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 37
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The work of ruin was completed in the annihilation of the residence of W. W. Uphoff. The tornado seemed here to gather all of its strength for one last grand stroke. It caught the house as a giant would an egg shell, and crushed it as completely. Here it left the township and the county and the earth, to exhaust its remaining force in contending with its own fury.
VILLAGE OF BENSON.
The C., P. & S. W. R. R. was completed in the Fall of 1872, and a switch located within the present limits of the town of Benson. Besides the switch and a small tenant house, some forty rods north, on the land of John Weast, there were no indications of a town at this point. However, but a short time elapsed until it began to be realized that this was to be a business point of no mean pretensions ; and men of energy and means were soon found who interested themselves heartily in its development.
The original town, consisting of thirty-eight acres, on the west side of the railroad, was laid out for John Weast, by County Surveyor D. H. Davidson, Feb. 20, 1873. Since then-April 3, 1874-an addition of twenty-seven acres, on the east side of the railroad track, and known as Weast's Addition to the Town of Benson, has been laid out. Mr. John Weast was, therefore, the original proprietor of the town.
As soon as the first survey had been made, improvements began to spring up at once. Indeed, before the town was platted, Jan. 2, 1873, O. A. Cavan moved a house from Greene Township into the limits-the same now serving as dining room for his hotel. The first dwelling built in the village after it was laid out was put up by F. D. Learned, and completed March 3, 1873. In
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this building, three days later, was opened the first mail ; Mr. Learned having been appointed Postmaster. This house has since been removed to a back street to make room for a more convenient store room. Mr. L. has continued to hold the office of Postmaster continuously since his first installation.
At about the same time that Mr. Learned completed his dwelling, Messrs. George Kirchner and Juergan Harms completed the first store building. An- other store building followed soon after, and was built by Messrs. Strawn & Renne. The same year saw the completion of Samuel Peterson's grain elevator, the business houses of Benjamin Mauer, E. Dunden, Barbara Weast, Uphoff Bros., A. H. Ahrens and Henry Forney's hotel ; and a proportionate number of dwelling houses and other improvements of various kinds followed in rapid succession. At the present writing, there are nearly one hundred buildings of various kinds, and the town has a population of over three hundred.
The elevator built by Samuel Peterson, and already alluded to, has a capa- city of about ten thousand bushels. It is operated at present by Messrs Cavan Bros. The amount of grain handled by them each year, is about one hundred thousand bushels. The next year, 1874, Messrs. Miller, Brubaker & Learned built a second elevator. This building was put up at a cost of $2,700, and has a capacity of fifteen thousand bushels. It is operated by Messrs. Miller & Bru- baker for Messrs. Bartlett & Co., of Peoria. They handle about two hundred thousand bushels of grain per year. In addition to the grain business, Messrs. Miller & Brubaker ship four thousand head of hogs per annum. The same year, was also erected, by Messrs. George Fritze & Co., a third elevator, larger than either of its predecessors. This warehouse is capable of storing, at one time, twenty-four thousand bushels. It was built at a cost of $3,500. It is + run by Messrs. Fritze & Co., who buy, annually, one hundred and fifty thou- sand bushels of grain.
The other leading business houses here are :
Dry Goods and Groceries .- Sauer & Holland, Peter Petri and Harms & Waltzen.
Drugs .- F. D. Learned.
Hardware .- Abram Zinser.
Harness .- Joseph Bankler.
Lumber .- Cavan Bros. and George Fritze & Co.
Wagons .- Thomas Backer.
Physicians .- D. M. Slemmons and L. A. Austman.
Millinery .- Barbara Weast and Decker & Harms.
Jewelry .- Charles Lawenstein.
Flouring Mill .- Schmidt Bros.
Agricultural Implements .- George Fritze & Co. Hotel .- O. A. Cavan.
As indicating the amount of business done by these firms, the books of the agent of the C., P. & S. W. R. R. at this place show a receipt on freights of
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thirty thousand dollars per annum, and of express of twelve hundred, making a total of receipts, at this station, of $31,200.
GOOD TEMPLARS.
The history of this society in this village, though quite brief, is nevertheless quite deserving of notice. For some time, a want had been felt for an organi- zation for the purpose of counteracting the evil influences exerted by the use of intoxicating liquors. Accordingly, in September, of 1877, Mrs. DeGeer, of Chicago, organized at this place a branch of the above named order.
