Crawford County IL Archives History - Books .....Chapter XII Lamotte Township 1883
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Book Title: HISTORY OF CRAWFORD AND CLARK COUNTIES, ILLINOIS

CHAPTER XII.*

LAMOTTE TOWNSHIP—GENERAL DESCRIPTION AND TOPOGRAPHT—EARLY  SETTLEMENT —JOSEPH
LAMOTTE—THE EATONS—OTHER PIONEERS—THE SEVEN JESSES—EXTRACT FROM FICKLIN'S
ADDRESS—SCHOOLS AND CHURCHES—PALESTINE—ITS GROWTH, DEVELOPMENT AND
INCORPORATION—THE LAND OFFICE—REGISTERS AND RECEIVERS—EDUCATIONAL, RELIGIOUS,  
ETC.,   ETC.
*By W. H. Perrin.

"When in the chronicles of wasted time
 I read descriptions, etc."
                      —Shakespeare.

THE marvelous development of our country is without parallel in history. Look
back a generation or two and behold these smiling fields a primeval forest or
wild prairie. There are scores of people still living who recollect when hazel
brush grew upon the site of the county's capital, and when the roads were little
else than blind trails, and unbridged streams were swum or waded; when, instead
of the locomotive's whistle, was heard the dismal howling of the wolf or the
far-off screech of the hungry panther. Rapid as have been the changes and great
the improvements in this section, Crawford is only well upon her course; the
energies which have brought her to her present state will not falter.

"Lo! our land is like an eagle whose young gaze
    Feeds on the noontide beams, whose golden plumes 
 Float moveless on the storm, and, in the blaze
    Of sunrise, gleams when earth is wrapped in gloom." 

   This civil division of Crawford County forms no inconsiderable part of the
history of the great commonwealth of Illinois. No portion of the county, nor
indeed of the State, is richer in historical interest. It contained the first
seat of justice of the county; the first land office established in the State
was located within its limits, and the first settlement made in the county was
in what is now Lamotte Township. Here were erected forts and block-houses, when
Indians were far more plentiful on this side of the Wabash than pale-faces, and
here transpired some of the stirring events that have embellished with interest
the history of the State.

   Lamotte Township lies on the eastern border of the county and contains much
fine productive land. Its surface beyond the river bottoms, which are low and
subject to overflow, is generally level or undulating, requiring little
artificial drainage. "With the exception of the bottoms above alluded to, our
idea of its topography does not fully coincide with the poet-laureate of
Palestine when he penned the following lines:

"Half a century ago I lived in Egypt's famed land, 
Where the soil was composed of dark loam and sand; 
There were swamps on this hand and swamps on that, 
And the remainder of the land was level and flat."

   The township lies south of Hutsonville township, west of the Wabash River,
north of Montgomery and east of Robinson township. It is drained principally by
Lamotte Creek, which flows in a southeasterly course and empties into the Wabash
near Palestine landing. The original timber growth was oak, hickory, walnut,
hackberry, buckeye, sycamore, pecan, cotton wood, etc., etc. Upon the whole, the
township is a fine agricultural region, and in 1880 had a population of 2,160
souls—and as many bodies. The S. E. and S. E. narrow gauge railroad traverses it
from east to west, thus affording the people railroad communication and
benefiting the township to a considerable extent.

   Early Settlement.—The first occupation by white people, of what is now
Lamotte Township, is veiled somewhat in obscurity. Prior to the war of 1812 a
number of families were living in this region, and when the war broke out, they
congregated where Palestine now stands, and built a fort or block-house. But how
long before, white people lived here, there is no one now to tell, for they are
gathered to their fathers. It is believed that as far back as 1808 or 1809,
there were people of our own kind in this immediate neighborhood, to say nothing
of the French, who, as they were numerous about Vincennes, may have been much
earlier, and very probably were. Many believed that Joseph Lamotte once lived in
this portion of the county, though there is little but tradition, concerning his
occupation of the country. The following is related by Mr. Martin Fuller, of
Montgomery Township, who married Rosana Twomley. She was a daughter of Isaac
Twomley, who kept a ferry at Vincennes at a very early day. Twomley married the
widow of Joseph Lamotte, and of this marriage was born Rosana, the wife of
Martin Fuller. Mr. Twomley used to say that Lamotte was an Indian interpreter,
and spoke seven dialects of the Indian language, beside English and French, and
that the Indians, for his services as interpreter in some of their grand powwows
with the pale-faces, had given him all that tract of country, now known as
Lamotte Prairie. But when they saw a chance of selling it to the United States
Government, had watched for an opportunity, and had slain Lamotte. They threw
his body into a deep hole of water in the creek just west of Palestine cemetery.
After the death of Lamotte, Twomley was made Indian interpreter. He spoke five
Indian dialects as well as English and French, and his daughter, Mrs. Fuller,
also speaks French fluently.

   This story of Lamotte, of course, is traditional, as there are none now
living who seem to know anything very definite concerning him, beyond the fact
that there was once such a man. This, as stated in a preceding chapter, we learn
from the old court records, from conveyances of land made by Lamotte. It is
probably doubtful, however, if Lamotte ever lived here, notwithstanding the fine
prairie north of Palestine still bears his name, also Lamotte creek, and this
township, together with the old and original fort which stood on the present
site of Palestine.

   It is a generally accepted tradition, and it is fast becoming a tradition
only, that the Eatons were the first of our own kind to occupy this portion of
the county, and they are believed to have been here as early as 1808-9. They
were a large family of large people, and possessed most extraordinarily large
feet. The latter was a distinguishing feature, and when a little unpleasantness
occurred in Fort Lamotte, and the Eatons withdrew and built another fort, it was
unanimously dubbed Fort Foot, in derision of the Eatons' feet.

   Mr. D. W. Stark, an old and well-known citizen of Palestine for many years,
furnishes us, through Mr. Finley Paull, the following regarding the early
settlement: " There must have been a settlement there and in the vicinity,
reaching back toward the beginning of the century, for at the breaking out of
the war of 1812 a considerable body of settlers assembled at Palestine, where
they built two forts in which they forted during the war. One of the forts, I
think, stood somewhere in the southeast of the present town, for in the fall of
1820 I well recollect seeing some of the ruins and stockade still standing. This
fort was called Fort Lamotte, after the name of the prairie, and it was named
after an old Frenchman. Where the other fort stood, if I ever knew, I have
forgotten. It was named Fort Foot, as I understood, from the fact of two or
three families of Eatons forting in it, who were all noted as having very large
feet."

