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 27
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 27
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
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 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79
In June, 1847, David M. Robinson was allowed $14.00 for boarding Thomas Dobson, accused of and in custody for the killing of Hollenback.
In September, 1847, Richard Vinecore came again with his grocery petition, and met with better luck, being allowed to run his proposed saloon for $40.00 per year license.
In June, 1848, a standing reward of fifty dollars was offered for the apprehension of all horse-thieves escaping from the County.
In December, 1849, under a new law Silas Ramsey was elected County Judge, and Thomas Cowan and J. W. Bettis Associate Justices of the Peace; Washington E. Cook, County Clerk; Abram Wall, School Com- missioner; Resin B. Rogers, Treasurer.
NEW TOWNSHIPS.
In March, 1850, the new law, providing for township organization took effect, and Samuel Camp, Addison Ramsey and Nathan Patton were
315
ORGANIZATION OF TOWNSHIPS.
appointed Commissions to divide the territory into convenient townships, which they did as follows:
Congressional Town 30, Range 1 west, 3d parallel meridian, to be named Roberts.
Town 30, Range 1 east, 3d parallel meridian, Evans.
Town 30, Range 2 west, Hopewell.
Fractional Town 30, Range 3 west, and Fractional Town 29, Range 3 west, Lacon.
Town 29, Range 2 west, Richland.
Town 29, Range 1 west, and Town 29, Range 1 east, Belle Plain.
Fractional Town 13, Range 10 east, 4th parallel meridian and road on the east side of the line leading from the ferry in said town, and here- tofore held by the County of Putnam, Henry.
Town 13, Range 9 east, 4th parallel meridian, and Town 13, Range 8 east, same parallel meridian, Whitefield.
Town 12, Range 8 east, 4th parallel meridian, Fairfield.
Town 12, Range 9 east, 4th parallel meridian, Steuben.
The law provided that in selecting the names for towns under the township organization law, that the Commissioners should avoid getting the names of towns in other counties, and as "Fairfield" had been adopted numerously elsewhere, County Judge Ramsey changed "Fair- field," the first choice of the people of that region, to "La Prairie," their second preference.
The first Board of Supervisors of Marshall County met at the Court House in Lacon, November 11, 1850. There were present: Theodore Perry, Henry Snyder, John B. White, Chas. S. Edwards, James Gibson, Albert Ramsey, Reuben F. Bell, Wm. Maxwell, Amasa Garrett, George W. Bettis.
Saratoga was set off in September, 1855, and Bennington, Dec. 17, 1856.
Greenberry L. Fort was chosen Messenger of this body, an office of great ornament, which subsequent boards of supervisors have dispensed with.
On motion of Edwards, Wm. Maxwell was chosen the first Chairman.
In March, 1851, Silas Ramsey, W. E. Cook and G. L. Fort were chosen Commissioners to purchase eighty acres of land for a county poor farn.
EARLY RECORDS.
The first deed recorded in the new Court was from Daniel Davis to Al-
316
RECORDS OF THE OLDEN TIME.
exander McIntosh, March 26, 1838, for a piece of land in Putnam County. The next, from Robert Bird and Rachel, his wife, to John Strawn, August 15, 1831, for a piece of land in Columbia (Lacon), for $38; witness: James Dever and John Kemp; before Colby F. Stevenson, Justice of the Peace.
The town of Columbia was surveyed by Colby F. Stevenson, August 6, 1831, containing 130 lots, for John Strawn and others. The first convey- ance of lots in Columbia was from John Strawn to Jesse Sawyer, October 6, 1831.
The first marriages recorded are: David Gwynn and Harriet Jane Martin, March 10, 1839, "by Henry D. Palmer, elder and minister of the Gospel." The next was Joel B. Perkins and Margaret Burt, by the Rev. Henry D. Palmer, April 4, 1839; John D. Coutlett and Sarah E. Dever, by Rev. Zadock Hall, April 6, 1839; Samuel Mitchell was married to Mary Work, May 29, 1839, by Rev. James H. Dickey.
The first Circuit Court in Marshall County began in Lacon, April 23, 1839. Thos. Ford was Judge; James M. Shannon, Clerk; Silas Ramsey, Sheriff. It was held in the old Methodist Church, long since turned into a mercantile establishment. The first case before the Court was that of Luther P. Frost vs. Long & Ramsey, which was dismissed at the plain- tiff's cost.
Another was The People vs. Solomon Brewer, for assault and battery. The jury, after being out all night, returned a verdict of "not guilty." Ira Fenn, Esq., talking for the State, moved for a new trial, but it was overruled.
