McDonough County IL Archives History - Books .....Early Settlement - Organization, Chapter I 1878
************************************************
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:
Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com December 1, 2007, 12:56 am

Book Title: History Of McDonough County

CHAPTER I.

EARLY SETTLEMENT—ORGANIZATION.

  The first settlement of McDonough county of which we have record was in the
spring of 1826. Previous to this time the county was in a state of unbroken
wildness, the home of red men, who roamed at will over its broad prairies,
engaged in occupations peculiar to their race. No one, save the old settler, or
one who has visited the far West, can fully realize the beauty of the country at
that time. Dividing the county centrally north and south, we had upon the east a
broad prairie extending as far as the eye could reach, the tall grass gently
undulating like the waves of the sea, while upon the west the giant oak, the
stately elm, and the useful hickory seemingly pierced the very heavens, and
stood as faithful sentinels over their entire surroundings. No fallen timber or
undergrowth of any kind obstructed the passage, the annual prairie fire making a
clean path for all. A prairie on fire! Have you ever witnessed one? The sight is
a magnificent one indeed. A correspondent of the Philadelphia Enquirer, on a
visit to this State in 1837, while traveling up the Mississippi, described in
glowing terms the scenery on that grand old stream, and thus graphically
sketched a prairie on fire:

  "Whilst enjoying the sublimity of the scene, night threw her mantle o'er the
earth, and the sentinel stars set their watch in the skies, when suddenly the
scene was lighted by a blaze of light illuminating every object around. It was
the prairie on fire. Language cannot convey, words cannot express to you the
faintest idea of the grandeur and splendor of that mighty conflagration.
Me-thought that the pale Queen of Night, disclaiming to take her accustomed
place in the heavens, had dispatched ten thousand messengers to light their
torches at the altar of the setting sun, and that now they were speeding on the
wings of the wind to their appointed stations. As I gazed on that mighty
conflagration my thoughts recurred to you, immured in the walls of a city, and I
exclaimed in the fullness of my heart:

        'O fly to the prairie in wonder, and gaze,
         As o'er the grass sweeps the magnificent blaze;
         The world cannot boast so romantic a sight,
         A continent flaming, 'mid oceans of light.' "

  How changed the scene now! The timber, in many places, has been cleared away,
and beautiful farms appear in its stead. The broad prairies have been shorn of
their native beauty, and the hand of man has endeavored to excel in their
decoration. The iron horse now courses over the prairie and through the timber
where once only the trail of the red man was known. Villages, towns and cities
appear where the wigwam was once seen. All this change has taken place in fifty
years. What will the next fifty years bring forth? Who can tell?

  On the admission of the State into the Union, what is now known as McDonough
county was a part of Madison. Afterward, by an act of the Legislature, approved
June 30, 1821, it was placed within the boundaries of Pike, and by a subsequent
act, approved February 10, 1826, its present boundaries were determined, and it
was attached to Schuyler county for judicial and recording purposes. As before
remarked, the county is about equally divided between timber and prairie, the
eastern tier of townships being mainly prairie, while the western is chiefly
timber. When we shall come to the descriptions of townships, we shall notice
this matter more at length, giving the exact proportions of each. The county is
bounded on the north by Henderson and Warren, on the south by Schuyler, on the
east by Fulton, and on the west by Hancock.

  To William Carter and *Riggs Pennington belong the honor of the first
settlement, about one mile southeast of the present town of Industry, in the
south part of the county. The settlement was named in honor of Mr. Carter, who
resided in the neighborhood for several years, when he removed to the State of
Missouri. Mr. Pennington, shortly afterward, removed also. He was the first
Justice of the Peace residing in the county.

  *Riggs Pennington left the county at a very early day, removing to Knox
county, in this State, from which place he emigrated to Texas in the spring of
1837, and where he died some years since.

