History of McDonough County, Illinois, together with sketches of the towns, villages and townships, educational, civil, military and political history; portraits of prominent individuals, and biographies of the representative citizens, Part 64

Author:
Publication date: 1885
Publisher: Springfield, Ill. : Continental Historical Co.
Number of Pages: 1150

USA > Illinois > McDonough County > History of McDonough County, Illinois, together with sketches of the towns, villages and townships, educational, civil, military and political history; portraits of prominent individuals, and biographies of the representative citizens > Part 64

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Valentine Wilson, a Methodist divine, preached the first sermon in the town- ship, in the spring of 1832, at the house of James Fulkerson.

The first school was taught by James Fulkerson, at his own residence, in the spring of 1832. Those attending the school were the children of Mr. Fulker- son, and Elizabeth J. Tyrrell, Matilda

Brooks, Roisten Johnson and Julia John- son.

The first postoffice at Hill's Grove was established in 1839, with Isaac Holton as postmaster.

Rutherford McClure laid the first tile for drainage purposes, in the county, in 1872. He purchased the tile of Abram Horrocks, who had established a small factory at Colchester about that time. Mr. Horrocks is now operating the large tile establishment in Bardolph. Mr. Mc- Clure paid fifty dollars a 1,000 for four inch tiling, which was the largest size then manufactured. His neighbors con- tended that he was wasting time and money, but experience proves the con- trary.

Probably the first death which occur- red in the township, was a widow lady named Taise, who resided on section 5. Her death occurred in July, 1834, and there being no burying ground at that time, the remains were interred in the timber on the northwest quarter of sec- tion 4. The coffin was made of dressed walnut, by a cabinet maker named Du- rand. There is no, gravestone or mark of any kind at present to designate the place where she slumbers.

ORGANIZATION.

In pursuance of a vote taken upon township organization, at the general election of November, 1856, the com- mittee appointed by the county judge to divide the county into townships, re- ported in due time, and from that report it was learned that the territory com- prising this township was called Ten- nessee. Tennessee was organized as a full congressional township and so re-

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HISTORY OF MCDONOUGH COUNTY.

mained until the spring election of 1880, when Colchester township was created, taking from Tennessee sections 1, 12, 13, 24, 25 and 36, and the east half of sections 2, 11, 14, 23, 26 and 35. The first town- ship election was held April 7, 1857, at which time the following officers were elected: S. A. Knott, justice; D. W. Campbell and Samuel Gibson, consta- bles. The present officers of the town- ship are as follows: Supervisor, Wm. Cook: clerk, Douglas Glasgow: assessor, William Cowan; collector, Frank Hunt; highway commissioner, Joseph Morgan; justices-of-the-peace, H. L. Rapelje and Samuel Russell; constables, J. Sweeney and Charles Cook; school trustees, Jas. Eaton two years, and W. A. Hutchinson, three years.

TOWN OF TENNESSEE.

In March, 1854,.section 22 of Tennes- see township, was selected by L. C. Ba- con, T. K. Waddill and S. Cockerham as a site upon which to establish the pres- ent thriving little village of Tennessee. Work along the line of the C. B. & Q., railroad had already commenced, which, from the survey, passed through the above named section, and was undoubt- edly the reason these above named gen- tlemem attempted the establishment of this place. No better location could have then been chosen than the beau- tiful prairie about one mile south of Crooked creek. During the month of March, a large number of lots, 50 feet front and 110 feet deep, were laid out on either side of the proposed line of road, the two main streets running parallel with the railroad. For about four years there were rapid strides toward a town

of considerable importance, and soon became quite a business point, but since 1858 the progress has been impeded and slow. Although the class of buildings has been improved and the stores en- larged, the number of inhabitants at present is scarcely more than several years ago. The place was incorporated as a town June 7, 1865, and as a village November 25, 1872. While there may be nothing really remarkable in the de- velopments of the past, or anything par- ticular striking in the present, still there is much which cannot fail to be of interest to those who have been closely connected and identified with the town in all the various changes which have occurred from year to year.

