USA > Illinois > Henderson County > History of Mercer County : together with biographical matter, statistics, etc., gathered from mattter furnished by the Mercer County Historical Society, interviews with old settlers, county, township and other records, and extracts from files of papers, pamphlets, and such other sources as have been available : containing also a short history of Henderson County > Part 33
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PERRYTON TOWNSIIIP.
Of the citizen soldiers now residents of Mercer county, whom the county claims as her own by birth and education, is J. B. FELTON. He was born in Millersburg township, in 1842, and is a son of David and Lucinda Felton. He has lived in Mercer county all his life except ten years. He received most of his education in the schools of Mercer county. In 1866 he was married to Charlotte A. Howe, daughter of L. B. Howe. She was born in 1847 in Mercer county. They have two children : Jenney F. and Clara E. He enlisted in the army in 1862, in Company G, 102d Ill. Vol., and served till June, 1865. He was in the battle at Resacca, where he was wounded. He was in the hospital at Nashville from May, 1863, till November, 1864. During the remainder of his term of service he was in numerous skirmishes. He has not yet recovered from his wound and draws a pension. He has a nicely improved farm of eighty acres.
ROBERT DOOL, a native of Ohio, was born in 1850, and is the son of Henry and Mary Dool, Ireland, who came to Ohio, where they remained for some time, when they came to Mercer county and located in Perryton township in 1853, where they resided till 1881, when they moved to Aledo to live a retired life and enjoy their declin- ing years. Both are members of the Presbyterian church. Robert was reared on the farm and educated in the district school. He was married in 1873 to Therssa Hayes, daughter of Henderson and Olive HIayes, both of Pennsylvania, but afterward of Ohio, settling in that state in 1848. His mother died in 1852. His father is now living and a resident of Belmont county, Ohio. Mr. Dool has two children : Gertrude B. and Henry C. H. His wife's parents were members of the Presbyterian church, as are he and wife, and hold their member- ship at Millersburg. He has a fine farm of 234 acres, well improved, and keeps a good class of farm stock, and feeds cattle for the market.
GEORGE WALTER, the subject of this sketch, was a native of Penn- sylvania and was born in 1812. He was a son of Henry and Elizabeth Walter, both of Northampton county, Pennsylvania, who emigrated to Columbia county, Pennsylvania, where they died. George was married in his native state in 1836, where he remained till he emi- grated to Illinois and located in Perryton township in 1859, where he died in 1872 on his farm, at the age of sixty-one. His widow now resides on the old place. She is a member of the Presbyterian church. They had ten children : Charles C., Henry J., David M., George D., Sarah E. (deceased), Mary E. (deceased), Martha R., William A., Hannah J., and Samuel W. (deceased). The homestead farm consists of a quarter section, which is undivided between the heirs. Henry J. was born in Montour county, Pennsylvania, in 1841,
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HISTORY OF MERCER AND HENDERSON COUNTIES.
and came to Illinois with his parents and now lives with his mother on the old homestead. He enlisted in the army in 1861 and served till November, 1862, when he was wounded at Brittin's Lane, and dis- charged from the service. He belonged to company C, 30th Ill. Vol. Inf. He was in the battles of Belmont (Missouri), Fort Henry, and Fort Donelson, the siege of Corinth and . Brittin's Lane. William A. was born in 1852 and resides on the old homestead with his mother. David M. enlisted in 1862 in company H, 84th Ill. Vol. Inf., and was transferred to the marine brigade, served three years, and now lives in Ringgold county, Iowa. George D. enlisted in company H, S4th Ill. Vol. Inf., and was transferred to the 21st Ill. Vol. Inf. He now lives in Burlington, Iowa.
