The History of Menard and Mason Counties, Illinois, Part 73

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 73
USA > Illinois > Menard County > The History of Menard and Mason Counties, Illinois > Part 73

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a habit of tugging vigorously first at one ear and then at the other, by way of lending emphasis and solemnity to his remarks. Still it was enjoyed by those early settlers who had been for some time without the privileges of the church. He discoursed many times at the residence of James A. Revis, in the southern part of the township. Rev. John L. Turner, who came in 1840, and of whom mention has already been made, was an early minister in the Baptist Churches

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HISTORY OF MASON COUNTY.

of this section. Rev. Abraham Bale, who should have been classed among the settlers of 1842-43, was a minister in the same connection. He settled on the farm where George Thomas now lives, and was the second resi- dent minister in the township. He built what is known as Bale's Mill, in Menard County, and which passed from his hands to those of his brother, Jacob, but is at present owned by a son of Abraham Bale. Rev. Ross, a radical Methodist minister, preached at the residence of Solomon Norris, in quite an early day. Of the Methodist Episcopal Church, Revs. William Coder, Wallace and Moreland were among the earliest. A church was built a number of years ago, near the site of New Hope burying-ground, in Walker's Grove, but was destroyed by fire just about the time of its completion, and before ser- vices had ever been held in it. The house was never rebuilt. Another was erected in the Sandridge timber, about the year 1859, but its use has been discontinued for some years, and the building is fast going to rack. Both of these houses were the property of the Baptist brethren, and the latter is the only public house of worship in the township.

'EARLY POST OFFICE, STORES, SCHOOLS, ETC.

A post office called Walker's Grove Post Office was established at the house of James Walker, in 1839. It was on the mail route from Springfield to Havana. James Walker was the first Postmaster. After a period of about eighteen months, it was moved across the river into Menard County. An office was established at the grove, at a later date, and was there in 1854, at which time William Warnock, Jr., now of Mason City, was Postmaster. Jack Close, who afterward occupied rather a prominent place among the early merchants of Havana, had a small country store in the township as early as 1841. This was doubtless the first attempt made at merchandising in this section. Not long after Close began playing merchant, William Walker opened a small stock of dry goods and groceries at the grove. For several years, a small establishment was kept here by different parties, that of William Warnock, Jr., and his uncle being about the last. There is no store in the township at present ; those at Kilbourne, Easton and Mason City, are, however, easily accessible to the citi- zens of Crane Creek. The first schoolhouse built in the township, was on land belonging to Henry Sears, and was built in 1836. It was rather a rude affair, put up by those in the neighborhood for the benefit of their children. It drew patronage from a large extent of country. William Lease kept the first school and was paid for his services by individual subscription. James Buckner, M. D., was from Kentucky and came to this part of the county in 1839. He was the first physician to locate, and stopped for a time at the residence of John Yardley. He is said to have been a well-read and successful practitioner. The prevailing diseases were bilious and lung fever with an occasional case of chills. Dr. Buckner lived a number of years on rented land in Walker's Grove, and then moved to Petersburg. His last place of residence was near Bloomington,

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HISTORY OF MASON COUNTY.

in McLean County, where he died some years ago. Of him Uncle Henry Sears says: " He was a poor man, but every inch a gentleman." Dr. John Morgan was here early, but did not remain long. He had the gift of gab well developed, but his knowledge of medicine was looked upon as being somewhat superficial. He returned to New Orleans whence he came, and has for a nums ber of years past been a resident of Texas. The milling for the earliest settlers was done on the Mackinaw, and at Broadwell's, on the Sangamon. Later, it was obtained at Simmonds' and McHarry's on the Quiver, and, after the building of the Bales' mill, they, for the most part, went to it.

FIRST DEATH, BIRTH AND MARRIAGE.

Two children of the family of Alexander Revis, died in 1833, and are sup- posed to be the first deaths that occurred among the early settlers. The father and mother followed them some years later, and were laid to rest beside their sleeping little ones near what is known as Revis Springs. But few, if any, are now living who can point out the exact spot where the mortal remains of most of this pioneer family lie buried. The first wedding to occur in the township, so far as we have been able to ascertain, was that of John Mounts and Jane Summers. This happy event, by which two hearts were made to beat as one, transpired in 1830. No doubt John could exclaim with the poet (slightly varied),

" I would, were she always thus nigh, Have nothing to wish or to fear, No mortal so happy as I, My Summers would last all the year."

