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 91
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His two children are-Edward Parks Bland, Jr., and Richard Lee Bland, who are now living at home and employed in the man- agement of the farm. The former received his early education from his father, was for a time a student in McKendree College, and graduated from a commercial institute in St. Louis.
JAMES M. WHITTAKER
WHO has been a resident of St. Clair county since 1838, is a native of Delaware, and was born November 20, 1816. The family is of English descent. His great-grandfather, Henry Whittaker, emi- grated from England to Delaware in 1640. His grandfather, James Whittaker, and his father, Henry Whittaker, were born and raised in Kent county, Delaware, near Dover. The subject of this sketch was the second of a family of six children. His mother, whose maiden name was Sallie Miller, was a daughter of Conrad Miller, and belonged to a German family which had lived in Dela- ware for several genera tions. Judge Whittaker was raised in Dele- ware. For a short time he attended school at Dover, the capital of the state. In 1838, then in his twenty-second year, he came West. In the winter of 1838-9 he taught school on Ridge Prairie. In March, 1839, he married Mary Penn, daughter of William and Rhuma Penn. He soon afterward went to farming on Ridge prairie and in 1844 moved north-east of Lebanon. Since 1853 he has resided on his present farm in section two of township two north, range six west. He is the owner of about a thousand acres of land, part of whichi lies in Madison county. He has eight child- ren, six sons and two daughters. He has always been a democrat in politics. In 1858, under the old system of county judges, he was elected associate judge, and filled that office four years. He was elected as representative from St. Clair county in the Thirtieth General Assembly in 1876, and served during the session of the legislature in the winter of 1876-7.
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SOUTH WEST VIEW OF RESIDENCE
FRONT VIEW OF RESIDENCE
SCALES
RESIDENCE & STOCK FARM OF JOHN H. CALBREATH, Sec.11, T.2, R. 6. (SUMMERFIELD PRECINCT ) ST.CLAIR CO.IL.
351
HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY, ILLINOIS.
JOSEPH R PADFIELD.
ONE of the old citizens of the north-eastern part of the county, is Joseph R. Padfield, who was born in St. Clair county, Illinois, four miles and a half south of Summerfield, on the 24th of Sep- tember, 1820. The Padfield family is of English descent, and at an early date emigrated from England and settled in Maryland. Particulars of the early family history may be found elsewhere in the biographical sketch of W. R. Padfield. In 1793 Mr. Padfield's grandfather moved from Maryland to Kentucky. William Pad- field, the father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Ken- tucky in the year 1796, was raised in that state, and obtained an ordinary education in the common schools. In 1815 the family moved to Illinois and settled at Union Grove, four miles and a half south of Summerfield. William Padfield in 1818 married Mahala Barnes, who was born in Christian county, Kentucky, whose family came to Illinois at about the same time as the Padfields. He lived on a farm south of Summerfield till his death in 1849, at the age of fifty-three. He had ten children, of whom only three are now living. Of those living, Joseph R. Padfield is the oldest. James R. Padfield, another son, resides in Mascoutah, and John B. Padfield still lives on the old homestead farm. Joseph R. Padfield, whose name appears at the head of this sketch, was raised in the same part of the county in which he was born, and
obtained his education in the early schools of the neighborhood, which, like all the country schools in the county at that time, offered inferior educational advantages.
He was married on the 23d of April, 1844, to Susan Tipton, who was born in Carter county, East Tennessee, and was the daughter of James I. Tipton. After his marriage Mr. Padfield went to farming for himself three miles north-east of Mascoutah, and then moved to a farm two miles and a half south of Summerfield. From 1857 to 1864 he lived in the town of Summerfield, and while living there filled the office of constable. In 1864 he moved to his present farm, a mile south of Summerfield. He is the owner of two hun- dred and sixty acres of land. He has four children, whose names are as follows : Martha, now the wife of Joseph Utly ; Matilda, who married Nathan Fyke, and two sons, Crittenden and Lee, who reside at home. He was first a whig in politics, but after the breaking up of the whig party voted for Douglas for president in 1860, and has been a member of the democratic party ever since. He is connected with the Masonic fraternity, and is a member of Summerfield lodge, No. 342. He is now one of the oldest residents of the county, and has always sustained the reputation of a peace- able and law-abiding citizen, and a useful member of the commu- nity. His name appropriately finds a place in this book as one of the old settlers of the county.
