USA > Illinois > Lee County > History of Lee County, together with biographical matter, statistics, etc. > Part 64
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EAST GROVE TOWNSHIP.
by the grand jury. A bill of indictment was found and returned into court September 13, 1842. After motions to quash the indictment and continue the case to the next term had been denied, a change of venue was taken, and Judge Thomas C. Browne, then presiding, sent the case to Whitesides county circuit, where he was tried, convicted of manslaughter, and sentenced to the Alton penitentiary. After serving a part of the term of his sentence he escaped from the prison and was never retaken.
A charter was granted by the legislature of this state to H. W. Cleveland, who built a turnpike in Sec. 3 of this town effecting a cross- ing over Inlet creek, and a toll-gate was kept at the southern terminus. This was on the Peoria and Galena stage route. Mr. Cleveland sold his interest to a Mr. Millard, and his heirs to Charles Crofts. All this was prior to 1849.
A somewhat detailed account of a murder committed in this town in 1849 is here given, as it has a connection with the " Banditti of the Prairie " of those times, and perhaps was the last of their depredations committed, as so many in this case were implicated and came to their death that it broke up the gang.
The one giving an account of this murder says : "In the summer of 1849, on a Monday morning, Charles Crofts (reputed to belong to the gang or band of the 'Banditti') came to Hyra Axtell, and the two came to my house inquiring if I had seen or heard anything of Crofts' hired girl. Her name was Salina Montgomery, aged about fifteen years. Neither myself nor family could give any tidings, not having seen or heard of her for some time. Crofts claimed that she had dis- appeared without saying anything to the family of her intention of going away, and what had become of her was a mystery. Axtell took an opportunity to communicate with me, unobserved by Crofts, and said he believed there was something wrong in the matter, and that the neighborhood should be informed and a search made. I agreeing with his suggestion, we accompanied Crofts to his house (being con- nected with the toll-gate on the south end of the turnpike) and were with him about the premises. There were three men mowing not far from the house, Eli Shaw, and the names of the other two I cannot re- member, except that the first name of one was Dennis. There was also in their company one Samuel Perkins, usually called 'Sam Patch,' hav- ing a rifle with him. After being there some time and having conversa- tion with them in various phases, Axtell and myself became more fully convinced that a misdemeanor had been committed. We concluded to go in different directions and inform the mother of the missing girl, who resided in Dad Joe Grove, or in that vicinity, and the neighbor- hood generally. He went west and south, and I north and east, and
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by night near a hundred people had gathered. We searched that night through the woods and grass, and the next day until noon, and finally Crofts' house. Crofts had stated that the girl had taken all her clothes with her. While searching the second story we discovered that one of the ceiling boards had marks of having been recently moved and re- placed. We took off the board and found the best clothes of the miss- ing girl, and under them implements for making counterfeit half dollars. These incidents strengthened the convictions of foul play. A consultation of the crowd was had, and two (W. B. Stuart and James Blainsen) were deputed to go to Dixon for a boat with which to explore Green river. There was an element of the credulous who sent two (Samuel Meek, jr., and Patrick McFadden) to consult a fortune-teller. The search was continued while these conimittees were gone, but without success. The committees returned ; the one with a boat and Nathaniel G. N. Morrill, the owner, and the other reporting that the fortune-teller said a murder had been committed, and five persons were implicated, that the one who had committed the overt act had neither boots on nor was barefooted, that he was ragged, and wore a straw hat, that the law would never be enforced against any of them, and yet the public would be satisfied that they were the ones who were concerned in the matter. Perkins wore moccasins and otherwise answered the description of the one first spoken of. The search went on. This N. G. N. Morrill was peculiarly well adapted for working in business like this. About this time Stuart and Blair, each with a party of men, went to their respective homes for dinner, and when Blair arrived his wife informed him that Perkins had been there during the forenoon, looking pale and haggard, and inquired of her if they had dragged the lower bayou. She told him she did not know, and he went away hurriedly. Blair deemed this important tidings, hurried through his dinner, and came to Stuart's with the information, and on consultation a complaint was made and a warrant was issued by 'Squire Stuart for the arrest of Perkins, and placed in the hands of Constable Willard and Richard Meek. Previous to this Perkins had been living in a shanty in the grove, about half way between Crofts' and the bayou. On the search being instituted, he removed his family and effects to his father- in-law's, Reuben Bridgman, a little north of the present limits of the city of Amboy. The constable, with his assistants, proceeded to Mr. Bridgman's and were informed by him that Perkins had taken his rifle only a short time before and went into the cornfield (of about 30 acres) to hunt chickens.
