USA > Illinois > Jefferson County > History of Jefferson County, Illinois > Part 50
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Assessors-D. T. Campbell. 1872-73; W. H. Norris, 1874; William Robinson, 1875- 76; E. Green, 1877-79; J. W. Robinson, 1880-81; J. Hicks, 1882; E. Green, 1883.
Collectors-D. J. Hicks, 1872-73; H. P. Daniels, 1874 75; W. Gilbert, 1876; W. Norris, 1877; M. F. Norris, 1878; W. Gil- bert, 1879; Isaac Hicks, 1880-81; J. D. Nor- ris, 1882; W. Gilbert, 1883.
School Treasurers-Edwin Green, 1872-73; E. Fairchild, 1874; L. E. Dunbar, 1875; John Gaddis, 1876; J. Tuttle, 1877; J. M. Gaddis, 1878; J. M. McConneoughey, 1879- 81; J. V. Wingard. 1832; G. A. Baldridge, 1883.
Highway Commissioners-W. M. Elliston J. B. McConneoughey, J. P. Anderson, J. B. McConneoughey, W. Gilbert, A. Welch, D. P. McConneonghey, A. Snider, A. J. Shurtz, D. H. Keller, J. Jones, R. Green, C. Gil- bert. W. B. Elliston, James Reed, R. Gil- bert, A. J. Shurtz.
Justices of the Peace-A. J. Shurtz and B. L. Bowmaster, 1870-72; A. J. Norris and J.
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HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY.
R. Dunbar, 1873-74; J. McConneonghey and J. R. Dunbar, 1875-76; S. Johnson and H. P. Daniels, 1877-80; S. Johnson and E. Green, the present incumbents.
Constables-Cyrus Gilbert, 1870-72; R. Green, 1873-76; A. J. McConneoughey, 1877-79; T. McAtee, 1880; J. Land, 1881; J. Wingard, 1882; J. Lemmington, 1883.
The first public highway in the township was called the Mount Vernon & Nashville road, or Jefferson County & Washington County road. J. A. Dees made the first trail where this road was laid out. There were nothing but a few paths and trails before this road was made. Good, substantial wooden bridges now span the streams where they are needed.
Among the prominent stock-dealers are Joseph Mannen, Josiah Tuttle, Andrew Welch, Jesse A. Dees, A. Gilbert, etc., etc. They buy and sell and deal in cattle, mules and hogs. Mr. Dees has some very fine cat- tle, and deals largely in mules; he has on Land at present some sixty odd head of mules. Mr. Gilbert also has a large number of mules.
Williamsburg .- The village of Williams- burg is situated in Knob Prairie, on the northeast quarter of Section 35. It was laid off by Drs. Moore & Peavler December 17, 1867, into four blocks, one of eleven lots, one of twelve lots, and two of ten lots each. John Hagle built the first storehouse, and David Hicks the first residence. His sons opened a drug store, and also built a residence, into which Thomas Westcott moved. The Mannings came a little later, and then Place. Henry Willis erected some brick buildings, the first in the village. About the year 1864, Anderson built a mill, but soon afterward sold it to Boswell, and Boswell sold it to James Dare. A good schoolhouse has been built in the town. At
present, J. D. Norris keeps a general store, J. W. Robinson a drug store and William Hicks a drug store. Dr. O. P. Norris is Postmaster. The usual number of shops are operated. The place has about one hundred inhabitants. The town is called Williams- burg, but the post office bears the name of Laur.
Blissville Township was not backward in educational matters, and schools were early established and schoolhouses built. One of the first schoolhouses in the township was built near where Eli Gilbert settled. It stood on the farm now owned by Cyrus Gil- bert, and was of logs 16x18 feet, the cracks daubed with mud. The first teacher was of the name of Bellis. Another pioneer school- house was on the land now owned by R. Gil- bert, and A. Welch was one of the early teachers here. A schoolhouse was built on the land of G. J. Hoyt, in Grand Prairie, and another on the land owned by the heirs of Reuben Green, Jr. The township has at present six schoolhouses, conveniently locat- ed on Sections 7, 10, 16, 18, 24, 28. In these, schools are taught for the usual term each year by competent teachers.
