USA > Illinois > Woodford County > The Past and present of Woodford County, Illinois : containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, &c.; a directory of its tax-payers; war record of its volunteers in the late rebellion; portraits of early settlers and prominent men; general and local statistics etc > Part 35
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A case once came before him, and when his son-in-law, Jefferson Hoshor, was Constable, wherein a Mr. Brown had sued one of the Sowardses, and Sow- ards, in true backwoodsman style, swore he would " whip him on sight." The first time he saw him was on the day of trial, in the Justice's office, and, with- out words, "pitched " into him. "Set back the chairs," said the 'Squire, de- scending from his dignified seat of justice, "and give 'em room; " nor would he allow any one to interfere until one of them "hollered nuff." And thus the case was decided.
His house used to be the voting place, when the county was divided into election districts, before township organization ; and, with Hoshor's still-house but a few miles distant, the effect of such an institution on the native sons of the soil can be imagined. Stirring scenes were often enacted at these political gatherings.
I
368
HISTORY OF WOODFORD COUNTY.
His house was often, too, the stopping place of some wandering minister of God, who always received a hearty welcome from the old pioneer. He extended ยท to them a liberal hospitality, in obedience to the scriptural injunction, " Be kind to the wayfaring man, for many have so entertained angels unawares." These servants of Christ were always invited to hold religious services at his house, or rather in his barn, which was often converted into a sanctuary of worship, long before a house dedicated to religious purposes was built in this section.
From "Sunny France," and the bank of the Rhine, came Peter Webber, Christian Smith, Chas. Molitor, Joseph Schertz, Christian Belsley, Jacob. Ioerger, Martin Sommers, Peter Naffziger, " Red " Jo. Belsley, M. Wagner, and many others who rank as old settlers. They were from the Provinces of Lorraine and Alsace, France, near the frontier, and which now belong to Ger- many, and from Bavaria and other places in Germany proper.
Joseph Schertz came to America about 1833-4, and first stopped in Chicago, where he remained about seven weeks. While there, says that he wit- nessed the paying of the Indians for their lands, and saw them depart for their new hunting grounds beyond the Great Father of Waters. He came next to Peoria County, where he worked by the month for several years, when he came to Woodford County, bought land, and settled in Worth Township about one and a half miles from where he now lives. In 1864, he moved on to his present farm, which is one among the excellent farms of the township. Christian Smith came to the United States in 1829, and, after spending four years in Pennsyl- vania, came to Worth, where he settled permanently in 1833, and was one of the prosperous farmers of the times. Peter Webber settled near Germantown, in this township, in 1838, where he resided until 1866, when he removed to Linn, and in 1871 removed to Metamora, and settled two miles east of the vil- lage. Chas. Molitor, though born in France, lived in Germany from the time he was six years old until he came to America, in 1835, and two years after settled in Worth Township, where he still lives. His father-in-law, Andrew Burcky, came the year before and settled near where Mr. Molitor at present resides. Burcky died several years ago. Peter Naffziger came to Woodford County in 1833, and first settled in the township of Olio, but about five years afterward settled in Worth, where he lives at present. Martin Sommers, an eccentric old German, settled in this township so long ago that he has for- gotten the date, but insists that he has been living in his present cabin for over forty years. It stands on a high bluff overlooking Wolf Creek, a tributary of Ten Mile, and looks sufficiently dilapidated and weather-beaten to have been built immediately after the flood " decayed and dried up." His first claim was made on the State road, near Germantown, where Geo. Noe now lives, but when the lands came into market he entered his present farm. Jacob Ioerger settled in Worth in 1839, on the place where he has ever since lived. The Belsleys came here at an early day. "Red " Jo Belsley, as he was called, to distinguish him from his cousin, "Black " Jo Belsley, was among
369
HISTORY OF WOODFORD COUNTY.
the first from La Belle France to settle in this township. Mr. Belsley settled near the line of Partridge, where he lived and died a respected citizen, and a man of considerable wealth. Christian Belsley, the youngest brother of ".Black " Jo Belsley, sons of Michael Belsley, came to this country in 1836. He settled in Worth, while his brother Jo, who had come out several years before, settled in Spring Bay Township. Christian Belsley has in his possession his father's old family Bible, which bears the date of 1560 as that of its publication. It is written in what is called High Dutch, embellished with all the patois, dialects, etc., as used by the different classes in that early day, and is almost as difficult for the modern German scholar to master as it would be in Sanscrit or Arabic. The following is a true copy of the title page between the Old and New Testaments :
Das auder
teil Des Alten
stamenes mie famptdem
Heutvrn.