More assistants were procured, and the cornfield was surrounded. By this time it was about ten o'clock at night, with a bright moon. The family at Mr. Bridgman's were in bed except Perkins' wife. The
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old gentleman got up and stated that Perkins had not yet returned since going into the cornfield in the afternoon. He pointed to a cotton- wood tree, which he said was in the direction Perkins had taken, that a little before sunset they heard the report of a gun which they supposed was a shot at prairie-chickens. Constable Willard, with Richard Meek, James Keeling, W. B. Stuart, and F. R. Dutcher, went in the direction of the tree, and a few rods before reaching it they found Per- kins lying on his back, dead. Notice was given to those around the field, and a crowd was soon there. Perkins was still grasping his gun with both hands, and the toe of his moccasined foot was in the guard on the trigger, the muzzle on his breast. A portion of the skull was found nearly a rod from the body, the inside powder-burnt. The coro- ner (Solomon Parker) was sent for, who summoned a jury of inquest. They investigated the case and rendered the following verdict: "The undersigned being duly summoned and qualified by the coroner of Lee county, as a jury of inquest on the dead body of Samuel Perkins, found dead in the cornfield near Reuben Bridgman's, believe the said Perkins came to his death by shooting himself with a rifle-gun through the head." (Signed) " Jessee Hale, foreman ; W. B. Stuart, Richard Meek, Francis H. Northway, Joseph Farwell, William M. Hopkins, Samuel Bixby, Elisha Palmer, John C. Church, Ira P. Hale, John Skinner, R. P. Treadwell. Inlet precinct, August 3, 1849." Mean- while the search for the missing girl had been going on. This Mr. Morrill adopted the plan of going down the stream to where it loses itself as to having a channel by spreading over the swamp, and by wading upward thoroughly searching every part. It was a dry time and the water quite low. This plan was followed, and when the mouth of the little bayou (as the coroner termed it in his report) was nearly reached, the body was found. The upper part of the face was bruised as though struck with some heavy substance, and some insist that a bullet-hole was in the forehead. The excitement ran high, the male portion of the country for a dozen or more miles in every di- rection had come out. Coroner Parker was among the number and at once impaneled a jury of inquest, who took possession of the body and held their inquest. The following witnesses were examined, as the records show : Drs. J. B. Gregory, of Dixon, and Harmon Wasson, of Amboy, as physicians ; Samuel Meek, sr., Eli Shaw, John Koons, Hyra Axtell, N. G. H. Morrill, Samuel Shaw, Richard Meeks, T. L. Dennis, Charles Crofts, Sally Perkins, Catharine Shaw, and Lyman Hubbard. After the examination closed, the following verdict was rendered : " We, the undersigned, having been summoned and sworn to hold a jury of inquest on the dead body of Silena Montgomery, found dead in Inlet creek, in Winnebago precinct, Lee county, and State of Illi-
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HISTORY OF LEE COUNTY.
nois, and having attended to their duty by a faithful examination of the said body, and by an examination of witnesses in the case and all dili- gent inquiry they have been able to institute, do report their verdict to be, that the said Silena Montgomery came to her death by violence, and that one Samuel Perkins, late of Lee county, was the immediate agent in procuring her death, as we verily believe." (Signed) "George E. Has- kell, foreman ; Joseph Gardner, Sabin Trowbridge, I. Means, Alva Hale, L. D. Wasson, Lewis Clapp, Cyrus Williams, Philip Mowry, Joseph Lewis, Ozias Wheeler and B. F. Brandon. Winnebago pre- cinct, August 4, 1849." The circumstances surrounding led to the con- clusion that Crofts, Eli Shaw, and the two others that were found mow- ing for Crofts at the commencement of the search, were implicated in the affair. Warrants were issued, and W. B. Stuart and Curtis were deputed to arrest Crofts and Shaw. They, with Hyra Axtell, started, and on the way, near Samnel Meek's, they found a team and lumber wagon, and in it lay Eli Shaw dead. One report is that he died from the effects of strychnine and whisky, and that it was found that he had purchased some of the former at Dixon, of Dr. Gregory, on that day. From the records in Dixon it is found that a coroner's inquest was not held until March 1, 1850. As his death occurred so long be- fore this he was probably buried and exhumed when the inquest was held. The verdict was as follows : "Verdict of the coroner's jury, im- paneled to ascertain how and in what manner the body of Eli Shaw came to its death. We, the jury in said case, do find that Eli Shaw came to his death from causes to the jury unknown. Dixon, March 1, 1850." (Signed) "John Dement, foreman ; A. L. Porter, A. H. Eddy, I. Means, N. F. Porter, J. W. Davis, J. M. Cropsy, C. A. Smith, John V. Eustace, Thomas H. Ayers, Cyrus Williams, N. G. H. Morrill."
