History of Macoupin County, Illinois, Part 65

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

USA > Illinois > Macoupin County > History of Macoupin County, Illinois > Part 65

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JAMES H. YOWELL.

AMONG the old settlers in Macoupin county, Mr. Yowell is justly accorded a place in this work. He was born in Morgan county, Illinois, November 7th, 1829. His parents, John and Sophia Yowell, moved to this state from Shelby county, Kentucky. His ancestry on the paternal side were of German origin, and on the maternal side Scotch-Irish. John Yowell was a native of Kentucky, and his father, James H. Yowell, was a native of Virginia. John Yowell settled in Macoupin county, ten miles north-east of Carlin- ville, in November, 1829, where he engaged in farm- ing, and carried on a blacksmith shop, until his death in 1874. He raised a family of six children, James H., being the eldest. John Yowell was a soldier in the Black Hawk war; was commissioned lieutenant of his company. After his return he was elected captain of the company, and held that position as long as the company was an or- ganization. In 1864 he was elected County Associate Justice, and filled that office four years. Mr. Yowell was highly esteemed by those who had the pleasure of his ac- quaintance, and by them his loss was sincerely mourned and regretted. James H., assisted on his father's farm during his minority, and as he was the oldest much of the hard labor devolved upon him. He attended the county schools during the winter months, where he received a fair education. August 25th, 1853, he was united in mar- riage to Miss Edith Ann Husband: she was a native of this county. There were six children born to this union;

one died in infancy ; their names are as follows: John Edwin, now married to Miss Fannie McMahon, and liv- ing on the old Yowell homestead; George S .; James A. Lincoln ; and William S., now living at home. April 17th, 1866, Mrs. Yowell died and left Mr. Yowell five small children to care for. He kept the family together, and on May 16th, 1867, he married Miss Mary C. Brown, a native of Jersey county, Illinois, and daughter of Capt. Joseph W. Brown, now of Fort Smith, Arkansas. They have been blessed with three children : Charles E., Edith May, and Ada Maud. Mr. Yowell's life occupation has been that of a farmer; he started in life little aided, and what property he has was gained by perseverance, good management and hard work. In politics he was formerly a whig, but on the formation of the republican party he identified himself with that party, and is still a strong worker for its success. He is honest and honorable in all his deal- ings with his fellow men, and the word of James H. Yowell in the community where he is best known, is never doubted. He is of a lively and jovial nature, unassuming in his man- ners, genial in disposition ; he dispenses a liberal hospitality with the ease and grace of the olden time. His religious sentiment is embraced in the grand old precept, "Do unto others as you would have.them do unto you." He never joined any religious sect, yet he has always transacted his business honorably, and entertains no fears of the eternal hereafter.

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RESIDENCE & STOCK FARM OF JAMES H. YOWELL, SEC. 22. NILWOOD TP. MACOUPIN COUNTY, ILLINOIS

THE FARMS AND RESIDENCE OF E. W. PAGE, SEC'S. 3 8 10, NILWOOD TP .. MACOUPIN CO., ILL.

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RESIDENCE, STOCK & GRAIN FARM +OF+D. C . ENSLOW, SECTION 27, NILWOOD TP, MACOUPIN CO., ILL.

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HISTORY OF MACOUPIN COUNTY, ILLINOIS.

