USA > Illinois > Grundy County > History of Grundy County, Illinois > Part 21
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HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.
of their existence and account for their disappearance. From the knowledge we now have relating to these mysterious peo- ple, we deduee among other things : First: They were a very numerous people as evi- deneed by the great number of tumuli or mounds found in the United States, reach- ing far beyond a hundred thousand already discovered. Secondly: They built eities and surrounded them with fortifieations. Third- ly: They were a religious people and offered up sacrifices. Fourthly: They were an intelligent people and well skilled in some of the arts. Fifthly: They had a knowledge of the use of metals, especially copper, and to some extent of iron and steel. Sixthly: They were experts in the manufacture of earthenware and brick, and used the latter in walling in their eities and in the erection of fortifieations. Seventhly: These people must have been as numerous throughout the valley of the Mississippi as the inhabit- ants along the banks of the Nile or Euphra- tes in biblieal times, with cities rivaling those of Mexico in the days of the Montezu- mas. Eighthly: They must have been an agricultural and pastoral people, as their eities were too large to subsist on fish and wild game. Ninthly: They well understood the arts of war and civil engineering. Tenthly: They were a wealthy people as well as numerous, or they could not have built the mounds and fortifieations which mark their existence and bear testimony to their skill and wonderful works, like those on the Muskingum in Ohio, and Cohokia in Illinois-works in whose construction years of labor and millions of treasure would be required even with the art and skill of the nineteenth century. Eleventhly: They understood and appreciated the pre-
cions metals in ornamentation, if not as a cir- enlating medimm. Twelfthly: There were at least three separate raees of them, Lilli- pntian, Medium and Giant. Thirteenthly: They were fine judges of soil and natural advantages of locality ; always selecting the best lands and most eligible sites for their eities, with a view to natural drain- age, abundance of wood and water, and points which could be readily fortified against the attack of an enemy. Four- teenthly: They were probably the deseend- ants of the Israelites, possibly of the lost tribes deseribed by Esdros. Fifteenthly: They were erematers and buried the ashes of their dead, and erected over them tumuli instead of monuments of marble-grand landmarks to point out where their eternity began. Some of them as in Licking County, Ohio, and St. Clair County, III., covering aeres in area, and rising to the astonishing elevation of one hundred feet ; and lastly, and most strangely, they were speculative Masons, as evidenced by finding in their mounds miniature squares. compasses, levels and plumbs eut out of sea shell or imprinted on pieces of pottery. (This last discovery is bnt quite reeent and may not prove general. Ilon. William MeAdams of Jersey County, Ill., and the writer, vouch for the correctness of the last statement from personal discoveries near Naples, Il., and Glen-Elder, Kansas.) But as the editor, Mr. Battle, has dwelt at some length upon this subject, we shall simply add that there ean be no reasonable doubt but the pres- ent site of the city of Morris was once the site of a great eity of the Mound Builders, and from speeimens of their handiwork found beneath the surface of the prairies we are led to the conclusion that the vast
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HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.
prairies of Illinois were at one time the grow- ing fields of this wonderful raee of people whom we only know as Mound Builders.
The numerous human skeletons we find near the surface of these mounds are those of Indians, deposited there probably thou- sands of years after the mounds were built. The Indians utilized these mounds because they were dry, as burial places for their dead. How many different tribes of In- dians have made this their principal village sites is not and never will be known. La Salle found a large one here, on his first trip up the Illinois, in 1679. Prior to the organization of Grundy, La Salle County embraced, in addition to the present large territory, all of Grundy and a portion of Kendall Counties. Ottawa, the county seat of La Salle, is located on Seetions 3, 4, 9 and 10, T. 33, R. 3, or just twenty-four miles west of Morris; and as Morris is twelve miles west of the east line of Grundy County, persons living on the eastern side of La Salle County prior to the formation of Grundy would be compelled to travel about forty miles to the county seat; these people soon became dissatisfied, and dis- eussed the feasibility of the division of this monster county as far back as 1836, and in 1839 petitions for the organization of a new county were prepared, and eirenlated for signers by L. W. Claypool and others, and were very generally signed by the inhabit. ants of the territory of the proposed new county. The General Assembly (under the State Constitution, adopted Aug. 26, 181S), convened on the first Monday in December in each even numbered year, hence the first session after the commencement of obtain- ing signatures to said petition would be the first Monday in December, 1840.