  It is not known if any others settled in the county that year, but in the
following year (1827) William Job and brother, John Vance, and others, settled
near where the town of Blandinsville is now located, the neighborhood taking the
name, and being known for many years afterwards as "Job's settlement." William
Pennington, in 1828, located in the neighborhood now known as "Pennington's
Point," in the southwest corner of New Salem township, where he remained about
three years, removing to Spring Creek, in the north part of the county. Elias
McFadden, also, at this time settled near the present city of Macomb, living on
the farm now owned by William Hunter, about one mile south of the city. John
Baker came out in the fall of this year, or in the spring of'29, and built the
first house on the site of the present city of Macomb. Mr. Baker was a minister
of the Regular Baptist Church, but gave little time to his calling, engaging
almost exclusively in secular pursuits. He was appointed the first Clerk pro
tem, of the County Commissioners' Court on the organization of the county, which
position he retained only a few months. He held membership in the New Hope
Baptist Church, in Job's settlement, from which he was expelled for unchristian
conduct. He left the county about the year 1835, going to Missouri, and from
thence to Texas. In the latter place he again felt a longing desire to become
useful in the cause of Christ, and friends there, knowing his talents, desired
him to resume the work of the ministry. This he was too conscientious to do
until first restored by the church from which he had been excluded; so, in the
year 1840, he returned to the county, riding eight hundred miles of the distance
on horseback, that he might again meet with the New Hope Church, make
confession, and be restored to its fellowship. The church joyfully received him,
and he was again commissioned to go forth bearing "glad tidings." Returning to
Texas, he was occasionally heard from for several years later, and always with
good report. Whether now living or dead, we know not.

  In 1830, James Clarke, David Clarke, William Pringle, Resin Naylor, and a few
others, settled in the neighborhood of Macomb. At this time Indians were still
frequent visitors to the cabins of the white man. It was in the fall of 1830
that a large number of the tribe of Fox or Sac Indians encamped on the creek
just west of Macomb for the purpose of engaging in their annual fall hunt, when
a few of the brave settlers went out and ordered them away, and in order to
hasten their departure, caught a few of them, and while some of their number
kept guard, Resin Naylor, with a hickory withe, gave them thirty and nine lashes
upon their bare backs. In doing this the settlers ran a great risk, for the
Indians were well armed, while the whites had only a few old flintlock muskets,
the most of which were too rusty to be of any service. Luckily no resistance was
made, and the Indians hastily left.

  As showing how destructive of game the Indians were, it is related that in the
fall of 1829 one solitary Indian killed one hundred and sixty-nine deer in the
region known as Wilson's Mill, about four miles southwest of Macomb; and,
strange to relate, the last one he shot was the means of his own death. After
shooting the deer, and seeing it lie motionless upon the ground, he went forward
for the purpose of securing his prize, when it arose and ran him through the
breast with its antlers. He was afterward discovered by others of his tribe, who
gave him burial on the spot where he fell, placing within his grave his gun,
tomahawk, knife, and other implements. The mound erected over his grave was
still visible a few years ago, but about the year 1832 some vandal opened the
grave and stole therefrom the buried arms.

  In this same year (1830} Roswell Tyrrell, David Fees, John Gibson, and others,
settled in the western part of the county, in what is now known as Lamoine,
Tennessee, and Bethel townships. They were followed shortly afterward by the
Marks, Edmondsons, Dunsworths, Archers, and others, all the various settlements
receiving reinforcements. It was now thought there was a sufficient number of
inhabitants to justify an organization of the county; accordingly, on the
fourteenth day of June, 1830,a petition was presented to the Hon. Richard M.
Young, Judge of the Fifth Judicial District, then holding court at Rushville,
Schuyler county, signed by a majority of the legal voters of the county, setting
forth that McDonough county had the number of inhabitants required by an act of
the Legislature for the organization of counties, and upon the said day his
honor issued the following order:

   STATE OF ILLINOIS, ) Sct.
   MCDONOUGH COUNTY,  )

To the People of the State of Illinois, to all who shall see these presents,
greeting:

  WHEREAS, By the said ninth and eleventh sections of the act entitled "An act
forming new counties out of the counties of Pike and Fulton, and the attached
parts thereof," approved January 13, 1825, it is made the duty of the Presiding
Judge of the Fifth Judicial Circuit of the State of Illinois, whenever it shall
be made to appear to his satisfaction that either of the counties of Hancock,
Warren, Mercer, Henry, Putnam or Knox contains three hundred and fifty
inhabitants, to proceed to organize the same, and to grant an order for the
election of county officers preparatory thereto; and

