USA > Illinois > Carroll County > The history of Carroll county, Illinois, containing a history of the county-its cities, towns, etc., a biographical directory war record statistics, portraits of early settlers and prominent men history of the Northwest Illinois miscellaneous matters, etc > Part 32
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60
After the reading of this poem, T. T. Jacobs, a settler of 1855, and a gentlemen of worth and merit, was called out for a speech, but, more poet than orator, he preferred to read a poem. This poem covered the growth and prosperity of Mount Carroll, as well as nearly all its business avoca- tions, and was considered so applicable that a copy of it was requested to be spread upon the journals of the association.
After the reading of this poem, Mr. Monroe Bailey was called out, and,
.
.
, Millard CO. SUPT. SCHOOLS LANARK
311
HISTORY OF CARROLL COUNTY.
instead of making a speech, gave a description of the farming implements in use when he came here, in 1838, as compared with the farm machinery of 1875; soon after which the meeting adjourned until the first Thursday in September, 1876.
THIRD ANNUAL MEETING .- The third annual meeting of the Old Set- tlers of Carroll County was held on Thursday, September 7, 1876. Like those which had preceded it, this meeting was held on the fair grounds, which had been put in order for the occasion by Mr. Wm. J. Pierce, the superintendent of the fair grounds. At two o'clock in the afternoon, Samuel Preston, secretary of the association, called the meeting to order, and said:
FELLOW CITIZENS AND OLD SETTLERS-Since our last meeting, death has entered our ranks and taken away our chief head, our president, Luther H. Bowen. Although he needed but a few more months to fill up the measure of years allotted to man on earth, yet when he met with us one year ago, moving about with his usual elastic steps, little did we think-little did he think-it would be the last time he would meet with us. I have here a biographical sketch of his life, prepared by some of his immediate friends in Savanna, and when we are duly organized, and at the proper time, if desired, the secretary will read it to you.
By a provision of the constitution, the association, in the absence of the president, must select from among the vice presidents one to serve as president. Please nominate some one to fill the position made vacant by death.
Mr. Munroe Bailey nominated D. McKay, who was duly chosen to the position. On taking the chair, Mr. Mckay paid a handsome tribute of respect to the virtue, worth, intelligence and enterprise of the association's deceased president, when the regular order of business was taken up.
Mr. Munroe Bailey called for the reading of the names of the Old Settlers to see who else had died during the year. This reading elicited the fact that Henry L. Atherton, of the male members, and Mrs. John Kinney and Mrs. John O'Neal, of the female members of the association had passed away since the last meeting.
The reading of the biographical sketch of the life of Luther H. Bowen was then called for and ordered to be spread upon the minutes, after which the reports of seven of the vice presidents of the carly incidents in their several townships were presented and ordered to be recorded.
Treasurer's Report .- Nelson Fletcher, treasurer of the association, presented an itemized statement of money received and paid out, as follows:
Cash on hand at last meeting $5 85
Cash received.
17 75 -- $23 60 20 75
Amount paid out
Amount on hand
$2 85
The association then proceeded to the election of officers for the ensuing year, after which the meeting adjourned until the first Thursday in Septem ber, 1877.
FOURTHI ANNUAL MEETING .- September 13, 1877, the association met in the Fine Art Hall on the fair grounds, and was called to order by the president, D. McKay, Esq., at whose request Rev. George S. Young engaged the assembly in prayer.
At this meeting the treasurer's report was submitted, showing the following statement:
Amount received.
$20 25
Amount expended.
16 55
Balance on hand.
$3 70
18
312
HISTORY OF CARROLL COUNTY.
A reading of the names of the Old Settlers elieited the fact that Dr. John L. Hostetter had died since the last meeting, and death's mark was affixed opposite his name.
Upon the announcement of this fact, D. W. Dame was called upon and paid a very complimentary eulogy to the many good qualities of the deceased.
The afternoon exercises opened with a song by the glee club, entitled the " Prairie Land," which was happily rendered.
A paper on the trials of pioneer settlers, based upon the experiences of Mrs. Naney Bennett, of York Township, and written by that lady her- self, and covering her residence at Grand de Teur, Ogle County, in 1834 and 1835, was read and ordered to be recorded.
