USA > Illinois > Vermilion County > History of Vermilion County, together with historic notes on the Northwest, gleaned from early authors, old maps and manuscripts, private and official correspondence, and other authentic, though, for the most part, out-of-the-way sources > Part 98
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Thomas Carter, Potomac, farmer, section 8, was born in Tippecanoe county, Indiana, on the 26th of July, 1846, and during the early part of his life remained on the farm. He was married to Mary E. McQuil- len, on the 22d of December, 1873. She was born in Missouri in 1848. They are the parents of four children : John, William, Gracy J. and Harrison. Mr. Carter owns a farm of fifty acres, worth $50 per acre, and handles some stock every year. The parents of both Mr. and Mrs. Carter are natives of Ohio. He is a republican in politics, and his religious views are Methodist.
Albert H. Dickson, Armstrong, farmer, was born in Barren county, Kentucky, on the 7th of March, 1853. Although his chances for an early education were limited, yet he acquired sufficient knowledge,- mostly at home,- to enable him to teach the branches taught in the country school. He has been teaching in the winters for some five years past. He was married to Mary E. French on the 29th of August, 1876. She was born in Vermilion county, Illinois, on the 19th of July, 1858. They have had but one child: Irena E., born on the 27th of December, 1877. Mr. Dickson has held the office of postmaster one year. He is an active member of the Christian church, and is preparing for the ministry, having acted in that capacity for some time past. He bids fair to become a useful man in the community in which he lives.
Silas H. Vandoren, Armstrong, physician, was born in Fulton county, Illinois, on the 9th of January, 1851. At the age of sixteen he commenced the study of medicine, first reading with Dr. Campbell, of Wilmington, Illinois, and afterward attending lectures in Chicago for one year. At the expiration of this course of lectures he received a diploma, and for three years remained in Chicago as a practicing phy-
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sieian, then he removed to Livingston county, remaining one year, when he came to Armstrong, where he is still following his profession. The Doctor is of the Eclectic school, and his labors have been attended with much success. He was married to Dora Fleming on the 29th of December, 1874. She was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on the 19th of December, 1852. They had by this union two children, of which, Willie, born on the 10th of May, 1876, is living, and an infant deceased.
Charles P. Duncan, Potomac, groceries, was born in Fountain county, Indiana, on the 22d of July, 1852. He remained with his father until he was married to Mary A. Copeland, on the 16th of August, 1876. She was born in Vermilion county, Illinois. They are the parents of one child : Ernest C., born on the 1st of August, 1878. Mr. Dunean is an energetic young man, and is doing a lively business. He owns two lots and a dwelling-house in Marysville, and has about one thou- sand dollars invested in groceries. His parents are natives of Penn- sylvania.
John E. Butz, Potomac, physician, was born in Wyandot county, Ohio. His father moved to this state in 1853, settling in Decatur. His mother died when he was but seven years of age. He was taken care of till three years of age by his father. He then moved a second time. Mr. Butz worked on a farm until twenty-one years of age. His chances for an early education were not very good. He entered Ann Arbor high school in 1871, and graduated in June, 1875. He commenced the study of medicine the same fall, and graduated at Rush Medical College in February, 1878. He commenced the practice of medicine in Marysville on the 1st of April, 1878. He has been getting a good practice, which has been attended with good success. On the 25th of April, 1879, the Doctor performed. a surgical operation on a child for hare-lip,-a child of Mr. Buckingham, of Marysville. He was assisted in the operation by Dr. Messner, of that place. The operation was a success. He also operated on Jane Reese for deformity of the mouth, caused by mercury. He was assisted also in this operation by Dr. Messner. This operation was performed on the 11th of May, 1879. This also bids fair to be attended with good results. The Doctor has a bright prospect of making a splendid physician and surgeon.
George W. Young, Potomac, blacksmith, was born in Franklin county, Ohio, on the 16th of April, 1842. His mother died when he was but twelve years old. He then lived with his father until he was married to Laura Underhill, on the 17th of May, 1877. She was born in Clinton county, Indiana, on the 1st of August, 1868. They have buried two infants. He learned blacksmithing when quite young, and
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HISTORY OF VERMILION COUNTY.
commenced his trade in Marysville in 1878. Mr. Young is an energetic, industrious man, and is receiving the good patronage that he deserves.
