History of Madison County, Illinois With biographical sketches, Part 111

Author: Brink, W.R. & Co
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Edwardsville, Ill. : W. R. Brink & co.
Number of Pages: 698

USA > Illinois > Madison County > History of Madison County, Illinois With biographical sketches > Part 111

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467

HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, ILLINOIS.

Gerke was married to Bertha, daughter of Joseph and Eliz- abeth Stoffelbach of this township, in 1843, and had two daughters. At his father's death he fell heir to the property in St. Jacobs. He was an artist of considerable celebrity, and executed many valuable paintings, now greatly admired. He resided mostly in St. Louis, where he died in 1847.

Theodore and Joseph Miller came with their widowed mother, three brothers and three sisters, in 1835, front Ba- den, Germany. The mother died five years later. Theodore improved a large farm in section 20, where his son, J. G. Miller, now lives, and became one of the foremost men of the township. He served for a time as constable. Afterward he was elected magistrate, the office of which he filled twelve years. In 1870 he was elected a member of the General Assembly of the State. In 1846 Mrs. Elizabeth Anderson, daughter of Major James G. Anderson, became his wife. His brother Joseph lived here for many years, and was a successful farmer. Afterward he went to Lebanon, St. Clair county, where he resided until his death. Samuel Frey made a good farm of the prairie, section 22. He came to the county in 1840, and has been a very sucecssful farmer. Henry Frey, a brother, improved a good farm adjoining, ou the cast, where he accumulated much property. He died several years ago, leaving two sons, who are promi- nent farmers of the township. Peter Frutiger came to St. Jacobs in 1842, and improved a large farm in sections 23 and 24. He has been dead many years. Several of his children are worthy citizens of the township. Jacob Leder, who lives on section one, is a native of Switzerland. He came here in 1837. Rudolph Baer, also a native of Switzerland, arrived in 1844, with his father, who improved a good farm on the prairie, in section fourteen, where Ru- dolph now lives. Christ. Hirni also made a farm on the prairie, on seetion thirteen. Jacob Leutwiller also improved a farm on the same section. Henry Ritter, who lives near Herrin's Grove, has resided there since 1844. John Schmitt, south of the grove, is one of the early Germans, as are also P. Juckweiler, who now lives in St. Jacobs, Jacob Schroth, first store-keeper of St. Jacobs, and A. Zwilchenbart, who bought the Dugger Ox-mill and farm. Henry Laengle came to the county in 1846, and since that time has been engaged in farming and hotel-keeping. He built his brick hotel in St Jacobs in 1879.

The following gentlemen have represented the township in the board of supervisors : F. S. Pike, 1876-'77, re-elected 1877-'78; E. N. Peterson, 1878-'79; James S. Miller, 1879-'80 ; John P. Anderson, 1880-'81, re-elected 1881, '82, and is now in office.

TOWN OF ST. JACOBS.

The first house was built by Jacob Schutz, where he sold whisky by the gallon. In 1849 Jacob Schroth started a store; he bought two and-a-half acres off the corner of' Jacob Schutz's farm, being in the northwest part of the northeast forty of section 16; he built a small house (since enlarged), now the St. Jacob's House. He entertained

travelers and had a wagon-yard in connection with his saloon and store. In June, 1851, he got a post-office established, and because his name was Jacob and Jacob was the original owner of the land, and the blacksmith's name was Jacob, they concluded to name the place of the then cross-roads St. Jacobs. Mr. Schroth continued in business here until his death in 1860. His wife was then commissioned post- mistress, and continued the business many years. In 1850 Jacob Willi started a blacksmith shop and worked at his trade several years ; he is now on a farm half a mile north of town, in good circumstances. The third house was put up by Louis Schiele. It is in part now the Pfaclzer HIof. Mr. Schiele, in 1866, laid out the town of St. Jacobs, in the southeast quarter of the southeast quarter of section 9. The village inereased principally around the Schroth corner and on the St. Louis wagon-road, until the construction of the railroad, since which the growth has been almost entirely toward the depot. There were about twenty houses in the place before the railroad was built. The census of 1880 gave it a population of four hundred and sixty-one. Dr. Buck was the first physician In 1866, Edward Dee and William C. M'Alilly built a saw-mill a quarter of a mile north of the town. They afterward sawed out a frame and put up a small grist mill, and then took into partnership with them, Charles Valier, who was a practical miller. The mill com- menced grinding in 1869 ; since that time it has been owned by several different parties. The saw-mill has long since been abandoned. The mill has been greatly improved from time to time, and it now stands a substantial frame, four- stories high with basement, having four run of burrs and a capacity of one hundred and twenty-five barrels per day. It is owned and operated by Joseph Pecler and Jacob Willi. The saw-mill near the depot was put up in 1880; now owned by John Bartle. The Independent Bucket Factory was started in June, 1831, by John Schaefer. It employs from six to eight men.