The church history of Blissville Township is extensive, and dates back to an early period of the settlement of the country. At first, meetings were held in dwelling-houses, and in the woods in summer. The Grand Arm Methodist Church was the first church built in the township. It was put up about 1840. Among the early members were Abner Minson and wife, Jacob Freeman and wife, Susan Eubank, Jesse P. Dees and wife, Nao- mi Dees, John Freeman and wife, and per- haps others. Among the early preachers here were Simeon Walker, T. W. Williams, James Johnson, Files and J. Barnes. The organ- ization is still kept up, and the society has a good frame building. A graveyard is adja-
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HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY.
cent, in which slumber many of the early members of this pioneer church. The mem- bership of the church is about sixty, and an excellent Sunday school is maintained dur- ing the summer, of which J. Tuttle is Super- intendent. Rev. Mr. Root is pastor of the church at the present time.
Mount Zion Church is located in the north - ern part of the township, and has but a small attendance. Pierce's Chapel now has no reg- ular attendance or organization.
At Williamsburg, there is a Methodist Church with an interesting membership of about forty. Rev. Root is the pastor. A good Sunday school is maintained.
There is also a Universalist Church at Williamsburg, with some forty members, under the spiritual supervision of Rev. Mr. Maddox.
Blissville Township has no railroads, nor no manufacturing interests. It is decidedly an agricultural and stock-ra sing region. Its nearest shipping point is Woodlawn, on the Louisville & Nashville Railroad, located a couple of miles from the northeast corner of the township. This road, though not touch- ing the township, has been of great benefit, by increasing the value of property and real estate, as well as in affording the farmers transportation facilities.
With all the growth and activity, which assumes larger proportions in the recital than in the actual experience, the community which gathered in this township was really on the frontier at the time of which we have been writing. While not so completely iso- lated as some of the other earlier settlements in Southern Illinois, the people experienced | or a friend in his time of need.
many of the hardships and discomforts inci dent to frontier settlements. Mills were early built near by. but from lack of power or adequate machinery most of the flour and much of the meal was procured at Carmi and other and even more distant points, enduring long, tedious delays. As a farming district, the settlements in what is now Blissville Township were of slow growth; the village of Mount Vernon, some ten miles distant, seemed to absorb the floating population. Here and there the smoke curled upward in the air from the scattered log cabins, and the busy pioneer protracted the day long into the night in clearing up his farm.
Deer were plenty, and were shot in large numbers, while wolves, panthers, wild cats an occasional bear, and the whole class of small game that was found in this section in early times, afforded wholesome meals and rare sport to those fond of hunting. Most of the early settlers were from the Southern States, and brought here with them many of their social characteristics. Saturday after- noons, as they are still, were a general holi- day, and the farmers repaired to the neigh- boring village. But few in the community had very strong scruples then against the use of whisky, and strong potations tended to make fun lively, and not unfrequently caused rough-and-tumble fist fights.
Thus time passd in the early years of the country, the people enjoying themselves in a rough kind of way. They were rude, but generous to a fault, and always ready with their time and labor to assist a new comer
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HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY.
CHAPTER XXI*
BALD HILL TOWNSHIP-ITS GEOGRAPHICAL AND PHYSICAL FEATURES-ADVENT OF THE PIO- NEERS-THEIR TRIALS, TRIBULATIONS, ETC .- MILLS AND ROADS-ORGANIZATION OF THE
TOWNSHIP AND THE LIST OF OFFICIALS-SCHOOLS, CHURCHES, ETC., ETC.
" The sound of the war-whoop oft woke the sleep of the cradle."
