USA > Illinois > McLean County > The good old times in McLean County, Illinois : containing two hundred and sixty-one sketches of old settlers, a complete historical sketch of the Black Hawk war and descriptions of all matters of interest relating to McLean County > Part 71
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When he was sixteen years of age, he went to St. Louis and brought a load of goods for William H. Allin. He was gone on that trip about sixteen days, and received a dollar and a-quarter per hundred weight for hauling.
Mr. Noble married, October 31, 1839, Isabel Jane Stewart, and by this happy marriage had three children. She died, May 10, 1855. On the tenth of January, 1856, he married Eunice Burley, by Bailey H. Coffey, and has had three children living and one dead. Very few men are blessed with a more hapyy domestic life.
In the fore part of February, 1856, Mr. Noble went on busi- ness to Kentucky. He crossed the Ohio River on horseback on the ice at Portsmouth. This was rather a dangerous matter, as he was obliged to wade his horse three feet deep in water to reach the ice, and it cracked under him while crossing. He rode around among the Kentucky hills, and it seemed some- times that he must fall into eternity. The hills were exceedingly steep, and nothing but a Kentucky horse could travel among them. A horse from Illinois could never have found a foothold.
Mr. Noble is about six feet in height, is broad shouldered and strongly built, is a hard worker, is very clever and good natured, appreciates fun, is a good neighbor and a good American citizen.
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JOSEPH KARR NOBLE.
Joseph K. Noble was born October 9, 1823, in Whitewater township, Hamilton County, Ohio. His father's name was Joseph Noble, and his mother's name before her marriage was Nancy Karr. Joseph Noble was born in Ohio, and Nancy Karr in New Jersey. Both were of American descent. The Noble family, consisting of six members in all, came to Randolph's Grove, McLean County, Illinois, in the fall of 1831. There Joseph Noble bought a farm partly improved for one hundred and fifty dollars and two horses and a wagon. During the first winter they lived in a large log cabin with an entry between. But their conveniences were not great, as two other families as large as their own lived with them. During that winter, nearly all the streams were frozen up, so that the mills could not run. Every family was therefore obliged to have its hominy mortar with which to crack frostbitten corn. They had no fruit nor vegetables, except turnips, but had plenty of venison and wild turkeys. Joseph Noble was then a lad eight years of age, but the scenes of those early days are clearly impressed on his mind. He remembers going with a party out to a wolf pen. put up by Gardner Randolph, and there finding a wolf, which was so in- cautious as to trust himself within it. The following is Mr. Noble's description of the pen : " It was made of logs notched close at the corners, growing gradually smaller at the top, so that when the wolf was on the outside it was easy to climb up, but too high to climb out while on the inside." The settlers usually killed the wolves by chasing them on horseback and killing them with clubs. During the Black Hawk war, the set- tlers were often frightened, and Mr. Noble tells a queer story of a scare he experienced while out in the woods at play. Said he : " I heard a strange noise and started to the house taking my youngest brother on my back. Looking across the field I saw my father coming on his horse from the plow as fast as possible. We arrived at the house out of breath and found that the bees were swarming, and mother was calling for father and was pounding a frying pan with a large iron spoon to make the bees settle. You may be sure that we were glad the trouble was occasioned by bees instead of Indians."
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M'LEAN COUNTY.
Mr. Noble did not receive an extended education. He went to school when quite young, and one of his teachers was John Moore, afterwards Lieutenant Governor of Illinois. Mr. Noble learned at an early age what it was to work. At the age of fif- teen he drove a team of ten steers, called a prairie breaking team. With them he broke ground for various parties, among others for James Allin, of Bloomington. He broke the ground where the Chicago and Alton Machine Shops now stand. The remainder of Mr. Noble's sketch may be given in his own words: "I cannot remember precisely all of the settlers who were in Randolph's Grove when I first came. They were usually young folks with small families. But notwithstanding their few chil- dren, they were obliged to work very hard for their own and their children's support, for nearly all their wearing apparel was made by themselves, was spun, woven, cut, fitted and sewed. The people here were from many States, but they all appeared members of one family. They endured the privations and dis- comforts of life together. When any one needed assistance it was always forthcoming. The women had quiltings and sewing bees, and the men had house raisings and corn huskings. In after years the different settlements joined together in wolf hunts, raised a pole on a high piece of ground, hoisted a flag and on a certain day all turned out and drove the game to the center. When they came near the pole, it was fun to see some on foot with long rities ready to shoot the first deer or wolf, and others on horses chasing the tired game. Some would be thrown from their horses, and others would fall when their horses stum- bled in the active chase. Those good old times will never come again !"
