History of Wayne and Clay counties, Illinois, Part 6

Author:
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Chicago : Globe Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 704

USA > Illinois > Clay County > History of Wayne and Clay counties, Illinois > Part 6
USA > Illinois > Wayne County > History of Wayne and Clay counties, Illinois > Part 6

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).

George Merritt was born January 30, 1799, in Pendleton County, S. C. Emigrated to Caldwell County, Ky .. in 1809. In 1816, he came from Kentucky to Illinois, and located in Burnt Prairie, which was then Edwards County, but now Wayne, on the 16th day of August of that year. His father was Ephraim Merritt, born in Granville County, N. C., 1776, and died at Burnt Prairie in August, 1844. His grandfather. Stephen Merritt, of Granville County, N. C., was a Captain of colonial troops during the entire Revolutionary struggle for independence, and participated in the following battles in South Carolina: Charleston. Monks Corner. George- town, Kings Mountain. Cowpens, and was wounded in a charge by Tarleton's cavalry at Cowpens, and also in a hard-contested battle at Guilford Court House, N. C. The pater- nal ancestor of this branch of the Merritt family was from Wales, and emigrated dur- ing the time of colonization by Sir Walter Raleigh. The maternal ancestor was the daughter of the Rev. Micklejohn, a minister of the High, or Established Church of Eng- land, born in Scotland and educated in Eng. land for the ministry, and emigrated to this country prior to the Revolutionary war, and received his pay annually from the Crown during his life.

Cadwalader Jones came, as stated above, in 1816, and the same year John Jones, his son, was born, and thus he will go into history as the first white child born in Wayne County.

HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY

Parson "Jacky " Jones says he came very near missing the county when he "lit " in this world, the spot being within six rods of the east line of the county. He was born in a tent, made by placing a pole between two trees, and then boards and brush put up the sides and end. Parson Jones is yet a hale and vigorous old man, as full of the enjoyments of life, its fun and jokes as the gayest of our youngsters. He has spent his long life in the county, and amid the roughest early sur- roundings he has picked up a fair education and a fund of reading, and at one time in life was a successful school teacher, and also a preacher-training the minds of the young and pointing to all the way to heaven.

Cadwalader Jones' wife died in 1826, and he survived until 1856, when he died in this : county. There were fifteen children in the family, and " Jacky " was the eldest. Sev- en of these children are now living-two boys and five girls. Two widows, Manahan and Mckibbin, reside in Wayne County, and a son, Charles Jones, lives on the place first settled by his father.

Parson Jones says the nearest and only neighbors his father bad were the Hunts, and Grandfather Jones, who lived in Edwards County. Of the early settlers in his portion of the county, the Parson remembers Rich. ard Burks, of North Carolina and family, whose children grew up, and in after years the family removed to Sangamon County. Then there were Aquilla McCrackin and family, who settled about a half mile from Jones. Five of the MeCrackin children died in 1834, and the next year this family removed to Arkansas.

Harman Horn married one of the Burks girls. He was some time a Constable and Deputy Sheriff, and in 1837 he and family went to Arkansas.

Pulliam Higginbotham came with the Me-

Crackins from Tennessee in 1819. The family went to Arkansas, in order to keep their slaves that they brought from Tennessee.

Cadwalader Jones was an Indiana Ranger, in Barker's company. In sconting expedi- tions he traveled west about as far as Vanda- lia. While his company were in what is now Wayne County, one of them named Hensly. accidently killed his comrade, Hughes-in some way mistaking him for the enemy and tired upon him. These rangers were in pursuit at that time of the Indians who had massacred the Cannon family on the Big Wabash. The murdered family con- sisted of old man Cannon and wife, and his son Samuel, and taking prisoners Mr. Stark and wife and a son-in-law, and an old lady and a young daughter of Cannon's. Stark soon made his escape and returned home, and Mrs. Stark only made her escape many months after, when the Indians were on the Illinois River, and on foot she eventually made her way back home. It was on Grand. father Jones' farm in Edwards County that Joe Boltinghouse was killed by the Indians -an account of which we give above.

Parson Jones remembers that when six years old, a Dr. Spring was the first doctor he ever saw. He also remembers passing through Fairfield in 1823 when there was but one house in the place. He thinks that the first death in this section of the country was the drowning of a trader named Dubois. in the Little Wabash. He was traveling for a man named Lasellet, who was at one time a trader. and the first in this part of the country. The first schoolhouse he has any recollection of hearing of. was about 300 yards from his father's house, and the first teacher was George McCown. the great-grand father of Capt. Nick McCown, of Fairfield. This school was taught as early as 1823.

