History of Greene and Jersey Counties, Illinois : together with sketches of the towns, villages and townships, educational, civil, military, and political history; portraits of prominent individuals, and biographies of representative men, History of Illinois, Part 114

Author:
Publication date: 1885
Publisher: Springfield, Ill. : Continental Historical
Number of Pages: 1150

USA > Illinois > Greene County > History of Greene and Jersey Counties, Illinois : together with sketches of the towns, villages and townships, educational, civil, military, and political history; portraits of prominent individuals, and biographies of representative men, History of Illinois > Part 114

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Joseph J. Schutz, the present propri- etor of the store at this point, was born Feb. 8, 1863, in the neighborhood where he now resides, and where he was reared, and has spent his life thus far. At the death of his father, he became the proprietor of the store at the Mills, in which business he still continues. He is deputy postmaster, and keeps the office in the store. He was married. in this county, Jan. 2, 1881, to Eliza J. McConnell, a native of Greene county, and a daughter of Andrew L. and Eliz- abeth McConnell. This marriage has been blessed with two children-Hattie and Harry. Mr. Schutz, although quite young, is an enterprising, go-ahead bus- iness man, who will doubtless meet with success in all his undertakings.

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HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY.

OTHER REPRESENTATIVE PEOPLE.

Davis Carter, a prominent early set- tler of Greene county, was born in North Carolina. about 1784, and was a son of Michael Carter. His parents died when he was young, and Davis then removed with his brother-in-law Mr. Powell, and sister, to Tennessee. In 1811 he came to Illinois, locating near the fort in Wood river settlement, Madison county. There he lived until 1820, amid the scenes then attending the early settlement of that part of the territory. While there he was married to Catherine Reagan, a native of Ala- bama. It was the wife and two children of her brother Reason, who, among others, were killed at the Wood river massacre. In the spring of 1820, Mr. C'arter moved his family up to Greene county and located on See. 25, T. 11, R. 13, now in Walkerville township. There they remained until the spring of 1821, when they removed across the creek on to See. 35, T. 11, R. 13, now Bluffdale township. In 1824, they returned to Walkerville township, locating on sec- tion 16, where they resided seven years, and then lived at two other locations in that township, respectively one and two years. After that they removed to Sec. 4, T. 12, R. 13, and there resided until Nov., 1847, when Mr. Carter died, hav- ing survived his wife sinee 1844. Both are buried at the Hunnicutt cemetery. Mr. and Mrs. Davis Carter were the parents of 6 children -- Eleanor, deceased wife of William Little; Lorenzo E., sub- jeet of the following sketch; John, mar- ried Ann Spencer, died in this county, Joseph, enlisted in Co. D, 2d IN. Int., for the entire Mexican war, but fell a victim to the yellow fever, at Vera Cruz;

Ruth, deceased wife of John Buck; Elizabeth, deceased wife of Wesley Clevenger, of Macoupin county. Davis Carter was in the Black Hawk war, and was a ranger in the war of 1812, with headquarters at the Wood river fort. He assisted in burning the fort at Peoria. As early as 1827 he drove cat- tle from this county to Green Bay, Wis., for the soldiers. It may there- fore be said that several years of his life were spent in the loyal defense of his country.

Lorenzo E. Carter, a prominent resi- dent of this township, and the only surviving child of Mr. and Mrs. Davis Carter, early pioneers of Greene county, was born at the Wood river settlement, in Madison county, on Christmas day, 1817. Before he was three years of age, his parents removed to Greene county, into which, but a short time before the first pioneers had gone. Here they set- tled permanently, and here Lorenzo was reared amid the scenes attending the clearing up of the wilderness. He re- ceived his education in the log school house of the early days, and among others went to school to the father of Rowell Hunnicutt. He was reared to farm life, and remained with his par- ents until his marriage in May, 1843, to Sarah Silkwood, a native of Greene county, born June 11, 1827. ller par- ents were Obadiah and Sarah Silk- wood, natives of Kentucky, who ro- moved to St. Clair county, Ill., and from there to Greene county, in 1824, settling on Sec. 15, T. 11, R. 13, where her father died. Her mother died after- wards, while they were living under the bluff. Mr. and Mrs. Carter were the parents of seven children, of whom

