USA > Illinois > Stark County > History of Stark County, Illinois, and its people : a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume I > Part 10
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
Lafayette is the only town or village in the township. It is situ- ated near the western border. on the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad, which runs almost due east and west through the central part of the township. A history of the village will be found in the next chapter. Goshen is therefore an agricultural commmity, though considerable attention has been given in recent years to fruit raising. and there are two large nurseries near Lafayette.
The nine public school buildings in the township, including the one in Lafayette, are valued at $17.500 and twelve teachers were employed during the school year of 1914-15. The population in 1910 was 1.145 and in 1914 the assessed value of the property was $1.063.677.
99
HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY
OSCEOLA TOWNSHIP
The Township of Osceola occupies the northeastern corner of the county, including Congressional township 14, range 7. It is bounded on the north and east by Bureau County; on the south by Penn Town- ship, and on the west by the Township of Elmira. The East Fork of the Spoon River flows diagonally across the township from northeast to southwest, Silver Creek drains the northeastern portion and across the southern part Cooper's Defeat Creek flows westwardly until it empties into the East Fork in section 31. More than 80 per cent of the 23,040 aeres of land lying within this township is capable of being cultivated and yields abundant erops, owing to the great fertility of the soil. When the first white men came to this part of the county they found here a beautiful prairie, which may account in a great measure for the large number of soldiers' land warrants being filed between the years 1817 and 1820. In those years lands were entered in this township by veterans of the War of 1812 as follows:
In section 1. Daniel Prestman and John Wingfield: seetion 2. John Cochran and Richard Marshall; seetion 3, Levi Spaulding and John Spencer: section 4. Isaac Irvine and George Rowland: seetion 5. Il. J. Balch and Jacob Seeders: section 6, John Swisson : section 7, Timothy Carter and Daniel Whisker; seetion 8, Alanson Adams, Samuel Adams, John Pilsbury and Margaret Smith; section 9, James C. Angell, Alexander MeConkey, John T. Swords and Stephen Whipple; section 10, Charles Avery, Nathan Brown, Samuel Shannon and William Weaver; section 11, Stephen Bridges, John Gowen, Rensselaer Lee and Shelton Lockwood: section 12, Joseph Cutler; seetion 13, David Flagg and Jonathan Pike; section 14, William Brower. Andrew Campbell, Frederick Devoe and Asahel Stanley; section 15, John Barker, Ephraim Pratt, Timothy Thompson and Gerard Tracy; section 17, John Carroll, John Langfitt, Jacob Sticker and James Wiley; seetion 18, Amos Bunnell and Asa Manning: see- tion 19, William Kurnin; section 20, James Bush; section 21, Eli Brady and Andrew Groynne: section 22, William Crowson, William Graham and Jabez Graves : section 23. Sanmel Allen, Philip Andrews, Isaae McCarter and James Taylor : section 24, Frederick Honn, Sam- uel Neal. Elijah Niekerson and George Stall : section 25, Job Haskell. Hudson Knight and F. K. Robinson; section 26, John Coon, Josiah Brantley, Orson Menard and J. C. Parker : section 27. E. F. Nichols, Richard Hardy. William F. Reed and Amos Small: seetion 28, Wil- liam Eaton and George Stanton: seetion 31. Zachary Gray: section
100
HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY
32, Grandeson B. Cooper; section 33, Winship Gordon and Lawrence Iloots; section 34, Samnel K. Jenkins, John Lennon, Samuel Moul- ton and Arthur Sherrard; section 35, George Anway, Joseph Kenion, George Longmire and William Macling: section 36, Jacob Morton.
The eighty-seven soldiers' claims of 160 acres each absorbed 13,920 acres, or a little more than 60 per cent of the entire township. When actual settlers began to come in there were several disputes and law suits over title to the lands, which retarded to some extent the develop- ment of the township. The vexed question was finally settled, how- ever, and since then Osceola has grown to be one of the wealthiest, most populous and prosperous townships of Stark County.
