The History of Jo Daviess County, Illinois, containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, etc., a biographical directory of its citizens, war record of its volunteers in the late rebellion history of the Northwest, history of Illinois Constitution of the United States, Part 19

Author: Kett, H.F., & co., Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1878
Publisher: Chicago : H.F. Kett & co.
Number of Pages: 878


USA > Illinois > Jo Daviess County > The History of Jo Daviess County, Illinois, containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, etc., a biographical directory of its citizens, war record of its volunteers in the late rebellion history of the Northwest, history of Illinois Constitution of the United States > Part 19


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).


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Utah


80,056


86,786


375


Washington.


69,944


23,955


North Carolina ..


50,704 1,071,361


1,190


Aggregate of U. S .. 2,915,203 38,555,983


60,852


Kansas.


81,318


364,399


528,349


1,760


Kentucky


37,600


1,321,011


1,123


Louisiana


41,346


726,915


857,039


539


Territories.


Michigan*


56.451 1,184,059


1,334,031 2,235


Hiinois


55,410 2,539,891


5,904


3.529


States.


Alabama .


1870.


1875.


..


...


. ..


1,000,000


218,928


5.9


Quito


70,000


Paraguay.


Asuncion ..


823,138


2,969


277.


Argentine Republic.


1,812,000


1869


871,848


2.1


Buenos Ayres.


177.800


1871


241.4


Belgium.


441.5


165.9


New Grenada.


15.1


Switzerland.


166.9


Peru


5.3


120.9


4.2


1871


Japan.


Great Britain and Ireland. German Empire ..


1,612


Nevada


1870.


1875.


216


MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION


2


POPULATION OF ILLINOIS, BY COUNTIES.


AGGREGATE.


COUNTIES.


1870.


1860.


1850.


1840.


1830.


1820.


Adams


56362


. 41323


26508


I4476


2186


Alexander.


10564


4707


2484


3313


I 390


626


Bond.


13152


9815


6144


5060


3124


2931


Boone


I2942


II678


7624


I705


Brown


I2205


9938


7198


4183


Bureau


32415


26426


884I


3067


Calhoun


6562


5144


323I


1741


1090


Carroll


16705


II733


4586


I023


Cass .


11580


II325


7253


2981


Champaign


32737


14629


2649


1475


Christian


20363


10492


3203


1878


Clark


18719


14987


9532


7453


3940


931


Clay


15875


9336


4289


3228


755


Clinton


16285


1094I


5139


3718


2330


Coles


25235


14203


9335


9616


Cook


349966


144954


43385


IO20I


Crawford


13889


1155I


7135


4422


3117


2999


Cumberland


I2223


8311


3718


De Kalb


23265


I9086


7540


1697


De Witt


14768


10820


5002


3247


Douglas


I3484


7140


Du Page.


16685


I470I


9290


3535


Edgar


21450


16925


10692


8225


4071


Edwards


7565


5454


3524


3070


1649


3444


Effingham


15653


78 16


3799


1675


Fayette


19638


III89


8075


6328


2704


Ford


9103


1979


Franklin


I2652


9393


568I


3682


4083


1763


Fulton.


3829I


33338


22508


13142


1841


Gallatin


III34


8055


5448


10760


7405


3155


Greene


20277


16093


I2429


I195I


7674


Grundy


14938


10379


3023


Hamilton


13014


991.5


6362


3945


2616


Hancock


35935


29061


14652


9946


483


Hardin


5113


3759


2887


1378


Henderson


I2582


950I


4612


Henry


35506


20660


3807


I260


41


Iroquois


25782


12325


4149


1695


Jackson


19634


9589


5862


3566


I828


I542


Jasper


II234


8364


3220


I472


2555


691


Jersey


15054


I2051


7354


4535


Jo Daviess


27820


27325


18604


6180


2III


Johnson


II248


9342


4114


3626


1596


843


Kane.


39091


30062


16703


. 6501


Kankakee.


