Coles County IL Archives History - Books .....Early Settlements 1879
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Book Title: History Of Coles County

EARLY SETTLEMENTS.

   Prior to 1824, what is now Coles County was a wilderness waste, uninhabited
by civilized man. If any pale-face before that time had ever come within its
borders as an actual settler, it is not known whence he came, who he was or
whither he went. The red man of. the forest held high carnival over the land,
his camp-fires were seen in the distance, and it was his war-whoop and his
death-song that broke the stillness, while his wigwam was the only specimen of a
habitation made with human hands. Old Bruin reigned king of the wild beasts; the
panther screamed, the wolf howled, and the gray-eyed owl hooted without the
presence of civilized man to "molest or make them afraid." The forest was
undisturbed except by the blaze of the tomahawk, and the soil untrodden, save by
the wild beast and the savage and his pony. A half-century or more, white people
have witnessed the grand march of civilization over this land, and to-day scarce
a trace is left of the former presence of the aborigines of the country. In
1824, the first settlement was made in Coles County, by men whom God made white,
and blessed with the light of civilization. Of the first emigrants, but few
remain. Most of them have paid nature's last great debt, and the memories of
those remaining are so impaired by age that but few facts can be obtained. The
first settlers came from Crawford County on the Wabash River, where they had
lived many years, building and dwelling in forts, and skirmishing with the
Indians. As pioneers, they possessed an extensive experience. They were John
Parker and his sons, among whom were Daniel, Benjamin, Silas, George and James
Parker and families, and Samuel Kellogg and his wife Mary, in all fourteen
souls, the latter of whom alone is living. The Parker's were formerly from
Tennessee, and were good old-fashioned people. They dressed plain, lived rough
and seemed to love the hardships and to delight in the adventures incident to
the settlement of a new country. The soldier who leaves his home, sunders the
ties of affection and bids adieu to loved ones, to do battle for his country,
deserves well of its people. So, too, the pioneer, who goes out from the home of
his childhood, leaving behind him the hallowed associations of youthful days,
and the cherished objects of love and affection, hewing his wav into the
wilderness, and there settles down to build up a new country, and open a highway
for civilization, is also worthy of credit anions his fellow-countrymen.

   Benjamin Parker built the first log cabin, and thus became the first actual
settler in Coles County, fifty-five years ago. That cabin was built on the east
bank of the Embarrass River, just opposite the place where Blakeman's mill was
afterward erected, and was in what is now Hutton Township. It was a rude affair,
and a fair sample of pioneer strength and awkwardness, but nevertheless turned
the rain, broke the force of the sun's burning rays, resisted the chilling
blasts of winter, and kept out the cold, damp air of night. It also answered the
purpose of a dwelling-house, and consisted of parlor, dining-room, kitchen and
bed-rooms enough to sleep fourteen persons. The walls were of unhewn logs, and
floor of puncheons, neither hewn nor "planed." It was covered with clapboards,
weighed down with poles in lieu of being nailed: the chimney was made of sticks
and clay, and the "back walls" and "jambs" of the same material, except the
quantity of clay was increased. The help to "raise" this cabin came from
Crawford County, a distance of sixty miles. In those days, a house-raising was
regarded as a "big thing" and were usually accompanied with a quilting,
wool-picking or sewing "bee." to furnish an excuse for the women to come
together for a little quiet gossip, though not perhaps, as at the present day,
to talk of Mrs. Jones' new bonnet, or Mrs. Smith's old dress made over, or the
way Mrs. Brown had her back-hair "fixed last Sunday." Those little gatherings
were occasions for much good eating and drinking, the latter, however, being
indulged in by the men only. And the best wrestler, the furthest jumper, and the
swiftest runner were the heroes, and the best fighter wore off the belt, for at
that early period fighting was always included in the popular amusements of the
day.

