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 51
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HISTORY OF COLES COUNTY.
were read and expounded by some revered brother. These were not the days of cushioned pews, in which the audience lazily dreamt the hour away, but, gathered beneath the roof of the humble cabin, seated on backless benches, of rude construction, men, women and children gave earnest attention to the preached Word. The impressions made by those early and earnest workmen in the vineyard of the Lord were lasting, and their influence for good has been felt through the ongoing years. Most of the early ministers in this section were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and the many flourishing socie- ties of that denomination to-day throughout this section of country bear testi- mony to their early labors. The first church built in Paradise was in Dry Grove; the exact date of building cannot be ascertained. In 1860, the pres- ent church, a neat, substantial frame, was erected. Two others are in the township, one in Paradise village and the other in Etna.
The schoolmaster put in his appearance in an early day, and, as schools were supported by individual subscriptions, the first schools were taught in the most populous neighborhoods. The first school in the township was kept by a Mr. Drake, and some of his pupils, still living, state that he was by no means a successful teacher. The second school was kept by a Mr. Kellar, near the residence of Miles H. Hart. To those already given may be added the names of William Moffett, David Campbell and Ebenezer Alexander. To-day, the township is provided with comfortable schoolhouses in each district, and the children enjoy the benefits accruing from our well-regulated school system.
Going back a little in point of time, we find the winters of 1830, 1831 and 1832 were very cold. The last of November, 1830, there came a fall of snow of thirty-two inches in depth, which remained until March. About the middle of February, it rained part of two days, reducing the snow to a slush, and sud- denly turning cold, froze the water and soft snow into ice. The whole face of the country was one continuous sheet of ice. Great difficulty was experienced in caring for stock, as it was obliged to be cared for just where the freeze caught it. It was a complete blockade, and the only way they had of provid- ing fuel was for the men to draw it from the timber on hand sleds, as horses and oxen could not be moved about over the smooth surface. Notwithstanding the difficulties with which they were environed, they often had days of real enjoyment. Three or four neighbors, accompanied by their trusty rifles and all the dogs they could muster, would often engage in what was called the " deer drive." As the fleet-footed deer could not stand on the smooth, glassy surface, and as the dog could make good headway, few that were started up succeeded in making good their escape. It was not an unusual thing to capt- ure some half dozen in a single day; and so, however meager might be the supply of breadstuff, there was no lack of fat, juicy venison.
When, in 1832 and 1833, the whole Western frontier was thrown into wild commotion by the re-appearance of Black Hawk and his warriors, although the call for troops to repel the invaders did not include the young county of
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HISTORY OF COLES COUNTY.
Coles, yet there were brave hearts in Paradise Township that flew to the rescue of their imperiled countrymen. The following-named persons went from this township: Thomas Ross (Captain), John Shadwell, Thomas Studer, John Young, Moses Hart, Jonathan Hart, John C. Jones, David Hanson, Trusse Hanson and Thomas Hayes. There were others, doubtless, whose names have passed from memory. Mrs. Dr. Apperson has in her possession the snuff-box of the renowned warrior, taken from his wallet by her brother, David Hanson, and by him presented to Dr. Apperson, on his return from the war. The meteoric display of 1833, and the sudden freeze of 1836, have been treated at such length in other portions of this work, that we feel justified in passing them by without comment.
As early as 1830, George M. Hanson circulated a petition for and obtained from the Government the establishment of a post office. Mr. Hanson was the first Postmaster, and the office was first kept at his house on the farm where J. E. Tremble now resides, in the northeast corner of the township. It was called Paradise Post Office, and was afterward removed to Slover's store, thence to Richmond, in Mattoon Township, and finally to Paradise Village, where it has since remained. This was the first post office established in what is known as the Wabash Point settlement, and differs in some points of its history as here recorded, from the account given in the history of Mattoon Township, and is, perhaps, the more accurate statement of the two.
The first burial that occurred in the township was that of James Nash, who died at his home in Mattoon Township, December 24, 1829, and was buried on Christmas Day, just across the line in Paradise Township, a short distance south of where Capp's mill now stands. The second was that of Grandma Bush, a very elderly lady, whose grave was the first opened in Dry Grove Cemetery.
