USA > Illinois > Macoupin County > History of Macoupin County, Illinois > Part 75
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His only brother, Nelson Hegans, was also a soldier in the Union army. He enlisted in the 61st Illinois regiment, in 1861, and was killed at the battle of Shiloh, in April, 1862. Mr. Hegans is a man of decided convictions and opinions, but liberal in his views on all subjects. He has a substantial standing as a business man, and as a citizen stands well in the estimation of the community.
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244
HISTORY OF MACOUPIN COUNTY, ILLINOIS.
JOHN GELDER,
ONE of the leading farmers of Virden township, is a native of the county, and a son of Capt. Thomas S. Gelder, of Chesterfield town- ship, a sketch of whose history will be found elsewhere. He was the oldest child, and was born on the farm which his father still owns in Chesterfield township, August 11, 1837. The latter part of his education he received at Shurtleff college, in which institution he was a student for two years. After leaving college he spent fourteen months in Europe, traveling through Eng- land, Holland, Belgium, and France, during part of 1862 and 1863, and visiting all the principal places of interest in those countries. Returning home in 1863, he went to farming in Chesterfield township. He was mar- ried September 11, 1866, to Miss Clara Tolman, daughter of James Tolman. She was born in Jersey county. After his marriage he moved to his present farm in Virden township. His farm at Virden consists of 140 acres, and he owns land beside in Montgomery, Sangamon, and Christian counties, making altogether 1120 acres. The lands in Sangamon, Montgomery, and Christian, he bought unimproved, and they now form fine and valuable farms situated near Harvel on the Wabash railway. His Virden farm is one of the finest and best improved in the county. He has four children. He is a republican in politics, and a member of the Presbyterian church. He has a natural taste for farming, and conducts it according to business principles and modern ideas, and his name deserves a place among the successful agri- culturalists of Macoupin county.
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SEYMOUR B. WILCOX.
THIS gentleman, sheriff of Macoupin county from 1868 to 1870, was born in Genesee county, New York, August 19, 1826. His ancestors were Scotch-Irish, and settled in Connecticut, and afterward emigrated to West- ern New York. His grandfather, Borden Wilcox, was in the revolutionary . war. His father, also named Borden Wilcox, was born and raised in Gen- esee county, New York. When a boy of fourteen or fifteen, he ran away from home to enlist in the army, during the war of 1812. He was taken prisoner by the British, at Fort Erie, and was two years at Halifax, in Nova Scotia. He was a farmer and school teacher. He came to Illinois in 1821, and soon afterward married Almira Kellogg, daughter of Col. Seymour Kellogg ; she was born in Genesee county, New York, on a farm adjoining the birth-place of Mr. Wilcox's father. Col. Kellogg settled eight or ten miles west of Jacksonville, in 1818, the same year as the admission of Illi- nois as a state. He was an officer in the war of 1812, and one of the oldest settlers of Morgan county, in which he made his home when a wilderness. He died while on a visit to St. Louis. After Mr. Wilcox's father was mar- ried, he lived in Morgan county for two years, and then returned to New York, and lived in Genesee county for a time, and also carried on a plow foundry at Albion, on the Erie canal. October, 1831, he came back to Illi- nois, and settled at Naples, then in Morgan, and now in Scott county. He died January 9, 1837. Mr. Wilcox's mother died April 19, 1841.
After his mother's death the family was broken up, and Mr. Wilcox at
the age of fifteen was compelled to begin life for himself. He learned the trade of a plasterer in St. Louis. August 4, 1848, he married Julia F. Macklin, who was born at Terre Haute, Indiana, but was principally raised in St. Louis. He left St. Louis in 1851, and came to Waverly, in Morgan county, where he followed his trade till 1855, and then moved to Virden, which town had only been started two or three years, and contained but a few houses. He bought an interest in the grocery business of A. L. Virden. In 1857 Walter Turner purchased Mr. Virden's interest, and the business was carried on under the firm name of Wilcox and Turner till 1864. Vir- den was then an important business point, and commanded the trade of a large scope of country. Their sales occasionally reached as high an amount as $700 in a single day. In 1863 he made a trip to California, driving stock across the plains and selling them on the Pacific coast. After 1864 he was in the grain and hay business. In 1868 against numerous strong compet- itors, he carried off the democratic nomination for sheriff, and was elected by a majority of 329, running considerably ahead of the general ticket. He was in the sheriff's office till December, 1870; he conducted it on strict business principles, and made the reputation of being one of the best officers the county ever had. He has since resided at Virden. He has five child- ren : Josephus P., Ida M., Jennie V., Luella H., and Maxcy B. He was first a whig in politics, and voted for Taylor for president in 1848. When the whig party went to pieces he became a democrat. He is known as & public-spirited and enterprising man, and his residence at Virden is one of the handsomest in the town.
