The History of Menard and Mason Counties, Illinois, Part 39

Author:
Publication date: 1879
Publisher: Chicago : O.L. Baskin & Co.
Number of Pages: 848

USA > Illinois > Mason County > The History of Menard and Mason Counties, Illinois > Part 39
USA > Illinois > Menard County > The History of Menard and Mason Counties, Illinois > Part 39

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EARLY MILLING, BLACKSMITHING, ETC.

Primarily, the hominy mortar was the instrument used for the production of breadstuff. When wheat began to be raised, a trip, occupying two weeks, to Madison County for grinding, was no uncommon thing among the early settlers, and at a point on the Sangamon, near Springfield, was for a number of years their nearest mill. Early blacksmithing was obtained at Springfield. If an ox- ring was needed, or a log-chain was to be mended, it necessitated a pilgrimage to the present capital. After the founding of Salem, many of these incon- veniences became things of the past. Money, as a medium of barter and exchange, was but little used by the early settlers. Indeed, as was remarked by one of the pioneers, it was " truck for truck," even to the paying of the the minister for his labors. All the money they needed was the small amount necessary to meet the demands of the Government in the way of taxes, and this required but a nominal sum. One old settler informed us that on the same quarter-section on which in recent years he has paid $75 in taxes, in those

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HISTORY OF MENARD COUNTY.

early days $1.75 was amply sufficient to satisfy all demands. In the matter of · church organization, the Cumberland Presbyterians were the first in the field.

Their first church was organized in 1826, and for some time services were held, as was the custom, at private houses and in the groves. Old Concord Church, on the creek of the same name in the southeastern part of the precinct, was erected about the year 1830. It was a. substantial frame building and served the congregation as a house of worship for about thirty years. John M. Berry was the early Pastor of the flock. James Pantier and wife, William and James Rutledge and wives, Samuel Berry and wife were the original members. Jesse Armstrong was the first received into membership. The denomination has prospered remarkably and has a large membership throughout the county. The present church edifice was built about 1862-63, and is a model of neatness for a country church. The Baptist society effected an organization in the pre- cinct as early as 1833. Revs. Thomas Plasters and John Antle were among the early Baptist ministers of this section. Their first church was doubtless erected near the site of Robinson's Mill, but the date of its building we were not able to ascertain. New Hope Church, built on the northwest corner of Section 16, was the result of the united efforts of the Cumberland Presbyterians and Baptists, who occupy it alternately for public services. The building is , a neat frame and was erected about 1861-62. A German church has recently been built on the southeast quarter of Section 10, but of these last we were able to obtain but very meager statistics. Robinson's Mill was built on Clary's Creek, not far below the confluence of Little Grove Creek and the first- mentioned stream. It was a water-mill and did work for a large scope of terri- tory. Though the exact time of its establishment cannot be given, it is safe to say that it was not far from 1840. A town site was surveyed and platted, but, from some hindrances, failed to develop into much of a village, and is now num- bered with the dead. The only post office ever established in the precinct out- side of the ones now found in Oakford and Atterberry was at this point about the year 1844-45. Over this, John Bonnet presided as Postmaster. The place is now deserted ; no mark or vestige of its former greatness remains. The mill has long since been abandoned, and the merchants and mechanics of " Bobtown " have given her over to the moles and bats.

Dr. John Allen was the first practicing physician in this section. He came from the Green Mountain State and located in Salem at an early day. He was thoroughly qualified and became eminent in his profession. Dr. Dun- can was also early in the field, and, like Allen, was a resident of Salem. He afterward moved to Warsaw. He is spoken of as being a well-read and suc- cessful practitioner. Early mail matter was received at Springfield, when the settler was fortunate enough to be able to lift the billet-doux, or a line from the loved ones at home, from the office, for this luxury cost the sum of 25 cents, an amount of. cash not at all times readily obtained. Among those clothed with legal authority in an early day, we may record the names of

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HISTORY OF MENARD COUNTY.

Samuel Berry and Robert Armstrong as the first Justices of the Peace. Willianı Armstrong was, perhaps, the first to serve in this capacity after the present precinct organization was effected. S. D. Masters was also quite an early Justice, and, in 1855, was chosen a member of the Legislature. It was dur- ing this session that Abraham Lincoln first figured prominently as a candidate for a seat in the United States Senate. The history of this precinct has, as regards its early settlement, been so intimately connected with other portions of the county that should the date given as to the coming of some of its citi- zens fall wide of the mark, we can only offer in palliation of the offense, that we have closely adhered to the testimony of the oldest and best-posted citizens now living within her borders, guided, also, by an earnest desire to present the record in as perfect and complete a manner as possible.

