USA > Illinois > Lee County > Recollections of the pioneers of Lee County [Illinois] > Part 38
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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42
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Two letters have lately come into the posession of the family of the late Eben H. Johnson and wife, which will be read with much interest, owing to the fact that they were written half a century or more ago, con- taining much interesting information about the country, and were the
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joint productions of "Uncle Eben" and "Aunt Sarah," as they were famil- iarly called. This was before the days of envelo pes or postage stamps; the letters were written upon large sheets of paper, folded to resemble an envelope, and sealed with small red wafers. They are marked 25cts. for postage, in the upper right hand corner. The one bearing date Feb. 7th, 1845, shows that the Dixon post office had attained to the dignity of pos- session of a stamp. The handwriting of each is remarkably legible, being easily read, though the paper is brittle and very yellow with age. The oldest, dated Sugar Grove, Ogle county, Nov. 18, 1838 (54 years ago) was addressed to Mr. Johnson's mother, in her far-off home in York state, one page apiece, in the handwriting of each being devoted to that pur- pose. We make selections which will be of general interest: "We ar- rived in Illinois, Oct. 9th, after a prosperous journey of five weeks, one of which was spent with relatives in Ohio. We first went to Monmouth, where our friends had preceded us and we first thought of settling, but after viewing the country over, they all concluded to settle here, 110 miles north of that place. We are in a very handsome country, five miles from Dixon's Ferry, and have been three weeks in our new situation.
We find the county mostly settled by eastern people which makes it very pleasant. The majority are from New York and New Hampshire, with quite a number from Massachusetts, Vermont, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky. Father and mother will remain at Monmouth with a brother till spring, when they will rejoin us here. (Mrs. John- son's father was Capt. Jonas M. Johnson, a veteran in his 76th year, who greatly enjoyed the new country during the remaining four years of his pilgrimage.) Mr. Johnson gives a slight hint of homesickness in the fol- lowing: "I like the country full as well as I ever expected to, but if I owned a decent farm in York state I would never sell it to come here, though once here a man could do better. The crops here are all very good-it is nothing uncommon for a man to raise 2,000 bushels of corn, and watermelons by boatloads. Wheat is $1.25 and corn 50cts. per bushel."
The next letter, bearing date six years later, was to relatives in the east, who sought information on various points, with a view of removal here. "We have enjoyed almost uninterrupted health ever since we came to the country, with the exception of the attack of bilious-fever, which was rather severe." (It is worthy of note that this was the only family in the country which escaped the ravages of ague; it was, perhaps, owing to the elevatied situation of the house, as many thought.) "I have a farm which I could probably sell for $1,000, but which I would not ex-
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change for the whole town of Bainbridge for farming, (homesickness ap. pears to be gone.) I raised 1,000 bushels of corn, wheat and oats, the past year without any hired help. Our markets are Chicago and St. Louis, by way of Rock and Mississippi rivers, and sometimes the lead mines at Galena. Wheat is from 75cts. to $1.00, corn 25cts .- 80 at Galera, oats 20 to 25cts., butter 12 to 18cts., cheese 6 to 8cts., pork, dressed, three to four dollars, horses, $100 to $150 a span, cows, $8 to $12, sheep, $1 50 to $2.00, wool, 31cts., good timber is from ten to twelve dollars per acre. Prairie, now unsold, one mile and further from timber, can be had at government price, 10 shillings per acre. Wooden axle wagons are from $60 to $70, wrought, $70 to $90. As to dairying, there is no better country in the world; cows feeding on our prairie grass yield as much milk and better in quality than in your state. (Orange county, hide your dimin- ished head!) and wool nearly doubles in quantity. Society good; one church within a mile and a half and a log school house one mile away with nearly fifty pupils this winter, among them our eldest, a boy of five, named Thomas HI., who attends every day. Our place resembles an old settled country; good buildings and good fences, money plenty for pro- duce of all kinds this season. Our soil is of the best and has been proved to bear good crops from eight to ten years without manuring. Timber good; oak, sugar maple, black walnut, butternut, basswood, etc. Water good, but in some places have to go through rock by blasting, although there are some of the fluest springs in the world. Our winters are much milder than with you and this winter milder than ever, nosleighing. All I have written is no misrepresentation, however few in your country can credit it. Come and see. If you conclude to come, the way by the lakes is much the shortest and cheapest. Give me due notice and I will try and meet you-at Chicago."