H. E. Thomas, Potomac, barber, was born in La Porte county, In- diana, on the 1st of May, 1854. At the age of seventeen he learned the trade which he has since followed. He was married to Margaret Johnson on the 16th of May, 1875. She was born in Indianapolis, In- diana, on the 19th of October, 1855. They have had two children by this marriage : Charles C., living, and Della M., deceased. Mr. Thomas commenced business as a barber in Marysville in 1878, and has now a lively patronage. His parents are natives of Massachusetts.
OAKWOOD TOWNSHIP.
The history of Oakwood township is important, not only on account of its early settlement, but because of its natural advantages as well. Its prairies are rich and extensive, its timber land fully sufficient, while the wealth of its coal banks is incalculable. Oakwood lies on the western border of Vermilion county. Its greatest length is, from east to west, twelve miles. Its width, north and south, is six miles. Like all other townships of Vermilion county, it is made up of parts of several congressional towns. Its north line is two miles north of the south line of town 20 N. Its south line is two miles north of the south line of town 19 N. The west side is the boundary line between Vermilion and Champaign counties. It is the middle line of range 14. On the east the boundary line is broken. Beginning at the south line of the township, at the southeast corner of section 19, T. 19 N., range 12 W., the boundary extends north one mile, thence east two miles on the south side of sections 17 and 16; thence north one mile; thence west one mile to the southeast corner of section 8; thence north one mile; thence west one-fourth mile; thence north one mile, and thence back east to the section line, where a north course on the east side of sections 32 and 29, in town 20, range 12, leads to the northern bound- ary. It will thus be seen that Oakwood includes a part of six con- gressional towns; that the greater portion of it is in range 13 W .; that there is just one half of one congressional town in range 14; that but a small portion is in range 12 W., and that the whole consists of sixty- five and three-fourths square miles.
In surface and soil the township is diversified. There is little of the soil, however, that cannot be said to be very deep, rich and pro- ductive. On the eastern end of the township the broken surface is
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not quite so attractive to the eye, nor perhaps as remunerative to the laborer; but it furnishes timber for those who dwell in the prairies. On the east end of the south side the same remark would apply. The western border is particularly flat in some places, so that the music of the cheerless frog may often be heard as he boasts of his broad do- main. Beside the flat surface, there is little else to complain of in regard to Nature's gifts to Oakwood. This defect is largely overcome by draining. In fact, the level land is said to be superior to any other, when well drained. The farmers of Oakwood are draining, within the last few years, as rapidly as they can. All kinds of ditching is done, but tile draining is the most certain and successful, although we were told of a mole diteh which had been in successful operation for more than twenty years. Oakwood is prairie land, with the exception of a band of timber on the east and southeast, and a belt which follows Stony Creek about half way across the township, from the south. These furnish all the timber necessary for the improvement of the prairie portions. There is plenty of water in most parts. On the eastern border is the Middle Fork of the Vermilion River; on the south side is the Salt Fork; through the center we find Stony Creek, which rises near the northwest corner of the township, and flows sontheasterly through sections 31, 5, 8, 9, 16 and 22, and empties into the Salt Fork.
The township is crossed by one railroad,- the Indianapolis, Bloom- ington & Western. It has lent its influence to the development of the country, and although we may conceive this to be from selfish motives, the result has been beneficial to the country. The unfortunate attempt to build three villages on it within one township must not be imputed to any other than those dwelling there. Besides plenty of water, ex- cellent soil and a good climate, this country is well supplied with wood and coal, particularly the latter. We cannot but believe that the ele- ments of a mighty industry are locked up in these resources, and need but the hand of energy and genius to bring them out. The occupation of the people at present is mostly farming and stock-raising. The soil seems equally adapted to the production of grass, corn and wheat. The wheat crop of 1879 is enormous. The acreage is large, and the average yield is beyond the record of the best wheat-growing portions of the state. The cultivation of wheat is on the increase. Corn has been the main crop. Large areas are also sown to grass. Those who ought to know maintain that the best thing for this country is stock-raising. Hogs are very extensively raised, and yet large quantities of corn are annually shipped to Indianapolis from each of the stations on the I. B. & W. railroad. At present the country is suffering somewhat from
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HISTORY OF VERMILION COUNTY.
the financial crash of 1873. Many farmers ran behind when times were good, and found themselves much straightened to meet obligations when the crash came.
