USA > Illinois > Mason County > The History of Menard and Mason Counties, Illinois > Part 21
USA > Illinois > Menard County > The History of Menard and Mason Counties, Illinois > Part 21
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The articles used in the culinary department were as few and simple as can be imagined. A " flat-oven " or skillet, a frying-pan, an iron pot or kettle, with, occasionally, a coffee-pot, completed the outfit of the best furnished kitchen. Stoves were then entirely unknown, hence all the cooking was done on the fire- place. The oven was set on a bed of glowing coals, and the frugal housewife, taking as much stiff dough of Indian meal as she could conveniently hold in both hands, and, deftly tossing from hand to hand to mold it into the desired.
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shape, tossed it into the oven, patting it with her hand to the desired thickness. About three of these " dodgers" would fill the oven, when the ready heated lid was placed on the oven, and all was covered with burning coals. As soon as the bread was done, it was taken out upon a tin platter and set on the hearth near the fire to keep warm. Generally, the impress of the fingers of the cook were plainly visible in each " dodger." In the oven from which the bread was taken, the ham or venison was then fried, and often, in the fall and winter, the grease tried out of the meat when fried was allowed to remain, and in it the " lye-hominy," made also of Indian corn, was seasoned for the meal. Thus the repast was prepared, and sweeter bread or more savory meats were never eaten than was prepared on those rude fire-places. As to sweetmeats and con- fections, they were things entirely unknown. Sugar was unknown save in sec- tions of country where sugar-maple abounded; but nearly all of the early settlers had an abundance of the finest honey in their cabins the year round ; for wild honey-bees were found in great numbers wherever there was timber. Sometimes wild crabs, wild grapes, and berries of various kinds were preserved in honey ; but these were only opened on the most important occasions. For many years after the settlements were commenced in this section, wheat bread was entirely unknown. This fact will demand a separate paragraph on
MILLS AND MILLING.
In a new country, the preparation of grain for making bread is a matter of no slight importance ; for while grain may be produced from the soil as easily in a new country as in an old one, it is not so easy to have the grain converted into meal. The first settlers here had a very primitive method of grinding corn, but the process was at once slow and toilsome: As said above, nearly or quite all of the first emigrants settled in the timber. A large stump was selected at a convenient point ; the top was dug or burned out into the form of a mortar ; a large, heavy block of hard wood, weighing from fifty to two hun- dred pounds, was shaped at one end so as to fit into this mortar. A long, springy pole was then placed in such a position that when the block named above was hung to the end of the pole, it would hang just over the mortar ; the mill was now ready for use. A small amount of corn was placed in the mortar, and taking hold of the pestle, it was worked up and down, and by its weight the corn was crushed; this was taken out and more put in, and the finest being separated from the coarse, the last was placed again in the mortar to be rebeaten, and the fine used for bread. But this process was so slow, that in a large family, the pestle must go almost constantly, or some of the family would be "placed on short rations." This kind of a mill was used the first three years after the settlement was begun in Sugar Grove. The first milling done from Sugar Grove, was done by John Jennison and James Meadows. These men went in a canoe down the Sangamon to the Illinois River, thence by the Mississippi to Alton. They were gone twenty-one days, bringing back
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HISTORY OF MENARD COUNTY:
a canoe-load of breadstuff with them. Soon after this, Mr. Meadows built a "band-mill " in the grove, and, soon after this, a similar structure was put up at Salem, detailed accounts of which will be found in the history of the respective precincts. The reader will bear in mind that these mills antedated, by several years, the water-mill of Cameron and Rutledge, at Salem, which, at the time, was looked upon as almost a wonder of mechanical invention. Those band- mills, or horse-mills, though much better than the sweep and pestle, were sorry affairs at best. Like the rule made among the barbers at the present time, it was then a rule or custom that those who came first should be served first, and this custom was most rigidly adhered to. Persons would take a "grist " of one or two bushels of corn to the mill, and they must stay till it was ground. Reli- able men at Tallula, stated to the writer that they came from there to Peters- burg-only eight miles-in the days of the old band-mill, using their utmost diligence, it was midnight of the ninth day before they returned with their grinding. How strangely this must sound to the ears of "Young America." It was several years before there were any mills in this county provided with bolts, etc., for the grinding and bolting of wheat, so that those comparatively young can remember when wheat bread was a great rarity, and the little ones rejoiced to know the Sabbath was approaching, for they would get " cake " for breakfast Sunday morning.
