USA > Illinois > Vermilion County > History of Vermilion County, Illinois, Volume One > Part 17
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Albert Comstock entered land in section twenty-five in 1837. A. J. Millis took up land three miles east of Ross- ville, in 1834. He owned about six hundred acres and lived on it until his death in 1871. Willard Brown came from New York and took up a farm a little southeast of Alvin in 1835 and remained there until he died in 1878. L. M. Thompson entered land southeast of Rossville. Abram Mann came in 1836. He was a native of England and had lived about a year in Herkimer County, New York,
VIEW OF BUSINESS SECTION, ROSSVILLE, ILL.
CITY HALL, ROSSVILLE, ILL.
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before coming here. He was wealthy and noted for his liberality. John Ray came here in 1835. B. C. Green came from Ontario County, New York, in 1840.
In those early pioneer days game was plentiful in this section. Prairie chickens were everywhere. Wild geese were plentiful in the Spring and Fall. There were not many deer but wolves were prowling around night and day. Sheep could hardly be protected from them.
Farmers used to drive their hogs to Chicago to market, the trip taking about ten days.
The pioneers of Ross Township, not unlike other settle- ments in Vermilion County, manifested early interest in religious organization. Rev. Enoch Kingsbury was, no doubt, the pioneer Presbyterian minister in Ross Town- ship. He was engaged in preaching in the county almost from the date of the first settlement. He organized a church at Rossville in 1850. The organization took place at Mr. Gilbert's house, where services were held from time to time until the Odd Fellows Hall was built, after which services of various denominations were held. Rev. Kings- bury's long and faithful services terminated in 1868, when he was succeeded by Rev. W. N. Steel, who served for a number of years. Rev. John H. Dillingham served as pastor later. A new church was built in the course of time.
The Methodists were active in the early church organi- zation of the township. Methodists were largely in the majority among the early preachers of the gospel here as well as in most other localities of the county. Meetings were first held in the cabins of the pioneers and later in the school houses, as they were built, and soon churches were built in various communities. Rev. John Demorest was one of the first local preachers here. He and Daniel
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Fairchild went over the country assisting traveling preachers.
Samuel Gilbert's house, near where Mann's Chapel was afterwards built, was one of the earliest homes where services were held. After this meetings were held in school houses until churches were built. Early preachers in the township were the Munsells, W. T. Moore, Elliott, Crane, and Bradshaw. Other later preachers were Messrs. Muir- head, Horr, Huckstip, Lyon and Edward Rutledge.
Several families belonging to the United Brethren Church settled in the western part of Ross Township about 1848. They organized a class and Rev. Joel Cougill, a member of the Upper Wabash Conference, was appointed there in 1851. In 1873 a church was built there. A little later a church was formed at Rossville, and this with Hoopeston formed the Rossville Circuit.
Besides Rossville, which is located in Ross Township, there are two villages in South Ross Township. Alvin has a population of three hundred and eighty-six and Henning has three hundred and forty-seven inhabitants.
Rossville is located in Ross Township on the north line of the township, and takes its name from the township which was named for Jacob T. Ross, an early settler here.
The corporate limits of Rossville includes what was known in the early days as Liggett's Grove on the south, and Bicknell's Point on the north.
The first settler here was John Liggett, after whom Liggett's Grove was named. Rossville was known as Bick- nell's Point for a time and later, for some unknown reason, was given the nickname of "Henpeck." The development of the new settlement was not very rapid for a number of years. The building of the LaFayette, Bloomington and Muncie Railroad through the next northern tier townships
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instead of following, as seemed likely the old traveled road, was a setback to this settlement. However, as the tide of immigration consequent upon railroad building from 1851 to 1855, the prairies around what is now Rossville became pretty well settled up. It began to appear evident that this would be a good trading point and Samuel Frazier, of Danville, established a store here in 1856. He remained here four years. The financial depression of 1857, closely followed by the Civil War, had a depressing effect on the prospects of the place. Several business ventures were tried during that period, but it seemed that success was almost impossible.
The postoffice, known as North Fork, was established at Gilbert's, near Mann's Chapel, in 1839. In 1853 it was removed here and Alvan Gilbert was appointed post- master. It continued to bear the name, North Fork, until Rossville was laid out when the name Rossville was given the postoffice.
