USA > Illinois > Washington County > History of Washington County, Illinois > Part 3
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Of Prairie du Rocher, Pitman writes that "it is a small village, consisting of twenty-two dwelling-houses, all of which are inhabited by as many families. Here is a little chapel, formerly a chapel of ease to the church at Fort Chartres. The inhabitants are very industrious, and raise a great deal of corn and every kind of stock. The village is two miles from Fort Chartres.
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HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, ILLINOIS.
It takes its name from its situation, being built under a rock that runs parallel with the Mississippi river at a league distance, for forty miles up. Here is a company of militia, the captain of which regulates the police of the village."
In describing the distance from Fort Chartres, the author, doubtless, refers to Little Village, which was a mile or more nearer than Prairie du Rocher. The writer goes on to describe "Saint Philippe" as a "small village about five miles from Fort Chartres on the road to Kaoquias. There are about sixteen houses and a small church standing; all of the inhabitants, except the captain of the militia, deserted in 1765, and went to the French side (Missouri.) The captain of the militia has about twenty slaves, a good stock of cattle, and a water mill for corn and planks. The village stands on a very fine meadow about one mile from the Mississippi.
From the same authority we learn that the soil of the country is in general rich and luxuriant. It was favorably adapted to the production of all kinds of European grains, which grew side by side with hops, hemp, flax, cotton and tobacco. European fruits arrived to great perfection. Of the wild grapes a wine was made, very inebriating, and in color and taste much like the red wine of Provence. In the late wars, New Orleans and the lower parts of Louisiana were supplied with flour, beef, wines, hams, and other provisions, from this country. At present, its commerce is mostly confined to the peltry and furs which are got in traffic from the Indians; for which are received in turn such European commodities as are necessary to carry on that commerce and the support of its inhabitants."
CONQUEST BY CLARKE.
On the breaking out of the War of the Revolution, it is probable that the British garrison (removed in 1772 from Fort Chartres to Fort Gage, opposite Kaskaskia,) had been withdrawn. Illinois was remote from the theatre of action, and the colonists were little disturbed by the rumors of war which came from the Atlantic coast. The French inhabitants were rather in sym- pathy with the Americans than the English, but probably understood little the nature of the struggle. Illinois belonged to the jurisdiction of Virginia. George Rogers Clark, who visited Kentucky in 1775, seems to have been the first to comprehend the advantages which would result from the occupation of Illinois by the Americans. He visited Virginia, where he laid his plans before Patrick Henry, the Governor of the State. Clark received his in- structions, January, 1778, and the following month set out for Pittsburg. His instructions were to raise seven companies of men, but he could only suc- ceed in enlisting four, commanded by Captains Montgomery, Bowman, Helm, and Harrod. On Corn Island, opposite Louisville, on the Ohio, Clark an- nounced his destination to the men. At the mouth of the Tennessee, a man named John Duff was encountered, with a party of hunters, who had recently visited Kaskaskia, and also brought the intelligence that one Rocheblave, a French Canadian, was in command at that point, that he kept the militia well drilled, and that sentinels were posted to watch for the "Long Knives," as the Virginians were called, of whom the inhabitants were in terror. Securing his boats near Fort Massacre, (or Massac,) Clark undertook the journey across the country, one hundred and twenty miles, to Kaskaskia. It was accom- plished with difficulty. On the afternoon of the fourth of July, 1778, the exhausted band of invaders came to the vicinity of Kaskaskia, and concealed themselves in the hills to the east of the town. After dark Clark proceeded to the old ferry-house, three-fourths of a mile above the village, and at mid- night addressed his troops on the banks of the river. He divided his force into three parties. Two were to cross to the west side of the river, and enter the town from different quarters. The third, under the direction of Clark himself, was to capture the fort on the east side. Kaskaskia at that time was a village of about two hundred and fifty houses. The British commander last in charge had instilled in the minds of the people the impression that the Virginians, otherwise the "Long Knives," were a ferocious band of murderers, plundering