24352


15412


Kendall


I2399


13074


7730


Knox


39522


28663


13279


7060


274


Lake


21014


18257


I4226


2634


La Salle


60792


48332


17815


9348


Lawrence


I2533


9214


6121


7092


3668


Lee


2717I


17651


5.292


2035


Livingston


3147I


11637


I553


759


Logan


23053


14272


5128


2333


Jefferson


17864


12965


8109


5 762


*23


.


217


MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION.


POPULATION OF ILLINOIS-CONCLUDED.


COUNTIES.


1870.


1860.


1850.


1840.


1830.


1820.


Macon


26481


13738


3988


3039


II22


Macoupin


32726


24602


I2355


7926


1990


Madison


4413I


3125I


20441


I4433


. 6221


I3550


Marion


20622


I2739


6720


4742


2125


Marshall


16950


I3437


5180


1849


Mason


16184


10931


5921


Massac


9581


6213


4092


McDonough


26509


20069


7616


5308


(b)


McHenry


23762


22089


14978


2578


McLean


53988


28772


10163


6565


Menard


II735


9584


6349


443I


Mercer


18769


15042


5246


2352


26


Monroe


I2982


I2832


7679


4481


2000


1516


Montgomery


25314


13979


6277


4490


2953


Morgan.


28463


22112


16064


19547


I2714


Moultrie.


10385


6385


3234


Ogle


27492


22888


10020


3479


Peoria


47540


36601


17547


6153


(c)


Perry


I3723


9552


5278


3222


1215


Piatt


10953


6127


1606


Pike


30768


27249


18819


II728


2396


Pope


II437


6742


3975


4094


3316


2610


Pulaski


8752


3943


2265


Putnam


6280


5587


3924


2131


CI310


Randolph


20859


17205


II079


7944


4429


3492


Rock Island


29783


21005


6937


2610


Saline


I2714


933I


5588


Sangamon


46352


32274


19228


14716


12960


Schuyler


17419


I4684


10573


6972


b2959


Scott


10530


9069


7914


6215


2972


Stark


1075I


9004


3710


I573


St. Clair


51068


37694


20180


13631


7078


5248


Stephenson.


30608


25112


II666


2800


Tazewell


27903


21470


I2052


722I


4716


Union


16518


III8I


7615


5524


3239


2362


Vermilion


30388


19800


II492


9303


5836


Wabash


8841


7313


4690


4240


2710


Warren


23174


18336


8176


6739


308


Washington


17599


I3731


6953


4810


1675


1517


Wayne


19758


I2223


6825


5133


2553


III4


White


I6846


I2403


8925


7919


6091


4828


Whitesides


27503


18737


5361


2514


Will


43013


29321


16703


10167


Williamson


17329


I2205


7216


4457


Winnebago


2930I


24491


11773


4609


Woodford


18956


I3282


4415


*49


Total.


2539891


1711951


851470


476183


157445


55162


Richland


I2803


97II


4012


Shelby


25476


14613


7807


6659


*5


AGGREGATE,


*21


PRODUCTIONS OF AGRICULTURE, STATE OF ILLINOIS, BY COUNTIES .- 1870.


Improved Land.


Other un -


Spring Wheat.


Winter Wheat.


Rye.


Indian Corn.


Oats.


COUNTIES.


Number.


Number. Number.


Bushels.


Bushels.


Bushels.


Bushels.


Bushels.


Total.


19.329.952 5,061.578 |1.491.331 /10.133.207|19.995,198 2.456.578|129,921.395 42.780.851


Adams


287,926


112,576|


19,370


16,191


947.616|


20,989


1,452,905|


759,074


Alexander


13,836


17,761


42,658


30


244,220


21,627


Bond.


145,045


42,613


1,915


700


368.625


6,240


1,064,052


461,097


Boone .


137,307


29,886


2.658


241,042


599


35,871


466,985


579,127


Brown.


57,062


35,491


25.608


13,276


117,502


4,742


337,769


70,852


Bureau.


398,611


41,866


15,803


465,236


724


43,811


3,030,404


987,426


Vaihoun


37,684


63.443


2,754


75


221,298


186


234,041


26,234


Carroll.


