USA > Illinois > Christian County > Past and present of Christian County, Illinois > Part 2
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Sallie Miller. Among the usual attractions presented on such occasions to his young bride was that he possessed on his farm 1,000 bearing apple trees ; judge of her feel- ings when on reaching her new home, of which she had become joint proprietor, her husband directed her attention to 10 acres of thrifty crab apple trees. Young Hanon's wife proved to be a thrifty, industrious woman ; she frequently delighted in tell- ing how she spun her dozen cuts of yarn in a day, and at the same time performed her other household duties.
"The walls of her cabin home were lined with numerous bundles of spun yarn and flax, which she wove into cloth, using a part to clothe the family and bartering the bal- ance for articles of household use at the store.
"Calico at that time cost 371/2 cts. per yard," but it should be remembered that a lady dressed in calico in that day with a poke-bonnet in a newly settled country was equally as nicely dressed and as gayly at- tired as the lady of to-day attired in silk and an umbrella hat.
"There were no educational facilities in the territory when Hanon was a boy, and his education was consequently limited. For a short time he attended a school taught by Timothy Rogers, on Horse Creek in Sanga- mon county ; Eli Matthews and James Fun- derburk, formerly of this county, were his classmates; the schoolhouse was a regularly built cabin with paper windows, and one . end open, forming a huge fireplace; this is said to have been the second school taught in that (Sangamon) county.
It is related that Hanon was very fond of attending all the rail maulings and corn shuckings far and near; he was a lover of athletic sports and he and Moses H. Brents were accounted the most popular gallants of
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the day. They often extended their tours far into the Rochester prairie until within hailing distance of the capital of the state.
Martin was one of the best hunters of that day. On one occasion John S. Sinnet, Jake Gragg and himself were out hunting. Sinnet wandered off and became lost from his companions ..
They came across three Indians, which moved them to hunt for Sinnett; the In- dians followed close upon them; they stopped and dismounted, so did the Indians ; Hanon, not being well acquainted with the Indian character, became somewhat alarmed at their strange actions ; they examined their guns, and picked their flints; and the In- dians did likewise: Gragg then, in a threat- ening manner, ordered them to "puckachee" (that is, light out), and they did. Gragg turned to Hanon and said, if Sinnett had been present, he would have shot one of the Indians; it was the opinion of Hanon that they made a narrow escape.
In that day Indians were quite numerous in this part of the country. On one occa- sion, while Hanon was cut hunting alone, he saw a number of them on the banks of South Fork near the old Elgan mill, they had killed 68 musk rats and were skinning and eating them. In one of his hunting ex- cursions, about the year 1825, when skirt- ing the timber west of Taylorville, he killed a panther, near by a small stream, which measured 9 feet from top of the nose to end of the tail; this circumstance caused the stream to be called Panther Creek, by which name it has been known to this day.
During the "deep snow," he in company with Vandeveer and three or four others of the "Richardson settlement," in South Fork started for O'Banning's horse-mill. then located on a farm about three miles northeast of Taylorville (at that day the lat-
ter place did not exist) ; they made a bee line, passing through the prairie north of the present county seat; Vandeveer had a horse and the others ox teams; they had to break the snow ahead, thus making poor headway. They finally abandoned their wagons, placing the sacks on the backs of the oxen and mounting on top of them, re- sumed their journey ; . Vandeveer having a horse pushed through first, and when night came, built signal fires to guide the others ; they all battled their way through that night. but suffered much from the intense cold.
Many such hardships did the pioneers have to brave in securing a subsistence. The summer following the "deep snow" there was frost during every month, rendering the corn raised unfit for seed ; Hanon gave a yearling heifer for one bushel of old seed corn in the spring of 1832. It was that spring that the steamboat (Talisman) as- cended the Sangamon river to Springfield with a cargo of corn: it sold readily for $2.50 and $3 per bushel for seed corn. In the year 1826, Hanon built a cabin and lived in it a short time on the west side of Spring Branch, where afterwards stood the old "Forest Mill." south of Taylorville; he returned again as a resident of South Fork.
