n^ ..-. -»> '. ^^ •^0^ ^b v .4c> o " o , "o •iq* xO-n.. -^ ^^ o^ p .*''>^'» ^ .V V ^^ »>Va'. -^ c-^" »^^^ V' ^i-v ''"° .<* ... •*■, 4-°^ -y '^y.*' (^ '^o '^^ ^"^ ^'^ '.iy.* cr "-i-. %/ .••■^^^-••. \,/ .'^'--■. %,^ ..• 0^ 'b^ *'r.T^ ,^ " , 'o ':^mfs. "»-oS* , r ^■^-■,.1 .'7. * ' . . s * .(^'v ■^^^ 'o , , * G O ^ ..-^ ,Vv^- -^.^^^^^C ^^^^, > ^;>^.y% "^P^/X .!H^yy'\ "^ J ^ \./ ;m<-\/ :>im--^/ :Mx-:\/ -y W/ \ .^^ o;/^.>^\ f^ ^ ^' "'!^'l^/° ^b^ "^ -'.^ pV ^ o - « . ''o ^^. <^ *-# »-'"' ,^ -^ .^^ „ . - , -i^ vv '^ tfCv ^/T A x^o <^* * S .4^ . ' ' • , \/;>^:^\-o^^^^; *b V" .>*>-- •J' '.^r^.-.'' .o'5 '-- '.^ ■ •5- ^ ° " • « "o •*bv^ ,:>flfe% •<5. .0-' "^^^ '* "^r^* ^ r^ -u HISTORY -o:f — BUREAU COUNTY, I LaLaI n oi © H. C. BRADSBY, Editor. * * * liere as else"w]iere 'we must search, out the causes after •we have collected the facts. No matter If the facts be physical or moral, they all have their causes; there is a cause for ambition, for courage, for tnith, as there is for digestion, for muscular movement, for animal heat. Vice and virtue are products, like vitriol and vinegar. TAINE. ILL"CrSTI?..A.TEX). CHICAGO: WORLD PUBLISHING COMPAKY. 1885. Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1S85, BY H. C. BRADSBY In the Office ot the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C. John Morria Compatij/, Pnntera, Chicago. PREFACE. I HE history of Bureau County, Illinois, after much toil and patient research, is now completed, and it is believed that no object of public importance or interest has been omitted, save where the most diligent efforts failed to secure reliable results. The chief aim of this book is to give the facts and dates as we found them in the recollections of the few surviving early settlers, the private and public records in the County and State archives, the few private diaries, family Bibles and on the tomb- stones placed by the hands of affection over the final resting-places of the departed, in their chronological order. The legends and traditions have been carefully gone over, and no small part of the work has been in collating and verifying them, and in every case where fiction had found its way into the web or woof of the story, to retain the true and reject the false. In some respects the reader may think, especially if he should be a stranger to the pioneers and their descendants, that at times there is a tediousness of detail, or even that some are unimportant, but a generation from now these very details will be the more highly prized the more full and complete they are. In telling the story of the general county history we have combined and woven together the account as best we could, and in addition to the county's genealogy and chronology will be found that of the people, together with the biographies and lives of the living and the dead, that will some day be an invaluable prize in the hands of the future historian, as well as of interest and profit to the readers of to-day. We believe the whole will be found clothed in a literary garb, and brightened with reflections, suggestions and philosophical deductions that will make it a store-house for the young and old, where they may find new and valuable ideas, and thus gain knowledge and pleasure that will repay them many times the original outlay for the book. This work has cost us much labor and a large expenditure of money, and as the territory is but a single county, and, therefore, our patronage can be but limited, yet we have given here more than we promised, and we feel assured that all thoughtful and fair-minded people will recognize and appreciate the work and its permanent value. There is a perceptibly constant increase in the interest in the history of the pioneers. This, of course, commenced in the original States of the Union, but is extending all over the West. In the New England States it is still far in advance of the Mississippi Valley. It may be true that these are richer historical grounds than the newer States can present, but it is not certain that, therefore, there are not great fields here for the real historian. PREFACE. because there is much in the man who writes the history of a people as to whether he finds and suitably points out, and fully works up the actual material that may he within his possible ^eac^^^^ ^^ ^^^^ followed no beaten track in formulating the story, the subjects treated, or the manner of treatment, and some readers may conclude that to that extent we have marred what we have done, yet we have followed a general plan, and made prominent those special subjects that we have, after long study and reflection, conceived to be for the best in the end, even if not now. And all we care to say in self defense is, that where the reader may fall upon chance paragraphs that do not meet his cordial approval, that in justice to the writer he withhold his iudsmenta until he can fairly view and estimate the work as a whole— the story in all its lights and shadows. H. C. BRADSBY. December, 1884. CONTENTS, CHAPTER I.— iDtroduction to the Subject Generally— The State's Present Growth— The Anglo-Americana— Cavaliers and Puritans— People Sutfer Only for their Ignorance — Lawmakers Generally Considered— Med- dlers in Social Organizations— Climate, Soil, Race, Epoch, and the Pent of the Public Jlind the (ireat Workers of Eyents— History Considers Men's Errors Mostly Because These Predominate — The Measure of People's Morality is the Knowledge They Possess — The Present is Completing the Past and the Past Explaining the Present, etc., etc 13 CHAPTER IL— Why History Interests Us— What is His- tory ?— Laws of Development- The Soil and its Won- ders — Importance of Teaching it to All — Needs of Our People — The Coming Public Schools — Learned Igno- rance Should Stop Now — Early Illiteracy and Modern Demoralization Compared— Who Are the Real Immortals — True Philosophy and Kindly Thought — Teaching Error a Crime — How to Educate — An Agricultural People Should Have an Agricultural JCducation— In- stances Given— Education the Most Practical Thing in the World— Geological History, its Immensity and Im- portance— The Rocks, Soil, Age, Climate Great Factors in Making History — Geology of Bureau County — Coal Measures — The Wonderful Stories of the Prairies, etc... 21 CHAPTER III.- The Wonders of Prehistoric People— Re- mains of Great Cities — The Indians and yet Older People Who Were Here— Winnebago War, Capture and Death of Red Bird— Black Hawk War— First Bloodless Cam- paign in 1S31 — Black Hawk Enters into a Treaty — Starved Rock, the First Settlement in Illinois— Joliet and Marquette— LaSalle's Colony and Fort St. Louis — Two Hundredth Anniversary of the Discovery and Possession of the Country— First ^Yhite Settlement in the West Made in 1682, at Starved Rock— Capts. Willis Hawes, and Stewart's Companies and the Men from Bureau County, in the Black Hawk War, etc., etc 43 I CHAPTER IV.— The Genealogy of the County— New j France — Canada — Louisiana— Northwestern Territory | — St. (.lair County — Madison, Clark, Bond, Crawford, Pike, Fulton. Peoria, Putnam and Finally Bureau County— The Several and Final Treaties— The Chain of Title to the Territory— Title to the Land, etc., etc 58 CHAPTER v.— The Grand March of Empire— The Marvels in the Sweep of Population Across our Continent— The Work of One Hundred Years— The Legislative Act Creating Bureau County, etc., etc 65 CHAPTER VI.— The Order in which the People Came— First the Explorer, then the Trafficker, then the Trap- per and Hunter, and then the Settler — Their Curious Habits and Customs— The Children of the Solitudes— What They Encountered— Hog and Hominy— The Shirt- tail Age— Houses and Furniture— Suffering for Bread- Anecdotes — Some of the Experiences of Pioneer Chil- dren — To Your Gums I ! ! — Experiences of a Boy at His First Hotel— He Hears a Gong — Supposes the House Busted— Board Two Dollars and a Half a Day, and He Eats Bread and Water— Witches, Wizards, and the Hor- rors of Superstition- How People Ported- Weddings, Dances, and the ( )ne-Eyed Fiddler— Bottle Race— How People Dressed— Salute Your Bride— Going to House- keeping, etc.. etc 69 PAftE- CHAPTER VII.— The Name of Bureau Countv— How it Came— The First Five Families— Who They Were — Bulbona, John Dixon. Charles S. Boyd, Henry Thomas —Sketches and Anecdotes of Early Settlers— Death and Burial of John Dixon— Gurdon S. Hubbard— Who Was the First Postmaster— Oldest Living Settlers— Abram Stratton.— His Remarkable Trip in 1829— Sketch of Him —The Brighams— The Countv's Total First Tax- Remarkable Career of John H. Boyd— The Three Broth- ers-in-Law— The First Death in the County, Daniel Smith— His Widow and Family, etc., etc., etc 79 CHAPTER VIII.— Records Made by Old Settlers— On All Disputed Questions They are the Best Authority— Old Settlers Society— First Agitation of the Subject— Histor- ical Importance of Speeches, Poems, Addresses, Remarks, Anecdotes and Pictures— Address of E. S. Phelps— First Old Settlers' Meeting — Who Participated— Their Records of Early Settlers, and When They Came— Poem by John H. Bryant— " Doctor Bill "—Officers of the Society— Killing of Phillips— Milo Kendall's Address- Warren's History of Putnam County— E. Strong Phelps — John M. Gay, Munson and Miss Hall— First Burial and First Birth- Caleb Cook— Aquilla Triplett— A Long List of the Early Settlers and Their Descendants —Arthur Bryant's Poem — Michael Kitterman, Sketch of — Thirteen Dogs and the Assessor — More Anecdotes — Rev. Martin and His Dog "Penny"— The Perkinses- George Hinsdale— C. G. Corss— And a Great Many Others, etc., etc 87 CHAPTER IX.— Lone Tree— Putnam County Organized— Capt. Haws — John M. Gay Elected Commissioner — Dr. N. Chamberlain School Superintendent in isai — Bureau Precinct— Its First Nineteen Voters— Their Names and Whom They Voted For— A Democratic Majority at the First Election— Bureau Men on the Jury in 1831— Daniel M. Gay and Daniel Dimmick Elected Justices— Gurdon S. Hubbard's Account of Bur- bonnais— Peoria and <_ialena Road— Dave Jones— First Steamboat on the Illinois River— First Grist and Saw Mill— " Dad Joe" Smith, a Sketch— Young Dad Joe's Ride— Alex Boyd's Ride— People Flee the Country— Shabbona, etc.. etc 110 CHAPTER X.— End of the Indian Troubles— Commence- ment of Permanent Settlements and Improvements — Election of 1834 — Bryant and Brigham Elected for Bureau Precinct^ — Estimated Number of People Here Then— Browne's Company of Rangers— Hampshire Col- ony — William O. r'hamberlain ItsOriginal Inventor — E. H. Phelp's Account of the Colony and Their Coming and the History Thereof— Names and an Account of the Colonists and Their Friends 125- CHAPTER XI.— "Curt " Williams, the Man of Many Marks —Smiley Shepherd— The Deep Snow of 1R31— John, Job, Timothy, Brown and David Searle— Greenbury Hall- Lewis Cobb — The Cholera in 1832 — Scott's Army and Its Suflering From the Plague — First Steamboats Arrive in Chicago, 1832— Politicia'hs In the Black Hawk War-" I Surrender, Mr. Indian" — Sketches of Many Early Set- tlers-Henry F. Miller— M. Studyvin— David Chase — James Coddington — Enoch Lumry — James Garvin — E. Piper — James Wilson — Jacob Galer — John Leeper — John Baggs—Wiswalls—Tripletts— Halls — How Negro Creek Got its Name, etc., etc 13S CONTENTS. CHAPTER XII.— Immke's Group Picture of Early Settlers — Of Gre;it Value Now, Hut of Greater Value in the Future — Appeal to the CouDty Authorities— The First Families, the Keal Knickerbockers— A Chapter That Will Long Grow in Value, etc., etc 144 CUAITER XIII.— John H. Bryant—The Farmer Poet— A Sketch of His Life and Works— His Kame Identified Wiih Every Important Movement in the County Since He Came Here, etc., etc 155 CHAPTERXIV.— Something About a Great Many People of the County — When Ditferent Places Were Settled and by Whom— First (Jovernmeut Land Surveys— The I'en- hanis — Moseleys — .T, V. Thompson — -Tudge R. T. Temple- ton — Rev. E. Scudder High and I>oughnuts — To Market to Sell a Pig— Walnut and Ohio Townships, etc., etc 169 CHAPTER XV.— The Churches of the County— Their Pres- ent Pastors and Condition— The Growth of Church In- stitutions—In God We Trust— A Well Written Chapter by iL B. Leeper, of Princeton, etc., etc 180 CHAPTER XVI.— The Anti-monopoly Movement, its Ori- gin — John H. Bryant's Connection Therewith and Also Senator L. D. Whiting— Birth of the Republican Party — Judf^e Lawrence I)efeated and Judge Craig Elected Supreme Judge— The Great Contest of the People Against Corporations and Monopolies — Effect Through- out the Whole Country — How Bureau Has Led in Many of These < ireat Movements— The Xlllth Article of Our Constitution, How it Came About— The Laws and the Courts' Hecisious Founded Thereon— Illinois the Birth- place of Nearly i>ery Political Revolution — ??ome Cor- rections in ( urrent History— Sluch Information and Many Important Facts That Will be New to Most Read- ers 204 CHAPTER XVII.— The Hennepin Canal— History of the Ill- inois and Michigan Canal— Its Extension to the Missis- sippi River — Its Paramount Importance — Cheap Trans- portation the Great Want of the Mississippi Valley — Some Curious Legislation— And a Few Statutory Pyro- tecnics, etc., etc 217 CHAPTER XVIII.— Horticulture-Arthur Bryant the Pio- neer in This Line Here— Forestry— About Fruits Gen- erally, and Shade and Ornamental Trees— Sketch of Arthur Bryant, etc., etc 227 CHAPTER XIX.— Gold and Silver Mines— Curious Super- stitions About Them—'* Way-Bills." Leading to Fabu- lous Fortunes— How Ignorance Dupes Itself— Tenacity of Ignorant Beliefs— Ancient Fools Perished in the Hunt for the Fountain of Youth— More Modern Ones Also Pursue Their Foolish Dreams of Wealth— Counterfeiters in Their Caves, etc., etc 237 CHAPTER XX.— Dch-itingSocieties— Some Immortal Speci- mens—Old-Time rhurch Severity— How These Things are Moditied and Bettered— Forefathers' Day in Prince- ton and Addresses— Discussion About it in the Press— The Puritans Attacked and Ably Defended— The Writ- ers Tartly Review History, etc., etc 241 CHAPTER XXI. — Drainage — Swamp Lands — Illinois Drainage Laws— The Long Fight to Make Them Effect- ive—How L. D. AVhiting Successfully Fights out the Long Battle for the Right— The Great Benefits His Ac- tion Will Confer on the Entire State, etc., etc., etc 262 CHAPTER XXII.— Bureau County Created, 1S37— Election — Bureau Triumphs and Jullities— " Shut the Door!"— The rirst Uighway— Part of the Old Indian Trail Yet Preserved— First County I )ilicials and Their Acts— List of County Otlicers Complete, Brought Down to the Adop- tion of Township Organization- The Civil History of the County, With Sketches of Some of the Prominent Actors, etc., etc., etc 267 CHAPTER XXIII. -Civil History Continued— Laws, Pub- lic and Special, Referring to the County of Bureau and iu Towns— A Complete Index and Reference to the Same, etc., etc., etc 278 CHAPTER XXIV.— Township Organization Adopted — Board of Supervisors Meet — John H. Bryant First Chair- man-List of Supervisors- George McMannia Second PAGE. Chairman— Premium for Wolf Scalps— John M. Grimes First Attorney for the Board— Terwilleger Overseer of the Poor— R.T.Templeton County Judge— List of Town- ship and County Olficers to 1357 — The Anti-Duelling Oath Required— Jacob T. Thompson's Report as County Treasurer — County Otficers, Supervisors, and Other Officers— J. T. Thompson— 0. L. Bearss— Sketches, etc., etc., etc 280 CHAPTER XXV.— Continuation of County Officers— Com- plete List to Date — Marriages — First One J. H. Olds and Louisa C. Bryant — Powers Exercised by the County Court — Public, Civil and Private Affairs Generally — These Old Law-Makers Regulate the Price of Whisky and Eating and Sleeping and Horse Feed, etc., etc., etc... 291 CHAPTER XXVL— Courts— Lawyers— Judges, and Those Who Held These Offices — Legal Doings— Lawyers Who Rode the Circuit — Visiting and Local Lawyers — Simon Kinney First Attorney to Locate in the County — Cyrus Bryant the First Circuit Clerk — Sketch ot Him — Fuge Songs — Judge Martin Ballou the Second Lawyer to Lo- cate in the County, Now the Oldest Jlember — Hon. Charles L. Kelsey — How Judge Eraser Lost a Federal Judgeship — Bureau County Electors — Representatives and State Senators— Congressmen, etc, etc., etc 296 CHAPTER XXVIl,— The Press— First Paper the Bureau Advocate — The Three Political Parties Run the Same Paper — A Novel Idea — The Princetonian — Post — Herald — Yeoman — Democrat — Republican — Tribune — Patriot — News — Motor — Tidings — Press — Register — Indepen- dent — Call — Home Guard — Times — Who Managed Them — Present Papers — List of Editors and Publishers — Present Papers and Proprietors, etc., etc., etc 307 CHAPTER XXVIII.— Agricultural Society— Its Commence- ment and Who Started It — List of Offices — A Successful Institution— Its Great Value to the People — Land in the County — Agricultural Interests — Value and Tax of the Same — Farms — And Much Other Information, etc.... 321 CHAPTER XXIX.— Hon. Owen Lovejoy— The Martyrdom of His Brother Elijah P. Lovejoy — An Event in Ameri- can History — Owen Lovejoy 's Mission in Life — His Death in the Hour of the Triumph of his Political Principles, etc., etc 326 CHAPTER XXX.— The Rebellion— Bureau County and its Important Part Therein — The News of the Firing Upon Fort Sumter — A Detailed Account of the Companies, Officers, Regiments and Squads — Killed and Dead — Bat- tles— Politicians-Knights of the Golden Circle — Wo- men's Aid Societies — War Meetings — Bounties — Speeches— Enlisting, etc., etc., etc 340 CHAPTER XXXI —Schools— Reflections on the Subject Gen- erally—Suggestions and History of Schools — Learned Ignorance — Classical Education— Investigation Invited— Progress of the Schools — The Present Number and Efficiency— The Princeton High School — Teachers, etc... 367 CHAPTER XXXII.— Stock— Graded and Thoroughbreds- Growth of this Industry — Who First Experimented in This Line— Cattle, Horses, etc., etc 379 CHAPTER XXXIII.— Political Matters Generally-Census of the County — Douelas and Stewart's Congressional Race— The Size of the Original District— Post Otfices and Postmasters — The County's Vote — Great Wolf Hunts— Roads— Relics— H. L. Kinney, etc., etc 392 CHAPTER XXXIV.— Odds and Ends — Retrospective- Paths, Indian Trains and Railroads— Blessings Received and Anticipated — Farmers and Their Future Education — The Buftalo and the Indian — Natural Engineers and Places for Great Cities— Douglas, ;Breese and the Idea of the Illinois Central Railroad, etc., etc 404 CHAPTER XXXV.— City of Princeton— Whence its Name — First Survey — First Election — Who Voted — Officials — Improvements, Growth, Beauties, Societies, Business, etc., etc 40fi CHAPTER XXXVI.— Townships. Villages and Towns in the County— Additional Information in Regard to Each Township— The Settlers, Prominent Men, etc., etc 419 CONTENTS. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. PAOE. Alphabetically arranged 439 In memoriam, Hon. Justus Stevens Received too late for insertion in proper order.. PAGE. 706 PORTRAITS. Allen, Joseph Facing 400 Battey, Silas " 340 Boyden. A. W " 216 Brenneman, Martin " 322 Brvant, .■irthur " 304 Bryant, John H " 28 Coiver, Jacob " 416 Dayton. Chauncey L Between 286 and '2S9 Dayton, Mrs. Lydia B " 286 and 2S9 Edwards, Richard Facing 96 Fassett,E. \V " ig.s Frary, R. B " 114 PAGE. Gray, Nathan -Facing 182 Henderson, Thomas J " 80 Knox, .S. M " 250 Miller, Henry J Between 164 and 167 Miller, Mrs. Jane " 164 and 167 Norris, I. H Facing 46 Reeve. Tracy " 232 Stevens, B N " 268 Stevens, Justus " 62 -Whipple, William M " U8 Whiting, L. D " 130 Williams, Solomon " 366 HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY, CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTORY. I. ILLINOIS has passed through its pio- neer period of development, and from a raw state of savagery and wild waste to one of the foremost States in the Union — ah-eady the first State, indeed, in many of those stand- ard articles of agriculture that are contribut- ing so much to make the Upper Mississippi Valley the garden and granary of the world; a State but sixty-six years old (1818-1884) and already in the lead in the number of miles of operated railroads, as well as lead- ing in many of the best agricultural products; the third State in the number of persons en- gaged in the various occupations of life ; a greater population engaged in agriculture than any other State in the Union, and this industry extended during the past decade be- yond anything before known in history; her mining and manufacturing industries lagging only behind her agricultural growth, and yet keeping pace well with perhaps any other similar sized communitj' in the world. In all the elements of present wealth and future promise, the State, young as it is, bids well at no distant day to stand peerless and alone. And phenomenal as has been the gi'owth of population and wealth, the increase bears the evidences that it is not sporadic, but regular and permanent, and the limits of its future are too vast for present possible estimate. Some measure of the mental and commer- cial activity of a people may be gained per- haps as well or better through the postoffice reports than from any other easily accessible source. The total postoffice expenditures for the State in 1882 in Illinois were second to that of the State of New York, although in population we are the fourth State in the Union. In illiterates — those ten years of age and over — Illinois is the foiuteenth State. In newspapers, she stands next to New York; in the average daily attendance in the public schools, Illinois is the fourth State ; in col- leges she is second, leading New York by one. [Railroads, in mileage, Illinois by far exceeds any State in the Union, nearly doub- ling the mileage of New York.] But with a much smaller mileage, the railroads of Penn- sylvania have larger annual earnings than the Illinois roads. II. The prosperity of a new State, especially when it is marked, is as a rule ephemeral. At first all industries flourish, but soon com- petition is felt, and the wave of prosperity is followed usually by a marked decadence of all these, or a relaxation of the active ener- gies that seem to wait for the new growth of an increased demand that will come iu time and revive trade and traffic to renewed energy 14 HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. and effort. This general experience of new and rapidly growing communities has never come to Illinois. Flush times and hard times have come and gone here as well as else- where, but they were the same in their visits, and at the same time that they made their appearance all over the land. The perma- nency of her growth, and the solidity and glory of her marvelous greatness has con- sisted chiefly in her farmers — those whose prudent foresight discovered here a wealth of soil and climate unequaled in the world. For more than a century after the discovery and first small settlements of what is now Illinois by Joliet, La Salle, and the Jesuits — Marquette and Hennepin — the feeble but dar- ing little colonies were isolated in the heart of our great continent, and more remotely separated from the civilized world than could any people now be upon any portion of the globe; their growth was only the natural in- crease, as their isolation from mankind was almost complete. Religious enthusiasts, bear- ing aloft the cross of the church and the lilies of France, penetrated the wilderness and car- ried to the untutored savage the sublime mes- sage of "peace on earth and good will to man." And following in the long course of time these children of the church, came the "war-whoop that oft woke the sleep of the cradle," the massacres, the assassinations and the wars, and the last were the means in every instance of bringing here the first streams of immigrants, who were the base upon which has grown the present greatness of the State. It was the sons of Mars who were the fathers of oui- State builders. First, the war of 1776 and of 1812-15 brought the Virginians and Carolinians, and made them acquainted with Southern Illinois, and then the war of 1832 extended the acquaintance of the Northern and Southern States to the northern limits of Illinois; and ther wonder- ful stories of the beauties and natural wealth of the new country were told to their friends in their old homes, and thus again and again were the streams of immigrants started afresh. The first fruits of discovery and oc- cupation were from the church ; the final great results came of war and marching armies. in. The controlling, the supreme human forces upon this continent are the Anglo-Americans, the commanding and master-spirits among men. And it is their restless and wandering activities, and the fact that, except the Jew, they are the most cosmopolitan people in history, ancient and modern, that has been one of the distinguishing marks of this race, and has contributed much to maintain their matchless superiority. The earliest history of the Anglo-Saxon people presents them as pirates upon the high seas and roving and dauntless invaders and robbers upon land. And when they attached themselves to the soil in the British Isles, their roving habits and knowledge of the waters resulted in making them the greatest commercial people in the world, and to this fact is due much of those characteristics that to-day so distin- guish them from all other people. They traded, trafficked and warred all over the known world, and in one way or another they came in contact with every variety of peoples, and thus, in the race of life, distanced all. They are a remarkable demonstration of the fact that man's best schoolmaster is his fellow-man, in his endless varieties; and that a people that attaches itself to the soil becomes stationary, as it were, and if not visited by those of different ideas, manners and bias of mind they are never a progressive people. IV. The early settlers upon our continent were HISTORY OF BUREAU COUI^TY. 15 the Cavaliers and the Puritans — the latter locating in New England, and the former in the South; the Cavaliers just entering upon a career of refinement and luxurious indo- lence, and the Puritans emerging from the severe religious ordeals that had filled his blood with iron and had prepared him well for entering upon the race for thrift, energy, power and wealth. His sufterings had taught him the severest economy, and the people of the South were learning their lessons in indo- lent ease, while their New England brothers were practicing a rigid frugality and learn- ing well the fact that money is a 'direct power that gratifies the ambition^ and, com- mands a certain respect that need not be despised. The Cavalier grew haughty and domineering, as was natural from the position of master and slave, and the Pui-itan de- spised these vain pretensions and soon learned to meddle in the afi'airs of his distant and slave-proud neighbors. And in the long- distant years ago were planted the seeds of the " irrepressible conflict " whose fat harvest was war. The misfortune to both and the whole was that our country was so large that both had taken up their abodes in the dis- tant portions of the land, and in time they nearly ceased to mingle and associate together in the every-day business and social affairs of life; and in the end the war was something of a necessity to bring the two ex- tremes once more together, even if it was upon the field of blood; for amid the wrecks and woe and desolation, the dead, the wounded, the sick, the dying, the hospitals, the prisons, the flying skirmishes and the great red gaps of battle, the Northerner and the Southerner met, and here and there and everywhere was that " touch of human nature that makes all the world akin." And of the many results flowing out from the war, this one of making the people of the different sections better acquainted with each other can be contemplated by all with unmixed satisfaction. In the exultation of victors (this admoni- tion will never be needed by the vancjuished) the North should not forget that a society cannot permanently prosper that is founded only on the pursuit of wealth, pleasure and power. A profound respect for liberty and justice are the first essentials to real national greatness and glory. Splendid cities, costly cathedrals, vast and numerous churches, many and magnificent schoolhouses, the col- ossal fortunes of millionaires, and immense factories and their many hundreds of em- ployes, are not the absolutely necessary finger- boards pointing always to the greatest welfare and happiness of the people. The cottages vastly outnumber the palaces, as do the labor- ers far exceed the idle and the rich. The real people live in humble homes; their toil is the world's wealth; and their health, hap- piness, comforts and their education and content are the true measure of a nation's greatness and glory. V. "Genuine history,"' says Taine, "is brought into existence only when the histo- rian begins to unravel, across the lapse of time, the living man, toiling, impassioned, entrenched in his customs, with his voice and features, his gestures and dress, distinct and complete as he from whom we have just part ed in the street." A history of a people which has passed away is the effort to make the past the present; to revivify the dead and present every phase of actual life as it once existed, with all its bad and good, its bless- ings and its sufferings; the home life, the pub- lic highway, the street, the field, men and women privately, collectively, at work and at 16 HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. play, socially and morally, as they once were here in the struggle for life. A picture most difficult, perhaps about impossible to draw. Hence, to approach this perfection in any respect, will make a valuable book, and one whose lessons will remain perpetually to the coming generations. VI. The people of a State, or any separate civil government of laws and police powers, must be considered in reference to their local laws and government, as well as estimated morally and socially, in order to fathom the causes when the facts are once understood. This is unquestionably the freest government established among men, and it may possibly have the " finest civil service on the planet," yet one fact is patent, namely: that it is already complex and is growing in these in- tricacies, and from this is and long has been coming some of that confusion among men's ideas of what are the true boundary lines where the people should cry out to the law- makers, " hands off here. '' We have a gen- eral government and laws, applicable to all the people of the country, then State laws and institutions that are local; then county, town and cit}- governments, laws, police and courts; and the constant tendency is to in- crease these — enlarge their complexity, and the genius of our law-makers is exhausted in the scramble for new laAvs. From the earliest childhood, from ancient times, when civiliza- tion was emerging from darkness, all were taught to respect the law and to pray regu- larly for the rulers and law-makers. And to worship the flag and condone the crimes of those in power is the common measure of your neighbor's patriotism. A rather stupid judgment, truly, iiut the very best the average man of this age could be expected to form. The tendency of all this is to run to those most glaring evils of all governments, over- legislation, and thus what was intended for a protection, may become the heaviest oppres- sion. In so far as laws and governments are concerned, they are a necessary evil — some- thing not needed by the good — their only I^urpose or excuse for existence being to restrain the bad, and to protect all from the evil, the ignorant and the perverse. The evils of overmuch law and government med- dling in the affairs of men, affairs that every one should shape and control for himself, have been too little considered by the people, those who suffer as the result of their own ignorance. The world is full of men who think a vote will make them wise, virtiious, rich and happy, and when these mistaken men are clothed with the ballot, and find themselves far from complete happiness, they are very apt to tui-n their eyes ever toward some new law, some commission or new office, created to relieve them of all their woes. When all these panaceas have run the gamut of experience and dismal failures, he may then wail at the demagogues, and fairly bray in a mortar, this meek and ever patient long eared animal. "The fault, dear Brutus, is iu ourselves And not in our stars that we are underlings." The right of universal suffrage, in fact, all right of voting, implies and compels for the voter either the intelligence to select the proper representative to make and exe- cute the laws, or he must abide the cruel con- sequences of the inevitable mistakes of ignor- ance. In your law-maker's hands are en- trusted the great questions of not only your happiness, but of life and death itself. As new and strange as these propositions nia_v seem to many readers, they are not new to those who think best about the great problems of life. They are open secrets, and which are yet so open that they ought not to remain HISTORY OF BUEEAU COUNTY. 17 secrets to those who take upon themselves the awful responsibility of self-government, or of electing those who are to make and execute the laws, those men who undertake the vast and terrible responsibility of dealing with millions of human beings by measures which, if they do not conduce to their happiness, will increase their miseries and accelerate their deaths. Speaking on this subject, and especially in reference to the plainest requirements that should be possessed by every law-maker, Herbert Spencer says: "There is first of all the undeniable truth, conspicuous and yet absolutely ignored, that there are no pheno- mena which a society presents but what have their origins in the phenomena of individual human life, which again have their roots in vital phenomena at large. And there is the inevitable implication that unless these vital phenomena, bodily and mentally, are chaotic in their relations (a supposition excluded by the very maintenance of life) the resulting phenomena can not be wholly chaotic; there must be some kind of order in the phenom- ena which grow out of them when associ- ated human beings have to co-operate. Evi- dently, then, when one who has not studied such resulting phenomena of social order undertakes to regulate society he is pretty certain to work mischiefs. ' 'In the second place, apart from a priori reasoning, this conclusion should be forced on the legislator by comparisons of societies. It ought to he saiSciently manifest that, be- fore meddling with the details of social or- ganization, inquiry should be made whether social organization has a natural history; and that, to answer this inquiry, it would be well, setting out with the simplest societies, to see in what respects social structures agree. Such comparative sociology, pui'sued to a very small extent, shows a substantial uni- formity of genesis. The habitual existence of chieftainship, and the establishment of chiefly authority by war; the rise everywhere of the medicine-man and priest; the pres- ence of a cult having in all places the fundamental traits; the traces of division of labor, early displayed, which gradually be- come more marked, and the various complica- tions — political, ecclesiastical, industrial, which arise as groups ai'e compounded and recompounded by war — quickly prove to anyone who compares them that, apart from all their special diiferences, societies have general resemblances in their modes of origin and development. They present traits of structure showing that social organization has laws which override individual wills, and laws the disregard of which must be fraught with disaster. "And then, in the third place, there is that mass of guiding information yielded by the records of law- making in our own country and in other countries, which still more ob- viously demands attention. Here and else- where attempts of multitudinous kinds made by kings and statesmen have failed to do the good intended and have worked unexpected evils. Century after centm-y now measures like the old ones, and other measures akin in principle, have again disappointed hopes and again brought disaster. And yet it is thought neither by electors nor by those they elect that there is any need for systematic study of that legislation which in by-gone ages went on working the ill-being of the people when it tried to achieve their well-being. Surely there can be no litness for legislative func- tions without wide knowledge of those legis- lative experiences which the past has be- queathed. ' ' These are the thoughts of a philosopher, not a politician nor statesman: The conclu- sions of a great man, a man who refused 18 HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY recently to accept a seat in the British Parlia- ment because he could not waste his time in trj'ing to benefit the people by giving them a government they were not jet ready to re- ceive or appreciate. YII. A history of a people must, therefore, care- fully C(jnsider the race, the epoch, and the climate and soil and their combined effects in elucidating the causes, after the facts have been collated. Where the period of time covered by the story is short — only a little more than a generation — as in the history of this county, the effects flowing out from these causes become shadowy and indistinct — more difficult to trace out and fix clearly to the view, in due ratio to the brevity of the period which comes within the purview of the writer. These conceptions of history were unknown to our forefathers. They wi'ote of all men, looking always from the same stand-point, and from their abstract conceptions, exactly as though all men, of all ages, climes and surroundings, were exactlj' the same. Their conceptions and conclusions were abstract, and, like their philosophy, were metaphysi- cal, and whence comes the fact that real his- tory is a modern discovery; not wholly, but mostly so. The fact is, the so-called lore of the classi- cal ages are the works of those abstruse me- taphysicians who fairly dazzled the world with their brilliant writings. The genius of these men was attractive and fascinating, and its power is evidenced well by the mas- tery it has wielded over men's minds for cen- turies; in fact, even to the present hour, we find its influence lingering about our oldest colleges, universities and schools. The wrong bent it gave the mind in many things has been one of the heavj- burdens upon the de- velopment and expansion of the human mind, and the diffusion and growth of knowledge. And the misfortune was that for centuries and centuries the schools of the world were or- ganized and run upon theoretical and not scientific and practical ideas. And the amaz- ing facts are now that we hear only of the classical and scientific schools, the former being generally regarded as the only proper standard of a high grade of education, and when we say a man is a classical scholar, all understand that to be the perfection of learn- ing. And the best ideas of science in the schools is but miserable empiricism gener- ally. The steps in the advance of civilization — that long and painful contest between truth and ignorance — are thus indicated plainly to us, and in time they, too, will bear their fruits, and men will come to know that there is nothing so practical as real learning. Our forefathers called all scientific knowledge " common sense," and unconscious as they were of the fact, they were truly defining a term that means all real knowledge; al- though they may have labored under the common delusion, that there was hid away in some of the institutions of the world a won- derful Arcana of wisdom and the true knowl- edge, under the name of classical or scientific lore, and that "common sense" was only for common people, while the better article was reserved for the select few. The eras of development of the human mind are, first, the age of brute force and cunning and the earliest formation of the fam- ily and tribal relations, for mutual protection from savage neighbors. And secondly there is the age of arts, that culminates in music, poetry, eloquence, painting and the elegant refinements of society, and the pleasures of wealth, luxuries, and the polished and court- ly manners that are so beautiful to behold in HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. 19 any people. The crown and culmination of the age of art, is in Jenny Lind, Raphael, Shakespeare and the orators and metaphysi- cians of Greece and Rome. And thirdly, the mind progressing still from this grand epoch, enters upon the age of inductive philosophy, the highest type of human perfection possi- ble to reach — the age of discoveries, inven- tions and of true knowledge; the knowledge which betters the conditions of all men, making them healthier, happier and longer lived; dispelling pain of body and suffering of mind; awakening men from the long nightmare of superstitious fears and ignor- ant beliefs, driving from the walks of life the once successful and adored mendicant quacks, shams and imposters, who, for the long ages, so floiu'ished fattened and battened upon the hard earnings of ignorance and folly, the curse of bigotry and the fatality of empiri- cism. VIII. The man who never had occasion in his life for the use of a thought above bread and bacon (and we would not deride such men, for with the great mass, these are the first and only real questions of their whole lives, and ,to answer them well is their noblest mission), we say, many such men are truly amazed when we have asked them for the story of their humble, but sincere and honest lives. And sometimes, like certain rich men who are vain of their ragged and dirty clothes, and who sneer at a clean man, they have gloried in telling us that we did not understand our own business nearly so well as they did, and they knew their own lives were too trifling to tell, and that it was a fraud to attempt to print them. Parading their own pride of ignorance, they give instantaneous judgments upon the philosophy of historical data, thus settling profound questions that have taxed for many years some of the greatest minds that ever lived. Another will tell us that he is a " new comer " and is not a part, nor has he any interest in the history of the people, either of the f)ast or present. Another will notify us that the history of a county can only be properly written by its living cotemporaries. There is no blame to attach to these mis- taken people, because history is more an account of men's errors than of their correct judgments — ignorance has largely predom- inated in the world, possibly it always will. We are not excessively concerned on this point, but content to contribute our humble mite to the story as it is, conscious of the fact that that history which fails to give an account of men's errors, as well as their sparse triumphs in behalf of truth, would be no history at all. The history of the insignificant, the ignorant, good and bad, the old and the young, in short, the majority, the mass, exact- ly as they were and are, is the real bulk and important part of the lesson. In the hands of the historian every grade and shade of human life and its conditions, from the idiot to Lord Bacon, are the materials from which he raises the structure, the imperishable records of a people. Do you suppose the birds that made their tracks in the plastic mud, which afterward hardened to stone and became locked in the bowels of the earth for centuries and for geological ages, were any more aware of the immense importance their rude records would be to us than the millions of men, who lived and died and whose chance fossil remains are being uneai'thed, and ai'e enabling us now to write something of the story of prehistoric man and animals'? The lowest and meanest worms have lived and made their imperishable records. Nothing escapes history. The name of Charles Augustus, or Nehemiah, or Praise-God-Bare- bones, will pass away and be soon forgotten; 20 HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. it is an impalpable nothing, but the life, the bones and flesh, the blood and tissue are a solid something, which, amid ceaseless changes, will exist for ever. And it need not humiliate the said Charles to learn that this physical fact is equally true of the toad and the mosquito. Hence, an accui-ate biography of every man, woman and child that now lives and has lived in the county would be the full and complete materials in the hands of the histo- rian, by which he could write a history of unsurpassed value. To obtain these now is impossible, and we can only do the next best thing, namely, to procure as nearly as possi- ble the life records of those from whom we may strike that average whose beautiful laws are certain and immutable, and which, when correctly interpreted, yield infallible truths. IX. A book to be read by the average man, in order to be appreciated or understood, must be addressed to his understanding, and it should steer successfully around his cherished prejudices of faith, and his distorted or total absence of all views on political economy. The successful book-makers, those who jump into sudden fame and reap the golden har- vests, are those who catch the popular breeze and sail with it. They criticise nothing, and with devout hearts they bend the knee and bow the head at the shrine inscribed, " The voice of the people is the voice of God; " or that other and worse maxim, " The people are always right; " " The divine right of Kings," and " The majority are always right and the minority are always wi'ong " — these are some of the arrant follies that have held their places in men's minds persistently and almost perpetually. From the hustings, the rostrum, the sacred desk, the bench and bar, these fulminations are poured out, and to question them is to have your own sanity suspected. " Might is right" is just as true as are any of the other time-worn maxims about the majorities — the people as a whole, or that other nonsense, that for all men to vote is the priceless boon of freedom — or " Universal suffrage assures the perfection of a good and free government — so long as you can vote you cannot be enslaved." These maxims are the droolings of imbe- cility, and it is he who pours out upon this wicked nonsense his fulsome panegyrics of praise, who reaches best the public heart and pulse and reaps the golden harvests. When the people act as a body upon any subject, there cannot be any action that is superior to the average man, and the chances are as one in a thousand that it will not be above this measure, but is nearly certain to be below it, for the reason that error is near- ly always more active than intelligence. It is more self-asserting, more confident, and infinitely more satisfied with itself. The whole is admirably stated in formulating the terms which describe the contest between knowledge and ignorance. Knowledge is a saint, ignorance is a criminal. Hence, a people is moral or immoral, good or bad, virtuous or vicious, as the collective body is wise or ignorant. A high or low standard of sobriety, integrity or morality in a people is the exact measure of the knowledge it pos- sesses. This, like the law of averages, may not be demonstrably true of the individual, but is unvai'ying of the people as a whole in its self-demonstrations. So far as we can know, everything in all nature — the whole mental and physical world — is a growth, not in a single instance a miraculous bui'sting into the full bloom of existence. And that growth is governed by omnipotent laws. To know these laws and apply them to man, to the family, to society, HISTORY OF BUREA.U COUNTY. 21 to the community, to the State, to the race, is the exalted work of the historian. In a historical point of view, then, " The present is completing the past, and the past is explaining the present." And this becomes plain and its value incalculable in so far as we may from the records and data that come to our hands, be enabled to point out the laws of growth that have led us to where we now are. CHAPTER II. Wht Histoby Interests Us — What is History ? — Laws of Devel- opment — The Soil and Its Wonders — Imi'ortance of Teach- ing IT TO All — Needs of Our People— The Coming Public Schools — Learned Ignorance Should Stop Now — Early Illiteracy and Modern Demoralization Compared — Who ARE the Real Immortals — True Philosophy and Kindly Thought — Teaching Error a Crime — How to Educate— An Agricultural People Should Have an Agricultural Edu- cation — Instances Given — Education the Most Practical Thing in the World— Geological History, Its Immensity AND Importance — The Rocks, Soil and Climate — Geology of Bureau County — CoAL-.AlEAsrRES — The Wiinderful Stories OP THE Prairies, etc., etc., etc. ■' Where once slow creeping gl.aciers passed Resistless o'er a frozen waste. Deep rooted in the virgin mould The dower of centuries untold." — John H. Bryant. MAN'S nature is such that he is deeply concerned in the movements of those who have gone before him, and this interest intensifies the closer the strain of blood that binds him to the memories of those predeces- sors. If his earliest forefathers had their forerunners, even if they were of an unknown time and race, either savages or enlightened, who lived and struggled and died, passing away and leaving not a wrack behind, their term reaching beyond the gray dawn of earliest history, yet their dimmest marks and fossil remains are deeply interesting, and beckon us on in the eager hunt to unlock the mystery that has so swallowed them up. Who were they? How did they live; what did they do; what did they know? Where were they from ? How did they so completely pass away from the face of the earth? And when the inquiry comes down to the period of the immediate ancestors of the inquirer the inter- est intensities, and the minutest, dry details become profoundly interesting. Were they wise or foolish, strong or weak, happy or wretched? And we re-create in the mind as well as we can the picture of their daily and hourly life, customs, habits, temperaments, their wisdom and follies, successes and fail- ures. The proper study of mankind is man. Here is the great fountain of valuable knowl- edge; and the " man " that is best studied, at least is the easiest and best to understand, are our immediate forefathers or predecessors. To know all about them is all you can learn of the human race that it is essential to know. To solve the complex problem cannot be done by a surface knowledge of all the races, but by a thorough comprehension of those about whom youi' every nature and impulse leade you along in the investigation. Could the gi-aduates of the schools be turned out with their diplomas, when these would mean that they knew the history of their own race, to a degree even approaching perfection, then indeed might we rest content in the possession of that great boon, the best educated people in the world ; the word history being here used in that broad and true sense that means a mastery of the high- est type of knowledge, the understanding of the mental and physical laws, and in contra- distinction of those terms the annals, the chronology, the dates, the disconnected and often trifling incidents that were once con- sidered history, such as the births of kings and princes, their deaths and pompous HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. burials, battles, famines, epidemics, great conflagrations or political revolutions. A true history of a people is a mastery of the laws of race and the laws of heredity, climate and soil, epoch, momentum — the understand- ing of the laws of mind growth as well as those controlling the growth of the physical body, society, church, State and all the won- derful developments of a civilized people. Everything is a growth — a development — a j)assing from the simple to the complex. Thus it commences with the legends, then the traditions, the chronicles, the annals, and last, the history: the bud, the seed, the tender sf)rout, the sapling, and the tree, which in the long years is drawing its sap and food from the deep soil and giving off its luscious fruit in the distant and glorious summer. The greatest always is the slowest and last to perfect itself. Hence, we say, the true con- ception of history is modern, and so far we have yet no complete history of any race or people, but the materials for the coming his- torian have been being gathered since the days of Herodotus. When the world is ready for this great man he will come, and in a sin- gle book he will confer upon mankind some- thing incomparably superior to all that has ever yet come from the printing press. Some geological ages ago preparations commenced to make this the lit abode for man. The oscillations of the earth's surface commenced, it is said by geologists, about the Huron region on this continent, forming there the first dry land, and this process pro- ceeded slowly in a southwesterly direction until our hemisphere has grown and fash- ioned itself much as we have it now. The commencement of this continent-building was the yielding up by the waters of the first pages in geological history. And what can be more interesting and instructive than these wonderful and unfailing records, when brought under the trained eye of intelligence and made to reveal the startling story of their existence! The soil is the Alma Mater — the nourishing mother, indeed — of all animate life in this world. Without it nothing — from it all that we possess. The wealth and joys, the hopes and ambitions, the beai;ties of nature and of art, the new mown hay, the maiden's blush, the love lit eye, the floating Armada, the thundering train, the flaming forge and the flying spindle, the hand of friendship, the sweet rippling laughter of childhood, all that we can conceive of utility or beauty, men- tally or j)hysically, are from the cold, dull soil upon which we tread. From here alone comes life and all its belongings. The sun worshipers were not base in their adorable ideal — light and heat were the near approach to the soxu'ces of life, and yet it was only an aid to the soil; a laboratoiy dis- solving and combining the elements of the air and rocks and creating the soil, the great fountain of all. The works of these sun worshipers are scattered over the face of the earth, furnishing us some of man's earliest records. None ever worshiped the soil. For it they had no just appreciation; its all- commanding value is yet little understood, and in the world's slow progress the soil and the slavish drudge — the lowest menial and the ignorant lout were about the only things that were a part and portion of the "^oil or identified with it in men's minds; and for ages agriculture and unwashed ignorance were regarded as much one and the same thing. In that first nation whose air was too piu'e for a slave to breath, was inaugurated the long reign of a feudal system, where the laborer and the soil passed by the same title deed, and the allegiance and the lives of the serfs were b ought and sold as the meanest of merchandise. While the soil has found no HISTOEY OF BUREAU COUNTY. 