History of Madison County, Illinois With biographical sketches, Part 29

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 29

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CHAPTER IX.

CIVIL HISTORY.

- TERRITORIAL TIMES, 1812 TO 1819. BY B. E. HOFFM.INN.

HE organization of Madison county was by no means the work of its inhabitants. The republic of the United States of America had not yet become a govern- ment of the people, by the people, and for the people, as Abraham, Lincoln happily called it in his famous speech, delivered on the battle field of Gettys- burg. In the days in which the history of Madison county began, it was thought safer to have the men in power think for the masses than to have them act on their own thoughts. The republican form of government was still new and on trial. lflinois had on February 3d, 1809, by act of Congress become one of the territories of the United States. Ninian Edwards, at the time Chief Justice of the Court of Appeals of Kentucky, was appointed governor of the newly organized territory on the 24th day of April, 1809. The governor, and territorial judges constituted the legislative body, and on the 16th of June, 1809, re-enacted such of the laws of Indiana territory, with which the people, who for nine years had formed a part thereof, were familiar, and as were suitable and applicable to Illinois. Many of their laws were those, which, without even change of phraseology, had either been originally im- ported or enacted by the authorities of the old Northwestern Territory. Some of these laws will be specially mentioned hereafter.

The population of the territory at the time of its organi- zation was estimated at 9,000. The frontiers had been

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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, ILLINOIS.

steadily advanced by adventurous pioneers, who had esta- blished permanent settlements in the north in the " Wood- river " region, as early as 1804. The settlements, however, were very sparse and feeble, and remained so until after the war of 1812, as immigration had been at a perfect stand still for a period of five years, to wit: from 1810 to 1815.

Governor Edwards organized the counties of St. Clair and Randolph by his proclamation April 28th, 1809. A county of St. Clair had heretofore existed, as organized by proelamation of Arthur St. Clair, "governor or commander- in-chief of the territory of the United States, northwest of the river Ohio, on the 27th of April, 1790" The boun- daries of this St. Clair county were more modest than those of the new county of St. Clair, as they extended only to the confluence of Michilliakinack and Illinoise rivers in the north, while the new county of St Clair embraced all the territory north to the south boundary line of Canada.

The third county of Illinois, in chronological order of organization was Madison, named so by Governor Edwards in honor of his friend, the President of the United States.

As said above, the people living in the county had no voice in organizing it, its political existence was called forth by

A PROCLAMATION.

" By virtue of the power vested in the governor of the Territory, I do hereby lay off a county or distriet, to be called the county of Madison, to be ineluded within the following bounds, viz .: To begin on the Mississippi, to run with the second township line above Cahokia East until it strikes the dividing line between the Illinois and the In- diana territories, thence with said dividing line to the line of Upper Canada, thence with said line to the Mississippi, and thenee down the Mississippi to the beginning.

"I do appoint the house of Thomas Kirkpatrick to be the seat of Justice of said county."

" Done at Kaskaskia, the 14th day of September, 1812, and of the Independence of the United States the thirty- seventh. NINIAN EDWARDS.

[SEAL.] NATHANIEL POPE, Secretary."

Thus the county of Madison was ushered into existence. It extended from the Wabash river on the East to the Mis- si-sippi on the West, from its present boundary in the South to the howling wilderne-s in the North. It would appear, however, that the governor was not accurately informed and advised as to the political geography of the land, for the actual northeru boundary of Illinois never extended to Canada. The territory of Michigan, was organized in 1805, and it embraced also the present states of Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota, thus eutting Illinois off from the southern boundary line of " Upper Canada."

The first territorial legislature of Illinois, composed of five senators and seven members of the house was convened at Kaskaskia on the 25th of November, 1812. An election had been held, in Madison county soon after its organization, for the purpose of electing a senator and rep- resentative. All researches to find the original poll books

of this election have been in vain. These books, together with countless other papers have been destroyed, or sold for waste paper ! ! It is therefore impossible to introduce here the names of the voters at this first election of the county, all the chronicler can do is to relate who were elected. Samuel Judy (see pioneers), had been elected senator, and William Jones represenative. The latter is also spoken of in the chapter on pioneers and early settlers. He held various county offices, as hereinafter mentioned. In later years Jones seems to have been an influential member of the third house. The writer was showu a letter written by Jones at Vandalia, December 23d, 1823, directed to Doetor Erastus Brown, at Alton, and mailed at Elwardsville on the 25th of December ; the letter, still in existence and in possession of Mrs. Willard Flagg of Fort Russell, is worded as follows :