In 1834 he purchased an interest in the "Knuckols and Wallace" water mill, after- wards more familiarly known as the "Elgan mill." He moved his family and settled on the banks of the Sangamon near the mill. It was here his aged mother died in 1838. Soon after this sad event, he sold out his interest in the mill to Jesse Elgan, and in 1839 settled permanently on his farm, five miles northwest of Taylorville; it was on the north side of Horseshoe prairie, lately owned by Josiah A. Hill. On this farm he resided nearly a quarter of a century; here
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CHRISTIAN COUNTY, ILLINOIS.
his aged partner died on the 28th of May, 1862; she was buried in Horseshoe grave- yard. He had a family of IT children ; after the death of his wife, the children having grown up and gone to houses of their own, he sold the old homestead and retired from the active cares of life. Mr. Hanon was a man of fine physical development and con- stitution, and was highly respected for his many virtues. The latter years of his life were spent with his daughter, Mrs. Mason, of Sharpsburg, this county, where he died April 5. 1879, thus ending a most eventful life; he would have been 80 years old dur- ing that montli.
Captain Jesse Hanon, Jr., is the oldest son of Martin Hanon, the first settler. He was born in this state and is now a resident of Clay county.
As mentioned above, Hanon's brother-in- law, John S. Sinnett, Claiborn Matthews with his family. Eli Alexander and Ken- chen Matthews, his sons and Jacob Gragg all came and settled in the county soon after Hanon's arrival, the exact time of the ar- rival of these parties seems to be uncertain.
Some circumstances indicate their arrival in 1818, and others in 1819, but from the best information obtainable, they arrived late in the fall of 1818, and a short time after Martin Hanon settled, as has been stated.
John S. Sinnett was a native of Lexing- ton, Kentucky, born March 10, 1796. When three years of age, his father moved to Missouri, where young Sinnett remained until the war of 1812; he enlisted, and served his term in that war, and was hon- orably discharged. Soon after leaving the army, he came to Illinois, then a territory. In the year 1818, he was married to Miss Rhoda Hanon, a sister of Martin Hanon. Soon after this event they settled in what is
now Christian county ; he located on land now including the southeastern part of Tay- lorville, built a cabin on the east side of the old fair grounds spring in 1826. He sold this to Col. Thomas S. Young in 1829, and built another in the ravine a little southeast of what is now the junction of the B. & O. and Wabash R. R .; Mary Sinnett, daughter of John Sinnett, was the first white child born in this county; her birth occurred early in 1820. On the 8th of March, 1840, he moved from Christian to Tazewell county, where he resided until his death, January 13. 1872, in the 76th year of his age.
Sinnett was twice married; the second time to a Miss Elizabeth Perdue ; he had 10 children by his first wife and three by the last one. He was a great hunter; Mr. Sin- nett was a member of the Methodist church over 50 years and died in that faith ; he was a member of the Pioneer M. E. church of this county, which held its meetings at John Brents' and Father Young's.
Of the early history of Jacob Gragg, bet- ter known as Jake Gragg and the "tall man," there is but little known. He was a ranger in the war of 1812; at one time, dur- ing the war, he, with others, were taken prisoners by the Indians; some were in- stantly killed and others were reserved for more severe torture; Gragg used to tell that he successfully ran the gauntlet from one end to the other without receiving serious injury. This secured his safety and he sub-" sequently escaped. Gragg first settled in Illinois in 1803 near Troy, in Madison county, and afterward squatted on the place owned by Martin Hanon on Horseshoe Prairie in Christian county ; he, too, was a celebrated hunter, and with Martin Hanon and John S. Sinnett hunted the deer and the honey of the wild bec in the forest.
Alexander Matthews was a native of
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Tennessee: was the son of Claiborn Mat- thews and one of the first settlers in the county ; his mother's maiden name was Moore: his father and mother were natives of North Carolina: they were married in that state and emigrated to Tennessee, thence to Illinois in 1817. They first located in the southern part of the State and when Alexander was about five years of age his parents settled in this county. They settled in what is now South Fork township, near the stream known by that name. . He died many years ago, at his home in this county, having resided here ever since he was of the age of five years ; he was twice married and raised a family of four children and served as Justice of the Peace in the town of Buckhart. At the time of his death he left a large circle of friends and acquaintances.