He remembers as early a- 1821, a preacher

HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY.

from Edwards County, named William Keith, who preached in some private house about two miles from the Jones place.

Parson Jones was married when he was twenty-four years old to Nancy Staten, daugh- ter of Peter Staten. He commenced preach- ing"(Missionary Baptist) at the age of forty- two. Jacob Love was the first County School Commissioner of Wayne County. and under his sign manual Jones got a certificate and commenced teaching school. He says he went in heavy on Dillworth's Spelling Book and Scales' Reading Lessons.

Archy Roberts came to the county in 1817, and settled on what was afterward the George Borah place. Samuel Slocumb settled on the Moffitt place. John Harris, Archy Rob. erts and Daniel McHenry were among the first Methodist Episcopal preachers.

During the year 1815, there was added to those first comers as given above, Andrew Kuykendall, Andrew Clark, James. Solomon and William Clark, Enoch Wilcox, George Borah. Felix and John Barnhill. Reuben Melton, Thomas and James Gaston, Joseph Campbell. Alexander and Andrew Clark, Tyra Robinson, William B. Davis, Owen Marlin. George W. Hines, Peter Watson, Michael Turney. Needham Hillard, James C. Gaston. John Turney. Thomas P. Fletcher, Robert Gaston, John Carson. Andrew Carson, Henry Tyler. Daniel G. Gray. Robert Gray, Sol Stone, George Close, A. B. Turney, Henry Hall. William Gray, Benjamin Clark. John Atteberry, John W. Ellidge, John Mc Canley, Joseph Martin. Samuel Leech. John Livergood. Andrew Bratson, Ansley, Clark, Seth Carson, Samuel Bain and John Moffitt.

George MeCown came from Kentucky in 1817. He was one of five brothers, Scotch- Irish. Two of the brothers settled in Ken- tneky, two in Virginia, and the other in South Carolina. George MeCown's second

wife was Martha Nash, of Kentucky. The eldest child by the second wife was Franeis, who came to Illinois with his father. Two daughters of George Mccown were born liere, namely. Nancy and Matilda. Francis married Parthenia Andrus in 1838, by whom he had two sons and three daughters, namely, N. S. and James ((lied in infancy). Mary. who married Capt. Walsur, and died four years ago ; and Helen, who married Thomas Locke, and is now living in Fairfield. Nich- olas S. is one of the good people of Fairfield. whose biography may be found in another part of this work.

In company with George MeCowu came Nicholas Smith, his brother-in-law. These two men were Rangers and belonged to the Regulators of the early time. Here are the names of over sixty settlers, young men about grown, some of them, and the most of them the heads of families. They, and others that we will refer to, were all there prior to 1819. and mostly participated in procuring the act of the Legislature, creating the new county of Wayne, which was enacted by proper law. making power March 26, 1819, and is as fol- lows:

That all that tract of country within the fol- lowing boundaries, to wit: Beginning at the White County line, dividing the Ranges 9 and 10 east of the Third Principal Meridian line: thenee north to the line dividing Townships 3 and t. to the Crawford County line. north of the base line; thenee west to the line dividing Towns 4 and 5 east of the Third Principal Meridian ; thence south to the White County line: thence cast to the place of beginning. shall'constitute a separate county to be called Wayne. And for the purpose of fixing a permanent seat of justice therein the following persons be appointed Commissioners: Henry J. Mills. Benjamin Rey nolds. George Claypole, Seth Gard and Levi Comp- ton, which said Commissioners, or a majority of them, being duly sworn before some Judge or Jus- tice of the Peace in this State, to faithfully take into view the convenience of the people, the situa- tion of the settlements, with an eye to the future population, and eligibility of the place, shall meet

HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY.

at the house of Alexander Campbell, in said county, and proceed to examine and determine the place for the present seat of justice and designate the same. Provided, The proprietor or proprietors of the land shall give to the county, for the purpose of erecting public buildings, a quantity of land not less than twenty acres, to be laid out in lots and sold for that purpose; but should the proprietors refuse or neg- lect to make the donations aforesaid, then, and in that case, it shall be the duty of the Commissioners to fix on some other place for the seat of justice as convenient as may be to the inhabitants of the county, which place so fixed and determined upon, the said Commissioners shall certify under their hands and seals and return the same to the next Commissioners' Court in the county aforesaid, which court shall cause an entry thereof to be made in their books of record; and, until the public buildings are erected, the court shall be held at the house of Alexander Campbell.