MASCOUTAH PRECINCT.
HIS precinct is situated on the east side of the county, and contains nearly seventy sections, mostly fine agricultural lands, originally about one third timber, but at present not over one fifth of the area is timber. The land lays rolling, and is considered the best of wheat land, and that staple is the principal product. The precinct is made out of part of four con- gressional townships as follows : Town one south six west, one south seven west, one north six west, and one north seven west, and is bounded on the north by Summerfield, Lebanon, and Shiloh, on the west by Shiloh, Belleville, and Fayetteville, on the south by Fayetteville and St. Clair precincts, and on the east by Clinton county. Silver Creek passes through the western part, from north to south. The Kaskaskia river touches four sections, in the south-east part. Jackson and Rayhill Sloughs drain the east part of the precinct and empty into the Kaskaskia. Loup creek is in the west part of the precinct, and empties into Silver Creek. The first settlements here were made along the timber edges near Silver Creek, by settlers from Kentucky, North Carolina, and Virginia, as early as 1810. It is said several of the first families came here on horseback, and brought what little furniture and household
goods they possessed on pack horses, a few used the wagon of that day, a description of which can be found in another part of this work. On the east bank of Silver Creek, in the north-east quarter of section 24 stood Fort Petersburg. It was here near the site of this old Fort, where James Anderson, Sr., built his first cabin upon coming to the territory of Illinois in 1810. Two years later he re- moved upon the section east, being nineteen, where he lived a num- ber of years ; his death occurred about forty-five years ago. He left three sons : James, Martin, and Abraham ; the latter lived the life of a bachelor. James and Martin improved farms in this vicinity. James Anderson, Jr., was quite a prominent citizen in the county for a number of years, filling the office of County Commissioner, and for some time was a captain in the Black Hawk war. He re- moved to Bates county, Missouri, a number of years ago, where he died. Robert Abernathy settled in the north part of the precinct on section nine, about 1810. Sept. 10, 1814, he entered 320 acres of land in this section. Miles Abernathy, son of Robert, settled in the south-east part of section seven, one mile east of his fathers in 1815. He put up a cotton gin here the following year, the first in this part of the county, and the settlers for many miles around came here to get their cottons ginned. It is said that some of the larger farmers here raised as much as four and five acres of
352
HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY, ILLINOIS.
cotton every year. Job Vanwinkle settled in this neighborhood about 1810 or 12. He entered the south-east quarter of section eight, September 10, 1814. Jas. Bankson and Thomas Crocker settled here about the same time. They entered one hundred and sixty acres each, September 10, 1814. Bankson's was the south- east quarter of section twelve, and his cabin stood near the bank of Silver creek. Crocker entered the south-east quarter of section eighteen. Thomas Kinghton was one of the early settlers on Sil- ver Creek, he entered the north-east quarter of section twenty-five, September 29th, 1814.
