History of Morgan county, Illinois : its past and present, containing a history of the county; its cities, towns, etc.; a biographical directory of its volunteers in the late rebellion; portraits of its early settlers and prominent men [etc., etc.], Part 35

Author:
Publication date: c1878
Publisher: Chicago : Donnelley, Loyd & co.
Number of Pages: 792

USA > Illinois > Morgan County > History of Morgan county, Illinois : its past and present, containing a history of the county; its cities, towns, etc.; a biographical directory of its volunteers in the late rebellion; portraits of its early settlers and prominent men [etc., etc.] > Part 35

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"Our arrival was expected, and preaching was appointed. At the proper hour we repaired to the place of worship. What would our peo- ple say now if we were to invite them to assemble in such a place for public worship? It was a log school-house, some twenty feet square, with a floor of split logs, and seats, so far as there were any of the same, with holes bored in them, and sticks driven in for legs. The chimney was of the style and structure most approved for log cabins, built out of doors, of logs and sticks, and occupying near half of one side of the room. Such was its condition the first time I met the congregation in that place. Before the next Sabbath the chimney had either fallen down or been removed, in preparation for warming the house by a stove. For two or three Sabbaths we met there before this vast opening in one side was again closed up. Desk or pulpit there were none, and to supply seats for all who could get into this little church, rails were brought in and laid from seat to seat."

· A stove was soon introduced into the church, and in this small cabin, serving as a house of worship and a house of instruction, regular meet- ings were maintained.

During the Summer of 1825 and 1826, building progressed rapidly in the new town. Mr. Carson's tavern was always full, and more than once the traveler was glad of a chance to shelter himself and enjoy the luxury of a bed on the puncheon floor, with his traveling cloak for a covering. Hospitality was a reigning virtue among the early pioneers of Illinois, and no one in search of a home on these western' prairies went unsheltered or hungry.

It was in the Autumn of 1826, that Judge William Thomas first came to Morgan County. As his journey here, and what he encountered on his arrival, are so fraught with interest, we will let him tell it in his own words, as he has given them in a letter to the Journal :

" On the 20th of Sept., 1826, I started from the office of Hon. Joseph R. Underwood, Bowling Green, Kentucky, for Peoria, Illinois, accompa- nied by Thomas A. Young, Esq., en route for Palmyra, Missouri. We traveled on horseback, and purposely selected a road by New Harmony, Indiana, then in possession of Mr. Owen, who was trying an experiment at the reorganization of society. His fame, and that of his society and system of government, had reached Kentucky through the newspapers, and we determined to spend sufficient time there to satisfy ourselves in regard to the condition and probable success of the experiment.

" We had been educated to believe that no society or organized com- munity could succeed in this country, whose foundation had no reference to the Bible. Neither of us were professing Christians, but our reading of law books and sound history had created the opinion, that without the Bible no people could be qualified to organize or maintain institutions of freedom. Mr. Owen's system had been in what was called successful operation for several years, and in almost every part of the country per-

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HISTORY , OF MORGAN COUNTY.

sons were found who pointed to its success as evidences of the correct- ness of his theory, and of the errors of all other systems. We found the community on the wane, tending fast to demoralization and dissolu- tion. We, however, found educated and intelligent men and women per- sisting in the notion that our system of government, and of religious worship, were all founded on erroneous views of the position which inen were designed by their Creator to occupy, as well with reference to their God as to each other.