The Grand Jury met at the M. E. Church, and was composed of Ira F. Lowery, foreman; Lewis Barney, Joel Corbett, Jeremiah Cooper, Allen N. Ford, Chas. Rice, Wm. Gray, Enoch Sawyer, Jonah D. Stewart, Elijah Freeman, Jr., Nathan Owen, Geo. Scott, Sam. Howe, Robt. Ben- nington, John Bird, Andrew Jackson, Henry Snyder, Allen Hunter.
No business claimed their attention, and they were discharged.
At the next term, October, 1839, a peddler put in his appearance as a defendant in a case in which he had been indicted for selling clocks with- out a license. At that time there existed a deeply-rooted prejudice against Yankee clock peddlers, which appears to have come down to this day. Besides, clocks were regarded as extravagant luxuries, the sun being con- sidered the best regulator and indicator of time.
The peddler, whose name was Erastus Higbee, had been jerked up and
317
ERECTION OF COUNTY BUILDINGS.
accused of selling without a license. He pleaded guilty, was fined fifty dollars and costs, and told to travel. And it is on record that he did travel.
At the same time Chas. H. Bevins was indicted for larceny, convicted and sent to the Penitentiary for three years, being the first convict from Marshall County.
The first divorce applied for or granted was that of Elizabeth Gibbons . vs. James H. Gibbons.
In the first court docket, on a fly leaf, is written a portion of the Lord's Prayer, ending with the word " trespasses," which, being a legal one, was deemed a proper introduction to court proceedings.
Thomas Fitzpatrick and Dennis Daily were the first foreigners who were naturalized in the County, having been admitted to citizenship at the April term of the Circuit Court, 1840.
The first Circuit Judges presiding here were: Thos. Ford, from 1839 to 1842; John D. Caton, from 1842 to 1848; followed by T. L. Dickey, Edwin L. Leland, J. L. Richmond and John Burns. Judge Richmond died before the expiration of his term, and Mark Bangs was appointed his successor. He was an able and upright officer, and presided with impar -. tial fairness.
COURT HOUSES AND JAILS.
The Court House question began to agitate the Court at the first meeting of that body, and Elisha Swan was directed to get from the "machanicks" an estimate of the cost of building one, "say forty-five feet wide and fifty feet long, the foundation and superstructure to be of brick." The contract was awarded in December, 1839, to Edward White and Thomas F. Shepherd, and signed January 14, 1840. The cost was fixed at $8,000. It was to be 40x55 feet, two stories high. The con- tractors were required to give bonds in $16,000, or double the amount of the cost of the proposed building.
In January, 1840, they were allowed to draw, as part payment on their job, $5,000 in county bonds.
December 8, 1840, the building was finished and turned over to the County, and the additional bonds in payment therefor were issued.
September 7, 1843, a contract was entered into with John Guthrie to
318
RECORDS OF THE OLDEN TIME.
build a jail for $515, and soon after Thomas Weir became his partner in the work.
Wm. A. and Elijah Bird for fencing the Court House received $52.80, and $6.00 for making stiles.
In June, 1846, the Commissioners decided to erect a house as a dwell- ing for the jailor, and advertised for bids for the work. John M. Lindley obtained the contract, for $450.
The Court House caught fire at eight o'clock on the morning of Jan- uary 5, 1847, from a defective flue, on the west side, near the roof, and was burned down, being a total loss of the building and fixtures in the court room as well as below. The books and papers and movable furni- ture were all saved.
Immediately after this event the Board of Supervisors met, and meas- ures for rebuilding were taken. Fortunately there was an insurance of $5,000 on the old building, which was at once available. The old material saved was ordered sold, and W. E. Cook appointed to collect the money and hold it subject to the order of the Board. To make the County secure, he gave bonds in the sum of $10,000, and in a short time reported every dollar on hand.
In the meantime the Board rented a room from Mr. Wm. Fenn, at the rate of $125 per annum, for county purposes, where the records mostly saved were stored, and the different officers quartered therein.
Albert Ramsey, Theodore Perry and James W. Maxwell were a com- mittee on building, and soon as plans and specifications could be prepared, the contract was awarded to Comegys & Bro., and Card and Haggard at the February session, 1853. John W. Bettis, Theodore Perry and H. L. Crane were appointed to superintend the work and suggest such changes and alterations as might be beneficial to the County.
The Building Committee reported the work done, and the building in the hands of the Board in November, 1853, for which they had paid, for the original contract, $7,050.50; alterations, $301.39-total, $7,351.89.
