USA > Illinois > Montgomery County > Past and present of Montgomery County, Illinois > Part 61
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citizenship of equal parts Yankee and Cava- lier. The former ingredient being of the old Puritan stock and the latter "noble blood" ir yon please. Out of this blending of types has come a generation of men and women of hardy physique and nobleness of character such as is not surpassed in qualities of manhood and womanhood by any people in the world. Alf Sawyer was engaged for many years in mer- chandising in the city of Hillsboro, but for the past several years has given his attention al- most wholly to his agricultural interests. He married Ellen, daughter of William Brewer, by whom he has reared a very interesting family of sons. Dr. AAmos Sawyer is among the most successful practitioners in the county. The Doctor married a Miss Dent, of Missouri. She is a near relative to the wife of President Grant. Mrs. Dr. Sawyer is widely known for her work in the Women's Christian Tomper- ance Union. The Sawyer daughters became Mrs. Dr. Fink and Mrs. Best. The latter, after a period of some years in widowhood. was married to Justice Jesse J. Phillips, of Hillsboro. By her first husband she has two sons and one daughter: Duncan (. Best, our present Circuit Clerk. Thomas Best, of the United States army, and Miss Amy Best. who at the present writing is at home with her mother. Dr. Fink left, by his last wife. two sons and one daughter. William, the elder son. resides somewhere in the east. Dr. Hugh Fink practices dentistry in the city of Hills- boro, and Julia is the wife of County Judge McMurray. Mary Fink, a daughter of Dr. I. W. Fink by a previous marriage, is the wife of Henry Cory, who lives on the old Cory
homestead, near the bridge on the Butler road. Jacob Cress, who settled near Hillsboro as early as 1818. left two sons. Absalom and Ja- cob. Absalom has been dead for quite a num- ber of years. and "Uncle Jake." as he was known, died only a short while ago from inju- ries that he received in a fall from a wagon. The sons of Jacob Cress are A. A. Cress, of Hillsboro, who, with his son Ed. conducts an extensive real estate business: Samuel Cress, a successful hardware merchant of Sorento, Illinois, and William S., who resides on the old homestead. There are several other chil-
dren. of whose whereabouts I am not informed. Jacob Cress and Ileten, his wife, were members of the Lutheran church, and Rev. Daniel Sherer. father of Mrs. Cress, organized the Evangelical Lutheran church in Hillsboro about 1823. Lucretia, the only daughter of Jacob Cress, married a Mr. Blackman and re- sides at Dixon, Ilinois. His two sons, Benja- min and Joseph, are in business in the west. On the Cress Hill, as you go toward Butler, live Ab and Frank Cress, who are representa- tives of Absalom Cross, Sr. This Branch of the C'ress family, which settled near Hillsboro, has done much to promote the general interests of the county. Judge William Brewer, who came to Ilinois in 1834 and afterward set- tled at Hillsboro, in 1839, was for many years one of the solid financial men of the county. .Judge Brewer was elected judge of the probate court in 1843. He was the first Whig over elected to office in the county, but so accepta- ble was he that he was re-elected in 1845 and again in 1847. In 1850 he was elected to rep- resent this district in the state legislature. Ile served two terms in this capacity and ro- fused to become a candidate for re-election. In 1853 Judge Brewer was elected to the office of justice of the peace, and it is related that of the many cases decided in his court, that not one was over reversed on an appeal. It is further told that he joined in marriage more couples than any other man within the coun- ty. having united one hundred and twenty- seven couples in the happy bonds of wedlock. Judge Brewer was very snecessful in his land investments, and having unbounded faith in the increasing valuation of Illinois lands, he put all of his available cash into that class of property, and when he died his real estate holdings were among the largest individual properties in the county. He left three chil- dren: Mary, the wife of S. M. Grubbs, of Litchfield : Ellen, wife of Alf A. K. Sawyer. of Hillsboro; and William II., of Hillsboro. recently deceased. Solomon Harkey came to Montgomery county. Minois, and settled on a farm near Hillsboro in 1833. He had ro- moved from his North Carolina home to Illi- nois in 1828 and had worked at his trade, of tanner. for West & McKee. near Edwardsville,
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for some years. In 1831 he was married to a daughter of Jacob Cress, of Hillsboro, and this possibly accounts for his settling near this place. Solomon Harkey was a most publie spirited man, and many of the enterprises set on foot in Hillsboro owed their origin to his energy and push. As a stock breeder he evinced more interest than any other man in this section of the country. Imported Norman horses and the best breeds of cattle were to be found in Mr. Harkey's stalls and on his farm. Forty years ago, when Montgomery county held its annual fair, Mr. Harkey never failed to carry off some of the best premiums. Hle belonged to that class of men who, by de- siring the best, added materially to the general average in the best of all classes of stock. Not alone is Mr. Harkey remembered for what he did to better conditions in agriculture and stock raising, but for the earnestness