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 69

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 69

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William Thomasson, a Tennessean by birth, made Greene county his home in 1828, settling first in T. 9, R. 12, but later removed to Bluffdale township. In 1847, after a winter spent in Texas, he removed to Sec. 18, T. 9, R. 12, Woodville township, where he died.

James Ashlock made his settlement in Greene county in 1828, on section 22, Linder township. He died a resident of this place, April 12, 1862.

David, Joel and Eri Edwards, three brothers, from Vermont, came to Greene county in 1828, and after a short stay in the neighborhood of Carrollton, in the fall of 1829, settled on sections 28 and 33, Rubicon township. There they lived and died-David, in 1856, Joel, in 1859, and Eri, in 1866.

William Mason, came to Greene county in 1828, and located upon a farm

near Rockbridge, where he lived for 12 years. He then removed to Macoupin county, and later to Jersey county, but about 1856, he came back to this county, settling in Kane township, where he resided until his death, in 1870.

James Curnutt was, also, among the settlers of 1829, settling for a time in Rockbridge township, but later, he moved to Rubicon, where he died in 1851.

R. Stoddard made a settlement in 1829, in what is now Athensville town- ship.

David Hahn came to Greene county, in 1829, and located in the northwestern part of the county, in that sub-division known as Patterson, where he lived many years.

Among those who settled in Rock- bridge township in 1829, were Ichabod Valentine, Howard Finley, Joel Griz- zle and Herod Grizzle. Most of these parties lived here for many years.

Louis J. Ballard, a native of North Carolina, but for sometime a resident of Tennessee, came to this county in 1829, and settled upon section 7, of Wrights township, where he lived until 1878, when he died.

William H. Goode opened a farm on section 31, in Wrights township, locat- ing there in 1829. In 1856, he moved to Davis county, Ia., where he died in 1874.

Among the pioneers of Greene county was William Winn, who located about four miles west of the town of Carroll- ton, Nov. 12, 1829. Here he lived until his death, Nov. 27, 1866.

J. Harvey Weisner came to this county from Tennessee, in 1829, and lo- cated in Rockbridge township. He was

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HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY.

a North Carolinian, and died in Green- field, in 1884.

Marvil Morris became a resident of Greene county, in 1829, locating upon a farm on Sec. 26, T. 9, R. 12, now Kane township, where he lived many years.

Jacob Young came to Greene county, and settled in what is now Rubicon township, in 1829, where he lived until his death, in 1863.

John Reynolds, a native of Washing- ton county, Va., eame to Greene county, in 1829, and made a temporary settle- ment in Carrollton township, but after- wards moved to what is now Rockbridge township. In 1838, he removed to what is now Woodville township, where he died March 15, 1858.

Elder Stephen Coonrod, in 1829, settled with his family, on the north- west quarter of the northeast quar- ter of section 33, in what is now Rubicon township. Here he resided until his death, in 1872, of small-pox. His wife survived him until 1879.

John Brown, and Elizabeth, his wife, with their family left Kentucky, in 1829, and came to Greene county, which they made their home for many years.

Willis Hardwiek, with his family, settled in Woodville township, in 1829, about two miles south of the village of that name, where Mr. Hardwick and his wife died at an advanced age.

James Wood and family came to Greene county about the year 1830, from

the neighborhood of Lexington, Ky., and made a settlement in what is now Woodville township.

Solomon Dixon settled in Roekbridge township, in 1830, and lived there until 1870, when he immigrated to Kansas, where he died.

Isham Adeoek came to Greene county, in 1830, and settled in what is now Bluffdale township.

David Griswold was also a settler of this year, taking up his residence in what is now White Hall township, on section 9, where he died in 1876.

William Askins settled in Rubicon township, the same year.

John Mason and G. H. Hopkins made settlements in Athensville town- ship, where Mr. Hopkins died, in 1866.

Leonard Carriger located in Patter- son township, in 1830.

Moses Wylder, an old Revolutionary veteran, with his family eame to Greene county in 1830, settling in Rockbridge township. In 1832, he returned to Tennessee, and there died, in 1839.

Peter M. Brown, in 1830 came to the town of Carrollton and worked at his trade of carpenter. He was afterwards engaged in the mercantile trade, but shortly engaged in farming. He is now in the land of the hereafter.