In September 1856, the old Jail having proven defective and inade- quate to the wants of the County, H. L. Crane, N. G. Henthorn and. Ed- ward White were appointed a committee to draft plans for a new jail and Sheriff's house.
In December, plans and specifications were presented and bids invited. In January 1857, Edward White received the contract to do the work
319
THE GROWING NEEDS OF THE COUNTY.
for $12,000, and H. L. Crane, N. G. Henthorn and W. E. Cook were chosen a committee to superintend the work. It was done during that spring and summer, and as the records have it, duly "excepted."
During these years the County east and west was rapidly filling up, and land was advancing in value. The river afforded the only outlet for the rapidly increasing volume of products, and enterprising parties began to look for other modes of transportation.
320
RECORDS OF THE OLDEN TIME.
CHAPTER XXXIV.
THE WESTERN AIR LINE RAILROAD.
HIS once famous projected road was to run from Phila- delphia to Fort Wayne, Ind .; thence across the prairies of our State, through Marshall County from Wenona to La- con, where it was to cross the Illinois River; thence west to Wyoming, Stark County, and onward over the Missis- sippi at New Boston, in a direct line to Council Bluffs, on the Missouri. It was grand in its inception, but failed mis- erably in execution, and involved the County and individ- uals in large losses, entailing debts not yet liquidated.
Lacon, in its corporate capacity, voted $50,000 in aid of its construc- tion, and Marshall County $100,000, to be invested in the capital stock of the road. The firm of Fisher & Co. subscribed $10,000, and the sum total swelled to large proportions.
Much of the credit of originating the enterprise and giving it force is due to Ira I. Fenn and Theodore Perry, both at that time citizens of Lacon. To give it character, the Hon. Robert Schenck, of Ohio, was made President, while Mr. Fenn was elected Treasurer and E. A. Whip- ple, Secretary. The Board of Directors were: William Fisher, Silas Ramsey, S. L. Fleming and Theodore Perry.
The headquarters of the company were at Lacon, and Ira I. Fenn was the principal worker. He had great faith in the ultimate success of the project, and devoted most of his time to the interests of the road.
Work began in 1853, and in November of that year the Board of Su- pervisors, carrying out the wishes of their constituents, caused the bonds voted to issue, bearing ten per cent interest, with twenty years to run. In the meantime there was considerable opposition manifested, and in March, 1854, the Clerk of the Board was ordered to withhold their deliv- ery, the vote standing 7 to 3.
In December, 1855, Ira I. Fenn, on behalf of the Railroad Company, came before the Board and demanded $30,000 worth of the bonds. A lively fight resulted, and finally the subject was tabled till June, 1856,
321
FAILURE OF THE RAILWAY PROJECT.
when a motion to issue $35,000 was lost by a vote of 4 to 8, but the next day reconsidered and passed, 6 to 4.
In March, 1856, Fenn came again and demanded the eighth and ninth installments of $5,000 each. Meantime an injunction had been granted restraining the Board from issuing any of the preceding amounts.
In September, they passed an order by a vote of 6 for and 5 votes against, to issue $40,000 of the bonds, requiring an indemnity against loss or expense of exchange between Lacon and New York city, where the payments were to be made. December, 1856, those remaining unsold were ordered delivered, and found ready purchasers.
In 1861 President Schenck was sent to Europe to negotiate for iron and rolling stock. He was supplied with bonds of different counties and towns, about $5,000 worth of which he hypothecated before starting, to raise money for expenses. While there the war broke out, and British capitalists refused to invest money in our "blarsted country" in the beginning of a civil war the end of which could not be clearly foreseen, and Schenck returned, to become a Federal General.
The bonds which he had hypothecated were put up at a forced sale and advertised in the New York papers. The conveyance or trust deed to secure a loan was one of those "cut-throat" documents which give all the advantage to the money lender and places the borrower completely at his mercy. This intrument gave the trustee power to sell the entire road- bed if the money was not paid when due !
Judge Thompson, of Oledo; Olof Johnson, of Galva; Wm. Thomas, of Wyoming, and one or two others living along the line of the road west of the Illinois River, having money, saw a chance for a speculation at this sale. They formed a sort of syndicate, sent one of their number to New York, and bought the entire road-bed, right of way and everything it had of value, which they subsequently sold in parcels to suit customers. The C., B. &. Q. Company became owner of most of the line in this State, and afterward transferred that portion lying between Lacon and Dwight to the Chicago, Alton and St. Louis Company.