To the squaw wife of James Price is accorded the honor of becoming the mother of the first child born in what is now Crane Creek Township. If liv- ing, he has been reared among the kinsmen of his mother in the Far West, and may, for aught we know, even now be quietly surveying the situation, from the camp of Sitting Bull, preparatory to spreading consternation throughout our Western frontier settlements.

Among the early Justices of the Peace, the names of Ira Patterson, Henry Norris and Robert. Turner occur. Patterson and Norris were officers when this was yet included in the limits of Menard County. Turner was perhaps the first after the organization of Mason County. Patterson, after filling this and offices of minor importance for some years, went West to grow up with the country. And that he did grow well is attested by the fact that, a num- ber of years ago, he was chosen to the important position of Governor of Oregon. The first deed to a piece of land that Henry Sears ever had made, was drafted by the late martyred President, Abraham Lincoln. In the good old days of Whigs and Democrats, this section was Democratic, and, since the organization of the Republican party, the township has continued to march under the same banner. The scarcity of money in the days of the early set- tlers was a great source of annoyance, and yet, any one with a liberal amount

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HISTORY OF MASON COUNTY.

of industry could easily supply himself with an article, which, for purposes of barter and exchange, was in as high favor as the " dollar of our daddies " of to-day. Coons were plentiful, and a good coon-skin was taken by the mer- chant in exchange for goods as readily as the value of it in cash would have been taken. J. M. Estep says that the first pair of boots he ever had he purchased of O. M. Ross, in Havana, in 1836, and paid the entire cost in coon-skins. That the early settler would sometimes tax his ingenuity and exercise his physical frame in an unusual manner in order to obtain a little of the "O.be-joyful," is evinced by the following incident: William Summers, who was fond of his " toddy," but who was often without the "wherewithal " necessary to obtain it, laid a wager on a certain occasion, that he could gallop, horse-fashion, on his hands and feet one-quarter of a mile within a given length of time. The feat was accomplished, and Summers, having obtained his quart of "old rye," remarked to his friend Jesse Baker, "We can contrive , many ways in order to obtain our whisky, rather than to pay cash." The second apple orchard planted in the county was in this township, near Crane Creek. The trees were obtained from the Gardner Nursery in Fulton County, which was established in 1824. The trees reared here from the seed seemed admirably adapted to the climate and soil, and at an early age bore well. The fruit, generally speaking, was remarkable for keeping well for long periods. It was not generally of the largest size, but good in quality and variety. The township most probably took its name from the great numbers of sand-hill cranes that were found here in an early day. The evidence, however, on this point, is by no means conclusive. And thus having traced its history as best we have been able, guided by an earnest desire to place it properly on record, we part company with the settler of 1829 and those that have succeeded him, but not without regret.

SHERMAN TOWNSHIP.

When, in 1862, in accordance with a vote of the citizens adopting town- ship organization, the county of Mason was divided into eleven townships. Sherman had no part or lot in the matter. The voting-places of its citizens were Havana, Forest City, and in the eastern portion of Pennsylvania Town- ship. The distance to be traveled and the difficulty experienced in reaching them, often deterred them from exercising this most inestimable right of the American citizen. In September, 1866, a petition was presented to the Board of Supervisors, praying that a new township by the name of Jackson might be created out of portions of Havana, Pennsylvania and Mason Plains (now Forest City) Townships. After mature deliberation, the prayer of the peti- tioners was granted. Though the name by which it had been christened was one which the American people had twice honored with the highest gift in their power to bestow, and was calculated to perpetuate the memory of the hero of

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HISTORY OF MASON COUNTY.