Speeches were made by Hon. D. W. Dame, of Rock Creek ; Joseph Cushman, Esq., of York, and Rev. Mr. Young, the latter of whom said that "he had attended old settlers' meetings in other counties in the North- west, but had come to the conclusion, after a three years' residence in Car- roll County, that it was the very centre of the Northwest, and that the Northwest was the centre of civilization." He paid a graceful tribute to labor and capital, saying there should be no war between them-that the same door was open for the laborer to become a capitalist to-day as when the pioneers who sat before him commenced converting these prairies and forests into capital, and where they had become rich, respected and happy.
Secretary Preston stated (by request) that in February, 1836, his father and himself made a claim in Mount Carroll Township, and that on the 20th of December following, while moving the family up from near Princeton, Bureau County, with ox teams, they encountered the most sudden and severe change from warm rain to exceeding cold that ever swept over the State of Illinois. The historian of Sangamon County had chronieled it as the " Great Storm." He gave a very vivid description of the families' suf- ferings from the sudden change in the temperature of the atmosphere, as well as of the sufferings of the first settlers hereabouts in carly times from fever, ague, etc.
The election of officers followed in order, after which Samuel Preston, Monroe Bailey, Joseph Cushman, D. W. Dame and Simon Greenleaf were appointed a committee to revise the constitution, with instructions to report at the next meeting. The meeting theu adjourned subject to the call of the executive committee.
When the fifth annual meeting of the Old Settlers' Association of Car- roll County shall have met and organized, it will be the duty of its presiding officer to announce the sudden and sad death of another one of their men- bers-Captain David Becker, who died on the evening of the 26th of December, 1877, the particulars of which are gathered from the Carroll County Herald of the 28th December:
Yesterday morning our city was startled by the intelligence that the lifeless body of Captain David Becker had been found in the street, in the eastern suburb of the city, at a late hour Wednesday night.
The circumstances of his death are somewhat clouded in uncertainty, but so far as known, they are detailed below:
Wednesday afternoon the deceased went to his home from the city about four o'clock, and soon after ate quite a hearty supper. When he arose from the table he told his wife that he was going to hunt his cow, and that he would return soon. This was about five o'clock. He did not return, and his absence at dark alarmed his family, who went to Mr. Joseph Forbes, late business partner of the deceased, and told him of their fears, and he at once commenced to search for him, but being unable to find him, he came to the home of Capt.
313
HISTORY OF CARROLL COUNTY.
E. T. E. Becker, on Clay Street, and informed him of the fears entertained concerning his father. The son, accompanied by several others, joined in the search, but it was not until half-past ten o'clock, after a large number of men and boys had continued looking for him for some hours, that the lifeless body of the old gentleman was found lying near the resi- dence of Adam Nelson, at the corner of Broad and Halderman Streets, only two or three blocks away from his own home. The body was discovered by some boys. Dr. G. R. Moore and Sheriff Sutton were the first men upon the spot. Dr. Moore tells us that the body was prostrate upon the ground, face downwards, the forehead and upper part of the face slightly imbedded in the mud, and the limbs drawn up under the body as though deceased had settled down while reaching to the fence for support. From appearances it is judged that he had expired instantly without a struggle. The body was cold and stiff, and had probably laid from four to five hours. The remains were taken up and removed to the late home of the deceased and tenderly prepared for burial. For some time back, deceased had com- plained of dizzy spells, and had been gradually failing in health, but as he kept about his usual duties his condition excited no alarm in the minds of his friends. Medical men are of the opinion that the cause of his sudden death was rupture of the heart, which was brought about by fatty degeneration of that organ.
Captain David Becker was the first white settler in Rock Creek Town- ship, where he settled about 1844, and made a claim of the land now owned by Daniel Belding, and was the first postmaster in that township. He lived there until 1850, when he removed to Salem Township, and remained there until 1866, when he sold out his farm interests and moved to Mount Carroll. His funeral obsequies took place Friday, December 28, 1877, from the Mount Carroll M. E. Church, where an appropriate sermon was preached by Rev. D. M. Reed, of Rockford.
One by one the " Old Settlers " are going home, but their lives here have been such as to warrant the belief that they go to a haven of rest and everlasting happiness beyond the skies-the sure reward of well-spent, honest, useful lives.