The school building is a two story brick of four rooms, where three teachers are employed. J. W. Welles has been the principal for the past three years. There are two churches. The Lutheran, a neat brick structure, was built in 1869 ; the Methodist, a frame building, in 1879.

The St. Louis, Vandalia & Terre Haute railroad passes through the northern part of the township, entering near the center of section 1, and passing out near the southwest corner of section 7. St. Jacobs is situated on this line at nearly an cqual distance from the eastern and western boundaries of the township. Its location in the midst of a fertile and prosperous country secures for it a good trade. It is the shipping point for Marine, a village of eight hundred inhabitants, five miles distant.

PRESENT BUSINESS.

Physicians .- B F. Stephens, E. Miller, H. R. Kirsten. Postmaster .- G. W. Hays.

Hotels .- Henry Laengle, Laengle's Hotel ; Louis Wasem, Pfaelzer Hof; Henry Schmitt, St. Jacob's House ; Ernst Pahmeyer, Rail Road Hotel.

468

IIISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, ILLINOIS.

General Stores .- G. W. Searcy, Karges & Williams, F. Sohler.

Lumber Yard, Lime, Cement, etc .- E. N. Peterson.

Dealer in Hardware and Farming Implements .- John Schaefer.

Grain Dealers .- Anderson & Wiseman.

Drug Stores .- Charles Spies, H. F. Wood.

Furniture and Undertaker .- II. A. Reichenbecher. Harness and Saddles .- Theodore Schmidt, Fred. Pfunder. Meat Market -Louis Schiele ; J. Freys.

Merchant Tailor-F. Gain.

"Blacksmith Shops .- Fred Spies, Joseph Beekler, Leonz Buehlmann.

Wagon Shops .- Leonz Buehlmann, Henry Maurer.

Wagon-maker .- Fritz Graf.

Bakery .- H. Meyer.

Barbers-Melch Hochul, Thomas Cannon.

Shoemakers .- Joseph Hilbi, C. M. Petry.

Cigar Manufactory .- W. Fisher.

BIOGRAPHIES.

GEORGE W. SEARCY.

THE Searcy family are among the old settlers and the descendants of one of the pioneer families of Madison county. Philip T. Searcy, the father, was a native of North Carolina, born in 1802. He was left an orphan while yet young in years; he was taken by his guardian, Granser Dugger, to Tennessee, and brought by him to Illinois, November 17, 1817. The Dugger family stopped for a short time in the forks of Silver creek, then a part of Marine township, in Madison county, but soon after moved to Bond county, and settled on Hurricane Fork of Shoal creek ; three years later they returned to Madison county and permanently located on the piece of land upon which they settled when they first came to Illinois. Mr. Dugger entered land in sections 5 and 6, of what is now St. Jacob's township. From the Dugger family sprang a numerous progeny. John, Wesley, Jarret, sons of Mr. Dugger, were soldiers of the war of 1812, and also of the Black-Hawk war of 1831-'32. Philip T. Searcy married Elizabeth, daughter of Granser Dugger. She was the widow of John Hunter, by whom she had one son, named John Andrew Hunter ; he was also a soldier of the Black- Hawk war. Mr. Searcy died February 13, 1861, and his wife February 13, 1864. There were twelve children born to Philip T. and Elizabeth Searcy, three of whom are now living. Their names are Nancy Jane, Edward C. and George W. Thomas J. was a soldier in company D of the 59th Illinois Volunteers. At the battle of Perryville, October 8, 1862, he was wounded, and died two years later from the effect of the wound. Edward C. was also a soldier in the same company and regiment, and was captured by the rebels when in the act of bearing his wounded brother from the field George W., the subject of this sketch, was born on

the old homestead March 6, 1834. He there grew to man- hood, and remained at home until twenty-one years of age; he then clerked for his half brother, Mr. Hunter, for two years. Realizing that he had insufficient education, he spent the winter of 1857-'58 in school. The fall previous, he had been elected constable, a position he held for twelve years. In the spring of 1858, he purchased sixty acres of land in section 17, and there made his home until 1866, when he moved to section 18, where he had purchased one hundred and fifty-five acres. On this tract, in former years, stood Fort Shilton, one of the block-houses during the Indian tronbles in 1812.