of his Christian life. It is said that he was con- verted under the preaching of the Rev. Peter Cartwright in 1830, who was holding a series of meetings in the Methodist church at Ed- wardsville. Colonel Paul Walter, though not to be regarded as among the earlier settlers of Hillsboro township, deserves mention at least in a work of this kind, because of the many enterprises that he sought to establish in the community. Naturally of an adventurons turn of mind. when the gold fever of 1849 swept over the country. Paul Walter was one of the first to make arrangements to take a party across the plains and the mountains to the new Eldorado in California. He made several trips to the Land of Gold, and inci- dentally secured for himself quite a little for- tune for that day. He later settled in Hills- boro and built the grain elevator down at the depot and the Walter's stable, now used by the Brown Brothers as an agricultural wareroom. Unlike Mr. Warkey, whose sketch precedes this, the sporting nature of Mr. Walter led him to faney fast horses, trotters and pacers being his specialties, and some of the fastest horses he- longing to these classes in our county were owned by Colonel Walter. At the county fairs before mentioned. Colonel Walter was a very familiar figure, and though many years have gone by. I fancy { can see him driving around
the small ring of the amphitheater, calling out the names of the prize winners in the chfferent classes of the exhibits at the fair. This honor seemed to be accorded to him by common con- sent and well did he perform his part. I have thought, as I have listened to Colonel Walter discussing the points of excellence in a horse, that surely if any man ever worshipped at the shrine of superior horseflesh; it was the old Colonel. At the time of his death he was the owner of Illinois, a stallion that was after- wards sold to George Gould for ten thousand dollars. Colonel Walter left surviving him several children, among whom are Mrs. John R. Challacombe, Miss Sue Walter, George Wal- ter, Scott Walter and Miller, the youngest son. James Clotfelter, one of the few old-timers that remains settled in East Fork township about three miles southeast of Hillsboro, but for quite a good many years he has resided in the city. Mr. Clotfelter, as farmer and stock- raiser, has been wonderfully successful. He owns quite a large farm in East Fork and Hillsboro townships, and to his credit we may say that possibly he has fed and shipped more fat cattle to market than any other feeder in Montgomery county. While other men were content to feed cattle through a period of a few years. Mr. Coltfelter has made it a busi- ness for almost half a century. if cattle were high priced. Mr. Coltfelter had some to sell, and if low priced, possibly as many were to be found in his feed lots, but by persistent effort in one line of business, he has secured a competency, and in his old age may enjoy the comforts which a sufficiency of this world's goods brings. Mr. Clotfelter has reared a very interesting family of children, among whom are the wives of Thomas M. Jett, Dr. W. A. Allen. James Brown, Ab Cress and Tom Wil- liamson. Ralph is his only son and takes an interest with his father in stock-raising and fording. Stokes Clotfelter, a brother of James, was a man of great force of character ; not sat- isfied with doing things on a small scale, he was oftentimes engaged in some mammoth transac- tion requiring the expenditure of thousands of dollars. At one time we find him building the large brick structure, which bears his name. on Main street, or erecting a handsome dwell-
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PAST AND PRESENT OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY
ing, at a cost of fifteen or twenty thousand dollars, and again we find him in Kansas City as one of the most extensive buyers for the east- ern markets. No venture seemed too big for Unele Stokes. These adventurous spirits have their place in the upbuilding of every com- munity, and of their energy and means the community in general is usually benefited. We believe this is true of the subject discussed, though in his declining years financial en- barrassment came upon him, yet the faithful chronieler of men and time will not deny that his name be preserved with that of his con- temporaries. Another character that we desire to notice is Joseph T. Eceles, who for many years was one of the most energetic and public- spirited men of the county scat. Mr. Eccles was a native of Kentucky, and came to Van- dalia, Illinois, about 1830, where he remained until about 1840, when he removed to Hills- boro and engaged in merchandising. Mr. Eccles was a member of the constitutional con- vention, held at Springfield, 1844, and he nominated Richard Yates, the elder, for gor- ernor in the convention at Decatur. Illinois, in 1860. In politics, Mr. Eccles was originally a Whig, but on the formation of the Repub- lican party, he became identified with it, and in Montgomery county was regarded as its leading representative. The Glen Brothers. John and James, have done much for Hillsboro, having established the Glen flouring mills, and being for many years the largest buyers of wheat. they necessarily became acquainted with the farming community throughout the county. Later they were instrumental in organizing the Montgomery County Loan & Trust Company Bank. These boys were of Irish origin, having been born on the "Old Sod." They came with their father. Thomas S. Glen, to the United States in 1837. James Glen was for many years president of the bank which they had estab- lished. The brothers own large landed estates near THillsboro. John F. Glen was captain of a company in the Civil war, and it was re- ported that he never had occasion to put a man in the guard house. When he felt it necessary to discipline a soldier. it was done on the spot and the incident was closed at once. These brothers enjoy the esteem of all who know