VILLAGE OF OAKFORD.

This is a small village on the S. & N .- W. R. R., and was surveyed and platted by A. J. Kelly, County Surveyor, for the proprietors, William Oakford and William Colson, in March, 1872. The town plat contains sixty acres and is in the midst of a fine agricultural district. The land on which the town is situated belonged to Colson, and Oakford acquired a half-interest for his influence in securing a station. A public sale of lots was made April 11, 1872, at which time some $2,000 worth were disposed of, and soon after improvements began to be made. The first building or shanty on the town site was what was known as the railroad store, a kind of portable affair carry- ing chiefly in stock a supply for the railroad hands. Soon after the village was laid out, William Oakford built a storeroom and opened out a stock of grocer- ies. In the summer of 1872, a general store was opened by Calvin Atterberry, who had been in business at "Bobtown." This was purchased in 1873, by Isaac Ogden and A. G. Colson. In January, 1874, L. W. Roberts bought out Colson. and the firm became that of Ogden & Roberts. In October, 1875, they sold out to Sutton Bros., who operated the store three years and then sold to S. L. Watkins & Bro., who have since conducted the business. In June, 1873, H. A. Bennett, from Petersburg, opened out a stock of drugs and shelf goods in the old railroad storeroom. This he soon after sold to William Col- son, and he in turn to A. G. Colson and J. H. Green. In January, 1876, S. L. Watkins, the present proprietor, bought the establishment. In the spring of 1875, Dr. J. D. Whitney and W. C. Roberts erected a building and opened a drug store. T. P. Renshaw & Co. began the operation of a branch store with a general stock in August, 1878. They occupy the room erected by Watkins & Colson, and formerly occupied by Moon & Gault, of Petersburg. Their main store is located at Chandlerville, Cass County. Oliver J. Moltby and J. W. Walker started a harness-shop in 1876. This branch of business is at present operated by Berget Guist, from Virginia, Cass County. A confection- ery and restaurant is operated semi-occasionally by C. P. Stith. James S.

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HISTORY OF MENARD COUNTY.

Carter, from Petersburg, opened a furniture store here in 1877, but did not continue the business long. Dr. J. D. Whitney and Charles Meyers built the first dwellings in the village in the summer of 1872. Meyers had formerly kept a doggery at Robinson's Mills and supplied the villagers and surrounding inhabitants of the infant Oakford with fire-water for the space of two years. James P. Thomas, familiarly known as "Porky Thomas," now issues out rations to the "boys" in the way of "smiles." James S. Carter, after closing out his furniture store, opened a saloon and still operates it. Gilbert Skaggs, now editor of the Chandlerville Independent, built the first blacksmith-shop in the village. This was purchased by James McElhern, who came from Canada, and was the first blacksmith in the place. L. W. Roberts, Isaac Ogden, William Jackson, A. G. Colson, Henry Garter, James McElhern, and perhaps others, built dwellings in the summer of 1874, and for a time the village seemed to be well out on the highway to prosperity. But as the storm is ever succeeded by the calm, so the spirit of improvement gradually subsided and the village has pretty much since remained in statu quo. The first practitioner to locate in the village was Dr. J. D. Whitney, who has recently taken up his residence in Petersburg. Jacob A. Bolinger, M. D., is the present resident physician. He has but recently located here and is a young man of much promise in his profession. He is an alumnus of Missouri Medical College. Rev. John Kennedy, a minister of the Baptist persuasion, preached here in quite an early period of the village history. No schoolhouse or church build- . ing has ever been erected in the village limits. Services are held occasionally by the different denominations of the vicinity, in the hall over the storeroom of Renshaw & Co. The mortality among the children of the village and neighborhood in the summer of 1873, was very great. Five interments some- times occurred in a single day at the Oakford Cemetery. The first death among the adult population, was that of Horace Purdy, whose decease occurred in the winter of 1872. His wife also died a few weeks later. The first birth was that of a son of John Whitley, born in September, 1872. The marriage of A. G. Colson and Rachel Skaggs, in November, 1872, and that of L. W. Roberts and Carrie C. Ogden, in March, 1873, were the first weddings that occurred in the village. The post office was established soon after the village was started. It is at present presided over by S. L. Watkins. Low & Foster built a small elevator in 1877, and handle the grain shipped from this point. A case of justifiable homicide occurred in the village during the summer of 1876. James McElhern, who has already been mentioned as the first black- smith, lost his life at the hands of one A. J. McDonald. McElhern was a man of great physical strength and of rather a quarrelsome disposition, espe- cially when under the influence of intoxicants. It was clearly proven at the preliminary examination that McDonald was making every effort possible to avoid an encounter, but finding every avenue of escape cut off, suddenly turned upon him and delivered a pistol shot which proved fatal. The grand jury

