USA > Illinois > Clay County > History of Wayne and Clay counties, Illinois > Part 33
USA > Illinois > Wayne County > History of Wayne and Clay counties, Illinois > Part 33
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91
The early settlers of Arrington gave due attention to school matters, as we find a good school in successful operation at a very early day. The house was built by the Regular Baptists in 1828 or 1829, for religions pur- poses, and it was used by them for some time after the first term of school had commenced. The school was run on the subscription plan, and the first term opened with a man by the name of French as teacher. French was a brother-in-law to Charles Arrington. He taught for about three years, and was snc- ceeded by Jeptha Blisset and Jackson Arm- strong, and during a term taught by one of these latter the house was burned down. This school was located on Walton or Big Creek, and was called the Walton Creek School. The Mud Prairie Schoolhouse, a little cabin concern, was the second one erect- ed in the township. It was located in Mud Prairie, and was built by the people gener- . ally. Among its early teachers were James Gaston, Jacob Borah, William Gash and Rodina Baldwin. A little log cabin with a rock chimney was next built on Dry Fork, and called the Dry Fork School. Its early teachers were John Jones, Edward Terrell, Jacob O'Feather and John Deene. The fol- lowing items show the status of the schools of this township at the present day :
$30; females, $25; estimated value of school property, $4,000.
The religious history of Arrington is, in the main, the same as in other portions of the county. Elsberry Armstrong was prob- ably the first one to preach to the scattered inhabitants of this section. He delivered his discourses in the Walton Creek School- house, which was used for religious purposes for several years. He was of the Regular Baptist denomination, as were also William Watkins, old man French, who taught school also, and Robinson Eskridge, all of whom were early preachers in this township. The Mount Zion Church, a frame structure located on the Johnsonville road in Section 34, Town 1 sonth, Range 6 east, was the first church building erected in the township, ex- cept the Walton Creek Schoolhouse, which, as before stated, was built by the Baptists for church purposes. The Mount Zion Church was built by the Methodists, some time before the late war, and it has since been used by them. The Dickeyville Baptist Church was built by the Missionary Baptists about 1868, and is located on Section 30, Town 1 south, Range 6 east. Both of these churches have a strong membership, and are in a pros- perous condition.
The political vote of Arrington shows the | parties to be about equally divided, with a small majority, perhaps, on the Democratic side.
Following is a partial list of the officers of this township since township organization: Supervisors -- W. L. Beeson, 1860-62; Rich- ard White, 1863-66; R. T. Forth, 1867; Dan- iel Wingate, 1868-71; Thomas Davis, 1877; N. N. Borah, 1878; William Schwarberg, 1879-82; M. T. Berry, 1883. Assessors- A. C. Womack, 1860-62; James Cissna, 1863; J. D. Stephens, 1864-67; E. E.
Number school buildings, 9; number pupils enrolled, 300; number teachers em- ployed, 16; average pay of same, males, . Cates, 1868; S. N. Pasco, 1869; J. D.
265
HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY.
Stephens, 1870; A. J. Hale, 1871; H. M. Twadell, 1877; T. R. Tolbert, 1878; David Mills, 1879-30; D. P. Truax, 1881; H. M. Twadell, 1882; E. J. Dezouche, 1883. Col- lectors-A. J. Hale, 1860-62; W. P. Smith, 1863-64; W. L. Beeson, 1865-66; T. W. Hill, 1867; W. P. Smith, 1868-69; James Cissna, 1870; A. W. Womack, 1871; Levi Wheeler, 1877; A. G. Borah, 1878; James
Smith, 1879; William Harris, 1880; Marion Berry, 1881-82; William Burkett, 1883. Town Clerks-J. W. Hilliard, 1860-62; J. W. Gardner, 1863-64; J. W. Hilliard, 1865- 66; A. G. Borah, 1867; W. E. Harlan, 1868- 70; A. G. Borah, 1871; T. L. Dickey, 1877; S. S. Palfreeman, 1878; Joseph Gaston, 1879; S. S. Palfreeman, 1880; John Howerth, 1881; Lewis Tunnel, 1882; J. D. Harlan, 1883.
