USA > Illinois > Macon County > History of Macon County, Illinois, from its organization to 1876 > Part 2
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23
" SEC. 2. For the purpose of locating the seat of justice of the said county of Macon, the following named persons are appointed Commissioners, to-wit: John Fleming, Jesse Rhodes and Easton Whitton, whose duty it shall be to meet at the house of James Ward, in said county, on the first Monday in April next, or within ten days thereafter, and after being duly sworn before some justice of the peace of this State, faithfully and impartially to discharge the duties imposed upon them by this act, shall proceed to deter- mine upon a place for the location of the said seat of justice, having
and was President pro tem. of that body in 1825-7. He was thirty-seven years in Congress, uninterruptedly - the longest continuous service of any one man .* Twice during Jefferson's administration he declined the office of Post- master General. He was a Democrat in politics, and had an earnest convic- tion in the ability of the people for self-government. Jefferson said he was " the last of the old Romans," and Randolph called him " the wisest man he ever knew." In his temperment he was a stoic, disregarding style and con- ventionalties, and in all things practiced the strictest economy.
*American Encyclopedia.
19
HISTORY OF MACON COUNTY.
due regard to the situation of the settlements, the convenience of the people, and the future population of said county.
"SEC. 3. The said Commissioners are hereby authorized to locate the said seat of justice on the land of any person or persons, who may be the fee simple owners thereof, if the proprietor or proprietors of such land shall donate and convey, with covenants of general warranty, to the County Commissioners, for the use of said county, a quantity of land not less than twenty acres, in a square or oblong form, upon which to erect the public buildings; or otherwise, the said Commissioners may, in their discretion, locate the said seat of justice on any of the public lands in said county, as may seem to be the most advantageous to the future interest of said county.
"SEC. 4. As soon as said service shall be performed, the said Commissioners shall make a report of their proceedings, under their proper hands and seals, to the first County Commissioners' Court, to be held for and in said county, designating particularly the place selected, and a description of the same. And if the situ- uation on the public lands shall be preferred, after examination as aforesaid, the half quarter or quarter section of land upon which the same may be located shall be stated in said report; and in that event, it shall be the duty of the said County Commissioners, as soon thereafter as they may be enabled, to enter and purchase the same, at the proper land office, in their respective names, as County Commissioners, for the use of the county of Macon; all of which said proceedings the County Commissioners' Court shall cause to be entered at large on their books of record.
" SEC. 5. As soon as a suitable site shall have been selected for the seat of justice, and a report made thereof, as aforesaid, it shall be the duty of the County Commissioners to cause such donation, or tract of land (if public land should be selected), or so much thereof as they may deem advisable, to be laid off into lots, and be sold upon such terms and conditions as may be considered most advantageous to the interests of the county, and the proceeds of such sales shall be applied to the erection of a court house and jail, and such other public works as may be necessary for the use of said county. And as often as any lots shall be sold as aforesaid, it shall be the further duty of said County Commissioners to make conveyances for the same to the purchasers thereof, in their own names, as Commissioners for and in behalf of said county.
20
HISTORY OF MACON COUNTY.
" SEC. 6. Until public buildings shall be erected for the pur- pose, the courts shall be held at the house of James Ward, in said county.
"SEC. 7. An election shall be held at the house of James Ward, on the second Monday of April next, for one Sheriff, one Coroner and three County Commissioners, for said county, who shall hold their offices, respectively, until the next general election, and until their successors are qualified; which said election shall be conducted in all respects agreeably to the provisions of the law regulating elections: Provided, that the qualified voters present may elect from among their number three qualified voters to act as judges of said election, who shall appoint two qualified voters to act as clerks.
SEC. S. It shall be the duty of the Clerk of the Circuit Court, who may be appointed for such county, to give public notice, at least fifteen days previous to said election, of the time and place, when and where the same will be held, and the officers to be elect- ed thereat; and in case there should be no clerk, it shall be the duty of the recorder, or any justice of the peace residing within the limits of said county, to give notice of the time and place of holding the same as aforesaid.