THOMAS. F. COULTAS
Is a native of Illinois, and was born in Scott county, September 24, 1832. His father was James Coultas, and his mother's maiden name was Mary Foster. They were married in England, and came to America leaving Liver- pool in May, 1830. They settled three miles north-east of Winchester, in what was then Morgan but is now Scott county. Thomas Coultas was raised in the neighborhood of Winchester, and received such an education as a pioneer settlement could afford. He was married February 4th, 1855, to Elizabeth J. Loud, daughter of Rufus W. Loud, a native of Boston, and & ship-carpenter by trade; he married Jane Scammon, and died during the war of 1812. Mrs. Coultas was born in York county, Maine, March 16th, 1835. Her father moved to Scott county and settled near Winchester when Mrs. Coultas was four years old, and in the year 1854 moved to the vicinity of Virden. After his marriage Mr. Coultas devoted his time to farming in Scott county until the spring of 1867, when he moved to Virden township, and is now one of the substantial farmers of that section. He owns 278 acres of land. He has always been a republican in politics, casting his first vote for Fremont for President in 1856. Mr. Coultas has seven living children -Ellen ; Horace W .; Rufus J .; Alvin F .; Franklin E .; Anna, and Em- ma J. He is a man who has always stood well in the community as an enterprising farmer and good citizen.
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Ity, September 24,1g aiden name vos Je America leaving Line east of Winchester, mas Coultas was sie ich an education February 4th, 186 itive of Boston, ali and died during , Maine, March 26 near Winchester vit moved to the ritir is time to farmigi to Virden torusy He owns 208 am Casting his first ven living chile E .; Anna, and do community & #
RESIDENCE & STOCK FARM OF T. F. COULTAS , SEC. 6. VIRDEN TP., MACOUPIN CO ., ILL.
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WESTERN MOUND TOWNSHIP.
HE township of Western Mound is situated on the west side of the county, and occupies town 10 North, range 9 West. It is bounded on the north by Barr township, on the west by Greene county, on the south by Chesterfield township, and on the east by Bird township.
It was originally covered with a heavy growth of timber, which has afforded material for building purposes, and fuel for those who prefer it to coal. Joe's creek flows south-westerly across the north-west part of the township, and with its branches drain that portion, while Hodges', Solo- mon's, Lick and Bear creeks drain the whole northern, eastern and southern area. The three latter named creeks empty into Hodges' creek, near the centre of the township.
The surface is generally hilly, especially along the creeks, where they are covered with timber. The bottom lands in this township are among the richest, most fertile and productive in the county. Particularly is this true of the bottoms adjacent to Bear and Hodges' creeks.
Sandstone is found outcropping on Hodges' creek, and is quarried for foundations and building purposes. Also coal No. 5, crops out in the bluffs of Hodges' creek, and has been mined to supply the local demands in this vicinity ever since the first settlement.
At Thomas Bilbey's mine, on section 29, the coal ranges from five to seven feet in thickness, which is the average of the other mines here.
Western Mound was never visited by Indians, since the first white man erected his cabin within its borders. But prior to this time they must have been numerous, as all the bluffs, and elevated lands around "low marshy swamps " and " Long " and " Round " bottoms, are covered with the graves of their dead. Especially is this the case just above where Solomon's creek empties into Hodges'. Their flint arrow-heads and battle-axes may be found in every part of the township.
FIRST SETTLEMENTS.
The first white man who settled in Western Mound township, was Samuel Judy, in about the year 1826. He first settled in the south-east corner of section 32, and afterward settled on the place now owned by James W. Lumpkin, in the spring of 1829, which improvements he sold the following summer, for a bushel of corn and a well bucket. He then settled the place where Thomas Bilbey now resides. The bushel of corn he took to Finley's mill, in Greene county, to be ground, and after it had passed from the hopper, it was discovered that there was no meal, and upon raising the cap surrounding the mill-stone, the meal was found adhering to the stone, the corn having been damp when ground.
