USA > Illinois > Menard County > Past and present of Menard County, Illinois > Part 14
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PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY
council, at which two husbands solemnly agreed to leave the whole matter to the decision of the wife, both men sacredly agreeing to abide by the decision that she would make, each one pledging his sacred honor that if the decision was against him that he would leave that ser- tion of country and never annoy them in any way. This must have been a terrible ordeal for all concerned. especially for the wife, but. doubtless after a terrible struggle in her own breast, the smouldering tires of youthful love prevailed and she chose the long-absent husband of her youth, and the rejected husband, dazed and disappointed, but true as steel to his plighted word. bade them a sad adion, walked ont of the door and they never heard of him after. Soon after this most romantic experi- ence. Mr. and Mrs, Overstreet removed, in 1819, to what is now Menard county and settled near the present site of the town of Athens. In carlier life Mr. Overstreet had learned the trade of a millwright and the great ditheulty of securing breadstuff induced him, in a year or two, to erect a horse-mill. in the town of Athens, in which he manufactured a passable grade of flour. Soon after this he built a small flathoat on the Sangamon river, and loaded it with flour. About 1831 or 1835 he. in com- pany with two brothers, Jesse G. and David Hurt. started to New Orleans with their cargo. down the Sangamon to the Ilinois, and down the Illinois and the Mississippi. to New Orleans. The venture proved a successful one, in a finan- cial view, but unfortunate in that Mr. Over- street died in New Orleans in 1835. The Hurt brothers started home, but David died near Cairo, at the mouth of the Ohio river. Jesse G. Hurt, the only survivor of the voyage, re- turned safely to Athens, where he lived and died. Jesse G. Hurt's wife was a piece of Mr. Overstreet. Pembroke Hall was a grandson of John Overstreet, his mother being a dangh- ter of Mr. Overstreet.
TICE.
Tice is a station on the Chicago. Peoria & St. Louis Railroad four and a half miles southeast of Petersburg. It has never been organized in-
der the village law but is a place of some im- portance. It is located on the old Tive farm and is surrounded by a fine farming communi- ty giving it the opportunity of becoming a place of some commercial interest. There has been a store there for several years as well as a postoffice. They have an excellent school- house, in fact, one of the neatest and most con- venient in the country. It is heated with a furnace, splendidly lighted, and is all that could be desired in every respect. For forty- odd years the Methodists have had a church in that vicinity but the old frame house which stood some distance from where the station now stands had become unfit for service and three or four years back they built a neat and com- fortable house in the village and now have reg- ular services. During the summer of 1901 a company sunk a coal shaft there and are tak- ing out quantities of an excellent quality of voal. This will tend to build up the town. The school already enrolls about seventy pupils and in a year from the present they will have to arrange for another room.
PETERSBERG AND VICINITY.
Mount Vernon. the ancestral home of the Father of His Country, is dear to every Ameri- can heart. His mortal remains lie entombed there and reflected back from the setting sun. As Columbia's first and greatest son. he is emt- balmed in the nation's memory. as Joseph was embalmed by his brothern. and reverently as- signed a place
"Among the few immortal names That were not born to die."
In that portion of Menard to which this chap- ter is devoted is an historic spot that, next to Mount Vernon, should be cherished and hold sarred as long as love of liberty and true patri- atism prevail in this great Republic. We al- Inde to old "Salem," once the home of Abra- ham Lincoln, and the writer might fill pages with incidents and anecdotes of that great man, which have never found their way into print. enough to fill a small volume. But we inflict none of this upon the reader. Here. it
PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY
may be said. Lincoln made his start in the world, and although nothing remains of the original town the spot is endeared to the pen- ple of the county as the early home of the martyred president. It seems to us that it is a duty that the state,-that the nation-owes to his memory, to purchase the site of the old town. appropriately care for it, as the national government does for Mount Vernon. and we doubt not that the time will come when this will be done.
