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THE SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS FROM 1830 TO 1850 
 
 BY 
 
 WILLIAM VIPOND POOLEY 
 
 A THESIS SUBMITTED FOR THE DEGREE OP DOCTOR OP PHILOSOPHY 
 
 UNIVERSITY OP WISCONSIN 
 
 1905 
 
 (REPRINTBD FROM THE BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN 
 HISTORY SERIES, VOL. I, PP. 287-595.) 
 
 M4DI80N. WISCONSIN 
 1908 
 

 Jift 
 'niver»lty 
 
■s. 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I— Introduction page 
 
 Illinois ofifers good example of westward movement 307 
 
 Periods of settlement 307 
 
 The third period 307 
 
 Class of pioneers 309 
 
 The forces operating to change the characteristics of the pioneer 
 
 class in northern Illinois 309 
 
 Influence of the prairies 310 
 
 Comparison of northern and southern parts of the state with re- 
 gard to class of settlers 310 
 
 Effect of physical characteristics on settlement 311 
 
 Internal improvements due to lack of markets 311 
 
 Prairies not conquered by 1850 312 
 
 Object of this investigation 312 
 
 CHAPTER II— Illinois Before 1830 
 
 1 . Early days in Illinois 313 
 
 Early organization of Illinois 313 
 
 Few settlers in Illinois before 1800 313 
 
 Soldiers of George Rogers Clark 315 
 
 French settlements 315 
 
 2 . The American settlements before 1809 316 
 
 Illinois in 1800 316 
 
 Illinois from 1800 to 1809 316 
 
 3. Illinois territory from 1809 to 1818. 317 
 
 Slow settlement before 1815 317 
 
 Unfavorable reports concerning the new country 317 
 
 The Ohio river the great highway of travel 318 
 
 Settlers from the South 318 
 
 Settlements in eastern Illinois 318 
 
 Settlements in southern Illinois 319 
 
 Settlements in western Illinois 319 
 
 Kaskaskia district the most populous 319 
 
 Edwardsville 319 
 
 Kickapoos held central Illinois 320 
 
 Isolated settlements 320 
 
 [3] 
 
290 
 
 CONTEXTS 
 
 CHAPTER II— Illinois Before 1830— continued. pagh 
 
 4 . Illinois from 1818 to 1830 320 
 
 Population in 1818 320 
 
 Nativities of the earlj' settlers 320 
 
 The frontier line in 1818 321 
 
 Location of the settlements 321 
 
 A turning point in development of state (1824.) 321 
 
 Settlements before 1830 322 
 
 Albion 322 
 
 Shawneetovpn 322 
 
 Towns were frontier villages 323 
 
 Expansion 323 
 
 5. Sangamon Country . 323 
 
 Pioneers use the small prairies, 324 
 
 Still remain close to timber 324 
 
 Development after 1824 is rapid 325 
 
 Towns in the Sangamon country 325 
 
 6. The Military Tract 326 
 
 Earliest settlements 326 
 
 Settlements along the Illinois river 326 
 
 Settlements along the Mississippi 327 
 
 Character of the population 327 
 
 7. The Lead Region 327 
 
 8. Chicago 328 
 
 9. General sttitement 323 
 
 Location of settlements 328 
 
 The prairies 329 
 
 CHAPTER III — The Causes for the Settlement of Illinois 
 
 1 . Tendency of x\n.ericans to migrate 330 
 
 General mo\ ement by classes 330 
 
 2 . General causes for migration 330 
 
 a. The restless spirit 331 
 
 People dissatisfied for various reasons 331 
 
 Land values 331 
 
 Effect of public lands on people in Bast 331 
 
 Clay's report of 1834 332 
 
 Reports from the West , . 332 
 
 b . The internal improvements 332 
 
 Traffic by steam 333 
 
 c . Financial depression 333 
 
 Speculation 333 
 
 Federation of labor 334 
 
 Strikes 334 
 
 Most notable consequence was emigration to West.. .335 
 
 [4] 
 
