USA > Illinois > Montgomery County > Past and present of Montgomery County, Illinois > Part 70
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IRVING TOWNSHIP AND THE VILLAGE OF IRVING.
This township begins its history with a set- tlement made in 1826 at what was known as the Bostick settlement. Ezra Bostick had formerly located in the settlement near Don- nellson, but two years later in company with his sons-in-law. William and Joel Knight. they formed a settlement about two and one-half miles northeast of Hillsboro, in section 29.
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Irving township. Mr. Bostick was an old revolutionary soldier and it is related of him that he had been engaged in many of the hard battles fought between the patriot troops and the king's regulars; that he was severely wounded in one of these engagements and thai he never recovered fully from his wound. You will note that we have mentioned three of the old Revolutionary heroes who made their way to the western country to find homes for their children. Joel Knight, who accompanied Mr. Bostick to Ilinois, was a Cumberland Prosby- terian preacher, and in an early day he trav- eled from one settlement to another preaching in private homes and when the weather would permit, in the groves, "which were God's first temples." The writer well remembers this saintly old man and it affords pleasure to re- fleet on the life and character of such men as the Rev. Joel Knight. In 1822, at the close of a long life, this aged servant of our Chrisi de- parted this life. He moved out of this earthly tabernacle into the mansion which his Lord had gone to prepare for him. We may forget. his figure and form and his words alike be lost in forgetfulness, but his influence shall live on and on through the lives of the generation that como after him until the end. Mark and James Ruilidge settled in Irving township near the western boundary line in 1826. James Rutlidge remained in the neighborhood until his death, but Mark Rutlidge moved to Hills- boro township in 1827 and bought a farm on which he lived until 1858, when he moved to the city of Hillsboro, where he died about ien years later. In 1828 John Lipe, a native of Germany, settled in the northern part of the township and began to build for himself and family a home. Mr. Lipe with other German families had migrated from North Carolina to Illinois and infused our early settlers with the spirit of thrift so characteristic of the Ger- mans. John Lipe died many years ago, but his wife survived him until 1881, and it is reported by G. N. Barry, a former historian of the township, that over four hundred do- seendants and relatives attended the burial services of Mrs. John Lipe. Possibly there is no other instance that parallels it in the his- fory of the slate. James Kelley settled in
Irving township in 1829 and reared a large family of children, among whom we may mention J. Milton, Harvey, George and John and other sons and daughters whose names the writer does not recall. J. Milton Kelley has for many years been one of the most prominent men of Irving township. He was engaged in farming and stock-raising until the last few years, when he sold his farm and moved to the village of Irving. Much of his attention has been given to buying and shipping stock. We believe, however, that Mr. Kelley has recently retired from active business. His influence on the community has been for its betterment, and Mr. Kelley may rest secure in knowing that, the reputation formed through the pro- duetive years of his life is fixed in the good will of his fellow men. Harvey Kelley is re- garded as rather eccentric, but his peculiarities amount in a species of genins. He has for some years been experimenting in the culture of ginseng, and I am informed that the oy- periment has been very profitable and that he has realized several thousand dollars from the sale of this valuable article of commerce. John Kelley is a very successful merchant in the vil- lage of Irving, and his reputation for fair deal- ing has established for him a wide and dosir- able trade. In 1830 John Christian and John Grantham both made their appearance in Irv- ing township-the former, a Baptist, and the latter. a Methodist preacher, so that we may suppose an offset in the building up of these two denominations by the acquisition of these sciflers. I am free to confess. however, that it is my belief that sectarianism did not gov- ern its adherents so pronouncedly as it does to- day. and I have sometimes thought that too mich sectarianism and the spirit of Christ are not in exact accord, and to this cause I believe we may attribute an influence weakening to the Christian work. We do not know what he- came of Roy. John Christian. but one of his sons was the father of William V. Christian, deceased, and John C. Christian, who lives in the vicinity of Coffeen. One of the family married Nancy Valentine, of Bond county, but. he lived only a few years thereafter. His widow, Nancy Christian, was married later to ITarrison Brown. and by him she was the