During the summer of that year the new county movement received the aid of Hon. Geo. W. Armstrong and his brother, Will- iam E., the former then living where he now resides, near the dividing line between La Salle and Grundy, with part of his farm in each county; the latter residing in Ottawa. Wm. E. was a man of great energy and positive character-quick to pereeive and prompt to act. Whatever he attempted to do he did, if good manage- ment and well-directed efforts could accom- plish it. In this movement he saw the necessity of a division of La Salle County, and the erection of a new one, and beyond this he saw an opportunity of making money. Having first surveyed the general topography of the country, out of which the new county was proposed to be organized, his mind settled upon the place where Mor- ris is located, as the most eligible point for the seat of justice. He next conferred with the late John P. Chapin, who then owned the southeast quarter of Seetion four, T. 33, R. 7, which eventuated in the purchase of an undivided half interest in the south portion thereof, contingent upon the or- ganization of the new county. This done, he pressed forward the petition for the division of La Salle County, with energy and snecess, and when the Legislature met that fall he went in person to press through his bill for a new county, suggesting the name of Grundy in honor of Tennessee's greatest eriminal lawyer and statesman, Felix Grundy. This bill became a law Feby. 17, 1841.
Among its provisions are the following: " That all that traet of country lying and being in the county of La Salle, in town- ships thirty-one, thirty-two, thirty-three,
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HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.
and thirty-four north, of ranges six, seven, and eight, east of the third principal me- ridian, shall constitute a new county to be called Grundy.
" An election shall be held at the house of C. Pincy, on the fourth Monday of May next for the purpose of electing one sheriff, etc., etc., and the said county of Grundy shall be organized so soon as the said officers shall be elected and qualified.
" Ward B. Burnett, Rulief S. Durwyea, and William E. Armstrong be appointed in conjunction with the commissioners of the Illinois & Michigan Canal, to locate the seat of justice of the said county of Grundy.
" It shall be the duty of the said commis- sioners to locate the said seat of justice on the line of the Illinois & Michigan Canal, on canal lands, and they shall set apart for this purpose any quantity of the canal lands, not exceeding (10) acres, and after doing so shall proceed to lay off the said land as a town site, embracing lots, streets, alleys, and a public square, in such manner as they shall deem proper. They shall divide the said lots in equal number be- tween the State and the said county, and shall allot to the State and the county alter- nate lots of equal value, or as nearly so as may be practicable.
"It shall be the duty of the canal com- missioners to require of the said county, and the inhabitants thereof, in their cor- porate capacity, shall be liable to them for the payment of a sum equal to ten dollars per acre for one-half of the whole quantity of land to be located as aforesaid, upon the payment of which sum the canal commis- sioners shall certify the fact to the Gover- nor, who shall thereupon issne a patent to
the county commissioners of said county for that portion of the lots by number, which shall be allotted to the county; pro- vided always, that the moneys to be received by the canal commissioners by virtue of this section of the act, shall be applied in aid of the construction of the Itlinois & Michigan Canal."
The seat of justice should be located on the line of the canal and on canal land, thus restricting the location virtually to two land points, viz .: Seetion 7 or 9, T. 33, R. 7; section 9 is centrally located be- tween east and west lines of the connty; section 7 is two miles west of the center; both lic on the Illinois river; only a small fraction of 9 lies north of the river, whilst nearly all of 7 does. The lay of the land on the north side of the river at both of these points is high and well adapted for village or city location, and on the south side, low, flat, and subject to overflows in the spring and fall. Only ten acres were to be laid out for the seat of justice, of which the country was to have one half upon the payment to the canal fund of the suın of ten dollars per acre, or fifty dollars for one half of the county seat. But this was not the real consideration on the part of the State. It was the expectation that the locating of the county seat on canal land would enhance the adjacent land in price. Here, then, were two conflicting interests. The one in favor of section 7, the other for section 9. The canal commis- sioners having the interest of the canal fund only in view were strongly in favor of sec- tion 7, whilst the great mass of the people of the county and the other three commis- sioners were in favor of section 9.