   The Eatons were pioneers in the true sense of the word, and had gone west—had
abandoned home and the signs of civilization, and plunged into the vast
solitudes, in order to better their condition, and finally secure homes for
themselves and children. These sturdy, lone mariners of the desert were men of
action. Not very social in their nature, moody and almost void of the
imaginative faculty, they simply whetted their instincts in the struggle for
existence against the wild game, the ferocious beasts and the murderous savage.
They, and such as they, laid the foundations on which rests the civilization of
the great west. They took their lives in their own hands, as it were, penetrated
the desert wilderness, and with a patient energy, resolution and self-sacrifice
that stands alone and unparalleled, worked out their allotted tasks, and to-day,
we, their descendants, are enjoying the fruitage of their labors.

   As we have before stated, the Eatons were a large family, and consisted of
the patriarch, who is believed to have been named William, and several sons,
among, whom were John, Job, Benjamin, Joseph, William and several others. It is
not known of a certainty where they came from, but it is believed they were
either from Kentucky or North Carolina. They were in the fort at Palestine
during the stormy period of our last war with England, and when the war clouds
passed over and the olive branch was waved throughout the country, wooing the
red man to peaceful sports, as well as the belligerent nations who had lately
measured their strength with each other, and the people could branch out from
the forts, with none to "molest or make them afraid," then the Eatons moved out
and scattered in different directions, some of them settling in Hutsonville
township, where they receive further mention. One or two of the Eatons were
killed by the Indians during the time the people were "forted" at Palestine,
which is spoken of elsewhere in this volume.

   Other pioneers, many of whom lived for awhile in the fort, were Thomas
Kennedy, David McGahey, the McCalls, the Brimberrys, James and Smith Shaw, J.
Veach, the Millses, George Bathe, J. Purcell, Jesse Higgins, Mrs. Gaddis, John
Garrard, the Woods, David Reavill and others. Thomas Kennedy was a Baptist
preacher, and had squatted on a place, the improvement of which he afterward
sold to John S. Woodworth. Kennedy then settled in the present township of
Montgomery. McGahey was a prominent man, and opened a farm south of Palestine,
on which Wyatt Mills now lives—himself of the original pioneer Mills family.
McGahey served in the Legislature, was connected with the land office, and held
other responsible positions. George Bathe entered land with McGahey. He has a
son, George Bathe, Jr., now 77 years old, living in Palestine. Smith Shaw, after
times became quiet, settled in the present County of Edgar, where he made his
mark, and where he was still living a few years ago, when we wrote the history
of that County. John Garrard came from South Carolina, and was here as early as
1811. He has descendants still living in Palestine, one of whom is proprietor of
the Garrard House.

John, Joseph and Welton Wood lived a few miles from Palestine. Welton still
lives in the west part of the county. David Reavill was born in Delaware, and
came to Illinois in 1810, stopping at Kaskaskia, then the State capital. When
the war broke out with England, he went to Vincennes and joined the Rangers,
serving with them until peace was made, when he came to Palestine. He was killed
by lightning, a circumstance known to many of the old citizens. The McCalls (two
brothers) were surveyors, and the first in the county. In the southeast corner
of Lamotte Township stands one of their old "witness trees," on "Uncle Jimmy"
Westner's place, and is the only one in the county known to be yet standing.
Witness trees were marked by taking off the bark and scratching with an iron
instrument called "three fingers," forming a cross. It was a mark known to all
government surveyors, and when made upon a tree, though the bark would grow over
it, the mark could be deciphered a hundred years after it was made. Hence, the
name of witness tree.

   Thomas Gill and family, and John S. Woodworth, came in the fall of 1814, and
were from Mt. Sterling, Ky. Mr. Gill settled on a farm some four miles northwest
of Palestine, where he lived, and where he died about 1840. He had a numerous
family, but none of them are now in the township; James, the only one left,
lives in Cumberland County. Mr. Gill had served in the Revolutionary War, and
was a highly respected citizen of the county. John S. Woodworth married a
daughter of Gill's, and raised a large family of children. But three of them are
living, viz.: Martin and Leander of Palestine, and A. P. Woodworth, cashier of
the Robinson bank. The first purchase of land made by Mr. Woodworth, was the
squatter's claim of Thos. Kennedy to 160 acres. When it came in market he
purchased it, and had to pay $6.10 per acre for it, a heavy price for the time.
Mr. Woodworth was the second sheriff of Crawford County. He was not an office-
seeker, but devoted his time and attention chiefly to agriculture. He
accumulated a large estate in landed property.

   Edward N. Cullom came in the spring of 1814, and at a time when the forts
were still occupied by the whites. He also was from Kentucky, and had a large
family. Two of his sons are still living—Leonard, who lives in Lawrenceville,
and George, living in Fayette County. Cullom was a very prominent man, and he
and Judge Joseph Kitchell were the original proprietors of the town of
Palestine. He acquired considerable property and purchased large tracts of land,
but eventually lost a good deal of it through betrayed trusts. Much is said of
the Culloms in a preceding chapter.

   The Kitchells and the Wilsons were among the prominent families of the
county. William Wilson, the father of W. C. Wilson of Robinson, came here in
1816, and was from Virginia. He settled at Palestine and died in 1850. James H.
Wilson, his father, came the next year, 1817, and was the first probate judge of
the county. His sons were James H., Vastine J., Presley O. and Isaac N., Gen.
Guy W. Smith married a daughter of Mr. Wilson. They are all dead, except Isaac
N., who lives in Kansas. William Wilson's children are all dead, except Robert
C., Carl, Eliza M. Patton, and Jane, the latter unmarried. Guy S. Wilson of
Palestine, is a son of James H. Wilson Jr. Benjamin Wilson's children are all
dead, except one living in California. Presley O. Wilson was quite prominent;
was county judge and sheriff one or two terms. His widow, "Aunt Maria," as
everybody called her, is living in Palestine.

