Past and present of Pike County, Illinois, Part 7

Author: Massie, Melville D; Clarke, (S.J.) Publishing Company, Chicago
Publication date: 1906
Publisher: Chicago, The S.J. Clarke Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 760

USA > Illinois > Pike County > Past and present of Pike County, Illinois > Part 7

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The pro-slavery party celebrated their triumph by an illumination of the town, and the procession, accompanied by all the horrid paraphernalia and discordant music of a charivari, marched to the residence of Governor Coles, and the quarters of the chief opponents of the measure, where they performed with their demoniac music to annoy and insult them.

The convention resolution was finally defeated by 1,800 majority at the polls.

It is thus seen how Pike county gave the casting vote on the slavery question in this State in 1820.

MARQUETTE COUNTY.

The counties now bounding Pike county on the north are Adams and Brown; but in 1841 there was a county struck off from the east side of Adams and called Marquette. Columbus, being more centrally located in Adams county, became ambitious for the county seat, but as Quincy was too powerful against this project, the eastern por- tion of Adams county was struck off by an act of the Legislature in order that the ambition of Columbus might be satisfied and become a county seat. No attempt was made to organize the county until 1846, when Quincy again proved too power- ful for them, and the following Legislature re- pealed the act defining the boundaries of the county.

COUNTY SEAT CONTEST.

In 1842-3 an effort was made to divide the county, the new county seat to be at Barry. Dr. Thomas Worthington was a member of the State Senate, and William Blair of the House, each rep- resenting the interests of his section of the county. The bill .introduced by Mr. Blair proposed to di- vide the county by a line running north and south through its extent ; but, after the presentation of many petitions and remonstrances, and a period of considerable excitement, the bill failed to pass the House. In 1850 the county was divided into nineteen townships, and organized under the township organization law of the constitution of 1848. Under this mode the county is at present conducted. And that was the end of this little fight. The county remains, therefore, to the pres- ent day as it was outlined by the Legislature of 1825. In the fall of 1846 the effort was renewed. Meetings were held in various parts of the.county and speeches were made on both sides of the ques- tion ; but public interest soon died down.

In 1893 another effort was made to move the county capital to Barry, but at the election in No- vember, 1893, the voters decided to leave it at Pittsfield.

PAST AND PRESENT OF PIKE COUNTY.

FIRST AMERICAN SETTLEMENTS.

Coming on down through the years for over a century, we wish to speak of the first American settlements in the State, as an introductory to the more immediate history of the original Pike county.

The first settlement made within the borders of the great State of Illinois by citizens of the United States was in 1784, when a few families from Virginia founded a small colony or settlement near Bellefontaine, in Monroe county. The next American settlement was made in St. Clair county, two of which were' made prior to the year 1800.

The first American settlers in Illinois were chiefly from Kentucky, Virginia, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Tennessee and some from Mary- land. Some of these had served with General Clark, who conquered the country from the British in 1778. This whole people did not number more than 12,000 in 1812, but with the aid of one com- pany of regular soldiers defended themselves and their settlements against the numerous and power- . ful nations of Kickapoos, Sacs, Foxes, Pottawato- mies and Shawnees, and even made hostile expe- dition into the heart of their country, burning their villages and defeating and driving them from the territory.

When the State was admitted in 1818 the set- tlements extended a little north of Edwardsville and Alton; south along the Mississippi to the mouth of the Ohio; east in the direction of Car- lyle to Wabash, and down the Wabash and Ohio to the conjunction of the Ohio and Mississippi. Such was the extent of the settlement in Illinois when the Territory was clothed with State honors.

There were but fifteen organized counties rep- resented in the convention to frame the first con- stitution. These were St. Clair, Randolph, Madi- son, Gallatin, Johnson, Edwards, White, Mon- roe, Pope, Jackson, Crawford, Bond, Union Washington and Franklin. The last three were the youngest counties and were formed in 1818.

ORIGINAL PIKE COUNTY.

Pike county was the first or second county or- ganized after the State was admitted into the

Union. It was erected January 31, 1821, and in- cluded all of the territory west and north of the Illinois river, and its south fork, now the Kanka- kee river. At the first election in Pike county af- ter its organization only thirty-five votes were polled, even though it did extend over the entire northern part of the State, and out of which more than fifty counties have since been organized.