THOMAS W. McBRIDE

WAS born in Montgomery county, Tennessee, May 27, 1822. John McBride, his father, was a native of the same state. James McBride, his great-grandfather, was one of the first white men that emigrated from Virginia to that state. This was as early as 1754. The ancestry of the McBrides were Scotch on the paternal side. The family emigrated to America at a period long before the revolutionary struggle took place. They come of a patriotic and country-loving stock. They furnished from their family hardy and gallant soldiers for nearly every war that has taken place in this country. Two of the McBrides, brothers of the great-grand- father of the subject of the present sketch, fell at the bloody battle of Braddock's defeat in the old French and Indian war. They also furnished from their family soldiers for the war of Independence and the war of 1812; William McBride was in the battle of New Orleans ; Andrew McBride was one of the hardy and gallant pioneer soldiers who fought for the inde- pendence of Texas against Mexico. There were five brothers and six sisters of the family that lived in Patrick county, Virginia. John McBride married Mary Handlin. She was of Irish descent, on the paternal side, and on the maternal, Welsh. John McBride removed from Virginia to Tennes- see prior to its admission into the Union. The family of McBrides were to some extent the pioneers of three States, namely, Virginia, Tennessee and Illinois. The subject of our sketch spent his boyhood days at work upon the farm in his native state, and attending the schools during the winter months. As is well known, the schools of the country in the days of his youth were not to be compared for excellence and thorough training in the elementary branches of education with the schools of the present day. When he reached his sixteenth year, he concluded to come to Illinois. He came to Greene county in April, 1838. The first work he did was on a farm, for Joel Hubbard. In the fall of 1838 he went to school, and in 1839 he worked for Mr. Rives, with whom he remained until the summer of 1841. During the winter seasons in this time he attended school. In the winter of 1841 and 1842 he attended school at Barr's Store, in Macoupin county, and in the spring of 1842 went to work for Benjamin Sanders, and worked for him five months, after which he went to Mr. Rives', and put in a crop of wheat for himself. In the fall of the same year he commenced teaching school, and taught for two years and two months, in Barr's township. On the 19th of September, 1844, he was united in marriage to Margery Wiggins. She is a native of Kentucky. The Wiggins family are of Eng- lish ancestry. They came to the state in 1825. In 1845 he rented a piece of land and moved on to it. He worked hard and saved enough money to enter eighty acres of land in the east part of Barr's township. He con- tinued a renter for two years. In the meantime he traded the eighty acres for another eighty that was partially improved. It had a cabin on it, into which he removed his family. He gave one hundred and fifty dollars in money as difference between the land. He remained on that piece of land until 1854, when he removed to Carlinville. He rented his place, with a view of going into the lumber business. He remained in Carlinville until January, 1855, when he removed to Girard, where he bought an interest in the first flouring mill that was erected in that place. He remained in the milling business until June, 1856, when he retired and engaged in the grain business, in which he continued until 1858. It proving unprofitable, he retired from it. He remained in Girard until March, 1860, when he removed to section 1 in Nilwood township, where he had purchased 160 acres of land, and here he has remained ever since. He has added to his original purchase until he now owns twelve hundred acres. His business has been and is yet, farming, stock-raising and buying and selling stock, in all of which he has been successful. Here is another evidence of what a boy of pluck and energy can do. He started out in life when at the tender age of sixteen years, and when he landed in this state had but half-a-dollar. He was without friends here, with no education, and had his way to make in the world. His education was mainly received here. He worked even- ings and mornings to pay for his board, and went to school during the day. He struggled along and succeeded in getting a good education. He saved his money, and in time placed himself high and dry upon the rock of financial prosperity. In 1860 the accumulations of previous years of labor and savings were, from speculations and shrinkage in values, swept away from him; but energy, industry and perseverance restored it again. In politics he was a warm and ardent democrat. He cast his first vote for James K. Polk, in 1844, and has been a staunch supporter of the party ever since. He is not a partisan in the strict sense of the word, nor does he take

an unusually active part in elections, only to help his friends. The names of his children are-James C., eldest son, married to Miss Mattie Wheeler ; Aveline, wife of F. L. Starkey, attorney-at-law in Taylorville, Illinois ; John, married to Miss Fanny Harrington ; Emma Jane, wife of E. S. Terry, now a resident of Evansville, Indiana; Alice, George, Nona, Minnie and Sophronia yet are beneath the parental roof. Mr. McBride is a mem- ber of the ancient and honorable order of A. F. and A. M., and has been since 1852. This in brief is an outline of the history of one of Nilwood's most influential citizens. His reputation among his neighbors and friends is that of an honest and upright citizen.