David I. Brown and his family came to Greene county in 1830. They were natives of Tennessee, who had immigra- ted to Madison county at an early day.

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HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY.

CHAPTER IV.

GOVERNMENT AND OFFICIAL MATTERS.

The annoyance and inconvenience of going some 30 miles to Edwardsville to transact any business was strongly felt, and early in the year 1820, the subject of county organization began to be dis- cussed. The feeling on the subject grew stronger and stronger and steps were taken to further that end. The matter was brought to the notice of the general assembly, which convened the winter of 1820-21, at Vandalia, and in January of the latter year the following bill was introduced in the house, passed and approved by the governor, Jan. 20, 1821:

AN ACT ESTABLISHING THE COUNTY OF GREENE.

"SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the people of the state of Illinois represent- ed in the general assembly, that all that tract of country within the following boundaries, to-wit: Beginning at the southeast corner of T. 7 N., R. 10, west of the third principal meridian; thence north between ranges 9 and 10 to the northeast corner of T. 12 N .; thence west along the line between townships 12 and 13 to the middle of the Illinois river; thence down said river to its junction with the Mississippi river; thence down the middle of the Missis- sippi river to a point parallel with the southwest corner of T. 6 N., R. 10 W .; thence north with the range line be- tween 10 and 11 to the township line

between 6 and 7; thence east with said township line to the place of beginning, shall constitute a separate county to be called Greene.

"SEC. 2. Be it further enacted, that for the purpose of establishing the seat of justice for said county, the following persons shall be commissioners, to-wit: Thomas Rattan, John Allen, Thomas Carlin, John Green, and John Huitt, Sr .; and the said commissioners, or a majority of them, shall, at some con- venient time, between the passage of this act and the 1st day of March next, meet at the house of Isaac Pruitt, in said county, and proceed to fix the per- manent seat of justice of said county, and give the same some appropriate name; provided the owner or owners of the land whereon said seat of justice is about is to be fixed give to the county commissioners of the county a good deed of conveyance, in fee simple, for not less than 20 acres of land, for the use of the county. If the owner or owners of said land refuse or neglect to give the same, then to fix the seat of justice on the next suitable place where the said owner or owners will give the quantity of land aforesaid, and in all cases the said commissioners shall take into consideration the situation and geography of the country, and the future population of the county, to have the same as near the centre of the county as practicable.

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HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY.

"SEC. 3. Be it further enacted, that the said commissioners, or a majority of them, shall make a report of their proceedings to the next county commis- sioners' court of the county, and have the same recorded on the records of said county.

SEC. 4. Be it further enacted, that all that tract of country within the fol- lowing boundaries, to-wit: Beginning at the southwest corner of T. 7 N., R. 9. west of the third prin- cipal meridian; thence east to the southeast corner of T. 7 N., R. 6 W .; thence north to the northeast corner of T. 12 N .; thence west to the northwest corner of T. 12, R. 7 W .; thence along the prairie between the waters of Sangamon and Mauvaisterre to the head of Balance creek; thence down said creek to the Illinois river; thence down the said river to the north- west corner of said county, shall be at- tached to said county, and shall consti- tute and be a part of said county for all purposes, until otherwise disposed of by the general assembly of this state.

"SEC. 5. Be it further enacted, that said county, and the attached part of the same, be and compose a part of the first judicial circuit of this state, and the inhabitants of the same shall be entitled to all the privileges of other counties of this state.

"Sec. 6. Be it further enacted, that the commissioners appointed to perform the services required by this act shall be allowed, out of the county funds four dollars for each day's labor and attend- ance in performing such services.

Approved Jan. 20, 1821.

SHADRACH BOND, Governor.

By this it will be seen that the Greene

county of that day was made to include all of what is now Jersey, and to this was attached, temporarily, the present counties of Macoupin, Scott and Mor- gan.

The newly created county was named in honor of General Nathaniel Greenc, of Revolutionary fame.