   The Kitchells were natives of New Jersey. Judge Joseph Kitchell emigrate4
westward and stopped for awhile in Hamilton County Ohio; from thence he moved to
Indiana, and in 1817, came to Crawford County, locating in Palestine. He lived
and died upon the place where he first settled. His old house is still standing
in the west part of town, on the road leading out to Robinson. He was the first
register of the land office when it was established, and was connected with it
for more than twenty years. He afterward served in the State Legislature and
held other positions of honor and trust. He had the first mill, probably, in the
county—a horse mill, but an important institution in its day; really more
important than the land office itself. Wickliffe Kitchell came to the county the
next year, 1818, and was a brother to Joseph. About 1838, he removed to
Hillsboro, Ill., with his whole family, except one daughter, the wife of Mr. D.
W. Stark. He was the first lawyer in Crawford County, and was at one time
attorney-general of the State. His wife died at Hillsboro, and he died at Pana,
Ill., at the age of 82 years. One of his sons, Alfred, was circuit judge of this
judicial district at one time, and afterward moved to Galesburg, Ill., where he
died. Another son, Edward, entered the army at the beginning of the late war,
and rose to the rank of brevet brigadier-general. After the war he returned to
Olney, his former home, and died there a few years later.

   Col. John Houston, whom the citizens of Palestine well remember, and himself
a citizen of the place for nearly sixty years, belonged to the Rangers that
operated in this section during the war of 1812. He located here permanently
about 1818, and engaged in the mercantile business. He came here just when he
was most needed, and his fingermarks may yet be seen, telling the story of his
handiwork, and writing his epitaph in the hearts of many who are now reaping,
and who will in the future enjoy the fruits of his labor and foresight. He
served the county in many responsible positions; was sheriff, county treasurer,
served in the State Senate, etc., but it was as a merchant and business man he
was best known. We shall speak further of him under the business of Palestine.
Alexander M. Houston was his brother, and for years his partner in business, a
soldier in the Black Hawk War, and a prominent citizen of the county. Mr. D. W.
Stark was also a partner of Col. Houston's, and is now living in Indiana. To him
we are indebted for many facts pertaining to the Houstons, and other early
settlers. We, however, knew Col. John Houston personally, some years ago, and
can say much to his honor and credit from our own knowledge.

   The Alexanders were another of the prominent families of this section, and
must have come here as early as 1825, as we find John C. Alexander the
representative of Crawford County, in the Legislature, at the session of
1826—1828. Harmon Alexander also represented the county in the Legislature some
years later. They were from Kentucky, and have descendants still in the county.
There are many more pioneer families entitled to mention in this chapter, but we
have been unable to learn their names, or anything definite concerning them.
This section was the first settled of any portion of the county. For years, the
settlement was scattered around Fort Lamotte, and not until after all danger was
over, consequent upon the war of 1812, did the settlers begin to extend their
skirmish line from the base of operations— old Fort Lamotte. As new-comers made
their appearance, they stopped awhile in the vicinity, until homes and places of
settlement were selected. Thus it was that nearly all the early settlers of the
county were once settlers of this town and township, and hence many of them are
mentioned in other chapters of this work. Along from 1825 to 1835, a number of
families came, who have been identified prominently with the town and county. Of
these we may mention the Lagows, Judge Harper, Finley Paull and others, who for
fifty years or more were, and are still, a part of the country. The Lagows for
years were among the most prominent citizens and business men of Palestine.
Wilson Lagow was one of the very first merchants in the county. Judge Harper and
Finley Paull are among the oldest citizens of the town living. They came here
young men— they are old now, and far down the shady side of life, with the
evening twilight gathering around them, and life's last embers burning low. For
more than half a century Judge Harper has lived here, and has held prominent
positions in the county. Mr. Paull was long a merchant, bought goods in
Cincinnati and Louisville, and hauled them here in wagons. In closing up his
business, he would accept in payment of accounts anything he could turn into
money, live stock included. Thus, he became possessed, like Jacob of old, of
many cattle. These he used to herd on the prairie where Robinson now stands.

   The Seven Jesses were as noted a family in Crawford County, as the family of
Seven Oaks in England, but in character, they were the very antipodes of the
latter. There were seven brothers of them, and they lived two miles south of
Palestine. Their name was Myers, and the Christian name of the eldest was Jesse.
A very strong family resemblance existed between them, and hence they finally
all received the nick-name of Jesse. Gen. Guy Smith, who had a keen sense of the
ludicrous, was the first to give them the unanimous name of Jesse, on account of
their strong resemblance. They had many peculiar and eccentric traits, one of
which was, they always went in single file, and it was no uncommon thing to see
the seven leave home together, riding invariably one right behind another, with
all the precision and regularity of a band of Indians. They were coarse, rude,
ungainly and wild as the game they hunted. They were illiterate, not ignorant;
but shrewd, active, alert, and possessed strong, practical, common sense. Jess
went to Terre Haute just after the first railroad was completed into that town.
When he returned home he was asked by some of his neighbors if he saw the
railroad, and he replied: "Yas, by hokey, and it beats anything I ever seed. A
lot of keridges come along faster'n a hoss could gallop, and run right inter a
house, and I thought they would knock hell out of it, but two men run out and
turned a little iron wheel round this way (imitating a brakeman) and the demed
thing stopped stock still. They did by____. I'm goin' to take mam and Lyd to see
'em shore." The latter were his mother and sister. At another time Jess went to
Vincennes, and stopped at Clark's hotel. Next morning when he came down stairs,
Mr. Clark said: "Good morning, sir." Jesse replied, "what the h—1 do you say
good morning for, when I have been here all night?" Clark then asked him if he
would have some water to wash, and received in response, "No, by ____! we
Myerses never washes." Clark saw he had a character, and drew him out in
conversation, enjoying his eccentricities in the highest degree.

   A book as full of humor as Mark Twain's "Innocents Abroad," could be written
of the sayings and doings of the Seven Jesses, without exaggerating any of their
characteristics. They all lived to be old bachelors before they tried the
slippery and uncertain paths of matrimony; Jess was the first to make a break,
as the bell-wether always leads the flock, and he was over thirty when he
married. How well he liked the venture is indicated by the fact that the others
went and did likewise.

