Edgar County IL Archives History - Books .....History Of Brouillett Township 1879
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Book Title: History Of Edgar County, Illinois

BROUILLETT TOWNSHIP.

   Historically speaking, Brouillett holds a front place among the townships of
Edgar County, with a record running back nearly threescore of years. Yes, almost
sixty years have dissolved in the mists of the past since the echoes of the
woodman's ax first resounded through the lofty forests of Brouillett, as he
felled the trees for his cabin, or cleared away the timber for a "patch" of corn
or garden "truck." Its forests and prairies, where erst the red man trapped the
wolf or pursued the bounding deer, are now fertile fields, dotted here and there
with lordly mansions, while the Indian yell has died away forever on this side
of the Father of Waters. The young men have grown old, and the old men are in
their graves, who first saw it in its pristine beauty and joined hands to reduce
it from a waste, howling wilderness to its present highly-cultivated state.

   Brouillett Township occupies a place in the eastern range of towns, and is
bounded on the east by the State of Indiana, on the north by Prairie Township,
on the west by Edgar, on the south by Hunter, and is about one tier of sections
short of a full Congressional township. It is pretty well divided between
prairie and woodland; is rather level, except along the margin of Brouillett's
Creek, the north fork of which meanders diagonally through its center. Most of
the woodland is rather thin soil, but is covered, or was at the time of
early-settlement, with a fine growth of white and black oak, hickory, elm, ash,
and a light sprinkle of walnut along the edge of the prairies. The old Indian
boundary line passes between this and Edgar Township, and is more particularly
referred to in the general county history. No railroad tracks mar the sacred
soil of Brouillett, neither are there any cities or large towns within its
borders, but wholly oblivious as to the wickedness of the great cities of the
outside world, its quiet citizens move on in the even tenor of their ways,
engaged in agricultural and domestic pursuits.

EARLY HISTORY AND SETTLEMENT.

   Robert J. Scott, Sr., the oldest settler living, perhaps, in Brouillett
Township at the present day, came from the Buckeye State in 1825. In March of
that year he came to Illinois on a trip of inspection, and among other points
visited was Edgar County. Paris, this lovely little city of the plain, he says,
upon his arrival he found to contain some ten or twelve newly-built log cabins,
covered with "clapboards," or "shakes," as the "Yankees" called them. There was
quite a settlement on the "North Arm" of Grand Prairie, which runs into this
section of the county, and contains the site of the first settlement, not only
of Edgar County, but the first settlement made in the eastern part of the State,
as noticed in another page. Being highly pleased with the country he had seen,
he returned to his old home in Ohio, to make immediate preparations for
immigrating to Illinois. In August following his first visit, he removed to
Edgar County, bringing with him his family, and also his mother and her family.
The latter consisted of his mother (his father having previously died) and two
sons and two daughters, while his own family consisted of his wife and five
children. They came by water to Terre Haute, making the voyage in a boat built
by Mr. Scott himself, and from there to the place of their settlement, in a
wagon. For a time, they occupied a cabin on the "North Arm" Prairie, owned by
Aloysius Brown. They were nearly all sick on their arrival, and the elder Mrs.
Scott died within a week after their coming to the settlement. In addition to
the sickness in his mother's family, and her death, four of his own children,
says Mr. Scott, "had the ague every day for three months," nor did he escape
altogether, but occasionally joined in the "shake" himself. But when the
swallows took their flight to the "southland," and the cold breezes burdened
with the snowflakes came down from the north, it, like the yellow plague of the
Southern States, disappeared. In those early times, the ague was one of the
natural foes to be met with in the wilds of Illinois. During the fall and
winter, Mr. Scott built a cabin in the forks of Brouillett's Creek, into which
he moved with his family in January, 1826, and where he has since resided. For
more than fifty years he has occupied this place without change, except the
erection of more elegant and commodious buildings. He says that when he settled
on his present farm, his nearest neighbors were Wells Morgan and a Mr. Carlin,
who lived northwest of his place, in what is now Edgar Township, and about two
and a half miles distant, while two or three miles further away lived Judge
William Lowry, Col. Wm. Wyatt, and a few others who had settled there in 1824.
In the spring of 1827, Matthew R. Scott and John Fuller settled on lands
adjoining Robert Scott, and they, as well as himself, being in rather limited
circumstances, did most of their farm work with a partnership team. M. R. Scott
lived in Stratton Township a year or two before he settled here. He is one of
the honored and respected citizens of this township.