The act then provides that the Commis- sioners shall have $2 a day each for their la. bors. It then provides that Wayne County

shall vote in conjunction with Edwards County for members of the General Assembly of the State. And further that " the county of Wayne shall be and compose a part of the Second Judicial Circuit, and the courts there. in be holden at such times as shall be speci- fied," etc.

And Wayne County was launched upon the sea of municipal existence, and the no ble crew were the pioneers whose names we have given above. At the helm stood Sam nel Leech, one of the noblest of men, and a man whose life, here in those early days of the young county, will always stand out in history as the conspicuous and commanding figure, and in the following chapters detail- ing from the records the history of the county, the reader may bear in mind that it was nearly all the work of this good man.

CHAPTER IV.

HABITS AND PASTIMES-THIE BORAH FAMILY-CANNONS-OWENS-HALLS-FIRST AND SECOND SETTLEMENTS IN THE COUNTY-FIRST SCHOOLS AND CHURCHES-GATHERINGS OF OLD SETTLERS AND THEIR NAMES -NATHAN ATTEBERRY-W. W. GEORGE-DAVID WRIGHT - ELLIDGES-ANDREW CREWS - ALEXANDER CAMPBELL -AND

MANY OTHERS - INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES - THE DISAPPEAR- ANCE OF THE INDIAN -WILD GAME, ETC., ETC., ETC.

T THE writer remembers an interview some years ago with a couple of very aged ladies. and of the early times and their re- collections, he finds the following in his note book:

When we came West it was known as the Louisiana. Then, in a flat-boat, from Kentucky. It was in the year 1801, and I remember the trip well; chietly, perhaps, be- canse a little colored girl was drowned in leaning over the edge of the boat to draw |

some water. It made the strongest impres- sion on me of anything that happened.

"You remember the earthquakes in 1811 !" " Oh. yes, well, I can't tell how long they lasted, but there were so many shocks that we began to get used to them. They came on sometimes at night, and sometimes by day. First there would be a roaring we'd seem to hear in the west, like a storm. If it was in the day the sky would appear dark. Then the ground would commence to shake.

HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY.

The shaking would be so hard that when we tried to stand up and hold to the palings we couldn't do it. I remember the earth opened in a great crack right through the streets of St. Michael's. It must have been six or eight feet wide, and I couldn't tell how deep, only it seemed to get narrower. Right where the crack opened there was a party of miners camped, and their things went down in the crack. After a long time the earth came together slowly. At New Madrid the earth opened in cracks so large that whole houses, with people in them, went down. Between where we lived and New Madrid large trees went down through these cracks. We were badly scared at first, but we gradu- ally got so we didn't mind the earthquakes so much. At one time the shaking lasted half an hour.

" When the first one came father called ont. 'What's going to be?' Mother said, 'Oh. it's only an earthquake. I've felt it be- fore.'"

The old lady drifted readily into some of the features of housekeeping in those days. "Tell the reporter how you made combs," suggested a bright-eyed grand daughter.

The old lady laughed heartily and re- plied, "We used to take ox-horns and boil them. That made them soft. Then we would saw them to make the teeth. They weren't like the combs you have now, but they did very well, we thought. We made our spoons from the horns, too."

" We didn't have the groceries handy to run to for every little thing. We had to make our own bluing for one thing, and this was the way we did it: We gathered an herb called indigo weed, and put it in a barrel with water. This we had to churn and then we squeezed it. After that we had to put a little lye in to break the indigo from the water. The blue would settle, and we poured

off the water. That was our indigo. We made starch ourselves, too, and very nice starch it was, in this way: We took wheat- bran and put it in water till it soured. Then we squeezed it through blankets and let the water settle. The starch formed in a cake at the bottom and we dried it in old plat- ters."

A counterpane was produced and shown. " I made it fifty-five years ago," she said with a touch of pride. "I made it all, too, raised the cotton, picked it, carded it, spun it, and then wove the cotton and worked the figures on it afterward."

