USA > Illinois > Vermilion County > History of Vermilion County, Illinois, Volume One > Part 16
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about 1845 with a four horse team which he traded for a small farm. He became prosperous, owned considerable land around Marysville where he built the first store and was postmaster for awhile.
In 1832 a country road was established through Ross- ville and Blue Grass from the state line west. This became known as the Attica in a few years. Thomas Owens who later moved to Streator bought a farm on section sixteen and began "keeping tavern" at Blue Grass. It soon be- came a center for people in the surrounding country. A store and post office soon followed. A blacksmith shop was started. Blue Grass became a busy center and did all the business for a radius of ten miles. But when the rail- road was built and missed the village by a few miles it soon ceased to be a business center.
The first school taught in the town was by Reverend Mr. Ryman four miles west of Marysville in 1842.
The first religious services in the township were prob- ably held at the house of the Partlow family who were strong supporters of the Methodist Church. In 1829 we find that Reuben Partlow accompanied John Johns, who lived ten miles southeast of the Partlow neighborhood, to Danville to attend a meeting, and to ask that the preacher, McKain, send an appointment to their neighborhood. This was complied with. Coffeen's Hand-book of Vermilion County, pages 25 and 26, says: "A man by the name of McKain was the first Methodist circuit rider of this county. Harshey was the next and by his preaching a great influence was exerted in favor of Methodism in this vicinity." It is probable that the same circuit which was extended to John Johns in 1829, was also extended to the Partlow neighborhood the same year. This was the Eugene Circuit and extended to Big Grove (now Cham-
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paign). Under the preaching of Mr. Harshey, who was the second circuit preacher in the county, regular appoint- ments were made at Mr. Partlow's which grew into the Partlow Church ten years later. For at least ten years, preaching was had in the houses. Blue Grass, Partlow's and Morehead's were the first preaching points. After Reverend Harshey, came Risley, Bradshaw, Moore, Buck, Crane, Littler and others. In 1840 the first church build- ing was erected in this part of the county. It was built on land donated by Reuben Partlow. This building was also used for the first school which was held in this part of the township, and the second one in the township. It seems that this locality was slow to take interest in schools. It was not until about 1848 that they turned to the cause of schools. A new wave of immigration about that time awakened interest in schools. Methodist churches were built at Marysville in 1870; Blue Grass in 1854; and Chapel "No. 1" in 1867.
The Baptists were active at an early date in this town- ship. The Middlefork Baptist Church was organized in 1834 by Elder Freeman Smalley with about twenty mem- bers. This old church maintained its position until 1864 when questions which grew out of the Civil War caused a division which proved disastrous.
In 1852 a Baptist church was organized at Blue Grass and was called Hopewell Church but came to be generally known as Blue Grass Church. The early pastors of this church following Elder Smalley were Reverends Dodson, A. C. Blankenship and Benjamin Harris. The new church held its first meetings at the residence of David S. Halbert who came to this county in 1836 and became united with the Baptist faith in 1840. He came to this neighborhood
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about 1848 and spent his life here except four years of service in the Civil War.
Point Pleasant Church was organized in 1866 by Elder C. B. Seals who was then a licensed preacher. A church edifice was built the following year, near Methodist Church "No. 1."
The United Brethren Church which was organized in Ross Township, had five appointments in the Marysville circuit here in the early days as follows: Mr. Knight's at Knight's Branch, five miles southwest; Bean Creek, three and a half miles northeast; Murphy's School House, seven miles north; Sperry's, five miles southeast; and Marysville.
The villages of Potomac and Armstrong are in Middle- fork Township. Ellis, a railroad station in the north- western part of the township, has a population of twenty- seven.
Potomac, the largest village in Middlefork Township, was platted and incorporated under the name of Marys- ville and a post office was established there under that name. Doctor Ingalls was the first postmaster. Then for awhile the post office was suspended and when it was reinstated with Rigden Potter as postmaster the post office department changed the name to Potomac. The reason given was that the close proximity of Myersville and the similarity of the names made the two places easily con- founded.
