USA > Illinois > Effingham County > History of Effingham county, Illinois > Part 35
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first decade as an organized and independent community. Mr. Doty says he stopped and fed his team where the city of Effingham now stands, and all around it was apparently a wilderness. An old man, of the name of Slover, had a cabin there, a few rods east of the railroad depot. His son-in-law, Jim Cartwright, lived with him, and there was not another habitation in sight. Mr. Doty has been a resident of the county for over forty years, and has seen it grow up, as it were, from a handful of struggling pioneers to a rich and prosperous county. He knew old Ewington in its palmy days; was well acquainted with old Freemanton when it was known, far and wide, as the hardest hole in Southern Illinois, when it could get away with more "rot-gut" whisky and scare np more fights than any other place of its size in the wide world. He knew Tipsword well, has heard Boleyjack preach, and was with Ben Campbell the day he died; and of the early history of the county, few now living know more of it, or can tell it better.
Among other early settlers who came in 1840, were Joshua and Jonathan Bodkins and Joseph Doty, all from Ohio. The first two mentioned were cousins, and after remaining a few years, they, with Joseph Doty, moved back to Ohio. From this time on, the settle- ments grew rapidly, and settlers came in such numbers as to render it impossible to keep track of them. Their efforts in reducing a wilderness, and subjecting it to the uses and benefits of man, are seen to-day in the elegant homes and productive farms of the township.
This state of wealth and prosperity was not attained without labor and toil. The forests bad to be felled (for the first settlers all located in the timber), the ground cleared, fenced and planted, and crops raised upon which to sustain life; clothing had to be manufactured, and this was no small job, as
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HISTORY OF EFFINGHAM COUNTY.
there were no stores in the country. And if there had been, there was no money to buy clothing or other luxuries of life, The clothing was coarse, and was manufactured by the good wife and her daughters at home. The cloth from which it was made was also manufactured at home, and the material from which the cloth was made likewise of home production, and was either flax or wool or both. This seems to ns, who can stop into a a store, and for a few dollars, buy an entire wardrobe for either male or female, a hard life, and had the majority of our young ladies of the present day to depend upon their own exertions in the matter of dress, as did their grandmothers, no doubt many of them would have to fall back to mother Eve's system of millinery. But the passing years have brought ample remuneration for the dangers and hardships borne in the early times.
Many incidents and anecdotes of the carly times might be related of every portion of the county, but space will not permit. We will give one, however, which occurred in Moccasin, and shows how the people of the township are disposed to deal out justice to evil-doors. It is related of a couple of citizens, who, after partaking rather freely of rifle whisky, finally got into a drunken row. In the melee one of them caught the other. pushed him down in a chair, and taking hold of his whiskers, pulled his head over the back of the chair, and seizing a "case-knife," swore he would cut his throat. He drew the knife across the man's neck, and the only reason that he did not cut his throat from ear to car was because the knife was too dull. His intention was good to do a first-class job in that line. In the meantime, the wife of one of the combatants interfered and succeeded in preventing perhaps a murder. When the facts became known. the would-be murderer was arrested
and taken before a magistrate for trial. That dignitary was not thoroughly read up in criminal law, and instead of making out a case of "assault with intent to kill," he impaneled a jury of twelve men, and tried the fellow for murder. After hearing the evidence, the jury brought in a verdict of yuilly, but set no punishment. The question then arose as to what to do with the prisoner, when a happy thought entered the head of some one, to take him to Effingham. This was done, and the legal snarl was straight- ened out.
The pioneers of Moccasin Township took an early interest in education, and established schools as soon as there were children enongh to support them. It is not known now who taught the first school in the township. The first schoolhouse was built in the edge of the timber on Moccasin Creek, and was a small log cabin. Samuel Mahon was one of the first teachers to occupy it, but it is not thought that he was the first teacher in the settlement. The township is well supplied with schools and schoolhouses at the present day.
The first preacher remembered in this section was Boleyjack. Mr. Doty says that the first time he attended church after he came here, as he approached the meeting he saw Boleyjack sitting on an old log by the roadside tieing on his shoes with hickory- bark. He was bare-headed, and his hair, which was unkempt and uncombed, was full of feathers and down, and upon the whole, the old fellow looked as little like a preacher as possible. The first meetings were held at the people's cabins, and in warm weather in the groves.