THE BEGINNING.

The first building on the site of the present town of Tennessee, was a house erected from clap-boards, by Abraham Cherry, in the fall of 1854. It was loca- ted two or three rods northeast of where the pottery now stands, and has since been removed. In the spring of 1860, Mr. Cherry removed to Colchester, and about the year 1876, emigrated to Ne- braska. He was from Ohio and had a family.

Mr. Jarvis put up the second house, which was a frame structure. The pine for the building was purchased at Dal- las, Hancock county, while the remain- der of the material was purchased in this county. While the house was in course of erection, William Cook and John Rhea commenced the construction of homes, assisting each other in turn. Mr. Jarvis entirely completed his house first, but these other two gentlemen occupied their

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HISTORY OF MCDONOUGH COUNTY.

houses before Mr. Jarvis was ready to have his family enter his new home.

The first store operated in Tennessee was by B. M. Beach, from Hill's Grove. He commenced business in the latter part of the year 1854, in a building erected by Allen Averill, on the present site of Ellis' restaurant. He kept a small stock of dry goods, groceries, boots and shoes, etc., and continued in business about a year, when he disposed of the same to William Lattimer, who run the business several years. This latter named gentleman went to Kansas City, Missouri, in 1865, and later to Abingdon, Illinois, where he afterward died. Eaton and Jarvis also operated this business about four years,. buying the same of Lattimer.

Milton Johnson, from St. Mary's, Illinois, came to the town of Tennessee in company with his family, in the early part of 1855. He put a general stock of goods into a building where Houck's blacksmith shop now stands, and continued in business until 1861, when he closed it out entirely and re- moved to Missouri.

A Quincy firm came shortly after Johnson, and put in a stock of dry goods and clothing. After a short time one of the partners died and the other then re- turned to Quincy.

The firm of Tolon, Sidwell & Com- pany established business in Tennessee in the early part of 1855. This firm ran about five years, when J. S. Douglass, the company of the firm, purchased the interest of his partners.

The first physician to cast his lot among the inhabitants of the village of

Tennessee, was Dr. W. R. Pittman, who is still engaged in practice here.

The undertaking business was first represented in Tennessee by William McKenzie, in 1860, who still continues to operate the same.

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT.

B. F. Thompson embarked in general merchandise in' 1865, in a building on the opposite side of the street from his present location. At that time there was no other business of this kind in Tennessee, except a small store opera- ted by the Owen Brothers, which has since assumed larger proportions. In 1877, Mr. Thompson removed to his present location, where he has since con- tinued business. The building now used by him is 28x100 feet in ground area, two stories high, the upper floor being occupied by the Masonic society. He handles dry goods, clothing, boots, shoes, groceries, queensware, etc.

In April, 1865, Ambers G. Owen, in in connection with his brother Asak, commenced business in Tennessee, with a stock of groceries. At that time they also handled drugs in connection with the grocery stock. Their place of busi- ness was in a building on the present site of B. F. Thompson's store. They continued in this line about two years, when they erected a large building and put in a general stock. which they ope- rated until September, 1882, when they sold out to Waddill & Co. Asak Owen removed to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, and established a paper called the News. Ambers G., joined his brother at that place in March, 1883, and engaged in the grocery business until December, of

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HISTORY OF MCDONOUGH COUNTY.

the same year, when he returned to

. Tennessee, and at present operates the only exclusive grocery store in the place. The building, including the ware room, is 20x100 feet in dimension. 1

