Putnam-Marshall County IL Archives History - Books .....Chapter II - History Of Illinois 1690-1825 1860
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Book Title: History Of Putnam & Marshall Counties

CHAPTER II.

HISTORY OF ILLINOIS 1690—1825.

The discoveries in the Mississippi Valley were speedily followed by 
settlements in Illinois. As early as 1690, and possibly before, Kaskaskia and 
Cahokia were founded by French traders and Jesuit missionaries. The claim of 
precedence is generally awarded to the former, then known as the "Village of 
the Immaculate Conception of the Holy Virgin." There is no evidence that the 
fort near Peoria was occupied after its abandonment in 1680; otherwise that 
city might be regarded as the oldest settlement in Illinois, or west of the 
Alleghany mountains. It is said that a mission was established near the ruins 
of Port Creve Coeur, soon after the settlements in the south of the State. La 
Salle's lieutenant, Tonti, remained a few years at Fort St. Louis, on Buffalo 
Rock, where a small colony of Frenchmen settled before the close of the 
century. Kaskaskia was made the capital of the Illinois country, and thirty 
years afterwards a Jesuit college and monastery were founded there. The entire 
West was under the government of Canada, and subject to the French crown.

In 1699, Lemoine D’Iberville, a distinguished Canadian officer, was appointed 
Governor of Louisiana, and Illinois was thenceforth included in that 
territory. D'Iberville ascended the Mississippi some distance, with a view of 
planting colonies along its banks; but, failing in this, he turned back and 
built a fort on the Bay of Biloxi, between the Mississippi and Mobile rivers. 
The next year another was erected in the marshes about the mouth of the Great 
River, and the vast valley of the West was again formally sworn in to Louis, 
King of France.* A line of fortified posts now existed between the Gulf of St. 
Lawrence and the Gulf of Mexico.**

On the death of D'lberville in 1708, M. D'Artaguette was sent out as 
commissary of Louisiana, who assumed the government, and pushed colonization 
forward with spirit and energy.

The King of France was involved in pecuniary difficulties at this time by the 
frequent wars in which he had been engaged; and finding Louisiana an expensive 
burden, in 1712 he made a grant of it, inclu-

*Western Annals, p. 58. 
**Illinois as it is, p. 19.

ding the Illinois country, to M. Antoine Crozat, a man of great wealth and 
ability, who nevertheless utterly failed in his schemes for mining and 
trading, losing great sums of money, and at the end of five years he 
relinquished his grant to the Crown. None of his operations appear to have 
been carried on as far north as Illinois.

In 1717, the Mississippi Company, or Company of the West, came into being, 
under the auspices of the notorious John Law, a Scotchman by birth, and a 
gambling adventurer. Obtaining the confidence of the French Regent, he had the 
Company organized for the further colonization and trade of Louisiana. The 
amount of stock was fixed at 200,000 shares of 500 livres each. Enormous 
monopolies and privileges were secured; a charter was granted to Law and his 
associates, conferring sovereignty over the whole territory upon them; and the 
wildest expectations were entertained. In 1720, Philip Francis Renault, an 
agent of the Company, arrived in Illinois with two hundred miners and 
emigrants, and five hundred slaves from St. Domingo, to work imaginary gold 
and silver mines. Founding the village of St. Phillips a few miles above 
Kaskaskia, he commenced his search for mines of the precious metals in various 
parts of Illinois, Missouri, and Kentucky, which of course proved 
unsuccessful, though large quantities of lead were smelted and shipped to 
France. His project eventually failed, but many of the emigrants and slaves 
remained in Illinois.

About the same time, M. de Boisbriant was sent by the Directors of the 
Company, with a small military force, to erect a fortification in the vicinity 
of Kaskaskia. It was built at a ruinous expense, and named Fort Chartres. 
Under the English domination it was rebuilt, and occupied for many years.

In the year 1720, the Mississippi bubble burst, and the Company's stock became 
worthless. The charter, however, was not surrendered until 1732, when 
Louisiana again reverted to the Crown.

Upon the bankruptcy of Law, the territory was divided into nine cantons, of 
which Illinois formed one.* New Orleans had been founded, and the young colony 
had gained strength to be almost independent of the mother country. In 
Illinois the culture of wheat began to assume some importance; and a 
considerable trade in furs and agricultural products was maintained with Lower 
Louisiana. When the charter was surrendered, it is estimated that the 
territory contained 5,000 French inhabitants, and half that number of negroes. 
By the middle of the 17th century, the settlements in Illinois had increased 
largely, as may be gathered from a letter written by Vivier, a missionary 
among the Illinois, dated six leagues from Fort Chartres, June 8th, 1750,

*The Great West, p. 18.