   John Parker, familiarly known as "High Johnny" Parker, and the progenitor of
all the Parkers (of this early settlement) was a soldier of the Revotionary
[sic] War-one of the heroes of that long and doubtful struggle that finally
resulted in the independence of the " greatest country the sun shines on."
Samuel Kellogg, mentioned as one of this little colony, was a soldier in the
Black Hawk campaign of 1832, and has since died, but, as already stated, his
widow is still living, and at present a resident of Charleston. But of the
pioneers of this early settlement further particulars will be given in the
township histories.

    In the fall of 1824, Seth Bates and his sons, David and John Bates, and his
stepsons, Levi and Samuel Doty, came to the county, and in the summer of 1825
made a settlement on Kickapoo Creek, in the present town of La Fayette, These
were the first inhabitants in that region, and the settlement was made on what
is now the Doctor Monroe farm. John Robbins and William Wagner came in a year or
two later. The former put up a mill in the neighborhood, and the latter started
a tan-yard. Samuel Frost came the next year after Robbins and Wagner, and was
one of the first merchants in this settlement, as noted elsewhere, and also
carried the first mail through from Paris to Vandalia. In 1826, Van Eastin
settled in this neighborhood; in 1828, his brother John M. Eastin came, and
their father, Charles Eastin, in 1830. The following story is told of the
Eastins, as illustrative of the proverb that "fine feathers make fine birds," or
at least are supposed to do so. John Eastin, just prior to coming to this
county, had married Miss Jennie Reed. The first Sunday they spent in the
wilderness of Coles County, they attended church rigged out in their "wedding
toggery," and their "new store clothes" created quite a sensation in this then
backwoods settlement, and elicited remarks from everybody. The next morning
before breakfast, six men came to see him to borrow money for the purpose of
buying land, supposing from his extravagant style of dress, that he must be rich
and have money to loan, when he really had but $6 to his name. In 1828, James
Phipps settled in this neighborhood. As early as 1828 or 1829, James Ashmore,
William Ewing and William Williams came in and settled on the south side of
Kickapoo.

    A settlement was made in the present township of Ashmore as early as 1825.
The first white people in this section were the Dudleys and Laban Burr, all
bachelors, thus forming a kind of second Eden, as Eden was before its quiet was
disturbed by Mother Eve. To trace the genealogy of the Dudleys, it would be
necessary to go back to Dudley Castle, Staffordshire, England, and begin with
Earl Dudley, in the fourteenth century, following it down through a long line of
nobles, of whom one of the most powerful was Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester,
and figured conspicuously during the reign of Elizabeth, the Virgin Queen of
England. Their published genealogy is authentic giving the descent of the
Dudleys here mentioned from this noble family. The first one in the United
States was Thomas Dudley, Governor of "Massachusetts Bay Colony." Many of his
descendants held important positions in colonial times, and are to be found in
almost every State of the Union at the present day. Many of them figured
prominently in our struggle for independence, and their survivors and
descendants are leading citizens of the country. The original settlers in this
section were James and Guilford Dudley, and there are still sons of these
pioneers living in the township of Ashmore, and are more particularly mentioned
in that chapter. James Wells, Christopher Sousely, Joseph Henry, John Mitchell,
William Austin, H. J. Ashmore and John Carter were also early settlers in this
section. From them have descended some of the solid and substantial men of the
county.

   The first settlement was made on "Goose-Nest" Prairie in 1829. Rev. Daniel
Barham and sons John and Nathan, and Thomas Barker, put up the first cabin in
this little paradise, in the spring of the year mentioned above. This settlement
was in what is now Pleasant Grove Township, and embraced as fine a body of land
as may be found in Coles County. Michael Taylor and his son Elijah, John and
Patrick Gordon, and Dow Goodman, came in the same year, and found shelter in the
same nest. Zeno Campbell, the Balahes and others, also came during this year and
entered claims on "Goose-Nest" Prairie, or adjacent thereto. In the fall of
1830, John J. Adams, Mark Baker and William Wayne settled in the neighborhood.
The Muddy Point settlement was likewise in Pleasant Grove Township. The first
squatters here were Isaac Francher and Buck Houchin, who pitched their tents in
this locality in 1827. Jack Price came in 1828; Joseph Glenn, Daniel Edson (not
the inventor of the phonograph), Daniel Beals and his sons, in 1829, and William
Dryden and Alfred Balch in the same year. In the fall of 1830, William Gammill
and sons, his sons-in-law, A. Balch and Isaac Odell and Abner Johnston, came in
and settled in this neighborhood.