186,864


29,793


33,302


418,073


260


25,721


1,367.965


775,100


Cass ...


92.902


33,493


6,604


12,165


127,054


2.772


1,146,980


168,784


Champaign


419,368


16,789


58,502


102,577


123,091


45,752


3,924,720


721,375


Christian


241,472


19,803


19,173


18,360


504,041


10,722


1,883,336


383,821


Clark


118,594


102,201


5,420


195.118


7,308


614,582


212.628


Clay.


146,9221 150,177|


80,612


5,225


1,894


85,737


3,221


1,019,994 813.257


446,324


Coles ..


208,337


45,214


3,274


2,651


154,485


8,825


2,133,111


315,954


Cook ..


348.824


19,635


17,337


144,296


4,904


20,171


570,427


Crawford.


105,505


78,350


27,185


60


212,924


15,497


581,964


Cum beriand


75,342


40,334


5,604


550


84,697


14,798


403,075


DeKalb


334,502


17,722


6,551


398,059


190


21,018


1,023,849


1,087,074


De Witt.


168,539


29,548


17,633


106,493


11,695


11 540


1,311,635


216,756


Douglas


147,633|


11,897


7,316


7,683


65,461


9,017


1,680,225


225,074


DuPage.


164,874


17,243


3.851


106,096


693


7,532


331,981


860,809


Edgar.


265,458


66,803


14,282


13,283


247,360


37,508


2,107,615


290,679


Edwards.


58,912


57,585


830


122,703


352,371


Effingham.


120,343


56,330


26,206


77


351,310


25,328


962,525


497,395


Ford


141,228


2,996


63,976


42,571


1,008


11,577


565,671


154,589


Frankiin


80,749


3,994


86,710


365


111.324


5.195


653,209


222,426


Fuiton


228,132


123,823


4,076


193,669


223,930


131,711


1,508,763


261,390


Gallatin.


68,750


2,565


83,093


512


509,491


27,164


Greene ..


175,408


93,242


29.653


577,400


415


1,051,313


64,029


Grundy ...


193,999


4,505


21,700


150


4,930


295,971


269,332


Hamliton.


88,996


93,878


3,343


129


92,347


11.672


735,252


Hancock


43,385


18.480


181,378


232,750


133,533


Hardin


44,771


107


13


32,306


865


Henderson. Henry


12,620


31,459


462,379


445


35,766


2,541,683


668,367


Iroquols.


22,478


63,498


57,160


10,480


23,259


430,746


Jackson


78,548


5,991


890


329,036 524


611,951


Jasper


90,867


12,250


87.808


9,165


461,345


149,214


Jefferson


118,951


94,888


778


100,553


5,934


887,981


285,949


Jersey


94,147


1,363


558,367


519,120


71,770


JoDaviess.


82,076


282,758


555


7.185


1,286,326


874,016


Johnson.


57,820


3


79,141


92,191


2,468


343,298


Kane ...


240,120


34,646


399


188,826


325


23.618 674,333


785,608


Kankakee.


10,978


10,598


103,466


480


12,935


637,399


772,408


Kendail.


164.004


2,283


90,681


1,249


5,163


681,267


468,890


Knox.


330,829


25.155


267,764


7,654


113,547


2,708,319


787,952


Lake


207,779


24,399


168,914


221


5,87€ 48,308


3,077,028


1,509,642


87,828


72,738


264,134


1,121


656,363


Lee.


322,212


7,409


450,793


2,260


14,829


1,656,978


Livingston


377,505


41,788


1,339


26,163


1,182,696


Logan.


321,709


17,394


408


198,056


40,963


37,232


4,221,640


490,226


Macon.


205,259


9,115


55,239 160


196,613


29,223


2,214,468


454,648


Macoupin


81,224


7,343


861,398


2,404


1,051,544


475,252


Marlon.


173,081


4,142


178,652


14,517


1,034,057


389,446


Marshall.


166,05?