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HISTORY OF MENARD COUNTY.

failed to find a bill of indictment and so the matter ended. The business interests of the village to-day are represented as follows : Two general stores, one drug store, one harness-shop, one boot and shoe shop, one barber-shop, one flour and feed store, one butcher-shop, two saloons and one grain elevator. The popula- tion of the village does not exceed two hundred.

Atterberry, a station on the S. & N .- W. Railroad, midway between Peters- burg and Oakford, was laid out by Daniel Atterberry, in March, 1872. By birth, it is one day younger than Oakford. An acre of ground was donated to the road for depot purposes. The town site is in the midst of a rich farming community, but from some cause the growth of the village has failed thus far to meet the expectations of its founder. Not to exceed half a dozen dwellings mark the spot to-day. A post office, which is a mere neighborhood conven- ience, is presided over by Mr. Colburn, the gentlemanly agent of the S.& N. W. R. R. at this point. As a point from which to ship grain and live stock, it pays the railroad to keep a station here. Few points on the road show a larger shipment of live stock, and the grain trade is rapidly increasing. There is some talk of erecting a steam elevator and mill combined at the town, and should this be made an accomplished fact, no doubt a spirit of enterprise and improvement would spring up in the village.

ROCK CREEK PRECINCT.

" Time writes no wrinkles upon the brow of Old Ocean, as upon those of the fading race of men." With some degree of truth, the same might be said of Rock Creek Precinct. The last fifty years have produced far less change in it than in many other portions of Menard County. The "storms and sunshine" of more than three-score years have " flung their light and shade " over its hills and vales since the first people (whom God made white) laid their claims in its sheltering timber. Numbers of those log cabins may yet be found upon the summit of the little hills, or nestled away in the valleys and dells, as if hiding from the storms. The log cabins and the old-style rail fences do not show the advance in the " fine arts " displayed by some of Rock Creek's sister precincts, but still bear many of the traces of pioneer times. Much of the land, too, in quality falls below the average standard of the land in the county. There are some very fine spots, however, and upon these may be found the flourishing, well-to-do farmers of the precinct.

Rock Creek is the smallest division of Menard County, and, taken as a whole, is, perhaps, one of the poorest in worldly wealth. The larger portion of it is timber, and much of it rough and broken in surface. The heaviest tim- ber is, perhaps, along Rock Creek, which meanders through it, bearing a little to the northeast after passing the center of the precinct, and emptying into the Sangamon River through Section 4. Timber borders the Sangamon River,

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HISTORY OF MENARD COUNTY.

which forms the boundary line between this and Athens Precinct with numer- ous little groves besides, leaving but little prairie land. Geographically, Rock Creek Precinct lies south of Petersburg Precinct, east of Tallula, north of San- gamon County and west of Athens Precinct. Its only water-courses are Rock Creek and branches, and the Sangamon River-flowing along its eastern bound- ary, as noted above. According to Government survey, it is pretty equally divided in Ranges 6 and 7 of Township 17 north, and contains but about twenty-three full sections of land. It has no cities or towns, neither has the snort of the iron horse ever echoed through its forests, disturbing the cattle grazing upon its " thousand hills." It is decidedly a rural district, devoted wholly to agricultural pursuits and home industries. In early times, it received the soubriquet of " Wolf County," but just why the name was given we could not learn. Whether it was owing to the fact that wolves abounded among its 'hills and brakes, or from some other fancied resemblance to something or some- body, we leave it to our readers to find out, and will now turn our attention to

ITS EARLY SETTLEMENT.

