USA > Illinois > Mercer County > History of Mercer and Henderson Counties : together with biographical matter, statistics, etc > Part 83
USA > Illinois > Henderson County > History of Mercer and Henderson Counties : together with biographical matter, statistics, etc > Part 83
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859
ELEVENTH ILLINOIS CAVALRY.
moved with Gen. Steele's army against Little Rock, fighting on the way, and occupying the place on September 10. The regiment went next to Duvall's Bluff, and remained there on garrison duty, with Col. Richmond as post commandant, until August 19, 1864. On June 26 it was in action at Clarendon. It marched to Pine Bluff, going by way of Little Rock ; on February 12 it moved to the mouth of White river, and June 4 returned to Pine Bluff, where it was mustered out July 12, 1865.
ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT, INFANTRY, COMPANY F.
Company F of this regiment was raised in Mercer county, in May, 1864, by Van R. Harriott, of Viola, and George Boone and R. S. Os- born, of Aledo, and was mustered in June 18th, with eighty men, for 100 days. The officers were : Osborn, captain ; Boone, first lieuten- ant, and Harriott, second lieutenant. The company rendezvoused at Rock Island, May 9th; from there it went to Dixon, and thence to camp Butler. The regiment was stationed at Lafayette, Tennessee, and also did duty at Memphis, but was never in action. Some mem- bers of company F had a fight at Lafayette, August Sth, with bush- whackers, and Edward B. Harris, of Perryton, and John W. Maury, of Aledo, were killed, and Alfred F. Noble, of New Boston, Robert Breakey and Milton M. Jones were wounded, the former mortally. The following died of disease : Jonathan Mounts, Joseph M. Sawyer, and Zachariah T. Warren. The 140th was mustered out October 29, 1864.
ELEVENTH ILLINOIS CAVALRY, COMPANY C.
This regiment was raised by the famous orator and philanthropist Col. Robert G. Ingersoll, and was rendezvoused at Peoria, and mus- tered into service in December, 1861. In company C were fifteen or more men from Mercer county, nearly all of them from Suez township. George W. Freeman, then of Galesburg, now of Amboy, Lee county, Illinois, was captain ; Charles E. Johnson, of Ionia, first lieutenant ; and Moses T. Lewman, of San Jose, second lieutenant. George W. Greenwood, of Pope Creek, was first sergeant, and rose regularly to the captaincy.
860
HISTORY OF MERCER AND HENDERSON COUNTIES.
Company H had in its ranks several men from Henderson county. Capt. John C. Knowlton was a Henderson county man. All the first lieutenants that the company ever had (Francis Le Clair, Henry M. Cornell, James G. Hull, and James R. Reasoner) belonged to the same county. Cornell was first sergeant, and once promoted. Reas- oner was second duty sergeant, and promoted first and second lieu- tenant. Hull was the last of the three captains. Unhappily no mem- oranda of the movements of the Eleventh have been officially pre- served, and time is too short for the research that would be necessary for a sketch, brief as it would have to be.
LIEUT. ALVAH W. PAUL DECEASED )
HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY.
CONTRIBUTED BY J. SIMPSON, ESQ.
Henderson county, which once formed 'a part of Warren county, is situated upon the western border of the state, and is comprised of eight full townships and six fractional townships, aggregating about 400 square miles. It is bounded on the north by Mercer county, on the east by Warren county, on the south by McDonough and Hancock counties, and on the west by the Mississippi river. Numerous streams break the surface in their passage from the eastern part to their outlet, the Mississippi river. The largest of these streams is Henderson river, which rises north and east of the county, and passes in a southwesterly direction, and empties into the Mississippi about midway between Oquawka, the county seat of Henderson county, and Burlington, Iowa. Cedar creek rises in Knox county, and empties into the Henderson in township 12 N., 4 W., in the northeastern part of the county. It is a small stream, but in times of heavy rains it leaves its banks and spreads over a large space, doing great damage. Fall creek, North and South Smith creeks are small streams which empty into Hender- son a little east and north of Oquawka. South Henderson rises in the eastern part of the county and enters Henderson a half of a mile north of the town of Gladstone. Farther to the south Ellison creek runs from east to west through the county, and empties into the Mississippi above the town of Carman. Still farther south in the county are Honey and Dugout creeks, running in a westerly direction. The prairies of this county comprise something less than half of its area. The soil of the prairie is excellent for agricultural purposes, consisting of a blackish loam underlaid with a brown clay. On the high lands that bound the streams the soil is lighter and less productive. These high lands were formerly covered with timber ; but improvidence in its use and ravages of fire have, in a great measure, denuded these ridges, and the process of destruction still goes on. The common growth was the different varieties of oak, with some hickory, with an under- growth of hazel interspersed with some sumac. On the lower lands, and in the bottoms we find the various species of elm, linden, ash,
49
864
HISTORY OF MERCER AND HENDERSON COUNTIES.