The people, however, could not vote upon
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HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.
this question, hence the vote upon the loca- tion was a tie, and a dead-lock ensued. Great credit is due to General Ward B. Burnett for the stand he took on this ques- tion. IIe was chief engineer of the con- struction of the canal, in the employment of the State, and subject to removal by the canal commissioners; but he was too much of a man to be swerved or controlled in his action as a commissioner to locate the county seat by fear or favor, hence he stood manfully with Messrs. Durwyea and Arm- strong for section 9 first, last and all the time until it was accomplished. Yet, be it said, - with shame, that not even a street in the entire city of Morris bears the honored name of Burnett, the gallant soldier and finished gentleman. From the time of this disagreement between the commissioners on the county seat question, which was probably in the forepart of Jnne, 1841 (we have no record of their meeting), up to April 12, 1842, when the plat of Morris was acknowledged by Isaac N. Morris, Newton Cloud, R. S. Duryea and Win. E. Armstrong (Sce Book "B," page 39. of Deed Records of Grundy County), Grundy County pre- sented the anomaly of being a fully organ- ized county without a connty seat. Mr. Armstrong moved his family from Ottawa, Ills., soon after the passage of the act cre- ating the county, and occupied the log cabin erected by Cryder and McKeen for John P. Chapin in 1834. This cabin stood near the spot where the residence of Judge A. R. Jordan now stands, and contained but one room 16x20 feet. On the 14th of June, 1841, the Board of County Commissioners, consisting of Henry Cryder, Jacob Clay- pool and James McKeen, held the first inceting for the transaction of county busi-
ness at this cabin. Among other business transacted at this meeting they approved the official bonds of L. W. Claypool, re- corder of deeds; James Nagle, clerk of the county commissioners' court; and Joshua Collins, probate justice of the peace. When this meeting of the board was through with their business they adjourned to meet "at the house of Wm. E. Arm- strong, on section 4, July 21, 1841." At this meeting it was "ordered that the Cir- enit Court be held in the house of Wm. E. Armstrong." Mr. Claypool resigned his office as one of the county commissioners, and Salmon Rutherford was elected to fill the vacancy; and the next meeting was held at the house of Mr. Rutherford, at the village of Dresden, nine miles east of Mor- ris. This was held Sept. 6, 1841, and ad- journed to meet at the house of Mr. Arm- strong, on section 4, T. 33, R. 7. At this meeting the precinct of Grundy was formed, which embraced what are now the towns of Morris and Saratoga. In the meanwhile Messrs. Chapin and Armstrong proceeded to lay off a village plat, embrac- ing what is now known as Chapin's addi- tion to Morris, but gave it no name, nor did they file it for record. It was, how- ever, generally known as Grundyville, or Grundy, and Mr. Armstrong erected a large frame building upon the spot where the Hopkins House stands and opened it as a hotel under the name of " Grundy Ho- tel." A petition for a post-office at this point, with the signatures of fully half of the voters of the county, had been forward- ed to the Post-Office Department in the fall of 1841, under the name of the " Town of Grundy," but the prayer was not grant- ed because it was not a county seat, and
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O. D. Booth
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HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.
the receipts of the office (though postage was tlien 25 cents per letter), would not de- fray the expenses of carrying the mail. In the spring of 1842, General Wm. F. Thorn- ton, one of the canal commissioners, was sneceeded by Hon. Isaac N. Morris, of Quincy, Ill., when another conference of the County Seat Commission was held-prob - ably about the 1st of March. After inspect- ing the two competing points, Grundy, on Sec. 9, and Clarkson, en See. 7, and confer- ring with the county officials and people, Mr. Morris cast his vote in favor of Grun- dy, or See. 9. The vote standing as fol- lows: For Sec. 9, Messrs. Morris, Burnett, Durwyea and Armstrong, 4. For Sec. 7, Messrs. Cloud and Fry, 2. Pleased at the independent and manly action of Mr. Mor- ris, and wishing to honor him, the name of the Town of Grundy was changed, first to Morristown, but it was found that there was already a town of that name in the State: Morrisville was then suggested, but to this name Mr. Morris objected, as it sng- gested a mere village. It was finally named MORRIS, and the survey was begun (accord- ing to the diary of L. W. Claypool, Esq.) March 7, 1842, by Leander Newport, sur- veyor, with Perry A. Claypool and George W. Armstrong, chainmen. Thus did Grundy County, after months of doubt and uneertainty, obtain her county seat and give it a name. Sometime afterward the Board of County Commissioners attempted to change the name to Xenia, but could not agree upon the orthography of the word; hence they did not make the change.