When Mr. Noble was twenty-four years of age, he married Miss Lemira Hampton, who was born within the boundaries of the present county of McLean. Her father came to the country from Tennessee, the year before the deep snow. Mr. Noble has had six children, of whom five are living. They are :
John S., Charles M., Nannie M., Robert K. and Joseph P. Noble ; all of whom live at home. Mr. Noble is about five feet and ten inches in height, is rather spare and straight, and has dark hair and gray eyes. He appears to be a very good neigh- bor, and his remarks concerning the old settlers and the condi-
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tion of things during the early days, show him to be a man of good feeling.
DR. HARRISON NOBLE.
Dr. Harrison Noble was born March 6, 1812, in Hamilton County, Ohio. His father's name was John Noble, and his mother's maiden name was Sarah Price. John Noble was of English descent, but he was a soldier in the Revolutionary war and thereby became cut off from the English branch of the fam- ily, and nothing is known of it. Harrison Noble had a fair edu- cation, and while still in his youth taught school for a livelihood. He also worked at the carpenter's trade, and a part of the time was a farmer. In after years he was a physician, and also a sur- veyor. He had a mind evenly developed and well balanced, and could succeed in many professions.
Mr. Noble was married, March 21, 1833, to Miss Abby Cook, in Hamilton County, Ohio. In 1833 he came to the West. His trip was a hard one, through swamps and creeks during a wet season, but by good fortune and good management he came safely through. He settled at Randolph's Grove with Joseph Noble, sr., who had moved out some time before. Harrison Noble sold two horses and obtained money to enter eighty acres of land. Then he built a cabin and moved into it, and worked his land with a horse belonging to his mother. He hired a man to break six or eight acres of land and paid for it by carpenter work. He had knowledge of many trades, and his handiness now stood him in good stead, for if he could not find work to do at one employ- ment, he followed another, and succeeded well at everything. He did some surveying, taught school, worked as a carpenter, and did anything at which his hands could be usefully employed.
Mr. Noble was an Old-Line Whig. That party was in the minority in MeLean County in the early days. But people then cared less for party ties than for popular men. In about the year 1840 Mr. Noble came out as an independent candidate for sur- veyor, and of course his merits and demerits were sharply criti- cized, but it was pretty well understood that if he could show himself qualified for this position he would be elected. About this time a curious circumstance occurred. General Gridley and General Covel had a warm discussion concerning his ability. The
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latter was a Democrat. General Covel said : "I'll bet you he can't tell the number of acres in a piece of land with - many rods on one side," &c., and he gave the number of rods on each of four sides. General Gridley took the bet, and as soon as he saw Mr. Noble, the problem was stated. "Now," said General Gridley, "how many acres are in that piece of land?" "There may be more and there may be less," said Mr. Noble. "Now," thought Gridley, "Iv'e lost my bet." But Mr. Noble continued and explained that the angles must be given ; for if they were not given the sides might be so arranged as to enclose a great many acres, or scarcely any at all. Then he picked up a limber switch and bent it into a four-sided figure, and by making the angles sometimes right angles and sometimes acute, he explained the matter clearly. "Well," said Gridley, "Covel and I are both fools." This incident was told many times, and it made friends for Mr. Noble, for it made him acquainted. The incident was related by Hon. John Cusey. Mr. Noble held the office of sur- veyor for three terms. When he was about thirty-five years of age he commenced the study of medicine by himself. He after- wards attended one course of lectures at Cincinnati, and received his diploma. He practiced medicine and was quite successful.
Mr. Noble had five children by his first marriage, but only two are living. They are :
Jacob Noble lives on the line between the townships of Ran- dolph and Funk's Grove.
Sarah Maria, wife of John Perry, lives in Danvers township.
Mrs. Noble died in about the year 1844. On the 15th of April, 1848, Mr. Noble married Mrs. Jane E. Marmon. By this marriage one child was born, John Locke Noble, who lives on the homestead place.
Dr. Noble died August 12, 1870. He was about six feet in height, had black hair and gray eyes, was very muscular, and in his younger days a great wrestler. His feet were deformed, and toed in, but this was an advantage in wrestling. While he was attending lectures, a person inquired of him whether on account of his deformity he was not obliged to bear with insults. Dr. Noble gave the gentleman a proof of his skill, which decided the matter. Dr. Noble was a very honest man and very popular in McLean County.