EARLY SETTLEMENTS.
The early settlements in this township take the lead of anything in the county, both in regard to priority of settlement, and their impor- tance in the subsequent growth of the country; and although these pioneer efforts were of such importance in the development of the wealth of this country, the particulars have faded away until accuracy is almost impossible in many cases. The early settlement at the old Major Vance salt works, the first in the township, is fully discussed in another place. It is only necessary to refer to it here. As an example of the general misconception which has arisen in regard to this settle- ment, we would say that in Oakwood township we found very few persons who had ever heard of Mr. Treat or Blackman, and none had a just conception of the affair, or a positive knowledge of any of the details. Again we were informed that a settlement was made and a cabin built on the Middle Fork as early as 1818, when the evidence shows that the settlement at the salt works was not only the first here, but the first anywhere within the limits of Vermilion county.
After the first advent of Captain Blackman, and the building of a residence by Mr. Treat, in November, 1819, we find a Mr. Bailey on Stony Creek. This was probably the first man who settled on that creek. He came in 1821 or 1822, and opened a small piece of ground in the timber. This was in section 16, town 19 north, range 13 west. He sold out his interests to Mr. Harvey Ludington, late of Danville, Illinois. Mr. Ludington has been supposed by many to be the first settler on Stony Creek.
Stony Creek was called for a long time Ludington's Branch. The next man in these parts was a Mr. Walker. He settled near the same place, but a little farther up the creek, near the present site of Muncie. He, too, left his name with us. That point of timber where he dwelt went by the name of Walker's Point. The exact date of his settlement we were unable to learn, but it was after the settlement by Mr. Luding- ton. The settlements along the Salt Fork, on the south side of the township, were early begun, and here we find the principal population for some time. The exact date of many of these settlements cannot now be ascertained, nor do we conceive it to be of very great impor- tance. It is quite probable that the next family that came in here after those already mentioned was that of the man who built the old water- mill on the Salt Fork where the present steam and water mill is located. This mill was in operation as early as 1826; how long it had been
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running previously we are not quite sure. At this date Mr. Nathaniel Mead traveled over the country, and the only inhabitants that he re- members were those at this mill, and John Vance, at the salt works. Mr. Mead is, perhaps, the oldest person living in Oakwood township who saw this country as early as 1826; in fact, we doubt whether another grown person was here in 1826 and is here now. At that time he was twenty-six years old, having been born in the gray dawn of the nineteenth century. He is from the land of "steady habits," having first seen the light of day seven miles from Hartford, Connecticut. He remained there till he was eighteen years old. His youthful days were spent in the dairy. On his western-bound trip he first stopped at Cin- cinnati. After a stay here we find him next in Union county, Indiana. Although he came here as early as 1826, "prospecting," he did not permanently locate his family in this county until 1835. At this time he bought land near the site of Conkeytown. Excepting a short stay in Covington, Indiana, he has remained in this township ever since. He has reared a family of children. His sons are well-to-do, important elements in society, and he still lingers on the shores of time, two miles southwest of Oakwood station, enjoying the fruits of seventy-nine years' toil among the children of men. He remembers well the war of 1812, and the rejoicing at its close. During his recollection not only Oakwood township and Vermilion county have been developed from their native wildness to a populous, well-organized community, but industries have sprung up all over the nation. He was seven years old when Robert Fulton made that wonderful experiment on the Hudson ; when Lafayette made his wonderful passage through this country he had reached the age of full manhood; when the first car carried its load of stone from the Quincy quarries, he was verging on the period of middle-life; as Queen Victoria ascended the throne, he was growing old. If all the progress of art and science, which has been made within the memory of such men as he, was written in a book, the world could scarcely contain it. The progress in itself is not so startling as the fact that one man's experience has embraced it all.
