USA > Illinois > Greene County > Past and present of Greene County, Illinois > Part 3
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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
Among those who came to Greene coun- ty and found homes between 1830 and 1846 are the following: Joseph Aultrim, John Armstrong, George W. Allen, Mrs. Marga- ret Askins. W. S. G. Allen, Jacob Andrew. William W. Andrews, James Allen, N. J. Andrews, Dr. C. Armstrong, Thomas S. Allen, Alonzo Allen, Thomas K. Anderson,
J. 11. Amos. E. W. Aleo. Re- Hugh Bare. Manoah Bostic. Wilham HUur. R. M. Booker, John Booth, J. L. Bencar. J. B. Brodmarkle. Daniel Bowman. W. P. Bur- roughs. William Batty, Henry Brodnrirkle, W. H. Benear, W. T. Berry, L. S. Bushhed, Henry Black, John W. Black, Mahala Black. Martha E. Black, W. A. Black, Mr -. Mary Brace, F. M. Bridges, Absalom Bradley. Mary Bowman, Emily Bowman. Samuel Bowman, J. F. Ballinger, George 1. Bur- russ, Basil Brown, A. Beebe, Henry Bech- doldt, George Barnett, Thomas Brannan. J. E. Bridges, Alfred Barrow, Milo Beebe. P. A. Brown, D. W. Burroughs, N. A. Boring. R. W. Brown, Mrs. Louisa Brown, Samuel Culp. Dr. M. A. Cooper, W. J. Caldwell, Eli Cooper, Samuel D. Cooper. G. W. Collister. L. Coats, John S. Coats, J. C. Clark. N. W. Corrington. O. P. Cory, Joseph 1. Carr, George Christy, B. G. Culver, William M. Cato, B. Crabtree, David Crist. S. P. Cam- eron, Ilouston Cannedy. A. J. Cannedy. W. M. Collins, W. T. Cooper, Joseph T. Cam- eron. A. M. Cunningham, Luman Curtis. Thomas Davis, Dr. C. A. Davis, W. S. M. Dryden, Mrs. Davidson, Robert L. Doyle, John Doyle, Jr., George W. Davis, W. R. Davis, Mrs. Jane Dodgson. Arthur Davis. Harvey Dayton. A. J. Davidson, Asbury Davis, Greene Driver, Miles Drum, James Dowdall, Hiram Dixon, Elon A. Eldred. Charles H. Eldred, George L. Evans, E. L. Edwards, William Il. Ellis, J. B. Enslow. B. F. Edwards, T. J. Enslow, Jehoshaphat Eldred. Ed Flatt, William Finley. Peter Felter, J. E. Ferguson, Julia Fry, Gilbert Fuller, A. J. R. Field. William W. Feller. Joseph Gerish, Silas D. Griffiths. Milton Guthrie, Catherine H. Guthrie, Jula F Guthrie, James N. Guthrie, John W Guthrie. Harriet Griffin, Abram Geery. S. Gopp.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF GREENE COUNTY.