houses, slaughtering women and children, and committing acts of the greatest atrocity. Clark determined to take advantage of this, and so surprise the inhabitants by fear as to induce them to submit without resistance. Clark effected an entrance to the fort without difficulty. The other parties at a given signal entered Kaskaskia at the opposite extremities, and with terrible outcries and hideous noises, aroused the terrified inhabitants, who shrieked in their alarm, "The Long Knives!" "The Long Knives are here!" The panic-stricken townsmen delivered up their arms, and the victory was accomplished without the shedding of a drop of blood. M. Rocheblave, the British commandant, was unconscious of the presence of the enemy, till an officer of the detachment entered his bed-chamber, and claimed him as a
prisoner. In accordance with his original plan of conquering the inhabi- tants by terror, and then afterward winning their regard and gratitude by bis clemency, Clark, the next day, withdrew his forces from the town, and sternly forbade all communication between it and his soldiers. Some of the principal militia officers, citizens of the town, were next put in irons. The terror now reached its height. The priest, and a deputation of five or six elderly men of the village, called on Clark, and humbly requested permission to assemble in the church, to take leave of each other and commend their future lives to the protection of a merciful God, since they expected to be separated, perhaps never to meet again. Clark gruffly granted the privilege. The whole population convened at the church, and after remaining together a long time, the priest and a few others again waited upon the commander of the American forces, presenting thanks for the privilege they had enjoyed, and desiring to know what fate awaited them.
Clark now determined to lift them from their despair, and win their grati- tude by a show of mercy. "What," said he; "do you take us for savages? Do you think Americans will strip women and children, and take bread from their mouths? My countrymen disdain to make war on helpless innocence." He further reminded them that the King of France, their former ruler, was an ally of the Americans, and now fighting their cause. He told them to em- brace the side they deemed best and they should be respected, in the enjoyment of their liberty and the rights of property.
The revulsion of feeling was complete. The good news spread throughout the village. The church bell rang a merry peal, and the delighted inhabitants gathered at the chapel, where thanks were offered to God for their happy and unexpected deliverance. The loyalty of the inhabitants was assured, and ever after they remained faithful to the American cause. The French inhabitants of Kaskaskia were readily reconciled to a change of government. In October, 1778, the Virginia Assembly erected the conquered territory into the County of Illinois. This County embraced all the region north-west of the Ohio, and five large states have since been formed from it. Colonel Clark was appointed military commander of all the western territory, north and south of the Ohio, and Colonel John Todd, one of Clark's soldiers, who next to Clark had been the first man to enter Fort Gage, was appointed lieutenant-commandant of Illinois. In the spring of 1779, Colonel Todd visited Kaskaskia, and made arrangements for the organization of a temporary government. Many of the French inhabitants of Kaskaskia, Prairie du Rocher, and the other settlements, readily took the oath of allegiance to Virginia. Colonel Todd was killed at the famous battle of Blue Licks, in Kentucky, August, 1782, and Timothy de Montbrun, a Frenchman, succeeded him as commandant of Illinois County. Of his administration but little is known.
LAND TENURES.
The early French settlers held the possession of their land in common. A tract of land was fixed upon for a Common Field in which all the inhabitants were interested.
Beside the Common Field, another tract of land was laid off as the Com- mons. All the villagers had free access to this as a place of pasturage for their stock. From this they also drew their supply of fuel.
Individual grants were likewise made. Under the French system, the lands were granted without any cquivalent consideration in the way of momey, the individuals satisfying the authorities that the lands were wanted for actual settlement, or for a purpose likely to benefit the community. The first grant of land, which is preserved, is that made to Charles Danie, May 10th, 1722. The French, Grants at Kaskaskia extended from river to river, and at other places in the Bottom they commonly extended from the river to the bluff. Grants of land were made for almost all the American Bottom, from the upper limits of the Common Field of St. Phillip's to the lower line of the Kaskaskia Common Field, a distance of nearly thirty miles.