ELISHA WIGHTMAN PAGE

WAS born in Massachusetts, February 11th, 1841. His ancestors on the paternal side four generations back came from England. Their descendants were soldiers of the revolutionary war, and the grandfather, Walter Page, was a soldier in the war of 1812. They were a patriotic and liberty-loving race of men and women. When the original Page family came to America they settled in Stoughton, Massachusetts, where members of the family have remained up to the present time. The family have furnished men who have been distinguished in the politics and history of that state. Elisha Page, the father, married Elmira Wightman. The Wightman family were also of English ancestry. They emigrated to America in 1799. The grand- mother of the present sketch still resides in Massachusetts. Although at the advanced age of ninety-two years, she is still in the possession of her facul- ties. Her maiden name was Stokes. Her uncle had purchased a part of a grant of land from the crown of England; the land afterwards became a part of the site of the city of Boston. From some irregularity in the title the family lost possession, notwithstanding they spent a large sum of money and employed Daniel Webster, the great lawyer and statesman, to prosecute their claims; but all was of no avail. Joseph M. Wightman, a member of the family on the maternal side, was twice mayor of Boston. The great- grandfather was a candidate for governor, but was defeated by a very few votes. He was ever afterwards known as "Governor " Page. The father of the present sketch died at the age of thirty-five years. The mother is still living in Massachusetts with her mother, on the old homestead, and in the same house she went into when she was first married. The subject of our sketch spent his boyhood days at work upon a farm and attending the excellent common schools of his native state. When sixteen years of age he entered the grammar school at Dorchester, where he spent some time. He afterwards went to Stoughton, where he engaged in bottoming boots. He remained there until he was eighteen years of age, when he came west to Bond county, Illinois, and stopped with his uncle, Charles J. Wightman, and worked on a farm for ten months, for which he received forty dollars. He then bound himself to Simon Perry to learn the carpenter and joiner trade. He stayed with him until he was twenty-one years of age, when he went into partnership with his former employer, which continued until the breaking out of the war, when he went into the navy department as a boat- joiner. He remained in the department until April, 1863, when he was discharged by reason of sickness. He returned to Bond county, and after he regained his health went to St. Louis and worked at his trade and stair building. He remained there one year, and then returned to Bond county again and engaged in the lumber business. On the 17th of December, 1865, he was united in marriage to Miss Anna Maria Williams; she was born in Greene county. Her parents were among the early settlers of Greene county. Mr. Williams was a native of Virginia and his wife of Ohio. In November, 1867, he came to Macoupin county, Illinois, and settled on a farm in sec- tion ten, town eleven, range six, which he received in exchange for one in Greene county, which was the gift of Mr. Williams to Mrs. Page, his daughter. His occupation since that time has been that of a farmer. In 1878, he added eighty acres more to his possessions, and now has two hun- dred and forty-eight acres of as fine land as there is in the county. There have been five children born to Anna M., and E. W. Page. Their names are Elisha Bartlett, Eben Tolman, John Thomas Williams, Joseph Lewis, Margaret Elmira, all yet beneath the paternal roof. He was formerly a democrat, but of late years has been independent of party organizations, and votes for the best measures and men. In the township where he resides he has held office at different times. He is at present assessor of the town- ship. He is a member of the New School Presbyterian Church. His wife is a member of the Baptist Church. He is much respected in his locality.

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HISTORY OF MACOUPIN COUNTY, ILLINOIS.

DAVID B. BOSTON

WAS born in Floyd county, Indiana, on the 25th of March, 1825. The Boston family were among the first settlers of the northern part of Macoupin county. Beverly B. Boston, father of David B., was a native of Orange county, Virginia. The great-grandfather was a Welshman. Beverly B. Boston married Elizabeth Boston. She was born in Kentucky, near Lexington. He left Virginia and removed to Indiana about the year 1812, where he remained until 1832, when he removed to Macoupin county, and settled on section eleven, town eleven, range six. He entered eighty acres of land, on which the house of the subject of this sketch now stands. Here he remained until his death, which occurred September 14th, 1853. His wife, the mother of David B., died September 7th, 1851. Beverly B. was a school teacher, and followed that profession the greater part of his life. There were ten children born to them, four of whom have survived the parents. There were five boys and five girls.

The subject of our sketch is the fourth son, and the eighth in the family. His boyhood days were spent at work upon the farm, and in attending the schools in the winter season. The schools were few in those days, and the methods of instruction crude, as compared with the present. On the 22d of December, 1850, he was united in marriage to Miss Catherine Mitchell. She was born in Polk county, Tennessee. Jefferson Mitchell, her father, came to Illinois in 1850. He removed to Adams county, in this state, where he remained until his death. Six children have been born to David B. and Catherine Boston. Their names are Beverly B., Martha Matilda, William Jefferson, Sarah Ann, Charles Chapman and Melissa Alice. Both Mr. Boston and his wife are members of the Christian Church. Mr. Boston takes an active part in that organization. To his liberality is due the erection of the church building that stands on the south-east corner of section two, and known as the " Boston Chapel." In politics he is a democrat, and voted for Lewis Cass for President in 1848.

