History of Sangamon County, Illinois, together with sketches of its cities, villages and townships, educational, religious, civil, military, and political history, portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of representative citizens, Part 167

Author: Interstate publishing co., Chicago. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Chicago, Inter-state publishing company
Number of Pages: 1084

USA > Illinois > Sangamon County > History of Sangamon County, Illinois, together with sketches of its cities, villages and townships, educational, religious, civil, military, and political history, portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of representative citizens > Part 167

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).

Philip W. Weber, post office, Pawnee, brother of the preceding, was born in Jefferson county, Virginia, January 28, 1812, and came to this

county in 1837. He married Miss Amanda M. Shepherd, who also was born in the same county as he, November 8, 1811. Their five children are all living, viz: John P., born March 19, 1840; Mary E., January 8, 1842; William S., March 11, 1844; Amanda E., March 3, 1846; Sarah C., February 19, 1848; Emma S., Novem- ber 26, 1851. Mr. Weber was at firsta carpenter and millwright; was in California in 1849-50. In 1851, he purchased his present farm, and he now owns two hundred and fifty-seven acres, valned at $50 per acre. Raises stock for mar- ket. His son, William S., served in the late war. Mr. and Mrs. W. are members of the M. E. Church, also all their children.

John Wenzler was born December 25, 1840, the son of Joseph and Monicha Wenzler, natives of Germany, the father born January 5, 1805, and the mother in 1811; they were married about 1830, and had eight children, Christian, Polly, Catharine, Lewis, John, Bertie, Lena and Mary; Polly and Lewis are deceased. John emigrated to this county in 1854, and worked as a farm hand. March 7, 1871 he married Eliza- beth Clouse, daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth Clouse, father a native of Germany, and mother from Ireland. They have had three children, John Franklin, born July 10, 1878; two died in infancy. Mr. W. owns two hundred acres of valnable land, acquired by his own industry and economy. He received a good education in Ger- many, and two terms of country school in this county, and is a member of the Masonic lodge at Pawnee.

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HISTORY OF SANGAMON COUNTY.

CHAPTER XLV.

TOWNSHIP AND VILLAGE OF ROCHESTER.

The township of Rochester was first settled in 1818. It comprises township fifteen, north of range four west. Among the early settlers were James McCoy, Archibald Sattley, Robert Satt- ley, Oliver Stafford, William Roberts, James Bowling, John T. Benham, James Gregory, Fields Jarvis, John Warrick, Daniel Parkinson, Isaac Keys, Levi Gooden, Philip Clark, Ed- ward Clark, Andrew Jones, Andrew St. John, William Woods, Christopher Payne, Levi Locker, the Sheltons, and others.

William Roberts was from Pennsylvania, and moved here in the spring of 1819. He subse. quently moved to Adams county, Illinois, and there died.

William Shelton was from Tennessee, and also came in the spring of 1819. He went from here to the lead mines at Galena, and there died.

James McCoy was born July 25, 1791, in Nicholas county, Kentucky. He was a soldier in the War of 1812, from Kentucky, in the dra- goons under Colonel Dick Johnson, and was in the battle where Tecumseh was killed. He re- turned to Kentucky, and was married in Nicho- las county, September 15, 1814, to Jane Murphy. They moved to Sangamon county, Illinois, arriv- ing in the fall of 1818, on Horse creek, in what is now Cotton Hill township. Mr. McCoy and Levi W. Goodan owned a wagon together, and each had a horse, a wife and two children, and both families moved from Kentucky in that wagon together. Their wives were two of the six women who came to Sangamon county that year, the wives of the two Drennans, Joseph Dodds, and Mr. Vancil being the other four. Mr. and Mrs. McCoy had twins there. One of them died in infancy. In the spring of 1819, they moved to what is now Rochester township.

James McCoy died March 25, 1844, and Mrs. Jane McCoy died January 22, 1852, both on the farm where they settled in 1819, adjoining Rochester on the east.