CLOTHING.
Among the early pioneers, everything was plain, simple and in conformity with the strictest economy. This was not only true of their dwellings, furni- ture and provisions, but also of their clothing. In a very early day, the men usually wore pants and hunting-shirts of buckskin, and caps of coon or fox skin, while both sexes clothed their feet in moccasins. Cotton goods were then extremely hard to get, because, in the first place, of the distance such goods were to be conveyed by private means, and, secondly, because the manufacture in this country was very limited, the greater part being manufactured in Europe. As a consequence, the pioneers of the West found this one of the hardest demands to meet. Many were the expedients devised by them, especially by the frugal and economical dames ; for, ever since the wonderful expedient of preparing an entire wardrobe from fig-leaves, devised quite a number of years in the past, woman has been very gifted in laying plans and adopting expedi- ents in the matter of clothing. But, unfortunately for her skill and industry, the country afforded nothing, the first few years of its occupancy, that could be turned to any account in this direction. If cotton had been planted on their first arrival, it would have amounted to but little, because neither the soil nor climate were favorable to its growth, and the seasons were so short that it could hardly be planted early enough to mature in quantities sufficient to justify its cultiva- tion. It was almost useless, in an early day, to take sheep into the frontier settlements, on account of the vast numbers of prairie and black and gray wolves, which would destroy an entire flock in a single night. Hence the
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people had no choice save that between adopting expedients and appearing in "nature's light and airy garb." So, after the first year or two, the people began to sow crops of flax or hemp, and this the women spun and wove by hand into a coarse but substantial and pleasant linen. Of this, underwear was made, dresses for the ladies, towels, table-cloths, etc. But. you may inquire, what did they do till a crop of this could be raised, rotted and made into cloth. In reply it may be stated that the clothing taken with them to the new country was made to do an immense service. But even wild nature was often appealed to for aid. In an early day, vast fields of wild nettles grew here, often stand- ing on the ground thicker than a field of wheat, and not unfrequently attaining a height of three and four feet. This produced a most excellent lint, that was susceptible both of being woven and bleached. Thousands of yards of linen were made from these nettles by the pioneer settlers in Illinois. The year after James Meadows settled in Sugar Grove. his wife spun and wove no less than thirty yards of this nettle linen. It was strong, serviceable, and bleached to almost a snowy whiteness.
Even after flax was raised in sufficient quantities, and sheep had been introduced in considerable numbers, still it was an arduous task to spin and weave the cloth for the entire wearing apparel of a family. Had the fashions prevailed then that have in a later day, the women would have given up in despair. But, instead of eight or ten widths of cloth being put in a dress skirt in order to cover a balloon-frame of crinoline, two or three widths were considered amply sufficient for the fullest dress. On a certain occasion, under the old "blue laws " in Connecticut, a young lady was taken before the magis- trate, charged with having leaped over a little brook on her way to church on Sabbath ; and this was an offense for which she was liable to pay a severe fine. The mother of the young lady came into court and made oath that the skirts of the prisoner's dress were so narrow that she was obliged to leap the brook, or step into the water. Upon this testimony she was released. Doubtless there was as great economy practiced by our ancestors as by the staid old Puritans in godly Connecticut ; but it was more necessity than piety that dictated the limited amount of material in their clothing. Our modern young gentlemen, who have dressed in the very best ever since they could remember, would be surprised at the scanty outfit of the boys of that time. The summer wear of the boys up to ten and twelve years of age was simple and very free from any effort at display, as it consisted of but one article, that being a long, coarse overshirt. With this indispensable article they explored the forests, traversed the prairies, thought about the girls, and built as many castles in the air as the boys of more favored times. In winter, they were supplied with buck-skin or tow pants, moccasins or raw-hide shoes, and coats of jeans after sheep began to be raised among the settlers. In winter, when the deer-skin pantaloons had, by any accident, become wet, and dried again, it is affirmed that they could be heard to rattle a distance of forty yards as the wearer walked in them. This scarcity of clothing