Meetings are held weekly on Saturday evenings. The membership of this Lodge is thirty. The principal officers are: F. D. Learned, W. C .; Mrs. C. A. Coleman, Secretary ; D. M. Slemmons, Treasurer.
DESCRIPTION OF LINN.
Congressional Town 28 north, Range 1 west of the Third Principal Merid- ian, otherwise known as Linn, is north of the center of the county, and is bounded north, east, south and west respectively, by the County of Marshall, and the Townships of Clayton, Roanoke and Cazenovia.
The soil of this township is not excelled for productiveness in the county. Especially in the southern part it is rich and deep, and produces immense crops of corn, oats, rye and vegetables of various kinds. Corn is the principal crop, which is largely consumed at home, in the fattening of hogs.
The only streams of water are branches of the Crow and Snag Creeks. These supply stock water for quite a number of farms in the northern portion. There is no timber worth mentioning. The ground is generally undulating, and in the northern part quite so. but not so much so as to render successful cultivation difficult. The land is now almost all improved, but little being in its natural state. Many of the farms are very large, some of them being a whole section in extent. Many of the buildings are of superior character.
ORGANIZATION.
As before stated, by mutual consent and on the petition of the voters of Linn, the County Board had declared this a separate precinct. Therefore, on the 5th day of April, 1859, at an election held in accordance with this order, the following persons were elected to the several township offices : Harrison Simp- son, Supervisor ; Benjamin Wilson, Jr., Clerk ; Harrison Simpson, Assessor ; R. S. Burnham, Collector ; James M. Martin and John M. Pinkerton, Magis- trates ; William Bocock and John Ogle, Constables ; Alexander Thorn, Over- seer of the Poor; Henry Newell and John Johnson, Pound Masters. There were thirteen candidates for the office of Commissioner of Highways, and of these, S. D. Wilson, William Jury and Seaman Linn were elected. Of these persons, several were re-elected year after year for a number of years, Benja-
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HISTORY OF WOODFORD COUNTY.
min Wilson having held the office of Clerk, with the exception of the three years spent in the service of the United States as a soldier, continuously to the present date.
Improvements of various kinds, public and private, followed ; and the pop- ulation of the township has increased steadily to date, the number of inhabit- ants at this time being about nine hundred and fifty.
EDUCATION.
The people of Linn have always taken a lively interest in everything that pertained to the education of the youth. Good school houses, good teachers and other facilities for obtaining an education have been subjects of first importance. Consequently, we find here, in the few years since the organiza- tion of the town, a very satisfactory progress in this direction. The nucleus for the present efficient system of schools was no more than a dozen children, instructed in a room of a private dwelling. This was in the Winter of 1855-6. The number of children of school age, at this time, is not less than 320. Nine school houses now furnish accommodations for these pupils, some of the school houses being of a character to reflect credit on the community.
In addition to the public schools, the Evangelical Lutheran Church main- tains a private school in their church building. School is kept open ten months in the year. The attendance is about twenty-five. Instruction is given only in the German language.
RELIGION.
Though the number of buildings for religious purposes is small, yet it must not be inferred that the people are, in any measure, destitute of church privi- leges. The organizations at Pattonsburg, on the north; of Cazenovia Town- ship, on the west, and of the Baptist Church in Roanoke Township, are all composed of and sustained, to a large extent, by members who reside in Linn.
CHURCH BUILDINGS.
The Lutheran Church, in the southeast part of the township, was erected in 1862. It is a substantial frame, thirty-six feet wide and fifty-four feet long. and cost the society $2,000. In connection with this is a comfortable parson- age, with forty acres of land. The membership of the church is eighty-five families. The Pastor of the congregation is F. Jelden. He has been in charge since 1874.
The Evangelical Lutheran Society, in the Fall of 1871, erected for them- selves a building fifteen by twenty feet, together with a parsonage, the two costing $1,100. The society numbers 110 baptized persons, including children. Rev. Carl Weber is the Pastor of this congregation, and also of the one (of this denomination) at Minonk.
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HISTORY OF WOODFORD COUNTY.
WAR RECORD.
The township bore an honorable part in the struggle for preservation of the Union. Though no public action was taken in the matter of hiring substitutes, as was done by most other townships, a large number of the more wealthy and liberal inhabitants gave of their means for this purpose.