" Having spent about twenty-four hours in the village and being sat- isfied from what we saw and heard that the community could not be kept together, after the adhesive power of supplies of food and raiment was exhausted, we resumed our journey. We passed through the coun- ties of White, Edwards, Wayne, and Marion to Clinton. A few miles north of Carlyle, I found an old acquaintance who constrained me to stop and spend a few days in his log cabin. I spent several days in this place, resting myself and horse. Whilst here, I became satisfied, that Peoria was too far north and west, beyond the settlement of the country for the location of an attorney at law, and determined from information obtained from those who had passed through this part of the State, to make Jacksonville my place of residence. Whilst resting with my friend I visited Carlyle and found the fever and ague operating upon almost every person that I saw. Two gentlemen here, one of whom is still liv- ing, offered to give me a lot and build me an office if I would settle in the village. I respectfully declined the offer, and told my friend that I would not settle in such a sickly place for all the town. I passed from this place to Belleville to deliver some letters to Governor Edwards and obtain further information in regard to the country, and here I found the first corn bread and bacon that I had seen since crossing the Ohio river. After spending two nights and a day here, I came to Edwardsville to obtain the signature of Judge Lockwood to my law license, and here I fared sumptuously at a tavern kept by Mr. Hopkins, for it so happened that Judge Lockwood had just returned from Missouri with his lately married wife, and his friends had collected to a bridal dinner. I remained here until after dinner the next day, and then set out for Upper Alton, where I spent the night."

Honorable Samuel D. Lockwood, afterward for more than twenty years a resident of Jacksonville, was one of the most prominent men of Mor- gan County. In January, 1821, he was elected by the legislature attorney general of the State, which office he resigned in 1822, having been nominated by Governor Coles for Secretary of the State and confirmed by the unan- imous vote of the Senate, This office he resigned during the same or succeeding year, and accepted the position of Receiver of the Public Moneys at the land office at Edwards. In 1825 he was elected by the legislature, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, which office lie held until after the election of judges under the constitution of 1847. when he resigned before his term expired. He was one of the trustees of the Illinois Central Railroad Company, when the road was first incorporated by the State. His death occurred in April, 1874.

" All the information obtained at Belleville, Edwardsville, and Alton corresponded with that previously obtained - that Morgan County was destined to be one of the richest and most populous

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HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY.

counties in this State, and that Jacksonville was necessarily a desirable location. From Alton I came to Carrollton, taking breakfast at John Williams'. From Carrollton I came to Jacksonville, taking dinner at Judge Mark's, now Manchester, then called 'Burnt Haystacks.' I reached Jacksonville on the 12th of October, about eight o'clock at night. I put up at David Tefft's, who occupied a double frame one story build- ing as a tavern on the east side of the square, where I remained about a week when, through the influence of Dr. Ero Chandler, I obtained board- ing with Mr. Henry Robley, a farmer and blacksmith, over a mile east of the court house, and entirely out of town. From Carrollton to Edwards- ville via Belleville, the country was beautiful, the land apparently rich, but thinly settled, with but few good houses or with improved farms. From Edwardsville to Alton the road passed over a wooden and broken country, thin land, and but few farms. From Alton to Carrollton after passing Piasa Creek, and getting on the prairie, the country was level, though sufficiently undulating for agricultural purposes. To Macoupin Creek and from there to Carrollton the road passes over a timbered and poor country, with but two or three small farms and one small brick house. Between Carrollton and Apple Creek the timber, undergrowth, and vegetation indicated deep, rich soil, equal to any that I had ever seen. At Carrollton I put up at a tavern kept by Mr. Harrison, south of the square, in a small story and a half building. I went to a grocery store to purchase some cigars, when I found twenty or thirty men, (whom, I was told, were called Macoupinites,) drinking, carousing, cursing, swear- ing, singing obscene songs and telling stories on each other. They were enjoying themselves to the fullest. One of them, who appeared to be sober and quiet, after asking me where I was from and where I was going, said, ' you are too smart looking to be in this crowd, and I advise you to leave before the boys notice vou, they are a wild set.' I thanked him for his advice and returned to the tavern.

" This sober man I met some, twenty years afterward at Springfield. as a member of the legislature, suffering under a violent attack of con- gestive fever, of which he died. I sent after and procured a doctor for him and wrote his will.

