History of Mercer and Henderson Counties : together with biographical matter, statistics, etc, Part 21

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 21
USA > Illinois > Henderson County > History of Mercer and Henderson Counties : together with biographical matter, statistics, etc > Part 21

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).

When Millersburg was first laid out it seemed a fit location for almost anything else rather than a town. . The country around could

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scarcely be said to be even sparsely settled. Abraham Miller, Jr., is said to have built the first dwelling-house inside the corporation. James Thompson and William Drury soon after erected the first store- room and sold the first goods. In 1838 Erastus Denison erected the first hotel. The building is still standing. It is a two-story frame. The lower story is now used for a store-room. The upper is occupied by the I.O.O.F. lodge. William Pinckney established a pottery here in 1837 or 1838. The first doctor to locate in the town was Martin Willitts. Among the first attorneys to locate in the town was H. W. Thornton, who has retired from the law practice and now lives on his farm adjoining the village. The first blacksmith shop located here was erected by Thomas Biglow about 1836 or 1837. The first postoffice was established at Millersburg in 1837 or 1838, and mail was received twice a week. William Drury was the first commissioned postmaster. As early as 1839 Millersburg had grown to quite a village.

. The county seat was located here as early as 1836. Courts were held in the hotel till the court-house was completed, which was in 1839. The building is a two-story frame, still standing, and is now occupied by Harrison Bethuram as a wagon and blacksmith shop. The building was when built not only a spacious edifice, but fine, for the time ; now it is a dilapidated structure, presenting every appearance of the ravag- ing hand of time. It was used till 1847 as the office of justice. For several years it was the school-house and church of the town. It stood formerly on the south side of Main street, toward the west end of the town. When the county seat was moved from Millersburg in 1847, H. W. Thornton bought the court-house and moved it to its present location on the south side of the village. He converted it into a store-room. A jail was erected about the same time. It was a stone structure lined upon the inside with heavy timbers. The first prisoner who became its inmate, had borrowed a horse and failed to return as soon as was expected, hence a warrant was procured and A. P. Taylor, who was then sheriff, set out towards New Boston in search of his game. The sheriff met the man on his way back to Millersburg with the horse. He, true to his office oath, arrested the man, brought him to Millersburg and lodged him in the jail. But the inhabitants of the town were scarcely wrapped in slumber profound before the prisoner made his escape. All were confident he had no intention of stealing the animal, and no attempt was made for his re-arrest. The second and last person lodged in the building was held prisoner for debt. He enjoyed his meals at the hotel, and was heard to remark that he pre- ferred the lodging and board of the county to that of his own home. He has since become quite well off and now resides in the county.

MRS. MARY A. BROKAW.

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The jail was used most of the time by the sheriff for a granary and fodder-house. Sheriff Taylor remarked it ought to be put to some use. It was located on the north side of Main street a ltttle west of where the court-house stood.

The first wagon shop erected in the town of Millersburg was that of A. P. and Asa G. Shafer in 1856. The former still carries on the business in the same old shop. Then there was no shop of this kind nearer than New Boston. The second was built by Crippin and Powers in 1857, the next by McGlathlin and Jones in 1859, the fourth by James Gilmore in 1861, the fifth by J. H. Longshore about 1862. The last is running a shop doing all kinds of repairing in his line.

The first death in the town was by suicide. The person was a married lady. She deliberately took a handkerchief, put it around her neck and choked herself to death by taking hold of two of the corners with her hands and pulling till she closed the air passage to the lungs.

From the laying out of Millersburg till after the county seat was removed, it was the best business point, outside of Keithsburg and New Boston, in the county. The country trade came here from the east for a distance of fifteen miles. But as other towns sprang up in different parts of the country the trade was divided, and when the county seat was taken away the trade that came here because of the county seat went elsewhere. The unnatural attraction which had brought the business to this point was gone, and Millersburg was cut short in the zenith of her prosperity, and many of her business men went elsewhere. The improvements that have been made here since 1857 are few beyond a few cozy dwellings. But notwithstanding the antiquated appearance of the village, it has a good local trade. It has two stores of general merchandise, one kept by W. W. Eghert, the other by John Farran, two blacksmith shops, one grocery store kept by David T. Howe, one barber shop, one shoe shop, one harness shop, one hotel, kept by William Dunn. The creamery erected here in 1881, by Strattan, is the leading business of the village. It is run by a four horse-power engine, and uses the Elgin cream vats. Its full · working capacity is 15,000 pounds of butter per day, and gives em- ployment to twenty men and fifteen teams.