WARNER CORNS, a native of Ohio, born 1821, is the son of Henry and Mary Corns, the former of Pennsylvania, the latter of Virginia. They emigrated to Ohio where they were married, and afterward came to Illinois in 1842, located in Rock Island county, where they remained one year. They came to Mercer county in 1843, and located where their son Warner now resides. The father died in 1880, aged eighty- three. The mother lives on the old homestead with her son Warner, and is now in her eighty-seventh year. Warner came to Illinois with his parents with whom he has always lived. He and his father together laid a claim on the farm where he now resides, and both improved the same. He enlisted in 1862 in company D, 33d Ill. Vol. Inf., and served three years. He was in the second battle of Fort Donelson and at Resacca. The remainder of his term of service the company was detailed to fight bush-whackers and guerillas. He was married in 1854 to Amelia Gingles, danghter of Robert and Catharine Gingles. They came to Mercer county in 1839 and located in Perry- ton township. The former died in 1875, at the age of seventy-six years ; the latter in 1880, aged seventy-nine years. Mr. Corns has four children : Mary C. (now the widow of James Huffman), Ellen M. and Thirza C. (twins). Ellen married Charles Fencedemancher and Thirza married Charles Snow, and Amanda is at home with her parents. Mr. C. has a farm of 120 acres and keeps a good grade of stock.
Among the prominent farmers and stock-raisers of Perryton town- ship is G. D. MILLER. He was born in 1824 and is a native of Kentucky, and son of William and Elizabeth Miller, of Kentucky. His father died in his native state in 1832, at the age of thirty-two years. In 1833 his mother emigrated to Crawford county, Ohio (now Wyandot county), where G. D. was reared on the farm, receiving such educational instruction as the pioneer schools could furnish. ITis
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PERRYTON TOWNSHIP.
mother died in 1870, at the age of sixty-five, on the old homestead in Ohio. Ilis great-grandparents on his father's side came to America from across the sea : one from Germany, the other from Ireland. Mr. Miller came and located in Perryton township in 1852 where he now resides. Previous to his locating here he herded and fed cattle in the neighborhood of De Witt county, this state, for several years. . In 1852 he returned to Ohio where he was married to Sophia Brady, born in 1827, and daughter of Samuel and Sarah Brady, the former of whom died in Ohio in 1842, at the age of fifty-six years, and the latter in . 1870, at the age of seventy years. Mr. Miller has ten children : Helen S., Minor D., Dow (deceased), Olive L., Calista, Sue, Emma, Iva M. (deceased), Clay, and Lonie. He has a fine stock farm of 700 acres located in the southeast quarter of Perryton township. He feeds and ships cattle and hogs. He raises shorthorns, draft horses, and the best grades of hogs and sheep. Ile is a member of the masonic lodge at Aledo.
Among the early settlers of Perryton township was Austin Wood, the father of our subject (W. A. Wood) and his family. Ile located in Perryton township as early as 1837, having come to Peoria county in 1836. W. A. Wood was born in 1820, in the state of New York. His parents, Austin and Louisa Wood, were natives of Connecticut. His father died in 1864, at the age of seventy-seven years ; his mother in 1874, aged seventy-three years. They were both members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and highly respected by those who knew them. W. A. was reared on the farm. His early education was received at the common school. He has pursued the business of his father all his life. He owns a fine stock farm of 290 acres, fairly improved and well stocked. He was married in 1843 to Harriet S. Smith, of New York, daughter of Jesse Smith, who came to Mercer county in 1840. Mr. Wood has eight children : Saphrona, Walter, Louis, Burdick, Emerson, Charles, Bell, and Lena. He and wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. He lives in the south half of Perryton township, four and a half miles southeast of Hamlet.
The veteran pioneer, WILLIAM DOAK, of Mercer county, was born in Columbia county, Pennsylvania, October 15, 1816, and was brought up on a farm. His education was received in the pioneer log cabin school- house, with its slab seats and desks. In the fall of 1837 he emigrated to Mercer county, Illinois, first settling in Greene township, where he remained till the fall of 1839, when he removed to Perryton, where he permanently located on section 27, and actively engaged in farming and stock-raising, following the business successfully till the spring of 1882, when he gave up active labor and removed to Aledo, with a view
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HISTORY OF MERCER AND HENDERSON COUNTIES.
of spending his declining years in quiet rest. He was married May 19, 1846, to Sarah P., daughter of Dr. M. Farwell. She is a native of New Hampshire, and came with her parents to Mercer county in 1842 and settled in Pre-emption township. They are the parents of three children : Nancy J., now Mrs. William McHard, William E., now a resident of Keithsburg township. and Alvah J., who now lives on the old homestead farm in Perryton township. For many of the incidents . related of the early settlement of Perryton township reference may be had to the Perryton township history. He and wife are pioneer mem- bers of the Presbyterian church as well as pioneer settlers. His son, Alvah A., was born in Perryton township in 1854. He was reared on the farm. His educational training was that of the district school and a few terms in the academy at Aledo. He was married in 1880 to Agnes Wallace. a native of Ohio. born in 1857, and a daughter of Joseph and Mary Wallace, both of Ohio, and came to Mercer county about 1860. A. J. Doak earries on the business of his father's farm. He and wife are members of the Presbyterian church.
