History of Macoupin County, Illinois, Part 54

Author: Brink, McDonough & Co.
Publication date: 1879
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 440

USA > Illinois > Macoupin County > History of Macoupin County, Illinois > Part 54

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HISTORY OF MACOUPIN COUNTY, ILLINOIS.

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TAYLOR G. CHASE, (DECEASED,)

WHOSE death occurred in 1876, was one of the early settlers of Brighton township, and was intimately connected with the development and growth of that part of the county. He was a New Englander by birth, and like many who came from that section, contributed greatly to the pros- perity of Illinois. The history of the Chase family in America dates back to the year 1629, when three brothers of that name came over from England to Massachusetts. This was only nine years after the first landing of the Pilgrims at Plymouth Rock. From one of these brothers, named Aquilla Chase, the branch of the family with which Mr. Chase was connected was descended. His grandfather, Moses Chase, moved from Sut- ton, Mass., to New Hampshire, about the year 1770. The greater part of New Hampshire at that time was an entire wilderness. The Chases had obtained a charter to the town of Cornish, which for several generations since has been the home of a portion of the family. Among the de- scendants have been several distinguished men, the most prominent of whom has been Salmon P. Chase, Chief Justice of the United States, who was born at Cornish and afterward moved to Ohio. John Chase, the father of Taylor G. Chase, was born at Sutton, Mass., in 1756, and was about fourteen years of age when the family removed to New Hampshire; mar- ried, as his second wife, Lovisa Joslyn, who was born at Braintree, Mass. He died in the year 1844. For a long number of years he was a deacon in the Congregational church at Cornish. Taylor Gilman Chase was born at Cornish, New Hampshire, November 4, 1801.

His native town furnished all the advantages for obtaining an education he ever enjoyed. These advantages were limited to the common schools. His father was a farmer, the proprietor of a flouring and saw-mill, and one of the leading business men of Cornish. At the age of twenty-one he began farming for himself. His first marriage took place in the year 1827, to Ursula Nevens, of Cornish, who died in less than a year afterward. His second marriage was in September, 1831, to Emily Spalding, daughter of Waterman Spalding. Mrs. Chase was born in Roxbury, Vermont, July, 1808, but was raised mostly in Plainfield, New Hampshire. The Spal- dings were among the early Puritan settlers of New England. Mrs. Chase's grandfather, Philip Spalding, entered the Colonial army, as pri- vate, at the commencement of the Revolutionary war ; served as a soldier during the whole seven years of the contest with Great Britain; was in several battles; held the rank of captain at the close of the war, and after- ward drew a pension from the government for his services. He died at the age of ninety-two.

In the year 1837 Mr. Chase emigrated with his family to Illinois. Rail-

roads had not at that time become a popular means of travel, and few lines had, indeed, been constructed. The journey from New Hampshire to Macoupin county was made by wagon, and required forty-two days. The route was by way of Utica, New York, Columbus, Ohio, and Indianapolis. He had previously visited Illinois, in 1833, and at the land-office at Ed- wardsville, with a view of bringing out his family and making a permanent settlement, had entered 160 acres of land in section 18 of the present Brighton township. After coming to the county in 1837, he occupied with his family a cabin on rented land in section 20 till the fall of 1839, when he settled on the quarter section he had entered, where Robert H. Crandall now lives. From 1840 to 1847 he lived in Jersey county, a mile and a half west of Brighton. In 1850 he moved to the location in section 17, where his family now reside. He purchased this tract from the man who made the original entry, and it was wild and unimproved at the time it came into his possession. He began the work of putting it under cultivation with his characteristic energy. He went to St. Paul, Minnesota, and procured the lumber with which to build his house and fence the land, and had it rafted down the Mississippi. His attention was devoted entirely to farming. His capital on coming to Illinois consisted of only a few hundred dollars. He was a man of decision of character, of energy and perseverance, of shrewd businers habits, and these qualities enabled him to be successful in business, and to accumulate a competence. At the time of his death he owned 525 acres of land, all of which is still in the possession of members of his family. He was actively engaged in the management of the farm until failing health during the last two or three years of his life admonished him to take things more at ease. His death occurred July 30, 1876, and his remains now rest in the cemetery at Brighton. As a citizen he was enterprising and public-spirited ; he assisted in the establishment of schools and in ad- vancing every measure designed to promote the best interests of the com- munity, and few of the early settlers of Brighton township did more toward its development and improvement. He was a Democrat in politics. His children were five in number-O. A. Chase, in the mercantile business at Brighton ; Don Carlos Chase, who died in 1857, at the age of twenty-four ; Emily S., now Mrs. Geo. H. Aylworth, of Brighton ; Alonzo, who died when four years old, and Celia A., the wife of Geo. W. Hilliard of Brighton township. The oldest son, O. A. Chase, was born in New Hampshire, July 1st, 1832. He was about five years of age when he came to Illinois. He was a student for two terms at McKendree College. He entered into the mer- cantile business at Brighton, in partnership with William C. Merrill, in 1861, and this business is still continued. August 30, 1864, he married Miss Calista E. Smith, a native of Chateaugay, Franklin county, New York. He is one of the representative business men of Brighton.