maple, box-elder, cottonwood, buckeye, black walnut, butternut, honey and black locust, aspen, wild cherry, hackberry, mulberry, coffee tree, crab-apple, redbud, and many other varieties of small growth of tim- , ber. From the north end of the county to near Camp creek on the south extends a belt of bottom land of an average width of about two and one-half miles. A portion of this belt is rich black loam, very fertile and producing heavy crops. However, . the overflow of the Mississippi in spring time renders business of farming these lands very uncertain. Along this belt extends between the bluff and river, for nearly the entire length of the county, elevations or sand ridges, embracing many square miles of unproductive land, although a portion of these sand lands are cultivated with success, producing remunera- tive crops. This sandy soil is especially adapted to the culture of sorghum or sugar cane, which is at the present time being quite exten- sively cultivated. And in view of the success attending the use of improved machinery in other portions of the state, there is every reason to expect that the future value of these sand lands will be greatly enhanced.
This county is favored with numerous springs of excellent water, furnishing a constant and copious supply, sufficient for the necessities of large herds of cattle. Little difficulty is found in obtaining a water supply in wells at a very moderate depth, varying from ten to fifty feet. There have been found some mineral springs of some value, but few, if any, have been subjected to a chemical analysis, so as to deter- mine their medicinal qualities. However, it is known that copperas is the mineral most commonly held in solution by their waters. Hender- son county has an abundant supply of building stone, which may be said to be inexhaustible. It is of the species called by geologists Bur- lington limestone, and is found in and along the bluffs, extending the entire length of the county, and to some extent along the bluff's of the creeks which find their outlet in the Mississippi. This rock is found to be light colored massive limestone, standing exposure well and the effects of the weather. There are many quarries of this stone open and worked along the bluffs of Ellison and Henderson creeks. The most extensive quarry in the county is on South Henderson, and is worked by August Wallbaum, Esq., near the town of Gladstone, on the line of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy railroad. Here an extensive busi- ness is carried on in quarrying and finishing stone for buildings of all kinds. Many of the best buildings in the state are furnished with material from this quarry. The court-houses in Freeport and Macomb are built of this stone. The government buildings at Omaha are like- wise built of stone from this quarry. As many as seventy-five hands
865
HENDERSON COUNTY.
are constantly employed the greater portion of the year in carrying on this business. This county is so unfortunate as to find but a very small supply of coal within her limits. On Secs. 24 and 26, T. 9 N., + W., a thin seam has been found, but this supply is but a scant amount and that of an inferior quality. Many hope yet to find coal in adequate supply, but scientific examination gives small promise for the realiza- tion of their hopes, and this county may expect to depend upon more favored localities for her supply of coal. The soil of the county is well adapted to the production of corn, wheat, and other grains, and fruit of all kinds, adapted to this latitude, is produced in abundance, although along the bluff lines orchards thrive better than on prairie or bottom lands, and in the bottoms and upon the timbered portion of the sand ridges, the wild grape grows Inxuriantly, yielding a grape that produces an excellent wine.
ORGANIZATION OF THE COUNTY.
With this brief geographical view of the territory, it is proper now to pass to the organization of the county. As stated in the beginning, this county was formerly embraced in, and formed a part of, Warren county. In the year 1841 an act was passed by the general assembly, and duly approved, creating the county of Henderson, the following being a correct copy of the act:
An Act to Establish the County of Henderson :- SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the people of the State of Illinois, represented in the gen- eral assembly : that all that part of the now county of Warren lying west of range three of the third principal meridian, be, and the same is hereby created, into a new county, to be called the county of Hen- derson.