  WHEREAS, By virtue of an act entitled " An act supplementary to an act
entitled 'An act forming new counties out of the counties of Pike and Fulton,
and the attached parts thereof,'" approved January 25, 1826, a new county was
created, to be called the county of McDonough, with the express provision
therein contained that the inhabitants of the said county of McDonough should
enjoy and possess all the rights and privileges granted to the inhabitants of
the several counties created by the first recited act, and to which the said
last mentioned act is a supplement; and

  WHEREAS, It has been made to appear to my satisfaction that the said county of
McDonough contains three hundred and fifty inhabitants and upwards, and inasmuch
as the greater part of qualified voters of said county have requested, by
petition, that the same should be organized with as little delay as possible, I
do therefore, in pursuance of the power invested in me by virtue of the
provisions contained in the above recited acts, order and direct that an
election in and for the said county of McDonough, at the house of Elias
McFadden. in said county, on Saturday, the third day of July next, for the
election of three County Commissioners, one Sheriff, and one Coroner, to serve,
when elected and qualified, in and for the said county of McDonough,
respectively, until they shall be superseded by the persons who may be elected
at the general election, to be held on the first Monday in August next ensuing
the date hereof; and for the purpose of having this order carried into
execution, I do hereby appoint Ephraim Perkins, William McDonald and John
Rogers, Esquires, of said county, judges of said election, whose duty it shall
be to set up written or printed advertisements or notices of said election in at
least six of the most public places in said county, inclusive of the place at
which the said election is hereby directed to be held, having due regard to the
situation and population of the diffent [sic] settlements, at least ten days
immediately preceding the said election, to the end that all persons concerned
may have timely notice thereof, the election to be viva voce, between the hours
of 10 o'clock in the morning and 7 o'clock in the afternoon of said day, and
conducted in all respects, as near as may be practicable, in conformity with the
act entitled "An act regulating elections," approved January 10, 1829; and,
lastly, the said judges are to certify the result of the said election to the
office of the Secretary of State as soon thereafter as may be convenient, in
order that the persons who may be elected and entitled to commissions may be
commissioned and qualify with as little delay as possible, and after the said
election of the said county officers shall have taken place in pursuance of this
order, I do hereby declare the said county of McDonough to be organized and
entitled to the same rights and privileges as the other counties in this State.

  Given under my hand and seal, at Rushville, this fourteenth day of June, A. D.
1830, and of the independence of the United States the fifty-fourth.

                            RICHARD M. YOUNG,
   Circuit Judge of the Fifth Judicial Circuit of the State of Illinois.

  Pursuant to this order, the election was held, and James Vance, James Clarke,
and John Hardesty were elected County Commissioners, and William Southward,
Sheriff, and Peter Hale, Coroner. On the same day the election was held the
County Commissioners met and began the official business of the county. Their
first order affirmed that the order of Judge Young had been fully carried out,
and that the County Commissioners were duly elected. Their second order
appointed Michael Stinson, Clerk pro tem., and their third order located the
seat of justice at the house of John Baker, on the southwest quarter of section
31, in township 6 north, and 2 west, which is now known as Macomb township, and
that "the same be known as the town of Washington for the present." The
Commissioners then appointed Ephraim Perkins, William McDonald, and George
Dowell, judges of election, to be held at Washington on the first Monday in
August. Their fifth order adjourned the court until the fifth of July, at the
residence of James Clarke. On the fifth of July the Commissioners met pursuant
to adjournment at the residence of James Clarke, and proceeded to divide the
county into three Magistrate's Districts, and provide for the election of
Justices of the Peace and Constables in each. The districts were made eight
miles wide, running east and west the entire length of the county, and were
called First, Second and Third Magistrate's Districts, the first being on the
south, the second the middle, and the third the northern portion of the county.
An election was called for the First District at the house of James Vance on the
first Saturday in August following (1830) for two Justices of the Peace and two
Constables. George Dowell, William S. Moore, and William Garrett were appointed
judges of election. In the Second District, at the same time, an election was
held at the house of John Baker for four Justices of the Peace and four
Constables. Elias McFadden, Peter Hale, and David Troxwell were appointed judges
of election. In the Third District, at the same time, at the residence of John
Vance, two Justices of the Peace and two Constables were elected. William
Deakins, John Wyatt, and Isaac Bartlett were appointed judges of election.