The village is located on section three (21-13). John Smith (plain) was the first man here. Isaac Meneley and Morehead and Robert Marshall were at first living across the creek but soon joined Smith here. James Colwell was also an early settler here. Douglass Moore bought land here and built on it. Isaac Meneley built a shop about
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1850 and started blacksmithing and about that time Smith built a frame store across the street from the blacksmith shop and engaged in the mercantile business. Doctor Ingalls was practicing medicine here at the time when he was appointed the first postmaster.
Henry Bass had a store here in 1852 and was in busi- ness here for a number of years. George and Mason Wright engaged in business here in 1860 and four years later went to Danville. Lloyd and M. M. Groves who had carried on an extensive mercantile business at Blue Grass, came here in 1864 and occupied the store which Wright Brothers had vacated. They continued in business here successfully until the death of one of the partners, in 1874, which dissolved the firm.
I. Dillon built a steam grist mill here in 1869.
The village was incorporated in 1876. Potomac has an excellent school system. Its business men are live and progressive and it is one of the prosperous towns of the county. The population according to the last census is eight hundred and sixteen.
Armstrong is located in section one (21-14) on the Illinois Central Railroad in Middlefork Township. It was laid out and platted on land owned by Thomas and Henry Armstrong in 1877. The village has a population of three hundred and twenty-five.
NEWELL TOWNSHIP
When township organization was effected in Vermilion County this township was originally named Richland. At the first meeting of the board of supervisors, June 13, 1851, the name was changed to Newell, as there was already a township in the state named Richland. The
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township bears its present name in honor of Squire James Newell, the first justice of the peace.
The pioneers of what is now Newell Township were two brothers, Obadiah and John LeNeve. In the fall of 1823 Obadiah LeNeve made a trip on horseback from Vincennes to Saint Louis and into northern Missouri. Upon his return trip he came through northern Illinois. When he reached what is now Newell Township he was more favorably impressed with it than any section over which he had traveled. He selected tracts of land in sec- tions twenty-three and twenty-four and when he returned home purchased them.
In December, 1824, Obadiah and John LeNeve left their relatives in Lawrence (then Crawford) County, Illi- nois, and with a team loaded with provisions, bedding, etc., they left for their future home in Newell Township. They brought a man with them to take the team back. Upon reaching their place they built a rude hut. They spent the winter here occupied mostly in splitting rails. Indians were numerous here then and frequently visited the LeNeve brothers. They behaved in a most friendly manner, and never disturbed anything while the men were away. If any Indians were present, which they frequently were, when the LeNeves prepared their family meals, they were always invited to the repast and invariably accepted. Wolves were plentiful and made the nights hideous with their howls.
The LeNeve boys erected a house on section fourteen, town twenty, for Ben Butterfield, who was expected to arrive soon with his family. He came about the last of February, 1825. The LeNeves departed a few days later. However, they returned the following November. During the summer and fall of 1825 numerous other settlers came
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here. Henry Lockland, Amos, Aaron and Nathan Howard came from Ohio. James Currant came from Virginia. William and James Delay came from Ohio. Oliver Miller settled on Stony Creek in section fourteen. Samuel and John Adams and Joseph Martin came together from Har- rison County, Kentucky. William Newell came from Ken- tucky also. John Lamb and his son Simeon from North Carolina came the same summer. Also John Goodener, Elijah Hall and John Swisher came about the same time. George Ware came here the same year.
The next year-1826-Samuel Swinford, Richard Blair, William Adams, Edward Martin and James Newell came from Harrison County, Kentucky. Adam Starr came up from Georgetown and settled here. Abraham and Frederick Stipp from Virginia settled on section nine. John Watson settled in the southern part of the township.
In 1827 William Currant from Virginia settled on section thirty-six, town twenty. David Tickle, Jacob and George Swisher and Eli Hewitt came from Kentucky- Nathaniel Taylor, Joseph Gundy and Luke Wiles also came in 1827.
In 1828, Hugh Bolton and Solomon Roderick came from Ohio. Doctor John Woods a native of New York came this year, and his father-in-law, Supply Butterfield, also came in 1828. Thomas Hendren, John Chandler, Jacob Eckler, James Duncan and his sons, Asa, Alpha, Darius and James, all came from Kentucky in 1828.
