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 43
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Sworn to and subscribed the day and year aforesaid.
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GRIFFIN X TIPSOWARD.
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The truth of this declaration is attested to by John Parker and Joseph Painter, Revolutionary soldiers themselves, and who file similar declarations on their own behalf. The honesty and respectability of the petitioner is also attested by another certificate from John Parker, "a minister of the Gospel," and James Nees, after which is a certificate from the County Commissioners, stating that they believe the "foregoing declaration to be true, and that the said Griffin Tipsoward was a Revolutionary soldier and served as therein stated," and recommended that the pension applied for be paid him.
Stephen Sargent was originally from New Hampshire, but removed to Ken- tucky when that State was in its infancy. He came to Illinois in 1836, to Hutton Township in 1838, and settled on Section 11, where he resided until his death in 1878. Stephen Stone was originally from Virginia, and was one of the very early settlers of this town. He died here many years ago. Reddick Cartwright, a relative of the famous pioneer preacher, Peter Cartwright, came to this section about 1827-28. He was from Tennessee, and is long since dead. John Wilkerson, John Walker and Hugh Doyle were among the early settlers. Where Wilkerson came from is not remembered; he removed to Texas a good many years ago. Walker was from Indiana here, and died long ago. Doyle came here from Crawford County, and moved to Missouri, where he died. Andrew Endsley came from Ohio in 1838, and settled near the present village of Salisbury, where he died. A son, Andrew Endsley, Jr., is still living in the neighborhood, one of the prosperous farmers of the country. Charles Harris was one of the early settlers of Hutton Township. He was originally from Kentucky, but had been living in the south part of the State for some time before coming to this section. Charles R. Martin came to Hut- ton in 1837, and is from Kentucky. He has a clock, one of the old-timers, that extends from the floor to the ceiling, that has been keeping time for ninety years.
David Weaver, one of the pioneers of this township, and who has passed to his reward since we began our work of compiling the history of the county, was a native of North Carolina. In an early day, his father having determined to emigrate to the West, packed his earthly all into a wagon, crossed the Alle- ghanies and continued the journey until he reached Lawrence County, Ind. Here he located, and, in 1833, David and a brother came to Coles County. David Weaver settled in the eastern part of what is now Hutton Township. He is represented as an energetic and public-spirited man, joining heartily in
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HISTORY OF COLES COUNTY.
whatever was calculated to promote the interests of the country. He appears to have been of a rather restless disposition, and not contented long in one place. He entered land, bought land, and would locate, plant an orchard, and, in a few years, remove to another location. At one time, he, with two others, owned a saw-mill in what was called "String Town," and, a few years later, he and George Oliver had a saw-mill on the west bank of the Embarrass River. The following story is told of his attempt to take a flatboat out of the Embarrass River : "During the winter, he built the boat, upon the bank of the river, loaded it with hoop-poles and waited for the spring rain to raise the river. Finally, the anxiously-expected freshet came, and his boat floated down the raging stream. All went well until it reached Newton, the county seat of Jasper County, when it became unmanageable, drifted from the main channel. struck a snag, and became a total wreck." The following extract is from an obituary notice in the Charleston Plaindealer : " While it is true that. he has gone to the land 'from whose bourn no traveler returns,' yet, he is, and will long be remembered, 'by the word he has spoken, the things he has done.' There has, perhaps, been none other of Coles County's pioneers, who did more for the benefit of the county, during its infancy, than Mr. Weaver. Beside fur- nishing the county with many orchards, he did many other things for its advance- ment. He aided in surveying and clearing out the Charleston and Westfield road, took an active part in the business of the county, and truly, made him- self a necessity to the people in their time of need. By trade, he was a car- penter. As a neighbor, he was kind and generous, always ready to lend a helping hand. He died at his residence in Hutton Township, February 6, 1879, leaving his aged companion to mourn his loss."