The Methodist Episcopal Church standing on Section 17 was the first church built in the township. It was erected about the year 1854 -55, at a cost of some $800, and is a plain frame building. It is a rather strong
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and vigorous church, and supports a flourish ing school.
Tho Methodist Episcopal Church South, on Section 8, about a half milo west of the village, was built in 1868 69. 11 ix a nont frame building, and its society in flourishing. Roy. Mr. Lee is the present pastor. A good Sunday school is maintained.
The Gorman Methodist Church is located on Section 21, near the railroad. It is a handsome and substantial frame building, and was erected about 1871-72. it is strong minorically, and keeps up a good Sunday school.
"There is n station or shipping point on the Walsh Ruilrond at this church, but noth ing like a town or village; it is merely a shipping point, and no other business is car ried on than the shipping of grain and stork.
The village of Moccasin, embracing thirty were of ground, is situated on the southwest quarter of the southeast quarter, and the southeast quarter of the southwest quarter of Section 9; and the northeast quarter of the
northwest quarter of Section 18, of Moccasin Township. It was surveyed by John Maguire, April 20, 1872, for Benjamin Jones, Josoph Yarnall and d. H. Miller, proprietors of the Innd. 11. was enlled Moccasin, which name tho township bears, and which was bestowed on the latter in memory of Mocensin Cronk, the largest stromm in this part of the county.
Snook & Ross opened the first store in the villago. Snook now lives in Allamont. J. P. Condo aveccoded them in the mercantile business, Mr. Condo operates the only store now in the place. He is also Postmaster. A store was carried on awhile by J. W. Holz, but has boon discontinued. Mr. Hotz buya grain here for Minor & Jennings, of Effingham, and does a largo business in that. line.
The importance of the place may bo thus summarized: One general store, ono grain os- tablishment, two blacksmith shops, ono post. office, ono schoolhouse, and probably a pop ulation of twouty families.
CHAPTER XXVII.+
BISHOP TOWNSHIP TOPOGRAPHY AND SURFACE FEATURES COMING OF THE PIONEERS -TIILIR HARD TIMES AND VICISSITUDES TIH: EARLY IMPROVEMENTS IN LIVING ROADS, MILLS, ETC. - SCHOOLS AND SCHOOLHORSES RELIGIOUS HISTORY-CHURCHES AND PREACHERS THE VILLAGE OF ELLIOTTSTOWN, ETC., ETC.
B ISHOP TOW NEILI' ling in the wadern part of Effingham County, and is bounded on the north, south and west, respectively, by the townships of St. Francis, Imens and Wat. Hon, while itsenstorn boundary is dasper County. About three fourths of the surface was origin ually prairie, the rest brush and timber lund. The timber was in filtro groves, often of con siderablo longth, and along the water courses the greater part of which has long since din-
appeared before the settler's ax. The vario ties consisted principally of walnut, hickory, sycamore, olm, ash, linden, a donso growth of underbrush and hazel. The prairie is mostly level, especially in the southern part, while in the north it is more undulating. The soil of the prairie is fortile, ousily cultivated, and produces abundant crops, while the tim- bor-land is more of a clayey naturo and thin in Homo places, yot by propor cultivation it ro- Turns fair crops for the Inbor bestowed upon it.
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HISTORY OF EFFINGHAM COUNTY.
Wheat and corn are the staple products, though all other cereals common to this part of the country ma rained more or less. Por haps no better fruit producing land can be found in the county, and fruit culture is ro ceiving considerable attention, and is rapidly coming to the front ns an important induy, try. Large orchards are to be seen on almost. every farm of any note, and the varieties of fruit are among the best, produced in the country. It is an an agricultural district, and a great deal of attention has of Inte been given to cattle-raising. There are a goodly number of stock farms, where can be soon blooded and imported stock. Farmers are fast learning that the improvement of their stock has become a safe investment, and con sidorable capital is expended annually in that chroction.