CONTENTS 291 
 
 CHAPTER III— Causes for the Settlement of Illinois— con. page 
 
 3. Local causes 335 
 
 a. New England 335 
 
 New Englander's desire to roam 335 
 
 Not a good agricultural region 335 
 
 Small farms 336 
 
 Sheep industry proves profitable 336 
 
 Value of industry increased by demand 336 
 
 Effect upon the supply of land 337 
 
 Decline in this industry after 1837 337 
 
 Dairying industry 337 
 
 Decrease in agricultural products 338 
 
 Farmers move to Maine and New Hampshire 338 
 
 Manufactures 338 
 
 Foreign laborers in the factories 339 
 
 b. Middle states 339 
 
 Complaints of hard times 339 
 
 Wages did not increase with cost of living 340 
 
 Conditions equally unfavorable for farmers 340 
 
 Decrease in agricultural population 341 
 
 Reason assigned for decrease 341 
 
 Effect of Erie canal on competition 341 
 
 Decreased cost of transportation 342 
 
 Canal operated against welfare of a portion of 
 
 farming class of New York 342 
 
 Concentration of pi'operty 342 
 
 Anti-Rent riots 342 
 
 "Genesee Tariff" 343 
 
 Colony fever 343 
 
 Conditions in Pennsylvania similar to those in New 
 
 York , 343 
 
 Land not fertile 344 
 
 Circulars from the West 344 
 
 c. Southern states 344 
 
 Migration into Gulf states 344 
 
 Difficult to determine amount to the North 345 
 
 General depression prevalent in old states of South 345 
 
 Production of staples not always advantageous. . . 345 
 
 Effect of Ihe tariff 346 
 
 Conditions in Southwest very bad 346 
 
 Influence of slavery 347 
 
 [5] 
 
292 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER III— Causes for the Settlement of Illinois— con. 
 
 3. Local causes— continued page 
 
 d. Northwest Territory 347 
 
 Monetary affairs in Ohio 347 
 
 Internal improvements in Indiana 348 
 
 Varied fertility of soils 348 
 
 Comparative values in Ohio 349 
 
 Like conditions in Indiana 350 
 
 Effect upon the farmers 350 
 
 Circulars and their effect 350 
 
 "Generation" law 350 
 
 4, Causes for settlement of Illinois primarily economic 351 
 
 CHAPTER IV— The Way to the West 
 
 1. General routes to the West 352 
 
 Great Lakes and the Ohio river 352 
 
 Southern road 353 
 
 Lines converging from New England 353 
 
 New York lines 353 
 
 Buffalo the great port of the lower lakes 354 
 
 The lines leading from the Middle Atlantic states 354 
 
 Prom the neighborhood of Baltimore 355 
 
 The Old National Road 355 
 
 Prom the southern states 356 
 
 Prom Kentucky and Tennessee 356 
 
 The line of the Mississippi 356 
 
 Prom the older states of the Northwest Territory 357 
 
 Objective points 357 
 
 St. Louis 357 
 
 Galena 358 
 
 Galena as a supply point 358 
 
 Chicago 358 
 
 Illinois roads centering at Chicago 359 
 
 2. Travel on the Great Lakes 359 
 
 Cost of transportation 360 
 
 Preight rates 360 
 
 Amount of goods shipped 361 
 
 Speed of travel 361 
 
 Boats used 361 
 
 3. Travel on the rivers 362 
 
 Early river traffic 362 
 
 Keel-boats 3G3 
 
 Rafts 363 
 
 fG] 
 