In 1857, Thomas Armstrong and the North Fork Odd Fellows Lodge built a two-story frame store building at the intersection of the cross-roads, which later became the two principal streets of the town. The building was a joint enterprise. The Odd Fellows owned the upper story of the building. This room was, for many years, the only "public hall" in Rossville. Lodges and societies held their meetings here. Religious meetings of the various denominations were held here, as well as all public gatherings for one pur- pose or another. The Odd Fellows and Mr. Armstrong surely made an important contribution to a pioneer com- munity center in Rossville. The store room on the first floor, as soon as built, was occupied by Whitcomb and Upp, who carried on a general mercantile business. Two years later it was occupied by W. R. Gessie as a general store
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with William Mann as manager. After awhile this busi- ness was closed up and the goods shipped back to Ohio.
In 1862 W. J. Henderson came here and opened a store. He was a progressive and enterprising business man and perhaps did more to put Rossville on the map than any other man, with the possible exception of Alvan Gilbert. In 1864, Henderson built a frame store building and later a large brick building. He was interested in a number of enterprises, including farming, keeping hotel, the mercan- tile business, and looking after the general welfare and advancement of Rossville.
In 1859 Gideon Davis built a hotel, which he conducted for a time, when he sold it to John Smith, who later sold it to Dr. M. T. Livingood. In 1873 the Doctor built an addition to the building and for years it was famous in this part of the country as a very good hotel. In 1862 Alvan Gilbert erected another store on the north side of the Odd Fellows building. It was occupied by Short Brothers, of Danville, for two years. Jonas Sloat opened a blacksmith shop in Rossville in 1857.
Alvan Gilbert and Joseph Satterthwait laid out and recorded the original town of Rossville about 1857. It contained only four blocks at the intersection of what was known as the Chicago and Attica roads, and the two prin- cipal streets of the town were named the same as these roads. Gilbert and Satterthwait laid out and recorded an addition in 1862. This addition completely surrounded their original plat. Gilbert later laid out another addition east of this, and contained seventeen blocks. W. T. and W. H. Livingood laid out an addition of eighteen blocks east of the original town. W. J. Henderson laid out an addition of nine blocks north of this and Gilbert laid out a third addition south of the former.
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The village of Rossville was incorporated under the general incorporation act in July, 1872. At an election held July 27, 1872, the incorporation was carried by a vote of fifty-three to fifteen. On August 24, 1872, an election was held for six trustees, clerk and police magistrate. The following were elected trustees: R. E. Purviance, Isaac B. Warner, W. C. Tuttle, William Laidlow, W. F. Lefevre and Ira Green. B. F. Duly was elected clerk and J. W. McTaggart, police magistrate. These officers put the vil- lage in successful operation.
A two-story brick school house was built in 1868 and Rossville has always had excellent schools. Improvements in new school building and the high standard of their schools are matters in which the town takes just pride.
A Methodist Church was built in 1869.
The first Presbyterian Church was built the same year.
All the principal lodges and fraternal orders are well represented here.
Rossville is a substantial town and all the various com- mercial interests are represented by progressive business men.
The population of Rossville according to the last official census is one thousand five hundred and eighty-eight, although the town has had a substantial growth since that time and the population, no doubt, is considerably more at this writing.
CHAPTER XV
TOWNSHIPS AND VILLAGES-Continued
VANCE TOWNSHIP - BLOUNT TOWNSHIP -GRANT TOWNSHIP - BUTLER TOWNSHIP - SIDELL TOWNSHIP -OAKWOOD TOWNSHIP -JAMAICA TOWNSHIP-LOVE TOWNSHIP-McKINDREE TOWNSHIP-SOUTH ROSS TOWNSHIP.
VANCE TOWNSHIP
Vance was one of the original townships organized in 1851. It was named in honor of John W. Vance, who was an early settler in this part of the county and prominent in the development of the "Vermilion Salines." He served as a member of the State Legislature from this county. He was a native of Ohio and his brother served as governor of that state.