Many others yet remain, nearly all of whom are surrounded with homes of comfort and contentment, the accumulations of their own indns- tries and economy. The prairie and forest wilds long since gave way before their well-directed energies and industries. Many of them saw the last of the native red men as they disappeared silently and sadly towards the set- ting sun. On their favorite camping places they have seen villages, towns and cities, schools, colleges and churches spring up as if by the touch of magic. In the midst of these accumulating accomplishments, these patri- arehal pioneers have grown in the respect and confidence of increasing population until they have come to be regarded as very fathers and mothers. Soon, however, in the very nature of things, they, too, will be called to join the immortal throng on the happy shores of the eternal beyond for which they are ready and waiting.
SWAMP LANDS.
PREPARED BY HON. JAMES H. SHAW.
The history of the county in connection with its swamp and over- flowed lands is a matter of a good deal of interest in any general resume of county affairs.
In September, 1850, the Congress of the United States passed an act to enable the State of Arkansas, and other states having these lands, to drain and reclaim the same. Lists and plats were to be made out from the government surveys, and transmitted to the respective governors of the states, in which the lands were situated ; and upon the request of the governors patents were to issue to the states. The act contained a pro-
314
HISTORY OF CARROLL COUNTY.
viso that the proceeds of the sale of these lands should be applied to re- claiming them by means of ditches and drains. The courts, however, subsequently held that this proviso only amounted to a wish expressed on the part of Congress, and did not affect the validity of the grant. They further held that the act itself, when the proper selections had been made under it, and plats and lists sent to the governors, and patents issued on their requests, passed an absolute fee simple title to the states, and left their legislatures to dispose of the lands, or the funds arising from their sale, exactly as they saw fit, untrammelled by any condition in the original grant.
" The legislature of this state, by an act passed in 1852, granted these lands to the respective counties in which they were located, for the purpose of reclaiming them by making ditches and drains, with certain options on the part of the purchasers to pay the purchase money in labor, to be expended in making these ditches and drains. The balance of the lands, after so reclaiming them, were apportioned to the townships, for the benefit of schools and roads and bridges. This part of the law was modified in 1854 to some extent. Still the policy was a drainage of the lands; and all the machinery supposed to be necessary to carry it out to a successful ter- mination was set in motion and kept up.
Under these acts it became the duty of the auditor of state to certify to the counties a list of the swamp and overflowed lands within their borders. These lists were to be recorded in the offices of the county clerks. Certified copies of such lists were made evidence of title ; and vested in the counties an absolute title to the lands described in them. In this way the ownership of the swamp lands passed to the respective counties. These lists became chains of title with the same force and effect as patents for school lands.
The drainage policy, however, did not work to the satisfaction of the people; and various amendatory acts were passed, mostly local in their nature, and applicable to partienlar counties. At length, in 1859, the pro- ceeds arising from the sale of these lands were made subject to the disposi- tion of the various county courts, in such manner as the county authorities saw fit to indicate. In this way the proceeds of these sales passed into the county treasuries, and became a part of the general funds. The original policy in regard to these lands became entirely changed ; and attempts to question the power of the legislature to make this change have repeatedly been made, and always failed. Judicial decisions have at length settled and laid the controversy at rest.
The number of acres of these swamp lands, patented by the United States to the State of Illinois, under the act of 1850, and granted by the state to the County of Carroll by the act of the legislature of 1852, was, in round numbers, 9,110 acres.
For a number of years after the act of 1852, the policy of this county was to sell her swamp lands, and turn the proceeds into the school fund. This was the disposition made of the money arising from these sales, dur- ing the administrations of Reuben H. Gray and James DeWolf as school commissioners. Most of the lands were sold in the years 1854, 1855, and 1856. The school fund derived ten or twelve thousand dollars in this way. Since that the proceeds of these sales have been applied in attempts to drain the lands, and make them more valuable, and in paying expenses incident thereto. It is a fact, we believe, that the general fund of the county has never been increased from this source.
315
HISTORY OF CARROLL COUNTY.
The swamp lands are situated mostly in the Towns of Savanna, York, Washington and Mount Carroll, with a few pieces scattered through some of the other towns.
