Greene County IL Archives History - Letters .....Bell Letters From Greene County, Illinois 4 April 17, 1819 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/il/ilfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Paula Snyder paulas1218@aol.com March 20, 2008, 11:30 am The State of Illinois, Alton, Madison County April 17th 1819 Dear Sir, I have wrote ten or a dozen of letters since I saw you to my friends and relations living in your Country, and have not as yet received but two answers; one from Wm. Campbell dated December the 24 the other from Nathaniel Bell bearing date January 11th. It is possible that they have wrote, and that the Post-masters are culpable, if so, I trust that they will exculpate themselves by writing again: but sir, to make my promise good, and believeing at the same time that you will not prove negligent likewise, I have set down to communicate to you as follows. The people is all well. April as fare as about 10th was as cold as January. Snow aplenty! About the 4rth most kneedeep! I intend by fall to settle in the country above this on Apple Creek, a branch of the Illinois River, which is about forty miles from this place, and about the same distance North. Father has moved three waggon loads to that place, and started yesterday with the fourth, and by next week will have all his goods there. Uncle Zack has took one waggon load to the same place. Mr. Enlow that moved from South Harpeth (Davidson County, Tennessee) to this country in 1816 has settled in Bond County East of this thirty miles; a few days agoe he wrote a letter and sent it to Uncle Zack which letter I saw, and read as follows “We are about forming a prebyterian church here, and expects Mr. Blackburne to be our Pastor, we look for him this Spring on a visit to this place, and if you have not purchased Land, come to the neighbourhood I donte believe you can find a better place and **” He did not state in the letter whether it was the Rev. Gideon Blackburne or his son, John Blackburne. I will be satisfied with either, but would rather that the old man would come. In the letters I wrote to David Bell & Wm. Caldwell I informed them of our petitioning the Legislature of this State which was then in session at Kaskaskia [old French village of Kaskaskia – first capital of Illinois] for a division of the County. I wrote in the letter to Mr. Caldwell, that our petition had been taken into consideration by the Legislature and was refered to a committee of three members of the house the report of the committee was unfavourable which report was made by one of the committee alone, the other two when the report was read before the house thinking or believing that it was the act of his collegues and so died away but such a culpable partial and vague decision would not do us the petitioners (neare 500). We sent a memorial soon after. The final decision will not be till the next session. There is a reward of 400 Dollars offered by the Governor of this State for the delivery of the body of the surviving Assassin (Bennet) who broke goal a week or ten days ago and made his elopement. Francis Bell had on 15th of March a son born to him and calls him Francis and on the 15th of Jn** I had a daughter born to me. Our election for County commissioners is to be on the fourth Monday *nst. On the preceeding Monday the justices of the peace meet at their respective County seats for the purpose of dividing the County into townships or election districts and to affix on a place for the election to be held in each district. All new and strange to a Tennesseean: Tell Mr. James Pinkerton to not pospone moveing to this Country any longer then this fall if he wishes to settle neare where we do. The influx of emigrants to this Country is very great. They are principally Yankees Yorkers Pennsylvanians and Ohioan. There is not I believe from the three states Virginia Kentucky and Tennessee as many emigrants to this state as there is from the State of New York. When you will direct your letters to Edwardsville Madison County There will be post office here soon. Give my compliments to all inquirents & James McCutchon. John Allen McCutchen Papers Box 3, f.3 from Tennessee State Library and Archives 403 Seventh Avenue North Nashville, TN 37243 Additional Comments: This letter is from John Allen, son of Thomas and Margery Bryan Allen of NC, TN and Ill, to an unknown McCutchen relative. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/il/greene/history/letters/belllett15ms.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.poppet.org/ilfiles/ File size: 4.7 Kb