James McCoy bought the first full sack of salt ever sold in Springfield. He paid for it in coon skins. Salt was brought in sacks of about four bushels. His brother, Joseph E., says that he assisted in catching the coons, and it took all winter to procure enough to buy that sack of salt. This occurred in 1821 or 1822.

Jabez Capps, born September 9, 1796, in the city of London, England, came to America in the summer of 1817, arriving near what is now Springfield, Illinois, in the spring of 1819, and is believed to have been the first school teacher in Sangamon county. He was married in 1828, near Rochester, to Prudence A. Stafford, who was born in Vermont. Mrs. Capps died May 13, 1836. Jabez Capps was again married near Rochester, Illinois, September, 1836, to Elizabeth Baker.

Mr. Capps was a merchant in Springfield from 1827 to 1836, when he formed a company and laid out the town of Mt. Pulaski; bought his goods from Springfield, and continued in busi- ness until 1870. Mr. Capps was postmaster at Mt. Pulaski for fifteen years, and county recorder four years. Hle and his family reside in Mt. Pulaski.

John Capps was born December 16, 1810, in London, England. Came to America with his mother, brothers and sisters, arriving in Spring- field, Illinois, in November, 1830. He was married there September 5, 1833, to Nancy Clements, who was born October 2, 1817, in Lincoln county, Kentucky. (She is a cousin of Mrs. Mathew Cloyd); in 1844, moved to Mt.

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HISTORY OF SANGAMON COUNTY.

Pulaski; about 1850, moved to Decatur, thence to Illiopolis, Sangamon county.

Christopher B. Stafford, was born July 22, 1797, at Coventry, Kent county, Rhode Island. He was married in Essex county, New York, in 1820 to Laura Eggleston, who died within one year, and he married her sister, Sophronia Eggleston, and moved to Sangamon county, Illinois, arriv- ing July 25, 1824, at Rochester. Mrs. Sophronia Stafford died, and he was twice married after that. His last two wives were sisters, by the name of Shelton. Christopher B. Stafford was an ordained preacher in the Baptist Church more than forty years. Thirty years of that time he was a justice of the peace, or rather a peace- maker, as it is said of him that he used his office to settle difficulties without law, although by that way of doing business he generally deprived himself of fees. He died March 17, 1870, near Rochester, Illinois.

Jewett Stafford, was born January 13, 1795, at Coventry, Kent county, Rhode Island, was taken by his parents in 1804, to Essex county, New York. In 1812, he went as a soldier from that county in the war with England, was in the bat- tle of Plattsburg, Boquet river, near Willsboro, his home. Jewett was married in 1818 to Har- riet Eggleston, in Essex county, New York. She was born there March 4, 1802. They moved to Sangamon county, arriving July, 1825, where Rochester now stands. Mr. Stafford died in 1862.

Nathaniel Graham, was born in Pennsylva- nia. When a young man he went to Columbus, Ohio, and a few years later to Fleming county, Kentucky, where he was married to Sarah Har- bor. They had eight children in Fleming county, and the family moved to Springfield, Illinois, arriving in the fall of 1826. In the spring of 1827, they moved three and a half miles east of Springfield, betwen Sugar creek and the south fork of Sangamon river.

John Delay, was born in Virginia, taken by his parents to Bath county, Kentucky, and was there married to Elizabeth Branch, a sister to Edward Branch. She was born November 25, 1785, near Lynchburg, Virginia. They moved to Sangamon county, Illinois, in 1829, and set- tled near Rochester.

John Lock was born January 10, 1799, in the town of Farrisburg, Addison county, Vermont. Maria Jaquays was born August 31, 1802, in the same county. They were there married, January 5, 1820, and after the lapse of a few years, moved to Essex county, New York. The family moved

to Sangamon county, Illinois, arriving May 2, 1832, at Rochester.

Daniel Parkinson came in 1820, but left about the time lead was discovered at Galena, for the lead mines, and there died.