23 worshipers and but few who cared to under- stand its value, it has proceeded in its benefi- cent works, showering its benefits upon all until it has lifted us from dull and dirty savages into the joys of the splendid civiliza- tion that now smiles upon mankind. Why should we teach our children to un- derstand the stupid dirt beneath their feet ? Build schoolhouses and teach them metaphy- sics — the involved and abstruse speculations and problems that dazzle and bewilder the mind; make them classical scholars and take them far away from the dirt that flies as dust, sticks to your clothes as mud, and is only vile and nasty. And thus a vital error has gone on and on, and is still wielding its power for evil throughout the world. The soil comes of the rocks, and except in the instances of di-ift, its component parts may be instantly identified with the sub- jacent rocks, and in the drift sections, as is neai'ly all the surface of Illinois, the under- lying rocks are always the index to the sur- face qualities. To the intelligent eye that examines the stratified rocks of a country it is plain enough what elements of plant food it contains, and what pai'ticular vegetation it will best produce. Our people are agricultural in their pur- suits. The Mississippi Valley will be the storehouse and granaiT of the world. It can always say to hungry man, " In thy Father's house is enough and to spare.'' With its wholesome and generous products, it will freight the ships whose sails will fleck every sea. Teach the people to read the secrets of the soil, and give them cheap transportation and the unobstructed and free markets of the world, and then, indeed, will come that boundless wealth which nurtures those master spirits among men who shape and fix the proud destiny of civilization. It has never occurred, it seems, to the school men, that the public schools should be organized and operated in reference to local- ity or the peculiar controlling interests of the people; that certain portions of the world will produce different industries, and differ- ent occupations for the people; that one place is for mining, another for certain manufac- tories, and another for agricultiu-e, and of this last we have an endless variety of pro- ducts. One portion of our country produces mostly rice, another cranberries, another sugar, another tobacco, and often a single variety of the many kinds of this product, another cotton ; and then we have here, in the Upper Mississippi Valley, that wonderful garden for the production of that great vari- ety in abundance, including nearly every- thing except those articles named above. And to this is added the raising of stock, which nearly equals the immense values of the immediate soil products. The coming school teacher will see to it that the bent of the schools are directed to best preparing the rising generation for the successful struggle of life by educating them for their life surroundings. There is noth- ing so practical in life as knowledge, and the best knowledge is that which betters men's lives. A common affliction all over the world is "learned ignorance," and a people may suffer more from this evil than from those illiterates whose columns of per cents figure in our census reports. There can be no cen- sus taken of "learned ignorance," and hence its prevalence in a people may not be easily detected, and its inflictions difficult to meas- ure. The shrewd observer may pick them out by their loud advocacy of, and unfalter- ing faith in all the many errors that were instilled into them in their own school edu- cation. They believe wisdom is born as you first enter the school room, and is full grown and perfected when you leave its doors with 24 HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. a diploma; that knowledge is in the text books, and that the professor who knows all these must be the greatest man in the world. It is this ' ' learned ignorance " that measures the people of a community by the school- houses, the number of teachers and the grad- uates they turn out, and the absence of illit- erates among them. These are grievious errors, and they are most apt to pass from father to son, and thus become fixed as axiomatic truths. It is the home influence, the laws of hered- ity, the environment of life, the age, the momentum and public sentiment that are man's architect and controlling influences. And the artificial, unphilosophical, empirical contrivances of the world's reformers and Utopia builders, are as the feather in the bal- lance against the mountain in shaping men's destiny. The schools upon which the present sys- tem is based, were founded seventeen hun- dred years ago, for the sole purpose of edu- cating young men for the priesthood — to teach them how to teach morality — possibly how to proselyte. The study of the catechism and the Lives of the Saints were the whole of the curriculum. They were a mere aildenda to the Catholic Church, and committing to memory constituted the entire process of the school room. They were Catholic schools, and in the course of the world's revolutions came the Lutheran, the Methodist, the Bap- tist, and the innumerable other schools as the sects multiplied, all enlarging the scope of their work, until they came to be the teachers of all classes of men. They wran- gled and struggled and spread, keeping even pace with the growth and power of their re- spective sects, until sincere and good men were led to believe that knowledge and doxy were synonymous terms. Nothing has, per- haps, filled its mission better than the theo- logical schools — Jew or Gentile. Their ex- istence in the organization of society was probably an imperative necessity. But Jew- ish education to teach the child knowledge (understanding the mental and physical laws) is a companion piece to that startling cry that runs over the land about every time the tax- gatherer comes around, that the public schools are ' ' Godless schools. " Education, we are told, is furnishing the mind mental food, as we give the physical body bread and meat. If Knowledge is a hard-shell Baptist, then why do we not hear of the Godless saw-mills, fish ponds, pig pens or cattle ranches? The original idea of the school was to pro- pagate morality. And the way men in that age thought, they were justified in the belief that if you cultivated the moral, the intel- lectual would take care of itself. Many able and good men think so now; possibly a large majority of mankind. And the roaring dema- gogue will tell you that the majority, espec- ially the large majority, cannot be in error. Th(i truth is, a nation, people or race are good or bad, moral or immoral, honest or thievish, drunken or sober, pui-e or vile, no- ble or ignoble, exactly as they are removed from the thrall of ignorance. Give people knowledge, and y(ju give them, in exact pro- portion to the amount thereof, pure morality, virtue, health, and all that ennobles and makes them great and good. This alone is the great teacher and reformer. Ignorance is a thief, robber and mui-derer, and it is but idiocy that gabbles about the " bliss of ignorance." It is the monster criminal, and pity it all we may, its horrid possession of men, its grim and fatal clutch, can only be loosened by real knowledge, and not by " learned ignorance " nor sham reformers. Ignorance is the major- ity enthroned, levying blackmail and war, making laws and ruling empires, sowing historV of bureau county. 25 death and despair, and scattering its wrecks along the shores of the stream of time. The trend of the average mind of this age is to education, to better its thoughts, to gain knowledge, and to this achievement it puts forth its best efforts. If it is given ' ' learned ignorance " for the genuine article, it cannot be blamed for taking the poison in the faith that it is healthful food. Again, no one triith is the whole truth about even the simplest act or thing in life. To make a fire in the cook-stove, feed a pig or raise a hill of corn requires, in order to do either properly, to understand many of the physical laws applicable to each case. To rush at the doing of either with the mastery of only a single truth that will come in play, is to open a Pandora's box of disappoint- ments, failures, evils. If this is true of the simplest acts of life, how much greater self- afflicted evils are going to come to us when we move in the great and complex affairs of life, our education, our political economy, our religion — in short, the individual and society life itself. Here come into play the innumeral)le and the great physical and men- tal laws — omnipotence itself — that must be at least partially understood and obeyed in order to live at all. It is this jumping at judgments that are founded upon one or two truths concerning little and great affairs that brings the shams and frauds, the bigots and fanatics, the general demoralization and the " learned ignorance " that so retards the spread of knowledge among men, and thus beats back the cause of progress, and kills the brightest hopes that send their sunshine across life's pathway. II. The very earliest settlers in Illinois had neither schools, churches, doctors, preachers nor lawyers. A good dog and a trustv rifle were then a greater necessity than any of these, and there was as little demand for the luxurious pleasiu'es of modern people as there was for the evils that accompany the increase of societies, and the denser population of these days. Being without schools, etc., they were also without penitentiaries or police officers. Gov. Reynolds came to Illinois in the year 1800; born in the old commonwealth of Penn- sylvania. After he had lived here fifty-five years, he wrote down his recollections in his " Pioneer History of Illinois," of the people he found here when he came. He says, they were removed from the con-uption of large cities, and enjoyed an isolated position in the vast interior of North America. He thinks that a century before ISOO, they bad solved for themselves the problem that neither wealth nor splendid possessions, nor an extraordinary degree of ambition, nor energy, ever made a people happy. They resided more than 1,000 miles from the older colonies; they were strangers to wealth or pinching poverty, but they possessed con- tent and real Christian virtues of head and heart, and were consequently happy. Their ambition did not urge them to more than an humble and competent support, and their wants were few and simple. They did not strive to hoard wealth, they seldom drank to excess, and he pronounces them a " virtuous, contented and happy people." This is the testimony of a man who tells what he saw, and he knew well the people of whom he is speaking. There are none liviug now who were here when Reynolds came, to tell their recollections of the people, and excepting what he tells us about them, we are ignorant, save faint traditions, shadowy tales reciting the story of " Where nothing dwelt but beasts of prey, Or men as fierce and wild as they." HISTORY OF BUREAU CbUNTY. Accepting the "old Ranger's" account of the people as literally true, we find they had no schoolhouses, and they were illiterate as a rule, and he who confounds the terms illit- eracy and ignorance, would say they were, of course, very ignorant. Yet the truth is, among the early settlers of Illinois, history will forever preserve the fact that there were even then men here who, were they living now in the prime of their manhood, would take rank with the foremost men of the age. In the way of superstitious dreads and beliefs they were more ignorant than we are now — that is, than some of us. But remember, the whole world then believed in witches, and goblins, spooks and spells. Hideous appari- tions then confronted men in every turn of life, projecting their ghastly presence into every family circle, between husband and wife, parent and child, and often crushing all the highest and holiest human impulses and passions. The revolutions of the earth have, in the distant past, brought their long periods of the same faith and beliefs among the nations. Beliefs and moral codes that were enforced by eloquence, by pious frenzy, by the sword, the iiame and faggot, by the gibbet and the headsman's ax and by those great and cruel wars that converted this bright and beautiful world into a blackened and desolate waste, and sincere men became moral mon- sters, who converted the fireside into a penal colony, punishing the flesh until death was a welcome refuge, and torturing frightened imaginations with the pictures of a literal hell of tire and brimstone, until poor men and women and even children could only escape by suicide — that mad plunge into the incon- ceivable horrors of the damned. Time when, not only society, but all civilized nations, believed substantially the same beliefs, and hunted down heretics and killed them; when State and church were one and the same thing. The State was supreme over body and mind, and legislated for body and soul, and glutted itself with persecutions and slaughters. It enacted that the literature and philosophy of the world was contained in the "Lives of the Saints," of which the pious and good had gathered many great libraries of hundreds of thousands of volumes. Here then are the two extremes — the ear- liest pioneers without State or church — the old world with little or nothing else but church and State. The latter went daft and dried up the fountains of the human heart, and made the world desolate and sterile; the first wresting the desert wilderness from the savage and the wild beasts, and literally making the solitude bloom, and bear the im- mortal fruit of glorious deeds. These State- less, schooless, churchless, illiterate people blazed the way and prepared the ground for the coming of the school teacher and the church, the lawyer and the hospitals, the in- sane asylums and the penitentiaries, the les- sons of life and the hangman's rope, the saloons and the gambler, the broken-hearted wife and the bloated sot, the sob of innocence betrayed, and the leering human goats as they wag their scut and caper upon their mountain of offense, the millionaire and tbe tramp, and the other perhaps inevitable evils that mar and check the joys and bles- sings of larger and older societies. In the slow growth of our common pests, intertwin- ing their roots and branches with the beauti- ful and the good, most fortunately there can be found the gleams of sun- light from those who came and asked questions, who dared to investigate and ' ' drag up drowned truths by the locks." In the long '' night of storm and darkness'' these were the beacon lights shin- ing out upon the troubled waters. After the brave and illiterate pioneer HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. 27 awoke the i-esting echo, and bad fought out the long battle with the beasts and the sav- age, there came together here from the ends of the world the various degrees of life and social rank that now offer to the State his- torian the busiest, most extcmded and varied subjects for an enduring literary work — a story that of itself is an epic poem: their present struggles, their vast schemes of em- pire, their growing wealth, their grand suc- cesses, their short-comings and great failures — the swing of the pendulum in the vast clock of God, ticking off the centuries and geological ages. The sweeps onward and upward, the retreats and revulsions back- ward, the sublime march of the human race, the travail of the ages, the revolutions, wars, beliefs and bloody reforms and reviv- als — things that seem to retard, but really are the demonstration of the progress of man ; all is but the creation, molding and building up of that philosophy that reaches out to the great mass of mankind, and results in that culture and experience which deepens and strengthens the common-sense of the people, rectifies judgments, improves mor- als, encourages independence and dissipates superstitions. In this prolonged human trag- edy of the ages — this apparent chaos of ignorance and riot of bigotry and all shades of persecution — there have been born at cer- tain undeviating periods, the great thoughts of the world's few thinkers, giving us the truth, which grows and widens forever, for it alone is immortal, and in time it yields us a philo- sophy that worships the beautiful only in the useful, and the religious only in the true: a philosophy that is the opposite and contra- diction of sentiment as opposed to sense; that requires a rational personal indepen- dence of thought on all subjects, whether secular or sacred, and that equally rejects an error, whether it is fresh and novel, or glo- riously gilded by antiquity — a philosophy that yields no homage to a thing because it is a mystery, and accepts no ghostly authority ad- ministered by men, and the root of which lies in a florid mysticism. There is now a per- ceptible intellectual activity that marks the present age, and that is beginning to pervade all classes, asking questions, seeking causes. It is practical, not theoretical, and its chief aim is to improve the arts and industries, to explore and remedy evils, and to make life every way better worth living. Its types are the electric light, the telephone, better ships and railways, draining the lands and cleaner habits and better houses, healthier food and wiser institutions for the sick, destitute and insane. And scored upon its victorious ban- ners is that one supreme boon of lengthening the average life of a generation ten years. Let the mind dwell a moment upon this mag- nificent miracle, and then call these men, these practical philosophers, what you please, but tell us what coronet is fit to bind their brows, save that of the divine halo itself. They taught mankind the sublime truth that God intends us to mind things near us, and that because knowledge is obtainable, it is our duty to obtain it, and that the best morality or religion is that which abolishes suffering and makes men and women wiser, healthier and better; that the disputes of the schoolmen and the sectarians are to be re- garded as a jargon of the past, and to listen to them is time wasted; nothing is worth studying , but what can be understood, or at least sufficiently understood to be usefully applied. This is a kindly, tolerant, courageous thought, free from the distigurement of bigot- ry and prejudice. It alone, and only it, brings the perceptible advancement in the school, the press and the pulpit and every- where. It is irresistible, and its inflowiner 28 HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. tide is sun-lit with hope, like the blue Egean, when the poet spoke of "the multitudiaous laughter of the sea waves." The labors and sufferings of these men, who gave the average man the new lease of ten years of life, were long, patient and immeasurable, and their innocent and heroic blood has stained the stream of time from its source to the present hour. They worked out their inventions and discoveries, offered them to the world, and were led to the rack or became hiding fugitives from the inappeas- able wrath of mankind. The brutal mob tore assunder their quivering limbs, threw their flesh to the dogs often, and theu complacently erected those monumental piles to ignorance and baseness that pierced the heavens and disfigured the face of the earth. Such was the long and unequal tight between ignorance and knowledge, and that is now going on, not with the bloody ferocity that characterized the ancient type of ignor- ance, but with equal determination and more cunning in its attacks, and more stealth in its assassinations. It can be conquered only by its extermination. To look at the world in these travails — to reflect how pure and stainless is truth, how it seeks modest seclusion and eludes notoriety, how weak it seems when assailed by the countless majorities, by panoplied ignorance, brute force and the wild fanatic and the relentless bigots, is to despair and conclude the creation itself is but a hideous nightmare. Yet looking down the long centuries, averag- ing the conditions of the people of the sep- arated centuries, and then indeed do her white robed victories assume the prfiportions of the marvelous. In retui'n for the perse- cutions and frightful deaths and tortures that were lying in wait upon every foot of the pathway of these children of thought, they have given us the sunlight of the gilded civ- ilization we now enjoy. " Return good for evil," saiththe command of heaven; but here is more, for it is the freedom and joys, and noble hopes and pleasures that endure for- ever. It is the exaltation and purification of life itself far beyond the comprehension of the ignorant receivers of the heaven-sent boon. And above all, be it said in behalf of these great benefactors, no lash was ever raised, no law was ever enacted, no pain ever inflicted, no schoolhouse was ever built, no policeman ever starred, no judge was ever ermined, no sword was overdrawn, no diploma was ever granted, no tax was ever gathered, no contribution ever collected, and no mistake or crimes ever committed; but in pain and persecutions, in outlawry and poverty, in the cold garret and the hiding caves, they thought, invented and discovered, and their works are strong and great enough to lift up mankind, and bear aloft the freedom and glo- ries of this great age. Immortals! You lived and died in obscur- ity, but few of your names known to men, yet we say, great immortals! and bow the head in profound reverence and respect. III. If it is once conceded that all real educa- tion is wholly practical — the most practical thing in life — then is it not self-evident that the schools of every people should be upon a system adapted to their leading and special wants — the habitat of that people? Then, is not this further proposition true, namely, that the only way that real knowledge is diffused, placed in the hands of the average man in such a way that it may be of any intrinsic value to him, is to make it always experi- mental knowledge — through some of the five senses or all of them ? Is is not a mistake bordering upon a high crime to teach the child error of any kind? (yL^ J^, fl II II HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. 31 How few grown people there are in the world who have not by experience, often sad and bitter, had to unlearn the lessons instilled into them, the errors that they once accepted as truths, either in the nursery or school room ? The average graduate even from our best modern institutions can count off these experiences in life by the score. He came from hia Alma Mater stuffed with errors, and his future life was a success or failure just in proportion as he was successful in putting aside this costly ignorance. This is not say- ing that he got nothing at school of utility; but it is saying, that with the good, if any, he had to swallow the poison measured out by ignorance with the best intentions. He must learn to unlearn after he leaves school, and often this is the big end of his real edu- cation. At school he is set to delving among the classics, cullivating a taste for the abstruse and involved speculations of metaphysicians, and he sits in admiration at the feet of the inductive philosophers, contemplating the glories of their ethereal castles and the glit- tering splendors of their florid rhetoric. And weighted down with these tinkling cymbals, he enters the busy, practical world a ' ' very learned man," who is certain to be inglori- ously unhorsed every time he comes in con- flict with "horse sense," as the slang puts it, when it chooses to describe one of more knowl- edge than education. Because the "very learned " may be without much knowledge, and the man who never entered a i.aiversity or college may have a vast store-house of knowledge. Neither of these are always true by any means, but the first should never be true, and would not if the schools were founded upon Hie best system. How to best educate the rising generation, how to improve om- schools, is the prime sub- ject of importance to every one. And it is the duty of each who can to point out errors and to suggest improvements; not to take everything for gi-anted that is claimed by its friends, and not to rest satisfied that a thing cannot be mended simply because of its an- tiquity. The aged think everything was in- comparably better when they, were young than it is now, and old and young think in some indefinite way that the ancient in everything was the best. The Free Mason can pay no higher eulogy to his order than to add to its name "ancient." The lawyer believes that in the black-letter of the law alone is the gar- nered wisdom of the fathers; and poets sing the glories of the mythical golden age. And all are more or less influenced to strive con- tinuously to get things again back into the ancient, beaten paths, believing the follies they detect are the result of the unfortunate departure from the wisdom of the fathers. And so we may trace the influence and author- ity of the ancient throughout every institu- tion and all the phases of society. Reference is made to this general peculiarity of the pub- lic bias in order to somewhat prepare the reader for a brief consideration of what is to immediateiy follow, and which is the lead- ing idea to which the foregoing is all intended to point. IV. Illinois being peculiarly the home of an agricultural people, and this particular coun- ty being the veiy heart of the rich garden — possessing already a large population and rich and intelligent enough for as good and extensive public and private society and edu- cational institutions as any rich and cultured commonwealth, the people are ready for all practical improvements that may be properly presented to them. What is their chief edu- cational interest then? Clearly, it is the dif- fusion among the rising generations of a bet- ter and more general knowledge of the econ- omical geology of this section of country. 32 HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. To be taught the effects of their soil and cli- mate ; where so much wealth is created as [ there is every year in this county — there is no estimating the money value of this knowl- edge. Let us illustrate: There is a county in southern Illinois that is splendidly adapted for raising apples. About forty years ago a man located there and started this industry, putting out extensive orchards and supplying the people with trees, and soon the orchards became numerous. The man had learned the business in a different part of the country, and supposed the best growing varieties where he formerly lived were the best in the new locality. Just now the fruit growers have learned that he was wholly mistaken. The result here is a generation whose ener- gies were misdirected, and whose losses can hardly be estimated — a sovere penalty for the want of that knowledge of soil and cli- mate that the improved schools will some day impart. In the instance given, this knowledge by this single individual would have been worth more to the people than all they have paid for school purposes in fifty years. Another large section may be found where for fifty years the people have been building houses, and yet the intelligent traveler can- not find a house containing the architectural beauty and conveniences of even the average better houses of some other localities. Upon looking into this strange fact it will be found that from the first the leading so-called archi- tect and builder who did the first and for years the large part of house building knew little or nothing of modern improvements ; was an ignorant stickler for the ancient, and he clung to the obsolete. Another county may be found in the Mis- sissippi Valley where the tax books show more dogs than sheep. And the astounding part of the facts are that it is, or would be if it had the chance, the natural home of the sheep — where they can be raised to the best advantage and with the greatest profit. But the sovereigns in the exercise of their divine privileges run to dogs. One distinguished citizen's name on the tax books was charged with $8 dog tax. and 50 cents for all other property. The barbarous instinct that breeds these wretched cm- dogs aod revels in their possession, costs that particular county nearly a million dollars a year, and has for the past seventy-five years. The spot most celebrated for the produc- tion of fine horses, especially the fleet-footed coursers, is the Blue Grass region in Ken- tucky. The horse-breeders have made money and fame, and many years ago they com- menced an intelligent study of their locality and its especial adaptations. The constitu- ent elements of soil, water, grasses, and an understanding of the peculiar blue limestone rock that is found in all this region, was scientifically investigated. To get the par- ticular strain of horses adapted to their fav- ored locality they turned their scientific atten- tion to the study of the horse by long obser- vation and intelligent experiments. They hunted out effects, and then sought for the causes, and hwe, as everywhere in the world, practical knowledge of their surroundings has paid immensely. This part of their real 1 education was with reference to their sur- roundings, to the immediate soiu'ces of their wealth, to their section of country, their home. Almost any work on the Kentucky j horse will explain the difference in texture of the bone of one of their thorough-bred horses, or how much finer it is in texture than the common horse of other localities; that the bone is much heavier to the square inch, and comparatively approaches in fineness, compactness and strength to ivory. In a simi lar way the entire animal has been studied, and the results are known throughout the world. HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. 33 V. We have no hesitation in atSrming that the school children could be much more easily taught the elementary principles of the eco- nomical geology of this portion of the valley so as to comprehend them tolerably well, than they can be taught to grasp the understand- ing of the English grammar, or the majority of things now taught in the public schools. A competent teacher rambling about the hills and streams and highways with his pupils would at once see that he is in a practical way givinc; the young and naturally inquisitive mind the very food its hungry natui'e eagerly craved. If he was competent to really teach he would at once see before him a method of srivinsr to his school information and some real knowledge that never could come in the lesson tasks of the school room, that mental stupefying routine process of committing to memory. They would learn geology exactly as a boy learns to be a carpenter or black- smith, assisting in the work; and this educa- tion, in the free air and sunlight, would be holiday playing with the keen zest of inno- cent childhood. There is no recitation here, no task, no stupid committing to memory, to be forgotten next week or nest year, or at least very soon after leaving school. But there is gaining insight into some of the physical laws by the young mind, real knowl- edge, none of which will or can ever be for- gotten. This is the difference between infor- mation and knowledge. The geological history of a country deter- mines its agricultm'al capacity, as well as the amount and kind of population it will event- ually contain. It carries us back to a period when the material of which the earth is composed existed in a state of fusion, so in- tense that the solid elements we now see were in a gaseous state, and the process of cooling eventually formed the rocks, the base on which the thin earth's crust rests; rocks formed by the cooling of molten mineral matter as they are now formed by matter thrown out by existing volcanoes. These changes have been going on through count- less ages, or better, through geological peri- ods, immeasurable cycles, that tell us of the eternity of the past as well as the eternity of the future; the story of ceaseless changes, and that nothing is ever annihilated. A chemist may resolve a grain of sand into its original elements, but it still exists in another form. Life and death are bu' a part of the ceaseless changes in everything, a mere mode of motion, a great law of matter, working like the law of gravitation. All natural forces are manifested by motion. Each min- eral assumes its peculiar crystallization with perfect certainty. This may be regarded, so far as we can investigate, as nature's tirst beginnings of organic ci-eation, the first result of that great law that culminated in the high- est forms of life. Millions and billions of years have passed since the first organic life appeared in this world, and since the highest type of life — man — came, there are indubitable evidences that millions of years have again passed away. We are taught this by the incontest- able records of geological history. The system of rocks is, tirst, the igneous rocks or formations, then the stratified rocks, originally made of a sediment deposited in the bottom of the ocean. Sometimes the stratified rocks have been subjected to the ac- tion of heat and their condition thus changed into what are called metamorphic rocks. Thus sandstone is converted into quartz rock or quartzite, limestone into crystalline mar- ble, etc. This process usually obliterates all traces of the fossils that are to be found in stratified rocks, and makes it often impossi- HISTORY or BUREAU COUNTY. ble to determine the relative age of the meta- | morphic rocks. These are the three distinct classes of rocks which enter into the formation of the earth's surface; the simplest distinctions, which any child can learn as readily as its alpha- bet, and that contain the most interesting story in the universe, and are a great store- house of knowledge. The manner in which the stratified rocks are formed, the successive beds accumulating in recTular order, one above another, repre- sent distinct periods in the chronological his- tory of the earth, and in these enduring leaves | of history are found the fossils of the am- mals and plants that existed during the \ period of their formation. Thus the geologi- I cal chronology of the earth is not only its , correct history, but the only possible history | of the various creation of plants and animals. 1 And from the earliest corals of the primeval ocean down through all succeeding periods to the present time, there is the evidence that cannot be questioned, that in all animate life, as in the mineral and its various crystalliza- tions, the same general plan or law m the formation of the four great sub-kingdoms of existing animals, played its resistless forces. Some of the stratified rocks, especially the limestone, are composed almost wholly of the calcareous habitations and bony skeletons of the marine animals that lived in the ocean dm-ing the time these were in process of for- mation, with barely enough mineral matter to hold the materials together in a cemented mass A similar process is going on now un- der the water, and thus making the imper- ishable records for those to read who may, many millions of years from now, come after us The links in this long chain of geologi- cal history are joined together by the unerr- ing characteristics of a common origin, that weaves them into a complete chain of organic existence— the astounding story from pro- tozoa to man-the complete result of creative energy, that has worked forever and will never stop. As is said elsewhere, nearly the entire sur- face of Illinois is drift, loess and alluvial de- posits; reddish-brown clay forming the subsoil through this county, except beds of clean gravel that are found in certain locali- ties ; loess being found along the streams, as it is a recent deposit of fresh water. A large I portion of the drift came from a distance by the waters and glaciers, those crystal ships 1 that once moved over Illinois, bearing their ! rich cargoes of food-plant and spreading ' them about for our enrichment. No sailors i walked their glittering decks, no pilots direct- I ed their coiu-se or took their reckonings. It I was natm-e's free and untrammeled commerce, I ean-ying its boundless wealth to the oncom- ' inc fenerations. Soils are composed mainly of mineral mat- ter in a finely comminuted condition, to which is added the vegetable and animal matter ac- cumulated on the surface. If there are no supei-ficial deposits then the soil is formed by the decomposition of the rocks. If the rock is sandstone it will form a light sandy soil ; if a clay, shale or argillaceous rock, a heavy clay soil will be the result, and if a limestone a calcareous soil. In the drift deposits will be found no valuable deposits of mineral wealth. It was icrnorance of this fact that so often allured some of the early settlers of the country into patient and expensive hunts for silver and lead mines. Their education on the subject of soils was so imperfect that they could not see that the lead-producing regions of north- western Illinois and portions of Wisconsin and Iowa, were in the drif tless region. The Government sm-veys pronounce this the most interesting portion of Illinois. Its HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. 35 present and prospective resources, salubrity of climate and beauty of location are not sur- passed in the world. The general contiguration of the face of the county, its groves, streams, soil and gen- eral characteristics, have been the delight and admiration of all beholders. The fertile, rolling prairies, the timber skirting the streams, and the magnificent natural groves, standing like islands over the rich expanse of prairie. The streams wind in long and grace- ful curves ; the soil is deep, rich, warm and light. The staple products of this rich re- gion, corn, grasses, fruits and potatoes, grow in boundless luxuriance. Green River enters the county about twelve miles from its northwest corner, flows south with crooked windings through Greenfield Township, and then turns westward through the north part of Gold to the west county line, cutting oif from the corner of the coun- ty Fairfield and parts of the two townships above named. In these two townships ai'e the Green River swamp lands. Big Bureau Creek comes in from Lee County, near the northeast corner of Bureau. It flows in a general southwest direction to a point a short distance west of the city of Princeton; from thence it takes a south course for ten miles, and turns nearly due east, and empties into the Illinois River, some five miles from where the south boundary line of the county strikes that river. The stream has very little allu- vial land along its course. The prairies rise in rather abrupt swells from the banks of the creek. About Tiskilwa and on the Illinois River there is considerable rich bottom lands, covered with fine heavy timber. Little Bu- reau Creek has a tributary west of it, which rises in the northern part of the county and forming a junction a few miles southwest of Princeton. Coal Creek and Brush Creek are also drainage outlets of the county. On the southeast corner of the county, the Illinois River forms the boundary line for a distance of sixteen miles. There is a broad alluvial bottom along the Bureau side. The lowest bottom is mostly a swampy, grassy plain, interspersed with sloughs, and ridges of river sand, and subject to inundations when the Illinois river sends out its floods over the low banks. One of these sloughs is Lake DePue, which communicates with the river at its southern terminus. The town of Trenton is built upon the west of this lake, half a mile from its outlet. At ordinary stages of water, boats pass through this out- let and land at Trenton. The heavy portion of the timber is along Big Bureau, south of Princeton. Big Bureau Grove, in the western part of the county, has quite a body of good timber. Crow Creek, in the town of Milo, and Pond Creek, west of Tiskilwa, have only scattering timber. Dad Joe's grove is in the northwestern part of the county, is on a very high elevation, and since the first discovery of the county has been a conspicuous landmark. The grand undulating sweep of the prairies, and the great abundance of orchards and beautiful shade trees and the numerous cul- tivated groves, and improvements that dot the county thickly over, present to the eye as tine landscape scenery as can be found in the world. But few counties in the State present so poor an opportunity for an examination of its geological formations. With the excep- tion of the Illinois River and a small ravine near Tiskilwa, there is hardly an outcrop of rocky formation in the county. The excava- tions along the line of the C, B. & Q. road, which runs through the county a distance of forty-five miles, present some of the clay and gravel-beds only. The Rock Island & Chi- 36 HISTOKY OF BUEEAU COUNTY. cago road traverses the roughest portion of the county, and the same is true here aa on the Bureaus and their tributaries and Green River; and yet all these streams and railroads traversing the county in every direction, show no natural section of rocks. Most of the first bottom on the Illinois is subject to overflow, and but little of it can be cultivated, but such as is dry enough, yields enormous crops of corn. From forty to fifty feet above the first bottom of the Illinois Eiver, and lying along its western bluff range, is the second bottom. This is from a few hun- dred yards to half a mile wide, and its sur- face is a sandy and marly clay, intermixed in places with marly-mixed gravels. It is a regular river terrace, and the traveler, from the ear window, obtains a fine view of the valley of the river, stretching away with its dark serpentine belt of timber, and glimpses of the slow- moving, shining water. In the diluvial epoch, when the water spread all over the bottom, the river, lake-like in its expanse and slowness of current, must have presented a body of water larger than the Mississippi River even in its high stages of water. The lower valley of the Big Bureau has also a narrow alluvial bottom, back a few miles from its confluence with the Illinois River. This bottom is narrow, crooked and covered with timber. The deposit is rich and marly, and when cultivated is very productive and inexhaustible. The swamp lands of Green River are allu- vial deposits, but are more or less of a peaty nature. It is black imid, muck and impure peat. The Illinois Eiver bluffs show the loess in the deposits. At places these })luffs rise to a height of nearly one hundred and fifty feet. The exposures show also a marly, partially stratified clay and sand. Between Bureau Junction and Peru there are several places where landslides have taken place, and the formation is more easily recognized. One of these is a marked feature in the landscape; at a distance it presents the ap- pearance of a heavy outcrop of white sand- stone. A closer view shows it to be a heavy bed of sliding, crawling sand. It is a white, yellow-banded sand, marly in its composition, and exhibits the most marked lines and bands of stratification. The outcrop is about thirty feet in thickness. It may be found in the bluff, near the railroad track, three miles east of Trenton. The caving sands have crawled down the hill almost to the railroad track. The yellow and blue clays are found nearly all over the county in a thick deposit. The digging of the artesian well in Princeton, shows these to be seventy-nine feet thick, be- fore the rock was reached. This first rock reached was only a thin bed, only three feet thick, and then was reached a hard-pan clay of a depth of 114 feet was passed through. The record of this well is very imperfect, and it is not at all certain that the thin rock passed was a regular stratified deposit. It may have been a detached mass sticking in the drift, and therefore the real depth of these clays may be nearer 200 feet than sev- enty-nine feet. In many of the high prairie ridges are de- posits of gravel, clean and finely assorted; the largest quantities so far found are be- tween Tiskilwa and Sheffield, and along the railroad track northeast of Princeton. De- tached boulders of red and black granite are found on the prairies. YI. Coal-Measures. — The northern boundary line of the Illinois coal-field passes through the north part of Bureau County. Accord- HISTOKY OF BUREAU COUNTY. 37 ing to the geological map, the line commeDces at a point on the east line of the county, ten miles south of the northeast corner of the county, nearly due west of Homer station on the Illinois Central road; thence west, but bellying a little south, until it crosses the track of the C, B. & Q. road a little south- west of the village of Maiden; thence it bears off a little north of west until it inter- sects Green River at the northeast corner of the township of Gold; thence down Green River to a point north of Geneseo. All of Bureau south of this line is underlaid by lower coal measure deposits. This is about two- thirds of the county. As the county lies on the northern limits of the coal-fields of the State, the deposits are somewhat irregular and detached. Sheffield mine is one of the oldest and most prosperous mining enterprises in the State. The mines at this place were opened more than thirty years ago, about the time of the construction of the Chicago & Rook Island Railroad, and have always been an important coaling point on this line. The seam is reached by an inclined plane, carried down to the level of the coal, about forty feet below the level of the surface. This is the No. 6 seam, and is geologically identified with that at Kewanee. It has an average thickness of four and a half feet, and no trouble occurs from water. This deposit has been considered local and limited, but has been very productive, and presents uniform- ity and persistence. The main entries are now advanced to a great distance from the original dump, and, aside from local ine- qualities, the seam is continuously good. A constant demand at this point for loco- motive coal has led to comparatively uniform output for many years, and has gradually de- veloped a permanent and prosperous com- munity of miners, many of whom possess comfortable homes and surroundings. The average price of mining is SI per ton, sub- ject to such variations as the seasons may cause, or as sometimes affected by contracts agreed upon. Disaffection among the men is unusual, and few efforts at strikes have occurred in years. The next mine of importance is in the southeast corner of the county, near Peru. The formation here corresponds with that at Peru and La Salle. The shaft is about 300 feet deep. This vein is No. 2, and is about three feet thick, of superior quality. The HoUowayvil]^ Mine is 385 feet deep, to the same seam. In the southwest corner of the county, near Kewanee, is a shaft 186 feet deep, to the seam worked both at Kewanee and Sheffield. Outcrops of coal are also found in the ravines and along the bluffs of Bureau Creek, which have been the local source of supply to the village of Tiskilwa and the surrounding country for many years. The most noticeable, however, of the mines in the county removed from railway connec- tions, are those near Princeton ,from which this town secures its supply chiefly. In this mine are found two seams, No. 7 being about two and a half feet thick, but of inferior quality; while the lower one is a bright, hard coal, four and a half to live feet thick, and about 150 feet below the surface. This is No. 6, the same as the seam at Sheffield. The mines in this locality are free from water, and the deposit is of considerable local ex- tent, and the coal is sufficiently free from the sulphuret of iron to be used in the man- ufacture of gas at Princeton. Thomas Elliott, Inspector of Mines, reports the following for Bureau County mines for 1882: 38 HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. Name of owner or operator of mine. Postoffice address. - a w v V _^ rt •a ■? 3 O i a> i O o .2 p 1 o ^ g a s a r, a E» 1 ^ ce 3 ■s o o s ^ o ^-^ J g= s — _^ B^ a .2 o,* IZi 'A C2 H Q a- O 03 1= t. o o o a a 3 a 3 C.'3 " !a z z; S3 af Sheffield . Sheffield . Mineral.. Sheffield Mining & Trans- portation Co Wietom & Fleming James .Sprague James ^I. Uood jBuda. A. Lyford Peter Duncan W. H. Forest John Vanvelzer A. B. Ashley, Supt Fletcher Bros Elizalieth Foster George H. Locey P. Weisenlterg A. W. Walton Joseph Vanes John Nichols Seaton Bros Totals.. 80 30 KewaneeHenryCo' 300 Princeton ^\ 40 40 LaSalle.LaSalleCo Peru, LaSalle Co... Princeton 80 HoUowville . 60 40 80 40 20 80 1010 40ISlope 801 " 4ol " 47 Shaft 28 48 60 41 160 135 150 300 13S 1.50 200 151 385 Mules.. Horses 1 horse gin Steam 2 horse gin. Steam 1 horse gin. 2 " . 2 " . 2 " . Steam 681.. 8'.. k s .. 9.. 3.. S\ 1 21 5' 1 48 3 12 1 6 4j 2 8! 225' 5! 23,741 1,000 840 1,200 800 868 600 1,000 4,800 3,000 950 16,500 300 2,431 1,250 1,089 1,085 $1 75 2 25' 2 25 2 251 2 25, 2 25 2 2S] 2 00| 1 75 1 75; 1 75' 2 00 1 75 2 00 2 00 2 00 2 00 $30,000 3,000 1,500 700 500 1,200 1.000 500 15,000 6,01 10 8,000 16,000 COut their hands on in the darkness and hurry to the fort. The settlers, as a rule, married young. Here were no distinctions in rank, and but little in fortune, and nearly the only source of amusement that was enjoyed by all was the wedding; this was anticipated from the time announced until the gay frolic was over, with the keenest anticipations by the whole people of the country for miles around. Any other general gathering of the people was either a lojrrolling or a house-raising, where the men had to precede the night's roystering with a day of hard work. But at the wed- ding alone, it was different. All the world, at least every one who heard of the affair in time to get there, was invited. This would be the only invitation issued to even the closest friends, and the welcome was as cor- dial as the implied invitation had been uni- versal. At the cabin of the bride the people would begin to assemble at an early hour — the whole family, from the cradle to the white-haired sire and matron with weak and trembling voices and the bent forms of great age, tottering to the seats of honor by the favorite side at the tire-place, or, if the weather was warm, at the side of the door; and these dear old "grandsirs " would catch the infection of the occasion, grow gleesome and garrulous about the long ago, kindling the fires of nearly extinct memories, until their blood would once more course through their veins in a rush and tlow that would lighten up their eyes with the erstwhile flames of their lusty youth. During all the fore- noon the people would continue to come, till about the hour of high noon. Cooking, chatting, joking and welcoming guests, with- out the slightest show of formality anywhere, gave all something to do or say. The young girls in some secluded spot — perhaps, if only one room in the house, a sheet hung across the corner of the room — busy arranging the bride, and in the greatest glee, joking and talking, tittering and laughing ; the married people nursing their children, assisting in the cooking and preparing the long table (generally a couple of bare planks on wooden trussels), or exchanging sweet gossip with their neighbors ; the young men standing about the premises in quiet groups, trying to talk about the weather, crops, or a coon hunt, and all the time distracting their attention from each other's words by furtive glances toward the girls. If there was a low rail fence in front of the house they perched upon this, or standing with one foot on the third rail, busily whittling their riding switch; and further away down the line of fences were the young men's saddle horses and the family wagons standing hitched. In the meantime there is at the home of the groom an assembling of the young men on horseback. They are to be his gay escort to the wedding, and one is selected before they leave the house to run the " race for the bottle." At the house of the bride are out- looks for this groom's cavalcade, and when discovei-ed in the distance, the young folks, boys and girls, mount their horses and start to meet them, having first made their selec- tion to contend in the race on behalf of the bride and against the groom's man. They meet at some point where there is a long stretch of straight road and the riders prepare and the race is run. "What fun alive! Whether old plow horses or burr-tailed colts, under whip and spur, they do their best, and the winner takes the bottle (generally an old black bottle gaily-rigged out in nar- row pink ribbons) and this, marching at the head of the crowd, he holds aloft — the proud and envied hero of the day. When this joyful procession reaches the house, the 76 HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. groom is conducted to the bride, the preacher takes up,his position in front of the door, the people press around, and all is hushed; the happy pair emerge, and just stepping out- side the door, stop in the close presence of the preacher and slowly and solemnly he asks "John, wilt thou?" and " Mary Jane, wilt thou?'' and then by the authority of heaven and the power of the law, he impress- ively pronounces them man and wife. "Whom God hath joined together let no man put asunder. Salute your bride!" Then follows dinner, and immediately after that dancing. The afternoon, the eve- ning, all the night long until breakfast next morning, a single iiddle, the fiddler generally one-eyed and beating time with his foot, and away the high- stepping, fleet-footed dancing racers go; pirouetting, bounding like India rubber, whirling, double- shuffle, pigeon's- wing, the reel, the jig, the hoe-down, the walk - talk - ginger-blue, terpsichore ! what dancing, what life, what endurance! filling their innocent hearts with gladness and their legs with soreness and pain. The "infair," the day after the wedding, at the house of the groom's parents, would be simply a coutinuatiou of this feasting and dancing for another twenty-four hours. Then, in a few days, the men all assemble and by night the cabin for the new couple is com- pleted and they move in, and commence the serious work of married life — and the wed- ding is over. The tin grater, the hominy block, the hand- mill and the sweep, and the ox-mill and fin- ally the water mill were the order of the coming of the mechanic arts in bread mak- ing. Nearly every family was its own tanner, weaver, shoemaker, tailor, carpenter, black- smith and miller. The first water-mill, or even horse-mill, was a grand advance in the solid comforts of civilization. I Amusements often are imitations of the business of life, or at least of some of its particular objects of pursuit. Many of the sports of the early settlers were imitative of the exercises and strategems of hunting and war. Boys were taught the use of the bow and arrow at an early age, and acquired con- siderable expertness in their use. One im- portant pastime was learning to imitate the noise or call of every bird or beast in the forest. This faculty was a very necessary part of education, on account of its utility in certain circumstances. The imitation of gobbling and other calls of the turkey often brought these keen-eyed denizens of the woods within easy range of the hunter's rifle. The bleating of the fawn brought its dam to her death in the same way. The hunter often would collect a company of mopish owls to the trees about 'him and amuse him- self with their hoarse screaming. His howl would raise and obtain a response from a pack of wolves, so as to inform him of their neighborhood, and thus guard him against their prowling depredations. This imitative talent was often used as a protection or a deception of the enemy in the strategy of war. The Indians would often when scattered about in a neighborhood, call themselves to- gether, by the turkey calls by day and the howling like wolves by night. And some- times a whole people would be thrown into the greatest consternation by the screeching of an owl. Throwing the tomahawk was another amusement in which often great skill was acquired. This instrument, with a handle a certain length, will make a certain number of revolutions in a given distance. At one distance, thrown at a tree, it will stick with the handle down, and at another distance with the handle np. Practice would soon enable the boy to throw it, and with his eye HISTOEY OF BUREAU COUNTY. 