USA > Illinois > Logan County > History of Logan County, Illinois > Part 16
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It was during this summer that the first mill in the county was built by Mr. Latham, who saw its necessity and began its erec- tion. It was a common horse-mill, and was a great convenience to the settlers. Before this they had to go to Edwardsville, a dis- tance of over a hundred miles, to mill. When the horse-mill was completed, men came a great ways to get grinding done, and often would camp out while waiting their turn. It will be well to no- tice the habits of life of these pioneers. Money was generally an unknown quantity with them, and all luxuries of life, if groceries, boots and shoes or store clothing may be termed luxuries, were obtained by barter. Their daily life was very simple, their wants few, because easily satisfied, and their generosity and kind- ness unbounded. Corn meal was a staple article of food prepared in various ways. A very common mode of making corn meal was to take a piece of tin, generally a worn-out pan, and make a grater and grate the corn. It was often prepared after the Indian fashion by hollowing out a log or stump, and, placing the grain in the cavity, pound it with a heavy pestle. This would pulverize it, when it would be sifted and ready for use. No stoves were thought of. Indeed for many years after the early settlement of the county a stove was un- heard of. It was stated at one of the meetings of the old settlers, that at one time not a woman lived in the settlement who knew how to bake bread in one. Very shortly after the establishment of the town of Springfield, a store was started there by Major Elijah Iles. He
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was a native of Kentucky and after attaining his majority herded cat- tle in the mountains of that State. In 1818 he visited St. Louis; from there he went to Old Franklin, Mo., opposite the present town of Brownsville. In 1821 he visited Kentucky, making the journey on horseback, passing over the present site of the Illinois State capital. Being greatly pleased with 'the country there, he deter- mined to return and settle. He arrived in June, and in July opened the first store in the place. When Mr. Robert Buckles moved to Logan County in 1822, he came through Springfield, and this store was the only one of consequence there. John Williams was clerk. He was then getting $10 per month; but Major Iles gave him $120, or $30 more than the agreed price for the year, and en- tered into an agreement with him to clerk for five years for $200 per year. At the end of the time he purchased the store of Mr. Iles, and was for many years a very successful merchant. This was the trading point for several years after the settlement of this part of (then) Sangamon County. It must be remembered by the reader that until 1839 all Logan County and much more territory was included in Sangamon County.
The following year, after the location of the settlers already noticed, there came in the spring Benjamin Brigg, who lived at "the grove," on Richard Latham's place. In his family was Emily Hubbard, his wife's sister, who about 1824 was married to Richard. It is a matter of some dispute as to whether this was not the first marriage within the limits of the county. It has been found im possible to settle the question definitely. Mr. Briggs afterward went to Tazewell County, where he accumulated a comfortable competence and lived until his death. Aquilla Davis came from Kentucky. After living awhile in this county he went to Sangamon County, where he lived a number of years. He returned, how- ever, to Lake Fork, where he lived during the remainder of his life. This same season several others located. They, however, remained only a short time, and can hardly be classed among the early settlers of this county.
About a year after, Robert Musick settled on Sugar Creek; he was joined by Ezekiel Hopkins. This latter pioneer came with his family from Indiana. He remained, however, only about two years, when he returned to that State. He and Mr. Musick were the earliest settlers here. Mrs. Judy remembers that when they arrived her father prepared a small cabin, and that they at once made it their home. On the afternoon of the day of her arrival
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she, her mother and her sister " Hetty," as she was called, went out into the woods, and proceeding but a short way therein discovered two fine bee trees. These were soon after felled and furnished them an abundant supply of this most delicious of native sweets. The finding of these trees was a very common affair, so abundant were they. The Indians possessed a remarkable instinct for finding honey. For many years following the early settlement of this country honey was commonly used to sweeten coffee ; and at the table, instead of asking if the visitor would take sugar in his coffee, the inquiry would be, " Do you use honey in your cof- fee?" Sngar was a costly article then unless made from the native sugar tree, which could be done by all, and honey being plenty and to be had only by a few hours' labor, was made its substitute. Colonel R. B. Latham says : " If all the walnut trees destroyed in this county for the sake of the wild honey found in them were collected now, they would yield a handsome fortune to their pos- sessors."