The first and only mill ever erected in the town was built by Steven Strattan about 1850, and run till 1875, when it was torn down and moved south of Millersburg, on the Edwards, and water power is used instead of steam. Since the establishing of the postoffice here, with William Drury as first postmaster, the following persons have had the office : James Thompson, Dr. Allen, H. W. Thornton, J. M.

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Nevans, William H. Green and his wife (Mrs. Green held the office for fifteen years, and was postmistress during the war), J. D. Strattan and John Farran, who is present postmaster. Mail is received twice each day.

While Millersburg lost to a great degree her former vivacity in business, she retained her good morals, out of which has grown one of the finest temperance societies in the county, if not in the state, considering her population. Previous to 1868 a temperance society was organized which was of short duration. It seemed to be an aid to the dram-shop, as they located here almost simultane- ously. The more moral and lovers of good society, becoming tired of the increasing vices, products of the dram-shop, met in deliberate assembly for the purpose of driving out from their midst the licensed traffic of intoxicating liquors. The result is, the voice of the people has, since 1868, ruled supreme, and not a saloon has been kept here since that time. The fire that drove the demon from the village has been kept burning brightly since its embers were first fanned into a flame, and out of this, in 1879, grew the Millersburg Christian Tem- perance Union, organized by T. J. Adams, who, prior to effecting the organization, delivered a series of lectures on the subject of temperance. The society was organized with 160 members, and now numbers 400. It uses the blue ribbon badge and the Murphy pledge, and is auxiliary to the state and National Temperance Union. Unlike most societies of its kind, it has no assessments, the funds necessary to defray its expenses being supplied by public collection. Its meetings are held alternately at the Presbyterian and Methodist Episcopal churches on Sunday evening of each week. It is now a prosperous society. Its meetings are conducted in the form of entertainments, and the society performs the double office of cultivating the morals of the rising generation and at the same time gives its members an opportunity to cultivate, expand and air their literary powers. Its first officers were : President, J. W. Madox, who still occupies the chair, with Thomas Herman, Mrs. J. M. Gilmore and Mrs. Eddy as vice-presidents ; Recording Secretary, J. M. Grady ; Corresponding Secretary, J. D. Strattan ; Board of Managers, Nelson Taylor, Miss A. Shafer, William. Dunn, Rev. G. M. Morey and William Long; Treasurer, Geneva Farran. Present officers are : president, same as the first, with James Repin, Alexander Greene, and James W. Terry, vice-presidents ; Recording Secretary, James Grady; Corresponding Secretary, Jane Gilmore ; Treasurer, Miss Mattie Bay; Board of Managers, Mrs. Maggie Eghert, Ephraim Gilmore and Annie Williams. The charter was given the society by John P. St. John, president, and J. E. Letton, secretary, of the national society.

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There is yet another society now in operation at Millersburg, for the moral cultivation of its children. This is the Woman's Christian Temperance Union. It was organized in 1880, at the Methodist church. The first members of the society deserve to be remembered by those who come after, as they embrace the ladies of most of the leading families in and abont Millersburg. They are as follows : Mrs. Eddy, Mrs. M. Bay, Miss S. E. Thornton, Miss A. Shafer, Mrs. Bur- gess, Mrs. B. C. Greene, Mrs. M. Boyd, Mrs. M. E. Boyd, Mrs. T. Cornell, Mrs. Boyles, Mrs. Vernon, Mrs. L. Thornton, Mrs. L. Landreth, Mrs. M. A. Lee, Mrs. M. E. Sivens, Mrs. Norbury, Mrs. T. Gilmore, Mrs. J. M. Gilmore, Mrs. Dr. Chowning, Mrs. Ellen Everett, Mrs. J. Morey, Miss J. Farran. The funds accumulating from initiation fees and term dues are used to procure reading matter that will interest the children, and direct them in a right direction as to other literature. The present number of members is eighteen. The first officers of the society were : President, Mrs. E. Eddy; Vice- presidents, Mrs. E. Bay, Mrs. Burges and Mrs. E. Dunn ; Correspond- ing Secretary, Mrs. R. Green; Recording Secretary, Miss S. E. Thornton ; Treasurer, Miss A. Shafer. The present officers are : Mrs. M. Merriman, president, with Mrs. Burges and M. Eghert, vice- presidents ; corresponding and recording secretaries same as the first.