A "Gazeteer of Illinois and Wisconsin," pub- lished about 1822, says that the county "included a part of the lands appropriated by Congress for the payment of military bounties. The lands con- stituting that tract are included within a penin- sula of the Illinois and the Mississippi, and ex- tend on the meridian line (4th), passing through the mouth of the Illinois, 162 miles north. Pike county will no doubt be divided into several counties ; some of which will become very wealthy and important. It is probable that the · section about Fort Clark (now Peoria) . will be the most thickly settled. On the Mississippi river, above Rock river, lead ore is found in abundance. Pike county contains between 700 and 800 inhabitants. It is attached to the first judicial circuit, sends one member to the House of Representatives, and, with Greene, one to the Senate. The county seat is Coles' Grove, a post town. It was laid out in 1821, and is situated in township II south, in range 2 west of the fourth principal meridian ; very little improvement has yet been made in this place or vicinity. The situation is high and healthy and bids fair to become a place of some importance."

Thus the historian of three-score years ago speaks of Pike county as it was in its original magnitude and wildness. How changed is the face of the country since then! Who could have foretold its future greatness with any degree of knowledge or certainty!

We deem it within the province of this work to speak of the earliest settlement of all this vast region. Much of it was settled prior to that por- tion contained within the present boundaries of the county, and as it was for many years a part of Pike county it is proper we should refer to it, briefly at least.

The earliest history and the first occupation of the original Pike county are enshrouded in almost

PAST AND PRESENT OF PIKE COUNTY.

impenetrable obscurity. After the lapse of more than three-quarters of a century, the almost total absence of records, and the fact that the whites who visited or lived in this region prior to 1820 are all dead, render it impossible now to deter- mine with any degree of certainty the name of him who is entitled to the honor of being recorded as "first settler." Perhaps the first man who so- journed within the Miltary Tract, lived in what is now Calhoun county. He went there about 1801, and lived for years before any other settler came, and remained alone and unknown for a long time after the first pioneers moved into that section. His home was a cave dug out by himself, and was about a quarter of a mile from the Mississippi river. In 1850 the boards of his cave floor were dug up and the ground leveled. Who he was or where he came from was known only to himself, · for he refused all intercourse with the settlers.

LOG CABINS.

We shall, in this chapter, give as clear and · pulling a leather latch-string which raised a exact a description of pioneer life in this county as we can find language to picture it in, com- mencing with the time the sturdy settlers first arrived with their scanty stores. They had mi- grated from older States, where the prospects for even a competency were very poor, many of them coming from Kentucky, for, it is supposed they found that a good State to emigrate from. Their entire stock of furniture, implements and family necessities were easily stored in one wagon, and sometimes a cart was their only vehicle.

As the first thing after they arrived and found a suitable location, they would set about the build- ing of a log cabin, a description of which may be interesting to the younger readers, and especially their descendants, who may never see a structure of the kind. Trees of uniform size were selected and cut into pieces of the desired length, each end being saddled and notched so as to bring the logs as near together as possible. The cracks were "chinked and daubed" to prevent the wind from whistling through. This had to be renewed ev- ery fall before cold weather set in. The usual height was one story of about seven or eight feet. The gables were made of logs gradually short-

ened up to the top. The roof was made by laying small logs or stout poles reaching from gable to gable, suitable distances apart, on which were laid the clapboards after the manner of shingling, showing two feet or more to the weather. The clapboards were fastened by laying across them heavy poles called "weight poles," reaching from one gable to the other, being kept apart and in their place by laying pieces of timber between them called "runs" or "knees." A wide chimney place was cut out of one end of the cabin, the chimney standing entirely outside and built of rived sticks laid up cob-house fashion and filled with clay or built of stone, often using two or three cords of stone in building one chimney. For a window, a piece about two feet long was cut out of one of the wall logs, and the hole closed, sometimes with glass, but oftener with greased paper pasted over it. A doorway was also cut through one of the walls, and the door was made of spliced clapboards and hung with wooden hinges. This was opened by wooden latch inside the door. For security at night this latch-string was pulled in, but for friends and neighbors, and even strangers, the "latch-string was always hanging out," as a wel- come. In the interior, upon one side, was the huge fireplace, large enough to contain a back log as big as the strongest man could carry, and holding enough wood to supply an ordinary stove a week ; on either side were poles and kettles, and over all a mantel on which was placed the tallow dip. In one corner stood the larger bed for the old folks, under this the trundle bed for the children ; in another corner stood the old-fashioned, large spinning wheel, with a smaller one by its side ; in another the pine table, around which the family gathered to partake of their plain food; over the door hung the ever-trustful rifle and powder horn; while around the room were scattered a few splint bottomed chairs and three-legged stools; in one corner was a rude cupboard holding the table- ware, which consisted of a few cups and saucers and blue-edged plates, standing singly on their edges against the back, to make the display of table furniture more conspicuous.