M.D.LX.
It is profusely illustrated with colored engavings of Bible scenes, and descriptive of events in the antediluvian period, as well as down to and embrac- ing the Christian dispensation. Among them may be noticed Lot's wife turned into the pillar of salt, for looking back to gratify her curiosity as to the fate of their wicked city. Another is the offering up of Isaac by Abraham, with a view of the rain caught in the thicket by his horns ; and another of Isaac, where his son Jacob receives his blessing, after imposing on his father in
370
HISTORY OF WOODFORD COUNTY.
blindness, while the other son is just appearing on the scene with his offering of genuine venison. And still another of
Jacob, the Pilgrim, when wearied by day, With his head on a stone for a pillow he lay,
with his ladder extending from earth to heaven, upon which angels were ascend- ing and descending. Mrs. Potiphar tempting Joseph is given as a warning to those disposed to toy with the forbidden fruit, and so on, ad infinitum. It is quite a literary curiosity, and a relic that Mr. Belsley prizes very highly. The book is more than six inches in thickness, with heavy board lids covered in leather, and has heavy brass tips. There are probably few similar relics in the country.
Virginia, the grand old mother of Presidents and the original stamping ground of John Smith and Powhatan, gave to this township Andrew Cress, David Kendig, Simon Grove, James West, the Brownfields, John J. Tool and Rev. John Boen. The latter was from Virginia, originally, but had lived some time in Indiana before he came here. He settled in Worth about 1833-4, and was a local minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He spent the remainder of his life in this section, and died in 1876.
Andrew Cress, one of the model farmers of Worth Township, settled here about 1833. He had made a trip of inspection a year or two before his per- manent settlement, and when he moved hither, his mother's family came with him. It consisted of six brothers and their mother,* and their settlement was made near the Tazewell County line. None are living in Woodford at present, except Andrew, and he is on his original homestead.
David Kendig came to the town with his father in 1832. His present farm adjoins Tazewell, and is another of the productive farms of this splendid section of country.
The Brownfields also settled here in 1832. There were three brothers- John, Christian and Thomas, and all are now dead. John was the eldest, and the most remarkable fact connected with him was that of having nineteen children. He removed to Missouri in 1838, where he died sometime afterward. Christian removed into Peoria County, and Thomas died in Worth Township.
John J. Tool settled in this township in the Fall of 1833. When Woodford County was laid off, in 1841, the line ran through his house, but his land, excepting a small lot, was in Woodford. He made his claim by pre-emption, as the land was not then in the market. A small body of land in this section, lying mostly in Worth and Metamora Townships and extending, perhaps, into Tazewell County, of a kind of triangular shape, was by some means overlooked, and did not come into the market for several years after the surrounding lands. He remained upon his original settlement until 1849, when he removed into Metamora, about two miles from the village, where he died in May, 1871, at the age of four score and six years. He has left several sons-good citizens-
* Their father died before the family left Virginia.
HISTORY OF WOODFORD COUNTY. 371
some of whom live in Greene Township. and one, M. Tool, lives in the village of Metamora. Mr. Tool was a cooper, and the first mechanic of that branch of industry in the town. He was also somewhat of a carpenter, and assisted many of the first settlers to build their first cabins. Most of the houses were at that time built of logs in their natural state. and he would put up a scaffold and " hew them down " after the houses had been erected.
James West settled in this township in 1834, near the Tazewell line. He was a plasterer by trade, and the first of that class in the neighborhood. His calling was one not much in demand in those early times. He died several years ago.
Simon Grove came to Woodford County in 1833, and settled in Worth Township. on the place where Joseph Schertz now lives. He had four stalwart sons, two of whom still live in this county. Benjamin Grove is one of the prosperous farmers of Worth Township. where he has lived ever since his father came here in 1833. Henry lives over in the eastern part of the county, near Panola. Abraham in La Salle County, and Jacob in Missouri.