"SEC. 9. The Commissioners appointed to locate the seat of justice, as aforesaid, shall receive the sum of one dollar and fifty cents per day for each day by them necessarily consumed in dis- charging the duties imposed upon them by this act, to be allowed by the County Commissioners' Court, and paid out of the treasury of said county.
"SEC. 10. Until the next apportionment of members of the General Assembly shall be made, said county of Macon shall vote with the counties of Fayette, Bond, Montgomery, Shelby and Tazewell; and the clerk of the said county of Macon shall meet the clerks of the said counties of Fayette, Bond, Montgomery, Shelby and Tazewell, at Vandalia, the seat of justice of Fayette county, to compare the number of votes given for Senator and Representatives to the General Assembly, and sign the necessary certificate of election, at Vandalia, and deliver the same to the per- son or persons entitled thereto.
"SEC. II. The said county of Macon shall be and is hereby attached to the first judicial circuit.
21
HISTORY OF MACON COUNTY.
" This Act to take effect from and after its passage." Approved January 19, 1829.
It will be observed by the foregoing act that the county, so formed, was much larger than it is at present. It then included all of what is now De Witt county, except the northern tier of townships; all of Piatt county, except one township, and about half of Moultrie county. On the first of March, 1839, De Witt county was formed, establishing the northern line of this county where it now is. On the following day an act was passed adding to the county of Macon that portion now known as Niantic township. It may be remarked, in this connection, that the formation of De Witt, and the losing of that much territory to this county, was a source of but little con- cern to our people. In fact, at the time it was urged that the southern line of De Witt should be extended far enough south to include the present towns of Maroa, Austin and Friends Creek. This tract of land, now rich, highly productive, and as finely im- proved as any other portion of the county, was then considered a burden, and not desired by Macon, and not wanted by De Witt. It was not thought possible to cultivate the soil, or that it would ever be inhabited; and the expense of keeping up roads through it was considered to be largely in excess of the income to be derived. At that day there were but few people who dreamed even of the large prairies becoming settled and put into cultivation. The most that was claimed was that the farms would extend but a short distance from the timber, and the prairies remain forever wild, and used for grazing purposes only. Many of the early settlers made " clear- ings," and started their little farms in the timber, as they had been accustomed to do in the States from which they came. It is not strange, however, that the opinion was entertained that much of the prairie land was absolutely useless and valueless, for at that period, for the greater portion of the year, they were almost sub- merged with water. Horses and cattle would mire on land now considered dry, and forming some of the best farms in the county. It is asserted by some of our then residents of the county, that the object of securing the addition to the county of the present Niantic township, was to prevent the removal of the county seat from Decatur to a little town then just commenced in the township of Friends Creek, called Murfreesboro. It will be remembered that Piatt county was then a part of Macon, and the proposed new
22
HISTORY OF MACON COUNTY.
county seat, being nearer the center of the county than Decatur, may have actuated Mr. Gouge, who was then our representative in the legislature, in procuring this addition to our western territory. The assertion, however, that any such notions were entertained as to the proposed change in the county seat, is denied by others who were residents at the time. It is very probable, however, that there was a change of the "seat of justice " anticipated, for the Niantic territory was considered worthless, except as so much bal- last to counterbalance the eastern portion of the county. And the prospects of Murfreesboro, it seems, were blighted about that time, . and it has long since ceased to be, except in the recollection of a very few of our oldest residents.
In January, 1841, Piatt county was formed from portions of De Witt and Macon counties, and in February, 1843, the county of Moul- trie was formed from portions of Shelby and Macon counties, each by acts of the legislature. Macon county now remains as left after the passage of the last act, forming Moultrie county. It now con- tains an area of five hundred and seventy-seven square miles, or 369,280 acres.
The Commissioners appointed by virtue of the foregoing act, met on the tenth day of April, 1829, and proceeded to view the several proposed locations for a " seat of justice;" and as a result of their deliberation, made the following report, as appears by the record of the County Commissioners' Court:
" We, the Commissioners appointed for the purpose of locating the seat of justice for Macon county, after being duly sworn before John Miller, an acting justice of the peace for said county of Macon, having carefully and impartially viewed and examined the situation and convenience, likewise the advantages, of the present and future population, have located the said seat on the fifteenth section in township sixteen north, in range two east, northeast quarter and east half of said quarter, the southeast corner of said above-named half quarter, in compliance to an act of the General Assembly requiring us so to act. Approved January 19, 1829. Whereunto we have set our hands and seals this tenth day of April, in the year of our Lord, 1829.