At the first election held in the county for county officers, Paradise fur- nished her full quota of candidates and secured the election of a large number of them. George M. Hanson was chosen a member of the Board of County Commissioners, Ambrose Yocum was elected first Sheriff, Ichabod Radley, first Coroner, and Nathan Ellington was appointed first County Clerk. This office Mr. Ellington held afterward by successive re-elections, till 1853 or 1854, when he lost his life by violence at the hands of Dolph Munroe, his son-in-law. The following account is given of Mr. Yocum's election as Sheriff. The elec- tion was held at the residence of a Mr. Ashmore, in Kickapoo Point. A can- didate from the Kickapoo settlement was making the race for Sheriff. Early in the day, Ashmore made the remark that his fire was free to all who would vote for his candidate. This speech at once aroused opposition. Some of the Harts and others built a log heap, declared that their fire was free to all, and immediately put in nomination for Sheriff, Ambrose Yocum. Then the con- test began in earnest, and at the final summing-up of the votes it was ascer- tained, to the great satisfaction of his friends and to the utter discomfort and chagrin of the Kickapooites, that Yocum had been elected by a handsome
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HISTORY OF COLES COUNTY.
majority. Among others of her citizens, who, at an early date, were honored with political preferment, were James T. Cunningham and George M. Hanson. Cunningham was a member of the Legislature eight years in succession. Hanson was chosen to the Legislature in 1842, and two years later-1844- was sent to the State Senate. In 1846, he was a candidate for Congress, but was defeated by Hon. T. R. Young, at present a resident of Mattoon. George . M. Hanson figures so largely in the early history of Coles County, and his mem- ory is so highly revered by the citizens of this township that there is seem- ingly a demand for more than a passing notice of his acts. The early settlers of Kickapoo, Muddy and Wabash Points, were included in the limits of Clark County, and as the county seat at Darwin was at a distance of fifty miles from the northwest corner of the county, they experienced no little difficulty in attending to legal proceedings. In 1829, soon after coming, Hanson drafted and circulated a petition for the erection of a new county, which should con- tain within its limits the settlements of the above-named places. He was made bearer of the petition to the seat of Government, then at Vandalia. Through his own personal influence, seconded by that of Col. William B. Archer, then a member of the Legislature as Senator from Clark County, he succeeded in getting the bill passed, and in less than two weeks returned home with a certified copy of the bill in his pocket.
As soon as the Governor approved the bill, Mr. Hanson went to the land office and entered the first tract of land ever purchased in Coles County. He was the intimate associate of Dr. John Apperson, Elisha Linder, Eben Noyes, Sr., and others of the leading settlers ; and being, perhaps, the ablest and most cultivated man in all this section, became the leader in the intellectual arena of those early days. Soon after the establishment of the Charleston Courier, he became a valued contributor to its columns, and his suggestions were almost universally accepted by the early settlers. Whatever he believed would advance the interests of his county and the welfare and prosperity of her citizens, met his earnest encouragement. The grand wolf-hunt which he organized in an early day will not soon be forgotten. He proposed that the settlers on all sides should assemble in the edge of the timber, and, spreading out, move over the prairie in which Mattoon now stands, toward Dodge (now Herkimer's) Grove, and that each should so time his advance as to reach the grove precisely at 12 on the day appointed. The settlers from all parts came, and the hunt was instituted. The wolves, driven from their secret hiding-places, would dart away to the opposite side of the prairie only to find a cordon of men and dogs drawn completely around them, and thus hemmed in, with the boundaries continually contracting, a large drove was corraled in the grove, where expert marksmen picked them off as they were driven out by the dogs. That wolf-hunt was among the memorable events of those early days, and is still referred to with pleasure by those who participated in its fun and frolic. Hanson was a minister in the ranks of the M. E. Church, and, surpassing most of his brother minis-
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ters in power and vigor of thought, was justly regarded as a leader. In 1849, he emigrated to California. He died in that State in the latter part of 1878.
Dr. John Apperson was the first physician in all this section of country. He was born in Culpeper County, Va., January 8, 1794, and died at his home in Paradise Township, June 5, 1877. He came here, as has been elsewhere stated, in the autumn of 1829. Here he spent over forty years, engaged in the duties of his profession. His practice was large, and often he was called to attend the sick at a distance of twenty-five miles from his home. He was highly esteemed as a practitioner, and even after he had repeatedly declared his inten- tion to retire from active life, and his unfitness through age and infirmity to longer serve his friends and neighbors, yet the old settler, when afflicted with disease, would suffer no one to prescribe for his ailments save the good old Doctor. As a novel way of collecting a bill, the following may not be out of place : On a certain occasion, when the Doctor was called to visit a patient on the east side of the North Okaw, he had thought to cross the stream and collect some bills. The stream was bank-full and past fording, and, unfort- unately, no canoe was at hand. The Doctor being sadly in need of a little money, and seeing one of his patrons across the stream, politely asked him for his bill. The man, having procured a suitable stick, proceeded to cut a hole in one end with his knife; and having placed some bank-bills in the cavity thus formed, fastened up the opening with a wooden plug, proceeded down the stream some distance to a narrow place and threw stick, money and all across to the Doctor.