" DEAR SIR :-

" As we had the fortune to get a law passed to build a peniten- tiary at or near Alton, I have thought it a lvisable, if it should meet your approbation. for you to draw up a petition, and get the people to sign it for a small county, beginning at the month of Wood river, thence up said river to Captain Little's, thence a northeasterly course to the middle of the Prairie, between the timber of Wood river and Indian Creek, thence up said Prairie to encompass the timber of the East Fork of said Wood river, one mile or two North in the Prairie thence taking in all Wood river and the Piasa timber to some point on the Illinois or Mississippi river, as you and the people may think most advisable, not to encroach on Green county too far, lest their members here should not approve of it. If you think proper please be in haste, likely the assembly will rise not far from the 20th of January. It is in the power of the legislature to pass a law to that effect, al- though the requirements of the law should not be fulfilled on that occasion.

" With sentiments of respect, I remain yours, etc.

WILLIAM JONES."

Mr. Jones was at that time not a member of the senate nor of the house, and as he started out with the personal pronoun of the first person in the pleural number, we, i.e., the outsiders, jobbers, etc., it may be safe to put him down as a member of the third house, the coneluding sentence of this letter-although the requirements of the law should not be fulfilled on that occasion, is more foreible than moral. But to return to the subject matter. The legisla- ture of 1812 passed an aet to fix the place of holding courts iu the several counties dated December 25th, 1812, of which the parts relating to Madison county are as follows :

" That the place of holdingcourts in Madison county shall be at the house of Thomas Kirkpatrick until the judge of the court of Common Pleas shall provide proper accommo- dations at the place to be fixed on by the commissioners.

" To fix the permanent seat of justice of Madison county, Paul Beek, Dr. Cadwell, Alexander Waddle, George Moore, James Renfro, John Kirkpatrick, and Ephraim Wood, are appointed commissioners to meet on the first Monday in February, 1813,-they shall proceed to designate a conve- nient place for fixing a county seat for the ereetion or pro- curement of convenient buildings for the use of the county, taking into view the situation of the settlements, the geo- graphy of the country, the convenience of the people, and the eligibility of the place, which place so fixed on, the

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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, ILLINOIS.

commissioners shall certify under their hands and seals to the next court of Common Pleas, which said court shall cause an entry thereof to be made on their records, and it shall be the duty of the court of Common Pleas as early as practicable, after the place so designated shall be fixed upon to cause suitable buildings to be pro- vided thereat, and to cause a purchase of such a quan- tity of land to be made for the use of the county, and to erect a court-house and jail, and to make such other im- provements thereon as they may deem expedient from time to time.

The commissioners named above must have failed to agree on a " permanent" seat of government, for they did not re- port to the Court of Common Pleas at their next meeting, as required by the act of the legislature. This first meeting was held at the house of Thomas Kirkpatrick on the 5th of April, 1813. Later, January 14th, 1814-the Court ordered the sheriff to notify the several commissioners appointed by Jaw to fix the place for the public buildings (court-house and jail), for Madison county to meet on the last Monday in January at Thomas Kirkpatrick's, to be qualified to euter on their duty as the law direets. The records do not con- tain an account of further proceedings, but as the building of a jail was contracted for with William Ottwell, it is to be presumed that the troubles in reference to selecting a per- manent seat of government had been overcome. The site selected remained the " seat of government " for a period of over forty years, and has recently become the property of the Edwardsville publie school district. Those forty years were by no means cujoyed in peace and quietude, for a fierce struggle to change the location took place among the citi- zens of Edwardsville in 1821, and was the cause of some of the best men, citizens of the town, leaving the same, never to return. The losses then and thus suffered, have been of dire consequence, and wounds inflicted have left sores which are still perceptible.