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HISTORY OF MACOUPIN COUNTY, ILLINOIS.

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JOHN MONTGOMERY.

THE name of Montgomery, is one which has been honorably connected with the history of this county. Two brothers by that name came to America as soldiers in the British army, at the time of the Revolutionary war. It is related that they sympathized with the cause of the colonists, instead of that of Great Britain, and at the first opportunity went into the American army, and thenceforward, fought bravely against British tyranny and oppression. One of these was Thomas Montgomery, the grandfather of the subject of this biography. He was in the Continental army till the close of the war, and was present at Yorktown, and saw the surrender of Cornwallis; the last great act in the seven years struggle of the colonies for independence. Thomas Montgomery was a cousin, it is said, to Gen. Montgomery, who commanded the hazardous expedition against Quebec, and gained a reputation for gallantry and bravery, unexcelled by that of any other officer in the American service at the time of his unfortunate death. Thomas Montgomery settled in Virginia, and afterward emigrated to the state of Kentucky. Mr. Montgomery's father, William Montgomery, was born in Virginia, and at the time the family went to. Kentucky, was a boy of ten or fifteen. The Montgomerys were among the pioneer settlers of Nelson county, Kentucky. William Montgomery was raised in Nelson county, and on reaching manhood, determined to move still further west. He accordingly came to Illinois, and settled in .Madison county. The time of his coming to this state is not exactly known, but he was living in Madi- son county during the war of 1812, and was a soldier in one of the com- panies of rangers organized for protection against the Indians, who then roamed undisturbed over the whole county to the north of Madison county. He married Sarah Rattan, who was also born in Kentucky. Rattan's prairie, a well-known district of country in Madison county, took its name from the father of Mr. Montgomery's mother, who was an early settler there.

John Montgomery, the second of a family of twelve children, was born on Rattan's Prairie on the 7th of February, 1817. At the time of his birth, Illinois was yet a territory with the seat of government at the little French town of Kaskaskia. It was not admitted in to the Union as a state, till the suc- ceeding year. The white settlements at that date, had scarcely extended beyond the northern limits of Madison county, the remainder of the state being wild and uninhabited, except by Indians and wild beasts. His father

live:l on Rattan's Prairie, six miles from Edwardsville till his death, and Mr. Montgomery was raised in that vicinity. The schools were of a rough and rude character, and only the commonest opportunities for obtaining an education were at his command. He never attended a free school in his life, such institutions being the product of the civilization of a later day. He lived with his father till 1839, and then came to Macoupin county and settled on section four of township seven, range eight, where his father had entered land the previous year. He went to work to improve this land, and has been living at the same place ever since. He was first married on the 15th of October, 1848, to Mrs. Mercy H. Eavens ; her maiden name had been Mary H. Loveland, and she was born in Rhode Island, May 23d, 1824. At the time Mr. Montgomery moved to Brighton township, it was a wild and unsettled country, and he is now one of the oldest citizens of the south- west part of the county. His first wife died January 15th, 1862. His second marriage occurred on the 11th of September, 1866, to Mrs. Eliza- beth Jackson, formerly Miss Elizabeth Johnson ; her father was Reuben Johnson, and she was born in Wayne county, Indiana.