When the first settlers came to the township in 1835 they found a beautiful grove in the northwestern part, extending into what is now Elmira Township, and it was here that they located. At that time the Seminole Indians in Florida were at war with the United States under the leadership of the half-breed chief. Osceola. This chief was the son of a white man named Willis Powell and a Creek squaw. He was born in Georgia, but while he was still in his youth his mother deserted her own tribe and joined the Seminoles. Some of the early settlers, admiring the skill and bravery of the adopted chief in resist- ing the removal of the Seminoles from their favorite hunting grounds in Florida, named the grove "Osceola Grove," and this name was afterward conferred upon the civil township established in 1853.
The first land entries made by actual settlers were in the grove above mentioned and along the East Fork of the Spoon River. Nicholas Sturm and Henry Seely located claims in section 28 in 1835. The following year Robert and William Hall entered land in seetion 6: James Buswell in section 7: Isaac Spencer, section 18: James Clark and Sammel Love, section 19: Mathias Sturm. section 21, and Joseph Newton, section 28. In 1837 Myrtle G. Brace located in sec- tion 6. John Watts in section 19, and W. H. Boardman in section 31.
Although Osceola is an agricultural community, considerable coal mining has been done in the township. As early as 1861 John Mc- Langhlin was mining coal at a place known as Foster's coal bank, about two and a half miles west of Bradford. and there were other mines along the Spoon River and about Lombardville. A more com- plete account of the mining interests of the county will be found in the chapter on Finance and Industry.
The Buda & Rushville branch of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy railway system runs through the eastern part of the township. with stations at Bradford and Lombardville. and furnishes transportation facilities to the people living east of the Spoon River.
101
HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY
The first election of school trustees in Osceola Township was on June 3, 1846, when Liberty Stone. I. W. Searl and Zebulon Avery were elected. Immediately after their election the trustees divided the township into three school districts. In 1915 there were nine public school buildings, valued at $10,800, and during the preceding school year sixteen teachers were employed. The population of the township in 1910, including the incorporated Village of Bradford, was 1.577, and in 1914 the property was valued for tax purposes at $1,090,874.
PENN TOWNSHIP
This is the middle township of the eastern tier and embraces Con- gressional township 13 north, range 7 east. It is bounded on the north by Osceola Township: on the east by Marshall County; on the south by Valley Township, and on the west by the Township of Tou- lon. The surface is moderately diversified and originally a large part of the township was prairie land, with a soil above the average in fer- tility. Coal deposits underlie the township and in a few places have been found beds of a good quality of fire clay, but they have not been developed. The only stream of any consequence is a tributary of Cooper's Defeat Creek in the northeastern portion. Captain Haacke, one of the early settlers of Peoria, several years ago told the story of how this creek received its name. His account is as follows:
"The winter of 1831-32 was the winter of the deep snow. The weather before Christmas being pleasant a party of four men was equipped by a trader by the name of John Hamlin, then of Peoria, who was buying furs for the American Fur Company. Fitting them out with an ox team of two yoke and provisions for their journey from Peoria to the Winnebago swamps, with goods to trade to the Winnebago and Pottawatomi Indians, they started on their journey. Soon snow commenced to fall, the air grew colder, and contimed to grow more so as they went along, until they were compelled by the fierce cold and driving snow to abandon their team. In fact the snow was so deep that the cattle got swamped and they were left to their fate. With Boyd's Grove in view, the men started, guided by a large tree and a light at the grove. A man named Ridgeway was the only one of the party who succeeded in reaching the grove. The other three, two of whom were William and Jerry Cooper ( the other name forgotten), perished on the prairie near a stream southwest of Boyd's Grove. The bones of the men and the cattle were seen in the spring following, also the sled, as the soldiers of the Black Hawk war were
102
HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY
marching, all mounted, 260 strong, to make battle with the Sac and Fox Indians. The stream where the men perished has since been known as 'Cooper's Defeat.'"