   The Joneses and Samuel Littlefield were from the pine forests of Maine, and
settled in Hunter Township early as 1819, where they are mentioned among the
early comers to that neighborhood. They spent their first winter West in Terre
Haute, and in the spring of 1819, crossed the raging Wabash and settled in
Hunter, as above stated. They resided there until 1826, when they removed to
Brouillett Township and settled permanently. Jacob Jones was a man of some
prominence, and possessed considerable property. He died in 1851, in the
neighborhood where he had settled more than a quarter of a century before.
Samuel Jones was his son, and came to the West at the same time, but located
first in Vigo County, Ind., and while living there made the first brick ever
made in that county, and with which the first brick house was built in Terre
Haute. He removed to Brouillett Township in 1826, and entered the land where his
son, Z. T. Jones, now lives. He died in 1876. Richard Jones, a younger son of
Jacob Jones, settled north of the others, in what is now Prairie Township, and
is noticed further in the history of that town. Little-field was a son-in-law
of'Jacob Jones, and removed to this section with the Joneses. He was quite a
noted man in the community, and owned a large body of land. His death occurred
in 1845, but his widow still survives at the ripe old age of fourscore years;
and a son, Thomas B. Littlefield, lives in the neighborhood. Sylvester Barker is
also a son-in-law of Jacob Jones, and hails from the granite hills of New
Hampshire. He came to the Western country in 1816 and stopped at the future city
of Terre Haute, then a feeble settlement of two or three cabins, standing in the
shadow of the walls of Fort Harrison. Here he remained until 1826, except short
visits now and then at Fort Harrison, when the unpleasant proximity of hostile
savages rendered a residence beyond its frowning battlements perilous in the
extreme. He settled in Prairie Township in 1826, and the next year removed into
Brouillett Township, where he lived until 1839, then removed to Paris, and has
since resided there, spending the evening of his days in peace and comfort.

   In 1850, Mr. Barker went to California, making the trip overland. In making
the overland trip to the Pacific coast, during the gold fever, it was the custom
for about four men to band together and make up a team between them. This was
not only for company and convenience, but for safety, as affording the better
means of protection. Barker's partners on the long, dreary trip were his son, J.
H. Vance and Henry Hignot. While they did not make an immense fortune in the
Golden State, they perhaps made a little more, for the time they remained, than
they would have made on their farms for the same period. Samuel Jones crossed
the plains in 1849, at the first breaking-out of the gold fever, and was very
successful in his mining operations, digging out as much as $1,000 in ore in two
days. The lead, however, did not long hold out at that rate

   Mr. Barker has in his possession a pencil-drawing of old Fort Harrison, which
is said to be a very true and correct representation of the old fort, where the
early settlers were often forced to take shelter, when that most horrible of all
cries to the pioneer—"Indians!"—was wont to startle the community. It stood
about three miles above the present railroad bridge, on the Indiana side of the
Wabash River, and was built of heavy timber. The council house, which was about
forty feet square, stood just outside of the walls of the Fort, and  was the
scene of many a powwow between the red man and his pale-face neighbors, when the
doughty warriors thrilled their audience with their fiery, native eloquence. It
shows also a number of huts where the Indians used to stay when they came to the
Fort to exchange their furs for powder and "fire-water." A squad of Indians came
there once in midwinter, during a very cold spell of weather, to barter their
furs to a Frenchman named Pierre Brouillett, an Indian trader from Vincennes,
who  made this a stopping-place a part of the season. Next morning one of the
Indians was found dead, and upon investigation, a verdict was rendered that the
Indian had come to his death from drinking so much of the Wabash, in order to
get a little of old Brouillett's whisky, that the water had congealed in his
stomach, thus producing congestion of the bowels "—a learned decision for that
day and time, and one that will doubtless startle the medical savants of the
present day.

   Edward Wheeler was also a son-in-law of Jacob Jones. He came from New York to
the North Arm settlement in 1822, a young man, and married Narissa Jones, the
family living at the time in Hunter Township. After marriage, he took his bride
to New York, where they remained until 1830, when they returned to Illinois and
settled in Brouillett Township. Their marriage is elsewhere noticed as the first
occurring in Hunter Township. A son, Andrew Y. Wheeler, lives in the
neighborhood and is one of the liberal-spirited citizens of the town. He donated
the land on which Mount Carmel Church stands, as elsewhere noted.