These simple cabins were inhabited by a kind

PAST AND PRESENT OF PIKE COUNTY.

and true-hearted people. There were strangers to mock modesty, and the traveler, seeking lodgings for the night or desirous of spending a few days in the community, if willing to accept the rude offering, was always welcome, although how they were disposed of at night the reader may not eas- ily imagine; for, as described, a single room was made to serve the purpose of kitchen, dining room, sitting room, bedroom and parlor, and many families consisted of six or eight members.

STATE IMPROVEMENTS.

The celebrated internal improvement system inaugurated by the State in 1836-7 did not give Pike county any railroads or canals, or even promise any; but an appropriation of several thousand dollars was made, which was economic- ally expended in the improvement of highways. Commissioners were appointed, men were hired to superintend the work, and wagon roads were made evener or improved from Quincy through the northeastern part of the county, from Pitts- field to Florence, and one from Griggsville to the Illinois river. These works were completed, how- ever, by county and township aid.

ORIGIN OF NAMES OF CREEKS.

McCraney's creek, formerly called "McDon- ald's creek," by the government survey, was so named after McCraney, who was the first settler upon its banks. He was a man of great endur- ance and a skillful sportsman. One day he chased down a gray wolf with his horse, when he placed one foot upon the animal's neck and with the other succeeded in breaking his legs so that he could get something with which to completely dispatch him.

Hadley creek was named after Col. Levi Had- ley, an early settler.

Dutch Church creek was named after a rocky bluff near its bank which is supposed to resemble an old Dutch church in the city of Albany, N. Y. Keyes creek was named after Willard Keyes.

Ambrosia creek was named from the purity of its waters.

Two-Mile creek was named from its crossing the bluff two miles from Atlas.

Six-Mile creek is six miles below Atlas.

Bay creek was so called from the bay into which it runs.

FIRST THINGS IN PIKE COUNTY.

The first settler in Pike county was Ebenezer Franklin, who also cut the first tree and built the first log cabin in 1820.

The first white female person born in the county was Nancy, daughter of Col. William Ross, at Atlas, May 1, 1822, who died November 18, the same year.

Marcellus Ross, now living one mile east of Pittsfield, was the second white male child born in Pike county.

The first death in the county was that of Clar- endon Ross, at Atlas.

Daniel Shinn brought the first wagon into the county in 1820.

Col. Benjamin Barney was the first blacksmith in the county, erecting his shop at Atlas in 1826. He also burned the first coal in the county, it hav- ing been shipped from Pittsburg, Pa.

James Ross brought and used the first grain cradle here, in 1828.

James Ross also equipped and ran the first turner's lathe and cabinet shop at Atlas, in 1828.

Col. William Ross built the first brick house in the county, at Atlas, in 1821.

He also erected the first store building at Atlas in 1826, and also the first grist mill, a band mill at Atlas about the same time.

Fielding Hanks was the first to follow tanning in Pike county.

The first Circuit Court was held at Coles' Grove, October 1, 1821.

The first court at Atlas was held "on the first Thursday after the fourth Monday in April," which would be May 1, 1823.

The first courthouse within the present limits of Pike county was built at Atlas in 1824.

The first jail was erected at Atlas in 1824.

The first school was taught at Atlas by John Jay Ross in 1822.

The first church was organized in the Ross

PAST AND PRESENT OF PIKE COUNTY.

family at Atlas prior to 1830. It was Congre- gational.

The first church building in Pittsfield was the Congregational, and built by Colonel Ross.

Captain Hale, a Baptist minister, probably or- ganized the first Baptist church in Pike county.

The first library was founded at Atlas, about 1833-4.

The first Fourth of July celebration was held at Atlas in 1823.

The first political meeting was held in Monte-, and seventeenth centuries. The first settler was zuma township in 1834, when Colonel Ross, who was running for the Legislature, made a speech. About fifty voters were present, besides boys. No nominations or appointments were made.

The first whisky distilled in the county was manufactured by Mr. Milhizer in 1826.