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1
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OLD SETTLERS OF
WALTER KARR.
Walter Karr was born July 8, 1797, in Sussex County, New Jersey. His father's name was Thomas Karr, and his mother's maiden name was Celia Lewis, both Americans. Mr. Karr was not old enough to be a soldier in the war of 1812, though many of his relatives were in it. He had a half-brother who was cap- tured by the British when Hull surrendered at Detroit. The Americans were very unfortunate at the outset, for, in addition to the calamity of Hull's disgraceful surrender, there came what was known as the cold plague, which carried off nine hundred men in one winter from the command of General Cass, who had only twenty-five hundred men in his command. It was a strange disease, which the physicians did not understand. This, Mr. Karr says, was told to him by his brother.
Walter Karr had come to Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio, in 1807. The village of Cincinnati then contained sixteen or seventeen hundred people. On their journey from New Jersey the Karr family went first to Elizabethtown, between the Alle- gheny and Monongehela Rivers, and there built a flatboat or "Yankee sled." Mr. Karr's father and brother took the horses there and came through, but the rest of the family went down on the flatboat. Some other parties on board had attached a keelboat for the convenience of cooking, and all on board went joyfully along to the new country. No incident of importance occurred before their arrival in Hamilton County. It was about that time that General Harrison was governor of Indiana terri- tory. The general was a very kind-hearted man, and always willing to do a favor, but wanted it appreciated. Mr. Karr tells a story of General Harrison, which shows the eccentricity of the man. In 1834, when Mr. Karr was traveling, he went with his heavily loaded wagon past General Harrison's premises. The latter had previously changed the road across his premises, but as the fence was down Mr. Karr took the old road. General Harri- son rushed out and said : "Stop ! turn about, go back." But a man, named Johnson, reasoned with the general, and asked the privilege of going ahead, when the general replied: "Yes, go ahead, but for God's sake keep off my meadow!" "Now," said Mr. Karr, "if we had first asked the privilege of crossing his
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premises on the old road and given him a chance to do a favor, which would be appreciated, he would have said : 'Yes, gentle- men, for God's sake, go ahead" "
Mr. Karr clearly remembers the earthquake of 1811, which shook down New Madrid, and sank the lands of the river St. Franeis in Arkansas. The shocks were clearly felt in Ohio, but no damage was done.
While coming down the Ohio, in June, 1815, Mr. Karr saw the first steamboat which came up from New Orleans to Pittsburg. It was called the Enterprise. .
In February, 1834, Mr. Karr started for the West. He went by steamboat to Pekin, and from there came across by team to MeLean County with Seth Baker, and arrived at the latter place March 11, 1834. On the day of his arrival the weather was so warm that he killed a snake, one of the jointed kind, which flew to pieces when struck. On the fourteenth of March, two men, Hopping and Torrence, gathered spring flowers, and the weather was indeed beautiful. But on the fourteenth of May a severe frost came and cut the buds on the trees, turned the leaves com- pletely brown and froze a crust on the ground.
Mr. Karr tells some strange facts concerning the sudden change in December, 1836, When this change in the weather occurred, Mr. John Wesley Karr was milking cows, as an indus- trious farmer's boy should. He immediately started for home, a quarter of a mile distant, but on reaching it he became so cold that he could not speak.
Mr. Karr went to farming upon his arrival in the West, and succeeded fairly well, but suffered severely with the hard times from 1837 to 1842. The winter of 1842-3 was the longest of which he has any recollection. The snow came early, and, with the exception of a January thaw, remained until late in March. Mr. Karr did not learn of any plowing done that spring before the month of May. He sowed a patch of spring wheat that year on the fifth of May, and raised fifteen bushels to the acre. The winter wheat was all frozen out and had to be re-sown. But not- withstanding these discouraging circumstances, people in many instances raised during that year more than thirty bushels of wheat to the acre, and the crops were generally most excellent. During the spring previous, in 1842, he sowed wheat about the
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eighteenth or twentieth of March, and on the last of March it was green. He did not harvest it until August, and obtained from it two hundred bushels from six bushels of seed, or thirty- three and one-third bushels per acre. He hauled one load of it to Chicago in September, and sold it for sixty-three cents per bushel, and thought he made a very good trip. Mr. Karr has been a careful farmer.
Perhaps it may be a matter of interest to the reader to know something of the taxes which have been paid within the last thirty-five years. Mr. Karr gives his taxes as shown by his re- ceipts, and in the list below the taxes after 1843 are all upon nearly the same land. Since 1856-7 he has paid taxes on four acres less ground than in 1845.