   Among the early settlers of this town, in addition to those already noticed,
we may mention the following, most of whom settled here previous to 1830:
Jonathan  and Sanborn Basford; David Light, Godfrey, Isaac and Abraham Wilkins,
_____ Coffman, Enos and Thomas Hobbs, James Murphy, Thomas Evans, John S. Brown,
William Allen, William Hurst, Daniel and Lewis Camerer, John Clarke, Jesse
Moore, William C. Trimble, John Wilson, John Somerville, Enos Martin, William
Beard, Stephen Parker and a brother, Augustus Wyatt, Reuben Lowry and Joseph
Barkley. The Buckeye State gave the settlement Godfrey, Isaac and Abraham
Wilkins, John Clarke, _____ Coffman, Daniel and Lewis Camerer. William Hurst,
David Light, Simon Camerer, and perhaps others who are entitled to rank as old
settlers. Godfrey and Isaac Wilkins were brothers, and settled here in 1829.
Abraham Wilkins was a son of Godfrey Wilkins, and settled in the neighborhood
about 1837, where he still lives. His father died here many years ago. Isaac
Wilkins removed to the city of Paris, and died about 1864—65. ____ Coffman came
to the township in 1828, where he still lives. Hurst settled here in 1826, and
had a large family, but all have removed to other sections, and none are now
living in the town. The old gentleman died about 1865. John Clarke settled in
Brouillett in 1829, and married a daughter of Godfrey Wilkins. He bought eighty
acres of land of Sylvester Barker, upon which he built a carding machine in
1841. It was propelled by horse-power, and was for carding wool into rolls.
Those were spun by the wives and daughters, and woven into cloth for the family
clothing. We are thus particular in describing the process, because the young
people of the present day are totally ignorant of this home employment of the
early times, and our modern girls, we doubt not, know as little of the "big
wheel" and loom their mothers and grandmothers were so familiar with, as the
Hottentots know of the Ten Commandments. Clarke died some twenty years ago, on
the place where he built his carding machine. The Camerers, though coming to
this settlement from Ohio, were originally from Pennsylvania, and emigrated to
Clermont County, Ohio, in 1809, settling there in the midst of the Indians, then
very plenty in that section of the country. They remained in Ohio until 1830.
when they removed to Illinois and settled in Brouillett Township. At that time
there was but one county organized north of Edgar County, and the earliest
settlers in Brouillett had been located four or five years. Daniel Camerer died
upon his original farm, in 1850, at the age of seventy-one years, and his wife
six years later, at the age of seventy-two years. Lewis Camerer died in 1855, in
the same log house he built when he first came to the township. David Light came
in 1837, and after living in the town several years, removed to Prairie
Township, where at present he resides. He tells the following story of an
encounter he had with a wolf in the early days, when wolves were a spontaneous
growth in the country: Hearing a young calf in his yard making a noise as if in
distress, he went out to see what was the matter, and found a wolf making
hostile demonstrations toward it. As the wolf attempted to jump through a crack
of the fence, he caught it by its hind legs and essayed to knock its head
against the fence, but every time he gave it a backward swing for that purpose
his dog would catch hold of it which made too heavy a load to swing both. The
wolf finally got his hand in its mouth, and from its bite his hand is still
crippled. Mr. Light has two or three sons living in the neighborhood where he
first settled.

   Sanborn Basford and his father, Jonathan Basford, were from the Green
Mountains of Vermont. They came to Brouillett Township in 1828. The elder
Basford, it seems, was in poor health, and died at the house of Samuel Jones, in
a few years after moving into the township. They had located first in Indiana,
near the Illinois line, but remained there only a short time, when they came to
this town. After the death of his father, Sanborn Basford removed to Missouri,
where he was still living at last accounts of him. Enos Hobbs was from
Tennessee, and had a son named Thomas, who served in Captain Mayo's company
during the Black Hawk war. Thomas removed to Missouri, and was living at Trenton
three years ago, since which time nothing has been heard of him. His father
brought to this section a very fine race-horse, of the "Brimmer" stock. He was
considered very fast—the horse was, not Hobbs— for that remote period, when such
feats as have been performed by Longfellow, Goldsmith Maid, Rarus, and a host of
other celebrities of the turf, were not dreamed of. But then he was a hero of
the times, and Hobbs used to make many races with him. The Hobbses came to the
town about 1828, and the old gentleman, as well as his son, removed to Missouri
many years ago, and there died. James Murphy came from the Old Dominion, the
home of statesmen and the birthplace of Presidents. He is among the first
settlers of this township, where he lived some years, and then sold out, removed
to Missouri, where he died several years ago. William Allen is another
Virginian, and settled in Brouillett in 1828-29, but removed into Ross Township,
a few miles west of Chrisman, about six years, remaining there about four years,
then removed into the village of Chrisman, where he now lives, a hearty old
gentleman, seventy-five years of age.