   Lamotte Township contains some pre-historic relics. In the southeast portion
of the town of Palestine there was a mound, now nearly obliterated, but when the
town was laid out, was in a fine state of preservation. Judge Harper informs us
it was some sixty feet in diameter at the base and at least twelve feet high,
and cone-shaped. Upon its summit stood an oak tree about three feet through at
the stump, which was cut down by Judge Kitchell, who owned the land, and made it
into rails. When Levi Harper built his blacksmith shop, which stood on rather
low ground, he hauled forty odd wagon loads of dirt from this mound to fill up
and level the ground around his shop. In so doing many human bones were exhumed,
but so long had they been under ground, that as soon as they were exposed to the
atmosphere, they crumbled into dust. A number of other mounds south and west of
the town are still to be seen. There is one near where Judge Harper now lives,
which has been nearly leveled with the surface, but no bones have been
discovered. Flint arrow heads, however, have been found in quantities in the
immediate vicinity. These evidences are conclusive that the lost race once
inhabited this region, ages before it was occupied by the Anglo-Saxons. But they
have faded away from the face of the earth, and have left no traces behind of
their existence save the mounds and earthworks found in many parts of the country.

   Milk-sick.—That scourge of the western frontier, "milk-sick," was common in
this portion of the county, and the early settlers suffered severely from its
effects. Many people died of this worse than plague. A case is related of Thos.
Gill's butchering a beef, and after the meat was dressed, he sent a quarter of
it to his son-in-law, John Woodworth. But as soon as he looked at it he
discovered evidences of its being "milk-sick" beef, and would not take it. A
neighbor who happened to be present, said if he would let him have it he would
risk it being milk-sick beef. He took it, and every one of his family who ate of
it came near dying. Thus milk-sick lay in wait for man and beast along nearly
all the streams throughout the county, and often proved as fatal as the horrible
malaria which freighted the air, floating out from its noisome lurking places,
spreading far and wide its deadly poison. Milk-sick is a disease that has
puzzled the wisest medical men for years, and is still an unsolved question.

   The early life of the people of Lamotte Township, and indeed, of Crawford
County, for the time was when what is now Lamotte Township comprised the settled
portion of the county, may be learned by a brief extract from an address
delivered by Hon. O. B. Ficklin, before the old settlers of Crawford County,
October 6,1880. Upon that occasion, Mr. Ficklin said: "This country was taken
from the English by Gen. George Rogers Clark in 1778, and the people heard of it
in the older settled States, though there were no telegraph lines then — but the
people heard of it all the same. The Revolutionary soldiers heard of this
Northwestern country, and the news was transmitted to Virginia, to the Carolinas
— all over the country, everywhere. To be sure it was not done then as it is
now, but our people had sufficient word of it. They knew enough about it. They
had heard enough about it to want to emigrate to the new country, and we are a
wonderful people to emigrate; we go everywhere; we penetrate every new country,
and the pioneers started from Virginia, they started from Pennsylvania, and from
the Carolinas, and from Georgia, and all that Atlantic belt of country, and came
out as pioneers to this newly acquired region. They stopped in Ohio, they
stopped in Indiana, they stopped in Illinois—stopped in each successive State
they came to. A few people—pioneers, men and women of nerve, of pluck, of energy
and industry have come here and settled in this country, dotted around, some on
the Ohio, some on the Wabash and some on the Mississippi River, and from this
handful, Illinois has grown into a great State."

   What was it stopped the stream of emigration in this particular spot? What
was there here to tempt emigrants to brave all danger, and cause them to pause,
and fix here the nucleus around which all this present people and their wealth
has gathered? They could not see the toil and danger that lurked upon every
hand, yet they could see enough, one would think, to appal [sic] the stoutest
heart. The wily and treacherous savage was here, the horrible malaria was in the
air they breathed, the howling, and always hungry wolf and the soft-footed
panther crouched in every thicket, and scores of other impediments were
encountered at every step. Then what was the attraction? Doubtless, it was the
broad expense of rolling prairie, the primeval forests-that towered along the
Wabash and its tributaries, combining a vision of loveliness convincing to the
pioneer fathers, that if the Garden of Eden was not here, then there was a
mistake as to its place of location. Imbued with this idea, when a town was laid
out, they called it Palestine, after the capital city of the Holy Land.
Considering all the difficulties under which these "strangers in a strange land"
labored, it is a wonder indeed that they ever came to this earthly paradise, or
remained after they came. But the pioneers, with something of that spirit with
which the poet invests Rhoderick Dhu

   "If a path be dangerous known, 
    The danger's self is lure alone,"

faced the perils of " flood and field," wholly indifferent to, if not actually
courting the danger that met them on every side. Such as they were they had to
be, in order that they might blaze the way into the heart of the wilderness for
the coming hosts of civilization.

   Cotton was extensively grown here in early times, not so much as an article
of commerce as to satisfy the necessities of the times. It was the custom then
for each family to manufacture their own clothing, and to this end cotton was
cultivated to a greater or less extent by every settler who made any pretensions
to farming, while some planted large crops of this, now great staple. Mr. Wiley
Emmons informed us that he has seen as much as seventy acres of cotton in one
field. Sand prairie produced it well, yielding as much as 200 pounds per acre.
Half that amount was the usual crop on ordinary land. William Norris put up the
first cotton gin in that portion of the county now embraced in Lawrence County.
But experience developed the fact that the county, upon the whole, was not
adapted to cotton growing, and as a crop it was eventually abandoned.

   The first school in Lamotte township was taught in Palestine, as the early
settlement encircled that place. The township now has a comfortable school
building in each neighborhood, and is provided with excellent schools. The early
schools will be more particularly mentioned in connection with the history of
the town.

   A village called " Bolivar," was staked off in an early day on Lamotte
Prairie, on the high ground near the north end of the Moore pond. But it was
never regularly laid out, nor otherwise improved.