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HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY.

six are living-Eveline, wife of Henry Gollier, living in Patterson township; John, married Melanie Manger, lives in this township; Mary, wife of Joseph Dagly, living in this township; Sylvia J., wife of John Deeds, living in Pearl, Pike county; William and Marcus. George, deceased, was married to Mary Boyer, and died Nov. 22, 1879. Mr. Carter has about 1,500 acres of land in T. 11 and 12, R. 13. He was justice of the peace at one time, and has been connected with the schools at various times, and in different capacities. Mr. Carter enlisted in the Mexican war in June, 1847, and was assigned to Co. D, 2d Ill. Inf., under Captain Bristow and Colonel Collins, commanded by General Patterson. He returned in 1848, and was mustered out at Alton, where he had also been mustered in. He started from there as a sergeant of his company, and while in Mexico, was elected lieu- tenant of the same. A generation has passed away since Mr. Carter first came to this county, and he has witnessed almost the entire development of Greene county, in the course of his life of over three score years.

T. A. Little was born in Greene county, Ill., on the 23d of June, 1844, and is a son of William and Ellen (Car- ter) Little, A full sketch of the lives of his mother's parents will also be found in this volume, in connection with the history of this township. T.A. was reared to farm life and has always been engaged in that occupation. On the 20th of April, 1865, he was united in marriage with Sarah Hunnicutt, a na- tive of this county, and a daughter of Thomas and Ruth (Silkwood) Hunni- cutt, a mention of whom will be made

in this work. This marriage has been blessed by four children-John, Wil- liam, Belle and Anna, all living at home. Mr. Little is in very comfortable circum- stances, having a nice farm of 160 acres of land on Sec. 30, T. 12, R. 13, on which he is quite successful in the raising of stock and grain. Mr. Little is an indus- trious, go-ahead farmer, and is well re- speeted by the community in which he resides.

William S. Smith was born in Pitt- sylvania eounty, Va., Oct. 2, 1826, and is a son of William S. and Martha A. (Creary) Smith, his father a native of South Carolina, his mother a native of Virginia. They moved to Kentucky in 1828, where they remained about two years, and in the fall of 1830, eame to Scott county, Ill. There William was reared, and was brought up to farm life. His father died there in 1851. In 1852, William journeyed overland to Cali- fornia, where he remained four years. being engaged in the lumber business. In 1856, he returned to Scott county, where he resided until 1858, when he came to Greene county, and purchased 240 acres of land on Secs. 2 and 11, in T. 12, R. 13. Mr. Smith was first mar- ried to Thisuba J. Smith, and by that union there were two children, of whom one is living-Sarah, wife of Field Fielding, residing in this county. Mr. Smith was again married, in 1862, to Sophronia A. Edwards, and by that union there was one child-Hernon, who lives at home. Mrs. Smith died in 1863, and was buried in Scott county. In 1865, Mr. Smith was again united in marriage with Jane Day, a native of Scott county, Ill. Mr. and Mrs. Smith are the parents of six children-Rebecca

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HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY.

A., deceased; Littie, deceased; William H., Bonnie, Tuny, and Elsie; those liv- ing, all residing at home. Mr. Smith is a well-to-do farmer, being the owner 1 of 982 acres of land on sections 2, 3, 10 and 11, in what is now Patterson town- ship. He is engaged in the raising of stock and grain, in which he has been very successful. He has been connected with the schools of his district as diree- tor, and is one of the most enterprising and highly esteemed citizens of the eom- munity in which he resides.