Township 13. range 7, seems to have been a favorite field for the veterans of the War of 1812. as nearly one hundred land warrants were located in what is now Penn Township. Following is a list of entries made between the years 1817 and 1820:
Section 1, William Y. Knapp. Elizabeth Leonard (soldier's widow) and James Rogers; section 2, Daniel Robertson; section 3, Francis Cook and James Seandling; section 4, Jolm and William Owen: seetion 5, William A. MeLane and Samuel Tyler; seetion 6, Benjamin Howard; section 7, Peter Kerns and Job Price; section 8, Charles Brewster, William H. Fann and John Hoagden: section 9. Samuel Earl, Samuel Ellis, William Kelly and Levi Pratt: sec- tion 10, George Coates, Ebenezer Cobb, William Loomis and Stephen Newburg; section 11, Richard Carver, William Gordon, Philip Phelps; section 12, George Kindle, Elijah Loveless, Moses Taylor and Thomas Tyler; section 13, Patrick Freeman, John W. Ingersoll and William Trottenberger: seetion 14, Daniel Bennett, John Connor, Jolm J. Jewell and William Sheets; section 15, John Beals. John Cook, Mathias Boyd and Robert MeIntosh; section 17, Ira Holman, Thomas Johnson, Henry Parker and George Suter: section 18, Nathan Convers and Aaron Woodworth; seetion 19. Abiezer Wash- burn and Asa Winslow; section 20, Richard Bayard, Jonathan Drake, Shelby Hobbs and Nathan Shepherd; section 21. Alvin Dillingham, Samuel Lane, Joseph McFarlin and James Parks; section 22, Benja- min Brown, Samuel Lewis. William Stewart and Joseph Windell; section 23, Moses Heath, Archibald MeCrary and Christian Right; section 24, Amos C. Babcock, John W. Ingersoll. Bernard MeMahon and John Mason; seetion 25, John Norfleet and Jaeob Skinner: see- tion 26, James Giles, Paul Green, Thomas McCoy and Joshua Regis- ter; section 27, Timothy Dixon, Richard Embley, Joseph Morse and Warren Sartwell: section 28. William Briggs, John Adams. Thomas Dennis and Richard Edmunds; section 29, Giles C. Dana. George Decker, Joseph Doekham and John Nichols: section 30, Horaee Clark and Harvey Gaylord: section 31, Adonijah Ball and Peter Rieker: seetion 32. John Brandon, Christopher Brockett and Jaeob Trishour : section 33, Peter Brown, Robert Devine, Jeremiah Gillilan and William Matthews; section 34, Adam Sufford, Nathaniel Var- num. Thomas Walden and Horace Witheville: section 35, Moses
103
HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY
Aldrich, John Messing and Jenks Waite: seetion 36, Thomas Lee and John W. Ingersoll.
The actual settlement of the township began before the organiza- tion of the county. One of the earliest settlers was James Holgate, who was born in Philadelphia, Pa., July 26, 1804, and when sixteen years of age went to Luzerne County, in his native state, where he learned the miller's trade. In 1833 he left Pennsylvania and came to Illinois, locating in section 19, in what is now Pen Township. Ile held the office of county judge for eight years; was justice of the peace and a member of the Legislature; was one of the democratic leaders in Stark County, and was an energetic and useful citizen. He died about 1885.
Henry Seely, another pioneer of Penn, was a native of New York State, but came west while still a young man and was married in Indiana. Soon after his marriage he came to Illinois and acquired 320 acres of land in what is now Penn Township. His place was long known as "Seely's Point" and is located in sections 27 and 28. Ile was elected to several ofliees on the republican ticket and was an active member of the Methodist Church. His death ocenrred in March, 1876.
Others who settled or entered land in this township in the '30s were Dexter Wall. Benjamin and David Newton, John T. Phenix, Henry Breese, Lemuel S. Dorrance, Sylvanus Moore, Elisha C. and Nehemiah Merritt. Then came the Averys, the Bunnells, the Snares, the Bococks and other families, many of whose descendants still reside in the township.