The British commandants, who assumed the government, on the cession of the territory by France, exercised the privilege of making grants, subject to the approval of his Majesty, the King. Colonel Wilkins granted to some merchants of Philadelphia a magnificent domain of thirty thousand acres lying between the village of Kaskaskia and Prairie du Rocher, much of it already covered by French grants previously made. For the better carrying out their plans, the British officers, and perhaps their grantees, destroyed to some extent the records of the ancient French grants at Kaskaskia, by which the regular claim of titles and conveyances was partly broken. This British grant of thirty thousand acres, which had been assigned to John Edgar, was afterward patented by Governor St. Clair to Edgar and John Murray St. Clair, the Governor's son, to whom Edgar had previously conveyed a moiety by deed.
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HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, ILLINOIS.
Although much fault was found with the transaction, a confirmation of the grant was secured from the United States government.
When Virginia ceded Illinois, it was stipulated that the French and Cana- dian inhabitants, and other settlers, who had professed allegiance to Virginia, should have their titles confirmed to them. Congress afterward authorized the Governor to confirm the possessions and titles of the French to their lands ; in accordance with this agreement, Governor St. Clair, in 1790, issued a procla- mation directing the inhabitants to exhibit their titles and claims to the lands which they held, in order to be confirmed in their possession. Where the in- struments were found to be authentic, orders of survey were issued, the expense of which was borne by the parties who claimed ownership. The French in- habitants were in such poverty at this time that they were really unable to pay the expenses of the surveys, and a memorial signed by P. Gibault, the priest at Kaskaskia, and eighty-seven others, was presented to Governor St. Clair, praying him to petition Congress for relief in the matter. In 1791 Congress directed that four hundred acres of land should be granted to the head of every family which had made improvements in Illinois prior to the year 1788. Before this, in 1788, Congress had also directed that a donation be given to each of the families then living at either of the villages of Kas- kaskia, Prairie du Rocher, Cahokia, Fort Chartres, or St. Phillip's. These were known as "bead-right" claims.
At an early date speculation became active in the land claims of different kinds; bead-rights, improvement rights, militia rights, and fraudulent claims were produced in great numbers. The French claims were partly unconfirmed, owing to the poverty of that people, and these were forced on the market with the others. The official report of the commissioners at Kaskaskia, made in 1810, shows that eight hundred and ninety land claims were rejected as being illegal or fraudulent. Three hundred and seventy were reported as being supported by perjury, and a considerable number were forged. There are fourteen names given of persons, both English and French, who made it a regular business to furnish sworn certificates, professing an intimate knowledge, in every case, of the settlers who had made certain improvements upon which claims were predicated, and when and where they were located. A French- man, clerk of the parish of Prairie du Rocher, "without property and fond of liquor," after having given some two hundred depositions in favor of three land claimant speculators, "was induced" in the language of the report, "either by compensation, fear, or the impossibility of obtaining absolution on any other terms, to declare on oath that the said depositions were false, and that in giving them he had a regard for something beyond the truth."
The report of the commissioners raised many doubts in regard to the va- lidity and propriety of a number of confirmations by the Governors, and much dissatisfaction among the claimants, and in consequence Congress, in 1812, passed an act for the revision of these land claims in the Kaskaskia district. The commissioners under this law were Michael Jones, John Cald- well, and Thomas Sloo. Facts damaging to persons who occupied positions of high respectability in the community, were disclosed. They reported that the English claim of thirty thousand acres confirmed by Governor St. Clair to John Edgar and the Governor's son, John Murray St. Clair, was founded in neither law nor equity, that the patent was issued after the Governor's power ceased to exist, and the claim ought not to be confirmed. Congress, however, confirmed it.
For & period of several years, emigration was considerably retarded by the delay in adjusting land titles. The act of Congress, passed in 1813, granting the right of pre-emption to settlers, was influential in bringing the public lands into market. Emigrants poured into the country, and improvements were rapidly made.
CIVIL ORGANIZATION.