T. GUFFY is a native of Pennsylvania. and was born in 1829. He is the son of Alexander and Catharine Guffy, both of Penn- sylvania. His father went to California in 1848, where he died in 1857. at the age of fifty-six years. His mother now lives in Pennsylvania and is in her seventy-ninth year. Both were members of the Lutheran church, but his mother is at the present a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Guffy was reared a mechanic, and came to Mercer county in 1855, where he engaged in farming, in which pursuit he is still occupied. He was married in 1857 to Margaret Gingles, daughter of James and Elizabeth Gingles. Mr. Guffy has by this marriage one child. Harriet C., who was married in 1SS1 to John C. Lanon, a native of Pennsylvania, and son of Daniel and Sarah Lanon. He came to Mercer county from Michigan. Mr. Guffy has a well-improved farm of sixty acres. His son-in-law lives with him and carries on the farm. He and wife are members of the Presbyterian church.
The MeHard family located in Perryton township in 1839. At that time there were but few settlers in this part of the country. Where William MeHard located at the above-named date is now the finest part of Perryton township. In 1839 the surrounding country was a wild wilderness, over which the deer and wolves gamboled : the coo of the prairie chicken and the quack of the wild duck made the music in the balmy spring morning air. Among the names of the pioneers of Perryton township belongs the name of WILLIAM MOHLARD. He was a native of Pennsylvania, born in 1810, son of Joseph and
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Sarah (Adams) MeHard, the former of Ireland, the latter of Scotland, both of whom died in Pennsylvania. William was brought up a wagonmaker. Ile was married in his native state in 1832, and came to Illinois seven years later, and located in Perryton township, where he engaged in farming, which pursuit he followed till his death, which occurred in 1870, at the age of sixty-three years. His wife died in 1867, at the age of fifty-six years. They were both persons of high moral integrity and members of the Presbyterian church. His son, William McHard, Jr., was born in 1842, and reared on the farm, receiving such educational instruction as the schools of his neighbor- hood could give. He was married in 1873 to Miss Nancy J. Doak, a native of Perryton township, born in 1845, and a daughter of William and Sarah P. Doak. By this marriage he has two children : Mary E., and Sarah. He has a fine stock farm of 330 acres, located in the south half of the township, a part of which belonged to the old homestead of his father. He keeps a good grade of stock, and makes a specialty of feeding cattle. He and wife are members of the Presbyterian church. Samuel McHard, son of William McHard, was born in 1833, is a native of Pennsylvania, and came to Perryton township with his father when six years old. He was reared on the farm and inured to all the privations of pioneer life. In 1862 he enlisted in the army, in com- pany G, 102d Ill. Vol., served two years and nine months, one year of which time he held the office of corporal. He was in the following engagements : Resacca, Burnt Hickory, Marietta, Peach Tree creek, Atlanta, Savannah, and Raleigh, and numerous skirmishes. He was married in 1866 to Mary Richmond, native of Ohio, and daughter of Joseph and Susan Richmond. They came to Mercer county in 1853, and were members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Samuel McHard has by this marriage six children : Franklin R., Susan L., Gertrude and Grace (twins), May, and William S. He and wife are members of the Perryton Presbyterian church. He has a farm of 200 acres. well improved and well stocked. He resides on the old home- stead where his father settled in 1839.
EDUCATION.
CONTRIBUTED BY MISS AMANDA FRAZIER.
The subject of education is so interwoven with the growth and progress of all enlightened communities that a full history of any people at the present day would be incomplete which omitted some mention of their public schools and other institutions of learning. It is a matter of regret that many of the records of the carlier schools of Mercer county have been lost by the carelessness or recklessness of a
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IHISTORY OF MERCER AND HENDERSON COUNTIES.
former county superintendent, as we are thus compelled to depend upon tradition, or the memories of the older settlers, for material from which to compile a sketch of our first school teachers and school- houses.