In following up the settlement after the arrival of the miller on Salt Fork, we are at a loss to trace its progress. ,William Smith opened the farm now occupied by J. R. Thompson, as early as 1830. Smith was an important man in the early settlement of that neighborhood, but no trace of his descendants is to be found here now. In the same neighborhood, and probably earlier in point of time, was a Mr. Lander. Then, too, we hear of Mr. Shearer in this neighborhood at a very early date. Among the early settlers in this part, Mr. Pogue was farther west; he was near the county line. Down along the creek was Mr.
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HISTORY OF VERMILION COUNTY.
Brewer, and close to the present site of old Conkey Town was Stephen Crane. Thomas W. and John Q. Deakin came in 1835. They lived in this same neighborhood, just on the south line of the township. They were important elements in the early settlement of the neighbor- hood on Salt Fork. On the west side of Stony Creek, Mr. Wright probably followed Mr. Walker. In 1832 Mr. Aaron Dalbey followed the opening made here, and came over from the south side of the Salt Fork, and began a farm one mile south of the present site of Muncie. Mr. Dalbey was a millwright, and rendered important service to the community in building the second mill on Salt Fork. Mr. Shepherd was the proprietor, but Mr. Dalbey was the architect and builder. Mr. Dalbey remained here till his death. His widow married John McFarland, and still resides on the original farm. The farm is a good one, and under the careful management of Mr. McFarland has reached the highest state of cultivation. A little farther north, up Stony Creek, we find John McCarty, about 1836. He settled just above Muncie. Beyond him, and later, came Harrison and Seneca Stearns. They came to the country, young men, though married, in 1836, and have remained in the edge of the timber ever since. In mentioning the early settlers, we would not forget Jolin Shepherd, who came in 1836, and engaged in the milling enterprise, but who died before he saw his work fully completed. These are the principal early settlers in the southwestern part of the township. No doubt there were others that came early, but they soon moved away. Of those who came later we have scarcely time to speak, although such men as Havard and Cast, that came in 1838, would now be considered old settlers.
The first settlements within the limits of what might be called the Oakwood neighborhood were made by a Mr. Roland, James Norris and Henry Oakwood, who built dwellings the same spring. This was in 1833. Mr. Oakwood, after whom the township was named, opened his farm then, and remained there the remainder of his life. His work was identified with the interests of the community. Mr. Hubbard came to the same place in the fall of 1833, and lived there till his death. The descendants of these men are too well known to demand anything more than a mere mention of the name. Henry Sallee came to the country a young man in 1834. He soon married a daughter of Henry Oakwood, and located on the east side of Stony Creek, in the edge of the timber, where he has remained ever since. He has raised his family there. His daughters are married and live there. They too have always lived there, and we suppose that they will die and be buried there. These things are not uncommon in old settled and popu- lous countries, but they are unusual in so recently settled countries as this.
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OAKWOOD TOWNSHIP.
When the salt works began to be operated quite extensively, settle- ments were made up the Middle Fork. In the timber there were a number of settlers and " squatters," many of whom went away as the country began to be settled np. But a number of the earlier ones remained, and their descendants may still be found, some on the prairie and some still clinging to the woods, indulging the delusion that resi- dence on the prairie requires a hardihood, either enforced by poverty or prompted by a recklessness that abandons all ideas of home. About the year 1827 Jesse Ventres and James Howell came to the neighbor- hood of where New Town now is. They were from Kentucky. Jesse Ventres bought a piece of land one-half mile southeast of New Town from a Mr. Indicut, who must have visited this country in an early day. We were shown the residence said to have been built in 1818, but which we have concluded must have been an error in the date. Certain it is, however, that the building, still occupied by Mr. Michael, was built at a time when hostilities with the Indians must have been anticipated, for the port-holes, by which the red-cheeks were to be dis- covered and repelled, were manifest in the building. Mr. Ventres afterward sold out and went to Texas. Abraham W. Rutledge was the purchaser. He came to the neighborhood in 1832. He lived and died on this place, and the farm has been in the hands of the heirs until recently. Howell lived in different parts of the neighborhood and finally went west. Stephen Griffith came to his farm, one-half mile north of New Town, about 1826 or 1827. His long residence there, and his efforts in behalf of the public good are too well known to call for a repetition here. There was also in here at a very early date a regular Predestinarian Baptist preacher by the name of Richard Gideon. He came abont 1826 or 1827. He is supposed by some to be the first man who preached in this country. But he, too, went west. He left for Texas, and none of the family remain. In the fall of 1828 the Makemsons came. The Makemson company was cont- posed of Thomas Makemson, a revolutionary soldier, and his family. His sons were Andrew, David, Samuel, John and James. They stopped one and one-half miles north of the present village of Oak- wood. Here they lived till the father died. John remained on the home farm for forty-one years. He then went west on account of his health. His son still lives on the farm on which he was born. The other descendants of Thomas Makemson are scattered abroad in differ- ent places. In this connection, and in this settlement, we find A. W. Brittingham, who came to this country from Maryland in 1830. He was still single, though born in 1801. He came with his father, who moved to the juvenile settlement and died there. Arthur married a
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HISTORY OF VERMILION COUNTY.