Rev. Stephen N. Fellows, of Iowa, a son of one of the earliest pioneers, kindly contributes the following sketch of "the good old times."
My father came with his family to Sugar Grove in November, 1834, went into a cabin just west of the Myers place, down in the Grove. The cabin was 14 by 14 feet, and fourteen of us moved into it. In the spring of 1835 he built a log house on our old place, (the Peck farm.) In 1836 he built an addition to it of two stories, with a room between. The upper story was used for a school room and church purposes. From 1836.or 7 to 1840 this was the only place for meetings, it was a regular preaching place on the circuit. Sometimes quarterly meetings were held there. In 1839 father, Wmn. Martin and Ambrose Hubbard united, with such help as
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they could get, to build the old church at Gap Grove. It was 24x36 and stood on the present site of the school house there. It was enclosed in the fall of 1839. Father died Feb. 8, 1840, and was the first to be carried into that church for burial. In the spring of 1840 it was finished and occupied as a church. When we came to Palmyra, the Indians were very plentiful-sometimes a hundred or more would pass our house and camp near by. Mother has told me that I used to play with the Indian child- ren. They were very peaceable, never molested or stole anything from us. Sometimes in winter they came to beg food and mother always gave to them. We suffered hardship, the first winter in the little cabin. We had no butter or potatoes, our flour gave out, then our corn meal, and for some weeks corn was cut from the cob with a jack-plane. For meat we had some "hog meat," mother would not call it pork. This hog meat and hominy, made from the planed corn, was our food. But we were well and hearty and came through all right. I don't know as these incidents are of any valne, but they are given as I remember them. Regarding schools, I think iny sister Margaret and brother Samuel were the first to teach in that township Samuel taught school at Buffalo Grove during the winter of 1834 and '35, the first winter we were there. I think the next winter, 1836, he taught in onr honse. The first building for school purposes was built at the Gap. The first Sunday school was held there, and Wm. Martin was superintendent and only teacher. I was one of the first scholars. I remember that one Sunday morning I committed fifty verses of the Bible to memory and walked two miles by 9 a. m. and re- cited them all."
"Lord John Shillaber," as he was generally called, was quite a noted character, well remembered by all the carly settlers, who owned a large truet of land near our northern boundary. He came there from Massa- chusetts and bought a section of land for the purpose of founding a col- ony; the scheme failed, leaving him an unwilling landed proprietor. IIe was a brother of B. P. Shillaber, the genial humorist, best known as the- author of Mrs. Partington's sayings. At one time he had nearly the whole of his domain in wheat, which was all ent with the old "turkey- wing" cradles and bound by hand. Great difficulty was experienced in procuring sufficient help in time tosave the grain. The farm was after- ward stocked with sheep, to the number of 700; shepherd dogs were ent- ployed to look after them. Hunting dogs were also kept for the benefit of sportsmen. He was a widower, but kept up a large establishment with the aid of colored servants, often entertaining in grand style. Among other pets were parrots and monkeys, one of the latter often
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accompanying his master in the fine carriage, sitting beside him, with a colored coachman in front. He was a very intelligent, well informed man, who had traveled in foreign countries, spending some years in the West Indies, where his son had a large indigo plantation. Many old settlers remembered with gratitude his favors to them, in lending them books from his fine library, magazines, London illustrated papers, etc. It was always a joyful occasion for the children when he came, as his pockets were always stocked with nuts or candies for their benefit. The writer of this sketch has a hazy remembrance of these favors and of being presented with a bird also by the great personage we regarded as a second Santa Claus.
His health failed and he returned to his native land, where he died a few years later. The great estate was divided and sold. Many years later the old homestead became the property of the late Wayne H. Parks, where he resided many years.