William Waldruff and Anthony Cox settled in the town in 1828, on the Parker Prairie. Anthony Cox. Jr., was a soldier in Company K, One Hundred and Twenty-third Illinois Volunteers, and was killed in the battle of Perry- ville, October 8, 1862. Jonathan Parker, of Company F, same regiment, was killed in same battle. James Nees, Charles Miller and William Cook settled in the southern part of the township, near the present village of " Dog Town." Joseph Painter* settled in the neighborhood soon after. He, too, was a Revolu- tionary soldier, and made application for a pension under act of Congress of 1832.
This concludes the early settlers of Hutton Township, together with the time of their settlement, so far as we have been able to learn them. There are, doubtless, many omissions, but, after the lapse of all these years, and with the fact that so few of the pioneers are still living, it is not at all strange that names are overlooked that are deserving of record in these pages.
EARLY HISTORY.
When the first white people came to this township, the whole country, north and west, was an almost unbroken wilderness, in possession of the aborigines. " Joseph Painter was a Revolutionary soldier, and filed a declaration in the. County Commissioners' Court, apply - ing for a pension, similar to that of Tipsoward, given in this chapter.
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HISTORY OF COLES COUNTY.
Wild beasts, and men as wild and savage as they, roamed through it at will, its undisputed masters. There are a few still living in Hutton Township who knew it fifty years ago, who have known it ever since. They remember the "pole cabins " put up by the early settlers as temporary shelters from the fury of the elements ; they remember the cabins built of logs split open, "to make them go further ;" the puncheon floors, with cracks large enough for a child to fall through ; the yawning fire-place and the chimney built of sticks and " cats and clay." They, too, remember the old Cary and barshare plows, the slow- going oxen, the " scythe and cradle " and the wooden-tooth harrow. And they remember the time when they went to the Sangamon and Wabash Rivers to mill, spending a week on the trip, and the time when they pounded their corn in a block, sifted it, made bread of the finest and hominy of the coarser meal. They have seen the wilderness they first knew develop into as fine and pros- perous a country as the sun shines on.
The first mill in Hutton Township was built by Benjamin Parker in 1824-25, on the Embarrass River, opposite where the Blakeman Mills now stand. This was supposed to be, as it is, an excellent mill-site, and thus attracted attention at an early day. Before Parker built his mill here, which was completed and commenced operation in the latter part of 1825, the few people then in the community used to go to the Sangamon River to mill, and to the Wabash, near Vincennes. Parker sold this mill to a man named Shaw, and, after operating it for a time, Shaw sold it to Norfolk & Baker, of Charleston. They moved it across the river, to the spot where the Blakeman Mills stand, and where they, later, erected the elegant mills now owned by Blakeman. These famous mills consist of a large frame building, to which there has been added a large brick struct- ure, making altogether quite a huge pile of buildings. Several runs of buhrs are kept pretty busily in motion to supply the trade. A circular-saw mill has been added, which does a large business in lumber.
The first blacksmith in Hutton was John Ashby, mentioned as one of the early settlers, who came here from North Carolina, and opened a shop about 1827-28, not far from the present village of Salisbury. He kept a shop here many years, and finally died in the neighborhood. The first orchard planted in the township was by David Weaver, about 1834-35, on what is now known as the Smoot farm. Previous to this effort at fruit-culture, the people had to content themselves with "sour grapes." Who sold the first goods in the settlement it is hard to say, at the present time, but a little store in " String Town" was perhaps the first. The first man who administered to the ills of the body was James Hite, long a resident of Ashmore Township. He was not a regular physician, but being a man of considerable intelligence and some knowledge of the science of medicine, he could handle the ague and bilious fever pretty successfully, and in such cases did a great deal of gratuitous prac- tice. Dr. Ferguson, of Charleston, was the first regular physician who practiced in the community, and for many years visited the sick of Hutton Township.
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HISTORY OF COLES COUNTY.