them, and while they have retired from the duties of active life. their influence is felt in the social and political life of the commu- nity. It must be a pleasure after years of ac- tivity in business pursuits to be able to retire feeling that we have wronged no man and that the justly earned competency may be enjoyed without reproach of conscience or bitter re- gret. Judge E. Y. Rice, having received no- tice in a preceding chapter as one of the hon- ored citizens of Montgomery county, came to Hillsboro in 1844. At this time he was a young and rising attorney, having just com- pleted a course of study with John M. Pahner of Carlinville. Mr. Rice was elected to the office of recorder of deeds in 1842 and in 1848 he was honored with an election to the lower house of the legislature. In 1851 he was elected to the office of county judge and from 1853 to 1854 received the appointment of master in chancery. In the latter year he was elected to the office of circuit judge and served until 186;, when he resigned to accept a nom- ination to congress from the old Tenth district. lle was a member of the constitutional conven- tion. which prepared the present constitution of the state of Illinois. Judge Rice left the impress of his example upon the bar of Mont- gomery county, and it may be truly said of him that his high character had much to do with elevating the moral standards which are universally recognized by the bar of our county. Judge Rice left but two children. James E. Y., who at present is connected with the Hills- boro Coal Company: and Mrs. Mary Miller, wife of Judge Amos Miller. of Hillsboro. Though Judge Rice has been dead for some years, he is remembered by a wide circle of friends who will not forget his genial. kindly nature and pleasing manner. Captain Thomas Phillips was one of the carlier settlers of Hills- boro township. The old Phillips farm, situ- ated west of Hillsboro, was one of the most improved country places in the county fifty years ago. Captain Phillips later in life re- moved to the city of Hillsboro and was much interested in the raising of fine breeds of horses and cattle. In my search I find that Thomas Phillips was second lieutenant in a company that served under Hiram Rountree as captain
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in the Black Hawk war in 1832. I do not find in the records of the war of 1832 or of the war with Mexico that Thomas Phillips served as captain of any company. I am led therefore to conclude that the fact of his having been a lieutenant in Rountree's company occasioned his having been called Captain Phillips. I will note in passing that possibly in the day when the muster was in vogue that Mr. Phil- lips might have been captain of the militia. It might be of interest to note in this connection that in the period from the formation of the county until about 1840 it was the custom to have muster rolls from three to five times each year. On these occasions all the able-bodied citizens between the ages of eighteen and forty- five were required to attend. These were times when those who were disposed might imbibe freely of the good old corn juice or whiskey of that period. We can hardly suppose that much fraud was practiced in that early day in the manufacture of decoctions that to-day are sold over the bar for whiskey, at least some of our citizens assure me that the art of making whis- key out of poisonous drugs had not come into general use. Speaking further of the family of Thomas Phillips, we would state that sey- oral of his sons have been prominently before the people in various ways. His oldest son. Henry Phillips, followed in the footsteps of his father and gave attention to the raising of fine stock. Burrell, who is yet living at Hills- boro, was for many years a buyer and shipper of cattle and hogs from that market. At one time Burrell Phillips represented this sena- torial distriet in the lower house at Spring- field. Mr. Phillips was a popular official and is remembered very kindly by his many friends throughout the district. Sidney B. Phillips. a third son, was killed at the battle of Shiloh. General Jesse J. Phillips, recently deceased. was Montgomery county's most honored citi- zen. Serving through the Civil war. he arose from the rank of captain to that of major general, and it was said by the late Governor Oglesby that Jesse J. Phillips was the greatest soldier in the army of the west. That he was one of the greatest lawyers in the state doos not require other evidence than his elevation to the supreme bench of the court of the state
of Illinois. He served as chief justice of the state and his decisions while on the supreme bench established many precedents in mat- ters of law that will remain as monuments to his judicial wisdom as long as common law governs courts. This eminent jurist, like many other great men, had his faults, yet an in- dulgent people draw the broad mantel of chari- ty over his frailties and remember him as the incorruptible judge, the great lawyer, the good friend.