J. D. MeLane, an enterprising citizen of this county, was born in Lincoln county, Tenn., April 29, 1838, his parents being G. L., and Emeline (Dusenberry) McLane, his father, a native of South Carolina, his mother of Tennessee. J. D., was reared in his native state, and lived there until after the civil war, when he removed to western Alabama, where he carried on farming. He lived in that state until 1881, when he came to Illinois, and located in what is now Patterson township. He has 95 acres of land on section 24, T. 12, R. 13, where he carries on farming, and incidental stock raising, and through his industry and energy, has been quite successful. Ile was married in Alabama, Dec. 24, 1868, to Sophronia J. Randall, a native of Alabama, and a daughter of Asa and Eleanor Randall. By this marriage, there are six children-Edwin J., Ellen E., Henry E., Keener J., Irwin and Charles. In the civil war, Mr. MeLane was a soldier in Co. K, 8th Tenn. Inf. Ile was at the battle of Murfreesboro, Chickamauga, Nashville, Franklin, Per- ryville, Ky., Atlanta, and numerous other smaller engagements, and was in the service until the close of the war.

Hle went in as a private, but rose through various promotions, command- ing Co. K a great part of the time, the eaptain being in prison, and was first lieutenant at the close of the war. Mr. MeLane now holds the office of township treasurer, and is the present representa- tive of his township in the board of su- pervisors, of Greene county. He is the central committeeman of the demoeratie party, from Patterson township, having been chosen to that position, before the last presidential campaign. Mr. Mc- Lane's mother, died in Tennessee, and his father, in Alabama. Mr. McLane is fast taking rank among the prominent men of Greene county.

Wilson Cunningham, deceased, was born in South Carolina, and was a son of Abram Cunningham. When he was a mere boy his parents removed to Ten- nessee, settling in Lincoln county. There Wilson was reared, and there remained until he came to Illinois and located in what is now Patterson township, in Greene county. He was here married to Mary Wells, a native of North Caro- lina, and a daughter of John Wells, a sketeh of whom will appear in this work. Mr. and Mrs. Wilson Cunning- i ham were the parents of six children, of whom three are living-Frankie, de- ceased; George, whose sketch follows this; John, living with his mother in this township; Jane, deceased wife of Jabez Irwin; James, married Ella Irwin, lives in Sumner county, Kan .; and one who died in infaney. Mr. Cunningham departed this life about 1857, and is buried near Walshville, Montgomery county. His widow still survives him and resides in this township.

George W. Cunningham, the oldest liv-

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HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY.

ing child of Wilson Cunningham, was born in Greene county, Dec. 26, 1836. He was reared amid the scenes attending the elearing up of the wilderness, and re- sided with his parents until his marriage, in 1865, to Jane Garrett. She died in 1867, and Mr. Cunningham was again married in 1869 to Sarah Clemens, who died in the early part of 1870. He was married in February, 1875, to his present wife, Jane Beavers, a native of Canada. Mr. Cunningham has 200 acres of good land on Sec. 11, T. 12, R. 13, all under eultivation with comfortable surround- ings. He is a member of the Salem Baptist church. He has been connected with the schools as director of district No. 1. In his political views he affili- ated with the democratic party.

Hiram Paire, now deceased, was born in Mercer county, Ky., in 1805. His boyhood days were spent in his native state. His father was a slaveholder in Kentucky, in which state he died. After his death, his widow and the fam- ily removed to Calloway county, Mo. where Hiram's mother died. Hiram then came to Greene county, Ill., locat- ing on section 36, in what is now Pat- terson township. IIe was one of the early settlers of this county, and when he came it was nothing but wild eoun- try, but, like the other settlers of that time, he set about clearing up a home. He lived the remainder of his life in this county. While in Missouri he was married to Matilda Wood, a native of Tennessee, and a daughter of Zachariah and Nancy Wood, who were also among the early settlers of the county, and who will be mentioned elsewhere in this work. Hiram Paire and wife were the parents of five. children-Melinda,

deceased wife of Edward Powell; Jane, now the wife of Samuel .Martin, liv- ing in this county; Nancy, deceased wife of John H. Thomas; Julia, de- eeased wife of John Lemon, and John, the subject of the following sketch. Hiram Paire died June 1, 1875, and is buried on the old homestead. His wife died about 1844, and is buried at the Bellew graveyard. Ile left a large farm, consisting of 640 acres of valuable land, which he accumulated by thrift and energy. He was a member of the M. E. church.