2,976


106,129


900


36,135


1,182,903


362,604


Mason


209,453


31,013


73,261


49,182


2,648,726


Massac


25,151


33,396


30


72,316


544


133,126


22,097


McDonough


52,547


14,035


273,871


52,401


1,362,490


McHenry


230,566


53,293


401,790


29,264


1,145,005


910.397


McLean


494.978


40,366


49,087


211,801


10,955


39,824


3,723,379


911,127


Menard


134.173


34.931


13,952


36,152


45,793


4,283


1,973.880


235,091


222.809


45,977


22,588


289,291


13,203


40,778


2,054,962


452,889


Monroe.


92,810


83,369


666


651,767


1,425


543,718


276,682


47,804


8,495


59


744,891


3,296


1,527,898


293,450


60,217


1,376


18,196


357,523


5,535


3,198,835


Moultrie


144,220


13,112


17,128


196,436


6,670


1,753.141


316,883


43,643


14,913


497,038


5,580


157,504


1,787,066


170,729


48,666


2,516


92,361


31,843


99,502


969,224


93,754


220


350,446


1,016


384,446


Piatt.


94,454|


13,897


26,382


39,762


9.248


1,029,725


130,610


Pike


233.785


128,953


9,302


1.057,497


25,303


1,399,188


Pope ..


55.980


87,754 12,516


44,922


222


195,735


Putnam


37,271


17,184


4,174


7,707


334,259


Randolph


140,764


162,274 50,618


2.025


150,268


3,401


482,594


204,634


Rock Island.


155.214


31,239


20,755


2.279


20,003


1,459,653


276,575


Saline.


72,309


70,393


809


83,011


568


531,516


421.748


51,085


19,932


247.658


23,073


4,388, 763


Schuyler.


96,195 85,331


62,477 44,633


1,610 9,314


15,526


452,015


23,686


2,082,578


Stark.


138,129


12,375


2,783


2,550


2.118


135,362


1,615,679


960,620


Tazewell


229,126 75,832


45,268 83,606 53,078


31,122


249,558


52,476


2,818,027


436,051


110,793


Warren.


266.187


27,294


14,583


186,290


5,712


72,212


2,982,853


601.054


Washington.


177.592


55,852


1.931


672,486


2,576


Wayne.


147.352


10,486


266


164,689


8,665


836,115 1,179,291 870,521


119.653


Whitesides.


299,809


21.823


37.310


457.455


264


31.658


2,162,943


880.838


Will ...


419,442.


24,261


6,335


195,286


1,996


8,030


1.131,458 655,710


180,986


Winnebago.


241,373


15,237


408,606


2,468


137,985


1,237,406


868,903


Woodford


225,504


23,135


178,139


108,307


20,426


2,154,185


744,581


1,868.682


Williamson


128,448


1,648


176


170,787


6,228


1,423.121


476,851


Stephenson


254,857


13,701


132,417


72,410


59,027


2,062,053


505,841


5,300


180,231


1,737


679,753


124,473


Vermillon.


360,251


54,063


37,558


509


202.201


421,361


533,398


White.


92,398


78,167


869


184,321


418


440,975 752,771


13,462 637.812


Shelby


310,179


74,908


124,630


30.534


1,149.878


St. Clair.


231,117


2,016


1,562.621


1,008


315,958


Pulaskl.


19,319


1,170


450


1,031,022


3,235


510,080


86,519 414,487


Richland.


75,079


69,793 397,718


119.359


Scott


18


266,105


930


ogle ...


141,540


Peoria.


334,892


338,760


Perry


68,470 5,978


130


70,457


2,309


16,511


28,137


796


243,541


200


Sangamon.


89.304


21,294


56,221


165.724


20,841


517,353


699,069


LaSalle


533,724


2,356 3,273


271,181


2,193


96,430


1,712,901


229,286


140,954


34,705


14,243


161,112


69,062


19,759


620,247


386,073


Fayette.


187,196


93,460


16,786


500


610,888


1,619


Clinton


48,868


8,722


1,584,225 136,255 171,880


203,464


311,517


1,510,401 172,651


579,599


28,117|


26,991


265,904


322,510


87,642


149,931


156,517


45,779


74,525


312,182


21,072 48,117


Lawrence


12,071 12,462


120,206


659,300


Madison


257,032


89,450


13,675


550


1,207,181


3,685 2.127,549


28,260 31,739


125,628


261,635


280,717


152,251


Montgomery


668,424


Morgan.