In 1829, Ralph Martin, Henry Ferguson, William Cunningham, Harrison Oliver, George W. Smith, Samuel Oliver, John Shafer and James and Andrew Makemson arrived from Kentucky. For the next few years settlers continued to come in quite rapidly and this part of the
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county soon became quite thickly settled for a new com- munity.
Doctor John Woods, who came here from New York in 1828, was the first regular physician. There was quite a good deal of sickness among the early settlers in the new country. The prevailing ailments were ague, typhoid fever, so-called milk sickness and chills. Sanitation was little understood and practiced less.
James Makemson was one of the early blacksmiths. He studied medicine by himself and got to be a kind of a doctor and won quite a reputation and practice among the pioneers. After that he gave up blacksmithing. William Currant worked at the shoemaker's trade, which he picked up after coming here. He was a self-made shoemaker. Settlers then had to buy the leather at the tanner's and have their shoes made by some local shoemaker. The har- nesses were of the chain tug kind and were also home- made.
Before the invention of friction matches people used flint and steel to strike fire, igniting a piece of dry tow with the sparks. One cold morning, at the home of George Smith the flint and steel would not produce the desired spark and instead of going to a neighbor for live coals, which was the custom, Mrs. Smith placed a handful of tow in the fireplace and charged the gun with powder and fired into the tow and soon had a blaze, which was another way of starting a fire with a kick which preceded the achievement of Mrs. O'Leary's cow.
Many of the early settlers in Newell Township were from Ohio and Kentucky. They were thrifty and intel- ligent and early realized the necessity of organizing schools. The pioneer log school house was one of the simplest, yet most celebrated, institutions that figured in
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the settlement of the country. It was built of round or hewn logs and contained one room. The floors were of puncheon and a rude fireplace occupied one end of the building. In the opposite end an opening had been made by leaving out a log and in this opening upright pieces were placed at proper intervals, and oiled paper pasted on them to admit light. Thus the window was trans- lucent but not transparent. The furniture consisted of rough benches. At the window a long writing board was put up with the customary desk pitch and a bench which reached across the room was placed before this desk. Here, near the light, the pupils practiced their copies. There was no free public school system in those times. School had to be organized by the individuals of each neighborhood and supported by private contribution, and only those who paid received benefits. School houses were built in the same manner. When a school house was to be built the settlers met where the house was to be built and all helped in erecting the building. Schools were not limited to houses that were built specially for school pur- poses, but vacant cabins suitably located were frequently used for schools. Whoever proposed to organize a school went around among the settlers and took subscriptions for the number of scholars that each would send. Thus the name, "subscription schools," was applied to these early day schools. The price paid teachers varied from one to two dollars per scholar for a term of three months. Fre- quently some public spirited settler would subscribe to pay for twice as many scholars as he had to send. Often those who had no children and whose financial ability would permit, subscribed and paid for several scholars. Reading, writing, spelling and arithmetic comprised the studies.
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The first school house in this township was built in 1827 and was located on section three. The first teacher was a Mr. Scott who was described as a good natured, fatherly old gentleman. The second was Duncan Lindsey. It was said of him that he allowed very few children to "spoil by sparing the rod." The second school was known as the Eckler School and was built, on land owned by Jacob Eckler, in 1830. Miss Elizabeth Stipp was an early teacher here. About 1833 a school was taught in a house on the North Fork near the old town of Denmark. Early teachers here were Mary Beasly, Noah Sapp and Eliza- beth Stipp. After a few years this house was abandoned and a private house in Denmark used. The Lamb school house, located on the southeast corner of section twenty- six, was built in 1835. Among the teachers here were Robert Price, John McKee, J. Poor, and James A. Davis. The Cunningham school house was built about 1840. Levi Cronkhite was the first teacher.