daughter of Thomas G. Watson in 1833, and settled in the neighbor- hood of which we have been writing. He remained there till 1872. He had a great deal of knowledge of pioneer life on account of his practice of medicine. He was not a regular physician, but took up the Thompsonian water cure and steam bath and applied it in many cases with some degree of success. Mr. Brittingliam still lives at an ad- vanced age, and enjoys a tolerable degree of health.
In the fall of 1828 (or '29, perhaps) John Cox came to the residence of Jesse Ventres's from Big Sandy, in Kentucky. He built a house within a short time where Swift's mill now stands. Mr. Cox lived in the neighborhood until his death in 1846; his sons William and Ste- phen reside in the vicinity of Oakwood Station, having been in the county more than fifty years. In 1829 William Craig entered the land on which he now lives, at Palestine, Illinois. At this time the land office was located there. In 1830 he came to the place to improve it ; he was a single man then, being about twenty-two years old. His brother came with him and they worked together. After one season of toil and hardship William concluded that it was too big a job for a single team, so he set out to find some susceptible damsel with whom he might link forces. According to his own account he found the search a tedious one, for it was not until 1836 that he led his blushing bride to the altar and beguiled her into a trip to the far west. The story of Mr. Craig's bridal tour has been so often told, and the partic- ulars of his early settlement here have been so thoroughly bruited abroad, that it is not necessary to repeat them here. Suffice it to say that after a life of excessive toil and hardship, during which he has amassed a considerable quantity of property, Mr. Craig finds himself surrounded by his nine children, none of whom, in all probability, will ever realize the conditions from which their prosperity sprang, and himself still able to enjoy life and its blessings. These are the princi- pal settlers of the township in the timber. A few of those already mentioned got out short distances from the timber. Mr. William Parris claims to be the first man that ventured out into the prairie in Oakwood township. He moved from the state road, where he had been since 1834, to the edge of the prairie northwest of Muncie, in 1842. He then went farther out and moved a house into the prairie where J. M. Havard now lives. This house was brought all the way from Salt Fork and put up where it still stands, in 1844 - thirty-five years ago. But this was only a short distance from the timber. At that time, even, large tracts of land lay unoccupied and almost unfrequented within the present limits of Oakwood township ; all the western part of the town- ship was open and much of it afterward sold at very low figures :
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OAKWOOD TOWNSHIP.
such as was denominated swamp land was sold as low as twelve and a half cents per acre. The first to settle in the prairie northwest of where the village of Fithian now is, was James H. Black. His resi- dence was beyond the settlements entirely ; he was deemed crazy, almost. The first settlers had thought that if they secured the prairie adjoining the timber no one would ever go beyond them, and they would thus have perpetual range on the prairie. Mr. Black made his home where he now lives in 1856 ; here he bought two hundred and forty acres of land and improved it. At about this same time William M. Rutledge came to the prairie where he now lives, in the northwest corner of Oakwood township. He, too, has remained where his home- place is for twenty-three years; he owns just one half section here. He is a son of the early settler, A. W. Rutledge, who located south- east of New Town in 1832. These pioneers of the prairie have en- joyed a remarkable degree of good luck. They bought their land for a trifle; they were not under the necessity of clearing it before they could cultivate. They were not compelled to fence for some time, and all they required to become independent was a determination to stay right there. Their land has increased in value more than tenfold in many cases, and what could have been bought for a few hundreds then is worth as many thousands now.
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