198,724


24,783


263,992


161,419 67,886


231.059


459,417


61,579


57.998


270


Mercer.


14,244


41,566


131,386


903,197


18,153


272,660


36,146


799,810


67,023


51,427


195,716


528


129,152


49,572


6,256


116,949 37,238 25,217


14,846


Union.


76,591 43.167


527,394


44,806


Wabash.


404,482


146,794


316.726


269,945


Woodl'nd improved


Grov. Gordon .


GALENA


THE LINA-27 OF THE


HISTORY OF JO DAVIESS COUNTY.


GENERAL HISTORY.


When the thirteen American colonies declared their independence of British rule, July 4, 1776, the magnificent valley of the Mississippi and its tributaries was under the jurisdiction of European powers. France had ceded to Great Britain that portion of the Province of Louisiana lying on the east side of the " Father of Waters." The first British Governor, Cap- tain Sterling, took formal possession of Illinois and raised the English flag at Fort Chartres, ten years after the treaty of cession in October, 1765, and in 1766, by an act of Parliament known as the Quebec bill, the Illinois coun- try was annexed to Canada, and this region remained under Canadian jurisdiction until 1778-a period of fourteen years.


In 1778, Col. George Rogers Clarke, a native of Virginia, who had won military fame in conflicts with the Indians of Kentucky, Ohio and elsewhere, conceived the idea of an expedition to capture tlie British posts in the Illinois country. Patrick Henry, then Governor of Virginia, favored the enterprise, and aided by the advice of Thomas Jefferson, George Mason and George Wytliie, directed the expedition. Col. Clarke raised four com- panies of Virginians, and throngli his wonderful skill and heroism the expedition was completely successful. The Virginia Legislature voted the thanks of the people to Col. Clarke, his officers and men, for their brilliant achievements, and in October, 1778, by act of the House of Burgesses, established the country of Illinois, embracing all the territory northwest of the Ohio River, and making Col. John Todd, Jr., its civil commandant. " Thus," says Mr. Miller, " Patrick Henry became the first American Gover- nor of Illinois." The. proclamation to its inliabitants is dated June 15, 1779.


At the close of the Revolutionary War, Great Britain formally ceded to the United States all her territory east of the Mississipi River, and in 1784 Virginia ceded to the Federal Government all the territory northwest of the Ohio River, her claim to the Illinois country being through a grant from James I. of England, and by virtue of conquest in 1778.


By the ordinance of 1787, all this vast region was organized as the North- western Territory. General Arthur St. Clair was made its Governor, with the capital at Marietta, afterwards at Chillicothe, and in 1795, at Cincin- nati ; but from 1784 until 1790, when Gov. St. Clair organized the first county in Illinois (St. Clair), there was no executive, no legislature and no judicial authority exercised in the county. The people were a law unto themselves, and during these six years it is said that remarkable good feel- ing, harmony and fidelity to agreements prevailed. Previous to the division of the Northwest Territory, in 1800, there had been but one term of court having criminal jurisdiction in the three western counties of the territory, viz., Knox County, now in Indiana, and St. Clair and Randolph Counties, Illinois.


The ordinance of 1787 provided that not less than three nor more than five states were to be erected out of the territory northwest of the Ohio River. Three states were to include the whole territory, and these states


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were to be bounded on the north by the British possessions; but Congress reserved the right, if it should be found expedient, to form two more states of that part of the territory which lies north of an east and west line drawn through the southern extremity of Lake Michigan.