Petersburg and vicinity, as we use the torm. covers a large territory and is one of the most important parts of the county. for several rea- sons. The territory. as we apply the term. in- clude - parts of towns 18 and 19 and rangos 6. : aud . The Sangamon river flows through its center, atfording ample drainage: timber is abundant : the soil is of the best : coal exists in abundance : and all that nature could have donc to prepare this to be a great manufacturing center has been done. The Jacksonville di- vision of the Chicago. Alion & St. Louis Rail- road, and the Chicago, Peoria & St. Louis Railroad cross at the town. so that taking all together. there is no more favorably situated town in central Illinois. Petersburg is the county seat of Menard county, and the only town of any size that it can hoa-t. The first settlements made in this part of the county are involved in some obscurity and authentic in- formation concerning them seems almost be- vond reach at the present time. In fact, near- ly forty years ago the writer began to take notes and gather data in this direction, but even at that comparatively early day there were differences of opinion among the oldest settlers. concerning important facts. That be- ing the case, what may we expect at this day. when eighty-five years have interposed their veil between the now and then? With these eighty-five years stretching between the advent of the pale-faced pioneer and the present po- riod. it is not strange that there should be con- flicting statements, as to whom belongs the rightful honor of settling Petersburg and its vicinity. From long and careful investigation and the most reliable sources of information at hand. we are fully convinced that the Esteps were the first white men in this locality. They
were originally from North Carolina. but early in the beginning of the nineteenth century they emigrated to Tennessee and from there they came to St. Clair county. Illinois, and lo- cated in a very early day. In the spring of 1820-21 James Estep came to Menard .- then Sangamon county,-and made a claim near or within the limits of the present city of Pe- tersburg. He was followed in a few months by his father, Elijah, and his brother. Enoch Es- tep. I'pon the arrival of his father James gave his claim to him and he went east of the Sangamon river and located a claim on what is since known a> Baker's Prairie. Elijah Estep built a small horse-mill which was afterward embraced in the city limits, and he otherwise improved the claim by erecting on it a cabin of the true pioncer type. He died in a very early day and very little was remembered of him. - even many years ago. Enoch Estep removed to Arkansas long years ago and doubtless died there half a century or more in the past. James Estop was a roving character. Hle soon left Baker's Prairie and removed to Mason county and later to Arkansas, then to Missouri and finally back to Mason county. where he died in 1851. at the home of his son. He is described as a man of considerable eccentricity, and with all his wandering around he never rented a home but always bought and sold. True the old saying is that "A rolling stone gathers no moss," and Mr. Estop accumulated but very little of this world's goods, dying in indigent circumstances. This pioneer. supposed to be the first white man to settle in the vicinity of Petersburg, now sleeps in New Hope cemetery. in Mason county, beside the partner of his life. who preceded him by a few years to the land of shadows. Soon after the settlement of the Es- tops-probably the same year-the Watkins brothers and a man by the name of Teeters came to the neighborhood. There were Joseph, Sammel, James. John and Thomas Watkins. They were from Kentucky and some of them came to Clary's Grove as early as 1819-20. Thomas Watkins bought the claim of John Clary, who was admittedly the first white set- tler in Menard county. Later he sold this claim to George Spears, and removed to the "river timber" where he lived and died. Joseph
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PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY
and Samuel Watkins made claims here in 1821. Merrill and his sons. Jacob and Spencer, were but James Watkins did not come to Ilinois also from Kentucky and settled west of the present site of Petersburg. The old gentleman died in 1835. It is said that just a few days before he died he pointed out to his son the spot where he wished to be buried, and when he passed away his son had his wish carried out and laid him where he desired to be laid. In 1859 the old lady was laid by his side. Thomas Edwards was one of the very early comers but he is described as a hard character and soon left for wilder scenes in the wilder west. Thomas F. Dowell came in 1825 or 1826 and located in this vicinity but later removed to what is now Sandridge, and lived and died there. Jesse Gum, from Kentucky, noticed in another place as one of the earlier settlers of Clary's Grove, came to this section and his sons settled west of Petersburg. Charles Gum. son of Jesse Gum, lived and died on a farm west of Petersburg. His brother. John B. Gum, also lived for many years northwest of Petersburg, but the latter part of his life was spent in Mason county. He lived near Kil- bourne and was one of the largest landowners in Mason or Menard county. In addition to those already mentioned. the following recruits were added to the settlement before the "deep snow": George Curry. Henry Bell and sons. John JJones, Zachariah Clary, Bartley Milton. John and Anno Ritter. Pollard Simmons, Wil- liam Edwards and sons. John Jennison, Bart- lett Conyers. Henry and David Williams, Con- rad Strader. Josiah Crawford, and others whose names have been forgotten. George Curry came from Green county. Kentucky, and set- tled on or near the farm owned and occupied for the last forty years by his son. the Rev. Il. P. Curry. George Curry died in Ist6. H. P. Curry has been constantly engaged in preach- ing the gospel in this part of Illinois for nearly sixty years and is still engaged in the work. Henry Bell and sons were also from Kentucky and settled here, opened farms and