On the 16th of May, 1863, public action was taken in regard to supplying the wants of the families of volunteers, and a committee was appointed to act in conjunction with the Supervisor for that purpose.
The promptness with which volunteers flocked to the standard of the country was not surpassed by that of any other community, and many of them sacrificed their lives in their efforts to protect it.
Among those who thus left their homes never to return were William Irwin, Thomas Peabody, Joseph Bocock, B. M. Linn and Capt. Samuel Jackman. These all died of disease, in hospitals or at home. Ira Hoffnagle died of wounds received at charge at Vicksburg: John Standiker was killed in battle at Arkansas Post ; Freeman Wilson was killed in battle at Vicksburg.
FATAL ACCIDENTS.
The first death that occurred in the township was of a tragical nature. Harrison Hollenback, who has been mentioned as the first settler, was destined to be recorded as the first death. This occurred in 1847. Mr. Hollenback had been to market, at Lacon, and was returning in his wagon, when another party, driving up furiously behind him. frightened his horses, and, in his attempt to check them and turn them to one side of the road, the wagon was upset. The wagon box, in upsetting, struck on Mr. Hollenback's neck, injuring him so that he died in a few hours.
Roland Davison, in 1865, met with an equally mournful death. He was in the field harrowing with a team of young horses, when he lit a match and set fire to some dry grass and stubble, which, flashing up into a blaze, frightened the horses, which immediately ran, dragging Mr. Davison under the harrow, and by this means he was killed almost instantly.
The tornado, mentioned in Roanoke and Clayton, was the cause of a fatal accident in this town. Chas. Schneider was sitting in his house when the storm came up, and before he had time to fly to any other place for safety. the house was whirled into the air and crushed in pieces, and Mr. Schneider was so severely injured that he died in a few days.
PRESENT OFFICERS.
The officers elected at the last election are John Wallan, Supervisor ; Benj. Wilson, Jr., Clerk ; R. S. Burnham, Assessor; John Johnson, Collector ; Moses N. Bixby, Jacob Tjaden and Jacob Hollenback, Highway Commissioners ; William Krater and G. A. Newton, Justices of the Peace ; Lion Held and John
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HISTORY OF WOODFORD COUNTY.
McQuinney, Constables ; George Woodburn, Isaac Fisher and William Bocock, School Trustees ; James M. Davi-on, School Treasurer. -
As an example of what energy, determination and pluck will do, this town- ship furnishes one that would prove to any one profitable study. Thirty years have barely passed since the first plow exposed the soil to the rays of the sun and the first crop rewarded the farmer for his industry. But little more than a quarter of a century ago, what are now well cultivated fields and improved thoroughfare was a desolate waste, literally a desert, which the immigrant was loth to occupy on account of its very desolation. Now, how changed the scene ! Every foot of land has been for a number of years not only occupied, but under successful cultivation. Good roads and comfortable houses are seen every- where ; cattle, horses, sheep and hogs dot the prairies on all sides, and pros- perity and comfort are evident on every hand.
PARTRIDGE TOWNSHIP.
This township lies in the northwest corner of Woodford County, and borders on the Illinois River, which, together with Marshall County, forms its western and northern boundaries, while Cazenovia Township lies on the east and Worth on the south. Partridge is a fractional township, and contains, per- haps, less good farming land than any town, with the exception of Spring Bay, in the county. A considerable district along the river bottom is swampy and marshy to an extent to render it almost, if not wholly, unfit for farming pur- poses ; while back beyond the river bottom proper rises a range of hills, brakes and bluffs, as little adapted to agricultural experiments as the swamps them- selves. The creeks of Richland, Snag and Black Partridge, with several branches of smaller note, wind through the numerous hills, and finally make their way into the Illinois River. Along the water courses, and upon these numberless bluffs, and brakes and hills, grow any quantity of excellent timber. Within the swampy marsh above alluded to luxuriates a species of wild rice, which used to be gathered as food, and highly relished by the Indians in their day : but at present, where it still grows, it meets no other demand than from the wild birds, who feed on it to a considerable extent. Partridge Township, while it does not compare with other portions of Woodford County in wealth and agricultural resources, is not surpassed by any part of it in the richness of its early history. These hills were once the favorite hunting grounds of the red men ; on the banks of these rivulets, and around these bubbling springs, he built his camp fire and erected his lodge. Through these brakes he chased the panting deer, or pursued the bear and the panther through the dark forests. Here, too, it may be, that his war whoop broke the stillness, and the sonnds of the bloody strife rolled over the bluffs, while his death-song wailed through the lonely wood a mournful finale of his barbarous customs. And here, also, tradi- tion informs us, the Mound Builders once existed, and many traces and relics
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HISTORY OF WOODFORD COUNTY.