Mr. Searcy made his home on section 18 until the spring of 1880, when he removed to the village of St. Jacobs, and there, on the 28th of February, 1882, engaged in general merchandising; in which he still continues. Ou the 2d of April, 1858, he married Miss Mary Ann Taylor. She was born on the 'Old Chase" farm, in St. Jacob's township December 6, 1833. Her parents were natives of Virginia, and removed to North Carolina, then to Illinois and settled in White county, and subsequently came to Madison. There were four children born to Mr. and Mrs. Searcy; one living named George L., who was born June 2, 1860. The others died in infancy and early childhood. Both Mr. and Mrs. Searcy attached themselves to the M. E. Church while young. In politics he is a Republican ; he was justice of the peace for his township for four years, and was special deputy sheriff for six years. During the late war he was enrolled officer from November, 1864, until the close of the war. In his manners he is plain and unassuming, and his charac- ter and reputation is that of an honorable and honest man.

HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, ILLINOIS.

469

Im Ho. Laires

THE subject of this memoir was born on section 31, in St. Jacob's Township, Madison County, Illinois, Aug. 14th, 1832. His father, William Faires, was born in North Caro- lina, Aug. 5th, 1789. He emigrated to Illinois in 1826. and settled on what was then and since known as Terrappin Ridge in this county. His first settlement was in section 31, T 3, R 3. He afterward moved to section 33, and there died, Feb. 14th, 1855. He married Elizabeth Orr, who was born in North Carolina, January 17th, 1791. The date of the marriage was January 13th, 1813. She died iu August 1863. There were nine children by that marriage, four sons and five daughters. Two sons and three daughter> have survived the parents and are yet living. William H. is the youngest of the family. He was brought up on the farm and received his education in the public schools of the neighborhood. At the age of twenty he commenced the trade of blacksmithing, but soon abandoned it to engage in farming. He purchased two hundred acres of raw unim- proved land in section 26, where he now resides, and com- menced its improvement, and there he has remained to the

present time. To his original purchase he has added until he has now over five hundred acres of fine land, all of which is under cultivation. He also commenced dealing and trading in live stock when he commenced farming, and those two businesses have been his chief occupation up to the present time. In April, 1864, he was united in marriage to Miss M. J. Putnam, daughter of Hiram Putnam. She was born in Wilson county, Tennessee, in 1842. By this union there have been eight children born to Mr. and Mrs. Faires. Their names in the order of their birth are, William A., Charles Henry, Elizabeth O, Horace Greeley, Julia Ann, Lula Jane, (the latter two are twins) Edward Allen and Hattie Faires. Mr. Faires is a member of the ancient and honor_ able order of A. F. A. M. Politically he has always voted the Democratic ticket. Mr. Faires may be regarded as one of the old settlers of Madison county. He has lived here fifty years. His father's family were among the pioncers of the state. In the present and years gone by the neighbors of Mr. Faires have known him as an open, generous-hearted man, a true friend and an honest, upright man.

470

HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, ILLINOIS.

.Hver Tyle

THE Pyle family is of English aud Welsh ancestry. Samuel Pyle, the ancestor of the present, family was of Quaker origin and came with William Penn to America in 1682, and made the first settlement in Pennsylvania and founded the city of Philadelphia. Subsequently his offspring removed south and helped to form the settle- ments along the coast in the Carolinas. There they lived during the revolutionary war, and in which struggle both the paternal and maternal grandfathers of Abner Pyle took part. Abner Pyle, the father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Chatham county, North Carolina. The family moved to Kentucky soon after that state was admitted to the union, and remained there until 1818, when they came to Illinois and settled in Jackson county in a section that is now.a part of Perry couuty. Mr. Pyle was one of the first

commissioners of the latter county, and helped to locate the county seat and lay out the town of Pinckneyville. He re- mained a citizen of Perry county until the death of his wife, then came to Madison county, where he lived with his sous until his death, which event occurred in July, 1863. He married Sarah Wells, a native of South Carolina. She died in Perry county, January 25, 1825. By the union of Abner and Sarah Pyle there were twelve children, ten of whom lived to maturity and raised families. Abner Pyle, Jr., the subject of this sketch was born in Christian county, Kentucky, January 25th, 1809, and was a mere boy when the family came to Illinois. Here he grew to manhood and received such instruction as the public schools of Perry county afforded. His first effort in public life was acting as surveyor of Perry county, a position he was appointed to by

471

HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, ILLINOIS.