"JOHN FLEMING, [ Seal. ] " JESSE RHODES, [ Seal. ]
" EASTON WHITTON." [ Seal. ]
23
HISTORY OF MACON COUNTY.
When the site had been selected, as referred to in the above report, an order was made on the first day of June, 1829, by the County Commissioners, directing the "laying off" of the town of Decatur, as follows:
" Ordered, That Benjamin R. Austin, County Surveyor for the county of Macon, be and is hereby required to lay off the town of Decatur, in said county, after the form of Shelbyville, and make and return to one of the commissioners of this court, a complete plat of the same on or before the first day of July next."
Under the above order the " old town " of Decatur was laid out and platted, which contained twenty acres. Its boundaries were: Prairie street on the north, Water street on the east, Wood street on the south, and Church street on the west, and was divided by Main street, running east and west, and by North Main street, run- ning north and south. The " old town " remains substantially as platted, "after the form of Shelbyville," with the exception that Merchant street has been formed since, and some of the lots are divided so as to run north and south instead of cast and west, as laid out.
By the act creating this county, the land upon which the Com- missioners located the " seat of justice " was to be donated to the county. The land on which the county seat was located had not, in fact, been entered from the government at the time, but was afterwards entered by Parmenius Smallwood, Easton Whitton and Charles Prentice, and a deed was by them made to the County Commissioners, on the eighth day of October, 1831.
A sale of town lots, however, had been made by the County Commissioners on the tenth day of July, 1829, and bonds given to the purchasers.
The order of the Commissioners, under which this sale was made, is as follows:
"Ordered, That a sale of lots take place in the town of Decatur, in this county, on the tenth day of July next, on the following terms, to-wit: A credit of twelve months will be given, and note with approved security will be required, and that the clerk of this court is required to advertise the sale in the paper printed in Vandalia, until the day of sale."
The following order was also made, which we insert, showing the rate of taxation and the articles of property to be assessed :
24
HISTORY OF MACON COUNTY.
"Ordered, That for the purpose of raising a revenue to defray expenses of the county for the year 1829, that a tax of one-half per cent. be levied upon the following personal property, to-wit: On slaves and indentured or registered negro or mulatto servants; on pleasure carriages; on distilleries; on stock in trade; on all horses, mares, mules or asses, and neat cattle over three years old; and on watches, with their appendages, and on all other personal prop- erty except the lawful fire-arms of each individual."
This tax, when collected, amounted to the sum of $109.32 1/2.
At the same term of Court, the tavern rates were also fixed as follows:
"Ordered, That the tavern rates for this county shall hereafter be as follows, to-wit: For breakfast and horse fed, 371/2 cents; keeping man and horse each night (the man to have supper and lodging), 621/2 cents; dinner and horse fed, 371/2 cents; brandy, rum, gin, wine or cordial, 25 cents per half pint; whisky, or cider brandy, 121/2 cents per half pint."
This was also for the purpose of defraying the county expenses: No person was allowed to go into any sort of merchandising busi- ness without a license "first had and obtained " from the County Commissioners, for which a fee of from three to five dollars was charged. Ferries were established on the river, and license granted, and the rates of ferriage fixed by the court.
In connection with the organization of the county, a few things may be said in reference to its location, character of population, and commanding influence with reference to neighboring counties, etc. It is the geographical centre of the State-east and west, north and south. Its entire area is within the great corn-growing belt of Illinois, and it possesses a soil unsurpassed in rich and pro- ductive qualities. There is not an acre of it, scarcely, that is not susceptible of cultivation. Its population, composed, as it is, of emigrants from the east and south, in about an equal proportion, is a modification of the temperaments and sentiments of the two sections, possessing the extremes of neither. Politically, it has been Whig, Democratic and Republican, and never either way by a large majority. A just estimate of the political sentiment of Macon county has always been, almost without an exception, a true criterion of the sentiment of the State. As it has been in
25
HISTORY OF MACON COUNTY.