A MONG the first settlers there was but little law and Gospel, and but little was needed. Industry in working and hunt- ing, bravery in war, candor, hospitality, hon- esty and steadiness of deportment received their full reward of public honor and public confidence among these our rude forefathers to a degree that has not been fully sustained by their more polished descendants. The punishments they inflicted upon offenders were unerring, swift and inexorable in their imperial court of public opinion. and were wholly adapted for the reformation of he culprit or his expulsion from the community. Any petty misdemeanor was punished with all the infamy that could be heaped upon the offender.
With all their backwoods rudeness, these early settlers were given to hospitality, and freely divided their rough fare with a neigh- bor or stranger, and would have been offend- ed at the offer of pay. In their settlements they lived, they worked and sometimes they fought-for fun; and they feasted or suffered together in cordial harmony. They were warm and constant in their friendships, and the cold selfishness of the present day was utterly unknown. The world has changed greatly in the past fifty years, aud the people have changed with it. The change may have
been imperceptible, but nevertheless it has been made.
Bald Hill Township is situated in the ex- treme southwest part of the county, and com- prises a full Congressional township. It is bounded on the south and west by Franklin and Perry Counties, on the north by Bliss- ville Township, on the east by Elk Prairie, and is designated in the Government survey as Township 4 south, and Range 1 east. It is a good farming region and boasts some good farms and some energetic farmers. Its surface features are much the same as other townships described in this work. There are no large water-courses, and the land is gen - erally rather level. The township is without towns and railroads, and devoted chiefly to farming.
Following close upon the heels of the re- treating savages came the early settlers of Jefferson County. This township was not settled as early as Moore's Prairie and the country around Mount Vernon. In fact, those sections were considered old settle- ments before any white man ventured into this division of the county. The first settlers who came here were not well-to-do. Most of them brought sufficient capital only to im- prove a farm in a country where but little more than energy and frugality were required, and these were, fortunately. sufficient to found a home here. After the first arrivals, emigrants found open doors and willing hands to assist in raising a cabin. A single
* By W. H. Perrin.
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HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY.
day sufficed for the united neighborhood to erect the rude structure, build a fire-place and chimney and saw out the logs for doorway and windows. Into houses in this condition the new arrivals were generally glad to re- move, for free as the hospitality of the pio- neer may have been, it had no power to in- crease the capacity of the cabin, and two families packed a little dwelling designed for one to overflowing. Blankets supplied the place of windows and doors, and furs, skins and blankets spread on brush or on the punch- eon floor supplied the beds. Each man was the "architect of his own fortune;" and while the whole neighborhood lent willing assistance in case of special need, each one was too busy with his own affairs to ply any trade for general hire.
The first settlement of this township is somewhat obscure, nor can the exact date of the advent of the first pioneer be given.
Among the first settlers here were Abra- ham McGinnis, John G. Turmon, James Bel- lows, Willis Hardwick, Isaac Smith, William Steerman, Samuel Irvin, the Scroggins, Sol- omon Goddard, Nathaniel Morgan, etc., etc. McGinnis afterward went to Texas, but left two sons here-James and Richard. Tur- mon went North, where later he died, leav- ing a son named Grant. It may be that all of the settlers mentioned above did not settle at first in what is now Bald Hill Township, but they settled in the immediate vicinity. It is a difficult matter, after so many years, to locate every early settler upon the proper section, and they were coming in now so rap- idly that it is impossible to keep trace of them.
The abundance of game was a somewhat mixed evil. When the crops of the early settlers were first planted, they were subject to the attack of crows, blackbirds and squir- rels, and when further advanced the thon-
sands of wild geese and turkeys threatened to take all that was left. Deer were numer- ous, so were wolves, while the timber swarmed with the chattering game that found shelter there. " Painters" were numerous- too much so for a very great feeling of secur- ity, though as a general thing they were eas- ily frightened away. A story is told of a person, on a certain occasion, riding along a trail on horseback through the woods, when he was very much frightened and his horse considerably scratched by a panther spring- ing upon him from a tree, but it lost its hold and was soon left in the distance. Women out picking wild berries were often startled by seeing these treacherous animals crouched in trees, meditating the chances of an attack, but no serious results are known to have oc- curred in this immediate section.
