History of Mercer and Henderson Counties : together with biographical matter, statistics, etc, Part 20

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 20
USA > Illinois > Henderson County > History of Mercer and Henderson Counties : together with biographical matter, statistics, etc > Part 20

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).

ALEXANDER CAMPBELL Was born June 22. 1846. in county Down, Ireland, from whence three years later he came with his parents to America and settled in Rock Island, Illinois. In the early part of the late war, though only sixteen years of age, he enlisted in company D. 11th Iowa Inf., and carried a gun three years. At the end of this time he re-enlisted and was chosen color-bearer, and carried the old flag to the end of the war, when he was honorably discharged. having served his country as a soldier four years before he was twenty-one. On the 23d of July, 1864, in front of Atlanta, his brother Samuel was killed while fighting by his side. After his return from the war Mr. Campbell came to Keithsburg and learned the trade of wagon and carriage making, which business he followed until 1878, when he was appointed mail agent on the Galva and Keithsburg route of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy railroad, which position he has since held. December 16, 1870. he was united' in marriage with Sarah A., daughter of John and Hannah (Wilson) Nevius, early settlers

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of Mercer county. She was born in . Ohio, February 19, 1848, but was reared in Keithsburg. They have a family of five children : Daisy L., Walter C., Maud G., Mabel N. and Harry L.

DR. GEORGE B. SAPP, dentist, was born in Clermont county, Ohio, July 23. 1832. He received the greater part of his education in a log school-house in his native county. In 1854 he came to Illinois. In 1860 he began studying in Decatur, where he completed a course of study he had previously begun. In 1865 he came to Mercer county and began the practice of his profession. The doctor has been twice married. His first marriage was in 1860, but death soon deprived him of his partner. His second marriage was on June 22, 1871, to Miss Norah Plesants. They have three children, whose names in the order of their ages are : Ula, Rosa G., and George B.

JOHN HELWIG, butcher, is a son of Christopher Helwig, and was born in Germany December 26, 1839. In 1856 he emigrated with his parents to America, and with them settled in Dunkirk, in the State of New York, where the most of the family and his parents still reside. In 1868 he came to Illinois and settled in Hancock county, where he remained till 1875, when he came to Keithisburg and engaged in his present business. Since his residence in Keithsburg he has been three times elected as one of the town board, and is one of the school directors. He is a member of Mercer Lodge, No. 210, I.O.O.F., and of Encampment No. 89. May 5, 1861, he was united in marriage to Miss Katharine Hlacker, a native of Bavaria. They have four children : John L., Frank W., Lewis A., and Charles.

CHARLES G. SLOCUMB, lumber dealer, was born at Albany, White- side county, Illinois, January 1, 1843, and is a son of Mr. Alfred Slocumb, an old and well known settler of that county, who helped to lay out the town of Albany. He died there September 9, 1860, after a life of usefulness and industry. Charles, the subject of this sketch, was reared as most boys in a new country, at hard work, with but lim- ited means of obtaining an education, yet by industry and close appli- cation to study he has acquired a good business education. In 1865 he went into the army, and after his return home engaged in mer- chandising at Havana, Mason county, Illinois. This he followed but a short time when he sold out and went to Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. where he engaged in the manufacture of brick, which he followed about three years. After this he engaged in boating on the Mississippi river. In 1876 he came to Keithsburg, where he permanently located. and engaged in the lumber business. He also owns a mill here for the manufacture of lumber. March 20, 1875, he was united in marriage

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with Miss Maria E. Stephens, of Mount Vernon. Iowa. They have two children : Clyde E. and Mand S. Mr. Slocumb is a member of Robert Burns Lodge, No. 113, A.F. A. M.