CHAPTER XXVI .*
BRUSH CREEK TOWNSHIP-DESCRIPTION AND TOPOGRAPHY, ETC .- EARLY SETTLEMENTS-PIONEER IMPROVEMENTS-EARLY PREACHIERS-BERRY ELLEDGE, THE FIRST SCHOOL-TEACHER -HIS STROKE OF PARALYSIS COMPELLING HIM TO LAY THREE DAYS IN THE WOODS SURROUNDED BY WILD ANIMALS-MURDER OF A MR. BRAZELL, BY WILLIAM FATHREE-FIRST MARRIAGE, FIRST DEATHI-CHURCHES, SCHOOLS, ETC., ETC., ETC.
" He bent his way where twilight reigns sublime O'er forests silent since the birth of time."
THE world is now taking time to look back, and the story of the pioneer is be- coming one of absorbing interest. The chil- dren of the pioneer settlers are rapidly being gathered to their fathers during each decade, and the old landmarks one by one have de- cayed and passed away with those who placed them there. The men who opened up Brush Creek Township to the illuminating rays of civilization, though possessed of an unusual degree of culture for those days, were practi- cal men. They came to better their material prospects, and, while they labored to bring about them those influences which would mold the new community into the highest form of social life, they did not undertake to demonstrate a theory of social philosophy.
Their labors have not been in vain. But those who remain, upon whose shoulders the burden of responsibility rests with so poor a grace, look in vain to the story of the early days for the secret of their success. They builded wiser than they knew, and glad to think that the rising generations would be wiser than they, died and left no sign. The writer finds himself not more favored than the socialist. The men who faced the diffi- culties of frontier life in the opening of the nineteenth century, or a little later, found no time to trace their records, and the following pages are presented more as the result of a groping in the dark than as an historical array of facts.
The part of territory to which the reader's attention is now directed is the outgrowth of a later development. Brush Creek Town- ship, known as Townships 1 and 2 north, and
*By J. M. Runk.
266
HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY.
Range 5 east, is bounded on the north by Clay County, on the east by Indian Prairie Township, on the south by Hickory Hill Township, and on the west by Marion Coun- ty. The principal stream is Brush Creek, which has its source in the northern part of the township, and runs in a southerly direction, empties into Skillet Fork. Johnson's Fork and Bobb's Branch are small affluents from the east of Brush Creek. Turner Creek is the only branch of any importance that empties into Brush Creek from the east. The amount of small brush along Brush Creek gave rise to its name, and after it the township was called. There is but one small prairie in the township, which is inentioned elsewhere in this chapter. The remainder is woodland, and is very undulating and broken, but when the timbers are cleared away, it is productive of grain, vegetables and fruits.
Jeremiah Hargraves was among the first settlers in Brush Creek Township. He came from Kentucky, in 1822, and settled on the farm now owned by William B. Hallaman. He died in the township, was a good, ener- getic man, and at one time possessed consid- erable means. In his latter days, he had the misfortune to have both arms broken above the wrists. It was very singular, though a fact, that his arms were broken at different times, but exactly the same distance from the wrist. The first arm was broken with a sash saw, and the last was fractured by a wagon turning over with him. Neither bone ever healed, and in his old days, he had scarcely any use of his hands that had done so much to clear away the forests. A son named Clinton, was made a life-long cripple by a severe attack of fever, which destroyed the strength of the hips. His father (Jere- miah) gave him the greater portion of his property. A son named William is living in Clay County.
About the time Hargraves came to the township, Benjamin Alney and Alexander Haws located near by him; also Richard Sessions. The above gentlemen were related by marriage, etc., and formed a settlement. Mrs. John Hawkins and the Burges brothers now own the land where the Hawses settled. Alney Haws died here, but Benjamin jour- neyed off among the Mormons. They were each in the Black Hawk war. Philip Henson moved to the township in 1827, and settled on Section 4. He entered soon after forty acres of land and his son W. C. entered eighty acres. Here Philip lived an upright life, and in 1860 he moved to Southeast Missouri, where he and wife died some time afterward. W. C. Henson is yet living in the township. He deeded the first land in Brush Creek in 1833, which is a part of his present possessions. It is in what is called Garden Prairie, which was so named by James Scott, who came to the township in about 1835, was a married man, and partook too freely of " spirits," and when on one of his usual drunks he gave the name of Garden Prairie to the only spot in the township that even resembled a prairie. Philip Henson and son, W. C., erected the first cabin on this small prairie, on Section 4. Philip was the father of six children, five of whom are living, viz., Lucinda married Jeremiah Chapman, Mary married John Bruner, W. C. Norcissa married John Brown and Sarah married Josiah Burkitt.