In 1827, Bennet Tilley and family, natives of North Carolina, William Smith and family, Andrew Hughes, Henry Etter, a Mr. Robinson and their families, were next to settle. And the following year came Huriah Smith, with his father, Richard Smith and family, and settled September 7th, 1828, on section 31, on Hodges' creek. Norris Hayes and family, and J. Coddle and family, settled on section 31, in the spring of 1829. Daniel Deadrick, from Greene county, Illinois, and James McFarland and family, from Tenn., settled on section 34, in 1829. Jeptha Reeder, from Tenn., with a family of five daughters and one son-Paschall Reeder,-settled here in 1831.
There were quite a number of settlements made in the year 1832, among whom were-John Morris, an Englishman, with family, on section 34; William Chism and family, and Jacob Kelly and family, from Kentucky ;
James Carr and family, who settled on the farm now owned by Wm. T. Crossland ; Joel Hubbard and family, from Tennessee, and others.
Rev. Charles Holliday, a Methodist minister, settled in the township about the year 1834 ; and the same year John Dews entered 80 acres of land in section 28, where he located in 1837, and has continued to reside there ever since. Samuel Hullett, a native of England, came here from Morgan county, Illinois, in 1835. Griffith Edwards and family were also early settlers.
The early settlers suffered great privation and many hardships. For many years they were compelled to do their milling and trading at Edwards- ville, a distance of forty miles, or at St. Louis, a distance of over fifty miles. The first child born in the township was a son of Samuel Judy and wife, in the year 1828. The next birth was Polly Ann Smith, the daughter of Huriah Smith and wife, born February 17th, 1830.
Mrs. Nellie Smith, the wife of William Smith, was the first death, which occurred September 1st, 1828. Her daughter, Nellie, died on the 7th of September, one week after her mother.
The first marriage in Western Mound was Huriah Smith and Sally Tilly, the daughter of John Tilly of North Carolina, which was also the first in the county. They were twice married ; the first time on the 5th day of May, 1829, by William Kinkaid, a justice of the peace, of Greene county, Il- linois, and the second time, on July 6th. 1829, by A. Brownlee, a justice of the peace of this county.
The first license was issued by Tristram P. Hoxsey, county clerk, May 4th, 1829, at which time he was holding the office by appointment. There being a doubt as to the county clerk, at that time, having the authority to issue a license, on account of some irregularity, Mr. Smith obtained a second license and was remarried July 6th, 1829, as above stated, during which time the county clerk had been elected and regularly sworn into office.
The above is a correct statement of the facts, though there is an inaccu- racy in the marriage records at the county seat, and a difference in opinion as to the first marriage in the county ; but Huriah Smith and Sally Tilly were unquestionably the first parties married in Macoupin county, after the county was organized.
Early Churches .- The first sermon was delivered by Rev. John McCray, a Baptist preacher, in the fall of 1829. The first church was organized in the year 1831, by Rev. John McCray, at the residence of Daniel Deadrick, in section 23. The meetings were held during the summer in groves, and in the winter at Mr. Deadrick's house. The Rev. McCray walked from Waverly, a distance of twenty miles, to conduct his meetings. " Bethel Church," which was the first erected, and the only church in the township, was built on section 3, in the year 1848, by the United Baptist denomina- tion.
Schools .- The first school teacher was William Hamilton, who taught at the house of Mr. Hubbard. James Bates taught in a house built on section 8, in the year 1836.
Mills .- The first mill was built on Bear creek, in section 24, by Richard Smith, in the year 1834 or '35. It was a horse mill, and was the only one in the township for many years. Paschall Reeder subsequently built a tread or ox mill, but at present there is no mill in operation.
A blacksmith shop was erected by Lee Overstreet, in 1844, which was the first in the town.
Gopher Jayne, a physician, located on the south-west corner of Western Mound, in 1837 ; he was the first local practitioner.
The first land entries were Thomas Judy (now living in Macoupin county). May 31st, 1827, he entered eighty acres in section 32 ; Nathan Collins, April
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HISTORY OF MACOUPIN COUNTY, ILLINOIS.
22d, 1831, eighty acres in section 31 ; Hy. Wilkerson, May 21st, 1831, eighty acres in section 2. .
Among the names of the old settlers in the county who are now residing in this town may be mentioned Huriah Smith, a native of North Carolina, settled here in 1828 ; John Dews, from Yorkshire, England, came to the county in 1834; John Kerley, a native of Virginia, located in 1839; David Holmes, from Tennessee, settled in 1830; Adam Dams, a native of the county, settled in this township in 1836, and W. C. Edwards came in 1834.