Almost every community has some odd characters-people who differ greatly from their fellows. Palmyra has had a fair share of such-most of whom have passed away. We will select as a good type Milton Curtis, who is yet living and with us occasionally. His name is familiar as a household word throughout the whole county, on account of his constant pedestrian excursions over it for nearly thirty years past. He came west from New Hampshire with his father and an older brother while quite young, and grew up with the country. His "local habitation" was at Prairieville for many years, but he long since renounced allegiance there, consoling himself with the old proverb that "a prophet has no honor. in his own country and house." Milton is a would-be poet, yearning for recognition, which never comes, and consequently is embittered against his unappreciative fellow-citizens. This veritable "Wandering Jew" has a regular circuit extending through this county and all our boundaries, from which he sometimes makes little detours to take in neighboring states-once straying as far off as Kansas. He will remain a few weeks in one place, doing some job of work, when the state of his wardrobe compels him to the act. His purchases in that line always seem to be- long to the misfit variety. Milton's Muse leads him over a wide field, the subjects of his "poems" embracing most of the leading questions of the day. Not having a copy at hand we are unable to give a critical review. In early editions (paper covers) he was not very gallant toward the ladies, being strongly opposed to their voting: his sole argument was "they can't hitch up" to go to the polls. Among other peculiarities, he is a great ad- vocate of fresh air-insisting on open doors and windows, even in zero
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weather. For this and other reasons he is not a very popular guest with the ladies. We learn that Milton did the country good service during the late civil war. He enlisted in a New York regiment and served faithfully for three years. All through his sojourn in Dixie he was in the habit of writing to old cronies quite frequently giving a record of his adventures all in rhyme. He recently secured a pension and has pur- chased property in Marshalltown, Iowa.
Milton had a half-brother named Jonathan, who was also eccentric. He was much older and possessed considerable property. He was quite a gifted artist, painting many portraits in oil, which were said to be excel- lent likenesses. Some of them are still in good preservation. He, also, was of a roving disposition, but his career was cut short by being drowned in Rock River at Como while on one of his tramps. He once returned to his native heath in New Hampshire, where he became cele- brated for quite an exploit; he found his denominational brethren quar- relling over church matters (as they occasionally do), Jonathan said but little but meditated a good deal-finally evolving a brilliant scheme from his troubled brain, which he proceeded to put into execution. One even- ing he quietly strolled over to the church and applied the torch. only in- tending to "burn out his share," he explained. When people arrived on the scene he was coolly reading the bible by the cheerful blaze.
Mrs. Locada (Seavey) Donaldson, one of the early residents, living near Polo, Ill., writes to an old friend as follows: "There were eight of us who came to Palmyra In the fall, arriving at John Page's Oct. 2, 1840. The only building used for a schoolhouse at that time was an old cooper shop at Gap Grove, near the widow Martin's, and owned by Grandfather Hill. It was a log building, destitute of a floor
The school was taught by Almeda Wells in the summer of 1841 and in winter at Widow Hubbard's house. The next summer (1842) the old log schoolhouse on the Page farm was built. The first teacher employed was Calista Mason. It was abandoned for school use I think In 1846, and was shortly afterward used as a dwelling by the family of Wm. Benjamin. I remember of one family at least, the Masons, who kept silkworms. They were fed on the large leaves of a tender variety of mulberry-the multi- canlis. They made quite a quantity of thread, a part of which was sold in Chicago. This was in 1843-4-5. The first house of worship was the frame church at the Gap (completed just before our arrival). All the winter wear for men and women was of home manufacture. The occu- pations of spinning and weaving took up the greater part of women's time.
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Mrs. Mary (Monk) James, of Sterling, Ill., gives in her "experience" as follows: "There were five of us in our family when we left Malone, Franklin County, N. Y., in the spring of 1848 to seek our fortunes in the far west. Two men with teams were hired to convey us and our house- hold goods to a point on the St. Lawrence river, where we embarked in a steamboat, continuing on our way through the various lakes until we reached Chicago-then a city of considerable importance. Our fornier townsmen. Hiram Parks and Abner Moon (the latter a brother-in-law), had agreed to meet us there with teams, but not finding them after wait- ing several hours new men were employed to convey us and our goods to our destination. The roads were bad in many places, and upon arriving at the little town of Naperville the horses gave out completely, leaving us in despair. Just at this interesting stage of affairs,. while we were eating our dinners at the the tavern, our belated escorts appeared on the scene, stopping to feed their teams and get their dinner at the same place. Mr. Moon declared that as soon as he caught sight of "the old blue chest'' in the wagon he knew he need go no farther. (This was an ancient fam- ily relic, brought over the sea from old England.) This was in April and the roads were in bad condition a good part of the way. A good many times the horses had to be taken off from one wagon to help the other out of the ruts. Corduroy roads were built whenever material was found for the purpose.