The first preaching in Newell Township was by a Meth- odist preacher at the house of William Delay in 1826. The next place was at Peter Starr's home in 1829. The Eckler school house in the same neighbrhood was also used for services by several denominations. The Methodists, Predestinarian Baptists, Disciples or Campbellites and a sect calling themselves the Radical Methodists all had classes here. James Harshy and Wrisley were the first Methodist preachers. James Norris was the first Baptist preacher and Doctor Hall the first Disciples. Another prominent meeting place was at Jeremiah Delay's place. Also meetings were held for several years at John John- son's and William G. Blair's. The United Brethren held monthly meetings at Samuel Adam's place a few years, and afterwards at the Newell school house. The Chris-
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tians held meetings at an early day at William Cunning- ham's. Some of the early preachers of that denomination were Doctor Hall, Walters, Hibbs, Watson, Clark, Solo- mon Mckinney, John Ashby, Sears, Law and Thurman. In 1834 the Christian Society, called Walnut Corners Church, was organized and held meetings at the house of William Cunningham and at the Eckler school house. Later the place of worship was changed to Cunningham school house. Another Christian Church was built at State Line.
The Methodists erected the Asbury Church in 1851. It is on land given by William Currant.
Pleasant View Christian Church is in the Leonard settlement, and was organized at the Nauvoo school house about 1849.
The northern part of the city of Danville is located in the southwest corner of Newell Township. Bismark is the only village in the township. It is in the northern part and has a population of three hundred.
PILOT TOWNSHIP
Pilot is one of the original townships organized in 1851. Nearly all the land is prairie and some of the finest land in Illinois is found in this township. There was some timber on the eastern side along the Middle Fork, though not much extended into Pilot Township, and there was a small grove near the center of the township known as Pilot Grove. It was called Pilot on account of its peculiar situation which made of it a sort of a guide or landmark for the explorers of the prairie. The township derived its name from this grove.
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The first parts of this township that attracted the early settlers were Middle Fork and Pilot Grove on account of the timber at these points. Here as well as elsewhere the early settlers were inclined to keep close to the timbered sections.
James McGee perhaps was the first settler here. He came in 1824 or 1825. There were a number of the Mc- Gees came but later moved away. Mr. Griffith was here about the same time but he was in what is now Oakwood Township. In 1827 Morgan Rees and the Juvinalls came here and settled on the Middle Fork. The Juvinall family consisted of the father, John Juvinall, and his sons, An- drew, David, James and John, Jr. They came from Ohio. A family named Morrison settled on the Middle Fork, a little farther up, about the same time. William Trimmell settled in the same neighborhood in 1828. Samuel Bloom- field came to Middle Fork in 1829 or 1830. He had come to the county in 1823 and first located at Quaker's Point. Absolom Collison came here from Ohio in 1828. He was a young man when he came and later married Mary Chenoweth. The Atwoods settled in the eastern part of Pilot Township in 1829. They were from Ohio also. Eli Helmick, who first came to Salt Fork in 1833, came to Pilot Township in 1836. He settled in the eastern part of the township also.
The first settler at Pilot Grove was probably Mr. All- corn. He was there in 1830. It has been claimed that a Mr. Girard was the first but the weight of evidence seems to indicate that Allcorn was the first.
Robert Butz was the first settler on the prairie in the western part of the township. This was along in the fifties-perhaps 1859. Ephrim B. Tillotson settled in the northwestern part of the township in 1856. The earliest
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settler in the northeastern part of the township was a Mr. Knight.
The first school to which the settlers had access was one taught by Morgan Rees just across the line in Blount Township. The early settlers of Pilot were so scattered that it was difficult to maintain a school until some time after the early settlements. However, a school house was built on section twenty, township twenty, range twelve, as early as 1836 or 1837. Ezekiel Lewton taught the first school in this building. There was a school taught in a cabin prior to this by a Mr. Beard in 1834. These schools were of course of the usual primitive kind.
The first religious meetings held in the township were sponsored by the McGees, the father being a minister of a sort of an independent branch of the Christian Church. Stephen Griffith was one of the members. This organiza- tion finally disappeared.
A Christian chapel was built on the south edge of the township in 1873. They held meetings in the Craig school house and the Snyder school house in the sixties. Thomas Snyder was the pastor for a number of years. There was also a society of this denomination in the western part of the township which met at Hope school house. These were of the (New Light) Christians. There were also organ- izations of the Campbellite division of the Christian Church in the northern part of the township and in the southern part.