In the years 1867 and 1868, this county, in connection with Whiteside County, joined in a drainage scheme, to reclaim lands lying around Willow Island Lake, and sonth of that body of water into the other county. It was at this time the county ditch was dug. The enterprise was a success, and some of the best farming lands in the county were thus reclaimed. The large farm of George S. Melendy, Esq., is partly made up of these reclaimed lands, and the vast corn crops he now annually raises on some of these low meadows testify to their amazing fertility.
The money realized from the sale of these reclaimed and drained swamp lands paid all the attendant expenses of the big ditch, and left a large sur- plus. The ditch cost a little over three thousand dollars.
Encouraged by the success of this venture, the board of supervisors of the county began to agitate the question of draining the Doty or Sunfish Lake, situated partially in the Towns of York and Mount Carroll. This led to quite a controversy in the board. Outsiders also took a lively part in it. It was shown that this lake was one of the most beautiful bodies of water in Northern Illinois, full of the very best food fishes, and afforded the very best resort for all kinds of wild fowl-rendering it, in short, a per- fect sportsman's paradise. One party contended that the lake was of more value to the citizens of the county than the land after it was drained. It was even surmised that the county, after such drainage, might not obtain a title to the lands: but this essential point seems not to have been considered with proper care.
The result of the controversy was that the drainage scheme was car- ried. In 1871, the contract was let, and the ditch to Plum River was finished, or nearly finished, that Fall. The water was let out of the lake, at all events, late in the Fall. Some finishing work was done the next Spring.
This drain cost, in round numbers, six thousand, six hundred dollars. About four thousand dollars of this cost was realized from the sale of the Willow Island drained lands. The balance was realized out of the sale of some lands around the Doty Lake which had been swamp lands before that body of water was drained. No money was taken from the county treasury in these enterprises, except a small amount for salaries of supervisors and some other incidental expenses.
The drainage of the Doty Lake has not proved a great success. The fall in the ditch is very slight, and a stream called Deer Creek is constantly bearing sand and flood materials into the drain. It is already partially filled, and the water, which at first was greatly reduced in the lake, is again accumulating, and in wet seasons covers most of its old bed. Unless pro- visions are made to keep the ditch open, it will gradually close up, and the fish again accumulate.
An interesting litigation sprang up soon after the opening of this ditch. As soon as the county commenced selling the reclaimed lands around this body of water, the adjoining land owners, acting under legal advice, began to claim the new-made lands. They were advised that the lands made by the recession of the waters did not belong to the county, but to the adjoining proprietors. Several suits were instituted against the board of super- visors to test this interesting question, Two of these cases were at length
316
HISTORY OF CARROLL COUNTY.
brought to trial, at the January term, A. D. 1876, of the Carroll County Circuit Court. The cases were argued with learning and ability, and many authorities were eited.
The proof showed that the lake had been meandered when the lands were originally surveyed. Consequently no lists or plats had been returned to the Governor by the Secretary of the Interior, and no patent issued to the state for them. The auditor had certified no lists to the county elerk. No title as swamp lands had, therefore, passed to the state, nor from the state to the county. The principle of accretion was held to apply to these receding waters, at least to the extent of permitting adjoin- ing land owners to fill out their governmental subdivisions. This, when done, took all the land made by the partial drainage of the lake.
Judge Heaton's decision was rendered, after careful examination, and was considered so sound and well backed by the authorities, that the attor- ney for the county did not advise an appeal to the Supreme Court; and the controversy seems now to be settled.
CRIMINAL MENTION.
PREPARED BY VOLNEY ARMOUR, ESQ.
The Mathews Case .- The first murder case that appears upon the doeket of the Carroll County Circuit Court is that of The People vs. James Mathews, on change of venue from Jo Daviess County. It was first doeketed for the October term, 1841. At the October term, 1842, the indietment was dismissed for want of witnesses.
The next was an indictment for murder vs. Thomas J. Standifer and Samuel Thompson Wheeler (also on a change of venue from Jo Daviess County), docketed at the October term, 1843. Wheeler was tried and acquitted, October 14, 1843. Standifer died on the 20th day of October, of the same year.
In 1845, John Baxter, indicted with John Long et al., in Rock Island, for murder, took a change of venue to Carroll County. The ease, however, was sent back to Rock Island County, by agreement of parties.
In 1846, James Monnie alias Jake Monie, was indieted for murder in Jo Daviess County. This venue was changed to Carroll, but was afterwards changed to the county court of Jo Daviess County, by consent.