The first wheat was raised by Colonel Ross and Mr. Seeley near Atlas, which was also the first ground in Pike county and made into bis- cuit. The flour was bolted through book muslin.

The first apples were raised by Alfred Bissell, near New Hartford, and the first at Pittsfield by Col. William Ross.

The first man hanged in the Military Tract was a Mr. Cunningham, at Quincy.

The first man executel in Pike county was Bar- tholomew Barnes, at Pittsfield, December 29, 1872.

The first State Senator elected from Pike county was Col. William Ross.

The first County Commissioners were Capt. Leonard Ross, John Shaw and William Ward.

The first County Treasurer was Nathaniel Shaw, appointed in 1821.

The first County and Circuit Clerk was James W. Whitney.

T. L. Hall, of Detroit township, taught the first singing school at Atlas.

The first justices of the peace were Ebenezer Smith and Stephen Dewey, appointed in 1821.

The first constable was Belus Jones, appointed in 1821.

The first Masonic lodge was held upstairs at the house of Colonel Ross, in Atlas, between 1830 and 1834. The desk used on the occasion is still in the possession of Marcellus Ross. It is a plain box, strongly built, fifteen inches square and two

and one-half feet high, and contains two shelves. In one side is a door swung on hinges.

FIRST WHITE MEN IN PIKE COUNTY.

The first white men who came to Pike county were possibly Fathers Marquette, LaSalle, Tonti and others who, as history says, made frequent trips up and down the two rivers that are Pike county's east and west boundaries in the sixteenth

J. B. Tebo, a French Canadian trapper and hunter who had a cabin on the bank of the Illinois river just north of the line of Detroit township, or on a part of section 33, Flint township. He was there in 1817 and was killed at Milton in 1844.

The first settlement of Pike county by white men was in the summer of 1820, when four sons of Micah Ross, of Pittsfield, Mass., and a few other families started for what was then known as the Far West-the State of Illinois, on the Mississippi bottoms. They arrived safely at the headwaters of the Allegheny river, and there pro- curing boats for their families, horses and wag- ons, set out to descend the stream, then in a very low stage of water. Difficulties here began to as- sail the little band. Again and again the boats ran hard aground, rendering it necessary for the sturdy emigrants to rush into the water, and wield the pries and levers with a will. However, they were not to be disheartened, but by dint of perseverance succeeded in reaching Pittsburg, af- ter fourteen days of unremitting exertion. Here they entered upon the broad and beautiful Ohio, which bore them pleasantly upon its ample bosom, permitting them to review, at leisure, the toils and sufferings endured upon the Allegheny. In a few weeks they arrived at Shawneetown, situ- ated above the mouth of the Ohio, in Illinois, at which point they took leave of their water pal- aces, and started with wagons and teams for their place of destination near the Mississippi river.

At Upper Alton, which they reached in due time, they secured quarters for their families, where they left them, while they went in search of their intended location. There was but one house at this time in what is now the city of Alton, and that was occupied by Major Hunter.

PAST AND PRESENT OF PIKE COUNTY.

At the mouth of the Illinois river they came across ar. Indian camp, where they procured two canoes, split puncheons of plank and laid across them, and thus safely ferried over their wagons. The horses were made to swim alongside of the canoes. They then crossed the bluff and pro- ceeded to the Mississippi Bottom, at the point where Gilead (in Calhoun county) is now situated, then continued up the Bottom, marking the trees as they went, for there were no roads, and noth- ing to guide them but an occasional Indian trail. At length they arrived in township 6 south, 5 west, Atlas township, about six miles east of the Mississippi, in the tract appropriated for military bounties. This beautiful prairie land charmed the emigrants, and they at once set to work their energies and constructed a camp to shelter them- selves while preparing quarters for their families. No time was lost in throwing up four rough log cabins, intended to form the immediate settle- ment, for there were not more than five white men within fifty miles of this location, east of the river. All being prepared, the pioneers returned . for their families, and shortly after took perma- nant possession of their habitations. The priva- tions and sufferings endured by this little band in the first years of settlement need not, be par- ticularized.

At this time the Legislature was in session at Vandalia, and learning of the location of these emigrants, they took measures to lay off and form the county of Pike, embracing all the territory north and west of the Illinois river, and including what are now known as the cities of Chicago, Pe- oria, Quincy and Galena. At the first election held in this vast territory, there were but thirty-five votes polled, including those of the French at Chicago. Since then more than fifty counties have been created out of it, while the population continues to increase rapidly every year.