  At this general election James Vance, John Hardesty, and James Clarke were
re-elected County Commissioners; William Southward, Sheriff; Peter Hale,
Coroner, and Jesse Bartlett, Surveyor. The house of John Baker, at which the
election was held, was simply a hut built of poles, scarcely large enough to
deserve the name of logs. This house was used as a tavern, the Clerk's office,
and Court House, until the erection of the old log Court House, in 1831.

  At the special election, held August 7, in the several Magistrate's Districts,
James Vance, Sr., and John Billew were elected Justices of the Peace, and James
Lee and James B. Tomberlin, Constables in and for the First District. In the
Second District were elected James Clarke, William McDonald, Robert Cook and
Samuel Bogart, Justices of the Peace, and John Wilson, Oliver C. Rice, Thomas J.
Pennington, and John Harris, Constables. In the Third District Ephraim Perkins
and Caswell Russell were elected Justices of the Peace, and Francis Reading and
Jacob Coffman, Constables.

  The third meeting of the first regular term of the County Commissioners' Court
was held on the first Monday in September, 1830, when the Commissioners
proceeded to the selection of a grand and petit jury for the October term of the
Circuit Court, being the first term. For grand jurymen the following names were
selected: William Osborne, Joseph Osborne, William Garrett, Roland Lee, George
Grace, William Hendry, William Stephens, Elias McFadden, John Barber, David
Troxwell, Peter Hale, Nathan A. McFadden, John Carmack, John Wyatt, Sr., John
Woodsides, William Deakins, Wright Riggins, Elijah Bristow, Caswell Russell,
Abraham Gassett, and John Vance. For petit jurymen were selected Charles
Shannon, William Shannon, John Wilson, James Vance, Jr., John Bridges, Thomas
Bridges, Thomas Phillips, Nimrod Smith, Eli Osborne, Nicholas Campbell, John
Massingill, Ephraim Mitchell, Enoch Cyrus, Nathan Bartlett, Russell Duncan,
Reuben Harris, Jr., Ephraim Perkins, George Shell, William Job, Nathan Hume,
Noble Owsly, and Larkin Osborne.

  It required about two-thirds of all the legal voters in the county to
constitute this grand and petit jury.

  At this meeting John Baker was appointed Clerk pro tem., in place of M. L.
Stinson, resigned; James Vance, Sr., was appointed Commissioner of School Lands;
Isaac Bartlett, County Surveyor, and John Huston, County Treasurer. The bond of
the latter was fixed at $800, showing that it was not expected he would ever be
entrusted with a large amount of money.

  On the seventeenth day of October, 1830, the first term of the Circuit Court
was held. There were present, in attendance on the Court, Hon. Richard M. Young,
Circuit Judge; John Baker, Clerk, pro tem.; William Southward, Sheriff. In the
absence of Thomas Ford, State's Attorney, James M. Strode was appointed pro tem.
This term lasted but one day, and was held at the house of John Baker, in the
town of Washington, the temporary county seat of McDonough county. But little
business was transacted, the grand and petit juries both being dismissed without
performing any duties. The order of Judge Young calling an election for the
organization of the county was ordered spread upon the records of the court, as
well as an order in relation to the time of holding court. The bonds of Isaac
Bartlett, Coroner, and William Southward, Sheriff, were approved.

  Previous to the organization of the county the taxes were assessed and
collected by Schuyler county, and among the first acts of our County
Commissioners was a request that the authorities of that county furnish them a
list of taxes assessed for the coming year, which request was at once complied
with.