Of course the first thing to be done toward organization was the selection of a site for the future seat of government, and some of the enterprising land- owners of the county, began to plan how they could get the county seat lo- cated on their land. About a mile and a half west and one south of the pres- ent site of Carrollton lay the town of Mount Pleasant, the first town ever laid out in the county. This was a beautiful site. An article in the Car- rollton Press, of 1860, written by W. A. Tunnell, in speaking of it says: "It was located on a beautiful mound in the midst of as fine country as ever occu- pied a place on the map of the globe, in the prairie, just where a cool, shady grove or point of timber had found its way up the east side, nearly to the sum- init. * * The deep, cool shade af- forded a delicious retreat to the wearied huntsman as he reposed on the moss covered logs 'neath the tall waving trees. The gentle slopes shone in the bright sunshine, beneath a clear, blue sky, like some enchanted spot. clothed in all the gaudy colors of the rainbow. It is probable that the sun in all his wanderings has seldom shone on a love- lier spot of earth since the day on which the flaming sword was placed at the gates of Eden. This mound at present is deprived of every vestige of its prim- itive beauty except its elevation. "

580

HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY.

The public lands in this district were offered for sale at the land office at Ed- wardsville, in January, 1821, and the place above mentioned was one of the places for the possession of which there was a friendly contest. The principal parties, however, were John Evans, an Irishman, and Robert Hobson, an Eng- lishman; both men of means. Mr. Hobson, however, bought off his rival for $50 and purchased the coveted prop- erty. He immediately marked out a town site, naming it Mt. Pleasant, erected a dwelling and a store building, and in the latter placed a stock of goods. With commendable enterprise he offered liberal inducements to settlers to make their homes in his town. When the county was organized a strong effort was made to have the seat of county gov- ernment located here. Another eligi- ble site was a wooded mound a mile or more southeast of the present court house. It was claimed for it that it was nearer the center of the county, etc. Mr. Clement L. Clapp, in a previous history of Greene county, in speaking of this location of the county seat, says: " But the man who held in his hands the key to the situation was Thomas Carlin. In a struggle with such a man as he was, for the location of the county seat, Rob- ert Hobson suffered from every disad- vantage. He had money, but in every other regard his cause was very weak. Ile was an immigrant fresh from Eng- land, and that was sufficient to win for him the dislike of all native Americans. The war with England had ended but a few years before, and hatred for Britain and the British still rankled in the hearts of all the sons of Revolutionary fathers. The situation of Mount Pleas-

ant was a beautiful one, but had its site been doubly enchanting, and had it possessed every advantage over the rival location, Thomas Carlin's personal pop- ularity would have carried everything before it. Few natives would have courted a struggle with him, but a for- eigner, and particularly an Englishman, could hope for nothing but defeat. But besides this it was urged against Mount Pleasant that, although its site was beautiful, the mound on which it was proposed to build the town was far too small to furnish eligible building lots for the capital of a great county. More- over, Mount Pleasant was some distance west of a direct road from Alton to Jack- sonville, and from the entire centre of the county. Few then, except the circle of personal friends with which Mr. Hob- son was surrounded, had any doubt what would be the decision of the com- missioners, appointed by the legislature to locate the seat of justice.

"The first movement that was made toward perfecting the organization of the county, was the meeting of the com- missioners appointed by the general assembly, to select a place for the county seat. These gentlemen assembled at the residence of Isaac Pruitt, one of the most substantial members of the settle- inent. He had entered land a few miles west of Carrollton, and built a cabin very near the present position of the David Black residence. Thence, after some preliminaries, they rode to the land of Thomas Carlin.

"The commission was a representa- tive body. Thomas Rattan had been a pioneer all his life,and was an excellent business man and money-maker. He was reared on Rattan's prairie, in Mad-

HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY.

ison county, whither his parents had eame among the earliest settlers. IIere he entered land, but soon left it, and for some time owned and managed a ferry at Carlisle, where he was very sue- cessful in a financial point of view. Subsequently he sold his land in Mad- ison eounty, and made a settlement in Greene county, north of Apple ereek,as previously mentioned. Here Cyrus Tolman and Charles Gregory, after- ward opulent farmers. were in his em- ploy. Mr. Rattan, soon after the orga- nization of the county, moved to Car- rollton, and kept the first hotel there. He was short and heavy, but a thorough man of business. John Allen was from Kentucky, and was a cousin of Zachariah Allen, mentioned elsewhere. John Greene was a brother of William Greene, and father of Singleton F. Greene, afterwards sheriff of the county, and the oldest native of Greene county now living. He was tall and spare. John Huitt, Sr., was the father of John W. Huitt, and had followed his son to this county. He was a Georgian, and an upright man of good mind. Mr.Carlin was one of the commissioners, but he was interested and refused to aet in the matter. After some consultation, it became evident that the commissioners were unanimous in their opinion that the court house should be built on the land of Mr. Carlin. They were stand- ing near the east side of the present square when they reached that decision. Whereupon, John Allen paced 50 yards to the west, drove a stake, and said, "Here let the court house be built." And so it was decided. The town was im- mediately laid out, and named in honor of Charles Carroll, of Carrollton, Md."