In closing up the list of familiar names that have had to do with the making of Hillsboro township and city, we will mention those that come readily to mind. We may possibly omit some who have served as faithfully and who deserve to be remembered in these pages as those whose names appear. William C. Miller. engaged in general merchandising : E. Douglas, druggist : Joe Klar, at the old Rountree cor- ner ; and Wash White, at the old Sawyer stand ; "Farmer" Jolm Clotfelter. who keeps grocer- ies : John Barkley ; Duncan Goad ; Ed Stubble- field. the druggist: Jim Brown and Frank Brown, hardware and implements: and Logan McDavid, also dealer in hardware, are some of the tirms that for several years have been engaged in these various lines of trade in the city of Hillsboro, and we must not omit the young men whose real estate deals have done so much to further the improvement of the county seat. Jacob J. Frey is one of the hustlers whose name has been identified with nearly every enterprise connected with the progress of Hillsboro within the last ten or fifteen years. Stephen D. Canaday has also done much along the same lines and is now the nominee of the Democratic party for represen- tative to the state legislature from this dis- triet. Henry Crawford is another one of the boys whose efforts have helped in the progress of the city, and William Abbott, whose name will appear in the chapter allotted to the Montgomery county bar, has also been a fac- tor in building up the solid interests of the city and surrounding community. Among the physicians who stand well and whose reputa- tions rest upon services already done, may be mentioned Dr. Will Douglas, Dr. George Clot- felter. Dr. Fields. Dr. Sawyer and Dr. Moyer.
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and Dr. S. Il. McLean, recently deceased, and the late Dr. 1. W. Fink. Among the dentists are Dr. Wynans, Hugh Fink, Dr. Roberts and Dr. Colby. Those who have been commis- sioned as guardians of the peace are C. W. Grassel, John Maddox, Alex Cross. whose courts are shunned by law-breakers, for in the dispensing of justice they have earned the ro- spect of all good citizens by strict enforcement of law. While we shall close the narrative of Hillsboro township and city, we do so feel- ing that more of interest remains untold than we have been able to cover in this short story.
NORTH AND SOUTH LITCHFIELD TOWNSHIPS AND THE CITY OF LITCHFIELD.
Much that we shall have to say concern- ing the city of Litchfield and the immediate vicinity we owe to the Coolidge papers pre- pared by H. A. Coolidge, of the city of Liteh- field, for a previous history of Montgomery county. It is related that in 1818 Robert Briggs, of North Carolina, settled in North Litchfield township, near the present home of Martin Ritchie, and that he had previously lived in Walshville township for a period of two years, but the land upon which he had set- tled in that township having been entered by another, he was compelled to change his loca- tion, and the narrator further states that Mr. Briggs left his cribs of corn and pushed north a few miles further into what is now North Litchfield township. 1 think, however, that due allowance should be made ir speaking of the cribs of corn left behind by Mr. Briggs. When we consider the primitive method of raising corn in 1816-17 a due respect for Mr. Briggs would compel us to state that the con- ditions could not have been such as to have necessitated any considerable loss on the part of Mr. Briggs by leaving behind his corn crop. When Mr. Briggs left Walshville township he could have had no neighbors of more than one year's acquaintance, for we are satisfied that no settlement was made in the township of Walshville prior to 1817. I think that we
are safe in stating that Robert Briggs and John Hill were in reality about contempo- racons in settlement. There must have been some "first settler," and that that settler was John Hill or Robert Briggs, which no man living is able to tell. in the year 1817 sev- eral families made settlement in the south- eastern part of South Litchfield township and another settlement was made somewhat later in the neighborhood of Honey Bend, and these settlements were the nearest neighbors to Mr. Briggs. The conditions that obtained at this early date would appear to the average citi- zon of to-day as almost incredible. A few patches of corn, cultivated by the most rude and primitive implements. obtained for the settler a few bushels of corn, out of which he was expected to have his year's bread. The forest, with its game, consisting of deer, tur- keys, squirrels and opossums, furnished his table with meat. What they had of swine was but little better than the wild hogs that are to be found in parts of Arkansas to-day. The idea of feeding corn to hogs was not to he thought of, but they were slaughtered as they came from the mast. The forests were full of nuts, such as hickory nuts, acorns, haws, upon which these semi-wild hogs grew fat. I am told by some of the older citizens that the character of the mast upon which the hogs were fattened could be known by the peculiar flavor of the pork. Water fowl were in abundance during the early spring in the prai- rie lakes and along the streams. The quail and the prairie hen afforded for the settler his most dainty dish. and we have authority for saying that squirrels were only killed to keep them from eating up the settlers' corn. There were very few horses in use as draft animals. and the family that could boast of one riding animal was rather fortunate. For draft pur- poses cattle were used exclusively, and the ox- cart was about the only vehicle noticeable as part of the belongings of an early settlement. Many of the settlers in their removal from the older states had brought with them cattle. sheep. horses and usually two or three pigs. It may be a matter of interest to relate that one reason why so many removals were necessary was that crops sometimes had to be raised to