John and Jacob Warrick were from Kentucky, and were large raw-boned men, one of them weighing two hundred and eighty pounds. They were as strong as they were large. They moved to Adams county.

Fields Jarvis came from the neighborhood of Edwardsville. He was a giant in height, being six feet eleven inches in height. He went north about the time of the lead mine excitement.

Elias Williams, Sr., was from Vermont, and came to Sangamon county in 1821; and died in 1823; aged fifty-three years.

FIRST BORN.

Joseph E. McCoy, son of James and Jane Mc- Coy, was born March 1, 1819, and was the first born in the township, and in the entire county of Sangamon. He now resides in Beloit, Mitchell county, Kansas.

FIRST DEATH.

The first death in the township was that of George Simpson, who died in 1820, and was the first person buried in the cemetery at Rochester village.

FIRST ENTRIES.

The public lands of Sangamon county were first surveyed in 1821, and the first sales made by the general government were on the 6th of November, 1823, at which time Isaac Keys, Sr., entered the northwest quarter and the west half of the southwest quarter of section thirty one, township fifteen, range four west; this being the first entry in the township, if not in the county. November 17, Philip Clark entered the east half of the northeast quarter and the east half of the southeast quarter of section seventeen, and Ed- ward Clark the east half of the northwest quarter of the same section; and William Chilton the west half of the southwest quarter of section four. These were the only government sales in the township prior to 1824.

EDUCATIONAL.

The first school in Rochester township was held in 1823, Samuel Williams being the teacher. A description of the school house where this school was kept, is given by Mr. Williams in his reminiscences in this chapter.

In the year 1824, the county commissioners' court at the March term, in pursuance of the State laws, organized the township for school

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HISTORY OF SANGAMON COUNTY.

purposes by appointing Isaac Keys, Edward Clark and James Bowling trustees for school lands for township ten, range four west.

A petition, duly signed by seventy-three legal voters of the township, was presented to Wm. F. Elkin, the Sangamon county agent of school lands, ordering the sixteenth section to be offered at public sale at the court house in Springfield, on the fourth Monday in April, 1832, in con- formity with the law-the law being that the section could not be sold unless petitioned by three-fourths of the qualified voters of any town- ship containing not less than fifty legal votes. This petition was sworn to and subscribed before Z. Peters, Justice of the Peace.

The proceeds of the sale of the sixteenth sec- tion amounted to $1,160. This fund was loaned at twelve per cent. till 1846, and from then till 1850 at eight per cent. and afterwards at ten per cent. The interest was distributed by the com- missioners to the treasurers of the school dis- tricts, organized under the act of 1825, until 1833, when he distributed the interest direct to the teachers. This method of distribution was continued until the act of 1845, when the com- missioner paid the interest to the township treasurer, and finally the fund was passed over to the care of the township.

The first township trustees in office under the act of 1845, were Samuel Williams, Robert Bel! and James Bashaw. Mr. Williams was appoint- ed township treasurer September 17, 1845, and was by virtue of his office, superintendent of schools in the township.

There has been great improvement in educa- tional work since Samnel Williams taught school in the old log house, so aptly described by him. There are now in the township nine districts and nine school-houses, valued at $12,300.

RELIGIOUS.

Where and by whom the first religious exer- cises in the township were held is unknown,* but it is well-known the Methodist circuit rider, and itinerant preacher was here at a very early day. The first now remembered was a Rev. Mr. IIale. He was a rough man, and feared not to tell men they were sinners, and preach to them the con- demnation. He told them upon one occasion that he " did not come to plaster them over with un- tempered mortar, and he would tell them that if they did not repent they would all go to hell." Rice and Miller were also early ministers of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

There are now, including those in the village of Rochester, four churches in the township, represented by the following denominations, Methodist Episcopal, Christian and Universalist. HISTORY OF THIE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH IN ROCHESTER TOWSIIII',

By D. G. Kalb, from notes by M. D. Mc Coy.

