USA > Illinois > St Clair County > History of St. Clair County, Illinois. With illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 18
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105
as 300, while their American neighbors usually are in possession of not less than 400 acres. The price of farming land ranged in those. days between $5 00 and $10.00 per acre according to improvements, houses and outhouses made and built, the prices having advanced. over 16 per cent. since 1834. The Dr. also deplores, that the Ger- mans even at that early day manifested a great desire to isolate themselves from their American neighbors, of whom he mentions, in most respectful language, the Whitesides, Moores, Middlecoff:,. Scotts, and above all Robert Hughes. "The second generation of. Germans," says the Dr , " will be fully conversant with the English language and the customs and hab ts of this land, and will appear as Americans and act in concert with them." Returning to the causes which led to the exodus mentioned above, the Dr. makes some remarks which will do to be here repeated.
These new comers, raised, as they were, in European cities, accus -. tomed to enjoy countless little comforts, which life in such cities affords, were now thrown into surroundings, where nothing of the kind was offered. Their wants were too numerous to be supplied. They had bought farms, and had pail for them, but the log cabin,. that had sheltered the former occupant, would not answer now .. Houses had to be built, or to be improved and adorned, cellars had to be dug and wells to be sunk, fences needed repairing ; the little garden patch of the pioneer could not now give satisfaction ; a vege-, table garden was only an appendix to the flower beds. All this was thought to be absolutely indispensable with comfort, they had : to have it, or be miserable. In their haste and desire to have things yield more comfort, much labor was wasted, and needful work ne- glected. The fields that were to supply bread were indifferently. tilled, and the raising of stock was lost sight of. A few of them only, if any at all, had formerly devoted themselves to agricultural pursuits, and the others of course could not now compete with their. neighboring American and German practical farmers. They worked. hard themselves, and hired labor besides, but could not make farm -.- ing a success.
Their American neighbors frequently expressed their wonder, that. the Germans, who were rated among the best farmers in Pennsyl- vania, were such poor farmers in Illinois.
The Doctor says: " The diligent American agriculturist prospers and accumulates wealth; the German peasant, after a few years of hard labor, pays his debt., buys the land he had heretofore rented, and gets along finely. These are facts; and it is also a fact, that the: Germans from other stations in life will lose money in trying. to be a farmer."
The Doctor's remarks were made forty-four years ago, and bear evidence that he was a close observer and accurate chronicler ;. but some of those old " Lateiner " became splendid and successful. farmers.
This German settlement, however, has done more for the county. than it is credited with, for it became the nucleus of the settlements. of the thousands who followed, and developed the rich resources of this county. It was the pen of these "book farmers" that told of. the advantages with which this region is blessed.
The German immigration from now on poured into the States of. the Mississippi Valley. We introduce here a list of persons who. were naturalized in the courts of St. Clair county, from 1838 to 1844 :- Gustav Koerner, Frederick Engelmann, Philip Eckert, John Scheel, Gustavus Heimberger, Theodore Hilgard, Edward Hilgard, Theod. J. Krafft, all of whom were naturalized in 1838. Adolph Berchelmann, Lewis Engelmann, George Brenner, Conrad Wester- mann, George Neuhoff, Henry Buff, George C. Bunsen, Conrad Schrag, George Bush, and August Conradi in 1839. In 1810 citizens'! papers were is.ued to Ernst W. Decker, George Adam Popp, Cas-
9.