Thomas Osborne was the first settler in what is now Vance Township. He settled on section thirty-two in 1825. Here he built a little log cabin about two miles northwest of Fairmount. He did not do very much clear- ing and farming, but spent most of his time in fishing and hunting, which was by far the most profitable business at that time and place. The skins and furs of a winter spent in hunting were much more valuable and more marketable than a corn crop. Osborne did not remain here long after game began to get scarce, but went on farther west seeking
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more promising hunting grounds. Rowell and Gazad had cabins near Osborne's but they were "squatters" and soon drifted elsewhere. James Elliot, James French and Sam- uel Beaver came here a year or two later. William Davis came soon after them and bought their claims and they went on west. Beaver was a tanner and kept and operated a small tanyard. Henry Hunt took up a claim on section thirty-three just north of Fairmount in 1828. The same year William Stewart took up land near by. He died in 1833 and his was the second grave in the Dougherty grave- yard. Thomas Redmond and Joseph Yount came here from Ohio in 1828 and took up claims in section three. They spent the remainder of their lives here. James Smith settled on section two in 1829. W. H. Lee settled a little farther east the same year, and William Hardin settled nearby about the same time. So far as is known, these early settlers were all from Ohio. William O'Neil came here in 1829 and three years later sold to Francis Dough- erty and moved farther north. His place was on section thirty-four just northeast of Fairmount. W. Fielder set- tled near there in 1830 and W. H. Butler settled on the same section. He afterwards moved to Catlin Township. James Buoy bought his place. William Reynolds had a claim on section twenty-seven and he afterwards went to Catlin, also. He was a prominent local preacher of the Methodist Church. Nicholas Van Duzen also settled on section twenty-seven in 1832. In 1831 Aaron Dalby came here and took up land. Harvey Stearns took up a claim on section five in 1832.
Fairmount is the only village in Vance Township. It has a population of eight hundred and seventy, and is on the Wabash Railroad.
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BLOUNT TOWNSHIP
Blount Township was formed from Newell and Pilot Townships in 1856, five years after township organization was established. It was at first called Fremont but the name was shortly afterward changed to Blount, who had been an early settler there but had moved away.
The Indians were still here along the banks of the Mid- dle Fork when the early white settlers came. For four or five years they were here irregularly, remaining a part of the year near a famous spring which attracted their atten- tion. It was located on section eight. They always ap- peared friendly and caused their white neighbors no trouble. At this time the Indians were not permanently located here but spent a portion of their time here while getting ready to move across the Mississippi to reserva- tions farther west. They numbered about fifteen hundred at that time.
The first settler here was Samuel Copeland. He came in 1828, locating on section fourteen, where he built a log house. The early settlers here came principally from Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky. Ware Lang, Amos Howard, Mr. Shakey and Mr. Priest were early settlers here. Ezekiel Knox was also here early.
The first school house built in the township was in 1830. It was a log house and stood a half mile east of Copeland's place. The house was built by the people of the neighbor- hood, as there was no public school system then in exist- ence. John Skinner was the first teacher. In 1833 the settlement around Copeland's had extended so far west that a frame school house was built on the road a half mile west of Copeland's home. John Higgins and John Stipp taught here.
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Rev. McKain was the first preacher to hold meetings in the township. He held services at the home of John Johns in 1829.
In 1828 the Fairchild family came here. They settled about two miles northwest of Copeland in what later be- came known as the Fairchild neighborhood. The family consisted of Daniel Fairchild and his five sons and one daughter. The father was quite old and did not live long after coming here. One of the sons, Daniel, Jr., became a Methodist minister and preached in this part of the coun- try for many years.
Morgan Rees came from Pennsylvania to Indiana with his father in 1818. The father, John Rees, died there and in 1827 Morgan came to this country. He served in the Blackhawk War in Captain Thomas' company. He helped bury the fourteen persons who were killed by the Indians fifteen miles above Ottawa on Indian Creek. They had been dead eight days and had been shockingly mutilated and hacked to pieces. Mr. Rees moved to Blount Township in 1836. At that time Wallace Sperry, James Smalley, William Smalley, Freeman Smalley and Enoch Oxley were all living within a radius of two miles from Higginsville. Two miles farther on was the Fairchild neighborhood and east of that the Copeland neighborhood, where Samuel Copeland, Johns, Truax, Humphrey, Cosat and others lived. The Howard and Luman neighborhoods were in the southern part of the township. In 1834 and 1835 a large number of people, probably twenty-five families, sold out and went to Wisconsin. The lead mines were just begin- ning to attract attention there. Among those who went was Mr. Blount, after whom the township was named.