   Churches.—The early preacher, as "one crying in the wilderness," came with
the tide of immigration, and the pioneers received gladly his spiritual
counsels. Mr. Samuel Park, at an old settler's meeting, gives a true picture of
the frontier preacher in the following: "But see yonder in the distance, winding
along the path that leads to the cabin, is a stranger on horseback. He is clad
in homespun, has on a plain, straight-breasted coat and a broad brimmed hat, and
is seated on a large and well-filled pair of saddle-bags. Ah! that is the
pioneer preacher, hunting up the lost sheep in the wilderness. He brings glad
tidings from friends far away, back in the old home of civilization. Not only
so, but lie brings a message from the celestial regions, assuring the brave
pioneer of God's watchful care of him and his household, telling him of God's
promise of deliverance and salvation from all sin to all who faithfully combat
and overcome the evils with which they are surrounded. Most of those brave
spirits have already realized the truths of the message they bore by entering
upon their reward. Others are still westward bound over the unexplored plains of
time toward the setting sun. Soon, very soon, they will reach that point where
the sun will set to those old pioneers to rise no more. Already their tottering
limbs show weariness from many hard-fought battles, and their eyes have become
dim to the beauties of this world." Such was the pioneer preacher, and in his
humble way, he did more to advance civilization than any other class that
penetrated the wilderness of the west. He may have been very ignorant, but he
was wholly honest and sincerely humble. Generally illiberal and full of
severity, and warped and deformed with prejudices, he took up the cross of his
Master, seized the sword of Gideon and smote His Satanic Majesty wherever he
could find him. But he was a God-fearing good man, and but few, if any
ministerial scandals were known.

   The Methodists and the Hardshell Baptists were cotemporaneous in their
coming, and, as one informed us, "the Methodists shouting, and the Hardshells
singing their sermons through their nose, but in their different fields of
usefulness, they dwelt together in true Christian love and friendship." Thomas
Kennedy, who was among the very early settlers of this section, was a Hardshell
preacher, and "old Father" McCord, John Fox and John Stewart were early
Methodist preachers. These veteran soldiers of the Cross first preached the
Gospel to the people of what now forms Lamotte and Montgomery townships. But
after this long lapse of years, it is hard to say when or where the first church
society was organized, whether in Palestine or in the adjoining neighborhoods.
We shall not attempt to decide the question, but give brief sketches, so far as
we have been able to obtain them, of the churches in the town and township.

   There are some four or five church buildings in the township, outside of
Palestine, but the original organization of the different churches can not, in
all cases, be given. The old Lamotte Baptist church, originally organized by
Elder Daniel Parker in a very early day, was no doubt the first church in the
township, but it has long since become extinct, through death of members,
removals, and the formation of other churches. But they once had a church
building on Lamotte Prairie and a large congregation.

   East Union Christian Church in the south part of the township, was organized
in 1848, by Elder John Bailey, with fifty members. It has prospered, and has now
about 120 members. Their first meetings were held in a log school-house, and in
1862, their present frame church was erected at a cost of about $1,000. The
present pastor is Elder J. T. G. Brandenburg. The pastors since its
organization, have been Elders John Bailey, L. Thompson, John Mullius, David
Clark, G. W. Ingersoll, John T. Cox, J. H. Sloan, J. Chowning, Jacob Wright, O.
T. Azbill, John Ingle, P. E. Cobb, J. J. Lockhart, F. G. Roberts, and J. T. G.
Brandenburg, the present pastor. A Sunday-school was organized in 1873, and has
a regular attendance of about fifty, under the superintendence of John Miller.

   Richwoods Baptist Church is situated in the southeast corner of the township,
and was founded in the fall of 1871, by Elder D. Y. Allison, with eight original
members. The first meetings were held in the Harding school-house. In 1873 the
congregation built a good, substantial frame church. The pastors have been
Elders D. Y. Allison, J. L. Cox, Jacob Clements, and Isaiah Greenbaugh. In 1881
it had 36 members, and at the present time is without a pastor.

   There are two church buildings in the north part of the township: the Union
church at the Jack Oak Grove cemetery, and the Dunkard church near by. The
circumstances attending the formation and building of these churches were as
follows: About the year 1870-71 there was quite a revival of religion held on
"Rogue's Island," as it is called, at the old Wright school-house, under the
auspices of the New Lights. The religious interest awakened suggested the
thought of erecting a church building. As the subject was canvassed sentiment
became divided as to the spot where the church should be located. Some wanted it
on the island where the revival had been held, while another faction insisted on
having it at the Jack Oak cemetery, inasmuch as the latter was an old burying
ground. The controversy finally culminated in the building of two churches, one
at the cemetery, and the other a little east, on the old State road. Both were
erected by a general subscription from all denominations, and were built by the
same carpenter in the summer of 1871. About 1875, the one erected on the State
road was burned down, and has never been rebuilt. The one built at the cemetery
is still standing, is open to all denominations, but is used chiefly by New
Lights and the Methodists.

   The Jack Oak Grove Cemetery is one of the oldest burying grounds in the
county, and contains the mouldering dust of many of the pioneers of this
township. Some of their graves are unmarked and unknown, and their fast receding
memories are alike unhonored and unsung. They quietly sleep in this lonely
graveyard where the grass grows rank with the vapors of decaying mortality,
without so much as a rude boulder to mark the spot where they lie. Here rests
Thomas Gill, a Revolutionary soldier who fought under Gen. Putnam, and around
him sleep some of the red sons of the forest, who, from this quiet spot, took
their flight to the happy hunting grounds, so often described in the rude wild
eloquence of the medicine men. But not all of the graves here are neglected.
Many are marked by stones, moss-grown from age, with dates running back to
1825-30. There also are some very handsome stones and monuments. "When the first
burial was made, is not known, but many who died in this portion of th3 township
in early days were interred in this cemetery. Several Indians were buried here,
which shows its age as a place of sepulture. Side by side the white and red man
sleep, and "six feet of earth make them all. of one size."

   The Dunkards had an interest in the Jack Oak Grove church when first built,
but there were too many interested to suit them, as they could not always have
the use of it when they wanted it. Hence, in the summer of 1882, they built a
church of their own in the vicinity, which is a neat and handsome frame building.

   Swearingen Chapel, Methodist Episcopal, has been recently built, and is
situated in the southwest part of the township. It was built principally by
Samuel Swearingen. Rev. J. B. Reeder was the first, and is the present pastor.

   Harmony Church is located in the extreme northwest corner of the township,
and is a union church. It was built by general subscription and is open to all
denominations who choose to occupy it. But it is used mostly by the United
Brethren, Methodists and New Lights. It is a neat and substantial frame
building, and will comfortably seat about two hundred persons.