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continued to be felt for at least two decades, or even more. In summer, nearly all persons, both male and female, went barefoot; and it was nothing uncommon to see young ladies on their way to church on foot, carrying their shoes in their hands till near the place of worship, when, carefully brushing the dust from their feet, the shoes and stockings were donned, and they mingled with the throng. This continued to be common for nearly twenty years. After sheep could be protected from the wolves, the people fared better in the matter of clothing. Flannel and linsey were woven for the wear of women and children, while jeans was woven for the men. For want of other dye-stuffs, the wool for the jeans was almost invariably colored with the bark or young shoots of the walnut ; hence the inevitable "butternut" worn so extensively in the West for many years. As a matter of course, every family did its own spinning and weaving; and, for many years, all the wool had to be carded by hand on a little pair of cards about five by ten inches. Each family had its spinning- wheels, little and big, winding blades, reel, warping bars made by driving pins into the wall of the house on the outside in some place where no door was in the way, and wooden loom. These were indispensable articles in almost every household ; and during the fall and early winter the merry whir of the wheels, and the regular " bat, bat " of the loom could be heard till a late hour at night. Generally, the shoes worn were all made in the family, and mostly during the
long evenings. No scene can be imagined that is more full of real happiness than the home of the pioneer, when, in the evening, all were engaged in earnest labor. A bright fire burns on the wide hearth, and the ruddy flame leaps far up the wooden chimney, affording the only, yet sufficient, light in the room. In one corner sits the father busily engaged in making shoes ; the mother at her. little wheel hums a tune in low harmony with its steady whir ; while in front of the ample fire-place the daughter trips nimbly back and forth, drawing out the long woolen threads, while the wheel, seeming to partake of the general happi- ness, swells out its musical whir-ir-r, which swells and dies away in regular and harmonious cadence : the younger members of the group engaged in some absorbing pastime, all undisturbed by a single discordant note.
Boots were almost unknown for many years, and many of the old men never had such things during their entire life-time; while none of the. youths were fortunate enough to boast the possession of boots till they reached man- hood. Boys of fifteen and sixteen years of age never thought of wearing any- thing on their feet except for three or four months in the midst of winter ; while the number who were not so fortunate as to get them even in winter was by no means small. Boys, and even men, went to church many times without shoes or stockings. But what would the people of to-day think of the minister who would propose to present himself before his auditory barefooted ! This may never have occurred in Illinois, yet it did in some of the older States, and pos- sibly even here. The writer was intimately acquainted with two ministers, both of whom died, at an extreme old age, a number of years ago, who often
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spoke of preaching, in their younger days, without anything on their feet. They began preaching in Tennessee, and were men of far more than ordi- nary ability ; in fact, we have heard many sermons in finely frescoed churches, from men dressed in broadcloth, which were not worthy of comparison, in . any respect, with the sermons of those men. Several times they spoke of preaching in their youthful days, on a certain occasion, in a private cabin, the loft or ceiling of which was very low, and one of the preachers being a very tall man, a plank was taken up in the floor, so that he might stand in this opening, his head thus being below the "loft." This being in the summer- time, and that region being infested with rattlesnakes, the speaker soon felt a thrill of horror convulse his frame, as the thought crossed his mind that per- haps he stood in the midst of these unwelcome companions. Of course, under these circumstances, the sermon was not painfully long.
We are. fully aware of the incredulity with which the above and similar facts will be received by the mass of the present generation ; but we write the facts, facts which, in the majority of cases, were known to be such by the writer in person. These facts should all be recorded, for none of the present generation have any just conception of the changes that have taken place in the last half-century. If the next fifty years are as productive of change as the past fifty have been, who can imagine the state of affairs a half-century in the future ?