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mother of several children. John C. Christian, of Coffeen, is the father of Arthur Christian and Melville Christian, both of the village of Coffeen. John Grantham died in 1842 and loft three sons surviving him. These have done their part in contributing to the religious and social conditions of the community. and the Grantham family has an honored place in the annals of Montgomery county. The first mill built in Irving township was in 1831 and was about three and a half miles southwest of the village of Irving, on the Hillsboro road. It was erected by James Paden, who, after operat- ing it for eight or ten years, sold it to Ezekiel Grantham, who remodeled it and kept it in ope- ration for many years. Many sawmills and gristmills have been operated in the vil- lage of Irving and within the township. but only those that are matters of history will be noticed here. The first schoolhouse erected in Irving township was in 182; and the first pedagogue was Joseph Melntyre. Mr. McIn- tyre, we are told, was an old man of seventy- five years, but that his muscles were like sea- soned oak, and when we remember that in the schools of pioneer time the work of school- teaching was an athletic business and required more muscle than brains, we are not surprised to find this aged Hercules the most popular teacher anywhere to be found. John Grantham was another of the earlier teachers, and this pioneer preacher made his pulpit in the Hope- well church a place for dispensing knowledge as well as spiritual blessing. for he was also the Methodist pastor of the Hopewell congre- gation. The first public school of the town- ship was taught by William F. King in 1848- 49, and the writer remembers that it was his pleasure to visit a school taught by Mr. King in 1890, and while an old man he regarded him as one of the energetic, enterprising teachers of Montgomery county.
We believe that this was Mr. King's last term, for he died some two or three years thereafter. If the man or wom- an who, having spent half a century in the service of school teaching, does not deserve in old days the care and comfort of the state as much as they who go to battle. then pub- lic service in the schoolroom is not appreciated as it should be. In other words, the writer
wishes to be understood as favoring a service pension for wornout teachers after they have given the most productive years of their lives in school work, for it is well known that the teacher in our public schools is not sufficiently paid. that by economy and frugal living he may acquire a sufficiency to maintain him in his declining years: that the teacher who gives the best of his life in time and energy is as deserving as the patriot who. for a few years or months, goes to the front in the defense of his country. The first church organized in the township was the Hopewell Methodist Episcopal church, in 1829. Rev. Benson and Rev. Bastian, two itinerant preachers, made this organization. A building was erected in 1830 on Locust Fork. in the western part of the township, and named Hopewell. In 1856 the organization was moved to a place north- cast of the village of Irving, about one mile. and in 1868 it was decided by the congregation to move the church into the town of Irving. The Cumberland Presbyterians, under the di- rection of Rev. Joel Knight, organized a so- ciety in 1830, and for many years Mr. Knight was the resident pastor. In 1866 a reorganiza- tion of the church was made, and in the follow- ing year a place of worship was built in the village of Irving. There is also a flourishing Lutheran organization in this township. . 14 far back as 1842 Daniel Trimper. a Lutheran minister. effected an organization of the Lu- theran adherents in this section. These were largely Germans or of German parentage who had come from North Carolina some years be- fore. In 1858 the Irving Lutheran church was established, with Rev. Isaac Short as first pastor. In 1856 the Christian church of Irv- ing was organized by Elders J. G. Ward and J. M. Taulbee. A reorganization took place, however, in 1826. We may say that the moral influences of the Christian people of Irving. regardless of demonination. has been such that their little city has always maintained a high moral standard. Irving as a village has main- tained a temperance board through nearly all of its history, and the years are few indeed which record the presence of saloons at that place. The first business house in the village of Irving was built by William Berry and T. G.