The people of this settlement, like those surrounding it, and which were removed somewhat from the older settlements, learned early to depend upon their own resources for the comforts of life. This was especially marked in the clothing of the people and the adornment of the home. Deer skins were largely utilized by the men, and even the women sometimes made their own garments of them. Buckskin breeches and buckskin hunting-shirts were more common then than the farmers' " overalls " are now. A buck- skin suit was not a ¿very inviting thing to jump into of a cold morning, or to wear af- ter getting wet, but these were minor discom. forts, and were not allowed to stand in the way of daily duties. This was the way the people lived in the early days of the country- days we know nothing of except as we gather it from the "traditions of the fathers."
The early settlers of Bald Hill Township had the same hard times in procuring bread as in other portions of the county. The mortar and pestle, the hand mill, and later
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HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY.
the horse mill served them. Now. mill facil- ities are all that can be desired. The town- ship has as good roads as any other portion of the county, but in reality this is not say- ing much to the credit of roads in general. As there are few streams in the township, bridges are not much needed.
Originally, Bald Hill was a part of Elk Prairie Election Precinct; but after township organization, it became Bald Hill Township. It is Democratic in politics, and has always been of that faith. Since the time of town- ship organization, the following is a list of township officials in Bald Hill:
Supervisors-Jolin B. Ward, 1870; John B. Ward, 1871; John B. Ward, 1872; John B. Ward, 1873; R. J. D. Allan, 1874; S. B. Gilbert, 1875: R. J. D. Allan, 1876; J. B. Ward, 1877; J. B. Ward, 1878; J . B. Ward, 1879; J. H. Johnson. 1880; L. A. Johnson, 1881; L. A. Johnson, 1882; R. T. Wright, 1883, the present incumbent.
Township Clerks- G. B. Johnson, 1872; H. F. White, 1873; W. Clampit, 1874; W. H. Hudson, 1875; W. H. Hudson, 1876; J. H. Wilhaite, 1877; J. H. Wilhaite, 1878; J. Lemmon, 1879; J. Lemmon, 1880; J. Lem- mon, 1881; W. H Baldwin, 1882; Thomas Dennington, 1883, now in office.
Assessors-William Clampit, 1872; Will- iam Clampit, 1873; S. B. Gilbert, 1874; William Clampit, 1875; T. S. Johnson, 1876; W. E. Ward, 1877; W. E. Ward, 1878; S. B. Gilbert, 1879; B. W. Laur, 1880; J. J. Baker, 1881; B W. Laur, 1882; O. E. Bald- win, 1883, the present incumbent.
Collectors-S. B. Gilbert, 1872; S. B. Gil- bert, 1873; H. Foreman, 1874; W. E. Ward, 1875; W. E. Ward, 1876; W. E. Ward, 1877; W. J. Cook. 1878; B. W. Laur, 1879; H. Foreman, 1880; W. J. Cook, 1881; W. J. Cook, 1882; S. M. Gilbert, 1883, now hold- ing the position.
School Treasurers -. R. J. D. Allan, W. H. Benthall, W. H. Baldwin, G. B. Johnson, W. H. Benthall, S. S. Warren.
Justices of the Peace -W. H. Cunning- ham, S. B. Gilbert, J. F. Kirkpatrick, R. J. D. Allan, W. S. Jenkins, W. J. Cook, S. B. Gilbert, R. T. Wright, R. J. D. Allan.
Constables-J. R. Fagan, W. H. Baldwin. J. Warren, W. H. Allen, S. O. Nowland, J. Johnson, R. T. Wright, J. F. Walker, W. H. Baldwin, A. J. Duglett, J. R. Fagan.
Highway Commissioners-Isaac Fleener, C. B. Hamby, A. C. Wheeler, William Dud- ley, H. C. Foreman, W. Harris, J. B. John- son, H. F. White, R. D. Webb, J. B. John- son, F. M. Baldwin, M. M. Fitzgerrell. W. A. Ward, A. J. Duglett.