The same might be said of many other forest trees. In the spring and summer of 1822 Robert Buckles, James Turley and Jerry Birks located on Lake Fork. Mr. Buckles came from White County to this locality. He and Mrs. Buckles came in the spring on horseback, and remained with Mr. Birke, who bought Mr. Chapman's claim. In June they returned to White County fol- lowing Indian trails, and in October came again to this settlement, and located for the winter in a small cabin near the mouth of Lake Fork. It was a rude structure, little better than a rail pen, but served the purpose of a home to those two and their small family during the winter.
A few cabins had been built along the eastern side of the tim- ber, by some early settlers, but vacated for fear of the Indians. Mr. Buckles entered one of these in the spring of 1823, and opened a farm. It extended into the prairie some distance. On the bot- tom near him Jeremiah Birks broke about forty acres of prairie. This field was noted for many miles over the country as one of the largest prairie fields cultivated. Mr. Latham was, however, the first to cultivate prairie soil in the county. At first all emigrants to this county settled in the timber. Many of them had no means of cultivating the prairie. It is narrated that one of the most prominent men in Bureau County settled on the prairie to the great surprise of his pioneer neighbors, and not long after, being on a ticket for the Legislature, was defeated for no other reason
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than that he was at the time making preparations to cultivate his claim. His constituency declared that a man who knew no more than to venture out on the prairie to farm did not know enough . to represent them in the State councils. One reason for the settle- ment in the timber was the natural protection from the cold winds. This was a most sensible move, and in the poor condition of the houses then, doubtless many lives were saved from the winter's cold, or merciless winds. Another reason was, nearly all these pioneers came from a wooded country. Man learns only by expe- rience and by example. Hence many pioneers would clear out a field in the woods, and expend vastly more labor preparing it for the plow than would be required to plant, and cultivate several crops. Another objection was the poor tools with which to do the work. The " bar-share" was the only plow then in use. It had a wooden mold-board, and was with difficulty made to clean prop- erly. Yet it was made to do good work. Several yoke of oxen would be hitched to it, and from mere force, if nothing else, it was drawn through the ground. It was in time displaced by a mold- board made of iron rods, steel faced. This was quite an improve- ment, and was for many years the standard breaking plow. The first attempts to cultivate the prairie in this part of the State were made in Sangamon County by William Drennan. It is thus nar- rated in Power's Early Settlers of Sangamon County : "Early in 1818 William Drennan, his half-brother Joseph, his son-in-law, Joseph Dodds, and George Cox left their families near Alton, and with their teams, farming implements, provisions, and all the young men and boys belonging to the families who were able to as- sist in making a house, started, piloted by a young man named William Moore, who had belonged to a company that had been over the country before in fighting the Indians. He was called an In- dian ranger. Arriving at Sugar Creek, they took a day or two for exploring, and on March 10, 1818, drove to the spot on which Will- iam Drennan built his cabin, and which proved to be section 32, town 14, range 5 west, when the Government made its survey. It is on the north west side of Sugar Creek, and twelve miles nearly due south of Springfield, and near where the Sugar Creek Cumberland Presbyterian Church now stands. Immediately after their arrival they built two cabins. One was occupied by George Cox alone; the other by William and Joseph Drennan and Joseph Dodds. As they had not the slightest idea of cultivating the prairie, these three men agreed to clear all the land they could in one body, and have a
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crop from it that year in common. They cleared the timber from about fifteen acres, fenced it, plowed as well as they could among the roots and stumps with a little, short, wooden mold-board plow, and planted it in corn and pumpkin seed. The soil in the timber was very light, so much so that in many places they would sink in almost over their shoes. In fencing this land they in- closed about three-fourths of an acre of prairie. After they had plowed and planted their crop, one of the men suggested that it was quite a waste to have that under fence and nothing growing on it and proposed that they break it up and plant something on it. In order to make sure work, they uncoupled one of the wagons, hitched four horses to the forward wheels, and fastened their wooden mold-board plow to the axle.