   A settlement was made on the west side of the Embarrass River, south of
Greasy Creek, in the territory now embraced in Morgan Township, in 1829-30.
Daniel McAllister, Benjamin Clark and William Shattun were the pioneers of this
settlement. They were men of strong arms and brave hearts, well calculated to
brave the dangers of a wilderness. They went to Big Creek (Edgar County) to
mill, and sent their children four miles to school, and were thankful for even
such conveniences as those. The widow of Benjamin Clark was the last survivor of
these pioneers and three years ago (we do not know whether she is still living)
was a hearty and hale old lady for her time of life. She spent eight weeks among
the wolves and panthers during the winter of 1830, with six small children,
while her husband had gone back to the settlements for provisions. There are few
ladies of the present day but would shrink from such an undertaking, and it is
with no disparagement to the sex that we make the observation. Our women are as
true and noble, and capable of as great sacrifices when necessity demands them,
as at any other age of the world, even that heroic period when they severed from
their heads their "golden tresses" and wove them into bow-strings for their
fathers, brothers and husbands to defend their hearths and homes. But think of
living in a wilderness for two long, weary months alone with half a dozen
helpless children, beyond the reach of help. The bravest woman might well shrink
from it.

   The territory now embraced in Oakland Township contained settlements as early
as 1829. In this year Samuel Ashmore settled in this region. Soon after his
settlement, his sons H. J. and W. C. Ashmore came to the neighborhood. Samuel
Hogue and James Black, sons-in-law of Samuel Ashmore, settled here also about
the same time as those above mentioned. Where Oakland village now stands,
settlements were made by Enoch Scars, Eli Sargent, Asa Redden and others. David
Winkler and the Hoskinses settled on Brushy Fork. At the time of these
settlements, the aborigines of the country were in possession of it, and had a
village or trading-post in this vicinity. They were friendly, however, and lived
with their pale-face neighbors in peace and harmony. In 1831, Stanton Pemberton
and his sons came to the Ashmore settlement. A mill was built here at an early
day by a man named Stevens, and a few years later another was built by Redden.

   The first settlement made in what is now Charleston Township was in 1826. In
that year, Enoch Glassco and sons, and J. Y. Brown, came to the county and
settled about a mile north of the present city of Charleston. In 1827, the
Parkers came from the Embarrass River Settlement and located on what is now
Anderson's Addition to Charleston. About the same time, Hiram Steepleton and
Isaac Lewis were added to the settlement. In 1829, Michael Cossell, Jr., came to
the place, and the next year his father, and brothers Isaac and Solomon Cossell
came in and made settlements. In the same year, Charles Morton and family
settled in the little community. He was an energetic and enterprising man. He
settled on what is now the Decker farm, and built a horse-mill, upon which many
a pioneer ground the meal for his "corndodgers." Mr. Morton is mentioned in
another chapter of this work as the first merchant, and one of the prominent
business men of the county. Jesse Veach also settled in the present town of
Charleston. He came first to Illinois in 1824, and to Coles County in 1825.
After this, he returned to Crawford County, where he "took unto himself a wife,"
and, in 1831, came back to Coles County, where he still lives, enjoying the
fruits of a well-spent life.