The statistics from the assessment book in July, 1879, were as follows : Number of acres improved lands 19,640, value $80,691 ; acres unimproved lands 2,756,. value $4,720; total value of lands, $85,411; horses 677, value $10,927 ; cattle 1,147, value $7,496; mules 61, value $1,020; sheep 1,360, value $1,236; hogs 2,587, value $2,000; carriages and wagons 165, value $1,711; 127 watches and clocks, 52 sewing machines, 1 piano, 11 organs. Total value of personal property $36,138.
The officers since township organization are as follows : -
Supervisors .- W. C. Edwards, elected in 1871; re-elected in 1872 and 1873; P. R. Cook, elected in 1874; re-elected in 1875 and 1876; Gus.
Etter, elected in 1877; Philip R. Cook, elected in 1878; Elisha Dawson, elected in 1879.
Town Clerks .- W. D. Reader, elected in 1872, and re-elected in 1873; W. H. H. Ibbetson, elected in 1874; L. B. Smith, elected in 1875; E. Etter, elected in 1876; R. W. Carr, elected in 1877 ; P. L. Pitchford, elected, in 1878, and re-elected in 1879.
Axxessors .- A. B. Carr, elected in 1872; J. Earnest, elected in 1873; A. B. Carr, elected in 1874; B. J. Dorman, elected in 1875, and re-elected in 1876; W. C. Edwards, elected in 1877, and re-elected in 1878, and 1879.
The following are the justices of the peace since township organization : O. W. Lee and Elisha Dawson, elected in 1878; T. Dawson, elected in 1874; A. B. Carr and N. Flanagin, elected in 1877; C. R. Aden -.
The following are the constables since township organization : A. M. Am- brose and M. H. Wilson, elected in 1873; E. Smith and A. Ambrose, elected in 1877; P. Kramer, elected in 1879.
Commissioners for Highwayx .- 1871, John Hagaman, J R. Wooley, Simpson Towse ; 1872, James R. Wooley ; 1873, Simpson Towse ; 1874, James Grizzle, John Hagaman ; 1875, James R. Wooley; 1876, James Grizzle : 1877, R. McCormick ; 1878, James R. Wooley ; 1879, I. M. Grizzle.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
JOHN DEWS.
WHEN a man, actuated by pure motives, accomplishes something from which good is derived, he merits the approval of the hearts that love him. A person whom it is proper to praise cannot be flattered, and one who can be flattered ought not to be praised. We feel assured that, by a quiet and blameless life, he is deserving of mention in the pages of our work. He was born in the beautiful little village of Helaugh, Yorkshire, England, Sep- tember 15, 1806, son of Thomas and Mary Dews.
The Dews family have lived in Yorkshire for many generations, supposed to be of French ancestry. Thomas Dews was a farmer, and educated the subject of our sketch to farm life. At the age of twenty-two Mr. Dews, upon hearing of the chances afforded a young man of energy in this new country, emigrated to America, and landed at New York in the spring of 1829. After traveling in the East for a few months, and not meeting with that success he expected, he became homesick, and as he had money enough to pay his passage across the mighty deep, he returned to his native land. In 1831 he again returned to this country with a determination to remain and succeed in life, if hard work and frugality would accomplish that end. When he landed at New York the second time he immediately went to Cincinnati. Upon his arrival at that place he found himself in debt thirty dollars to a comrade. He soon found employment in a rock quarry, at eighty-seven and a half cents per day, where he worked a short time. He then went into a brewery, where he engaged himself for three months, at ten dollars per month. At the expiration of this time he worked at a foundry about three years, working hard and saving his money with the intention of coming further west and locating. In 1834 he made a trip into this state, and after looking round for a suitable location, his choice finally centered upon Macoupin county, and in that same year he entered eighty acres of land from the government, but not having sufficient
means to improve it, he returned to Cincinnati, where he followed driving stage and draying for nearly two years. In 1836 he came to Alton, where he was employed in a warehouse for about eighteen months; in the mean- time he employed some parties to break and fence part of his eighty acres of land in this county. In 1837 he settled permanently in Western Mound township and began improving his farm. The same year he was married to Miss Sylvia Morris, of Macoupin county. They have raised a family of six children, five girls and one son, viz. : Louisa, Mary F., Elizabeth Ann, Han- nah, Abiah Sophia, and William H. The girls are all married and settled iu the vicinity of Chesterfield, with the exception of Mary F., who is living in Kansas. William H. is still under the paternal roof. Mr. Dews in his boyhood received little educational advantages, but in after life, from sheer necessity, he improved his education sufficiently to transact most any ordi- nary business. We find in Mr. Dews a man who started in life without aid, and what he has accumulated of this world's goods has been by hard work, frugality and good management. Mr. Dews has excelled as an agricul- turalist, because he has always conducted his farming operations scientifi- cally. From an eighty acres start in life, and this eighty gained by menial labor, we find him the possessor of over fourteen hundred acres of land. It is a proof of what energy and frugality will do for a young man in this country, that goes into the battle of life with a firm determination to succeed. In politics he was formerly an old line whig, but upon the formation of the republican party he identified himself with that party and continued to vote on that side; but in minor elections he generally votes for those he considers the best men. He was raised under the tenets of the Episcopal church, though never affiliating with any religious sect. After he gained his majority he always liberally supported religious and educational enterprises, believing that churches and schools form the basis of moral and intellectual development.