The history of Illinois has been traced while a possession of France, and when under the British government; and the formation of Illinois as a County of Virginia has been noted. The several States afterwards agreed, on the adoption of the Articles of Confederation, to cede their claims to the western lands to the General government. Virginia executed her deed of cession March the first, 1784. For several years after there was an imper- fect administration of the law in Illinois. The French customs partly held force, and affairs were partly governed by the promulgations of the British commandants issued from Fort Chartres, and by the regulations which had subsequently been issued by the Virginia authorities.
By the ordinance of 1787, all the territory northwest of the Ohio not con- stituted into one district, the laws to be administered by a governor and secretary, a court was constituted of three judges. A general assembly was provided for, the members to be chosen by the people. General Arthur St.
Clair was selected, by Congress, as Governor of the north western territory. The seat of government was Marietta, Ohio.
In the year 1795, Governor St. Clair divided St. Clair County. All south of a line running through the New Design settlement (in the present County of Monroe) was erected into the County of Randolph. In honor of Edmund Randolph of Virginia, the new county received its name.
Shadrach Bond, afterward the first Governor, was elected from Illinois, & member of the Territorial Legislature which convened at Cincinnati, in Jan- uary, 1799. In 1800 the Territory of Indiana was formed, of which Illinois constituted a part, with the seat of government at Vincennes. About 1806, among other places in the West, Aaron Burr visited Kaskaskia in an en- deavor to enlist men for his treasonable scheme against the government. In 1805, George Fisher was elected from Randolph County a member of the Territorial Legislature, and Pierre Menard was chosen member of the Legis- lative Council.
By act of Congress, 1809, the Territory of Illinois was constituted. Ni- nian Edwards was appointed Governor of the newly organized Territory, and the seat of government established at Kaskaskia. Nathaniel Pope, & relative of Edwards, received the appointment of Secretary.
For nearly four years after the organization of the Territorial Government `no legislature existed in Illinois. All election for representatives was held on the eighth, ninth, and tenth of October, 1812. Shadrach Bond, then a resident of St. Clair County, was elected the first Delegate to Congress from Illinois. Pierre Menard was chosen from Randolph County member of the Legislative Council, and George Fisher of the House of Representatives. The Legislature convened at Kaskaskia on the twenty-fifth of November, 1812.
In April, 1818, a bill providing for the admission of Illinois into the Union as a sovereign State was passed by Congress. A Convention to frame a Constitution assembled at Kaskaskia in the following July. The first election under the Constitution was held in September, 1818, and Shadrach Bond was elected Governor, and Pierre Menard, Lieutenant-Governor. Illinois was now declared by Congress admitted to the Union as on equal footing in all respects with the original States. The Legislature again met at Kaskaskia in January, 1819. This was the last session ever held at Kas- kaskia. Vandalia, the same year, was selected as Capital of the State. It was stipulated that Vandalia was to be the Capital for twenty years. At the end of that period it was changed to Springfield. Below we give list of governors and chief officers of Illlinois.
Illinois was constituted a separate Territory by act of Congress, February 3d, 1809.
OFFICERS OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS.
FROM 1809,
To 1878.
ILLINOIS TERRITORY.
NAME OF OFFICER.
OFZICE,
DATE OF COMMINION OR INAUGURATION.
Nathaniel Pope,
Secretary of the Territory, ......
.. March 7, 1809.
Ninian Edwards,. Governor,
April 24, 1809.
H. H. Maxwell
Auditor Public Accounts, 1816.
Daniel P. Cook,
¥
=
January 13, 1816.
Joseph Phillips,. Secretary,
December 17, 1816.
Robert Blackwell,.
Auditor Public Accounts,
.April 5, 1817,
Elijah C. Berry,.
.. August 29, 1817.
John Thomas, ...
Treasurer,
1818.
STATE OF ILLINOIS.
Shadrach Bond,
Governor,
.October 6, 1818.
Pierre Menard,.