In all professions and occupations there are those who are "fussy," nervous and bombastic, making great noise over small achievements, while others are quiet, unobtrusive, meritorious workers in whatever. sphere they occupy in the world's great drama. Such an one is the subject of this sketch, DR. JOHN S. ALLEN. He is not old enough to be a pioneer of the country or in his profession, but is performing well the part which he has chosen in life's duties. Dr. Allen is comparatively a young man, having been born in Galesburg, Illinois, November 23, 1851. He is the seventh son of Sheldon W. and Fidelia (Leach) Allen. The doctor attended the common schools of the city of Galesburg, and also Knox College and Lombard University. He also took a course in the Western Business College of the same city. At the age of twenty- two years he commenced the study of medicine in the office of Dr. J. B. Vivion, of Galesburg, and after a due course of study he attended three terms at Halinemann Medical College of Chicago, and graduated in 1877. He settled in Kewanee, where he remained but a short time, and then removed to Keithsburg, where he has since remained, doing a fine. business in his profession. Dr. Allen was married June 20, 1877, to Miss Florence, daughter of H. M. and Jane Condie, of Chicago. They have two children : Harry S. and John L. Dr. Allen is a member of the Order of Odd-Fellows, and is quite an active worker in the interests. of the order. Politically he is a republican, but pays more attention to medicine than to polities, and it has been the good fortune of few young professional men to more quickly win the confidence of the majority of the people than Dr. Allen has.

LANSING K. JENNE, veterinary surgeon, is a son of John and Sarah (Freeman) Jenne. He was born in Genesee county, New York, June 15, 1820. November 4, 1840, he was married to Miss Submit Ashley, a native of Ontario county, New York. In about 1850 he removed to. Michigan, and settled near Grand Rapids, where he bought land and made a farm by chopping it out of the green woods. This farm he sold, and in 1872 removed to Muscatine, Iowa, where he remained till 1880, when he came to Keithsburg. Early in life he paid some atten- tion to the study of veterinary surgery, and by careful study and good luck has become master of his profession. He is the father of six chil- dren, living : Newton E., Edward S., Frank F., John W., Sarah S., and Lua M.

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As we begin the task of writing the first history of this township, knowing that almost a half century has passed since the first settlement was made within its boundaries by civilized men, without so much as a diary of incidents and dates being kept of what has transpired, we can but feel that the task is a difficult one. The resources for data concerning the early settlement has been rapidly decreasing during the later years, till at present only a very small number of the pioneers remain to tell the story. Were the memory so absolutely perfect that nothing once known could slip away, we could yet expect to pen for the present all things of interest that have transpired in Millersburg township during the past fifty years.

But notwithstanding all the imperfections of memory, enough of the history of Millersburg township remains to impress upon the minds of the rising generation the noble and resolute character of the pioneers who first planted civilization and civilized institutions within its boundaries. Those old pioneers, 'tis true, did not lead great armies like Genghis Khan, or a Napoleon, or Cæsar, devastating whole empires and kingdoms, but they did a noble work-a work that should crown their memories with the honor of pushing out upon the frontier and laying the foundations of happy and pleasant homes for those who should come after them, in a wilderness beset with the privations and toils inherent to early settlement of almost every country. Let us seat ourselves by the grassy mound that marks the resting place of their aged dust and study their characters and the part they played in the world's drama, and then ask ourselves these questions : Are they not deserving of all the honors we can heap upon them? Can the gay, festive boy afford to pass lightly by the character of his now sleeping ancestor, to study the character and lives of those who have become eminent in the world's history because of the cir- cumstances which made them? Is there not a lesson for the blithe and lively girl of to-day in the patience of that old grandmother now sweetly sleeping beneath the sod, after so many years of earnest toil, that her granddaughter might live the life of a queen instead of the life of a slave in a desert ?

There is a lesson for all in the character of these sturdy pioneers. whose toiling hands only rested when the angel said : "Rest; your work is done." That lesson can only be learned from the institutions they planted and nurtured till they were called away.

Let us look over and locate the territory of the section whose

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history we are to write. It consists of thirty-six square miles, bounded on the north by Duncan township, on the east by Mercer, on the south by Abington, and on the west by New Boston.