The Children's Temperance Society was organized in 1882, with twenty-two members. Its officers are: President, Mrs. Dr. Chown- ing; Vice-Presidents, Miss. A. Shafer and Mrs. W. Eghert. This society is kept in the interest of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union. Credit must be given the ladies of Millersburg and the sur- rounding country for the active and energetic part they have ever taken to build up a good class of society around them, and banish from their midst those evils and temptations which tend to destroy the harmonious progression of well regulated society.

CHURCH HISTORY.

This part of the history of Millersburg is no less interesting than her temperance history. As we have before stated, in the cabin of the first settler in the town in 1836 begins this department of Millersburg's history. Until the court-house was completed in 1839 the several denominations represented here held their meetings at the houses of their members and in the groves, when, in 1844, the first school- honse was built, and meetings were held in it and at the court-house till churches were erected. The first organization of the Presbyterian faith in Mercer county was at what is now known as Pope's Creek, in 1837, with John Montgomery as pastor. The advocates o Presby-

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terianism living at Millersburg and the surrounding country attended church at that place and made up a part of the society. In 1839 they began to have regular services at Millersburg, which were held in the court-house till 1844, but had no organization of their own till about the close of 1843 or the beginning of 1844. John Montgomery was their first regular preacher in the court-house. In 1844, the time of the building of the first school-house in Millersburg, the house was made larger than was needed for school that it might serve for both school-house and church. At this time the following-named persons were dismissed from the Pope Creek church to organize a society at Millersburg: Messrs. E. Gilmore, J. M. Gilmore, Henry Lee, Edward and John Brady, J. T. McGinnis, J. G. Gilmore, A. A. Sherer, Samuel Guffy, John Kiddoo, Graham Lee, David Morrow and H. W. Thornton. The ladies were: Betsy King, Margaret S. Gilmore, Ann J. Taylor, Martha Lee, Mary Marsh, Mary E. Murphy, Sarah E. Lloyd, Sarah Clark, Elizabeth A. Edgar, Elizabeth Davis, Mary M. Steele, Mary Sherer, Eliza Brady, Catherine Gilmore, Tabitha W. Bay, Mary A. McGinnis, Mary Guffy, Eliza Kiddoo, Elizabeth Morrow, E. F. Thornton, Rachel T. Willitts and Hannah Reed, making in all forty- four members to organize and establish the first church in Millersburg. The society held services in the above-mentioned school-house till 1854, when was erected the present church edifice, a frame building, at a cost of $1,600. Its size is 40×50, with a seating capacity for 300 persons. It has several times been refitted, and even now, as to outward appear- ances, is comparatively a new building. The ministers who have served this congregation since it began to have preaching are: Rev. John Montgomery, from 1839 to 1843; Thomas Vail, till 1848 or 1849 ; L. V. Crittenden, 1854; A. Loomis, till 1858; J. N. Jamison, till 1861 ; William Dool, from 1865 to 1869 ; J. McBride, till 1872; Joel Kennedy, three years, and till 1879. The present pastor is W. B. Phelps. The first officers of the church were: Elders, Ephraim Gilmore, J. W. Nevius. Shortly after the organization J. T. McGinnis, J. M. Gilmore and Henry Lee were added to the eldership.

The largest membership the society ever numbered at any one time was 140 members. It now numbers little more than one-fourth that number. This reduction has been owing to circumstances. The greatest drain upon the society has been the number that have been dis- missed to organize other societies. At one time there were dismissed forty-five members to organize a society south of the Edwards, at what is now Peniel church ; at another, eighteen were dismissed to organize a society at Hamlet in Perryton township ; and several were dismissed to unite with the Perryton society in Perryton township. This church

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society has always had Sunday-school at its church-house, but not con- nected with the church. The Sunday-school which it has always supported was organized at Millersburg, in the court-house in 1842, by the American Sunday-school Union. Among the members of this society since its organization are the names of many prominent families, both of the past and present.

The next church organization in age and extent is the Methodist Episcopal church. The people of this faith who located here at an early day, like the Presbyterians, held their meetings at private houses and in groves till the court-house was erected, when they used that till the school-house was built in 1844, when they held services there till they erected their first church building.