Year 1839, $2 533
Year 1840, $4 66
Year 1841, $8 02
1842,
3 07
1843,
5 88
1844, 7 53
1845, 7 44
1846, 7 74 66 1847, 8 74
66 1848, 7 97 1849,
10 41
1850, 12 05
1851, 19 69 66
1852, 15 67
1853,
29 24
1854, 27 56
66 1855, 40 88
1856,
49 57
1857, 57 17 1858, 44 17
1859, 51 85
1860, 41 99
1861,
31 56
1862, 36 89
66 1863, 90 49
1864,
84 45
66
1865, 91 81
66 1866, 131 59
1867, 141 05
1868, 137 88
66 1869, 166 48 1872, 112 65.
1870, 121 41
1871, 122 63
This does not include Mr. Karr's taxes. on town lots and other property. It will be seen that the average for the first seventeen years, beginning with 1839, was $12.89, and the average for the last seventeen years is $89.06. The reader will note the sudden rise of taxes from 1862 to '63, when they nearly trebled on ac- count of the war.
Mr. Karr married in 1823, Eliza Ann Karr, a daughter of his cousin. He has had eight children, of whom four are living. They are :
Edwin Karr lives one mile and a quarter south of his father's. Mrs. Harriet Kinzel lives in Bloomington.
Henry A. Karr lives with his father.
Mrs. Celia Rockwell lives at Clinton, in De Witt County.
Mr. Karr is a man of medium height; his hair is only partly
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gray, though he is seventy-six years of age. His long, full beard is nearly white, and his eyes are very bright. This gives to him a venerable appearance. He complains that his memory is fail- ing with age, but many persons would be glad to have one as good as his at present. He is a modest man and unassuming, but possessed of good judgment. Perhaps the most marked trait in his character is his love of truth and honest dealing. In giving some items of the days that are gone, he was very particular to tell the truth and nothing but the truth. Let us all do likewise.
THE RUST FAMILY.
WILLIAM RUST.
William Rust was born in Granville County, North Carolina, February 23, 1792. His father was of English descent.
Mr. Rust was raised in North Carolina. On the 8th of Janu- ary, 1811, he married Nancy McGee, and soon after moved to Middle Tennessee. During the latter part of the war of 1812. Mr. Rust became a soldier. He was sick during much of his time in the army, but was at the battle of New Orleans at the close of the war. He often described the fight, and said that the British came very close to the works before the Americans were allowed to fire. After the British General Packenham fell, the command devolved upon General Lambert, who was repulsed with frightful loss. At the close of the battle he asked permis- sion to bury the dead, but General Jackson sent the British dead to them.
Sometime after the close of the war, Mr. Rust emigrated to West Tennessee, where he lived a number of years. In 1829 he moved to Hamilton County, Illinois. Here he first made a half- faced camp in the timber, in which the family lived until they could build a log cabin. This was made of round logs, after- wards smoothed down on the inside. Mr. Rust improved a farm of thirty-five or forty acres, and built a large tobacco house. This was a log house sixty feet long and twenty feet wide, with an open space twenty feet wide through the middle, but covered with a roof. Wagon loads of tobacco were driven into this opening and unloaded on each side. The house held five tiers of tobacco.
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OLD SETTLERS OF
In the fall of 1834, Mr. Rust came to McLean County. He stopped first with Jesse Funk, then went for a few days into an old school-house, until he could rent a farm of Samuel Stewart. At the end of two years he bought a piece of land for himself and improved a farm. It is now owned by William C. Noble. He broke prairie, raised stock, and succeeded well. In the spring of 1847 he went to Lytleville, and there engaged in the milling business. He first had a mill driven by water, but by the failure of water he was compelled to use steam. He then had two partners, Wooster and Hougham. In about the year 1867, he sold out, and retired to a quiet life. He was constable and jus- tice of the peace during the active years of his life.
Mr. Rust had nine children, five boys and four girls. James W., John F., and George W. Rust, live in Randolph township ; Martha Ann, wife of Wilson Lindley, lives in Cowley County, Kansas ; William M., Harvey J., and Mary, wife of David Hough- am, live in Randolph township; Arnetta and Nancy Caroline Rust are both dead.