"As has very often been the case, so in regard to this section of our country, Methodism was introduced here by local preachers. As early as 1821, Rev. James Sims located near the spot where the village of Rochester now stands, and preached the gospel to the few early settlers round about, some of whom came from many miles distant to hear the word; and soon this earnest herald of Christianity formed a society of like faith with himself; when the Indiana Conference, learning of his success, sent them a traveling preacher, by the name of Rice, the first one sent among them. In 1822, he was fol- lowed by Rev. John Miller, and he by Rev. Har- grave, in 1823, and Glenville Phelps in 1824. In 1825, Rev. Peter Cartwright came as supply; then came James House, in 1827, and Rev. Tarken and John Sinclaire, in 1828. Then in 1830, we find Revs. French and Lopas; and in 1831, Rev. Sabastian; and in '32 Christopher J. Houts. Then from this date to 1848 we find the names of Moses Shunk, Peter Akers, David Mott, Henry Frank, Rev. Lucket, and Peter Ketchum ( a local ); John T. Stamper, as pre- siding elder, and C. W. Lewis. About this time, before and after, these early preachers supplied the scattered population of territory which now forms contiguous counties, and parts of the States of Indiana and Illinois. At an early day we also find the names of Richard Bird, Isiah Haines, and George Fairbanks, as circuit preach- ers, perhaps on what was then called Decatur Circuit, and afterwards Sangamon; for in those days church organizations were few and far be- tween; and Mr. M. D. McCoy, of Rochester, in- forms us that the first Quarterly Conference that he attended as a steward from that place, was at a distance of forty miles and was held at Deca- tur. Since then hundreds of Methodist Churches have been erected in the territory then constitut- ing but one circuit, embracing all the cities, towns, and villages therein; and we find along the line, down to the present time the names of many well-known earnest and successful ministers who have at various times preached in and about Rochester, and organized and ministered to so- cieties thus constituted, in circuits of various names, which, at different times, embraced the

* John Cooper's house, seventeen miles north of Rochester; self and wife, etc. See M. D. McCoy.

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HISTORY OF SANGAMON COUNTY.

township, or parts thereof, such is Methodism at work-as it has always been, everywhere. Most of the names we shall mention are found else- where, perhaps, in this volume; but our township has a claim upon their record: H. Buck, Wm. Travis, Mobley, Sloan, Semple, Lane, Hopkins, Wm. Prentis, J. C. Kimber, S. H. Clark, D. P. Lyon, Jonas Dimit, Newton Cloud, J. L. Crane, Wm. T. Bennett, John Nottingham, Wm. Mur- phey, Leonard Smith, T. M. Dillon, J. C. Daily, Wm. Curnut, G. W. Dungan; and the present resident pastor is Rev. J. M. Dunavan. Several of those named were here only as presiding elders, and preached at their quarterly meetings.

"One not yet named in this connection de- serves special mention as a long resident pioneer of this part of Sangamon county, who labored faithfully and successfully as a local preacher, and has left many seals to his ministry and monuments of his philanthropic benevolence. We allude to Rev. John Cooper, who married many couples, and baptized more persons than any other one man of his day, and lived to see vast numbers converted and gathered into the Church of Christ. His record is found also in connection with the history of Cooper township, as his residence was in that part of the county; but his Christian field was much wider in ex- tent.