Deaton Meadows came to the township in 1830, from Marion County, Ill., where he had located from Tennessee several years prior to that time. After awhile he made his final settlement in Marion County, where he died. Three of his sons are living in this township, namely, W. P., Henry and Hyrman; the latter is a minister of the general Baptist organization; he has also two
267
HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY.
daughters living. One married a man by the name of Middleton, and lives in Mis- souri, and the other, Lydia, married John Montgomery, and is living in Xonia. Jer- emiah Chapman came pretty early from Indiana with his father, William, and set- tled for awhile, cast of Fairfield. Here William becoming a little enraged at some one, made a kick at him. and struck his foot against a log in a house which completely crushed his foot, making him a cripple the remainder of his days. He was a large man, weighing 375 pounds. Jeremiah moved to this township between 1835 and 1840.
John Burkitt came to the township in 1833. from Indiana, and settled where John Hawkins now lives. He changed about con- siderably, and finally died west of Johnson- ville. He was a native of Kentucky, and was the father of twelve children, five of whom survive, viz .: Missouri, married K. H. Fathree; Nancy, married Irvin Scott; Julia, married Joseph Brown: Joseph keeps the county poor farm; Josiah married Sarah Henson, and lives in the township.
W. A. Forth came from Kentucky and settled on Section 27 in 1841. Here he died in 1878; was once Supervisor; was the father of twenty-one children by three unions.
Matthew Warren came very early and settled near Mr. Forth, and there died, leav- ing some relatives who yet reside near where he located. Alex and John Warren, brothers of Matthew, came here about the same time as he, and died in the township.
William Holaway, a native of Kentucky, settled a neighbor to Forth in 1843. He enlisted in the late war, where he died. Some of his children are living.
Benjamin and William Fathree were among the first settlers, and were considered rough characters. The former died in the town-
ship, and the latter absconded to free himself from the fangs of the law. The circum. stances relating to his hasty departure were about the following: Fathree was a man who partook freely of the "tangle foot," and on one occasion, he was at a little mill, located in Marion County, the proprietor of which sold whisky. This was a regular rendezvous for the neighborhood, and it was not an un- common thing for them to engage in a regular knock-down. Fathree, at the time in ques- tion, was feeling pretty ill, and a number of the men who were waiting for their " grind- ing," engaged in teasing him for having got so full, and the man who seemed to rouse his ire the most was a Mr. Brazell, whom Fath- ree singled out for revenge, and while Bra- zell was loading a sack of corn, he struck him on the back of the neck with a club, kill- ing him almost instantly. Fathree departed and has never been heard of since.
B. Meadows came to the township at an early period, and is living there yet. In his early introduction to the unbroken wilderness, he engaged mostly in hunting.
The first death that occurred in the township was William Warren, who was buried near his residence. Soon after died a desolate old lady, who came from Kentucky with Robert Anderson, at an early date. He re- mained only a short time and went West.
The first wedding in the township was John Bruner and Mary Henson. John was a son of Henry Bruner, of Kentucky. He came to the county with Philip Henson, whose daughter he married; was reared by Jesse Henson, of Kentucky. He died in 1832, leaving his widow in affluent circum- stances.
Benjamin Haws, in an early day was the proprietor of a horse grist mill, which was of much accommodation to the early settlers.
Deaton Meadows had what was called a
268
HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY.
stump hand mill; though quite a novelty, yet was used considerably to crush corn.
Isaac Harris and Elijah Draper own and operate a good saw mill, with attachments for grinding meal. It is the only enterprise of the kind in the township.
Warren Stoddard is running a blacksmith shop near where the Buchanan road crosses Brush Creek.
The first school was taught in this town- ship in a log cabin that was located on a farm now owned by John Morris, and it is thought that Berry Elledge, then a resident of White County, was the teacher. The school was given him by the generous patrons more as a sympathy than as a desire for his qualifications, as the following narrative will show: As stated, his home was in White County, and at the time, a brother-in-law of his started for a new home near Springfield, this State, and Mr. E. concluded to accom- pany them for two days. He accordingly saddled his horse and shouldered his gun, and for a distance led the course. When entering Brush Creek Township, he remarked that he would leave the road and take off at a tangent, with the belief that he would kill a deer, and overtake them by camping time. He had gone scarcely out of sight, when he was taken with a stroke of paralysis, and fell from his horse. Here he laid in an almost unconscious condition for three days before he was found by the searching party, who set out soon after his horse returned home with- out him. The relatives, who had gone on, thought that he had concluded not to go any farther, and pursued their journey without any uneasiness, until some of the search men overtook them to inquire of his where- abouts. At this juncture the excitement grew high, and a more careful search was instigated, which resulted in finding him surrounded by wild animals. The woods had
been on fire since he had fallen there, and the fire had burned the leaves and grass to within a few feet encircling him, and it was a remarkable fact, so says W. C. Henson, that the fire had gone out in the thickest leaves and grass closely surrounding him. Mr. El- ledge was taken home, but was forever a crip- ple, and taught the above school in the days of his unfortunate condition.