   From old Kentucky, famous for its fine stock, pretty women and good whisky,
came the following sturdy pioneers, and made settlements in this township :
Thomas Evans, George W. Haws, John Brown, William C. Trimble, John Wilson, John
Somerville and Jesse Moore. Thomas Evans settled here in 1827, and remained a
good citizen of the town until about fifteen years ago, when he removed to
Kansas and there died. He had an uncle who was one of the early settlers of this
township. His first name is not remembered, nor the exact date of his
settlement. He died at Charleston where he was at the time engaged in some kind
of business, but his family were living in this township. John S. Brown came
here with his father about 1826, and is still living. George W. Haws came to the
settlement in 1833, and is one of the largest land-owners in the township. In
coming from Kentucky to Indiana, his father, mother and five children rode two
horses and carried all their earthly possessions. After remaining there some
years, they came to Edgar County, as stated above, in 1833, driving through from
Indiana in a wagon drawn by oxen, with two horses hitched in front of them. He
is still living in the town, one of its solid farmers. William C. Trimble came
in 1826, and made a settlement where he lived several years, and then moved
away, it is believed, to Missouri, where he died many years ago. He served in
Mayo's company in the Black Hawk campaign. John Wilson and John Somerville came
to the settlement in 1826, and both were Black Hawk soldiers in 1832, and served
under Capt Mayo. Some years ago, both moved to Oregon but whether still living
or not, we are unable to say. Enos Martin is another Black Hawk soldier, and
settled in Brouillett in 1827. He died here many years ago, but where he came
from we failed to learn. Jesse Moore is a native of Scott County, Ky., and
settled in this neighborhood in 1831, where he lived for more than forty years
on one farm. He now owns a large farm in Edgar Township, and resides in the
village of Chrisman. His wife's family, the Morgans, are early settlers of the
county, and mentioned in the history of Edgar Township. Joseph Barkley and the
Parkers were among the early settlers of Brouillett Township. The former settled
here in 1827, and served in the Black Hawk war. He died in the town many years
ago. Stephen Parker and his brother, C. L. Parker, came in about 1829-30, and
made settlements. Stephen is still living, but his brother has been dead a
number of years.

GENERAL FEATURES.

   The foregoing pages comprise the history of Brouillett Township and the
settlements made in the territory now embraced within its borders previous to
the Black Hawk war. In the wake of the retiring savages came immigrants in such
numbers as to preclude the possibility of mentioning all in the order of their
coming, or to give the localities from which they came. They poured in by
hundreds, and soon there was not a half or quarter section of land to be found
in the town. Previous to the Black Hawk war, settlements were confined
principally to the eastern border of the county and along the Wabash River. West
of the old Indian boundary, Illinois was a wilderness except here and there, on
what was called the Sangamon Trace, a grove of timber in which some hardy
pioneer had squatted. From Mr. Scott we learned that when he came to the
country, in 1825, there was quite a settlement over on the Wabash. York, Darwin
and Palestine, Ill., Terre Haute and Vincennes, Ind., were considerable
villages. Danville, Ill., was quite a village, and soon after attained to the
dignity of a county seat, becoming a place of considerable prominence. From a
communication written by Robert J. Scott, Sr., we extract the following
information pertaining to the early history as according to his recollection of
it. He says: "The people were generally friendly and sociable. It was not
uncommon for a man to go four or five miles to help his neighbor raise a cabin,
and sometimes, if he heard of it, he went without further notice. Log rollings
were common in the timbered sections. Another custom prevailed at public
gatherings. People thought it no harm to have a little whisky, and of the
inebriating beverage some partook freely." The phase of society was not in the
least exalted, as we learn that many paid little respect to the Sabbath but made
it a day of hunting, fishing and other amusements. This, however we have noticed
to be usually the case in a new country, and Brouillett was no exception to the
general rule. Many of the first comers are often a class of extremely hard
characters, while the next importation following them are a hardy, worthy class,
from which the bone and sinew of the country is derived and the best citizens
produced. Again quoting from Mr. Scott's communication, we give the following:
"I will here observe that I believe that a majority of the early settlers were
of very limited circumstances, from the fact that so many of them resided on the
public lands for years before they became freeholders. The most unpleasant
feeling that existed among the people was occasioned by unprincipled scamps who
would rather rob the poor than work themselves, coming in and purchasing lands
upon which honest, industrious men had made good improvements. Such scamps
seldom prospered; their neighborship was but little courted, but rather
neglected, or refused altogether." But after the close of the Black Hawk war,
which ended forever the reign of the red man in the Prairie State, a great
change came over the scene in this section. Emigrants came in rapidly, a better
class of buildings were erected, and far more attention paid to improving and
cultivating the land. Schools and churches were organized, society gradually
improved, and the foundation laid for the civilization and refinement which have
ever been a strong and distinguishing characteristic of Brouillett Township.