Jonathan Gaskill settled one-half mile east of Kinghton's, and December 24, 1814, entered the north-east quarter of section thirty. James Gilbreath settled one-half mile south of Kinghton's, on Silver Creek, and December 29, 1814, he entered the north east quarter of section thirty-six. William Rittenhouse settled on the west bank of Silver Creek, as early as 1810; he settled on section twelve, in the south-western part of this precinct, September 12, 1814, and entered the south-west quarter in the above section. Rit- tenhouse improved a farm here, where he resided until his death. His son, Darby Rittenhouse, well known to the old settlers of this county, resided on this tract until about 1852, when he died. Isaac Quick entered the north-west quarter of section seven, January 2, 1815, one-half mile north-east of where Rittenhouse settled. As early as 1825 Moses Hering bought this tract of land, where he lived until about 1837. He then joined the Mormons, and went to Missouri. He afterwards returned to this precinct, where he died. Paul Zugweiler bought out Hering about 1837, and settled on the place. Joshua Clark entered eighty acres on the east side of Silver creek, section twenty-four, extreme south-western part of the precinct, September 17, 1814, where he improved a farm. John Steel started an improvement near where Joshua Clark settled, about the same time. Brice Virgin, a native of Kentucky, settled on section six, a short distance south-west of the present town of Mascoutah, in 1810. He resided here until his death. His sons, William, Hiram and Brice, settled in the same vicinity, and raised families. William Virgin served in the war of 1812, and was in the government employ as a ranger until 1815, and was also in the Black Hawk war. He died on the same section where his father first settled, in 1855. He left his family in very good circum- stances. Green Baker settled on section nine, west side of the Jackson Slough, prior to 1824, where he resided until his death. William McNail settled on the west side of Loup Creek, section thirty-five, as early as 1818. He was a ranger here in the war of 1812. He lived here until after 1847, and then moved to Wash- ington county, Illinois. His son, Washington McNail, settled on section eight, south of Mascoutah, about 1832; he left the county the same year his father did. James Reed and John Ward settled on the north side of Hazel Creek, section two, as early as 1818. Lemuel Dupuy located on section twelve, south-east part of the precinct in 1817 or '18. He here improved a good farm, and was one of the prominent farmers in this part of the county in the early times. He was a zealous member of the M. E. Church, and the itinerant preachers of that denomination held meetings at his house. Before 1820 he fitted up a camp-ground here, and for many years there were regular meetings held near his residence every year. He was an honest and very conscientious man. It is said of him that, in the early settlement of Illinois, the corn crop in the north- ern part of the state was an entire failure; and the settlers for sev- enty and a hundred miles north came down into "Egypt" to buy corn for seed, and while old man Dupuy could have received 40 and 50 cents per bushel for his corn on hand, he would not take more than 25 cents per bushel, and would not sell to one man more
than four or or five bushels. Speculators could not buy corn of him at any price. He died on the place he improved, and left many friends and no enemies. Three sons of his, George, William and Lemuel, improved farms in the same neighborhood as early as 1825. Simeon Wakefield settled where F. Perring now lives, near Strass- burg, as early as 1810. He moved to Iowa about twenty-five years ago.
John Jackson, a native of St. Clair county, settled on section seventeen, south of Mascoutah, about 1828, where he lived until 1835 ; he then moved to Missouri.
Major H. G. Brown, Jarvis Jackson, and George Rayhill were the only settlers on the Shawneetown road between Middleton's ferry on the Kaskaskia and Silver Creek in 1830. Major Brown served in the Black Hawk war.
Joseph Land settled on section 18, south-west of Mascoutah, as early as 1825. He improved a farm here and afterwards moved to Mascoutah, where he died. His father, Moses Land, was a Revolutionary soldier, and pensioned; and for a number of years he made a trip to Kentucky once a year to draw his pension. He always made this trip in a one-horse wagon.
William Padfield, jun., settled on section 9, in the north part of the precinct where John B. Padfield now lives. In 1812 he came from Kentucky with his father, who settled two miles south of Summerfield. William Padfield resided on this place until his death, which occurred August, 1849. He left a family of twelve children to mourn his loss, seven sons and five daughters. Only three of the children still survive, and they are residents of the county.
Henry Hutton settled on the same section, just north of Pad- fields, about 1810, and died on the old place. None of his de- scendants now reside in the county.
There were no settlements made in the north-east part of Mascoutah Precinct until after 1830. It is a fine rolling prairie, and in the early times (so say the old settlers) could be seen deer, fifty and seventy-five in a drove.
George Swaggard, a native of St. Clair county, was born at East St. Louis in 1821. Has lived in this precinct since 1833, and fol- lowed farming for the past twenty years. He has lived in the village of Mascoutah.
Elisha Bagby came to Mascoutah precinct in 1831 with his widowed mother, Nancy Bagby, who bought one hundred and sixty acres of one Samuel Crane, situated three miles west of Mascoutah. This tract of land is now owned by Henry Staub.
Among the first Germans that came to this precinct was John Knobeloch now living on section 27, in the west part of the pre- cinct. He came here in 1831, returned to Germany the same year, and the year following came out with his father and father's family, and settled on the above section. Balthasar Knobeloch, a brother to John, lives in the same section. Thomas, another brother, who came out in 1832, lives two miles west of the old homestead in Belleville precinct.