"We have here," he says, "whites, negroes, and Indians, to say nothing of 
cross-breeds. There are five French villages and three villages of the natives 
within a space of twenty-one leagues, situated between the Mississippi and 
another river called the Karkadiad (Kaskaskia.) In the five French villages 
are perhaps eleven hundred whites, three hundred blacks, and some sixty red 
slaves or savages. The three Illinois towns do not contain more than eight 
hundred souls, all told."

But far the greater part of the Mississippi Valley was still a wilderness, at 
the outbreak of war between France and England. Though as yet there was no 
English settlement west of the Alleghanies, a claim was preferred against 
France to a large portion of the valley of the Ohio. Encroachments made by 
British traders upon French territory were resisted, and Fort Du Quesne was 
built on the site of Pittsburg, to check their inroads and defend the right of 
possession. Difficulties multiplied, and hostilities soon began. In 1755 
occurred the defeat of Braddock on the fatal banks of the Monongahela, which 
was not succeeded by equal good fortune on the side of the French. The war was 
pursued with varying success, until the reduction of Fort Du Quesne gave Great 
Britain the key to the West. Quebec and Louisburg were taken in 1759, and the 
French power on the American continent was forever broken. On the 10th of 
February, 1760, a treaty was signed at Paris, whereby France ceded to England 
Nova Scotia, Canada and its dependencies, and the whole of Louisiana east of 
the Mississippi. Two years after, Capt. Stirling, of the British army, arrived 
and took formal possession of Illinois.

The State at this time contained a white population of about three thousand, 
residing along the Illinois and Mississippi rivers. The oldest towns were the 
largest—Kaskaskia containing about 100 families, and Cahokia about 50. There 
were several small villages in their vicinity, and a considerable settlement 
had clustered about Fort Chartres. A French village stood where Peoria is now 
located; and there were probably trading-posts and missionary stations at 
Chicago and elsewhere in the State.

Soon after the war of the Revolution began, one of the daring spirits of 
Kentucky, Colonel (afterwards General) George Rogers Clarke, formed a plan for 
an enterprise against the Illinois settlements, and the capture of the forts 
on the Mississippi. He obtained an order for the undertaking from Patrick 
Henry, Governor of Virginia, and set out for Kaskaskia on the 12th of 
February, 1778, with only four companies of soldiers. The wilderness between 
the Ohio river and the French villages was traversed with considerable 
difficulty; but after an arduous march, his little band reached Kaskaskia, 
which they surrounded. Feigning great sternness, he ordered the inhabitants to 
remain within doors, posted guards in the streets, and during the night caused 
his troops to patrol the town with the most hideous outcries and Indian yells. 
By these means the simple inhabitants were deceived, the fort and town taken 
without bloodshed, and the British garrison made prisoners of war. Cahokia 
surrendered on the approach of a detachment of Clarke's men, without firing a 
gun; and the whole of Illinois was thus easily and quickly annexed to the 
American Republic. This was the first war between civilized nations which had 
been carried into this State. Col. Clarke left garrisons at the captured 
posts, and departed to seek new conquests elsewhere.

The conquered country was comprised within the Commonwealth of Virginia. In 
October of the same year, the House of Burgesses created the County of 
Illinois, to include all citizens "who are already settled, or shall hereafter 
settle, on the western side of the Ohio." John Todd, Esq., of Kentucky, was 
appointed Lieutenant Colonel and Civil Commandant of the county.

After the recognition of American independence, the western lands were claimed 
by Virginia, New York, and other States. In order to reconcile conflicting 
claims and secure harmony, the country now covered by Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, 
Michigan, and Wisconsin, was ceded by the several States to the Federal 
Government. Out of this Congress, by an Ordinance passed July 13th, 1787, 
formed the "North-west Territory," and Gen. Arthur St. Clair, a Revolutionary 
officer of some distinction, was appointed Governor. He came to Kaskaskia in 
1790, and organized the county of St. Clair, the first in Illinois. Randolph 
county was organized five years afterwards, from the southern section of St. 
Clair.

Emigration from the States had now begun to set in slowly. The first 
settlement of Americans was made in 1781, near Bellefontaine, in Monroe 
county, by a small company from Western Virginia, who were soon joined by 
others. They were much annoyed by the Kickapoos and other predatory tribes, 
and were obliged to live for the most part in “stations” or block-house forts, 
built for their protection. Settlers were frequently picked off by the 
Indians, and the scattered inhabitants lived in a state of almost continual 
alarm. Many Indian troubles in the West were fomented by the British in Canada 
and along the frontiers.