   John Hutton came to Illinois in 1816, and, in 1824-25, settled in what is now
Hutton Township. Says Capt. Adams, in his Centennial Address, he "made a hand
building the first cabin, heard the first prayer made and the first sermon
preached, and mourned at the first funeral in the present territory of the
county." In 1826, a settlement was made by the Parkers on what was known as
Parker's Prairie, and which lies partly in Hutton Township. George Parker and
his sons Joseph, Daniel and Jephthah were the first in this immediate
neighborhood, and from them this beautiful prairie received its name. Joseph
Parker killed a large bear, in 1828, near Buyess Berkley's, and many other
members of the Bruin family were slaughtered in an early day by the pioneers. In
the fall of 1826, there was a settlement made at a place called "Dog Town,"
which was also in the present town of Hutton. James Nees was the first settler
in this section, but was very soon joined by Charles Miller and William Cook.
Joshua Painter, Hugh Doyle, James Ashby and John C. Davis soon after made
settlements in the same neighborhood. Anthony Cox, William Waldruff and Joel
Connelly settled, also, in what is now Hutton, in 1828, and Daniel Evinger soon
after. The latter put up a carding-machine on what was known as the John Flenner
farm.

   About 1826 a settlement was made at Wabash Point, in the present township of
Paradise. The first white settler was Daniel Drake. In 1827, Thomas Hart and his
sons settled in this neighborhood, and in July, 1828, Silas and Adam Hart and
others of the same name came to the settlement, so that if there was any part of
the country that had a heart, it was this Wabash Point settlement. These people
were a law unto themselves, and tolerated no lawlessness in their midst. When
one committed a misdemeanor, Judge Lynch came to the front and gave to the
culprit but a short shrift. In illustration of his peremptory manner in
disposing of the cases upon his docket, the following instance is given: On a
certain occasion, a man living in the settlement was caught in the act of
appropriating to himself another's cowhide and potatoes. A court was at once
organized, with Thomas Hart, Jr., as Judge. Silas Hart was appointed attorney
for the defendant, and William Higgins and others, jurors. The trial resulted in
a verdict of guilty, and the punishment fixed at twenty-nine lashes and
banishment from the settlement. After the lashes had been administered, the
defendant was shown a star, in the direction of his "Old Kentucky Home," and
bade to follow it, as did the wise men of the East. He waited not for the advice
to be repeated, nor stood upon the order of his going; he went.

    In 1826, Charles Sawyer made a settlement in the southern part of what is
now Mattoon Township. His family came on the next spring; but a short time
previous to their arrival, a man named Nash came to the settlement and occupied
Sawyer's house. He injured himself one day, "carrying a log, to make a bee-gum,"
from the effects of which he died. This was the first death in the Wabash
Settlement, which was principally in what is now Paradise Township, as already
stated, but extended into Mattoon Township. John Sawyer was another of the
pioneers of this settlement. These are said to have been without bread in their
families as much as three weeks at a time. They went five miles beyond
Springfield to mill, and blazed the trees on the route, in order to find their
way back home, and swam the Okaw River into the bargain.

   About 1833, a settlement was made in the present town of Okaw. John Whitney
and four sons, William Bridgman and Jesse Fuller were the first squatters in
this section. Henry and Hawkins Fuller and Nathaniel Dixon came in 1835. The
year previous, however, the settlement was increased by the arrival of P. M.
Ellis, the Elders and Fred. Price, these people used to splice teams and go a
day's journey to a horse-mill. In wet weather, they would go to Sangamon River,
near Decatur, or to Parker's Mill, on the Embarrass River.


Additional Comments:
Extracted from:

THE HISTORY OF COLES COUNTY. ILLINOIS,

CONTAINING

A History of the County—its Cities, Towns, &c; a Directory of its Tax-Payers;
Portraits of Early Settlers and Prominent Men; General and Local Statistics; Map
of Coles County; History of Illinois, Illustrated; History of the Northwest,
Illustrated; Constitution of the United States, Miscellaneous Matters, &c, &c.

ILLUSTRATED

CHICAGO:
WM. LE BARON, JR., & CO., 186 DEARBORN STREET.
1879.


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