66
HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY, ILLINOIS.
par J. Kurtz, Francis Kurtz, Philip Rauch, Adam Fritz, Geo. Kriech baum, George Heberer, John Maus, Joseph Ledergerber, Balthaser Weber, natives of Germany, and. Francis Perring, a Frenchman ; in 1841 to Erasmus T. Hilgard, George Henckler, Peter Rap. pauf, Herman Wolf, Cornelius Hennig. and Frederick Knoebel. In 1842 to Jacob Knoebel, John Geiger, Wm. Zimmermann, Johann Freivogel, Christian Probst, Adam Probst, Gottfried Probst J. N. Schmalenberg, Jacob Wetzer, Sebastian Pfeifer, Carl Knoebel, Frederick Aul, Conrad Bornmann, Christian Metzler, Jacob Kumm, J. L. Horeth, H. C. T. Schileth, George Eck- ert, Christian Vierheller, George Hehr, F. A. M. Hasel, George Briesacher, Jean Briesacher, Henry Lintz, and Michael Mueller ; in 1843 to B. Robker, Henry Schraer, Henry Harwarth, William Harwarth, John Masmann, J. H. Aggemann, W. Kracht, Bernhard Dingworth, Michael Funk, Philip Hoff, J. G. Eckert, Henry Kaysing, Christian Kaysing, Jacob Kaysing, Francis Wezel, Charles Tittmann, Charles Barth, Franz Oppmann, Peter Steinheimer, Michael Junger, Germans, Michel Bage and George Perring, Frenchmen, and James Gibbons, an Englishman; in 1844 to Conrad Mueller, Martin Funk, Henry Funk, George Funk, Valentin Metzler, Heinrich Eidmann, George Winter, C. H. Kettler, Michel Kleinschmidt, Christoph Reinhold, John Wiesenborn, Heinrich Pfeffer, John Krick, Nicolas Hertel, August Holzappel, Balthaser Mueller, Aloysius Ewers, Johannes Schaefer, Henry Knoebel, Frederick Germann, John Winter, Jacob Laeuffert, Michel Bossle, Franz Stolz, Seb. Joseph Reichert, Karl Grossmau, Frederick Glaser, Philip Baum, John Knobloch, Nico- las Werner, George Ritter, John Weilbacher, Joseph Hock, George Kuntz, Jacob Huber, George Fischer, Anton Wichers, Adam Haas, G. P. Fein, Martin Weilmuenster, Albert W. Doenewald, Henry Bergkotter, Henry Zieren, Henry Unuigmann, Joseph Biermann, Peter Sauer, Frederick Kress, Joseph Abend, Martin Roos, Adam Hoffman, Anton Amrein, Christian Delsch, Samuel Just, David Ameiss, Henry Friederich, J. G. Neubarth, Adam Schaefer, Peter Horst, Bernhard Lake, J. G. Kratsch, John Deschner, Ferdinand Friederich, Lorenz Reichert, Philip Jeckel, John Keek, John G. Heberer, George Rauch, Peter Schneider, Michael Hild, Matthias Finklang, J. Adam Krick, John W. Scholl, Johann Kehrer, Louis Vierheller, Henry Moeser, J. Wendel Eckert, Christian Gruener- wald, Peter Diehl, Conrad Beelman, Martin Sieber, G-orge Mittel- stadter, Joseph Kopp, Peter Kalbfleisch, Franz Urban, Franz Schultheis, Jacob W. Michel, Ed. Abend, Conrad Liebig, John P. Trautwein, Michel Flick, Julius Scheve, and Philip Pfadler, Ger- mans ; Gregor Neyser, Ignatius Brovo, Antoine Wagner, Leonard Bool, and Nicolas Babo, Frenchmen; James Tracy, an English- inan, and Frederick Meyer, a Swiss. In all two hundred and six, of whom one hundred and ninety one came from Germany, twelve from France, two from England, and one from Switzerland. We forbear to continue this list ; it is getting too large, and yet it does not give all the names, as many immigrants received their certifi- cates of naturalization from the courts of St. Louis, Mo. The tide set in with the year 1850. The late lamented Frederick Hecker, after the collapse of the revolutionary movements in South Ger- many. organized by him, led the van. He arrived in Belleville in 1849, to meet G. Koerner, whiom, however, he had met once before.
