USA > Illinois > Coles County > The History of Coles County, Illinois map of Coles County; history of Illinois history of Northwest Constitution of the United States, miscellaneous matters, &c., &c > Part 26
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HISTORY OF COLES COUNTY.
Fifth Cavalry. The One Hundred and Twenty-third Regiment contained seven companies that were called Coles County companies. In a history like this, however, it is impossible to give a complete and correct record of a county's participation in the late war. Space will not permit. Besides, from the records that have been kept, it is not an easy matter to obtain the names of all who deserve mention. Therefore, we shall make no attempt to particular- ize any one, but will add that the record of Coles County soldiers is above reproach. Their deeds are engraved upon the hearts of their countrymen, and their reward is found in the happy reflection that the old flag still floats over all the States. And for those who laid down their lives to maintain the Union, and whose lone graves are fanned by Southern winds, we know of no better meed to their bravery, no sweeter tribute to their memory, than the beautiful lines from the pen of Col. Theodore O'Hara, of Kentucky, and dedicated to the heroes of that State who fell in the Mexican war, when their bones were collected and interred in the State Cemetery at Frankfort :
"The muffled drum's sad roll has beat The soldier's last tattoo ! No more on life's parade shall meet That brave and fallen few ; On Fame's eternal camping-ground Their silent tents are spread, And glory guards with solemn round The bivouac of the dead !"
These beautiful lines, written for the Kentucky dead of the Mexican war, have been adopted by Massachusetts and inscribed upon a splendid monument erected to her dead heroes of the late war. They are a touching tribute to the soldier who lays down his life for his country and sleeps the eternal sleep, never more to heed the call to arms until the last reveille shall sound from the battlements of heaven. Peace to their ashes.
MISCELLANEOUS HISTORY.
There are few individuals, and perhaps few countries, but have some dark pages in their histories. To err is human nature, and to say that the people of Coles County, or certain classes of them, have sometimes erred is but to pro- claim them human-not divine. The murder of Nathan Ellington by Adolph Monroe, in October, 1855, was a horrible affair, and, considering all the circum- stances, peculiarly distressing. Ellington is said to have been a man of most excellent character, and highly respected by all who knew him. Mon- roe was his son-in-law. He was a young man of commanding appearance, fine address, and had once stood high in the community, but had fallen a prey to intoxicating drink. A family feud was engendered, and one day, in an altercation with his father-in-law, he drew e revolver and shot him dead. For this crime he was tried by a jury of his peers, found guilty of murder in the first degree, and sentenced to be hanged. The day
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of execution came, and though in midwinter (the 14th of February, 1856), and the ground white with snow, a great multitude gathered at the county's capital to witness the fulfillment of the law. The heavens were dark, as if draped in the " gloom of earthquake and echipse," and the elements seemed poisoned with the spirit of vengeance, as manifested by the immense crowd which had assembled, not only from this, but from adjoining counties. In the mean time, a respite of thirty days was granted by the Governor to the doomed man. This produced a terrible commotion in the multitude, now changed into a howl- ing mob, and threw it into the most insane excitement. It swayed back and forth from the Court House to the prisoner's cell. and resolved and re-resolved. The death of the fated man, in violation of law, was determined upon. His prison was assaulted by the mob, the officers of the law intimidated and over- come, and Monroe taken out of jail by ruthless hands. He was dragged to the valley west of town by the infuriated people, where a gallows was speedily erected, the doomed wretch lifted into a wagon, the rope adjusted, his limbs pinioned, the wagon moved from under him, and, without shrift, hurled into eternity. Monroe said to one man at the gallows : " I die, and if I go to hell, you will go to the same place, for you it was that sold me the whisky that has brought me to this terrible fate." What a haunting memory to cling to one through life ! It is scarce necessary to add that all the best people were universal in their condemnation of the disgraceful affair.