Peter Fries, now keeping a hotel in Mascoutah, has lived in the county since 1833, and was a great hunter in the early settlement of this county, and now in the bar of his hotel can be seen nailed to the wall, many deer heads that Peter, in his young days, laid low. He is jovial and talkative, and loves to relate his experience of the early times in this county, and of the exciting deer and wolf chases.
John Barth, jun., came from Germany to this county in 1835. He was accompanied by his wife and family of five children. He settled two and a half miles south-west of the present town of Mas- coutah. His son, John Barth, jun., now owns the old homestead.
PRIESTS RESIDENCE.
RES OF URSILINE SISTERS & CATHOLIC SCHOOL.
ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH OF THE HOLY CHILDHOOD OF JESUS. MASCOUTAH. ILL.
353
HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY, ILLINOIS.
In 1837, Philip H. Eisenmayer came to Mechanicsburg, and in 1839 he returned to Germany, and in the same year returned with his two brothers, Conrad and George C. Fritz Hilgard, Chris. Heinberger Conradi, and the three Eisenmayer brothers were the first Germans to settle in the village of Mascoutah. George C. Eisenmayer, in 1839, bought sixty acres of land what now consti- tutes his additions to Mascoutah, at six dollars per acre, and is now the part of town that lies between the depot and the business part of the place. The Eisenmayers have contributed their share to- ward making Mascoutah what it is to-day, and are prominent in the community. Philip H. is the present Mayor of the town.
MASCOUTAH.
The town was laid out by T. J. Krafft and John Flanagan on the 6th of April, 1837, and under the name of Mechanicsburg. It contained then two blocks of six lots each, and three blocks of twelve lots each, and one block not laid out in lots. It was called then the mill lot. Samuel Dixon lived directly south of Postel's mills, and built the first house or hut in the present limits of Mascoutah. Dixon was a hunter.
After the town was laid out, Samuel Mitchell built the first house a log cabin, and erected a saw mill here. F. Hilgard, T. J. Krafft, and Benjamin J. West laid out an addition to Mascoutah contain- ing seventy-two lots March 29, 1839 ; here the name of Mascoutah is made a matter of record, and is perhaps the date the name of the town was changed. Other additions to the village are too numer- ous to mention. West Mascoutah was laid out by H. F. Teichman, 36 lots January 28th, 1857. Dr. Brewington was first trader or merchant at Mascoutah ; remained but a few months. Lewis Hauk, a son of Hauk of the Belleville Zeitung, was the first child born in Mascoutah. Hauk published a work on chancery and dedicated it to Judge Sidney Breeze, at present a member of the bar at Cape Girardeau, Missouri.
Dr. Smith, son-in-law of Major Brown, was the first practicing physician in the precinct. First school-house and church was erected at the site of the present town-hall, north of Postels mills. Nathan Fike was the first postmaster : Brewington's store was pur- chased by Fike & Crownover. E. Bagby took charge of said store in 1842, and succeeded N. Fike as postmaster. Bagby was an ap- pointee of President Harrison, and this accounts for the fact that he remained in office but a few months. Hilgard, Couradi & Heink- berger bought the old Mitchell mill about the year 1835 ; they added a flour bolt that was run by hand power and ground wheat on the same stone they ground corn meal. They built a second store building corner of Main and Jefferson streets, some few years after- wards. Conrad and Philip Eisenmayer purchased the mill property in 1839. They soon afterwards took in as partner, Philip H. Postel, and enlarged the mill to a great extent and became exporters of flour ; this mill stood about two hundred and fifty fect south-east of where the Postel mills now stand. The old mill in about 1850 was moved to Clinton county. The second mill erected near the old site now known as the Postel mills was built by Andrew Eisenmayer and Philip H Postel, in 1848 and 49; since then at different times it has been added to and improved until now it is one of the largest mills in this section of country, with a capacity of three hundred 45
and fifty barrels per day, now owned and run by Philip H. Postel. There are two other large mills in Mascoutah with a capacity of two hundred and two hundred and fifty barrels per day ; one run by Sehlinger & Schubkegel, and the other by Kleekamp & Hussman. August George has a small custom mill here, and Philip J. Postel has a corn mill with a capacity of one hundred and fifty barrels per day, he makes corn meal exclusively of an extra quality. The shipments of flour from Mascoutah amount to fifty car loads per week, a greater part of this flour is exported to Europe, different parts of England, Germany and France. The growth of Mascou- talı was slow until the German emigrants began to come in after 1840, from that time until 1860 its growth was steady ; the town is substantially built, mostly of brick, the principal business being on one long street ; it is the third town in size in the county, now hav- ing a population of 2,576, with several first-class stores, a German weekly paper, hotels, livery, with every convenience of a first-class trading point, good schools, and six churches, some of which would be a credit to a much larger place ; the denominations are as follows, that have buildings : German Catholic, German Methodist, German Lutheran, German Evangelical, Christian and Methodist.