At this time there was not a house upon the site of the town, as will be seen in the history of Carrollton.

On the first Monday in April, 1821, an election was held, the polls being at the house of Thomas Rattan, for county officers. This resulted in the choice of Seymour Kellogg, Jehu Brown and John Allen, for eounty commissioners; Thos. Carlin for sheriff, and Jacob Waggoner, eoroner.

The first entry upon the records of the county commissioners' court of Greene county is the following: STATE OF ILLINOIS:

Be it remembered, that the county. of Greene having been established by an act of the general assembly of the state of Illinois, and John Allen, Jehu Brown and Seymour Kellogg having been duly eleeted county commissioners for said county, and having taken the several oaths required by law, before Samuel Lee, Jr., elerk of the eireuit court of said county, whereupon a special term of the county court, for the county of Greene, is begun and held at Carrollton, the seat of justice of said county, on the 1st day of May, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and twenty- one."

At this meeting there were present John Allen, Jehu Brown and Seymour Kellogg, all three of the newly elected commissioners. Samuel Lee, Jr., being appointed elerk of the court, qualified for that position by the usual oaths. He also presented his bond, with Jaeob Linder and Jacob Rattan as sureties, for the faithful performance of his duties in connection with that offiee. The first business that eame before the court is recorded as follows:

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HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY.

"On application of John Wilkins, it is ordered that license be granted him to keep a tavern at his place of resi- dence, on the Piasa creek, in said county, upon his entering into bond, with Samuel White, his security, in the sum of $100, conditioned as the law direets, and paying a tax of five dollars for the use of the county and the clerk's fees." This bond was entered and tax paid the clerk in court.

Thomas Rattan was also granted a license for a tavern, to be kept in the town of Carrollton.

It was also ordered "that the follow- ing rates for tavern keepers of this county be, and the same are hereby al- lowed and established, to-wit: For each meal of victuals, 25 cents; for lodging in a bed, per night, 12 cents; for keeping a horse, with corn or oats, and hay or fodder, per night or 12 hours, 37: cents; for keeping a horse, without hay or fodder, per night or 12 hours, 18; cents; for each feed for a horse, 12 cents; for French brandy or wine, per half pint, 50 cents; for gin or rum, per half pint, 25 cents; for apple brandy, cherry bounce, or cordials, per half pint, 18: eents; for whiskey, per half pint, 12 cent."

By the act of the general assembly that organized the county, Thomas Car- lin, Thomas Rattan, John Allen, John Green and John Huitt, Sr., were ap- pointed commissioners to fix the perma- nent seat of justice of the county, and they came before this court, on the day and date above mentioned, and reported that "having met at the house of Isaac Pruitt, as required in said act, and after examining the most eligible situations of said county, giving due consideration as

set forth in said aet, as to the present and future population, situation, geo- graphy, etc., of the county, are of the opinion that a point 88 poles south from the northeast corner of Sec. 22, T. 10, north, R. 12, west, of the 3d princi- pal meridian, is the most suitable place for the said seat of justice, and accord- ingly, and in pursuance of said act, have fixed the permanent seat of justice, for the said county of Greene, at the point or place above described, the same being on the line between sections 22 and 23. Thomas Carlin, the owner of the land whereon the said seat of jus- tiee is fixed, having executed a deed to the county commissioners of the county, for the use of said county, as required in said aet, for 22 acres of land, which is bounded as follows: Beginning 88 poles south of the northeast corner of section 22, as above described, thence running east 10 poles, thenee north 10 poles, thence west 90 poles, thence south 43 poles, thence east 80 poles, to the line between seetions 22 and 23; thence north 23 poles, thence east 10 poles, thence north, to the first corner mentioned after the place of beginning; and have given to the said seat of jus- tice the name of Carrollton." This re- port was signed by all five of the com- missioners.