SEC. 2. The county seat of said county of Henderson shall be, and is hereby permanently located at the town of Oquawka, in said county of Henderson ; provided, the proprietors of said town of Oquawka shall donate and convey to the county commissioners of Henderson county, (for the time being) for the use and benefit of said county in fee simple not less than two hundred of the average of the unsold or unimproved lots, in said town of Oqnawka, the proceeds of the sale of said town lots, or so much thereof as may be required, shall be appropriated exclusively to the erection of public buildings.
SEC. 3. In case of the removal of the county seat from said town of Oquawka, the public buildings and the lots upon which they may stand shall revert and become the property of said proprietors and their heirs forever thereafter, and also all lots remaining unsold at the the time of removal.
866
HISTORY OF MERCER AND HENDERSON COUNTIES.
SEC. 4. The legal voters of the county of Henderson shall meet at the usual places of holding elections in said county, on the first Mon- day in April, 1841, and proceed to elect all county officers, except one commissioner and the justices of the peace and constables at present residing therein, who shall continue to discharge the duties of their offices, respectively, in and for the county of Henderson, in the same manner as though Warren county had not been divided. The officers elected under the provisions of this act shall hold their offices until the next regular election, and until their successors are elected and qualified.
SEC. 5. The county commissioners of said county of Henderson shall meet in the town of Oquawka, on the third Monday of April, 1841, and after being duly qualified, shall proceed to hold court and perform such duties as are required by law of other county commis- sioners' courts. Of the commissioners elected under the provisions of this act, the one receiving the highest number of votes shall hold his office for the term of three years from and after [the] first Monday in August next; the one receiving the second highest number of votes shall hold his office for the term of two years from and after that period.
SEC. 6. The county commissioners shall, whenever in their opinion the interests of the county may demand and require the sale of the whole or any part of the lots donated as aforesaid, proceed to sell the same, in such manner, and on such terms they may deem advisable for the interests of the county.
SEC. 7. The election returns for the officers herein provided to be elected, shall be made in the same manner, and within the same time as all other elections, except that the returns shall be made to John B. Patterson, an acting justice of the peace, of said county, or in case of his death or inability to act, any other justice of the peace of said county, who shall call to his assistance two other justices of the peace of said county, and proceed to open the returns of the election, and in all things perform the duties required of the county commissioners' court and justices of the peace in like cases.
SEC. S. The county commissioners' court at their first term to be holden on the third Monday of April, 1841, shall proceed, together with the proprietors of the said town of Oquawka, to select the num- ber of town lots herein before provided to be donated, and so soon as the selection shall be made and agreed upon, the proprietors shall im- mediately thereupon execute a deed in fee simple for said lots to the county commissioners for the time being, for the use and benefit of said county, which deed when so made and acknowledged and received shall be entered upon the records of said court, and also be recorded as other deeds are in the office of the county recorder.
867
EARLY SETTLEMENTS.
SEC. 9. The school commissioner of Warren county shall pay over to the commissioners of Henderson county, upon demand being made by said county commissioners, or their legally constituted agent, all moneys, notes and other papers which may be in his hands at the time of such demand, and which may rightfully belong to said county of Henderson, by reason of the sale of any school lands located within the county of Henderson, and also its proportion of the interest arising from the college and seminary fund, the basis of which payment shall be made upon the late census of Warren county.
SEC. 10. All officers elected under and pursuant to the provisions of this act, shall be required to take such oath or affirmation and give such bond and security as are or may be required of like officers in other counties, and upon a failure so to do, the same penalties and for- feitures shall apply as in similar cases under the laws of this state.
SEC. 11. It shall be the duty of the county commissioners' court of Henderson county, at their first meeting on the first Monday of April next, as provided in the fifth section of this act, to proceed to levy a tax for state and county purposes, as required by the law in relation to the public revenue, in the same manner as though they had met on the first Monday of March, as now required, and shall also do and per- form all other things necessary and lawful to insure the collection of the state and county revenue in said county of Henderson.