L. P. Griswold. Enos Grandy, C. J. Gardi- ner. Jr., J. H. Hinton, Samuel Higbee, R. B. Hill. Gideon Hutchens, Abigail T. Hop- ping, Charles D. Hodges, Edmund Hodges, Joseph Hartsook, W. L. Huitt, J. J. Huitt, J. M. Hinton, A. C. Hinton, W. L. Halbert, H. C. Halbert, W. H. Hudson, E. M. Husted, Abram Herring. E. A. Husted, Mrs. Lovena Hicks, John S. C. Hooper, El- kanah Hutchens, James Irwin, Henry Jayne, Ervin Johnson, David Johnson, Amos Jack- son. T. M. Johnson, John Jones, S. W. John- esse. Lucien King, Ben King, Nat Kendall, W. L. Kinkead, John R. Keach, E. Ker- gher. John Kaser, Lucy Kaser, Michael Kin- ser, MI. F. Keeley, Charles King, William Lewis, Alex. Logan, Adam Lee, Lee Mor- ris. A. W. Lynn, Cornelia H. Leonard, Rev. Thomas Lippencot, L. R. Lakin, Elizabeth Lemen, John M. Linder, Ischam Linder, Jr., A. H. Lesles, WV. A. McCracken, W. M. Maberry, J. G. Mitchell, M. Morrow, James Metcalf, J. H. Mormon, William Mormon, M. L. Mitchell, A. K. Mitchell, L. Mc- Adams. Josiah Mason, P. McConnothy, Mrs. M. McCracken, Thomas A. McIn- tyre, Lucius S. Norton, J. B. Nulton, Wil- liam Nettles, H. P. Nash, Josiah Ogle, W. W. Odon. B. F. Ozburn. W. B. Pegram. C. Pegram, Amos Prentiss, Elizabeth Page. Reuben Page, J. W. Piper, J. G. F. Powell, Alvin Pegram, W. H. Pegram, H. L. Par- ker, J. L. Pope, W. P. Parker, Colonel N. M. Perry. A. L. Perry, J. M. Perry , Thomas L. Parker, Samuel Pope, Rev. J. Rives. Joseph Roberts, Alex. Robinson, J. H. Rives. John C. Raffety, William M. Raffety, R. G. Robinson, W. B. Robinson, Jesse Robards, Mrs. C. Robley, J. D. Roodhouse, John T. Rawlings, Jesse Ridings, J. B. Reeve, W. C. Reynolds, Volney K. Roun- tree, J. 11. Scroggins, Martin Stout, William
Stringer, Cynthia A. Short, J. H. Short, Orphy Shepherd, Sam Spruance, Alfred L. Shull, Dr. Samuel, L. T. Smitherman, W. W. Stringer, Charles L. Scandret Jr., Wil- liam H. Strong, J. F. Simpson, W. T. Scan- dret, C. H. Sanders, John Spencer, William L. Sweeten, Henry R. Spencer, William Short, R. G. Seeley, William S. Short, R. A. Short, F. L. Short, Benjamin Scott, J. P. Smith, David A. Thompson, Hy Tuni- son, Sr., Jacob Tunison, Dan Teaney, H. Tunison, John A. Tucker, Gilla Ann Thomas, Matilda A. Thomas, Catherine M. Thomas, W. D. Thomas, Hubbard Taylor, George Taylor, Isaac C. Tunison, J. S. Twitchell, Harvey Trimble, William Thom- ason, William Underwood, Peter Van Ars- dale, James Vallentine, James Vangiezen, C. H. Varble, Nancy J. Varble, James Var- ble, William Vandaver, Joseph Vensel. Dr. B. C. Wood, John H. Waller, D. M. Wood- son, L. E. Worcester, John Wright, Greene Weaver, Sandy Wiggins, A. J. Wright, Thomas Wright. G. L. Williams, A. B. Wood, Dicy Witt, James F. Walker, James A. Wood, W. D. Wells, John H. Waller, John Waggoner, J. M. P. Washburn, John T. Williams, Balaam White, Ira White, William Yates.
ORGANIZATION.
In the winter of 1820-21 the matter of organization, which had been the theme of discussion for some time among the early settlers whenever they would meet at shoot- ing matches, horse races, hunting frolics, husking bees, etc., was presented to the leg- islature of Vandalia. Shadrack Bond was at that time governor; Elias K. Kane, secre-
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PAST AND PRESENT OF GREENE COUNTY
tary vi state : John Thomas, treasurer ; John McLain, speaker of the house : James Lemon, Jr., speaker of the senate ; and Thomas Rey- nolds, clerk of the house.
In January, 1821, the following bill was introduced in the house :
.An act establishing the county of Greene. Section 1. Be it enacted by the people of the state of Illinois represented in the general assembly, that all that tract of coun- try within the following boundaries, to-wit : Beginning at the southeast corner of town- ship No. 7 north, in range No. 10 west of the third principal meridian ; thence north between ranges y and 10 to the northeast corner of township 12 north: thence west along the line between townships 12 and 13 to the middle of the Illinois river ; thence down said river to its junction with the Mis- sissippi river : thence down the middle of the Mississippi river to a point parallel with the southwest corner of township No. 6 north in range 10 west; thence north with the range line between 10 and HI to the township line between 6 and 7: thence east with said township line to the place of beginning, shall constitute a separate county to be called Greene.