   The old Wabash Valley Railroad which is noticed at some length in a preceding
chapter, created a great interest in this portion of the county in its day. As a
railroad project it grew out of the old internal improvement system of the
State, and was inaugurated as early as 1850. About 1854 work commenced on it in
this county, and much of the grading was done, and the most sanguine hopes
entertained of its ultimate completion. An amount of money, aggregating $60,000
was subscribed to the enterprise, mostly in this portion of the county. A corps
of men, were sent here to take charge of the work. They opened an office in
Palestine, and instead of pushing the work with energy, they spent most of their
time in town, drinking, carousing, and in "riotous living." The funds
disappeared faster than the enterprise progressed. Nearly enough money had been
subscribed along the line to have built the road, had it been judiciously and
economically used. But it was squandered, and the project of building the Wabash
Valley Railroad finally abandoned. The old grade is still to be seen, an
eye-sore to the people of this section, and a daily reminder of "what might have
been." Later, when the project was revived under the Paris & Danville Railroad,
in building the same, it diverged from the old Wabash grade a little south of
Hutsonville, and run to Robinson, leaving this township out in the cold. It was
not until the building of the Springfield, Effingham & Southeastern narrow-guage
railroad that Lamotte Township and Palestine received railroad communication
with the outside world.

   Trimble station is on the Wabash Railroad just on the line between Lamotte
and Robinson Townships, but most of the town, if town it can be called, is on
the Robinson side of the line. It consists of merely a store, post-office, a
shop or two, a saw mill, Harmony church, and some half a dozen dwellings.

   "I can not throw my staff aside,
       Or wholly quell the hope divine,
    That one delight awaits me yet,—
       A pilgrimage to Palestine."

   Palestine.—The town of Palestine, the original capital of the county, and
fifty or sixty years ago one of the most important towns in the State, was laid
out on the 19th and 20th days of May, 1818, by Edward N. Cullom and Joseph
Kitchell, the owners of the land, and David Porter, agent for the county. The
original plat embraced 160 lots of ground, each fronting 75 feet, and 142 feet
deep, with the public square containing two acres. This was Palestine as it was
laid out sixty-five years ago. Several additions have since that time been made,
but they are not pertinent to this sketch. Of the first buildings and the first
business we have been unable to gather much satisfactory information. A
communication written by D. W. Stark, Esq., to Mr. Finley Paull, who has taken
an active interest in aiding us in our researches, gives some interesting facts
of the early business. We make the following extract from his communication to
Mr. Paull:

   "About 1818-19 John Houston, in connection with Francis Dickson, of
Vincennes, purchased lot No. 111, in Palestine, built  a house intended for
dwelling and store-room combined; finished off the south room on the corner for
a store—the room was about 16 or 18 feet square. In the year 1819, or in the
beginning of 1820 they brought on a stock of goods to Palestine. This, I believe
was the first stock of goods ever in Palestine, or, as far as I know, ever on
the west side of the river, north of Vincennes. John Houston married my oldest
sister, Jane M. Stark, in the spring of 1821. They were ever after residents of
Palestine until their deaths a few years ago.

   "John and Alexander Houston were the sons of Robert Houston, a minister of
the Presbyterian church, who broke off from the church in Kentucky, in the year
1803, at the time Stone, Dunlevy, McNemar and others did. Houston embraced the
Shaker faith, moved to the Wabash country about 1806. He located at the old
Shaker town, to which point a considerable body of Shakers soon collected and
built the old Shaker village. A few years later, Houston for some reason or
other left the Wabash, and went to reside at the Shaker village, in Logan
County, Kentucky, where he lived until his death at the advanced age of 95
years. John and Alexander Houston both left the Shakers when quite young—before
they were scarcely grown. Alexander left a short time first, going to Nashville,
Tenn., to an uncle who resided there. John, when he left, remained on the
Wabash, and when the war of 1812 broke out joined the Rangers and continued in
the service until peace in the beginning of 1815. Then for three or four years
was engaged in running barges and keel-boats on the Ohio and Wabash rivers, in
connection with an uncle of the same name, who lived in Mason County, Ky., but
who afterward moved to Palestine and died there—the father-in-law of David Logan.

   "Alexander M. Houston in a short time after going to Nashville, entered the
regular army where he remained for seven or eight years, rose to the rank of
lieutenant and quartermaster, and then resigned. He came to Palestine, and went
into partnership with his brother John (who had bought out Dickson's interest),
probably about 1822. The two brothers remained in business together in Palestine
until 1835, when Alexander moved to Rockville, Ind., where he lived for some
years, but his wife's health failing, he returned to Palestine, where she
afterward died. He finally married again, moved to the State of New York, and
died there. Neither of the Houstons had any children; John was upward of 86 when
he died, and Alexander was 76; both they and their wives are dead, and both
families are extinct.

   "My father, David W. Stark, moved from Mason County, Ky., to Palestine in the
fall of 1820, and built a residence east and directly across the street from the
old Wilson tavern. My mother died in 1822, and a year or two later my father
married a widow Neeley, who resided at the head of Lamotte prairie, where he
died in the year 1846. I went to reside with John Houston in 1821, when I was
about fifteen years old. I remained with him until I was married in 1831, and
continued business with him and Alexander Houston until 1839, when I removed to
Rockville, Ind., where I have since lived. I am now 77 years old, and the last
of my father's family that is alive.

   "As it may be of some interest to you to know, I think I can give you the
names of at least nine-tenths of the heads of families, residing in Palestine in
1820. They are as follows: Joseph Kitchell, Wickliffe Kitchell, Mrs. Nancy
Kitchell and family, she a widow, Edward N. Cullom, James Otey, James Wilson,
Wm. Wilson, David Stewart, Dr. Ford, Edward N. Piper, Daniel Boatright, David W.
Stark, Guy W. Smith, George Calhoun, John Houston, Robert Smith—the two latter
unmarried."

   These lengthy extracts give much of the early history of Palestine, when it
was a straggling village, and the backwoods county seat of a realm of almost
undefined boundaries. From a series of articles published in the Robinson Argus
some years ago, entitled, "Palestine Forty Years Ago," we gather some items of
interest. From them we learn that in 1832, Palestine was a place of some five or
six hundred inhabitants, and contained five dry goods stores, two groceries, two
saddle shops, three blacksmith shops, one carpenter shop, one cabinet maker
shop, one wagon shop, one cooper shop, one tailor shop, one hatter shop, two
shoe shops, two tan yards, two mills with distilleries attached, one cotton gin,
one carding machine, two taverns and one church.