CONTENTS 293 
 
 CHAPTER [V— The Way to the West— continued 
 
 3. Travel on the rivers— continued page 
 
 The early steamboats 364 
 
 Peculiar construction 364 
 
 Inconveniences of travel in early days 364 
 
 Amount of travel 365 
 
 Deck passengers 366 
 
 Comforts enjoyed by cabin passengers 366 
 
 Unfavorable accounts 36g 
 
 Rules governing conduct of passengers 367 
 
 Gambling 367 
 
 Cost of travel 367 
 
 Prices gradually lowered 368 
 
 Prices after 1840 368 
 
 Cost of transporting goods 368 
 
 Volume of travel 369 
 
 4. Travel along wagon roads 369 
 
 Many came west in wagons 370 
 
 Comments of newspapers 370 
 
 Conveyances used 371 
 
 The Pennsylvania wagons 371 
 
 The New York wagons 371 
 
 Goods of the immigrants 371 
 
 The slock 371 
 
 Howells' description of a trip 372 
 
 General method of making trip 372 
 
 Progress slow 373 
 
 Impossible to estimate cost of travel overland 373 
 
 Taverns 373 
 
 Only general statements can properly be made con- 
 cerning the methods by which the settlers came to 
 
 Illinois 374 
 
 CHAPTER V— The Illinois and the Fox River Valleys 
 
 1. The middle Illinois river counties 375 
 
 Mason county 375 
 
 Havana 377 
 
 Location of population 377 
 
 Tazewell county 377 
 
 Tremont 377 
 
 Delavan 378 
 
 The common house in Delavan 373 
 
 [7] 
 
294 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER V— The Illinois and the Fox River Valleys— con. 
 3. The upper Illinois river counties — continued 
 
 Tazewell county — continued page 
 
 A temperance colony 378 
 
 The Mackinaw colony 378 
 
 Other settlements in Tazewell county 379 
 
 Location of settlements 379 
 
 Woodford county 379 
 
 Settlements were small 380 
 
 Mixed population 380 
 
 Marshall county 380 
 
 Paper towns 381 
 
 Character of the population 381 
 
 Putnam county 381 
 
 2. Characterization of settlements of middle Illinois river coun- 
 
 ties 382 
 
 Nativities of settlers 382 
 
 Reason for the equal division of classes 382 
 
 Character of woodland pioneer 383 
 
 Character of prairie pioneer 383 
 
 Increase of population during the period 383 
 
 3. The upper Illinois river counties 383 
 
 Early settlements 383 
 
 La Salle county 383 
 
 Rockwell colony 38i 
 
 Grundy county 385 
 
 Will county 386 
 
 Small settlements 386 
 
 Lockport 386 
 
 General advancement of this section during period of 1832 
 
 to 1837 387 
 
 Effect of panic of 1837 387 
 
 Not noticeable at first 387 
 
 Effect upon various towns 387 
 
 Increased prosperity after 1842 388 
 
 Peru, the most important town 388 
 
 La Salle a type of western towns 389 
 
 Joliet 389 
 
 Nativities of settlers 389 
 
 Influence of lines of communication 390 
 
 Location of settlements 390 
 
 Chicago's influence on growth of settlement 391 
 
 [8] 
 
CONTENTS ^95 
 
 CHAPTER V— The Illinois and the Pox River Valleys— con. page 
 
 4. The Fox river valley 391 
 
 Early settlements 391 
 
 Years following 1832 prosperous 392 
 
 Kane county 392 
 
 Aurora 392 
 
 St, Charles 392 
 
 Lake county 392 
 
 McHenry county 393 
 
 Period 1837 to 1843 one of slow growth 393 
 
 From 18i3 to 1850 growth steady 393 
 
 Elgin becomes a manufacturing town 393 
 
 Waukegan 394 
 
 Nativities of settlers 394 
 
 5. General statement concerning development 394 
 
 Influence of transportation lines 395 
 
 The towns all on lines of communication 395 
 
 CHAPTER VI— The Military Tract 
 
 1. Early settlement in the Military Tract 397 
 
 Few soldiers took advantage of their grants 397 
 
 Squatters 397 
 
 Peoria 393 
 
 Calhoun county 39g 
 
 Pike county 399 
 
 Schuyler county 399 
 
 Fulton county 399 
 
 General location of settlers in the Illinois river counties. . 399 
 
 Adams county 400 
 
 Hancock county 400 
 
 Location of settlement in the Mississippi river counties... 400 
 
 Interior counties 401 
 
 Military Tract in 1830 402 
 
 2. Calhoun and Pike counties after 1830 402 
 
 3. Illinois river counties from 1830 to 1840 402 
 
 Brown county 402 
 
 Mt. Sterling 403 
 
 Schuyler county 403 
 
 Fulton county 403 
 
 Peoria county 404 
 
 [9] 
 