If we said above, that the pen of our Lateiner had called the attention of immigrants to this country, we are permitted to state that the sword, too, has aided. Gustavus Koerner, while yet attending the lectures at the University of Heidelberg, in 1832, had a hostile meeting with Frederick Hecker, which led to a duel an affair of frequent occurrence then, as well as now, among stu-
dents of different society or class. This duel howover, and its result, inspired Hecker with a high esteem for his then adversary.
When the political troubles of 1848 had exiled Hecker, and brought him to America, he hastened to meet Koerner, this time, however, not with sword in hand, but with the cordial grip of friend- ship and a brother's love.
It is but a few months ago that the writer stood at the open grave of Frederick Hecker, listening, in deep emotion, to the touch- ing and beautiful words of Hon. G. Koerner, spoken at the funeral of his friend.
Returning to the subject of immigration of Germans into this country, we shall merely add a few statistics. The number of cer- tificates of naturalization, issued by the courts of this county, in- creases from year to year for fifteen years. Our civil war checked the flow, and in later years the immigration seems to have directed its course elsewhere: The greatest number of foreign- ers were naturalized in the years of presidential elections, voters being then in great demand. The whole number of certificates of naturalization issued by the courts of St. Clair county is seven thousand, four hundred and twelve.
It is stated above that many of the naturalized citizens of this county have occupied positions in public and political life, and it is proper that their names be mentioned. Philip Engel, a resi- dent of Prairie du Pont in 1783, was for years (1790 to 1798) a member of the court of common pleas. His nationality, how- ever, cannot definitely be given. He came over with the French colonists, and may have been from one of the then Ger- man provinces of France. Johann Schultz was county commis- sioner from 1824 to 1830. Jacob Eymann coroner from 1828 to 1832, and county commissioner from 1838 to 1842. Theodor Engelmann circuit clerk from 1845 to 1852. John Scheel county treasurer from 1847 to 1849, and county clerk from 1849 to 1857. C. W. Schoedo treasurer from 1855 to 1857. George Bunsen county superintendent of schools from 1855 to 1861. Charles Seitz county treasurer from 1857 to 1859. C. L. Emmerich county commissioner and associate justice of the county court from 1857 to 1877-twenty years. William Krafft county commissioner from 1857 to 1869. F. Mayer sheriff from 1858 to 1860. Bernhard Wick county clerk from 1861 to 1869. Theodor Joerg coroner from 1862 to 1864, and from 1868 to 1870. Joseph Veile county commissioner from 1869 to 1875. Fred. Ropiequet sheriff' from 1862 to 1864, county treasurer from 1873 to 1875, and again sheriff since 1880. Hermann G. Weber county treasurer from 1863 to 1867, and sheriff from 1874 to 1880. Henry A. Kircher circuit clerk from 1864 to 1868. Fred. Graner surveyor from 1855 to 1857. Gustav Hilgard sur- veyor from 1861 to 1863. Henry Holbrook surveyor from 1863 to 1865. Edward Rutz surveyor from 1665 to 1867, and treasurer from 1867 to 1873. Gustav F. Hilgard surveyor from 1867 to 1877. G. M. Roeder circuit clerk from 1868 to 1874. Charles Becker sheriff from 1866 to 1868, and circuit clerk from 1872 to 1880. F. H. Pieper county judge from 1868 to date. Sebastian Fietsam, county clerk from 1869 to 1873. C. L. Starkel county clerk from 1873 to date. F. C. Horn county commissioner from 1874 to 1880. G. W. Sieber treasurer from 1875 to 1878. Frank Poignee county commissioner from 1875 to date. Henry Barthol county commissioner from 1876 to 1879. 1868. C. H. Fietsam county commissioner from 1880 to date. Louis Graner surveyor from 1880 to date. G. H. Stolberg, circuit clerk from 1880 to date. Philip Schildnecht coroner from 1873 to 1875; and John Bader corouer from 1878 to date.