Try as they would, the plow would not enter the sod, and they reluctantly gave it up. While they were taking off the team and plow, one of the boys, full of fun and mischief, took up a hoe and began to shave off the grass, saying he could break the prairie with his hoe. That suggested the idea to one of the men, and he also took a hoe and began shaving the grass. It was the work of but a few moments to remove the sod from a spot several feet in diameter. He then called to the other men, and proposed that, as they were well advanced with their work, and there were seven or eight of them, and all had hoes, that they call all hands together, and shave the grass from the whole piece, plant something on it, and see what would be the result. The man spoken to first, langhed at the idea as ridiculous; but after studying a moment, he fell in with it, and the men and boys were all called up, the grass shaved off, holes dug, and corn and pumpkin seed planted. They did not touch it any more; that killed the grass. The crop was twice as large in proportion to the area as that planted among the stumps, and the next spring it broke up the nicest of any land they had ever seen.
By the year 1823 some improvements in farming implements were made, and the settlers of Logan were beginning to profit by their introduction.
The cabin which Robert Buckles entered in the spring of 1823 was a very fair sample of almost all occupied then. It contained neither a nail, brick, nor saw board. The doors were hung on a wooden hinge. The chimney was made of mud and sticks, and the floor of split puncheon. The roof was made of walnut shingles, split out and held on by weight poles.
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The cupboard was made of a walnut log, hollowed out square, and notches made therein, on which split shelves were placed to hold a few dishes they owned. A cradle was commonly made out of a hollow sycamore log, sawn the necessary length.
About this year, one of the first deaths in this county occurred, that of Sarah Finders. The coffin was made of a walnut log, hewed out to receive the body, which, after being placed in the cavity, was very neatly covered by a slab made to fit closely over it. She was buried in the Turley graveyard.
There were now quite a number of families in the different settle- ments. These were known as the Elkhart, the Sugar Creek, the Lake Fork, and the Salt Creek settlements. Afterward, about 1827, Kickapoo was added. In tracing intelligently the early his- tory of Logan County it will be necessary to follow each of these settlements in detail.
The settlement of James Latham, Richard Latham, James Chapman, Jerry Birks, Robert Buckles, Hezekiah Davis, Aquilla Davis, John Stephenson, John Porter, Robert Musick and a few others have already been noticed. These came during the years 1819 to 1823. After that date the year of settlement cannot now be definitely ascertained. The following persons are, however, known to have settled on the Lake Fork, prior to 1830. Benja- min Davis, a son of Aquilla Davis, came from Kentucky. He was a Baptist preacher, and was one of the first ministers in the county. In after years he removed to lowa. Charles Turley came from Kentucky here, and remained until his death. Abram Bowman was from the same State. Samuel Key was a young man when he settled here. He afterward married and remained on his farm un- til his death. Ezekiel Bowman, with his family, was from Ohio. He died in the county. After the occurrence of the sudden freeze in 1839 he often told of finding frogs frozen with their mouths open, and said he knew the change was so sudden that they did not have time to close them. James Taylor, a Baptist minister from Tennessee, settled on the Lake Fork, but in after years moved away. Hugh Depriest was also an early settler, who afterward removed. Washington and Jefferson Turley came with their father, James Turley, from Kentucky. The former remained on a farm near his father's until about 1840, when he removed to Mt. Pulaski, where he died. The latter married a Miss Trotter, and settled on Round Prairie, in Sangamon County, where he died. Charles Harper, Sr., was probably on the Lake Fork at the time of the deep snow.
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He remained until his death. Spence settled about the same time and afterward removed. Humphrey Scroggin was one of the earliest settlers here, and lived on his farm until his death.