The first bridge in this township was built across the Embarrass River at the Blakeman Mills, but just what year is not now remembered. It was a wooden structure, and served for a number of years, and becoming useless was replaced with another of its kind, which, in turn, was finally super- seded by the splendid iron bridge now spanning the river at this point. Mr. Hutton was the first person who crossed this iron bridge. Going to Charleston on business one day, the workmen told him they would have the new bridge ready for him to cross on as he came back. As he returned home, the floor not being quite finished, they laid down loose plank so that he could cross over.
Joel Conley and James Gill (the latter now living in Cumberland County) were the first Justices of the Peace in Hutton Township. When the county adopted township organization, in 1859-60, John Hutton was the first Super- visor, and held the office for three terms, successively, and James Rennels was the first Town Clerk. At present, the township officers are as follows, viz. : W. R. Cox, Supervisor ; A. B. Tucker and W. D. Merritt, Justices of the Peace, and Frederick E. Cottingham, Town Clerk.
RELIGIOUS AND EDUCATIONAL.
In our meanderings, we discovered nine church-buildings ; how many others are nestled among the hills of Hutton, we are unable to say. Since that first ser- mon was preached by Daniel Parker, on the banks of the Embarrass, fifty yearsago, the Gospel has spread in this region proportionately with everything else. The town has three Christian Churches, two United Brethren, two "Separate " Baptist, one Missionary Baptist, and one Methodist Episcopal Church. The latter church was built in 1870, and is located within a few rods of Mr. Hut- ton's residence. It is a modern frame building, and has a large and flourishing congregation ; Rev. Mr. Burks is Pastor.
The first of the Christian Churches was built at "String Town," about 1836-37, and was a little log building. Before its erection, they held their religious services in the "Hickory " schoolhouse, so called from being built of hickory logs. After using their log church for a number of years, they replaced it with a substantial brick. We do not know if this house was built upon the sand, but were told that the "winds blew and the floods came and beat upon that house, and it fell." In May, 1876, it was blown down to the floor, during a severe storm. Since then, a handsome frame structure has been built on the old brick foundation. This Church has a large membership. of which Rev. Mr. Young is the spiritual adviser. Northeast of Salisbury, is another Christian Church, a brick building, and, west of it, is also a Christian Church.
North of Salisbury, is a United Brethren Church, and southeast of the little village, three and a half miles, is another of the same denomination. Both of these churches are in the bounds of the same circuit, and Rev. Mr.
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HISTORY OF COLES COUNTY.
Collins is the Pastor of both. The first church erected in the township was by the United Brethren, just across the line from Westfield, and was a large frame. It is still standing, but, since the building of the church at Westfield, has been evacuated, and is not used now. There is quite an extensive burying-ground at it, where sleep many of the Hutton pioneers.
About three-fourths of a mile west of Mr. Hutton's is what is called a " Separate " Baptist Church, and was built in 1857 or 1858. It is a substan- tial frame building. Rev. Mr. Turner is Pastor of it. A very pretty little ceme- tery, studded with white marble slabs, is adjacent to this church. Two miles south of Hutton post office is the Missionary Baptist Church, of which Rev. Mr. Thornton is Pastor ; and, a mile or two north of the Hutton post office, is another church of the "Separate" Baptists. One of the very early preachers of this town, and the first who ever preached on the " Hurricane" waters, was Rev. Stanley Walker. He was a Hardshell Baptist, but finally joined the " Separate " Baptists. In the village of Diona, just on the line between this county and Cumberland, is a church of the United Brethren and Cumberland Presbyterians.
As to who taught the first school in the township, there is some doubt. One of the first remembered, however, was taught by a man named Ellis ; but whether it was the first of all, cannot be ascertained now. The house in which it was taught was a small log cabin, of the style usually devoted to school purposes in the early times. The town, at the present day, is well supplied with good comfortable schoolhouses, and excellent schools are maintained dur- ing the school-term. No township in the county has more extensive school facilities than Hutton.