77 so accurately aieasiire the distance as to stick it any way he might choose. Wrestling, running and jumping were the athleticsports of the young men. A boy at twelve or thir- teen years of age, when possible to do so, was furnished with a rifle, and in killing game he would soon become an expert. Then he was a good fort soldier, and would be as- signed his port-hole in case of an attack. Among the early settlers of the Missis- sippi Valley was a wide-spread belief in witchcraft. This -was true at that time over nearly all the Old World. To the witch was ascribed the power of inflicting new and strange diseases, particularly incurable dis- eases on children; of secretly destroying cat- tle by shooting them with hair balls propelled from noiseless witch guns; and a great variety of other modes of destruction. Hunters, even to a recent date, had no doubt but that witches could put " spells " on their guns, or that men were changed into horses, whom the witches would bridle and saddle, and ride at full speed over hill, dale and moun- tain, and through the air to all parts of the world, to attend the witches' pow-wows at their distant places of rendezvous. They would return the poor human horse to his bed and sleep just before daylight; but, es- pecially in children's hair, would be found the witches' stirrups, that the child would fully and painfully realize when these tan- gles were being combed out by the mother. The horrid and fatal powers of ihe witches were ample, their works abundant, their wrecks everywhere, calling up men's dread and fears, and appalling and weakening in their forces men's reason and intellect. States and Government invoked the laws to stamp out this ten-ible evil, and witches were hunted out, drowned, burned and executed in various ways. Accusers were encouraged, and it soon came to be a fact that to be ac- cused was to be condemned. The victims would be thrown into the water, if they sank and drowned this proved they were innocent, if they swam ashore this proved their guilt, and according to law they were at once exe- cuted. A community which could make such laws were terribly in earnest, and certainly sincere and honest in their beliefs. They s aw their own and their neighbors' cattle df- ing of the murrain; and was not this plainly the work of the witches? Cases of epilepsy, fits, insanity, strange fevers, in fact, the mul- titudes of diseases which they could not un- derstand, and if not witches' work, what could it be? The first victims were always old, ugly women, especially if they lived alone; then, when these did not furnish vic- tims enough, others were selected and exe- cuted. The ablest men then living had no doubt but that there were plenty of witches, and the most learned divines denounced them as satraps of the devil ; learned judges from the bench sent them to the rack and the gibbet. No one doubted, and many of the accused confessed, and told wonderful stories of their crimes and orgies, and would some- times even beg to be executed. People throughout the (Jhristian world were thus murdered by the hundred thousand, and mat- ters had reached that climax that when one neighbor desired to be rid of another, all he had to do was to lodge a complaint against him of being a witch, until fathers deserted and denounced their own children, children accused their parents, neighbors suspected each other and horrid suspicions began to reach all, and the dark wings of death and universal gloom hovered over the world like a hideous pall, and by its growing intensity the public craze burned itself out and men began to sober up from the mad frenzy of the hour. The first step toward a cure probably was 78 HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. the appearance of the "wizards." These were men, witch doctors, who were supposed to possess all the evil power of the witches, but instead of generally exercising them for bad purposes they would cure those afflicted by witches, and in many occult ways thwart the spirits in their fell works. These witch doctors boldly stood in the way of the ma- levolent influences of the bad spirits. Hence they were called witch-mastera, and from patient to patient they practiced their pro- fession as regular physicians. They would make "silver tea" (boil a silver coin in water) and give it to the sick cattle. They would carry to the bed-side their witch balls (made of deer and cow's hair) and in a strange manner, and muttering a wild jar- gon, pass them over the sufl'erers, and exor- cise the evil ones. One mode of cure was to make a picture of the supposed witch on a stump, and shoot at it a bullet in which was a small portion of silver. This bullet, it was supposed, transferred to the real witch a pain- ful, sometimes a mortal spell, on that por- tion of the witches' body corresponding to the part of the pictiu'e struck by the bullet. Other and many disgusting practices were employed as remedies, and the witch had but one way of relieving itself of any spell thus inflicted, and that was to borrow something, no matter what, of the family to which the witches' victim belonged. Thus often would an old woman only discover that she was a "suspect" when she had applied to borrow of a neighbor, and had been peremptorily refused. Cattle were sometimes burned in the forehead with a branding-iron, or when dead, burned to ashes. This, it was held, inflicted a spell on the witch, which could only be removed by borrowing as above re- cited. Witches would constantly milk their neighbors' cows. This, it was believed, they could do by fixing a new pin in a new towel, one for each cow milked, and hanging the towel over the door and then by incantations the milk would be extracted from the fringes of the towel, after the manner of milking a cow. Singularly enough, the cows were never milked by the witches, except when they had about gone dry for the want of proper feed. It is stated as a historical fact that the Grerman glass-blowers once drove the witches out of their furnaces by throw- ing living puppies into them. The Voudoo was brought to this country with the captured slaves from the jungles of Africa, and it is here yet, and in some form believed in by a majority of the negroes in the country. It is but another form of witchcraft. It is the negroes' horrid incanta- tion and magic, and in the cauldron where is boiled the voudoo, instead of "tongue of viper and leg of newt " ai'e human remains, robbed of graves opened at midnight. Noth- ing, save the imagination of Edgar A. Poe, can equal in repulsive horrors the genuine voudoo. lu the year 1790 a black slave was hung at Cahokia, who acknowledged that by his power of devilish incantations, he had "poi- soned and killed his master; but that his mistress had proved too powerful for his neci'omaucy. " In the same village another slave was shot down in the street for his diabolism. One of the first acts of the first civil Governor of Illinois, John Tod, was an order to the Sheriff to take from the jail a convict negro slave, to the water's edge, burn him and scatter his ashes to the four winds of heaven for voudooism. The red children of the forest were as superstitious as the whites or blacks in regard to witches. The One-eyed Prophet, a brother of Tecumseh, who commanded at the battle of Tippecanoe, in obedience, he said, to the commands of the great Manitou, ful- minated the penalty of death against those HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. 79 who practiced the black art of witchcraft or magic. A number of Indians were tried, convicted, condemned, tomahawked and con- sumed on a pyre. The chiefs wife, his ne- phew, Billy Patterson, and one named Joshua, were accused of witchcraft. The two latter were convicted and burned; but a brother of the chief's wife boldly stepped forward, seized his sister and led her from the Coun- cil house, and then returned and harangued the savages, exclaiming: "Manitou, the evil spirit has come in our midst, and we are murdering one another! " It is a sad confession that no civilized white man had the sense or courage thus to rebuke the murderers among his own people. Pity that this one-eyed savage could not have been employed and empowered as a mission- ary, to go among civilized people and save them from their own murderous superstitions. In the history of the world, the most revolt- ing cruelties have been the inflictions of superstitious ignorance, and were it not yet a matter of daily demonstration, one could not easily believe how long these prejudices held fast in people's minds, and how when they are crushed in one shape, they will duly appear in some other form. The fell mon- ster that has ever laid waste and made des- olate the earth, is the earnest bigot, full of error and superstition, holding toward heaven in supplication, hands dripping with the blood of innocent mothers and prattling babes. CHAPTER VII. The Name of Bureau County— How it Came— The First Five FAMiLiEg— Who They Were — Bulbona, John Dixon, Charles S.Boyd, Henry Thomas — Some Lively Sketches and Anec- dotes — Death and Burial of John Dixon — Gurdon S. Hub- b\rd— The Ancients— First Postmaster— Oldest Living Set- tler — Abram Stratton— His Remarkable Trip in 1S29— Sketch of Him— The Brigiiams— Total First Tax Bureau County— Rem.^ekable Career of John H. Boyd— Thrbb Brothers-in-Law— Daniel Smith's Death, the First in the County — His Widow— etc., etc. "To each are compensations given That make conditions nearly even." 'Jr yj^ TF ?fr 9p 9Jc "And tales were told Of Indians, bears and panthers bold, Till on each urchin's frowsy head The bristling hair stood up with dread." — John H. Bryant. IN the year 1S28 there were live families in Bureau County, coming here in the order named: Bulbona, John Dixon, Henry Thomas, Reason B. Hall and John and Justus Ament. As it is now ascertained that the first white man to settle in Chicago was a black man named Baptiste, so the first white settler in Bureau County was the swarthy half-breed, "Old Bulbona" (Boiirbonnais). Gurdon S. Hubbard had lived hereabouts in the service of the American Fur Company as early as 1818. In June, 1827, John Dixon and Charles S. Boyd passed through what is now Bitreau County, on their way from Springfield to Galena, with a small drove of cattle for market at the lead mines. It was then an unoccupied wilderness from Peoria to Galena, and the only guide on the journey was a wagon track, made a few days before by a party who had gone from Galena to Peoria — probably the first wagon that had ever left its mark in all this vast region of northern Illinois. There was not a white settlement passed in all the country from 80 HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. Peoria to Galena, and to all appearances there was not a white man in the great Northwest. The wigwams, the teppees and the Indian villages at long distances apart were the only human signs on a route of one hundred and fifty miles. Alex. Boyd, the oldest son of Charles S. Boyd, born on the 3d day of July, 1817, and who recollects coming with his father's family to settle in the county in 1S30, and who is now a citizen of Princeton, gives many interesting incidents, as he has heard his father relate them, of Mr. Boyd's trip with beef cattle to Galena. He lived in Springfield, the nearest neighbor of Mr. Todd, Abraham Lincoln's father-in-law. Alex, says he can well remember seeing Lincoln sneaking over to Todd's to see Miss Mai-y Todd, whom he afterward married. Mr. Todd had a negro servant, named Josiah Hinkle, who wanted to accom- pany Boyd on bis trip to Galena, and Mr. Todd finally consenting, he did so. Another man, whose name Alex cannot remember, was hired to go, and this constituted the force. It was a long and tedious trip; the streams were crossed by swimming the cattle and horses, and the men would grab the tails of some of the last brutes to enter the water, and holding on, would thus be ferried over, the great trouble being to protect their scant supply of provisions. Boyd disposed of his cattle at Galena, receiv- ing the most of his money in silver. This was carried on a pony that he led on his return. When the party reached Dixon they found much difficulty in making a bargain with the Indians to ferry them across that the Indians would keep or try to carry out. They could easily agree upon the terms, but the contracting Indians would sneak off, and thus end the bargain. Boyd could not get any supply of provis- ions, and once, when he was not observing, a buck jumped on his pack horse (the one carrying the money) and started otf down the river, whooping and yelling and under full whip. Of course he thought his money all gone, but in the course of half an hour the buck returned and delivered up the horse, and the money had not been dis- turbed. They finally got the Indians to cany them over in canoes, and swim the horses. But the trip was wearing out the horses, and the provisions were gone, and the men began to suffer for water. A small dog had followed them in all the long trip, and one night, when they had gone into camp, and to bed supperless, they talked the situation over and concluded to kill the dog the next morning and have something to eat. And they slept with sweet dreams of roasted dog for breakfast. In the morning they found the dog dead. He had died of starvation. As already remarked, they were now sufi'ering greatly for water; and Alex, tells us of his father's device to supply their thirsty throats. Getting up early in the morning (the drier the weather the heavier the dew) he stripped off his shirt, and holding it spread before him, ran at full speed through the tall grass, and thus gath- ering the dew from the grass, he wrung the garment, and had a drink of water. The others, seeing this original device, followed the example, and thus a general supply was secured. Charles S. Boyd's brothorin-law, John Dixon, was then living in Peoria. He was the general county official — County Judge, County and Circuit Clerk, and pretty much every thing else officially, and with all these offices and faithful work on the tailor's bench combined, he eked out a slim subsis- tence for his family. John Dixon had mar- ried Boyd's sister, Elizabeth, and when Boyd -VESTE'i'J BANK NOTE I HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. 81 stopped to see them in Peoria, be told them what a splendid country he had traveled through, and where the finest land he had ever seen was to be found. Dixon must have been deeply interested in the story, as he at once turned over all of his offices and came to Boyd's Grove and made an improvement. This was in the fall of 1827 it is supposed, and except that of Bourbonnais (Bulbona) was the first real settlement in what is now Bureau County. Dixon lived at the Grove until 1830, when he sold his improvement to Charles S. Boyd and removed to Dixon, where he pur- chased tbe ferry of Ogee, and it became known all over the country as Dixon's Ferry, and finally he founded the present town of Dixon, and the beautiful city is a fitting monument to .John Dixon's memory. He lived here until he was a very old man, sur- viving all his family. He accumulated much wealth at one time and was known far and wide as one of the warm-hearted and bene- volent pioneers, whose enterprise, public spirit and warm generosity were like sweet sunshine to all about him. In his old age and help- lessness he aided unworthy friends and trust- ed and endorsed for those who betrayed his trusts and he lost his property, and yet he was so retiring in his nature, so uncomplain- ing, that he shut himself away from the world and his friends, so that his distressing poverty was only known to those who were eager to aid him and smooth the good old man's short road to the grave, when he was very near, indeed, the end of his life's goal. He thanked his friends for their great kind- ness, but refused all offers of assistance. He died in 1876, when the people of Dixon and the surrounding country gathered about the good old man's open grave, and expressed in deepe.st sorrow their love and respect for the name and memory of John Dixon. John Dixon, Charles S. Boyd and — Kellogg were three brothers-in-law, and Boyd's Grove, the city of Dixon and Kellogg's Grove will remain forever important historical points in the settlement and growth of northern Illi- nois. Behold the fruits of their heroic works about us everywhere. Can the imagination conceive a nobler or greater monument?* Charles S. Boyd was a native of New York, born September 19, 1794, came to Spring- field, III., in 1825, and in 1830 to Boyd's Grove, in this county, and was one of the original parties who established the stage route from Peoria to Galena He died in Princeton, November 12, 1881. His wife, Eliza (Dixon) Boyd, a native of Westchester, N. Y., died at their home iu Princeton, Octo- ber 12, 1875. Five childi'en are still living: Alexander Boyd, of Princeton, born July 3, 1817; Nathaniel, living at Sheffield, and -John H., of the Isle of Tahiti, in the group of the Society Islands, in the South Sea. In illustration of that roving spirit of * On Sunday, July 9, 1876, P'ather John Dixon was buried at Dixon, 111. One of the most imposing funeral services ever witnessed in this part of the State was held at his grave. Tie was born in November, 17S4, in Xew Vorli, and settled at Dixon in 1.S30. A cotemporary paper the next day ai'ter the funeral says : " P.y the treacliery of a friend in whom he reposed the fullest confidence, he was several years since robbed of his all." We regret we have not the rascal's name, it would artbrd us much pleasure to impale him in immortal infamy, for the contempt and execration of all mankind, and thus make his vile name and character do some service to the world Iiy con- trasting it side by side with that of one of the best men of all the glorious, early pioneers, his victim, into whose contidence lie had wormed himself, and then, evading the law, stole all the good old man had and for which he had braved and labored and strug- gled so manfully and so heroically. The law of the land cannot, it seems, be made to reach such thieves as the robber of Father John I'ixon. But the living, those who are heirs to the mem- ory as well as the life-work of John Dixon, can. and it our duty to see that final Justice is meted out to this the meanest, vilest and cowardly of all thieves. If the thief is dead let his mem- ory and crime be made immortal, and let it pursue his blood and name until they are driven out of the world as the moral lepers whose poisoned blood is tit only for the deepest burial. The account ]jroceeds : " The remains were escorted from his late residence to the court house, where they lay in state, under a guard of Knights Templar until 1 o'clock, at which time the Mayor, Common Council and citizens in carriages met at the residence of the deceased, and accompanied by the family and relatives, were received by military and civic societies in opeu order, through whose ranks they proceeded to the court house. "The services were solemn and very impressive. The sermon of Dr. Luke Hitchcock, of Chicago, a'jiioneer of the Kock River Valley, and an intimate friend of the deceased ; and a memorial prepared by Judge Eustace, of Dixon. "The cou'rt house and houses along »ll the streets were draped in mourning. The procession was over a mile long, and the funeral was attended by over 8,0110 people, special trains coming from Amboy. Ashton and Chicago. "Father Dixoti buried his wife thirty years ago and has out- lived ten children; was nearly ninety-two years old." 82 HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. adventure that must have existed in the breasts of most of the early pioneers to the West, and some of which was transmitted sometimes to their sons, we give the brief- est sketch of John H. Boyd's career, when he quitted his home in Bureau County, in 1849, in the rash of adventurers to the gold mines of California. Landing there, like the most of "Argonauts of '49," with an empty pocket, but a heart for every fate, he dug and delved for gold, and making enough to keep well alive, he wandered over the country, finally landing in San Francisco. He soon exhausted interest in the California gold mines, and his spirit of adventure had only been whettetl, not satisfied, and he shipped on board a vessel and coasted down the shore of Mexico and finally to Cuba. Here he went to work to replenish his now depleted fortune and as soon as he had money enough he shipped to Sidney, Austra- lia, the mines at that place just then at- tracting wide attention. Here for some time he worked with varying success, some times striking a pocket that helped his pocket, but generally skirmishing in much uncertainty as to where the next dinner was to be found. But undaunted he continued to delve and dig, and finally prudish fortune smiled upon the brave-hearted boy, and he became the possessor of a small fortune. He turned all he had into cash and left Australia, and start- ed out to look at the balance of the world. With no laid-out route before him, simply walking aboard the fii'st vessel to sail out of port, regardless of where it was bound, he took passage. In time he reached the Island of Tahiti, and the tropical beauties and lux- uriance of the place was attractive to him and he stopped to enjoy it for awhile. He found here five trading-houses, conducted by English-speaking people. It seems the ex- porting and importing of the entire group of Society Islands is by law required to be all done on this island of Tahiti. These mer- chants and traders were much pleased with Boyd's acquaintance and they began to urge him to go into trade on the island, and be- come one of them. So earnest were they, (he had not informed them whether he had money or not) that they offered to advance him all he might want. He eventually yielded to their solicitations, and returned to Sidney and to Honolulu and purchased goods and commenced business in Tahiti, where he is yet. He built vessels to carry the mails and the commerce between Tahiti and Hono- lulu and San Francisco, and is still the sole owner of this line. The first tax ever collected here, this was then Bureau Township, Putnam County, was paid entirely by Charles S. Boyd, and the total sum was 70 cents. Charles S. Boyd's two surviving daughters are Mrs. Elizabeth Chamberlin, living in Missouri, and Mrs. A. H. Paddock, widow of Dr. Paddock, of Princeton. The fur-traders, belonging generally to the Great American Fur Company, were the first comers of the race of people now here, and the earliest of these who were temporary citi- zens of what is now Bureau County, was about 1821, at least seven years before the real pioneer, the permanent settler, came. Gurdon S. Hubbard, now a very old man of Chicago, was an employe of the Fur Com- pany and came here in 1821. He was then only a boy, and his recollection is that Buero, a half-breed Frenchman, was here some time before he came. There were three substan- tial log-houses at this trading post, which was on the river a short distance above the mouth of Bureau Creek. Here is where Bu- reau Creek gets its name, as well as the source of the county's peculiar name. In the first place it is of course a corruption, HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. S3 the spelling representing nearly the sound — in some old documents the name was found as we have spelled it above — and the first trav- eler who was pleased with the county told his friends about it and vei\v naturally all went at once to spelling it Bureau, and in this way it has continued and will remain. The nest in time and probably the first real permanent settler, was Bourbonnais, also a French half-breed, who settled at Bul- bona (Bourbonnais) Grove in the soul h west corner of Center Township about 1820. He had married a squaw and to all intents and purposes was an Indian, thoagh a civilized one. His family were always much esteemed and respected. They had many of the In- dian customs and habits, although Bour- bonnais himself (called Bulbona altogether by the white people) was ever ready to drop as fast as possible the wild life of the Indian and adopt that of the white man. He was, considering his early life, industrious and thrifty. He made permanent improvements, and was not at all sorry to remain and be wholly a white man, when he saw the In- dians collecting together, to pay their parting visits to the burying-grounds of their an- cestors, as " Hand in hand they went together. Through the woodland and the meadow," toward the setting sun to their new home be- yond the Father of Waters. Those of the old and early settlers remem- ber the large, rough old man very well. He kept whisky to sell to travelers, and when asked the price of a drink or a gallon of whisky, or anything else he had to sell, his invariable reply was, " Two dolla." Those who knew him would put down the reasona- ble pay and walk off, and he woiild say noth- ing; but some times strangers would be so astounded when he would inform them the price of a drink of his wretched whisky, that they would look into his serious, stolid face, express great disgust, and as no unbending ex- pression of countenance would appear, they would pay " two dolla " and walk off, to the quiet delight of the old fellow. The neigh- bors of the rough old man say that he was quiet and inoffensive toward his neighbors. AVhen an old man, he died and his family scattered, going, we believe, to some of the wild Western Territories. Two brothers, John and Jtistus Anient, came in 1829, in Maj^. They settled on the south side of Red Oak Grove. In May, 1828, came Henry Thomas. The last named had, the year before ho came here, been engaged in selecting the most eligible stage route between Peoria and Galena. He had followed nearly the entire way the route that the two wagons and Boyd's party had taken from Galena to Peoria, crossing at Dixon and passing along down the timber of Bu- reau Creek to the timber of the Illinois River, and then turning southwest down the river. He had been so favorably impressed with the country here that he returned and located as above mentioned with his family as soon as he could arrange and bring them. The Aments were Kentuckians, and they had first heard of the wonders of northern Illinois from the soldiers of Gen. George Rogers Clark, whose expedition had come from Kaskaskia to Starved Rock in 1789. They were true and brave pioneers. After the Black Hawk war Justus Ament moved away, probably into Wisconsin, and John Ament in a little while sold out his claim near Dover and moved down to near where Princeton now stands, where he died, and was buried in the rear of his humble cabin. He left a widow and qitite a family of children. Henry Thomas had made a claim on West Biu-eau on the efi'eat stage route, and Thomas' house and Boyd's Grove and Kellogg's Grove 84 HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. were soon widely known as "stage stands," and here man and ' ' beast" were entertained with the best the country could then afford. In 1831 Thomas became the first Postmaster in what is now Bui-eau County. We have not the Blue Book at hand to see what Thomas' yearly salary was, but we are safe in the prediction it did not exceed 25 cents a year. Thomas was a j)lain, unpretentious man, although the first Postmaster in all this section of country; he never was a sub- ject or proprietor of the "contumely of oiBce." If, with the assistance of the eight or ten people who lived west of the river, he was enabled to decipher the name and address on the single letter that was about the average quarterly return for a few hundred miles square around his office, he would then carry the same with its "I have sot myself down, and these tew lines come hopping, and crops is good and my ink is 2>ale and my poke berry juice is blue and my love will fade never for you, and the connexions is all well, and Bill and Betsey are just married, and rite, rite, rite, rite away," etc., etc. And thus by a long and a strong pull altogether and the assistance of a Postmaster, the deeply inter- esting letter would be triumphantly read and passed around and re-read and then read again and the whole region of countrj' could repeat the thing "by heart. If for the next quarter a letter was sent from the new world it would faithfully follow copy, and " sot down," and have the regular "hopping" and the "blue pen" and fading poke berry juice for ink, and the price of "crops," etc., etc., etc. The postage in these days was 25 cents a letter, and was not prepaid at that. All officials carried their offices in their hats, weighted down by a bandanna handkerchief. Thus Henry Thomas tilled his great mission in life. The complete simplicity of the man is fully exemplified bj' a story of Alexander Boyd, who called at the early settler's house to electioneer for a certain man for Sheriff. He finally told Thomas his business, when Thomas said: ' ' No, I'll not vote for him for Sheriff, because the last 'lection I voted for for Sheriff, and the veiy next day after he was elected he came out and served me with a hatful of papers. No, indeed, I don't need a Sheriff." The cream of this joke is, Thomas was a man who was honest, peaceable, quiet, and was never in debt or had lawsuits, and the fact was he was prob- ably as little troubled by officers serving papers, unless summonses to act as juryman or something of that kind, as any man ever in the county. But he stuck to his joke and would not go near the election. Elizabeth Bago's came in 1828, with Henrv Thomas' family — a niece of Thomas. She was a fine, plump girl, and being then, be- yond question, the belle — at least the white belle of the county; because, like Alexander Selkirk, she was " monarchess of all she sur- veyed; " her title there was none to dispute. Her sister Sally is now the widow Stratton. John Baggs, father of Sally and Elizabeth, was a brother-in-law of Ezekiel Thomas. His wife's maiden name was Rebecca Thomas. Heman Downing came in 1834, a carpen- ter; lived here three years; built many houses. In 1836 married Rachel Holbrook. Downing died here April 29, 1882, leaving eight children, two of whom, Edwin O. and Mary Eliza, and his widow, are now liv- ing in the county. Enos and Jonathan Hol- brook came in 1834 with two sisters, from New Hampshire. In 1835 David Holbrook came. In 1837 the parents, Enos and wife, came with another daughter; the latter is now the widow King, and resides in Prince- ton. Abram Straiton. — In 1829 came Abram HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. 83 Sti-catton. At a large meeting of old settlers, in 1865, the oldest settler in the county was called for and requested to come forward and take a seat on the platform; Mr. Stratton responded, the record says, '' a hale, hearty man of some sixty or sixty- live." Abram Stratton was born in Ulster County, N. Y., February 18, 1805, and died of paralysis, in Bureau County, August 28, 1877, aged seventy-three years. His mother died when he was live years old, and his father died five years after. When grown, or nearly grown, Abram left the Hudson Valley, and Nathan, his younger brother, went to sea, and was never heai-d from after. In 1829 Abram left New York on foot, his knapsack on his back, and this way came to Illinois, and thus traversed the State from its length to its breadth. After leaving De- troit he was only guided by Indian trails. He reported meeting between Detroit and Chicago the pony mail carrier, who then made trips once every two months, carrying the mail between Detroit and Chicago. Chicago was then Fort Dearborn, garrisoned by troops, guarding the trading post and annu- ity ofBce established for the benefit of the In- dians, who swarmed for miles around the post. Mr. Stratton spent the winter in Peoria, having stuck stakes for his Bureau County claim in 1829. The following summer, from some point near St. Louis, guidod by a pocket compass, he started to return to New York. He eventually reached his old home, and after a short rest he started on his return via the Erie Canal to Buffalo, then by the lakes to the mouth of the St. Joseph Kiver, Michigan. Boats were seldom run at that time to Fort Dearborn. He patiently towed his goods around the lake during a stormy November, and finally buying an ox team and making a sled, he started from Chicago in a December snow-storm over the trackless prairies and pathless woods, followed or dis- turbed by packs of wolves, and warmed and buoyed up by high hopes and firm resolves. The plainest .statement of the voyaging of this young pioneer is a historic picture that should be hung in the porches of every house, and in the portals of every school- room in the land. There is a lesson here that should not be forgotten. The nerve to be a hero in the wilderness, the frightful storms, the soul-frightening howl of the hun- gry wolves, the eternal waste of dreariness, is vastly different from playing a part in the face of the world and sustained and cheered by the conscious sympathy of at least friends and fellow-beings. At the block and the stake, in battle's red charge, and in the most horrid carnage of war, there is fellow-sym- pathy and enthusiasm, the bugle's blast, the clang and hurrah that set men's blood on tire — and shouting victory they rush upon death. This is heroic gallantry. In all ages men have sought martyrdom; have stood to bo hewn to pieces without a moan, even with songs of gladness; but in all time the "soli- tary " has overcome the nerves and will of the strongest, and always broken them down. In painting and literature the heroic and sublime is always in connection with great numbers. Will the great painter ever come who can put upon canvas the soul of the story of the lone pioneer as we have told above of Abram Stratton, pulling his boat around the bend of Lake Michigan in that stormy November, or his beating his way across the lonely prairies in the snow-storms of that wild December, the howling of the wolves and ', the tierce storms the only sounds that break upon the vast solitudes? And for what was all this heroic sacrifice? Look out over this rich and beautiful land of plenty and joy and wealth and happiness, and the one inevitable answer will come to you. 86 HISTORY OF BUREAU COUXTY. October 16, 1831, Abram Stratton married Miss Sarah Baggs. This was the secoud marriage in the county of Putnam, of which this county was a part. And in the first list of jtirors drawn at Henaepin, the county seat, appears the name of Abram Stratton. In the latter part of 1870 Mr. Stratton was stricken with paralysis, and lingered and suf- fered much until, as above stated, he sank peacefully into a di-eamless sleep. He was . buried in Forest Hill Cemetery in Wyanet, a great throng of mourners and friends at- tending, for no man that ever lived in the county was more widely known or sincerely loved. His friends were all mankind; his sincere mourners were all who knew him. His name and deeds and memory are much of the history of Bureau County. Standing at the head of his new-made grave, the Rev. T. J. Pomeroy, of Wyanet, said: " Kind- hearted and genial, faithful and resolute, he had many friends and warm friends. Of a judicial turn of mind, he carefully tiu-ned all facts over before deciding any case, and his conclusions were generally so accurate that his opinions had great weight with his fel- low-men. He was a man of fidelity. He delighted to show how accurately he could keep his promises. Integrity and honesty are the words that best describe his modest and unobtrusive life." In the spring of 1829 came Sylvester Brig- ham and Warren Sherley, unmarried men, from Massachusetts, and stopped at the house of Henrv Thomas. With their knapsacks on their backs they traveled all the way from Detroit. Brigham made a claim on the west side of ^^'est Bureau Creek, and Sherley set- tled at what was afterward Heaton's Point.. The two young men worked and made suf- ficient improvements on their claims to hold them, and then returned to the East, where Sherley remained, but Brigham came back the next spring, and brought James G. For- ristal with him. They came down the Ohio River and up the Illinois River as far as Peoria on a steamboat; the boat, named Volunteer, was about the ver}- first that had ever been seen at Peoria, at (vhich j)oint she landed in April, 1830. A leading old settler and a prominent Peorian of that day planted his old blunder- buss on the sandy beach and fired away, and the whole people were out to see and rejoice over the great occasion. Brigham and Forristal built cabins in Do- ver Townshii:), and for some years each occu- pied his cabin alone, as neither had a wife. (See Joseph Brigham' s biography for a gene- alogy of the ]3righam family.) Daniel Smith, of Boston, came to the coun- ty in July, 1831, with his family. He had come down the Ohio and up the Illinois Riv- er. On his way up he fell in companj- with Mosely and Musgrove at Naples, and this event shaped his coiirse to this particular spot. He made a claim aud commenced his improvements on the land that is now the Aus- tin Bryant farm. Within twenty days of his arrival Smith sickened and died (about Au- gust 8, 1831,) and was buried half a mile north of the Princeton railroad depot. This was the first death of a white person, so far as can now be ascertained, that occurred in the county. Daniel Smith had married in his native State, Miss Electa Pomeroy, who still sur- vives him, and is living in the county, with her sons, in Ohio Township. (See biography of Daniel P. Smith in another part of this book.) Moses M. Thompson came October, 1834, from Hennejjin. He was born in Ohio, June 15, 1810. His father was John Thompson, who was a Tennesseean, and removed to Ohio, where he married Mary Frankeberger. AYilliam Frankeberger, a HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. 87 brother, died in Wyanet, March 19. The Thompsons in Tennessee were a wealthy family. The sous of Moses were M. M. and Alfred T., who came with their father. Alfred T. was at one lime County Clerk. He died October 30, 1850. A sister, Matilda, mar- ried Nicholas Smith; died December 3, 1851. William Young came in 1838. His de- scendants are still in the county. Prelate White came in 1839, but sold out and went to Texas. James Haumerick came in 1839 and located in Wyanet. Thomas Clark, noted as the father of James T. Clark, the great railroad man, came in 1837, and in the building of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Koad James T. Clark commenced as a boy to drive the horse in pulling cars, at $16 a month, when they were at work on the Buda Section. Thomas H. Finley was a very early settler in Wyanet. He was a man of good education — a fine book-keeper, etc. — but was unfortunate in business. About 1839 Shepherd Walters settled in this township. One of his sons, A. M. Walters, is in Iowa, a noted lawyer. CHAPTER VIII. Recobds Made by Old Settlebs — On Disputed Questions the Best Authority — Fihst Agitation of the Subject — Histori- cal Importance of Records, Speeches, Poems, Addresses. Remarks, and Anecdotes, Pictures, etc. — Address of S. S. Phelps— First Settlers' Meeting— Who Participated — Their Record of Old Settlers and the Year They Came — Poem by John II. Bryant— Doctor Bill — Officebs of Society — Killing of Phillips — MiloKendall's Address — Warren's History of Putnam County — E. Strong Phelps — John M. Gay, Munson and Miss Hall— First Birth, Fir.sT Burial — Caleb Cook — Aquilla Tbiplett — Chapter in which are Mentioned Many Old Settlers and Their Descendants — Arthur Bryant's Poem — Michael Kitterman, Sketch of — Thirteen Dogs — Anecdotes — Rev. Martin and His Doo "Penny" — The Perkinses — George Hinsdale, C. Q. Cobss AND Many Cthehs — ect., etc. "It seems to me but a transient season Since all was new and strange; I gaze on the scenes around me And wonder at the change." — JoHK H. Bryant. THE subject of Old Settlers' Meetings was first agitated in Bureau County as early as 1861. This is an important item in the county's history, as it is an index, first, to the patriotic interest the people entertained for their adopted State and county, and sec- ond, to the possession of that higher order of intelligence that makes a community inter- ested in the history of thoir own people, and that country of which they are a component part. This was among the youngest of counties, and yet it was among the first to realize the great fact that the public mind had become active in gathering rapidly the materials of history — materials not only of a temporary interest, but of a permanent value, that should be gathered and preserved for the historian's use. They showed by this act that they held a high appreciation of the great deeds of the early pioneers, and that their names and memories should not be for- gotten. The reader must bear in mind that as far back as 1861 the subject of forming Old Settlers' Societies was then a new and tmheard- 88 HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. of thing; the conception as applied to a com- paratively new country was fresh and original. Hence the importance which attaches to the fact that Bureau was among the first to com- mence to educate its people to become interest- ed in the important subject, and there is no doubt but that the action of a few of the people of the county was one of the influences that spread over the United States, and finally in- duced the action of Congress, and the Presi- dent and the Governors of all the States in the year 1876, in recommending to the people of the several counties and towns of the State and Nation, to cause a history of their re.spect- ive localities to be prepared for the One Hundredth Anniversary of our National In- dependence. This action is something of an index of the activity of the feelings of the heart and of the faculties of the mind of these pioneers and their children. Nothing aids the historian to get at the real lives of a peo- ple who have passed away so well as to see their literature (if they had any), the pictures of their leading personages as preserved by the photographer's art, or the inception and spread of a public movement that becomes wide-spread and permanent in its actions or effects. And just here vpe note it with pleasure, this early agitation of the subject of Old Set- tlers' Meetings resulted as early as 1865 in the organization of an Old Settler's Society, which continues in active and vigorous exist- ence to this day. And upon their record books are most invaluable facts and incidents preserved for posterity. Everything about them is deeply interesting — the proceedings, the officers, the manner of working up their accounts of the meetings, the addresses and the reminiscences of the venerable men at the meetings, who in their own way recalled the long ago. Nor should we omit mention of the touching poetical addresses on these occa- sions, many of which will take a permanent place in Western literature. To all these may be added the picture, by Mr. Immke, photographer, grouping over 400 of the early settlers, and which for a work of that kind we do not remember to have seen excelled. Here is a picture of most interesting study. It is the serious, stern, heavy- featured faces of men and women, who commenced life in its most real and trying phases; who faced dangers, trials and sore vexations; the most of their young lives they knew they carried their lives in their hands, but they had counted the costs and weighed the chances, and foreknew the grand results that awaited upon their ultimate victories. The ripened fruits have come doubtless much sooner than any of these strong faced, stern-souled old pioneers, even the most sanguine, expected. And some few of them have been spared to witness what they once had only hoped might come to their children's children. Every picture in this large group of representative pioneers is a study of itself, and could a copy of the group be preserved for the people in their second centennial celebration, and then by the improved arts of that age each face be restored to its natural size, with its faithful reproduction of the strong lineaments and feat- ures, it would be one of the most valuable lega- cies in the world to the great-grandchildren of the present age. A room set apart for these faithful portraitures of the pioneer men and women in some of the county's public build- ings, would be an inexpensive public school and place of recreation and resort, and yet it would become a public teacher and a mon- itor and guide that no amount of money could otherwise supply. We wish we could im- press upon the people, the liberal and public- minded people of the county, the great importance of preserving and filacing where they will be carefully kept, copies of this HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. 89 picture for posterity. If lost now it cannot be replaced. A preliminary meeting was held in Prince- ton, December 21, 1861, at which J. V. Thompson was ehosenj Chairman and E. S. Phelps, Jr., Secretary. Remarks were made by D. McDonald, E. S. Phelps, L. J. Colton, G. G. Reed, Cyrus Langworthy and A. Bryant. It was resolved to hold a regular county Old Settler's Meeting in Princeton, February 22, and E. S. Phelps wan appointed to pre pare an address of invitation to the people. Mr. Phelps wrote the address — an admirable document — and it is so full of the real hearts of the old settlers, so vivid and true, that we reprint much of it for the admiration of posterity : When we look back to these early days of our county, when mills, churches, schoolhoases. etc., were few and far between, and when, in order to market our produce, we had to travel with our wagons to Chicago and bring hack our lumber, salt, etc., whenwe would take our teams andfamilies and go several miles to see our neighbors, and help them raise their cabins or houses, and when it cheered the hearts of us all to again shake the hands of true friends and look into each other's countenances; when the fathers and mothers, with the young men and maidens, could go to the house of God and sit on benches made of rails, puncheons, or slabs, and worship and sing praises with spirit and in the love of it, and when our schoolhouses were no better seated — in fact, the little schoolhouses were almost the only places in which meetings were held — oh, with what joy we met one another on these oc- casions, and how our hearts swelled within us, feel- ing that we were truly brothers and sisters in a strange land. No one who now comes into this beautiful county and sees our railroads, splendid churches, school- houses, dwellings, public houses, carriages, markets .•ilmost at our doors, improved machinery, county fairs, political meetings and other gatherings of the people, can realize the condition of our county from the time the first settlers came in, about 1828, up to 18-17, when some of our sister counties ceased calling immigrants "old settlers." Who but the early settlers know the trials by cold, hunger, privation, wild beasts, Indians and other things we had to contend against? Who else has the history of those times engraved on their hearts never to be erased? AVhat history has more interest than that of the early pioneers, and who can give that history better than they? Is not this history important? Is it not one worthy of preser- vation? Are you not willing that the rising gener- ation should have this history to be handed down as a memento of our country? If so, let us try and gather up the fragments of this history, that is left in the memories of those who. have not yet gone to the spirit world. How it cheers us as we see the faces of those once loved and respected as neigh- bors and friends scattered over this country and will we not cherish the times in which we may meet and talk over past scenes, and compare them with the present time? Other counties in our loved Illinois have and are commencing to organize "Early Settlers" Societies for the purpose of gathering statistics of early times and enjoying in a social manner the company and presence of those who were scattered as early set- tlers over their counties. ******** The writer then appeals to all to attend the meeting, bring their dinner- baskets full, and each one get up appropriate toasts — appropriate to the occasion and the day (Feb- ruary 22), and thus concludes: Let us show to our children and those who have recently settled among us that we are friends and brethren and that the love and respect kindled in years gone by have not died out, but still live and are cherished in true friendly hearts. This address had the effect to awaken a deep interest in the history of the early times, and this followed with the meetings and addresses and talks among the old settlers and their friends awoke the whole community to the fact that here at home was the most interesting, instructive and entertaining his- tory in the world; that every aged pioneer was of himself a history; that the sacred cir- cle of these gi-ay-haired fathers and mothers "In Israel" was fast narrowing by old age and death, and that unless the facts that they carried in their memories were at once col- lected and put in a more permanent form that very soon they would be forever Inst, except 90 HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. in so far as they might be perpetuated by the " faltering tongue of faint traditions." Pursuant to this circular address of E. S. Phelps, a meeting of old settlers waa con- vened at Converse Hall, Princeton, February 22, 1865. A permanent organization was formed and Hon. John H. Bryant elected President; C. G. Reed, Vice President, and adjourned. January 12, 1SG5, an Old Set- tlers' Meeting convened at Converse Hall, Princeton. Col. J. T. Thomson called the meeting to order. William Hoskins, of Selby, elected Chairman. George Radcliffe made appropriate remarks explanatory of the objects of the meeting. L. D. Whiting, J. V. Thompson, and Milo Kendall appointed Com. mittee on Resolutions. The names of 151 old settlers, those who came to the county from 1828 to 1841, were given to the Secretary. Remarks were made by William Hoskins, who settled in the county December 6, 1830. Charles S. Boyd, who settled at Boyd's Grove, in 1830; James G. Forristol, March 4, 1830; Nicholas Smith, 1831; Frederick Mosely, August 1831; E. H. Phelps, July, 1831; Charles G. Reed, 1845; William Cowan, November 16, 1832; Alexander Hol- brooke, 1832; and J. V. Thompson, 1840. J. V. Thompson also read a poem, printed in the Bureau County Advocate of December 26. 1849, J. H. Bryant editor and poet. The committee reported a stirring set of resolutions, in which they eloquently talk of the people who came here from various States and countries to build homes in the West, and be friends and co-workers in the great cause of civilization, and acknowledge with grateful hearts the kindness of Providence which " conducted us here, and cast our homes where genial skies and wholesome air favor health and its attendant blessings; where enterprise has a fair field for success; where the great arteries of travel and com- merce pass through our borders, and where nature on every hand has been grandly lavish of her wealth and her charms, in woodland and stream, in prairie and glen. "That the marvelous progress we have wit- nessed during the last third of a centmy, in numbers and wealth, in mental, moral and material progress, and in all that attends a high and advancing civilization, is but the shadow and prelude of a nobler coming age, when our rich prairies shall be cultivated to their highest limit, and adorned with all that beautifies rural scenery, thus rendering them the happy homes of multiplied thousands; when our villages and cities shall be centers of refinement and wealth, of manufacturing industry, and of the various institutions for social, moral and intellectual advancement. "Virtue, intelligence, justice, honor and patriotism are above wealth and material pros- jserity; that we are more anxious to endow our sons and daughters with high social, moral and intellectual qualities, than with gold and silver and lands." February 22, 1867, another large meeting was held in the same place, John H. Bryant, Chairman, and Elijah Smith, Secretary; C. G. Reed, Vice-President; T. W. Nichols, L. J. Colton, E. S. Phelps, Jr., and Col. J. T. Thomson, Executive Committee. The following is the record, as gathered at this meeting of the early settlers, commenc- ing with the year 1828. In addition to the 151 names handed in we have gathered such as we find in the records and added them: 1828. — Mrs. Sarah Stratton, nee Baggs, widow of Abram Stratton, still living in the county; Mr. and Mrs. George Hinsdale (Mrs. Hinsdale was a niece of Henry Thomas, and a member of his household); Mr. and Mrs. Ira Jones. Also on the records are the names of Smiley Shepherd, 1828, and Nelson Shep- HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. 91 herd, 1829, and Williamson Durley, 1831, (Putnam County men). 1829. — Abram Stratton (see preceding | page for complete sketch of), Amos Leonard, j Daniel Dimmick, Timothy Perkins, Leonard Roth, William Hoskins, John Clark, Reason B. , John and William Hill. 1830.— Charles S. Boyd, William Hoskins, James G. Fon'istal, Nicholas Smith, John M. Gay, Mrs. John M. Gay, M. Kitterman, i Sylvester Brigham, the Searle family. 1831.— E. S. Phelps, Mrs. Anna W. Phelps, E. Hinsdale Phelps, Mr. and Mrs. j Elijah Smith, Mr. and Mrs. Eli Smith, | Nicholas Smith, John Cole, Fredrick Moseley, D. P. Smith, Dwight Smith, Nicholas Smith, I George Hinsdale, E. H. Phelps, Daniel Jones (see biography), Abram Jones, Mary Jones, Daniel Smith, Henry George (killed in Hall massacre), Roland Moseley, John Musgrove. 