In politics he is an old democrat, and on general elections has never voted any other than the democratic ticket. He cast his first vote for Van Buren in 1836. He has a farm situated in the northern part of Brighton township, containing five hundred and ninety-six acres, which is made up of a fine and valuable tract of land. An illustration of his farm and residence appears on another page. He has four children, whose names.in the order of their ages are as follows : Thomas J. Montgomery, who is now living in Colorado, Maranda A., the wife of A. D. Wood, of Woodburn; John P., and Mary Alice, who are living at home. He has been one of the substantial farmers of Brighton township, and during the forty years he has resided on his present farm, he has witnessed wonderful changes in the development and growth of the surrounding country. The prairie was then uncultivated except along the edges of the timber; now it is covered with magnificent farms, and costly improvements in the way of residences and buildings. In all this progress he has taken a part with the others, for he is a man of enterprise, and fortunately has accumulated suffi- cient means to enable him to take life easily and comfortably. He has never been a candidate for any public office, and it has better suited his tastes to lead the quiet and retired life of a farmer.

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WALNUT GROVE", THE FARM & RESIDENCE OF JOHN MONTGOMERY, SEC. 4, BRIGHTON TP., MACOUPIN COUNTY, ILLINOIS.

THE FARM AND RESIDENCE Z JOHN ANDREWS , SEC . 6, BRIGHTON TP., MACOUPIN CO., ILL.

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HISTORY OF MACOUPIN COUNTY, ILLINOIS.

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TH. Simnous.

CAPTAIN SIMMONS has a record as a soldier during the war of the rebellion well worthy of preservation. He was born in Jersey county, November 26, 1834. His primary education he obtained in the com- mon schools and afterwards, in his sixteenth year, entered Mckendree College, where he was a student for three years, leaving the year before he would have graduated. In the spring of 1859 he went to Colorado. This was only a few months after the discovery of gold at Pike's Peak, and he was one of the first to cross the plains and reach the mountains. While there he was employed in mining, and returned to Illinois in the fall of 1860. When the rebellion broke out, in the spring of 1861, he enlisted under President Lincoln's first call for troops, in Co. F, 14th Illinois regiment in- fantry. The regiment was made up of men from the tenth congressional district. He was second-lieutenant. The regiment rendezvoused at Jackson- ville, and thence proceeded to Quincy where it lay till July 1, 1862, and was then sent to Missouri and remained in that state till February, 1862, when it was dispatched to reinforce Halleck, at Fort Donelson, arriving on the ground just at the close of the battle. The regiment next took part in the memorable battle of Shiloh, fought on the 6th and 7th of April, 1862, enter- ing the fight at sunrise on the morning of the 6th. Soon after the com- mencement of the engagement Capt. Simmons was shot through the thigh, but in spite of this wound remained with his company, of which he had command in the absence of the captain. Two or three hours afterward another shot pierced his left lung. He fell to the ground without being seen by his men, and on the regiment falling back to another position, he was left on the field between the lines uncared for and with his wounds unattended. He lay in that position for forty-eight hours, while the fortune of battle shifted from one army to the other, part of the time within the Union lines and part within those of the enemy. While lying between the two armies and ex- posed to their fire he was struck by another ball in the right hip. To add to his distress and dangers a heavy storm of rain came on the night suc- ceeding the battle, by which he was nearly drowned. His regiment had been ordered to another part of the field, and it was supposed that he had been killed in the engagement. He was finally discovered by some Ohio soldiers, who were searching the battle field for the dead bodies of some comrades, and was taken to the Mound City hospital. The hospital was crowded with the wounded, and the surgeons supposing that he was certain to die, in any event, neglected him in order to give their attention to others of whom there was some chance of saving their lives. He had been wounded on Sunday morn-