The early inhabitants of Brush Creek Township experienced all the hardships and inconveniences incident to the life of the pioneer, and not the least among them was the church facilities. Those inter- ested in church-going, gathered for many miles around at some fariner's cabin, and found their way there after night by means of hickory bark torches for lights. It was no uncommon occurrence for the pioneer to be headed off from his course either to or from the meetings by the sound of the large rattlesnakes, that were very plentiful in those days. Although many thousands were killed by the early settlers, a few remained to trans- mit the species to the present day. Richard Sessions was the only person who was bitten by these poisonous reptiles, and he was barely saved by means of a "mad stone " obtained from Dr. Garrison, who lived at the time northeast of Fairfield. Among the noted huntsmen who played havoc with the rattle- snake as well as the wild animals, we mention, Philip and W. C. Henson, Jack and Benjamin Haws, Jerry Hargraves and John Burkitt. Among the early preachers were known Nathaniel Escridge and Samuel D. Hefton, of the Old School Baptist faith, and Thomas Middleton, of the Universalist de- nomination.
The first church organized in the township was by the Mormons. This denomination has one active church in the township, lo- cated at White Cloud Schoolhouse, and holds
269
HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY.
services every month, with a largo attend- ance. I. A. Morris is the present Elder. J. B. Henson is also an Elder of the same. The schools of the township are hardly an average with the other townships of the county, ow- ing to the financial condition of the settlers. Brush Creek Township is one in the wide, wide world that wants no railroad, and the writer's daring horseback rido up and down the cliffs in search for data caused him to form a conclusion that the railroad did not want them. When an election was held in the county for the purpose of voting for and against an appropriation for a certain rail-
road to run through the county, there was only one man in the township who voted for it, and he soon after moved to Fairfield, where he might live in quiet enjoyment, and hear the whistling of the iron horse. After many years of toil and labor, the few remain- ing early inhabitants and descendants of many of the others have at last struck oil in the raising and cultivation of fruits. The business is just in its infancy, and it is not improbable that, within another decade, the woodland will be cleared of its heavy growth, and in its stead will be thousands of acres of fine orchards, yielding enormous crops.
CHAPTER XXVII.
LEECH TOWNSHIP-BOUNDARIES AND TOPOGRAPHY-WATER-COURSES-GENERAL PRODUCTIONS -ORIGIN OF NAME AND FIRST SETTLEMENTS-SOME INDIAN STORIES-INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS-TOWNS-CHURCH HISTORY AND SCHOOL STATISTICS, ETC.
H "ISTORICALLY, Leech Township oc- cupies a foremost rank among those of Wayne County. Its pioneer settlements were made very early, and to undertake to give an exhaustive and detailed account of the inter- esting and varied scenes and occurrences in- cident to the time thereto, would be a most difficult task, as well as one demanding more space than can be allotted to it at this time. Moreover, a sufficiently comprehensive idea of them can be obtained from the fow de- scriptive stories that we shall here record, and in the portion of this work devoted to the history of the county at large will be found also interesting accounts of the lives and do- ings of the pioneers, and of their ways, hab- its and times.
The study of man is a most proper one for the present and future generations, and it is
one that is calculated to give rich returns to any thoughtful and inquiring mind that will undertake it. And in the lives of what class of mankind can we find, in a comprehensive examination thereof, more material for thoughtful and profitable contemplation than in those of our forefathers and the whole- souled patriarchs of days long gone by; those who sacrificed their own comforts and inter- ests, and ofttimes their own lives, for the benefit of those to follow them. The gener- ally impoverished circumstances of these men, the hardships, privations and positivo dangers immediately surrounding them, thio formidable obstacles of every description with which they were almost daily called upon to contend, all are conditions of life under which not many of the present day could live and make progress. But yet, under all
270
HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY.