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FARM RESIDENCE OF . JOHN DEWS , SEC.34, WESTERN MOUND TP, MACOUPIN CO., ILL.
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DAVID HOLMES.
MRS. ELIZABETH HOLMES.
DAVID HOLMES
Was born in Tennessee, February 14th, 1818. He was the son of Joseph and Abigail Holmes. Joseph Holmes was a native of Virginia, and was a soldier of the war of 1812. His father before him, John C. Holmes, was also a native of Virginia, and lived to the extreme old age of one hundred and ten years. He emigrated with his family to the state of Tennessee, where he lived many years, and subsequently moved into Kentucky, where he died. Joseph Holmes served as a soldier against the Indians, and was at the battle of Horseshoe Bend on the Tallahoosa river, where the Indian forces were entirely annihilated. In 1828 he emigrated to Indiana, where he lived two years ; he then came into Illinois, and settled in Carlinville in 1830; he built a cabin the same year on the ground which is now occupied by the county jail. At that time there were only five families living in the place. He lived there one year, and then returned to Indiana, where he died in 1834. Mrs. Holmes, after the death of her hus- band, returned to Carlinville with her family, where she lived until her death in 1837. The subject of our sketch was the third child in a family of nine children. During his minority he assisted his mother to provide for the .
family, and after her death for four years he provided for the family, his sisters keeping the house. In 1837 the family moved from Carlinville into what is now Western Mound township, where Mr. Holmes has since lived and followed the life of a farmer. In 1844, January 10th, he was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Hubbard, daughter of Joel Hubbard, one of the early settlers of Macoupin county. Mr. and Mrs. Holmes have raised a family of twelve children-three girls and nine boys. In politics Mr. Holmes is a democrat, and cast his first vote for General Jackson. He and his wife are members of the Baptist church.
Such is a brief sketch of one of the carly pioneers of Macoupin county. He has grown with the growth of the county. Fifty years have wrought a wonderful change in the West-then a wilderness with trees and grasses in- digenous to the soil overspreading the entire country ; now we have railroads, cities, villages and fruitful fields, with the promise of a future that is destined to astonish the world with its wonderful progress.
An excellent portrait of Mr. and Mrs. Holmes heads this sketch.
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248
HISTORY OF MACOUPIN COUNTY, ILLINOIS.
WILLIAM T. CROSSLAND
Is a native of Yorkshire, England. John Crossland, his father, was also a native of the same place. He married Mary Sharp, by whom he had seven children, five boys and two girls. Three of them have survived the parents. John Crossland was a farmer by occupation. In 1854 he emigrated to America and came direct to Illinois; he stopped in Greene county, and re- mained there from July 12th until Christmas of the same year, when the subject of our sketch purchased a farm in Western Mound township and moved on it. His father, two brothers and a sister accompanied him. The father remained here with his son until his death, which occurred on the 2d of June, 1865. The mother died October 26th, 1855. John Crossland was a strong, vigorous man, and he retained his strength and elasticity of mind and body until the time of his death. He was in his seventy-fourth year when he died. William T. married Elizabeth Rothery, who was also a na- tive of Yorkshire, England. She was born in September, 1828. Her father Michael Rothery, was a gardener and ship owner. The marriage took place June 24th, 1847. Her parents died in England. Six children have been born to William T. and Elizabeth Crossland, two of whom are living, name- ly : Anne, wife of William Wood, and Mary Louisa, who is unmarried and is yet beneath the parental roof. The son, Michael Rothery Crossland, died when he was fourteen years of age. The others died in infancy. The sub- ject of our sketch had good opportunities for receiving an education, as his
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