ing and he received no surgical aid until the next Saturday. In spite of these circumstances he recovered. After lying in the hospital nearly three months, in July he returned to Illinois. The last of August, 1862, he rejoined the army as senior aid-de-camp to Gen. Palmer, commanding a division. He held this position till the battle of Stone River, when he was again wounded, this time a fragment of a shell striking him in the left side. This happened on the 31st of December, 1862. He came home again to recover from the wound and recruit his strength, and in March, 1863, re-joined Gen. Palmer's staff. A short time afterward he joined the veteran reserve corps, with a commission from President Lincoln of first lieutenant, and was ordered to Louisville, Kentucky, where he took charge of a company at the arsenal. October, 1863, he was ordered to Camp Morton, Indianapolis, where, as post-adjutant, he was stationed until November, 1865. His duties were those of post-adjutant, regular-adjutant and provost-marshal. The war having then been closed for some months he resigned his commission and returned home. His career in the army speaks for itself and shows that he always at least tried to do his duty as a brave man and as a faithful soldier, and never hesitated to face danger on the field of battle, while the history of the war shows not many cases of recovery from wounds of such severity when neglected so long.

While home on a furlough he had been married, September 20, 1863, to Miss E. J. Andrews, daughter of John Andrews, a sketch of whose history is found elsewhere. During 1866 he was in the oil regions of West Virginia, and in the spring of 1867 settled down on his present farm two miles north of Brighton. His active participation in politics commenced with the birth of the Republican party; in 1856 he cast his first vote for President for Gen. Fremont. In the fall of 1876 he was the Republican candidate for Sheriff. He could scarcely expect an election in a county so strongly Democratic, but reduced considerably the customary Democratic majority. He has two children living. The family from which he descended is of English and Welsh origin, and settled in Montgomery county, Maryland, in the early history of that state. His-great grandfather, Samuel Simmons, was a soldier in the revolutionary war, and the musket which he carried is now in Capt. Simmons' possession. His grandfather, James Simmons, and his father, Samuel Simmons, left Maryland in 1816, settled near Knoxville, East Tenn- essee, and from there emigrated to Illinois, arriving April 1, 1830, on the spot five miles north-west of Brighton where Capt. Simmons' father is yet living. The name of his mother was Martha Miles.

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HISTORY OF MACOUPIN COUNTY, ILLINOIS.

Увему У. Тайно

WHO is well known as having been a representative in the twenty-ninth General Assembly and an active member from Brighton township of the board of supervisors for several years after its first organization, has been a resident of the county since 1838. He was born in the city of Providence, Rhode Island, June 8th, 1826. His forefathers had been residents of Rhode Island for several generations, reaching back to the first settlement of the state by Roger Williams; the early members of the family belonged to the old Baptist stock, which was the pioneer element in founding Rhode Island. His father, grandfather and great-grandfather were all born and raised in the city of Providence. The name of his father was David Martin, and his mother's maiden name was Caroline Wilcox, who was also born in Provi- denice. She belonged to a seafaring family, and several of her connections were sea captains. Her brother was employed in the East India trade when in its most flourishing state, and was accustomed to make long voyages, sometimes being absent two or three years. The subject of this sketch was the oldest of four children. He lived in Providence till ten years of age, and while in that city, from the age of three years, he attended school regu- larly. The opportunities he there enjoyed comprised all the advantages he ever had in the way of obtaining an education. In 1835 his father embarked in the mercantile business at New Orleans, and in June, 1836, opened a store at Alton, to which place he removed his family from Providence in October of the same year.

In about three weeks after the family reached Alton, and while engaged in building a residence, his father died, leaving his wife and children almost without a protector in a strange country. His mother married as her second husband, Samuel Avis, who owned land in Brighton township, and began improving it, which circumstance was the occasion of Mr. Martin's first coming to Macoupin county. From the age of fifteen he took care of him- self, and made his own living. While he was thus deprived of advantages and comforts which he might otherwise have enjoyed, it may have been that the hard lessons which he was obliged to learn in boyhood were of material assistance in forming his future character. When about twenty-one, he was clerk at Alton in the store of Lyne S. Metcalfe, afterward representative in Congress from St. Louis. January 26th, 1848, he married Helen Moore, who was a native of the state of New Hampshire, but was living in Brighton township at the time of her marriage. In the year 1850 he settled on the farm he now owns, a mile and a half north-east of Brighton. This farm he himself improved. During five years, from 1860 to 1865, embracing the period of the war, he resided in Brighton, where he was engaged in the business of buying grain. He moved back to the farm, and has been living there ever since. He has two children, Henry F. Martin, Jr., who is now practicing medicine at Greenfield, Illinois, and John E. Martin.