· Ambers G. Owen is a native of Cham- paign county, Ohio, and was born Sep- tember 26, 1824, his parents being Asal and Elizabeth (Grafton) Owen. Asal Owen was a native of Kentucky, and a relative of old Simon Kenton, while his wife was a native of Virginia. When Ambers was a mere boy, his parents removed to Indiana, where he learned the tailors' trade. When he was 15 years of age, the family removed to St. Louis county, Missouri, and some months afterwards to Greenville, Bond county. In 1840 they came to this county, and located just below Hill's Grove, on the farm now owned by George Barker. They remained there during that winter, and then removed to the vicinity of Graves' mill, near the present site of Colmar. Ambers G. Owen was married in December, 1848, to Elizabeth I. Tyr- rell, a daughter of Roswell Tyrrell, an old settler of the county. She died in May, 1881. By that marriage there were 10 children, four of whom are now living: Ambrose E., Lawrence S., Nel- lie L. and Frank. He was married again December 27, 1882, to Mary Grimes, of Knoxville, Knox county. He is a mem- ber of the Masonic lodge and of the chapter at Macomb, and was a charter member of the Tennessee lodge, and has filled all the offices except master.

Ambrose E. Owen is a native of Ten- nessee township, and was born at Hill's Grove on the 8th day of September, 1858, his parents being Ambers G. and

Elizabeth J. (Tyrrell) Owen. Ambrose E. was reared and received his education in McDonough county. On the 4th day of January, 1880, he was united in mar- riage with Elizabeth White, a daughter of Stephen White, one of the early set- tlers of McDonough county. One child has blessed their union-Daisy Florence. Mr. Owen is one of the live business men of Tennessee, and richly deserves the success he is meeting with.

The general merchandise business has a representative in the person of James Eaton, who entered into the dry goods and grocery trade with James Jarvis, in 1858, under the firm name of Eaton & Company. The building which they oc -. cupied at that time was situated on the present site of Glasgow's hardware es- tablishment. The firm continued busi- ness under this management until the latter part of 1859, when they disposed of the same to William Lattimer. A year afterward Mr. Eaton again resumed business with William Clayton, in the sale of drugs and groceries, which they continued until 1865, when they sold the same to Owen & Brother. He imme- diately set to work at the erection of another store building, which consumed about six months, when he engaged in the sale of dry goods and groceries, in company with John J. Lower, doing business under the firm name of Lower & Eaton. That partnership continued about two years, when Mr. Lower retired, since which time Mr. Eaton has con- ducted the business. The store build- ing at present is 18x100 feet in ground area, and two stories in heighth for 64 feet of its length. He is also interes- ted in the mining of coal.

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HISTORY OF MCDONOUGH COUNTY.

Ambrose T. Salisbury is engaged in the retail of drugs, boots and shoes, gents' furnishing goods, etc. He en- tered into this business September 1, 1882, with J. T. Waddill, the firm name and style being Waddill & Company. March 17, 1884, Mr. Waddill retired from the firm, since which time Mr. Salisbury has conducted the business as sole proprietor. He occupies the west half of the building occupied by A. G. Owen, grocer.

William D. Ellis operates a restaurant and carries a stock of fancy groceries, which he established in 1876. Previous to this, Mr. Ellis was engaged in black- smithing, commencing the same in 1865. At the time he embarked in the restau- rant and grocery business he was located south of the depot, but in 1882 he sold that property and erected his present store room, which is 16x30 feet in size. William D. Ellis was born in Floyd county, Indiana, on the 2d day of July, 1819, his parents being Joseph and Cath- erine Ellis. He was reared and educated in his native state, and removed to Schuy- ler county, Illinois, in 1848. Imbued with patriotism, he enlisted in company I, 16th Illinois infantry, on the 1st day of February, 1862. He was in the 16th army corps, and served under General Rosecrans. He was taken prisoner at Holly Springs, Mississippi, and was afterwards sent to St. Louis, Missouri, where he received an honorable dis- charge. He then returned to Schuyler county, Illinois, where he remained until 1864, when, with his family, he came to McDonough county and settled in Ten- nessee village, where he still resides, and is held in high estimation by all

with whom he comes in contact. On the 10th of December, 1836, he was married to Lucinda Barnaby, a native of Indiana. This union has been blessed by 11 chil- dren, five of whom are living-Nancy Van Winkle, George W., Sarah Jen -. nings, John W. and Emma Dull.