After the adoption of township organization, in 1860, the following officers were chosen in Paradise Township: John Hendrix, Henry Burgher and A. Y. Hart, Jr., Commissioners of Highways ; Adam W. Hart, Supervisor ; James H. Wilson, Collector ; R. B. Tate, Assessor ; John Campbell, Town Clerk ; J. W. P. Deckard and Blaine Matthews, Justices.
By way of closing our township history, we would add that the mineral wealth of Paradise Township lies to-day wholly unexplored. Doubtless rich deposits of coal are underlying much of her territory. Veins, varying in thickness from four to seven feet, have been passed through in Mattoon Town- ship, just north of her, but at such a great depth below the surface as to render their successful working impracticable, especially so since such an abundance yet exists in different parts of the State much nearer the surface and far more easily accessible. To reach it here would require the sinking of a shaft to a depth of from four hundred and fifty to five hundred feet. A number of rich specimens of copper ore have been picked up on Section 4 of this township. One in the possession of J. W. Doran, of Mattoon, would yield from 75 to 80 per cent of pure metal. Future explorations and developments may reveal the fact that a rich deposit of ore exists there. We shall now pay our respects to the villages of Paradise and Etna, and, with their history, conclude this part of the work.
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HISTORY OF COLES COUNTY.
PARADISE VILLAGE.
On the principle that age should be venerated, we will proceed to trace the history of Paradise first ; a history extending through a period of forty odd years, and which must be comprised in the short space of a page or two. This village, situated in the northwest corner of the township, and often facetiously referred to by the citizens of to-day as " Paradise Lost," was surveyed and platted by Joseph Fowler for Miles W. Hart and Clemme Goar, in the spring of 1837. In order to procure the erection of a steam-mill at this point on the Little Wabash, Thomas Brinegar and David Moore had made to Hart and Goar a donation of forty acres of land, and on a portion of this, adjacent to the mill- site, the town plot was laid. James T. Cunningham was at that time a member of the Legislature at Vandalia, and to him was accorded the honor of naming the place. He called it Paradise, and it was so recorded. Soon after the lay- ing-out of the village, a public sale of lots occurred, and some $500 or $600 worth were disposed of. In the fall of 1836, Hart came from Kentucky on a visit to friends and relatives living in Wabash Point, and on his way called to see Mr. Goar, his brother-in-law, who was then living in Indiana. While here, he perfected the arrangements for building a mill and starting a town. He afterward induced Goar to take an interest with him. He returned to Ken- tucky, and, in the winter of 1836, came back with his family. Mr. Goar, with his family, came early in the spring of 1837. The first citizen of the place was Pleasant Hart, who built his residence and occupied it during the winter of 1836. In the spring of 1837, Hart and Goar each constructed a mud house, and the same spring began the erection of their mill. This was the first steam- mill built in all this section. During the summer, they raised the frame, covered it in and arranged for running one set of corn buhrs and a saw. It had been in operation but a short time when it caught fire and burned down. The loss was total, there being no insurance either upon the building or machinery. Having received liberal donations from the citizens in aid of the loss sustained, in 1839, they again built upon the same site, at a cost of not less than $5,000. This mill was operated some eight or ten years. Not long after the completion of the second mill, Hart sold his interest to his brother, Aaron Hart, and at the end of six months he disposed of his interest to Mr. Goar. In 1845, Goar sold out to George M. Hanson, who operated it about one year and then sold to Bird Munroe. Munroe continued the work one year longer and then moved the machinery up to Charleston. Thus Para- dise lost her greatest and best improvement. Miles W. Hart brought and sold the first goods in the village. He is not, however, regarded as the first mer- chant, as he simply brought what he did for the purpose of supplying the hands while engaged in constructing the mill. Bird Munroe opened out the first store about the year 1842 or 1843. Soon after, John Cunningham moved his stock down from Richmond in Mattoon Township. Others, of smaller pretensions,
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HISTORY OF COLES COUNTY.