  In December, 1830, James Clarke, Esq., went to Springfield, and, in behalf of
the county, entered the quarter section of land upon which the old town of
Macomb was subsequently laid out. For this service he was allowed the munificent
sum of $3, which was certainly well earned, for, while returning, he was
overtaken by the big snow storm so well remembered by all the old settlers, and
it was with great difficulty that he arrived safely at home. The snow began to
fall when he was between Springfield and Beardstown, and in a few hours time all
traces of the road were obliterated, and the only way by which he could with
certainty know he was pursuing the right course was by observing the trees and
large weeds that he had noticed in previously passing over the road. The
recollection of this "big snow" is vividly impressed upon the mind of more than
one old settler, and the remembrance of the horrors of that long winter will
never be obliterated while their lives shall last. The snow began to fall the
night of the twenty-ninth of December, and continued falling for three days and
nights, until it reached an average depth of about four feel, drifting in places
as high as eighteen or twenty feet. Great suffering was experienced in
consequence. The settlers relied for their daily food upon the Indian corn which
they were enabled to raise, together with the wild game, which was abundant at
that time. Plenty of the former was raised to supply the wants of all until the
next season's crop; but when the snow fell, but little had been gathered. Game
could not be had. The great depth of the snow was a barrier to all travel, and
it may well be imagined the sufferings of the people were great indeed. In a
letter, published in the March (1876) number of Clarke's Monthly, Hon. James
Clarke thus graphically described the situation:

  "The snow fell an average depth of about four feet, and remained on the ground
for about three months. All kinds of wild game literally starved to death.
Before the snow fell the deer were as fat as could be, and before it passed away
they were so poor they were not fit to eat. Wild turkeys would fall from the
limbs of trees. The morning after the snow fell my wife was about three hours
shoveling it from our cabin. We then lived about one hundred yards from the
house lately occupied by Isaac Haines, a little southwest of Macomb. I did not
have my corn gathered, and had a good sized family to feed, and had five horses
and some cattle. As soon as possible I sent John Wilson, the young man afterward
murdered by McFadden, with the horses to Morgan county to have them kept through
the winter. Each day we would have to go out to the field, and where we could
see a stalk of corn standing above the snow reach down until we came to the ear,
pull it off, gathering enough for the day. There were no mills in the country,
and each family would, with a mortar and pestle, pound their corn so as to make
bread. A few were fortunate enough to have large graters with which they would
grate up the corn. The first thing done each morning would be to build the fire
and put on a big pot of water in which the corn would be thrown and boiled
awhile, then taken out and grated and made into good, wholesome bread. This,
with what game we could get, was what we had to live on during the long winter.

  "Several families came to the county that fall, and, of course, had no corn.
All things were then held more in common. Those that had none were welcome to
help themselves from their more fortunate neighbors, all that was required of
them being that they should gather it themselves. Resin Naylor, better known as
"Boss" Naylor, was one of that class, and it was a little amusing to see him go
out to the fields, walking for a time on top of the snow, on which a crust was
formed, but now and then going through, getting his corn, and come in blowing
like a porpoise and sweating dreadfully. But we all managed to live, and had
good cause to be thankful it was no worse. The young men and women of this day
have little knowledge of what a pioneer life consisted. Away out upon an almost
boundless prairie, far from home and kindred, with an opportunity of hearing
from them only every few months, it was dreary indeed, but how different it is
now! However far the distance, they can be communicated with in a few moments
time."

  During the previous summer Mr. John Rogers erected himself a log house on the
prairie, in Industry township, but the winter coming on, he concluded it would
be better for him to move to the timber, which he accordingly did, taking his
cabin with him; but the snow beginning to fall before he had finished
rebuilding, he enclosed the cabin in a tent, and managed to live in it during
the long winter that followed, his only food being hominy, without salt. This so
disgusted him that the next spring he left the county, never to return.

  We have little doubt that many a weary one during that long winter sighed for
the comforts of the "old home;" but, notwithstanding its dreariness and the
suffering of the people, none became disheartened save the one above mentioned.
We find them in the spring of 1831 as determined as ever to carve out for
themselves a home in this truly beautiful country.

  During this first year of the organization of the county but one couple was
brave enough to try "the sweets of wedded bliss," for but one marriage license
was granted—John Wyatt and Betsy Massingill.


Additional Comments:

Extracted from:

HISTORY OF MCDONOUGH COUNTY ILLINOIS,
ITS CITIES, TOWNS AND VILLAGES, EARLY REMINISCENCES, PERSONAL INCIDENTS AND
ANECDOTES,

AND A COMPLETE BUSINESS DIRECTORY OF THE COUNTY.
By S. J. CLARKE.

SPRINGFIELD, ILL.:
D. W. LUSK, STATE PRINTER AND BINDER.
1878.


File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/il/mcdonough/history/1878/historyo/earlyset156gms.txt

This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/ilfiles/

File size: 25.1 Kb