History of Mercer and Henderson Counties : together with biographical matter, statistics, etc, Part 126

Author: Mercer County Historical Society (Ill.); Henderson County Historical Society (Ill.)
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Chicago : H.H. Hill and Co.
Number of Pages: 1424

USA > Illinois > Mercer County > History of Mercer and Henderson Counties : together with biographical matter, statistics, etc > Part 126
USA > Illinois > Henderson County > History of Mercer and Henderson Counties : together with biographical matter, statistics, etc > Part 126

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

WILLIAM FINCH is a native of Chester county, Pennsylvania; born in 1820, son of Joseph and Hester (Reese) Finch, both of Pennsyl- vania, where they died. William came to Henderson county in 1846. IIe labored for several years by the month and bought his present farm, where he located in 1852. He was married in 1866 to Ellen Penny, of Maryland, born near Baltimore in 1843, daughter of Josiah and Ann Penny, both of Maryland, and now living in Pike county, Missouri, where he lives a retired farmer. Mr. Finch has by this marriage six children : Mary, Sylvester, Anna, Alice. Samuel and Edith. He has a well improved farm of 320 acres, fairly stocked. His wife is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.

JOSEPH BECKETT. the subject of this sketch, is a native of Indiana; born in 1834, son of Robert and Mary Beckett; the father of Indiana, the mother of Virginia. They were married in Indiana, and came about 1836 to Adams county, Illinois, where they now remain. The father is seventy-four years old, the mother sixty-eight; they are farm- ers and members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Joseph was reared in Adams county till 1868, when he came to Henderson county. where he has since lived. In 1862 he married Margaret McMurry, of Adams county, Illinois, who died in 1879, aged thirty-five years. She was the daughter of George and Eliza McMurry. By this marriage he has eight children : Oscar, Ellsworth, Mary, Florence, George, Charley, Joseph and Olive. He has always farmed, and keeps good grades.

JACOB S. NEGLEY is a native of Pennsylvania ; born in 1830, son of John and Catharine Negley, both of Pennsylvania. In 1852 they emigrated to Fulton county, Illinois ; then to MeDonough, at Bushnell, where they both died, the father in 1870, at the age of sixty-nine years ; the mother in 1880, aged sixty-nine years. In Ohio he farmed and carried on a distillery ; in Illinois he kept hotel and engaged in the mercantile business. His wife was a member of the Methodist Epis- copal church. Jacob S. came to Illinois with his parents and remained in Fulton county till 1878, when he came to Henderson county and

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located where he now lives. He has a fine farm of 130 acres, which is well improved and well stocked. He was married in 1854 to Mary E. Perrine, of Ohio, born in 1834, daughter of Daniel and Mary Perrine, both of New Jersey, and located in Ohio with the early settlers, and afterward came to Fulton county, Illinois, where the father is now living, on the farm where he located about 1842; the mother died in 1876, at the age of seventy years ; she was a member of the Baptist church. Mr. Negley by this marriage has eleven children : William, John G., Ellen (deceased), Mary J., Daniel, Albert and Elmer (twins), Joseph, Abraham and Absalam (twins, both deceased), and Henry. He and wife are members of the Baptist church.

BIGGSVILLE TOWNSHIP.

For ages had the waters of South Henderson rolled on to join the great Mississippi, quiet and undisturbed save by the monotonous plash of the oars of the Indian as he guided his frail canoe over its bright and yielding surface. Early explorers had perhaps passed by the little stream scarcely deigning to give it notice. But the actual settler, desiring to utilize the forces of nature that would give the quickest and surest return, looked to the stream first of all for the means of liveli- hood. So John Hopper and David Robinson, who came to Henderson county in the spring of 1839, at once conceived the idea of building a mill on South Henderson creek at a point where it passes through the S. W. } of Sec. 16, T. 10, R. 4. That summer they built a dam across the stream, erected the mill, and in the winter of 1840 announced them- selves as ready to do custom work for the public. This was the first flour mill in this part of the country and filled a long-felt need. Mr. Hopper, who was a native of the State of New York, and an active and energetic man, sold his interest in the mill in 1840, and removed to Olena, where he soon after died. He was a brother of Lambert Hopper, of Hopper's mills, near Warren. Mr. Jerry Meachem, who bought out Hopper, soon sold to Mr. John Birdsall, who, with Mr. Robinson, carried on the business with fair success till the spring of 1843, when they sold to one John Biggs, an Englishman of no little engineering skill. After parting with his mill property here Mr. Robinson removed to Wisconsin, where he turned his attention to saw- milling. He was residing there in 1882. Mr. Birdsall, his partner in the mill here, after selling out removed back to his farm on Ellison, where he afterward died. Mr. Biggs, after purchasing the mill, actively engaged in making new improvements. and being a man of some con-