   But many years passed before all the comforts and luxuries of the older
settled States were to be had on these wild frontiers. The hard times of
Illinois, still remembered by many, and which reached their culmination about
1837-38, began to dawn at the close of, if not previous to, the Black Hawk war.
For years during these hard times, the prices for produce, grain, pork, labor,
etc., scarcely deserved to be mentioned as an equivalent for these commodities.
Wheat sold as low as 37 1/2 cents per bushel; corn often for 10 cents per
bushel. A good cow and calf, we are informed, could be bought for $10, a good
horse for $40, and the best of farm hands could be hired for $8 and $10 per
month. All other items were in the same proportion, and other branches of
business on a par with the facts mentioned. So that, for a long period, in this
portion of Illinois, the pioneer's road was a hard one to travel.

THE INDIANS.

   There were plenty of Indians in the Wabash Valley, as elsewhere noticed in
this work, even after the close of the war of 1832. But after the star of Black
Hawk had ingloriously sunk on the field of Bad Axe, they troubled the whites but
little in this section, beyond stealing little things occasionally when
opportunity offered. Mrs. Barker tells of a large number encamping at her
father's, Jacob Jones, one night, and the young people went down to the
encampment during the evening to have some fun, taking with them a quart bottle
filled with fire-water, for the purpose of "stirring up the lions." To the great
annoyance of the family, they succeeded beyond their most sanguine expectations.
Like the wild beast, when he has tasted blood, they had got a taste of the
liquor, and all night long they howled around the house, begging for more
"fire-water." A young warrior "took a shine" to Mr. Jones' youngest daughter,
and sought her of her father, for his squaw. He made his appearance at her
father's house, dressed in the most grotesque style, but which, doubtless, to
the untutored mind of the savage, inspired his companions with as much awe as
the modern hotel clerk with his hair parted in the middle, used to inspire Mark
Twain, and offered Mr. Jones two ponies for "the white squaw." Upon being
refused, he went away in a melancholy mood, and apparently very much surprised
that so generous an offer should be most emphatically declined. Before passing,
we will state that the young lady— Miss Experience Jones—who inspired the brawny
warrior with the tender passion, afterward married a gentleman named Craig, and,
as the story-writers say, lived happy ever afterward. The following citizens of
Brouillett Township shouldered their guns and marched to the front when Black
Hawk dug up the hatchet and donned his war-paint: Simon Camerer, Matthew R.
Scott, Thomas Hobbs, William C. Trimble, John Wilson, John Somerville, Enos
Martin, Augustus Wyatt, Reuben Lowry, William Bond and Joseph Barkley, and
served in Captain Mayo's company.

   Pierre Brouillett, the Indian trader, after the discontinuance of Fort
Harrison, established a trading-point at the mouth of Brouillett's Creek, where,
for a number of years, he kept a kind of store, and exchanged trinkets with the
Indians for furs. But time rolled on, and the period came when the red man took
up his line of march westward, with the star of empire. The prairies of
Brouillett, the ravines and hills, the forests and breaks, where, long years
ago, he hunted the wolf and panther, and pursued his game, have changed into
productive farms and happy homes. His war-whoop and his death-song have long
since died away, his council-fires are extinguished, and he himself lives only
in fire-side stories.

