USA > Illinois > Marshall County > Records of the olden time; or, Fifty years on the prairies. Embracing sketches of the discovery, exploration and settlement of the country, the organization of the counties of Putnam and Marshall, biographies of citizens, portraits and illustrations > Part 26
USA > Illinois > Putnam County > Records of the olden time; or, Fifty years on the prairies. Embracing sketches of the discovery, exploration and settlement of the country, the organization of the counties of Putnam and Marshall, biographies of citizens, portraits and illustrations > Part 26
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One of the early settlers was John Robinson, an old Indian hunter, who is known to have lived here in 1828. He was a keen sportsman, and very successful. During the Indian troubles he refused to go into a fort, and so remained in his cabin, sleeping at night with arms by his side. No Indian came to claim his scalp. He was an original genius, and when asked how long He had lived in the State, said it was so long he couldn't tell, but when he came the Illinois was only a small brook.
Another well known citizen was George Ish, who originally settled in Peoria County. He was an old Indian fighter in the war of 1812, when he served under General Harrison.
The ability of the aborigines to withstand cold is shown in an incident related by Mr. Ish. During the severe winter of 1830 there came to his father's cabin a squaw, nearly perishing with cold. She was taken in, and such restoratives as were handy applied until her half frozen members were thawed out and the circulation restored. Although solicited to re- main all night she refused, and, soon as able, re-mounted her pony and proceeded, although the atmosphere was such that a white man could not travel without risking his life.
Mrs. Gunn tells that when they came to the country, ten men, women and children wintered in a cabin twelve feet square, and did n't feel partic- ularly crowded !
Here Mr. Gunn came in search of a wife, and pleasantly recalls their courting "under difficulties." But where there's a will, woman's wit will find a way, and a private parlor was improvised by hanging a quilt across one corner.
Mr. Willis finding himself "out of meat" once, undertook to go after
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RECORDS OF THE OLDEN TIME.
supplies. His trip was made in a dugout, and he had to go somewhere in the vicinity of Beardstown. It took a month to make the trip, and when he returned the family had been on short rations for a week.
In 1836-7, when paper towns were springing up all over the State, certain individuals laid out the town of Barcelona, along the eastern limits of Granville. A hotel was contracted for, and a steam mill was to be built, but nothing ever came of the enterprise.
The early settlers lived on plain food, and had plenty of exercise. They dressed plainly, kept regular hours, abstained from excesses, and as a rule enjoyed good health. The exception to this was the fever, that " smote them by day and wasted them by night. From this there seemed no escape except to wear it out. Large families were the rule, and the cabin that could not show its round half dozen or more of tow-headed boys and girls was an exception. The farmers returns in the field were not more regular than the periodical yield of the cradle. Occasionally the measles or some such disease " got loose" in a family and created an unusual demand for catnip tea and other medicinal herbs. Once the measles got into the family of Hugh Wanock, and a commiserating neigh- bor inquiring how many were "down" was answered, " only twelve of the youngest."
It was the custom in early days for farmers to exchange work during haying, harvest and other heavy labor. In estimating such labor, a day's work was counted equal to two bushels of wheat.
Wheat in those early days was frequently hauled to Chicago by horse or ox teams, and the price was as low as 37} to 44 cents. Then calicos at Hennepin were worth 31 to 373 cents per yard ; eggs 3 cents per dozen; butter 6 cents a pound !
The settlers did not regard times as desperate or hard in any sense. They had plenty to eat and wear, and little need of money. People were were healthy, hearty and happy.
The strange, wild beauty of the prairies will never be forgotten. They were one vast parterre of flowers, changing their hues each month of the season. In the fall great fires swept them over, leaving only a blackened waste, but still sublimely beautiful. Upon the prairies of Granville deer were plenty, and were sometimes seen in great droves or flocks like cattle
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INCIDENTS AND MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS.
or sheep. They were not much hunted, and would come near the wood- chopper and visit the feeding places of the cattle.
Wolves, the pests of the barn-yard in winter, were numerous. Now and then they were run down on horseback and killed, but not often, as it was a difficult job and worth a good horse's life to attempt it, for the wolf is long-winded and very difficult to capture in this way. Many good horses were ruined in attempting it.
During the cold winters they became ravenous for food and would come to the very doors of the cabins in quest of it. They would visit men chopping in the woods, coming so close that they could almost strike them with their axes.
The Indian had a superstitious dread of prairie wolves, and did not molest them, but would kill the timber species because they scared their ponies, and, when occasion permitted, destroyed their young colts.