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enable the emigrant to have bread sufficient to carry him a little farther in the wilderness, and thus we find many of the settlers coming by way of Ohio and Indiana stopping for a season in each of those states and then push- ing farther west into the Illinois country. It must have appeared to those pioneers who braved the dangers and privations of the early settlement of this state that time would not come within the next hundred years that would see the broad prairies and the deep forests made into beautiful farms. That the spirit of ad- venture led these men into the wilderness, the charm that surrounds an enterprise in which there is an element of hazard and a certain degree of danger, seems to have fascinated a class of men who enjoyed the experiences of pioneer life. That good has ultimately come out of what to-day we might justly character- ize as foolhardiness we must acknowledge ; but as every age has developed a spirit best suited to its peculiar conditions, so the age of settlement within the United States gave rise to the development of a class of men who found pleasure in the dangers and hardships attendant upon pioneer life. From the time when we find John Smith lifting his voice at Jamestown in his effort to preserve that carly settlement of Virginia, that same spirit has made itself manifest through all these years, until at last. swallowed up in the general prog- ress of the age in which we live, the spirit of adventure is now passing as an element in the American life. I have sometimes been led to believe that the pent-up energies of a pro- ple may find expression in adventure, in deeds of daring and in acts of heroism that might. under other conditions, have developed a class who, by restraint and an abridgment of the
wider liberties and privileges, would be- come criminals who would despise the present order of things. In fact, it is the opinion of the writer that many of our criminals, had their energies been properly directed, instead of being notorious as violators of the law they would have occupied positions as forceful lead- ers in fields of usefulness. Criminals are but the snarls and tangles in the skein of social life that evidences a condition in development of our youth that requires a wise system of
education to overcome. That we must pro- vide some radical changes in the social and the industrial order, so that the energies of our young folk may be expended along lines of character building and not leave them ex- posed to such development as of necessity must result from the abnormal conditions that gov- ern in every avenue of life to-day. Money and the possession of it has become such a dominant factor in our present economy that every ambition and aspiration leads to that goal. It has deadened the sense to the desire of excellence in the various professions and vocations of life. The question no longer is. Shall I be able to attain first place or rank in my profession? but. overshadowing all, is How much can I make out of it? In other words. by dollars and cents is every success to be measured. Returning again to the settle- ments made, I find that the Wilkinsons. Ilur- ley, the Williams. Mathews, Roberts. Locker- man and Thomas Hughes were about all who had as yet settled near Litchfield as early as 1828. The first church that was erected in the township was near the present site of Honey Bend. It was built of logs. Here the Bap- tist folk of that early day were wont to as- semble and listen to those long and tiresome sermons that were popular with the primitive Baptist, even down to our own time. These were a godly people, and while they might indulge in a dram of good old whiskey occa- sionally they were an austere and upright peo- ple. In the neighborhood of Honey Bend was also the first Methodist meeting house. The founder of the sect in this western wilderness was a man by the name of William Williams. and in this settlement there lived one Isaiah Hurley. upon whom the duty of village school- master devolved. That poor Hurley had ex- periences far from pleasant are matters of tra- dition. It is narrated that on one occasion at Christmastime the big boys rode poor Hurley on a rail and ducked him in the branch before he would consent to treat the school to a gal- lon of whiskey. The people who settled along the western part of Montgomery county were nearly all from the southern states. I find it related by Mr. Coolidge that Whiteside. the Indian fighter, paid annual visits to Mr.
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