Douglas Glasgow embarked in the hardware business March 1, 1880, having purchased the building of B. F. Thomp- son, situated on the opposite side of the street from the latter gentleman's pres- ent store. The building is a frame struc- ture, 20x50 feet in dimensions, and is two stories high. He handles light and heavy hardware, tinware, agricultural implements, etc. At present Mr. Glas- gow is the only dealer in hardware in Tennessee. Douglas Glasgow was born in Covington, Kentucky, March 1, 1836, his parents being Adam and Mary Ann (Stevenson) Glasgow, who were of Scotch-Irish descent. When he was six years of age his parents removed to the vicinity of Mt. Sterling. Illinois, where his father lived until his death, in De- cember, 1870. When 19 years of age he went to Ripley and learned the potter's trade. In the spring of 1865 he enlisted in the 14th Illinois infantry, and served in the 17th army corps, being with Sher- man at the time of Johnston's surrender. He was mustered out at Fort Leaven- worth, Kansas, in December, 1865. He then returned to Ripley, and worked at his trade from the fall of 1866 till the spring of 1868, when he came to Ten- nessee. He worked at the potter's trade till 1873, when he engaged at clerking with B. F. Thompson, with whom he re- mained until engaging in business for himself. He was married June 19, 1871,

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HISTORY OF MCDONOUGH COUNTY.

to Maggie Walker, a native of this county. Her father, Andrew Walker, was one of McDonough's old settlers. Mr. and Mrs. Glasgow are the parents of three chil- dren-Robert, Grace, and an infant. They had the misfortune to lose two children-Winfred, who died in 1874, aged one and one-half years; Arthur, who died in 1882, aged six years. Mr. Glasgow is a member of the Masonic lodge, and has held the office of junior warden. He was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic when the post was in existence in Tennessee.

In 1860 the undertaking business was established by William McKenzie. His warerooms for storage are in the rear of the post office building. Since the estab- lishment of this business, Mr. Mckenzie has continued the same ever since, with . the exception of a few years he served in the war. He was the first and only undertaker ever in Tennessee.

In 1872 B. F. Thompson engaged in the grain business, since which time it has been steadily on the increase. Pre- vious to that time there had been no one extensively engaged in the grain trade in Tennessee for some years. Mr. Thompson has bins with a storage ca- pacity of 10,000 bushels, but ships mostly as he purchases, direct, to Peoria and Quincy. During the year 1884 his business amounted to some 50,000 or 60,000 bushels of grain, principally wheat and oats.

The blacksmith business is repre- sented by M. D. Martin. His place of business is located a short distance in the rear of B. F. Thompson's store, the building being about 14x22 feet in di- mensions. It was formerly used as a

room for grinding feed by the old Bab- cock mill, and was removed to its pres- ent location in 1880, by G. P. Martin the father of the present owner. At the time of the removal of the building, G. P. Martin's son-in-law, J. J. Eighmey, took charge of the shop and conducted the same until the summer of 1882, with the exception of a short time which he spent in Kansas. At the time mentioned Mr. Eighmey removed to Colchester and established a shop, since which time the business at Tennessee has been carried on by M. D. Martin.

HOTELS.

L. Underhill kept the first hotel at Tennessee. 4 The building was moved from the neighborhood of the old Mc- Donough saw mill, three miles west, in January, 1857, by Leo and John Mc- Donough, who sold it to the above named gentleman. Mr. Underhill conducted the house about six months, when he sold it to John Lowderman, after which which it wa's no longer used as a hotel. At present the building is owned by the widow Bolles and is used as a tenement house.