296 
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER VI— The Mii.itary Tract— continued page 
 
 4. Mississippi river counties. (1830 — 1840) 405 
 
 Adams county 405 
 
 Development of Quincy 405 
 
 Other settlements in Adams county 405 
 
 Hancock county 406 
 
 Henderson county 406 
 
 Mercer county 406 
 
 5. Inland counties of the Tract 407 
 
 Early settlements 407 
 
 Warren county 407 
 
 Knox county and Galesburg 407 
 
 Henry county 403 
 
 Andover settlement 409 
 
 Wethersfield colony 409 
 
 New York colony 409 
 
 Geneseo colony 410 
 
 Bureau county 410 
 
 Princeton 411 
 
 Rapid growth after 1836 411 
 
 Providence colony 411 
 
 6. Summary for decade 1831—1840 412 
 
 7. The Illinois river counties from 1841—1850 413 
 
 8. The Mississippi river counties from 1841—1850 414 
 
 Adams county and Quincy 414 
 
 Hancock county 415 
 
 Mormons 415 
 
 Icarians 415 
 
 Henderson and Mercer counties 416 
 
 9. The inland counties from 1841—1850 416 
 
 McDonough, Warren and Stark counties 417 
 
 Henry county 417 
 
 Bureau county 417 
 
 10. Summary for the Military Tract 418 
 
 Increase for the period from 1831 to 1850 418 
 
 Prairies not settled by 1850 418 
 
 Cities in the Tract 418 
 
 QuMncy an example of the effect of favorable location 418 
 
 Second class of towns 419 
 
 Third class of towns 419 
 
 Colonies 419 
 
 Nativities of the settlers 419 
 
 [10] 
 
CONTENTS 297 
 
 CHAPTER VII-The Rock River Valley page 
 
 1 . The country 421 
 
 Exceptional growth during the years 1831 to 1850 421 
 
 The settlements before 1830 421 
 
 Rock Island 421 
 
 Dixon 423 
 
 All early settlements were on the Rock river 423 
 
 2. From the Black Hawk War to 1837 424 
 
 Troops in war see value of country 424 
 
 Settlements along the Rock river 424 
 
 Settlements away from the river 425 
 
 Town of Sterling 425 
 
 Northern settlements of the valley 425 
 
 Boone county 425 
 
 Winnebago County and Rockford 426 
 
 Polish grant 426 
 
 Stephenson county 426 
 
 Period shows pioneer preferences for settlement 427 
 
 Little development in the towns 428 
 
 3. Prom 1837 to 1843 428 
 
 Ogle county 428 
 
 Grand Detour 429 
 
 De Kalb county 429 
 
 Rockford 429 
 
 Hard times in Winnebago county 430 
 
 Growth slow 430 
 
 Stephenson county 430 
 
 Preeport 431 
 
 The "prairie pirates" 431 
 
 Scai-city of markets retarded settlement 432 
 
 Trouble over claims 432 
 
 4. From 1843 to 1850 432 
 
 Period of rapid growth 432 
 
 Reasons for the growth 433 
 
 Increase is in the country, not in towns 433 
 
 Ogle, DeKalb and Boone show little increase 434 
 
 The other northern counties show large increase 434 
 
 Rockford 435 
 
 Farmers prosperous 436 
 
 Stephenson county 436 
 
 Immigrants from Pennsylvania 436 
 
 Foreigners in the county 436 
 
 Preeport 437 
 
 Scattered settlements 437 
 
 nil 
 
298 
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER VII— The Rock River Valley— continued page 
 