" A few days before I reached Carrollton, there had been a general or regimental muster, at which all the militia of the county were required to attend for purposes of drill or training, and this had brought together the Macoupinites and others of like character. Many of them remained in Carrollton during the night after the muster, and not being able or willing to procure quarters in houses, spent the night in drinking, carous- ing, singing, fighting and in mischief, they caught one man (Mike Dood,) cut off a part of one of his ears, and nailed it on the door of the black- smith shop where it still remained. They shaved the mane and tail of Mr. Carroll's fine saddle horse, one of the best and finest looking horses that I ever saw ; they changed signs from house to house, removed gates, pulled down fences and removed buckets from wells.

" From the crossing of the Wabash River all the way to Jacksonville there seemed to be prevailing an epidemic of sore eyes. Several families in Jacksonville, and especially that of my landlord, David Tefft's were severely afflicted. I did not know when I reached Jacksonville that I would find a single acquaintance in the county. I however soon heard

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HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY.

of the family of Mr. Thomas Galton, of North Prairie, with which I had been acquainted from my earliest recollections, who kept the post-office in the neighborhood of my father's home in Kentucky during the war of 1812. I also met with Rev. Reddick Horn, here, with whom I had had a passing acquaintance in Simpson County Kentucky, and as time passed, I found a number of families with which I had been acquainted.

" Whatever may have been my, opinions of Jacksonville and the County of Morgan, or of the propriety of my making my home there, I had traveled about as far as my money and horse would carry me. I was, however, pleased with the country and location of the town, and con- sented to make my home here. The population of the town consisted of the families of Dennis Rockwell, Murray McConnell, Thomas Carson, John Massey, David Tefft, Samuel Blaine, George M. Richards, George Rearick, Joseph M. Fairfield, John Laughrey, John P. Tefft, Peter or John Savage, and with men without families, George Hackett, John Tansey and Benjamin Case, Samuel C. Richards, Moses Steward, Orson Cobb, Rice Dunbar, Joseph Coddington. McConnell, Carson, and David Tefft were the tavern keepers; John Massey the log house builder ; Fairfield Rearick and Moses Atwood, then called a very " green Yankee," were merchants; Richards was deputy county surveyor; Blaine and Dunbar were carpenters ; Laughrey was a brickmaker and John P. Tefft brickmaker and plasterer; Mr. Handy, the 'Buckeye carpenter'; Rockwell was clerk of the two courts, recorder, postmaster and notary public ; McConnell, Turney, and Case were the attorneys at law ; John Savage was a carpenter; Peter Savage followed breaking prairies and teaming generally ; Cobb was a tailor ; Coddington was a widower with- out occupation, but was subsequently engaged in dealing in horses, and afterward became merchant; George Hackett had been a merchant and partner of Fairfield, but was then engaged in lead mines -prospecting for lead. Mr. Rockwell resided on East State street, beyond the limits of the town plat, in the only entirely finished and comfortable log cabin in town, on the lot now occupied by Nich- olas Milburn. Several frame buildings and log cabins were being raised for the use of persons intending to occupy them. For a court house, the county had placed a frame building near, but north and west of the center of the square. The jail, built of sycamore logs, stood north of the square on the lot since occupied by the old brick jail. At the first election of sheriff, on the 3d Monday in November, 1823, William B. Green was elected ; at the second, August, 1824, Joseph M. Fairfield, who was best known by the name of the 'honest preacher,' was elected, and in August, 1826, Green was elected again. Failing to execute a bond in the time required by law, a second election was held in Decem- ber, 1826, when Green was again elected. He was an uneducated, vi- cious back-woodsman, with no qualifications for that or any other office. Aaron Wilson was judge of the court of probates, and resided on the place afterward known as the Robb farm, now owned by Hon. Wm. Brown. Not being able to obtain other employment, out of which to pay for board, and being out of funds, I engaged to teach school for three months, upon the old plan of obtaining subscribers for scholars. A log building had been erected, and used for a school house, in the south part of town, having no floor, chimney, doors, windows or loft, which I was to

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HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY.