of this wonderful people are still to be found in this region. Hundreds of these mounds, rising above the general surface like old Virginia sweet potato hills, are to be found all through the township, and some of them of a large size. A number were surveyed, some time ago, by scientific men, but we do not know what report they made of their investigations. It is not likely that anything will ever be known of this strange race, beyond mere conjectures or vague theories. Oblivion, like the waves of the sea, has closed over them, and there are none who can give their history with truth or certainty. That they were a different race of people from the Indians may be true, and that they were farther advanced in civilization and domestic habits, as many scholars believe, may also be true ; but, at the same time, the subject is wrapped some- what in clouds and darkness, and to a degree defies historic scrutiny and research. We will, therefore, leave the matter to those whose time and circumstances permit them to study it thoroughly, and investigate the whole thing to their entire satisfaction.
SETTLEMENT.
Among the early settlers in Partridge Township are - Blaylock, " Red " Jo. Belsley, Louis A. Guibert, Francis Ayers, Philip Bettelyune, John M. Klingman, Daniel and Samuel Hedlock, Dan. Sowards, Jo. K. Johnson, Jeff. Hoshor, Benj. Younger, - Barker, Chauncy Baker, John Sharp, George Rucker and the Snyders. Of the man Blaylock, notwithstanding his name is a kind of household word all over the county, we have found it exceed- ingly difficult to obtain anything like definite information of him. From all the extravagant statements and conflicting rumors in regard to him, we extract the following, which seems to bear upon its face some evidence of reliability : That he was the first white man in this section-probably in Woodford County. -- there seems to be no doubt. No one, however, knows where he came from, 'or at what time he came to the spot where others found him. Nor can it hard- ly be said that he made a settlement, though he had a kind of thatched cabin, hut or lodge, and lived in Indian style, by hunting and fishing. His lodge was on what is now known as the Mullins Place, in the southern part of the township. He seems to have possessed no more civilization than the Indians themselves, but a greater amount of cunning rascality. His wife and children* wore buckskin, and the latter did little else than hunt and fish, while the old lady appears to have been a kind of doctress, and practiced obstetrics when the sparsely settled neighborhood required her services in that capacity. Blaylock is supposed to have been a regular counterfeiter. When the Indians left the country, he went with them, and in his deserted hut were found moulds, spuri- ous coin, and the entire kit of a manufacturer of " the queer." His oldest son was said to have been quite a respectable boy, and would not go with his father when he left with the Indians, but went East instead. What has been the final fate of them, no one knows.
*He had about a half dozen children, boys and girls.
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HISTORY OF WOODFORD COUNTY.
Francis Ayers, who perhaps made the first actual settlement in this town- ship. came from Ohio, but had been born and reared in New Hampshire. He came to Illinois in the Summer of 1830, and settled in what was then called Partridge Point-now Metamora-on the place where Jacob Banta lived. He made the settlement and built the cabin, when he sold it to George Kingston. Kingston sold it to Jesse Dale, and Dale to Banta. The next year after com- ing to this settlement, he sold out, as stated, and removed into what is now Partridge Township, and settled in the Partridge Creek bottom, about three miles from the Illinois River. This is said to be the first settlement after Blaylock-if, indeed, the latter can be called a settlement. At the time Mr. Ayers settled here, there was not another family (except Blaylock's) between Spring Bay and Lacon. Moses Ayers, his son, though a rather small boy at the time, remembers very distinctly the privations of those early days. His father settled at Partridge Point in July of 1830, and the following Winter came the deep snow, an event he still remembers.
" Red " Jo. Belsley, alluded to in the history of Worth Township, settled in Partridge next after Ayers, and sold out to Jo. K. Johnson, when he came to the place. Mr. Belsley was from France, and came to this county among the very first from that Empire. After selling ont to Johnson, he settled in the present limits of Worth Township, but very near the line of Partridge, where he died in 1872.
