reuben Thornley, William James, Jesse Blankenship, died in Mexico in the service of the U. S. ; James Cantrall, Henry Condiff, A. Gideon, William Coppenbarger, James French, John French (a great hghter, and addicted to drinking; many amusing anecdotes are told of him. His visits to the town of Clinton had frequently ended by his landing in the county jail, and so on one occasion he took the precaution of spiking the key-hole in the lock on the jail-door, by driving nails into it, thas keeping out of the dungeon for once. The usual fine for a fist-fight was 83, and whenever French was arrested on a charge of the kind, he would state that his antagonist was the meanest mau in the conuty. He had pecasion, however, to modify this assertion in this way : Squire J. J. McGraw, indig. nant at the repeated transgressions of Freuch, and in order to make a more lasting impression on the mind of the culprit, fined him at one time some $25 for an Assault. French took it to heart, and whenever afterwards he asserted that such and such was the meanest man uf De Witt county, he would qualify it by stuttering out, (excepting Squire John J. MeGraw, who is ten thousand times meauer), John Winn, T. J. Mills, John Coppen- barger, Edward Thornley, John Walker, Jeremiah Kelley, James Stephens, Joshua Dale, Henry Fordice, Solomon Cross, Benjamin Cross, George Carloek, Calvin Pain (in Mexican war), Johu Lane, Sam. Doncan, William Lowry, Ralph Rosencrans, John Muller, Dadley Richards, Noel Blankenship, David Hond, W. Belford, James Heuson, Joseph Polloek, Hugh Davenport, Jeremiah Thompson, Melvin Lowry, John Clifton, Reuben Parkhurst, Alviu Potter, Moses Kenney, James Lowrey, Joha Hutchin, James Wilson, Alex. Dale, James S. Brown, Joel E. King, William Wallace (in Mexican war), Solomon Ely, Har- rison Lane, B. T. Lowry, Walter Karr, James Smallwood, J. B. Smallwood, James Pollock, Samuel Cortright, E. W. Fears, Melvin Lowry, Daniel McGennis, Thomas Lamb, David Willis, Major Farris, William Coon, Richard Murphy (in Mexican war was a brave man, and rose from the ranks to a lientenaney ), Andrew Wallace, Henry Brown, Rob. F. Barnett (shot dead by one Hill), Jefferson T. Cross, Thomas Fruit, Washington Allsop, Miles Gray (first post-master of Clinton), Joseph Bowles, Daniel Banta, Jesse Stoot, W. Conditl' Tolbert Allsup, Hugh Glenn, Henry Sommers, B. H. Farris (in Mexican war), J. P. Mitchell, Daniel Newcomb, Franklin Barnett, John W. Scott, W. Mitchell, James K. Seott.
The following have been lost sight of, and are in all probability now in their graves: John Davis, Henry Thomas, Anderson Johnson, Matthew Harvey, James Hall, Da iel French, Thos. Coon, Solomon Miller, Henry Foster, G. W. Karr, J. W. Karr, IF nry King, Fleming Lynch, Newton Lynch, Jacob Cross, John Thompson, H. Bennett, Henry Clerage, T. R. Archerd, Job. Clifton, Lewis Atkinson, Joseph Karr, William Matthews, Phil. Farmer, Gustavus Shelley, Denuis Provine, W. A. Knight, Joshua Gardner, Leonard A. Provine, James Tuttle, and Jame- son Wright.
The following have removed from the county, and most of them are known to be living : Burnell Martin, Kansas ; Eli B. Fruitt, Ohio; Martin Scott, Mo .; Matthew Miller, Mo .; W. Hutchin, H. H. Hall, A. B. Wright, Kansas; Charles Hutchin, Landers Slatten, R. Peyton, Mo., Wm Clifton, Vernon Brown, Uriah MeKenney, Kansas ; Elisha Littler, Kansas ; Murrell Paine, Egbert Hill, Mo. ; Will. Gadberry, Mo .; John Bruner, B. Ely, Mo. ; Sidney Gay, Mo .; Henry Bowles, William Allsup, Samnel Beebe, Mo .; F. G. Paine, the probate judge, went to Texas; Jacob Silvere, Texas; Henry Thompson, Thomas J Rodgers, Jordan Bantea, David Maiken, Ervin French, Ky ; J. M Fears, California ; Will. Hickman, Joel Hall, Mo .; Sam. Brown, Chicago ; Will. Hill, California.
Of those two hundred and thirty voters of the old Clinton precinet, living there in 1844, only thirty-seven survive; the reader will find their names under the heading of " The Old Guard," below.
Wayensville Precinct-Dead List .- Absalom Hamilton, J. B. Jones, R Post, J. E. Cantrall, John Zollar, James R. Robb, John Montgomery, F. S. Harrison, Z P. Cantrall, David Wheeler ( a physician), George Dyer, Hugh Bowles, James Barr, John Hobbs, J. Ellis, Thomas Burton, James T. Morton, Allen Turner, W. H. Jones, Jonathan Ellington, Robert Turner, George Bodkin, Abel Larison, John Turner, Richard MeElhiney, Adam Stevens, John Miller, William Dyer, Jacob Johnson, J. H. Morley, Jesse Griffin, F. M Jeffrey, Thomas Aekerson, John MeCautrall, Wm. Jeffrey, Elijah Hull, Sam. Richards, George Isham, W. Montgomery, David Montgomery, John Robb, E. W. Mathews, Elisha Bushnell, Edward Winn. Andrew Brock, Isaac W. Jones, R S Doolittle, and J S Atchinson.
Lost sight of and probably dead .- O. W. Young, John F. Buckner, W. Evans, Will. Branson, William Richards, Darius Cody, Johannes Birgen, Alfred Miller, A. B. Ireland, John Simpkin, A. T. Jones, John Eveland. T. D. Cantrall, D. F. Grosh, Edward Morris, J. C. Cantrall, Thomas Coffer, John Scott, Charles Hnffam, J. W. Hamitt, W. L Cantrall, M. G. Williams, John MeIntire, Charles Cook, Isaiah Cheok, Jonathan Williams, Fred. Eveland, J. C. Macon, Henry Michael, Joel Gray, Garrett and Abram Ackerson, W. Hall, Nathaniel Harris, W. J. Davis, James, MeNeely, Charles Adkinson, Benjamin Broek, Jacob F. Sampson, Josiah Porter, and Hardin Wallace.
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