Among other distinguished citizens who have represented this
67
HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY, ILLINOIS.
county in our State legislature, we find the following German names :- Abraham Eymann, 1824 to 1826. John Stuntz, 1832 to 1834, and 1836 to 1838. Gustavus Koerner, 1842 to 1844. Ed- ward Abend 1848 to 1850. John Scheel, 1858 to 1860. Bern- hard Wick, 1864 to 1866. G. A. Koerner, 1870 to 1872. Joseph Veile, 1878 to date; and P. H. Postel, 1880 to date.
Among State officers we find Edward Rutz, of this county, who is now serving a third term as State treasurer.
Hon. G. Koerner was for a time a member of the supreme court of Illinois. (See chapter on Bench and Bar.)
The number of Germans in this county having held office by appointment of the federal government is large ; and as their official life is not a part of the county history, a recital of names would be out of place.
But it is not in the civil service of this country alone where the Ger- man name is so frequently met. In the hour of danger, when the enemy arrayed his forces on our frontier in the war against Mexico, or when the very existence of the Republic was threatened by a rebellion, the like of which history does not mention, the natural- ized citizens rivaled with the native-born in hastening to the front. Our chapter on Patriotism mentions names and numbers. Philip Engel, of Prairie du Pont, mustered a company as early as 1790. The Indian wars were fought principally, if not exclusively, by native-born citizens. In the war against Mexico, we find the ma- jority of officers and men in Captain Raith's company, 2d Ill. vol- unteers, to be Germans; and among the dead and wounded of the battle of Buena Vista, the names of naturalized citizens are recorded with those of native citizens.
And speaking of the civil war, we may state that nearly all Ger- mans able to bear arms, went into voluntary service, and did their duty.
The United States Census of 1880 shows a population of sixty- one thousand souls in this county, and it may safely be said that three-fourths of said number are Germans, or of German descent, proportionately represented in all vocations of life.
CHAPTER X.
CIVIL HISTORY. BY B. E. HOFFMAN.
ORGANIZATION OF THE COUNTY
BY HIS EXCELLENCY ARTHUR ST. CLAIR, GOVERNOR AND COM- MANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE TERRITORY OF THE UNITED STATES, NORTH-WEST OF THE RIVER OHIO.
O all persons to whom these presents shall come Greeting: Whereas, by the ordinance of Con- gress of the 13th of July, 1787, for the govern- ment of the territory of the United States, North-west of the River Ohio, it is directed that for the due execution of process, civil and criminal, the governor shall make proper divi- sions of the said territory, and proceed from time to time as circumstances may require, to lay out the parts of the same, where the Indian titles shall have been extinguished into counties and townships, subject to future alterations as therein specified. Now-Know ye, that, it appear-
ing to me to be necessary for the purposes above mentioned, a county should be immediately laid out, I have ordained and or- dered, and by these presents do ordain and order that all and sin- gular the lands lying and being within the following boundaries, viz .: " Beginning at the mouth of the little Michilliakinack river, running thence southerly in a direct line to the mouth of the little river above Fort Massac upon the Ohio river ; thence with the said river to its junction with the Mississippi; thence up the Mississippi to the mouth of the Illinois river, and so up Illinois river to the place of beginning, with all the adjacent islands of said rivers, Illinois and Mississippi "-shall he a county, and the same is hereby erected into a county, named and hereafter to be called the County of St. Clair, and the said county of St. Clair shall have and enjoy all and singular the jurisdiction, rights, liberties, privileges and immunities whatsoever to a county belonging and appertaining, and which any other county that may hereafter be erected and laid out shall or ought to enjoy conformably to the Ordinance of Con- gress before mentioned.
In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand, and caused the seal of the territory to be affixed this 27th day of April in the 14th year of the Independence of the United States, and in the year of our Lord 1790. AR: ST. CLAIR.
Countersigned by his Excellency's command.
WINTHROP SARGENT, Secretary.
Before proceeding with the recital of subsequent events in the civil history of the county, it may be permitted to cast a glance at previous events.