New Orleans, yet a greater in military exploits than he had arisen. Sherman, who, at the head of his noble and victorious army, had " marched down to the sea," and by his successful warfare, waged in behalf of his country, had endeared himself to every true patriot heart, was a name well-pleasing to many of its citizens. At the January meeting of the Board, in 1867, upon motion, the name Jackson was stricken out, and that of Sherman substituted. It is designated as Town 21 north, Range 7 west of the Third Principal Meridian, and comprises thirty-six sections-a Congressional Township. The woodland districts are of a very limited extent. Excepting a small grove in the northeast corner, known as Crane Marsh timber, and the outskirts of Bull's Eye Prairie timber, along the western edge, the entire township is prairie. A county ditch, finding an outlet through Crane Creek, crosses the southeastern corner, and, with its tributaries, affords drainage to an extended scope of its territory. The C., H. & W. R. R. (formerly known as the Havana extension of the Indianap- olis, Bloomington & Western) crosses its southern portion, the length of line through the township being about seven miles.

The geographical position of Sherman is south of Quiver and Forest City Townships, west of Pennsylvania, north of Crane Creek, and east of Havana. As an agricultural district, at present it ranks lower than any other township in the county. This is owing to the large amount of wet, swampy land included within its limits. Fully three fourths of its entire area was comprised in that portion of the county known, a few years ago, as " swamp-lands." Many of its broad acres were at one time held by the Government at the small sum of 25 cents per acre, and even this mere pittance it failed to realize. These low- lands, when effectually drained, have proved to be very productive, and the township, by a thorough system of artificial drainage, may be made to com- pare favorably with other portions of the county in its annual products. With this glance at its topographic features, we come at once to a notice of its

EARLY SETTLEMENT.

The first improvement made in what is now Sherman Township was that of Thomas K. Falkner. The family, originally from the Empire State, had set- tled in Dearborn County, Ind., in 1815. In 1830, Thomas, then a married man, moved to Madison County, and settled on the bank of White River. Eight years later, he removed to Illinois, and entered lands in Section 7, Town 21 north, Range 7 west of the Third Principal Meridian, then Tazewell, now Mason County. He built a log cabin, and, on the opening of spring, began to break prairie. After a residence of ten or twelve years, he sold out to Henry Cease and moved into Salt Creek, where, in 1865, he died. In the summer of 1839, Mahlon Hibbs and his sons, William and Eli, together with his son-in- law, John Hampton, came from Columbia County, Penn., and settled on the same section. Mahlon Hibbs settled on the southeast quarter, made an improve- ment, and died the fall after coming. William Hibbs entered land on the-

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HISTORY OF MASON COUNTY.

northwest quarter, improved it, and, after a residence of some six or eight years, . traded it for mill property in Island Grove, Sangamon County. From there he removed to Missouri, and, a few years since, to Kansas, in which State he at present resides. John Opp is the owner, at present, of the land he entered. Eli .Hibbs made his farm on the northeast quarter, lived there some years, and then moved to the farm entered by his father, where he still lives. John Hampton located west of his father-in-law, and lived on the farm he entered and improved till October, 1878, when he moved to Shelby County, Mo., where, at last accounts, he was still living. About two weeks subsequent to the arrival of the Hibbses and Hampton, Mrs. Catharine Dentler and family came from Northumberland County, Penn., and settled on Section 18, south of the settlements already mentioned. She moved to Nebraska seven or eight years ago, and died there in the winter of 1878. Solomon Dentler, a young man, nephew of Mrs. Dentler, came with the family. He entered eighty acres on Section 20, but did not improve it. In the fall of 1839, he returned East, and, having traded his land to Henry Cease, did not again come West. The settlers already mentioned comprised the entire citizenship of this section prior to 1844: West of their location, toward the town of Havana, there were seven or eight families along the border of the woods, to wit, Coder, McReynolds, Robert Falkner, Eli Fisk, Brown, Fessler, and a few others. These constituted the inhabitants in the first thirty miles or more east of Havana. Nearly the whole country was a vast, unbroken prairie, over which roamed at pleasure vast herds of deer and wolves. Mr. John R. Falkner relates that, in the spring of 1840, he, with two others, counted on Bull's Eye Prairie fifty- nine deer in one herd, and forty-two in another, all in sight at the same time. James H. Chase was the next in order in the township. He came from Pennsylvania to Hamilton County, Ill., in 1839, and from there to Mason in 1844. His improvement was made on the northwest quarter of Sec- tion 8, where he remained till the date of his decease, an event which occurred some years ago. Joseph Lehr settled in the northwest corner of the township in 1845. He purchased two acres of William Hibbs for a building-site, on which he erected a cabin. He laid a claim on Section 6, which he improved and owned to the date of his death. Lehr came from the Buckeye State, but was a native of Pennsylvania. He moved to Wabash County and lived one year, thence to Wisconsin and remained one year, finally returning to Havana, where, a few years ago, he died. Among the list of settlers as early as 1848-49, we find the names of Henry Cease, John Blakely, William and John Alexander and Charles Trotter. Cease was from the Keystone State, and was the fore- runner of a large number from the same section that settled, at an early date, in what is now Pennsylvania Township. He purchased the improvement of Thomas K. Falkner, and, a few years later, moved farther east into the township, on land now owned and occupied by J. H. Kellerman. He moved to Missouri a few years ago, and at present resides there. Blakely and the Alexanders