The United Brethren also had an early organization here-the Olive Branch or Knight's Branch. Abraham Peterson was the first preacher. He came here about 1839 or 1840. This denomination built a church in 1867.
The Methodists were among the first to promulgate their faith in this township. The Morrisons and the Juvi-
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nalls were Methodists, and they were early arrivals. Rev. McKain preached here first. Early meetings were held in private homes until after the school houses began to be built, when they were held in them. The Pilot Chapel organization met in Collison school house. The church was built in 1871. Rev. David Brewer was the pastor. Later Rev. Eli Helmick, who was a widely known preacher in this county, preached here.
The Methodists built another church in the township, south of "California Ridge" within two miles of the south line, in 1875. This was known as Emberry Church. Meet- ings were held at what was called Sand Bar school house in 1857.
The village of Collison, population two hundred, is located in Pilot Township.
ROSS TOWNSHIP
Final action was taken by the supervisors on June 13, 1927, by which South Ross Township was created from the southern half of Ross Township. This action was so recent that the history of Ross Township includes both Ross and South Ross.
Ross Township was named in honor of Jacob T. Ross, who owned land in section nine, and who at one time owned a mill on section five, which was known as Ross' mill. The early elections and town meetings were held in this mill which was built about 1838 by Mr. Clawson. At first it was a sawmill but shortly after it was built a grist mill was added. Ross had an interest in the mill when it was built and in 1851 became the sole owner.
The first permanent white settlers in Ross Township were probably the Davisons and the Grundys. Mr. Horr
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and Mr. Liggett came about the same time. Andrew Davison came here from Franklin County, Ohio, with his wife and family in 1828 and took up land in section thirteen. There were seven children in the Davison fam- ily, viz .: James, Robert, Sally, Jane, Susan, Betty and Polly. Two of these were married when they came here, James and Mrs. Joseph Grundy. A short time after the arrival of the Davison family Joseph Kerr came here. He married on of the Davison girls.
Joseph Grundy, who came here with the Davison fam- ily, was a son of Jacob Grundy. Jacob Grundy was a Pennsylvanian and when a young man moved from his native state to Chillicothe, Ohio. He was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. He came here in 1830 with two sons, William and Thomas, and a daughter, Mrs. Abram Woods. Another son, Jacob, Jr., came here a few years later, but remained only a short time, when he went to Missouri. Jacob Grundy, Sr., died here in 1842. His wife had died before the family came to Illinois. The members of the Grundy family were prominent in the early day affairs of the county.
John Demorest came to Ross Township from Shawnee Prairie, Indiana, in 1828, with his three daughters. His wife died in Indiana. He entered land in sections six and one and owned about four hundred acres. He was a local preacher and did much good work in the cause of Chris- tianity in the new country. He and Daniel Fairchild worked together in the ministry.
Alvan Gilbert was prominent in the early day affairs of Ross Township. His father, Samuel Gilbert, with two brothers, came from Ontario County, New York, and set- tled at Danville in 1826. They established a ferry at Dan- ville and built a mill. In 1832 Alvan Gilbert married a
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daughter of Robert Horr and bought an interest in the Horr farm, which was located on section twenty-five, where the Chicago road, now the Dixie Highway, crosses the North Fork. Soon after he sold this place to his father and in 1839 bought the Liggett farm at Rossville. He was active in public affairs and served in the State Legislature. John Liggett, after whom Liggett's Grove was named, settled on section eleven about 1829. He died in 1838. Thomas Mckibbin settled on section thirty-two with his father in 1830. He afterwards lived in other parts of the county. He served in the Blackhawk War and was the first deputy sheriff of the county. He afterwards served two terms as sheriff and it was one of his chief delights to hunt horse thieves. He was a very efficient officer.
Oliver Prickett came from Brown County, Ohio, in 1832, and settled near where Rossville now stands. About this time Chicago began to be the trading point for this section of the country. Instead of sending their produce down the river on flat boats to market, the settlers began to haul their produce and everything they had to sell to Chicago. They likewise looked to Chicago for everything they wanted to buy. They even began to buy salt, made in Syracuse, New York, instead of the Vermilion County product.
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