Approved January 20, 1841.
The general assembly of the state also passed an act, approved February 19, 1841, entitled, " An act to authorize the election of an additional county commissioner in Henderson county."
SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the people of the State of Illinois, repre- sented in the general assembly, that on the first Monday in August next, there shall be elected in the county of Henderson, one county commissioner for said county in addition to the members already pro- vided to be elected by the act entitled "An act creating the county of Henderson, approved January 20, 1841," who shall hold his office for one year from and after said first Monday of August next, as aforesaid ; and thereafter election for county commissioners shall be held, notice given, and returns made thereof in the same manner as now re- quired by law. Approved February 19, 1841. The boundaries of the county remain as at first designated by the general assembly.
EARLY SETTLEMENTS.
· Did time and space, and the limits of the writer of this article permit, a volume could be written of the early settlement, growth and prosperity of this county. The struggles and privations of the pioneer
868
HISTORY OF MERCER AND HENDERSON COUNTIES.
are but repetitions of experiences of frontier life, which are full of inci- dents that, portrayed in all their minuteness, would form volumes of instructive and interesting history. The vast west, the continually re- ceding frontier demanded then, as now, daring, self-sacrificing men and women, who were willing to make sacrifice of the pleasures derived from the society of the older and populous states, and seek in western wilds to assist in laying the foundations of new empires. It is well that it is so. How else could these almost limitless regions have ever been settled ? That spirit of enterprise, that love of adventure, that reckless braving of all dangers, seems to have been an inheritance of those men and women peculiarly raised up to meet the demands of the great west, in filling her borders with a vigorous, intelligent and self-reliant people. Looking back into the past we have seen genera- tion succeed generation in the older states, men content to live where their fathers lived, and die where their fathers died, without that restless desire for roaming that has characterized our people in later days. With the opening of new states and territories we have witnessed a new spirit infusing itself into our population. The home of childhood. the graves of ancestors, have been but feeble ties to bind the restless spirit whose vision was fixed in the direc- tion of the setting sun, and saw spread out before him the field where wealth and honor were to be won. The world has looked on and wondered, as they have seen the mighty tide of emigration moving westward with such quiet and resistless force, breaking down all bar- riers, overcoming all obstacles, and organizing states as if by magic, filled with intelligent, thrifty and orderly people. Powerful Indian tribes have melted away and given place to a refined commercial peo- ple. Neighboring nations who seemed to stand in the path of our on- ward progress, have, after short conflict, or direct diplomacy, given ground and sought peace at the price of dismembered territory, which was added to our almost boundless empire. No wonder that the poet sang :
"Oh, vale of Rio Bravo, let thy simple children weep. Close watch about their holy fires, let maids of Pecos keep. For lo, the pale land seeker comes with eager eyes of gain Wide-spreading like the Bison herd on green Salada's plain, Full hot and fast the Saxon rides with rein of travel slack And bending o'er his saddle leaves the sunrise at his back."
The nature and character of the country demanded such a people, and they sprang forth; they had a mission to fulfill, and they addressed themselves to the task of fulfilling it. That mission was the peopling of new states, establishing societies founded on law and order, subdning
869
EARLY SETTLEMENTS.
the wilds of the unknown west, and with capital and labor combined preparing this vast region of country as a home for the teeming millions of the future. Those men by their energy and bravery, gave us safety where they found danger, gave us quiet and peace where they found savage warfare. We reckon it almost in days since the time when, where we now sit surrounded by all comforts and luxuries of civilized life, the wild prairie grass waved in the wind, and the pon- derous buffalo galloped over the plain unmolested by the pale hunter, and to quote an eloquent writer, "Here lived and loved another race of people. Beneath the same sun that shines on us the Indian hunter pursued the panting deer; gazing on the same moon that nightly smiles on us, the Indian lover wooed his dusky mate. Here, too, they warred, and when the tiger strife was over, here curled the smoke of peace." This has all passed away, and the pioneer has gone.
To wed Penobscot's water to San Francisco's bay, . Joyful on his way
To make the rugged places smooth and sow the vales with grain, And bear with liberty and law the bible in his train."