Educational and church facilities are somewhat meager in this township to what they are in other portions of the county. The early history of education here is but a sample of what it was elsewhere in the early days. It cannot be said now who taught the first school, or where the first schoolhouse was built. The township now has five school- houses, a smaller number than any other township in the county. These schoolhouses stand on Sections 2, 8, 23, 29 and 36, and in them schools are taught for the usual period each year. There is but one church build- ing in the township, and that is Bald Hill Methodist Episcopal Church, near the north line of the township. It is a frame building, and has a very good membership for a coun- try church. Religious services are held in several of the schoolhouses.
Bald Hill Township contains some very îne farming lands. It is diversified between woodland and prairie. Horse Prairie lies mostly in Bald Hill, while the four town- ships of Bald Hill, Blissville, Elk Prairie and MeClellan corner in Knob Prairie. In these prairies may be seen some as fine farms
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HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY.
as are found in the county. Stock-raising is beginning to occupy the minds of the farmers much of late years, and judging from present indications the time is not far distant when this will be quite a stock-rais- ing region. No railroad taps the township, but the Illinois Central passes so near it that it affords the farmers here excellent shipping facilities. There is nothing to prevent this
township from being one of the most pros- perous communities in the county. Nothing is required but plenty of energy and enterprise.
With this chapter we close the historical part of this volume. To the many friends who have lent us their kindly smiles and assistance, and particularly to the old set- tlers, we wish them health, long) life and happiness. Addio!
PART IV.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES,
PART IV.
IOGRAPHICAL
SKETCHES.
MOUNT VERNON CITY AND TOWNSHIP.
JOHN R. ALLEN, farmer, P. O. Mt. Vernon, was born June 16, 1840, in Jefferson County, Ill., son of John W. Allen, of Sumner County, Tenn., sinee of Jefferson County, Ill., was edu- eated in Washington County, Ill., and is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He served three years in the late war in Com- pany A, One Hundred and Tenth Illinois Volunteer Infantry. He works at the wagon trade and runs a grist mill, but was a black- smith by trade. Was married, August 11, 1860, to Miss Sarah M., daughter of William Tate, of Jefferson County, and has had six children, five of whom are living-Eli W., Per- dita R., Nina, U. S. and Henry D. Mrs. Allen died July 23, 1875, and was buried at Pleas- ant Grove. Mr. Allen was again married Sep- tember 26, 1875, to Eliza J. Mitehell of Mis- sissippi, by whom he has had one ehild-Ed- ward C. He owns 161 aeres of land, and is engaged in farming and stock-raising. Poli- ties, Republiean.
HON. WILLIAM B. ANDERSON, County Judge, Mt. Vernon. (A sketch of Judge William B. Anderson will be found in the chapter on the War History.)