Boston Finders, another early settler, remained here during his lifetime. Carter Scroggins, from Kentucky, settled in 1825. He died here. Hugh Collins, from Indiana, Charles Barney, from the same State, and George Girtman, from Missouri, were all early settlers, and all died here. The latter was known, far and near, for the excellent buckskin he made, and which was largely worn by the young men. Hiram Bowman came from Ohio, but after- ward removed to Missouri. William Copeland was among the early settlers. It is stated in the records of the Old Settlers' As- sociation, that Mrs. Miller Copeland was the first white child born in the county. This is, however, an error, as Mrs. Martha Turley's birth preceded hers some time. Drury Martin, John Hueston and Solomon Blue, old settlers, are all now dead. David Sims came from Kentucky, and is yet living. Jeremiah and Richard Birks were from Tennessee, and are both now dead. William Turner is yet living. Michael and Abram Mann, John Jessee and Thomas, Sr., Lucas, and Samuel Myers were from Ohio, and all are now in their graves. Elijah Friend went to Iowa. William Stallings came from Ohio. He removed to Iowa where he died. Theodore Lawrence married here, and remained until his death. His brothers, John and Robert, are also dead. James and N. R. Cass were from Kentucky, and are now in their graves. Thomas R. Skinner, an early settler, became one of the most prominent men in the county. He was County Surveyor and afterward, for many years, County Judge, and was one of the most upright men ever on the judicial bench. He was serving in this capacity at the time of his death. While he was living no man could have been elected against him, so much confidence did the people have in him. Judge Reuben C. Ewing, the successor of Judge Skinner, was equally well and favorably known. He was born in Tennessee, in 1801, and came to White County, Ill., in 1809, where he lived till 1830. He filled the office of Sheriff there several terms. In April, 1830, he came to Moultrie County, where he resided until 1848, when he was elected to the Legislature, and served several years. In 1854 he came to Logan County, and in 1857 succeeded Judge Skinner to the office of County Judge. He filled this office until 1869. In 1876 he returned to Moultrie County, where he died on the 10th of July of that year.
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Aside from the Latham family at Elkhart Grove, several others came, who generally remained but a short time, and then went to the other settlements. Among these may be mentioned the Stephenson family, who afterward went to Sangamon County. Dr. Jayne, for many years a prominent physician in the State capital, made rails for Mr. Stephenson, at one time, for 50 cents per hundred. Mr. Latham had two or three cabins built near his own house, which he rented to persons moving into the country until they could find a location. A family by the name of Lack- land, from Tennessee, lived in one of these cabins. A Mr. Glover made a clearing in the timber, where it was about one-fourth of a mile wide, and opened a farm here. Though a stretch of prairie, more than eight miles in extent, lay on each side of him, he had no idea its soil could be cultivated. John and Henry Crumbau rented land of Richard and Mrs. Latham for two years. At the expira- tion of that time they went to McLean County .. The springs of pure water in the grove were an inducement to locate here. Where water was not obtained by the pioneers in springs or creeks, wells were dug. To supply clothing, flax and cotton were raised, and spun by the women. Shoes were a luxury. Often when a young lady went to church she carried her shoes and stock- ings until near the place of assemblage, when she would pause and put them on. This was done to save them as much as possible. Who of the young ladies of to day would do that? Many of them, did the necessities of the occasion require it. Human nature is not retrograding, and economy is as much a virtue now as then, and only requires a need to call it out. Springfield was then the postoffice, county seat and market for all these settlers. Wheat brought from 30 to 40 cents; corn, 6 to 10. One pair of shoes lasted a year. Boots were unknown. Some one about the year 1828 or 1829, had a pair of red-top boots made when on a visit to the older State, and on his return was known, far and near, by those "red-top boots." The boys often wore buckskin trowsers and buckskin hunting shirts. As long as they were kept dry they did well; but when once wet, were almost useless.
Returning to the list of pioneers, and following the Sugar Creek settlement, after Robert Musick and Ezekiel Hopkins, already mentioned, Daniel Lantis is found to be the next settler here. He removed from Ohio with his family, and located on Salt Creek about the year 1823. He, however, soon came to Sugar Creek. About 1853 he went to Champaign County, where he died in 1866.