The then boundaries of St. Clair county comprise two-thirds of the state of Illinois ; but when we here speak of previous events, we mean to confine them to the present limits of the county. The first settlement of Cahos or Cahokia was made by Canadian mis- sionaries, about the year 1680, where father Pinet founded a church in 1682. The Catholic church obtained a grant of land from King Louis XIV. of France about the year 1722, which grant comprised four French leagues square,-located from the mouth of the little Cahokia, one-fourth of a league north, and thence east to make the quantity. The church granted to each bona fide settler a house- lot in the village, as well as a barn-lot, and besides an arpent of land in the common fields. The lands not occupied in this man- ner are known under the name of Commons, that is, the inhabitants of a village had a common right to the forest, the pasturage, the chase and the fisheries on these commons.
The settlement of Cahokia, as well as others, being separated by thousands of miles of forests from the more populous parts of the continent give the historian but little material to record. The participation of these settlers in the combats with their savage foes is mentioned in another chapter of this work. Father Charlevoix visited Cahokia in October, 1721, and writes to a lady friend in France as follows: " We lay last night in a village of Caoquias and the Tamaroas, two Illinois tribes, which have been united, and to- gether compose a canton. This village is situated on a very small river, which runs from the east, and has no water except in the spring season, so that we were obliged to walk half a league before we could get to our cabins. I was astonished that they had pitched upon so inconvenient a situation, especially, as they had so many better in their choice.
" I passed the night in the missionaries' house, who are two eccle- siastics from the Seminary of Quebec, formerly my disciples, but they must now be my masters. M. Taumur, the oldest of the two, was absent, but I found the youngest, M. Le Meruer, such as he had been represented to me, rigid to himself, full of charity to
68
HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY, ILLINOIS.
others, and displaying in his own person an amiable pattern of vir- tue."
Three years before Charlevoix's visit M. Boisbriant had erected Fort Chartres, near the mouth of the Kaskaskia river. In speak- ing of him Charlevoix calls him Boisbrilliard.
The peace of Paris, February 10, 1763, had made an end of the French control of the territory, which was then ceded to England. The latter took possession in 1764. General Gage, Commander- in-chief of the English troops in North America, and governor, issued his proclamation on the 30th of December, 1764, granting, by order of his majesty, the king of England, to the inhabitants of Illinois the liberty of the Catholic religion ;- allowing those that wished to do so to emigrate-even to New Orleans or any part of Louisiana ; and permitting them to sell their estates, provided it be to subjects of his majesty; commanding further, that those who remained take oath of fidelity and obedience to his majesty in pre- sence of Sieur Stirling, captain of the Highland regiment, the bearer of said proclamation. Captain Stirling remained but a short time in Illinois, and was succeeded by Major Farmer. The next in office was Col. Reed, a martinet and very unpopular. He was succeeded by Col. Wilkins, who arrived at Kaskaskia, Sept. 5th, 1768. As military commandant he appointed seven judges, who met and held their first Court at Fort Chartres, on the 6th of December, 1768, and from that regular sessions were held every month. This court never become popular, as trial by jury was sternly denied. When Col. Clark in 1778 took possession of the territory, Rochblave, a Frenchman, was commandant. The suc- cessful destruction of archives of the court, mentioned in another chapter, has made the civil history of that period a matter of im- possibility. Circumstances, hereafter to be mentioned, however, seem to indicate, that the inhabitants of this Illinois country were highly dissatisfied with the change of masters. A great number took advantage of the permission to emigrate, and crossed the river to the then Spanish side.