The original settlers of Mercer county were men of sterling worth, intelligent and enterprising, and when planting their homes on these wild prairies more than fifty years ago were not unmindful of the needs of their children ; and we find that as soon as three or four cabins were erected in any given locality, some provision was at once made to fur- nish the young people with some sort of school privileges. Sometimes it was a small log cabin which furnished teacher and scholar shelter, and sometimes a small room or addition to one of the prairie cabins was all the room obtainable for school purposes.
It is no disparagement to the people of those early days to say that in some instances the teachers were of an order quite in keeping with the school-room, cheap and unsatisfactory. There were no profes- sional teachers among the early pioneers ; but now and then a young settler, or the older son in some family, would undertake for small pay to "keep" school during the winter, while some pioneer's daughter would fill the same office for the summer to half a dozen or half a score of pupils. We have in mind the case of one young lady, a settler's danghter, who tanght one summer for fifty cents per week and boarded around among the patrons. There were but four families in the dis- trict, and but eight pupils enrolled. The education of the young lady spoken of was not at all complete, but then the requirements of that school were limited as to qualifications and advancement.
The first school taught in Mercer county was held in a small log cabin erected on the claim of Erastus Dennison, about two miles east of the town of New Boston, near the present home of Mr. C. Rader. The teacher was Abram Miller, and the time the summer of 1833. Mrs. Ephraim Gilmore, now of Aledo, was one of the pupils in this pioneer school for a few weeks. Mr. Miller was a prominent character in the early settlement of the county, having been one of the principal actors in the organization of the county and the first county clerk. Abe, as he was familiarly called, had a strong dislike for the restraints of close-fitting garments, and it was no uncommon thing to see him marching to and from school in warm weather barefoot, with loose shirt and flowing pantaloons. This first school was attended by an average of about ten scholars, the total enrollment for the season reaching only about a dozen. The next year (1834), as near as we can learn, the first regular school-house was erected in New Boston town- ship, near the bluff, about three miles east of the present village of
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PERRYTON TOWNSHIP'.
New Boston, on the farm of William Willits. Abram Miller or Joshua Willits taught here in the winter of 1834-5. About the year 1835-6 George W. Julian, since a distinguished politician and member of congress from Indiana, wielded the birch in this, Mercer county's first regular school-house.
The territory now constituting the county of Mercer was stricken off from Warren and organized into a separate county in 1835, and soon after the organization was effected we find that John Long was appointed, April 13, 1835, by the county commissioners' court to the office of school commissioner. While the county thus early in its history provided herself with the proper official machinery for the organization of a more perfect school system, vet we find but very indifferent progress in the character of teachers or the modes of instruction for a number of years.
It appears that the school commissioner was also agent of the school lands, and the most of the reports from several of the earlier school commissioners pertained to the care and disposal of the school lands, and little or nothing relating to teachers or schools.
For nearly fifteen years after the appointment of Mr. Long, the school commissioner did not assume the duties of examiner of teach- ers. During these years the school board, consisting of the school trustees of the various precincts, were the board of examiners. These school trustees were not always elected on account of their educational qualifications, but rather for their sturdy business qualities, and for the further purpose of having them properly distributed over the precinct.
As a matter of course the examination day, under such circum- stances, was an event in the career of the board which exhibited its dignified and ludicrous character, according to the particular qualifica- tions of the members of the given board.
An incident connected with one of these examinations is related by a gentleman now living in the eastern portion of the county. Some thirty-five years ago, this gentleman, then a young man, just home from a medical college, was requested to be present on a certain day to hear the examination of a small class of teachers, and to assist in the exercises. He attended punctually at the time and place appointed. and found three candidates for certificates, one young lady and two young gentlemen. The three trustees, the regular school board, were also present, but not in a well organized condition for the duties before them.