1832. — Nathaniel Chamberlain, William O. Chamberlain, Elias Isaacs, William Cowan, Joel Doolittle, John Green Reed, Alexander Holbrook, Mrs. M. Sturdyvin, Mrs, H. W. Kelly, John H. Bryant (^Sep- tember 22), James O. Doolittle (January 10), Joseph Brigham, Mi's. Joseph Brigham, William Munson (married Miss Hall. He hewed the first logs for Griffin & Wilson's Mill at Leepertown), Daniel Sherley, Gil- bert Kellums. 1 833. — Arthur Bryant, Lazarus Reeve, Abbott Ellis, Madison Sturdyvin, Demarcus Ellis, James Wilson, Frank Shepherd, Sam- uel Triplett, William Allen, Aquilla Trip lett, Mrs. Elizabeth Matson, Mrs. Arthur Bryant, Mrs. Elizabeth Norton, C. C. Corse, H. B. Leeper, Charles Leeper, Mrs. Sarah Ann Taylor, I. Wilson, James Garvin, John Leeper. 1834. — Richard Masters, John Masters, Caleb Cook, Mrs. Lucy Cook, Henry Cook, Edward C. Hall, Chauncey D. Colton, McCayga Triplett, C. F. Winship, Mrs. Sarah Winship, J. T. Holbrook, Cyrus Langworthy, Mrs. Cyrus Langworthy, Will- iam Knox, John Elliott, Daniel R. Howe, Samuel Fay, Hemar Downing, Mrs. De- marcus Ellis, Mi's. Lumry, Mrs. Mason, Tracy Reeve, Mrs. Maria Clapf), Adam Galer, Mrs. Clark Norton, Bar. Mercer, Mrs. Julia E. Whitemarsh, Rev. J. E. Prunk, Mary Durfee, N. Perkins, John Clapp, W. Mercer, W. P. Griffin, E. H. Phelps, Mrs. John Vaughn, Jonathan .Ire- land, Mrs. Eliza Ireland, Mrs. Andrew Ross, W. L. Isaac, Moses M. Thompson, Enos Holbrook. 1835. — Lewis J. Colton (in Kansas), Cy- rus Colton and wife, Frank W. Winship, Solomon Sapp, Henry Sapp, James Cod- dington, Austin Bryant, Timothy Searl, I. B. Chenoweth, Sol F. Robinson, James S. Everett, Enos N. Matson, Charles H. Bryant, James M. Winship, Mrs. S. M. Dun- bar, Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Newell, Mrs. David Robinson, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Phelps, Mrs. Hannah M. Phelps, John Clapp, E. Strong Phelps, W. C. Drake, Sarah Tucker, E. Sherwin, Enoch Pratt, Amanda Pratt, John Pratt, Susan Pratt, George W. Pratt. Susan man-ied Daniel Kiser, and George W. was born in this county. Mrs. Susan Brown was a sister of Enoch Pratt. She was the wife of George Brown and the mother of George H. Brown. 1836.— Nathan Rackley, Justin H. Olds, Enos Smith, Jacob Albrecht, Allen S. La- throp, Sidney Smith, Daniel Radcliffe, Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Mohler, Martin Hops, John Long, Seth C. Clapp, John Stevens, E. S. Phelps, Jr., George Brown, A. R. Kendall, Jesse Emmerson, George M. Emerson, Alfred Lyford, Daniel Heaton, Caleb Pierce, Enos Matson, Enoch Lumry, Mrs. Sarah B. King, 93 HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. Mrs. William Cowan, Mrs. Susan Brown, George H. Brown, Enos Smith, O. E. Jones, W. Prunk, W. E. Cheuoweth, George K. Phelps, Susanna Campbell, George Rackley, Joseph Houghton (of La Salle County), Sam- uel E. Norris (Iowa), Mrs. Adaline D. Norris (Iowa), Adelia E. Drake, Mrs. Sarah Mus- grove, E. S. Phelps, Nehemiah Matson, Par- ker J. Newell, Alonzo R. Kendall, Mrs. Har- riet Childs Everett. 1837.— Mr. and Mrs: Stephen Wilson, Da- vid Maple, James H. Smith, William Young, Caleb Cushing (relative of the celebrated Caleb Cushing), James M. Dexter, Joseph S. Clark, Evan H. Swayne, George M. Radclifife, David Greeley, William Hudnut, George E. Dorr, John Vaughan. Jr., William Frankeber- ger, Mrs. Rebecca Warfield, Mrs. Elizabeth Curtis, Mrs. Daniel King, Mrs. Rufus Carey, Mrs. Aaron Fisher, Mrs. Eli Wood, Mrs. A. M. Hops, Mr. and Mrs. John Walter, John Vaughn, J. Walter, A. M. Sheldon, John L. Enyart, Mrs. Mary M. Anthony, Alfred An- thony, Mrs. W. J. Moore, Frank Langworthy, J. N. Hill, James Richards Phelps, Edward C. Winship, Mrs. Ann Winship. 1838. — Benjamin Porter, Henry V. Bacon, Amos N. Bacon, Samuel Dexter (Hinsdale), Anthony Sawyer, Franklin Foster, William Robinson, James B. Aiken, P. J. Newell (born in county), Mrs. Lucinda Bubaeh, Mrs. Nancy Morton, Caleb Cook (died March 27, 1876), Mrs. Lucy Cook, Mary Cook, A. Dur- fee, Mrs. Mary AnnColton, Joseph I. Taylor, Henry Cook, Amos N. Bacon, Samuel Dexter (Hinsdale), Franklin Walker (Champaign County), Gilbert Clement, Oliver Denham, J. W. Si^ratt, Mrs. Nancy H. Morton, M. Prictchey, Orris S. Phelps, J. R. Phelps. 1839. — Rufus L. Craig, Joseph Pierce, Niel Mc Arthur, Francis Buehan, Samuel M. Dunbar, Mrs. HannahM. Phelps, L. A. Hope, E. G. Peter, Andrew Gosse, E. J. Benson, E. B. Belknap, M. T. W. Lathrop, A. Benson, Robert M. Kearns. 1840.— J. V. Thompson, William S. Rich- ards, Martin L. Goodspeed, Mr. and Mrs. Adam Prutsman, Mrs. Joseph S. Clark, Mrs. William McKee, E. R. Mathis, A. Prutsman, J. N. Ries. Zilphrt Griffin, L. L. Frizzell, Mrs. Lucretia Jones, W. W. Ferris, Carlton W. Combs. M. Bertrand Lockwood. The poem referred to as written by John H. Bryant, was entitled " ' Indian Courtship ' — Reminiscence — By An Old Settler"; And the scene is located by the first two lines: "Where French Grove road winds down the hill, The hither side of Galer's Mill, In the mild winter of thirty-three A wigwam stood beneath a tree." Here was the home, as the poet proceeds to tell us, of Maumese. "A proud chief tan of the band Which erst possessed this lovely land." Then in rythmic phrase the story of a young white man's love with Maumese' s daughter is well told, and how his heart was finally wrenched by the old chief striking his tent very suddenly and moving away. The young man was the " Deacon's son," (" Since better known as Doctor Bill With sulky, saddle bags andj)ill.") And the most knowing ones said this was Dr. Chamberlain, whose luckless fate it was to be thus " stepped between Our hero and his forest queen " whose "Step was lighter than the fawn's That l)Ounded o'er these blooming lawns," And her father " bounded " her away and Dr. Bill was left to choose him a very sweet "pale face" and thus plod along in the old fash- ioned way of rearing young pioneers. The reading of the poem attracted great attention, and its happy chord is evidenced by the fact that to this day many of those HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. 93 who heard it so much admired it that they can yet repeat it entire. In February, 1867, another very large Old Settlers' meeting convened in Princeton, and we condense the following summary of its proceedings : Elijah Smith, Secretary; T. W. Nichols, L. J. Colton, E. S. Phelps, Jr., Col. J. T. Thomson, Executive Committee. The principal address was then delivered by Milo Kendall. The speaker commenced with an eloquent ajjostrophe to the memory of George Washington. He then referred to the important but generally little understood fact, that " When a country emerges from a savage to a civilized life, not by the slow process of development and culture, but by the sudden and abrupt change produced by conflict between savage and civilized races, the events which mark the transitions of pow- er and dominion over the soil from one race to the other, are often the most interesting features in history." He then refers in fit- ting language to the story of the conflict that marks every inch of advance of the white man from his landing on the Atlantic shores un- til he had conquered all before him to the western ocean. " Forty years ago," he says, "not a white man dwelt upon the soil within the limits of our county. What a mighty transformation has been wrought out by a single generation of settlers! The footprints of the retreating savage are scarcely obliterated in the Indian trail, before the shrill whistle of the locomo- tive is heard upon their track. ' He then proceeds to tell how these glor- ious pioneers were the avant couriers, the true soldiers and husbandmen pioneering this great nation, and preparing the easy way for all to follow. He then rapidly sketches the growth and present greatness of the county, and argues for it au undimned fu- ture. He refers to the Hampshire colony and recounts the happy achievementsof that body of Christian men and women. These are some of the important facts in the early history of which accounts have been given that materially difl'er in the facts, and were it not that these incidents were talked over and agreed upon by those who were there to see, we confess we find often great difficulty in reconciling these stories. We have no hesitation in adopting as the true version every historical fact that was re- lated in these Old Settlers' Meetings and to which all present assented. Killing of Phillips. — Mr. Kendall proceeds in his address to tell of Shabbona and the melancholy circumstance of the killing of Elijah Phillips: " There was a venerable old chief and war- rior of the Pottawattomie family, who had, in earlier days, fought side by side with the re- nowned chieftain Tecumseh. But forever banishing the hope, and even the desire, of ridding his vast hunting grounds of the presence of the white man, he became the friend of the early settlers, and devoted his remaining years to the welfare of the white man against the strategems and machinations of the more cruel and bloody of his race. Old Shabbona, as he was called, sent spies into the camps of the Sacs and Foxes to as- certain their designs against the whites. On learning that these hostile tribes had formed the bold plan of exterminating the whole white population in northern Illinois at one fearful blow, he lost no time in warning the inhabitants to leave. This duty he did not and would not entrust to any living mortal but himself alone. At the risk of his life he undertook and performed the duty, night and day, wet or dry, the old chieftain rode on from one settlement to another, heralding the terrible news of the assassination plot which 91 HJSTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. had already been matured, and which was about to be put into execution. All who obeyed the warning of the old chief were saved. The Hall, Davis and Pettigrew fam- ilies on Indian Creek paid dearly for their most sad mistake in disobeying the earnest and almost passionate appeals of the old veteran to flee from the awful fate that await- ed them. The details of that tragic event, already a matter of history, are as familiar to you as household words, and too painful to be related here. " The Forristol party, near the present site of Dover, came near sharing the same fate. As there are some features connected with that event which I have obtained from living witnesses who ere long will pass away, I have concluded to tell the story as I gathered it from them, at the risk of being censured for repeating an oft-told tale, although I do it more with the hope of rescuing some of the details from oblivion, than from any ex- pectation of interesting the old settlers with the narration. "In the spring of 1832 John and Justus Ament each owned a cabin situated half a mile apart on Section 13 in Dover. The For- ristol party then consisted of James G. For- ristol, John Ament, Sylvester Brigham, Aaron Gunn, Jonathan Hodge, Ziba Dimick and Elijah Phillips. It became known to Sbab- bona that the Sacs and Foxes intended to commence a massacre of the settlers about the 1st of June that year. He notified the set- tlers of this fact in time to allow them to take shelter in a rude fort erected that season at Hennepin. "But before I proceed further with my story allow me to tell how, in one instance, the old chief came near falling into the hands of the enemy whose bloody purposes he was seeking to avert, and narrowly escaped with his life while on his errand of mercy. Not knowing where the blow would first be struck, he had made the circuit about the Bureau timber and up on Indian Creek to the Hall settle- ment, and then made directly for Fox River to warn awaj a family of HollanViacks, then residing there. He approached their cabin about sundown (this was about the Ist of June, 1832,); his jaded and almost famished pony was reeking with sweat and foam; he hastily warned the family of their danger, telling them to flee that very night, as he thought he had discovered signs of a war party in the vicinity. This duty performed, Shabbona retired to a secluded spot half a mile away from the cabin, to rest and refresh himself and his pony, and yet in a position to keep an eye on the dwelling and its sur- roundings. In the meantime the family, quickened by the impulse of fear, hastily gathered such articles of food and clothing as would favor them in their flight, and im- mediately fled, with nothing to hide them from the face of their enemies but the impending darkness which by this time had gathered thick about them. Having proceeded from a quarter to half a mile, Mr. Hollanbaek sud- denly bethought himself of some valuables which he desired to save, and which in the hurry and flurry of their flight they had for- gotten. He determined to return alone to the house to secure them. He carefully ap- proached the cabin and listened at every step as he neared the premises, and just as he was about to enter the door from whence he and his family had but a few moments before es- caped, he heard the voices and rummagings of savages within as they were busily engaged in gathering the remnants of such plunder as the humble dwelling afi'orded. Softly but sj^eedily Mr. Hollanbaek retraced his steps, joined his family, and renewed his flight. A moment later and they beheld the flames of their horning cabin leaping upward higher HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. 95 and higher into the darkness above, warning them that their abiding place, which they had honored with the sacred name of home, had been immolated upon the sacrificial altar, and made desolate by the torch of the savage. Old Shabbona in his concealment witnessed all — the fleeing family, the stealthy approach of the marauders on their bloody mission, the flames of the burning cabin — and noted the retiring foe as they took to the trail and dis- appeared under cover of the eight. The old veteran, thankful to the Great Spirit for the safety of himself and the fleeing family whose lives he had helped to save, resumed his journey in the late watches of the night and reached bis home in safety. The Hollan- backs made good their escape during that ter- rible night of agony and fear. Some twenty- five years after this event. Old Shabbona, then upward of eighty years of age, visited among the old settlers here for the last time, and for the last time related to us this story, and as he sat by the fireside and partook of the bounties and hospitalities of those he had known and befriended in early days, and saw that their huts and cabins had given place to cheerful, happy homes and comfortable dwellings, and marked the change which a few short years had brought about, the old man gave utterance to sentiments of heartfelt gratitude and joy, as though we were all his children, and that our prosperity was his chiefest pleasure, and expressed himself abun- dantly rewarded for his sleepless viligance and care over the infant settlements about him in the times of their greatest need. The old man remembered and related every inci- dent connected with the plot to exterminate the whites, and his heroic endeavors to avert the terrible blow; and in his narration of these exciting scenes evinced a pride and satisfaction for the part he had acted, and a sensibility commendable even to minds of cult- ure and refinement. It is gratifying to us to know that the Government made the old man a very handsome and suitable donation in his old age, as a reward for his enduring friendship toward the early settlers, and the assistance rendered by him in the settlement of some Indian difficulties, and as a compen- sation for the many sacrifices which he made during the turbulent times of the Black Hawk war. The old hero died a few years ago on land purchased at Government expense, near Ottawa, and we may truthfully say over his grave that the instances and examples are ex- ceedingly rare, even in civilized life, where Men have exhibited more fidelity, more con- stant and enduring friendship, or made great- er personal sacrifices, or exhibited more gen- erosity and benevolence toward a race with whom they claimed no kindred, than did this venerable old Pottawattomie chief. I now re- turn to my story. "The Forrestall party, seven in number, all youQg. bold, enterprising men, and tolera- bly well armed, having no women and chil- dren to protect, although apprised by Shab- bona of the plot arranged for their assassin- ation, felt nevertheless a determination to remain at their post — keep together and watch for something to transpire before seek- ing a place of greater safety. They had heard of the massacre of the Hall, Davis and Pettigrew families, and some of their party bad visited the scene immediately after its occurrence. But no hostile demonstrations having been made against themselves, they still remained and watched the signs of the times, occupying together the cabin then owned by John Ament until the morning of the 18th of June, 1832. The party, all un- suspecting, arose as usual, little dreaming that within forty steps of their log-cabin lay concealed some thirty or forty Indians with muskets and rifles pointing toward their cabin 96 HISTORY or BUREAU COUNTY. door. Elijah Phillips, having purchased of Justus Ament the other cabin, some half a mile distant, had occcision to go there and started before sunrise, and had proceeded some thirty-live steps directly toward the concealed and ambushed foe, when the sud- den and startling report of two rifles revealed the fact that the dreaded attack bad indeed been made, and that old Shabbona's warnings were indeed prophetic. Phillips staggered and fell forward upon the ground within live steps of his assailants. On the instant the infuriated Indians made a rush for the open door of the cabin, accompanied with terrific yells, such as savages alone can utter. The inmates of the cabin, keenly sensible of the terrible danger of the moment, slammed the door in the face of their besiegers and barred it instantly. Another terrific yell, and every savage was again in concealment. The chiukings between the logs of the cabin were quickly removed in places on the wall side next to the besiegers, and the muzzles of half a dozen guns were run out, and their little cabin for once became a fort, and every gun- ner was eager for the sight of a red skin on whom to avenge the fall of their bleeding comrade, who lay prostrate and dying in sight of them all, but yet where no aid could be safely afforded him. He was pierced by two bullets, and at the time of the rush toward the cabin the savages, in passing over the bleeding form of their victim, gave him a blow with a tomahawk on his brows, and thrust a scalping knife into his neck. Not a cry or a groan escaped the lips of Phi I- lips, although life was observed to linger some minutes after his fall, and after his assailants had rushed back into their hiding places. Here lay the besiegers in ambush awaiting some fresh opportunity to renew the siege without wasting their fire against the impenetrable walls of the cabin. Here also were the party besieged in armed occupa- tion of their little fort awaiting some new development of the besiegers. At last a counsel of war was held in the cabin. Dim- ick, a lad only seventeen years old, was anx- ious to leave the cabin and make for Henne- pin acro.ss the country as best they could, and take their chances of escape in that manner. In this he was overruled by all the others. At this juncture of afi'airs a mare owned by one of the party, and which had been spanceled and turned loose to feed about the premises, and which, by the way, was always exceedingly shy about being caught, and even hobbled as she was, universally gave the owner much trouble in catching her. On this occasion, to the great joy and surprise of the besieged occupants of the cabin, the mare, unbidden, had made her way directly up and into an open porch on one side of the cabin, as if she too desired the protection which its walls aiforded. Young Dimick seized the opportunity of making his escape, and at the same time of bringing assistance to the besieged. Rushing out of the cabin with a handkerchief tied over his head in- stead of wearing a hat, he seized the mare by the mane, a bridle was handed him from the cabin, and with one slash with a knife he cut the spancles which hampered the limbs of the animal and with a bound was upon her back, and directing his course toward Henne- pin dashed off at a fearful rate. Dimick reached Hennepin in safety, and at i o'clock in the afternoon of the same day a company of well armed men an'ived and relieved the little garrison of their imprisonment. When the rescuing party had arrived within two miles of the cabin the Indians were discov- ered to be in motion; occasional glimpses of the crouching form of an Indian here and there dodging, skulking and retreating could be discerned from the cabin, until they HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. 99 wholly disappeared some minutes before as- sistance arrived." The body of Phillips was taken to Henne- pin and buried — the first grave dug and the first burial in the Hennepin cemetery — in June, 1832. In the history of Putnam County, by the Rev. H. Vallette Warren, we find the follow- ing reference to this tragedy: " A party of men going from Hennepin to Dover, sixteen miles distant, to secure their cattle, were followed and watched all night by Indians, and in the morning a man named Phillips was shot as he came out of the cabin in which they had passed the night. The Indians then fled. A boy named Dimmick rode to Hennepin and gave the alarm. It was the day of the disbanding of the rangers, many of whom were there. About thirty of them, as many as could be gotten over the river in time, responded and hastened to Dover, where they found the body of Phillips lying as he fell and his companions still in the cabin The Indians were fol- lowed but not overtaken. The company re- tm-ned to Hennepin, bearing the remains of the unfortunate man, and Thomas Hartzell, J. S. Simpson, H. K. Zenor and Williamson Durley, selected a burying-place and assisted in burying the only man who fell by the hands of the Indians within the limits of Putnam County, and the first to fill a grave in the burying ground of Hennepin." E. S. Phelps, Jr., delivered a memorial tribute to the memory of Ebenezer Strong Phelps, who was born in Northampton, Mass., September 3, 1788. June, 1803, he appren- ticed to the jewelry business. February 12, 1812, married Anna Wright, with whom he lived over sixty years. When married he commenced business in his trade and followed this till 1851. In 1816 he was elected Dea- con in the church. At the organization of the Hampshire Chuioh, Princeton, in 1831, he was chosen Deacon. In 1828 he proposed getting up a colony to come to Illinois, and succeeded in organizing one in 1831, and on May 4, 1831, the colony, in company with Phelps' two sons, started for Illinois. Mr. Phelps with the remainder of his family fol- lowed June 13, and arrived at Springfield, 111., where he went to work at his trade, where he remained until 1838. He was elected Elder in the Springfield Presbyterian Church, and was again elected Deacon of the Hampshire Colony Church on coming to Princeton, which position he held until his strength deserted him. He was Treasurer of the church many years; for some time a Justice of the Peace; School Treasurer for township about twenty-five years; an active worker in the Sunday-school, he was Sunday-school Superintendent both in Springfield and Princeton; an active anti-slavery man, and an earnest temperance advocate from 1828 till the day of his death. February 24, 1862, his golden wedding was celebrated. On his eightieth birthday he had a family re-union find then and there arranged for his fu- neral; his sons E. H., E. S. and J. R., and his son-in-law J. S. Bubach, were to be the pall bearers, and L. J. Colton was to take charge of the funeral. In February his health began to rapidly fail and on March 19, 1872, "his spirit went to sing with the glorified ones." Anna (Wright) Phelps died in Princeton, July 6, 1873. Deacon Caleb Cook, one of the early set- tlers and from the day of his coming until his death a prominent and influential citizen of the county, died of gastric fever, March 27, 1876, age, sixty-eight years. He came to the county in 1834, and was at one time President of the Bureau County Old Settlers' Society. When Mr. Cook was 100 HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. elected President he returned thanks in a few appropriate remarks, briefly alhiding to his trip on horseback in 1835, from Montgomery County to the hotel of Elijah Smith in the vicinity of Princeton, and said that after a night spent with Smith he mounted again and started in search of Cornelius Gorss, who had a claim to sell. On the road he came across a young man building a fence around a hay stack; he intimated that this then young man was in the audience and he was asked to come forward. John M. Gay. — This brought John M. Gay to his feet. He was nearly eighty years of age, and he said that old as he was, he was nearly as diffident as the Chairman (Cook). He stated that he came to West Bureau, 1830; was driven off twice by the Indians, but re- turned, located the place afterwards sold to Mr. Tucker. He was the first Justice of the Peace on this side the river, and by virtue of this office married several of the early settlers; among those he remembered Mr. Munson, who married a daughter of William Hall, who was killed by the Indians, and Mrs. Mun- son was one of the captive "Hall Girls." Mr. Gay said he remembered officiating at the wedding of Abram Strattan and George Hinsdale. He said he vividly remembered the Hinsdale marriage, because a man named Timothy Perkins had requested his services. Gay's horse was in the pasture and he started to catch him and it turned out to be an all day job; when he did get him he started in haste to the place; he soon met the wedding party coming to meet him, and as this meeting was close by a deserted cabin, the party dis- mounted, entered the cabin, and on the dirt floor, without doors or windows, and amid these royal suiToundings the happy and joyful wedding took place, and all mounted (two on a horse) and returned as they came. Was this not a jolly wedding trip? At the close of Mr. Gay's remarks, Mrs. Gay rose up and stood by the side of her husband, to the great delight of the audi- ence. First Child Born. — The President, Caleb Cook, then introduced to the old settlers Mrs. Jacob Sells, as "the first white child born this side the Illinois River." We presume this officially and authoritatively settles the al- ways greatly vexed question as to who was the really "first child born," out of always the numerous claimants. Mrs. Jacob Sells was the second daughter of Henry Thomas. In a conversation with Mr. Kitterman the matter of the first birth was brought up. He remarked that he was present when the ques- tion came up before the old settlers and with- out saying a word he heard it settled as above stated, but nevertheless he then be- lieved and still believes that his third child, Ann, was really the first child born in what is now Bureau County. There are circum- stances strongly pointing to Mr. Kitterman's recollection as being the truth of the matter. Mrs. Sells was born "this side of the river," but it is told by some that she was really born in Peoria, where Mrs. Thomas had gone in anticipation of the event. Let us crown them both ' ' the first born, " as the county is large enough to honor the two forever. AquiUa Triplett, Sr., was born in Culpep- per County, Va. , August 6, 1807. At the age of 16, with his parents, he removed to Mus- kingum County, Ohio, where he married Miss Elizabeth Wilson, August 20, 1829. The family came to Bureau Cotinty in 1834. For a long time Mr. Triplett was personally acquainted with every soul in the county and was universally respected for his industry and integrity. He reared a large family. He was a member of the Baptist Church, and in all his walks of life was an exemplary and consistent Christian. His nature was whollv HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. 101 sunshiny and genial, and his descendants are worthy and excellent people. At the Old Settlers' meeting, September 6, 1877, under the signature of " S," was written a stirring " Greeting Song," to the tune of the " Morning Light is Breaking." One cou[)let runs: " We t.ilk of days uow olden, Yet to us never new; Where mera'rie's sky is golden With bright and varied hue; And like the hill-tops glowing With beauty, distance gives. The days and in j-ears going, Gave joys that ever live." The officers chosen at this meeting for the ensuing year were: President, Elder John Cole; Vice-Presidents, Simon Elliott and William Hoblet; Secretary and Treasurer, E. S. Phelps: Directors, H. C. Field, C. W. Combs and Martin Tompkins. Mr. Arthur Bryant said: " I came to this State in 1830 and settled in Jacksonville. Came to Bureau in the spring of 1833. The people here were all of that class which the land speculators called squatters. "We could not buy the land at that time for it was not in the market. I camped eight weeks in a wagon while I was putting up a cabin. In 1835 the land in this district was offered for sale. All of what is Bureau and Marshall Counties was in Putnam County. We went up to Galena to bid otir land off in July, 1835. The Township of Princeton was nearly all bought at that sale. I bid off the land for nearly all my neighbors. I have been try- ing lately to think who were voters in 1835. I can now think of but seven. " [Unfortunately he did not name them.] A poem written in 1831, by Arthur Bryant, was then read. It was entitled " Emigra tion." The opening lines are a touching apostrophe to the old home, saying: "Come, 'ere we quit our native home, Afar in an unknown land to roam. Let us rove the meadow and woodland o'er, And look on the scenes we may see no more. * * *■ * * * « All, all are lovely; but loveliest to-day. For we know that to-morrow we leave them for aye. ***»*■»* Farewell to the forests, to hill and dell. To the home of our fathers a long farewell ! Farewell forever our native laud By the breath of the mountain breezes fanned; O'er the boundless lakes that glitter afar. We track the beams of the Western Star; We hasten away to a distant clime. To a soil untilled since the morning of time, Where never arose the cottage smoke Kor share of the plowman that greensward broke. Where the grassy plains were never shorn, Save the rushing flames by the fierce winds borne; And countless agps their shadows cast On the scenes of its unrecorded past." And then the poet proceeds to tell us what his eyes beheld as he trudged along to the "distant West" And here in beautiful words are painted that other side of the story of the cruel hardships, the dreary loneliness of the travelers in the wide wastes. "But desert lies the beauteous land As fresh as it came from its Maker's hand." * * , * # 5(f As the suu comes up from a sea of gold And the mists fiom the face of the morning are rolled, Lo! the verdant wastes in the brightening ray. O'er swell and o'er hollow stretch far away. And the sounds, we listen, the objects we view To the ear and the eye are pleasant and new. The thickets that skirt the untrodden wa.v With the crab and the wild i)lum are fragrant and gaj-. The painted cup flaunts its leaves of red Like a sheet of flame on the prairie spread. The violet springs on the sunny swells. The lungwort hangs forth its azure bells. The red-bud blooms on the forest bowers. The paw-paw opens its duslvy flowers. On the green savannas spreading far Shows the varied phlo.v its brilliant star. The crane's harsh note is heard on high 102 HISTOEY OF BUREAU COUNTY. As he floats like a speek on the azure sky, The trumpet voice of the wild swan sounds, O'er the bush and hillock the wild deer bounds, Fi-om the new-leaved branches that sway above Comes the plaintive coo of the turtle dove, The prairie bird in his amorous play, Hails with boom and with song the dawn of day; And the southwest wind, with its warm caress, Breathes joy through the blossoming wilderness. We hail the land of the distant West." Then the poet turns in his imagination to the future of this smiling land, where he says sometime: "On clods that shelter the red man's grave Shall the tall maize spring and the green wheat wave; The forests that rang with the Indian's yell, Shall echo the sound of the Sabbath bell; Where the gaunt wolf howled and the panther strayed. And the grim bear stalked in the woodland shade. The schoolboy's shout, and the drowsy hum Of traffic and toil on the ear shall come." 'Away to the distant West, away!" The very soul of the young brave pioneer is here given out in sweetest song. It is the ■window to the inward real man, and in his immortal verse he has left us an unmistak- able index to himself, his age, and the times and men who turned their faces toward the "distant West," and wrought here the finest jewel in our sisterhood of States. E. Strong Phelps^ Address: — At this meet- ing, the principal address was made by Mr. Phelps. He commences by saying that he only claims to represent that class of our old settlers who were expected "to be seen, not heard." Those whose "hair woitld persist in coming through their hats; who waited for the second table and slept under the eaves in the loft.'' He proceeds to apologize for at- tempting to speak in that character to "tell of the recollections of children" and "fear such may not very interesting." The truth is that just here he was striking out in a new and most interesting path of observation — something that its very novelty would have made it remarkable, even if the substance was not a splendid treat. He insists that as chil- dren of the old settlers, they filled their places tolerably full and in happy content. He then bears willing testimony to the fact that even at the second table they fottnd plenty to eat and that they slept as soundly in their "bunks under the eaves, as did other children in grander rooms and softer beds.'' He then comments on the change in the face of the country since first he looked upon it, as fol- lows: "What was known as the big slough, between Princeton and Dover, where we went miles to find a crossing place, is now a mere ditch with but little water running in it; where the grass was so tall that it came up to the horses' sides as we passed along, are now corn- fields and growing orchards. I have seen the water deep enough, after heavy rains, to nav- igate a good-sized steamboat, in a slough near my father's house, that is now perfectly dry ; and on the site of the pond, where we, as boys, shot ducks and went swimming, the American House and business houses on the east side of Main Street (Princeton), now stand. He thinks his father was the first to erect a house at a distance from the timber; the family came in 1836, and made an improve- ment one mile northeast of the Princeton depot. He says: "My first impressions were we lived a great way ofi' from anywhere; that we were in imminent danger of freezing to death in the winter; that we were Yankees and very peci;liar people anyway, as we lived in a frame house away out on the prairie, instead of living in a fashionable log-house in the timber. 1 think some of otir neigh- bors looked upon us much the same way the citizens of Chicago would look upon one who should go and voluntarily make his home at HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. 103 the lake crib, instead of settling in the resi- dent part of the city. It seemed such an unlikely place to live. Our little improve- ment seemed like some little crib in mid- water, and the winds were continually send- ing the grassy waves of the great prairie lake against it, threatening utterly to destroy it. I have stood on the banks of Long Island Sound when the tide was coming in, and they recalled vividly to my mind the old home of my childhood days upon the western prairie. But when, as was often the case, the prairie tires were started and came upon us with their flame and smoke, then indeed we were in great danger, and many a hard hour's work have we performed, to save our little all from its devouring fury. I remem- ber that my father, before he knew how deceiving the tires were to the eye at night, set out a back tire to protect us from one that seemed coming over the ridge of prairie not a quarter of a mile from us, and that caused much alarm and some danger to persons at some distance north of us — when it was afterward found that the lire was on the Providence Prairie, eight or ten miles from us. '•There was no trouble with the Indians after we moved here; yet my mother was once badly frightened by them. It being Sunday, all our family but herself and an infant daughter, had gone to church. On going out of doors my mother saw a large body of Indians, some of whom were getting over the fence in the corn-field. In gi'eat alarm she went into the house, barred the door, ascended into the loft with her infant and ritle and pulled the ladder by which she reached it up after her, and waited for the fate she was sure was comin£r, resolvinsr to sell her life as dearly as possible. The attack was delayed longer than she had expected, but still she stayed there until the voice of my father coming home with his family and asking admittance, convinced her that she could safely descend, and then she learned they were friendly Indians, being removed to their reservation west of the Mississippi, and that their destructive powers were bent upon the roasting ears only. "Another great danger we had was of get- ting lost, esi^ecially at night. I remember one Saturday night a j'ounger brother of mine was sent to take borne a cousin of ours, who resided near Dover. Not coming back as soon as expected, and night and a thunder storm both coming on, I was sent to meet him. Failing in doing so, I kept on to my uncle's home, where I found that ho had started but had taken the wrong road. The storm over- taking me there, however, I stayed all night. My parents finding that neither of us came home, concluded my brother had not started home before the storm, and they therefore were not alarmed. I proceeded home Sun- day morning to find that my brother had not been home at all. A search by all about the place, together with the neighbors was immediately instituted, and aftgr some time the trail was found and followed. He had turned the seat over during the storm and crawling under it, had let the horse have his own way and had finally gone to sleep. The horse at one time had come near home and then turned directly away. He was found in the afternoon four or five miles away and brought home. "Being too young to work I was employed to run errands. I was once sent to our neigh- bor, Elijah Smith, to obtain some peas for planting. Furnished with a tin pail I mount- ed a horse and went and obtained them and started on my return. As I liked to ride fast I started in a brisk trot; the peas began to rattle and ' away went John Gilpin' — the harder the horse ran the louder the peas 104 HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. rattled — as long as there was one left to rattle, That was a poor pea year at our house. "Our school was in a log-house in the edge of the timber, near the residence of John Anient, and where the brick now stands north of the Princeton depot. I can see it to-day as it stood long ago, with its stick chimney, slab seats and writing desk, where we faced the wall when we went to write. But our schoolhouse was up to the time after all, as it had glass windows and a wooden floor, and a pail of water was always in the corner to use if the chimney got on lire. How well I remember the path through the hazel bushes that led to it. The spring where we obtained our water and the hornets' nest between it and the house, where at the boys' recess we clubbed it until they became so enraged that it was almost impossible to pass it going to the spring without being stung. Woe to the girl who came down the path to the spring during the recess, for they generally paid the penalty of our misdeeds until they learned to give it a wide berth. Then there was the opening in the bushes where we had our play-ground, on one side of which ran the Dixon stage road. How we used to run for it when we heard the sound of the stage driver's horn, and what shouts and eager faces greeted it as it passed. Then the nuttings, the strawberry ings, the black- berryings we had, marred only by the dread of rattlesnakes and sometimes the thought that we were playing truant. "Among the many teachers of those days, I have only time to speak of one, who stands out before my mind's eye more prominently than the rest; one who ti^ught me to study for its own sake; from whom 1 parted with real regret at the close of school and only wished that I was old enough to marry her and be with her always. Many years have passed since then, but bright through the past and bright through the future will ever shine the fairest and best to me of the teach- ers of the old log schoolhouse^Amelia Smith. "We used to have our rough-and-tumble fun too in those old days; especially when the big boys came to school in the winter, when the teacher had to go on his muscle, and black eyes and bloody noses were sometimes in fashion. A teacher who did not use his authority by force when the boys got into difficulty, had a hard time to succeed. "Town ball ' and ' bull pen' were played with a vim, and when the boys threw a ball they meant to hit. Sometimes these sports were varied by "We are marching onward to Quebec," and the "Needle's eye," but I always noticed that us small boj's could march right along to Quebec without molestation and pass the "needle's eye" without fail, while the big boys had great trouble in the matter. We must have sorely tried the patience of our teachers in those days. I remember we were called upon to recite a verse from the Bible each day, and how the book was searched for the shortest verses in it, and ' ' rejoice ever- more," "Jesus wept," and such short verses were repeated many times every day. But at last we reached the end of our rope, for the whole school, from the largest to the smallest, repeated the same verse " And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying. " The teacher then drew the line right here and each one of us had to take our seats and get a separate verse before we could go home. Then we had our debating clubs and old fashioned spelling- schools, and I shall always remember the time when they failed to get us spelled down from Webster's Elementary and had to resort to the Bible, or how I went down under the work "Israelite." " Nor can I forget the singing-school we had in the earlv times. We went long dis- HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. 105 tances in those days to attend them; and I have a suspicion that it was not a desire of learning music that brought them all there, but we had a good time nevertheless. As usual from out the sea of faces that meet the mind's eye in those singing-schools of long ago, one face and one voice appears more prominent than the rest. For long years her body has rested in the leafy shades of oui* quiet Oakland; but through all the years I still see that sweet face, and here the sweeter voice of that singer of the olden time — Catha- rine Allen. Among the teachers of music too, there is one we cannot forget. He sleeps also iu our fair Oakland, but to many hearts there will come thoughts of pleasure and regret at the mention of the name of our old singing teacher — James Perry." He then tells briefly of the earliest days of the Underground Railroad, and especially of Clapp Station, etc. etc. He then produced an old account book of Gay & Olds, and for the year 1837 he quoted some of the entries as follows: SUNDRIES DR. TO GAT & OLDS. Wm Shepherd, i pound tea 25 James S. Everett, 8 pounds sugar 1.00 Micheal Leonai-d, 320 lbs. salt 8.00 Obadiah Britt, 5 lbs. nails 63 Madison Studyvant, 2 oz madder 06 Jesse Moler, 24 doz. cotton yarn 4.80 William Elom, tobacco 13 Joel Doolittle, 1 pr pants 4..50 Elias Rodgers, 3 yds cassimere 4.50 Stephen Burnham, Sadirons 1.13 Sett knives and forks 1.38 Sett spoons 37 Tea cups 35 Pair scissors 37 Maj Joseph Smith, 1 lb tobacco 75 James G. Paristol, i lb tobacco 37 John H. Bryant 1 letter 25 John Clapp then told how he came to the county in 1834. He told of having a sister that was afraid of the Indians, and could not handle the rifle, so she made overtures of peace and friendship by offering them pan- fuls of doughnuts; this had a most taming effect on the Indians, and they would some- times swarm about the premises, humble and hungry for more doughnuts. Micheal Kitter man. — The big-hearted, big- brained, though unlettered old Roman — a superb type of a grand old pioneer, was forced to get up and talk to his old friends, acquaintances and admirers. He said- "I came to this county in 1828, and looked around and thought the country would suit me pretty well. In 1831, about the 18th of March, I left Indiana and thought I would come out to this country. I came on down here to the Mackinaw; it was high, I couldn't get across. I didn't know what to do. I did not like to lay by. A man told me if I would go up to the Narrows I could cross by swimming my horse. I went there and found it so. A man there showed me over the river and said : ' you can't go through to-day.' I had faith I could; I had a good horse, and mounted and started on a wagon-track and traveled until it was dark, and then I got down and sat on my saddle, and held my mare by the bridle all night. It commenced getting cold and snowed a lit- tle, not enough however to cover the wagon track. In the morning I put my saddle on my mare and started. At 4 o'clock that day I struck the rapids above La Salle. I stopped at a house near by— every man kept tav- ern then — they got me something to eat. Next day I came down to Hennepen; there was no way of crossing the river. I hired Jim Willis, for half a dollar to ferry me over to the Hall settlement. I hired out to old Johnny Hall for six months at $9 a month. Every Sunday J would get a chain and as of him, and I hauled up two or three logs each day and built me a cabin. Then I went 106 HISTOKY OF BUREAU COUNTY. back for a woman, and when I got her and came back there was a man living in my cabin. This was on Section 16. I had not a dollar in the world. I drove down to where I now live and have lived there ever since. I cut a log about four feet long and put some coalB in it and bui-ned a mortar; perhaps I was a week doing it of nights. I got my mortar dug out and got me a pestle, and every night I pounded meal enough to do me next day. I never enjoyed myself so much in my life as I did then. When the mills wore built I went up to the Fox Kiver and got a grist. When I wanted salt I had to go to Chicago. It would take me eight days to go up and eight days to come back. I took my food along; when I was there once I wanted some whisky; I went all over Chicago for it. I could get whisky, but nothing to put it in. Well, I went into a saloon and the keeper said: 'I've got a five-gallon jug.' "Well, what will you fill it for? Says he: 'I'll put in the five gallons and give you the jug for a dollar.' I took it. I lived under the wagon as I came home, and had all the whisky I wanted to drink. I believe I have split enough rails at 50 cents a hundred to fence in the township. I have split 500 rails a day at $8 a month." Mr. Kitterman was born in Franklin County, Va., near Rockmount, the county seat, about the beginning of the year 1800. He found his way to Indiana an orphan boy, and stopped in Harrison County August 18, 18z!6. He married Miss Lydia Clark in Perry County, Ind., a native of Nel- son County, Ky., born September 15, 1810. [For family genealogy see biography in the biographical part of this work. Ed.] He came West in 1828 to look at the country, and, as he says, he liked it, and in 1830, with a saddle horse and just $4 in the world. He left wife and two babies and came to where he now lives to prepare a home. In his own language he tells how he hired to Hall for §9 a month, and during the six months thus engaged hewould "rest on Sunday" by getting out a few logs, and thus patiently the j'oung man built his cabin. After a long and arduous trip he reached here with his wife and babes with not a dollar in his pocket. He drove to his cabin and there found "Curt" Williams in pos- session — had " jumped" his claim and would neither give it up nor agree to pay a cent for it. Without wasting time or words upon this rather unneighborly man Mr. Kitterman proceeded to the spot where he now lives and unloaded his wagon, and from that hour to this he has stayed there on the lookout foi "jumpers." And there is no doubt, as he says, that in his " whole life these were my [his] happiest days." A nature so full of the sweet sunshine of life richly deserves the long and prosperous voyage, the rich endow- ment in worldly goods, the green old age, the large and respectable families of children and grandchildren, and the troops of friends that surround the walk in life and cheer and solace the declining years of Micheal Kitter- man, and "his woman," as he styles his good old lady who has now for fifty-eight years, through storms and through sunshine stood bravely by his side, a truly noble com- panion and worthy helpmeet. To visit and talk with this venerable old couple is a rare treat. Their days have been spared and blessed until they have been long in the land, and to look at them cheerful, happy and con- tented, vigorous, hale and hearty as they are, their greatest delight being in recounting the reminiscences of the past in which the true charity of heart has forgotten the little of the mean of life that crossed their pathway, is to behold a picture of a worthy couple into whose lives has come all the sweetness of HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. 107 suDshine that makes the world wholesome, pleasant and good. Mr. Kitterman's broad and charitable mind is aptly illustrated in his statement of the loss of his claim and hard-earned cabin by the " jumper." And when the war had frightened Williams away, and as he did not return as soon as the other settlers, Mr. Arthur Bryant, supposing he had abandoned it, com menced to work upon the claim and fix and improve the house and prepare it for his home. Bat Williams ilid return, and biding his time, he waited until Bryant had improved it considerably and then, one night he moved in and thus really "jumped" it the second time. Mr. Bryant went to Kitterman and wanted to consult him and probably strength- en his title by getting him to release his claim to him. The two talked the matter over and it appearing that Williams would leave for $20, Mr. Kitterman advised Bryant to pay this and get rid of him. His advice was followed. When visiting Mr. Kitterman, the writer reminded the old gentleman that he had heard some amusing anecdotes of him, and wanted to know if they were authentic. "They tell a great many stories on me," he replied, " but they are only jokes. Some of them, I expect, I made up and told my- self, just to tell a story, you know. What is your story?" The writer related Boyd's story about the Assessor and dogs. How the Assessor had called, and Kitterman, being warned jiist before by Boyd that he was assessing the dogs, and that he would soon be there, etc. , whereupon he called his dogs and shut them in the cellar. In a little while the Assessor, Pajrne, arrived. Soon the property was gone over and assessed, and then he said he had to assess the dogs. He looked around and could see none, and Kitterman remarked that he believed his boys claimed one or two trifling curs that hung around the place, and made some remark about boys and dogs gen- erally. Thus the dog subject was tided over, and as they sat on the porch, the apples and hard cider were at hand, the tax books were closed and all joined in a pleasant social chat, eating apples and drinking cider. Boyd had stayed, and the party were enjoying them- selves, and chatting and joking in great glee. Finally the pitcher was emptied, and Mr. Kitterman ordered one of his boys to fill the pitcher. The lad obeyed, but knowing noth- ing of the dogs being in the cellar, he threw open the cellar door and out came thirteen dogs in a rush for the open air and frisking about the men and wagging their tails and barking their joy to their master and his guests for their liberty. The men looked at each other and finally all joined in a hearty laugh. No words were equal to the occasion. The joke was too good, and no dogs were charged to either Kitterman or his boys that year. Mr. Kitterman laughed heartily at the story and said, jast as he expected, "There was no truth in it. " "Indeed there is," said Mrs. Kitterman; " it is all true, but a good deal stronger than you told it. I tell you to put it in your book and make it as strong as you can, and then it won't be half enough." The Kitterman family consisting of six sons and four daughters living, is one of the lead- ing, wealthy and influential families of Bu- reau County. They are surrounded by their sons and sons-in-law, and the people of the county all join in wishing the cheery old couple to be spared many days yet in the land. Mr. Kitterman is an open-hearted, fearless, outspoken, manly man. The opposite every way of the braggart and the loud-canting 108 HISTORY or BUREAU COUNTY. Pharisee. A man of worthy deeds, strong sensfl and no pretensions. A self-made man; the architect wholly of his own fortune, who has builded wisely and well. He is the old- est living settler in Bureau County — now the surviving link between the present and the past. Living or dead we would transmit his noble deeds and good name untarnished to the remotest generation, inseparably linked with the history of Bureau County. At the old settlers' meeting, August 15, 1878, John H. Bryant was elected presiding ofBcer, and E. S. Phelps. Secretary. The meeting was commenced with prayer by George Hammer, an old settler of 1834, who came with his uncle, John Hammer. John Clapp, C. P. Mason and E. B. Frary were appointed a committee to select oflScers for the coming year. President Cole gave an ac- count of the Black Hawk war. Officers for the ensuing year were elected as follows: Arthur Bryant, President; J. Benedict and H. Moore, Vice-Presidents; John "Walters, T. Nichols, Alanson Benson, Directors; Stephen G. Paddock, Secretary. H. B. Lee- per talked to the old settlers, and amused them for some time. John Walters gave some amusing facts about his tailoring in Princeton from 1837 to 1840. R. B. Frary told the particulars of thi'ee families living in one house 14x16, and how the broom -maker and the basket-maker, in addition, carried on their trades in the same room, and how there was room enough and to spare. In 1882 the old settlers met at the fair grounds. President, T. W. Nichols. Prayer by Elder Andrew Ross. An address was delivered by the President. Cyrus Colton, R. B. Frary and J. H. Bryant appointed a committee to select officers for ensuing year. Reported following: President, Milo Ken- dall; Secretary and Treasurer, H. B. Lee- per; Executive Committee, Milo Kendall, George B. Cushing, C. T. Wiggins. Then R. F. Frary presented an address on the life of John Clapp. G. M. Radcliffe gave sketches of Charles S. Boyd, Mrs. Austin Bryant, Mrs. J. V. Thompson, Mrs. Fanny Moseley and Edward R. Bryant. Milo Kendall read an interesting paper on John Elliott, and O. G. Lovejoy read a poem by John H. Bryant. Zebinah Eastman gave an account of the Hampshire Colony. Old settlers met at the fair grounds, Sep- tember 6, 1883. President, T. W. Nich- ols; Secretary, H. B. Leeper. Prayer by Rev. T. L. Pomeroy. Committee to nomi- nate officers: T. L. Pomeroy, George Ham- mer and George Phelps; and John Walters was chosen President; Vice-Presidents, Andrew Ross and L. D. Whiting; Secretary, Ro- mane Hodgeman. Roll-call of the deceased of the past year was as follows: Mrs. Lucy Cook. Mrs. Jacob Bettz, Dr. Joseph Jones, Dr. Avery, Mrs. Elliott, Arthur Bry- ant, Mrs. A. Boyd, Mrs. David Wells, Dea- con Asahel Wood, William Frankeberger, John Pi'outz, Alby Colton, Charles Faley, Mrs. Sarah Musgrove, Mrs. Brookbanks, Walter Dui-ham, Mrs. R. T. Templeton, George Brown, Sarina Clapp, and Mrs. H. R. Pom- eroy. Appropriate eulogies were pronounced on each. August 30, 1884, a meeting of the old set- tlers convened at the fair grounds. Presi- dent, John Walters; Secretary, H. B. Leeper; commenced with prayer by Dr. R. Edwards; singing led by Streator; and John H. Bry- ant, Cyrus Colton and George Phelps ap- pointed a committee to select officers for the ensuing year. H. C. Bradsby delivered an address, when the society adjourned for din- ner. After dinner the amphitheatre was again filled and short and interesting addresses were made liy John H. Bryant, Rev. T. L. Pomeroy, Dr. William Mercer, L. D. Whiting, HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. 