did their part in the development of the country. The old gentleman died many, many years ago. and the sons have also gone to the other shore. John Jones was another Kentuckian who settled in Clary's Grove in 1824 but a little later re- moved to the vicinity of Petersburg and finally till 1825-26. The old. original Watkins' stock are all dead and gone, but many of the descend- ant- of the family are honored citizens of the county. Jacob Short. and his three sons. Obadiah. Harrison and James, came in 1822. They were from the south part of this state. where they had resided for some time before coming to this county. In 1824 the Shorts removed to what is now called Sandridge, and there Jacob died in 1825 and there Harrison also died a few years later. Obadiah died in Nauvoo and James removed to Jowa, where he died. During the next two or three years the little community was increased by a large num- ber of additions, among whom were Jesse Ba- ker. Ilenry and William Clark. Ephraim and William Wilcox. Henry MeHenry. Daniel At- terberry, Andrew. Jacob and Spencer Merrill and perhaps others. Jesse Baker settled on Baker's Prairie. from whom it got its name. He removed from here to Mason county about 1836 and located in the vicinity of Kilbourne. and was afterward mentioned as one of the pio- neers of that section. Henry and William Clark, who were brothers, came here from Ken- turky and settled on the east side of the San- gamon river. William died a great many years ago, but Henry lived to a great old age, dying at last on the place where he first settled. Ile and his wife had lived together for over sixty years. They left a large and respected poster- ity. many of whom are still residents of Me- nard county. If any one should happen to know any Clarks and wish to learn whether they are related to this family, they can settle the question. at least negatively. very easily ; if they are not Democrats and Baptists they are not this stock of Clarks. Ephraim and William Wilcox came from Kentucky and set- tled in Baker - Prairie, and both died there long years ago. Henry MeHenry lived to be a very old man. and died in Petersburg. Dan- iel Atterberry came from Kentucky in an early day. settled here and reared a large family. He died soon after the close of the Civil war. The second generation of the Atterberrys are all dead: but there are a large number of the third generation still living here. Andrew
PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY
located in Little Grove and spent the remain- Warning. William Haggerty, Dr. John Allen. der of bi- day - there. Zachariah Clary, a bro- George Warburton, Peter Lukins, the Rutledge. Jonathan Colby. Robert Carter, J. A. Brahimi. James Holdsby. Nicholas Tier. Abraham Bale. Jacob Bale, Hardin Bale and others. The Davidsons were from Kentucky and were among the first merchants of Petersburg. They first settled in Bond county. Illinois, and lived there for years before coming to this part of the state. John Taylor was the first merchant of Petersburg and one of the proprietors of the town. when it was organized. The Bennetts came from old Virginia, the home of states- men and the birthplace of president -. There were three brothers. John. William and Richard E. Bennett. John came to Illinois in 1535 and to this place in 1836. He was one of the carly merchants and prominent business men of the place. He was a member of the state legislature during the session of 1810-11. and was also one of the directors of the old Peters- burg & Tonica Railroad. now the Jacksonville division of the Chicago. Alton & ST. Louis Rail- road. besides holding many other positions of honor and trust. He died in Petersburg many years ago. William Bennett came to this set- tement one year later than his brother JJohn. and died not many years after he came. Dr. Richard E. Bennett came about the time that his brothers came and followed his profession with marked success till the time of his death. some twenty years ago. Dr. Bennett's son. Theodore C .. was circuit clerk for this county for thirty years, and was then succeeded, for four years, by his son. David R., and he might have continued in the place indefinitely had ther of John Clary. the pioneer, came from Ten- nessee and settled in Clary's Grove in 1819. but in 1825 he removed to a claim one and a half miles north of Petersburg. Here he con- tinued to live till some twenty or twenty-five years ago. when he died. He was well past the four score station when he died. Some of his sons are still alive but most of them are gone to the great beyond. John and Anno Rit- tor also came from Kentucky. Anno died here and John went to Mason county and died there. Pollard Simmons and Josiah Crawford removed to Ma-on county also. and died there. Conrad Strader died many years ago, and his son Isham who lived on the old farm adjoining the Baker's Prairie Baptist church, also died a few years ago. This completes the list of the "Snow Birds." or the pioneers who were here before the deep snow of 1830-31. This is a chrono- logical landmark that all understood. It is a waymark that was never forgotten by any who experienced it. When those old pioneers were interrogated about it their faces would brighten up and their eyes would sparkle. as they told of the time when "All the land with snow was covered." and lay (as many aver) to a depth of Your feet or over. for nearly three months before the ground was seen. See an account of this in another place. The five or six years immediately after the deep snow brought im- mouse additions to the settlement. 'True, from 1:31 to 1:33 the tide was not so strong on account of the disturbance of the Black Hawk war. but the next two years made up for it. We give quite a list of these newcomers, the it not been for the Parker wreck. in 1901. (. 1. Brooks was from Kentucky, came Jure in large majority of whom were from old Ken-
tucky, that land famed for blue grass. pretty
women, fine horses and good whisky: The David-ons, the Taylors. William Butler. Dr. John Lee. William P. Cox, William G. Greene. Thomas Epperson. William .I. Hory, the Ben- netto, 0. G. Brooks. S. and O. Levering. I.