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siderable means he bought lumber and obtained the services of Abel Jackson and Henry Canton to build a comfortable and substantial frame dwelling house to take the place of the board shanty in which lived the former proprietors. . He also the same year raised the dam three feet higher and built a levee along the southwest bank of the stream, evidently expecting to hold at will the turbulent waters of this treacherous little stream.

Through the seasons of 1843-4 they ran well, and its proprietor flourished, and those who had made long trips to mill at Quincy and other distant points with ox teams, occupying days and even weeks of time, were greatly pleased. But imagine the surprise and consterna- tion of not only Mr. Biggs, but all others living within a radius of many miles, when, during the unprecedented high water of June, 1844, the little South Henderson got up in all its fury and, being apparently confined by dam and levee, succeeded in undermining the mill itself by washing away the foundation. All this was secretly going on and invisible to the eye till the mischief was complete. The mill toppled and fell, with all its store and contents, which were carried away by the torrent in its mad rush to join the already overflowed and raging Mississippi.

Taking into consideration the new and sparsely settled condition of the country and the great need of bread by the pioneers, this loss was most disastrous, not only to the owner of the once prosperous but now defunct institution, but to all who had depended on it for the staff of life ; for at the time of its destruction the mill had stored within it about fifty barrels of flour and over four hundred bushels of wheat, which, with all its machinery and fixtures, were nearly a total loss.

This catastrophe demonstrated the fact that building a mill on the sand or in the face of the waters on the prairie streams was decidedly uncertain, and gave birth to the idea of selecting a location for a mill more protected from sudden rises of water. Hence Mr. Biggs built a strong and substantial one on what has since been laid out and platted as lot 11, block 1. in Rigby's addition to Biggsville. This mill in 1882 stands a monument to his memory, and judging from its strong, sub- stantial appearance, and the completeness of its machinery, it will re- main to do service for many years to come. To obtain water-power for this mill it was necessary to drift or tunnel through the bank and under Main street and build a dam across the creek, above the old one, which had entirely disappeared. To do this men were employed on the dam, and the work on the race was let by contract to and was done by Elton Catlin, and proved a success. Some years later steam-power was added, obviating the necessity of delay during a long term of dry weather

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and consequent low water. After the completion of his new mill Mr. Biggs did a good business up till the time of his death, when the mill passed into the hands of Mr. Robert Moir. Mr. Biggs was one of those men whose deeds live after them, as it is universally said of him that he was strictly honest and exact to a cent. He was a native of England, and had come to America when quite young; had been exten- sively engaged in business in a manufacturing line in the east and also in Mexico. He had come here with some means and spent it lavishly for the success of his pet enterprise. For a fuller sketch of him refer- ence may be had to the history of Oquawka. As before stated, after Mr. Biggs' death the mill became the property of Robert Moir, and subsequently passed into the possession of Smith, George Rigby, Samuel McDonald, Eli Beaver and Fort & Kemp, respectively. Mr. Kemp died in July, 1882, since which time Mr. Fort is the principal owner, while the mill is in care of Mr. Zach. Staley. A little incident might here be related : At the time of the freshet of June, 1844, the family of Paul D. Birdsall (who was then at work for Mr. Biggs get- ting out timber over on Ellison creek, was living in a small house near the mill and on the bank of the creek. Before his wife was aware of the fact the water had surrounded the house. After remaining there till the water was two feet deep (and still rising) she secured a passing boat and with her family escaped to the main land, leaving most of her house hold goods behind. The same day Mr. Birdsall returned home and was appalled to see the state of affairs and the narrow escape of his family. Mr. Birdsall is still living, and resides in Warren county. He related with considerable enthusiasm all the facts in relation to the rise and fall of the first mill at Biggsville and the incidents connected therewith. A short sketch of him will be found in this chapter.