Gov. Duncan. He afterward engaged in farming and trading. In 1848, he moved to St. Clair county and re- mained there until March 17th, 1859, when he purchased one hundred and twenty acres in section twenty six, of St. Jacob's Township, in Madison county. He improved his land, added more to it, and there he has resided to the pres- ent. In May, 1833, he was united in marriage to Miss Mary Hlogue. She died in 1844, leaving one son named Andrew, who grew to maturity, married, and died in 1879, leaving a wife and two children. On the 19th of August, 1848, he married Naomi Bradsby, widow of John Bradsby. Her maiden name was Faires, daughter of William and Eliza- beth (Orr) Faires. She was born in North Carolina, Janu- ary 14, 1815. By her marriage with John Bradsby she had three children, named Francis M., Mary E. and William D. Bradshy. By her marriage with Mr. Pyle, there are also

three children, whose names are Martha A., wife of James Thompson, Lyman and Henry B. Pyle. Both Mr. and Mrs. Pyle are members of the Christian Church. Politically he was originally an old Jacksonian Democrat. His first presidential ticket was cast for the hero of New Orleans. From that time to the present he has not swerved in his allegiance to the party of his first choice. Mr. Pyle is oue ! of the pioneers of Illinois, and is a connecting link between this and a race of hardy and venturesome men that are rapidly passing away. A few more years will witness their departure, and they will only exist in the memories of the older people and in the pages of history. Would that the free, generous, open-hearted pioneer of old conld always be with us and teach us by example what open and true hospi- tality is, and means. To that class belongs Mr. Pyle.

CHOUTEAU.

HIS township lies wholly in the Ameri- can Bottom, and was once covered with heavy timbers of oak, elm, walnut, hickory, ash, etc. The soil is composed of the rich alluvium peculiar to the Mississippi bottom. It contains more sand, however, than the bottom further down the river, in St. Clair county. It is variously interspersed with lakes or sloughs, the larger of which lies in the north and east, and occupies about 600 acres. Long Lake, so called, enters the township in sec. 4 and extends southward entirely through the territory. It is a theory by the more thoughtful, and close observing, that this was once the original bed of Wood River, and that it emptied its waters into the Mississippi further down. Chouteau Island lies at the southwest, and comprises about four sections, one-half of which extends into township 4, range 10. The island is formed by Chouteau slough on the east, and the Mississippi river on the west. There was a peculiarity about the timber on this island as com- pared with that on the rest of the bottom, it being of the soft or porous kind, such as cotton-wood, lynn, etc. The passage from the main land to the island is effected by a dike thrown across the slongh about three hundred yards from the Missis-

sippi. The township is well supplied with railroads, the Chicago and Alton and the Indiana aud St. Louis rail ways pass- ing side by side, through its entire territory. They enter from the north in section three, take a southerly course and pass out in section thirty-three. The Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific road enters in section thirteen, extends southwest, and joins the former road in section twenty-seven, crossing the southern line of the township on the same grade. Chou- teau is bounded on the north by Wood River township, on the east by Edwardsville, south by Nameoki, and west by the Mississippi river. It contains about thirty sections of land, and had a population in 1880, of 1,094.

EARLY SETTLEMENTS.

The honor of the first white settlement in Madison county belongs unquestionably to this township. As near as can be determined the French established a small settlement on Chouteau island, as early as 1750. Not only docs Gov. Reynolds so establish the date, but there were evidences many years ago, substantiated by those now living, and be- fore the river had encroached upon the Illinois side, that the above date is not far from correct. Mr. Amos Atkins, who is now 61 years of age, and who was born on the island, in- formed the writer that when he was a mere boy there was an

472

HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, ILLINOIS.

apple and pear orchard, the trees of which were so large that they must have been planted many years before. One pear tree, he says, was at least a foot and a-half in diameter, and the apple trees were not far from the same size. It was near this orchard where the French settlers buried their dead. When the river encroached upon the banks, reaching this place of burial, many a ghastly skeleton was washed from its long resting place. The citizens of the island kindly gathered up the remains as best they could, and re-buried them in what is now the corner of Amos A kins' pasture, in sec. 19, From present appearances in the conduct of the river, it is only a question of time when these same skeletons will again be washed by the waters of the Mississippi.

We are unable to present more than one of the names of these early French settlers, that of La Croix, who afterward moved to Cahokia, where he died. Many years ago the island was known as Big Island, but was afterward called Chouteau, in honor of Pierre Chouteau. It is from the island that the township receives its name.