John Paire, the youngest child of Hiram and Matilda Paire, was born on June 12, 1837, in Greene county, Ill., where he was reared, and for nearly half a century has made it his home. Even in his recollection, this eounty was almost a wilderness, and in the length of time he has lived here, he has seen its towns grow up, and most of the improvements in the county made. He was married, Sept. 10, 1865, to Eliza Ford, a native of Illinois. By this union there were six children-George Washington, married Nevia J. Kinser, lives in this county; Addie, Mark, Ne- via J., and two who died in infancy. Mr. Paire is an industrious farmer, and is the possessor of 240 acres of land, lying in Walkerville and Patterson townships.

W. W. Owdom was born in South Carolina, March 10, 1818, being a son of Willis and Betsey ( Forest) Owdom, na- tives of South Carolina. Ile was there brought up to farm life, and in 1838, he came to Greene county, Ill., settling on section 24, in this township, where he purchased 40 acres of land, on which he still resides. In 1839, he was mar-

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HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY.

ried to Mary Groce, a daughter of Thomas and Nancy Groce, and by this union there were nine children, seven of whom are living-Melissa, wife of John Roberts, residing in Manchester; Elizabeth, wife of Benjamin Drum- monds, residing in Vernon county, Mo .; William D., married Jane Gurley, lives in Wilmington; John, whose sketch follows this; Ellis, Sarah and Emeline. Mrs. Owdom departed this . life Oct. 17, 1852, and is buried at the Wilmington cemetery. Mr. Owdom has a farm of 240 acres, on sections 24 and 25, in Patterson township, on which he raises stock and grain. He is a mem- ber of the Baptist church, and is a highly respected citizen of that com- munity.

John Owdom was born in Greene county, III., Sept. 7, 1854, and is a son of W. W. and Polly (Groce) Owdom. John was reared to farm life, and is now engaged in that business. March 22, 1883, he was united in marriage with Emma Gollier, a daughter of Philip and Katie Gollier, and a native of Germany By this marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Owdom are the parents of one child-Lotta V. Mr. Owdom has 20 acres of land on Sec. 19, T. 12, R. 12, in what is now Pat- terson township, and is engaged in rais- ing stock and grain. He has traveled west as far as California, where he staid one year, and was engaged at farming there. Mr. Owdom was a member of the Grange.

William B. Atchison, was born near Belleville, St. Clair county, III., Ang. 22, 1830, and was a son of John and Eliza (Badgley) Atchison. William was reared to farm life, in which he al- ways has continued. He was married,

March 3. 1850, in Monroe county, to Sarah H. Jennings, born in 1830. She was a daughter of Samuel and Matilda (Biekers) Jennings, natives of Tennes- see. William removed to Greene county in 1855, and settled on section 23, T. 12, R. 12. Here he resided until his death Feb. 25, 1861. Mr. and Mrs. Atchison were the parents of three children- Edward L., married Elizabeth Shelton, now resides on his mother's farm; Wil- liam E., married Anna Hoskins, also lives on his mother's farm; Eliza Viola, married Christopher Howard, and re- sides with her mother. Mr. Atchison was a member of the Baptist church, as is also his wife. His father died in the year 1841, and his mother is still living in Belleville, being now in her 73rd year. Mrs. Atchison has a nice farm of 160 acres, located on the northeast quar- ter of section 22, in what is now Patter- son township. Her family is highly respected by the community in which they reside.