   The township received its name from the old Indian trader, Pierre Brouillett,
mentioned above. After establishing the trading-post at the mouth of the creek,
as already noticed, he explored the creek and gave to it his name, which is
properly spelled Brouillett, and not Bruellett, as it appears on the county
maps. Hon. A. J. Hunter, while on a visit to Vincennes, two years ago, met with
a grandson of Monsieur Brouillett, from whom he learned the particulars given
above, of his exploring and naming the creek, and the correct spelling of the
name, which Mr. Hunter noted down at the time. Thus, at township organization,
when overlooking the vocabulary of names, this one was called after the creek,
Brouillett.

   Robert J. Scott, Sr., was the first Justice of the Peace in Brouillett
Township, and was commissioned as such as soon, almost, as he settled in the
country. At present the township officers are as follows: J. Murphy, Supervisor,
John Legg and C. S. Reed, Justices of the Peace. The mill facilities, for years
after the first settling up of Brouillett, were very limited. A saw and grist
mill were built at the forks of Brouillett's Creek at an early day, and proved a
great convenience to the people. But as the country filled up, it could not
supply the increasing demand, and the people were forced sometimes to go twenty
and thirty miles to Eugene and Armysburg to mill. Usually, in summer-time, the
journey was made perforce at night, on account of the "green-heads," a fly that
was so annoying to stock they could not travel by day in any peace. In 1825,
says Mr. Scott, the wheat crop was good, but there was no demand for it beyond
home consumption. There were no manufacturing-mills then, and no way of getting
wheat to market but to haul it to Chicago, Louisville or Cincinnati in wagons.
Hence there was little raised by the people, except for their individual use.
The first store, or the first goods sold in the town, was by Samuel Littlefield,
who opened a small store in his own house for the accommodation of his
neighbors, about 1838—39, and after a year or two built a house especially for
store purposes, in which he did business until failing health forced him to
retire from active life. Edward Nanee kept a blacksmith-shop in the town as
early as 1886, and was, perhaps, the first.

RELIGIOUS AND EDUCATIONAL.

   The first sermon preached in the township was by Rev. W. J. Mayo, the father
of Col. Mayo, of Paris, who was a Methodist minister. He used to come up and
preach to the heathen of Brouillett—as Mrs. Barker expressed it —and used the
residence of the Barkers for holding religious services, before the building of
churches. The first temple of worship erected in the township was the Methodist
Episcopal Church, at the village of Logan. It was begun in 1845, but the work
progressed rather slowly, and it was not completed until 1847. Rev. William
Cliff, an Englishman, was the first preacher. The Church is in quite a
nourishing condition, was entirely remodeled in 1868, and presents a very
handsome and imposing appearance.

   The Sugar Grove Church, located in the eastern part of the town, and
belonging to the Protestant Methodists, was built in 1853, under the pastorate
of Rev. Jerry Williams, who dedicated it to the worship of God, upon its
completion. It is quite a handsome frame building, with a flourishing society
and a good Sunday school. Mount Carmel Church is located near the center of the
town, and was built by the United Brethren, about five years ago, and on its
completion was dedicated by Bishop Edwards. The land upon which the church
stands was donated by Andrew Y. Wheeler, a son of Edward Wheeler, one of the
early settlers of the township. It is an elegant frame building, and has a large
congregation for a country church, with a flourishing Sunday school.

   Attention was paid to education at an early day. The first school in the
township was taught in a cabin belonging to Samuel Littlefield. He and Robert J.
Scott hired a man to teach by the month, and all the neighbors who had children
old enough, and felt disposed to do so, patronized the school, and paid for the
time, at the rate of so much per month. The first schoolhouse in Brouillett was
built about 1833, and Christopher Ward was the first teacher to occupy it. From
that time to the present, educational facilities have increased and developed,
until they are sufficient to afford every child a good common-school education
at the public expense. The early settlers, in many cases deprived of the
advantages of education, took steps to secure to their children that which they
themselves had lost, and almost their first move after becoming permanently
located was in the direction of schools. So that to-day no township in the
county, perhaps, is better provided with good schools, comfortable schoolhouses
and efficient teachers than this.

   John K. Jones, a son of Samuel Jones, was the first white child born in the
town, and was born in March, 1827. Leonard Barker was born December 6, 1827, and
was perhaps the second birth that took place in the settlement. Abraham Wilkins
and Hannah Littlefield is supposed to have been the first marriage in
Brouillett. While speaking of weddings, Sylvester Barker, mentioned as one of
the early settlers, and as a son-in-law of Mr. Jones, though married in Hunter
Towrnship, before his removal to Brouillett, bought the first marriage license
issued from the Clerk's office of Edgar County. As to the first who crossed over
the dark river, from this township, we have been unable to ascertain. But the
little grave-yards here and there bear their silent record that many have gone
to the land of death during the fifty-odd years that have passed since the first
settlements were made in this section.