The early pioneers of the Methodist Episcopal church worshiped at Camden Mills (now Milan, Rock Island county), and for several years only had preaching at Millersburg now and then. It remained a part of the Camden Mills circuit till 1865, when it became the Mil- lersburg circuit, then including Aledo, which was afterward detached from the circuit. They began to have regular preaching about 1850, but no organization distinct from the Camden Mills church till 1857, when the organization was effected and included in the Peoria con- ference. R. N. More was the elder who presided here at the organi- zation. J. W. Long was secretary of the meeting. D. M. Falkinbury was first pastor in charge. James Sheriff, Jacob Wharton and John Ashbaugh were the first class-leaders. The first stewards were : J. W. Lane, Ambrose Eddy, Jacob Colier, Peter Blue, E. C. Partlet, William T. Shafer, and Joseph Richmond. Samuel Wharton was appointed Sunday-school superintendent, and Samuel Artz assistant superintendent. The Methodist Episcopal society erected their first and present church building, 40× 60, seating room 40 × 50 feet, in 1857, at a cost of $4,000. Previous to erecting this present church a build- ing was begun on the same foundation, and when partly completed, was blown down by a storm. This was a sad thing for the church; it needed a place for worship, and the generosity of many had received considerable tension, and it seemed like raising mountains of granite from their foundations to arouse the people again to a necessity of beginning a second building, and to renew their subscriptions for that purpose. Citizens with money to loan were less common than now. But in the face of all this opposition the Methodist Episcopal people went to work with a will which meant to carry the point, and did so. The building is well furnished, and the best in the town. The church has enjoyed a good degree of prosperity since its organization. Like the Presbyterian church, it has come up from the pioneer days, and

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among its members since the church was established here. and before,. are many of the prominent families, not only of Millersburg township,. but of the county.

The ministers who have labored here since 1857, are: F. A. Falkinbury, from 1857 to 1858, during which time Joseph Richmond was exhorter in the church; L. D. Crouch, till 1860; Z. E. Kaufman, till 1861; J. D. Taylor, till 1863; L. S. Ashbaugh, till 1864; J. D. Taylor again, till 1865; James Cowden, till 1866 ; M. P. Armstrong, till 1868, who came here from Indiana, and as the conference year of the two conferences did not end at the same time, his place was filled, till his time expired in Indiana, by J. H. Payton ; A. Morey, till 1870; A. Beeler, till 1871; Thomas Head, till 1874; J. J. Walter, till 1875; G. M. Morey, till 1878. Present pastor in charge is G. W. Frizell. The present officers are : Ambrose Eddy, J. D. Strat- tan, J. II. Purdum and Dr. J. P. Chowning, church stewards ; Jacob Wharton, William Dunn, Ambrose Eddy, J. D. Strattan and S. H. Riddell, trustees; Charles York, J. H. Purdum and William Robinson, parsonage trustees.

The Methodist Episcopal church has had connected with its organi- zation, since 1857, a live and profitable Sunday-school. Previous to 1857 they labored in the capacity of a Sunday-school in the interest and under the auspices of the American Sunday School Union. The school is now kept in operation throughout the year. and is in a prosperous condition.

LATTER-DAY SAINTS' CHURCH.

The third and last of the churches now represented in Millersburg. is the Latter-Day Saints' church, not unfrequently called Mormons, but the people of this faith here detest the very idea of polygamy. This doctrine of the church was first preached in the county about 1840, by Elder G. M. Ilinkle. The first society in the county was. organized in 1861 in Duncan township. The members of this faith then at Millersburg worshiped with the congregation in Duncan town- ship till 1872, when they were organized into a distinct society, which met at private residences for worship for a short time after its organ- ization, and other buildings suitable, till 1876, when they built their present church-house at a cost of $600. The first members were as. follows: W. S. Morrison. Joseph Harris, James Vernon, Eliza Vernon, Viola Vernon, J. M. Terry, Mary Terry, Elizabeth, Emma, Stephen, Theresa, James and Nancy Miller, Jasper, Mary, Mary E., Clara, Juliet. Adelaide and Edward Duncan, Hannah Terry, Margaret Brown, William Cardman, Sarah Cardman, Elizabeth Webb. The present members number forty-six.