Snakes were abundant everywhere, and the venomous rattlesnake was justly dreaded. Mr. Gunn once found one coiled beneath his chair, which had crept into the house unobserved. It was despatched, and the next day its mate was discovered and killed near the same place. These rep- tiles always go in pairs, and when one is killed its mate invariably seeks it. Deer are the deadly foes of snakes, and a citizen describes the killing of one east of the village of Granville. He was traveling the road, when he saw a group of deer seemingly greatly excited, and striving to stamp something beneath their feet. They would go off a few steps and then return, striking viciously and rapidly with their fore feet. The traveler watched the performance until it closed, and on going to the place found a large yellow rattlesnake cut to pieces with their sharp hoofs.
The Indians never fed their ponies, that white men knew of. These little beasts, no matter how long they had been used, would be turned out at night to skirmish around for food among the dead leaves and hazle twigs as best they could.
Previous to the winter of the great snow, opossums were very numer- ous, but that year they nearly all died off, and not for many years after did they become plentiful. The somewhat unpopular, but pretty and sometimes highly perfumed Mephitis Americanus, or skunk, was no stranger, but was found in the swamps, timber, and on the prairies, and the traveler on horseback was frequently glad to give the saucy little white-necked, black-eyed, bushy-tailed, odoriferous creature not only the whole road, but several rods margin beside.
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RECORDS OF THE OLDEN TIME.
Another animal often seen was the badger, as pugnacious and full of fight when cornered as to-day. Mr. Ish describes a combat he once saw between a sow and one of these fellows, in which the sow got decidedly worsted.
No coal has been found in Putnam County, and probably from the character of the formation none exists in the vicinity of Hennepin, as the limestone formation which is reached near the surface and has been bored to the depth of 800 feet precludes the idea. But, toward the eastern limits, on the prairies at Tonica, and in the country south and south-west is found this useful product, garnered in nature's storehouse for man's future use, and as the surface and character of the earth so far as tested are exactly similar to the coal region immediately adjoining, there is no reason to doubt but that a stratum of coal underlies both Granville and Magnolia.
Alden Hull.
LA PRAIRIE, ILL.
307
ORGANIZATION OF MARSHALL COUNTY.
MARSHALL COUNTY.
CHAPTER XXXIII.
1
ITS ORGANIZATION.
HE increase of population after the war was rapid, and by the close of 1837 there were large and flourishing settlements in various localities, and the question of forming new coun- ties and county seats was sharply discussed.
The people hereabout were clamorous for a county of their own. Lacon, Henry and Webster were looming up as future cities, and numerous towns with high-sounding names had been built-on paper! Such as Troy City, Lyons, Chambersburg, Auburn, Bristol, Dorchester, etc. Robert's Point, Strawn's Woods, Round and Half Moon Prairies were-for those times, populous farming sections. A few farms here and there dotted the vast prairies on the west of the Illinois, and the territory that aspired to become a separate county had a population of 1,500 people.
A colony of energetic people from Ohio had settled in Lacon in 1836, and at once gave the infant town a surprising "boom," to use a phrase then unknown.
January 13, 1838, a meeting of the citizens of Lacon and vicinity was called, ostensibly to nominate candidates for legislative honors, but really to form a new county. Colonel Henderson, of Spoon River, having been previously sounded and found to be "solid" for the scheme, was recom- mended to the voters as a man "of ability and integrity," and he was named for Representative; and John Hamlin, also known to be right on the all-absorbing question, was recommended for the Senatorship.
Doctor Effner, Ira I. Fenn and Jesse C. Smith were appointed a com- mittee to act and correspond as might be necessary in forwarding the objects of the meeting.
The gentlemen composing the meeting knew that the county question
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RECORDS OF THE OLDEN TIME.
would be unpopular with their neighbors in the vicinity of Hennepin, and also along the line of Tazewell County, whose interests would be antago- nistic to the proposed dismemberment, hence a "still hunt " in the prem- ises was deemed best. The people of Tazewell getting wind of the scheme, and discovering that two of their townships were coveted by the "Laconites," called a meeting "for the purpose of consulting on the best means to prevent the citizens of Putnam County from curtailing our county on the north." Learning this, the Lacon committee shrewdly dis- claimed any such intention !
The vote of Lacon Precinct went almost to a man for Colonel Hender- son, who felt under obligations to return favors to his enthusiastic and warm supporters. The local press -even that of Hennepin-favored the project, as many of the people there feared they would lose the county seat if the proposed division was not made.