Another dark page in the history of Coles 'County was the riot which took place in Charleston during the stormy scenes occasioned by the late war, and the diversity of opinion with which the people regarded it. It is a fact much to be regretted that, with a record for patriotism second to no county in the State (as reckoned by the number of soldiers furnished), that such an event should have occurred to tarnish that glorious record. Doubtless both parties, the citizens and soldiers, were more or less to blame for the collision which took place between them, and in like manner responsible for the melancholy result. Of all the wars that have scourged the earth, a civil war is the most deplorable. In England's war of the roses. we have an illustration of the direful results of such a strife, and in our own internecine war we equaled, if we did not excel. the rival houses of York and Lancaster. It may be that the high-wrought ex- citement of the times presented an eligible excuse for the scene enacted in Charleston on the 29th of March, 1864, between the same people (brothers as it were) who saw the cause and object of the war through different glasses. The death of several persons in the streets of Charleston was the sad consequence of that difference of opinion. The feelings engendered by the war, which cul- minated in bloodshed, have long since toned down, and the participators in the deplorable affair (to call it by its mildest name) doubtless regret the part they acted in it. So, in no spirit of censure beyond a condemnation of mob violence on general principles, we will pass from the subject, flinging over the sad occur- rence the spacious robe of charity.
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HISTORY OF COLES COUNTY.
In his Centennial Address, Capt. Adams narrates a melancholy occurrence in the township of Hickory, at or near Hickory Grove. In the winter of 1830-31, which is characterized in the history of Illinois as one of unusual severity, three men froze to death near this grove. They had under- taken to cross the prairie on horse-back ; the ground was covered with snow to a considerable depth, and the air piercingly cold. In their last extremity, they killed their horses, and, taking out their entrails, crawled into the warm carcasses, but before relief reached them they succumbed to the "Icy King of Terrors." The following is from the same source of information : "In 1831, three men of the name of Ellis were killed by lightning, in the southwest part of the county. The accident occurred on Wednesday, and they were not found until the Saturday following. When discovered, their bodies were as limber as that of a living person, and never stiffened like a body that meets death from natural causes. It was supposed that the lightning had broken the bone's without rupturing the skin."
Passing from the grave to the gay, from the sad to the ludicrous, it becomes our duty, as a faithful historian, to chronicle an event that took place in Coles County in 1834, which, while it had a somewhat ludicrous termination, was begun in earnest, by one of the parties engaged in it, at least. The circum- stance referred to, was a duel fought in Charleston, by Peter Glassco and John Gately. A difficulty had arisen between them, which blood alone could satisfy or settle, and, accordingly, they resorted to the code of honor to avenge their wounded dignity. A challenge was sent and accepted, seconds were selected and the weapons (big " hoss " pistols) were chosen. The hostile parties met, with ten paces between them, and proceeded to wipe out their wrongs in the most approved style. The seconds loaded the pistols with blank cartridges, without Glassco's knowledge, however, who, it seems, was the most belligerent of the two, and the most deeply grieved. Finally, when all was ready, the principals were placed by the seconds, one, two, three, were called, and both parties fired. Gately fell, and his second, who had provided a bottle of pokeberry-juice for the purpose, ran to him and dexterously saturated his clothes with the contents of the bottle, thus giving him a most ghastly appearance. Glassco, petrified with terror, gazed at his bleeding victim, and, horrified at the "ruin he had wrought," exclaimed, " My God, I have killed him,". threw away his pistol and fled. About a year afterward, he was apprised of the fact that the duel was a " put-up job," and that Gately still lived, when, with the horror of murder removed from his soul, he returned to the county. Ile never fought another duel.
That scourge of the human race, the Asiatic cholera, one of the gifts of the Old World to the new, made a visit, in 1851, to Coles County. For a time "it made itself exceedingly odious and repulsive," says one, "and old and young alike were the victims of the fell disease." As is usually the case, it visited certain localities only, Charleston and Pleasant Grove Township being the suf-
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ferers. In these sections, many cases occurred ; some of them proved fatal. while others recovered. The greatest consternation and excitement prevailed. Those not sick became panic-stricken, and fled in confusion and dismay. How many died of the disease cannot now be ascertained. Distressing as was the ordeal and melancholy in its result. yet it had its humorous side. A very amusing anecdote is told of Hon. O. B. Ficklin's grim fight with the awful disease. He was attacked in the harvest-field, rushed home and went to bed, sent for all the doctors in town, called his wife and children to his bedside, bade them good-by. and kissed them one by one, concluding with his old colored cook, and prepared to die with the cholera. He dropped off to sleep, from which he awoke, a few hours later, completely restored. Having slept off the natural exhaustion (!) of the harvest-field, " Richard was himself again."
