USA > Illinois > Logan County > History of Logan county, Illinois : its past and present.. > Part 22
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238
HISTORY OF LOGAN COUNTY.
THE ILLINOIS ASYLUM FOR FEEBLE MINDED CHILDREN.
The Illinois Asylum for Feeble Minded Children was organized by an act of the General Assembly of the state, at its regular session in 1865.
Property was rented in Jacksonville, and on the 25th of May the first pupils were admitted.
Applications for admission were so numerous that, in 1867, a building was erected to furnish additional room for its pupils. Other buildings were added, all of them cheap frame structures, which were filled as soon as completed, until in 1871, at the regular session of the General Assem- bly, an act of incorporation was passed making the asylum one of the permanent charitable institutions of the state.
The establishment grew so rapidly in public favor, and accomplished such remarkable results, that in 1875 the General Assembly of the state appropriated the sum of $185,000 for the purchase of land and the con- struction of permanent buildings.
The act provided for the appointment of seven commissioners, who were empowered to select a permanent location for the institution, and plans for the new buildings.
After visiting nearly all of the prominent cities and towns of the state, a tract of land in Lincoln, Logan County, was selected as the most beautiful and desirable site in the state for the permanent location of the Asylum. .
The plans furnished by the architect were completely remodeled by the superintendent of the asylum, and the building was completed and turned over to the trustees June 11, 1877.
The building was moved into, July 17, 1877, and school opened Sep- tember 15, 1877.
The design and object of the asylum are not of a custodial character, but to furnish the means of education to that portion of the youth of the state not provided for in any of its other educational institutions, who are of a proper school-attending age, and who shall remain such periods of time as shall, in the estimation of the superintendent and board of trustees, suffice to impart all the education practicable in each particular case, and, in conformity with the regulations of the asylum, children between the ages of ten and eighteen, who are feeble minded, or so deficient in intel- ligence as to be incapable of being educated at an ordinary school, and who are not epileptic, insane or greatly deformed, may be admitted by the superintendent.
The education furnished by the institution will include not only the simpler elements of instruction usually taught in common schools, where that is practicable, but will embrace a course of training in the more practical matters of every-day life, the cultivation of habits of decency, propriety, self-reliance, and the development and enlargement of a capacity for useful occupation.
All applications for admission or for information should be addressed to
DR. C. T. WILBUR, SUPERINTENDENT, Illinois Asylum for Feeble Minded Children, LINCOLN, ILL.
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HISTORY OF LOGAN COUNTY.
IVVYYYY
DERCOOK & CO.CHICAGO
THE ILLINOIS INSTITUTION FOR FEEBLE-MINDED CHILDREN, SITUATED AT LINCOLN, ILL.
Cos' of building, about $170,000 ; extreme length, 324 feet ; general style, modern gothic ; will accommodate about 300 pupils ; completed in June, 1877. Dr. C. T. Wilbur, Supt.
. 240
HISTORY OF LOGAN COUNTY.
HISTORY AND SETTLEMENT.
The earliest settlement of any country is its most interesting period, and one from which many valuable lessons can be learned. To look back and view the trials of the pioneers of this country, their fortitude, their unswerving purpose, their endurance, teaches the present generation the value of these qualities of human nature, and the important part they took as represented in the individuals then coming to these wilds. Be- fore the year 1819 no settler is known to have located within the present limits of Logan County. If any one saw the beautiful groves and prairies now comprising it, it was the Indian, or the white hunter, or some white man traversing the country to the country farther west.
Early in the Fall of 1818, James Chapman, with his wife, Betsey, a daughter of James Latham, and her brother, Richard, came from Union County, Kentucky, to the Sangamon River, above the present City of Springfield, and there made a claim. Not long after they were joined by James Latham, who designed settling on the same river. A January thaw occurring, the land was overflowed, and Mr. Latham concluded to find a more elevated portion of country. He, Richard, and a relative named Ebenezer Briggs started for this purpose, and in the course of their search came to the Elkhart Grove. . Here they found a beautiful location near a spring of water, and determined to locate. This spring was not far from where Mrs. Frank Thompson now lives. They at once built a small cabin, and on the opening of Spring planted a crop, in the mean time having brought farming tools from Mr. Chapman's. After the crop was cultivated they built a large double log cabin in the edge of the grove. This house was one of the best cabins erected in pioneer days. It was roomy, had a covered porch between the two parts, and was the house and home for many emigrants coming to this part of the country. As soon as it was completed, Mr. Latham returned to Kentucky for his family. He brought them and his household goods in several large wagons, arriving at his western home in September. Mr. Chapman remained in Sangamon County until the Spring of 1820, when he came to the mouth of Lake Fork, built a cabin and made an improvement. Two years after, he sold the place to Jerry Burks and removed further down Salt Creek, near Rocky Ford, where he remained a few years. He next went to Tazewell County and resided some time, but again returned to Logan, where he died.