Judge Thompson was severely censured for this course, and not long after emigrated to California, where he has since resided.
322
RECORDS OF THE OLDEN TIME.
LACON TOWNSHIP.
CHAPTER XXV.
TOPOGRAPHICAL.
ERIVING its name from the principal town within its borders, this township is conspicuous for its varied scenery, though what resemblance there may be between Laconia, or Sparta, in ancient Greece (from which the town is named), and this division of Marshall County, topographically or otherwise, is not apparent. The surface is diversified by hill and dale, prairie and woodland. It is about ten miles in length from north to south, and at its southern extremity near the mouth of Crow Creek, is four miles wide, gradu- ally diminishing toward its northern limit. Across its southern border runs Crow Creek, a deep, quiet stream ordinarily, but capable of indefinite ex- pansion when it spreads over almost the entire country.
The bluffs are picturesque, and at their base is a valley affording good pasturage and arable land, subject to occasional overflow. The bottoms are filled with ponds, sloughs, small lakes, and patches of excellent timber.
Several minor streams intersect it beside the first named, known re- spectively as Pigeon Creek, Strawn's Run, Dry Run, etc., all of them flowing into the Illinois.
A short distance below the city of Lacon, the bluffs bend to the east- ward, leaving a prairie from two to three miles in width. It is on a second plateau, or level, about midway between the river bed and the top of the outer bluffs, and covered with well tilled farms.
The soil is a deep sandy loam made, up from the deposits of long ages ago, but affords reasonably good crops, and is especially adapted to fruit growing and vegetables.
The bluffs along the eastern line of the town and the ravines are cov- ered with timber, much of it of very fair quality, consisting of white, red, black and bur oaks, ash, hickory linden wood, and black walnut.
323
LACON-LOCATION AND SURROUNDINGS.
The timber line extends from two to three miles inland, and the quality is good, affording at this day an abundance for fuel and building purposes.
Along the streams and bordering the fields and roads, when allowed to grow, are thickets of sumac, crab-apple, wild cherry, paw-paw, the bril- liant flowered red-bud, etc., while in the bottoms of the Illinois is still to be found the pecan tree, bearing the delicious and peculiarly American nut of that name. They are not found, we are told, north of the latitude of Lacon.
Paw-paws grew everywhere near the rivers or larger streams, and were in great request by the Indians and some of the whites, not all of the latter being able to cultivate a liking for the extremely rich and strongly flavored fruit.
The principal business outlets of the township are the river, the Chi- cago and Alton Railroad, and the Bureau Valley Branch of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad, through its station at Sparland.
LACON.
The first explorers who looked upon the site of Lacon must have been struck with its singular beauty and the possession of every requirement desirable in the location of a city. Beginning at the river, there was a gradual rise for half a mile, and then a level prairie extending a mile further to the wooded terrace beyond. The surface intervening was dotted with knolls, eminences, and occasional miniature lakes, since drained or filled up. In summer the prairie was one vast bed of waving grass and brilliant flowers, changing their tints with each month.
Along the river's bank a belt of oaks, cottonwood and red maples, with an inner lining of willows extended, through which, at intervals glimpses of water were had, which in the sunlight shimmered like molten silver.
What is now Water street was covered with a dense thicket of hazle brush, with here and there a large tree. At the upper end a bayou opened into what was afterward known as "Swan's Basin," and below town a similar outlet gave egress to the surplus water of the numerous springs along the bank. A thicket of hazel brush covered the ground where the woolen mill stands, and extended down to the cemetery; and
324
RECORDS OF THE ÓŁDEN TIME.
the bottom where the old slaughter house stood was dotted with trees and patches of plum and crab-apple thickets,' while Johnson's grove ex- tended in the shape of a V northward to the Court House square. Scat- tering trees covered the bottom west of W. E. Cook's, and thence around to the Benson (now Henry Fisher) place. Another belt followed the brewery ravine, covering the ground where Hoffrichter's slaughter house stands, and extending to the timber on the bluffs. All else was prairie, covered in summer with tall grass and gaily painted flowers, where the wild deer roamed, the wolf made his covert, the prairie chicken beat his tattoo and called his flock together, and each spring and fall the migrating duck and wild goose tarried for rest and recreation during their long voyages "from lands of sun to lands of snow" on the shores of Hudson's Bay.