The first settlement made by the Americans, was by the Gillhams about 1802. Their ancestor, Thomas, was a native of Ireland, and emigrated to this country prior to the Revolution, and he and his soos served in the war for inde- pendence of the Colonies. His family consisted of five sons and two daughters. Thomas, the eldest, was never a citizen of Illinois, but his sons all moved to this state and settled in the American Bottom. Their names were Thomas, James, William, John and Isaac. That which led to their settle- ment here, is shrouded with a romance of heart-aches and suffering, a brief synopsis of which is substantially as fol- lows : * James, the second son, was born in South Carolina, where he married, and afterwards moved to Kentucky and settled with his little family, upon the then western frontier They had three sons and one daughter, between the ages of four and twelve years. In the summer of 1790, while Mr. Gillham and his son Isaac were at work in the field, a band of Kickapoo Indians, from Illinois, were prowling in that neighborhood. Coming upon the cabin of Mr. Gillham, they stalked into the house, and at once took the mother and children captives. Mrs. Gillham was so overcome that she recollected nothing distinctly of the capture, until she was brought to her senses, by one of the boys, Samuel, exclaim- ing, " Mother, we are all prisoners." But why harrow the minds of our readers, by relating the long, weary march, and the untold hardships of their journey through the wilderness, until their captors reached the village of the Kickapoos, then situated in Logan county, Illinois. What must have been the feelings of father and son, on returning to their little cabin, to find the fearful evidences that those they loved so well were in the hands of the cruel savages : As there was no appearance of blood about the premises, Mr. Gillham became satisfied that his family were mere captives, and that they were still unharmed. He, and one of his neighbors soon started on the trail, but after a long and tedious march they lost all trace of it, and were obliged to return. But hope that his wife and children were yet in the

* For these facts we are indebted to the Madison County Gazetteer.

land of the living, buoyed him up, and he resolved that he would continue the search until they were found. According- ly he sold out his little improvement in Kentucky, placed his son Isaac in the family of a friend, and soon began the long, and almost hopeless search. He traveled all through the Western frontier, visiting Vincent, (now Vincennes ), Kaskaskia, and afterwards at Fort Washington, Cincinnati, to confer with Gen. St. Clair, then Governor of the North- West Territory. He here learned that the Indians were about to take the war-path against the white settlement. Nothing daunted he proposed to push into the wilderness, and visit every tribe until he found his family, but was dis- suaded from such a hopeless and perilous effort by Gen. St. Clair, and others who were familiar with the state of affairs in the Indian country.

Five years had passed since the commencement of this vain search, when Mr Gillham learned from some French traders, that the chief of the Kickapoos, had promised to give up all American captives for a certain ransom. This was a bolt from a clear sky to him who had hoped and waited so long. He at once took two guides with him, and proceeded to the Indian village, situated on Salt Creek Imagine if you can, the joy of all when on his arrival here, the long lost family were found alive and well. The young- er son, Clement, was unable to speak a word of English, nor could he recognize his father. Some of the old settlers who are yet living, inform us that they recollect him well, and that he always acted, and had more the general appear- ance of an Indian than of a white man. The family returned to Kentucky where they remained about two years. But Mr. Gillham could not forget the beautiful prairies of Illinois that he had seen while in search of his family. Accordingly in 1797 he moved with his family to the state and located in the American Bottom, not far from Kaskas- kia. He remained here until about 1802, when he removed to the Bottom above, and settled in what is now Chouteau township. Three children were born to them after the re- union of the family, James H., David, and Nancy. None of them are now living, yet several of their descendants are citizens of the county. The coming of t is pioneer to the State, was really the introduction, and cause of the settle- ment of the pioneer Gillham families, and to give a history of each would require a large volume. In 1824, it is said that this numerous family could poll over five hundred votes. Wilson W. Gillham, who resides in section twelve, is one of the descendants of this stock. Samuel P. Gillham, a son of John the pioneer, died a few years ago, leaving much valuable data of the history of early times. His death was regretted by a large circle of friends. In the Pioneer chap- ter will be found a more detailed account of these sturdy fathers.

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History of Madison County, Illinois With biographical sketches, Part 111

Author: Brink, W.R. & Co Publication date: 1882 Publisher: Edwardsville, Ill. : W. R. Brink & co. Number of Pages: 698

Author: Brink, W.R. & Co
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Edwardsville, Ill. : W. R. Brink & co.
Number of Pages: 698