109 G. M. Radcliffe, Deacon Henry Wells, George W. Hammer, J. E. Dorr, Nicholas Smith, Rev. J. Coles and A. W. Bacon. These speeches were short, stirring and deeply in- teresting and elicited much applause. Rev. T. L. Pomeroy said that in coming to Illinois in 1837, he arrived at Chicago, and then took the stage for Hennejain. This was a small coach that started out every morning, and at that time furnished all the transportation the country lying west of Chicago needed. Mr. Hammer said he came in 1834, with his uncle, John Hammer. He graphically de- scribed some of the straits the family were subjected to in the way of getting something to eat; how he had carried corn on his shoul- der to mill, and then with his own hands ground it and carried it back; how, when his uncle had gone on a three weeks' trip to a mill about 100 miles east of the Illinois River, ho had informed his aunt that he suspected the bushel of sweet potatoes his uncle had brought and holed up so carefully for seed in the spring, were frozen, and how he got her consent to examine them and, sure enough, they were as hai'd as rocks, and they there- fore ate them; and this and scant corn meal and meat was the only variety the family had to eat during the winter: thus again proving that it is an ill wind that blows nobody any good. The roll-call of the deceased of the society since the last meeting, gave the following list: Edward Mercer, James Wiusor, James Garvin, James Swan and A. S. Lathrop. James Hamrick was a native of Lancaster County, Ohio, born February 3, 1815; was a son of John and Elizabeth (Spenny) Ham- rick, who had come from Virginia. Four of their children out of eleven, are now living. The family came in 1839, and settled at Cen- ter Grove. The name of Henrv Thomas occurs fre- quently in the history of the county. He was among, if not the first settler in the county. Of his family now living are: Austin C. Thomas, now in Oregon; Laura, wife of John Stuchel, now in Peoria. There are many facts that go to show that she was the first born white child in Bureau, or, perhaps it was Mary Ho- bart (Thomas), who was born January 15, 1830, and now lives in Dover. As Mrs. Ho- bart is yet a citizen of the county, and can show days and dates, we incline to give her the blue ribbon among the first born in the county. Other childi-en of Henry Thomas are Emily Jackson, of Bureau Township, Sarah Lumry, of Kansas, and Electa Martin, now in the county. Ezekiel Thomas' family are: Ruth J. Frankeberger, a widow, of Wyanet; Sarah Ballard, of same place; Matilda Fisher, of Princeton; Harvey Thomas, same place; John, of Oregon; Mary Walker, same; Malinda Houk, of Princeton; Hartzel, of Peojia; Will- iam and Nora Epperson, of Oregon. William Hoskins was anative of Kentucky; lived many years in Indiana, and came here in 1831, and settled in Selby. His wife was Rebecca Kellums. They had five boys and one girl. The boys: Thomas, James, Wesley, Jesse H. and William W. ; Lucinda married James Hosier. This family are all either dead or removed from the State. Judge Hoskins died in Missouri, 1849. He had improved four farms in this county. Rev. William Martin was one of the earliest ministers here. He was a native of Virginia. He was President of the first Conference in Chicago. He took his dog " Penny '' with him, and when he got there a committee met him for a reception, and as he mingled in the crowd he lost sight of "Penny,'' and the ceremony was at once stopped while the President started down 110 HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. street calling, "Here Penny! Here Penny! Here Penny! " as loud as he was in the habit of callincr hogs from the woods in Bureau. In fact his voice rang out all over the city, and Penny soon heard the familiar sounds, and master and dog were soon together and the grand ceremonies of the Conference then proceeded. It is said by eye witnesses that the large committee of aristocratic la- dies that stood waiting the good man's pleas- ure and his yells for Penny, was about as amusing a sight as was ever witnessed at a Church Conference. The Rev. Mr. Johnson was in company with Mr. Martin, and he says he tried to stop the man in his yells for his dog, and told him that he was now in the city, and he must not act so; that those were very aristocratic ladies. Martin replied, in the highest key, " What do I care — Here Penny! — for the aristocratic — Here Penny! — ladies or anybody else? Here Pen- ny! Here Penny!! Here! Here!! Here Penny!!!" Stephen Perkins was born March 31, 1798, in Grayson County, Va. ; died in this county, September 14, 1867. He was a sou of Tim- othy and Tabitha (Anderson) Perkins. The grandfather of Stephen was a soldier in the Revolution. Stephen married Margaret Woods, of Wythe County, Va. , who was born in 1802. She was the daughter of John Banham. The Perkinses crossed the river in 1834, and wintered in a log cabin three miles northwest of Hennepin, where Stephen Perkins settled, and it was called Perkins' Grove, which had been staked out by Will- iam Perkins in 1833. The grove was named after Timothy Perkins, who made and sold claims from the mouth of Bureau to Perkins' Grove. He went finally to Missouri where he died in Gentry County. He was of a roving disposition; reared a large and re- spectable family. Jabeth Perkins and his son William came in 1833; but William re- turned to Kentucky. Jesse Perkins bought Leonard Roth's claim in 1832, one mile west of Bureau Junction, where he died. His son Alvin lives near Senachwine. Manson Perkins was born February 15, 1826, in Ashe County, N. C. He was a son of Stephen Perkins. In 1849 there was a party of fifteen started for California from about Perkins' Grove; among these were the Perkinses. John Per- kins taught the first school in Perkins' Grove. William Pollock, a native of Tyrone, Ire- land, came to Illinois in 1832, and settled in Stark County, and came to Perkins' Grove in 1837. He purchased William Anderson's claim. Anderson was a Mormon Elder. Anderson went to Nauvoo, and was killed in the Hancock County war. Johnson W. Per- kins, bom here, married Edith A. Wasson, daughter of Lorenzo D. Wasson. George C. Hinsdale came in July, 1831. He married Elizabeth Baggs, May 18, 1834. (See biography.) Christopher G. Corss came in 1831 with the Hampshire Colony. (See biography of C. C. Corss.) CHAPTER IX. LoneTree— Putnam CouNxr Organized 1S31— Captain Haws- John M. Gay Elected Commissioner, Dr. N. CaAMBEBLAiH. School Superintendent, 1831 — Bureau Precinct — Its First Nineteen Voters — Their Names and Whom They Voted For — A Democratic Majority — Bcreauites on the Jury of 1831 — John M.Gat and Daniel Dimmick Elected Justices— Gurdon S. Hubbard's Accou.vT OF Bourboxnais— Peoria and Galena Road — Dave Jones — First Steamboat— First Grist and Saw- Mili, — " Dad Joe " Smith, a Sketch— Young Dad Joe's Ride — Alex. Boyd's Ride— The Hall Massacre — Sylvia and Rachel Hall — People Flee the Cou-jty— SHAimoNA. RESUMING the thread of our narrative from which we swerved some little in the preceding chapter, in our account of the old settlers and their meetings and records, HISTORY or BUEEAU COUNTY. Ill we will devote some considerable space in this chapter to those facts and circumstances as we have gleaned them of the early settlers, and the course of their lives here when all was new and wild. Oliver Kellogg, brother- in- law of Dixon and Boyd, was among the earliest pioneers in this section, and when the route from Galena became a traveled road, it went by the name of Kellogg's trail, for many years. As early as 1829, Meredith's, Thomas's, Boyd's, Inlet's, Dixon's and Kellogg's were noted places, as well as the old Bulbona and Lone Tree, the latter giving its name to Lone Tree Postoffice. From the earliest times this great, solitary tree, standing alone in the wide expanse of prairie, was widely known. It was a grand old oak that for ages had lifted its boughs and defied the storms and pointed the way to the lonely travelers, hunters and trappers; and when civilization began to hunt out this partof the world, it was a noted beacon, a towering sentinel that told the weary pioneers that they were upon the borders of the promised land. This historic tree died some twenty years ago, and was blown down, and Mr. E. Anderson, who had become the owner of the gi-ound on which it stood, had made a pasture about it, and it is supposed the continuous tramping of stock was partly the cause of its eventual decay. We are indebted to An- drew Anderson for a small block of this Lone Tree, which is now doing service as a paper weight on our table. When we are through with it, it will be suitably identified and placed in the custody of the Illinois Historical Association. Lone Tree is about the center of Wheat- land Township, in the southern part of Bu- reau County. In the spring of 1831 Putnam County was first organized into a municijiality, and pos- sessed of legal functions. Then new bound- aries were given the county, that is, to the boundaries in the act of 1825, authorizing the county when sufficient population was had to organize. At that time (1831) the whole country north and west of Bureau set- tlement to Galena and northeast including Chicago were in the bounds. According to the act of the Legislature on the first Mon- day in March, 1831, at the house of Capt. Will- iam Haws,* an election for county officers was held, and to put the wheels of the new county government in operation. John M. Gay was elected one of the Commissioners of the new county, and Dr. N. Chamberlain was appointed School Commissioner. These were both Bureau County men, and at the time they were living in Bureau Precinct, Putnam County. Bureau Precinct included all of the present county and parts of Stark and Mar- shall Counties. At the first election, August 18, 1831, there were just nineteen votes in Bureau Precinct, as follows: Henry Thomas, Elijah Epperson, Mason Dimmick, Leonard Roth, John M. Gay, Samuel Glason, Curtiss Williams, John and Justus Ament, J. W. Hall, Henry Harrison, Abram Stratton, Eze- kiel Thomas, Hezekiah and Anthony Epper- son, E. H. Hall, Adam Taylor, Daniel Dim- mick and Thomas W^ashburn. This vote in Bureau Precinct was given as follows, on Candidates for Congress: Joseph Duncan, 10; Sidney Breese. 1; Edward Cole, 6; James Turney, 2. As Duncan was the " out and outer " Democrat perhaps in the race, we may be safe in saying that the first vote ever polled of the good people of what is now Bureau County was unmistakably Democratic. In the month of May, 1831, the first court of Putnam County mei The grand jury list » This was Capt. Haws of the Black Hawk war, and whose company was composed of several Bureau men. and who served with him during that war. His house, at which this first elec- tion was held, was near where Magnolia now is. 112 HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. shows the names of Elijah Epperson, Henry Thomas, Leonard Roth, Abram Stratton, John Knox and Mr. Gaylord. On the petit jury were Sylvester Brigham, Ezekiel Thomas, Eli Redmon, Justin Ament and William Morris. This co>irt was at the trading-house of Thomas Hartzell, a well-known place to every old settler. Gurdon S. Hubbard. — Our attention has just been called to a letter from Mr. Hubbard to the old settlers of Putnam County, and as this gives us some important facts in refer- ence to this county, we extract the following: " Thomas Hartzell, who was a Pennsylvanian by birth, was at that time, 1824, trading on the river below in opposition to the American Fur Company. In 1824-25, he succeeded Beaubien in the employment of the company. There was a house just below, across the ravine, built by Antoine Bourhonnais (Bul- bona), also an opposition trader, but who, like Hartzell, went into the employ of the Fur Company under a yearly salary. My trading post after leaving Beaubien was at the mouth of Crooked Creek till 1826, when I located on the Iroquois River, where I continued in the employ of the company till 1830, when I bought them out. The last time I visited the place where the old trading-house stood, the chimney was almost all that remained. It was built almost wholly of clay, upon a frame-work of wood, being supported by stakes stuck firmly in the ground, the whole daubed inside and out with clay mortar. The hearth was of dry clay pounded hard. It was the custom to build rousing fires, and this soon baked and hardened the chimney and gave it durability. The roof was made of puncheons, the cracks well daubed with clay and long grass laid on top and kept in place by logs of small size. The sides of the house consisted of logs kept in place by posts sunk in the ground. The ends were sapling logs set in the ground upright to the roof. A rough door at one end and a window composed of a sheet of foolscap paper, well greased, completed the building. It was warm and comfortable, and under the roof many an Indian was hospitably entertained." Hubbard further tells of the great buffalo herds he saw upon these prairies when he first came here, and that passing boats "were often delayed for hours by vast herds cross- ing from side to side, among which it was dangerous to venture." Indians accounted for their disappearance by a deep snow and a long hard winter when thousands perished, and for years the whitening bones upon the prairies were evidences of the truth of this story. Peoria and Galena Road. — This became a prominent thoroughfare in 1827. The first road connecting Peoria and the Lead Mines (Galena) passed by Rock Island, and this was a long and difiSoult route. John Dixon, Charles S. Boyd and Kellogg had hunted out this new, shorter and better road, and at the time of the Winnebago war, 1827, Col. Neale, with 600 volunteers from southern Illinois passed over this new trail. Soon after this road was opened, droves of cattle and hogs, with emigrant and mining wagons, as well as a daily mail coach, passed over it, which made it one of the great thor- oughfares of the West. For a number of years after this road was opened, only six cabins were built along its entire length, and these stood fifteen or twenty miles apart, so as to entertain travelers. Besides these six cabins, no marks of civilization could be seen between Peoria and Galena, and the country through which it passed was still in the possession of Indians. This road originally passed through the head of Boyd's Grove, over the town site of Providence, a few rods west of Wyanet, and HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY, 113 by Red Oak Grove. Afterward it was changed to pass through Dad Joe Grove, and in 1833 it was made to pass through Tiskilwa and Princeton. In the spring of 1831 Dad Joe received a large, sealed package, wrapped around with red tape, and inscribed " Official Documents." On opening it an order was found from the Commissioner's Court of Jo Daviess County, notifying him that he was appointed Overseer of Highways, and fi.xing his district from the north line of Peoria County to Rock River, a distance of sixty-five miles. In this dis- trict Dad Joe could only find four men, be. sides himself, to work on this sixty-five miles of road. In 1833 an act passed the Legislature to survey and permanently locate the Peoria and Galena road, and appointed Charles S. Boyd, J. B. Merrideth, and Dad Joe, Com- missioners for that purpose. Although this road had been traveled for six years, it had never been surveyed or legally established, and with the exception of bridging one or two sloughs, no work had been done on it. The Commissioners met at Peoria for the pur- pose of commencing their work, and at the ferry, now Front Street, they drove the first stake. A large crowd of people had col- lected on that occasion, as the location of the road was to them a matter of some conse- quence. Dad Joe, mounted on old Pat, ap- peared to be the center ot attraction, as he was well known by every one about Peoria. Eight years previously he was a resident of Peoria, and while acting as one of the County Commissioners he had located the county seat there, and by him the name of the place was changed from Fort Clark to Peoria. Many of the old settlers will recollect old Pat, Dad Joe's favorite horse, which was ridden or driven by him for more than twenty years, and he became almost as well known in the settlement as his noted master. He was a dark sorrel horse, with foxy ears, a star in the forehead, a scar on the flank, and was always fat and sleek. It was this horse that young Joe rode when he carried the Govern- or's dispatch from Dixon's Fei-ry to Fort Wilburn, as previously stated. Among the crowd that had collected around the Commissioners on this occasion, was John Winter, a mail contractor, and owner of the stage line between Peoria and Galena. Many stories of early times were told by those present, funny jokes passed, and all were enjoying the fun, when Winter ofi"ered to stake the choice of his stage horses against old Pat, that he could throw Dad Joe down. Now Dad Joe was no gambler, and would not have exchanged old Pat for all of Winter's horses; but being fond of fun, he said in his loud tone of voice, which could have been heard for half a mile, " Winter, I'll be blessed if I don't take that bet." Dad Joe was a thick, heavy-set man, of remarkable physical power, and wore at the time a long hunting-shirt with a large rope tied around his waist. Winter was a spare, active man, a great champion in wrest- ling, and wore a pair of fine cloth panta- loons, made tight in accordance with the fashion of the day. When all the prelimin- aries were arranged, and the parties had taken hold, Winter sang out, " Dad, are you ready ?" to which Dad replied, "All ready, Winter, God bless you." Winter, as quick as thought, attempted to knock his adver- sary's feet from under him, but instead of doing so, he was raised off the ground, and held there by the strong arm of Dad Joe. Winter kicked and struggled to regain his footing, but all to no purpose; at the same time his tight pantaloons burst open. At last he said, "Dad, for God's sake let me down, and you shall have the best horse in 114 HISTORY OF BUREAU COUJirTY. my barn." Dad Joe released his hold, and Winter never either paid the bet or bantered the old man for another tussle.* The first wedding celebrated within the limits of Bureau County took place in the summer of 1830, and the parties were Leon- ard Roth and Nancy Perkins, a daughter of Timothy Perkins. The license was obtained at the county clerk's office in Peoria, and the parties were married by Elijah Epperson. There were some doubts about Mr. Epper- son's authority to administer the marriage rite, as it was obtained through his church relation some years before, while living in Kentucky, but there was no authorized per- son, at that time, living within fifty miles of them, and the legality of the marriage was never questioned. For a few years after Putnam County was organized, John M. Gay, as Justice of the Peace, was the only person on the west side of the Illinois Eiver authorized to administer the marriage rite. Abram Stratton and Miss Sarah Baggs deferred their wedding two weeks, waiting for Mr. Gay to obtain his commission, so he could marry them. Squire Gay was sent for to marry a couple at Per- kins' Grove, whose names were Peter Har- mon and Eebecca Perkins, a daughter of Timothy Perkins. Dave Jones. J — This individual became so notorious in the early settlement of the county, and figures so much in its history, that a further account of him may interest the reader. Dave Jones, or Devil Jones, as he was generally called, was a small, well- built man, with very dark skin, hair and eyes as black as a raven, and he had a wild, savage appearance. He was strong and active, a good wrestler and fighter, and but few men could compete with him. For a number of * N. Matson. t This account of Dave Jones is from N. Matson's Reminis- cences. years he was a terror to the settlement, being feared both by whites and Indians. Jones came to the country in the spring of 1831, and built a cabin on the present site of Tis- kilwa, but getting into trouble with the Indians, he traded his claim to Mr. McCor- mis for an old mare, valued at ten dollars, and two gallons of whisky. He next built a cabin near where Lomax's Mill now stands; a year or two later he went to Dimmick's Grove, and in 1S35 he moved to Indiana, where he was hanged by a mob soon after his arrival. Many remarkable feats of Jones are still remembered by old settlers, some of which are worth preservino-. In the spring of 1832 a dead Indian was found in the creek, near the present site of the Bureau Valley Mills, with a bullet-hole in his back, showing that he came to his death from a rifle shot. The corpse was taken out of the water by Indians, buried in the sand near by, and the affair was soon forgot- ten. Jones said while hunting deer in the creek bottom, he saw this Indian sitting on a log over the water fishing, when all of a sud- den he jumped up as though he was about to draw oat a big fish, and pitched headlong into the water, and was drowned when he came up to him. Two other Indians disap- peared mysteriously about the same time, who were supposed to have been murdered, and on that account, it is said, the Indians contemplated taking revenge on the settlers. One warm afternoon, Jones, with a jug in one hand, came cantering his old mare up to the Hennepin ferry, saying that his wife was very sick, and would certainly die if she did not get some whisky soon. In great haste Jones was taken across the river, and on land- ing on the Hennepin side, he put his old mare on a gallop up the bluff to Durley's store, where he filled his jug with whisky. Meeting with some old chums, he soon J Is..'' it, V ^,/?,/^. HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. 115 became intoxicated, forgot about his wife's sickness, and spent the afternoon and even- ing in wrestling, dancing "Jim Crow," and having a fight with some of his friends. It was long after dark when Jones started for home, but on arriving at the ferry he found the boat locked up, and the ferryman in bed. Jones rapped at the door of the ferryman's house, swearing if he did not get up and take him across, he would pull the house down, and whip him besides. But all his threats were in vain; the ferryman could not be moved. Jones went down to the river, took ofi" the bridle reins, with which he tied the jug of whisky on his back, then drove his old mare into the river, and holding on to her tail, was ferried across the river, as he afterward expressed it, without costing him a cent. One afternoon, while Dave Jones was engaged in cutting out a road from Hennepin ferry through the bottom timber, his coat, which lay by the wayside, was stolen. Although the value of the old coat did not exceed two dollars, it was the only one Jones had, and he searched for it throughout the settlement. At last Jones found his coat on the back of the thief, whom he arrested and took to Hennepin for trial. The thief was at work in Mr. Hays' field, immediately west of Princeton, when Jones presented his rifle at his breast, ordering him to take up his line of march for Hennepin, and if he deviated from the direct course, he would blow his brains out. The culprit, shaking in his boots, started on his journey, while Jones, with his rifle on his shoulder, walked about three paces behind. On arriving at Henne- pin the thief pleaded guilty, being more afraid of Jones than the penalties of the law, and was therefore put in jail. "After Jones had delivered up his prisoner, he got drunk, was engaged in several fights, and he too was arrested and put in jail. At that time the Hennepin jail consisted of only one room, being a log structure, twelve feet square, and Jones being put in with the thief, commenced beating him Seeing that they could not live together, the thief was liberated and Jones retained. At this turn of affairs Jones became penitent, agreed to go home and behave himself, if they would let him out. Accordingly the sheriff took him across the river, and set him at liberty; but Jones swore he would not go home iintil he had whipped every person in Hennepin, so he returned to carry out his threats, but was again arrested and put in jail. A short time after the establishing of the Hennepin ferry, Dave Jones was on the Hennepin side of the river, with a yoke of wild cattle, and wished to cross over, but was unwilling to pay the ferriage. He swore before he would pay the ferryman's extrava- gant price, he would swim the river, saying that he had frequently done it, and could do it again. Jones wore a long-tailed Jackson overcoat, which reached to his heels, and a coon-skin cap, with the tail hanging down over his shoulders, the weather at the time being quite cool. He drove his oxen into the river, taking the tail of one of them into his mouth, when they started for, the oppo- site shore. Away went the steers, and so went Dave Jones, his long hair and long- tailed overcoat floating on the water, his teeth tightly fastened to the steer's tail, while with his hands and feet he paddled with all his might. Everything went on swimmingly, until they came near the middle of the river, where the waters from each side of the island came together; here the current was too strong for the steers — they turned down stream, and put back for the Hennepin side. Jones could not ojsen his mouth to say gee or haw, without losing his hold on the steer's tail, and was 116 HISTORY or BUREAU COUNTY. therefore obliged to go where the steers led him, but all were safely landed some distance below the starting-place. Jones was in a terrible rage at his failure to cross the river — beat his cattle, and ciu-sed the bystanders for laughing at his misfortune. After taking a big dram of whisky, he tried it again, but with no better success. Three different times Jones tried this experiment, each time whip- ping his cattle and taking a fresh dram of whisky. At last he was obliged to give it up as a bad job, and submit to paying the ferryman the exorbitant price of twenty-five cents to be ferried over. First Steamboat— In May, 1831, the steam- boat Caroline came up the Illinois River from St. Louis, and continued up the river to the mouth of the Little Vermilion— Shipping- port. This was the first steamer that had ever ascended above Beardstown, then the head of navigation. At this point a pilot named Crozier took the boat successfully to Ottawa. In the September following the second boat came — the Traveler. The Caroline brought Captain Williams' company of soldiers. First Mill— In 1829 Timothy Perkins and Leonard Roth came and settled near Leepertown Mills. In 1830 William Hoskins, John Clark and John Hall (bought Dim- mick's claim) and made a large farm. Dim- mick removed to LaMoille, where he lived two years and sold out and left the country. In the summer of 1830 Amos Leonard (millwright) built a grist-mill on East Biireau, about eighty rods above its mouth. It was made of round logs, twelve feet square, and all its machinery, with a few exceptions, was made of wood. The mill-stones were dressed out of boulder rocks, which were talien from the bluffs near by, and the hoop they ran in was a section of a hollow sycamore tree. This mill, when in running order, would grind about ten bushels per day, but poor as it was, people regarded it as a great accession to the settlement, and it relieved them of the slow process of grinding on hand-mills, or pounding their grain on a hominy block. Settlers east of the river, as well as those liv- ing near the mouth of Fox River, patronized Leonard's Mill, and it is now believed that it was the first water-mill built north of Peoria. In 1831 Henry George, a single man who was killed at the Indian Creek massacre, made a claim, and built a cabin on the pres- ent site of Bureau Junction. In 1833 John Leeper bought Perkins' claim, and a few years afterward built a large flouring-mill, which received much patronage from adjoin- ing counties. Quite a village (called Leeper- town) grew up at this mill; but in 1838 the mill burned down and the village went to decay. In 1834 a number of immigrants found homes in this locality, among whom were David Nickerson, John McElwain, James Howe, Charles Leeper and Maj. William Shields. As early as 1832 a number of per- sons had settled in Hoskins' neighborhood, among whom were Daniel Sherley and Gil- bert Kellums. In 1834 the large family of Searl came here, where many of their de- scendants continue to live. Moseley Settlement. — In August, 1831, Roland Moselej-, Daniel Smith and Joha Musgrove, with their families, came to Bureau; the two former were from Massa- chusetts, and the latter from New Jersey, having met by chance while on their way to the West. The emigrants ascended the Illi- nois River in a steamboat as far as Naples, and finding it difiicult to obtain passage further up the river, they left their families there, and made a tour through the country in search of homes. Hearing of the Hamp- shire Colony on Bureau, Mr. Moseley directed his course thither, and being pleased with HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. 117 the country, he selected a claim. At that time Timothy Perkins claimed, for himself and family, all the timber and adjoining prairie, between Arthur Bryant's and Caleb Cook's, but he agreed to let Mr. Moseley have enough for two farms, on condition of selling him some building material. A few months previous, Timothy Perkins and Leonard Roth had built a saw-mill on Main Bureau, a short distance below the present site of McManis' Mill. This was the first saw-mill built within the limits of Bureau County, and with one ex- ception, the first north of Peoria. Mr. Moseley marked out his claim, cutting the initials of his name on witness trees, and contracting with Mr. Perkins to furnish him, on the land, some boards and slabs for a shanty, after which he returned to Naples to report his discovery. The three families, with their hoiisehold goods, were put on board a keel-boat at Na- ples, and ascended the river as far as the mouth of Bureau Creek. Soon after their arrival at Bureau they were all taken down sick with the intermittent fever, one not be- ing able to assist the other. Although strangers in a strange land, they found those who acted the part of the good Samaritan. James G. Forristal, although living twelve miles distant, was a neighbor to them, spend- ing days and even weeks in administering to their wants. Daniel Smith, father of Daniel P. and Dwight Smith, of Ohiotown, found shelter for his family in a shanty constructed of split puncheons, which stood on the Doo- little farm. The widow of Daniel Smith, being left with three small children, in a strange country, and with limited means, ex- perienced many of the hardships common to a new settlement. Mr. Moseley and Mr. Musgrove were men of industry and enterprise, improving well their claims, and lived upon them until their deaths. i "Dad Joe Smith." — Among the earliest j and certainly one of the most remarkable men of all the early pioneers who came to Bureau County was Joseph Smith, immortal as "Dad Joe." A very powerful physical frame, not tall, but square and heavy built, compact, and large bones and muscles, a tower of strength, with a capacity of voice that has never been equaled in this part of the world. A big brain, a strong and steady nerve and a heart that never knew fear of anythintr mor- tal. The Smith family are a long line of he- roic pioneers and soldiers, running back from the late war to the American Revolution. From the early settlements in Maryland they pressed upon the bloody tracks of the savage from Maryland through and beyond the "Dark and Bloody Ground," into Ohio, In- diana, into and through Illinois and beyond the great Father of Waters. They warmed him in their cabins and gave him of their salt when he was a friendly and good Indian, and when he put on his murderous paint, they "met him in his path and slew him." "Dad Joe" Smith was the child of pioneers — "born in the wildwood, rocked on the wave " — he grew, from inheritance and from the educa- tion of his life, a pioneer, that grandest type of man, of whom it has been well said they were "civilization's forlorn hope," for with- out them limited indeed would be its do- minions. It is a tradition that "Dad Joe" was one of Gen. George Rogers Clark's men, or at least it was the daring and adventurous march of this" Hannibal of the Northwest" into this part of the Mississippi Valley that resulted in eventually bringing him to this part of Illinois. His coming here was the most valuable acquisition of the time to the whole country, for he possessed the ' ' blood and iron " in his nature that awed and mas- tered the crafty and cruel savage and would tame and quiet his tierce, wild nature often when nothing else would. He was brave. 118 HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY- sincere, manly and honest, and the red man soon learned to know that his friendship was a boon and that his enmity was to be dreaded, that his good-will was easier gained than his ill-will, and that one was to be as much de- sired as the other was to be dreaded. In his heart the untutored savage must have felt that "The elements so mixed in him That nature might stand up And say to all the world: This is a man." His stentorian voice and his ever ready "Yes, God bless you!" were equally famed throughout the country, and something of the estimate the people entertained of the man is the fact that he was universally known as "Dad Joe," and to half his acquaintances to have spoken of Mr. Joseph Smith would have been mentioning a strange name — some one they had never heard of; and so marked was this peculiarity that it was quite natural for every one to speak of his boy as "Young Dad Joe," ■who was a chip of the old block. An inci- dent occurred in the Black Hawk war that was fitly remembered at the old settlers' meeting in Princeton, in September, 1875, in the following lines: TOUNG DAD joe's EIDE.* " Of Paul Revere, and Collins Graves, * » # » " And Sheridan's most famous ride, And other heroes still beside. Their praise is on the Nation's tongue." "Our hero is a stripling lad. Who was the darling of his "Dad," Yet scarce from off the apron string; Younger than was the ruddy Dave, Who slew the famed Philistine brave." * * * * The poet then proceeds to almost literally relate the circumstance that actually occur- red. Gov. Reynolds was with the arm}- at *Read by A. N. Bacon. Dixon, and it became very important for him to get a dispatch delivered to the commander at Fort "Wilburn, a fortification on the Illi- nois River opposite Peru. He called for a volunteer to carry the dispatch, a dangerous undertaking, as the country swarmed with Indians, supposed to be on the lookout for any couriers that might bo passing from one portion of the army to another in this emer- gency. " Well mindful of his country's weal. And fired with patriotic zeal, Old Dad Joe unto him said, God bless you. Governor, I will send That message to its destined end." * # « * Then turning to his boy, a lad about fifteen years old, he said: " God bless you. Joe; Take this dispatch across the plain, To Wilburn Fort and there remain; Just saddle up old Pat and go! " The brave boy gladly obeyed, and in a few moments was on old Pat's back: the message carefully tucked away in his clothes, and as he turned his horse's head, and in a quick gallop started upon the perilous voyage, that great voice of " Old Dad Joe's " rang out after him: " God bless you, boy. Keep clear of timber — Indians there! " And a backward wave of the boy's hand told the father that his boy understood him, as he sped away, bending forward his head and steadily looking straight before him with every sense drawn to sharpest tension. The boy feeling the greataess of his mission — the destiny perhaps that hung upon his suc- cessful voyage, thundered across the plains, and heeding the advice of his father in bear- ing off from the timber, was able to ride in triumph from starting-point to destination, although from several coverts the armed In- dians on ponies discovered him, and rode out and chased him for many a mile on his way. HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. 119 Their ponies were over-matcliecl by old Pat, and they would soon abandon the chase as the young rider would disappear in the tall grass and the distant view, as he sped on and on over the swelling prairie. " He onward sped and reached the goal. * * # * # "When they the j'outhful horseman saw, And from its hiding place to draw The Governor's will, that thej' might know, A shout went up from that lone band That should be sounded through the land, Hurrah! Hurrah! for young Dad Joe. » » « * " Our story may be growing old. The incident that we have told, Was more than forty years ago; Some may our hero never know; Yet Bureau folks may well bestow Three times three cheers on Young Dad Joe." The poetry is not very much, but the heroic feat it celebrates is a part of the Black Hawk war that should not be lost in the history of Illinois. It was a brave act by this "little man, in erownless hat and legs of tan." " Dad Joe" was among the first to settle at Fort Clark, at Aukas, at the mouth of Rock River, at the lead mines and in Bureau County. He spent the most of his life here and lived and died without an enemy. He got his name of " Dad Joe " from the trader Ogee, who spoke very broken English, who found no other way of designating Joseph Smith, Sr. , from his son Joe. His heart was as kind as his exterior was rough. He was a native of Kentucky, and although his parents owned slaves, he had no educa- tion, and refused to own a human being. He was a strong temperance man, and a good judge of ahorse; altogether a most remarkable pioneer, and whose memory will be always carefully preserved by the good people of the county. It was said of " Dad Joe " that he was a very moral and pious man, never profane in his language, but we infer from an anecdote of him related by John H. Bryant, at the old settlers' meeting August 30, 1884, that he once broke over his rule in this respect. He discovered a prairie fire approaching his farm and he and all his family were out to fight it off in order to save his wheat-stacks that were exposed. In this as everywhere the good old man worked with a will beating out the fire. His strokes flew fast and furious as the tire kept advancing, and at each stroke he would say, "God bless the fii-e! God bless the fire!" and yet it advanced toward the wheat-stacks, and faster and faster he fought and also faster and faster would he ejaculate, "God bless the tire! God bless the fire!" And finally the fatal flames by a bound were upon the near- est wheat-stack, and then the old man threw down his weapon and exclaimed, " God damn the fire! " and hurriedly left the scene. Was not this only oath of the good man like Lawrence Sterne's saying of Uncle Toby's oath: " The accusing spirit flew up to heaven's court of chancery and blushed as he handed it in, and the recording angel as he wrote it down dropped a tear upon it that blotted it out forever." Caiiture of the Hall Girls. — William Hall settled where LaMoille now stands, in 1830, and the next year sold to Aaron Gunn (the only survivor who was in the cabin when Elijah Phillips was killed, and who is living in La Salle), and settled on Indian Creek, a few miles north of Ottawa. He had been at his new home but a few weeks when the Black Hawk war broke out. The people had generally fled to the forts. The massacre occm-red on the 21st day of May, 1831, at the cabin of a man named Daviess, on In- dian Creek. Fifteen persons were killed, and the two Hall girls, Sylvia, aged eighteen, and Rachel, aged sixteen, were taken prisoners 120 PIISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. and carried off captives. The attack was in the afternoon, by about seventy-five painted Indians, and was so sudden and unexpected that the people in the cabin could make but little defense. "William Hall and Robert Morris were at once shot dead. Daviess, the owner of the cabin, made a heroic defense, clubbing his gun and breaking it to pieces and bending the barrel. Henry George jumped into the mill-pond, but was shot and killed while swimming across. Daviess' son, aged fourteen, was caught as he was cross- ing the mill-pond, and tomahawked, and his body thrown into the water. , William Hall's SOD, John W. , by running to the creek bank, and as volleys were tired at him, he jumped over the embankment and es- caped. Mrs. Phillips was found with her child in her arms, and their heads had been split with a tomahawk. An infant was snatched from its mother's arms and its brains knocked out against the door-frame. The Hall girls and Miss Daviess jumped on the bed. Miss Daviess was shot dead, and the muzzle of the gun was so near Miss Hall's face as to burn a blister. Edward and Greenbury Hall, and a son of Mr. Daviess, were at work in a field near the cabin, when the murdering was going on. They heard it, and knew it was their fami- lies being butchered. They hurried to the scene and cautiously approached and saw the number of the Indians, and all they could do was to fly and try and save them- selves. Near the cabin of Daviess lived two families named Henderson — grandfather and uncle of Gen. T. J. Henderson, of Prince- ton. But these families had gone to the fort, and thus escaped. After the slaughter l.he savages seized Sylvia and Rachel Hall, placed them on horses, and, a buck at each side to hold them, they started oif. They had three prisoners when they started, having the two girls and an eight year old son of Mr. Daviess; but they soon killed the child, as he seemed troublesome to take along. Two days after the massacre a company of rangers went from Ottawa to bury the dead. The bodies were shockingly mutilated. The captives were carried north of Galena, and their captors, the Sacs and Foxes, turned them over to the Winuebagoes. A day or two after the cajitm-e, John W. Hall, the brother who escaped, at the head of a company of rangers followed in pursuit of the Indians. When the company reached the lead mines Mi'. Gratiot and Gen. Dodge, of that place, employed two friendly Winne- bago chiefs to buy the prisoners of the Foxes. They soon effected the purchase and a ran- som of §2,000 and forty ponies and some blankets were paid over to the Indians, and the ranger? conducted the girls to the fort. Nicholas Smith, of West Bureau, was a team- ster in the army, and took the girls in his wag- on to the fort near Galena, where they were put on a boat and sent to St. Louis, where they were met by Rev. Erastus Horn, an old friend of their father, who tenderly cared for them until John W. Hall married and settled on the Seaton farm, when the girls returned to Bureau County again. The Illinois Legisla- ture gave the girls a quarter section of canal land near Joliet, and Congi-ess donated them a bounty. Sylvia married Rev. William Horn, a son of their {protector, and moved to Lincoln Neb. Rachel married William Munson, and moved into La Salle County, where she died in 187L A remarkable Indian characteristic was manifested as the finale of this massacre. Two Pottawattomie Indians had been indicted in La Salle County for participating in the tragedy. They had been fully identified by HISTOKY OF BUREAU COUNTY. 131 the Hall girls. They were arrested, indicted and bound over, and before they were tried their tribe moved west of the Mississippi, and in ignorance of what they should do, these criminals went with their tribe. George E. Walker, an Indian trader, was Sheriff of the county, and with others he was security for the appearance of the savages. He went alone into the Indian country west of the river, in pursuit of the prisoners. He found them and made known his mission. A coun- cil was called, the matter considered, and it was decided the Indians must accompany the Sheriff and stand their trial. The pris- oners bade an eternal farewell to all their friends, and in the firm conviction they would be executed, started willingly with the Sher- iff for the place of trial and execution. For many days the Sheriff traveled through the Indian country, camping at night and the three sleeping together. He would often send the prisoners off to hunt in order to have something to eat, and thus the long slow trip was made through the wild coun- try, and there was not an hour they were on the road but that these criminals could have walked off in perfect security. There is no one thing that so fully portrays the stoicism and indifference of death, and a peculiar sense of Indian honor for their pledged word, as this incident. They felt that they were going to their certain execution — they were dejected and sad all the way, because there is nothing to an Indian so abhorrent as to be hung — choked to death. This is not only death but it is to be damned, because when they die, they believe the soul passes out of the mouth with the last breath, and, if choked, this cannot take place, and the soul is lost. To be shot or burned is nothing to these savage stoics, because then they can sing their death chants, and it is glorious to die. They were duly tried at La Salle, and ac- quitted. They had so cunningly painted themselves when they appeared at the trial that the Hall girls could not positively iden- tify them. Alex Boyd's Ride. — In the spring of 1832, Alex Boyd being about the same age of "Young Dad Joe," also had some ex- perience as a rider through the dangerous wilds and Indian coverts, bearing important messages from the commander to the fort at Peoria. In the winter of 1831 Charles S. Boyd's house, a large twostory log-house with L, burned, and in the flames was destroyed nearly everything in the house except the people. The fire occurred in the dead of the night, and when the family were aroused they could only save themselves. One bed was all that was saved in this line, and the most of the clothing of the family was de- stroyed. Alex's recollection is that he saved a shirt — the one he was sleeping in. The family moved into a little smoke-house. Some time in June James P. Dixon, son of John Dixon, in company with five soldiers, arrived at Charles Boyd's late at night. They stopped for the night, and in the morn- ing young Dixon told his uncle that he was the bearer of important dispatches from Ap- ple River to Governor Reynolds, who was then supposed to be at the Peoria Fort. He was worn out and exhausted with his long ride thi-ough the dangerous country; he begged his uncle to have the message con- veyed to Peoria. Alex .was called up and asked if he would take it. He replied if his father would let him ride "Kit'' he would not be afraid. His wardrobe was increased to a straw hat, breeches and shirt. He was warned by his father what particular points to avoid and where to be on the lookout for covert red-skins, especially the old empty 123 HISTORY OF BUREAU COUKTY. cabin of Joe Meredith's that stood near the road, about five miles this side of Simon Keed's. It was forty-five miles to Peoria, and the rider left Boyd's Grove at 1 P. M., and delivered the message to Gen. Stillman, he thinks it was before sundown of that day. People Driven Aivay. — From the time of the commencement of the Winnebago war, 1827, to the close of the Black Hawk war in June, 1832, the few scattered settlements of northern Illinois were often harassed by bands of savages on their marauding expedi- tions. Word was passed around, and at all hours of the day and night people would start at a moment's notice, often so closely pressed that they would gather the babies in their arms and flee on foot, and sometimes their way was lighted up by the burning cabins they had just quitted. At night the families would doubly bar their doors and crawl into the cabin attics and sleep in ter- ror, the men lying with hands upon their rifles. In the day the men and boys would work in the field, one standing sentinel, while the others with their guns strapped on their shoulders would work. During these dreadful years of terror and suspense, every man, woman and child was on constant picket duty, painfully alert for the sign of the ap- proaching murderers. The horses, the cattle and the dogs, with their keener sense of smell, were most valuable protections often, and would give their warnings to the people. The poor, dumb domestic animals dreaded and were terrified at the sly approach of the dirty, stinking savages, and the people well understood their language of fear and terror, and saved their lives by heeding their notes of warning. Some of these were false alarms, but others were only too real. The false alarms which several times set the whole people in rapid motion for the fort on the east side of the river, would be started by some trivial cir- cumstance or the sudden fright of some hunter or nervous traveler, and thus the cry of alarm would pass around and the literal stampede of the people would commence. Shabbona or Chamblee. — The most \ alua- ble friend the whites of Illinois ever had was chief Shabbona. He professed and was the white man's friend. He admired the superior intelligence of the white race, and desired their fi'iendship and their civiliza- tion for his ignorant savages. He was a man of natural good sense, and above the low cunning and treachery of the average Indian. His superiority gave him great influence over his people, and although he several times suffered outrages and grievous wrongs at the hands of the rangers and soldiery, be re- mained unfaltering in his friendship to the pioneer settlers, whose cabins he delighted to visit, and smoke the pipe of friendship, j)ar- take of their salt, and learn their better ways of living. Although a chief and one of power he was not loth to see come the com- forts of industry and civilized life, and it is now well understood he would have gladly seen his people become like the white man and abandon their tribal life, and be good and industrious citizens of the white man's government. His good sense must have detected the evils that came with people who had preachers, powder and fire-water, yet he could look over and beyond surface evils to the much good that would come to the savage by institutions that would lift him from his degrading ignorance. There were other Indians that were true friends to the white man, but none so valuable as Shabbona. It is said he would go himself or have spies among the Winnebagoes, Sacs and Foxes, and when they had organized to raid the set- tlers, Shabbona would make long and hard night rides and warn every endangered set- HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. 