The Sunderlands and Samuel Beck were from Ohio. John Sunderland came from Fairfield County, Ohio, and settled a little north of Rev. Mr. Hall's, in 1834, on the State road from Peoria to Chicago. He kept the first stag stand on the road after coaches were put on. He sold out some years ago, and started to remove to Missouri, but died before reaching his destination. When Thomas Sunderland first came to the town he located in Mr. Hall's house, who as a Methodist circuit rider was, at the time, stationed in Bloomington. Thomas Sunderland, Jr., a son of John Sunderland. came to the township in 1835, and settled in this section. Samuel Beck, the great hunter as he was called, came from Zanesville, Ohio, in 1832, when but 18 years old. He was a nephew of Father Hall. and made his home with the good old preacher for a number of years. He was a great hunter, and has often been known to kill five deer in one day. It is told of him, that he knew the woods and prairies like an Indian, and all the signs in the great forest, which serve to guide the woodsman, was to him as a printed book. Isaac Moulton came from Indiana, and settled in this neighborhood in 1833, but soon after removed into Cazenovia Township.
THE FIRST BLACKSMITH.
Philip Klein settled here a few years after Rev. Mr. Hall, and was a black- smith. He opened a shop on his place, which was the first iron foundry in the township. The first regular tavern was built by William Hoshor, at Ger- mantown, in 1850. He owned the land there, and put up this tavern, which is called the Germantown House, to enhance the value of it. The house is still used for hotel purposes. As already stated, Benjamin Williams was the first Justice of the Peace in the township. Dr. Hazard, noticed in other chapters as a physician, is supposed to have been the first disciple of Esculapins who practiced in Worth. He was from Hamilton County, Ohio, and came to the settlement in 1833.
.
372
HISTORY OF WOODFORD COUNTY.
CHURCH ORGANIZATIONS.
The first church society organized in Worth Township was at the residence of Mr. Hall, and he preached the first sermon in the neighborhood. This society was organized soon after his settlement in the wilderness. The first Methodist preacher in this section, and perhaps in Woodford County, was Rev. Stephen R. Biggs, who preached here, during the Winter of the deep snow. Mr. Hall has been identified with the ministry and with the Methodist Episco- pal Church ever since he has been in the county, a period of nearly half a cen- tury. Ile has preached all over Central and Northern Illinois, and is looked upon as one of the pillars of that denomination in the State. He states that the first quarterly meeting he attended after settling here was at Pekin, and the famous old backwoods preacher, Peter Cartwright, was present as Presiding Elder. The bounds of his circuit extended from Pekin to Bloomington, includ- ing all intervening country. It was afterward divided, and bounded by the Illinois, Mackinaw and Vermilion Rivers, with the great prairie on the east. The first Presiding Elder in this section of the country was Rev. Jesse Walker, who made his headquarters in Chicago, and was the second preacher stationed in that city. He is said to have organized the first Methodist Church in St. Louis.
ROMAN CATHOLIC.
The Church of the Immaculate Conception is among the oldest churches in Woodford County, and is in nearly the center of Worth Township. The society was organized in 1837, by eight families, who came from Bavaria, Germany. The heads of these families-both male and female-are all dead; the last one, old mother Sauer, died March 22, 1878, at the age of eighty-four years, and forty-one years after coming to America. Their first house of worship was a little log structure, erected at the northwest corner of the cemetery, in 1840, by the people en masse. Before this church was built, they gathered together in a barn near by for religious instruction and worship, and the offici- ating priest came from Joliet. The first regular minister of this old pioneer congregation was Rev. Father M. Gipperich, who came to it in 1854, and re- mained with it for two years. During that period, the elegant brick church, one of the finest churches in the county, was commenced ; which was completed and opened for worship in 1858. In 1859, the roof was blown off by a tornado, carried several hundred yards and dropped near the cemetery. It was at once replaced and the damages repaired. The edifice cost about $12,000, and 163 families worship in it, comprising about 850 members. For the past seven years, it has been under the pastoral charge of Father George Mager, who, soon after his call to the church, built the comfortable parsonage adjacent, which is quite convenient and well, but plainly, furnished. The cemetery is a neat and extremely well kept burying ground, just across the road from the church. These old pioneer founders of the church all rest there, awaiting their reward on the last day. The Ormish Church on the State road, a short distance from the
373
HISTORY OF WOODFORD COUNTY.
line of Metamora Township, is another old church, but we have been unable to obtain any particulars in regard to it. There was also a German Lutheran Church on the west side of the township many years ago. but it is now " among the things that were."