Section 2. Be it further enacted, that for the purpose of establishing the seat of justice for said county, the following per- sons shall be commissioners, to-wit : Thomas Rattan, John Allen, Esq., Thomas Carlin, John Greene and John Huitt. Sr .; and the said commissioners, or a majority of them, shall, at some convenient time, between the passage of this act and the first day of March next, meet at the house of Isaac Pruitt, in said county, and proceed to fix the permanent seat of justice of said county. and give the same some appropriate name; provided the owner or owners of the land
whereon the and sexy complice i dont to be fixed, give to the county commiss gers of the county a good1 deofnf duncano m fee simple, for not less flimm twenty seres of land, for the use of the coudre Jilo oo ner or owners of said land refuse or lleguet to give the same, then to fix the sed ud jias- tice on the next suitable place where the sand owner or owners will give the quantity of land aforesaid, and in all cases the said com- missioners shall take into consideration the situation and geography of the country, and the future population of the county, to have the same as near the center of the county as practicable.
Section 3. Be it further enacted, that the said commissioners, or a majority of them, shall make a report of their proceed- ings to the next county commissioners' court of the county and have the same recorded on the records of said county.
Section 4. Be it further enacted, that all that tract of country within the following boundaries, to-wit : Beginning at the south- west corner of township 7. north of range 9, west of the third principal meridian : thence east to the southeast corner of town- ship 7 north in range 6 west : thence north to the northeast corner of township 12 north; thence west to the northwest corner of township 12, in range 7 west : thence along the prairie between the waters of San- gamen and Manvaisterre to the head of Bal- ance creek : thence down said creek to the Illinois river : thence down the said river to the northwest corner of said county, shall be attached to said county, and shall consti- tute and be a part of said county for all purposes until otherwise disposed of by the general assembly of the state.
Section 5. Be it further enactel, that said county, and the attached part of the
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PAST AND PRESENT OF GREENE COUNTY.
same, be and compose a part of the first judicial circuit of this state, and the inhabi- tants of the same shall be entitled to all the privileges of other counties of this state.
Section 6. Be it further enacted that the commissioners appointed to perform the services required by this act shall be al- lowed out of the county funds, - dol- lars for each day's labor and attendance in performing said services.
JOHN MCLEAN, Speaker of the House of Representatives. JAMES LEMON, JR., Speaker of the House. SHADRACH BOND. Approved by the Council of Revision 20th January, 1821.
It will be seen that the limits of Greene county were made to include the territory now known as Greene and Jersey counties, while to this was temporarily attached what afterward became Macoupin, Scott and Morgan counties. The county was named in honor of General Nathaniel Greene, the Revolutionary hero.
Meanwhile, as soon as the discussion concerning the organization of a county was initiated sharp and alert land owners began to lay plans for securing the county seat near their property. Prominent among the locations spoken of for the seat of govern- ment was Mount Pleasant, the first town laid out in the county.
"This place," says W. A. Tunnell in an article to the Carrollton Press, published in 1860, was located on a beautiful mound in the midst of as fine a country as ever occu- piel a place on the map of the globe, in the prairie, just where a cool shady grove or front of timber had found its way up the elt side, nearly to its summit. From this
elevated spot the eye delighted to range over the surrounding prairie to the north, the west and the south, where the sides of the mound sloped gracefully down to the horizon or to the dark groves of small trees waving in the soft breeze and enlivened by the twittering notes of the countless merry little birds. The deep cool shade afforded a delicious retreat to the wearied huntsman as he reposed on the moss-covered logs beneath their dark green foliage. These gentle slopes shone in the bright sunshine, beneath a clear sky, like some enchanted spot clothed with all the gaudy colors of the rainbow. It is probable that the sun in all his wanderings has seldom shone on a lovelier spot of earth since the day when the flaming sword was placed at the gates of Eden.