Prior to the introduction of the township system in 1853 the terri- tory comprising Penn Township was included in the "Spoon River Preeinet." After the people of Stark County had voted to adopt the township organization, Henry Breese was appointed one of the com- missioners to divide the county into civil townships. Hle was from Pennsylvania, as were a number of his neighbors, and suggested the name of "Pennsylvania" for his township, but the other two commis- sioners thought the name too long, so it was shortened to "Penn."
Castleton, a little northwest of the center of the township, is the only town. It is located on the line of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, which runs from northeast to southwest through the township.
Penn reported a population of 931 in 1910, which was a slight decrease from the census of ten years before. In 1914 the property was valued for taxation at $885,501. The nine schoolhonses are valued at $9,350, and ten teachers are employed in the publie schools.
104
HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY
TOULON TOWNSHIP
Of the eight townships comprising Stark County, Toulon is the most centrally located. It includes Congressional Township 13 north, range 6 east. Elmira Township bounds it on the north: Penn on the east: Essex on the south, and Goshen on the west. Spoon River flows southwardly across the eastern portion and the southwest corner is watered by Indian Creek. Along the streams the surface is somewhat broken, but the greater part of the township consists of rolling land with a fertile soil. well adapted to agricultural purposes. Some coal has been mined in the township. When Stark County was first organ- ized in 1839 the eastern half of this township was in the Wyoming Precinct and the western half in the Central Precinct. Fourteen years later the township system was adopted and the name of "Tou- lon" was given to the township. from the county seat, which is located near its western border.
More than one hundred military land warrants were located in Toulon Township between the years 1817 and 1820. Jonathan Mat- thews and Samuel P. Tufts selected claims in section 1: Michael Cun- ningham and Nathan Chadwick, section 2; William Dunlap and Charles Gist, section 3: Erastus Backus and Joseph Banks, section 4; Solomon Hutchinson and Jesse Seeley, section 5: Jacob Rheam, sec- tion 6: David Park, Hiram Stevens and William Wiley, section 7: Elijah Coates, Ira Ellmore and Samuel MeCahan, section 8: Daniel Dudley, Amos J. Eagleson, Silas MeCullough and Robert Morton. section 9: Hester Faust, Bela Hall, Joseph Porter and Ira Reming- ton, section 10: Isaac Dyer, Benjamin Pratt, James Thomas and Benjamin H. Tozer. section 11: Luke Blackshire. Abram Bowman and Samuel Grimes, section 12; David Fulwell, Jesse Ormsby. George W. Russell and Isaac Patch, section 13; John Dawson, John Pike. Robert D. Thompson and David R. Whiteley. section 14: Samuel Null, Abram Rader. Thomas Thompson and John R. Turner, section 15: James Bulley, William Davidson. Valentine Matthews and John Yearns, section 17: John Wallace and William Young. section 18: William Bennett and Gideon W. Moody, section 19: Lydia Barrett. Edward D. Strickland. Robert Vallally and William Vanderman. section 20; Jeptha Cloud. Robert Fry. Moses McClay and Robert Miner. section 21: Nicholas Cook. Allen B. Strong and John Wells. section 22; Reuben Boles, Richard Hill and W. B. MeKennan, sec- tion 23: Abel H. Coleman. Silas M. Moore and Isaac Parcelles. sec- tion 24: Joseph Joy, William Karns, John Thompson and Asaph
--
RESIDENCE OF A. J. ADAMS, WYOMING
ยท
UDRASY UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS URBANA
105
HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY
Wetherill, section 25: George Metzinger, Thomas Rogers and Joseph Wildey, section 26; Timothy Cook, Joseph S. Gorman, Job Park- head and Polly Tueker, seetion 27; Ebenezer Gilkey, Samuel Griffith, Jacob Slantler and Phineas Spilman, section 28; Asa Hill, William Hyde. Heury Roberts and James Trumbull, section 29: Philip Law- less and Adam MeCaslin, section 30: Squire Williams and Peter Wolf, section 31: James Baldwin, David Hambleton, Isaac Higgins and Thomas Wandell. section 32; Henry Bailey, James Chancey. Joseph Cram and John Cross, seetion 33; Jeremiah Davis, Richard Nixon, William Oaks and John Short, section 34; John Bussell, Luke G. Hasley. Benjamin Hughes and Henry Murphy, section 35; John Lynes, John Hageman, Patrick Short and Thomas W. Way, seetion 36.