D Wright. Jacob H1. Laning. James S. Carter. John MeNamar. A. Humphrey. John MeNcal. Samuel Will. Nathan Dresser. Chark - B. Wal- do. Zachariah Names and sons, George I. Miles. Chester Moon. Thoma- 1. Harris, W. C. Daw- son. Martin Morri -. Jordan Morris, J. W.
1:36 and died many years ago. Septimus and
6. Levering were half-brother- and came from
the city of Baltimore: Septimus came in 183; and his brother came a little later. Septimus died many years ago but his brother lived to In mer eighty years of age. His widow is still living. Septimus has no descendant- in this
vomtry but his brother reared a large family who are all dead except one in Petersburg. They were active and successful business men. James S. Carter cante from Virginia in 1838 and the same year Jacob H. Laning came from
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PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY
New Jersey, and his sons are among the prom- in ut business men of the place. John Mc- Namar was a "down caster" but we are unable to learn what state he hailed from. He was one of the early merchants in old Salem and when that historie town went down he removed to Petersburg and there embarked again in the mercantile business. He died about 1870 or Isit. Dr. John Allen was an early merchant of Salem, as well as a practitioner of medicine there. Samuel Hill was from Ohio and in a very early day went to Salem, where he was engaged in selling goods. Later he came to Petersburg and engaged in the same frisiness there until his death, which occurred many years ago. Charles B. Waldo and Nathan Dresser were both natives of Connecticut but went to Virginia and from there to Petersburg. Waldo was the first pedagogue in the place. They both went to the south part of the state many years ago. Thomas L. Harris was also a native of Connecticut and like the two men- tioned above, he went to Virginia and then came to this place. He served two terms in congress with distinguished ability. but just in the prime of his life death blighted all his plans and be passed to that land of shadows. from which none over return. Zachariah Vance was a soldier of the Revolutionary war and lived in Kentucky, but in 1833 he, with several sons. emigrated to Illinois and located on Rock creek. There the old gentleman died and was buried in Farmers' Point cemetery. Among his sons were Thomas and Washing- ton. The latter settled on Sandridge and reared a large family there but later moved to Petersburg, where he died about Ist op Ist. Albert ( .. a son of Thomas Nance, served two terms in the state legislature and then became a candidate for the state senate, but died a fow days before the election. Samuel Hill. the Salem merchant, married a daughter of Zacha- riah Nance. These are all long since dead. George U. Miles was a Kentuckian by birth and came first to the southern part of the state, and in 1839 be settled in Petersburg. Martin and Jordan Morris, though of the same name, and both blacksmiths, were in nowise related. Both worked at their trade here. Jordan Mor- ris was an unstable character and after a few
year's he, in company with William Haggerty. a blacksmith who came here with him. left for other parts. Martin Morris worked at his trade here many years, and then removed to Savannah. Missouri, and died there. .. Il. Wornsing. a German by birth, was an early settler here and died many years ago. He was related to JJohn H. Marbold, who came to Pet- ersbing later on and remained here about three vears and then removed to Greenview, where he died several years ago, at the advanced age of over ninety years. Speaking of Germans suggests the fact that John Harmon Schirding came here from Germany in 186. and a year later his father and mother and II. Il. Schird- ing. his brother, came. They later settled just north of the town of Petersburg. and by hard work and economy they became wealthy. John Harmon Schirding died a number of years ago. lle was never married. John Henry Schirding lived to the great age of ninety-eight years and seven months, and his wife died at the age of eighty-nine years and four months. They both died in Petersburg, within a few weeks of each other. Judge II. H. Schirding still lives here. he and his son Harry this only child) being en- gaged in banking. George Warburton was from the east and came here in an early day. He was part owner of the tract of land on which the town was located. He was afterward drowned in the Sangamon river. it is said. where the water was only six inches doop. Ile was addicted to drink and it is supposed that this was the cause of his death. Peter Lukins. the joint proprietor with Warburton. of the land that the town is located on, and for whom the town was named, came from Kentucky and was the first hotelkeeper in the place. He and Warburton owned one hundred and sixty acres of land and laid out the town on it. AAfterward they sold out to Taylor and King, who thus became proprietors of the village. Lukins was afterward found dead in his bed. the result of hard drink, for he also was too close a friend of John Barleycorn.