123 tlement, and thus time and again he saved their lives — and especially the people of Bureau County, in the years 1831-32. After the Black Hawk war Shabbona and his 150 followers were for some time en- camped on Bureau, near the crossing of the Dixon road. He was born in the Ottawa tribe; married the daughter of a Pottawatto- mie chief, upon whose death he succeeded to power. He was with Tecumseh in 1811, on his mission to the Creek Indians, in Missis sippi; was present at the Vincennes Council. He was an aid of Tecumseh' s, and by his side when he was killed by Dick Johnson at the battle of the Thames. Shabbona, Black Partridge and Senach- wine, were three of the most noted chiefs of the Mississippi. They were the friends of the white man, they labored for peace and friendship, and to protect their white friends they more than once risked their lives. They possessed intelligence far above their people. When they looked upon civilization they desired their people might become civilized, and not, as their superior intelligence pointed out to them, foolishly try to live after the white race came, as savages and enemies, because this was to waste away and slowly perish from the face of the earth. Shabbona and Black Partridge were at the Chicago massacre, drawn there in the hope to save the white people. They did not reach there in time to save all, but there is but lit- tle question that the few who did escape owed their lives to them. At the commencement of the Black Hawk war, Shabbona went to Dixon's ferry to offer the services of himself and warriors of his band to Gov. Reynolds, to fight against the Sacs and Foxes. Mounted on his pony, and alone, he arrived at Dixon's ferry on the same day that Stillman's army reached there. The soldiers, believing Shabbona to be an enemy in disguise, dragged him from his pony, took away his gun and tomahawk, and otherwise mistreated him, telling him they had left home to kill Indians, and he should be their first victim. A man, running at the top of his speed, came to Dixon's house, and told him that the soldiers had taken Shab- bona prisoner, and were about to put him to death. Mr. Dixon, in all haste, ran to the rescue, when he found the soldiers (who were somewhat under the influence of liquor), about to stain their hands with innocent blood. Dixon, claiming the prisoner as an old friend, took him by the arm and conduct- ed him to his ovm house, when he was after- ward introduced to Gov. Reynolds, Gen. Atkinson, Col. Taylor, and others. Shabbona, with his warriors, joined Atkin- son's army, although he had sided with the British under Tecumseh and Capt. Billy Caldwell, but now he was the friend of the Americans, and participated in all the battles during the last Indian war. In the fall of 1836 he and his band abandoned their reser- vations of land at the grove, giving way to the tide of emigration, and went west of the Mississippi. But Shabbona's fidelity to the whites caused him to be persecuted by the Sacs and Foxes. In revenge they killed his son and nephew, and hunted him down like a wild beast. Two years after going West, in order to save his life, he left his people, and with a part of his family returned to this county. For some years he traveled from place to place, visiting a number of Eastern cities, where he was much lionized, and re- ceived many valuable presents. His last visit to Princeton was in 1857, while on his way eastward. Shabbona died in July, 1859, on the bank of the Illinois River, near Seneca, in the eighty- fourth year of his age; and was buried in Morris Cemetery. No monument 134 HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. marks the last resting-place of this friend of the white man. Hon. John Wentworth, of Chicago, says: William Hickling, of this city, has exhibited to me the original of the following docu- ment, proving that Billy Caldwell, our Jus- ; tice of the Peace in 1826, was an officer in the British service, after the treaty of jjeace; and that he styled himself Captain of the ' Indian Department, in 1816, at Amherstburg (Fort Maiden). Mr. Hickling resided in Chicago before its incorporation, but resided j many years thereafter at Ottawa, and was a pai-tner of George E. Walker, nephew of Rev. Jesse. Whilst at Ottawa the Indian chief, Shabbona, ofteu visited him and remained with him over night. Not long before his death he gave him the document, asserting that he had always worn it upon his person. The manuscript proves that Caldwell was a man of education, as we all knew he was of intelligence. He was edu- cated by the Jesuits, at Detroit, and, at the time of his death he was head chief of the combined nations of Pottawattomie8,Ottawas, and Chippewas. He married a sister of the Pottawattomie chief, Yellow Head, and had an only child a son — who died young. On the authority of Shabbona, Mr. Hickling denies the commonly received idea that Cald- well was a son of Tecumseh's sister. He confirms the report that he was the son of an : Irish officer in tlie British service, but he 1 insists that his mother was a Pottawattomie. and hence he became chief of the Pottawat- tomies. Tecumseh was a Shawnee, and, he contends, had but one sister, Tecumapeance, older than himself, whose husband, Wasego- boah, was killed at the battle of the Thames. She survived him some time, but died in Ohio. Shablwna (or Chamblee, in French) was an Ottawa Indian, and a chief, born on the Ohio River. The certificate was undoubtedly given him to assist him with the British Government. At the commencement of the battle of the Thames, or of Moravian Town (as Caldwell calls it), the Indian chiefs Tecumseh (Shawnee) (spelled Tecumthe by many), Caldwell (Pottawattomie), Shabbona (Ottawa), and Black Hawk (Sac), were, as Mr. Hickling learned from Shabbona, sitting upon a log, in consultation. The paper on which this document was written was a half sheet of old-fashioned English foolscap paper, plainly watermarked " C. & S., 1813," and is as follows: " This is to certify, that the bearer of this name, Chamblee, was a faithful companion to me, during the late war with the United States. The bearer joined the late celebrated warrior, Tecumthe, of the Shawnee nation, in the year of 1807, on the Wabash River, and remained with the above warrior from the commencement of the hostilities with the United States until our defeat at Moravian Town, on the Thames, October 5, 1813. I also have been witness to his intrepidity and courageous warfare on many occasions, and he showed a great deal of humanity to those unfortunate sons of Mars who fell into his hands. B. Caldwell, Captain, I. D. Amhurstburct, August 1, 1816. There was no regular fort in Bureau, and in the spring of 1831 the entire population fled to the east side of the river, and to Peoria, and some continued their flight back to the old States and never returned. Some of the bolder men and their boys would leave their families on the east of the river and re- turn to raise their corn. They were often in the midst of such danger that they dared not sleep in their cabins, but secreting in the coverts, and generally a new place every niffht. HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. 135 Henry Thomas' house was fixed up for a fort, and here the frightened people would sometimeb gather in alarm. There was but little stuff raised here in 1831-32, and it was only by the Illinois soldiers coming here from southern Illinois that enabled some of the people to get enough to eat during the winter. The gloomy years of Indian troubles had finally passed, and in the fall of 1832 this particular portion of Illinois began to emerge from its severest ordeal. CHAPTER X. End of the Indian Troubles— Commkncement of Permanent Settlement — Election of 1834 — Bryant and Brigham Elected — Estimated Number of People — Brown's Company OF Rangers — The Hampshire Colony — William 0. Cham- berlain ITS Original Inventor— E. H. Puf.lps' Account of the Colony and of their Coming, and the History Thereof — Names of the Colonists and their Friends, TTyHEN the Black Hawk war was ended V V by the destruction of the invading army, and Black Hawk was a subdued and quiet prisoner, and the Sac and Fox Indians had passed the great river never to return, the people once more began to return to their deserted homes. So far as we can learn those who had fled and were the tii-st to re- turn were the following families: Prince- ton, Elijah Epperson, Dr. N. Chamberlain, Eli and Elijah Smith, John Musgrove, Ro- land Mosely, Mrs. E. Smith, Robert Clark and Joel Doolittle. LaMoi lie, Daniel Dera- mick; Dover, John L. Ament; Ai-ispie, Micheal Kitterman, Curtiss Williams, and Dave Jones; Selby, John Hall, William Has- kins, John Clark, and Amos Leonard; Wya- net, Abram Oblist, and Old Bulbona; Bureau; Ezekiel aud Henry Thomas, Abram Stratton, John M. Gay; Ohio, "Dad Joe" Smith; Walnut, James Magbv; Milo, Charles S. Boyd; Leepertown, Timothy Perkins and Leonard Roth; Hall, William Tompkins and Sampson Cole. These constituted the places settled in the county and is very near a complete list of all the old settlers who came marching home " when the cruel war was o'er." And those homes that were burned by the Indians were soon rebuilt and the work of repairing the houses and fences, and planting, late as it was, something to furnish food to tide over the winter, gave all these people who " Hewed the dark old woods away, And gave the virgin fields to day," much to busy themselves about. Then began to come to this part of Illinois the benefits of tbe Black Hawk war. It may sound strange to speak of the advantages of war — a trade that is simply brutal, murder- ous and devilish. But the word had gone out to the world that the war was over, the Indians gone, that is, the Sacs and Foxes, and all about in the older settlements, and away from the seat of war were men and families waiting for this news, and were ready to resume the journey started the year or years before, and came to this particular spot of Illinois. Then the war had sent many soldiers and rangers here and they looked upon the country and determined, if they lived, to return and build them homes on this beautiful land. All these, and still other causes, started a stream of the really permanent settlers. Capt. Jesse Browne, with a company of rangers, was in Bureau dui'ing the winter of 1832-33. A jjortion of the time the com- pany was camped in Haskins' Prairie. Capt. Jesse Browne was a brother of Thomas C. Browne, at ■ one time one of the Justices of the Supreme Court in this State. He was authorized by the Government to raise a com- pany of rangers to guard the frontier. They 126 HISTORY OP BUREAU COUNTY. were called the "Browne Rangers." It is said that some of the settlers were disposed to believe that the Otta was, along Kock River, were organizing a raid upon the people of Bureau. And it is further told that Mrs. John Dixon, with her children, passed down by the Bureau settlements and terribly frightened some of them by announcing that she was Meeing for her life, as the Ottawas were on the war-path. But the fact is there was at no time any sufficient general scare to interfere with the tending the crops and building cabins by the settlers. And the next two years were times of prosperity and increase in the enfeebled little colonies, which was neither marked uor rapid, yet it was pros- perous, and the prosperity was permanent. In 1834 there was an election in Putnam County, and in the precinct of Bureau John H. Bryant and Joseph Brigham were elected Justices of the Peace. Mr. Bryant was the successor; that is, John M. Gay's books were turned over to him, and as Dimmick had never qualified there were no books for Brigham, and, as was expected, he gave the office little attention, leaving it for Bryant to manage mostly. The population by this time (1834) had increased to probably 250 souls. The Hampshire Colony. — Dr. W. O. Cham- berlain was an apprentice in the printing office of the Hampshire County Gazette, of Hampshire County, Mass., where he served from 1828 to 1831. In the town li- brary he had found a volume of Lewis and Clark's travels, and becoming deeply inter- ested in the book, he published occasional extracts about the Northwest in the Gazette, and these attracted much attention. As a result of these publications E. S. Phelps and some others, called a meeting of those who might wish more definite information about the new, wild country, but especially Illinois. A larger attendance than was expected re- sponded to this call, and so many expressed a wish to go West, that a colony was soon formed, and named Hampshire Colony, after Hampshire County, Mass. E. S. Phelps was elected President of the colony. At a meeting of the society in 1830, Thom- as M. Hunt, a druggist, desiring to find a new location, proposed to come and explore the northern part of Illinois, and only asked the colony to ^ pay a part of his expenses. His offer was gladly accepted. The only conveyances at that time were the Erie Canal, the lakes and the old-fashioned stage coaches. So meager was this mode of travel that in the year 1830, only one vessel, a schooner, made one trip around to Chicago. A four- horse wagon made semi-weekly trips from Detroit to Fort Dearborn. Mr. Hunt came via. Chicago to Peoria; here he found the two-horse stage, running between St. Louis and Galena, via. Springfield. He traveled south to St. Louis, and in his report he said that he did not see an acre of waste land south of Peoria. In 1830, in the fall, Sullivan Conant and Mr. Bicknell, and Rufus Brown, father of Judge Brown, of Chicago, and Israel P. Blodgett, father of Judge Blodgett, and their families, and D. B. Jones, a young man, started to come to northern Illinois. Revs. Lucien Farnham and Romulus Barnes, each of whom had married a sister of Butler Den- ham, of Conway, Mass. , who (Denham) lately died a citizen of Bureau County, also came West under the auspices of the colony. The winter of 1830-31 was probably the severest ever known here. The snow was reported from three to four feet deep, and the cold was intense, and much of the game, especially the deer, perished. Owing per- haps to the severity of the winter the home colony heard but once from Mr. Hunt during HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. 127 the winter. He was then on the Big Vermil- ! ion. The average time, in good weather, then for a letter to travel from here to Mas- sachusetts was four or live weeks. In March, 1831, the "Congregational Church of Illinois," was organized, with eighteen names. It was expected by the or- ganizers that when they got located in their new home their numbers would be double those given above. In the early spring of 1831, the main part of the colony left, and on May 7, they left Albany, N. Y., in a canal boat, with Captain Cotton Mather in com- mand, with whom the colonists had contract- ed that he would not travel on Sunday. In this company were Dr. W. O. Chamberlain and son Oscar. Levi Jones, wife and five chil- dren, and the families of Rufus Brown — Mrs. Brown and four children, and Mrs. Blodget and her five children, Eli and Elijah Smith and wives, newly man-ied, and the following single men: John Leonard, John P. Blake, A. C. Washburn, Aaron Gunn, C. J. Corss, George Hinsdale, E. H. Phelps aged eighteen years, and Charles C. Phelps aged sixteen, sous of E. S. Phelps. On the 18th of May they landed at Bufi"alo, expecting here to find a vessel to take them to Chicago, but were told that no vessel traveled that route, but being informed a schooner was then loading at Detroit for Chi- cago, and would leave the next Thursday, they shipped by steamer for Detroit, but by stormy weather and other causes they only reached Detroit late Thursday afternoon and found the schooner already loaded and ready to sail, and it could not take their goods. The Captain informed them he would make another trip in two or three months. They stored their goods and hired two teams, a four- horse and a two-horse wagon to bring them through to Illinois. They left Detroit May 25, Monday, and reached Sturgis' Prairie the next Sunday. Here one of the horses in the four-horse wagon team died. This was the conveyance hired by the eight young men of the party. The driver then informed them it was all his team could do to haul their trunks, and they must foot it. About this time the travelers met a man who had been traveling in Illinois, and from him they learned that their friend, Mr. Jones, was at Bailey's Point, on the Big Vermilion Eiver, where he had built a double log-cabin to re- ceive them in. This was the first they knew exactly what point they were aiming for. The eight young men walked to Mottville, on the St. Joseph River, and here they paid off their teamster, and purchased two canoes. They lashed these together, making a pi- rogue, and putting their luggage on board started down the river. They learned that it was about 165 miles to Ottawa, 111. They expected by traveling night and day to make the trip in three or four days. For this rea- son they had hut little provisions. The third day out as they floated along they saw a deer and killed it,and landed and roasted enough to eat, but as they had no salt they left the most of it on the bank and resumed their journey. They passed a large encampment of Indians on the way, the first signs of humanity they saw after leaving Portage. A storm came up Saturday evening and they tied up, and sleeping in their canoes they found them- selves lying in several inches of water in the morning. They built tires and spent the day drying their clothes. Their provisions were entirely out. Under these circumstances the question arose among them, especially as then they could not guess when they could com- plete their trip, as to whether it would be best to travel on Sunday, or stay over hungry and trust in the Lord. About noon they pulled out into the stream and resumed their journey. Sunday night another storm com- 138 HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. pelled them to tie up, and in a grove they passed the night and storm. For two days all they had to eat was elm and basswood bark. They reached another Indian encamp- ment the next day, but as there was trouble with the Indians they could get no food. The Indians pointed on down the river, and gave them to understand that there they could get food. Sailing along with the current, the voyagers eventually heard the glad sound of a cow- bell and landed, and on going to the top of the blufif they saw a cabin. They found a woman and children here and made known their wants. She told them she could not feed them as she had nothing but mush and milk for her family. They informed her that they would consider this most sumptuous fare, and she prepared them a pot full — the woman first shelled the coi-n and ground it in a hand- mill. They learned it was twenty miles to Ottawa. The hungry men, barring the one good feed of mush, started to complete their journey, and on the way agreed that when they reached Ottawa they would put up at the best hotel (reckless as to price or style) and have the best beds, and for a few days eat, sleep and enjoy the bliss of life. About sun- set they espied a little lonely cabin on the shore and rounded to, and went to it and in- quired of the woman how far it was to Otta- wa. She smiled and said "this is Ottawa." She informed them that the preceding win- ter there had been several cabins on the op- posite side of the river (the north side) but the spring high waters had washed them all away. This good woman — the then mistress of Ottawa, was French, and her husband a trader. Her father was with her and her husband was off among the Indians trading. The old gentleman had a number of bee hives and they cared for the young travelers the best they could, but all they had to eat was honey and mush, and for beds, each one picked out his puncheon and its softest side. They had been six and a half days on the journey. The good woman told them she had known several people to come by the same route they had, and the quickest trip she had known before was nine days. As the voyagers had started with only three day's provisions they felt some new twinges of the stomach when they thought that it was a mere chance that they were not exposed to a six days' fast instead of a little more than the two days they had had a foretaste of. After enjoying the hospitalities of the city of Ottawa one night, they resumed their jour- ney, and at noon reached Shippingport, across the river from La Salle, and the head of navigation, owing to the rapids. Again this city consisted of one house, which was warehouse, store, dry goods and groceries and family residence, all the property of a man named William Crozier. They learned it was eight miles to Bailey's Point, where their agent was. Storing their trunks they started on foot, and just before night arrived there. Here they were rejoiced to find the other members of their colony who had come through in wagons and had reached the place only a few hours before. This was on the 9th of June, five weeks and two days from leaving home. Mr. Jones told them that the best country he had found was on the Bui-eau. After a few days' rest some of the men of the party came over to inspect the land, and examined the prairie as far north as Dover, a little west of which they found three bachelors: Sylvester Brigham, James G. Forristall and Elijah Phillips, who came the year previous from New Hampshire. The few settlers here at that time were mostly east of the river on account of the Indians. The men returned to their friends and gave a very favorable report of the country. They found Elijah Epper- HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. 129 son on the east side of the river. His cabin was one mile north of where the Princeton depot now is, where a Mr. Stoner now lives, and he told them that if they were not afraid of the Indians they were welcome to occupy his cabin and whatever they could find there to eat. A part of the young men who did not know yet enough of the red man to fear him, started to come with two yoke of oxen and wagon. They arrived on the 2d of July, and the first news they heard was that a treaty had been made with the Indians. The result was, the nest week Eli and Elijah Smith and wives came, and these and the six young men lived in the cabin together for some months. The next week came Roland Moseley and Daniel Smith. They had come from Northampton. They came by the Ohio River, and had left their families at Beards- town as they did not know where the colony was. On their way from Beardstown they fell in company with John Musgrove, from New Jersey, who was looking for a place to settle. The three located on the south side of the prairie, put up cabins and returned to Beardstown for their families. E. H. and Charles Phelps, expecting their parents in August, put up a cabin. E. S. Phelps and Amos C. Morse left Alassachusetts July 13, with their families, and sent their goods by ship by way of New Orleans, the families coming by way of the Ohio River. Mr. Phelps shipped his stock of jewelry, which he intended selling in St. Louis or some other large place. Failing in this he took his stock and located in Springfield, 111., where he remained until 1838, when he came to Princeton. Mr. Morse located in Jack- sonville. The Phelps boys here heard nothing of their parents until in the fall, when they joined their parents in Springfield. When the Black Hawk war broke out the next spring, Eli and Elijah Smith and wives went to Springfield and remained there during the summer. Thus the colonists were scattered, and as the fall of 1831 was a very sickly time among the settlers, this and the war drove several of them away who never returned, consequently in the beginning of the year 1834 but four of the church mem- bers were living in Bureau. That year Elisha Wood and family, who started here in 1832, but had stopped in Tazewell County came. None of those who started West in 1830 finally settled here. Sullivan Conant had settled in Springfield, Mr. Bicknell, in Fulton, and Blodgett and Brown at Brush Hill, about twenty miles this side of Chicago. D. B. Jones settled in Fulton County. Dan- iel Smith died in less than thirty days after his arrival. (Full account of this in a pre- ceding chapter). Mr. Morse died in Jack- sonville, and Levi Jones at Bailey's Point. All these deaths were soon after their arrival. John Leonard married Mrs. Levi Jones, and removed to Galesburg. A. C. Washburn set- tled in Bloomington, John P. Blake in Put- nam County. Aaron Gunn near La Salle, George Hinsdale on West Bureau, Alva Whitmarsh and family came in 1841. Scat- tered as was the Hampshire Colony, yet it was the final cause of many of Bureau's best citizens coming here. In September, 1832, Cyrus and John H. Bryant came from Jack- sonville. They had visited Hinsdale Phelps in Springfield to inquire about this country. He advised them to come and see, and judge for themselves. They did so, and they fixed their claims, and through their influence came J. S. Everett, 1835; Lazarus Reeves, the Wiswalls, W' illiam P. Grifiin, and John Leeper and family, 1833. The fall of 1832 came N. O. and W. C. Chamberlain, and their sister, Mrs. Flint and her family. In 1833, Asher Doolittle, Joseph Brigham, Horace Winship, Harrison Downing and the 130 HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. Mercer families. In 1834 there was added to the settlement: Caleb Cook and family, and John Clapp, from Massachusetts. From Ohio were the Mercer families and Tripietts, and Galers and Elliotts. The Masters, Ellis and Durham families came with Hinsdale Phelps from Springfield. In 1834 Hinsdale Phelps had returned here while the remainder of his father's family remained in Springfield. During the summer he severely cut his foot and returned to Springfield. While there he met C. D. Col- ton, who had come from St. Lawrence County, N. Y. , the previous fall with a colony, but not liking the location in Sangamon, 3'oung Phelps pursuaded him to come with him and see this country. He did so and made a claim and through his induenee came the other Coltons, his relatives, and Alba Smith, David Robinson, Nathaniel and Joseph Smith, and Benjamin Newell all came in 1835. In the year 1884 came Butler Denham from Con- way, Mass., and with him S. H. Burr, S. L. Fay, Anthony Sawyer, Adolphus Childs and C. C. Corss, all single men. They all soon be- came however, the heads of happy and pros- perous families. In 1835 Ruf us Carey, Alfred Clark, S. D. Hinsdale, Noadiah Smith, J. H. Olds, from Massachusetts, and Ralph Wind- ship, from New York. In the spring of 1835 Charles Phelps, brother of E. S. Phelps, came out to look at the country. He attended that year the land sale at Galena, and bought the land he afterward lived on, northeast of Princeton. He brought his family the next June, and there came with or soon after him, all from Massachusetts, Seth C. Clapp, Lew- is Clapp, George Brown, Cephas Clapp, O. E. Jones and Miss Childs, now Mrs. J. S. Everett, of Princeton. Of those who came here in 1831 there are now living in the county: George Hinsdale, Daniel P. and Dwight Smith and their moth- er, Mrs. Daniel Smith, E. H. Smith, Mrs. Eli Smith, Michael Kitterman, John Cole and Jirs. J. H. Fisher. Of the eight young men who came with the colony, five are still living: John Leonard, the oldest of the com- pany, died in 1864. Charles Phelps died in 186(3, and C. G. Corss in 1866. What are the results ? Looking back fifty- four years! Then there were not half as many inhabitants in the State as are now in the city of Chicago. Fifty-four years ago, when the colony came here, the Indians, deer, prairie wolf and rattlesnakes held undispu- ted possession of all this land. Fifty-four years ago and all the northern part of the State, including Quincy, Jacksonville, and Springfield, to Danville, on the Wabash, were in one Congressional district. But the pop- ulation increased so rapidly in 1840, when Hon. John T. Stuart was our Representative in Congress it was said he represented the larg- est constitnancy and territory of any member of Congress. Fifty-four years! What great re- sults the world over. Probably greater than in any previous century. What has been accom- plished in Bureau County? There were then about a dozen families — forty or fifty per- sons all told; but one wagon road in the county, the St. Louis and Galena stage road by Boyd's Grove, and Bui bona' s. Look about you, and remember all you now see of roads, bridges, houses, barns, shops, factor- ies, mines, farms, raih'oads, depots, cities, towns, villages, schools, churches and all these evidences of wealth, contentment and prosperity are the product of this short half century. * *We are indebted to E. H. Phelps fjr the altove account of the HHUii'shJre Coleny. Eng.by EGWiltiamsiBn] NY HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. 133 CHAPTER XI. -CnRT" Williams— The Man of Marss— Smiley Suepheed— The Deep Snow of 1831 — John, Job, Timothy Brown and David Searl — Greenbury Hall — Lewis Cobb — The Cholera OF 1832 — Scott's Army — The Terrors of the Plauoe — First Steamboats .Arrive in Chicago, 1S32 — "I Surrender, Mr. Indian 1" — Biographical Sketches of many old Settlers — Henry F- Miller — M. Studyvin — David Chase — James Cod- DiNGTov — Enoch Lumry — James Garvin — E. Piper — James Wilson — Jacob Galer — John Leepeu— John Bagos — The WisvvALLS AND Tripletts— Halls— A Negro Here in 1829. THE man who made bis mark or rather several "marks" herein the squatter days was Curtis Williams — "Uncle Curt'" — as he was generally known. His main busi- ness was to keej) well ahead of the settlement and staking out a claim and doing enough work on it to identify and hold it, and then sell out to a new comer. If he had a brush cabin up, so much the better, as the new arriv- al's tirst want was some place to store his family — get them out of the wagon, where they sometimes had already been stored for weeks. ' ' Uncle Curt" commenced east of the river, and in the course of time passed nearly across Bureau County. If he found an un- occupied claim so much the better. He was the man that Mioheal Kitterman found in his cabin when he "returned with his woman." The spot where this cabin was located is now occupied by Mr. E. C. Bates' fine residence in South Princeton. But "Uncle Curt" was a bold and valuable pioneer. He was not afraid to go ahead, and he was full of that industry and public spirit which goes so far in developing a new country. He was the pioneer to that portion of the county where Buda now stands, which place was known as French Grove until after the building of the railroad and laying out of the new town. He built a carding-machine at Leepertown, and was the first to aid the good women in this portion of the country in the drudgery of making woolen clothes for the people. His aged widow is the mother- in-law of Henry F. Miller. Curtis Williams made more claims than anj' other one man who ever came to the county, and as a " claim maker " his name will go down in the history of the county for all time. Smiley Shepherd died at his home near Hennepin, April 4, 1882. Born March 3, 1803. Thomas Shepherd, his great-grand- father came to this country in the seventeeth century and settled near Harper's Ferry. Shepherdstown, Va., gets its name from this family. In August, 1828, Smiley left his father's home on horseback for a visit to the new State of Illinois. He came to Bond County, to which place the Moore family had come from Red Oak, some years before. From Bond County he came to Putnam Count.y. in company with J. G. Dunlavey. They found Capt. Haws at Point Pleasant, now Magno- lia; James Willis was on the farm now owned by Mr. Shering, near Florid. Thomas Hart- zell kept an Indian trading house on the river, on the site now the home and grounds of A. T. Purvianee. A few other persons lo- cated claims this year in the county, but none had been on the ground over a year but Mr. Hartzeil. Some time was spent visiting with the few settlers, who were overjoyed to see new comers, and their prospective friends and neighbors. The best timber lands, springs, town sites, etc., were looked at, and their fu- ture value estimated carefully by these first settlers. During the visit he selected the site of the home he so long occupied. Its scenery and extensive views outweighing, in his estimation, the considerations which in- duced others to pass it by. While looking at the locality, he spent his first night in the neighborhood, on what is now the northwest corner of Mrs William Allen's apple orchard, sleeping alone on the prairie grass, with his 8 134 HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. saddle for a pillow, and his horse fettered near by. During the night a wolf managed to steal from his stock of provisions a tin cup of butter, but like some other thieves, he did not know what to do with it when he had it, and instead of licking out the butter closed the mouth of the cup with his teeth and left it. Leaving Putnam, he gratified his strong love for romantic scenery by visiting Starved Rook, Sulphur Springs, Buffalo Rock, and the present site of Ottawa. From this point he crossed the country to Rock River and the Mississippi, below the mouth of Rock River. On his way back he and his companions made the trip from the Mississippi to Fort Ulark, (now Peoria) in one day. From this he made his way back home by way of Vandalia, Vin- cennes and Cincinnati. In a letter dated February 16, 1831, Shep- herd thus tells of the deep snow. "The snow fell between Christmas and New Year to the depth of two feet, and has since that time, by repeated accessions, been kept up full that depth." From the facts before us, the difficulties these pioneers had to contend with, can be better imagined than described. During the winter of 1831-32 Smiley, as- sisted by Nelson, built a log-house on his first chosen site, and moved into it in Febru ary, before the chimney was built, or a shut ter made for the door. Here he lived until death — a period of over fifty years. During these first years he became well ac- quainted, personally, with Shabbona, Shick- shak, and other Indians who, before the Black Hawk war, were residents of the country, and on friendly terms with the whites, who treated them kindly. During the Indian troubles of 1832, he shared the fort life, the many alarms, real and false, of his now numerous fellow citizens; was pressed into the service of the United States as teamster by Gen. Atkinson, and taken to Chicago, with a regiment of troops on its way to Fort Dearborn. It is remarkable, that with his experience and knowledge of Indians, he should have been their friend and defender through life. For over thirty years he sent, annually, a barrel of bacon, and for some ten years in the early history of the Mission, two barrels of flour, in addi- tion to the bacon, and frequently other arti- cles needed by the families at the Mission of T. S. Williamson and S. R. Riggs, among the Dakota Indians. He was among the first to grow the grape successfully, by vineyard culture, in north- ern Illinois. His vineyard of Catawbas and Isabellas was planted in 1849, and bore a fine crop in 1851, which sold at 15 cents per pound. He successfully fruited nearly all the fine varieties of pear, plum, peach, cherry and strawberry of his day. Naturally enough, he loved those of similar tastes and occupa- tion with himself. From these years until the infirmities of old age prevented his at- tendance on its meetings, he was an enthusi- siastic laborer in the cause and objects of the State Horticultural Society. Served the society one year as President, and considered many of its members among his dearest friends. The presence of a large number of friends at the funeral testified of the kindly regard in which he was held. He was buried at Union Grove by the side of his wife, who died in 1873. The last of that little band of noble men Father John Dixon, Charles S. Boyd, "Dad Joe" Smith and the very few others who were here, neighbors, companions and friends in the long ago, when the daring white man first began to feel his way into this part of the wilderness. Ch-eenbury Hall settled near where Wy- anet now stands, in 1832. He reports seeing the track of Gen. Scott's army as it passed HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. 135 through the north part of the county. If he was not greatly mistaken, which he probably was, then the fact is established that the great General and his army were really once on the soil of Bureau County. Lewis Cobb, of Wyanet, was one of the soldiers in Scott's army that came to Chicago in 1832, in the two vessels that were stricken so severely with the cholera plague of that year. One of the gloomiest pages in our western annals is the account of that trip, and the horrors of the ghastly plague that beset them. Gen. Scott arrived in Chicago, July 8, 1832, on the steamer "Sheldon Thomp- son," Capt. A. Walker, the tirst steam- boat trip ever made to Chicago. His delay in Chicago on account of the cholera, was such that he only reached Rock Island late in August, just at the close of the negotia- tions of peace, which were finally and fully concluded in September. The Government had charted four boats and loaded them with troops. The "Henry Clay, "Superior," "William Penn," and "Sheldon." The first two were turned back when the cholera broke out, and the other two came on to Chicago. So it will be seen that the first steamboat was ' ' two boats. ' ' The cholera was so fatal that thirty bodies were thrown overboard between Chicago and Mackinaw, and about 100 died at Chicago. The deaths were so sudden and the burial so instantaneous thereafter, that the victims, in their last agonies, feared that the}' would be buried alive, if it could be called a burial, for they were thrown into a pit at the north- west corner of Lake Street and Wabash Ave- nue. Gen. Scott described this as the most affecting scene of his life. Gen. Humphrey Marshall, a member of Congress from Ken- tucky, who was a Second Lieutenant, gave a description of the scene, and though thickly settled as Chicago then was, he could find the place where he assisted in depositing the remains of the victims, many being thrown into the pit in a few horns after they had as- sisted in depositing their comrades there. The people all through the Fox and Rock River Valleys had fled to Fort Dearborn for protection against the Indians; but they soon fled back, having a greater dread of the cholera thau of the Indians. John Wentworth says: Black Hawk, chief of the united tribe of Sacs and Fox Indians, was born about 1767, near the mouth of the Rock River, and there were his headquar- ters, until he made a treat}', ceding his lands to the United States, and agreeing to go to Iowa. He went there, and settlers went upon his lands and began to cultivate them, when he repudiated his treaty, returned to Illinois and commenced massacring them. Before the United States could take up the matter, the Governor called for troops, and most of the prominent politicians volunteered their services, and raised more or less soldiers, to go under their own particular leadership. Black Hawk was chased up into Wisconsin, captured, and sent to Washing- ton to see Gen. Jackson. Jack Falstaft" never slew as many men in buckram as each and every one of these Illinois politicians did. Squads would often go out from camp, and hasten back with accounts of their mi- raculous escapes from large bodies of In- dians, when there were none in the vicinity. An alarm was given, one night, when oae of the most distinguished men in the State mounted his horse, without unhitching him, and gave him a spur, when, mistaking the stump to which he was tied for an Indian taking hold of the reins, he immediately exclaimed: "I surrender, Mr. Indian!" An alarm was given that a large body of Indians was approaching the Kankakee set- tlements; volunteers turned out, and found 136 HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. them to be nothing but sand-hill cranes. If an Indian was found dead on the prairie anywhere, several would exclaim : • • That's the one I killed!" Mr. Lincoln had an in- exhaustible supply of stories based upon his experience in this war, but he never claimed that his services there made him President. He made more, in his Presidential campaign, out of the rails he had split, than out of the Indian scalps he had taken. We believe this story was first told on Lincoln by Douglas, in 1858, during their celebrated campaign for the United States Senate. Mr. Lincoln was here as a Captain, first, and then as a private, in Capt. Isles' company, during 1832. James Coddington came to Bureau in 1831. He was a native of Maryland, born in Alleghany County, of that State, January 25, 1798. In the general hegira of the Indian war, he returned to his native place, and then came back in 1833, and settled on Section 17, in Dover. He married Catha- rine Fear, of this county. She was born in Maryland, in 1814, and with her family came to this county in 1884. Of this' union there were ten children, five of whom are living, two of the sons and two daughters in this county. Mr. Coddington died, June, 1876, while on a visit to his friends in the East. He was thrown out of a wagon and died of his injuries. (See biography of J. H. Cod- dington). David Chase was born in Royalston, Mass. , April 30, 1811. When yet a child his parents removed to Fitzwilliam, N. H., where he was reared, where he married Lucy Brigham, a sister of Joseph Brigham (see biography) and immediately after marriage started for Illinois, arriving in 1834, and settling in the village of Dover, on the farm now owned by his son David, where the widow now resides. Mr. Chase died July 1, 1882. He was a very quiet, unobtrusive, good man, father and neighbor. They had three children — one son and two daughters. Lucy Abagail married Oscar Mead, of Dover, and died, November, 1879. And Mary Ellen is the wife of Aiihur Fruett. Madison Stiidijvin was born in V^irginia, near Grayson Court House, January 16, 1810. In 1824 went to Sangamon County; in 1829, to Hennepin County and in 1832, to Bureau. His father, AVilliam Studyvin, died in Putnam County aged ninety years and fifteen days. The mother, Nancy (Will- iams) Studyvin lived to the age of ninety. two years. They were the parents of nine sons and three daughters, six of whom are liv- ing. Mr. Studyvin was a soldier in the Black Hawk war. In 1835 he married Frances Ellis (see biography of Abbot Ellis) in this county. They have two children: VV. C. in Brookville, Mo., and Emily, married SimoQ Ogaw, and resides nine miles from Clinton, Mo. Mi-. Study- vin is a Democrat, an estimable and univer- sally respected old settler. Ezekiel Piper came in 1836; he was born in Maine, December 27, 1795, died December 31, 1875. He married Ann Roberts, of Bucks County, Penn. The family came to Illinois in wagons across the country, and settled in Leeper Township, where they lived two years and moved into Selby. They had seven chil dren, five of whom are now living. An indus- trious, frugal farmer, who tilled the complete measure of his earthly ambition in providing and rearing a respectable family. James Garvin came to Putnam County in 1829. A native of Kentucky. He married Mary Studyvin who still survives. Mr. Gar- vin settled in Dover in 1832. He is now a very old man. (Since this was written, he HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. 137 died August 9, 1SS4, an aged widow but no cbildren surviving.) Enoch Lumry was bom iu New York in 1810; be came to Bureau in 1836. His father was Andrew Lumry, of New Jersey. Enoch maiTied in 1837, Amelia Mason, of Kentucky, born in 1811, and came to this county with her folks in 1834. James Wilson was born in Dover, Penn.. and reared in Kentucky, and came to Bureau in October, 1833, and improved the farm he now lives on. He came to this county in com- pany with Marshall Mason. His uncle Thornton Wilson was living here and it was merely to visit him and see the country that Mr. Wilson made the trip, but on seeing it remained. Harrison Hays was an early settler in Peru. He kept what was long known as "Hays' Ferry," and afterward settled iu this county where he died. His son now lives in Prince- ton. Henry F. Miller. — Nothing can convey to posterity a stronger picture of the real pio- neers than the story in their own language of their coming, how they came, what they saw, their trials and troubles and tinal triumphs. To give it in their own language, is like borrowing their eyes and looking back over a real panorama of fifty years of the most important part of American history. It is a story — the plainer and simpler the bet- ter — surpassing in interest any possible pict- ure of the imagining of the poet or historian. It is the reproduction of the past, true in all its shadings, and standing out in the picture is the living, breathing man, and, if not now, surely in time all will contemplate it with unflagging interest. To thus borrow the eyes of the very few that were here among the first is now barely possible; to-morrow the last will have been gathered to the fathers. The writer will ever remember as the most pleasing task of his life, his interviews and social chats with these early settlers as he has here and there come across the small remnant in the county. He was in the pursuit of dates and figures, and facts on disputed points in the legends of the pioneers. Piled upon his writing-table are these bundles and scraps and "pads" of notes, and taking one at ran- dom from the confused mass, it chanced to. be those gathered, almost verbatim as they came from Mr. Miller's lips, in the different interviews. If this picture is placed side by side with the others given, especially Strat- tou's, Kitterman's, "Dad Joe's," the mem- bers of the Hampshire Colony and many others found in this work, the whole will round out the view most completely. Putting his answers to questions in a nar- rative form. He said: "Henry F. Miller is the s(m of Jonathan and Susanah Miller; he was born in Green County, Penn., near the junction of Cheat River with the Mononga- hela, March 30, 1807. Practically, all the schooling he enjoyed was between the age of five and seven years. There were no English grammars or geographies in school. As soon as able he went to work on his father's farm; at sixteen was apprenticed to a joiner and cabinet trade, and during harvest time would return and help his father on the farm. When of age he crossed the mountains for the first time and made a trip to Baltimore. In August, 1830, started for Illinois, crossing W^est Virginia on foot to the Ohio River, at the mouth of Fish Creek. The river was very low, and he footed it down along the river to Marietta; there he boarded a small steamer, and after sticking fast at every riffle and with the other passengers getting out in the water and pushing the boat off, they finally reached Cincinnati." Here, Mr. Miller remarked in parenthesis: "I had worked at the trade with my brother; 138 HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. my father could blacksmith, make shoes, har- ness, and I helped him build his houses and barns," and his eyes sparkling with the recol- lection, he said: ''I saw La Fayette in 1824 at Gallatin, and shook hands with him." (The writer asked him to hold out that hand and let him feel it, and is content that he and La Fayette have touched the same hand.) Resuming his story: "I changed boats and got along better. I landed and footed it across the State of Indiana, and reached Terre Haute September 30. Just as I reached this place word was passed around that the great Lorenzo Dow was in town, and would preach at the court house. Everybody turned out to hear him. After hearing him I thought he wanted to be a great prophet in his day, bxit as most of his prophecies failed, I con- cluded he was much overrated. I remained here until July, 1831, when I went to Lafay- ette and stayed until October, working at my trade. I bought a horse and started for Pennsylvania, passed through La Fayette and Wayne Counties to Richmond, Ind., Columbus, Wheeling, and thence to my old home, where I remained untilJanuary, 1S32, when, in company with Dr. Shelby, 1 started South and reached New Orleans, and to Port Gibson, Miss. ; remained there until June, 1832, and left for Illinois and came to Beardstown, and after a few days there went to Jacksonville and to Springfield. Here I saw the great Methodist circuit rider, Peter Cartwright; he was a candidate for the Legis- lature against A. Lincoln, and there was a report that he had made a bargain with the candidate for Sheriff, that if the Sherifif would vote for him he would give 500 Methodist votes. Cartwright was reading certificates he had from the Sheriff denouncing the story. Cartwright declared that he would cry perse- cution through the district; then went to New Salem in Sangamon County, and worked a short time, and boarded with a Mr. Rut- ledge; Mr. Lincoln boarded there at the same time. But as he was only Abe Lincoln then, and as no one thought he would ever bo President, I did not try to get much ac- quainted with him. " I then went to Hennepin, and found the people had fled from the west side of the river,and in Hennepin the people were living in block-houses and picket forts. While in Hennepin I slejit all alone in John Simpson's house; the family were afraid and were in the fort. I did not know enough about Indians to be afraid of them. Remaining a few days in Hennepin, I went to Petersburg, and helped build the first house of any size in that place. Remained there until November, and in com- pany with a young man, we bought a canoe and started for St. Louis. The river was very low; covered often with wild fowls, which at the approach of our canoe would rise in the air and often make a noise like distant thunder. Our canoe was very short and difficult to manage; we camped on the banks, generally with hunters we would find hunting furs and deer. At Alton the wind was so strong we had to lay to for it to fall, and my companion having no baggage, left me here and went on foot, and I then literally had to paddle my own canoe. When the sun set, the wind lulled and I pulled out for St Louis. This was about as lonesome and dreary a night as I ever experienced. The weather was frosty, and I was stiff with cold when 1 reached St. Louis just at daybreak. The hotels were closed, and it was my good luck that a steamboat just then arrived, and I went and warmed at her fires. The next day I shipped for Grand Gulf, Miss., and from there I went to Fort Gibson; I worked here until 1833, and then I returned to Hennepin; in a few days I went to Ottawa and visited the spot on Indian Creek where the HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. 139 Hall and Davis families had been massacred, and the Hall girls captiored by the Indians. T then came across by Troy Grove and stopped over night, and bought a claim of a man Qamed Thornton. I then started to hunt up the settlers on Bureau Creek, that was known as the Yankee settlement. I got as far as Lost Grove and night came on; seeing a cabin I went to it, but it was deserted. I went out on the prairie, tied my horse to my wrist, and lay down with my saddle for a pillow. In the morning early I resumed my search for the Yankees, but all northeast of where Princeton now is I could see nothing but wild prairie, and so I rode to Hennepin for my breakfast. I then came over to work on Grifiin & Wilson's Mill on Bureau Greek, in now Ai'ispie. I worked here some time; in October I was taken very sick — fever and ague; the foreman of the mill died in Henne- pin, and Griffin's family were all down sick and the work stopped. As soon as I was well enough to travel, I went south, stopping in East Feliciana, La. Here I remained until after the 4th of July, 1834, when I returned and stopped in Hennepin and built a shop and worked at my trade part of 1834-35. In the winter of 3834 I bought the Spring Mill at Leepertown, which had been built by A. W. Leonard. I improved this property, making a better house, adding a carding- machine. The railroad finally so injured this property it was closed, and eventually from sparks from the railroad engine or by the act of some miscreant, it was lired and burned down. Mr. Leonard was the first mill builder here, and built about all the first mills in the county. Spring Mill was built of round logs, clapboard roof, and the chest was made of large split, hewn logs (such a mill chest would be a veritable curiosity now). " In April, 1835, I married Jane Waldon, and in May moved into Bureau County, where, except six months in McLean County, and nearly two years in La Salle County, I have been ever since. By my first marriage had five children, two now living, both daughters, in La Salle County, Mrs. R. W. Brower, widow, and Miss Celeste Miller; Mrs. Jane Miller died July 26, 1846. In 1847 I purchased 500 acres of land in Berlin Town- ship, and in October, 1847, was married to Mrs. Elizabeth Winslow. I moved into Leeper Township, and improved my land in Berlin. By this marriage there were three children, only one living, Asa F., in Iowa. In June, 1856, Mrs. Elizabeth Miller died. I then moved to Galesburg to school my chil- dren. Lived there one year, and then broke up housekeeping and boarded my family and gave all my attention to improving my land up to 1860. I had rented my farms, but in this year I commenced farming them myself, although it was my first experience as a farmer, and as I was then over fifty years of age and alone, you can imagine I had a lonely time of it. I then married Mrs. Martha Bryan, my present wife, and in the fall of 1869 quit farming, and for two years lived in Ottawa. In September, 1873, came to Princeton, and have been here since. I was successful as a farmer, more so, no doubt, than the average. "My family were at the Centennial fair in 1876. In 1878, with my daughter. Celeste, went to Europe." Then the notes give many particulars of his travels in Europe, the countries visited, the celebrated places, persons, etc. , with fre- quent quaint and original comments as he passed over the world's historic spots. Doubt- less the reader will regret that we do not give all these, but our space is limited. " When I landed in Illinois my total capital was $300. I gave my daughters when mar- ried 122,000. I own improved farms: 1,040 140 HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. acres, and 1,560 acres in Iowa, 160 in Nebraska, 160 acres in Macon County, 111. Total cash value about $100,000." In the sketch there is much that the intel- ligent reader will read between lines. It is full of the general story of the actual daily life and experiences of the young men who footed their,way to this new country over fifty years ago. People come now in train loads every day, indeed, almost every hour — flying across the country upon the railroads in coaches, palace, sleeping, dining and buffet cars, with no experiences except yawn- ing, eating and sleeping — seeing nothing, experiencing nothing; hardly able to realize that they have stepped out of their splendid parlors and dining-rooms in the eastern cities or their cottages along the sea-shore. The story of their traveling now from ocean to ocean across the continent would be as monot- onous as mentally counting an endless row of sheep jumping an imaginary fence. How great a change is here! How insignificent, how completely is the individual now swal- lowed up in the crowd. Human individuality is literally gone, it is merged in the great mass, until a man now can only think of him- self as the inscrutable atom, a mere protoplasm in the body politic. The realization is not pleasant, it's like living in a limitless cave and peering eternally into the silent gloom. The young pioneers were alone in their hour of severe ordeals and sore trials — mon- archs each and every one, but monarchs of the waste and wilderness. They were a part and parcel of nature in her grandest aspects, fashioned in character and high purposes by the play of her supreme forces. Without rank, alone, and mostly ' ' without a dollar in the world," the story, simple but sublime, when contemplated by an intelligent pos- terity, then these unlettered heroes of the new world will easily take their deserved places in the highest niche of fame. Grant it, cynic, that they builded wiser than they knew, yet their works are here, they will remain forever, blessing already millions in this great valley, and will grow and multiply in their benign influences for the unborn generations to come after us. Jacob Galer — Now a resident of Seattle, W. T., says: "I married my first wife, Miss Euth Burson, the 31st of October, 1844. By her I had four children, the eldest, now Mrs. Lizzie G. Pratt, of Seattle, W. T., was the only one that lived to be grown. My first wife died of consumption, October 5, 1856. On May 8, 1858, I married Lydia Berry, of Milo, Bureau County, 111. By her I had two children — both died in infancy. My second wife died here in Seattle, W. T., June 15, 1878. I lived in Bureau County, from August, 1834, until April, 1860, when I moved to Kansas. I was the fii'st Coroner of Bureau County after it was organized, and my nearest neighbor here in Seattle, was the first County Clerk, Thomas Mercer. He has been on this coast since 1852. His first wife was a daughter of Squire Brigham of Dover. She died on this coast, leaving him four daughters, three of whom are still living and are an honor to their father. He is hale and vigorous for a man of his age, seventy-one years the 11th of last March. He is well to do in this world's goods and has a kindly heart ready to respond to the downcast and desti- tute." John Leeper, son of James Leeper, and grandson of Allen Leeper, was bom in Cum- berland County, Penn. , August 23, 1786. The grandfather, Allen Leeper, was born in in County Down, Ireland, where his ances- tors had fled from Scotland on account of re- ligious persecutions, and he was seven years old when he came to America. James Leep- er, the father, went to Georgia when John HISTORY or BUREAU COUNTY. 