We spoke of a murder and a lynching, a little space ago. Charleston can boast of several other murders within her time. But we shall not go into details concerning them. Such incidents are better forgotten than perpetuated upon the pages of history. We will, therefore, pass them without further remark in this connection.
THE GRAVE OF LINCOLN'S FATHER.
Thomas Lincoln, the father of the martyred President, was among the early settlers of Coles County. He removed from Kentucky (where the future President was born) to Spencer County, Ind., in 1816, when Abraham was but seven years old. Here he remained until 1830, when he removed to Macon County, Ill., and located on the North Fork of the Sangamon River, ten miles southwest of Decatur. He came to Coles County about 1832-33, and settled in what is now Pleasant Grove Township: but Abraham, having in the mean time attained his majority, and commenced the battle of life on his own responsibility, did not come with the family to this county. In after years however, when he became a practicing lawyer, he often attended the courts of Coles County, in which cases he never failed to visit his father in Pleasant Grove, and, it is said, always purchased as many presents (generally of a sub- stantial character) as he could stow in his buggy, and conveyed them to the family, who were in indigent circumstances. Stuve's History of Illinois gives the following of President Lincoln's family : " Abraham Lincoln was born in La Rue (now Hardin) County, Ky., about two miles south of the village of Hodgensville, February 12, 1809. Here his father had taken up a land- claim of 300 acres, rongh, broken and poor, containing a fine spring, known to this day as the 'Linkum Spring.' Unable to pay for the unproductive land, the claim was abandoned, and the family moved from place to place in the neighborhood. being very destitute. These removals occurring while Abraham was scarcely more than an infant, has given risc to different statements as to the exact place of his birth. It is said that in that part of Kentucky four places now claim the honor." Thomas Lincoln, the father of Abraham Lincoln.
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finally removed to Indiana, and then to Illinois, as above stated, and died years ago in Pleasant Grove Township. There, in a quiet little cemetery, known as " Gordon's Grave-yard," without stone or " lettered monument" to mark the spot. sleeps the old pioneer. We give below a poem, entitled the "Grave of the Father of Abraham Lincoln," written by G. B. Balch, Esq., of Pleasant Grove, and published in many journals throughout the country, from Lippin- cott & Magazine to the county papers :
" In a low, sweet vale, by a murmuring rill, The pioneer's ashes are sleeping ; Where the white marble slabs so lonely and still, In silence their vigils are keeping.
" On their sad, lonely faces are words of fame, But none of them speak of his glory ; When the pioneer died, his age and his name, No monument whispers the story.
" No myrtle, nor ivy, nor hyacinth blows O'er the lonely grave where they laid him ; No cedar, nor holly, nor almond tree grows Near the plebeian's grave to shade him.
" Bright evergreens wave over many a grave, O'er some bow the sad weeping-willow ; But no willow-trees bow, nor evergreens wave, Where the pioneer sleeps on his pillow.
" Some are inhumed with the honors of State, And laid beneath temples to molder ; The grave of the father of Lincoln, the great, Is known by a hilloek and bowlder.
" Let him take his lone sleep, and gently rest, With naught to disturb or awake him, When the angels shall come to gather the blest To Abraham's bosom, they'll take him."
GEOLOGICAL FORMATION.