"This mound, at present deprived of every vestage of its primitive beauty except its elevation, is situated perhaps a mile and a half west, and a mile south of Carrollton. The public lands of this district, if my infor- mation is correct, were offered for sale in the month of January, 1820. (1821 is the correct date-Editor Past and Present.) This desirable spot, of which we have been speaking, had attracted the attention of more than one person who had an eye for the beautiful in nature, and when the settlers all met in Edwardsville to purchase their lands, more than one felt a sensation of un- easiness growing out of apprehensions that some more fortunate person than himself would become the purchaser of the mound.
"The principal contestants, however, were John Evans and Robert Hobson, the former an immigrant from Ireland, and the latter from England, both reported to be men of wealth. \ compromise was, however, effected between the two, by which Mr. Hob- son paid Mr. Evans fifty dollars and became
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PAST AND PRESENT OF GREENE COUNTY.
the purchaser of the property without an opposing bid. Ile immediately marked out a town on the spot and called it 'Mount Pleasant, 'erecting a dwelling and storehouse opened a stock of goods suitable to the de- mands of the country, offered inducements to others to make their homes in the new town and in general manifested a commend- able degree of energy, enterprise and busi- ness talent. The first persons who accepted the invitation to settle in the place were Ansel Hubbard, a blacksmith : Elijah Wood- man, also a blacksmith; and Oliver Bangs, whose occupation I have forgotten.
"When Greene county was about being organized, the people and friends of Mount Pleasant made a strong effort to procure the county seat at that place, which. however, failed as I have previously stated. Mr. HIob- son died about the same time, and the little place that had shown such fair promise of becoming a respectable inland town fell into a decline from which it never recovered. Another point which was deemed by some an eligible site for the seat of justice was a wooded mound on what is now called the 'Boston Farm,' a mile or so southeast of the court house (now owned and occupied by Thomas Lunneen, Sr .- Editor Past and Present). It was urged in its favor that it was nearer the center of the county than its competitors, but the fact that it was covered with timber was deemed an insuperable ob- jection. But the man who held the key to the situation was Thomas Carlin. He was born near Shelbyville, Kentucky, in 1786. His parents were genuine Kentuckians, and their son was brought up to love adventure and inured to all the hardships of a back- woodsman's life. In 1803 the family re- moved to Missouri and the next year the young man's father died. Mr. Carlin served
as a Ranger during the waranil was manng the first to settle in Greene &more north of the Maconpin creek. Ihis mother, very worthy woman, his stepfather. Mit Say. ge. and his two brothers, James .und Wham Carlin, came with him. The latter way- the father of General William Passmore Cathin. of the United States Army, and Thema- J. Carlin, ex-circuit clerk of Greene county. All of these gentlemen have held important official positions in the county. In 1814 Thomas Carlin owned a ferry across the Mississippi river near where Edwardsville Junction is now situated, and while living there he married Miss Rebecca Huitt, sister of John Huitt, spoken of elsewhere. Mr. Carlin was a man of medium height, not heavily built, but possessed of a pair of pow- erful shoulders. His hair and full beard were sandy, and his cheery face was always florid and full of blood. He was a man of iron nerve, much natural shrewdness and skill in dealing with his fellowmen, admired and regarded as a friend by every one. lle was from the first, and for many years per- haps, the most popular man in the region and was universally regarded as a natural leader. Ilis honesty is spoken of as beyond reproach, and when he was register of lands at Quincy his square dealing was repeatedly remarked. While he held this office he fre- quently drove a team of two heavy horses before a wagon load of gold and silver- proceeds of land sales-through the lonely regions between Quincy and Carrollton, often in the night, entirely alone and unat- tended ; he did not know what fear meant. He was elected first sheriff of the county. held various other local offices, was chosen state senator, and finally, in 1838, was called to the gubernatorial chair. He died Feb- ruary 13. 1852, at his home in Carroton
2
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PAST AND PRESENT OF GREENE COUNTY.
on the land which he had entered more than thirty years before.