Mr. Rust was about five feet and ten inches in height in his prime. He was a good-looking man, was healthy and square- shouldered, and weighed one hundred and seventy-five pounds. His eyes were blue, and his hair was almost black. He was a. very honest man, faithful in fulfilling his obligations, and had this reputation among all with whom he had occasion to deal. He died at Randolph's Grove, August 26, 1873, aged eighty-one years six months and three days.
JOHN F. RUST.
John Rust was born August 11, 1816, in Murray County, Middle Tennessee. In 1824, the family went to Monroe County, Mississippi, but after two years they went to Hardeman County, West Tennessee, and afterwards to Hickman County. In 1829, they came to Hamilton County, Illinois. During the winter of the deep snow, John Rust amused himself by hunting coons. In the winter season he often hunted muskrats and tore open their houses and killed them with hoes. He first knocked on the houses, and if any muskrats were within they would jump into the water and their plash could be heard.
In the spring of 1834, Isaac and Jesse Funk came down to
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Hamilton County to buy cattle. John Rust then hired out to Jesse Funk for six months, and was to receive fifty dollars as his wages. He started on his journey with the cattle to McLean County. He carried his extra clothes on his back. As they troubled him a good deal, he pulled off his trousers, stuffed his clothes into the legs, tied the bottoms, threw them over his shoulders and went on. The wages, which John Rust earned, were paid to his father, until the former was twenty-one years of age. For seven years, John Rust worked driving cattle, exposed to all kinds of weather. In January, 1836, he drove hogs to Chicago for Isaac Funk. A heavy snow came shortly after they started. At Wolf Grove they commenced dragging an elm log fastened to the rear axle of a wagon to break the way. The weather was desperately cold, and during one night about six inches of snow fell on them as they lay on the ground. At Sul- phur Springs they found the road somewhat broken, and they abandoned their elm log. They found the rapids at the Kan- kakee partly frozen and partly open, and they were obliged to break the ice clear across. The hogs refused to go into the water until the drovers built parallel rail fences, and compelled the swine to follow down between them and go into the water. When the drivers came out of the water, their clothes were frozen on them in a few moments. They arrived at last at Chicago. It was Mr. Rust's first sight of the place, and he was much interested in Fort Dearborn, which was then standing. Mr. Rust received fifty cents per day for his work. On his return, he went with Gardner Randolph with a drove of swine to Galena. His great- est trouble on this trip was the crossing of Rock River at Dixon, which was attended with difficulty on account of the drifting ice. But the cold was very severe when he returned, and he was sick for some time with rheumatism brought on by exposure.
During the sudden change in December, 1836, Mr. Rush was hauling a load of cord wood from Sulphur Springs, where Mr. Hinshaw now lives, to Mr. Thompson's mill in Pone Hollow at Bloomington. When he arrived at the mill he had difficulty in unyoking the oxen, as the keys were frozen fast in the yoke. When he drove the oxen into the barn lot he found the chickens frozen into the slush. During this winter he worked for sixteen dollars per month, and his father drew his wages. But he worked
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OLD SETTLERS OF
after time and made extra wages, and with this money be bought his first good suit of clothes. These were the clothes which he afterwards wore at his wedding.
In January, 1838, Mr. Rush went with William and John Lindley with a drove of swine to Aurora. The cold was severe and a heavy snow was on the ground. One of the drovers, named Hiram Reilley, was about to freeze to death on his horse. The men pulled him off, rolled him in the snow, whipped and pounded him into life and took him to the house. During that night he burnt his boots to a crisp while trying to keep warm. He was discharged and sent home the next day. Many of the hogs had become injured or disabled and were placed in a wagon and drawn by oxen. But when they attempted to cross Long Point Creek, the oxen could not pull the wagon with its heavy load up the steep bank. Mr. Rust jumped into the water on that bitterly cold day, pulled out the end board, and the load of disabled swine was dumped into the creek. The wagon was pulled out, reloaded, and the party proceeded. While on their way to Chicago, they were subjected to severe changes of weather. It was first very cold, then warm and then cold again. The drove of swine swam across the Vermilion River, but crossed the Illinois and Fox Rivers, and Buck Creek above Ot- tawa on the ice. On Mr. Rust's return from Aurora, a winter thunderstorm set in, and he and his brother were obliged to swim Buck Creek. When they came out of the water, they wrung their socks, poured a pint of whisky into their boots and went on. Shortly afterwards it became so intensely cold that their clothes were frozen on them stiff. They stopped at the house of a man, named Clark, at Ottawa. When Mr. Rust pulled off his overcoat it stood up straight against the wall. From Ot- tawa they came home without further adventure.
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