After leaving the body of Shaw in the care of Meeks the three be- fore mentioned went on to Crofts' house, arriving there at a late hour of the night. Near the door they found a horse and spring-wagon and a trunk in the wagon. Crofts was about ready to go away. Through a rift in the window curtain they saw him load one pistol and lay it upon the table near him and take up another and commence to load it. At this juncture the door was burst open, the loaded pistol and Crofts grabbed at the same time, and Crofts duly ironed by the arresting party. The trunk was taken from the wagon, Crofts placed in it, and Stuart hurriedly drove to Dixon and delivered the prisoner to the jailor. Crofts' wife and her brother, John Bryant, were in the house at the time of the arrest but did not attempt to interfere. The remaining two implicated ones left this vicinity, but were heard of at Peoria, and the officers having the warrants for their arrest proceeded there, found and took them in charge. They were ironed and placed
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upon a steamer for Peru, there to take the stage for Dixon. Not long after leaving Peoria the prisoners, having the privilege of walking about the boat, watched their opportunity and simultaneously threw themselves overboard and were drowned, the irons upon them facili- tating to make an effectual taking off in this way. Of the five impli- cated only Crofts now remained alive. He remained in jail, having been indicted by the grand jury August 23, 1849, and the case con- tinued to the next term. His wife visited him occasionally, and a few days before the term time and shortly after one of these visits the jailor, calling at the cell, found Crofts with his throat cut and life ex- tinct; a razor lay by with which the deed was done. The next day a coroner's inquest was held, which resulted in the following verdict : ' Upon the view of the body of Charles Crofts, now lying dead in the jail of Lee county, at Dixon, Illinois, we, the jury of inquest duly im- paneled and sworn diligently to inquire, and a true presentment make, how, in what manner and by whom or what the body of the said Charles Crofts, which here lies dead, came to its death, do find that the said Charles Crofts came to his death by cutting his own throat with a razor on the afternoon of the 22d November, A.D. 1849, while confined in the jail of Lee county.' (Signed) ' William W. Heaton, foreman ; Charles Dement, E. W. Hines, J. B. Brooks, James Benja- min, A. M. Pratt, R. B. Loveland, James Campbell, Horace Preston, E. B. Blackman, Gilbert Messer, Elias B. Stiles. Dixon, Lee county, Illinois, November 23, 1849.' The theory generally held in relation to this matter, which caused the murder of the girl Selina, is as fol- lows : Crofts' premises was considered a rendezvous of the banditti of those times. Crofts owned the turnpike across the Winnebago swamps and kept the toll-gate at the south end, it being near the center of Sec. 3, of East Grove. Several individuals had been known to pass over the turnpike from the north and were not heard from afterward, especially a peddler who had formerly frequented these parts, and it is supposed this hired girl knew so much of the workings of this ban- ditti that they concluded it was not safe for her to live, and as 'dead men tell no tales,' they murdered her. Crofts planned the mode of proceeding, Perkins was guilty of the overt act, and the other three helped to secrete the body, so all were, as principals or accessories, participants in the matter."
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HISTORY OF LEE COUNTY.
WYOMING TOWNSHIP.