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HISTORY OF MASON COUNTY.

were from Ohio, and settled east of those already mentioned. Blakely contin- ued a citizen till the date of his decease. The Alexanders first settled in Havana Township, but came, as above stated, to Sherman. William located near the edge of Crane Creek timber, and, several years ago, went to Missouri. John sold out some three or four years after coming, and returned to Ohio. Charles Trotter was an Englishman by birth, and came to this section from the Bay State. Peter Morgenstern now owns and occupies the farm he improved. He remained in the township but a few years, then moved to Beardstown, Cass County, where, some years later, he died. About the time of the last mentioned date, Mrs. M. B. Devenport and family, consisting of her sons Henry, Lewis, William, Joseph and Marshall, settled in the southern part of the township, about one mile southeast of the present village of Easton. Her husband, Mar- shall B. Devenport, commonly known as Booker, came from Kentucky to Illi- nois in 1832, and died in what is now Salt Creek Township in 1840. Joseph died here a number of years ago. Henry is still a resident of this part, while Eli T. resides across the line, in Crane Creek. Marshall Devenport took up his residence in the Golden State some years since, and, when last heard from, was living. Passing down through the years 1849 and 1850, we find the names of Samuel Adkins, Granville Cheny, Vincent Singleton and Alexander Holler. These all settled in the southwest corner of the township, on what is known as Bull's Eye Prairie. Adkins and Holler were from Tennessee, Cheny from Tennessee or Kentucky, and Singleton probably from the State last mentioned. Adkins settled in the northwest corner of Bull's Eye, and, after three or four unsuccessful attempts at farming, sold out to Henry Cease, lived in different parts of the township until five or six years ago, when he went west to Kansas. Cheny located on the north edge of the prairie, but finally moved to De Witt County, where, quite recently, he lost his life by accident. Singleton remained a few years, moved to Salt Creek, thence to Mason City, of which he is at present a citizen. Alexander Holler lived in the township but a short time, moved into Havana Township, and died a number of years ago. William G. Stone, now a resident of Havana, was a citizen of Sherman as early as 1850. Stone was originally from New Jersey, but came from Pennsylvania to Mason County. John Spellman and Amos Heater came in 1851, and were both Penn- sylvanians. Heater settled on Section 9, and resides on the farm originally entered and improved. Spellman lived only two weeks after completing his house and moving into it. His widow, since married, is still a citizen of the township. His sons, Henry and George, went west to Nebraska some years since. William entered the army in the early part of the war. He was, doubtless, an ardent admirer of the sentiment expressed in the couplet,

" He that fights, and runs away, May live to fight another day,"

for, after the first engagement, he ingloriously deserted, and was seen among his comrades no more. He is supposed to have died some years since, though this

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HISTORY OF MASON COUNTY.

fact is not definitely known. H. Elderbush settled in the edge of Crane Marsh timber about 1852 or 1853; the exact date of his coming cannot now be ascer- tained. James M. Samuels, one of Sherman's most prosperous citizens, located on the northwest corner of Section 36, where he still resides. The family, originally from the Old Dominion, had emigrated to Kentucky in 1815, and settled near Hopkinsville when that thriving city was a small village of not more than one hundred inhabitants. In the spring of 1835, his father, Andrew Samuels, came to Illinois, and first settled in Morgan County. Ten years afterward, he settled in what is now Bath Township, Mason County, on the farm now occupied by his youngest son. The remains of himself and wife lie entombed in the cemetery at Bath. When James M. settled here twenty-four years ago, there were none living east of him in the township, and, with the exception of Mrs. Devenport and family, none south before reaching the set- tlers in Crane Creek. To one visiting his pleasant home, occupying as it does, one of the most eligible sites in the entire township, the matter of wonder is, that a location so desirable should have been left unoccupied to so late a date, while others, far less so, had been occupied and improved fifteen or twenty years earlier. His connection with the village of Easton will be given in the history of that village. Jacob Kissler and family, consisting of Mark A., Will- iam, James, Thomas, Charles, John and three daughters, came from Washing- ton County, Penn., and first stopped in Havana. In 1859, they came to the township, and, with the exception of Thomas, are enterprising citizens to-day. Thomas returned to Pennsylvania not long after coming. There are others, doubtless, whose names are worthy of mention as being among the early settlers of this section, but whose time of coming and date of settlement cannot be accurately given.