Mr. Martin began his political career as a member of the old whig party,

and the first vote he ever cast for president was given to General Taylor in 1848. He took comparatively little interest in political matters till the for- mation of the republican party, when he became a strong and earnest repub- lican. In 1856 he was one of a band of republicans in Macoupin county who voted for Fremont for president, and was decidedly opposed to the plans of the southern leaders for the extension of slavery in the territories. In the early days of the republican party in Macoupin county, he was one of its active men, and previous to the war was a frequent delegate to repub- lican state conventions and other similar representative bodies. In 1869 the republicans made him their nominee for associate judge, and though the county was strongly democratic, he was defeated by only seventy votes. On the adoption of township organization, he was elected, in 1871, the first member of the board of supervisors from Brighton township. He was sub- sequently re-elected twice, serving in all three years. While in the board of supervisors he was a member of the court-house committee, and had an active participation in all the matters relating to the struggle between the people of the county and the holders of the bonds concerning their payment. He was strongly opposed to levying a tax to meet the bonds, and was one of the members of the board who were most active in fighting the bondholders and resisting payment until a compromise could be equitably arranged. While a member of the board, he was chairman of the finance committee and a member of the committee on claims. While temporary chairman, the first mandamus ever issued by the United States court in reference to the court-house troubles was served on Mr. Martin. It was certain that the member of the board would be fined by the court for refusing to obey the mandamus, and he advised such a division on the motion to levy a tax as that the motion would be barely lost, and thus lessen the amount of fines to be paid by the county, each one voting in the negative being fined, and it being understood that the county would be responsible for the fines of each individual member. This plan was the means of saving to the county several thousand dollars. In 1874 he was the republican candidate for representa- tive in the twenty-ninth General Assembly for the district embracing Ma- coupin and Jersey counties. He was elected, and while in the legislature on party questions and issues acted with the republicans. For fifteen con- secutive years he filled the office of justice of the peace in Brighton township He was first elected to fill a vacancy in 1856, and was subsequently re-elected three times. It has been generally remarked that he made as good & magis- trate as probably could be found in any country district in the state. He possessed quick perceptive powers and considerable legal ability. He made it a point to carefully inform himself on all questions ordinarily within the scope of a justice's practice, and was unusually correct in his decisions and judgments.

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HISTORY OF MACOUPIN COUNTY, ILLINOIS.

A A Hillvena

AMONG the former citizens of Brighton township, whose names deserve commemoration in these pages, is Amos Avery Hilliard, who died February 28th, 1878. His ancestors were early residents of New England. His father, whose name was Amos A. Hilliard, was born in 1770, and died at Cornish, New Hampshire, in the year 1856. Mr. Hilliard was raised on a farm, and obtained a good education in the common schools of his native town. He left Cornish at the age of twenty and went to Boston, where for two years he was employed as clerk in a hotel. From Boston he went to New York, and for a couple of years had the care of one of the Astors, who was a confirmed invalid, helpless, and in constant need of assistance. He first came West in 1832. He had acquired some capital in New York and Boston, and in partnership with a gentleman from the latter city he em- barked in the pork-packing business at Alton. The firm shipped large quantities of pork to New Orleans, and Mr. Hilliard on one occasion accom- panied the cargo down the Mississippi. The navigation of the river was not entirely free from danger, and on this trip the boat struck a snag and in a few minutes went to the bottom. A number of passengers were on board, all of whom were drowned excepting Mr. Hilliard and two others, who clung to one end of the boat, which remained for a short time above the water, till they were rescued from their perilous position by a passing steamer. Within a few minutes after they were picked up the boat disappeared alto- gether beneath the current of the river. The business of packing pork was comparatively a new industry in the West at that time, and the experiment proved financially unsuccessful. The business was discontinued, and he re- turned to New Hampshire.

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History of Macoupin County, Illinois, Part 54

Author: Brink, McDonough & Co. Publication date: 1879 Publisher: Number of Pages: 440

Author: Brink, McDonough & Co.
Publication date: 1879
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 440