After L. Underhill disposed of the hotel at Tennessee to John Lowderman, that place was without a hotel for about a year, at which time Edmund N. Dris- coll erected the Liberty House. It was afterward owned by H. C. Potts, Thos. Cyrus, John Lowderman and D. B. Waddill. Mrs. Margaret Dull is the present owner and occupant of the house.

POSTOFFICE.

The postoffice was established in 1856, with Dr. I. N. Knott as first postmaster.

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HISTORY OF MCDONOUGH COUNTY.

The office was kept in the building be- longing to the doctor, who operated a store and also practiced medicine. The building, which was a two story, frame structure, is now owned by Patrick McCune, who uses it as a residence. It is located across the railroad track and a little east of the present postoffice building. Mr. Knott held the office un- 1861, when he was succeeded by Elwood Sidwell, who held the same until 1868. Mr. Sidwell removed the office to a build- ing owned and occupied by himself, which is about the center of the town east and west, but has since been torn down and rebuilt and is now the prop- erty of Michael Doran. In 1868, A. K. Owen was commissioned, who conducted it in the building occupied by him, just east of the hardware store, until 1872. H. L. Rapelje was the next postmaster, and was succeeded in 1874 by John At- kinson. This gentleman conducted the same but a few weeks, when the present incumbent, William McKenzie, was com- missioned. The postoffice at present oc- cupies the same building as when kept by A. K. Owen, which has since been removed to a point further east, and is used also by this gentleman as an under- taking establishment.

INDUSTRIAL INTERESTS.

James Eaton has been engaged in mining, and the shipment of coal for the past seven years. The drift is situated about two miles north of the village of Tennessee, from which is extracted from $2,500 to $3,000 worth of coal annually. Mr. Eaton employs about five men gen- erally, but has had in his employ as many as 20 men for that work.

Abraham Newland commenced to sink a shaft for coal in June, 1883, which is located about half a mile east of the vil- lage, and was opened for business in August, 1883. The shaft is 80 feet deep, but work is being carried on at a level of 33 below the surface, where there is a seam 27 inches thick. He has 162 acres of land, on which the shaft is located, two acres of which is within the incor- porate limits of Tennessee. During the year of 1884, Mr. Newland shipped nearly 300 cars of coal from the shaft. He usually employs about 40 men in the work, and has a steam hoisting appar- atus, with an engine of 15 horse power. Eli Hillard is pit overseer.

In going down eighty feet, for a new seam of coal, four fine veins of clay were discovered. The first is a fire clay, six feet in thickness; the second is also a fire clay five and one-half feet thick, while the third is of like nature, nine feet thick. The fourth vein is a beauti- ful, white, potter's clay, 10 feet thick. Mr. Newland intends to utilize the shale for the manufacture of red pressed brick, the seam from which it is taken being 15 feet in thickness. On making these discoveries, he determined to establish a tile and brick factory, and also expects to establish a pottery in the near future. The tile factory is 32x100 feet in dimen- sions. The lower floor is all one room, while the upper floor is divided into two apartments, and heated by steam. The rooms are arranged by a system of shelv- ing, whereby five layers can be stowed for drying, instead of two, as is usually the case; so that by this labor-saving process, as much tile can be put in these rooms to dry as in five rooms of the

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HISTORY OF MCDONOUGH COUNTY.

same size by the old method. The capacity of the factory is 20,000 tile per week. The machinery is propelled by a Centennial Tiffany 40 horse power en- gine.