The tools and agricultural implements were about on a par with everything. The ground was broken up by the use of a wooden mold-board plow, and the corn cultivated with hoes, and bull-tongue as shovel-plows. These plows were all single, and in plowing corn the plowman was obliged to go three or four times between every two rows. In planting, the ground was marked off with a plow and the corn dropped by hand and covered by hand with hoes. Wheat, and rye, etc., were cut with a sickle-a hooked instrument some eighteen inches in length, with a handle some six inches long. This was taken in the right hand of the laborer, while the grain was held in the left hand. In later years, the sickle was superseded by the scythe-and-cradle, which enabled the laborer to accomplish more in a given time, but the labor was of the severest kind. What would the farmers of to-day think, after following our reapers and self-binders, to be obliged to go into the harvest-field with a sickle, or even a scythe-and- cradle ?
The teams principally used were oxen, yoked together, and thus made to draw burdens. In breaking up ground the first time, cattle were generally used. It was by no means uncommon to see six or seven yoke of oxen hitched to a plow, and, at fearfully slow pace, dragging the ponderous plow, as it steadily crushed through turf and roots, turning over the long and evenly sod ; and, not- withstanding the tardy pace at which they moved, owing to the width of the fur- row, a considerable amount of land would be plowed in a day. Oxen were also much used single, that is, hitched singly to a plow with harness, or rather " gears,"
1
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HISTORY OF MENARD COUNTY.
as they were called, for little, if any, leather was used in their manufacture. A huge collar, made of corn-husks, tugs of twisted raw-hide, or of iron chains when they could be procured, made the outfit ; for bridle and lines were dis- carded, as the well-trained animal did everything by word of command. Occa- sionally, horses were used in farming, but they were far from being plentiful. . After a few months or years, the people had preaching occasionally, and on such occasions a yoke of oxen was hitched to a cart, sled'or wagon, and in this the family attended service; but we will speak of this in detail in the proper place.
THE EARLY CHURCHES.
It is a fact highly commendable of the early settlers of Illinois, that with all the trials and toils incident on settlement in a new and undeveloped country, and the numbers of rough and vicious men who always seek the frontiers, the teachings of the Christian religion were felt and realized in the most remote settlements. What a rebuke, too, is given to the ministers of the pres- ent, by the self-sacrifice, devotion and arduous toil of those men who first planted the standard of the Cross of Christ in the sparsely settled frontiers of the West. Without the most remote hope of the least temporal remuneration, exposed to danger and disease, subject to the severest trials and most painful privations, they went out, foregoing all the joys of home and the society of loved ones, only to be instrumental in the advancement of the truth and the salvation of men. Often the pioneer preacher, with no companion but the horse he rode, would start across the wide prairies, with no guide but the knowl- edge he had of the cardinal points, or, perhaps, a point of timber scarcely visi- ble in the dim and hazy distance, and, reaching the desired settlement, would present the claims of the Gospel to the few assembled hearers, after the toilsome and lonely day's journey ; then after a night of rest in the humble cabin and partaking of the simple meal, he again enters upon the journey of the day, to preach again at a distant point. Thus the "circuit " of hundreds of miles was traveled month after month ; and to these men we owe the planting of churches all over our land, and the hallowed influences of religion as seen and felt in society everywhere. At this late day, it is impossible to learn who was the first minister who visited the territory now embraced in Menard County. This honor is claimed for at least a dozen different individuals, and three or four different denominations lay claim to the honor of being first to be represented by a minister here. There were at least five different denominations that were represented by ministers coming here in a very early day. `These were the Regular, Hard-Shell or Calvinistic Baptists, the Separate (now Missionary) Baptists, the Methodists, the New-Lights, afterward called Disciples, some- times called " Campbellites," and the Cumberland Presbyterians. We may give a very brief account of each of these separately.
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HISTORY OF MENARD COUNTY.
REGULAR BAPTISTS.
These people, generally called " Hard-Shells," have ever been anti-mission- ary and have opposed temperance societies. They also teach that it is the duty of ministers to refuse stipulated salaries. As a people, they are good citizens, candid and reliable, while their ministers are generally men of good natural minds, yet very few of them are educated. Being Calvinists of the most decided type, it is not to be wondered at that they believed if God made it one's duty to preach the Gospel, He would also enable him to do the work when the time came, without any previous preparation. Hence they, in their preaching, gave the people the truth "just as God gave it to them." If this was really true, all we can say (speaking with reverence), is that God gave them some very much mixed harangues.