Petitions were circulated and numerously signed praying for the estab- lishment of the new County of Marshall. They were presented December 10, 1838, by Colonel Henderson, at once acted upon, a bill reported two days afterward, and by January 19 became a law.
Three days afterward, petitions for the formation of Stark County came in, also numerously signed by Hennepin people. So eager were they to save their county seat that they consented to the loss of almost the entire county. The act fixed the boundaries as at present, except that it did not include the townships of Evans and Bennington, then a portion of La Salle; but the law was afterward amended to include them, pro- vided the people therein were willing. They, however, refused, and it failed; but under an act approved March 1, 18-, they yielded, and the towns named were duly annexed to Marshall County.
The Commissioners designated by law to select the county seat were : D. G. Salisbury, of Bureau; Wm. Ogle, of Putnam, and Campbell Wake- field, of Mc Lean County. They came into court and reported that "they had examined the different proposed sites for the seat of justice in Mar- shall County, taking into consideration the convenience, and the situation of the settlements with an eye to future population of the place to be chosen. Lacon possessed the natural advantages of location, and all other requisites, and they had accordingly chosen this town as the seat of justice of Marshall County. They also reported that they had se- lected Lots three, four and five, in Block forty-five, as the ground for a Court House and other buildings; also, that the proprietors of the
309
FIRST ELECTION OF COUNTY OFFICERS.
town had donated said lots to Marshall County, giving their notes and bonds in the sum of $5,000 to the County, payable in equal instal- ments of $1,666.66, in six, twelve and eighteen months from date, with interest. The men who executed these notes were : Wm. Fenn, Samuel Howe, Elisha Swan, Ira I. Fenn, Jonathan Babb, Robert Boal, Wm. Fisher and George Snyder.
TOPOGRAPHICAL.
Marshall County, as at present constituted, consists of eight full townships of six miles square each, viz: Bennington, Evans, Belle Plain and Roberts on the east, and La Prairie, Saratoga and Whitefield west of the Illinois River. The others, made more or less fractional by the wind- ing of the river, are Hopewell, Lacon, Henry and Steuben.
The river bottoms are from three to five miles wide. The bottom land is remarkable for its richness of soil, and some exceedingly profitable farms are to be found.
The chain of hills bounding the west of the valley are full of ex- cellent coal, obtained by drifting into the bluffs, and supplies the wants of the people of the villages and farmers on the prairies with fuel at very low rates.
The law fixed the 25th of February, 1839, as election day, to choose the new county officers.
George Snyder, Esq., a Justice of the Peace of Lacon Precinct, gave the notices fifteen days before the event, and candidates swarmed around. the polls. There were twenty-eight worthy gentlemen who were willing to sacrifice themselves upon the altar of their country,- to hold different offices, eight of whom wanted to be Sheriff.
The candidates chosen were: Elisha Swan, William Maxwell and George H. Shaw, County Commissioners; Wm. H. Effner, Probate Jus- tice; Chas. F. Speyers, Recorder; Silas Ramsey, Sheriff ; Anson L. Dem- ing, Treasurer ; A. S. Fishburn, County Clerk; Geo. F. Case, Coroner; and Jordan Sawyer, Surveyor.
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS' COURT.
The Governmental history of the new County is best told in the rec- ords of the County Commissioners' Court, which, before township organi- zations, supplied the place of the present Board of Supervisors.
310
RECORDS OF THE OLDEN TIME.
The first acts of the members, whose first meeting was at the house of John D. Coutlett, March 2, 1839, was to look to the credentials of the various officers, and see that bonds required were satisfactory; after which the county was divided into election districts, as follows :
No. 1. La Fayette Precinct .- All that part of Marshall County west of the Illinois River, south of the line of Townships Nos. 12 and 13.
No. 2. Henry Precinct .- All of the County west of the river, and north of the line of the towns above, adjoining La Fayette Precinct ; vot- ing place at the house of Elias Thompson.
No. 3. Lacon Precinct .- All the County east of the river, and west of Ranges Nos. 1 and 2, west of the 3d principal meridian; elections to be held at the County Clerk's office.
No. 4. Lyons Precinct .- All east of the dividing line of Ranges 1 and 2; elections to be held at the house of W. B. Green.