The grove where Mr. Latham settled received its name from the In- dians, who fancied it resembled the heart of an elk. The proper spelling is E-1-k-h-e-a-r-t. The word Itaska, the name of the lake from which the Mississippi rises, is the feminine of the same word, and was by them applied to that beautiful sheet of water. Says Schoolcraft, its discoverer: " The beauty and poetry of the name so struck me, I determined it should be preserved."
During the Spring of 1820, James Turley located on the east side of the Lake Fork timber. He was the first settler there. He was a promi- nent man in the pioneer days of the county, and left a large family. In the Summer, Aquilla Davis settled near the grove. John Stephenson came in the Fall, and probably a few others. The settlements now began
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HISTORY OF LOGAN COUNTY.
to embrace other localities, following the streams so as to get within the timber for warmth and fuel.
Mr. Latham, being the first in the county, deserves more than a passing notice. His house was always open to the traveler, and his hospitality unlimited. He was a native of Virginia, and was very well situated when he came to Illinois. In 1824 he was made Indian agent by President Adams, and removed with his family at once to Fort Clark (Peoria). Two years after, he died there, and the family returned to Elkhart Grove to the old home. Mr. Latham was buried here. His family was always well known, and all became useful members of society. Richard Latham was better known in the county than his father. He was a young man on his arrival, married soon after, and became one of the most prominent citizens of early days. He built the "Kentucky House," so well known in those days, and where all travelers delighted to pass their evenings. It was almost always the stopping place for travelers, especially lawyers, many of whom have since became noted in the nation, when attending court in Postville. The old house was burned about two years ago.
Richard Latham remained in this county until 1852, when he removed to Springfield, where he died.
On the 22d of October, shortly after the arrival of James Latham and his family, Robert Musick, with his family, arrived from Gibson County, Indiana, and settled on Sugar Creek, near where Robert Ray- burn now lives. He came out the Fall before, prospecting, and the next Spring returned and put in a crop. He brought the family in the Fall. His family consisted of himself, his wife, two daughters and one son. The children were Mary Ann, now Mrs. Jacob Judy, of Atlanta, seven years old at the time of settlement; Esther, five years old. She after- ward married Mr. John W. Haws. Berry, a baby. Mr. Musick remained on this farm until his death in 1846.
John Hamlin, who afterward became one of Peoria's best and most .influential citizens, came on a prospecting tour through this part of the west, and arriving in the vicinity of Elkhart Grove in the Fall of 1819, remained with Mr. Latham all Winter. The next Spring he made an improvement near; but not long after abandoned it and went to Peoria, then a small place, whose inhabitants were chiefly French and American traders, and Indians. The individuals enumerated were in all prob- ability all the white people living in the bounds of the county during the Winter of 1819 and '20. The oldest settlers now in the county can re- member of no others being mentioned by their parents, or by the oldest residents of other counties. Springfield contained but three cabins, and no thoughts of a city there were entertained. The oldest settler there was a bachelor named Elisha Kelly, who emigrated from North Carolina about the year 1818, stopping first in Macoupin County. Being exceed- ingly fond of hunting, he passed the greater part of his time in this pursuit. The heavy timber along the river made an excellent hunting ground for deer, and in his pursuit of this game he came to the spot where the city has since been built. Greatly pleased with it, he returned to his native state and induced his father, Henry Kelly, and his four brothers, John, older than himself, and Elijah, William and George, younger, to emigrate with him. These formed a nucleus around which
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HISTORY OF LOGAN COUNTY.
others settled, so that when the commissioners met to locate the seat of Sangamon County on April 10, 1821, they selected a spot in the prairie near "John Kelly's field, on the waters of Spring Creek, at a stake marked Z. & D., as the temporary seat of justice for said county, and do further agree that the said county seat shall be called Springfield." This spot was near the corner of what is now the northwest corner of Jefferson and Second Streets, and here the first court house in Sangamon County was erected.
It is thought John Porter came in the Fall of 1819. This would make him contemporary with the earliest settlers. It is probable, however, he did not locate until a year after. Richard Latham made an improvement in the Spring of 1820 at the grove. Charles Turley moved here in the year 1820 or '21, the exact date can not now be determined. The persons mentioned were about all the settlers within the limits of the present county by the close of the season of 1820. A few others may have been here, but their names are now lost, and they have passed away. They were probably persons in search of a home, and only stopped to see the country, afterward locating elsewhere.