of these unfavorable and distressing circum- stances, the old settler made substantial pro- gressive strides toward a better state of things, and happy must he have been when in his old age he would take a retrospective view, and cause, as it were, a grand pano- rama of the vivid scenes and thrilling inci- dents of time past to pass in life-like review before his mind's eye, and by comparison to be enabled to witness the slow but steady advancement from a state of poverty and in- security to that of higher civilization and consequent prosperity. So we say that the study of the lives and times of our pioneers affords abundant gratification and profit, and to so studiously examine into his varied char- acteristics, his habits, his thoughts and his motives that the future might secure thereby a comprehensive idea of the character of the man, and of the times in which he lived and died, this might well be the ambitious work of one's life, and how invaluable would such a work be.
Leech Township, to the history of which this chapter is devoted, revels in historical happenings of great interest and importance. It lies in the southeast corner of Wayne County, having the following boundaries, to wit: North, by Massillon Township; east, by Edwards County; south, by White County; and west by Barnhill Township. Its limits comprise Congressional Townships Town 2 south, Range 9 east, and the north half of Town 3 south, Range 9 east. The surface of this township is diversified between woodland and prairie. The somewhat prevailing opin- ion that Leech contains nothing but poor and unprofitable lands finds no confirmation in an impartial examination thereof. The general surface is somewhat broken, and large tracts of low though not entirely worthless lands lie along the Little Wabash River, but by the proper use of tiling, which we are glad to
notice some of the farmers of Leoch have already introduced, large bodies of these lands will be redeemed, and will be seen not many years hence covered with luxuriant growths of the yellow grain. The soil of the "flats," as these low tracts of land are gen- erally called, is inclined to be more loamy and possesses more organic matter than the soil of the prairies, which has a yellowish- ash-gray color, and for this reason the " flats," if successfully drained, will afford abundant returns for the labor of the intelligent farmer. The Little Wabash, which is the principal stream of the township, enters the latter in Section 5, Town 2 south, Range 9 east, and after flowing a very crooked course in a gen- eral southeast direction, leaves it from Sec- tion 1, Town 3 south, Range 9 east. It is subject to overflows of a considerable extent, and at times serious damage has been done to crops, etc., on land lying adjacent to its banks. Owen's, King and Pond Creeks are the principle smaller streams of the township, and these, with many other nameless ones, afford generally a sufficient natural drainage to most parts of it. Timber in great abun- dance lies along the streams, and is composed chiefly of the several varieties of oak, hickory and ash, though other varieties are found in some quantities in different parts of the town- ship. A small prairie, known as Brush Prai- rie, is situated on the east side of the Little Wabash, while on the west side a consider- able portion of land lies in Bear or Shipley's Prairie, which latter extends also into Barn- hill Township.
The principal productions of Leech are the same generally as other parts of the coun- ty, including the usual varieties of grain, and considerable attention is also given to the rais- ing of stock. Some years ago, when the excite- ment about castor beans was at its height, Leech took her part in it, and many acres
271
HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY.
of land were entirely devoted to the raising of them; but they proved to be an unprofita- ble crop, outside of their cultivation, extract- ing a proportionally large amount of the richness of the land, and the raising of them is consequently now not very extensive.
The first settlement in Leech Township dates back to the year 1814. The territory comprised within its present limite was at that time included in the Wabash Precinct, and the name of Wabash was also one first given to the township, but the name of the latter was subsequently changed to Leech, in honor of Gen. Samuel Leech, the first Coun- ty Clerk of Wayne County.
The first white man to penetrate within the present boundaries of Leech was Isaac Har- ris. He came. as before stated, in 1814, from the settlement in Big Prairie, White County, but was a native of Kentucky. He located on the high land, at the edge of the bottoms along the Little Wabash, and he was living here when he became involved in a scrape with an Indian, an account of which we will here record.
Just what the trouble was between Har- ris and the native inhabitant we could not learn, but it soon magnified itself into an open fight, in which the latter was summarily sent to the happy hunting grounds. Harris, for fear of being seriously dealt with by the Indians of the neighborhood, immediately fled the country in the night time, heading toward the settlement in White County. He had with him at this time his fourteen year old daughter, who afterward became Mrs. Goodwin, wife of John Goodwin, a farmer of this township. She died in the summer of 1883, aged eighty-three years. After reaching the settlement, Harris entered the service in the war, known as the war of 1812, and in 1816 returned and again entered Leech, this time with his two brothers, Eli-
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.