It is not necessary to trace the various changes of territorial jurisdic- tion to which Illinois, and especially its northwestern portion, was subjected, until the admission of the state into the Union in 1818. During all that time this section of the country was inhabited only by Indians, and this whole region was claimed by them. In. 1804, the Sacs and Foxes, then a powerful tribe, by treaty made at St. Louis with Gen. Harrison, then Gov- ernor of the Territory of Indiana, ceded to the United States all their lands lying east of the Mississippi ; but Black Hawk and other chiefs who were not present at St. Louis, refused to be bound by it. All the territory north of the line drawn west from the southern extremity of Lake Michigan to the Mississippi was in the undisputed possession of the native tribes, wlien the state was erected, in 1818, except a tract five leagues square on the Mississippi, of which Fever River was about the centre, which, by treaty with various tribes in 1816, the United States Government had reserved ostensibly for a military post, but really to control the lead mines. The Government had had knowledge for many years of the existence of lead mines here, but their location was not known, and it was thought that all would be included within the limits of the reservation. The Government designed to own and hold exclusive control of these mines.


In January, 1818, the Territorial Legislature of Illinois, assembled at Kaskaskia, petitioned Congress for the admission of the territory as a sovereign state with a population of 40,000.


The petition was sent to Nathaniel Pope, the territorial delegate, by whom it was promptly presented, and it was referred to the proper com- mittee, which instructed Mr. Pope to prepare and report a bill in accordance with its prayer. The bill, as drawn in 'accordance with these instructions, did not embrace the present area of Illinois, and when it was reported to Congress, certain amendments proposed by Mr. Pope were reported with it. It was generally supposed that the line established by the ordinance of 1787, namely, the line drawn through the southern part of Lake Michigan, west to the Mississippi, was to be the northern boundary of the new state.


But this, if adopted, would have left the port of Chicago in the Territory of Michigan, as well as all the territory now embraced within the limits of fourteen rich and populous counties in northern Illinois. A critical exami- nation of the ordinance, however, convinced Mr. Pope that Congress had the power and could rightfully extend the northern boundary of the state as far beyond the line provided in 1787 as it pleased. The principal amend- ments proposed by Mr. Pope, therefore, were, first, that the northern boundary of the new state should be extended to the parallel of 42 deg. 30 min. north latitude-this would give a good harbor on Lake Michigan; and secondly, more important than the boundary line, to apply the three per cent fund arising from the sale of public lands to educational purposes, instead of making roads, as had been the case in Ohio and Indiana. These amendments were adopted without serious opposition, and Illinois was declared an independent state.


These important changes in the original bill, says Mr. Ford in his History of Illinois, " were proposed and carried through both Houses of Congress by Mr. Pope on his own responsibility. The Territorial Legisla- ture had not petitioned for them-no one had suggested them, but they met


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the general approval of the people." The change of the boundary line, however, suggested to Mr. Pope-from the fact that the bonndary as defined by the ordinance of 1787, would have left Illinois without a harbor as Lake Michigan-did not meet the unqualified approval of the people in the north- western part of the new state. For many years the northern boundary of the state was not definitely known, and the settlers in the northern tier of counties did not know whether they were in Illinois or Michigan Territory. Under the provisions of the ordinance of 1787, Wisconsin at one time laid claim to a portion of northern Illinois, "including," says Mr. Ford, writing in 1847, " fourteen counties embracing the richest and most populous part of the state." October 27, 1827, nine years after the admission of the state, Dr. Horatio Newhall, who had then recently arrived at the Fever River Set- tlement, wrote to liis brother as follows :- " It is uncertain whether I am in the boundary of Illinois or Michigan, but direct your letters to Fever River, Ill., and they will come safely." In October. 1828, a petition was sent to Congress from the people of that part of Illinois lying north of the line established by the ordinance of 1787, and that part of the Territory of Michigan west of Lake Michigan and comprehending the mining district known as the Fever River Lead Mines, praying for the formation of a new territory. A bill had been introduced at the previous session of Congress for the establishment of a new territory north of the State of Illinois, to be called "Huron Territory," upon which report had been made, in part, favor- able to the wishes of the petitioners, but they asked for the re-establishment of the line as ordained by Congress in 1787. They declared "that the people, inhabiting the territory northwest of the Ohio, had a right to expect that the country lying north of an east and west line passing through the southernmost end of Lake Michigan, to the Mississippi River, and between said lake, the Mississippi and the Canada line, would REMAIN TOGETHER " as a territory and state. They claimed that this was a part of the compact, unchangeably granted by the people of the original states to the people who should inhabit the "territory northwest of the Ohio." They declared that the change of the chartered limits, when Illinois was made a state, was open invasion of their rights in a body when they were unrepresented in either territory; that "an unrepresented people, without their knowledge or consent, have been transferred from one sovereignty to another." They urged that the present "division of the miners by an ideal line, separating into different governments individuals intimately connected in similar pursuits, is embarrassing." They asked for "even-handed justice," and the restoration of their "chartered limits." The .Miners' Journal, of October 25, 1828, which contains the full text of the petition, says: "We do not fully agree with the memorialists in petitioning Congress again to dispose of that tract of country which has once been granted to Illi- nois; but we think -that it would be for the interest of the miners to be erected, together with the adjoining county above, into a separate territory. And we firmly believe, too, that Congress departed from the clear and express terms of their own ordinance passed in the year 1787, when they granted to the State of Illinois nearly a degree and a half of latitude of the CHARTERED LIMITS of this country. Whether Congress will annex this tract to the new territory we much doubt, but we believe the nltimate decision of the United States Court will be, that the northern boundary line of the State of Illinois shall commence at the southernmost end of Lake Michigan." The petition was unavailing, and the northern line of Illinois remains un- changed, but the agitation of the subject by the people of this region