 5 . Summary for the Rock river valley 437 
 
 Two periods of development 437 
 
 Rapid increase of the northern counties 438 
 
 Nativities of settlers 439 
 
 Education and religion 439 
 
 CHAPTER VIII— Eastern Illinois 
 
 1 . Wabash river counties 440 
 
 Few settlers on the prairies 440 
 
 Edgar and Vermilion counties 442 
 
 Danville 442 
 
 Decade 1831 to 1840 442 
 
 Decade 1841 to 1850 443 
 
 Settlement moves towards the interior of the state 443 
 
 Danville in 1850 443 
 
 Other settlements 444 
 
 2. Settlements before 1830 444 
 
 McLean county settled rapidly 445 
 
 Important towns in 1830 445 
 
 Change comes in pioneer life 446 
 
 3. Sovithern counties of eastern Illinois after 1830 446 
 
 Jasper county 446 
 
 Colonic des Freres 447 
 
 Settlements after 1845 447 
 
 Cumberland county 448 
 
 Work on National Road helps increase settlement 448 
 
 County fills up slowly 448 
 
 Effingham county 449 
 
 Teutopolis 449 
 
 Shelby and Moultrie counties 450 
 
 Coles county 450 
 
 4 . Central counties of eastern Illinois 451 
 
 Champaign county 451 
 
 Urbana the county town 451 
 
 Settlement of Champaign county slow 451 
 
 De Witt county 452 
 
 Piatt county 452 
 
 Macon county 452 
 
 McLean county 453 
 
 Important settlements in McLean county 454 
 
 Ohio colony in McLean county 454 
 
 Rhode Island colony 454 
 
 [12] 
 
CONTENTS 299 
 
 CHAPTER VIII-Eastern Illinois— contir.ued 
 
 4. Central counties of eastern Illinois— cor tinued 
 
 McLean county — continued page 
 
 Hudson colony 454 
 
 Bloomington 455 
 
 Bloomington in 18iO 455 
 
 5. Northern counties of eastern Illinois 456 
 
 Kankakee county 456 
 
 Livingston county 456 
 
 Pontiac 456 
 
 Location of settlement in the county 457 
 
 Slow growth 457 
 
 Iroquois county 457 
 
 Colonies in Iroquois county 458 
 
 Paper towns 458 
 
 6 . Summary for Eastern Illinois 458 
 
 Small urban population 459 
 
 Reason for few towns 459 
 
 Influence of timber on location of settlement 459 
 
 Nativities of the pioneers 460 
 
 CHAPTER IX -The Lead Region 
 
 1. Early explorations 461 
 
 2. Lead Region before 1830 461 
 
 Under government control 461 
 
 First permanent settlements 462 
 
 Growth begins in 1822 462 
 
 Arrival of Meeker colony 463 
 
 Establishment of new mining camps 463 
 
 Lord Selkirk's colony 464 
 
 Rapid growth begins 1826—1827 464 
 
 Winnebago War 4g5 
 
 Organization of Jo Daviess county 465 
 
 Desire to organize a new territory 465 
 
 Galena in 1830 466 
 
 3. Lead Region after 1830 467 
 
 Black Hawk War 457 
 
 Expansion after Indian treaty 467 
 
 Galena gradually loses characteristics of a frontier town . . 467 
 
 Galena in 1810 453 
 
 Importance of the city as a trade center 468 
 
 Government administration of mineral lands 469 
 
 Minor settlements 47O 
 
 [13] 
 