Let us imagine ourselves near the center of this tract of country, looking around us from some high eminence, a half century ago. Almost at our feet is the Edwards river, quietly moving along to join the father of waters, flowing almost directly west across the township. On either side it is almost invariably fringed with narrow. flat bottoms overgrown with forest trees, and hedged in by abrupt bluff's reaching to the height of sixty, and sometimes eighty, feet. Casting our eye to the northwest we can see the forest undulations, like the billows of an angry sea, where breaks of Camp creek and those of the Edwards river meet. This last-named stream flows southwest across sections 5 and 7. The Edwards makes a sharp curve on sections S and 9, approaching almost to within one mile of the north line of the township. Looking to the northeast of the township we see the undn- lations growing smaller and smaller, until they present almost a straight line on the horizon ; this is partly timber and the rest prairie. Turning to the south, a beautiful landscape meets the eye. The tall, waving grass marks the gentle undulations of the land on the south and sontheast ; on the southwest the breaks of Pope creek extend north of the south line about one mile. What were at first low sags, extending back from the streams, receiving quietly the water exuding from the upland and bearing it on without a ripple, have now grown in many places into deep gulches, growing deeper with each freshet. At the time of the first white settlement the Indians of this part of the state had been conquered and most of them were gone. Could we have stood here fifty years ago, looking down into the Edwards river as it rolled gently along, we would have realized that the red men who once in awhile come to view the hunting-grounds of their fathers and visit the graves of their kindred are almost the only visitors to this locality. The deer, the wolf, the wild duck, the prairie chicken and the sand-hill crane sport upon the banks, watching the fish as they play in its placid waters, without fear of being molested even by the skulk- ·ing red man whom they had been accustomed to see creeping down the ravine, through the tall grass, to surprise them in their haunts. These were balmy days for these inhabitants, of so many different species. The red man of the forest had taken up his march in the direction of the setting sun, to make room for the industrious settler who was soon to follow, taking nothing with him but his wigwam and weapons.

As the red man moved out to make room for the civilized settler,

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so must these motley, but interesting and happy groups of birds and quadrupeds move out and give place to the domesticated of their kind.

Of the man of the forest but few traces of his haunts or works remain, save a few mounds on section 4. The section is well timbered with oak, hickory, walnut and other kinds of forest trees. Of so great antiquity are these mounds that the forest trees rising from their summits compare in size and age with those of the surrounding forest. These mounds are from three to six feet high. From some of them have been taken tomahawks of stone, arrow heads, human bones, which nature's forces had not yet reduced to common clay, and other trinkets. To us here is the history of a race unwritten so far as we can tell, save by the implements they buried with their dead. Of the lower orders of the early inhabitants few remain, and they poke through hedge and wood to escape the hunter and his dog.

The whole scene is now changed. The northwest quarter, which was originally all timber, is now partly cut off, and herds of cattle and sheep dot its hills and slopes. Looking to the northeast quarter, beautiful farms of waving fields of wheat and growing corn, with here and there a forest grove, meet the eye. Turning to that part of the township south of the Edwards, the fields of tall and waving wild grass have disappeared, in lieu of which we now behold beautiful farms, with cozy dwellings, inhabited by a prosperous people. This section of the township for all agricultural purposes cannot be excelled in the county ; nor can the part north of the Edwards be excelled for fine stock farms.

PIONEER SETTLERS AND SETTLEMENTS.

It will not be out of place to drop a few remarks as to the charac- ter of the pioneers, for the character of history depends upon that of the men who made it. The greater part of the pioneers and early settlers who located in Millersburg township were from Pennsylvania and Ohio, a few coming from Virginia, some from Ireland, some from New York and Kentucky, with now and then a settler from some other quarter of civilization. But, remarkable as it may seem, they belonged for the most part to the same class of society. They were people of small means, whose object in coming to the western wilds was to procure for themselves and their families homes which their means would not procure where they were reared. They were of that industrious and economical class who had not only been reared under the influence of christianity, but had been taught to obey its precepts from a high sense of moral honor and dignity. Like the Puritan fathers, they were scarcely housed in their cabins

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before they began to erect school-houses and churches, the same building being used for both purposes. Owing to their proximity to their neighbors on the Mississippi, they endured less privations and hardships than did the colonists who came over in the Mayflower ; but. they were men and women who possessed no less courage and earnest- ness for the principles which had been taught them under the paternal roof. Had it been theirs to exercise that stubborness to the edicts of kings and priests in defense of human rights, as it was that of the pilgrim fathers, they would have proved equally indomitable and immovable. It has been remarked that men die, are buried, and even their graves are lost ; but their influence, like the stains of human gore, cannot be removed from the coummunity where they resided. This, we must admit, is true of Millersburg township; its society is pushing along in the direction laid out by its first settlers.