The United States Census of 1310 returned a total of 12, 282 inhabitants in the state, of whom 168 were slaves, and 613 colored people, free or apprenticed. Randolph county counted 7,275 and St Clair county 5,007, Madison county, or more properly speaking, that part of St. Clair, which became Madison county in 1812 may have contained probably one sixth of the population ; less than )000 in number. The chapter on pioneers contains a more detailed account, and points out the location of various settlements near the Mississippi, along Cahokia and its branches, on Wood river and its forks on lower Silver creek and also on Shoal creek. The pioneers, coming from woodland states, naturally squatted on lands well stocked with timber. The public lands of Illinois had not been surveyed at that early date and so they had not yet been brought into the market. A number of " claims," embracing about 10,000 acres of land, had been located in various parts of the county before the formation of the county. These " claims " were of four distinet species : Ist Those founded on ancient grants derived from the government of France. None of these were however confirmed in the limits of Madison county. 2d. Those founded on the grant of a donation of four hun-

dred acres to each of those who were heads of families in the county at or before the treaty with England in 1783 ; they were known iu this county under the name of Cahokia head- rights. The archives of St Clair county contain a census of Cahokia and vicinity taken by order of Governor St. Clair, and verified before William St. Clair, recorder, in 1790- This census taken to ascertain the number of families residing there in 1783 or prior, recites the names of ninety nine fam- ilies who were entitled to these head-rights. A few of these claims were located in this county, to wit: 400 acres in 'T. 3. R. 10 opposite Cabaret Island, granted to Alexis Buyatte and affirmed to Nicholas Jarrot: 400 in See. 32, T. 3-9 granted to Jacque Germain and affirmed to Jarrot ; and 100 acres in Section 35 and 36, T. 3-9 -- Monk's Mound granted to Jean Baptiste Gonville and affirmed to Jarrot ; 3d. Those founded and having actually improved and cultivated land in the country,-the so called Virginia improvement rights of 400 acres cach: 400 acres of those are found in this county to the heirs of James Biswell in Township 3-7 extend- ing iuto St. Clair county ; 400 acres in section 20, T. 4-8, on the bluffs in the Goshen settlement, granted to Alexander Dennis aud affirmed to William Boolin Whiteside, 21 sheritt of the county ; 1 40.) acres to the heirs of Samuel Worley, sec. tion 6 in T. 3-9, one of the oldest improvements in the county ; 400 acres to Nick Jarrot, assignee of Joseph Hanson, in Sec. 26, T. 3-9 ; 400 acres George H. Dougherty, sections 25 and 26 in T. 3-10; 400 acres to Nicholas Jarrot for Baptist Lionais, in Sec. 32 T. 5-9; this land has all been washed away by the river ; 400 acres to Isaac Darneille assignee of Isaac Levy, part only in this county-in Sections 34 and 35 T. 3 9; 400 acres to Jarrot assignee of Michael Pichette, Sec. 31 T. 3-9; and 400 acres to Isaac Wert, in Sec. 29 T. 3-8 ; this tract was surveyed in 1802; and 4th those having been enrolled on the 1st of August 1790 and done duty in the militia. Each enrolled militia man was entitled to 100 acres of land. There were many of these rights located in the county, although but few in the name of the original grantees, to wit: 100 acres to Jean Brugier-Nicholas Jarrot, located on the river, and now gone; 100 acres to James Haggin, assignee of M. Rene Bouvet in Sec. 22 and 23-T. 4-8; 100 acres each to Louis Biboux, Jacob Judy, Louis Laflamme and Francis Ritchie, assigned to Samuel Judy in Sections 32 and 33 in 4-8, one of the oldest, pro- bably the oldest improvement in the county. Judy planted an orchard there in 1801; the 1st brick-house built in the county was erceted there in 1808; it is still standing ; 100 acres to Isom Gillham, assignee of Louis Bison, in Sec. 5 T. 3-8; 100 acres to John Whiteside, assignee of George Biggs, in See. 17, T. 5.9. This was the site of the town of Milton. 100 acres to Niek Jarrot, assignee of Jean Beau- lieu, Sec. 7 in 4-8 ; 100 acres to John Rice Jones, assignee of Francois Campeau, 100 acres to Louis Harmond, 100 acres to Constant Longtemps. 100 acres to Dennis Levertue, 100 aeres to Philip Le Boeuf, 100 acres to Joseph Lemarch, 100 acres to Pierre Martin Jr., 100 acres to Jacque Mulot, 100 acres to Joseph Poirier and 100 acres to Jean Baptiste Rap- palais. These 1000 acres were located in Sections 1 and 12 of 3-10 embracing Chouteau and Cabaret Islands ; 10 ) acres

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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, ILLINOIS.