Morgan Rees served as constable in this county for twenty-one years and had much experience hunting horse
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thieves and such bad men as the early times afforded. This was before robbery was carried on with such high power and splendor as it is today. Rees also taught the first school in this part of the township. It was in a little cabin southeast of Higginsville, which had been abandoned by its builder. As no certificate was required and no rent to pay, Rees conceived the idea of making the vacant cabin a seat of learning. He circulated a subscription and for the first quarter obtained eighteen pupils and the second quarter he had twenty. He charged two dollars and fifty cents each quarter per pupil and made about ten dollars a month and boarded himself. The furnishings of the school house were very crude, even for those days, their benches being made out of slabs and rails and no blackboard. Each scholar had a different kind of text book, there being no two alike. The scholars studied out loud, and the one who made the most noise was supposed to be making the most progress. Rees afterwards said that he had never heard, nor thought of such a thing as a regular schedule for classes, but that he thought it might be a good thing. Such was the beginning of some things. John Smalley, one of the pupils at Rees' school, became a minister which only goes to show that if a boy is determined to make something of himself he can't be stopped.
A man named Thomas Wyatt lived down near Decatur and used to come up in this section of the country and trade with the Indians. Whiskey was his legal tender and he used to trade on the basis of one quart for a pony. He frequently got hold of a dozen ponies in this way or by stealing them outright. On one of his commercial voy- ages here he buried a jug of whisky on the hillside on Butt's land and expected to return and convert it into ponies, but before he got around to it he was caught, tried
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and convicted for horse stealing. He was sentenced to be whipped, which was a penalty sometimes resorted to in those early days, owing to the scarcity of prisons. It is stated that he died, but whether or not as a result of the penalty inflicted we are unable to ascertain. Later Mr. Rees found the jug of whisky where it had been secreted and some of those present pronounced it a "very superior article."
In 1832 Mr. Oxley built a tannery east of Higginsville. It was quite an extensive plant for the times, having eighteen vats and used oak bark. Mr. Oxley tanned all kinds of hides and found a market for his leather in every little shoe shop around the country. Rees was also inter- ested in it for a time and John Hilliard also operated it.
Amando D. Higgins and Marcus C. Stearns entered land on section thirty-six in 1836, and bought some land on section twenty-five. They laid the land out in town lots, platting and recording it in 1837 and called it "Vermilion Rapids." This was one of the many speculative projects of the early days which fell flat. This locality later became known as Higginsville. Naffer and Smalley built a saw- mill about a mile northeast of here in 1832. A grist mill was afterwards added to it. It was operated until about 1860. Henry Harbaugh came here from Cincinnati in 1836 and opened a blacksmith shop and was blacksmithing here for nearly a half a century. Cyrus Crawford settled here in 1836. Peter Cosat came here in 1830 and settled on section eleven. William White took up land here in 1831. John Johns came here from Kentucky in 1829 and settled in the Copeland neighborhood. Peter Cosat came here in 1830 and settled on section eleven, and his brother, David, came in 1834 and took up land near him in the timber. William White came in 1831 and settled near
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Copeland's place. John Johns, from Kentucky, came in 1829 and also settled in the Copeland neighborhood. It was at his house that the first preaching was held. His brothers-in-law, Benjamin Stewart and John Mills, and his father-in-law, Mr. Humphrey, came to this locality a few years later.
In 1835 John Rickart came here from Ohio. He lived on section fourteen and served as justice of the peace for several years. He was an influential man and instru- mental in getting the township created. Alvin Gilbert succeeded in having the new township named Fremont, in honor of the then new Republican party candidate for president. Rickart was a Democrat and would not have his new township named after the Abolition candidate for president. He wanted it named Blount and Blount it is. His reasons for selecting Blount were that Blount was an uncommon name, that Abram Blount was an early settler in the township, that he was a good man and one of the earliest preachers living in the township and was not an Abolitionist.
Abram Blount came here in 1830 and took up land in section twenty-eight. He was a powerful man and a great hunter. He had the best gun in the township. It weighed eighteen pounds-about the weight of a Chicago machine gun in this refined age. He was a preacher in the Chris- tian Church, a good neighbor and an excellent citizen. He had bad luck with his stock and lost several horses with some sort of malady and became dissatisfied and moved away. This was before the township was organized.