The township is divided into two geographical divisions by the Edwards river. Between the early settlers of each there was but little communication, because of there being no bridges across this stream. Settlements were made in the township both north and south of the river about the same time in the fall of 1834. The first families to locate south of the river were Harrison Riggs, Ebenezer Creswell and Edward Willitts. The first located on section 30, and erected the first cabin in the township ; his wife, Mrs. Julette Riggs, still resides upon the same farm where she and her husband first located, and where she is patiently waiting the summons that shall call her to a. world with less privations and cares. The second, Ebenezer Creswell, located on section 21, where he built a saw-mill in 1834 or 1835. This was on Camp creek and was the first mill in the township. The Willitts family located on the same section as did Creswell. Among others who came shortly after were : Thomas Riggs in 1836, on sec- tion 25 ; Rice Peckingbaugh, on section 21, in 1840 ; Charles Griffith, on section 16, in 1839, where he yet resides ; Isaac Burson, on section 20, in 1837 ; W. Hubbard, on section 32, m 1836 ; Edward Brady, Sr., in 1842 ; John T. McGinnis, in 1846 ; Richard and John S. Kidoo came in 1845 ; William Kidoo and his father came in 1847 ; John and Edward Brady came in 1842 ; Peter Spangler, Thomas Jackson and others came about 1840, and located south of the Edwards. Thus was. civilized society planted in Millersburg on the south of the river. North of the Edwards the first settler located was Benijah Lloyd, on section 5, in 1834. Two years later the town of Millersburg was laid out by the Miller brothers, who had previously settled in another township, about 1834. Among those who located in and around the new town were: H. W. Thornton, in 1836; James Thompson, in

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1838 ; Esq. Routzong, in 1838 ; Erastus, William and Joseph Deni- son came prior to 1840; Judge Gilmore came about 1838, and after- ward moved south of the river opposite where the Peniel church now stands. All of these located either in the village of Millersburg or near by. I. M. Gilmore located east of the village about 1840 ; L. B. Howe, Thomas Brighton, Elbridge Howe, W. A. Bridgford and his son, O. A. Bridgford, came about 1840. These and a few others were the pioneers who located in the north part of the township during the period of its early settlement. William Cline was an early settler and great hunter ; his brother, Christian Cline, located in Millersburg.

From 1840 to 1855 the township settled rapidly, and but little land was left unoccupied. For the names and history of many of those families, reference may be had to the biographical department of this township. Millersburg township was one of the first to be settled away from the Mississippi river. It now seems a short journey to the river, but it must be remembered that half a century ago there were no laid out roads across the country and the streams were without bridges. Then the only products that would bring money or could be exchanged for the necessities of life, were wheat and pork, and these must be transported to the river towns ; nor was this all : there were but few wagons in the country. Sleds were used in summer as well as in winter. Previous to the settlements in Millersburg, only three or four years, the Indians had control of all the country away from the river to Rock Island. Till about 1840 the settlers saw hard times. Their products, wheat and pork, were exchanged at low figures for goods at enormous prices. Many were dependent on credit. But economy and industry, such as the settlers of Millersburg possessed, in such a country of rich land, was soon to overcome the various impediments which then beset her people. The country was wild and the health of the people was not good. Chills and fevers were sure visitors, and not unfrequently permanent inmates of the pioneer homes. With the improvement of health and circumstances, many who had found it difficult to get the benefit of the merchant's eredit, established for themselves a better eredit than those whose credit they had sought ever had. At the present time some of the most wealthy citizens of the township are those who had hard work to keep the wolf from their door.

The manners and customs of the early settlers and pioneers were those of a plain but honest people. They were social among them- selves and hospitable to strangers. Their houses were small and their food coarse, but welcome to all. Each settler's neighborhood might be

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bounded by a circle whose diameter was twenty miles. Were a family in distress willing hands were ready to administer to its wants.