300 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER IX— The Lead REGioN-continued page 
 
 i. Carroll county 471 
 
 Savanna 471 
 
 Mt. Carroll 471 
 
 5. Settlement of the Lead Region exceptional 472 
 
 Frontier characteristics of Galena 472 
 
 Los3 of frontier characteristics 473 
 
 Influence of water communication on character of settle- 
 ment 473 
 
 Influence of the mines on the character of settlement. . . . 473 
 
 CHAPTER X-Chicago 
 
 1. Chicago before 1832 475 
 
 Major Long's prophecy for Chicago 475 
 
 Chicago in 1826 476 
 
 Chicago in 1830 476 
 
 2. Chicago in 1832 476 
 
 Rapid growth begins in 1833 478 
 
 Increase in 1834 478 
 
 Influence of speculation in 1835 . 478 
 
 Speculation of 1835 and 1836 478 
 
 Chicago in 1835 and 1836 479 
 
 Chicago obtains a charter in 1837 480 
 
 3. The financial revulsion of 1837. 481 
 
 Effect upon the city 481 
 
 4. Chicago from 1840 to 1843 481 
 
 Character of population 481 
 
 City rapidly built up 482 
 
 Chicago a shipping point 482 
 
 Origin of the export trade 483 
 
 The residence district 483 
 
 City improvements 484 
 
 Chicago in 1843 484 
 
 5. Chicago from 18i3 to 1850 484 
 
 Heterogeneous population 484 
 
 Chicago a manufacturing city 485 
 
 Commerce 485 
 
 Pew city improvements 486 
 
 Unfavorable comments on Chicago 486 
 
 Attempts to remedy defects 487 
 
 Schools 487 
 
 Churches 487 
 
 Other developments— police, light 487 
 
 Communication with interior 487 
 
 [14] 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 301 
 
 CHAPTER X—CHiCA(io— continued page 
 
 6. Suburban communities ISS 
 
 7. Chicago's development not typical of western growth 488 
 
 Influence of location on growth 488 
 
 Influence of location on character of population 489 
 
 Chicago the result of physiographic conditions 490 
 
 CHAPTER XI— Foreign Elements in the Population of Illinois 
 
 1. General statement concerning emigration 491 
 
 Locations preferred by foreigners 491 
 
 Tendency to group together 492 
 
 2. Germans in Illinois 493 
 
 Religious unrest a cause for emigration 493 
 
 Political grievances another cause 494 
 
 Economic causes 494 
 
 Crop failures 494 
 
 Transportation companies 495 
 
 Early settlements 495 
 
 Teutopolis 495 
 
 Settlements along Illinois river 496 
 
 Settlements in northern Illinois 496 
 
 In the Rock River Valley 497 
 
 Germans desirable settlers 497 
 
 Reasons for some Germans settling in cities 498 
 
 Politics of the Germans 498 
 
 3. Irish 499 
 
 Causes for emigration 499 
 
 Tendency to locate in cities 499 
 
 Alon^ the line of Illinois-Michigan canal 500 
 
 Some became farmers 500 
 
 Characteristics of Irish settlers 501 
 
 4. English 501 
 
 Causes for emigration 501 
 
 General depression 501 
 
 Exorbitant taxes 502 
 
 Political troubles 502 
 
 London Roman Catholic Migration Society 502 
 
 Early English settlements in Illinois 503 
 
 Later settlements 503 
 
 English as settlers 503 
 
 5. Scotch 504 
 
 Economic distress the caus'- for emigration 504 
 
 Scotch as American citizens 504 
 
 [15] 
 
302 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER XI — Foreign Elements in the Population of Ill- 
 inois — continued page 
 