The geological deposits and formations of Coles County possess but little interest or importance, as compared to many other sections of Illinois. The soil of the prairies is of considerable thickness, of a deep black, or dark brown color, and very rich and productive. Beneath this soil, according to the geo- logical survey of the State, is a loamy clay, which also produces well with proper cultivation. The most important feature of the geology of the county, however, is the coal-deposit, which is supposed to underlie the county. A man of the name of Owens, years ago, discovered coal, and a very good quality, too, near where John Mickleblack now lives. Recent investigations, we are informed, have developed the fact that not exceeding five hundred feet below the surface, coal abounds in great abundance. Doubtless the time is not far distant when these coal-fields will become a source of industry, as well as of great value to the country. According to geological survey, three-fourths of
-
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the surface of Illinois are underlaid by beds of coal, and consequently have a greater area of this valuable fuel than any other State of the Union. A scientific writer speaks thus upon the formation and discovery of coal : "The vast accumulation of vegetable matter from carboniferous plants, either im- bedded in the miry soil in which it grew, or swept from adjacent elevations into shallow lakes, became covered with sediment, and thus were transformed into coal. It has been estimated that eight perpendicular feet of wood were required to make one foot of bituminous coal, and twelve to make one foot of anthracite. Some beds of the latter are thirty feet in thickness, and hence 360 feet of timber must have been consumed in their production. The process of its formation was exactly the same as practiced in the manufacture of char- coal, by burning wood under a covering of earth. Vegetable tissue consists mostly of carbon and oxygen, and decomposition must take place, either under water or some other impervious covering, to prevent the elements from forming carbonic-acid gas, and thus escaping to the atmosphere. Conforming to these requirements the immense vegetable growths forming the coal-fields subsided with the surface on which they grew, and were buried beneath the succeeding deposits. Nova Scotia has seventy-six different beds, and Illinois twelve; and consequently, in these localities, there were as many different fields of verdure overwhelmed in the dirt-beds of the sea. Thus, long before the starry cycles had measured half the history of the unfolding continent, and when first the expanding stream of life but dimly reflected the coming age of mind, this vast supply of fuel was stored away in the rocky frame-work of the globe. Here it slumbered until man made his appearance and dragged it from its rocky lairs. At his bidding, it renders the factory animate with humming spindles, driving shuttles, whirling lathes and clanking forges. Under his guidance the iron- horse, feeding upon its pitchy fragments, bounds and tireless treads over its far- reaching track, dragging after him the products of distant marts and climes. By the skill of the one and the power of the other, the ocean steamer plows the deep in opposition to winds and waves, making its watery home a highway for the commerce of the world.
Beyond the coal-beds underlying the surface, the county, as we have said, is not very rich in geology. There are, we believe, some stone-beds along the Embarrass River, but the quality of the stone is poor and of but little value for building purposes. With this brief glance at the geological features, we will leave the subject, referring the reader to the Geological Survey of the State for further information on this interesting point of history.
THE COUNTY PRESS.
The first newspaper was established in Coles County in 1840, and was called the Charleston Courier. But as the township history will contain a more complete account of the press, we shall have little to say on the subject in this chapter. We wish, however. to leave on record our impression of the
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value of the files of county papers as sources of history. Their pages give a picture from week to week of both national and local events, which can be found nowhere else. Even the advertisements give much history, and we think there ought to be a provision made for keeping such files in the county and city offices.
There are at present in Coles County six newspapers, viz. : the Courier and Plaindealer, of Charleston ; the Commercial, Journal and Gazette, of Mattoon ; and the Herald, of Oakland. These are live, energetic newspapers, well filled with the news of the day (this is not an advertisement), and deserve the liberal support of the people of the county.
CHARLESTON TOWNSHIP.
" The proud bird,
The condor of the Andes, that can soar
Through heaven's unfathomable depths, or brave, The fury of the northern hurricane And bathe his plumage in the thunder's home,
Furls his broad wings at nightfall, and sinks down
To rest upon his mountain-crag ; but Time
Knows not the weight of sleep or weariness, And night's deep darkness has no chain to bind His rushing pinions."-Prentice.
" Time, fierce spirit of the glass and scythe," sets his signet upon the fading race of men, and they pass away "as a tale that is told." The " enduring marble " points us to the spot where sleep the pioneers whose magic touch changed this country from a " howling waste" to the paradise we find it to-day. More than fifty years have " flung their sunshines and shadows o'er the world" since the first white people came to Charleston Township and proceeded to set- tle themselves to " grow up with the country." Fifty years ! How much has transpired in that half-century that has come and gone since the "star of empire " crossed the " raging " Embarrass and paused for a moment over this fair region. We have neither time nor space to particularize the changes that have taken place in all these rolling years. Go ask the few old gray-heads still left how they have seen the palace take the place of the " pole cabin," the railway-train that of the patient, plodding ox, and the " wilderness rejoice and blossom as the rose." They can tell you of these changes far better than we, for they are things 'all of which they saw and part of which they were.' Ours is the duty to give the dry, historical details, and faithfully we shall endeavor to perform the task.