Very soon after the settlements were begun here, " Hard-Shell" preachers made their debut also. Some even affirin that an organization of " Hard- Shells " was formed in the vicinity of Salem even before the Baptist Church at Clary's Grove was organized. Grandmother Potter, who was a grown woman, and living within a mile of Salem, in 1820, is positive that the Church there was older by a year or two than that in the grove. But the recollection of all other pioneers is at variance with hers on this matter. Be this as it may, a Regular Baptist Church was organized there in a very early day. The names of ministers, etc., etc., is given in the township history. Other societies were perhaps formed in the county ; but, if so, they, with that near Salem, have long since become extinct, so that there is not one at present in the county, and has not been for many years. While we would not say anything disrespectful or disparaging of this venerable people, yet we cannot refrain from relating an anecdote of them, the truth of a part of which, at least, can be vouched for. In the palmy days of the Salem Church, Dr. Allen created considerable excite- ment on the temperance question, and many signed a pledge of total absti- nence. Among those signing the pledge was Minter Graham, the pioneer school teacher of this county, who was a member of the Baptist Church. So soon as this was known to the Church, Graham was tried and promptly turned out. Thus far, the story is true to the letter. But the story, as popularly told at the time, is to the effect that, on the same day that " Uncle Minter" was suspended, another brother was tried for getting drunk, and he, too, was expelled. After this, an old brother arose very solemnly, and, drawing a quart " flask " from his pocket, the bottle being about half-full of whisky, and, holding this steadily between his eye and the light, and inclining his head slightly to one side, addressed the congregation as follows : " Brethering, you have turned one member out because he would not drink, and another because he got drunk, and now I want to ask a question. It is this: How much of the critter does one have to drink in order to remain in full fellowship. in the Church ?"
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We are not advised what answer was given to this important question, but, doubtless, there was a medium well defined and understood by the ministry, if not by the laity.
This denomination of people performed a very important part in the early history of the county, and its members were among the very best men and women of the entire population. Although they have ceased to exist here as a distinct body, yet their influence is still felt, and the results of their labors are seen on every hand. Scattered over the county are a number of persons who once belonged to this Church, but their numbers being too small to form a society in any locality, they are living out of regular connection with any society, calmly awaiting the transfer to the great " congregation above."
ANTI-CALVINIST BAPTISTS.
As before stated, the Baptists here, in an early day, were considerably divided, especially on the subject of Foreign and Domestic Missions. There were, beside the "Hard-Shells," or Regulars, the Separate and the United Bap- tists ; and these were divided into the Missionary and Anti-Missionary parties. The Anti-Missionary spirit, however, gradually declined, till, many years ago, there ceased to be any Baptists in the whole country, who opposed the mission- ary work, except the " Calvinists." No people can justly be said to be opposed to missions who enroll among their membership such characters as the Judsons.
Clary's Grove Baptist Church was organized on Christmas Day, 1824. This was the first Church organized in the limits of the county, and it was the focal point from which an influence radiated over the surrounding territory. It is not our province, in writing the general history of the county, to enter into detail respecting each separate congregation. For this, the reader is referred to the several township histories. The early Baptist ministers, like all the Evan- gelical preachers of that time, were earnest, devoted and self-sacrificing in their labors. "Baker's Prairie " congregation of Baptists, three miles east of Petersburg, was organized at rather an early date. A congregation was also formed in Petersburg, early in the history of that town, which has flourished from that time. This Church has a large and commodious house of worship, built of brick, and out of debt. At present writing, they have no regular Pas- tor. In Greenview, the Baptists have a substantial frame church, and a toler- ably strong congregation. In Sand Ridge, there is a Baptist congregation ; they worship in the New Hope Church, erected by the Cumberland Presbyteri- ans, and, by order of the Presbytery, under the control of the Concord congre- gation. As full details are given elsewhere, we will merely give a summary here. The Baptist denomination have, in the county, four houses of worship, two brick and two frame. They have, also, some congregations having no church edifice. They form an important element in society, exerting an influ- ence for good that is felt far and near.
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