The County was also divided into fourteen road districts, and three days' road labor required of every able-bodied man subject to such duty by law. George H. Shaw was appointed a commissioner to receive the money due Marshall County from the Internal Improvement fund, which the State had appropriated to Putnam County in 1837. The proportion due Marshall was $3,290.00, with interest. John Wier was appointed School Commissioner, and gave bonds in the sum of $10,000. For want of better accommodations, the Circuit Clerk, County Commissioners' Clerk, County Recorder, and Probate Justice of the Peace, were obliged to hold their offices in one room, in a building owned by Elisha Swan, who was limited in his charges to a rental not exceeding $75 per annum.
The Commissioners voted themselves $2.50 per diem, and the Clerk $2.00; and they allowed Coutlett $2.00 for the use of his house and fire- wood for four days, which would strike the reader as being reasonable. The pay of jurymen was fixed at 75 cents per day and "find themselves."'
Among the first things to claim the attention of the Board was the lay- ing out of new roads, and by their orders the present highway from Lacon to Spoon River was laid out June 3, 1839, and the same month the "State Road " was located through the eastern part of Marshall; and also a road through the towns of LaPrairie and Saratoga; likewise others. The sum of $50 was appropriated for improving a "slew" near Lyons; a like sum to be expended near Owens' Mills, on Crow Creek, and $100 to be expended on the road from Lacon to Wyoming.
In June, 1839, the home Board began to indulge in luxuries, and or-
311
ATTEMPT TO IMPEACH COUNTY CLERK SHANNON.
dered six chairs and a map of the State, at a total cost of $9.00. They were bought of Fenn, Howe & Co. They also invested $1.75 in a Bible, on condition the seller threw in an ink stand and sand box. A. N. Ford files a bill for printing to the extent of $2.00. Dr. Boal asks permission to run a ferry, which is granted on condition that he pay a fee of $15.00, which, in September, was cut down to half that sum.
The first County Clerk elected by the people was James M. Shannon. He was a man of fair education and excellent qualifications for the place. He filled the office until March, 1845, when his habits became objectionable and could be no longer tolerated. He was complained of by information signed by two of the County Commissioners, of habitual intoxication, using abusive language, and insulting the Court in open session.
In June, 1845, the information filed came up for examination. The Commissioners tried it before themselves-Shannon, the defendant, as well as the complainants, appearing by attorneys. They refused to grant the accused a change of venue, or to sustain a plea as to their own juris- diction, and saw no impropriety in trying a case before themselves brought by two of their own number, a majority of the Court. After hearing the evidence, they "bounced" the bibulous clerk and appointed David David- son, June 3, 1845.
Long and tedious proceedings followed, Shannon having appealed to the Supreme Court for a hearing. During the trial at Ottawa, many wit- nesses were compelled to attend, costing the County several hundred dol- lars.
In the mean time Shannon had gone before the people with his griev- ances, and petitions circulated everywhere in the county to "re-onstate" him were numerously signed and laid before the Board, of which that tri- bunal took no notice. The fall election, however, settled the whole mat- ter, for the people re-elected Shannon by a triumphant majority. He held the office until December 20, 1845, and then handed in his resignation, which was filed December 30.
His successor was Samuel C. Cochran, who was appointed to fill the vacancy, and at the next election was chosen to that office by the people.
In June 1847, Cochran resigned, and Silas Ramsey was appointed. He was afterward elected by the people. He held the office until 1849, when he became County Judge, and Washington E. Cook, Clerk.
In 1839, the total tax levied was $875, and of this sum, Silas Ramsey, who was both Sheriff and Collector, raised $787.12, showing him
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RECORDS OF THE OLDEN TIME.
to have been a very efficient officer. Forty cents on each one hundred dol- lars valuation was the sum assessed for county purposes.
In June 1840, the general census was taken, and Samuel Howe re- ceived the appointment of enumerator. He was a well known Aboli- tionist, and his appointment drew from one of the Commissioners the fol- lowing spirited protest:
"The undersigned being opposed to the principles avowed by modern Abolitionists for the immediate emancipation of the slaves of the United States, do hereby enter my solemn protest against the appointment of Sam- uel Howe as Commissioner to take the census of Marshall County, on the ground that said Howe is in favor of immediate emancipation of the slaves aforesaid.
ELISHA SWAN."
In September, 1840, David Myers brought into Court certain papers and a small amount of silver found in the purse of an unknown man who died at his house, and claimed $15.00 for his care and burial, which was allowed.
About this time, also, Geo. F. Case was allowed $14.00 for holding an inquest on the body of James McBride.
William Fisher was allowed at the same time, $8.50 for paper and quills,- steel pens not having been introduced.