The first death in Hutton Township was a Mrs. Whitten, the wife of a millwright who was engaged on the Parker Mill, and was the first death in Coles County as well as in Hutton Township. Her death occurred in 1825, and she was buried on the bluff, a few hundred yards east of the mill. The first marriage in the town is lost in the mists of antiquity, and the first birth involved in some doubt. A birth occurred in the family of William Beaver, soon after his settlement here, but whether the first in the neighborhood is not known.
POLITICS AND PATRIOTISM.
Hutton Township has always been a Democratic town. In the days when it was a voting precinct, and Whigs and Democrats the prevailing parties, it voted for Gen. Jackson. It is Democratic now by from fifty to one hundred votes. In patriotism, Hutton ranks with any town in the county. It has has always had its heroes in the way of old soldiers. There were John John Parker, Griffin Tipsoward, George Cottingham and Joseph Painter, who faced the legions of King George in our struggle for Independence. Among the heroes of 1812, are George Cottingham, John Scott and Nicholas Lemming, and John Hutton, of the Black Hawk war. In the late war, Hut-
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HISTORY OF COLES COUNTY.
ton Township was ably represented. When the tocsin of war sounded through the land, her sturdy sons left
" The plow in the mid-furrow stayed,"
and, seizing their " target and claymore," marched for the front. Hutton kept ahead of all the calls of the Government, furnishing her full complement, even before called for. She never had a draft, and could have stood another call without being subjected to one. Several of her sons never returned ; their dust mingles with that of the far-off battle-fields where they fell, " victims to atone the war." Peace to their ashes, and lightly may the clods rest upon them.
THE VILLAGES.
Salisbury or Hutton is located on Section 9, and has scarcely attained to the dignity of a village, being nothing more than a cluster of a dozen or two houses. It is, however, an old place, having been laid out as a village December 28, 1837, and, no doubt, at some remote period of its existence, entertained lofty aspirations of becoming a place of magnitude. But railroads passing within a dozen miles of it, have forever blasted these bright anticipations. It was laid out by George K. Harris and John Hulin. The place was first called Stewart, but when a post office was obtained, there was found "another Rich- mond in the field," otherwise a post office already of that name, and this then was called Ashby. But this name being so similar to Ashley, the "wrong mail frequently went to the wrong place." The little town by this time had assumed so much importance that one name was found to be insufficient, and so matters were compromised by calling the post office Hutton and the town Salisbury, for Salisbury, N. C., the native place of Mr. Hulin, one of the pro- prietors of the place. A man named Gilbert built the first house in Salisbury, or Saulsbury as the people call it, and he and a man named Bartness kept the first store. Who kept the post office first, is not now remembered, but it is supposed to have been kept by one of the last-named gentlemen. The present Postmaster is Dr. J. S. Garner, who was First Lieutenant of Company K, Forty-eighth Regiment Kentucky Volunteers, during the late war. Salisbury has no churches or schoolhouses within its corporate limits, but it is surrounded by both just outside of its "embattled walls." It has a Masonic Lodge- Hutton Lodge, No. 698 -- which was organized in 1872. The first officers were : George Bidle, Worshipful Master; C. P. Rosencrans, Senior Warden ; John A. Stull, Junior Warden ; C. Fuqua, Treasurer ; Allen Hill, Secretary : S. S. Bills, Senior Deacon ; F. E. Cottingham, Junior Deacon, and Owen Wiley Tiler. The present officers are : A. N. Rosencrans, Worshipful Master ; John A. Stull, Senior Warden ; J. B. Lee, Junior Warden ; T. A. Bensley, Treas- urer, and F. E. Cottingham, Secretary, with between fifty and seventy members. The business of Hutton is as follows: One store, Endsley & Co .; one millinery store, Mrs. Sarah McDonald ; three blacksmith-shops, two with wood-
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HISTORY OF COLES COUNTY.
shops added ; one physician, Dr. J. S. Garner, and Postmaster; one Justice of Peace, A. B. Tucker, and one Masonic Lodge.