It is no easy task to determine with certainty who was actually the first to make a permanent settlement in this county, and if a slight error shall be found in this sketch, it will only show the liability of any one to fall into an error, while trusting to memory of others as to dates and events running back for a half of a century. The writer has sought what seemed to be the most reliable source of information. Little could be found recorded to throw light upon the questions.
In 1828 John Campbell came to this section of country and made his home on Henderson river, about two miles east of Oquawka land- ing, on what has been for many years known as the "Devil's Half Acre," a name given the locality by Rev. Peter Cartwright in early times on account, as he thought, of its appropriateness. Mr. Campbell improved the land now owned by Newton Wood on the S. W. ¿ of Sec. 35, T. 11 N., 5 W., being the field that lies north of the Oquawka road and east of Mr. Wood's house. He broke the ground in 1828, and raised a crop on it in 1829. In the year 1828 James Ryerson settled in the territory embraced within this county, on Sec. 3, T. 10 N .. 5 W., upon which he has ever since resided, and broke the land prepara- tory to a crop for the following year. In the same year, however, he raised a crop on the land then owned by S. S. Phelps on Henderson creek, about two miles southeast of Oquawka, on what is now known as the Capt. James Findley farm. Mr. Ryerson still maintains his bodily and mental faculties, although upward of eighty years of age. He is often seen on the streets of the town actively attending to his
870
HISTORY OF MERCER AND HENDERSON COUNTIES.
every-day business. Throughout his long life he has ever maintained a high character as a citizen, and in all the relations of life his charac- ter stands without reproach. Prior to 1828 Jeremiah Smith erected a saw-mill near the place where now stands the flour-mill on Henderson, upon the "Half Acre." In the year 1828 Smith and a partner built an addition to the saw-mill and placed two run of stone in it for grinding grain. Shortly afterward Martin Woods settled at this mill locality and became the active miller at that place. He and his son (Newton Woods) still reside upon premises adjoining the mill. This mill property has changed hands many times, and the locality was familiarly called "Jack's Mills," on account of the name of the owner at one time being Andrew T. W. Jaek, an eccentric Scotchman, who for many years carried on the milling business. The mill property is at present owned and operated by Jacob Rodmacher, who continues to do considerable business in a small way.
Large mills with all the modern improvements that science has brought to bear, together with the aid of concentrated capital, have wrought out a new order of things in the milling business, by pro- ducing a better article of flour, and at a lower price than can be afforded by small mills run upon the old style of doing business. These large mills have rendered the small ones comparatively valueless, and no longer in demand by the people. So it is in almost every other branch of business. In lumber, the large mill establishments have practically destroyed the small manufacturers, and compelled them to adopt like systems of combination of capital and labor, or see themselves under- sold until they are forced to leave the market. In the business of pork packing, in early time, every town upon the Mississippi river had its packing establishments, where a flourishing business was done during the winter months, in cutting hogs and curing the meat, and when spring opened navigation the steamers took this meat and lard in barrel and bulk to St. Louis or New Orleans. Now that is all passed away, and the business now is only carried on in the large cities, where immense structures and improved processes enable them to do the work more economically than can be done in small establishments.
Among the early settlers of the territory now embraced within the present limits of Henderson county was Judge John Pence. He was born January 15, 1776, in Shenandoah county, Virginia. In early life he was a slave-holder, but upon the death of his first wife, he freed all of his slaves and removed to Champaign county, Ohio, where he again married and removed to Bartholomew county, Indiana. Shortly after he became a citizen of the latter state he was elected county judge of Bartholomew county, and held the office for a term of six years. At
871
EARLY SETTLEMENTS.
this time his second wife died, and he married for his third wife a widow lady by the name of Record, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Heaton. From Indiana he removed to Illinois and settled near Joliet, where he lived for a short time, when he again moved and took up his residence in Rock Island county, in an old block house built by an In- dian chief, Black Hawk. He raised one crop at this point and then removed to a point on Henderson river, about three miles northeast of Oquawka, where he made his final settlement and home. The place has ever since been known by old settlers as the "Old Pence Farm." This was in 1829 that he made his last settlement. In 1830
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