That the log cabin before referred to as the residence of Mr. Armstrong in 1841, was the first building within the present corporate limits of Morris, there is no
doubt, but whether it was built by Mr. James McKeen, who died here only last year, or by John Cryder, who occupied it immediately after it was ereeted, seems to be in doubt. That it was built for Mr. Jolın P. Chapin, now deceased, is conceded by all, as he was the owner of the land, al- though the title thereto was then in Mr. Julius Wadsworth, who held it for Mr. Chapin, and for whom John Cryder ob- tained a pre-emption. Mr. MeKeen has fre- quently told the writer that he built it while Mr. Zachariah Walley, who still sur- vives, is equally positive that Mr. John Cryder built it. We deem it safe to say that both are right, ¿. e., that each assisted in its ereetion in the spring of 1834. Mr. Cryder, after moving into said cabin, fenced and broke some ten acres of land lying west of the present Wauponsee street and north of Washington street. Hle resided there until the fall of 1838, and then went to Beardstown, Cass County, Illinois. The next residents of the town of Morris were John and Thomas Peacock, Englishimen and brothers.
They built a small cabin on the north front of S. ¿ of seetion 2, just west of the present Morris cemetery, and kept "Old Bach " during the winter of 1834-5. They purchased this land at the land sale in 1835, married and raised families. Many of their descendants are still living there and elsewhere in this county: In the early spring of 1838, Peter Griggs erected a eabin near where the aqueduet now is and mnoved into it. ITis widow still survives and is a second time a widow. He left several children who are still living: Ja- cob, John, Mary, Priseilla and Wilson. Jacob is the only one now living in Mor-
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HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.
ris. On the 3d of July, 1839, all the available force of this section of country assembled at the west branch of Nettle Creek on the west side of the city, to raise what has ever since that time been known as " shaking bridge." The territory, now in Grundy County, was at that time very sparsely settled. The bridge was con- structed of green oak logs, and hence they were extremely heavy. Nearly every able- bodied man then in the limits of this county was there. Hayes, Peacocks, Clay- pools, Warren, Holloway, Tabler, etc. In bridging this stream the people were in hopes of indueing Frink & Walker, who ran a line of stages from Chicago to Ot- tawa, via Lisbon, to change the line so as to follow the course of the Illinois river, and pass through this locality. That object was not accomplished, however, until 1846, when O. Husteed & Co. became the succes- sors to Frink & Walker in the mail con. tract between Chicago and Peoria. Dur- ing the summer and fall of 1841, several new buildings were ereeted here, but as pine lumber could not be obtained short of Chicago, the greater portion of them were merely log cabins. The first one was probably built by James Nagle, Clerk of the County Commissioners' Court. It was a large sized, heavily built log cabin, and stood near the old Kinsted homestead, on the S. W. 4, section 3, near the N. W. corner thereof. In this eabin Mr. Nagle kept his office containing the books, papers and archives of the county. He was a highly educated Irishman, which means one of Nature's noblemen, for as a general rule, an educated Irishman is a finished gentleman. He was a most splendid pen- man and very agrecable man. An invalid,
he fell a victim to that fell destroyer-con- sumption-in the spring of 1843. James Hart, father of Jolin Hart, Esq. and widow Reynolds, of this city, built a small house near the Indian pole, and occupied it for a residence and saloon. He was a partner with Mr. Armstrong in one or more con- traets to dig the canal. Andrew Kinchella, a man of energy and means, built and ocenpied a lor cabin near the present resi- dence of L. P. Lott, Esq. He afterward purchased and improved a farm near Mi- nooka, and died several years since, leaving quite a property. Anthony Horan, who always appeared in white pants and vest on St. Patrick's Day, no matter what the weather was, built and ocenpied a cabin near where the present fine residence of L. W. Claypool stands. In a fit of anger at his wife he is said to have set fire to it in 1846. Whether this was true or not, the cabin was burned, and he was arrested for the incendiarism, but as we had no snitable jail, Deputy Sheriff P. Kelly started with him in a buggy for the Ottawa jail. On reaching a point this side of Marseilles where the road approached the Illinois River, he complained of being thirsty and asked permission to get a drink. Having the darbies on, Mr. Kelly deemed it safe, and accompanied him to the river's edge. IIoran laid down and drank heartily, but while lying there he worked his hands through his hand enff's, and as he rose to his feet he sprang into the river, swam across to the other side, and made good his escape, and stayed away until after the next term of court, at which no indictment was found, as his wife refused to go before the Grand Jury to testify against him. She died soon afterward, and Anthony returned
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HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.