The Masonic Douglas Lodge, No. 361, received its charter Octo- ber 1st, 1861, and has a membership of fifty-five.
Humboldt Lodge, No. 286, The Independent order of Odd Fellows, received their charter October 11th, 1860, membership seventy.
Mascoutah Encampment, No. 90, received their charter October 13th, 1868, membership thirty-six.
Knights of Honor, Mascoutah Lodge, No. 1927, received its charter August 25th, 1880, and has a membership of forty-two. The four lodges meet in one hall, a large, well arranged and well venti- lated, and nicely furnished room, 45x50 feet. Mascoutah has one railroad, the Louisville and Nashville, this road passes through the center of the precinct, from east to west, and Mascoutah is situ- ated in the exact center of the precinct, surrounded by a fine agri- cultural country, and may be put down as one of the enterprising towns of St. Clair county.
STRASSBURG
Was laid out by Joseph Moll and others, March 19th, 1857, and contains ten lots; it is situated two and a half miles north of Mascoutah, on sections eighteen and nineteen, on a small tribu- tary of the Silver Creek ; its location was too near Mascoutah to ever grow to much of a village without any railroad facilities.
PENSONEAU is a flag station on the Louisville and Nashville railroad, four miles south-east of Mascoutah.
HIGH BANK was a paper town, laid off, by Edward Pensoneau, June 3d, 1857, and embraces the south-west quarter of section twenty-two, town one south, range six west ; it was beautifully situ- ated on the north bank of the Kaskaskia river, and it is said by some eastern capitalist to have looked well on paper, as Pensoneau had a fine plat drawn off with steamboats plying on the river, and the town shown up as one of much business and commercial impor- tance; with this plat and good talk it is said that Narcisse Pensoneau and George W. Pulliam, of this county, effected the sale of many lots in the east. The purchasers have never realized much on their investment.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Philip H Postel
Is a lineal descendant of a long line of German farmers, who for several generations lived in the village of Hassloch, Rhein Pfaltz where he was born July 11, 1818, and which ground is distin- guished as having been the scene of many battles waged between the French and German people, dating as far back as 1460. On the old home place his father, Jacob Postel, killed a wolf in the harvest field, with a grubbing hoe-a singular fact treasured with other scraps of family recollections. His father, George Postel, died June 10, 1836, so that much of the care of the family devolved npon Philip H. In 1841 he determined on a visit to his relatives, the Eisenmayers, who had several years before located in Mascoutah, St. Clair county, Ill He landed in New York in the latter part of June of that year, and made his way to Philadel- phia, thence to Pittsburg, by canal and railroad, which place he reached in July. Whilst on the way, a dam in the canal broke, and
thus a holiday was given the passengers. Mr. Postel availed himself of an opportunity offered of cutting clover, which he did on the 4th of July, receiving as pay the sum of twenty-five cents. From Pittsburg he went to St. Louis, by boat, thence to the home of his relatives. For a time he gave himself up to the enjoyment of friendship, and on November 20, 1841, in connection with the Eisenmayers, he bought a saw-mill on Richland creek, two and a half miles north-east of Red Bud. At the time the Eisenmayers were owners of a saw-mill in Mascontah. In the division of labor which followed Mr. Postel was to take charge of the new acquisi- tion, whilst the three parties, Conrad and Philip Eisenmayer and himself, were to jointly own both mills This mill was patronized by people from a distance of seventy-five miles. This arrangement was soon changed by Conrad Eisenmayer taking full ownership of the Richland creek property, whilst Philip Eisenmayer and Postel
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La 99 00 00
COOPER'S
SHOPS,
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GRAIN & BARREL
WAREHOUSE
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REAR VIEW OF RESIDENCE
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VIEW OFTHE MASCOUTAH STAR FLOURING MILLS AND OTHER PROPER
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FLOUR WAREHOUSE AT L.B. N. R.R.DEPOT
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RESIDENCE
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MASCOUTAH STAR MILLS
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MASCOUTAH STAR MILLS CAPACITY 350 BARRELS DAILY
OPERTY BELONGING TO
PHILIP H POSTEL,
MASCOUTAH, ILLINOIS.