occupy. In the month of November the house was finished, with an unjointed floor and loft, and sod and stick chimney, one window in the east and two in the north, with slabs for seats and wide plank for writing tables, and on the first Monday in December my school was opened in due form. About twenty-five scholars had been subscribed, with the understanding that each subscriber might send all the children that he could spare from service at home. I agreed to teach reading, writing, and the ground rules of arithmetic. I had scholars to learn A. B. C's, spelling, reading, writing, and arithmetic, and two only to study English grammar. I attended punctually every morning by seven o'clock, made a fire and had the room warm by the time the chil- dren arrived. Very soon I found that the Kentucky lawyer was giving general satisfaction, and the house was filled with chil- dren from the town and neighborhood, several families sending their children over two miles. I was to receive my pay in cash or produce, or pork, cattle or hogs at cash prices. I bargained with Mr. Bakley with whom I boarded to receive the pay from my subscribers for my board, and my three months school enabled me to pay for a year's board, beside furnishing money to pay postage and immediate expenses. My board cost me only one dollar a week, including washing, fuel, and lights. Mr. Bakley had two log cabins, one was given up to Dr. Chandler and my- self, and the other was occupied by his family. The winter was cold, with but little rain, but inore snow than has been usual since. I often had as many as fifty children in the school, and scarce ever less than thirty. It required about ten hours any day to hear the routine of lessons and frequently twelve. In passing about, I frequently meet with men and women who learned the alphabet in my school.

" The fever and ague had prevailed that fall in every neighborhood in the county, and especially on the river and margins of small streams. It had then been only about six and a half years since the first settlement in the county, and at the election in August previous, over one thousand votes had been taken, and a great majority of the inhabitants were from the South and West- the minority from the North and East, and old England. Places of residence were generally situated in the outskirts of timber adjoining the prairies, but few persons had consented to build as far as half a mile from timber, with few exceptions. These families resided in log cabins, covered with clapboards, chimneys made of sticks and mud, the floors of puncheon, fire-places of the same. The only brick yards that I noticed were near Jacksonville, one owned by Garrison W. Berry, on the land of Henry Robley, east of town, and one by John Laughrey, north of town.

"During the winter of 1826-27 we had frequent visits from the Indians, who had an encampment for hunting purposes near Beardstown, then called ' Downing's Landing,' or Beard's Ferry.

" In November, 1826, I first saw the Illinois River. The state of the water was too low for the navigation of loaded flat boats. Grass had grown up from the bottom so thick and strong, that ferry boats could not be used without mowing the grass, and opening the way. Except in the channel, occupying a narrow space, I could not discover any current. A short time after I reached Jacksonville, I heard of the time of the sales of the personal property of Rev. Mr. Bird, who had died in the January

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HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY.

previous. I went to that sale, expecting to meet some acquaintances from Kentucky. I met Mr. Thomas Gatten, and went home with him, and by him I was introduced to most of the settlers in that prairie. The log buildings and unfinished frames were at that day, as houses of worship, few and far between. I am confident that during the winter of 1826-7 there was not a comfortable meeting house in the county. Religious meetings were held in log and unplastered frames, school houses, and private dwellings. In warm weather, such meetings were often held in barns and under arbors in the woods. The first sermon that I ever heard in Jacksonville, was in the Fall of 1826, in the frame court house (subsequently burnt), preached by a Baptist minister, named Kenner, prepared for mothers, when the only female in attendance who had a child, was Mrs. Joseph Fairfield. During the winter of 1826-7, and previous, as well as subsequently to that time, the meetings of the Methodist Society were held at Mr. John Jourdan's, who was well known as Father Jourdan. He occupied a double log cabin, east of town, where now stands the building formerly called ' Berean College.' During the service the females occupied one room and the males the other, the beds being used for seats. During the winter, the society of Presbyterians, with the Rev. John Brich, their minister, met in the log school house occupied by me during the week, in the south side of the town. I acted as sexton, sweeping the house in the morning and building fires.