   Palestine was an important place then—a more important place than Hutsonville
ever was, for it was the county seat, and this gave it an air of great dignity.
The business men could number among their customers men who lived twenty-five
and thirty miles distant. The merchants were John Houston & Co., Dan forth &
McGahey, Wilson Lagow, James & Mauzy, A. B. Winslow & Co., Otey & Waldrop,
Ireland & Kitchell. The partner of Ireland was J. H. Kitchell. They bought up
and loaded a flat boat with produce, and Asa Kitchell started with it to New
Orleans. It is a fact remembered still by many of the old citizens, that he nor
the boat were ever after heard of. The supposition was that the boat was swamped
and all on board lost, or that it was captured by river pirates and the crew
murdered.

   Of the two mills, one was an ox-mill, the power made by oxen upon a
tread-wheel, and was owned by John Houston & Co., but was being run by James and
Peter Higgins. It had a distillery in connection with it, also in operation. The
other was a horse-mill, and belonged to Joseph Kitchell, but was rented to one
Morris. A distillery was in operation in connection with it also. Morris died,
and both mill and distillery ceased operation. Corn was then cheap and plenty,
and making whisky was profitable. It was shipped to New Orleans mostly—what was
not used at home as antidote for snake bites (!) only. An incident is related of
the proprietor of a distillery being reproved by his pastor for following a
business, even then considered disreputable and inconsistent with religious
teachings. He listened attentively to the holy man, and then informed him that
he was shipping it down south to kill Catholics. There is no record of what
further took place, but as Protestant ministers then were more prejudiced
against Catholics, if possible, than now, it is supposed the preacher considered
that the end justified the means, and the man might continue the business. The
ox-mill stood for many years, and furnished much of the flour and meal for the
surrounding: coun-try. It was afterward converted into a steam-mill, and is
still standing, but is old and rickety, and belongs to Mrs. Noll. Reuben Condit
built a mill in 1850—52. It is now owned by Miesenhelder & Son, and stands in
the southeast part of town. It is a frame building, and still doing a good
business. A saw-mill is connected with it.

   The taverns were owned by the Wilsons and Elisha Fitch. That one owned by
Wilson changed hands frequently, and became the Garrard House. I. N. Wilson run
it for years, and made money at the business. It was a great place of resort for
a hundred miles around. People who came to buy land and to attend court stopped
at it, and it was often the scene of balls and parties, grand and gorgeous for a
backwoods community. It was the stage stand, and this brought it all the
transient custom. The old-fashioned sign swung in front of both these
old-fashioned taverns. The device on Wilson's was the rising sun, and that on
Fitch's the moon a few days old. As he had but little custom compared to Wilson,
the boys called it the "Dry-moon tavern." The Garrard House is still in
operation, but the gay times it once knew it now knows no more.

   Palestine was incorporated by an act of the general assembly, February 16,
1857, and organized under special charter in April following. It continued under
this organization until the third Tuesday in April, 1877, when it was
re-organized under the general law, or incorporating act, and officers were
elected accordingly. The present board of trustees are Andrew Saulesbury, Wml"
R. Emmons, R. H. Kitchell, John W. Patton, and Amos Miesenhelder, of which
Andrew Saulesbury is president, Amos Miesenhelder, treasurer, and Wm. Alexander,
clerk.

   But little is known of the early schools of Palestine. George Calhoun taught
in the town as early as 1820; but little else can be ascertained of him and his
school. As early as 1830 the Masons and school board owned a building, which was
used jointly as a Masonic lodge and a school house, the Masons occupying the
upper part, and the school the lower. The lodge had a large membership then, but
many moving away, and others dying, the lodge finally ceased to exist. The
building was used for school purposes until it became too small, and after the
county seat was moved to Robinson, the old court house was used some time as a
school building. The present school-house was built about 1870-72, and is a
substantial two-story frame. The school has an attendance of some two or three
hundred children. Prof. James A. Maxwell is principal, and Prof. Bussard, Miss
Mary Goram and Miss Lizzie Alexander, assistant teachers. The school building
occupies the old public square, which makes a beautiful school yard.

   Palestine in early days was the Paris of Illinois; it was the center of
fashion, of wealth, pleasure and social enjoyment. Many of its citizens were
cultured, educated people, belonging to the very best class of society, and
ranking among the aristocracy of the country. While this was true, however, of a
large class, there was another class, and quite as large, that were just the
opposite in everything. They were the fighting, roystering, drinking,
devil-may-care fellows always to be found in frontier towns. To hunt a little,
frolic much, go to town often and never miss a muster or general election day,
and get "glorious" early, and fight all day for fun, was the pleasure and
delight of their lives. At musters and elections they had a glorious picnic from
"early morn to dewy eve," and they made the most of it. But such characters do
not last long, and generally follow the game westward.

  The time was when Palestine was a place of considerable business. For years it
was the only place in a large area of country where pork was bought, packed and
shipped. It was the first place in the county to purchase and ship wheat. It
carried on a large trade in pork and wheat. O. H. Bristol & Co., who bought
wheat extensively from 1842 to 1845, built a grain warehouse. Many people made
sport of it and said it would hold more wheat than the country would raise in
ten years, but the business done proved them false prophets; Bristol & Co. often
had it full of wheat two or three times a year. They had been merchants, but
went into the grain business, which they continued several years. Other firms
embarked in the grain and pork business, but when a railroad was built through
the county it crippled Palestine as a grain, market. The building: of the
narrow-gauge railroad, however, has revived somewhat this line of business.
Morris, who has been already referred to, commenced a big distillery about 1831.
He broke up at it, and died before completing it. Harmon Alexander bought the
property and turned it into an oil factory, and for several years manufactured
castor and linseed oil very extensively. A woolen mill was built here some years
ago, but it never proved a success, and is now standing idle.

   The Land Office.—This public institution was established at Palestine May 11,
1820. The first land sale took place several years previously, we have been
told, to the date of opening the office here. The following were the registers
and receivers during its continuance at Palestine, as furnished by the State
auditor: Joseph Kitchell, from the establishment of the office to 1841; Jesse K.
Dubois, from 1841 to 1842; James McLean, from 1842 to 1845; Harmon Alexander,
from 1845 to 1849; James McLean, from 1849 to 1853; Harmon Alexander, from 1853
to 1855. The receivers were, Guy W. Smith, from the establishment of the office
to 1839; Augustus C. French (afterward governor), from 1839 to 1842; David
McGahey, from 1842 to 1845; William Wilson, from 1845 to 1849; Jesse K. Dubois,
from 1849 to 1853; Robert C. Wilson, from 1853 to 1855, when the office was
discontinued and the books and records moved to Springfield.