As before intimated, the Boston family are to some extent the pioneers of their section of the county. When Mr. Boston was a boy, that portion of the county was almost uninhabited. He recalls very well his first visit to Carlinville, made with his father in 1833. The occasion of the visit was to attend the annual election. At that time the entire county voted at Carlin- ville. In order to get there, they got their bearings, and then struck a bee line across the country for the place. The produce of the farm was hauled to St. Louis and Alton, a distance of fifty miles, and such goods as were needed were received in exchange for the produce and hauled back. This continued until Carlinville became large enough to supply the goods. In his younger days, Mr. Boston was a good rifle shot, and with his trusty gun and dog he roamed over the country, and kept the table well supplied with game, which was plenty in those days. It was rare sport, and highly enjoyed.

JASON N. McELVAIN

WAS born in Simpson county, Kentucky, on the 19th of March, 1826. William McElvain, his father, was a native of Rockbridge county, Virginia. His mother was a native of Pennsylvania. Andrew McElvain was in the war of the Revolution. The father was in the war of 1812, also had a brother in the engagement at New Orleans. William McElvain removed from Virginia to Kentucky in 1807 and remained there until 1850, when in the spring of that year he moved to Illinois, and stopped in Sangamon county where he farmed until 1854, when he sold his farm and lived with his son Jason McElvain until his death, which occurred in 1865. He married Jenny Neely, who was a native of Kentucky. Her parents were of Irish ancestry, and emigrated from New York and settled in Kentucky about the year 1790. She was born in 1792, and died February 1st, 1849, on the old homestead in her native place. Fifteen children were born to them, four- teen of whom lived to the age of maturity. One died at the age of fourteen years; seven have survived the parents. There were ten boys and five girls. One of Mr. McElvain's brothers lives in Montgomery, and represented his county in the state legislature. Jason N., received a fair education in the schools of his native state. He remained at home until he reached his twenty-first year, when he started in life for himself. He came to Illinois, and went to work on a farm in Sangamon county, where he remained four years. On the 13th of February, 1851, he married Mary E., daughter of C'apt. Fletcher, of Sugar Creek, Illinois. After his marriage he came to Macoupin county and purchased a hundred and twenty-five acres of land in section 29, and commenced its cultivation. Four months later he built a log cabin, near where his dwelling-house now stands, and moved into it and remained there for six years, after which he built a large and commodious farm-house in which he now dwells. He has since added to his original pur- chase until he has now five hundred and ten acres of as fine land as there is in Nilwood township. Since he first purchased land his principal business has been stock-raising and breeding fine cattle, in which he has been successful. His first wife, Mary E., died August 3d, 1875. On the 19th of June, 1877, he married Miss N. J. Ballinger, daughter of Rev. John H. Ballinger. She is a native of Kentucky, but was raised in Missouri, and was a resident of Macoupin county at the time of her marriage. Mr. McElvain is a member of the Presbyterian church, and his excellent and amiable wife is a member of the Christian church. In politics he is a republican. He was formerly an old line whig, and cast his first vote for Zachary Taylor for President in 1848. He remained with the whig party until the formation of the repub- lican party, and in 1860 voted for Abraham Lincoln, and since that time has been a member of that political organization. Mr. McElvain started in life unaided. When he came to the state he had comparatively nothing but strong hands, industry and abundance of energy. With these he has succeeded in carving out for himself a sufficient competency to support and smooth his pathway down the hill of declining life. In his neighborhood and among the people with whom he has associated and done business for years, he is universally regarded as a man of honesty and fair dealing, and living such a life as commends him to the respect of all.

POLK TOWNSHIP.

HIS township is bounded on the north by Bird, east by Brushy Mound, south by Hilyard, and west by Chesterfield township, and comprises the congressional township of 9, range 8 west of the 3d P. M. The soil is fertile and productive, yielding large crops of wheat, corn, oats, grass, and vegetables, etc.