" Father Bricli, as he was called, though a bachelor, was an educated Englishman, but like many others, was' never able to make his learning avail him much as a public speaker, but he was a devoted Christian.

" Among the improvements in the county designed for public benefit

. . and convenience, was the grist and saw mill at Exeter, owned by Enoch C. March ; a band horse mill for grinding corn, owned by Capt. John Wyatt ; also one owned by Mr. Reeder, and one tread wheel mill, owned by James Overton, Esq .; Mr. Allen had a grist and saw mill, on Apple Creek, just above the crossing of the road from this place to Carrollton ; Thomas Prattan owned an ox, or tread mill, a short distance this side of the creek; a grist and saw mill on Indian Creek, owned by William Harrison and James Dinwiddie; a horse mill, owned by Mr. A. Hall, near the head of Indian Creek ; a saw mill, owned by Mr. James McGill, on the Mauvaisterre ; Mr. Abraham Johnson owned a cotton gin north of town.

" I soon found two classes in society. Those from the North and East were called ' yankees,' and those from the South and West ' white peo- ple.' The political division was between the supporters of John Quincy Adams and General Andrew Jackson ; the yankees supporting Adams, and the white people, Jackson. Most of those who had voted for Mr. Clay supported Mr. Adams. The election of August, 1826, had been warmly contested between Governor Edwards and Mr. Sloe, for gover- nor, and Daniel P. Cook and Joseph Duncan for Congress. Edwards and Duncan were elected by a small majority, though differing in politics. Duncan was one of the few public men who never had credit for what he was worth."

Governor Duncan was born in Paris, Bourbon County, Kentucky, in February, 1810. His father was a native of the Old Dominion, emigrated

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HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY.

to Kentucky at an early day, where he died during the childhood of Joseph, his youngest son. At the age of sixteen, Joseph Duncan, received a commission in the army, where he remained until the close of the war of 1812. In 1818, he came to Jackson County, Illinois, where he was not long after chosen major of militia, a rank he retained till the close of the Black Hawk war. In 1823, he was chosen a member of the State Senate. While a member of that body, he introduced a bill before it, providing for the establishment of a system of common schools in the State. This bill was most admirable in its provisions, and, had it been retained and acted upon, would have hastened the day of popular education. It was, unfortunately, repealed by the next Assembly, and the schools allowed to go on in their old way, till Judge William Thomas succeeded in passing the bill, referred to in the history of the schools elsewhere in this volume. In 1826, he was elected to the United States Senate, from the State at large, and continually elected until 1834. In August of that year, he was elected governor, holding the office one term. . Governor Duncan held at different times other offices of trust and honor, and was one of the ablest men in Illinois. He was a Presbyterian, liberal in his views, earnest in his work, and steadfast in his convictions. He died at his home in Jacksonville, January 15, 1844.

" In the Fall of 1826 we had a mail from St. Louis, via Alton and Carrollton, once in two weeks, and also a like mail from Springfield ; so arranged as to give a weekly mail.

" In the Summer of 1826 a young man named Carson, had been employed to teach school in the court house, but not meeting with such encouragement as he thought would pay, he abandoned his employers and left the neighborhood.

" In the Spring of 1827 I attended all the courts in the first Illinois circuit, Sangamon, Peoria, Fulton, Schuyler, Adams, Pike, and Calhoun. I rode a filley, and John Turney a young stallion, loaned to us by Mr. Joseph Klien, for the purpose of having them broke to the saddle. This was my first appearance at the courts. I had no right to expect to make more than traveling expenses. In Greene and Sangamon I paid my tav- ern bills by assisting the clerks, by making up their records. In Peoria I was appointed State's attorney, the attorney general not being in attendance, and here I made and collected ten silver dollars, for fees, allowed for the convictions upon indictments for affrays-besides, the clerk paid my tavern bill for making up the records. In Fulton, John Turney was appointed to assist the attorney general, but I made five dollars for attending to an appeal case. In Schuyler, Mr. Pugh · was appointed to represent the attorney general. We found but ten fam- ilies living at Rushville, the county seat, Hart Fellows, clerk of the two courts, probate judge and post master, and Mr. Terry Braden, recorder. At Lewiston the judge and attorneys were entertained by Judge Phelps, who refused to receive pay. At Rushville they were entertained by the clerk and recorder, without charge, though we paid a farmer named White for keeping our horses. I made nothing at Rushville. At Atlas, in Pike County, we met the attorney general. Here the judge and bar were entertained sumptuously by Captain Leonard Ross, one of nature's noblemen, and by Nathan Morrison, who not only refused compensation, but expressed regret that he could not entertain us longer. At Gilead,