There was a large rose bush with branches, leaves and blossom worked in the cloth. The design was faithful to nature. "How did you do that," was asked. The old lady laughed and explained. "I laid my cloth over a counterpane that another lady had made and pressed it over the figures with one of the pewter plates we used then. The rose bush left the impression, and I worked it on my cloth. The other lady got her impros- sion this way: She went out and dug up a rose bush from the garden, spread out the branches and leaves and roses and pressed her cloth upon them and got the impression which she worked in that way. We didn't have any stamping in those days."

" Did the Indians ever trouble you ?"

" Oh yes; many a time the men would get all the women and children together and ' fort up,' and then go out to drive the In- dians off. Most of the time they were peace- able, though, and we used to get our cooking lard of them."

Here both ladies indulged in a cheery laugh over the recollection. "It was bear's grease. The Indians used to bring it in tied up in a deerskin sewed up in a bag. We would buy it and put it into pots. After it be- came warm we put in slippery elm to clarify

HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY.

it. It would come out as clear and pure as oil. Then we would put it in a hide drawn up with a throng so as to make a bag with the top open. The oil never turned bad, and we dipped it out with a gourd and used it for cooking. Oh. it was nice! We didn't have crocks in those days. Most of our ves- sels were gourds, some of them big as buck- ets. I've seen 'em big enough to hold half a bushel."

" It was nice to bake the old-fashioned French pancakes with. You don't see those kind of pancakes nowadays very often. We used to take three dozen oggs, plenty of milk and a little flour. We baked them on a long-handled skillet. You took hold of the handle when you wanted to turn, gave the pan a little flirt and the cake would flop up and come down on the skillet. The cakes were thin as wafers, and we used to pile them up so high (indicating eighteen inches or thereabonts). Shrove Tuesday was the great day for pancakes. The table would be set the length of the room and nothing on it but pancakes and molasses. The man that ate the most was taken out by the others and tossed up and down. The most I recollect of any one man eating at a time was twenty- four."

" You had your amusements as well as your work in those days ?"

"Oh, yes, but they were different from what you have now. On New Year's we had what we called 'guignanne.' The young men would disguise themselves and go to the house of somebody selected and fire their guns and sing."

These were the days of pure simplicity. and yet there was a gallantry and refinement often to be seen that even in these days one can only read about in the story of a people that are passed away, and regret that with them have gone many customs that are to be

regretted. There is nothing now more in- teresting than the details of the habits and customs of these people, but we choose just here to resume the story of the early settlers and of their coming to this part of Illinois.

William N. Borah came with his father's family to Wayne County in the spring of 1820. Hisuncle, George Borah, had come with his family in 1818, and had made an im- provement in the southern part of the coun- ty, and to this place, the two brothers of George came and spent the summer and made a crop, and in the fall of the same year had prepared places for their families and moved to that part of the county where they now live in Jasper Township.

Although William N. Borah was not yet three years old, he remembers distinctly passing through Fairfield as the family were on their way to their then new home, and that they stopped for dinner at an uncle's, named McMakin, some of whose descendants now live in Marion County. He remembers there were three houses in Fairfield at that time, Gen. Leech's. John Barnhill's and Dr. Park's. Leech's house was on the northeast corner of the public square; Dr. Park's resi- dence is still standing on Main street a block west from the north side of the square. The entire settlement then in what is now Jasper Township or the Borah settlement was Enoch Beach, at one time a State Senator from this district and for many years a prominent and influential man; a good neighbor and friend, and an honorable, upright and valuable citi- zen. Then there was William Fraser and family. They were among the very earliest settlers in the county. He, at one time, was a Major in the State Militia, and in the very early day was rather a prominent man, but his fame waned somewhat before his death. The entire family have long since passed away. Enoch Beach reared a most excellent

HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY.

family and died about 1836. George Rus- sell was one of these early settlers. His fam- ily of children was large. His eldest son, Macomb, grew up a much better educated youth than the average then of young men in the county. He started for California in 1949, and was killed on the way by Indians. Mrs. Russell was the main stay and prop of the whole family. and a most exemplary woman indeed. After her death, the okl gentleman soon fell into bad health and finally got to telling some most wonderful stories about his own exploits. So extrava- gent were some of these, that they were very amusing and often furnishe.l amusement for all the county. A fair specimen of these yarns was one about a bee tree he found and cut. The honey, he said, occupied the hol- low of the tree for about ten feet, and he took out a piece of the honey comb, and put it on his shoulder, and so heavy was it (being nearly ten feet long), that he would have to stop and rest every little while, and he would then set it on end and lean it up against a tree. Russell's fame for such fictions extended far and wide, and some yet believe that he told them over from morn till night until he eventually half-way believed thom himself.