"The first society, or class at Rochester, of the M. E. Church, was formed by him and of which he was leader in 1821; and the first M. E. preacher had but four members, John Cooper and his wife, Nancy Giger, and one other not recollected, and was the nucleus around which grew a circuit, now composing five presiding elders' districts. Till the year 1827, preaching in and about Rochester, was done only in pri- vate houses, when a log school house was elected, and thence on till 1852, that served the purpose of a church. In that year the small briek one was built by means of general contribution, but under the auspices of the Universalists of the place, yet used by consent by other ministers, till 1875, when the present neat and convenient frame house was erected at a cost of $2,350. The work of Christianity among them seems to be permanently established in the community, and many of the best and influential citizens are its supporters. One of the earliest class leaders was Joseph E. McCoy, who is yet a resi- dent of the vicinity, and is known as 'Uncle Joe,' now quite old, yet hale and active, ard waiting to be called home. He held the office of leader thirty-three years, from 1821 to 1854, when his nephew, M. D. McCoy, was appointed,

and has thus continued to the present time, thirty-two years.

"The Sunday school was organized at Roches- ter in 1828, and continued for many years during the summer, and for the last twenty years during the whole year, being superintended most of the time by Mr. M. D. McCoy. Dr. E. R. Babcock, of the village, held the position two years, and Mrs. G. W. Dungan, the pastor's wife, was a very efficient superintendent one year. For the last thirty years this school has been known as the M. E. Sunday School of Rochester.

" At present there are four church buildings owned by the Methodist Episcopal Church in the township, and two others just over the line in adjoining ones, supported by one-half their membership, residing in Rochester township. Round Prairie, in the northwest quarter of the township, has long been a point of some note in the Christian work of Methodism, and although at times embraced in the work of Rochester circnit, it has for many years been one of the appointments in the Springfield circuit, and is at present served by Rev. A. H. Gunnett, as pastor. At a very early day a society was formed here and preaching and other religious services were held in a small brick school-house erected on an acre of ground presented by Mr. B. S. Edwards, of Springfield, and afterwards in a larger frame house, taking the place of the former one, removed. About the year 1866, a good frame house was erected upon an acre of ground adjoining the school-house lot, presented by A. H. Kalb, for that use, in accord with the will and precious purpose and desire of the for- mer owner, Absalom Kalb, now deceased. This church is known as Round Prairie Chapel. It. cost about $1,000. The house is deeded to trustees agreeably to the rules of the M. E. Church, but ministers of various other denomi- nations of Christians have preached in it at times and the venerable Father Albert Hale, of the Presbyterian Church, had a stated appoint- ment there for a number of years, and received the cordial welcome and liberal support of the whole community, and only increasing feeble- ness by age caused him to discontinue his min- isterial services at the place.

"Such, then, has been the history of Methodism in this new field, as in all others where it has gone in this and other lands, first on foot and horse-back by the early pioneers, then in gigs and buggies, and now more extensively by rail- way and steamboats.

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HISTORY OF SANGAMON COUNTY.

"Its founder said, 'The world is my parish,' and his followers are now in all parts of the earth, numbered by many millions in the church militant, and the church triumphant.

" 'And may her triumphs ne'er grow less, Nor her grand virtues ever wane;

With sister churches onward press,

Till they, for Christ, the world shall gain.'"

CHRISTIAN CHURCHIES OF ROCHESTER.

By Elder Samuel Williams.

"In the fall of 1831, Elder Hugh Bowles, from Kentucky, with his family, arrived in Sangamon county. During the ensuing winter, and some months after, he abode with his old friend, Isaac Baker, Sr. While remaining in this vicinity, Elder Bowles devoted much of his time to preach- ing the gospel, in different neighborhoods. Among the early settlers in the county, were many isolated members of the Church of Christ, of the denomination called Christians, who, since their arrival, had remained un-united, in a church capacity. After consultation with the brethren, and due reflection, Elder Bowles resolved to organize a church in this vicinity 'founded on the Bible, and the Bible alone, as the all suf- ficient and only infallible rule of religious faith and practice.'

This resolution he proceeded to carry into effect, at a public meeting, held at the residence of Thomas Baker, about one and a half miles south of west from Rochester, on the 5th day of April, 1832. At the close of the meeting, Thomas Baker and Samuel Williams were chosen as Deacons of the congregation.