The entertainments, such as the people now enjoy, were few and far between, and they amused themselves in hunting the wolf, which then could be heard upon every elevation and hollow. The last great hunt. of this kind came off in 1840. A large tract of country was surrounded. The point for meeting was southeast of Millersburg, north of the Edwards. Two hundred deer were corralled in the ring, but the wolves made good their escape. The deer, which at this time were plenty, disappeared almost entirely between 1844 and 1850. Early settlers were annoyed greatly by the wolves. When they killed fresh meat the wolves would come around the house, set up a dismal, heart- rending howl, and even skip about over the roof, but they were so sly that one was seldom killed.

Among the early settlers came a few who delighted to spend their time in hunting and fishing, and others who looked upon horse-racing and other kindred amusements as the highest calling of humanity. These, like the red man, could not endure the telling blows and pros- perity of the more civilized habits and customs which predominated, and have long since disappeared from among the citizens of Millers- burg township.

Mrs. Julette Riggs, the pioneer settler, now living on section 30, had great anxiety to see an Indian baby. She called at a hut near by and implored the inmates to bring the little red skin out that. she might examine it, but the mother was not so desirous of exhibiting her offspring as her palefaced sisters seem to be, and coldly imformed Mrs. Riggs if she desired to satisfy her curiosity she must come in, and in she went. William Drury, when he first came to the settlement south of the Edwards, says Mrs. Riggs was exceedingly hungry for meat, Mrs. Riggs being out of that article at the time. Drury went coon hunting and caught several coons, which he had cooked, and they were eaten by him with the remark, "They are superior to mutton in flavor and taste."

Almost with the early settlers of Mercer county there was formed a company of bandits, supposed to have their rendezvous in the north- east of Mercer and the south part of Rock Island counties, which greatly alarmed the settlers of Millersburg township, especially at such times as they had received any money. The story is told us of Joseph . King, living near Millersburg at that time, having received $700. He could not secrete it in his pockets, as it was in gold and silver, and there were no banks in the country. He was so scared that he would not even carry it home, but gave it to a friend, who took it home for

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him. His uneasiness did not cease here. He cleaned up his fowling- piece and stood guard till he could invest his money, which having been done he remarked, "Money is a good thing to have, but a source of pleasure to be rid of when one feels unsafe."

The first death that occurred in the township was in 1835. While Benijah Lloyd was on his way to his claim on section 4, his son, nearly seven years old, fell out of the wagon and was run over by the wheels, killing him instantly. There were no neighbors to assist in the funeral except Ebenezer Creswell and his hired man. The remains were interred at the new home on section 4. We have been told by good anthority that Benijah Lloyd was the first to settle in Millersburg town- ship, and equally good authority informs us that Hiram Hardy, Albert P. Taylor (at one time sheriff of the county, at another county clerk) and Ebenezer Creswell were here before him.

Alfred Gray, a wagonmaker by trade, and John Jackson, a black- smith, who had a shop near where Joy is now located, were, we have reason to believe, the first tradesmen of this kind in the township.

The early settlers used to go to Bald Bluff (now Henderson county) for medical aid. Benijah Lloyd thinks the first physician to locate in the township was Dr. Martin Willitts, at Millersburg. Another early physician was Dr. Daniel Pickley, an early sheriff of the county. The first preaching Mr. Lloyd remembers of in the township was at the house of Abraham Miller, by a preacher from (John) Farlow's Grove, named James, a predestinarian Baptist.

VILLAGES.

Millersburg township has two villages, Millersburg and Joy. The former is the oldest laid-ont town in the county back from the river, and has a history connected with the county second to none in importance. It was laid out in 1836 by John Miller, after whom the town and township was named. Of the Miller family there were John, George, Abraham, Isaac, and Philip, who were brothers, and Abraham, Jr., son of George. Abraham, Jr., is now living in Oregon. The Millers came to Mercer county from Indiana (they were formerly from Tennessee), and located in Perryton at Sugar Grove in 1834. Abraham, Jr., was one of the first county clerks of Mercer county. There is not one of the family living in the county at this time. The family was remarkable for their love of pioneer life, and the remaining members, when the country here became settled, moved west.

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History of Mercer and Henderson Counties : together with biographical matter, statistics, etc, Part 20

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