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in Calhoun County, there was one small tavern house with a granery in one room, but the judge and attorneys obtained entertainment in private houses where we had small bills to pay. Here I was employed to defend a doctor, a poor man, in poor health, indicted for murder. The evidence showed the prosecution to have originated in ignorance and malice, and the verdict of the jury was 'not guilty ' for this the doctor paid me ten dollars, all that he was able to pay. I had no idea of ever seeing him again, as he seemed to be in the last stages of consumption, but some time afterward I met him in the legislature ; he recognized me, but I did not him.

" In July, 1827, Governor Edwards received information on which he relied and acted, that the Indians in the northwest, led by the Winne- bagos, intended to make war upon our settlers and miners in the vicinity of Galena. He therefore authorized Colonel Thomas H. Neely, of Springfield, to accept of the services of any number of mounted volun- teers, not exceeding six hundred, who would equip themselves and find their own subsistence and continue in service thirty days, unless sooner discharged. Upon this call upward of three hundred volunteers were obtained in the Counties of Sangamon and Morgan, among whom I was one. When the volunteers from Morgan reached Peoria, the place of rendezvous, I was appointed quarter- master sergeant. I accompanied the regiment to White Oak Springs, some ten or twelve miles from Galena, where I remained several days, when the colonel being satisfied that the further service of the regiment was not required, ordered the return home. While the regiment remained I purchased and had delivered the provisions required for returning home. I had sold my horse, saddle, and bridle, intending to return home by the river. The morning on which the regiment left for home, I was taken with the flux so as to be unable to travel. I got quarters in a grocery tavern, kept by aman named Knabb, on the road from Gartist's Grove to Galena, and within one hundred yards of White Oak Springs. I sent to Galena for medicine to cure the flux. The doc- tor sent me a prescription with what he supposed would afford relief, but it failed after three or four days' trial. I became worse and believe I should have died but for an accident. I say accident. I did not then think of anything providential. Isaac Plasters, a volunteer from Morgan County, who had made my acquaintance on the campaign, instead of returning home with the regiment, remained to earn some money by working a month or two in the mines. Passing by the house where I was confined, and hearing that there was a sick soldier up stairs, made his way to my room in the roof of the log cabin. Seeing my situation he agreed to stay with and nurse me. I had eaten nothing for two days, except a little poor soup. Plasters had me removed to a room on the first floor. In the afternoon he saw Doctor Hill passing on the road, and called him in to see me. The doctor was a gentleman, a good physician, and though worn down in the service, because flux was prevailing to an alarming extent in that neighborhood, he gave me some medicine, took a short nap and left, promising to return the next day and to continue his visits daily until I recovered. Plasters, with his rifle, killed birds every day and fed me on soup. I began to mend as soon the medicines, sup- plied by Doctor Hill, operated. Plasters remained with me, and the doc-

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History of Morgan county, Illinois : its past and present, containing a history of the county; its cities, towns, etc.; a biographical directory of its volunteers in the late rebellion; portraits of its early settlers and prominent men [etc., etc.], Part 35

Author: Publication date: c1878 Publisher: Chicago : Donnelley, Loyd & co. Number of Pages: 792

Author:
Publication date: c1878
Publisher: Chicago : Donnelley, Loyd & co.
Number of Pages: 792