to John Briggs, assignee of Pierre Clement, Scc. 36 in 3-10; 400 acres to John Bloom, assignce of Frank Colline, Thos. Callahan, J. B. Derousse St. Pierre and Fr. Deneme in Sec- tions 31 and 32 T. 3-8. 200 acres to Uel Whiteside assignee of Elisha Harrington and John Whiteside in Sections 1 and 2 T. 3-8; 100 acres to Nicholas Jarrot, assignee of Charles Hebert, Section 8 and 9 in 4-9, now in the river ; 200 aeres to Nicholas Jarrot, assignee of Baptiste Lecompt and Barzle Lecompt, in Section 17 T. 4-9 ; 100 acres to Thomas Kirk- patrick, assignee of Louis Le Brun Jr., Section 23 in 4-8; 200 acres to Henry Cook, asssiguee of Francis Louval and William Young Whiteside, in Sections 4 and 5, 8 and 9 in T. 3-8 ; 100 acres to Thomas Kirkpatrick, assignee of Pierre Lejoy in Sections 2 and 3in 4-8 ; the north-western part of Edwardsville. The house of Thomas Kirkpatrick stood on this traet, and from here were the first official papers of the county sent forth, the Honorable Judges of the Court of Common Pleas of Madison county, John G. Lofton and Jacob Whiteside held their first session in said house on the 5th of April 1813. 200 acres to Benjamin Casterline, assignee of Levi Piggott and Louis Rhelle in Section 29, T. 3.8; 100 acres to Nich. Jarrot, assignee of Joseph St. Ives, Seetion 17 in 4-9 (now in the river ), 100 acres to David Waddle and 100 acres to Alexander Waddle, Sec- tions 31 and 32 in 4-9.

The reader will perceive that but a very few of these militia rights had remained in the possession of the original owners. These owners were principally Frenchmen, ever ready to sell their militia or family rights, provided they could obtain " l'argent " for the same.

The records of St. Clair county give an account of the carlier transactions of this kind. Joseph Chennie sold his militia right to Will. Arundel for $17.00 on the 7th of Jan- uary, 1796, first sale on record-and obtained the best price ; Joseph La Plat and Augustus Clermont sold theirs, a few days later, the one for $15.50, the other for $12.00, which latter was the lowest price paid for a militia right. The so called head-rights of 400 acres, do not show so much uniformity in price. Joseph Lambert was the first to sell, his 400 aeres to Philp Engel on the 5th of February 1793 for $120. Tom. Brady, in 1794, sold his to William Arun del for $45, and William St. Clair bought the head rights of Joseph Boisvenue and Mary Mooney, 800 acres for $40.00

The entering of lands in Madison county commenced in 1814, when the land had been surveyed up to the fifth township line. The south boundary line of the county. the township line between towns 2 and 3 were surveyed in 1807 and and 1808, by John Messenger. lle commenced his work in township 3-8. The township line between town 3 and 4 and 4 and 5 were surveyed in 1808 by J. Milton Moore and Messsenger. The subdivision lines were run several years later in 1813 and 1814; the township boundary line between towns, 5 and 6 were surveyed about the same time and the subdivision lines of the four tiers of townships were completed in 1818. Besides the surveyors mentioned above the records give the names of T. W. Thurston, Enoch Moore, J. S. Conway, William Rector, Charles Powell, H. Morley, E. Barcroft, George Frazer, G. Marshall, Joseph

Borough, Gilbert Marshall, Jacob Judy, D. A. Spaulding, Gershom Flagg and J. D. Bates, as surveyors, connected with the geographical subdivisions of the county.

The French hunters and traders who were undoubtedly the first white people to come to these regions, did not remain-at any rate their number was very small at the time of the political organization of the county. A hardier and more energetic class of people, coming from the older states, principally Virginia and Kentucky, had found their way to the modern " Goshen" and concluded to remain and develop the wonderful resources of this beautiful land. Pennsylvania too had sent a number of her industrious and frugal sons, and even a few Europeans of pluck and talent had made Madison county their home, before it was known under that name. Among the early inhabitants were also a small number of French monks, Trappists who had come to the United States in 1803, under the leadership of Dom Augustin Lestrange. They first located in Pennsylvania removed to Kentucky in 1805, and to Missouri, at Floris- sant near St. Louis in 1808. In 1809 they settled on a huge mound now named after them, and universally known as Monk's Mound their residence. They abandoned the Mound in 1813 and removed to Nova Scotia. Another factor of the population, more permanent and prolific, was the negro, free, as indentured servant, or as slave.