William and Jesse Cannon, brothers, were also in this settlement. Jesse was noted for his fun and practical jokes. He seemed to never tire of astonishing the men with some new prank. A neighbor once was trying to plow his horse on only grass feed, when Can- non told him to come to his place and get a load of fodder. The man came and tied up an immense bundle, and shouldered it and started for home. Jesse slipped up behind him with a "chunk of fire." and in a moment it was in a blaze. and the poor fellow threw it down and ran for dear life. He then helped him hitch up a wagon and gave him a wagon-load, and sent him home happy.

Jesse Cannon was a most excellent neighbor and good man in every respect. About 1850. he started for California and died on the road. His grandson, Frank Cannon. is now a respected citizen of this county. The brother, old Uncle Billy Cannon, married William Fraser's widow, an aunt of Col. P. Hay, and died about 1839.

Walter Owens and Andrew Crews, the lat- ter the progenitor of the large and respecta- ble Crews family of Wayne County, were among these early settlers in the Borah neighborhood. Walter Owens was an old man when he came West. He was a good man in every respect, and in the early times was noted as " the best corn-raiser " in the county; this then constituted about all there was in farming. He was a member of the Baptist Church, and lived and died without an enemy in the world. He removed to Rock Island, where he spent the last few years of his life.

Richard Hall came from Ohio and lived about two miles from Borah's. His only son, Jacob, is now a citizen of Fairfield. Richard Hall was born in New Jersey, near Trenton, on the 17th of November, 1775. His father, John T. Hall, was of English descent. His mother's maiden name was Ann Low, a sister of Judge Low, the father of Gov. Low | of Iowa.

John T. Hall emigrated with his family to Warren County, Ohio, about the year 1793, and here he received his education and mar- ried Eleanor Foster, of Irish descent, in the year 1809, and after his marriage settled in Warren County, where he remained about four years, and then moved to Cincinnati, where he resided about two years, and in 1815 moved to Rising Sun, Ind., and in 1816 moved to Illinois, landed at Shawneetown and settled in White County, not far from Concord, Big Prairie, and purchased land in

HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY.

Wayne County, soon after his arrival in White County, and moved to his Wayne County farm in about 1818, where he built a cabin on Section 30, Town 1 south, Range 9 east. Here he made a large farm in its day, and here he remained until he died April 8, 1836. He had nine children, four boys and five girls. Three of the children died when small. He was a large, muscular man, six feet high, full chest and broad across the shoulders; weighed about 180 pounds; black hair, fair complexion and a sharp, hazel eye; fond of home and friends, kind to his chil- dren, but firm; such was his government over his children that a word was sufficient to do his will. He, indeed, was a man of but few words. His countenance indicated firmness. For the day and age in which he lived, he had a very fair education and was a very fine reader. His leisure hours were earnestly de- voted to reading and study; was a member of church.

William Husk and James Dickinson were among these early settlers in this neighbor- hood. After residing here a few years they moved away, and we are told they went to White County.

This was the second settlement made in what is now Wayne County, and we have given the names of all of the first settlers there. The Borahs, Owenses, Crewses and Beaches, were all Kentuckians. Hall was from Ohio and Russell from North Carolina. Andrew Crews was quite an old man when he came to Illinois. He was badly crippled in his feet, and could never get about much. His sons were abont all grown men. He died in 1831 or 1832. His sons are now all dead, and it is only his grand and great-grand. children who are now remaining.

About 1824, there were new comers to this settlement of Samuel Borah, George and Thomas Wilson. Thomas Wilson died about

1849, and Samuel in 1880. Samuel Borah also died in 1880, leaving six daughters, ali married. He had married three different wives, survived them all and was about eighty years old when he died.

William N. Borah, to whom we are in- debted for this account of the early settlers. tells us that these men were all pious, God- fearing men, and were all members of some church except the two Cannons. He thinks Mr. Nesbitt one of the best men that ever came to the county. He was a man of fine intelli- gence and the very soul of integrity and manliness. His life was a continuous bless- ing to all with whom he came in contact. He died abont 1875, having a daughter and son (Andrew) now living in Mt. Erie Township. We should have stated above that Mr. Nesbitt had settled in Mt. Erie.

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History of Wayne and Clay counties, Illinois, Part 6

Author: Publication date: 1884 Publisher: Chicago : Globe Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 704

Author:
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Chicago : Globe Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 704