from time to time essaved to play the merchant. Sam Pullen started a tan- yard about the time Paradise was laid out, and a Mr. Gear opened a blacksmith shop. Miles W. Hart put up the first storehouse and was, perhaps, the first Postmaster. A brick church was erected by the Methodist society in 1853 or 1854. This has since been removed and rebuilt on the hill just west of the village and is called Mount Zion Church. The new building was erected in 1869, at a cost of $2,500, and has a capacity for seating 300 persons. Before the building of the church, public worship was held at the house of Uncle Clemme Goar. Schools may have been, and probably were, kept in the village at different times, but so far as we have been able to learn no building was ever erected for that special purpose. The post office, as has been said, was brought from Richmond to Paradise, in an early day, and here it has since remained. A. Y. Hart, Sr., is the present Postmaster. The mail is carried twice per week, on horse-back from Etna to Paradise. Wabash Lodge, No. 179, A., F. & A. M., was organized here under dispensation from the Grand Lodge in 1855, but as it has since been removed to Etna, its history will be given in that con- nection. When, in 1854, the I. C. R. R. was finally located about one mile and a half east of Paradise, her star of destiny began rapidly to decline. Mat- toon sprang into existence at the crossing ; a station, a few years later, was established at Etna. Trade flowed into other channels; soon her merchants deserted her for fields promising a more abundant harvest, and she was left alone to wecp over blighted prospects and buried hopes. Once she was the pride and joy of the surrounding country, now her name is often spoken with a jeer. Yet, in the midst of her distresses, she can truthfully say to the proud city of Mattoon, with her boasted 6,000 inhabitants, "long before thou wast, I existed." At one time Paradise counted her citizens by the hundred; had four good stores, shops of different kinds and was a place in which much business was transacted. Now her citizenship does not exceed fifty ; she has a very small grocery store operated by William Morrison & Son, and one blacksmith and wagon repair shop owned by Hiram Surber. In her case, at least, there seems to be a clear demonstration of the truthfulness of that seemingly para- doxical expression, that to kill a thing effectually, it is sometimes only neces- sary to miss it. Had the railroad passed through Paradise village, she had still been living; but passing by as it did, it effectually destroyed her.
ETNA.
A small village on the I. C. R. R., seven miles southwest of Mattoon, was sur- veyed and platted by James Richards, County Surveyor, on land belonging to Daniel R. Bland and Richard Sayer, in March, 1860. Harry B. Worley and Robert S. Mills secured each a one-fourth interest by purchase, and, soon after, E. B. McClure (now General Superintendent of the I. & St. I. R. R.), who was at that time Roadmaster on the I. C. R. R., was given a one-fifth undivided interest for his influence in securing a station. The citizens of
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HISTORY OF COLES COUNTY.
the surrounding community, at their own expense, put in the switches and side-track. The village is situated on the adjoining corners of Sections 15, 16, 21 and 22 in Paradise Township. Soon after the laying-out and plat- ting, Bland built a residence and occupied it. Others soon followed, and Etna rapidly grew from a station into a village. Isaac Hart and his son James L. Hart, Mrs. Veach, Dr. Deckard, J. F. Lawson and James Elhart were among the earliest citizens. As early as the winter of 1860, Isaac Hart & Son opened out a stock of dry goods and groceries. They moved their stock over from Paradise. This was the first store kept in the place. Soon after the coming of Hart & Son, Cornelius Owens, of Charleston, opened up a stock of hardware, groceries and liquors. This enterprise was managed by Robert S. Mills. In February, 1861, J. F. Lawson bought out the senior member of the firm of Hart & Son, and the firm of Hart & Lawson was established. In the early part of May, 1862, Hart & Lawson sold out to Charles Sawyer, of Neoga, and a short time afterward, Lawson purchased the establishment started by Cornelius Owens. He rolled back the building in which the store was kept and built a new front. This building was since destroyed by fire. After conducting the business alone for six months, Dr. Deckard became a partner. Deckard died in February, 1863, and J. R. Wortham took his interest. They added to the business that of buying and shipping grain. In 1865, Lawson bought out the business, and continued it till 1867, when he sold to a Mr. Percy, and he to James Bishop, a brother of Dr. Bishop, who now resides in Etna. Norris & Allen built a store-room in the early part of 1864, and brought on a stock of general merchandise. S. Vanderen & Son began business about the same time, and a short time afterward Dr. S. D. Gardner erected a building and opened out a drug store.