SCHOOLS, ETC.
The first school of which we can get any record, and it is somewhat indefi- nite, was taught by a Mr. Ellmore at a very early day, in 'Squire Williams' barn. He stayed a good deal at Mr. Williams', making it a kind of home, and while there, taught this school, which is supposed to be the first in the town- ship, and among the first taught in the county. The first school house in the town was built in the neighborhood of Mr. Hall's. years ago, so long that the date is forgotten. Hoshor built a school house at Germantown in 1851, which, after being used many years, was replaced by the present frame building, the best school house in the township, in 1876. and cost $1,000.
The following statistical facts are from the last annual report of Joseph Vetter, School Treasurer :
No. of males under 21 years of age in township ..
425
No. of females under 21 years of age in township
323
Total
748
No. of males between 6 and 21 years in township.
248
No. of females between 6 and 21 years in township
241
Total
489
No. of males attending school in township.
176
No. of females attending school in township.
148
Total
324
No. of School Districts, 6, and 2 fractional, total
8
No. of male teachers employed.
1
No. of female teachers employed
2
Total
6
No. of frame school houses in township ..
5
No. of log school houses in township.
1
Total
6
No. of private schools in township.
1
No. of male pupils in private school.
43
No. of female pupils in private school.
40
Total
83
Teacher employed in private school
1
Estimate value of school property.
$3,160 00
Estimate value of school apparatus.
275 00
Amount of township fund for support of schools
2,647 00
Annual tax levy for support of schools 1,955 00
Amount paid male teachers.
1,220 00
Amount paid female teachers
440 00
Total amount.
$1,660 00
374
HISTORY OF WOODFORD COUNTY.
When the county came under township organization, in 1852, this, in the "eternal fitness of things," received the name of Worth. Whether it was given for Gen. Worth, of Mexican war fame, or simply because all things must have a name, we know not. Jacob Shook was the first Supervisor, after the township was organized, and the following are the present officers : John Klng, Supervisor ; Joseph Vetter, Town Clerk ; John Wessel, Assessor ; M. Fandel, Collector ; A. Fisher, Commissioner of Highways; W. Reinhart, Justice of the Peace ; Zedde Hall, Constable ; Geo. M. Noe, School Trustee ; Joseph Vetter, School Treasurer.
BRICK YARD.
An enterprise of considerable note in the township is the brick yard of Peter Wiltz, near Hickory Point, on the east side of the town. It has been in oper- ation some ten years or more, and is still owned by the originator of the scheme. He manufactures about 800,000 brick annnally, and the large number of elegant brick houses in the neighborhood indicates that his business is well patronized.
There is no post office in the town, nor large store; neither are there any mills, except a saw-mill at Germantown. It is decidedly a farming community, and but little devoted to other branches of industry.
POLITICAL AND WAR RECORD.
Worth, politically, is Democratic, from the earliest record of political events. down to the present, though not as strongly so as some of the other townships of Woodford County. But upon national tickets and in elections where party lines are closely drawn, it is accustomed to give small Democratic majorities.
Like other portions of the county, it did a very good part during the war. It did not, however, turn out quite so many soldiers as other sections of like- population. But that should not be a matter of surprise when we reflect that so large a majority of its citizens are foreigners, who could not be expected to. volunteer with the same alacrity as our own people. Under the circumstances, they did well, and those
" Who stood in the front of the fray for us.
And held the foemen at bay for us."
were just as brave and heroic soldiers as any in the field, and fully maintained the honor so nobly won and so richly merited by all Illinois troops engaged in the great rebellion.
HAMLETS.
As already stated, Worth has no large towns or villages, but has two or' three little places of public resort that might, perhaps, without violence to the name, be termed hamlets. Of these, Germantown is the more pretentious. It consists of a tavern, a lager beer saloon and grocery store, a blacksmith shop and saw-mill, and is on the State road, about six miles from Metamora. The Germantown House was built in 1850 by William Hoshor, who owned the land about the place. It is still used as a tavern, and has a little grocery store-
375
HISTORY OF WOODFORD COUNTY.
attached, together with a lager beer saloon, and is kept by Frank Tropp.