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Black in 1846. The first dwelling was built by J. M. Taulbee, and in 1856 the town plat was made by Messrs. Huggins and Rider. Huggins and Rider sold their interests the fol- lowing year to Robert W. Davis and Madison Berry. The first school taught in the village was by a Mr. Frink, in the old Hopewell meet- ing house, which had been moved into the town. Dr. J. Il. Spears was the first physician to locate in the village. Since that time, how- ever, it would require a long list of names to record the different physicians who have prac- ticed medicine in Irving. Among those who have contributed to the progress of the town- ship and of the village we may name Isaac Lewey. J. B. Cromer. John McDavid, Milton Berry. Charles MeKinney. R. V. Parkhill, John Wiley. Sam Wiley, Noah Taylor, H. J. Huestis, Jacob Lyerly, George File, Marvin Thumb. Marshall Wynn, Henry Latham, Samuel Bartlett, James Morain and a host of others that we can not at present call to mind. Isaac Lewey was among the earlier settlers of the township, and by industry and frugality succeeded in acquiring quite an estate. Mr. Lewey has been dead some few years, but his wife survives him and is living at present in the village of Irving at an advanced age. Mr. Lewey had but one son, George, who died some twenty years ago. Mrs. Jacob Bone and Mrs. R. V. Parkhill, two of his daughters, reside in the village of Irving. J. B. Cromer was for many years a resident minister of the Lutheran congregation. Ilis widow lived for some years on a farm not far from the village and his daughters were teachers in the public schools of the county. His son George has been located in one of the western states for quite a good many years. John McDavid, Sr .. is a son of William MeDavid, the pioneer, and has been worthy the name which he bears. John McDavid was sheriff of Montgomery county some time near the close of the war or not long thereafter. John MeDavid did not settle in the immediate neighborhood of MeDavid's Point, but made his home in the northern part of East Fork township. His first wife was a daughter of the pioneer preacher. Joe! Knight, and by her he had several sons, among whom are William J., our present county su-
perintendent ; John T., Jr., a grain and stock- buyer of Irving; Joel K., banker and lawyer of the city of Hillsboro; Augustus, who lives on a farm in Irving township; and Logan, who is at present engaged in hardware business in Hillsboro. After the death of his first wife Mr. MeDavid was married to Malindy Snell, by whom he has one son, Frank, assistant cashier in the Montgomery County Loan & Trust Company Bank in Hillsboro. Mr. McDa- vid. at the age of eighty-two, is hale and strong for one so advanced in life. lle has been one of the aggressive spirits of the time, but with that aggression has also been coupled the spirit of progress. He has acquired a very large es- tate, which recently he has shared with his sons. That his life has been a benefit to the age none may doubt. for while there has been seemingly a bont toward seltishness there has also been the moral example which his life has manifest- ed to the world. Milton Berry is a descend- ant of Madison Berry, one of the pioneers of the county, and is esteemed as one of the most efficient business men in the village of Irving. At present he is cashier of the Irving Bank. Socially and morally Mr. Berry is regarded in his home town as a model gentleman, and our acquaintance with him verifies statements of this kind, which we have often heard made re- garding him. Charles MeKinney is another of the pushing, energetic characters that have con- tributed largely to the upbuilding of the busi- ness interests of Irving. Commeneing a poor boy, Mr. Me Kinney, at the meridian of life, has accumulated a nice little estato. Ile has an interesting family, in which he takes great pride. In Christian work Mr. MeKinney has been a leader since his carly manhood, and with him precept has become example, and his life may be read as an open book, for no one in the village of Irving doubts the earnest and up- right Christian life of Charles B. Mckinney. Ile is engaged in general merchandising and has established a trade that ought to please any village merchant. Henry Latham also contributed of his energy to the general uplift of the community. As a dealer in hardware he built up a good business, but. desiring a wider field, he divided his interest at Irving with Mr. Tony Ludewick and put in a large