Wyoming, the southeastern township of Lee county, is the con- gressional T. 37 N., R. 2 E. of the 3d P.M., and is bounded north by Willow creek, on the east by Paw Paw in De Kalb county, south by Earlville in La Salle county, and west by Brooklyn. In the days of pre- cincts it formed the south third of Paw Paw precinct, and when set off and organized as a township in 1850 was named Paw Paw township, and since the beautiful grove, hereafter described, that gave this name stands almost wholly in this township, and the post-office is named Paw Paw Grove, it would seem that this name should have been retained. But as the township next east chose the same name, it became neces- sary that one of the contending parties renounce its favorite name. It is reported, but by no means verificd, that when contention began to wax hot the question was left to be decided by lot, and that the lot fell on our time-honored Paw Paw of Lee county. And it may be thought by some that this ill turn of luck is what has tended to give to the citizens of Wyoming their proverbial love for whatever is straight and honest and of good report, as opposed to games and " options " of luck and chance. Be that as it may, it cannot be doubted that the citizens of township 37 did then, and do to-day, fervently love their pio- neer name. On the plat of their chief village we read : " Town of Paw Paw Grove." Two other villages on the township lines are designated South Paw Paw and East Paw Paw, and naturally the term West Paw Paw is much used, while the abrupt business man everywhere seems par- tial to the short old name, and the railroad authorities, in deference to a prevailing sentiment, so named the station. " But what's in a name," says the poet, and so said the people. No ill-will seems to have been engendered. The change was ordered here, so at the suggestion of James Goble, and in deference to the wishes of the many who came from the beautiful valley of Wyoming, the present name was adopted by the county commissioner's court, Isaac Harding, Warren Badger and Lorenzo Wood comprising said court, and on May 14, 1851, the board of supervisors ordered that "the township formerly called Paw Paw shall hereafter be called Wyoming."
The first settlers located around Paw Paw Grove. This is still a charming piece of forest. It is some three miles long, and from one to two miles wide. It lies east of the railroad station and about three- fourths of it in Wyoming. From its northeast corner Paw Paw creek runs through it in a southeasterly direction, and after making a junc- tion with Indian creek empties into the Illinois river. A small tree or shrub, unknown to many people in other parts of the United States, east and north, grows freely in this grove and bears a sweet, edible fruit, somewhat like the banana in flavor, but often larger in size.
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This is the papaw. It was a favorite with the Indians, and gives its name (somewhat changed in spelling) to a considerable number of places. When the white settlers first came " the timber," as they called this tract, contained about two thousand acres. Unlike other groves, it was free from underbrush. The sugar maple was very abundant. There were many large black walnut trees, four kinds of oak, the hickory, and cottonwood, with a few butternuts and syca- inores. "From one of the maples that grew here," says a well known physician, "in 1855, I sold considerable lumber and had left enough wood to supply all the fires of my family for a year." Plums, black- berries and gooseberries were also plentiful here. On the east side, near the county line, was an excellent spring, where the water bubbled up from the bottom, pure, sparkling and abundant, and never freezing in winter. At the northwest corner was another, in all respects equal to the former, and with a volume that seemed inexhaustible. It was the great and constant feeder to Paw Paw creek. These springs were treasures in those early days when water fit to drink was rarely seen by travelers in the west. James Goble, who came in 1837, says he has frequently seen an acre of wagons camped around the latter spring, where now stands the Oak Grove creamery, supplied by this same spring. The prairie grass of this region was remarkable in quantity, and equal to grain in quality, while in the lowlands a rider on horseback could tie the tall, rank slough-grass together above his head. Yet it was very healthy and free from ague. When Rev. Caleb Morris was seeking the most healthful location he learned from the Indians that this was their favorite resort for raising their papooses. Here then were great attractions for emigrants, but the tenure of the land was uncertain, for it was generally believed that this grove was included in Indian reservations ; and the old chief Wabonsie and his tribe still had their home within its limits when the whites began to reside here. As is well known, the Black Hawk war did not close till 1832. It had raged from Dixon southward, as well as elsewhere, and included this region. For at Indian creek, not far away, there had been a horrible massacre, and Wabonsie and his neighbor Shabbona had taken part in the campaign, though these noble red-men fought on the side of the whites. For a year later there were disturbances from disaffected Indians; hence it was not until midwinter of 1833-4 that any white mnen came here and stayed even a short period, so as to make claims upon the land. It was nearly fifty years ago, yet quite a number of the early settlers are still living. Reminiscences of frontier life and adven- ture and the strange contrasts of the old times with the present, which they describe, have oftentimes a fascinating interest. At one period there were desperate men here, horse thieves, counterfeiters and
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HISTORY OF LEE COUNTY.
gamblers, who gave their locality a hard name for a long time, down to as late as 1860; but it is matter of grateful record that those who gave direction to affairs, the men who have made Wyoming what it is to-day, were strong, brave, fearless and shrewd. These old people will soon be gone. By their hearty cooperation in the effort of the histo- rian they have done a service which all readers will appreciate. Dates and details are usually dry and tedious ; but the records of the first things that relate to our own hearthstones are specially valuable in local annals.