March 2, 1841, Joseph Burr was licensed to keep a ferry at Henry, and the license was fixed at $2.00.
In March, too, Anson L. Deming resigned the office of Treasurer. He had received and paid out during his term $931.43, all of which save $40.00 was in County orders. The account was closed thus: "Com- missions, $38.80; balance, $1.20. This sum was found to be safe, and was duly turned over to his successor, Lundsford Broaddus.
Putnam County, up to this date, had not paid over the internal im- provement fund quota. Edward Jones, Esq., of Tremont, Tazewell County, was appointed to prosecute and collect the money, March, 1841.
In September of this year, William Fenn was directed to see about putting up lightning-rods on the Court House. He had them made at home, by blacksmiths, and the job cost $53.96.
Up to 1845 there had been no jail, and prisoners had to be guarded at the cost of the County. Thus we find a man named Andrew Zellar had been guilty of larceny, and bills were allowed as follows: Jesse Oran, guarding Zellar twenty-four hours, $1.00; George Durat, forty-eight hours,
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313
THE COUNTY REVENUE FROM TAXES.
$2.00; J. O'Connel twenty-four hours, $1.00; Sam'l B. Mclaughlin, twenty-four hours, $1.00; J. W. Bettis, committing Zellar and guarding him, $2.00. After getting him in some sort of a place, they had to feed him, and the bills were: $1.75, $4.06 and $3.62}. This, with similar cases, awakened the Commissioners to an appreciation of the needs of a good jail, and we find them debating it soon after.
All efforts to compel Putnam County to pay over the funds she held belonging to Marshall, it seems, failed, and the latter paid her attorneys in the case, Messrs. Fenn & Peters, one hundred dollars.
Lundsford Broaddus, in June, 1842, resigned the office of County Treasurer, and Hezekiah S. Crane was appointed to fill the vacancy.
In 1841 the tax levy was fifty cents on each one hundred dollars of valuation. The Commissioners appear to have gone into the "furnishing" business, and the records show this entry: "Addison Ramsey is allowed $3.00 for a pair of pants furnished the infamous Andrew Zellar." The next year the assessment system was changed, and Peter Temple, for assessing the whole county, was allowed $104.
James Hoyt was the Assessor for 1843. State bank paper had suf- fered a sad depreciation, and the Treasurer refused to receive it. He was ordered to take it at fifty per cent discount, and give tax-payers the benefit of "the rise."
In June, 1843, Sampson Rowe was licensed to keep a ferry at Henry, by paying the usual license of $2.00.
Sandy Precinct, a new election district, was organized this session, and elections fixed at the house of Enoch Dent.
Town 29, Range 1 west, and 29, Range 1 east was organized into an election precinct, and Pierce Perry's house designated as the voting place thereof.
Wm. Maxwell was re-elected County Commissioner in August, 1843, and Levi Wilcox, Treasurer. James Hoyt assessed the county this year for $57.50.
C. F. Speyer, Recorder of Deeds, resigned June, 1844, and County Clerk Shannon was appointed to take charge of the books and papers of the office till further orders.
C. S. Edwards was again re-elected a Commissioner in August, 1844, and Levi Wilcox assessed the county for $116.
Doctor Boal was again granted a license to run a ferry at Lacon, he paying the usual fee.
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314
RECORDS OF THE OLDEN TIME.
In March, 1844, a petition was presented asking the county to pur- chase the Lacon ferry, signed by Silas Ramsey and a number of promi- nent citizens, but for some reason this sensible project was abandoned and the petition withdrawn.
In March, 1846, $300 was appropriated by the County Commissioners to build an embankment through the sloughs from Lacon ferry to Spar- land, on condition that the citizens would contribute $400 in addition for the same purpose, and F. D. Drake was appointed a Commissioner to ex- pend the money and superintend the work.
In March, 1846, the town of Lyons, near where Varna is now, was dropped from the Assessor's books and assessed as lands.
Thomas Gallaher, who had transcribed such of the records at Henne- pin as related to Marshall County, was allowed $250 for the work, the books having been received and approved.
In this year the ferry at Lacon passed into the hands of Wm. Fisher & Co., who were licensed to run it upon payment of $15.00.
The cost of assessing the county in 1844 was $150.
December 8, 1845, Richard Vinecore made application for license to keep a grocery in a brick building opposite the Lacon House. "The Court, taking into consideration the subject of said application, and be- lieving that 'groceries' are not conducive to the public good, reject the application !" was the discouraging result of this petition.
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