The first lands entered for actual settlement were the southwest quarter of section 30 and the northwest quarter of section 31, which were entered on June 24, 1839, the former by Adam Perry and the latter by William H. Henderson. On September 6, 1839, John Miller entered the southwest quarter of seetion 19, where the City of Toulon now stands, and on the 28th of the same month JJohn Culbertson en- tered the quarter seetion directly north of Miller's. Lewis Perry, Chauncey D. Fuller and William Mahaney also entered lands in the township in the fall of 1839.
Col. William II. Henderson, one of the early settlers in Toulon Township and a man who played an important part in the early his- tory of Stark County, was born in Garrard County, Ky., Novem- ber 16. 1793. At the beginning of the War of 1812 he enlisted in the Kentneky Mounted Riflemen, commanded by Col. Richard M. Johnson, and with his regiment was at the battle of the Thames, October 5, 1813. Upon retiring from the army he located in Stewart County. Tenn., where he was married on January 11. 1816, to Miss Lucinda Wimberly. He served as sheriff of Stewart County and afterward removed to Haywood County, in the western part of the state. In 1831 he visited Illinois and selected lands in what is now La Salle County, about fifteen miles north of the present City of Ottawa. In the spring of 1832 his father and mother, two of his brothers and a man named Robert Norris, with two of his wife's brothers. set out for the new possessions. Just then the Black Hawk war eame on, Robert Norris was killed by the Indians and the other members of the family were compelled to vacate their elaims. Colonel Henderson therefore remained in Tennessee and in 1833 was elected to represent his district in the State Senate. He resigned his seat, Vol. I- 7
106
HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY
however, before the expiration of his term, and on July 2, 1836, landed in Stark County. His work in securing the organization of the county is told in another chapter; the first session of the Circuit Court of Stark County was held at his house; he was a member of the last Legislature that met at Vandalia and the first that met at Springfield, and was otherwise active in public affairs. In 1845 he removed to lowa and died in that state on January 27. 1864. His son, Thomas J. Henderson, was colonel of the One Hundred and Twelfth Illinois Infantry in the Civil war.
In 1841 the county seat was located at Toulon and much of the history of Toulon Township is intimately associated with the county seat. It is therefore told in connection with the history of the City of Toulon in another chapter. The Peoria & Rock Island (now the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific) Railroad was built through the township in 1871.
According to the United States census for 1910 the population in that year was 2,579, which included parts of the cities of Toulon and Wyoming. There are nine school districts in the township, outside of the City of Toulon, in which ten teachers were employed during the school year of 1914-15, and in 1914 the taxable value of the prop- erty, including railroad property, was $1,401,244.
VALLEY TOWNSHIP
Valley Township occupies the southeast corner of the county and embraces Congressional Township 12 north, range 7 east. It is bounded on the north by Penn Township; on the east by Marshall County : on the south by Peoria County, and on the west by the Town- ship of Essex. Previous to the introduction of the township system in 1853, this part of the county formed a part of the Wyoming Precinet. When the county was divided into townships the name "Valley" was conferred upon this political subdivision for the reason that it occupies the broad, fertile valley at the foot of the highest divide in the state. Camping Run flows in a westerly direction through the northern part and Mud Run through the southern part. With a generally level or slightly rolling surface and a productive soil, some of the finest farms in the county are in Valley Township.