The population of Illinois, in 1790, did not much exceed 2000 white persons, 
and ten years after was only about 3000.* Congress, however, finding efficient 
government of so wide an extent of country as the North-west Territory 
extremely difficult, resolved

*Large numbers of French left Illinois under the English and American 
governments, and crossed over into Missouri. Hence the less number of 
population than appears in the estimate for ___, given on page 19.

to set off the whole of it west of the present State of Ohio, and constitute 
it "Indiana Territory." This was done on the 7th of May, 1800, the act to take 
effect on the 4th of July following. Gen. Wm. H. Harrison, then a delegate in 
Congress, was appointed Governor. During this year he negotiated a number of 
treaties for the cession of Indian lands in Illinois; and in November obtained 
from the Sacs and Foxes the immense tract of country bounded by the 
Mississippi, Illinois, Fox, and Wisconsin rivers, comprehending about fifty 
millions of acres.*

In 1805, Indiana Territory passed to the second grade of territorial 
government, as provided for in its organic act, and became entitled to a 
Legislature. It met at Vincennes, the seat of government.

Illinois continued to increase in population. In 1805 it contained four to 
five thousand whites; five years afterwards the census returned a population 
of 12,282. Feb. 9th, 1809, Illinois Territory was created, and Ninian Edwards, 
of Kentucky, appointed its first Governor. In 1812, by vote of the people, the 
Territory advanced to the second grade of government, and elected a 
Legislative Assembly of five Councillors and seven Representatives, which met 
in Kaskaskia on the 25th of November. The counties of Madison, Gallatin, Pope, 
and Johnson were erected this year, by proclamation of the Governor.

*This was the treaty afterwards resisted by Black Hawk.

The last war with Great Britain brought many sufferings and terrors to the 
settlers of Illinois, as the Indians were generally enlisted in behalf of 
Britain. A horrible massacre occurred at Chicago on the 15th of August, 1812. 
A small United States fort was located there, in command of Capt. Heald, who 
received orders from Gen. Hull to evacuate it. He did so, and set out with the 
garrison for Fort Wayne. At a little distance from the fort they were attacked 
by an overwhelming force of Indians, and two-thirds of the number slain. In 
revenge for this and other outrages, Gens. Hopkins and Edwards marched troops 
against the Indians on the Illinois and Wabash rivers, destroyed their 
villages, and laid waste their fields.

In January, 1818, the territorial Legislature petitioned Congress for the 
admission of Illinois into the Union. The population was nearly 45,000; though 
there was not a white inhabitant on the waters of the Sangamon, and very few 
north of Bond county.— Fifteen counties had been organized. In April the 
petition was granted, and the State admitted in December. A Constitution was 
formed the same year; Shadrach Bond elected Governor, and Ninian Edwards and 
Jesse B. Thomas United States Senators. John McLean was then Representative in 
Congress. The first Legislature assembled on the first Monday of October in 
Kaskaskia, whence the seat of government was transferred to Vandalia in 1819.

A code of statute law was passed at the session of 1818-19, mostly made up 
from the statutes of Kentucky and Virginia, in which code occurs the famous 
act concerning negroes and mulattoes, re-enacting all the severe and stringent 
laws to be found in a Slave State.* A State Bank was created in 1821, based 
wholly upon the credit of the State, with branches in several places. It 
issued a large amount of paper, which rapidly depreciated in value.

In 1822, Gov. Bond was succeeded by Edward Coles, who was elected over three 
other candidates, as an opponent to slavery. This was now the leading issue in 
Illinois politics, following the agitation of the great "Missouri question;" 
and elections were fiercely contested. A powerful effort was made to procure 
an amendment to the Constitution, making Illinois a Slave State; and 
the "Border Ruffian". Legislature of 1822-3, by a series of outrageous acts, 
succeeded in passing a resolution recommending a Convention for that purpose. 
The people, however, at the August election in 1824, rejected the proposition 
by two thousand majority.

The Legislature of 1824-5 re-organized the judiciary, creating a Supreme 
Court, and set off a number of counties—among them the county of Putnam.

*Ford's Hist. of Illinois, p. 33.

Additional Comments:
HISTORY OF PUTNAM & MARSHALL COUNTIES; Embracing an Account of the Settlement, 
Early Progress, and Formation of Bureau and Stark Counties; With an Appendix, 
Containing Notices of Old Settlers and of the Antiquities of Putnam and 
Marshall, Lists of Officers of Each County from its Organization to the 
Present Time, etc., etc.; By Henry A. Ford, Corresponding Member of the 
Chicago Historical Society; Lacon, ILL.: Published for the Author; 1860.


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