It took us four days to reach Dixon, from whence we journeyed on to Prairieville, where we stayed with Mr. Moon's family several days. We then moved on Ben Gates' farm, where we stayed a year. Our next move was to Sugar Grove, where we lived in a log house on the border of the woods, near the big spring on Frederic Coe's farm, a portion of which my father and brother rented. We afterward moved near Woosung, secur- ing eighty acres of government land.
My first husband, John Benjamin, came west in 1844. Some years later he rented the Fellows place in partnership with his brother, William Benjamin; while there, under contract, he set out the beautiful row of hard maples, extending from the house along the road westward. They are now over forty years old.".
Mr. John C. Oliver and wife, familiarly known as "Uncle John" and "Aunt Lydia," the only old couple now living of the early settlers of Pal- myra, reside in Sterling, Ill., Mr. Oliver being in his 89tlı year and his wife in her 76th. They have shared life's joys and sorrows together for fifty-eight years, and are still blessed with a reasonable degree of
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health. The golden wedding of this venerable couple was celebrated about eight years since, in a very appropriate manner.
Mr. Oliver was born in Erie county, Penn., in 1804, coming of Revo- lutionary stock. He left there in 1832, coming to Michigan and settling at White Pigeon. He soon enlisted in the Black Hawk war, serving un- til the close. Returning to his home he met his future wife at that place in the fall of 1834, and in September, the following year, they were married, going to a relative's at Michigan City, Ind., for that purpose. In 1837 they moved to North grove, five miles north of Mt. Morris, Ill., where Mr. Oliver built a saw mill which he operated two years, when he sold out and removed to Palmyra, in October, 1839. He there bought a claim of his brother-in-law, Simon Fellows, for which he received the title and deeds when the land came into market. He had saved $800 or more for that purpose for quite a period. This was all in silver half- dollars. Wishing to leave home for a few days to attend conference at Mt. Morris, after much deliberation, they selected a corner of the chicken- house for their stronghold in which to secrete their money. A deep hole was dug, in which the treasure, secured in a stout cloth, was buried and a nest of eggs, with a setting-lien placed on guard over the spot. Then they went on their way rejoicing. So biddy sat on in dreamy content, all unconscious that she was doing police duty over a bank of deposit. (A near neighbor secreted his earnings in his cellar, under the pork barrel. This was before the era of banks, when the banditti flourished in all their glory. Mrs. Oliver was a famous weaver, manufacturing many yards of "Kentucky Jeans," for men's wear and flannel for women's dresses, spinning all the warp and filling and doing the coloring herself. Some of the latter was quite handsome in design. She was also a land- lady for a year or more, when they kept tavern. On one occasion they kept sixteen men, with their teams over night; they were from Milledge- ville and had sixteen loads of dressed hogs. She remembers attending a wedding, going in an ox-wagon, along with neighbors. The oxen trotted at a good pace half the distance, over the trackless prairie. The cabin had no floor; the bride was dressed in a gorgeous challie; liquor was passed around freely among the men, as was the custom in those good old days. A six-quart milk pan full of custard was provided for dessert at supper. A justice of the peace performed the ceremony. Mr. Oliver soon had a fine lot of sugar maples growing in his door yard and a thrifty young orchard of seedling apple trees set out; the latter were procured from a brother-in-law's stock near by. To Noah Beede and wife belongs the credit of establishing the first nursery, probably in the county.
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They brought a large quantity of apple seeds with them, saved in their former home in far off New Hampshire. Mr. Oliver assisted in building the church at Gap Grove, doing carpenter work, contributing the door, which was made of black walnut. In those days it was considered the finest church west of Chicago.