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continued. In 1840 the people of the counties north of the ordinance line sent delegates to a convention held at Rockford to take action in relation to the annexation of the tract north of that line to Wisconsin Territory, and it is said the scheme then discussed embraced an effort to make Galena the capital of the territory. Charles S. Hempstead and Frederick Stahl were delegates to the convention for Galena. At that convention, speeches were made by Messrs. Charles S. Hempstead, Martin P. Sweet, Jason P. Marslı, and perhaps others. Resolutions were adopted requesting the senators and representatives in Congress for Illinois to exert their influence in favor of the project. The labors of the convention produced no results, but until the admission of Wisconsin as a state, there was a strong feeling among the people of northwestern Illinois that they rightfully belonged to Wisconsin, and there was a strong desire to be restored to their chartered limits. Perhaps the heavy debt with which Illinois was burdened at that time may have had some influence in causing the feeling.


St. Clair County, organized April 28, 1809, included the whole territory of Illinois and Wisconsin, to the line of Upper Canada, north of Randolph County, these two being the only counties in the territory.


Madison County was erected from the St. Clair, September 14, 1812, and comprised all the territory north of the second township line south, to the line of Upper Canada. County seat, Edwardsville.


Bond County was organized out of part of Madison, January 4, 1817, and extended in a strip about 30 miles wide on each side of the third principal meridian to the northern boundary of the territory.


Pike County was erected January 31, 1821, from Madison, Bond, and other counties, and embraced all the territory north of the Illinois River and its south fork, now Kankakee River. This was the first county erected by the State of Illinois which embraced the present territory of Jo Daviess County. A Gazetteer of Illinois and Wisconsin, published about 1822, says that the county "included a part of the lands appropriated by Congress for the payment of military bounties. The lands constituting that tract, are included within the peninsula of the Illinois and Mississippi, and ex- tend on the meridian line passing through the mouth of the Illinois, one hundred and sixty-two miles north. Pike County will no doubt be divided into several counties; some of whichi will become very wealthy and impor- tant. It is probable that the section about Fort Clark (now Peoria) will be the most thickly settled. On the Mississippi River, above Rock River, lead ore is found in abundance. Pike County contains between 700 and 800 inhabitants. It is attached to the first judicial circuit, sends one inem- ber to the House of Representatives and, with Greene, one to the Senate. The county seat is Colesgrove, a post town. It was laid out in 1821, and is situated in township 11 south, in range 2 west of the fourth principal meridian. Very little improvement has yet been made in this place or the vicinity. The situation is higli and healthy, and it bids fair to become a place of some importance." This is all that is known of the Town of Coles- grove, the county seat of all this region in 1821.




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