THE EARLY SETTLEMENT.
The first permanent settlement was made in Charleston Township in 1825. In that year, Seth H. Bates settled here, having removed from Crawford County. Jesse Veach, then a young man of eighteen, " moved " him to this
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neighborhood, and informs us that there was not a family then on this side of the Embarrass River. Bates was originally from Ohio, but had been living some ten years in Crawford County before emigrating to this. He remained here but a short time, however, when he sold out and removed to the Kickapoo settlement, in what is now La Fayette Township, where he is noticed further. In the fall of 1826, Enoch Glassco and his sons, Kimball, Madison and Enoch Glassco, Jr., came from Kentucky and settled just north of the present city of Charleston. They are said to have been almost as tall as the giant oaks of their native State-not one of them but stood more than six feet in his stock- ings. Enoch Glassco, Jr., is still living and resides in Charleston ; Kimball lives in Tuscola, and Madison died some three years ago. A daughter of the elder Glassco married James Y. Brown, who came to the settlement soon after. Mrs. Permelia Gobin was also a daughter of Glassco. In 1827, the Parkers came to this neighborhood and settled on what is now Anderson's Addition to the city of Charleston. They were of the family of Parkers mentioned in the general county history as settling, originally, Parker's Prairie. Benjamin Parker was one of the most noted, perhaps, of those who settled in this town- ship. He was a son of old " High " Johnny Parker, as he was called, the old " hard-shell " Baptist preacher. It is told of him (old " High" Johnny) that, one Sunday, after he had closed his sermon, he gave out an appointment " to preach at that place, that day four weeks, if it was not a good day for bee- hunting." He was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and, as a reward for his services, received a pension under the act of Congress of 1832. The following certificate appears on the early records of the County Commissioners' Court : STATE OF ILLINOIS, ? ss., A. D. 1832 : COLES COUNTY, 1
On the 15th day of October, personally appeared in open Court before Isaac Lewis and James S. Martin, County Commissioners for the county of Coles, now sitting and constituting said Court for said county and State aforesaid, John Parker, a resident of the United States of America, in the county of Coles and State of Illinois, aged seventy-four years, who, being first duly sworn according to law, doth on his oath make the following declaration in order to obtain the benefit of the act of Congress passed June 7, 1832: That he entered the service of the United States, under the following-named officers, and served as herein stated ; that he enlisted under Capt. Fields, Col. Slaughter commander of the regiment, Gen. Greene's Brigade ; entered the service of the United States in October, 1777, and left the service in twelve months thereafter ; that again he entered the United States service under Capt. Callier, of Col. Alexan- der's regiment. That he was drafted in the latter end of 1779, and marched through Winchester, Va., into Pennsylvania, and was stationed on a creek called Ten-Mile Creek, in Pennsylvania ; was in no engagements, and that he has no doenmentary evidence. That he remained twelve months each term of service, making two whole years. That he received a discharge from Capt. Callier, and that it is now lost. That he was born September 5, 1758, in the State of Mary- land, Baltimore County ; that the only record of his age is taken from his father's Bible, now in his possession ; that he lived in Culpeper County, Va., when called into service; that he lived in the State of Georgia seventeen years ; thence to Tennessee, Hickman County ; thence to the Territory of Illinois, in the year 1815, in which State he now resides, and in the county of Coles. He hereby relinquishes every claim whatever to a pension, except the present, and he declares that his name is not on the pension-roll of the agency of any State.
Sworn to and subscribed the day and year aforesaid.
JOIN PARKER.
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This certificate is attested by Griffin Tipsoward, who was also a Revolution- ary soldier, and the Commissioners add their certificate, that after fully investigating the case, and " putting the interrogations prescribed by the War Department, " believe he was a Revolutionary soldier, and served as stated in the foregoing declaration.
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