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-tock of implements and hardware at the county seat. Dr. R. V. Parkhill is president of the Irving Bank, and he has extensive real estate holdings in the vicinity of Irving. Dr. Parkhill has a wide and lucrative practice and enjoys the reputation of being a very success- ful physician. Itis wife is a daughter of the late Isaac Lewey and by him she has inherited a considerable estate. Mrs. Parkhill is a leader in the social circles of her town. John Wiley and Sam Wiley were both early settlers in this section of the county. Sam Wiley has been dead for several years, but Uncle John Wiley is still living at the advanced age of eighty-two. H. J. Huestis, who built the first brick store building in the village in 1856, is still living and at last account was the school treasurer of Irving township. Mr. Huestis has filled this position for a greater number of years than has any other treasurer in any township in the county. Jacob Lyerly, father of Aaron and Richard Lyerly, was also a fac- tor in developing the agricultural interests of this part of the county. George File. son of Jacob File, the pioneer, improved a farmi cast of the village of trying about two miles. Here he raised to manhood several sons, among whom is Lawrence, a successful hardware mer- chant in the village, and who is a son-in-law of Rev. T. W. MeDavid, of Coffeen. Marshall Wynn, for many years a very successful school- master and withal a very progressive and force- ful teacher, laid aside the birch and engaged in business enterprises to the financial inter- ests of Mr. Wynn. but I am compelled to say that in an educational sense the schools of Montgomery county were much the loser. It has been a pleasure to engage with Mr. Wynn in the disenssion of many pedagogic problems, and we acknowledge his prowess in such on- counters. Samuel Bartlett died several years ago, but, having been among the leading citi- zens of Irving through a period of many years, it is well to remember him here. Mr. Bartlett left residing in the neighborhood of Irving many descendants, and among the business men of the county we may mention Ilenry Bartlett, who is the largest dealer in poultry products of any firm in this section. Daniel Stump, who lives on a farm near Irving. is
one of the business characters we must not fail to notice. For several years Mr. Stump was manager of the large estate of George W. Paisley, but recently he has held a position in connection with the Montgomery Coal Com- pany at Paisley. Dr. Fullerton is another citizen who deserves to be remembered in these pages. Ite has quite an extensive practice and is regarded as one of the leading physicians of the county. Arthur Kincade, the druggist, is one of Irving's financial pillars. He is a son- in-law of the late William Brewer, and his wife was a granddaughter of the late Judge Brewer, the pioneer. Mr. Kincade is one of the large landowners of Montgomery county. fle is a young man and has an opportunity to accomplish much good by the means which has come into his possession. Mr. Kincade's wife died about two years ago without issue, and with her ended the William Brewer line of the pioneer's family. A. K. Vandever, who is the present proprietor and editor of the Irving Times, will be noticed in our chapter on the Montgomery county press.
BUTLER GROVE TOWNSHIP AND THE VILLAGE OF BUTLER.
When Butler Grove township was surveyed in 1819 it included one settler, who belonged, as we have shown before, to the Hillsboro settle- ment. This settler was Jacob Cress, who in 1818 entered a farm in section 34. Mr. Cress came originally from North Carolina. It is well to note here that in coming across the prairies the carly emigrants were compelled to follow Indian trails or buffalo paths in their journey. It is related of Mr. Cress that he made this trip during the warmer months of the year and that he found the thies in such immense swarms that he could not travel by day, and that it was only during the night and when the stars were shining that he could proceed on his journey. Mr. Cress brought with him much live stock from his native state. and we find in a previous narrative the state- ment that to keep his hogs from being lost he supplied each with a little bell. In 1865 Jacob Cress, the pioneer. crossed to that other
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country, having completed his course and hay- ing faithfully performed the service of a long and eventful life he might well enter into the joys which are prepared for those who have "fought the good fight." We have noticed at some length Jacob Cress. of Hillsboro town- ship, who was the son of Jacob Cress, the pio- neer. The next to locate in this township was Israel Seward, of Hamilton county, Ohio. In 1819 Mr. Seward pitched his tent on what is known to us as Seward's hill. Mr. Seward was the first school commissioner of the county and when teachers made their reports directly to the county commissioner. As the state had provided a small allowance for each child en- rolled, it was necessary to make this report to the school commissioner and receive this pit- tance in addition to the subscription fee paid by the parent. To the reader I would suggest that when visiting the county seat he will find one of these old schedules, kept in 1832 by Alexander Buie in East Fork township. On this schedule you will find the names of the Whittens, the Cresses. the Barringers and many others which were familiar to all the older set- tlers. The writer, to preserve this document, had it framed in 1892, and it hangs in the connty superintendent's office as a souvenir of other days. Mr. Seward left many descendants in the neighborhood of the village of Butler. Butler Seward, who was a brother to Israel Seward, made his settlement in Seward's Grove in 1829, and doubtless it is from this fact that the township derives its present name. Butler Seward. however, afterward removed northward to what was known as Seward's Point. This is located in Raymond township. In 1823 Obadiah Ware came from New Hampshire and settled a part of section 15, and hore he built one of the most pleasant and attractive homes in the county. Upon this farm he resided for over half a century. William A. Young, who married a daughter of Mr. Ware, is the owner of the old homestead. Mr. Ware had other children : Mrs. Harris, wife of the late Thomas E. Harris: Elizabeth Westcott : and Henry Ware. A brother of Obadiah Ware was also an early settler of this township. His name was Benjamin, and, like his brothers, was one of the quiet, unassuming, though successful,