Township 10, R. 4, or more familiarly known as Biggsville voting precinct, is the center one of the east tier of townships in the county bounded on the east by Warren county, on the south by T. 9, R. 4, or Walnut Grove precinct, on the west by T. 10, R. 5, or South Hender- son precinct, and on the north by T. 11, R. 4, or Greenville precinct. The physical features of Biggsville precinct are what might be called "rolling land," showing as it does in most places (except along the southern border) a rough and uneven surface, inclining to a bluffy and broken appearance bordering the South Henderson creek. This flows through the township from southeast to northwest, and enters the town in Sec. 36 and passes out through Sec. 18. Another branch of this stream (though of little importance except for drainage) enters the town from Warren county at a point on or near the line between Secs. 24 and 25, and unites with the main stream in the N. W. } of Sec. 26. High

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bluffs and deep ravines on either side of this now quite inferior water- course indicate that in the ages antedating the existence of the pre- historie race the rushing mighty waters or other works of nature intended leaving their footprints unobliterable.

The groves and belts of timber (oak, ash, walnut, hickory, lime and other varieties) bordering this stream and its tributaries offered sufficient inducement to call to a halt the early pioneer who supposed that a home could be made only in the timber like unto that of his fathers, back in old Ohio, Indiana or Kentucky, and some even predict that the amount of timber then here would not last to exceed five years. The same party now (1882) asserts that the supply has rather increased than diminished, and experience has taught that the most beautiful homes and greatest wealth could be made on the prairie. Those who settled in and about the timber have only to look upon the prairie homes to see that they not only equal but surpass those they left far behind in the old eastern States.

In fact, it is asserted by the oldest settlers (now living), that they believed the prairie would remain unoccupied and unsettled and as a range for stock for many generations. But forty years closed up every foot of the available prairie land in the county.

EARLY SETTLEMENT.

There is no doubt but that to John McKinney belongs the credit of making the first permanent and successful settlement in this township. He was born in Lincoln county, Kentucky, in 1801, and at the age of nineteen left his native state and went to Ohio, where he became assist- ant clerk in the office of his uncle, John Riley, who was clerk of the supreme court of that state, also court of common pleas. He after- ward studied law under the Hon. John Pope, once senator of the state, representative in congress and the first territorial governor of Arkansas. Finding the bar crowded with young aspirants and without patrimony, Mr. Mckinney turned his attention to farming, the vocation to which he was raised.

Having a liking for the west, he came first on a prospecting tour, and in the spring of 1832 emigrated with his wife and two children to Warren, now Henderson county, Illinois, settling on Sec. 25, on the northwest corner of which he built a cabin and began to make and im- prove a farm. This was formerly military land, which he purchased for $1,000 of one Romelus Rigg, an eastern speculator. He also bought of G. Mann, for $500 the E. ¿ of Sec. 26, and later entered a piece of land in Sec. 30, all T. 10 N., R. + W. Perhaps it was the beautiful grove after known as Mckinney's grove, and now (1882) as Salter's

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grove that induced Mr. Mckinney to settle so far east of the river. However, in addition to the advantages of plenty of timber of the lead- ing varieties, he also located in what was destined to be as good a farming district as could be found in the country, a beautiful rolling prairie and well watered. At the time Mr. Mckinney settled here his nearest neighbor was Amos Williams, who was then settled on Ellison Creek, some four miles distant to the south. Living near to Williams was Abram Hendrick, who was formerly from near Lexington, Ken- tucky. Ezekiel Smith also lived in the same neighborhood, and of whom Hendricks bought his first land.

Though it is conceded that to Mckinney belongs the credit of being the permanent pioneer who remained on his first purchase and growing up with the county, it is nevertheless the fact that the honor of first settler should be acknowledged to belong to one James Richey, who settled on section 7 in 1829, for in that year, when John C. Jami- son came here, Richey was the only man living in that part of the country. Mr. Richey, with his family, had emigrated from Indiana, and during the summer of 1829 raised a small crop of corn. The year following wheat raising was also a part of his agricultural indus- try. This crop was cut with the old-fashioned reaping-hook, or hand- sickle, the Shorts and Jamison assisting. During his first year or two here Mr. Richey was so straitened in circumstances as to be actually compelled to take the weeds commonly called nettles and have his wife manufacture a lint from them (by the same process as it is made from flax), and from this she made rude clothing for herself and the children.