It seems clear that Levi Kelsey was the first to emigrate here. He is now deceased. But in the later years of his life he resided at Men- dota, where he was president of the bank. Hon. O. W. Bryant, who knew him well, speaks in high terms of his kindness, integrity and capacity for business. His widow, Mrs. E. S. Kelsey, writes from Men- dota, August 2, 1881, substantially as follows : Mr. Kelsey had traveled over most of this state, and was well acquainted with its history. He was favored with a remarkable memory for dates, places, persons, etc. He was the first person, with one Joel Griggs, to make a claim and build a house at Paw Paw Grove, in the winter of 1833-4. But be- lieving he was on the Indian reservation, and not being able to ascer- tain the correct boundaries, he abandoned the claim, and came to Troy Grove, I think, in March. I came out west in September 1834, and remember Mr. David A. Town coming to our house to inquire about the claim at Paw Paw and the chance of being disturbed. Nothing was said about buying the claim, for I do not believe that Mr. Kelsey ever thought that he had a right to anything at Paw Paw. I was pres- ent and heard their conversations. It was in December or January that my husband went to Paw Paw Grove. Often heard him tell about it, and of having Indians for neighbors, and of fun with the lat- ter on occasion of cutting a bee-tree. The Indians induced Griggs to cnt several trees for them, but not finding the right one he became tired of it; then they tried my husband, who refused to cut any. They then set their squaws to chopping, who, after several failures, succeeded in finding plenty of honey. Mr. Kelsey was largely rewarded for his bravery in refusing to work for them, and pronounced " good shemoka man "; while Mr. Griggs was " shemoka squaw ishnoba," no good.
There was a prevailing belief shared by prominent citizens, among whom may be named A. J. Harrington, Esq., and ex-Sheriff James Goble, that Mr. Kelsey settled here before the Black Hawk war. The circumstantial evidence on their side seemed almost conclusive, in the absence of positive proof to the contrary. But Mrs. Kelsey fortifies her statement by a subsequent letter, and does it so well that doubtless the gentlemen named, will gracefully allow the lady to hold her posi-
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tion. She writes October 7, 1881 : "I have looked over my husband's memorandum book, and also his account of partnership with Joel Griggs, and find that the date of their going to Paw Paw Grove was January 20, 1834. I have often heard Mr. Kelsey say that he was the first settler there. As to his being there in 1829, that is all bosh ; for he came west in the fall of 1828, peddling clocks, under a twenty months' engagement. His route was in Mississippi, Arkansas, Lonis- iana, and other southern states. I have an account of his being sick at Alexandria, and a man dying in the bed beside him. Thence he went to St. Louis, where he was unwell all winter; then he was at Palmyra, Illinois, for a time, studying with a physician ; was again in St. Louis, in ill-health, at the breaking out of the cholera in 1832; then engaged in peddling dry goods and Yankee notions in Illinois, for a St. Louis firm, and continued so to do till he went to Paw Paw in 1834. Mr. Kelsey was not in northern Illinois until about the time of the break- ing out of the war. He would not have gone so far up as the rapids of the Illinois river, because the country was not settled enough to in- duce any one to peddle in it."
Tracey Reeve, president of the Citizens' National Bank of Prince- ton, Illinois, writes July 27, 1881, as follows : "I went to Paw Paw Grove in May, 1834, with three other men, to locate claims; but concluded, from the best information we could get, that the grove was reserved for Indians. We saw no person there, white or Indian. We camped there over night in some Indian huts. It was very cold for the time of year, and a terrible storm raged there during the night. I had quite an adventure in getting from there to Troy Grove, the nearest settlement, but suppose you will not care to hear about that." An old neighbor of Mr. Reeve, who had boated down the Mississippi with him in early days, and who now resides in Wyoming, tells what that adventure was. After leaving Paw Paw Grove Mr. Reeve came to a creek, where the water was so high it overflowed some distance beyond the banks. In attempting to cross his wagon was upset, and himself thrown headforemost over the dasher. Next morning, when about to pay his tavern bill at Troy Grove, he missed his silver money,, abont eight dollars. He retraced his course to the scene of the mishap, found the money, and was about to start again, when he was confronted by some thirty Indians. They acted as if they would make trouble, but with his slow team he could not avoid them; being a man, how- ever, of great presence of mind, and knowing a few of their words, he drove boldly up to them, said "Good morning" in .? Indian lan- guage, and passed on without hindrance. A moment after there broke forth from them the loudest laugh he ever heard. They had anticipated some amusement at his expense. These statements settle some ques-
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