The setting of this sylvan picture on the east was a line of bluffs cov- , ered with heavy forest trees, unvexed by woodman's ax and their occu- pants undisturbed by hunter's rifle. The children of the forest whose houses were in the valley below roamed through its leafy labyrinths, and with bow and spear struck down the lordly buck and timid doe. The river swarmed with fish, the prairies and forests with game, the earth brought forth bountifully, and the red man, the only dweller unmolested for centuries, hunted, fought, sung his death song and died.
But a change came over the scene. The pale faces made their appear- ance and the Indian gave way before the civilizing influences of whisky and gunpowder.
The first white man who looked upon the site where Lacon stands cannot be named. Over two hundred years ago La Salle and his adven- turous companions explored the river and built a rude fort opposite Peoria, where they passed the winter, followed by Champlain and others; but the thick fringe of trees that curtained the bank here, shut out all view from the river and we have no evidence of their effecting a landing.
Adventurous trappers and land explorers undoubtedly traversed this section, and the Government surveyors who laid out the military tract across the river in 1815-16 probably came over to view the panorama spread before them from the western bluffs, but the first positive visit to the place we have record of was by John Strawn and a man named Haver, in the summer of 1828. In the succeeding year Strawn removed with his family to the prairie three miles east, reaching there the 21st day of Sep- tember. The country in the vicinity of Beardstown had been under cul-
325
LACON-LOCATION AND SURROUNDINGS.
tivation several years, and Strawn, seeing the importance of laying in sup- plies for the winter, proceeded there on horseback, and chartering a keel boat, loaded it with corn, etc., which was propelled up the river and landed near the site of the old mill below town, where its contents were unloaded and hauled to their destination. One pleasant Sabbath in February of that winter Rachael (Mrs. Bane), aged eleven, and Mary Jane (Mrs. Thompson), aged nine, started unattended, and following the track made by the wagons, reached the river in due time, and were undoubtedly the first white females who saw the place. A company of Pottawatomie Indians were camped in a grove near where the woolen mill stands, and looked curiously upon the pale faced squaws, but did not molest them. A few rods distant were a couple of low, covered pens made of poles, from which a sickening stench emanated. Looking through the crevices, the decaying remains of several Indians were seen placed in sitting pos- tures, with their guns and blankets at their sides, ready for departure when the Great Spirit called. They were the victims of a drunken debauch of a few days previous, in which five persons were killed. The girls visited the river bank, gathered a few pebbles as mementos of their visit, and returned unmolested, to the great relief of their anxious mother, who very much feared she would never again behold them.
The Legislature of 1824-5 organized the County of Putnam, embrac- ing all the territory east and north of Marshall to the State line of Wis- consin, west to Warren, and thence southward 105 miles, covering about 11,000 square miles, out of which has since been formed twenty-three of the richest counties in the State. The County, however, was never organized, the few hunters and trappers in the territory caring little for form, and being, as it were, a law unto themselves.
In 1830-1 Putnam was re-organized, including in its territory the pres- ent Counties of Marshall, Bureau, Putnam and Stark, and Hennepin made the county seat. Settlements had already begun on Round and Sand Prairies, and a few families had opened farms in what since became Rob- erts' Township. Although the west side was surveyed in 1815-16, no attempt at settlement had been made up to this time. In the spring of 1831 General Jonathan Babb and Major Henry Filler, of Somerset, Ohio, companions in arms in the war of 1812, journeyed on horseback from Ohio to Illinois, and visited the present site of Lacon, then known as Strawn's Landing. They were struck with the beauty of the place and its favorable location for a town, and as the land was coming into market
326
RECORDS OF THE OLDEN TIME.
in July, they left with John Strawn a sum of money to secure the entry of the fractional tract next the river, on joint account.
On the 18th of July, 1831, the first day of the Government land sales at Springfield, Strawn, in behalf of Babb & Filler, entered the south-east fractional quarter of Section twenty-six, in Township thirty, north of Range three, west of the third principal meridian. It embraced 67 15-100 acres, being that on which the greater part of the original town was laid off. Strawn entered it in his own name, for the convenience of transfer, and with the alleged consent of the other parties donated certain lots to induce the investment of capital. These transfers the parties refused to confirm, and out of it grew a long and acrimonious lawsuit, running through all the courts and ending in the defeat of Strawn. The tract in controversy covered the territory west of Washington street and north of the woolen mill.
The patent of the land was not issued until October 27, 1835, and bears the signature of Andrew Jackson, President.
The fraction of land below Second street and west of Prairie was en- tered by Robert Bird, one of the oldest settlers of Belle Plain Township, and sold by him to John Strawn. The instrument of sale bears record of August 15, 1831, and was the first deed recorded in Putnam County.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.