Uncle Abner Short informs the writer that Mr. Richey was a church member and a Seceder of the strictest sort, and that on a certain Sun- day (having forgotten the day of the week) he put a grist on his horse and started to mill. Meeting Mr. Jamison near his cabin, his memory was corrected. He stopped and prayerfully returned home. Prior to 1840 Mr. Richey left here and moved beyond the Mississippi, still glorying in the name of hardy pioneer.

In the days of those earliest pioneers (Richeys and Jamisons) their nearest postoffice was Peoria, a distance of over eighty miles, where they occasionally sent for mail by a neighbor, though he should live ten miles distant. In the fall of 1835 Samuel McDill and Andrew Graham came from Preble county, Ohio, and made claims on Sec. 7, T. 10, R. 4. The former brought with him a wife and small family, the latter was then unmarried. Biographies of these worthy pioneers are found elsewhere in this chapter. George MeDill, whose son John visited this part of Illinois in the summer of 1835 on horseback, came

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here in the following year. He was a native of Chester county, South Carolina, but had resided many years in Newton county, Georgia, previous to his advent into Illinois. He is also mentioned in the biographical part of this work.

Going back to Mckinney's Grove in 1835, we find Benjamin Thompson settled a little southeast of the grove, perhaps on Sec. 36. He was a Kentuckian by birth, and became very popular among the early pioneers. He was carly elected sheriff of Warren county, a position he creditably filled for a number of. years. Dykeman Shook, who settled on the N. E. } of Sec. 34 in the spring of-1836, was another of Mr. MeKinney's nearest neighbors. He was also from Kentucky and a man of sterling worth. He lived on this farm till the time of his death. Mention of him is made on another page.

Mr. Mckinney and Mr. Shook, both having families and living near neighbors, united in building a log school-house, and engaged as teacher a young man named Bell. This school was kept up for some time, or till Mckinney's children became far enough advanced to send away to boarding school, during which time a new system of schools sprang up. Mckinney was, during his residence here, both school director and treasurer, and after his removal to Oquawka in 1842 or 1844, Mr. Shook was elected in his stead.

Soon after the settlement of Shook and Thompson, the former a Campbellite and the latter a Baptist, together with MeKinney, who was formerly a Cumberland Presbyterian, agreed to put forth an effort to have divine worship at their cabins every alternate Sabbath. It was also agreed that each with their families should attend. Following closely in the footsteps of the pioneer comes the frontier itinerant, who is truly a divine laborer. One Rev. Peter Downey was the first to expound the gospel to these people. He was a Cumberland Presby- terian, and his first sermon here was at the house of John Mckinney. He afterward founded the Cumberland Presbyterian church in the short settlement, afterward known as the South Henderson Cumberland Presbyterian church, and in 1846 settled permanently on a farm on the N. W. { of Sec. 16, where he lived till his death, which occurred in March, 1856. He left a family of five children, of whom Mrs. B. H. Martin is the only one now residing in the county. He was a native of Kentucky, and was an earnest worker in his Master's vineyard.

Rev. Van Dorn, a Baptist minister, also preached at the houses of Thompson and Shook for those who were settled about the grove.

It is with some degree of pride and satisfaction that the writer speaks of the backwoods preacher. Courage and industry were the pre-eminent virtues of his activity. His circuit embraced what would

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now seem an incredible extent of country, and he did well if he served all his appointments once every month. To defy distance and weather was a regular habit. He usually traveled on horseback, carrying in capacious saddle-bags a small bible and hymn-book, a clean shirt or two and a homely luncheon. Often he would ride thirty miles to preach a funeral sermon, and forty or fifty to marry a couple for three or four dollars. But he did not scorn privation and overcome obstacles for money ; it was a pleasure to be about his Master's work. He grew strong in view of the great field and the waiting harvest, and his soul was animated by the simple joy and hearty salutations which the warm hearts of the people always expressed at his coming. But before cir- cuits were formed the zealous messengers of truth rode through the wilderness visiting the scattered settlements and carrying the news of the Good Shepherd. His arrival was the signal for word to go forth and summon together the hungry souls. Meetings were held in the cabins or in God's first temples, the groves. At this early period denominations exerted no influence, congregations were composed of every sect and those who represented no sect, all feeling and acknowl- edging a common necessity for worship. Then, the service over, the preacher departed on his rugged journey refreshed with the hospitality of his full-souled entertainers and laden with the provisions which the thoughtful housewife had prepared for his comfort, bearing on his head their blessings, and followed by silent prayers for his safety and return. As money was a commodity little seen, and for many years commanded a high rate of interest, the preacher usually received his pay in provisions, such as potatoes, beans, meat and flour.