Jesse W. Helden was indicted, at the September term, 1851, for a murder committed in the then Village of Savanna. He was a steamboat- man or raftsman, and while on shore at Savanna was attacked by a com- rade. In self defence, Helden picked up a elub and struek his opponent a single blow, which proved instantly fatal. The name of the man who was killed is not remembered, and we have been unable to find the indietment on file. The criminal papers belonging to the circuit clerk's office prior to about 1856 seem to be where they ean not now be found-at least, the writer has been unable to find them. The following named were jurors in the Helden case: William II. Hawk, Morris Saxton, Michael Siser, William Owings, John B. Christian, Daniel R. Christian, Simeon Johnson, Ransom Wilson, George W. Knox, Peter Hagaman, Elijah Bailey and Daniel Forney. The trial was had September 27, 1851, and on the same day was coneluded, with a verdict of not guilty.
The Dorsey Case .- The first murder trial in the county, where the murder was committed in the county, was that of Edward J. Dorsey. He
317
HISTORY OF CARROLL COUNTY
was tried at the March term of the Carroll County Circuit Court, 1859. Hon. John V. Eustace, judge, presiding; Robert C. Burchell, state's attorney; Adamı Nase, sheriff, and Volney Armour, clerk. Dorsey was indicted at the October term of this court, 1858, for the murder of one a deck hand on a Mississippi River steamboat. Dorsey assaulted the deceased when the boat was just above Savanna, hitting him several blows on the head with brass knuckles. The injured man left the steam- boat at Savanna, and made his way down in the neighborhood of Albert Steadman. Here he was found, dead or dying, near a straw stack. After death, a post-mortem examination was made by Dr. Edward C. Cochran, of Savanna, who used a saw borrowed from a wagon shop in Savanna, to saw the skull, to open the brain to inspection at the points of injury. There was no dispute about the facts of the case, except as to whether the injury was inflicted in Iowa or Illinois, and as to whether the deceased died of injuries received at the hands of Dorsey, or from other cause. As there was a chance of a reasonable doubt whether the assault was in the east or west side of the main channel of the river, and the post-mortem examina- tion was so clearly a bungling one, and the failure to examine the other organs of the body, besides the brain, left Dorsey's lawyers a chance to con- tend that, for all the jury knew, the deceased might have come to his death from other causes than the injury produced by Dorsey. It is enough to say that the surgeon gained no reputation in that post-mortem case. It served, however, to show his ignorance of his profession, and he soon sought other business for a living.
Dorsey was defended by W. E. Leffingwell, of Lyons, Iowa; Walling- ton Weigley, of Galena, Ill., and Hon. William T. Miller, then of Carroll County. Dorsey was acquitted. The river men furnished the money for Dorsey's defence. A Rock Island woman, of more than doubtful character, was imported to act the part of Dorsey's wife. She personated that char- acter well, and at the close of the trial, Col. B. R. Frohock, one of the acquitting jurors, had Dorsey and his supposed wife to supper with him, and treated them in royal style.
Charles Slowey and Mary J. Ramsey Cases .- At the March term, 1860, Charles Slowey was indicted for the murder of a fellow-Irishman, named Welch; and Mary Jane Ramsey, a colored girl, was indicted for the murder of an infant child of John Shirk.
Slowey had been for some time engaged in mining for lead ore, with his victim as a partner. They had sunk two shafts near their shanty, about two miles west of Mount Carroll, had taken out some ore, and had a prospect of getting more. At this time they both got on a drunken spree, and a few days thereafter the victim was found dead in one of the shafts. Inves- tigation showed plainly that death was not the result of accident or suicide, as the death wound was evidently inflicted by a miner's pick. After a post- mortem examination by Dr. B. P. Miller and Dr. John L. Hostetter, Słowey was arrested and committed for the murder, and indicted, as above stated. The case was continued to the September term, 1860, of the Circuit Court, when a change of venue was taken to Ogle County. He was tried in the Winter or Spring of the next year, at Oregon, and convicted of murder in the first degree. The Court, Judge Enstace, for some reason, having granted a new trial, the people accepted the proposition of William T. Miller, Slowey's counsel-Slowey to plead guilty to manslaughter, and a sentence to the penitentiary for life. This wasaccordingly done. Slowey died a few
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.