There are two creeks, namely. Bishop and Salt, that run through the township; the first. rises in Section I, and flows southwestorly about four miles, when it takes an abrupt. turn almost dno west until it leaves the town ship. A branch of this crook has its soured in Section 1, running south and uniting with the main stream in Section 20. Salt ('rock flows through the northwest corner of the township, and fornishos ample drainage and sufficient stock water to that locality. The strony are small, and during the hot, months of very dry seasons dry up altogether, but during the spring freshets they become raging torrents, oftentimes overflowing their banks and swooping away fonces, bridges, and everything else of a movable nature. Crops are sometimes severely injured by these overflows, whole fields of grain being frequently inundated and almost completely destroyed.
The settlement of Bishop dates from about the year 1837, at which time the first pioncer made his appearance and erected a little
cabin in the timber, near the eastern part of of the townalup. This first settler was Samuel Bishop, after whom the township was named, last nothing definito concerning bim could be learned About this time, say eral squatters created temporary Indatations along the water courses, but made no further improvements, spending all their time m hunting nid trapping a business which ro formed them to very fair profit, as the country at that time was full of gumo and for bourig ammuals. They remained but a short time, und left for the country further west, as soll as the permanent settlers be gan improving the lands, The next permanent settlement was made in the central part of the townolup, near the spot where the Catholic Church now stands, by a German, who came into the country about the year IS38. Thus man's name was Christian Kommen He came from Germany, and made this town lap los first stopping place, where he continued to rede until his death, in the your ISTY He was a man of quiet, unassuming ways! attended strictly to his own business, and, by dint of bard Inbor, reclaimed a large truet of land from its wild state. A man named Werton dorf settled in the same vicinity one year Inter, and improved a small farm adjoining Ramon's place. He was a German also, und loft the " fatherland " for the purpose of boffering his condition and securing a home for his children in the New World His hopes were realized beyond his expectations, ns ho, in time, became very wealthy, and owned much of the land that formerly sur rounded his little claim, and which is now in possession of his two sons George and Henry highly respected citizens of the town ship. These were the only settlements made up to the year 1512. That year was marked by the advent of Elias Layton, Theophilus Wilson, William White, and Thomas Whoto
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HISTORY OF EFFINGHAM COUNTY.
all of whom came from Ohio, and were promi- nently identified with the early history of their respective communities. The first named entered a piece of timber land near Bishop Point, in the eastern part of the township, where he still lives. Wilson set- tled in the timber also, north of Layton's place, and made the first improvements on the farm where William Field now lives, to whom he sold it about twenty years ago and moved to Missouri. He remained in Mis- souri but a short time, returning again to Effingham County and purchasing a farm in the neighboring township. of Watson, where he died about ten years ago. Several repre- sentatives of this family still reside in the county.
William White located a farm in the west- ern part of the township, in Section 30, where he lived for fifteen years, when he sold the place and purchased a tract of land near Bishop Point, which was his home as long as he remained in the county. White was a noted character in the community, and was well known all over this and the adjoining county of Jasper. A very giant in stature, and endowed with the strength of a Hercules, he was universally feared by all, as he was in the habit of drinking a great deal and, when under the influence of the ardent, his passions were easily aroused, and nothing suited his fiery disposition better than a knock down. His neighbors, knowing his peculiar weakness (or strength), and having ample cause to fear his gigantic strength, were care- ful on such occasions to let him severely alone. Woe to the luckless fellow who re- plied to any of his insulting gibes, as he was sure to resent it in a manner that the offense was never repeated. Hospitality was a trait which he cultivated; anybody applying to him for food or shelter was never turned away from his door. The little brown jng '
was always trotted out, and a guest could offer him no deeper insult than to refuse to drink, which he looked upon as a breach of hospitality. The guest was told, very de- cidedly, to choose which he preferred-a drink or a sound thrashing; and the red-eye was generally taken in preference to the pummeling, which all knew meant nothing less than a mashed head and broken bones. During the last years of his life, he became very dissipated, and when working on his farm kept a jug of whisky at each end of the field, and between the two, which he managed to drain before night, became so gloriously patriotie that his wife had to go on a regular hunt for him every day and pilot his tottering steps home. His death occurred a number of years ago. Thomas White was a brother of William, and, though not so rough a character, his name cannot be placed in the calendar of saints by any means. He was, like his brother, a man of great physical pow- ers, and prided himself upon his strength, which was remarkable. He settled near Bishop Point, and for a number of years engaged in the practice of medicine, belong- ing, as he often said, to the school of com- mon sense, and was one of the very few who graduated from their institutions. His medi- cines were digged from the earth, scraped from the bark of trees and boiled from their leaves, and when old and stubborn cases of malaria, then so prevalent in the country, baffled the effects of his botanic remedies, recourse was had to charms, signs, etc., which generally effected (?) the desired cure. He left the township a number of years ago, and moved to a place called Island Grove, in Jasper County.