As seen above, the colored population of Illinois amounted to 781 individuals according to the census of 1810, and as the negro, or more properly the slavery question became a prominent one during the infaney of the state, we therefore introduce the subjeet here.

SLAVES AND INDENTURED BLACKS.

A number of readers may wonder at this eaption. Slavery in Illinois! Why, the very ordinance of Congress creating the Territory North West of the Ohio River decreed that neither slavery or involuntary servitude should exist in it. How then could that institution he established ? The faet is that the ordinance of July 13, 1787 found slavery in this and other parts of the vast territory, as will readily be seen from the following:

The first slaves may have been brought to Illinois by Antoine Crozat and his followers about the year 1713 or 1714.

King Louis XIV of France had, on the 14th of Sep- tember 1712, exactly one hundred years prior to the organiz- ation of Madison county, granted to said Crozat letters patent to the vast regions extending from Upper Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. Crozat arrived in 1713 and com- menced mining operations in the vain hope of finding precious metals. His followers were suffering with elimatie diseases, and therefore a number of blacks were imported from the French West India Islands. Crozat's exploits, however, failed entirely and he returned to France in 1717, surrendering his grants to the crown.

François Renault, manager of the affairs of a company of adventurers, sent out by the " company of the Indies," to whom the royal domain, refused by Crozat, had been granted in 1719, brought five hundred negro slaves to Illinois, land-

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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, ILLINOIS.

ing them a little above Kaskaskia in what is now Monroe county. The conditions of the grant were, that at least 6000 whites and 3000 blacks should be brought to the territory within 25 years from the date of the grant. By the condi- tions of the peace of Paris, February 10, 1763, the territory was ceded to England, and on taking possession of it in 1764, General Gage, commander in chief of the English troops in America and governor, issued a proclamation in the name of the crown of England, December 30, 1764, in which all the rights and privileges heretofore enjoyed by the then inhabitants of the ceded territories were guaranteed to them. Sieur Stirling, captain of the Highland regiment brought this proclamation to Cahokia in person. During the revolutionary war, Virginia sent out an expedition unde Col. Clark to take possession of this territory with result as stated heretofore. Virginia in her turn readily guaran- teed to the inhabitants of the conquered territories all their prior rights and titles to property of every description. The territory remained a province of Virginia until March 1, 1784, when it was ceded to the United States by a formal deed in which the rights and privileges of the inhabitaut were of course again guaranteed. Hence it was afterwards strenuously contended that the ordinance of 1787, prohibit- ing slavery conflicted with the deed of cession and was there- fore of no binding effect, as the system had legitimately existed in the territory prior to 1787.

It is not the province of the chronicler of a county sketch to follow this subject through its various stages at length. It took years of bitter strife, causing even the she dding of blood, before the last vestiges of the institution of slavery had been wiped out in the state. Suffice it to say, that the leader in the struggle, the man who conquered the hydra- headed monster in the state was an honored citizen of Madi- son county, Governor Edward Cole aided by Hooper Warren, editor of the Edwardsville Spectator, George Churchill, Captain Curtis Blakeman, members of the legislature aad others from this county, as well as by the prominent anti- slavery men of the state. It should here be stated that Gov. Cole as well as many of the leading anti-slavery men were born and raised in slaveholding states and had owned slaves themselves. They had studied the pernicious consequences of the system, and therefore fought it, all honor to them ! The fruits of their labors ripened in 1861. What might have been the result of our civil war if Illinois, and perhaps Indiana, too, had been members of the Southern Con- ederacy ?

The struggle to defy the stipulations of the famous ordi- nance of 1787 was scarcely perceptible before the beginning of this century. The feeble efforts made by several citizens of the territory to have Congress reconsider the anti-slavery proviso were ineffectual and eveu hurt and injured the very men who made them. The purchase of Louisiana in 1803 added a vast empire of slavery territory to the United States, the present state of Missouri with it, and it was not until the few and scattering settlers of this territory saw well-equipped emigrants from the southern states pass through Illinois bound for Missouri, where slavery was not prohibited, that the actual agitation for introducing or legal-

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History of Madison County, Illinois With biographical sketches, Part 29

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