The village of Diona, usually called by the poetic name of "Dog Town," in point of population is about the equal of Salisbury. Small as it is, however, one county is not large enough to hold it, and it is located about equally in Coles and Cumberland Counties. It is divided into four wards by the county line, and the Congressional township line, the latter running through it from north to south, and the county line from east to west. Diona has never been laid out as a village, but is merely an accidental collection of houses, as it were, with a store or two, a post office, shops, etc. Nicholas McMorris is Post- master. He lives in Cumberland County, but his store and post office are in Coles- County. Matthews & Fulkerson also have a store here, and there is a Church of the United Brethren and Cumberland Presbyterians, as elsewhere stated.
"String. Town " is merely a nickname given to a rather thickly-settled neighborhood, on account of several mechanic-shops, a saw mill, a church and a little store formerly kept here. Thomas Goodman kept a store here at one time, also a man of the name of Peppers. But all is past, and the glory of String Town has departed. There is nothing left but the church and one or two residences to tell where erst " String Town " stood.
EAST OAKLAND TOWNSHIP.
In a country like ours, the department of history can claim to chronicle. no mighty events, nor relate any of those local traditions that make many countries of the Old World so famous in story and song, yet they serve the purpose of directing attention to the rise, progress and present standing of places, which may fairly claim in the future what has made others great in the past. With these lines of preface, we will say a few words of the boundary and topography of one of the finest sections of Coles County.
Oakland Township, or East Oakland, as it is called, lies in the northeast corner of the county ; bounded on the north and east by Douglas and Edgar Counties on the south by Ashmore Township, and on the west by Embarrass River. It is a little more than a full Congressional township, being seven sec- tions from north to south, and six full sections wide in the narrowest place, while in some of the bends of the river it extends in nearly a section deeper. Brush Creek is the principal stream aside from the Embarrass River, but the land does not need additional drainage. The town contained, originally, much fine timber, of all the different varieties common in this portion of the State, and, although a great deal of it has been consumed, there is still left enough for all practical purposes. The Illinois Midland Railway passes through the north part of the town, from east to west, and has added much to the impor- tance of this section of the county. The village of Oakland is a thriving place of four or five hundred inhabitants, and will be more fully described further on.
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HISTORY OF COLES COUNTY.
THE SETTLEMENT.
The first white settler in this vicinity, is supposed to have been Samuel Ashmore. He came to this immediate neighborhood in 1829, though his first settlement was in what is now Douglas County, but included for years in Coles County. He settled on what was known as the Laughlin farm, and now owned by Andrew Gwinn. Here he remained but a couple of years, when he removed to the present limits of Oakland Township. He was from the State of Tennes- see, and was Captain under Gen. Jackson in the war against the Creek Indi- ans, and in the battle of New Orleans, and always retained the warmest vener- ation for " Old Hickory. When he removed to this section, three of his sons -Clayborne, at the time married, and George W. and Madison, single-came with him. At the time of Mr. Ashmore's location here, Paris and Grand View were the nearest settlements to him. From the Oakland Herald we make the following extract: "Resolving to leave Tennessee, whose chattel-slavery he thoroughly detested, with his brothers William, James and Amos, and all their families, he came to the Wabash country. Here he soon fell into the chronic frontier style of life, common to-day as it was then. First to make an improve- ment and next to make a sale, and, when that is made, go to chopping upon another claim. If it be true that a rolling stone gathers no moss, it is apparent that the tramp-farmer is a failure. By the help of his sons, he opened a farm near Darwin, cleared off one hundred acres of bottom timber, built a two-story house and several stables and out-houses; after that, he sold the whole ' caboodle' to his son-in-law for $600, in order to get to the Embarrass country. Having succeeded in selling his first location to Mr. Laughlin, Mr. Ashmore moved down to Hoge's Branch, where most of his sons and sons- in-law had by this time settled; he commenced work on what is now known as the Barbour farm. Here, after filling the office of Justice of the Peace, he died in 1838 : aged, as his tombstone states, sixty years." Mr. Ashmore, as stated, had several sons, who settled in this section at an early day. Some of them came with him, and others a few years later. In 1831, James and Hez- ekiah Ashmore settled in the neighborhood. These were his sons, and the latter, after remaining here a short time, removed to Ashmore Township, where he is more fully noticed. Samuel Hoge, a son-in-law of Samuel Ashmore, settled here also in 1831. James Black, another son-in-law, came at the same time. They are long since dead.