Lieut-Governor, 6, 1818.
Elias K. Kane, ..
.. Secretary of State,
6, 1818.
Elijah C. Berry,
Auditor Public Accounts
1818.
Treasurer, John Thomas,. 1818.
Robert K. Mclaughlin,
August 2, 1819.
Edward Coles,
Governor,
December, 1822.
Adolphus F. Hubbard, .. .. Lieut .- Governor,
1822.
Samuel D. Lockwood, ..
.. Secretary of State,
¥ 18, 1822.
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HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, ILLINOIS.
Abner Field,.
Treasurer, .. January 14, 1823.
David Blackwell,
.Secretary of State, April 2, 1823.
Morris Birbeck
.October 15, 1824-
George Forquer, ..
=
.January 15, 1825.
Ninian Edwards,.
Governor,
December, 1826.
William Kinney,
Lieut .- Governor,.
1826.
James Hall,
Treasurer,
February 12, 1827.
Alexander P. Field,
Secretary of State,
.January 23, 1829.
John Reynolds,
Governor, December 9, 1830.
Zadock Casey, ..
Lieut .- Governor, 9, 1830.
John Dement,
Treasurer, February 5, 1831.
James T. B. Stapp,
Auditor Public Accounts,.
August 27, 1831.
Joseph Duncan,.
Governor, ...
December, 1834.
Alexander M. Jenkins,
. Lieut .- Governor,
1834.
Levi Davis,
Auditor Public Accounts,.
November 16, 1835.
Charles Gregory,
Treasurer,
December 5, 1836.
John D. Whiteside, ..
March 4, 1837.
Thomas Carlin,.
Governor,
December, 1838.
Stinson H. Anderson Lieut .- Governor,
4 1838.
Stephen A. Douglas, .. Secretary of State,
November 30, 1840.
Lyman Trumbull,
March 1, 1841.
Milton Carpenter, Treasurer,
1841.
James Shields, ...
Auditor Public Accounts, 1841.
Thomas Ford,
Governor,
.December 8, 1842.
John Moore,
Lieut .- Governor, " 8, 1842.
Thomas Campbell,
Secretary of State, March 6, 1843.
William L. D. Ewing,-
Auditor Public Accounts, -7 6, 1843.
Thomas H. Campbell, ..
4 P. A. (to fill vacancy), # 26, 1846.
Augustus C. French,
. December 9, 1846.
Joseph B. Wells,
Lieut .- Governor, 9, 1846.
23, 1846.
John Moore,.
. Treasurer, (to fill vacancy), .... August 14, 1848.
William McMurtry, ..
. Lieut .- Governor, .January, 1849.
David L. Gregg,
Secretary of State (to fill vacancy), ... April 3, 1850,
Joel A. Matteson,
.Governor, ..
. January, 1853.
Gustavus Koerner,
Lieut .- Governor,
« 1853.
Alexander Starne,
. Secretary of State,.
1853.
Ninian W. Edwards, Superintendent Public Instruction, ... March 24, 1854.
William H. Bissell,
Governor,
.January 12, 1857.
John Wood,
Lieut .- Governor,
12, 1857.
Ozias M. Hatch
.Secretary of State,
12, 1857.
Jesse K. Dubois,.
.. Auditor Public Accounts, 12, 1857.
James Miller,
Treasurer,
12, 1857.
William H. Powell, .Superintendent Public Instruction, ... :
12, 1857.
Newton Bateman,
« 10, 1859.
William Butler,. ..... ...
Treasurer (to fill vacancy), .September 3, 1859.
Richard Yates,
Governor, January 14, 1861,
Francis A. Hoffman,
Lieut .- Governor, 14, 1861.
Ozias M. Hatch,
.Secretary of State,.
= 14, 1861.
Jesse K. Dubois,
Auditor Public Accounts, 4 14, 1861.
William Butler,
Treasurer,
14, 1861.
Newton Bateman, ..
Superintendent Public Instruction,
= 14, 1861.