Lafayette Deeds, deceased, was born in Virginia, Feb. 14, 1846, his parents being Henry and Sarah Jane (Timmer- man) Deeds, natives of Virginia. When Lafayette had reached the age of 13 years his parents removed to Illinois, locating near Wilmington, where they remained about two years, and where his father died. From there the family removed to Pike county, where they spent two years and then returned to Greene county to their first location, where his mother was again married to J. L. Sampson. Lafayette lived with his mother until his marriage, Oct. 3, 1867, to Lueinda Wells, daughter of Philip and Sarah A. (Vinyard) Wells. Her father was born in Kentucky and came

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HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY.

to this county in 1834. Her mother was born in this eounty, and here they were married. Her father died in August, 1850, and is buried at Bluefield cem- etery. Her mother died in Feb., 1850, and is buried at Walkerville cemetery. Mrs. Deeds was then reared by her grandmother. Mr. and Mrs. Deeds were the parents of seven children-John H., born July 19, 1868; Elvira E., born March 29, 1870; Cordelia A., born Dee. 20, 1872; Carrie E., born Sept. 20, 1874; George E., born Jan. 26, 1876; Lou Alma, born April 9, 1879; Harry Lee, born Oct. 3, 1882, and Emily Louisa, born Jan. 3, 1885, died on the 16th of the same month. Mr. Deeds died on June 17, 1885, and is buried at the Blue- field cemetery. His parents both died in this eounty, his mother at the age of 60 and his father at the age of 57. Mr. Deeds was a member of the Pleasant Dale United Baptist church, as is also Mrs. Leeds, and he was one of the trustees of that church. A brother and sister of Lafayette Decds are living in this vicinity-John Franklin, living at Pearl, Pike county, and Henrietta, wife of Samuel Leonard, living in Patterson township. He had one brother, James Henry, who was in the Union service until the close of the war, having en- listed in Co. II, 91st Il. Inf., and served three years. Mrs. Deeds is comfortably fixed, having 123 acres of land, 83 of which are on the home place on section 26. Her parents' families on both sides came here over half a century ago, and took part in many of the early events hence a mention of all of them will ap- pear in their proper places in this work. Mrs. Deeds had one brother, George W. Wells, who died Jan. 9, 1874.

George Wilkinson, deceased, was born Aug. 25, 1833, in Kentucky, his parents being James and Metis (Post) Wilkin- son, natives of Kentneky. George came to Greene county, Ill., with his parents, and having been reared to farm life, always continued at it. He was united in marriage Ang. 28, 1848, with Lucetta Martin, a daughter of Reuben and Elizabeth (Carriger) Martin, natives of Lincoln county, Tenn., who are men- tioned elsewhere. She was born there Aug. 25, 1834, and came with her par- ents to Greene county, III., in 1835, they settling on the place where Mrs. Wilkin- son now resides. Her father died July 8, 1865, and is buried in the Martin cemetery. Her mother died Sept. 20, 1878, and was laid to rest by the side of her husband. Mr. and Mrs. Wilkinson were the parents of three children- James, married Sarah Wells, resides with his mother; Jane, wife of Staunton Patterson, residing in this township; and Metis, wife of James Floyd, also residing in this township. Mr. Wilkin- son departed this life on the 10th of June, 1852, while on his way to Cali- fornia, and was buried on the plains. Mrs. Wilkinson is in very comfortable circumstances, having a farm containing 300 acres of land on Secs. 8 and 17, T. 12, R. 12. The family are highly esteemed by neighbors and friends.

John W. Allen was born in Greene county, Illinois, on Aug. 10, 1861, and is a son of J. T. and Jane Allen, resi- dents of Greene county, a sketch of whom will also appear in this work. John was reared to farm life, receiving such education as the district schools afforded. On Aug. 20, 1884, he was united in marriage with Lena House,

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HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY.

daughter of Adam and Eliza House, who will be mentioned elsewhere in this vol- honesty and integrity.

ume. Mr. Allen spent the year 1884 in Texas, where he was engaged in farm- ing, and also in the stock business, and is now employed in the same way here. Mr. Allen is quite a young farmer, and being industrious and energetic, will doubtless be successful in all his under- takings.