The first cabin erected in what now forms Rock Creek Precinct, is said to have been built by a man named Amor Batterton. In 1819, the year after Illinois became a State, he settled in this precinct on the place now owned by Jonas Combs. He had, it is stated, made a claim and built a cabin the previous autumn, but did not permanently locate until during the early part of 1819. He came from Kentucky, raised quite a large family, and has descendants still residing in the precinct. The same year that Batterton settled here, a man named Ratliff and four sons-James, Job, William and Joshua-James Fisher and George Gamerel settled in tlie timber along the Creek. Jacob Miller settled at what is called Farmer's Point in 1819. Solomon Keltner and William Stephenson came also in 1819-20, and made settlements in this neighborhood. Rev. James Simms and his son-in-law, James Black, also came in 1819-20. They were from Kentucky, and of Mr. Simms we learned the following, which we give for what it is worth without vouching for its correctness : "That he was a Cumberland Presbyterian minister, a great revivalist and leader at camp- meetings. He established a " camp-ground" soon after he came to the neigh- borhood, which, for many years, was the scene of an annual camp-meeting, and that some of the old remains are still to be seen on the sacred spot." Mr. Simms seems to have taken an active part in temporal as well as spiritual affairs, as we are told he was the first. Representative in the Legislature from Sangamon County. At the early period of which we write, Sangamon included in its territory not only Menard but several other of the surrounding counties. He finally moved West, but to what point we did not learn. Absalom Matthews came also this year. Little, however, is remembered of him now. This com- prised the settlement up to the beginning of the year 1821, when the following recruits were added to the number already here : Tarleton Lloyd, George

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HISTORY OF MENARD COUNTY.

Miller, Marshall Duncan, David S. Taylor, Mathias, James and William Yoakum, and, perhaps, others whose names are forgotten. Lloyd came from Virginia, and was born in 1784, and is now ninety-five years of age. He set- tled where he still lives, and says there were two log cabins on the place at the time. Into one of these, which was 12x16 feet, he moved his family. Two years after, he built a log house 18x20 feet, which has since been " weather- boarded," and a frame addition built to it. The house is fifty-six years old, and, like its venerable owner, begins to show the ravages of time. Mr. Lloyd says he had nothing when he came here but his household effects, etc. He bought a cow from a man named Shipley, for which he gave a wagon, and also a cow from George Greene, giving therefor a feather bed. He was a soldier in the war of 1812; served under Capt. Henry West, Fourth Regiment, and was in the battle at New Orleans. Miller settled in the Sangamon River bottom, and Duncan, on what is known as Garden Prairie. Taylor bought the place settled originally by Batterton, also the claim of Matthews. The Yoakums came originally from Virginia, but had emigrated to Kentucky in an early day, whence they came to Illinois, first stopping in Madison County, then in Montgomery, and finally locating in this neighborhood, as above stated. Samuel Combs settled here in 1824, and Jonas Combs, a brother, in 1826. They came from Kentucky. Samuel died here years ago, and Jonas is still living on the place of his original settlement at an advanced age. Elihu Bone came from Tennessee in 1824, and bought out a man named Flynn, on Rock Creek. He died here in 1856. Isaac Cogdall is from Kentucky, and came to the country in 1826. He still lives on his original settlement, and is quite a prominent man in the community. Joseph Cogdall, the father of Isaac, and a Baptist minister, came as early as 1823. He died in 1828, and was one of the early deaths in the little settlement. Rev. John Berry, a Cumberland Presbyterian minister, came as early as 1821. He organized a church society at a very early day, as elsewhere noticed.

Elijah Houghton came in 1824 and settled on Rock Creek, in this precinct. His father, Aaron Houghton, was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and a native of New Jersey, though of English origin. He emigrated to Kentucky when it was, in reality, the " dark and bloody ground " and the battle field between the Northern and Southern Indians, as in after years it became the battle-field between Northern and Southern whites. Elijah Houghton was a man of considerable prominence in the settlement, and died in 1852. A. M. Houghton, a son, resides on the old homestead. Chiarles Houghton, a brother of Elijah Houghton,. came in 1824. He settled on the place now owned by Isaac Cogdall. Robert Johnson, Jesse Vowell, Michael Davis and William Irwin came about 1826 to 1828. J. H. Smith was also an early settler in this neighborhood. He is a son of Samuel Smith, of Rhode Island. The latter gentleman married a Rhodes, of the family of Rhodeses for whom, it is said, Rhode Island was originally named. J. H. Smith is still on his original L

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HISTORY OF MENARD COUNTY.

settlement. C. J. F. Clarke may also be ranked among the early settlers. He was one of the first County Commissioners, and claims to have been the first County Judge of Menard County. He served eight years in the latter office, and four years as County Commissioner. He died some years ago in Cass County.

This includes all the early settlers whose names we have been able to obtain. There were, doubtless, others who are entitled to mention in this connection; but when we look back over a period of sixty years, it is not strange that many of the pioneers who came to the wilderness then and remained but a short time, or died early, are forgotten by the few still left. We are not remembered long after we pass from the stage of action.