TRADING-POINTS, MILLING, ETC.

What Chicago is to Illinois and the West, Havana was to the early settlers of Mason County-the point to which all their produce must be brought to find sale and shipment, and in which they obtained their dry goods and groceries. Hogs were sometimes driven to Beardstown and slaughtered, as, at one time, it enjoyed the distinction of being the " Porkopolis " of the entire region. Meal was obtainable in limited quantities at Mount's mill, on Crane Creek, but, when flour was to be procured, they were obliged to make the journey to Wood- row's or Kinman's mill, on Mackinaw, or to Wentworth's, on Otter Creek, in Fulton County. The former, though more distant, were generally preferred on account of the scarcity of the " needful " to pay the toll at Ross' Ferry (now Havana) which was 87} cents the round trip. It was by no means an unusual occurrence to consume four or five days in making the journey back and forth to mill, the length of time being governed somewhat by the period one might be required to wait for his grist to be ground. The mills of Simmonds and McHarry, on Quiver, built at a later date, brought almost to their doors con- veniences which the early settlers scarcely dared dream of, much less expect in

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HISTORY OF MASON COUNTY.

their own day and generation. All mail matter was received at Havana. There was never a mill built or a post office established within her borders until since the advent of railroads through this part of the county. They enjoyed the distinction of having a blacksmith-shop convenient to them at quite an early day. Martin Scott opened a shop just across the line, in Havana Township, as early as 1843 or 1844. Eli Hibbs built a shop in 1848, the first in the town- ship, and has worked at his trade more or less every year since.

Before the building of schoolhouses, the " school marm " was abroad in the land. Miss Eliza Dentler was the first to instruct the youthful Suckers in this part of the county. The school was kept at the residence of her mother. She was regarded as a first-class teacher at the time, though it is probable that her literary attainments would fail to secure for her an appointment in most of our city schools of to-day. The first schoolhouse built in the township was designed to be located on the southeast corner of Section 8, on land belonging to James- H. Chase. Upon a more accurate survey, it was found, however, to be on Sec- tion 9, on the land of Amos Heater. The building was erected in 1846-47, and Abe Millerson presided over the destinies of the first school. At present, the township has seven good school buildings and makes ample provision for the education of all her youth. The circuit-rider, who came to proclaim messages of divine love, followed early in the wake of the first settlers. Rev. Michael Shunk was, perhaps, the first through this section. Revs. Moreland and Hardin Wallace were here in an early day. Moreland was a man remembered for his more than ordinary ability in the pulpit, while Wallace was a young man noted for his fine singing. Of the latter, it is said he could open services, deliver his sermon, and close the exercises all inside of twenty minutes, especially when a few handsome young ladies were in his audience. Moreland was sent from his charge here to Purgatory Swamp, a name suggestive of the fact that all his eloquence and persuasive powers would be needed to reclaim its inhabitants. A small frame church, the only one in the township outside of the village of Easton, was erected by the German Evangelical Society in 1855 or 1856. Amos Heater and wife, John Shinglemeyer and family, Jacob Shinglemeyer and family, Henry Mehlhop, P. Morgenstern and others were among the early communicants. The first practitioner of the healing art was William Coder, who had settled in the eastern part of Havana Township in 1838. He was a minister of some reputation as well as a physician, and sought by his labors to heal spiritual as well as physical infirmities. Dr. Allen, from Indiana, was a man of fine abilities, and was also here at quite an early date.

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The History of Menard and Mason Counties, Illinois, Part 73

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