The Brents family were an old pioneer family in this county, settled here in 1820. William C. Brents was born in Livingston county. Kentucky, in 1814, and came to this county with his widowed mother and family when about six years of age. They settled and improved a farm about five miles northwest of Taylorville in 1824. The fam- ily removed to the farm half a mile south of Taylorville, where William C. died Feb- 3. 1861. at the age of 47 years. Many of the old settlers remember the old Brents' cabin and its hospitable inmates, all of whom have passed away. William C. Brents was held in high esteem and was the recip- ient of several offices of trust; he was sev- eral times elected as constable and served as Sheriff in 1854-5 : he was generous to a fault: the latch string of his house was al- ways out and many a one he aided and suc- cored in time of need. His brothers, Simeon and John, came here at the same time; the latter owned and made the first improve- ments on the Hall farm, two miles east of
Taylorville, before the deep snow in 1830. He sold out in 1834 to Jesse Langley and returned to Kentucky. In 1831 the first Methodist meeting in Taylorville township was held at his house. Joshua, Simeon and Moses Brents were in the Black Hawk war ; Simeon was married Nov. 19, 1839, to Miss Mary W. Blalock, at the residence of Mor- gan Goode. J. P. : this was the first marriage in Taylorville.
The land on which Taylorville is located was entered by Daniel C. Goode in 1835: Goode was a Kentuckian by birth : he set- tled in Horseshoe Prairie, this county, in 1821 ; was a resident of Sangamon county as early as 1819. Daniel C. Goode was a true type of the pioneer : in person, he was portly and erect, his bearing noble and com- manding, his forchead high and broad, his features regular. expressive, strong and masculine. He was possessed of many marked traits of character, firm, decided and uncompromising in his own views. he quailed at no danger ; a warm friend, a bit- ter enemy. He was what might be termed a pioneer statesman. His judgment of men and things was good; in politics, he was a Democrat and maintained the doctrines of the party without fear, and exercised a great influence at elections. He was also a great hunter, and fond of sport: he assisted in raising the first log house in Springfield. It was often his custom to wear a buckskin hunting shirt and brecches. He died March 28, 1845. and was buried at the root of a tree on his farm that he had selected as his last resting place.
Miss Hannah Hanon, a sister of Martin Hanon, married Samuel Miller in Ken- tucky. They emigrated to this State in the fall of 1823. and settled in South Fork township on a farm near Elgan's mill : Miller died in 1833. E. A. Miller is a son
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CHRISTIAN COUNTY, ILLINOIS.
of Samuel Miller, and the only living mem- ber of the family, and now resides in Tay- lorville; he was born and raised in this county. Samuel Wyodick, a native of Penn- sylvania, emigrated and settled on the Flat Branch in Prairieton township in 1824; he was about the first white man in that sec- tion. coming one year before his nearest neighbor. Peter R. Ketcham, who settled about six miles below him. Game was then so plentiful in that section that he often stood in his cabin door and shot the deer. He was a soldier in the war of 1812 and also in the Black Hawk war. At seeing the sol- diers mustered for the contest of the late civil war, his ueart was fired with all the patriotic spirit of old; he joined Captain Long's Company in August, 1861, and marched to Decatur ; the "boys in blue" had great respect for the aged veteran: so ro- bust and active was he that he passed muster easily, giving his age at 41-though 81 years old -- at Camp Pugh, Decatur. His company formed a part of Colonel Pugh's regiment, which marched to St. Louis the same week. A correspondent says of him : "He endured the hardships incident to the tented field with as much bravery and spirit as did his more youthful companions in arms." He died in his country's service, in St. Louis, April 22, 1862, at the ripe age of 82 years. This was a remarkable man, thus to have served his country in three wars so far apart, and died in the country's service at the age he did.
Thomas Dawson was a pioneer settler of this county, and built the first cog mill in this section of the country on the Dixon Hall farm, now owned by W. M. Wally.
Daniel Miller was a man familiarly known to the early settlers and is well re- membered by those who have survived; he, like many of our pioneers, was a self-made
man and arose to considerable prominence in the county. He was born in Kentucky in 1818, and at the age of five years, came with his father's family to this county, set- tling in South Fork township in 1823. His early years were spent on his father's farm, devoting his leisure hours to writing and study. He attended school about four months in all; was a pupil of Elijah Hanon (a brother of Martin Hanon ), who taught the first school in Christian county in 1827. in a log cabin two miles northeast of Tay- lorville. After this, he built a small cabin on the Reese farm in South Fork, below Squire Council's old homestead, where, in 1828, he mastered arithmetic and made progress in other studies. At the early age of 17, he taught school; took an active part in the formation of the county; under the non de plume of "East Sangamon" he wrote and published in the Springfield Republican several able articles advocating the division of Sangamon county, and in 1843 he was elected Constable of South Fork precinct ; also served for a time as Treasurer of the school fund. Soon after the location of Taylorville he made it his place of resi- cence ; was elected county school commis- sioner Aug. 4, 1845, without opposition. At one time served as deputy sheriff, was ad- mitted to the bar in this county and as a practicing attorney received a liberal share of the cases in court. In August, 1847, he was elected County Clerk for a term of four years, but died the following year, Nov. 9, 1848.