141 was but a beardless boy. Here he grew to manhood, and was married at the age of twenty, to Fidilis McCord, October 28, 1806. He moved to Marshall County, Tenn., in the year 1808, with their first born daughter — Fanny — and cleared out a farm in the cane- breaks of Rock Creek. Being a very bitter opponent of slavery he left the slave States and moved to Illinois Territory in the year 1816, starting April 5, and arriving at Mad- ison County May 23, a journey of forty-eight days, which can now be accomplished bj' rail in ten hours. Remaining here until fall he removed to Beaver Creek, four miles south of Greenville, Bond County. Mr. Leeper remained here until the fall of 1823, when he removed to Morgan County, arriving on the spot where now the city of Jacksonville stands, November 2. Here he opened up a farm of 400 acres. The city of Jacksonville was laid out in 1825. The county soon be- gan to fill up, and Mr. Leeper's family be- coming quite large, having nine sons and five daughters, there was a demand for more land. It was necessary to make another move to supply this demand, so on the 10th of October, 1831, Mr. Leeper removed to Putnam County and settled three miles north- east of the present town of Hennepin and made a claim of 2, 500 acres of land. Here he opened up a large farm, in the summer of 1832, in the time of the Black Hawk war, building a stockade around his log-house for safety, while three of his sons were out on the war-path of the Indians. In the fall of 1833 Mr. Leeper sold his farm and moved into Bureau County and bought an unfinished saw-mill of Timothy Perkins, on Bureau Creek, one and one-half miles northwest of Bureau Junction. At the land sales of 1835, 900 acres of land were entered around this mill site, and the saw-mill was finished and a flour- ing-mill and other machinery was added, and completed in the fall of 1835, and was con- sidered one of the finest mills in the State. and sawed the lumber and ground the wheat and corn, and carded the wool for the people for fifty miles around. At this place Mr. Leeper died December 14, 1835, aged forty- nine years three months and twenty-one days, and was buried — his being the second grave in Oakland Cemetery. His death was not caused by ordinary sickness. By lifting heavy timbers in constructing his mills he became ruptured, and taking cold in the wound an abcess was formed which broke and emptied itself inwardly, and mortifica- tion set in which soon caused his death. Mr. Leeper in size was about five feet, nine inches high, weight one hundred and sixty pounds. A very energetic, active man, a hard worker, kept well abreast with the most prosperous of his neighbors in accumu- lating property. In politics he was a Whig of the Adams type. In religion a Presby- terian, for many years a Ruling Elder in churches of that order. As a neighbor, one of the most kind, generous, and universally beloved by all who knew him. It was often said that Judge Leeper had no enemies and was ever ready to help the needy. His house was always open to entertain the weary traveler, the pioneer preacher and the polite politician. Living as he did most of his life on the fron- tier, and before the church was built, his house was occupied as a church by the preachers of every denomination who chose to accept it. Mr. Leeper was always ready and the first to move in building up churches and schools in every place where he lived. At Jacksonville, before any church building was erected, the first organization was aifected in his barn — the Presbyterian Church — in 1827. About this time a very amusing incident occurred, illustrating the variety often met 143 HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. with in frontier life. Old Father John Brich often preached in Mr. Leeper's house, which was built of hewn logs. The chimney was made of sticks and clay and near the upper end it receded from the house, leaving a narrow space which was always warm fi'om the fire below. Here was a warm retreat and the hens often sought it as a con- venient place to lay, and hatch their young. It so happened on a Sabbath day when Father Brich, a corpulent, old English bach- elor, was preaching, in his prayer occurred this sentence, "The Lord bless all the h-ends of the earth. " Just at this junctiue two hens were dispi;ting about the possession of said nest. To decide the controversy promptly. Father Brich called a halt in divine service, took his cane, stepped out of the door and proceeded to remove one of the hens and then retui'ned to conclude the exercises. This created no little amusement in the congrega- tion but did not upset the preacher. MJr. Leeper's home having always been on the thin edge of civilization, it was never his lot to enjoy many of the privileges and luxuries of an old settled country, but never was be- hind the first in effort to subdue the wilder- ness and make it blossom and bud as the rose, and to plant the church and the school. Possessed of a modest and retiring nature, he never sought olSce, but it rather sought him. He was a member of the Legislature of Illinois as early as 1827; was elected County Judge of Morgan County, but refused many offers of public honors, preferring the quiet of a retired life. Mr. Leeper and all his family were radically opposed to slavery and to intoxicating drinks and the use of to- bacco. Only four of his once large family are now living: Charles, Mary B., Harvey B. and William H. A modest slab of marble now marks the place where his mortal remains were buried in Oakland Cemetery. John Baggs had married a relative of the Thomases. He is a native of Ohio; his sister Sally was Mrs. Abram Stratton, and Eliza- beth married George C. Hinsdale. Mr. Baggs removed to Iowa nearly thirty years ago, where he is now living. Another of the Baggs girls, Mrs. Avery, also lives in Iowa. John M. Gay, the Strattons, the Thomases and the Baggses and Hinsdales were all very early settlers, all prominent and important people, and by marriages were all related. Wisivalls. — This family were Elijah Wis- wall, the father, and Mrs. John H. Bryant, Miss Emily and Noah Wiswall. They came to Bureau in 1834, from Jacksonville. The family were from Bristol County, Mass., and came to Illinois in 1821, first stopping in Bond County and soon fi-om there to Jack- sonville. Noah and Elijah were each widow- ers when they came here. The first year they made their home with Mr. Bryant. Elijah Wiswall then built a frame business house with residence back, on the corner opposite —west from the present American House. Renting the front to Salisbury & Smith, and occupying the rear; and Wiswall, Sr., died here in 1840. Emily married Micajah Trip- lett, and she and husband kept house for her father. After his death they moved to their farm, where she died in 1874, leaving daughters: Mrs. T. P. Streator, Princeton; Mary, now with Mrs. Streator and a son re- siding in Wyanet. Triplett was from Ohio, and came with his father to this county in 1834. Stephen Triplett and wife kept hotel for a long time in Princeton. Both died here. Noah Wiswall married Elizabeth Lovejoy, a sister of Owen Lovejoy. They had four sons — three now living: Austin, in Chicago; Charles, in New York; Edward, at Pike's Peak; Clarkson died in the army. The Searls — were from Ohio, the family originally from Chemung County, N. Y. HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. 143 Five brothers came to this county; Brown and Job came in 1834; David, 1835; and Timothy and John, in 1836. A big family of big men, and the live sons were a little over a 1,000 pounds of as brave pioneer blood and bones as ever gathered on the bor- ders. (See John S. Searl's biography). T. D. Rackleij— From Orange County, N. Y., born December 9, 1829, and came to Bureau County in 1838. (See biography). The Huffakers. — Israel Haffaker was a soldier in the Black Hawk war, and thereby came to see the glories of Bureau County. He came in 1835 and entered land, and brought his family and permanently located in 1837. In 1838 Jacob Huffaker came. They were from Kentucky, and by marriage some of the family were related to Abraham Lincoln. They were a hard-working, quiet and economical people. John Welch was born in New York in 1825, of Irish descent. Came to Bureau in 1838. In 1866 he was married to Lucy Dunham, in Princeton; a daughter of John Dunham. John Wise was born in North Carolina in 1814. His wife, Lucinda Bunch, was a native of Kentucky. They came to Bureau in 1834, living the first winter in Robert Maston's cabin in the forks of Big and Lit- tle Bureau; near them was an Indian encamp- ment. Wise made many chairs that were used in the cabins for years. Peter Ellis — A Black Hawk war soldier He was known everewhere as Capt. Ellis. A native of Ohio, came in 1830, and settled near Magnolia. Mrs. Peter Ellis died in this county in 1844. Reason B. Hall and his brother Edward came in 1828, and built a cabin in the east part of the county. After occupying it a short time, on account of the many Indians and the entire absence of neighbors, they abandoned the claim and moved south of the river. Afterward they returned and occupied the place a year or two and removed to the lead mines. In the fall of 1829, a negro named Adams built a cabin at the mouth of Negro Creek, and from this circumstance the stream gets its name. He was frightened across the river by the Indians and never returned. Cyrus Langworthy settled in the south- east corner of Princeton Township; had five children — three sons and two daughters — two sons now living. Franklin the eldest is in Wis- consin, and Warren is aprinter by trade. Mr. Langworthy was the first Sheriff of Bureau County. He served in this capacity three terms. In 1842 he was elected to the State Legislature and served out the term with creditable efiiciency. He was a soldier of the war of 1812, and was in every respect a man much superior to the average of his surround- ings. As Sheriff he had to bring the new and sometimes wild elements of border life un- der the strong arm of the law. The rough law-breakers at times made it necessary for the oificer of the law to exercise the coolest courage in facing these men. Mr. Lang- worthy, except a lameness, was a man of re- markable physical strength and endurance and his courage was equal to his physical strength. He was crippled when a young man in this way. He was cutting down a tree and as it commenced to fall he noticed one of his small children inlaying just where the tree was going to fall. He rushed forward and gathered the child and threw it out of danger and saved it, but was caught himself, and his thigh broken. It was never properly set, it seems, and made him lame through life. 144 HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. CHAPTER XII. Imhke's Group Picture ok the Old Settlers — Its Value in Af- ter Tears— SuGGESTHiNs to the Board of Supervisors— A Valuable Chapter in the County's History — Who are the REAL Knickerbockers — Etc., etc. IN a preceding chapter reference is made to the picture of the large group of old settlers, made a few years ago, by Mr. Immke, of Princeton. As a work of art it is an inter- esting study, as a faithful reflex of over fotir hundred faces of the men and women who were of the band of Bureau Couaty pioneers. It is already of surpassing interest, and could it be preserved for the people for the coun try's second centennial, it would be one of the most invaluable contributions to the his- tory of the Mississippi Valley that posterity could possess. In the small space of about thirty inches square are preserved by the photagraphic art, at the hands of a master workman, the shadowy lineaments of the fea- tures of some of the gray -haired fathers and the "blessed mothers in Israel," everyone of whom of those still left us will probably be laid tenderly away during the next decade of years, and the records made in this book and these shadow reflections will contain all the lesson we can know of these remarkable men and women. As remarked in a previous chapter, the form and substance of history is being reconsidered by this age, and the former judgements as to what history is, the lessons it teaches, and the fundamental facts there- of, its true science and philosophy, in short, are opening new fields of thought and evolving the most salutary lessons for our contempla- tion and study. The annalist, the chronolo- gist and the historian are the order of the development. When the real historian comes he will give mankind the highest attainable type of instruction and wisdom, because true history is the cause and effect of the exist- ence and growth of the mind, its sweeps on- ward, its ebbs backward. Let us illustrate the idea we wish to convey. The large majority of men have been taught to regard Martin Luther as the sole author, creator and master of the reformation, and therefore, the liberator of the mind and body of our race from the thrall of ignorant bigot- ry, persecution and illiberality. Whereas, the truth is the forces had been at work to this end for more than a century before Luther was born. The spark had been struck that fell upon the ready material to ignite, most probably many centuries before he was born, and secretly and slowly it extended in the dark apartments of the mother church and the state until the glow and heat within brought the surging force of the wind from without that forced open the door and in a moment the leaping flames burst from all parts of the great structm-e, hot and hissing, licking up the long and patient labors of men who had builded neither wisely nor well. Luther was but the door forced open by a resistless out- side pressure, which he no more created or controlled than does the cork direct the mad torrent of waters as it bobs along on the sur- face. Every written or spoken word we have of him confii'ms this beyond all peradven- ture. There is not a question but that he died an old man, wholly ignorant of the ef- fects, not upon the church but upon man- kind as we have them now, in the liberty of conscience, the freedom of body and mind, the right to discuss, to think and to act, each and every one for himself, and to cast off those heavy burdens of oppressive govern- ments, to be men, in short; these are a part of the slow-coming effects of the Reforma- tion that are reaching us and that were form- ing and growing through the long centuries. HISTOKY OF BUREAU COUNTY. 145 The snrroundings, the conditions, the ripen- ing f o)' a great event are always the result of a previous preparation and gi-owth as are the ripe fruits hanging upon the tree. The twig that bears the apple is but the medium through which have worked the little fibers in the deepi secrets of the soil, as well as the swinging leaf that is kissed by the sun and drank of the gentle dews of heaven. It is the master purpose of the types, when fashioned into ideas, to transmit tlie images of men's minds to the remotest posterity, and, if aided by the photographer's art, the re- production of men who have passed away is not only made more accurate and easy, but far more complete than would otherwise be possible. The old, old saying that a prophet is not without honor save in his own country, was well grounded upon that deep trait in the character of all people to feel that it is distance that lends enchantment to the view. We wish we could impress upon the people of Bureau County, especially upon those in aixthority, and whose duty it is to care for the true interests of the people, the immense importance, the historic value of this group picture of the old settlers; make them under- stand that the people of the county, the de- scendants of the noble men and women who won this rich heritage, are deeply concerned in keeping green their memories, and that they regard the keeping of their good names and fame as a sacred trust, and that it is neither time nor the people's money wasted if the proper steps are taken to put this monumental picture in such careful keeping of the county that at the end of the next hundred years it may be found. And that from these small portraits life-size pictures may be made, a public building erected for their keeping, and a public resort; reading and social and educational meetings of the people will be bad and the central and at- tractive portions thereof will be the portraits of the old settlers true to life; to each may be appended a short biographical sketch, and in the whole will be found a historical pic- ture gallery more highly prized when all now living are dead and gone, than any other one thing it is possible for us to hand down to the unborn generations. Let the old settlers and the new settlers, too, stir this matter up, make their demands upon those who are car- ing for the public affairs; convince them that it is first their business, and that it is your imperative wish. If they lag and continue indifferent tell them that there are old set- tler voters as well as Republican, Democratic, Butler and St. John voters; that in the " off years," at least, you will vote as old settlers and will politically settle every one who is ready to vote money for every popular de- mand and to pooh pooh at the idea of a pub- lic memorial to the memory of the noblest race of men and women in the world's history. Mr. Tmmke is deserving of great commen- dation for the excellence of his work, but more for the enterprise and generous public spirit with which he performed the diflScnlt undertaking. We are free to say this be- cause as a financial venture it has paid him nothing, and largely, therefore, it is a free offering and a most noble and generous trib- ute it is on his behalf. As the custodians of the county's interests, the Board of Supervisors are the proper ones, and to whom the people look to more in this matter, for the simple reason that it must have their official notice in order that the work may be properly attended to. The total expense that would be incurred would be so very trifling that no tax- payer would ever feel it. We believe the only and one thing needful is that this matter be properly brought to the attention of the public authorities, to secure 146 HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. prompt and tlie most eflScient action. You have an Old Settlers' Society, of long and rep- utable standing, composed of the best rep- resentative people of the coiinty. Its yearly meetings, its large attendance and interest- ing addresses are an important part of your history, the most interesting part that is now being put upon your records. But few of the links are left of the venerable men and women uf the pioneers, and are visibly di- minishing at each of your annual gatherings. The larger part of the audience are the chil- dren and friends of a noble generation that is gone, and their sacred dust, their memory, their finger marks and the results of their immortal lives is the one great trust in the keeping of the people of to-day. You can- not remit this noble work to the future, be- cause if done at all, it must be done now. When the substance fades, the shadow is gone forever. Lord Bacon, the brightest mind that has yet adorned the human race, speaking of that natural impulse that characterizes mostly the human family, the ambition to be more than the insect or worm that perishes and is for gotton; to be remembered at least a few hours after death, says: "That whereunto man's nature doth most aspire, which is im- mortality or continuance; for to this tendeth generation, and raising of houses and fami- lies; to this buildings, foundations, and movements; to this tendeth the desire of memory, fame and celebration, and in effect the strength of all other human desires." Yes, the mainspring in life is the ambition to be not wholly insignificant, but to be re- membered — if not by the world, then by the neighbors, and if not by the neighbors then by your children, or if yet alone, then by your faithful dog, or by some animate thing. This is " the strength of all other human desires." Ambition has ruled and fashioned everything human we see about us. It is the spur of all exertion, directly or remotely to all action, good or bad. Without it man would be wholly worthless; with it in any excess, he is generally a selfish, cold-blooded monster. It was the " Ambitious youth who tired the Ephesian dome," in order to link his name with its history, even knowing his life would pay the forfeit of his crime. It was the ambition of Napoleon that drenched Europe in blood. All war, the great crimes, as well as the grand heroes and man's great- est blessings have this common ori^cin. It is deep-seated and wide spread ignorance that makes ambition a great affliction instead of a blessing. Probably no class of men in the world had less of that ambition for the applause of men, for the pomp and power and notoriety that drives so many ambitious men to heroic deeds and great crimes, than the early pioneers of Illinois. The horizon of their ambition closed in at the very doors of their rude cab- ins, where were gathered their family idols. Here they could get a home, lands for them- selves and their children; to be free men and women, owing no man a dollar that they could not pay, and rear their children with no other masters save their parents. They well knew the hard trials, the risk, the dangers, the suffering and hard toil they had to pay for this little boon of life. Your school children learn the story of an Alexander, a Napoleon, or a Caesar's fame, and yet stand up any of these mistaken great names of history by the side of the least and humblest of the band of Illinois pioneers — compare the permanent good coming of the life work of one with the other and from such comparisons, how little, contemptible, and insignificant is the great Napoleon to the humble but heroic pioneer in his hempen shirt, his well worn wamus, his home-made HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. 147 shoes and hat, his coarse features, unkempt hair, his broad teeth and his loud voice and rough, uncouth rugged independence. The one butchered his thousands and thousands and converted the world into a waste and house of mourning — the ambitious architect of death and desolation. The other wrought peace, happy homes, prosperity and joys for the blessed millions to come after. Over the little hole of a door of the brush cabin in letters of living light he blazed the message to the poor and oppressed of all the world: " I have prepared the way. In thy Father's house is enough and to spare. Come and partake." But a few years ago, perhaps it is there yet, was a wood-cut in the school read- ers placed there for the delectation, study and admiration of innocent and guilless chil- dren. It was called " Napoleon crossing the Alps." He is on his customary mission of robbery, destruction and death. Beyond the background of the miserable picture is burn- ing cities, blackened homes, wasted fields — a world's great sob of agony. In a preceding chapter is an account of Abram Stratton, in the fierce storms and deep snow of the winter of 1830, with his ox- sled and alone, crossing the then dreary wilderness between Chicago and Bureau County. Depending and at the end of that young dauntless pioneer's trip was the laugh- ing land. "Look on this picture and then on that," and true history will reverse the pictures in our school-books and in men's minds. His- tory must be re-written. The shams and frauds will be exposed, and the really great and good, no matter how humble their lives, how obscure their names, or how little known their good work to those who supposed they were wi'iting history — in the story of the past, they will take their proper places, and who will dare say, when the whole field is looked over, that among those whose works produced the best results, there are any who may justly claim the places above the early pioneers. Silly worshippers at the shrine of these false idols and shams of history — these exe- crable frauds who are mere buzzards roosting in the eagle's nest, may cry out against the iconoclast who tumbles over their beatified monsters, but the good work will go on, be- cause truth is eternal, and because the ulti ■ mate truths of history is the highest type of philosophy, teaching the grand lessons of life by examples. Nothing will more aid the historian in sift- ing out the grand heroes of history — the best type of men and women who have appeared and gone in the tide of time, than the work of the photographer. This is a modern in- vention, but so is the correct idea of true history. Everything is grist to the hopper of history. Here the biography, the dress, the manners, the thoughts, looks, discussions, poems, books, songs, the work and the play- ing — in short, everything of and concerning a people are his materials, that are carefully collated, compared, digested and studied and understood, and then the results of these lives, whether in the field of thought or physi- cal walk, are followed out in their immediate and remote effects, and thus the great temple of imperishable fame will rise, stone upon stone, to be seen, honored and revered of all men. We give the list of faces that are preserved in Immke's group, in their alphabetical or- der, with the dates of their coming to the county, and in several instances such other facts of each as we could procure. The list includes photographs extending down to the year 1844 : Anthony, A., 1837. Living in southwest part of county. 148 HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. Anthony, Mrs. M. M., 1837. Ament, John and Sarah, 1830. The Amenta were from Kentucky. John died in 1856, and was buried near his cabin. His widow married again and had quite a large family. We believe all left the State some years ago. There were three brothers came together — Edward, Justus and John. They built a cabin east of Bed Oak Grove, Section 1, owned by O. Dunham. Ambrose, William, 1840. Living in the county. Adams, William, 1840. Anthony, Dr. William C, 1841. Born 1807, Vermont. First marriage, 1837; sec- ond, 1858; third, 1860, to Lydia Allen, born Ellsworth, Ohio, September, 1833. Came to Illinois in 1857. Mrs. B. Ripley, oldest sis- ter, Mrs. A., now in Princeton, another sis- ter, Mrs. Cook, here. Dr. Anthony came here an alopath, and for thirty years has been a homoeopathic. Bryant, Arthur, 1833. Bryant, Mrs. A. 1833. Full account of the B's elsewhere. Bryant, JohnH., 1832. Bryant, Cyrus, 1832. Boyd, Alex, 1830. Son of Charles S. Boyd. Residence, Princeton. Boyd, Mrs. Ales, 1834. Native New York; died in Princeton, 1882. Brigham, Joseph, 1832. (See biography). Brigham, Mrs. J E., 1834. Brigham, Sylvester, 1829. Sold farm and went West. Brigham, Mrs. Polly, 1832. Bacon, A. W., 1838. (See biography). Bacon, Mrs. Julia, 1839. Barney, Charles and Asa, 1836. From Providence, R. I. ; Asa living in Princeton. Brainard, Mr. and Mrs, D. E., 1841. From Medina County, Ohio. Alna Brainard, elder brother, married A.W. Bacon's sister. He died some years ago here, leaving five children. Brokaw, I., 1840, southern Ohio. Mr. Brokaw died in Kansas, and his widow died in Princeton. Left a large family. A daugh- ter, Mrs. Chester Smith, living in Princeton. Ballangee, J., 1836. Ballangee, Mrs. L., 1838. Lives near Dover. Buchan, F. G., 1839. Lives in Buda. Bryant, E W., 1836. Bushong, J. A., 1838. Bushong, Mrs. L. L., 1837. Bennett, George, 1832. Died in West Bureau, leaving widow and children. The family moved in after years to Iowa. Boyd, Charles S. and N., 1830. (See biog- raphy and general history). Bruce, W. R. and Mrs. E., 1838. Lived near La Moille. Bacon, H. V., 1838. Belknap, Eli B., 1839. Lived north of Dover. Biddleman, Mrs. M. J., 1834 ; was a Triplett; lives in Princeton. Benson, A. 1839; living in Tiskilwa. Bass, Edward, 1840. Lives near Maiden. Barney, Hosea, 1839; living at Providence. Ballou, Judge M., 1839. (See biography and chapter Bench and Bar). Burson, L. A., 1831; lived three miles west of Princeton: died some years ago; one son living here near Adam T. Galer. Brown, George, 1836; died violent death two years ago; a son living in North Prairie. Clapp, John, 1834. Clapp, Mrs. pariah L., 1835. Mr. Clapp was for a long time a promi- nent citizen of the county. His sister was the wife of Caleb Cook. Mr. Clapp died 1882. His brother's widow living in Pince- ton, and his decendents live in La Moille. See elsewhere. Chamberlain, Dr. W. O. and Mrs., 1832. A sister of Mrs. Chamberlain, Sarah ToplifF, HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. 149 now living in Princeton. Dr. Chamberlain left two children. About the first physician in the county and a good and valuable man. Cusic, D. A. Married Eliza Cox. He was frozen to death, leaving a widow and thir- teen childi'en. CoddingtoQ, Sir. and Mrs. James, 1835. Natives of Maryland. Children living in county (See biography). ColtoD, C. D., 1834 (See Colton biogra- phy)- Colton, Mrs. E. S., 1835. Cook. Caleb, 1834 (See sketch in general history). Corss, C. C. and Mrs., 1833; came with the Hampshire Colony; living on West Bureau. Cabell, Mrs. A. D., 1836; living in town. Corse, Mrs. M., widow of Martin C. ; liv- ing in Princeton. Campbell, Mrs. S., (" Aunt Susie "); liv- ing north of Princeton depot. Corss, Henry, 1838; living on West Bureau, son of C. C. Corss. Clapp, Seth C, 1836; elder brother of John, died about ten years ago. Widow lives in Princeton; no children living. Clark. Andrew, 1841. Combs, C. W., 1831; native of Kentucky, lived east of Princeton. Colton, L. J., 1835; brother of Chancy Colton; residing now in Kansas. Married a daughter of Deacon Phelps. Was at one time partner proprietor in the Republican of Princeton (See Press chapter). Cummings, Thornton, 1834; native of Vir- ginia; reared in Kentucky where he married Sylvia Williams, in 1816, and came to G-allatin County, 111., and from there to Bureau. He settled in French Grove, then heavy timbered. He was the first settler in what is now Concord Township. He died in 1872, and his widow died in 1883 (See Will- iam Cummings' biography). Cummings, F. and T., 1834. Crittenden, John and Mrs. B. G., the lat- ter now living south of Princeton. One of her sisters married Col. Austin Bryant, and the other sister married Arthur Bryant (See Bryant biography). Corss, C. G., 1831. Corss, Mrs. Polly, 1832; now living in Princeton. Sister of Joe Brigham. Cole, John, 1831; a minister in the M. E. Church. Cole, Jane, 1831 ;widow, still living, very old. Carey, Mr. and Mrs. Rufus, 1837; widow living in county. Corsey, Lemuel P.; his widow, mother of H. Reasoner's wife. Casing, Caleb, Mrs. P. and G. B. This family are relatives of the celebrated Caleb Cushiug of Massachusetts. G. B. resides near Princeton. Drake, William G., November, 1835; set- tled in Dover from New Jersey. Had seven children. Cyrus Langworthy married the oldest daughter, Charlotte; Ann married Rob- ert N. Murphy, and lives in Princeton; Mrs. Catharine Gregg, is in Iowa; Rachael L. Stockton, in LaSalle; Mary J. Clark, de- ceased. The sons were: David, Morgan and W^illiam C, now living in Princeton (see his biography). Mr. Drake died April 29, 1852. aged eighty-one years. His widow died De- cember 24, 1849, aged seventy-five years. W^illiam T. Drake's widow, Mrs. Michael Watson, came to the county in 1834. Mich- ael Watson was the son of Amariah Watson, who came in 1833. Mr. Watson died in Cal- ifornia; Amariah died here. Epperson, Harrison and Hezekiah, 1830. Epperson, Mrs. Abbigail. Harrison lives in Iowa, the only one of the family left. Emmerson, Judge Jesse, 1836. Living in Buda (See biogi'aphy and Bench and Bar Chapter). 150 HISTORY OP BUREAU COUNTY. Edwards, Samuel, 1842. From Massachu- setts; removed to Meodota. Ellis, Abbott, 1833; living north of Prince- ton. Fassett, E. W., 1835; married Pamela Morton; residing in Ija Moille. Flowers, Sophie, May 1831 (?). Forristol, James G.,May, 1830 (See general history). Forristol, Mrs. M. A., 1S36. Frankeberger, W., 1837; died 1882; aged ninety years; Barrack Mercer married daugh- ter. Forster, F. and Mrs. E. B., were Miller- ites in faith; kept tavern where Buda now is. before the town existed. Fritchey, M., September, 1838; lives in Tiskilwa (See Mr. Dunn's sketch). Fay, Sam L., 1834; from Massachusetts; living in West Bureau. Garten, Robert, 1833; settled in Dover; was a prominent and influential man; one of his sons is a physician. Gilbert, L. C., July, 1840. Gunn, Aaron, 1831 (See general history). Goodspeed, M. L., 1840. Gay, John M. and Mrs., 1830; Gay was from Kentucky; he was a thorough, brave pioneer. At the organization of Putnam County he was elected to office; he lived here a long time and removed to Wisconsin, where he died; he was married to a sister of Henry Thomas. Greeley D. P. and D., 1839; from Rhode Island; he supposed he was related to Hor- ace Greeley until he went to New York to claim his kin; the two men looked at each other and agreed that they were probably re- lated through Adam, but no closer; he bur- ied his wife in the Dover Cemetery and moved away. Gosse, Mr. and Mrs. Andrew, 1839; the first German to locate in Princeton; a pros- perous, good family (See biography). and Mrs., 1834 (See bi- M., September, Galer, Adam T. ography). Griswold, J. A. and Mrs. 1839. Gheer, Hiram and Mrs. S. A., 1842 (See biography). Fifield, Samuel, 1836. Settled near Buda. Hinsdale, G. C, 1831, married Elizabeth Baggs. Hinsdale, Mrs. L., 1828. George C. and S. D. Hinsdale were brothers, George C. is still living, S. D. died about 1880. (See biography). Hammer, Mrs. S. , 1838. There is a family of Hammers now living in Ohio Township. They came, the Hammers, in 1834. Horn, W. H. and Mrs. E. D., 1843. Heaton. Isaac, Reece and Mrs. Sarah, 1836. The Heatons living at Heaton's Point. Har- rison Eppersan married one of the girls (see Heaton's biography). Holbrook, J. T., July, 1834. Died in La Moille, in latter part of Seventies; Mrs. King, his sister, lives in Princeton. His son lives in La Moille (see biography). Hills, J. W., May, 1843. Hill, J., 1838. Hassler, Herman, July, 1834. Large fam- ily of Hasslers living at Hallowayville. Hughes, Isaac and Mrs. Jane, 1837. Mrs. John Elliott, mother of Gen. I. H. Elliott was a daughter of Isaac Hughes. The Hughes came with Col. John Elliott to this State. They lived five miles north of Princeton. Another daughter of Mr. Hughes is Mrs. Moore, now of Princeton (see Gen. I. H. Elli- ott's biography). Headly, John M. and Mrs. Ann, 1841. All moved out of the county. Now in Nebraska. Hentz, Fred, August, 1839. Hentz, Mi's., 1836. Living at Halloway- ville. Hinman, Robert and Mrs. M. A., 1838. Lived near Tiskilwa. HISTORY or BUREAU COUNTY. 151 Hetzler, John, 1834 Settled near Hallo- wayville. Hetzler, Mrs. H. P., 1839. Hoblist, W. C. and Mary, 1813. Lived near Wyanet. Hall, John and Mrs. E., 1830. Hall Town- ship, originally called Bloom, was named in honor of John Hall. He first settled in Selby. Hallowayville was once Halltown. Mr. Hall made very large farm improvements on his claim. Before land sales he sold thist.oHass- ler for §4,000; he then entered a great deal of land in the county. He ^as an illiterate but a large-minded and great business man. He finally sold out and went to Missouri and merchandised very extensively. Among the early pioneers he was one of the most valu- able citizens. John, William and Reason B. Hall were brothers. * Hinsdale, S. D., 1838. Died ten years ago. Has a son, Burrett, in New York. Hoskins, William, December, 1830. Judge Hoskins was one of the remarkable early men of the county. Strong, heavy, big-boned muscular man, massive features and very large, broad teeth, a large unkempt and bushy hair, dressed in his home-made clothes. He never dressed up to come to town, and his heavy gait and movement, and his whole con- tour presented a figure well calculated to arrest the strangers' attention. He had not much more polish of mind than he had of person, but both were on a scale that made him a big man in any crowd. He would attract the strangers' curiosity, and then when he heard him talk, his interest. A man of very little of the advantages of school edu- cation. He was illiterate, but strong in intel- lect. Hoskins, J. H., 1832, son of William; family moved West; one of the daughters, Mrs. Hozier, lives near Trenton. How, Rev. D. J., September, 1831; was of the Church of the Disciples; had a mill, McManus'; died many years ago; large family of children. Hazard, Oran and Mary, 1839; lived near Wyanet. Isaac, Ellas, 1834 (See biography of W. L.). Jenkins, George and Mrs. , 1840-41. Mr. Jenkins lived south of Princeton. They are both dead; died in 1868-69. Judd, Eli P., June, 1835. Lived east of Princeton; a son living there now. Judd, Mrs. Sarah, November, 1837; liv- ing now in Iowa. Jones, A. H., September, 1836. From New Hampshire; son in Princeton. Jones, William and Mrs., 1840. Kitterman, M., 1830. One of the oldest living settlers in Bureau County. He was tirst here in 1828; returned in 1830, and brought wife and two children in 1831. Had eleven children after coming here — thirteen in all, ten of whom, six sons and four daughters, are still living. Certainly no two old patriarchs ever lived who better deserved the respect and love of the large family and the host of friends, and the fortune in this world's goods that they possess, than Mr. and Mrs. Kitterman (See biography and sketch in general history). Kitterman, Robert, 1831 (see Kitterman biography). Kendall, A. R., 1840 (See biography). Keeries, R. M., 1839. Knox, Aaron, March, 1840. Knox, William and Mary, 1834. Kimball, James M., 1842. Langworthy, Cyrus, 1834; Sirs., 1834; Dr. A., 1836. Mrs. William Drake, of Princeton, was the widow of Dr. A. Lang- worthy. (See Drake' s biography and sketch of Langworthy, in general history.") Larrison, Mrs. L., 1828; now Mrs. John 152 HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. Stechell, living in Peoria. She was Henry- Thomas' second daughter. This is another of the three first born babies in the county, Mrs. Sells being another one, and one of M. Ketterman's daughters still another. We account for their all being girls by the fact that the Black Hawk war was near at hand, and the boys all thought to wait until the fighting was over. Landers, Thomas, 1842. Long, John and Rebecca, 1836. There were several of the Longs lived near Senach- wine. Jehu lived in Princeton, was consta- ble for many years. Noah and his son Noah lived in the south part of the county. Limerick, Robert, Mrs. L., George, S. , 1839. Town of Limerick, north of Princeton, named after Robert Limerick. This family all died near where they settled in the county. Lomas, Mrs. E. J., November, 1833. There were three brothers Lomas. One married Roland Moseley's daughter, another married a Radcliflfe. Lumry, Enoch, 1836. Living near Lim- erick. Lumry, Mrs. A., June, 1834. Lumry, Rufus, 1834. Went west and in crossing a stream was drowned some years ago. Rufus was a Wesleyan preacher. Left a large family of children. Leeper, H. B., 1834 (See biography and sketch of Judge John B. Leeper). Long, Noah, 1838; Mrs. R. A, 1840; Levi and James, 1836. Lonnon, John, 1837. Mason, John W., 1841; Mrs. A. M., 1840. Mercer, Dr. W. , living in Princeton; one of the oldest physicians in the county. He is of the Mercers, from Ohio. Martin, P. H., 1843. McPherson, Mrs. M., 1838. Mowry, Geo. A. and Mrs. Nancy, 1841. Matson, Enos and Elizabeth, 1836 (See sketch of the Matsons elsewhere). Mathis, Eli R., 1841; Mrs. E. R., 1834; living at Princeton. Merritt. Mrs. E., 1834. Mosley, Roland, 1831; W. Noble, 1831. Roland Mosely had four sons, all dead. His son Roland married a Radcliffe, now living with Henry Paddock. Mai'tin. W. and Mrs. Jane, 1836; from New Hampshire. Mrs. Martin and Benj. Newell' s wife were sisters. Mr. and Mrs. Martin died here. Mason, Dr. S. R., 1841. Mason, Mrs. M. A, 1841. Munson, A., 1840. Munson, Mrs. J., 1835. Moore, Mi-s. W. J., 1837. Mercer, Ed., 1837; Mrs. J., 1837; B., 1S34; Moses, 1834; Dr. Joseph, 1834. Joseph was born January 11, 1828; died May, 1878. Mrs. M. A. Mercer, living in county (See her biography). Myers, Mrs. Morrella, 1838. Miller, H. J., July, 1832. Miller, Mrs. M. A., 1831. Matson, Nehemiah, 1836; Mrs. E. C, 1841. Mr. Matson loved to investigate and write about the early settlers of the county and the Indians. He was not a literary man and yet on this subject he wrote a great deal, and deserves great credit for gathering many im- portant items. Musgrove, ]V[rs. Sarah, May, 1831; widow of John Musgrove, came from New Jersey; died 1882; children are dead. Mohler, Samuel and Mrs. Caroline, 1836; living in Dover; Mrs. Mohler was a Zearing; died two years ago. Miller, H. R, 1833; C. F., 1838; D. F., 1835; Mrs. Sarah, 1835; E. H. 1832; Mi-s. M. E., 1840. HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. 153 McArthur, M., 1839. Mason, Mrs. A. E., 1834; living in Prince- ton. Children dead except one daughter. Miller, A. W., 1837; Mrs. E., 1837; S., 1832. Masters, Robert E., 1833; son of Richard Masters. Moved to New York. Was Justice of the Peace some years in Princeton. McCasky, Robert, 1836. Matson, Enos C. 1836. McDonald, Mrs. M. J., September, 1829. Mowry, Jesse, 1841. Murphy, Mrs. Ann, 1836. Mason, John, 1841; Mrs. Abigail, 1841; Cyrus P., 1841; W. H., 1841. Norton, George, 1841. Newell, Benjamin and Harriet, September, 1835. (See biography of P. J. Newell). Norton, D. E. , 1842. Phelps, Ebenezer S., 1838; Mrs. H. M., 1835; E. S., Jr., 1838; Mrs. E. S., Jr., 1838; E. H., 1831; J. R., 1838; Charles, 1836. Phelps, George R., 1836; C. C, 1839; B., 1839. These families trace their lineage back over 300 years. (See history of Hampshire Colony and general history). Piper, P. H., 1836; Mrs. Harriett, 1833. Phillipps, John, 1833; Mrs. Betsey, 1833. Perkins, Manson and Mrs., 1834; Stephen, 1834. Porter, A. G., 1840; Mrs. C. P., 1840. Prutsman, A. and Mrs. G., 1840. (See biog- raphy). Pierce, Caleb, 1837; Mrs. Martha, 1840. Parish, H. R., 1842. Perkins, John, 1842. Piper, Ezekiel, 1836. Porter, B., 1842. Reed, Charles T., 1845. Roberts, Mrs. E., 1836. Reed, J. G., 1834. Robinson, David and Mrs., 1835. Reeve, L., 1832; Lazarus, 1834; Mrs. Sarah L. , 1835. Mr. Reeve is now better and more generally known as " Deacon " Reeve (See Lucy Reeve's biography). Rackley, Nathan and Mrs., 1836; George, 1836. Ross, Mrs. Selina, October, 1830. Robinson, S. F. , 1835; widow eighty-nine years old, living with her son, Solomon, in Princeton. Rowell, B. G and Mrs. A. A., 1835. Shifflett, Mrs. P., 1844. Smith, J. H., 1840. Swayne, E. H., 1837. Sisler, G. W., 1839. Swan, James T., 1833; Mrs. Susan, 1836. Lived near Hollawayville; family moved West. Stratton, Abram, November, 1829; Mrs. Sally Stratton, 1829 (See general history full sketch). Smith, Mrs. Eliza, 1834; N., 1837; Mrs. R., 1837. Stephens, Justus, 1842 (See biography). Swanzy, Dr. James and Catharine, 1836. Both died. Andrew Swanzy, a son, lives in Princeton; another son living near Tiskilwa. Studyvin, Madison, 1833; Mrs. F., 1834 (See general history). Searle, L. T., 1834; Mrs. R. G., 1843. Seaton, J. and Mrs. S., 1835; Miss A., 1840 (See biography). Sapp, Solomon, 1835 (See biography); Mrs. Ann, 1835. Smith, S., 1836; Mrs., 1834. Smart, Mrs. E., 1840. Smith, J. and Mrs. Sarah, 1835. Sells, Mrs. Mary, January, 1831 (See gen- eral history for an accoiint of Sells family). Stannard, S. and Mi-s., 1840. Studyvin, S., 1836 (See sketch Madison S.). Smith, Eli; Mrs. C. C, 1831 (See general history of Smiths). Searl, J. S., 1834 (See account of Searle settlement). 154 HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. Spratt, Rev. J. W., 1838; G. W., 1838. G. W. Spratt was a tinner and of late years lived in the Green River country. Smith, Elijah, 1831; Joseph E., 1835 (See general history). Sutherland, Joseph, November, 1832. Smith, D. B. (See biography). Smith, Nick, 1830; son "Dad Joe" Smith. (See sketch of "Dad Joe" and family). Smith, Albert J., 1839. Scott, M. A., 1842. Spaulding, M. and Mrs., 1836. Searle, J. M., 1836. Sawyer, Anthony, 1838. Sweet, J. L., 1842. Sapp, E. and Mrs. M., 1885. (See bio- graphy). Smith, Eli, 1831 ; married Clarrissa Childs, a native of Massachusetts; Eli died August 30, 1871, leaving seven grown chil- dren — four boys and three girls; Eli Smith was born November 15,. 1805, and his wife October 5, 1804. They came in an ox wagon from Massachusetts to this county. With his brother Elijah they lived at first in Foristol's cabin. The children are all living except Harriet and Lucy. Elijah Smith married Sylvia Childs. He kept the widely-known "Yankee Tavern," one and one-half miles northwest of Prince- ton. He was also a Postmaster, and we be- lieve among the earliest in the county, except Henry Thomas. He kept the postoffice in a split basket, and when hung in the loft it was all safe. He lived here over fortj' years and removed to Sandwich, where he died. Thomas, Ezekiel, June, 1830. Thomas, Mrs., June, 1830 ; died in the county. Maj. Fisher's wife is a daughter, and Mrs. Houck and Mrs. Corss are daughters of Thomas. Thompson, A. T., 1834; settled near Wy- anet; Thompson, M. M., 1834. Thompson, R. E. and Mrs. M., 1839. Thompson, J. ^\., 1840; Mrs. S. M., 1836. Trowbridge, Mrs. C. O., 1840. Thomas, A. C, May, 1829. Temi>leton, R. T., 1836. (See general his- tory). This immediate family is now extinct. Triplett, A., 1834; Samuel, 1834; Mrs. M. A., 1837. The descendants of this family are still in the county, i. e. , one of the daughters, Mrs. Bidderman, and Mrs. Wills and several of the grandchildren. Tompkins, M., 1834. Trimble, M., 1840. Thomson, Col. J. J., 1845. (See biog- raphy). Wisner, James and Mrs. J., 1840. Winship, M., S. W., R. and Mrs., 1835 (See general history for account of Winship family). Wallace, Moses and Mrs. J., 1843; J. L., 1843. Williams, S. L. and Mrs., 1834. Wells, David and Mary S., 1838. Wilson, J. and Mrs., 1842. Wells, George, 1841; Mrs. L., 1834. Williams, Curtiss, 1832. (See general his- tory). Warren, W. A. and Henrietta, 1843. Winship, E. C, 1837. Wies, J. and Mrs., 1834; settled above Dover two miles, where the family are now residing. White, Alvin and Mrs., 1839. Wilson, James L., 1833; living six miles north of Princeton. Wilhite, J., 1835. Walters, John, 1837; President of Old Set- tlers' Society in 1884; lives at Princeton. Williams, S. D., 1834; Sol, 1837. Woodruff, Dr. R. J., 1838; S. M., 1838. Vaughan, J. H. and John, 1837 ; father and son came from Nova Scotia; the father died here and the son removed to Oregon. HISTORY OF BUEEAU COUNTY. 155 Zearing, Martin E. , Miss Louisa, Louis, D. S., 1836. (See David Zearing's biog- raphy.) Hon. John Wentworth, of Chicago, was Mayor of that city when the Prince of Wales visited it. He gives an amusing account of a citizen coming to him a iew days before the prince was to arrive, and in a flutter of excitement over the great occasion, and in anxiety lest the Mayor should not fully ap- preciate the importance of the event up to the proper point of toadying to the callow sprout of royalty, he wanted to suggest how to do it. When Wentworth comprehended what his visit was for he invited him to proceed. His first suggestion was that it would be in excellent form to select, say one or two representatives from one hundred of the first families of Chicago, to receive and dance attendance upon his highness. " All right," says Wentworth, " Please make me out a list of the one hundred of the first families of Chicago, so I can select." The visitor studied a moment and confessed he could not do this. The Mayor then asked him to please select ten, that is, nine beside his own. In short he was driven to the con- fession that he could only really name one family — his own, of course. Some years afterwards in addressing the old settlers of the city, he read off the names of the city's early settlers, referred to the above anecdote, and remarked, here is more than one hundred of the first families of Chicago — the real blue-blooded Knicker- bockers, the F. F. V.'s of the city, and predicted that these men and their descend- ants would constitute the names of the " book of peerage" of the city, a record that would be carefully kept and closely studied in the long future by all who desired to es- tablish an unquestionable and illustrious lineage. CHAPTER XIIL John H. BRTiNT— A Bbief Sketch or His Life, in which is Con- nected Evert Ibiportant Historical Event of the County Since His Coming Here— Birth of the Republican Pabtt— The Farmer Puet — Etc., etc. " And I think, but not with sadness, When I in earth am laid, How after generations Will bless this grateful shade." — J. H. Bryant. IN the pi'eceding chapters, wherever we have been enabled to give in their own language, the detailed accounts of the voy- aging to this place of any of the pioneers, who were young men mostly in their first rough experiences in the world, we have not hesitated to do so, and to make them as full in details as possible. They are full of his- tory and interest, and for the rising genera- tion are very instructive; they will find here food for healthy reflection. From the year of the first permanent set- tlement here to the present hour, the biogra- phy and life of John H. Bryant and his three brothers, has been very nearly the com- plete history of the struggle into life of that feeble band and the record, existence and present high standard of the county of Bu- reau. There need be no apology then, for making this chapter and placing the title that is found at the head, nor need we further explain that when we have once started upon the story of Bryant's life that it is consistently followed up, although it brings in some of the facts that are of recent date, and in the design of the work, except for this reason, would have only appeared in their consecutive order as the work pro- gressed toward completion. The facts here given are in nearly every instance verbatim as we found them in elab- 156 HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. orate notes of the life of Mr. Bryaot, by Dr. Richard Edwards, of Princeton, only in cer- tain portions being condensed, and some of the details being here omitted, as they are given in other portions of this history. It is probably true that no human being has ever lived, whose record, faithfully kept, might not be useful. Even of the hum- blest and most obscure this would be true. The labors and aspirations, the hopes and disap- pointments, the successes and failures of men, are an index of the possibilities for good or evil, of a human being. For this reason it happens that no form of literature is more in- structive than biography. In the history of another's life each one is reminded of his own experiences, and with the reminder comes in- struction. All this is especially true of those lives which have been connected with important events. Every man who has helped in a marked way to mould the institutions of a country, or to conduct its movements, ought in some way to leave a record of what he has done and sought to do. Institutions, political and social movements, are products. They spring from the thoughts and deeds of indi- vidual men, and nothing can be more in- structive than to observe these developing processes, to note how the labor of head and heart has blossomed into permanent social forces. The life of John Howard Bryant is cer- tainly worth being written, not merely on the ground that all lives may be so, but for the important events with which it has been connected. His birth and early residence in New England turn our thoughts to the sturdy civilization which has given that part of our country so much influence at home and abroad. His removal to Illinois will introduce the reader to those movements by which the Mississippi Valley has been made the luxuriant home of many prosperous commu- nities. And his concern in political affairs will lead to some study of the great move- ment by which the country was freed from the incubus of slavery. Mr. Bryant comes of Puritan stock on both sides, both families having emigrated from Bridgewater, Mass. His father, Ur. Peter Bryant, was a man of considerable promi- nence. As a physician and surgeon, his standing seems to have been very high, and he enjoyed the distinction, not small, of a seat in the State Senate. He was a man of large cult- ure and excellent literary taste. The moth- er's maiden name was Snell, and she was of a family that had produced a number of distin- guished men. She was a woman of strong character, earnest piety and great skill in practical affairs. Her ideal of duty was high and her code of morals rigorous. The second son was the eminent poet and journalist — "William Cullen Bryant. The subject of this sketch was born July 22, 1807, in the house, in the town of Cum- mington, known as the Bryant homestead. Some time after Dr. Peter Bryant's death, which occurred in 1820, this estate went out of the family, and remained in the possession of strangers for many years. But in the year 1864 it was repurchased by the poet, and now belongs to his daughter. It is beautifully situated, and surrounded by scenes well cal- culated to nourish the poetic faculty. John ; was the seventh child, the youngest of five I sons of his parents. Of the scenes of his 1 early life not much is recorded. It is noted, ' however, that the year 1811 there occun-ed a I notable eclipse of the sun.* I * 8imultaDeously with the eclipse was the great New Madrid earthquake, and the passage, iD the midst of the earth's throes, oi'tlie first steambuat ever on the Western waters from out the Ohio River and into the Mississippi River. The 18th day of De- cember, 1811, at least here in the West, is thus signaled as our great historic day. The eclipse and the earthquake were but manifestations of the forces of nature, the latter by far the most remarkable on this hemisphere so far recorded in history; j while the steamboat was a human thought fashioned into a HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. 