 6. Scandinavians 504 
 
 7. French 505 
 
 Early French in Illinois 505 
 
 Settlements after 1830 505 
 
 8. Swiss 506 
 
 9. Portuguese 506 
 
 10. Poles, Welsh, Bavarians, Jews 506 
 
 11. Line of the Great Lakes responsible for much of foreign ele- 
 
 ment in Illinois 507 
 
 Influence of climatic conditions, cheap lands and hatred 
 
 of slavery 507 
 
 CHAPTER XII— The Mormons in Illinois 
 
 1. Social settlements in Illinois 508 
 
 The Mormons before coming to Illinois 508 
 
 In Missouri 508 
 
 2. Mormons in Illinois 509 
 
 Locate in Hancock county 509 
 
 Rapid growth of Nauvoo 509 
 
 Political contest for Mormon vote 510 
 
 Charter for Nauvoo 510 
 
 Nauvoo a government within a government 511 
 
 Nauvoo legion 511 
 
 Power abused 511 
 
 Charter a source of weakness as well as strength 512 
 
 3. Mormons from 1812-1346 512 
 
 Industries in Nauvoo 512 
 
 Mormon population in 1842 513 
 
 Settlement in 1842 513 
 
 Missionary plans 514 
 
 Results of missionary work 514 
 
 Newspaper reports of colonies 514 
 
 Growth during early forties 514 
 
 Foreigners composed most of settlement 515 
 
 City grows in wealth and beauty 515 
 
 Travelers' accounts of Nauvoo 516 
 
 Country farm houses not so good 517 
 
 Nauvoo in 1845 .517 
 
 [16] 
 
CONTEXTS yOy 
 
 CIIAPTP3R XII— Thb Mormons in Illinois— continiiecl page 
 
 4. Expulsion of Mormons 517 
 
 Hostility to the sect 517 
 
 Accusations a,?tvinst the Mormons 518 
 
 Bennett*s expose 518 
 
 Charges increase 518 
 
 Peculiar doctrines 519 
 
 Questionable characters as'jemble in Nauvoo 519 
 
 Thieves and counterfeiters there 519 
 
 Jealousy within the church a cause for its downfall 520 
 
 Arrest of Smith 520 
 
 Governor Ford interferes 521 
 
 Murder of Joseph Smith 521 
 
 Panic in Nauvoo and Carthage 521 
 
 Brigham Young the head of the church 521 
 
 The election of 1844 521 
 
 Threats against Mormons 521 
 
 Repeal of charter 522 
 
 Mormons deierutiue to leHVi-> the state 522 
 
 Treaty with Moriaoas 522 
 
 Many Mormons leave 523 
 
 Some wish to remain 523 
 
 Mormons are expehed 523 
 
 Xauvoo abandoned 524 
 
 Expulsion a good thing f.ir hiinois 524 
 
 Mormon settlement a phase of v.'estern expansion 524 
 
 Even the treedom of the frontier could not tolerate Mor- 
 
 monism 525 
 
 Nauvoo as a western city 525 
 
 CHAPTER XIII — Communistic skitlements in Illinois 
 
 1. Fourier's settlements 526 
 
 His doctrine 526 
 
 The Phalanr 5^g 
 
 Introduced into the United ^Staves 527 
 
 Bureau county Phalanx 527 
 
 Integral Phalanx 527 
 
 Not established on Fourier's idea 527 
 
 2. The Bishop Hill Colony 528 
 
 Religious difficulties iu Sv/eden 528 
 
 Eric Jansen 5vg 
 
 Swedes resolve to emigrate 528 
 
 Trip from New Vork to Illinois 529 
 
 2 [17] 
 
304 
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER XIII— Communistic Settlements in Illinois -con. 
 