For a while the prospects of our settlers were very flattering ; but afterward sickness and death entered their ranks. Colonel Ross lost his first wife, one brother and several of the company, the first year. Subsequently, the Colonel visited New York, and married a Miss Ednah Adams, of that State, after which he returned to Illinois, laid out

a town, embracing his first location, and named it Atlas. There had previously been established a postoffice called Ross Settlement, but this desig- nation gave way to the one now adopted by the Colonel, who soon commenced improving a farm, and built a mill, which was much needed at the time.

The seat of justice was then at Coles' Grove, near what is now known as Gilead, in Calhoun county. The first Probate Court was at Coles' Grove, May 23, 1821, by Judge Abraham Beck. The first Circuit Court was held at Coles' Grove, October 1, 1821, John Reynolds, Judge. The sheriff returned a panel of grandjurors, six- teen of them appearing, viz .: Levi Roberts, fore- man; Ebenezer Franklin, Gardner H. Tullis, Joseph Bacon, George Kelly, Ebenezer Smith, David Dutton, Amos Bancroft, James Nixon, Na- thaniel Shaw, Thomas Procter, Richard Dilley, Stephen Dewey, William Mossey, Combart Shaw, and Daniel Phillips. The following persons were called, but made default: Leonard Ross, Henry J. Ross, Daniel Shinn, J. M. Seeley, Abra- ham Kurtz, Levi Newman, Henry Loup, John Botter and John Jackson. Joseph Jervais and John Shaw, interpreters, were also sworn in. The first case was a divorce suit-Sally Durham vs John Durham, on the ground of absence for more than two years. Granted, and given cus- tody of only child. The next case was that of the People vs Pemison and Shorewennekeh, two In- dians, on the charge of murder. The court ap- pointed David P. Cook and P. H. Winchester at- torneys for the prisoners. The verdict was a · very singular one. It was this: "That we, the jury, have agreed as to our verdict, according to the evidence before us, that Pemison, otherwise called 'Traveler,' is guilty of manslaughter, and Shorewennekeh, called 'Spice Bush,' is not guilty. It is therefore ordered and adjudged by this court that the said Shorewennekeh, otherwise called 'Spice Bush,' go hence and be wholly discharged and acquitted ; and it is therefore further ordered and adjudged by the court that the said Pemison, otherwise called 'Traveler,' make the fine to the people of this State in the sum of twenty-five cents, and be imprisoned for a term of twenty-

LIBRARY

UNIVERSITY TY OF HLINGI

PAST AND PRESENT OF PIKE COUNTY.

four hours." The full term of imprisonment was meted out to him, in a rail pen, that served the purpose of jail.

William W. Ward was the first white child born in Pike county. He was born in 1821, Nancy Ross in 1822 and Marcellus Ross in 1824. Hiram Ward was the first mail carrier from Atlas to Quincy in 1827. The first death was Nancy, wife of Col. William Ross, February 12, 1821. The first marriage of which we can procure any information, was Peter J. Saxberry to Miss Matilda Stanley, June 19, 1827. The first sheriff was Bigelow C. Fenton, who was elected and commissioned October 2, 1821. James W. Whiting was appointed clerk of the county, March 12, 1821.

The first member of the Legislature was Gen. Nicholas Hanson. His seat was contested by John Shaw, of Calhoun county. The first State Senator was Tom Carlin, of Greene county. The present county of Pike was organized in 1821. The first county seat was Atlas. In 1833 it be- came evident that the county seat must very soon be moved to some point near the center of the county. Colonel Ross joined enthusiastically in this movement, and advanced the money to the county authorities with which to enter the land on which Pittsfield now stands. The County Commissioners, Colonel Barney, George Hinman and Hawkins Judd, in consideration of Colonel Ross's valuable services in securing the new lo- cation gave him the honor to name the new county seat, which he accordingly did, naming it Pitts- field, in honor of his old home in Massachusetts.

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Past and present of Pike County, Illinois, Part 7

Author: Massie, Melville D; Clarke, (S.J.) Publishing Company, Chicago Publication date: 1906 Publisher: Chicago, The S.J. Clarke Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 760

Author: Massie, Melville D; Clarke, (S.J.) Publishing Company, Chicago
Publication date: 1906
Publisher: Chicago, The S.J. Clarke Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 760