Joseph Melson, John Tedrick, Isaiah Wall and a man by the name of Armstrong were residents of the township as early as the year 1844. The first named came from Ohio and
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HISTORY OF EFFINGHAM COUNTY.
settled near Bishop Point on a farm which is present in possession of his widow. Tedrick entered land in Section 27, where he still lives at an advanced age. He originally came from Maryland and emigrated to Indi- ana when that part of the country was on the outskirts of civilization. His farm in this township is a model in the way of improve- ments, and the family are in affluent circum- stances. Wall came from Ohio and improved a farm in Section 27, which he sold shortly afterward and with his family moved to Posey County, Ind. Armstrong located in Section 27 also, and was the first preacher in the township. He held religious services at a 'number of places in this and the ad- joining settlements, but never organized any society. His neighbors are held responsible for the saying that his preaching and practice did not always harmonize, but his advice to his congregations, if not exactly Script- ural was, to say the least, plausible, and savored very much of good sense, i.e. "Don't do as Armstrong does, but do as Armstrong tells you." He appears to have been a great hunter, and nothing gave him more delight than rambling through the woods in quest of the game, and so great was his love for the sport that he often carried his gun with him to church, and after preaching a long dis- course on the "sinfulness of sin," and the necessity of keeping the Sabbath holy, would go to the woods, spend the rest of the day at his favorite pastime and return at night well loaded with the fruits of his day's sport. At one time, while hunting along Salt Creek, night overtook him in the woods. The wolves, which were then plenty, gave him chase and soon overtook him, when he turned and shot two of them. This served as a check until he could load his gun, when an- other one was killed. His dog, in the mean- time. was not idle, but rushed into the pack
and was very soon overpowered and killed. Seeing bis dog eaten up alive before his eyes, Armstrong clubbed his gun and made an onslaught on the tierce beasts, which at once turned upon him. Now ensued a struggle for life, and many of the wolves bit. the dust before the vigorous blows of the gun, but being almost tired out, his savage enemies had the advantage, as others kept coming up all the time and joined in the fray. Armstrong's cries for help were beard by some parties who lived not very far away, and after fighting for almost an hour, he was rescued. The wolves, seeing the other men coming, quit their intended victim and scampered away. Armstrong received sev- eral ugly gashes on the legs, arms and about the face and had his clothing almost stripped from his body. Roland Childs was a pio- neer of Bishop, having come into the town- ship about the year 1846. The place where he located is in Section 28, and is at present owned by Henry Smith.
The Fields were a prominent family of this township, and have been identified with all movements calculated to advance its material prosperity. Ambrose Field, father of Will- iam and Dr. Field, located in Section 31 about the year 1847. He came to this part of the country from Edgar County, to which place he moved from the State of Kentucky when Illinois was in the infancy of its exist- ence. He died in the year 1855. a victim to the cholera, which raged through the country at that time. The place where he settled is owned and occupied by Andrew Bogart. Dr. Field, one of the first physicians in the southern part of the county, came with his father from Edgar County and engaged in the business of school teaching, prosecuting his medical studies in the meantime. He entered a piece of land in Section 30, on which he moved and made some improve-
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HISTORY OF EFFINGHAM COUNTY.