Stanton Pemberton came in the fall of 1831. He was from Washington County, Va. The Herald, which published some reminiscences* a year or two ago, says of the Pembertons : "Mr. Pemberton was not healthy, and lived but a few years. His widow continued with us till 1854, and lies buried in the upper grave-yard. She was remarkable for three things-her candor, her good cooking and her gennine hospitality. Her son, Alfred D. Pemberton, still lives
. *These reminiscences were published during the summer of 1877, and contain much pertaining to the early history of this section. Hence we shall make frequent extracts from theu.
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HISTORY OF COLES COUNTY.
on the old place, and ' Uncle Jack,' as the children call him, continues with us in the village-a well-preserved specimen of the olden time." Two sons of Mr. Pemberton, A. D. and J. J. Pemberton, and two daughters, are still living in the neighborhood where they located nearly fifty years ago. John King came from Tennessee in 1832, and may be reckoned among the early settlers. He moved to Iowa, where he still lived at last accounts of him.
In 1830, James Reddin and Eli Sargent settled in Oakland Township. Reddin built a horse-mill, the first institution of its kind in the country, and one of great convenience to the scattered pioneers. His descendants still own the land upon which he settled so long ago. Sargent was from Ohio, and located adjoining Mr. Ashmore. He is said to have been a man of considerable wealth, and entered several hundred acres of land. "He, too, brought with him his sons and daughters. The latter made the journey on horse-back, and had a gay old time riding through the wilderness. The world was not so wide then as it is now, and he and Mr. Ashmore soon discovered an incompatibility of temperament, which the narrow bounds of the country aggravated exceed- ingly."* Mr. Sargent was not a healthy man, and suffered long and severely. He died in 1834, and, says the Herald, referring to his death, " of his family there survive his daughter, Mrs. Guinn, and his stepdaughter, Mrs. Sargent, of this village, who have the honor, we believe, to be the only ones who remain with us of the immigration of 1830." We make no excuse for the following lengthy extracts from these reminiscences. Referring to a pioneer family, it is of interest as a part of the early history of the country. " After Mr. Sargent's death, his widow bought the Samuel Hoge farm, and with her son, John L. Berry, and her daughter Rachel, made her home there, where she died in April 1847, in her sixtieth year. Afflicted with asthma, she was an inveterate smoker, of course, but possessed uncommon business capacity. Mounted on 'Old Ned,' in rain or sunshine, day or night, she attended all calls upon her pro- fessional services, and in this particular alone was an exceedingly useful person. Ned was a favorite-a large, brown, pacing horse, which she had reared from a colt. Within the thirty years of his life, he had carried her everywhere that she went ; three times from the Embarrass to the Scioto. He survived his mistress a year. Reared in Kentucky, Mrs. Berry had been left a widow, with poverty and several young children for an inheritance. Her effects then con- sisted of twenty acres of ground, her horse, Ned, a slave woman and her chil- dren. Sickness came, bread became scarce and the wolf looked in at the door. The slave woman and the horse did the farming, and had it not been for the woman and the horse, her family would have come to absolute want. When she married Mr. Sargent (who was a rich man), she went with him to Ohio, taking Ned and two of the five children of the colored woman. To her she left the land, who, after a trial of eighteen months, left it and went as a cook to a hotel in Louisville. Here she died, and Mrs. Sargent had her other three chil-
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