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355
HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY, ILLINOIS.
took hold of the Mascoutah mills, with Postel in charge of the corn-mill. He has ever since been engaged in the milling busi- ness, sometimes alone, at others, with different parties. From 1846 to 1850 he was in partnership with Philip and Andrew Eisenmayer, as equal partners, under the firm name of Postel & Eisenmayer. The corn-cracker was unequal to the demand made by an increasing population ; so in 1850 this firm concluded to erect a more com- modious and better mill, and at once set about the enterprise by opening a brick-yard on the site of the present home of Mr. Postel. The mill was built during this and the following year. A year after, the firm dissolved partnership, Philip Eisenmayer retiring from the same. In 1856 the owners sold out to Fike, Land & Co., because of the illness of Conrad Eisenmayer. Mr. Postel had ac- quired a great taste for the business of milling, besides having been in its pursuit quite successful ; hence in 1857 he built another mill in the western part of the town, which was at the time of its com- pletion justly styled the " Pride of Southern Illinois." Unluckily for him, it was destroyed by fire, consequent upon an explosion of the middlings, August 21, 1862 In October following he formed a co-partnership with Mr. Tiedemann at O'Fallon, in the ownership of the O'Fallon mills, under the firm name of Tiedemann & Co., and which arrangement existed to the entire satisfaction of all con- cerned for a period of thirteen years. In 1867 Mr. Postel bought the Mascoutah Star mills in connection with his brother-in-law, Jacob Eisenmayer, who died August 19, 1873, thus leaving the property to him. Since then he has, by aid of his sons, managed these mammoth mills successfully. Thus, step by step, from humble beginnings he has gained a firm financial footing and amassed a reasonable share of property. Much of his success in life, after his parents, he attributes to the salutary influence of a teacher, Jacob Reither, whose school he attended in early youth. Reither was quite distinguished in his profession, and by the force of a strong moral character, left his impress for good on many who attended his instruction. His memory is revered by many who owe him much for the measure of success which has attended them through life. Mr. Postel's marriage to Miss Mary Eisenmayer, which took place September 4, 1842, was not without its attendant romance. Heand his intended bride rode horseback from Mascoutah to the Rich- land Creek mills, where the bride's brother lived, a distance of thirty miles, to be united in the bonds of wedlock. In preparing himself for the wedding, he took temporary possession of a black broad- cloth cap of George Grasser's and a pair of boots of Andrew Eisen- mayer's. His intended bride wore a fifty cent hickory bonnet, the nicest he had ever seen. Thus attired, they crossed the inter- vening valleys and prairies to her brother's, where the wedding ceremony was performed by the Rev. Mr. Done. On their return, Mrs. Postel fell from her horse, greatly alarming her ; but fortunately she was not injured. Thus, their journey through life together was commenced in a primitive way. In 1848, Mr. Postel, attended by his wife, returned on a visit to Germany. They left home February 4, 1848, attended by a brother-in-law, Lorenz Leibroch, by wagon from St. Louis, thence by river to New Or- leans, thence by a cotton ship, leaving New Orleans on St. Patrick's day, for Germany. They reached their home, on the 14th of May,
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