Abraham Newland, Jr., is a native of Evenwood, county Durham, England, having been born on the 3d of February, 1838. Oliver Cromwell had a signal corps right in front of the house in which he was born. Abraham's parents were Abraham and Sarah (Porter) New- land, who now live in Colchester. They are both natives of England, and the family are distant relatives of Abraham Newland, who was cashier of the Bank of England. Abraham's (the subject's) grandfather on his father's side, lived to be 108 years of age. Abraham New- land, Sr., came to this country in 1853, accompanied by his daughter, and located in LaSalle county, Illinois, and two years later.sent for his family. Abra- ham, Jr., is a self-educated man, and by attendance at night school and close ap- plication to his books, he has acquired a good education. He came to Colchester in the winter of 1856-7, when the coal mines were being opened up. He was connected with the mines there until 1862, at which time, becoming imbued with patriotism, he enlisted in company I, 124th Illinois infantry, under Col. J. H. Howe. At the time of his enlist- ment, the members of the company desired him to accept the office of lieu- tenant, but he refused. Captain Brink appointed him 4th sergeant, but at the request of the men, he was made orderly sergeant. His company was in Logan's division, the 17th army corps, and was under Gen. Grant till the fall of Vicks-

burg. At the battle of Raymond, Mis- sissippi, while an orderly sergeant, he commanded the company, there being no commissioned officer present, and for bravery displayed, he was commended by his colonel and promised promotion. A few days after this battle, he was wounded at Champion Hills, being shot through the jaw. It was reported that he was killed, which fortunately proved to be untrue. After a number of weeks of suffering, he was again restored to active duty, his wound in the meantime having healed. One of the lieutenants of his company resigning, an application was made to have him commissioned to fill the vacancy, but before the matter was completed, Captain Brink resigned and he was duly commissioned as cap- tain and the command of the company given him. This position he retained up to the close of the war, and was highly respected and honored by his men and his brother officers. Among the most important engagements in which he participated, were the follow- ing: Port Gibson, Raymond, Jackson, Champion Hill, siege of Vicksburg and all fights during Meridian campaign. He was then transferred to the 16th army corps, and took part in the siege of Vicksburg, and the engagements at Spanish Fort, Fort Blakely, and the capture of Mobile. He was engaged in 22 battles and skirmishes and two sieges. On the 15th day of August, 1865, the regiment was discharged, and Captain Newland returned to Colchester, Mc- Donough county, with the full conscious- ness of duty well performed. Within two weeks after his return home, he was engaged in the general merchandise

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HISTORY OF MCDONOUGH COUNTY. .

business, which he conducted until the fall of 1882, in the meantime having ac- cumulated a fair share of this world's goods. He resumed the same business in 1884, and is still conducting it. In April, 1879, he leased a coal mine in Colchester, and continued running the same until April 1, 1884. He is now conducting the tile works, pottery and coal mine, east of Tennessee. The cap- tain own 162 acres of land, which he farms. He was married in Colchester, March 3, 1859, to Mary Jane Musson, who died June 15, 1871, leaving two chil- dren-Sarah Florence and Thomas E. The captain was married again, June 18, 1872, to Annie Musson. Six children have been born to them -- Mary O., Geo. A., Abraham R., Gilbert, Haven and Henry Woolesley. Mr. Newland is a member of the Grand Army of the Re- public, and of the Mutual Aid Society, of Quincy.

The Tennessee stoneware and tile works were erected in 1881, by Stoffer & Son, who conducted the business until October, 1883, when E. P. Munson pur- chased an interest in the concern, and the firm name was then changed to Stof- fer & Company. In March, 1884, Mr. Munson purchased the interest of the Stoffers, since which time he has oper- ated the institution alone. The work- shop is about 20x60 feet in dimensions, with an L 40x40 feet, all of which is two stories high. Two 14 foot kilns are operated, which have a capacity of about 4,500 gallons each. They manufacture about two kilns per week, and when run- ning at their full capacity, the works give employment to 12 or 14 men. In addition to the building already men-

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History of McDonough County, Illinois, together with sketches of the towns, villages and townships, educational, civil, military and political history; portraits of prominent individuals, and biographies of the representative citizens, Part 64

Author: Publication date: 1885 Publisher: Springfield, Ill. : Continental Historical Co. Number of Pages: 1150

Author:
Publication date: 1885
Publisher: Springfield, Ill. : Continental Historical Co.
Number of Pages: 1150