   In the years gone by, when the two great political parties of the country
were known as Whigs and Democrats, Brouillett was one of the Whig strongholds.
But when the old Whig party was swallowed up by that of the Republican, the town
became about as strongly Republican as it had been Whig before, until the last
year or two, the divisions of politics have so bewildered many individuals they
scarcely know upon which plank of the political platform they stand. In the war
of the rebellion, no town of its population did a better part than this in
turning out soldiers. Abner Hostetter recruited a company, of which many were
from this township. Capt. Hostetter died in the army, and was succeeded by Capt.
Sprague, who was killed in battle. Sprague came home on a furlough and spent
some time with his friends, and before leaving again for the front took, dinner
at Mr. Barker's, in Paris. In a week from that time, the gallant Captain fell to
rise no more. The following are a few of the names from this township: W. W.
Light, Company G, Twenty-eighth Illinois Infantry; A. Y. Wheeler, Company G,
Twenty-eighth Illinois Infantry; a son of Thomas Scott, whose first name we
failed to learn; S. H. Light, Company A, Seventh Illinois Cavalry, in which he
served over four years, and during several years' residence in Kansas, previous
to the war of the rebellion, he assisted in putting down the notorious border
war of that period, which was occasioned by that phase of the slavery question
known as the Missouri Compromise. Dr. James P. Slaughter served in Company C,
Seventy-third Illinois Volunteers. Many other citizens from this town were in
the army during the rebellion, but their names we failed to obtain.

THE VILLAGE OF LOGAN.

   This little hamlet, scarcely aspiring to the dignity of a village, is
situated a little south of the center of the township, and consists merely of a
store, post office, physician, church and some half-dozen residences. It was
surveyed and laid out in May, 185-3, by B. F. Lodge, County Surveyor, for Isaac
Wilkins and John Jones, the proprietors of the land upon which it was located.
The plat embraces the east half of the southwest quarter of Section 14, Town 15,
Range 11, and a part of west half of southeast quarter of Section 14, Town and
Range as above of Isaac Wilkins, and a part of east half of northwest quarter of
Section 23, same town and range, of John Jones, which way divided into lots and
laid out with streets and alleys, "for the benefit of the people forever," and
the plat recorded May 21, 1853.

    The only store in the place is carried on by John E. Roberts & Co., the firm
consisting of J. E. and P. B. Roberts and I. D. Sayre, who do an extensive
business for so small a village. They succeeded Adams Brothers in 1876, and
since then, under the present firm name, have been the only merchants here, or
even in the township. They also keep the post office in their establishment. Dr.
James P. Slaughter is a physician of considerable merit. "What's in a name,"
sang the bard of Stratford-on-Avon, and though the Doctor is Slaughter by name,
he is not in the least addicted to slaughtering his patients, but may be termed
a very successful practitioner. After leaving the army, where he served some
three years, he attended college at Crawfordsville, Ind., and afterward studied
medicine and graduated at one of the medical colleges at Louisville, Ky. He has
been practicing in this vicinity since 1873. The M. E. Church of Logan has been
noticed in the church history of the township. This, together with the
half-dozen or so pretty residences, comprises the history of the little hamlet
of Logan.

   We find upon the records in the clerk's office a plat of the village of
Brouillettville, but no one seems to remember anything about it. It was surveyed
and laid out by Brown Wilson, County Surveyor, for Robert Shields, the owner of
the land, and embraced the northwest quarter, of the northeast quarter of
Section 25, of Town 15 north, Range 11 west, which is included in the present
town of Brouillett; the plat is recorded July 14, 1837. The main street was 66
feet wide, running north and south, and the cross streets 33 feet, and alleys 12
feet. Beyond this record, we could learn nothing of this village. There is no
trace of it left to tell where it stood, if, indeed, it ever stood anywhere but
on paper.


Additional Comments:
Extracted from:

THE HISTORY OF EDGAR COUNTY, ILLINOIS,

CONTAINING

A History of the County—its Cities, Towns, &c.; Directory of its Tax-Payers; War
Record of its Volunteers in the late Rebellion ; Portraits of Early Settlers and
Prominent Men; General and Local Statistics; Map of Edgar 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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