We feel that these sketches of the early days would be incomplete did we not pause to pay a just tribute to the pioneer women yet living and to the memory of those gone before. They stood bravely by their hus- bands, willingly sharing the toil and burdens incident to frontier life and making the waste places blossom as the rose. Most of them had large families of children to be reared, clothed and [educated. Often would they be left to guard over their little flock and perform many tasks be- longing to the husband, while he was necessarily absent on business, for a week or more at a time. On such occasions, many sleepless nights would be passed, keeping lonely vigil by the bedside of ailing children or listening in shuddering dread to the howling of wolves. The amount of labor they performed, with the primitive methods then in use, seenis incredible to the youth of today. Labor saving inventions in the house- ' hold and every department of farm labor have wrought out woman's freedom to a wondrous degree. Sewing was all done by hand, as a matter- of course, as it had not yet entered into the brain of the wildest enthusi- ast to conceive of the modern sewing machine. The useful accomplish- ment of knitting was handed down from mother to daughters; stockings of all kinds, mittens, both double and single thread, and even gloves grew (slowly, it must be confessed, in most cases) to completion under their skillful fingers. It is to be regreted that this feminine industry bids fair to become one of. the "lost arts," or to be taken up as a fad by the coming young lady of the period.
The old dash churn, which numbered an innumerable procession of martyrs, was about the only kind known, while a zinc or wooden wash- board was the only invention devised to lessen the labors of "blue Mon- day." Cheese making, in a smail way, was carried on in a majority of homes during hot weather, when butter making was impracticable, they were made in a hoop, on the old fashioned hand presses, with their in- tolerable creaking and groaning. Of those old relics there is probably not a vestage in existence. The quality of the article manufactured by this method was usually very good, quite equal to the modern creamery product in the opinion of good judges. We hear of flax being raised, hatchelled and otherwise prepared for spinning, upon the little wheels, in sufficient quantities to supply shoemakers with thread, and probably
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for household uses, also. The silkworm industry flourished in a small way. We hear of three families, at least, (Beede, Mason and Fellows) who were supplied with thread by the little spinners.
In those days nearly every farmer kept more or less sheep; after shear- ing time, as soon as convenient, the fleeces would be taken in hand, washed and dried by the thrifty housewife, next came a picking over process, during which a moderate quantity of grease applied to the pro- duct was considered indispensable. This disagreeable task was gener- ally assigned to the girls, who breathed a sigh of relief when it was over and the wool packed off to the carding mill. Before these were built, rolls were made upon the little hand cards, (now rarely seen) a laborious process. Wool batts for comforters were also prepared upon them. A carding mill was in service many years at Empire, Whiteside county, being finally destroyed by fire. After woolen mills were established in Aurora, many farmers took their wool there, exchanging for stocking yarn, flannel blankets and fine grades of woolen cloth, for men's clothing. After the snowy rolls came home, the old spinning wheel, brought from the far away eastern home, would make merry music by night and day, until the yearly supply of stocking and mitten yarn was spun, doubled and twisted and reeled off into skeins ready for dyeing. Indigo-blue and madder-red were the leading colors; some resorted to the woods for variety, gathering sumach-bobs, various barks and shucks from several kinds of nuts. Hand-looms were possessed in many homes, upon which were woven a great deal of flannel for sheeting, "Kentucky Jeans" and other kinds for men's wear, and linsey-woolsey for women's dresses. Some of the patterns of the latter were quite handsome, In some kinds the warp and filling would all be spun upon the old wheels and colored with home-made dyes. Instances were known where the men of the household were clothed throughout, even to overcoats, from the product of the looms, woven by the busy housewife and afterwards shaped into garments by her skilled fingers. Often would the hour of midnight find faithful mothers wearily plying the needle, by the dim light of a candle, that their families might be comfortably clad,
If crowns for brows are granted in that "land that is fairer than day," surely those of our pioneer mothers must shine with the brightest of jewels.
King Solomon's apostrophe to the good wife applies with equal force to their attributes: "She secketh wool and flax and worketh diligently with her hands. She riseth also while it is yet night and giveth meat to her household."
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"She layeth her hands to the spindle and her hands holdeth the dis- taff."
"She looketh well to the ways of her household and eateth not the bread of idleness," and verily, do her children "rise up and call her blessed.
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