" If you or I to-day should die, The birds would sing as sweet to-morrow ; The vernal Spring her flowers would bring, And few would think of us with sorrow.

"' Yes, he is dead,' would then be said ; The corn would. floss, the grass yield hay, The cattle low, and summer go, And few would heed us passed away.

" How soon we pass ! how few, alas ! Remember those who turn to mold ! Whose faces fade, with autumn's shade, Beneath the sodded churchyard cold !

" Yes it is so. We come, we go- They hail our birth, they mourn us dead, A day or more, the winter o'er, Another takes our place instead."

It is with no intention of injustice to any one that we quote the above lines. They are beautifully pathetic, and as true as beautiful. None miss us when we pass away but our immediate relatives, and in a short time they forget us, and laugh as merrily as when we sat beside them. Such is life, and such is human nature.

As we have already noticed, Rock Creek is the smallest precinct in the county, containing a little less than two-thirds of the surface area of a Con- gressional township. Many of its first settlers were from Kentucky and Vir- ginia, where timber and running water abounded in the most plentiful profusion, and hence looked upon the timbered borders of Rock Creek and the Sangamon as a second paradise. The prairies then were supposed to be " barren wastes " that would always be useless except for pasturage. Thus it was that the early settlements ,were all made in the timber and along the water-courses. "Drive- wells" had not then been invented, and to have settled out on the prairie at that early time would have appeared as rash as to attempt to cross the Great Desert without water.

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HISTORY OF MENARD COUNTY.

CHURCHES. SCHOOLS, SHOPS, ETC.

. One of the very first church societies formed in what is now Menard County was the Rock Creek Cumberland Presbyterian Church, as it is known at the 'present day. The society was originally organized by Rev. John Berry, in 1821 or 1822. Rev. John Simms came a short time prior, and these two pioneer preachers laid out a camp-ground, as elsewhere noticed, in the forests of Rock Creek, held camp-meetings for a number of years, and the " seed sown in good ground " here has developed into the present Rock Creek Church, which stands near the line between Sections 14 and 15. The first start toward a church was a shed put up for the purposes of holding camp-meetings, as. above mentioned. The next was a little log building used for both church and school exercises. It was, some years later, rebuilt on a more extensive scale, and, finally, the present elegant frame church succeeded these primitive edifices, and now the people of Rock Creek Precinct have quite a handsome temple of worship. Revs. Berry and Simms were the first preachers of this denomina- tion, and laid the foundation of this prosperous church almost sixty years ago. The present Pastor of the Rock Creek Church is Rev. J. C. Momeyer. A. Sunday school is conducted during the summer season. This is the only church edifice in the precinct. A neat little parsonage is attached to it for the accom- modation of the minister. There is also a cemetery adjacent, in which repose- many of the pioneers both of the Church and the neighborhood. It is laid out. with taste, well kept, and inclosed with a substantial fence. Rev. Joseph Cog- dall was also an early preacher in this settlement, and belonged to the Baptist denomination.

The first school taught in the present precinct of Rock Creek, is said to have- been taught by a man named Cumpton, in 1824-25, in a little log cabin, on the place settled by Tarleton Lloyd. Another of the pioneer pedagogues was- Ira McGlasson, who taught in a log cabin, near Andrew Houghton's, probably the next year after Humphreys. The precinct, at present, has five, comfort- able and commodious schoolhouses, all of which are brick or frame, and in: which schools are maintained during the usual term each year. The people are alive to the benefits of education, and have secured ample facilities for educating their children. The following, which is said to have occurred in this precinct, will illustrate the early educational advantages of a new country : A young man applied to the proper authority (an old farmer) for a school in the neighborhood. The old gentleman deeming an examination necessary, put him to reading the Bible as a test of his qualifications. It so happened that the young man opened the book in Genesis, at the genealogical record, and, after reading for a time in. those jaw-breaking names, the old fellow stopped him, and said, " he guessed he'd do to keep school thar," and that he might write out a certificate. The young man complied, and, after writing the certificate, handed it to the old man to sign, who remarked, "you sign my name and I'll make my mark, I can't write it myself."

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The History of Menard and Mason Counties, Illinois, Part 39

Author: Publication date: 1879 Publisher: Chicago : O.L. Baskin & Co. Number of Pages: 848

Author:
Publication date: 1879
Publisher: Chicago : O.L. Baskin & Co.
Number of Pages: 848