In 1860, a neat frame church was built by a general contribution from the citizens and friends of the town, and is free for the use of all religious denomi- nations. The Masonic Hall occupies the second story of this building. A schoolhouse was built in the village in the summer of 1868. James Richard- son began the first session taught in the building, but died while the school was in progress, and Dr. S. D. Gardner, finished the term. At one time Etna had four stores, and did quite an extensive grain business. On a commission of 5 per cent, Mr. Lawson says his receipts for handling grain often amounted to $80 per month. Her population at present does not exceed one hundred. She has one small store, that of Montgomery & Tate, and two smith shops. The post office was established in 1860, and Robert S. Mills was appointed Postmaster. He was also the first agent for the R. R. Co. at this point. J. F. Lawson was made Postmaster and agent on the retiring of Mills, and held the position till he removed from the village. The post office and ticket office are both now kept in the store of Montgomery & Tate. Wabash Lodge, No. 179, A., F. & A. M., as has been elsewhere stated, was organized in Paradise village. Its charter bears date October 3, 1855, issued under the seal of the
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HISTORY OF COLES COUNTY.
Grand Lodge, presided over at that time by J. L. Anderson, G. M., and H. G. Reynolds, G. Sec. The charter was issued to Augustus H. Chapman, Newton W. Chapman, A. W. Waller, Dr. John Apperson and others as char- ter members. A. H. Chapman was appointed W. M .; N. W. Chapman, S. W. ; and A. W. Waller, J. W. The meetings of the Lodge were held for a time in the second story of the mud house built by Miles W. Hart in 1837. The Lodge continued to meet in Paradise till 1860, when, by a vote of the Lodge and by consent of the Grand Lodge, it was moved to Etna. Its present officers are: B. H. Lawson, W. M .; Col. T. A. Apperson, S. W .; J. F. Wool- dridge, J. W .; A. L. A. Green, Sec .; J. W. Montgomery, Treas .; Joseph Carins, S. D .; H. H. Anderson, J. D. Its membership numbers about fifty. Regular meetings, Friday night on or before full moon each month. Two dif- ferent methods of spelling the name of the village seem to be fully recognized. The citizens, and Government, through the Post-Office Department, seem to accept as correct orthography Etna, while the R. R. Co. invariably adopts the spelling Ætna. But whether we use the single vowel or the diphthong at the beginning, we are inclined to believe that neither will materially add to or detract from the prosperity of the village.
VALEDICTORY.
Friendly reader, our task is done-not well, we know, but truly. To you who have followed us through these pages, and especially to the old pioneers and patriarchs, whose heads are "silvered over with the frosts of many winters," we come now to part, never, perhaps, to meet this side of the tomb. Our inter- course with you is of the pleasantest character, and it is with a feeling of sad- ness that we bid you adieu, each to go his way, mingling in the great world as the tiny raindrops mingle with the waters of the sea. Should our diverging planets never more cross each other's orbits, and we meet no more here-and it is more than probable that we shall not, for our work lies in another direction-we crave your kind remembrance of us and a generous criticism of our work.
Adieu.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES
OF OUR PATRONS.
CHARLESTON TOWNSHIP.
CAPT. WM. E. ADAMS, attorney at law, Charleston ; was born in Bedford Co., Tenn., Oct. 15, 1830, being the son of John J. and Martha (Gammell) Adams, who came to Coles Co. in December, 1830, settling in what is now Pleasant Grove Tp., on the farm where his father still resides ; he made his home at his father's until about 1855, when he engaged in buying and herding stock, and driving it to Wis- consin ; he continued in this business until 1860. He was married in August, 1859, to Miss Olive A. Holton, of Blue Mounds, Wis., and has a family of five children-John H., Jennie M., Sarah S., Willie and Helen. He had previously read law and been admitted to the bar, and, in 1860, located in Mattoon and entered upon the practice of his profession ; in August, 1862, he enlisted in the 123d Ill. Vols., and on the organization of the regi- ment was chosen Captain of' Co. I; he participated in the battles of Perryville, Ky., Milton, Tenn., Chattanooga and Chickamauga, after which, his regiment, having previously been attached to Wild- er's Brigade of Mounted Infantry, pur- sued Gen. Wheeler, who was then making a raid on the rear of Gen. Rosecrans' army ; his regiment had a severe engage- ment at Farmington, Tenn., in which the Colonel was killed and fully half of Capt. Adams' company either killed, wounded or taken prisoners, and where the Captain himself was wounded ; after participating in the capture of Atlanta, his regiment was remounted at Louisville, Ky., and proceeded thence to Selma, Ala., and, after the capture of that city, to Montgomery, Columbus and Macon, Ga .; a portion of
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