politics, so it has been in religion, in morality, in business. In the latter, we have never had the wealth of some other counties, nor the wild, reckless, speculating spirit of some others; but our busi- ness men have always been of the safe, conservative sort, that make gradual progress, and with that are satisfied, reference, of course, being here made to the general mass. We have never launched out into a system of public expenditures for this public improvement or that, not consistent with our actual wants and our ability to pay. We have no public city or county debt hanging over us and weigh- ing us down to such an extent as to cripple our industries, and drive away our population. Our taxes are, and have always been medium, as compared with other counties in the State. Our im- provements have been, for both county and city, just such as the public demands suggested. We have no court house at the present, it is true, but we have what satisfies the public in both economy and convenience, and have no one, two or three million dollar court house debt eating out the material prosperity of the people. Our school houses are ample in size, well built, and constructed usually with a view to health, comfort and convenience, rather than show and splendor. We have kept on straight forward, as the crow flies, and have met with no reverses, such as have overtaken other coun- ties. In peace we have been peaceful, maintained order, and had but little or no outlawry. In war we have been actuated by the dictates of true and genuine patriotism, and have done our whole duty. In the Black Hawk war we furnished 50 men; in the Mexi can war, 79; in the late war, a reference to Chapter IV of this work will satisfy everyone that Macon county was "in the fray." In the ranks we were not behind. Our Tuppers, Pughs, Oglesbys, Moores, Smiths, and a host of others were there. In education, with but 18 persons in the county, between the ages of 12 and 21, who can neither read nor write, we have nothing to be ashamed of, In crimes and misdemeanors our position is not unenviable. Smaller counties, with one-fourth our population, furnish more penitentiary convicts than we do.
Hence we say, for these reasons, and many others that might be mentioned in this connection, that while we are not boastful, and " have none of that other spirit that would drag angels down," yet we, as a county, can claim our share of whatever glory there may be in making Illinois one of the first States in the Union, in pros- -4
26
HISTORY OF MACON COUNTY.
perity, wealth and commanding influence. We arrogate to our- selves nothing but what justly belongs to us, but if it were possible to blot our State from existence, the shock would affect the com- mercial world from center to circumference.
ITS SETTLEMENT.
The first house erected within the present limits of Macon county was the "trading house," about eight miles north-east of Decatur, on premises belonging to Wm. C. Johns, Esq., which was a log structure, built by Lortons for the purpose of trading with the Indians. A thriving business was carried on by these men until 1825 or '6, when the Indians ceased to visit this part of the country, except in very small companies. Prior to that, from 200 to 500 Indians would sometimes be camped in the vicinity at once. The men were principally engaged in hunting, and would bring to Lor- tons whatever furs or other articles they had for exchange, and purchase powder, whisky, blankets, etc. The trading house was erected about the year 1816. The Lortons were from St. Joe, Michigan, and returned to that place when the Indians left this part of Illinois. The second house erected in the present limits of Macon county was built by William Downing, near the present residence of Capt. D. L. Allin, on the south side of the Sangamon river. This was in fact the first residence, for the one built by Lortons was not intended as a permanent residence, but only for the purpose of trafficking with the Indians so long as they remained in the vicinity. Downing is said to have come into this vicinity for the purpose of trapping and gathering honey. He left the neigh- borhood of Vandalia in the spring of 1820, and built his cabin some time in the fall of that year. Downing remained here but a short time, and sold his "improvements" to John Ward, upon the latter's arrival in this vicinity. He then removed to Bond county, Illinois, where he lived a great many years. It is regretted that a more extended sketch of Downing cannot be given in this connection, but he was here but a few years, and there is, perhaps, but one man now living in the county who was here any portion of the time that Downing was; and it being over half a century since, he remembers but little of the old trapper and bee hunter.
The next house built was by Buel Stevens, in 1822, near what is now known as Stevens' creek, about three miles northwest of
27
HISTORY OF MACON COUNTY.
Decatur. This became the nucleus of what was afterwards known as the Stevens' Settlement, which, with the Ward Settlement, on the south side of the river, were the only settlements within the present line of Macon county until about the year 1828, when peo- ple began to come into the county, and settle both up and down the river.