farmers of Butler Grove. Justice Ware is a son of Benjamin Ware and succeeded to his father's estate. Ware's Grove, in Butler Grove township, receives its name from the Ware brothers, Obadiah and Benjamin. The wife of Obadiah Ware was a Miss Elceta Post, of Addison county, Vermont. She died, however. in 1858, and Mr. Ware died in September. 1826. David Ware's father, Iam informed. never came to this state, but David Ware was for many years among the most prominent citizens of his township. He lived northeast of Ware's Grove and much of his large estate included the black, heavy soil lying north and east of the monnd. Lyman Ware, John Ware and other sons of David Ware are among the best citizens of our county. William Il. Cass settled in this township on section 5 in 1824. Mr. Cass left several children. among whom is William Cass, one of the largest landowners of the township, but who, some years ago, moved to the village of Raymond. The first mill built in the township was in 1825. It was a horsemill, so called because the power was sup- plied by horses. This was built by Jacob C'ress, Sr. It was the only mill within a radius of many miles, the nearest being Fogleman's pep- per mill. This mill was operated in this way for a period of twenty years and was finally remodeled into a steam mill. Mr. Seward erected a mill about one mile south of the pres- ent village of Butler in 1839. This venture, being upon rather a large scale, did not pros- per, and Mr. Seward soon found himself in financial embarrassment. Mr. Seward was not the man to let a matter of this kind discourage him, and when the gold fever of 1849 swept over the country Mr. Seward, in company with others, made the overland journey to that west- ern country, and there, in the "new Eldorado." he amassed considerable fortune, and be it said to his credit he returned to Illinois and paid all his outstanding obligations. Hle dis- posed of the old mill which had been his un- doing, and once more stood among his fellow men free from the obligations that had, in a measure, clouded his former good name. Mv information in regard to this Seward does not reveal his relationship to Israel Seward and Butler Seward. Captain Thomas Phillips
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made improvements in this township at an early date. The farm is at present owned by John Grassell. Thomas A. Gray was another early settler of this township, and among those who at one time held large estates may be mentioned Solomon Harkey, of Hillsboro; Henry Welge, John and William Turner, D. C. Burris. George Grassell. Moses Berry, Orlando Mack, James M. Cress, William Watson, John Clinesmith, Joseph Stickle. A. II. IT. Rountree, Absalom ('ress, Charles W. Jenkins, James Doyle, Isaac Doyle. E. M. Hodges. Robert Rryce. William W. Keele and James M. Punten- ney. Many of these estates, however, have changed owners within the past few years. Charles W. Jenkins, at one time the efficient circuit clerk of Montgomery coun- ty, owned an estate immediately south of the village of Butler, and here his widow resides on the old homestead. An only son, Rolo, manages the estate. A daughter, Camilla, who resides with her mother, was for a period of several years one of the leading teachers of the county. Moses Berry, one of the successful farmers and stockmen of the county. lives on a well-apportioned farm about one mile north of the village. Unele Moses is a familiar figure in the little town, and though an octogenarian he is frequently seen at the county seat. He has for many years been connected with the school board of the Butler district, and to his interest the Butler schools owe much of the superior standing which they enjoy among the schools of our county. On a farm adjacent to Mr. Berry lives Jesse Barrett, ex-county super- intendent of Montgomery county. We have alluded to Mr. Barrett in our article on the county in general. W. A. Young, who lives on the old Obadiah Ware estate, is not to be regarded as limited in his work and reputation to the narrow confines of his township. Mr. Young stands among the best known horticul- turists of the state, and for many years he has been a member of the board of agriculture. At the Paris Exposition and also at Buffalo Mr. Young secured first prizes for fruit grown ou his Butler Grove farm. Isaac and James Doyle, who settled in the northern part of the township, were genth men of the highest order. They were among that class of farmers whose
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