Gabriel MeKinzie was born in 1797 and died in Taylorville Oct. 22, 1862 ; he settled in this county at an early day; was a great fiddler and played for all the dances and frolics of this part of the country, and helped the young people to break the mo- notony of a pioneer life and enjoy the inno-
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PAST AND PRESENT
cent amusements that the country then af- forded.
R. Preston Langley came to this county in 1831 ; resided on a place owned by him in Horseshoe Prairie for more than 50 years, where he died at a ripe old age : he was the brother of Jesse, Josiah and Thomas Lang- lev.
Another old pioneer was Jesse Murphy; he came here in 1829 and sojourned for a short time in Horseshoe Prairie; taught school in 1831, about two miles west of Taylorville.
We will here give a passing notice of a few of the other early settlers who lived in close proximity to Horseshoe: among the number was John B. Pitman, father of Mrs. R. P. Langley ; he was born in Ireland in 1776; came to America and settled in Chris- tian county in 1830 and died in 1834. He lived and died on Clear Creek, one mile north of Horseshoe. Thomas Jones and family lived one mile west of Pitman's in 1829 and moved to Missouri in 1840.
Joseph Denton, father of Isaac Denton, lived on Clear Creek, before the "deep snow," and not far distant from Horseshoe.
In 1824. Solomon Meade and his brother Joseph came to this county and first located below "Elgan's mill," in South Fork Town- ship, where they lived a few years, then moved to Bear Creek. Solomon died Dec. 12, 1871. at the age of 90 years and up- wards, and was buried in the Catholic ceme- tery on Bear Creek.
The Young family emigrated from Ken- tucky to Christian county in 1825, and con- sisted of "Old Johnny Young," his sons, William (father of Peter Cartwright Young), Ezekiel, commonly called "Black Zeke," and Jarret, all came together. The father, John Young, settled and improved
the John S. Fraley farm, four miles east of Taylorville, where he died in 1834.
His son. Thomas, familiarly known as "Big Temmy Young," came here in 1829. purchased a small improved claim and set- tled on it, which was a short distance south of the R. P. Langley place on Horseshoe Prairie. He was celebrated for breeding fine hógs and also keeping the best stock in the country.
Jarret Young was only 14 years of age when he came with his parents to this coun- try.
"Old Field Jarvis" is well remembered by many of the older settlers ; he came here in 1825: was tall in stature, often had to stoop to pass through the doors of many of the cabins, and when within not infre- quently his head would be above the loft. On one occasion, when thus situated, he asked "who lives here?" The lady of the cabin replied, "come down and see."
Peter and Christopher Ketchum were na- tives of Alabama. Peter Ketchum was born about 1805, and at the age of 20, came to this county and settled on Flat Branch, about 18 miles northeast of Taylorville in 1825: was one of the early settlers in that part of the county ; was a Methodist minis- ter, and is said to have organized the first M. E. church in the county in 1828, at his own residence, where meetings were held for a number of years. Ile was elected Justice of the Peace for Buckhart precinct (Sangamon county) in 1835, and re-elected in 1839. after the organization of Christian. He administered the oath to the commis- . sioners selected to locate the county seat of Christian at the town of Allenton before they located Taylorville as the county seat ; was elected a member of the County Com- missioners' Court, Aug. 4. 1845, and his son. Green B. Ketchum, was elected Coro-
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ner of the county in 1844. Before the Civil war the family moved to Texas, where most of them were killed by Indians; his brother Christopher, who came to the county with him, improved a farm adjoining where he resided until his death. It is said that Isaac Ketchum (whether of this family or not) moved to Alton, Illinois, and there formed a partnership with Unah Cheatam, and they displayed the novel sign of "I. Ketcham and U. Cheatam," which was certainly very at- tractive.
William S. Ricks, a native of Kentucky, came to Illinois in the spring of 1835 and settled on Bear Creek; he was a prominent character in the organization of the county ; was the first Sheriff of Christian county, and represented this county in the legisla- ture in 1844, and filled many other positions of honor and trust.