ments, but his practice increased so rapidly that he was compelled to quit farming alto- gether and devote his whole attention to his profession. He resides in the village of El- liottstown and has a large and remunerative practice. Samuel Field located near Bishop Point, where he still resides. John W. Field purchased land near the village of Elliotts- town, which is still in his possession. He is at present Justice of the Peace, an office which he has acceptably filled for several years. The foregoing list comprises the most prominent settlers of the township down to the year 1848, though there may be others entitled to a mention whose names we were unable to learn. Since 1848, the influx of population has been steady and constant; the land has all been taken up and improved; good roads have been established through- out the township. Comfortable, and in some cases, elegant farm residences have taken the places of the primitive pole cabin and board shanty. Villages have been laid out, schools established, neat schoolhouses erected at proper intervals, commodious temples of worship built, and everything bespeaks the prosperity with which the citizens of this part of the county are blessed.
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Life in this country forty years ago was en- tirely different from what it is to-day. In nothing are the manners and customs of the people similar to those who first introduced civilization into the Western wilds. The dwellings, clothing, diet, social customs, in fact, everything, has undergone a total revo- Intion, and it is a difficult task to give our youth anything like a just idea of the manner in which their fathers lived and prospered in the days when the country was a wilderness. Game of all kinds then infested the woods and prairies, and furnished the table of the early settler a plentiful supply of fresh meat. Venison was no rarity, but was a staple ar-
ticle of food, deer being so numerous as to cause great injury to the crops, and hence were killed even when not needed for food.
The first mill in the township was a very diminutive affair, operated by horse-power, and erected by Mr. Armstrong, an early settler, near his place of residence in the southern part of the township. The grind- ing apparatus rested on a large oak stump that had been smoothed off for the purpose, and was covered by a rude shed, the frame work of which consisted of four forked poles stuck in the ground, on which rested the roof. The mill ground very slow, but made a fair article of meal, and was extensively patronized by the citizens of this and neigh- boring townships. It was in operation about ten years, and did a great deal of business for a mill of its capacity. Dr. White erected a small horse mill shortly after he came to the township at Bishop Point, which was in operation about fifteen years. It was a decided improvement on the first named, having better machinery, ground faster, and made a better article of flour and meal. It was kept running day and night for some time, people often coming many miles with their grists, and remaining two days, and sometimes longer before their turns came for grinding. Both of those old mills disap- peared long since, and not a vestige of either remains to mark the spots where they stood. No other flouring mills were built in Bishop until the year 1871, when a man by name of Lambert erected one in the western part of the township. This was a combination mill, operated by steam, and did a flourishing business for several years. It was torn down in the spring of 1882, aud moved to the town of Wheeler, where it is at present in opera- tion.
The first election, in which the early settlers of this township participated, took
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ALPucher
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HISTORY OF EFFINGHAM COUNTY.
place in the year 1848, and was held at the residence of Levi Jacobs, at early settler who came into the county abont ten years previous. The number of votes cast was not large, nor all confined to Bishop, as the county was at that time made up of precincts. The township has been strongly Democratic ever since its organization, giving that ticket, at the last Presidential election, over 100 majority.
The cause of education received the early attention of the pioneers of Bishop, and to-day its fruits may be seen in the intelli- genee and culture of the descendants of the early and honest settlers. Though in the first settlement there were a great many influences that worked against the development of a general system of education-neighborhoods were thinly settled, money scarce, and people generally poor, no schoolhouses, no public ford, no trained and qualified teachers, no books, and nothing of the present system was at the hands of the pioneers-yet they organized schools, their children were taught, and grew to manhood and to years, wiser and more learned than their venerable sires. The date of the first school in Bishop Town- ship was not learned, nor the name of the first teacher. A school was taught near Bishop Point, at an early day, by Samuel Field, a man who threw a great deal of enthusiasm into his profession, and gave his patrons universal satisfaction. A neat brick house was built at the Point in 1853, it. which the first public school in the township was taught by Mr. Field the same year; he was afterward followed by James Gillen- waters, who was among the successful teachers of the township. He tanght here several years, and was untiring in his efforts to bring the schools up to a high standard of excellence. There are at present, five framo schoolhouses in the township, well furnished.
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