   The land-office was quite a feather in the cap of Palestine as it rendered it
the most important town in the State, perhaps the State capital excepted. It was
established in a couple of years after the town was laid out, and continued its
existence here for a quarter of a century. All who entered land in the southern
part of the State had to come to Palestine to do it, and this brought trade and
importance to the town. The office was discontinued after all the land was taken
up south of the Danville district.

   Mr. Guy Wilson now owns the old desk used in the land-office for many years,
which he values highly as a relic. It is a massive piece of furniture, and was
made in Philadelphia specially for the office. It is of walnut lumber, and is
still in an excellent state of preservation.

   The Methodist Episcopal Church, is the oldest religious organization in
Palestine. Most of its original members were from Wesley Chapel, and among them
were the Culloms. Revs. John Fox and old Father McCord were the early preachers,
and the church was organized about 1828-29. The first church house was a frame
and was never finished. The present church was built for a town hall, and
somewhere about 1872-73, was bought by the congregation and converted into a
church. It is a frame building, has been re-modeled and improved, and is a very
comfortable and even elegant church. Before its purchase, the congregation
worshiped some time in the Presbyterian church. Rev. Thos. J. Massey is the
present pastor of the church. A Sunday-school is maintained, of which Arthur
Vance is superintendent.

  The Presbyterian Church of Palestine was organized in 1831.* Rev. John
Montgomery of Pennsylvania, and Rev. Isaac Reed of New York, held a meeting here
embracing the 14th, 15th and 16th of May, of the above year, and during its
progress organized the church, with the following members: John, Nancy, Jane and
Eliza Houston, Mary Ann Logan, Wilson, Henry and Alfred Lagow, James and
Margaret Eagleton, James Caldwell, Phoebe Morris, Anna Piper, John and Ann
Malcom and Hannah Wilson. John Houston and Wilson Lagow were chosen elders. The
following have since filled the office: James Eagleton, Dr. E. L. Patton, Finley
Paull, Andrew McCormick, James C. Allen, J. M. Winsor, J. H. Richey, Dr. J. S.
Brengle, J. C. Ramey, and H. T. Beam. The following preachers have ministered to
the congregation: Revs. John Montgomery, Reuben White, James Crawford, Isaac
Bennett, E. W. Thayer, R. H. Lilly, Joseph Piatt, John Crosier, J. M. Alexander,
Joseph Piatt (again), A. McFarland, A. Thompson, Thomas Spencer, J. E. Carson
and S. W. Lagrange. There is no pastor at present. Of the original members all
are dead, and of those present at its formation, but two were present at its
semi-centennial, May 14th, 15th and 16th, 1881,; these two were Isaac N. Wilson
and Abigail Wilson, members of the Presbyterian church of Olney.

  * From Dr. Norton's History of the Presbyterian church in Southern Illinois.

   Dr. Norton, in his work on the Presbyterian Church of Illinois, pays an
eloquent and justly merited tribute to Mr. Finley Paull. After speaking of his
long and faithful service, he closes as follows: "Elder Finley Paull has been an
elder nearly ever since his union with the church in 1835, and in all that time
has missed but two meetings of the session, while but three members have been
admitted when he was not present." There are few instances of a more faithful
stewardship.

   Of former pastors, there were present at the semi-centennial, Rev. E. W.
Thayer of Springfield; Rev. J. Crosier of Olney, and Rev. A. McFarland of Flora.
There had been 440 persons connected with the church since its organization
fifty years before, and two churches, Robinson and Beckwith Prairie churches
have been formed from its membership. The first house of worship was a carpenter
shop they bought and fitted up for the purpose. In 1849 they built a church
38x50 feet at a cost of 81,300. The house has been remodeled and enlarged and a
bell attached. A Sunday-school in connection with the church is carried on, with
Mrs. Lottie Ramey as superintendent.

   The Christian church of Palestine is an old organization, but we were unable,
through the negligence or indifference of its members, to learn anything
concerning its early history. Their first church edifice was a frame and was
burned some years ago. In 1874 they erected their elegant brick church, which in
outward appearance is the handsomest church in the town. They have no regular
pastor at present.

   Palestine Lodge No. 2352, K. of H., was instituted January 21, 1881. The
present officers are as follows: J. A. Martin, Dictator; H. H. Haskett, Vice
Dictator; Perry Brimberry, Assistant Dictator; J. W. Laverton, Past Dictator; A.
C. Goodwin, Reporter; W. R. Emmons, F. Reporter, and J. A. Maxwell, Treasurer.

   The site of Palestine is a beautiful one for a town, and its selection shows
good taste in the commissioners who selected it for the county seat. It seems a
pity that the seat of justice could not have remained here, but the center of
population demanded its removal. The question of public buildings and removal of
the county seat is noticed in the chapter on the organization of the county. The
little town in its palmy days produced some able men, a governor (A. G. French);
an attorney general (Wickliffe Kitchell); and a circuit judge and member of
Congress, in the person of James C. Allen. With the removal of the county seat
the town lost much of its former prestige, and to-day it is a rather
dilapidated, rambling, tumble-down old town, almost wholly devoid of life and
energy. Some beautiful residences, standing in spacious and well-kept grounds
are an ornament to the place, and show a refinement of taste in their owners.

   The cemetery of Palestine, like that at Jack Oak Grove, on the prairie, is an
old burying ground, and is the resting place of many of Crawford County's early
citizens. It is a very pretty grave-yard, with some fine monuments, and elegant
marble slabs, silently testifying to the affection of surviving friends for
their loved lost ones.


Additional Comments:
Extracted From:

HISTORY OF CRAWFORD AND CLARK COUNTIES, ILLINOIS.
EDITED BY WILLIAM HENRY PERRIN.

ILLUSTRATED

CHICAGO: O. L. BASKIN & CO., HISTORICAL PUBLISHERS,
LAKESIDE BUILDING.
1883.

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