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His brother Henry may have preceded him a short time on Sugar Creek, as he came from Ohio about 1824, and settled at once in that locality. He afterward went to Tazewell County, where he died. John Reed came from Kentucky with his family in the year 1827. He lived on Sugar Creek twenty-seven years, when he went to Lincoln. Jerry Dixon removed from Kentucky in 1827, and lived on his farm in this settlement until his death. Abraham Altic came in 1829, and in 1830 moved to Salt Creek. In 1835 he returned to Sugar Creek, where he died in 1840. Archy Bry- ant came from Kentucky in 1827, and remained until his death. William (" Pap ") Ryan came from Kentucky with his family in 1830. He went to Missouri, where he died. His house was for many years the stopping place in this settlement for travelers. Christopher Orendorff and family came early. He built a mill here, the second or third in the county. Daniel Lantis built a saw-mill on this creek, which was afterward converted into a grist-mill. When Robert Musick settled he went to Jacob Moore, a weaver and blacksmith, for work and repairs. ) He also had a mortar in which to pound corn. A horse-mill was afterward erected on Sugar Creek by Fred. Ewing. Mr. Musick's house was partly constructed out of boards sawn by a whip saw. He did the greater part of his trading, as well as all settlers here, in Pekin as soon as a store was opened there. Mary Ann Musick, now Mrs. Judy, was married April 31, 1829. This was probably the first wedding in this settlement. Mr. Judy settled in Tazewell County in 1825. He was personally acquainted with many of the Indians, who were here then in great numbers. He often shot with them on a trial of skill, and generally defeated them. They had three large villages merged into one near where Bloomington now stands. Here the Kickapoos, Pottawatomies and Delawares dwelt, and during the summer months hunted over the prairie now com- prising Logan County. The Kickapoo Creek took its name from the tribe of Indians dwelling in its vicinity. Some of these could talk tolerable English. Mr. Judy knew well Jim Crow, a Kickapoo chief, Toby White Eyes, of the Delawares, and Big Bull, of the Pottawatomies. Robert Musick had lost a toe from one foot, and was an object of much curiosity to these children of the forest, who knew him as the " Man-without-a-toe." He was also a good marksman, and was often challenged by the Indians to shoot at a mark. They much respected him on account of his skill with a gun. Indians and deer were a common every-day
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sight. The former often camped near this stream. They fed on hominy and deer's meat. The former was made by boiling it until thoroughly cooked. They had procured iron vessels at some of the Government agencies. The venison was cut into long strips and slowly cooked over a fire of coals. They had also procured blankets at the agency, and many of the squaws wore bright col- ored dresses.
One of the largest Indian towns was not many miles from the present town of Pontiac, county seat of Livingston County. Another village was on what was called Monk Creek, a small trib- utary of Sangamon River. After the settlers began to take pos- session of Logan County, the Indians gradually withdrew, until within a few years, by 1836, none were to be found. At the salt spring on Salt Creek was a famous place for their gatherings before the whites came. Here they made salt, and annually made a visit to the place for this purpose. The spring seems to have been equally well known to all the wild animals for many miles around it. Old settlers inform the present generation how they have seen the place when for several rods around the spring the ground was eaten away to the depth of several inches. This had been done by the wild animals, who, having a fondness for the salty taste imparted to the earth wherever saturated by the water, would come to the spring whenever nature demanded more of this ele- ment for their food, and satisfy their taste by slowly eating the salty earth. After the establishment of Indian agencies east of this locality, the Indians of other tribes would occasionally pass through the county on their way to and from the agency. They would almost always stop a day or two near some of the streams, and hunt in order to obtain a supply of food. Their manner of hunting the deer was for a number of warriors to surround a cer- tain scope of country, and gradually close in upon whatever game they could secure. As they advanced nearer and nearer together they would commence a series of yells and vociferations, which would thoroughly frighten the deer, who would run from one side of the ring to another, only to hear the same outcry, and if suffi- ciently near, a shot would be fired at them by some of the hunters, These being mounted on ponies, and riding at a furious gait, would be very uncertain in their shots, and seldom brought the deer down until within close range. The hunter did not always seem to care as to the result of his shot, as the excitement of the chase was to him quite enchanting, and he often prolonged it to
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