Alexander.Starne, ..
Treasurer,
12, 1863.
John P. Brooks,
.Superintendent Public Instruction,.
= 12, 1863.
Richard J. Oglesby, ..
Governor ;.
= 16, 1865.
William Bross,.
Lieut .- Governor,
Sharon Tyndale,
.Secretary of State,
Orlin H. Miner,
. Auditor Public Accounts,
December 12, 1864.
James H. Beveridge,
Treasurer,
.. January 9, 1865.
Newton Bateman,.
... Superintendent Public Instruction, ... January 10, 1865.
George W. Smith,
. Treasurer,
. January, 1867.
John M. Palmer, ..
Governor,
.January 11, 1869.
John Dougherty,
Lieut .- Governor,.
11, 1869.
Edward Rummell,
.Secretary of State,.
« 11, 1869.
Charles E. Lippincott,
.Auditor Public Accounts.
= 11, 1869.
Erastus N. Bates, .. .. Treasurer,
Superintendent Public Instruction, ... January, 1871.
Erastus N. Bates,
. Treasurer,
November 8, 1870.
Richard J. Oglesby, ..
Governor, ..
January 13, 1873.
John L. Beveridge, ...
.Lieut .- Governor,
13, 1873.
George H. Harlow, ..
Secretary of State, ..
13, 1873.
Charles E. Lippincott,
. Auditor Public Accounts,.
= 13, 1873.
Edward Rutz, ..
Treasurer,
= 13, 1873.
John L. Beveridge,
Governor,.
23, 1873.
John Early,
Lieut .- Governor,
" 23, 1873.
S. M. Cullum,
Governor,
8. 1877.
Andrew Shuman, ..
Lieut .- Governor,
8, 1877.
George H. Harlow,.
Secretary of State,
8, 1877.
Edward Rutz,
. Treasurer,
= 8, 1877.
T. B. Needles,
Auditor Public Accounts,
8, 1877.
S. M. Etter,
.Superintendent Public Instruction,.
8, 1877.
J. P. Slade, ..
4
3
8, 1879.
J. C. Smith,
Treasurer,
8, 1879.
Believing that it will be interesting to the younger readers of our work, we subjoin the following list of Presidents of the United States :
PRESIDENTS UNDER THE CONSTITUTION. TERM OF SERVICE.
George Washington, 1789 to 1797, eight years.
John Adams,
.Massachusetts,. ... 1797 to 1801, four years.
Thomas Jefferson,.
Virginia, .. . 1801 to 1809, eight years
James Madison,
Virginia, .. .. 1809 to 1817, eight years.
James Monroe,
Virginia, . 1817 to 1825, eight years.
John Quincy Adams, .1825 to 1829, four years.
Andrew Jackson, Tennessee, .. 1829 to 1837, eight years.
Martin Van Buren
Ohio,. .. 1841, one month.
John Tyler, .. Virginia, .1841 to 1845, four years. James K. Polk,
Tennessee,.
.1849 to 1850, one year.
Millard Fillmore,
New York,
.. 1850 to 1853, three years.
New Hampshire,. Franklin Pierce, .. .1853 to 1857, four years.
James Buchanan, .1857 to 1861, four years. Pennsylvania, .
Illinois, Abraham Lincoln, (murdered), .1861 to 1865, 4 yrs. I mo-
Andrew Johnson, 1865 to 1869, four years. Tennessee,
Ulysses S. Grant,
Illinois, 1869 to 1877, eight years.
Rutherford B. Hayes.
Ohio, .1877, present incumbent.
CHAPTER II.
PIONEERS AND EARLY SETTLERS. INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES.
N the following pages is related, from the best attainable sources,
the history of the first settlements of our county. No labor has been spared to make the narrative both interesting and complete : nevertheless, it is necessarily defective. No newspapers were pub lished in the earliest days, in whose preserved and musty files we might too authentic data. But all available sources of information have been consulted, and nothing has been omitted which casts light upon the past.
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