Louis A. Guibert came from France to the United States in 1833, and set- tled in Partridge Towhship. He was a soldier of the Republic and of the First Empire, and participated in many of the terrific battles of those stirring times, among them, Austerlitz, Nina and Wagram ; and, as a reward for his bravery, was made Chevalier of the Legion of Honor. on the battle field, by Napoleon himself. Capt. Guibert was born in January, 1784, in the province of Maine, and his childhood was passed in the stormy times of the Revolution, in which he was later destined to bear so active a part. He was of noble family, and during the political troubles of the time, his father escaped from France; his mother was thrown into prison, and, after her release, compelled to keep secreted during the long and terrible civil war that devastated that unhappy country. Before his father's return to France, he enlisted as a private soldier and served until Bonaparte's abdication, in 1814, when he had risen in rank to a Captain of infantry. An only brother had died in Spain of a wound received in the seige of Saragossa. His early years were marked with interest, having, in his youth, passed through the French Revolution, with its accompanying reign of terror, and had marched and fought over half of Europe. He had witnessed the melting away of one-half of his company before a single discharge of artillesy on the field of Austerlitz ; and at the close of another bloody engagement, was one of eight survivors from a company of seventy-one men who went into action.
As stated, he came to America in 1833, where, in a pioneer settlement, he bore all the trials and privations incident to a life on the frontier. He suffered
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HISTORY OF WOODFORD COUNTY.
some reverses, by which he lost a portion of the wealth he brought to this eoun- try ; but, through energy and perseverance, retrieved his fortunes, and his last years were spent in comparative affluence. The long life that was so stormy and turbulent at its beginning was peaceful in its deeline, and, finally, closed in quietude in August, 1866. He was a man of excellent mind, of fine native intelligence and gay humor, which lasted him to the end of his mortal eareer. His son. Lonis A. Guibert, Jr., is a worthy representative of the old French Chevalier, but will, doubtless, never be called to endure similar experiences. He stayed, the first night after his arrival in the neighborhood, at " Red " Jo. Belsley's. who had settled here the year previous. He built a saw-mill in the latter part of 1833, and finished it off in 1834. He brought his workmen with him from France, and it was long known as the old French Mill. He owned and operated a large hemp and flax factory before coming to this country.
Jefferson Hoshor, notieed in the history of Spring Bay Township, was from Ohio, and settled, first, near the line between Spring Bay and Worth, in April, 1833. He lived in that neighborhood until 1852, when he removed into Par- tridge and settled near where his son, Talbot Hoshor, now lives, and where he died August 12. 1872. He was a man of sterling worth, integrity and busi- ness energy.
Jo. K. Johnson came from Ohio, but was originally from Pennsylvania. He came here about the year 1833-4, and bought out " Red " Jo. Belsley and set- tled permanently on the place Belsley had opened, and he (Belsley) removed into Worth Township. Johnson seems to have been quite a prominent man in the settlement, owning and operating a mill-both saw and grist-mill-and was, also, a blacksmith.
Chauncey Baker likewise eame from Pennsylvania and settled in the north- ern part of the township, about 1835, where he still lives, a rather feeble old man.
The Snyders were from Germany, and came to America very early ; stopped a short time in New York, and settled in Partridge in 1834. There were four of them, John, Isaac, David and Peter Snyder, but the last named is the only one now living in the neighborhood of the original settlement. The others are all dead or removed to other seetions.
John Sharp was born in Columbus, Ohio, and first settled in Peoria County in 1827, and about 1835 he removed to Woodford County and settled in the Partridge Creek bottom, just within Worth Township, near the Partridge line, where he died in 1875. Ilis widow is still living on the old homestead, where the flower of their years was passed.
John M. Clingman, Philip Bettelyune and George Ruekle eame from Penn- sylvania ; the two former are old Pennsylvania Dutch. Clingman's father removed with his family to Ohio, in 1805, and in 1835, John came to Illinois and settled in Worth Township, where he remained until about two years ago, when he removed into Cazenovia, and now resides in Cazenovia village. When
.
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HISTORY OF WOODFORD COUNTY.
he settled in Partridge Township, he remembers only Francis Ayres, "Red " Jo. Belsley, Louis A. Guibert, Jo. K. Johnson, Daniel Sowards, David and Samuel Hedloek.
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