157 This is a well remembered incident, because of its indirect influence upon his early school- ing. By looking at the sun with unprotected eyes, his vision was greatly weakened, not until he was about fifteen years of age was he able to apply himself continuously to reading. Thus it appears that about eleven years of his early life were in a large measure lost to him. And this was the very period in which elementary knowledge could be best ac- quired. But the loss seems to have been well supplied afterward. As compared with his brothers, however, he was decidedly behind in his studies at the age of fifteen. On the death of Dr. Bryant, the mother found abundant scope for her knowledge of practical affairs. Her husband, in the ardor of his professional enthusiasm, had been careless of money matters. The consequence was he left the estate involved. Accordingly the boys, except Austin, the eldest, and Will- iam Cullen, the poet, who had already begun life for themselves, were put to work upon the farm. Cyrus was the manager and John was one of the helpers. In the summer they worked together. In the winter the former taught school and the latter did the chores. The services of Cyrus were considered to be sufficiently important, he being of age, to be paid for by the mother. But of John this does not seem to have been the case. At this time it seems that a neighborhood club was in operation for the improvement of its members in reading and composition. It included the family of Nortons, Briggs, Porters, Packards, Snells and Bryants. The steamboat — the New OrleaDS, Capt. Roosevelt. Comi)ared to the awful, the appalline play of nature's forces amid which the ves- sel rode out of the lashing waters of the Ohio into the yet worse troubled waters of the Mississippi, how insignificant it must have appeared, yet like the great inventions and thoughts of genius 'growing in good and enduring forever — encircling the globe with its blessings, and lifting up and bearing aloft the human family. The earthquake, like wars, famines and pesti- lences, is but temporary in its ert'ects, and kindly nature covers up and hides forever its wrecks and ruins, and their horrors and the appalling terrors are forgotten. But the thoughts, the dis- coveries and inventions of genius grow and live eternally. In the perfect economy of God, tliey alone are immortal. meetings were held by turns in the houses of the members. The best English litera- ture was studied in private, read at the meet- ings and commented upon. Mr. Bryant was employed in the combination of farm and literary work for two years; and he declares that during that time he read more good English prose and poetry than in any other period of equal length. The club was an undoubted and permanent benefit to its mem- bers. It no doubt had much to do in the formation of the correct literary taste which has always been a marked characteristic of Mr. Bryant. In the year 1826-27 he was a pupil in a select school taught by the Rev. Mr. Hawks, near Cumminofton Meeting-house. The same teacher was afteward employed in the acad- emy in East Cummington, where he attended also, one winter. In the years 1828 and 1829 he taught school in the winters, in the town of Williamsburg. In the spring of 1828 he was a student in the Renselaer school, now the Renselaer Polytecnic Institute, at Troy, N. Y. The principal instructor at that time was the able, but somewhat eccentric, Prof. Amos Eaton. The studies pursued by the young man were chemistry, mineralo- gy, geology, natural philosophy (physics), botany and zoology. For a period of two years, which was the time he spent at this school, this seems a formidable list. But a young man with a clear head and an earnest purpose, with the hunger and thirst for learn- ing upon him, and sustained by the vigor acquired in a country life, often makes as- tonishing progress, accomplishii^g great re- sults in a brief space of time. Another helpful circumstance in this case was the fact that much of the work lay out of doors. Collections in botany, and to some extent in mineralogy, were a part of the required 'course. Hills were climbed and woods tra- 158 HISTORY or BUREAU COUNTY. versed, as a part of the regular school work. The country about Troy is especially rich in botanical specimens, and the Renselaer student, as he trudges about with his tin cylinder strapped to his back, is cheered and stimulated by the frequent prizes he is able to secure. In this way he attains or preserves the soundest physical health, and at the same time adds most efficiently to his mental possessions. Study is made both effective and harmless by an abundance of pure air, wholesome sunshine and vigorous exercise, to say nothing of the benefit derived from the charming beauty of the scenery. In June, 1829, he took final leave of Troy, walking home by way of Williamstown, Mass. This place he reached at 9 o'clock at night— a walk of forty miles. Here he spent three or four days with his brother, Arthur, who was then a student in Williams College. The succeeding months of November and Decem- ber were spent at the same place, in the study of geometry and trigonometry, and " some Latin." All his time, however, was not consumed in these dry topics. He wrote poetry for the Williamstown paper and also, by invitation, wrote for a paper called the Philanthrojnst, published in Boston. These poems are now lost, and the most that Mr. Bryant remembers of them is, that of one of them the subject was "Cohoes Falls." After this he seems to have returned to the farm. Cyrus had given up his supervision of Lome affairs and gone to South Carolina, and Aus- tin had taken his place. He worked several summers on the farm. In the summer of 1830 he took the United States census of that part of Hampshire County that lies west of the Connecticut River. In the winter of 1830-31 he taught school in Plainfield, his compensation being §14 a month and " board around." And now the young man's eyes began tO' turn away from the home of his childhood. The valley "of the Mississippi had begun to be permanently peopled. Reports came of the gorgeous beauty and inexhaustible fertil- ity of the Illinois prairies. The stony hills of Hampshire County began to seem hard and sterile. He resolved to seek a home in the new realm, where land was so cheap, and the soil so wondrously productive. In the spring of 1831 he set out for Illinois. His worldly goods, consisting of clothing, car- penter's tools, etc., were stowed into two chests and a trunk. A tanner in West Cum- mington was accustomed to make business trips to the State of New York. In this man's wagon Mr. Bryant placed himself and his possessions, and was carried to Hudson, on the river of that name. Leaving the bag- gage in that city, he took a trip by river to New York, wishing to look at the metropolis before emigrating to the far West. He left New York on the ISth day of April, 1831, touching at Hudson for his goods, and passed on to Albany. The Erie Canal, the monument of Gov. Clinton, had then been in operation over five years. On this "artificial river,'' in a "line" boat, a boat for trans- porting merchandise, he made the voyage from Albany to Buffalo, at an expense, for meals and passage, of $4.60. The trip oc- cupied seven days. But the lake at Buffalo was full of ice, which made it necessary to hire a team to convey the traveler and his baggage to Dun- kirk. His plan was to go by way of Lake Erie to Cleveland, and then by the canal to the Ohio River. The Dunkirk harbor was open, and a boat was about to set out for the upper lakes, but Cleveland was not to be one of its stopping places. Mr. Gurnsey, of Dunkirk, who gave the traveler a letter to Judge Lockwood, of Jacksonville, 111., ad- vised him to go via Jamestown on Chautauqua HISTORY OF BUREAU COUXTY. 159 Lake, thence down the Conewango Creek on a raft or flat-boat, and to the Ohio River by way of the Alleghany. After some tribula- tion Jamestown was reached, but the Cone- wango had subsided; its waters would not float a raft or flat-boat, hence recourse was had to a wagon, and the Alleghany was thus reached at "Warren, Penn. It happened to be court week at this place, and the town was tilled with people. At that time the country was violently divided on the subject of Masonry. An exciting discussion was going on in Warren, and soon culminated in a street tight; the first thing of the kind he had ever witnessed. The next business was to find a conveyance to Pittsburgh. There happened to be at that time two families of English people who wished to make the same journey, and they had moans of conveyance. They owned an ' ' ark," and had their goods on board of it. The heads of the families were elderly men, both of whom had lost their wives in Toronto. One of them, a Mr. Angell, was accompanied by two stout grown daughters. They made room on the ' ' ark " for Mr. Bryant and his baggage. For a time it floated along the stream without any exciting incident. The passenger made himself useful by going ashore, as occasion required, and shooting squirrels for the table, also by putting up a mast in the hope of accelerating their speed. But one afternoon they struck a rock; the ark was turned so as to lie broadside to the stream. The force of the current tilted it somewhat, the water rushed in and the load- ing, among other things a very tine set of joiner's tools belonging to the Englishman, and our hero's two chests and trunk, were thoroughly wet. The owners of the craft wereingi'eat tribulation; they supposed they were ruined bj^ the mishap. But the boat was at last righted and tied up for repairs. An attempt was made to dry the wetted tools and clothes, but with only indifferent success. The disaster happened on Satur- day, and the boat was not loosed from its moorings until Monday following. In seven days they made the trip from Warren to Pittsburgh. At this point Mr. Bryant shipped on board the steamer Abeona, the largest boat then plying the river. An attempt was made to dry the wet clothes that had been wet in the Alleghany Kiver, on the boat's boilers, but the records say " the con- tinuous rains made it ditficult.'' At Louis- ville he was transferred to another boat for St. Louis. On board were 125 slaves, the property of a number of Kentuckians emigrating to Missouri. The boat was worn-out, leaky and unclean, having long before seen its best days. Among the passengers was a clergy- man and his wife from Kentucky, with whom our traveler soon formed a most agi-eeable acquaintance. The weather had continued wet, and a Franklin stove belonging to these good people was a source of gi'eat comfort. St. Louis was reached about the 24th of May. The young traveler betook himself to a sail- ors' boarding house. It sounds strange to write this of the now gi-eat city of St. Louis, or that it was ever so small a village as he found it. Its population was then about the same as Princeton now. After a brief stay in St. Louis he boarded a steamer for Naples. It was called the "Traveler," and plied regularly between St. Louis and Naples. On the 27th he reached the latter place. His objective point was Jacksonville, where his brother Arthur had been for some months. From Naples to Jacksonville, about twenty- two miles, he journeyed on foot, reaching his destination before night. In this walk he had for a companion a Mr. Harlam, after- ward a prominent merchant and a member of the Legislature. This long and tedious 160 HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. journey from Cummington to Jacksonville occupied five weeks, and the expense of the trip was $60; one-tenth the time now, and less than one-quarter the cost, with incomparably more accommodations and com- forts, would make the trip between these points. The intelligent loader will see at once the importance of these details of this young pioneer's long and di-eary journey. It is the vivid story of thechanges that have so swiftly taken place in this broad land. Like the stories we give in preceding chapters of Strattons, Kittermans, Henry F. JLiller and many others; stories that are full of interest and history. It is impossible for us to realize the increase of value and importance these accounts of the travels of the pioneers will be to the generations that are to come after us hundreds of years from now. Al- ready railroads have been so long in opera- tion in our country that the younger among our people have but slight conception of how our fathers lived and traveled. It is, therefore, a useful exercise to study the de- tails of a journey made by a respectable young man who seems to have availed him- self of the best conveyances the country then afforded. The comparison of then and now is full of wholesome instruction, giving themes for the painter, the poet and the historian. He found his brother Arthur domi- ciled at the house of Thomas Wiswall, but he himself stopped at the house of his future father-in law, Elijah Wiswall, at $1.50 per week for board, with the privilege of paying this in work. The autumn of 1831 was spent in the store of Henry Wiswall, and the following winter he was a clerk in Gillett & Gordon's store. In the spring of 1832 he worked upon his brother's land near Jacksonville, while Ai-thur was East on a mission of marriage. In the meantime his other brother, Cyrus, had joined him at Jacksonville, and in Sep- tember. John and Cyrus started for Bureau. They came on horseback. Their attention had been attracted here by the knowledge that the Hampshire Colony had located at Princeton. The colony had been dispersed by the Black Hawk war. On their way they found Elijah Smith's family, in Tazewell County, the husband and wife teaching school. Near Granville, Putnam County, were John Leeper and family. They looked at the country at various points, but Cyrus had known Roland Moseley in Massachusetts, and having re- ceived a favorable impression in regard to the land in Bureau, they pushed on to this point and arrived at the Moseley house, a few miles southeast of Princeton. Among others they were introduced to the elder Dr. Chamberlain. Their friends directed their attention to the spot on which John H. Bryant now lives. This was the land Mr. Kitterman had ' ' claimed " two years before, and which had been jumped by " Curt " Williams. The war had run Williams off, and as he did not return, up to this time, they supposed he had abandoned it and left the country. But " Curt" was on hand in time. Suffice it to say, that Williams was finally bought out, and the Bryants peace- ably installed in possession. The two brothers took possession of this little cabin, with its dirt floor and stick chimney. They were their own cooks and housekeepers, and most probably did their own washing and ironing, such as it was. The table groaned beneath pork and corn-dodger chiefly, if it had occasion to do any groaning at all. A heroic resolve and struggle was directed toward the luxury of flour bread of their own construction, once a week. This was a HISTOKY OF BUREAU COUNTY. 161 darincr dash at the enervating luxuries of the day, but the young men made it. Their lot was sweetened by the fortunate discovery, in the autumn, of a bee tree, so that, although there was not any flow of milk in this Canaan, yet the honey was not wanting. In their work they had the help of three yoke of oxen, brought with them. Hay for these was cut on the prairie. Cyrus, it seems, tended the kine, while John was chief housekeeper, and mauled rails while resting from the arduous duties of the household, making thus one hundred a day. During the winter they fenced forty acres each. In the spring they began breaking the sod. They had an old Carey plow they had brought from Jacksonville. When the share became dull, it was carried on horseback eighteen miles to the Laughlins, in Florid, to be sharpened. It was an ugly thing to thus carry, and once the perplexed and tired rider was hailed by an old pioneer: "Why didn't you fill a bag of hay on which to lay it? " The two bachelors • had not time to get very lonesome, yet sometimes it must have occurred to each of them that there was something lacking about their establishment. Perhaps in the lonely watches of the night, when sleep had been for the moment dis- pelled by a vivid dream of two bright young eyes, and waving curls, or innocent laughter, and pearly teeth — ah, precious, guileless girlhood, helpless and dependent, yet the dush of whose laughing eyes are more power- ful over poor, lonesome man, thao an army with banners. Perhaps — nay, it is now to us quite plain — in the long watches of the dreary winter there came to the young men the first chapter in that old, old story, that is ever new, that is always life's sweetest tryst. In June, 1833, John H. Bryant journeyed back to Jeffersonville for the purpose of being married to Miss Hattie Wiswall, who now for more than fifty-one years has been his worthy and faithful companion and helpmeet. The trip was made on horseback, following the trail made by the soldiers of the Black Hawk war. He was no laggard on a journey so auspicious, as is evidenced by the fact that the last day carried him over seventy-five miles of the road. On the 17th of June the ceremony took place, and the next week the happy pair started for their little cabin in the lonely wilderness. They came by way of Meredosia and the Illinois River to Hen- nepin. At this place their goods were placed in a warehouse High waters had made the river bottom nearly impassable. Young Dr. Chamberlain happened to be in Hennepin, and he had a saddle-horse, the use of which he oifered to the young couple. Mrs. Bryant was mounted and the husband trudged along piloting the way on foot, only getting up to ride where the water was too deep to wade. They reached the house of Maj. Chamberlain and spent one night, and the next "day they arrived at their cabin and housekeeping commenced. Here they lived for one year, Cyrus remaining with them. That is, he remained during the winter, and in the spring he went east and was married. In the spring of 183-1 Mr. Bryant built for himself a cabin on the site where his pres- ent elegant residence now stands. All the work, except the window sash, wasperfoimed by his own hands. At the "raising" no whisky was used. This was probably the first departure in the county toward temper- ance or prohibition. The new house was first occupied in June, 1834. This year John H. Bryant and Joseph Brigham were elected Justices of the Peace for Bureau Precinct, Putnam County. In 1835 the land came into market and Mr. Bryant entered 320 acres. Afterward he pur- chased 80 acres at $7 per acre, and in 1859 162 HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. he bought 160 acres, paying therefor 154,000. Mr. Bryant was the prominent agitator of the subject of the division of the county. His wedding trip across the bottoms from Hennepin evidently made a lasting impression on his mind. Lobbyists were sent to Vau- dalia to push the project before the Legisla- ture, but nothing was accomplished at this session. At the Legislature of 1836-37 Bry- ant and Elston went to Vandalia at their own expense, and finally secured the passage of the act which led to the formation of Bu- reau County. Stephen A. Douglas was a member and Chairman of the Committee on Counties, and to him these visitors were greatly indebted for the success of their mis- sion. The vote on the adoption of the meas- ure was taken April 1, 1837. The division carried by a majority of thirty votes. This result was reached and the new county formed onlv after overcoming the greatest obstacles. The people east of the river and especially in Hennepin, were earnestly opposed to the proj ect that would rob them of the most of their rich territory. The particulars of this strug. gle are given in another place. Suffice it to say here, that the important work and the respon- sibility rested largely on the shoulders of John H. Bryant. The completion of the or- ganization of the county took place in 1837, the year noted in American history as that of the beginning of the hard times commenc- ing that year and lasting until 1843. The poor farmers would haul their wheat to Chi- cago and after spending ten days in getting there through storms, and sloughs, and mud, and mire, have to sell it, if they could find a buyer at all, for 37^ cents a bushel and pork 11.50 a hundred. In 1840 Mr. Bryant took the Government census for Bureau County. The entire pop- ulation was 3,067. In 1842 he was elected to the Legislature for Bureau, Stark and Pe- oria. In 1839 the State Capitol had been i removed to Springfield, and the sessions were held in an old stone building on the east side of the square, now used for a United States court room. At this session of 1842 Mr. Bryant was an efficient member, com- manding the respect and kind attention of all his fellow-members. A law relating to Bu- reau County — the Dover Road — was passed by his influence. This was the original road to Chicago from Princeton, and marketers had driven straight across the wild country, but when the lands were being fenced it wouhl compel the road to wind around the section lines. The land owners objected, of course, but the people who had to do the wag- oning wanted it as short and straight as pos- ' sible. Mr. Bryant was again elected to the Legislature in the year of great political ex- citement in Illinois — 1858. When the county seat was located in Princeton, the owners of the land were re- quired by law to donate a certain part of the ground, and to give bonds and security to aid in a large amount in the public buildings. Mr. Bryant was the leader in this part of the work, and in paying for the ground and ex- ecuting a bond to the amount of $7,000, re- quired by the Locating Commissioners. His I name leads in the list of public and liberal - I minded men who put their hands in their pock- i ets and furnished the money, as well as the ' required bond and security. During these years and afterward he was a prosperous far ■ mer, but not only a farmer. He made roads and bridges, manufactured brick, of which the original part of the court house was built, besides many other houses now stand- ing in Princeton. In 1847 he became one of the editors of the Bui-e.au County Advocate, the first paper issued in the county. But of this a complete HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. 163 account will be found in the chapter on the Press, in another part of this work. Until 1844 Mr. Bryant had always been a Democrat, but in the action of that party at that time in discarding Van Buren because of his opposition to the annexation, he did not agree with his party and he left it and at once affiliated with the Liberty party, the leader of which was John P. Hale in the United States Senate. This organization was distinct from the original Abolitionists of the Garrison school. The Abolitionists claimed that slav- ery was a constitutional institution, and they therefore attacked the constitution. The Lib- erty party said that slavery could be abolished under the powers of the constitution; that the spirit of that instrument was hostile to slavery and that whenever the country should become faithful to the spirit, instead of being bound by the letter, the evil would vanish. They believed as did Henry Clay on the subject of slavery, as Jeiferson taught, and as was exem- plified in the celebrated ordinance of 1787, by Thomas Jefiferson, which prohibited the introduction of slavery into all the North- west Territory. But his faith in political action did not prevent him from rendering other help to the oppressed. Many times has he entertained fugitive slaves, both before and after the fa- mous law of 1850, and the cruel "black laws" of Illinois of 1853. The unreasoning sever- ity of these laws was an attempt to scourge men for acts of the highest Christian virtue. Their injustice and cruelty made them repul- sive to a large majority of our people, and like all excessive laws, they were treated gen- erally with contempt by good men and spit upon. Among the latter were Mr. Bryant. In 1854 he had as many as fifteen runaway slaves on his place at one time. He aided all he could to reach Chicago, sending them in broad daylight over the Chicago, Bur- lington & Quincy Railroad to Dr. Dyer, of Chicago. On the 4tb of July, 1854, the anti- slavery celebration was held on the ground a little southwest of Mr. Bryant's house. At this meeting the Republican party of Bureau County was organized. Nearly all the Whigs entered the organization, as did many Demo- crats. The new party carried the county that year, and Owen Lovejoy was elected to the Legislature. This result was chiefly due to the action of Mr. Bryant. Previous to this, in 1852, Mr. Bryant had been a candidate of the Free Soil party for Congress. But at that time this party had but few earnest supporters in this district. He was a delegate to the Pittsburgh Con- vention, February, 1856, for the purpose of a general organization of the Republican party, as were Owen Lovejoy and Charles L. Kelsey. His recollection is that Horace Greeley was much disgusted with a speech in that convention made by Lovejoy. In 1856 a Congressional Convention was held in Ottawa. Mr. Bryant headed the Bureau delegation in the interests of Love- joy. Gen. Gridley, of Bloomington, was in favor of nominating Judge Dickey, and he fought Lovejoy with all the intensity of his intense nature. Mr. Lovejoy was triumph- antly nominated and elected, and then com- menced that remarkable career that ended only with his death, in 1864. The wide re- sults flowing out from this nomination of Lovejoy are known to the civilized world, and it is no detraction to his other and many patriotic supporters to say that his nomina- tion was in a large part due to his tried and constant friend, John H. Bryant. Mr. Bryant was a delegate to the Repub- lican Convention in Chicago in 1860 that nominated Mr. Lincoln for President, and in the war of the Rebellion he was among 164 HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. those and the foremost, who gave their time and money to the patriotic work of raising and equipping armies. He visited Spring- Held and "Washington to secure the accept- ance of new troops. He advocated and urged the appropriation of money by the towns and county to pay the expenses for the bounties and other purposes connected with" the war. In 1862 Mr. Bryant was appointed Collec- tor of Internal Revenue for the Fifth Con- gressional District of Illinois, and discharged the duties ably and well for four years. His responsibilities were very great; his duties in organizing the most important district in the West, under the new and complex law, were vast and arduous. He not only had to en- force the law, organize its vast and complex machinery, but had to teach the people what the law was and how to comply with its in- tricate windings. The whole idea of the law and its enforcement were something so for- eign to the American people, a people who had never seen or hardly heard of a tax- gatherer of their general government, that this was not small work, but an increase of the responsibilities and labors. Some of the heaviest distillers in the nation were in this district. An American tax-payer was to a tax-gatherer, much like our volunteer soldiers who could see no harm in dodging behind a tree when the enemy was recklessly shooting in front. In short, they had educated one anoth- er to believe that there was no serious harm in outwitting a tax-gatherer. The Peoria distil- lers found him rather too alert and vigilant for the whisky smu.ggling operations, and they, aided by Congressman E. C. Ingersoll, trumped up a long string of charges and alle- gations, that of course had their temporary effect in discrediting a worthy officer at Washington, but the investigation following was his most triumphant vindication, and in- stead of raining Mr. Bryant it ended forever the political career of E. C. Ingersoll, who, in an overwhelmingly Republican district, was beaten for Congress in the succeeding race by Mr. Stevens, a Democrat. There is a circumstance connected with Mr. Bryant's appointment as Collector that deserves to be told. When the office was created he wrote to Mr. Lincoln and told him he would accept the office with pleasure. Mr. Lincoln knew him personally and inti- mately, and thus the two men needed no middle man between them for " infloo- ence." He wrote by return mail, " You shall have it." Bat soon the busy politician ap- peared, claimed the appointment as a per- quisite and had arranged this to " go to a friend," etc. Every combination was brought to bear upon the President, to use the office to "grind the ax" for ambitious politicians; a tremendous eifort was made in order to promote other interests. Every argument about " fixing fences," etc., etc. , were brought to bear upon Mr. Lincoln, and all this time Mr. Bryant was at home and unconscious of what was going on to defeat him. He had no reasons in the world to have suspicions — • ho had none, and the writer does not know whether Mr. Bryant to this day knows any- thing about it; certainly no word has escaped him indicating that he ever possessed such knowledge. He simply trusted Mr. Lincoln, and the evidence of Mr. Lincoln's trust in him is the fact that his commission was promptly sent him, and he entered upon his office, and probably all the politicians in the world could not have changed this result. In 1860 Mr. Bryant was a member of the Board of Supervisors of the county which voted, by one majority, to build a court hou.se. The money was not easy to get. Eastern capital was suspicious of Western securities. He went to New York and obtained $15, 000, but had first to get the bonds secured £l<^t^ HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. 167 by himself and many leading capitalists of Princeton. The cost of the new improve- ment was about $20,000. The effort to establish in Princeton a high school commenced in 1866. The plan as ultimately carried out was a new one, and involved the necessity of procuring a special charter from the Legislatui-e. The law pro- vided for high schools in districts, incorpor- ated towns and cities, but not for townships. He took the most active and prominent part in this enterprise. A town meeting was called to consider the subject. Although the meeting was legal, it was not certain that what it agreed upon would be legal. It resolved to establish a high school. To this there was only one negative vote in the meet- ing. Superintendent Bateman was consulted. A project promising so much in the line of improvements could not fail to enlist that gentleman's sympathy. He encouraged the citizens to proceed. But in order to remove all doubts a charter was secured through the Legislature. It fixed the number of Directors at five, and provided that no new Directors should be elected for three years. The object of this was to permit the school to get fairly under way before its existence could be endangered by opposition. But money was needed to erect the building. Bonds were authorized to be issued, but capital was afraid of this security. Again Mr. Bryant went to New York, taking the bonds with him. Again he got the money but only on a personal guarantee of the leading men of property in Princeton. Total cost about $65,000. Mr. Bryant was the first President of the Board of Directors, and has occupied this position, with a brief intermission ever since. So complete has been the success of this school that by a law of 1874 any township in the State is authorized to establish and maintain a high school. For six years or more Mr. Bryant was a member and President of the Princeton District School Board, and much credit is due to him for the late and marked improve- ments in the schools, and especially in the south school building. Of late Mr. Bryant has been residing quietly in Princeton enjoying the comforts of life. His spacious house is surrounded by stately trees of his own jjlanting, and is rendered attractive by many evidences of refined taste. It is situated a few rods from the southern limits of the city of Princeton. Around it extend his broad and fertile acres, including not only tine farming lands, but also charming scenery. There is a consider- able extent of primeval forests, reaching down to the banks of the creek. Through this he has, at considerable expense, constructed car- riage ways, over which the public are always welcome to drive. Large numbers avail themselves of the privilege. On almost any summer's afternoon many vehicles may be seen making the circuit of "Bryant's woods." Here the lover of nature delights to walk. Here children gather flowers. Here picnics are held. For the comfort of the frequenters of the place the proprietor has been at pains to furnish a fountain of pure and cool water. It is not surprising that amid scenes like these, the owner's natural love of poetry has been nourished and intensified. His claim to distinction as a poet is overshadowed by that of his gifted brother, William Cullen. But a volume published some years ago cer- tainly entitles him to a respectable rank among the sweet singers. It is marked by great purity of language, a correct knowledge of metrical laws, and a severe accuracy in the description of natural objects, as well as by the worth and beauty of the thought. The following is inserted as a mere sample: 10 168 HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. THE VALLET BROOK. Fresh from the fountaius of the wood A rivulet of the valley came, And glided on for many a rood Flushed with the morning's ruddy flame. The air was fresh and soft and sweet; The slopes in spring's new verdure lay, And wet with dew-drops, at my feet, Bloomed the young violets of May. No sound of busy life was heard Amid those pastures lone and still, Save the faint chirp of early bird, Or bleat of flocks along the hill. I traced that rivulet's winding way. New scenes of beauty opened round, Where meads of brighter verdure lay. And lovelier blossoms tinged the ground. " Ah, happy valley stream," I said, " Calm glides thy wave amid the flowers, Whose fragrance round th}' path is shed, Through all the joyous summer hours. "Oh ! Could my years like thine be passed In some remote and silent glen. Where I could dwell and sleep at last, Far from the bustling haunts of men." But what new echoes greet my ear ! The village school-boy's merry call; And mid the village hum I hear The mui-mur of the waterfall. I looked; the widening vale betrayed A pool that shone like burnished steel. Where that bright valley stream was stayed To turn the miller's ponderous wheel. Ah ! why should I, I thought with shame Sigh for a life of solitude. When even this stream without a name Is laboring for the common good? No ! never let me shun my part Amid the busy scenes of life, But, with a warm and generous heart, Press onward in the glorious strife. In politics Mr. Bryant has always mani- fested a sttirdy independence. In the early years of the Republican party, as we have seen, he gave that organization a cordial and efiScient support. In later years he has felt at liberty to oppose it. For this his action has been criticised by some, but by none who were broad and liberal enough in their own natures to comprehend his, or they had built conclusions without foundations. Surely an American citizen ought to be allowed to dic- tate his own politics. Not only has Mr. Bry- ant the right to change his party affiliations, when in his judgment the good of the coun- try requires it, but it is his solumn duty to do so. It will be a sad day for the Nation when fealty to party becomes stronger than fealty to the republic. And it is to be re- membered that the discarding of a party commonly involves to the individual a loss both political and pecuniary. The bolter sel- dom secures any outward benefit. As a rule, he neither gets office nor makes money by the operation. The only possible exception to this rule is when the bolt is into the majority party, and from the minority, and never vice versa. His only reward is the comfort that comes from the honest discharge of duty. Mr. Bryant-enjoys the distinction of being one of the oldest and one of the most promi- nent and highly respected citizens of Bureau County. He has been the friend of every good enterprise, the eager champion always of the cause of the people of his county and the State, ever giving his time, his talents and his money to promote the cause of the gen- eral good. Here he has lived and toiled for fifty-two years, and his imperishable monu- ment shall be the good works of his life and the beautiful words he has spoken. Amid the surroundings of a pioneer life with all its scarcity of the advantages for self im- provement and the severest labor of the hands, his acquirements are varied and profound. He has drunk deeply of the fountains of En- glish literature and philosophy, and kept pace with the thought of this great age. All his writings, in prose or poetry, show the man of thought and cultured taste; his bearing al- HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. 169 ways dignified, courteous and polite, with no particle of self-assertion in his nature. Firm and conscientious in all his views, and bold and fearless in their enunciation, he has, at the same time, respect for those who honestly differed from him on even the most vital tenets of his faith. His personal experience, his education, and his reason taught him the fallibility of human judgment and the lia- bility of honest and wise men to disagree upon almost every question of political phil- osophy in a government constituted as ours is; and he claimed no charity for himself that he was not ready to cordially estend to others. In all the relations of life a sense of duty -stern and inexorable — accompanied him and has characterized his every act, and disregarding selfish and personal considerations, he has obeyed its behests.* CHAPTER XIV. Something abovt a Great Many People — When Different Places WERE Settled and by Whom — First Governsient Land Sur- veys — The Denhams — Moselets— J. V. Thompson — Judge R. T. Templeton — Rev. E. Scudder High, and Doughnuts — To Market to sell a Pig — Walnut and Ohio Townships. "Again we stray, far. far away, The club-moss crumbling 'ueath our tread, Seeking the spot by most forgot, Where sleep the generations dead." — J. H. Bryaxt. WARREN SHERLEY came, in 1829, with Sylvester Brigham and made his claim at Heaton's Point. His was the first settlement in this part of the county. Eli and Elijah Smith married two sisters and *The editor would say, in addition to Dr. Edward's account of Mr. Bryant, that in compiling this history of Bureau County he has patiently gone over tlie records, considered the details of every important movement either political, social, or educa- tional, as well as the public enterprises, the economic move- ments, and the moral, social and intellectual interests of the people, and it is no figure of speech to say that everywhere and their wedding tour was a journey to Illinois. They and Dr. Chamberlain came in company and were a part of the Hampshire Col- ony. The three men had bought a wagon and two yoke of oxen and Dr. Chamberlain had the only horse in the crowd. A single instance of this journey will serve as a suf- ficient illustration. They had nearly reached their journey's end and were trying to find Foristal's cabin, where they expected to stop. They left Spring Creek timber; with no road to guide them, they took a northwest direc- tion. In a stream on the prairie (Brush Creek) their wagon stuck in the mud, and as night was coming on and it seemed impossible to get it out, it was abandoned and they proceeded on their journey. Dr. Chamberlain took Mrs. Eli Smith on his horse behind him; Eli- jah Smith and wife were mounted on an ox. Night overtook them at East Bureau, near where Maiden now is, and it was so dark they could not proceed further, so they dis- mounted and went into camp. Their only chance was to get brush enough together to sleep on. The next morning they mounted and pursued their journey, only reaching Foristal's late in the afternoon. Elijah Smith was born in Conway, Mass., November 7. 1806, and died March 2, 1882. He settled in Princeton, 111., in July, 1831. Epperson was the only man living in the township when Smith and his company came. Dr. W. Chamberlain settled one-half mile south of Princeton. Eli and Elijah Smith built a double log-cabin on the Bureau Bluffs, three miles north of Princeton. Among the young men of the Hampshire Colony were in every way the foremost name, the one name that was upon every foundation and upon every column has been that of ,lohn H.Bryant. Indeed, so much is this the case, that the history of tlie man and the history of the advancement of the people and the county are much one and the same thing. Therefore, the read- er will understand tliat in the general history of the county is constantly recurring Mr. Bryant's name, and that this sketch is but a small part of the record of fact^ that will some day be the material for the construction of a complete biography of a life, the moral of whose history will be one of great interest and instruction. 170 HISTORY or BUREAU COUXTY. C. G. Corss, George Hinsdale, Aaron Gunn, John P. Blake, E. H. and E. S. Plielps, Jr. Aaron Gunn made a claim on the Doolittle farm, and afterward at LaMoille. Mr. Corss made a claim two and one-half miles southeast of Princeton, on which he lived until his death, which occurred a few years ago. John G. Blake made a claim where Arthur Bryant lived, but soon afterward went east of the river, where he settled. Mr. Blake now lives in Putman County, and for many years was County Judge. E. H. Phelps is now living in Princeton, and is one among the few original membere left of the Hampshire Colony Church. E. S. Phelps, Sr.. died in Princeton. E. S. Phelps. J)'., lived in Wyanet, and is now in Nebraska. The settlement made by the colonists was called Greenfield, and Elijah Smith was ap- pointed Postmaster. John Griffith, who owned Griffith's Mill, was one of the rangers, and traveled much over what is now Bureau County, before its settlement. Matson says there were seven young men belonging to the same company of Rangers that Griffith was in, and of whom Matson says: " Seven young men, belonging to this company of rangers, among whom were Madison Studyvin, John Griffith, Ira Ladd, and Jonathan Wilson, being desirous of seeing the country, continued their jour- ney westward, and stayed over night at Henry Thomas'. Next day, as they were re- tiu^ning home, they saw, while on the Prince- ton prairie, three men on horseback, traveling westward, and being fond of sport, galloped their horses toward them. These three men proved to be Epperson, Jones and Foot, who were on their way to Epperson's cabin. Mis- taking the rangers for Indians, they wheeled their horses about, and fled in the direction of Hennepin. The panic was complete, and the fugitives urged their horses forward \inder the whip, believing the preservation of their scalps depended on the fleetness of their steed.s. Saddle-bags, blankets, and other valuables were thrown away to facilitate their speed. On they went, at a fearful rate, pursued by the rangers. In the flight. Foot's horse fell down, throwing the rider over his head; but Epperson and Jones made no halt, having no time to look after their unfortunate comrade, but leaving him to the tender mercies of savages, they continued on their way. When the fugitives arrived at the Hennepin ferry, they were exhausted from fright and over exertion, their horses were in a foam of sweat, while loud pufis of breath came forth from their expanded nostrils. Above the snorting of the horses and clatter- ing of their feet were heard the hoarse voices of the riders, crying at the top of their voice, "Injuns. Injuns." On the west side of the river were a number of people looking after their cattle, which had been driven from their claims, and on hearing the cry of "Injuns," they, too. ran for their lives. Epper- son and his comrade sprang from their horses and ran for the ferry-boat, saying they had been chased by a large body of Indians, who were but a short distance behind them. As quick as possible the ferry-boat pulled for the opposite shore: one man being left behind jumped in and swam to the boat. Soon the pursuers arrived, and the joke was laughed off and the scare was over." Foot and Jones were single men and be- longed to the Hampshire Colony. Foot made a claim two miles north of Princeton, now occupied by Shugart, and Jones made a claim where James Garvin's family now live. Land Sun-eyed. — In the spring of 1819 John C. Sullivan began surveying under the direction of Graham and Phillips, Commis sioners appointed by the President of the United States for the purpose of locating HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. 171 the old Indian boundary line running from Lake Michigan to the Mississippi at th§ mouth of Rock River. This runs a few de- grees south of west, passing through the northern part of Bureau County. This was the standard line in the surveys of the coun- ty, causing fractional tracts north and south of it. The surveys south of the Indian boundary were commenced in 1816, and completed in 1822. The last were made in this part of Illinois by Thomas C. and Stephen Rector. Their returns bear date November 6, 1822. The surveys north of the Indian boundary were commenced in 1834 and completed in 1843. The land south of this boundary came into market in August. 1835, and north of it in 1844. The land office in this district was at Galena until 1841, when it was moved to Dixon. The northern boundary of the Military District is a line extending from the great bend in the Illinois River at the mouth of Lake De Pue, to the Mississippi River, a short distance below New Boston. The towns of Wheatland, Milo, Macon and Nepou- set, were in part in the Military District, which could not be entered, and for many years settlements could not be made in this reserve. Indiantown, Leepertown and Aris- pie were settled on lands without Govern- ment title. Settlements. — In the spring of 1836 there was no one living in the towns of Fairfield, Manilas, Mineral. Neponset, Macon, Gold, Wheatland, Greenville, or Westfield. There was but one family in Milo, one in W'alnut, one in Ohio, four in Berlin, five in Bureau, five in Concord, and sis in Clarion. The dwellings were log-cabins, built mostly in the edge of the timber by the side of springs. There was but one meeting-house, two or three schoolhouses, only two surveyed roads. and not a stream bridged. The land then under cultivation was a small field here and there adjoining the timber, and the prairies of the county were in a state of nature, a part of which had not been surveyed. In the spring of 1830 Daniel Dimmick made a claim at the head of Dimmick's Grove, and in the fall of the same year Will- iam Hall made a claim near him, on the pres- ent site of Lamoille. In the spring of 1834 Leonard Roth. G. Hall and Dave Jones made claims in the Grove, and in July of the same year J. T. Holbrook, Moses and Horace Bowen, also settled in the Grove. In the fall of 1834 Enos Holbrook, Joseph Knox and Heman Downing came. In the spring of 1835 Tracy Reeves and Dr. John Kendall came here and laid out the town of Lamoille. In 1834 Timothy Perkins and his sous claimed all of Perkins' Grove, and sold claims to those coming in afterward. The first cabin built in the Grove was on a farm now owned by John Hetzler, and occupied by S. Perkins and E. Bevens. The second house stood near the present residence of A. G. Porter, and was occupied by Timothy Perkins. In 1836-37 a number of persons came here, among whom were Joseph Screach, Stephen Perkins, J. and A. R. Kendall, J. and E. Fas- sett. In 1842 a postoffice named Perkins' Grove was established, but was discontinued some few years afterward. In the summer of 1828 Reason B. Hall built a cabin on Section 34, town of Hall. In the fall of 1829 a black man named Adams built a cabin at the mouth of Negro Creek, and from him the stream took its name. In the summer of 1831 William Tompkins, Sampson and John Cole made claims on the east side of Spring Creek. In August, 1832, Henry Miller, William and James G. Swan made claims in the town of Hall. In 1833 Robert Scott, Martin Tompkins and A. Hoi- 172 HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. brook came. Other settlers came in soon after, among whom were Ranson and E. C. Hall, Mr. Wixam, Mr. Wilhite, N. Apple- gate, Dr. Whitehead and C. W. Combs. In 1831 Thomas Washburn made a claim adjoining the county farm, west. He sold out to Benjamin Lamb, and in 1834 Lamb sold to James Triplett. In 1833 John Phil- lips, E. Chilson and Thomas Finley came; in 1834 Isaac Spangler, George Coleman, Edward and Aquilla Triplett. They settled in Center Grove. William Allen, C. C. Corss, Lemuel and Rufus Carey, Solomon Sapp, Adam Galer, George Bennett, and Rees Heaton were among these early settlers. In the spring of 1834 Thornton Cummings made a claim on the north side of French Grove, and J. G. Reed at Coal Grove, and built a cabin on the present site of Sheffield. In 1835 Paul Riley, Caleb and Eli Moore, and James Laughrey built cabins in French Grove. A. Fay settled at Menominee Grove, and Benjamin Coal at Bulboua Grove. In 1836 William Studley made a claim at the south end of Barren Grove, and in the following year William and George Norton, AV. P. Batlerill and James Tibbetts came. In 1836 Curtis Williams, Thomas Grattidge, John Clark, Dr. Hall, George Squiers and E. D. Kemp settled in the north end of Bar- ren Grove. In 1850 a settlement was made in the towns of Gold and Manlius, and among the first settlers were Samuel Mather, S. Barber, T. Rinehart, A. Lathrop, and James Martin. In 1837 a settlement was commenced at Black Walnut Grove, in the town of Macon, and among the early settlers were William Bates, T. Matheral, James B. Akin, Lewis Holmes, and John and Charles Wood. The country along Green River remained unoccupied for many years after settlements had been made in other parts of Bureau County, and was visited only by hunters and trappers. It was known at that time as Winnebago Swamp, but took the name of Green River about the year 1837, about the time a settlement was commenced hero. In the Spring of 1837 Cyrus Watson built a cabin near the present site of New Bed- ford, and occupied it a short time. Soon afterward Francis and William Adams, D. Brady, Milton Cain, Daniel Davis, Lewis Burroughs, George W. Sprall, T. and N. Hill settled here. The land on Green River north of the Indian boundary did not come into market until 1844, and some of the settlers held their land by pre-emption right. But when the land came into market they were not pre- pared to pay for it, and to prevent others from entering their farms they organized a " Settlers' League," with a constitution and by-laws, signed by all those interested. From this Settlers' League originated the once common phrase, " State of Green." In the north part of the county, except the one cabin at Red Oak Grove, and one at "Dad Joe" Grove, there were very few set- tlers until 1850. James Claypall occupied the Ament cabin in Red Oak Grove from 1833 to 1836. Soon after this Luther Den- ham moved to this place. He died in this county September 1, 1856, aged fifty-two years. His wife, Eliza, died November 19, 1854, aged forty- eight years. They were buried in Oakland Cemetery, Princeton. A. H. Jones, G. Triplett, T. Culver and Richard Brewer settled in an early day at Walnut Grove. In 1841 F. G. Buchan built a cabin at East Grove, on the north line of Ohio Town- ship, and in 1846 William Cleavland built a cabin on the prairie near the middle of the township, but in a little- while he abandoned his claim. The prairie really began to settle HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY. 173 up about 1852. Among the settlers were the celebrated Esq. Falvey, John Kasbeer — to-day one of the most prominent men in that part of the county — William Cowan, S. Wilson, John and Andrew Ross — the Ross family being now one of the largest and most prominent families in the county. The read- er is referred to the Ross biographies for further particulars. Also Daniel P. Smith, whose father is fully spoken of in another chap- ter, and Dwight Smith were the earliest set- tlers in this part of the county. In 1841 there were only a few families in the south part of the county south of Boyd's Grove, among whom were D. Bryant, B. Hagan, John A. Griswold and Isaac Suther- land. Soon after this a settlement was made at Lone Tree, in Wheatland Township — John and T. Kirkpatrick, J. Larkins, J. Merritt, Henry and R. Rich, and the large family of Andersons, to one of whom the property now belongs on which once stood the noted Lone Tree. Ferrell Dunn (see Dunn's biography), A. Benson and Elder Chenoweth were the tii'st settlers in Arispie. The Sac and Fox trail passed by Lost Grove. This part of the county was slow in being taken up by actual settlers. As late as 1837 the Grove was the headquarters for some rather large and tierce looking wolves. In 1837 a traveler named Dunlap from Knox County, Ohio, was murdered at this grove, by, as supposed, a man named Green, whom he had hired to pilot him over the country in looking for land. In the spring of 1831 Mason Dimmick made the first claim at Lost Grove, and com- menced a cabin where Arlington now stands, but soon abandoned it. In the fall of 1835 two young men, Blod- gett and Findley, made a claim here, and while they were disputing about their claims, Benjamin Briggs entered the land. In 1840 he sold it to Michael Kenedy, who made a large farm here. He finally laid off the town of Ai-lington on his land. In 1840 David Roth, who was a railroad contractor, built a house east of the grove, and afterward sold it to Martin Carley, who made a farm here. Soon after this Daniel Cahill, D. Lyon, James Waugh, Peter Cassa- day, Mr. Okley and others came in here and settled. The first German to settle in the county was Andrew Gosse, who is still one of our most respected citizens. He resides in Prince- ton. Butler Denham, a native of Conway, Mass., born July 25, 1805, and died in Princeton, August 8, 1841, was one of the large family of Denhams who were among the early settlers in the county. Jonathan Colton died December 11, 1854, aged seventy-three years. His wife, Betsey, died October 4, 1846, aged sixty-two years. The large Mercer family came from Ohio in 1834. William Mercer died here Decem- ber 22, 1844, aged seventy-seven years. His wife, Ann, died July 21, 1844, aged eighty- four years. Aaron Mercer died October 6, 1845, aged fifty-three years. Jane, his wife, died June 8, 1849, aged fifty-five years. Dr. Joseph Mercer died May 30, 1878, aged fifty years. Roland Moseley, a son of William and LydiaMoseley, was born in Westfield, August 20, 1788; died September 19, 1855. He came to Princeton in 1831. His first wife, Aghsah G. Pomeroy, was born in Northampton, Mass., February 6, 1792; died October 2, ^ 1837. His second wife, Caroline H.