"The names of those who originally united in the organization, were as follows: Elder Hugh Bowles and Mrs. Bowles, Anderson Bowles and his wife, Joseph, Walter and Elizabeth Bowles, Annie Payne, Isaac Baker, Sr., and Mrs. Baker, Joseph Baker and his wife, Thomas Baker and his wife, James Baker and his wife, Andrew Richards and his wife, Isaac Martin and his wife, William Ruddell and his wife, William Poor, Sr., and his wife, Mrs. Elizabeth Delay, Mrs. Deborah Stokes, Mrs. Levi Gooden, Mrs. Mary Williams, Sr., and Samuel Williams, and per- haps others whose names are not now recollected, after a period of more than forty-nine years, and the original record having been lost. Near the time of Elder Bowles' removal to his future home in Logan county, Illinois, he committed the care and general oversight of the church to Elder Isaac Martin, who, not many months after, with the approbation of the members, or- dained Andrew Richards and Samuel Williams

as elders of the congregation. By the services of Elder Martin and the frequent visits of Elder Bowles and his zealous son Walter, and the occa- sional aid of several pioneer preachers of the Gospel, members were frequently added to the church, not only in its near vicinity, but also from distant neighborhoods. Under these cir- cumstances, meetings were frequently held on the same Sunday in Rochester, on the south fork of the Sangamon river, and in the Richardson settlement on the south side of the river.

"At a meeting held by Elder Bowles in the sum- mer of 1837, near the residence of Isaac Bell, in the grove, he informed the brethren that after due consideration and counsel with the brethren and advised by himself and many other persons, Brother Williams had resolved to take part in preaching the Gospel; and there being no objec- tions, he was authorized to do so. About that time, as my memory serves me, Robert Bell and John Stokes, Sen., were set apart as additional elders in the church. In the summer of 1851, Elder P. Vawter visited the church and held a meeting four or five days, which resulted in about thirty additions. During several years the meetings were in private dwellings, in small school houses, in groves, and frequently in latter years, in the large and commodious barn of Robert Bell. In the summer of 1852 our new meeting house was ready for use, and on the first Sunday in June, as my record shows, the first public discourse was made in that edifice, which was situated just over the line, in Cotton Hill township ; but a majority of the members have always resided in Rochester township, there being but two members residing in Cotton Hill when organized.

"In the fall of 1852, William M. Brown held a protracted meeting in this house, which resulted in more than fifty additions to the church. The names of those who have been employed by the church as preachers, since the year 1852, are as follows: William A. Mallory, in the year 1853; A. McCollom, 1854; A. Johnson, in 1855; Wick- lif Taylor, monthly visits, free of charge, from 1855 to 1860; Elder Dunkinson, in 1864. In De- cember, 1864, Alfred Lewis, Lawson H. Smith, and John Stokes, Jr., were ordained as elders; Benjamin Auxier and J. A. Waddle, as deacons. In the fall of 1867, E. C. Weekly and Elder Moppin held a protracted meeting, resulting in about seventy additions. After that, Elder Weekly preached during the year 1868; Elder John Wilson, in 1870; Samuel Lowe, in 1871-72; E. C. Weekly, in 1873; and A. J. Kane, from 1874 to 1881; since then, Elder W. W. Weeden.

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HISTORY OF SANGAMON COUNTY.

During the last forty years, the number of mem- bers in the church has ranged from one hundred to one hundred and forty. Its present number is one hundred and thirty. The elders are John Johnson and I. B. Williams; and its present deacons are Benjamin Auxier and Mr. Hunter.

FIRST ROCHIESER CHRISTIAN CIIURCII.

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History of Sangamon County, Illinois, together with sketches of its cities, villages and townships, educational, religious, civil, military, and political history, portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of representative citizens, Part 167

Author: Interstate publishing co., Chicago. [from old catalog] Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Chicago, Inter-state publishing company Number of Pages: 1084

Author: Interstate publishing co., Chicago. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Chicago, Inter-state publishing company
Number of Pages: 1084