"In the struggle with such a man for the county seat Robert Hobson suffered from every disadvantage. He had money but in every other regard his cause was very weak. He was an immigrant fresh from England, and that was sufficient to win for him the hatred of all native Americans. The war with England had ended but a few years before and hatred for Britain and the British still rankled in the hearts of all the sons of Revolutionary fathers. The situation of Mount Pleasant was a beautiful one but had its site been doubly enchanting and had it possessed every advantage over the rival location, Thomas Carlin's personal popular- ity would have carried everything before it. Few natives would have courted a struggle with him, but a foreigner, and particularly an Englishman, could hope for nothing but defeat. But besides this it was urged against Mount Pleasant that, although its site was beautiful, the mound upon which it was pro- posed to build the town, was far too small to furnish eligible building lots for the capi- tal of a great county. Moreover Mount Pleasant was some distance west of a direct road from Alton to Jacksonville, and from the center of the county. Few then, except the circle of personal friends with whom Mr. Hobson was surrounded, had any doubt what would be the decision of the commis- sinners appointed by the legislature to locate the county seat.
"The first movement that was made to- warl perfecting the organization of the enity was the meeting of the commission- er app intel by the general assembly to select a price for the county seat. These gen- themeri assembled at the residence of Isaac Prutt, one of the most substantial members
of the settlement. He had entered land a few miles west of Carrollton, and built a cabin very near the present position of David Black's residence. Thence, after some pre- liminaries, they rode to the land of Thomas Carlin. The commission was a representa- tive body. Thomas Rattan had been a pio- neer all his life and was an excellent business man and money maker. He was reared on Rattan's prairie, in Madison county, whither his parents had come among the earliest set- tlers. Here he entered land, but soon left it, and for some time owned and managed a ferry at Carlisle, where he was very suc- cessful in a financial point of view. Subse- quently he sold his land in Madison county and made a settlement in Greene county, north of Apple creek, as has been previously mentioned. Here Cyrus Tolman and Charles Gregory, afterward opulent farmers, were in his employ. Mr. Rattan, soon after the organization of the county, moved to Carrollton and kept the first hotel there. He was short and heavy, but a thorough man of business. John Allen was from Kentucky, and was a cousin of Zachariah Allen, men- tioned elsewhere. John Greene was a brother of William Greene and father of Singleton F. Greene, afterward sheriff of the county, and the oldest native of Greene now living. (Singleton F. Greene died in Jan- uary, 1905. He is said to have been the first white child born in the county south of Ma- coupin creek-Editor Past and Present). John Huitt, Sr., was the father of John W. Huitt and had followed his son to this county. He was a Georgian and an upright man of good mind.
"Thomas Carlin was also one of the commissioners, but as he was interested in the result he refused to act in the matter. After some consultation it became evident
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PAST AND PRESENT OF GREENE COUNTY.
that the commissioners were unanimous that the court house should be built on the land of Mr. Carlin. They were standing near the east side of the public square when they reached that decision. Whereupon John Allen paced fifty yards to the west. drove a stake, and said: 'Ilere let the court house be built.' And so it was decided. The town was immediately laid out, and named in honor of Charles Carroll, of Carrollton, Maryland.
"L'p to the time the decision of the com- missioners was made known not a house was built in Carrollton. Thomas Carlin's resi- (lence was about half a mile south of the square: Michael Headrick lived a mile or more west, and others lived at similar dis- tances. Immediately after their conclusion was known houses began to be put up. Thomas Rattan appears to be entitled to the honor of completing the first building in the new town. It was a log structure and stood at the northeast corner of the square, on the lot now occupied by the W. P. Mormon block. The second building was Jacob Fry's residence. John W. Skidmore very soon erected a building east of the square. The first brick building put up in the new town stood on the east side of the square just north of the alley. The first frame house in Carrollton is said to have been a dwelling house erected on the east side of the square by Cyrus Tolman and Charles Gregory. The town was surveyed in the autumn of 1821 by Gershom Flagg, of Madison county. father of Hon. W. C. Flagg, the eminent agriculturist.