For an account of the carly settlements made within what was then Macon, but which now constitutes Piatt county, we make the following extracts from a historical sketch of the latter county, read at Monticello on the Fourth of July, 1876, prepared by a committee consisting of William H. Piatt, Ezra Marquis and C. D. Moore, old and respected citizens of that county :
" Settlements commenced as early as 1823-over half a century ago. The first known settler in the territory comprising Piatt county was George Hayworth, a Quaker from Tennessee, who, in 1823, located on a piece of land included in the present city limits of Monticello, and built the first cabin. This historic struc- ture is still standing in Monticello, and is used for a stable. He was joined during the same year by a Mr. Daggett, who erected a cabin on a spot just north of Monticello, where N. E. Rhodes' barn now stands. On the following March, 1824, Abraham Hane- line, of Green county, Ohio, moved here with his sons, including Nathan, who is the oldest resident now living in the county. They located in the Sangamon timber, about four miles northeast of Monticello, at Coon's Spring. About the same time James and John Martin, from Virginia, built on Furnes' run, about a mile above the spring. The next year brought another settler by the name of York, who stopped near the mouth of Goose Creek. In 1828 James A. Piatt, Sen.,* formerly of Ohio, but later of Indianapolis, Indiana, purchased the claim of Hayworth, and in April, 1829, moved upon the claim with his family. In the autumn of the same year, Jeremiah Terry settled on what is now the Piatt county fair grounds. In IS31, Peter Souders, of Lee
*NOTE .- The James A. Piatt mentioned in the above extract, was for years a member of the County Commissioners' Court of Macon county, and was a very efficient and valuable officer. The records show that he was seldom ab- sent from the meetings of the court, though he was compelled to ride a dis- tance of over twenty miles over roads that must have been almost impassable at times.
1
28
HISTORY OF MACON COUNTY.
county, Virginia, moved his family to the northeast part of the county, in the Sangamon timber. Settlers now began to increase more rapidly, but the rich, rolling prairie, with all its fertility and beauty, seemed to have few charms as a dwelling place for these early settlers. Instead, they invariably selected some spot in the timber for their abiding place, and it was not long before the first settlers had neighbors in all the belts of timber that line the banks of the Sangamon, Okaw, Camp Creek, Goose Creek, Willow Branch and Madden's Run. Among the early settlers that fol- lowed close upon the heels of those already mentioned, were Abraham and Ezra Marquiss, of Ohio; George Widick, a Mr. Dillow, James Chambers of Kentucky; John Madden, John Argo, William Wright, Peter Croninger, I. V. Williams, Joseph Mallory, George Boyer, Samuel and Jacob Cline, Thomas Welch, John Bailey, George Evans, A. Rizor, Samuel Suver, John Hughes, A. J. Wiley, Luther and Joe Moore, William Monroe, Simon Shonkwiler, Daniel Stickel, and others."
We are also permitted to make the following extract from the history of De Witt county, by Mr. W. L. Glessner, of Clinton, which was prepared for the Fourth of July celebration of the present year, and published in the Clinton Register of the 7th of July, 1876. It will be remembered that the portions of DeWitt county referred to, constituted a part of Macon until 1839, so that all the settlements referred to were made in what was then Macon county, and are interesting as a part of Macon county history :
" The first settlers of De Witt county, as near as I have been able to ascertain, were a party consisting of six persons: Zion Shugart, Edom Shugart, their mother, Elisha Butler and his wife, and John Coppenbarger, of whom the only living member is Edom Shu- gart, who now resides at Marysville, Nebraska. This party arrived in what is now section seven, Tunbridge township (on what is known as the Emily Hayes farm), on the 29th day of October, 1824. They put up a hastily constructed log cabin, and made ready for the winter. During the winter of 1824, Nathan Vestal, with a large family, moved in and settled a short distance from the Shugarts, and in the following spring John Coppenbar- ger removed his family into the neighborhood, and thus was com- menced the settlement of that portion of the territory of Illinois now known as De Witt county. During the winter of 1824 a
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.