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A partial list of the ministers, as furnished us, is as follows : J. M. Terry, J. W. Terry, E. Bryant, J. L. Terry and J. B. Harris, present pastor in charge. The first officers were J. B. Harris and J. M. Terry. The present officers are J. L. Terry, E. Bryant and J. W. Terry. The first death that occurred in the society was that of W. S. Morrison in 1873. The society is in a prosperous condition. It receives much uncalled-for censure because of the infamous doctrine preached by the Utah church.

While these three church societies compose those who have erected church buildings in Millersburg, they do not embrace all the creeds represented by her people. The earliest preaching at Millersburg was of the predestinarian Baptist faith, which at that time was rapidly losing its favor with the people from whence came the greater part of the early settlers of Millersburg. In addition to these Baptists were the Missionary Baptist, who have had at no time in the history of the settlement of the township a church buliding and a regular organized society, but have had, at irregular intervals, preaching almost from the beginning of the settlement. The people a part of the time held their meetings in the Presbyterian church building, and the remainder in the school-house and at other places. In 1870 G. M. Zook preached here regularly for one year; he was followed by A. F. Sharpner. Among others who have from time to time labored here in the ministerial capacity are M. D. Murdock and J. W. Washdale. Owing to the fact that no record of the early settlers who held to the Missionary Baptist faith has been kept of those who resided at and around Millersburg, we are not able to give a list of their names, and give only the names of this faith at this time residing here: A. P. Sharpner and family, Thomas Landreth and family, James Burges and wife. Herschel Felton and wife, and James Cash. These hold their membership at Antioch, in Duncan township, or at Aledo. Such is the history of the religions sects of the town of Millersburg from its first settlement.

INDEPENDENT ORDER OF ODD-FELLOWS.

This society ranks high in this vicinity in morals, business ability and intelligence. The history of its organization and progress, as follows, has been prepared by a committee appointed for the purpose.

Iris Lodge, No. 267, I.O.O.F., was organized December 13, 1858, by William L. Green, James McJenkins, J. W. Close, John S. Moore and O. C. Allen, over the old store of O. A. Bridgford. J. W. Close is the only living charter member, as known by the

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lodge at the present time. The first officers of the lodge were as follows: N.G., W. L. Green; V.G., J. W. Close; Sec., James McJenkins ; Treas., J. S. Moore. The first members of Iris Lodge had a pretty hard struggle to keep life in the organization ; for, when the lodge was yet young, a number of the members were called away to the army, which left only about a quorum, and it was a hard matter to get all out at once. But by hard work they pulled through. The brethren never forgot those who were called away to help in the sup- pression of rebellion, and showed their interest in the absent ones by paying all back dues, and in gaining help. The first death in the lodge was that of Lewis Trimble, and the whole number of deaths since the lodge was organized is five. The progress of the lodge, since the close of the war, has been very rapid, increasing from the five charter members to an average of forty members in good standing, and from a state of bankruptcy to a surplus of $1,500. The society now owns their own hall, which is very neat and attractive, and claims as a mein- bership the best men that society affords. The present officers of the lodge are as follows: N.G., C. C. Brown; V.G., W. W. Wakeland ; Sec., J. U. Roberts; Treas., J. N. Close. The number of members at present is forty-five. The society has occupied one building almost all the time, and it cost $500. The lodge is now in a prosperous condition, and is one of the ablest lodges in the county.

Millersburg public schools is one of the institutions in which her people take great pride, and it is well that they should feel proud of an institution that can prepare her sons and daughters to become men and women among men and women. About the first, if not the very first, school taught in Millersburg, was kept in H. W. Thornton's law office by a man named Bell, in 1838. After this, school was held in the court-house till 1844, when the first house for school purposes was erected. Harry Scenter, David Felton, Hiram Hardie, Mrs. H. W. Thornton, David Lloyd, Charles Winchip and Joseph McChesney were pioneer teachers of Millersburg, some of whom taught both in the rural districts and in town. The first school building was used for school purposes till 1862, when the present spacious brick school-house was erected, with four departments. The present principal is Prof. Daniel Farmer, of Normal, Illinois. A word complimenting the sys- tematic course of instruction is not out of place. Students are fitted here for teachers without further drill.

The other village in the township is Joy, located on the Keithsburg division of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy railroad. It was laid out in 1869 by L. W. Thompson and William Ungles, on section 19. The first business house in the place was a store of general mer-

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History of Mercer and Henderson Counties : together with biographical matter, statistics, etc, Part 21

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