The 20 lots in the new town of Car- rollton, belonging to the county, were directed to be placed on sale by this court, the sale to take place on the 12th day of June, 1821, and the terms of sale to be 6 and 12 months credit. Seymour Kellogg was also recommended to the governor as a suitable person to act as a justice of the peace.

The next meeting of the county com-

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HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY. -

missioners' court was held on the 4th of June, 1821, when the court proceeded to lay the county off into company dis- tricts, in pursuance of the first section of an act entitled " An act amending an act entitled an act organizing the militia of this state." Whereupon it was ordered, that the first company district should consist of the following terri- tory: The territory south of the line between townships 7 and 8; the second company distriet, to consist of T. 8, R. 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14; the third company district, from the southeast corner of T. 9, R. 10, thence north to the Macoupin (or Maquapin, as it is spelled upon the records) creek. thence down the same to its mouth, and south to the line divid- ing townships 8 and 9; the fourth com- pany district was to be bounded as fol- lows; Beginning where the line be- tween ranges 9 and 10, crosses the Ma- eoupin creek, thence north with said line to the line between the fourth and fifth tier of sections in T. 10, R. 10, thence west to the Illinois river; the fifth district, bounded as follows: Com- mencing four miles south of the north line of T. 10, R. 10, thence north to Apple creek, thence down said creek to the Illinois river, thence down the river to a point due west of the point of beginning; the sixth distriet bounded as follows: Commencing at the range line between range 9 and 10, where the same crosses Apple creek, thence north to the north of township 12, thence west to the Illinois river and down the same to the mouth of Apple ereek, thence up said creek to the place of beginning; the seventh company dis- triet was to include all persons liable to military duty that reside within that

part of the attached part of Greene county, in the tract of country known by the name of Mauvaisterre, east of a line to run five miles east of the range line between ranges 10 and 11; the eighth company district included all that part of the Mauvaisterre settlement within eight miles west of the west line of the above district ; the ninth com- pany district included all that part of the same settlement within 12 miles west of the eighth district, and the tenth included all of the same settlement between the latter and the Illinois river. Elections were at the same time ordered to be held in every company district for company officers, on the last Satur- day in June, 1821. The court then ap- pointed the judges of election in the the several districts, which were as follows: 1st dist .- John D. Gillham, John Wad- dle and Samuel Kinkade; 2d dist .- Ger- shom Patterson, William Adair, and Nathaniel Rowden; 3d dist. - John Green, Walker Daniel and Harrison Higgins; 4th dist .- Joel Meachem, Jas. Colwell and Absalom Clark; 5th dist .- John Drum, Young Wood and Philip Fry; 6th dist-James MeNeary, Alvin Coe and William Potts; 7th dist .- Sam- uel Scott, Benjamin Berkman and Peter Shephard. The balance were not in this county as at present constituted.

At this term of court was also chosen the first jury in the county. Zachariah Allen, Francis Bell and Daniel Duvall were, at the same time, appointed trustees of the lands reserved for the use of schools in T, 11, R. 12 west; John Stout, Walker Daniel and Joseph Piggott, trustees of the same in T. 9, R. 12; Benjamin C. Brown, Philip Grimes and James Whiteside to be trustees in

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HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY.

T. 8, R. 12; and Martin Woods, Philip Fry and Joel Meacham, trustees in T, 10, R 12.

John W. Scott was also appointed treasurer of the county of Greene at this term of court, and he filing his bond, en- tered upon the discharge of his duties.

On the 6th of June of the same year the court proceeded to lay the county off into townships and thus divide the county : All of the territory south of the line between townships 7 and 8 was to be known as Otter Creek town- ship; all that part of the county, and the attached part of the same lying north of the north line of township 7, and south of Macoupin creek, to be known as Macoupin township; that part of the county, with the attached parts of the same, lying between Macoupin and Ap- ple creeks, to be known as Centre town- ship; all lying north of Apple creek to the north line of what is now Greene county, to be known as Apple Creek township. Diamond Grove and Mau- vaisterre townships were north of these, in what is now Scott and Morgan coun- ties.

The first warrants drawn on the county treasury were to John Allen and Thomas Rattan, and were for $4 each, compen- sation for two days' work, locating the county seat of Greene county.

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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 69

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