Along the water courses the land is broken and rolling, and in the valley and bottom excellent grazing lands are found ; here the soil is particularly rich and alluvial. This township is admirably drained by the Macoupin creek and its tributaries, the principal of which are Silver creek, Lick creek,

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Dry Fork, May's Branch, and Sugar creek. There are several lakes near the Macoupin creek, which not only add beauty to the landscape, but also furnish an abundance of pure water for stock. There is considerable timber skirting the borders of the streams, comprising principally the several kinds of oak and maple, hickory, white and red elm, black and white walnut, syca- more and cotton wood.

Pioneers. The first settlements were made in the year 1825, by Daniel Deadrick, Irvin Smith, Shadrick Redick, and Abraham Smith ; they located

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TENANT HOUSE

VIEW OF RESIDENCE AND FARM FROM THE NORTH EAST.

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VIEW FROM THE PASTURE, SOUTH EAST.

"LIND GROVE FARM, 1460 ACRES : THE PROPERTY OF J. N. MCELVAIN, SEC. 29, NILWOOD TP., MACOUPIN CO., ILL.

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HISTORY OF MACOUPIN COUNTY, ILLINOIS.

with their families near where the C. & A. R. R. * crosses the Macoupin creek, where they erected cabins and engaged in tilling the soul. The next fall, being 1826, James Hall and family settled near where the Macoupin station and post-office now is, at a place called Hall's Spring. About the year 1830, Peter Wagoner and William Rhodes, with their families, settled on the north side of the prairie, south of the creek, on section 28.

The First House -The first house built on the prairie was erected by Peter Wagoner ; from that settlement originated the name of " Wagoner's Prairie." William Rhodes next built a house near the site of the ancient town of Steubenville, situated in what was then known as North Bend, that being the first and only town ever laid out within the limits of the town- ship.

Early Preachers .- The first sermon preached in the township was by Wil- liam Jones, a Baptist minister, at the house of Daniel Deadrick, in the year 1826.

The first person baptized was Rachael Smith, at a place near where the Dry Fork creek unites with the Macoupin. This took place in the year 1826. P. C. Raffurty was the first resident preacher ; he was a clergyman of the Baptist denomination. He began preaching here about the year 1852.

The first church building erected was by the United Baptists, in the year 1871, on section 35, at a cost of two thousand dollars.

The First School-house .- The first school-house was built on section 6, in the year 1839; and the same year the first school was taught by Ebenezer P. Upham. The first female teacher was Miss Virginia Bement, who taught in the year 1842.

Early Marriages .- The first parties married were James Holben and Ma- tilda Hall, Henry Miller and Catherine Wagoner, William Grimes and Nancy Wagoner, George C. Keller and Elizabeth Raffurty. The above marriages occurred between the years 1827 and 1836.

The First Birth was that of William Deadrick, in the month of May, 1825.

Habits and Occupations of the Early Settlers .- The occupation of the pioneers was largely that of hunting; the abundance of game together with their love of the chase, was probably one of the causes of their settling along the streams in the timbered districts. Their habits and customs were plain and simple. The women manufactured the family clothing. The men made the shoes and boots worn by the family, stocked their own and their neigh- bors' plows, and made their own harness; between hunting, fishing, tilling the soil, and making their farm implements and domestic clothing, they acquired habits of industry, frugality, and economy. Theirs was a simple and plain life.

Game .- The deer were very numerous, and during the summer and autumn became very fat from feeding on the luxuriant vegetation, and were killed for their flesh and hides. The crop of deer hides in this township was worth more in early times than the crop of corn. The large black wolf was quite numerous, and very destructive of sheep and all young stock. The streams abounded with fish.

Indian Hunting Grounds .- This township seems to have been a post of the hunting grounds of the Indians at the time of the first settlement by the whites, and they continued to visit and hunt in it until the autumn of the commencement of the Black Hawk war and the winter of the deep snow, since which time it is not known that any Indians have visited this locality. There are many graves visible to this day of these people on the bluff, north and west of Long Lake bottom, on section 21, near the Holliday farm. In the bottoms adjacent to this lake the Indians made their camp during their hunting tours. Numerous trinkets and stone implements of warfare have been found in this locality.

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History of Macoupin County, Illinois, Part 65

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

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