Henry Schwing & Co. carry on quite an extensive blacksmith shop. A steam saw-mill was built in 1860 by parties to whom Hoshor furnished capital, and took a lien on the mill. A few years ago it was sold, and he bought it. It is still his property and he is operating it. This constitutes Germantown. Hoshor also built the Union House, which is a tavern one mile cast of Germantown, and on the same road. It was originally built in 1855, and, after being in use ten or twelve years, was burned, and, in 1870, the present Union House was crected on the same site. At present, it is kept by Peter Alig, who, in addition to a tavern, keeps a grocery store and lager beer saloon. It is the center of the township, and the voting place, as well as the place for holding all town meetings.
Hickory Point is a fair sample of the last-mentioned place, except the voting and place for holding public meetings. It is a tavern and saloon, built by Chris. Delabaugh about 1862, who died some years ago. It is now owned by a man named John Slugy. These places are great resorts of the German popu- lation, who meet here, during their leisure moments, to discuss the events of the day and partake of their favorite beverage.
LINN AND CLAYTON.
When rapidly growing cities have become so compactly built that there no longer remains ground on which buildings may be placed, or when lots have become so dear that the newer comers can find no suitable location correspond- ing to their limited means, on which to erect them a habitation, they are, neces- sarily, compelled to seek room at a distance from the occupied portions of the city. In this way, addition after addition to the original plat of the city is made, and suburb after suburb follows, until what was at first considered a long way out into the country becomes the very heart of the city. Suburban towns thus grow and thrive, from the simple overflow, until some of them even rival the parent corporation, in wealth, population and power. By this means Brook- lyn, which is truly a suburb of New York, has become the third city, in popu- lation, in the United States, containing half the number of inhabitants as does the city of New York. This is the history of the old world and the new. The people are being perpetually pushed off, thrust out and led forward, as the human race multiplies. It is the history of society and families. When the children are grown, though their love for the paternal fireside is not less, their love for independence and freedom is greater; and, one by one, they build their own tenements, and erect their own altars. Human beings, like some of the lower orders of animals, love home, and, but for the hope of bettering their condition, would be loth to change their habitations. There is no better illustration of this idea than the settlement of the prairies of the West. The Eastern States were full. There was no land there for the increasing population : and young
376
HISTORY OF WOODFORD COUNTY.
men and women, with the constantly arriving emigrant from foreign shores, must seek homes on the borders of civilization. So they came. The first ones settled in the edges of the timber tracts, because, perhaps, it reminded them of the well-remembered scenes of their youth. But the later emigrant was not permitted to rest his feet even here, but was obliged to locate at a greater or less distance on the open prairie ; and now, the emigrant finds not a foothold there, but is advised to continue his journey further toward the setting sun.
The groves along Panther and Crow Creeks had been pretty well filled up, in 1840 ; but, yet, at that time, from one grove to another, a distance of ten miles, not a house nor a fence could anywhere be seen, nor had a farm been opened. It was all an open plain, as far as the eye could reach. In all of Linn and Clayton Townships, the hand of man and the hand of nature had not come together in conflict.
The Indian troubles, which, for a time, had checked immigration to Illinois, had been removed by the removal of the Indians from the State; and the tide was again setting in. Emigrants were arriving almost daily, and, as they found the land along the creeks already occupied, shanties here and there on the open prairie began to appear.
EARLY SETTLEMENTS.
The first actual settler within the bounds of Linn was Harrison Hollenback, who moved to Section 3 in 1840. He came here, with his family, from Ohio, and built the first house on the prairie south of the timber. This house was quite a mansion for those times, being a hewed log building, twenty-four feet long and eighteen feet wide, and one and a half stories high. It is still in use, but serves the ignoble purpose of sheltering cattle.
The next to locate in the township was George Hollenback, with his newly- married wife. He was married to Jane Patton, in 1844, and immediately they left the paternal roof-their parents living only a few miles north, in Marshall County-and opened a farm and built them a home of their own. They set- tled on the east side of Section 3, within a few rods of the Marshall County line. Jacob Hollenback located a little further west, soon after. The Hollen- back families were from Perry County, Ohio.
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