It was during this Summer that the first mill in the county was built by Mr. Latham, who saw its necessity, and began its erection. It was a common horse mill, and was a great convenience to the settlers. Before this they had to go to Edwardsville, a distance 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 notice the habits of life of these pioneers. Money was generally an unknown quantity with them, and all luxuries of life, if gro- ceries, boots and shoes, or "store clothes," may be termed luxuries, were obtained by barter. Their daily life was very simple, their wants few, because easily satisfied, and their generosity and kindness unbounded. Corn meal was the staple article of food, prepared in various ways. A very common mode of making corn meal, was to take a piece of tin, gene- rally 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 be ready for use. No stoves were thought of. Indeed for many years after the early settlement of the county, a stove was unheard of. It was stated at one of the meet- ings of the old settlers, that at one time not a woman lived in the settle- ment who knew how to bake bread in one. Very shortly after the estab- lishment of the town of Springfield, a store was started there by Major Elijah Iles. He was a native of Kentucky and after attaining his major- ity herded cattle 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 determined to return and settle. He arrived in June and in July opened the first store in the place. The only families in the settlement were those of Charles R. Matheny, John and William Kelly, Andrew Elliott, Levi D. and Jacob Ellis, Lanterman, Little and Lindsay. Mr. Iles boarded with John Kelly one year after settling. When Mr. Robert Buckles moved, to
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HISTORY OF LOGAN COUNTY.
Logan County in 1822, he came through Springfield, and this store was the only one of consequence there. John Williams was clerk. He was was then getting ten dollars per month ; but Major Iles gave him $150, $30 more than the agreed price for the year, and entered into an agree- ment 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 Briggs, 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 impossible to settle the question defi- nitely. Mr. Briggs afterward went to Tazewell County, where he accumu- lated a comfortable competence and lived until his death. Aquilla Davis came from Kentucky. After living a while in this county he went to Sangamon County, where he lived a number of years. He returned, however, 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 pre- pared a small cabin, and that they at once made it their home. On the afternoon of the day of her arrival, 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 remarble instinct for find- ing honey. For many years following the early settlement of this coun- try, 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 coffee ?" Sugar 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. Col. R. B. Latham says, " If all the walnut trees destroyed in this county for the sake of the wild honey found in them, were col- lected now, they would yield a handsome fortune to their possessors."
The same might be said of many other forest trees. In the Spring and Summer of 1822, Robert Buckles, James Turley and Jerry Burks located on Lake Fork. Mr. Buckles came from White County to this locality. He and Mrs. Buckles came in the Spring on horse-back, and remained with Mr. Burks, who bought Mr. Chapman's claim. In June they returned to White County, following Indian trails, and in October came
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HISTORY OF LOGAN COUNTY.
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 timber, 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 bottom near him, Jeremiah Burks 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 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. Equally absurd opinions have been entertained by other voters since then, though it is doubtful if more sagacious men than the defeated candidate have entered any legislature. One reason of the settlement 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 experience 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 mould- board, and was with difficulty made to clean properly. 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 mould-board made of iron rods, steel faced. This was quite an improvement, 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 belong- ing. to the families who were able to assist in making a home, 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 Indian Ranger. Arriving at Sugar Creek, they took a day or two for exploring and on March 10, 1818, drove to the spot on which William 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 northwest side of Sugar Creek, and twelve miles nearly due south of Springfield, and near where the Sugar Creek Cumberland Presbyterian
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HISTORY OF LOGAN COUNTY.
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 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 mould-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 inclosed 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 their wagon's, hitched four horses to the forward wheels,. and fastened their wooden mould-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 sug- gested the idea to one of the men, and he also took a hoe and began shav- ing 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, laughed 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 pumkin 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 intro- duction.
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 sawn 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.
The cupboard was made of a walnut log, hollowed out square, and notches made therein, on which split shelves were placed to hold the few dishes they owned. A cradle was commonly made out of a hollow syca- more 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 grave-yard.
There were now quite a number of families in the different settle-
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HISTORY OF LOGAN COUNTY.
ments. These were known as the Elkhart, the Sugar Creek, the Lake Fork, and the Salt Creek settlements. Afterwards, about 1827, Kickapoo was added. In tracing intelligently the early history of Logan County, it will be necessary to follow each of these settlements in detail. As the names of the pioneers will be given, a short sketch of each will appear, as accurate as can now be obtained. It is well known to all intelligent readers, that absolute certainty in these dates can not now be ascertained ; also, that in giving these names and incidents, some names will be ommited, others inserted who did not come so early, and that very many interesting incidents are nowlost. The memory of all is, at best, not always correct, and as nothing has been preserved in writing concerning these pioneer days, the recollection of the old persons is all that can now be obtained. It is thought that no names are omitted, and that something is told of every settler of any prominence, who saw the face of Logan County before the deep snow.
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