Captain Philip Pitman, author of "The Present State of Eu- ropean Settlements on the Mississippi, London, 1770," came to Illinois as military engineer of the British army about the year 1766. He describes the country of Illinois as bounded by the Mississippi in the west, by the Illinois in the North, by the Ouabash and Miami in the east, and the Ohio in the south. In mentioning Cahokia (then Kaoquias) he says : " It is situated six leagues below the mouth of the Missouri. The village is long and straggling, being three-fourths of a mile from north to south ; it contains forty- five dwelling-houses. It was the first settlement on the Mississippi. The land was purchased of the savages by a few Canadians, some of whom intermarried with Indians. The inhabitants of this place depend more on hunting and their Indian trade than on agriculture ; yet they have plenty of poultry, and a good stock of horned cattle." Captain Pitman may do the inhabitants of Cahokia an injustice, for he contradicts this assertion of their indolence himself by stating in his same work the following : " In the late wars, New Orleans and the lower parts of Louisiana were supplied with flour, beef, wines, hams and other provisions from these settlements." It may here be briefly stated that the register books of Kaskaskias, turned over by Francois Caboneaux to William St. Clair, on the 12th day of June, 1790, contain 1309 sale bills, the first of which date back to 1722, the last to 1790. The bulk of those sales is made up by agricultural products ; corn, wheat, pork, cattle, hogs, and farming implements ; chase-accoutrements and fishing-tackle are mentioned too, but are not of frequent occurrence. These sales indicate the growing of the settlements most accurately, and are an interesting study. In 1722 we find but one, in 1763-49 sales. The taking possession of by
the English government marks a sudden falling-off in the year 1768, recording one sale only. The ten years preceding that period recorded 338, and the ten years succeeding it, only 102 transactions of that kind. These sales amount to 300 francs in some instances, and to over 16.000 in others.
COURTS AND LAWS. Early Criminal Laws of the Territory.
The draconic laws of New England, punishing with death fourteen distinct crimes, viz :
For worshiping any other God but the Lord God.
For being a witch.
For blaspheming the name of Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
For the crime of murder.
For slaying a person through guile by poisoning or any other devilish practices.
For the crime of unnatural relations with the brute creation.
For the crime which brought destruction to Sodom and Gomorrah.
For the commission of adultery with a married woman or a maiden espoused.
For the crime of rape.
For kidnapping.
For the crime of perjury, resulting in the capital punishment of a fellow-being.
For treason or conspiracy against the commonwealth.
For a child, 16 years of age or over, to smite or curse father or mother.
These laws found no application in these western regions, although their own laws were rigid enough, Capital crimes were treason, murder, arson, rape and horse-stealing on second conviction.
Burglary was punished by whipping, not more than 39 lashes; so were also obstructing of lawful authority.
Perjury, and Larceny-for the latter also a fine of four-fold the amount stolen. If the culprit was not able to pay, the sheriff had to bind him to servitude under the direction of the court, not ex- ceeding seven years.
Forgery, by fine double the sum defrauded, and to sit in the pil- lory not less than three hours.
Hog stealing, by a fine of from fifty to one hundred dollars, and also not less than 25, nor more than 39 stripes.
Altering or defacing marks of cattle or horses by a fine of five dollars. Second offense same fine, two hours pillory, and branded on left hand with the letter T.
The writer has not been able to find any complete judicial records prior to the organization of the county, and will here introduce some fragments which may be of interest :
Proceedings of a court hield at
CAHOKIA, Thursday, Feb. 31, 1778. JOSEPH BOWMAN, ESQ., -
WV. LANGLOIS, CAPT. TOURANJEAU, WILLIAM GRATIOT,
Present.
M. BEAULIEU, v8.
L. LE COMPTE.
Baptiste Bastieu, negro of M. Saucier, called and examined touching his poisoning the negro of Marie Laurent, of St. Louis, as said negro liad declared.
Questioned whether he gave any cake or any thing else to eat to said negro ?
Answers, that said negro met him, and after salutations, said ne- gro says : "I am told you intend fighting with me." I asked for
69
HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY, ILLINOIS.
what ; he said, "On account of Martin's wench." "Oh, brother," says I, " we shall never quarrel for that, besides she is every one's.
. After which said negro said he had a pain in his breast. I asked him if he had overstrained himself; he said not, unless it was by carrying thirty bushels of corn that day into the garret ; and that he neither ate or drank with him, nor even gave him a pipe of tobacco."
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.