"Ah! Brandy, brandy. bane of life: Spring of tumult, source of strife; Could I but half thy cursos toll. The wise would wish the safe in hell."
The Rutledge- were originally from Ken-
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PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY
tucky but went from there to South Carolina and thence came in an early day to Illinois. ettling in White county. whence they came to this county in 1825. settling in the vicinity of Old Salem. William and James Rutledge and John Cameron came together. William Rut- ledge and Cameron were brothers-in-law. These all died here many years ago. leaving a long line of descendants. Jonathan Colby came from New Hampshire in 1831 and settled on the farm where he died. his son Grosvenor Colby now owning it. Robert Carter came from Kentucky in 1830 and settled on the farm that his daughter. "Aunt" Jemima Gum. lived and died on. He died in 1866. The el- der Brahm. father of John A. Brahm. came in 1852. James Goldsby came from Kentucky in 1830 and settled hore. He was the first sheriff of Menard county. He was a son of Rev. Wil- liam Goldsby. a Baptist minister, who preached the gospel here for a half century. Nicholas Tice came from Virginia in 1831. locating first in Athens, but in 1832 he bought a farm where the village of Tice now stands and spent the remainder of his life there. Judge JJohn Tice. recently deceased. was his son. The Bales were from Kentucky and Jacob Bale located near the present site of Petersburg in 1830. Ile was a minister and father of Hardin Bale, who was proprietor of the Petersburg Woolen Mills. Abram Bale came to the vicinity in 1839 and located at Salem. In isto he bought a farm and moved onto it. In 1852 he purchased the mill site at Salem and began repairing and remodeling the old mill but died in 1853. His sons completed the repairs that he had begun and in 1813 T. V. Bale became the sole pro- prietor and conducted the mill till it ceased to be. some twenty or twenty-five years ago. Indge Joseph H. Pillsbury was a son of Alpha Pillsbury and was a native of New Hampshire. His father died there in 1831 and in 1836 the family came to Petersburg, where his mother died in 1868, Judge Pillsbury was a promi- nont man. filling some positions of trust and honor. He died some years ago. Elijah Pot- for came from White county. Illinois, where he was born in 1819 or 1820. He settled five miles south of Petersburg, where he died in March. 1516. Robert MeNeely was an early
settler in Morgan county. and his son, Hon. T. W. MeNeely, carly became a citizen of Pe- tersburg and became one of our abdest attor- net -. He has represented this district in con-
This comprises the list of the early settlers of this section of the county. After the year 1835 the stream of immigration became so great that it would be impossible to give any- thing like a correct account of them. True we have mentioned some who came at a later date. but only a few of the more important ones. while some prominent pioneers were not named in this list because they are spoken of in an- other place or are noticed in the biographical part of this work. We have used the utmost care in trying to get the facts and dates for- rect but doubtless there are mistakes. The writer began almost forty years ago to gather this material. For thirty-eight years a daily diary has been carefully kept. and had it not been for this fact this work could never have been done. oven one-half as well. If people in general would take an interest in such matters. the record of the past might be kept entire.
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