JOHN W. BAUGH, express agent, Mt. Ver- non, was born Febr. 11, 1836, in Mt. Vernon, Ill. He is a son of Judge Downing Baugh, a native of Barren County, Ky., an attorney at law, who
eame to this county about 1821, teaching sehool for several years, after which he entered the mereantile business, and then served as Justiee of the Peace for many years ; also served as Probate Justiee. At the age of forty-five, he eommeneed the study of law, and was admitted to the bar in Mt. Vernon, where he followed his profession, and in 1854 was appointed Judge of the Circuit Court, to fill the nnexpired term of Judge Marshall. In 1857, he moved to Mc- Gregor, Iowa, where he followed his profes- sion, and was elected Judge of the City Court. Fle is now virtually retired from active life. He was an active member of the Masonie fra- ternity, Mt. Vernon Lodge, No. 31, holding the office of Master for many years. In his new home in Iowa, he has also been prominently connected with the higher order of Masons, and now holds the office of Grand Prelate of the Grand Commandery of the Knights Temp- lar, and also Grand Chaplin of the Grand Chap- ter. He was born in April, 1798, and is yet living, a grand old man, although he has lost his eyesight. He has seen more than two generations rise and pass away. He is a Dem. ocrat in polities, and a warm supporter of the Methodist Episcopal Church. His whole life is an example worthy of imitation. His father, John Baugh, was also a native of Kentucky. He was a minister of the Christian
4
BIOGRAPHICAL:
Church. He was also a merchant in Bowling Green, Ky., and Mt. Vernon, Ill., to which lat- ter place he came about 1821, and died here in 1854. The mother of our subject, Milly (Pace) Baugh, was a daughter of an old pioneer, Joel Pace, who was formerly a soldier in the Revo- lutionary war. He died here. Her mother, Mary (East) Pace, was a fine old lady, a true type of our American women ; she reached the good old age of eighty-three years. Our sub- ject was educated in Mt. Vernon. In early life he learned and followed the harness-maker's trade. In 1861, he enlisted in the Eighteenth Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry as a mu- sician, and was mustered out in the spring of 1862, when he re-enlisted in Company F, of the Fortieth Illinois Infantry Volunteers, as a pri- vate, but through his own exertion and ability was promoted several times, till he held the office of Adjutant. He resigned in the fall of 1864, and returned to Mt. Vernon, where he served in the Circuit Clerk's office for eleven years, and then served four years as Police magistrate. Since then he has been express agent for the Adams Express Company. Our subject was married in May, 1862, at Mt. Ver- non, Ill., to Miss Amelia J. Hill, born April 1, 1842, in Clay County, III. IIer father. Rev. J. H. Hill, was a native of Ohio. Her mother was Eleanor (Williams) Hill. Mrs. Baugh is the mother of two children-Frank C., born July 5, 1865 ; and Milly E., born October 21, 1867. Mr. and Mrs. Baugh and children are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He is an A. F. & A. M. and an active worker in the Sunday school, of which he is the Su- perintendent. In political matters. he is a Dem- ocrat.
WILLIAM BAWDEN, farmer, P. O. Mt. Vernon, was born in Cornwall, England, July 9, 1834, and is a son of John Bawden (de- ceased), also a native of Cornwall. He mar- ried Louise Quilliam, a native of the Isle of Man, and a daughter of John Quilliam. Mrs.
Bawden has in her possession a photograph of the Laxey Water Wheel, on her native Island, which is the largest water wheel in the world, being thirty-seven feet in diameter. Mr. and Mrs. Bawden have eight children-Nellie, Hannah L., Willy R., John H., Thomas E., Emma Maud, Herbert M. and Mabel M. Mr. and Mrs. Bawden came to North Michigan in 1857, and to St. Louis, Mo., in 1864, but in eighteen months went back as far as J'o Daviess County, Ill., where he bought a half interest in a lead mine, since known as Bawden's Tunnel, which he ran for about nine years. He then went to Utah Territory, and worked in the cele- brated Emma Mine, in Little Cottonwood Cañon for eighteen months, when he returned to Jo Daviess County. and engaged in farming, which he still pursues. He removed to this county in March, 1881, and settled on Section 15, in Mt. Vernon Township, where he owns 160 acres of land.
LEWIS N. BEAL, farmer, P. O. Mt. Vernon, was born in Lehigh County, Penn .. April 28, 1844, and is a son of Jacob Beal (deceased), a native of Bavaria, who emigrated to America about the year 1836. Our subject spent his boyhood days on the farm, and attended the common schools. He came to St. Clair County, Ill., with his parents in 1851, and in 1855 to Centralia. He came to Jefferson County in 1858, where he has since resided, except two years that he spent in Kansas, which was dur- ing 1864 and 1865. He married Sarah M. Casey January 20, 1872. She is a daughter of the well-known Franklin S. Casey (deceased). They have three children-Alvin C., John F. and May E. Mr. Beal owns eighty-five acres of very valuable land, and is engaged in gen- eral farming. He is a member of the Method- ist Episcopal Church. His farm lies in Sec- tion 30, and adjoining the city of Mt. Vernon.
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