With the exception of section 16-the publie school section-and a few isolated tracts here and there, practically the entire township was claimed by veterans of the War of 1812 under the Military Bounty Act. Following is a list of soldiers' land warrants located between the years 1817 and 1820:
107
IHISTORY OF STARK COUNTY
Section 1, Charles Gibhard and Linus Gilbert; seetion 2. Justus Cobb and Thomas Edwards; section 3. Joseph MeCord and John Thornburg; section 4, John Vinehane and Charles Young; section 5, Welcome Butterworth (320 aeres) ; seetion 6, John Sargent and James Sawyer; seetion 7, Isaae Paulding and Samuel P. Stegner; section 8, Isaae Childs, John Erskine, Hugh Robb and Nehemiah Wood; seetion 9, Richard Horton, William Herrald, William W. Siekles and Niebolas Van Steyke; section 10, Benjamin Fall, Caleb Johnson, Leverett Richardson and John Vanderbeek ; section 11, John Green. David Page and Edward Wyman; section 12, William Heath. Thomas H. Parker and John Pritchard; section 13, Robert Brown. Philip Clarke. Robert Cockles and Thompson White; section 14, Zerah Call, John Coffey, Oliphant Coleman and Charles Kitchen; section 15. Lodowiek Blackley, James Briggs and John O'Neil: see- tion 17. George Armstrong, John Coneannon, Hampton Owens and John Thompson: seetion 18. Isaae Ackerman, James Beardwine, Pleasant Meredith and Peter Rotis: section 19, John Bingham, Nor- man Collins and Benjamin R. Meredith: section 20. Daniel Burns, William Dillon, Philip Kinston and Nathaniel White; section 21, John Booth. Gerard Gibson, John L. Griswold and William Walker; section 22, David Durand and Charles Tabor; section 23. John An- drews, Isaae Garrett and Nathan Hall: section 24, Charles Curran, William T. Graves, William MeGlynn and Owen Riley: seetion 25, Samuel Adams. Thomas Carty, James Sproul and Joseph Yates; section 26. Frederick Cook. Frank Lowder, John MeCormack and Benjamin Tarr: section 27, Ichabod Colby, Thomas Harris and Con- rad Mandell: seetion 28. Clement C. Minor: seetion 29. David Guth- rie. David Bringman, Franeis Dudley and Moses Hamphill: section 30, John Archibald, Benjamin S. Snyder and Alexander Waistcoat; seetion 31, John Ayler, Henry Emery, Michael Gebhart and Daniel Palmer: section 32, Silas Beverstock, Samuel Chatterton. Calvin Hoyt and John Laekey; seetion 33, William Hearn, William Martland, Aaron Turner and Horton Wood; seetion 34. Peter Holloway, Isaac Smith, William Tapp and Daniel Woolford; seetion 35. Putnam Conouss. Ahaz Cook and James H. Rowland; seetion 36, Luke Bar- ton, Moses Davis and Zeba Parmeley.
As in the other townships of the county, these military titles sub- sequently eaused numerous misunderstandings and retarded settle- ment to some extent. Among those who entered lands along in the '30s for actual oeeupation were Edwin and Titus Hutchinson, Wil- liam C. Cummings, Joseph Sulliman, Charles Pope and a few others. The school seetion was not disposed of until 1851.
108
HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY
On July 17, 1847, the first school trustees-David Rouse, Z. G. Bliss and William C. Cummings-were chosen at an election held at the house of David Rouse, and the township was soon afterward organized for school purposes. There were then but nine families, with forty-one children, and only two districts were established. Since then the two original distriets have been subdivided until in 1915 there were eight. The eight schoolhouses in the township were then valued at $8,650 and during the school year of 1914-15 ten teachers were employed.
Valley is fairly well provided with transportation facilities, the Chicago, Burlington & Quiney Railroad passing through the western part and the Chicago & Northwestern through the southeastern por- tion. Stark on the former and Speer on the latter are the only rail- road stations. In 1910 the population was 821, an inerease of 33 during the preceding deeade, and in 1914 the assessed value of the property, including railroads, was $856,836.
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.