"February 6. 1821, an act of the legislat- ture was approved, providing : 'That on the first Monday of April next an election shall be opened and held at the place designated for holding the courts of the several counties
formel during the present sosa dlaof the general assembly, at which, time there shall be elected in each of the new conte of sheriff, che corner and three county . off- missioners.
"The next evidence of the practic; fuga- nization of the county was a session of the circuit court. The county was attache l to the first judicial circuit, and on the 26th day of April. 1821. the first term of the court was held by John Reynolds, one of the judges of the supreme court of the stite. and who afterward became governor. No suits were on the docket and nothing was transacted except to organize a grand jury. who retired and afterward brought in two indictments for misdemeanors. The officers of the court were Sammel Lee, clerk. an l Thomas Carlin, sheriff. The following named persons were sworn in as grand jurors, viz: John Finley ( foreman ). Mar- tin Wood, Thomas Gilleland. Nathaniel Wass, Cyrus Tolman, Isaac Pruitt. James McFadden, John Morfoot, Walter MeFar- land. Ilugh Jackson, Jacob Fry. Charles Gregory, Willis Webb, William Costley. Christian Link. John Costley. William Webb, and Phillip Fry. Of that number Colonel Fry alone survives. (Colonel Jacob) Fry died full of years and honor at his beau- tiful home just south of Macoupin creek. -
Editor Past and Present. ) The descendants of many of them are names to be found among the most respectable citizens of the county. The court met in a small building on the west side of the square : and as there was no grand jury room the jury met on the prairie for consultation and discussion Gen eral Fry acted as constable. For the first ten years the court was presided over, in the order here statel. by John Kevolds, Joseph Phillips, Thomas Revholds (after-
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PAST AND PRESENT OF GREENE COUNTY.
ward governor of the state of Missouri), Jolin York Sawyer, Samuel D. Lockwood. Stephen T. Logan succeeded Judge Lock- wood in 1835: William Brown succeeded Judge Logan in 1836; James B. Thomas suceeded Judge Brown in 1837, and Wil- liam Thomas succeeded Judge Jesse B. Thomas in 1838. Afterward by a reorgani- zation of the judiciary of the state by the legislature of 1841, Judge Thomas and the other circuit judges were legislated out of office and circuit court duties were assigned to the judges of the supreme court. Judge Lockwood returned to the circuit and con- tinued to hold courts until the first election of circuit judges, under the constitution of 1848, when David M. Woodson was elected to the office in September of that year. Judge Woodson's services in this capacity were so eminently satisfactory that he was re-elected twice, serving for eighteen consec- utive years and declining a re-election in 1865. Charles D. Hodges was chosen his successor, and six years later Cyrus Epler was elected to the position. Judges Lyman Lacy. . A. G. Bur, George W. Herdman, O. P. Thompson, R. B. Shirley and James Creighton have followed on the bench in Greene county since."
EARLY RECORDS.
In the record of the first meeting of the commissioners court of Greene county is the following : "Be it remembered that the county of Greene having been established by an act of the general assembly of the state of Illinois, and John Allen, John Brown and Seymore Kellogg, having been duly elected county commissioners for said county, and
having taken the several oaths required by law before Samuel Lee, Jr., clerk of the cir- cuit court of said county, wherefore a special term of the county commissioners court for the county of Greene is begun and held at Carrollton, the seat of justice for said coun- ty, on the first day of May in the year of our Lord one thousand and eight hundred and twenty-one.
Present,
JOHN ALLEN, JEHU BROWN, SEYMORE KELLOGG, Commissioners.
Samuel Lee being appointed clerk of the court, took, in open court, an oath to support the constitution of the United States and of the state of Illinois, and the following oath, to-wit : I, Samuel Lee, Jr., being appointed clerk of the county commissioners court of Greene county, do solemnly swear that I will truly and faithfully enter and record all the orders, judgments and proceedings of the said court, and that I will faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all the duties of my said office according to the best of my ability and understanding according to law;" and also took the oath required by an act entitled "an act to suppress dueling."
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