J. B. Cline came here from Kentucky in 1829. Jacob Grimes came in 1832. William Canady came from Ken- tucky in 1828. Jacob Dyserd came to Blount about 1830. William Lane came in 1836 and took up land on section
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thirty-two. The Nebiker family were here early but went from here to Nauvoo to join the Mormons. I. R. Gritton came here from Kentucky in 1840 and bought land. One of his first acts after coming was the selection and planting of an excellent orchard. Gritton's orchard was known far and wide as one of the best in this part of the country. He was an expert in caring for an orchard, and one of the few among the early settlers. Isaac Smith came from Ohio in 1838 and entered land on section thirty-two.
The Smalley family, the names of whom frequently appears in this volume as among the very first in the north- western part of the town, exerted a very beneficial influ- ence as leaders in religious and educational affairs. In and around Higginsville these old pioneers upheld the doctrines of the Baptist belief. The old First Baptist Church was formed at Freeman Smalley's house about 1834. In 1837 a church was built at Higginsville. Besides Elder Smalley, Elder Bartlett Dowell Crede Herron (all one name), the Blankenships, and others used to preach here. The Bap- tists also organized a church in the southern part of the township in 1848 on land donated for that purpose by James Pentecast. Under the terms of donation, other Christian churches were permitted to use the building when not wanted by the Baptists.
About 1834 the Christian Church was organized here by pioneer preachers of that denomination. Samuel Swisher, Samuel Bloomfield and James Magee were the first officers. Solomon Mckinney, Doctor Hall, Mr. Blount and Mr. Mapes, early held services around from house to house-usually at Mr. Swisher's and Mr. Peters' houses.
The first public religious services ever held in what is now Blount Township was held at the house of John Johns in 1829, the facts of which are related in the story of Middle
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Fork Township, elsewhere in this volume. The Fairchild Church was built in 1849. The Luman Church was built in 1858.
The southeastern corner of Blount Township adjoins the city of Danville. There are no villages of importance in the township.
GRANT TOWNSHIP
Grant Township is located in the northeastern corner of the county and is the largest township in the county. It was created in 1862, being taken from Ross Township. It was named in honor of Gen. Ulysses S. Grant.
This township was all prairie and formed the great "treeless divide" between the headwaters of the Vermilion and the Iroquois. There were, however, a few acres of timber near the center of its southern line. This became known as Bicknell's Point.
As late as 1860 very little of this broad expanse of prairie land had been brought under cultivation, although the great highway of travel from the south to Chicago ran directly across its center for twenty-five years before that time. Even as late as 1872 when the railroad was built across the township, very few cultivated farms were inter- sected. This great prairie from Bicknell's Point to the north was the dread of the early settler when he became benighted on his return from Chicago after a ten-days trip there to market. The dark, stormy winter nights carried terror to many a pioneer household in Vermilion County when it was feared that the father, husband or son was try- ing to find his way home over the treeless waste of the great divide.
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As early as 1835 George and William Bicknell took up land in the timber which became known as Bicknell's Point. This was on the Chicago highway. Asel Gilbert entered a quarter section of land south of Bicknell's Point about 1838. Oliver Prickett, who came from Brown Coun- ty, Ohio, to Danville in 1832, later settled in the vicinity of Rossville. Albert Comstock came in 1837. He lived near Bicknell's Point. James R. Stewart settled on the Chicago road south of the Point. Stewart was at one time postmaster of North Fork postoffice before the name was changed to Rossville.
Col. Abel Woolverton, one of the best known of the early settlers in this township, settled on section eighteen, two miles northeast of Bicknell's Point in 1849. He was prob- ably the first settler out on the prairie. He came from Perrysville, Indiana, and had served in the Blackhawk War. He was a competent surveyor and did considerable surveying in this part of the country. He died in 1865. Churchill Boardman settled here in 1845 and Captain Mc- Kibben, who was prominent in early day affairs, lived for a time in the same neighborhood. Charles Leighton settled here between 1845 and 1847. Charles Wier, Robert Crane and Robert Davison were early settlers. Robert Anderson and Mr. Glover came here about 1848.
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