He had great confidence in the future of the county, and did much to encourage his many friends and early pioneers to remain here as permanent settlers. There was born to him II children ; prominent among whom was the late Hon. John B. Ricks, William S. Ricks, N. D. Ricks and Richard S. Ricks, one of the early members of the Taylorville bar, and was the grandfather of the Hon. James B. Ricks, now Justice of the Supreme Court of this state. He subsequently moved to Sangamon county, where he died March 7, 1873.
Martin Miller, a native of Kentucky, born Oct. 6, 1820, came to the territory now embraced within this county when only five years old, in company with his father. He was one of the pupils of the first school taught in the county by Elijah Hanon in a log house, two miles east of Taylorville.
William Wallace, a native of North Caro- lina, emigrated with his wife to Sangamon county in 1819, from which place he moved
to this county in the fall of 1825, and upon a small farm, one mile east of Taylorville, Mr. Wallace died on his farm, Dec. 6, 1844.
A hardy old pioneer was John Durbin, better known as "Stumpy John." He, with his sons, John Z., Josephus and Leonard emigrated from Kentucky in 1828, and pitched their tent in the "Richardson settle- ment." lower South Fork precinct. He died in 1831 and was buried on Bear Creek.
The year they came, 1828, was the excit- ing presidential contest between General Jackson and John Quincy Adams, and John Z. Durbin walked all the way to Springfield and cast his first vote for the old hero of New Orleans. He raised fine crops of flax and cotton in 1829. It is said that John Z. was the first person married in Christian county. He was quite a hunter in his younger days ; many wolves and deer have been brought to grief by his trusty rifle; was at one time proprietor of the "Durbin- Owaneco" business house on the county road from Pana to Taylorville.
Jesse Langley was born in Kentucky April 18, 1796; emigrated to this county in 1828 ; purchased and settled on a small im- provement made by a Mr. Armstrong on the south side of Horseshoe, about 6 miles west of Taylorville.
In 1834, he moved to and improved the place formerly occupied by John Brents, one and a half miles east of Taylorville (110W known as the Dalby place), where he set- tled permanently; here he erected a horse- mill and built a distillery in 1837. He often wore the garb so common with pioneers, a seal-skin cap, buckskin hunting shirt and breeches; he died March 4, 1847, at 51 years.
In 1827 William George, a native of Vir- ginia, emigrated to this county and settled in Buckhart township, a few miles north of
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PAST AND PRESENT
Edinburg. He died soon after he bad lo- cated there in the same year, aged 94 years. He had a family of six children, three boys and three girls ; his son, John George, was 8 years of age when he came to this county with his father, and has since that time re- sided in this county, except a few years that he lived in the state of Kansas. During a great portion of this time he lived on his farm in Buckhart; in 1874 he moved to Taylorville and subsequently purchased an interest in a flour mill in Pana, which burned down in 1875. In connection with W. T. Minnis, the mill was re-built and went into operation in February, 1876. During the latter part of his life he lived in Edinburg, where he died a few years ago.
James Baker, father of W. T. Baker, a Kentuckian by birth, came here in 1828 and settled in Mt. Auburn township. He built a saw-mill on the north fork of the Sanga- mon river, familiarly known as Baker's mill: was a constable and Justice of the Peace for many years ; also took great inter- est in all agricultural movements and intro- cluced some of the first thoroughbred stock in the county; was an industrious farmer, good citizen and a kind neighbor; died at the advanced age of 82 years, on the 4th of February, 1860. His wife died three years later, at the age of 82 years.
The first settlement of the Bear Creek region of the county began in 1829; three families, Squire Joseph P. Durbin, a native of Kentucky; Nathaniel Painter, and Old Grandfather Durbin, all came together in one wagon drawn by a yoke of oxen, and settled near each other on Bear Creek. They suffered many hardships incident to the pio- neer ; were compelled to go 30 or 40 miles to mill and to do their trading. Squire Dur- bin dressed a pair of mill-stones and con- structed a rude horse-mill which did good
service during the "deep snow ;" was Justice of the Peace for many years; first elected in August, 1835, at which time that locality was a part of Montgomery county. In 1850, he moved to Locust township, and settled one mile south of Owaneco, where le continued to live until his death, Oct. 5, 1875. At one time there was a large con- nection of the Durbin family living in this county ; they were nearly all adherents of the Roman Catholic religion, and they looked up to the Esquire as a kind of spirit- ual father and adviser, in the absence of a priest. He was the father of Hiram Dur- bin, a prominent man of the county at the present time.
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