Thomas Knox was born in the north of Ireland, on Oet. 29, 1839, his parents being John and Elizabeth Knox, natives of Ireland. When he was only 15 years of age he decided to come to this coun- try, and after taking leave of home and friends, sailed for America. On arriving here he eame as far west as Illinois, where he settled in Greene county, in 1854. Mr. Knox has always been en- gaged in farming, with the exception of about three years which, he spent in the service of this country. He enlisted Aug. 8, 1862, in Co. K, 7th Ill. Cav., and was in all the engagements in which his regiment participated. He was mus- tered out at Vicksburg, Miss. On the 24th of April, 1866, Mr. Knox was mar- ried to Octavia Hatcher, a daughter of John Hateher. This union has been blessed by seven children, Frank R., John E., Anna C., Belle O., Thomas A., Elsie J., and Emery E., all living at home. Mr. Knox is one of the enter- prising farmers of this township, and by industry, frugality, and good manage- ment, has accumulated a considerable amount of property, having 800 acres of valuable land on sections 17, 18, 20, 27 and 28, in what is now Patterson township, and is very successful in the raising of stock and grain. He is a mem- ber of the Wilmington lodge A. O. U. W.,

and is highly esteemed by all for his

The first building in school district No. 2, was a log edifice located on sec- tion S, and erected in 1864. The pioneer teacher in this structure was Mary Hubbs. This served the distriet for school purposes until 1870, when a new building was constructed on seetion 29. Three or four years later it was removed to section 8, and in 1880 brought to its present location on section 29. There was also a log school house on seetion 19, which was erected about 1860. It has since rotted away.

PATTERSON

Is a neat little village of about 200 inhabitants, in this township. It is lo- eated on the southwest quarter of seetion 18, and was laid out on May 18, 1836, by Lueius Norton, Thomas Groee, Thomas Hanks, Young, 'Henderson, Lane and Higbee, and the plat filed for reeord as Wilmington, in the office of the circuit elerk, May 21, 1836. This name it bore for many years, but it was changed to Breese and then to Patterson. In 1836, John Chester opened a store for the sale of groceries, dry goods, etc., which he ran for a short time, when he sold out to Isham Cranfil. The latter gentle- man did an extensive business, buying beef and pork, at from $1,25 to $1,75 per hundred, and packing it, and also buying grain and teaming it to Alton. lle afterward sold out the place to L. D. Morris, and emigrated to Oregon. Mr. Morris did no business but disposed of the property to L. J. Patterson.

In 1836, Peter Gibbon established a tannery here which gave employment to several hands and made business

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HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY.

lively. He commanded a good trade here for many years.

Wiekliff Post opened a blacksmith shop about the year 1835 or 6, and kept it for several years. He came here from Apple Creek Prairie.

The second to open up a store was Ira Clark. He had a grocery store in a building built by Thomas Groce.

Shortly after the commencement of the town a hotel was put up. which was run by Thomas Groee. The sign was the "Rising Sun."

William Flemming engaged in the cooper trade in 1844 or 5, and was suc- ceeded by Charles Wiggins, who was the last to follow the business here. Ile closed up his shop in 1849.

Drs. Gosnold, Charles Hardt, Burns, Garrison, Higbee, and others, practiced medicine in those early days.

The first school was taught by Dr. Joe Garrison, he teaching and practic- ing medicine at the same time.

Quite a little settlement now sprang up, to trace which in all its detail would require too much space. Let us there- fore elip the following excellent article in regard to the little hamlet:

"Whiteside & Eaton put up a saw- mill in 1859, that ran by steam, which greatly facilitated the erection of build- ings, and aided materially in the pros- perity of the town. This mill was af- terward sold to a party who moved it to Glasgow.

"G. W. Burns came from Pennsyl- vania, and located here about 1868, and now resides in White Ilall.

"The school building was erected in 1873; is furnished with 40 patent seats, capable of seating 80 pupils; has abund- ance of blackboard room, well lighted,

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History of Greene and Jersey Counties, Illinois : together with sketches of the towns, villages and townships, educational, civil, military, and political history; portraits of prominent individuals, and biographies of representative men, History of Illinois, Part 114

Author: Publication date: 1885 Publisher: Springfield, Ill. : Continental Historical Number of Pages: 1150

Author:
Publication date: 1885
Publisher: Springfield, Ill. : Continental Historical
Number of Pages: 1150