Among the many early circuit riders in this part of the state, and whose names have become household words, were Peter Cartwright (whose name is perhaps written in nearly every county history in this state as well as in Indiana), Richard Hana and Henry Sommers, who still live (though far advanced in years) to look back over the great work they have accomplished.

But to return to increase of settlements, which in 1840 had begun to spring up all over the township, perhaps a little later, say January 1843, Mr. E. Marston made a settlement on See. 29. This was decid- edly on the prairie and over a mile from the timber. He was from "York State," and a man of very peculiar characteristics. Here lie engaged in a mixed business of farming, stock raising, tavern keeping and store keeping. On his farm was built the second school-house in this township. After Mr. Marston's death his family removed to Kansas and the farm passed into the hands of a Biggsville worthy citizen, Paul D. Gibb.

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James Rankin in an early day purchased a quarter-section of land in Sec. 32. The same land is now (1882) worth $60 per acre, though when he bought it he paid for it with a yoke of steers worth $35. This is but another illustration of the cheapness of land, stock and produce, and the dearness and scarcity of money. As another in- stance of the little cash value placed on stock and labor, a reliable old citizen declares that he tried to redeem his note for $4.25 in the hands of a neighbor by offering him a yearling steer, a good thrifty calf, a shoat weighing 125 pounds and two days' work. This offer was declined and he was obliged to raise the money.

Another settlement was made on the prairie at an early date by J. S. Harbison, on the S. W. } of Sec. 34. Ilis farm, which is now quite large and well improved, is entirely isolated from the public high- way, and inaccessible only by a narrow lane.

Some few years previous to 1840 Seth Oaks made improvements on Sec. 24, though he permanently located just in the edge of Warren county. He came from the eastern part of the State of Vermont with one Abner Davis, a brother-in-law. They made the trip here during the summer of 1829 or 1830 with team and wagon. Mr. Davis settled near Olena, and Mr. Oaks, after working out a couple of years, settled as above stated, where he grew immensely rich in land and cattle, owning at the time of his death, besides a large amount of stock, nearly 4,000 acres of valuable land in this and Warren counties and Milo county, Iowa. His sons now own and occupy the land and well sustain their father's good name for thrift and industry. It might here be stated that to Mr. Oaks is due the credit of owning and running the first reaper in Henderson county. The S. W. corner of Sec. 31 in the township was settled in an early day by Dr. William McMillan and Arthur MeQuown Sr., the former from Kentucky and the latter from Virginia. Portraits of these two estimable citizens appear in this work and stand as monuments to their memory and evidences of the high esteem in which they were held by their relatives and friends. Though the doctor had no children of his own, yet others who enjoyed his father- ly care stand ready to do honor to him as loving sons and daughters, and a grateful people will, while life lasts, hold sacred his memory for many years. While the country was yet new and undeveloped he rode almost constantly day and night visiting the sick (poor as well as rich), carrying with him healing words of kindness as well as trusty quinine. His sleep was usually obtained while riding along on horse or mule back and at other times where no time would be lost, unless perchance he fell into a sound sleep while tying or untying his horse, as he once did at the residence of Mr. Galbraith, where he was once

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discovered an hour after he went out to go, standing asleep where his horse was hitched to a post. By untiring industry and good manage- ment he made on the prairie a model home which immediately attracts the attention of the passer by. His fine substantial brick residence, which stands a little elevated and back a distance of about thirty rods from the public road, is approached by a beautiful drive, either side of which is adorned by lofty pines and other varieties of evergreen in great profusion. To the right as you enter is an extensive orchard covering many acres and filled (in the season) with most of the leading varieties of fruit. But the doctor is not there. Find a brief sketch of him on another page.

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History of Mercer and Henderson Counties : together with biographical matter, statistics, etc, Part 126

Author: Mercer County Historical Society (Ill.); Henderson County Historical Society (Ill.) Publication date: 1882 Publisher: Chicago : H.H. Hill and Co. Number of Pages: 1424

Author: Mercer County Historical Society (Ill.); Henderson County Historical Society (Ill.)
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Chicago : H.H. Hill and Co.
Number of Pages: 1424