After some preliminary conversations of a general character with the candidates, the board retired to organize for the contest, and after a short caucus among themselves, they deputised one of their number
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HISTORY OF MERCER AND HENDERSON COUNTIES.
to request the young doctor to join the caucus, which he readily con- sented to do. The young gentleman found the board to be composed of three sturdy and intelligent farmers, good, honest, capable men for all ordinary transactions, but honestly confessing their inability to per- form the duties required of them as examiners. They could "read, write, and cipher," but then the law required the teacher to pass exam- ination in geography and grammar, and these last branches of study were as Choctaw to them. At the request of the board the young doctor con- sented to conduct the examination, the board to hear the class and decide upon their qualifications. Hastily arranging a set of questions he began the examination, which was oral, except a few examples in written arithmetic. The board listened carefully to all the exercises, and when it was finished they again retired for consultation. After a short secret session the young doctor was again summoned in counsel, when one of the board acting as spokesman, said: "See here, we want you to go right straight through with this here thing. They all show a nice hand writin', and spell well enough and read and cipher fustrate, but then that gography and grammar is all Injun to us. You see we dont't pretend to know anything about it, so you jist give us your hon- est opinion about the whole thing, and if you say they pass muster, why we will give them all their papers and let them bang away."
To return to the main narrative, John Long served as school com- missioner until December 5, 1835, when William I. Nevius was appointed as his successor. Mr. Nevius was reappointed in 1837, and again in 1838 and 1839, serving until June 6, 1840, when Ephraim Gilmore received the appointment. In 1841 the office became elective, and Ephraim Gilmore, was again selected to fill the position at an election held in August, 1841, and was re-elected annually for five years, his last election occurring on August 3, 1845. The next to fill the office was Thomas Candor, who was chosen at the annual election on August 3, 1846. Mr. Candor served but one year when Benjamin D. Ellett was chosen his successor, August 5, 1847. From 1847 to 1865 the election for school commissioner was held bi-ennially, thereby giving the office a more permanent character. Mr. Ellett was suc- ceeded by Tyler McWhorter, who was elected November 6, 1849. and again on November 4. 1851. Mr. McWhorter was the first school commissioner who undertook the examination of teachers in this county, and to his administration, extending over a period of four years, is due the first real advancement in the character of teachers, as regards qualifications and modes of instruction. He was careful and pains-taking in all his official acts and was especially watchful and thorough in his inquiries as to the fitness of candidates for certificates.
.
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PERRYTON TOWNSHIP.
The scarcity of well-qualified teachers at that time forced him to grant certificates, in some instances, where the candidate got the benefit of a "reasonable doubt " as to their entire fitness for the high office of teacher, but many able educators were placed in charge of schools dur- ing his term of office. Among these we will mention the names of Simeon Smith, David Felton, Resin Kile and Harvey S. Senter.
After Mr. McWhorter comes John Ramsey, who was elected November 8, 1853, followed by Norman P. Brown, who was elected on November 6, 1855. Mr. Brown was a practical and competent teacher, but so far as we can learn, neither he nor Mr. Ramsey suc- ceeded in advancing the character of the schools of the county beyond the point attained by Mr. MeWhorter at the time of his retirement from the office in 1853. The successor of N. P. Brown was J. E. Harroun, who was elected November 6, 1857. The law had now clothed the commissioner with the full powers of superintendent and given him authority to visit schools. The personal visitation of schools gave to the new superintendent great advantages over his predecessors, as it enabled him to witness the every day work of the teacher in the school- room. It is not unfrequently the case that a candidate for teacher will pass with a high grade after a most thorough examination, and yet prove unable to impart instruction, or unfit to govern in the school- room. These faults or failures the visiting superintendent could detect and remedy, provided the visitations were made in the right spirit and conducted with proper care for the good of the people. The truth of history constrains us to say that the greatest good possible under the new order of things was not attained during the administration of sev- eral of the successors of Mr. Harroun. Too little practical instruction was imparted by the superintendent in these visitations, too much time was spent in the exhibitions of the proficiency of certain advanced classes, and in the making of fine speeches by the visiting official. The visitations, instead of securing the good to teachers and people as designed by the law makers, degenerated in some instances into the veriest routine, measured, we fear, more by the per diem allowed than by the benefits which should have accrued.
Mr. Ilarroun filled the office for two years, and, by constant visita- tions and courteous treatment of the teachers of the county, inspired them. not only with the desire to excel in their calling, but with that esprit de corps which should ever prevail among professional educators in our common schools.
It was during Mr. Harroun's administration that teacher's institutes were organized, and the central or county institute was first attempted. He was also the first to attempt the introduction of any form of school
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