to Morris, where he remained until some years afterward, when he went to the State of Pennsylvania, and was living at last adviees. Perry A. Claypool built a eabin abont where Ray's store now stands, in 1842. and ocenpied it with his family for abont a year, when Samuel Ayres and fam- ily took possession of the cabin and kept boarders. During the residence of Mr. Ayres here he held the office of eor- oner and deputy sheriff. He was a capital good fellow and had an interesting family. IIe left about the year 1848 and went to Tex- as, mueh to the regret of our people. With full confidence that this point would ulti- mately be the county seat, Mr. Armstrong, of his own volition and at his own expense, commenced the erection of a frame build- ing near the northwest corner of the pub- lie square, for a court house, in the win- ter of 1841-2. This building was probably 20x40 feet, two stories high. As there was no pine lumber to be had short of Chicago, and then it would have to be hauled by teams, he used hardwood lumber. It was an old fashioned heavy frame, thoroughly braced, with oaken floors and siding. The siding was nndressed and hence could nev- er be painted. This siding was sawed from a very independent kind of trees and had a decidedly snarlish disposition, and little re- gard for the confining influence of nails; hence, the clapboards or siding turned up their noses or heels in the most provoking manner-resembling somewhat the bristles of the hedgehog. This building was virtu- ally accepted by the county commission- ers as and for a court house in the fall of 1842, and forty dollars were paid to Mr. Armstrong as part pay, and in June, 1843, they paid him another county order for
$310.06, making a total of $350.06. This was for the building, before it was lathed and plastered. That cost $175.30, making the total cost of the court house $525.36. Rather a cheap building for such a pur- pose, yet it served the purpose for whielt it was ereeted until superseded by the pres- ent fine stone one in 1856, a period of thir- teen years. The lower story was done off for a court room, with a door on each side near the center and opposite each other, for ingress and egress, and the upper story was divided into three rooms of nearly equal size, with stairway at southeast corner. In the upper story were the offices of the elerks of the Cireuit and County Commis- sioners' Courts and recorder's office, but not used as such .- L. W. C. Our sheriff. Mr. Armstrong, had charge of the court room, and being a very liberal man in his religions views, this court room was always free for religious serviees, no matter of what denomination. It was equally free for tem- peranee meetings, singing schools, Sabbath schools, lectures, legerdemain, or for the exhibition of learned pigs, bears, natural monstrosities, or that greatest of humbugs, mesmerism.
During the winter and spring of 1841-2 Robert Peacock' erected a small frame building for a hotel on the spot where the Clifton Honse now stands and christened it the " Plow Inn." His sign was the rep- resentation of a plow painted upon a board, and underneath the letters "Inn." Mr. Peacock was a man of fair education, honest and fair but slightly addicted to gossip; hence he was very liable to be occasionally duped. He was a justice of the peace and a good one. In the absence of the coroner, a justice of the peace of the precinct where
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a dead body may be found was required to hold an inquest. In the summer of 1842 P. P. Chapin (a natural wag) was running a brick yard near where the Gas Factory is located on the bank of East Nettle Creek. An English family, of the name of Bandly, with three or four daughters, ranging from six to fourteen years of age, lived near by his brick yard. These little girls had an enormously large rag doll baby, and while playing on the bank of the creek which is very abrupt and high, either by accident or intent, they let this doll fall into the creek, and as they could not reach it to pull it ont, they left it floating down stream. Mr. Chapin rescued it from its watery grave and carefully laid it out to dry upon a large stump close by. Here was a rare chance for " Pete " (as he was called, although his Christian name was Paschal) to gratify his cver ready wit and propensity for fun, even at the expense of friendship. A couple of elderly maidens lived " all alone " in a cab- in near by, with whose reputation the busy tongne of scandal was dealing insidious in- nendoes-though in all human probability very unjustly. It was therefore an easy mat- ter to start the inference of infanticide in that locality, and Squire Peacock-good, honest soul, would be among the very first to jump at a conclusion from the most obscure hint or gesture. With a serious countenance he approached the Squire, and in a solemn voice informed him of the corpus delicti. How his attention was attracted to the creek by the high bluff, near the residence of these old maidens; how he saw the dead body of a babe in the water; how he had carefully drawn the body out all dripping with water, and carefully laid it on a stump awaiting an inquest. All confidingly the
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