 2. The Bishop Hill Colony— continued page 
 
 Accounts of their appearance 529 
 
 Swedes in Illinois 529 
 
 Erect church 530 
 
 Method of living 530 
 
 Were farmers 530 
 
 Colony prosperous in 1850 531 
 
 Dissension 531 
 
 3. Cabet's settlement 531 
 
 Doctrine of Cabet 532 
 
 Supported in Europe 532 
 
 Cabet decides to move to America 532 
 
 The Texas venture fails 533 
 
 Move to Illinois 533 
 
 The Constitution 533 
 
 Everyday life of the community 534 
 
 Not molested by the people of Illinois 534 
 
 Breakdown of the colony 534 
 
 4. Smaller experiments 535 
 
 General plan of these colonies 535 
 
 Are a phase of western expansion 535 
 
 The Phalanx and Icaria as examples of the westward move- 
 ment 536 
 
 Icaria an example of democratic government and pure 
 
 communism 536 
 
 Phase of communism in the Bishop Hill colony 537 
 
 No new social organization attempted 537 
 
 CHAPTER XIV— The Prairie Farmer 
 
 1. Pioneers before 1830 538 
 
 Influence of physiography 538 
 
 Hunter pioneers driven back from northern Illinois 538 
 
 Effect of steam navigation on the Great Lakes 539 
 
 Order of migration of classes reversed 539 
 
 2. Illinois prairies in 1830 639 
 
 Pioneers shun the prairies 540 
 
 Occupy small clearings made in timber 540 
 
 Scarcity of timber on prairies 540 
 
 Little water 540 
 
 Later settlers forced onto the prairies 541 
 
 Prairies improve upon acquaintance i. . . 541 
 
 Timberland still most highly prized 541 
 
 [18] 
 
CONTENTS 305 
 
 CHAPTER XIV— The Prairie Farmer— continued 
 
 2. Illinois prairies in 1830— continued. page 
 
 Reports concerning climate 541 
 
 Much sickness in the new country 542 
 
 High lands most heathf ul 543 
 
 3. The home of the prairie man 543 
 
 Furniture 543 
 
 Prairie houses 543 
 
 Cost of lumber 544 
 
 4. The farm 544 
 
 Ploughing 544 
 
 Difficulty of the worii 544 
 
 Fences 545 
 
 Wire fence solves the problem 546 
 
 Trouble with gophers and prairie chickens 546 
 
 5. Products of the farms 547 
 
 Transportation problem 547 
 
 Illinois-Michigan canal 548 
 
 Other improvements 549 
 
 Immense plans for Illinois 549 
 
 Effect on the state 549 
 
 Livestock 549 
 
 Sheep 550 
 
 6. Improved machinery 550 
 
 Effect upon products 550 
 
 Saw mills added to machinery 551 
 
 7. The pioneer 551 
 
 Woodland pioneers 552' 
 
 The true southern woodsman 552^ 
 
 No classes in northern Illinois 552 
 
 People in the north well-to-do 552 
 
 The disreputable element 553 
 
 Unfavorable comment 553 
 
 Good traits of pioneers 553 
 
 Hospitality 554 
 
 Effect of the country on the settlers 554 
 
 Daily life of pioneer 555 
 
 Amusements 555 
 
 Opposition to gambling 555 
 
 Education 55g 
 
 Southern settlers and education 557 
 
 Northern settlers and education 557 
 
 Churches 557 
 
 Work of the early settlers 553 
 
 [19] 
 
■^'^^ ^CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER XV— CoNci.L-sio.N page 
 
 1 . Comparative views of Illinois 559 
 
 Frontier line in 1830 559 
 
 Frontier line in 1840 559 
 
 Frontier line in 1850 559 
 
 Population maps give only general idea of location of set- 
 tlement 562 
 
 2. Period from 1830 to 1832 562 
 
 Effect of Black Hawk War 562 
 
 3. Period from 1833 to 1837 562 
 
 Effect of steam navigation on the lakes 563 
 
 Desire to emigrate to West 563 
 
 Speculation and its influence upon the West 564 
 
 The years 1835 and 1836 56i 
 
 Paper towns 564 
 
 Successfiil ventures 565 
 
 Substantial growth 566 
 
 Lack of money a drawback to settlement 566 
 
 Characteristics of northern Illinois settlement firmly 
 
 fixed during this period 567 
 
 Effect of steam on northern Illinois 567 
 
 4 . The period ov depression, 1837 to 1843 56S 
 
 Immigration to the West 56S 
 
 Unfavorable conditions in Illinois 5G9 
 
 Effect of specie circular 569 
 
 Finances in 1812 569 
 
 Disputes over land claims 570 
 
 Struggle against repudiation 570 
 
 5. The period of recovery, 1843 to 1850 571 
 
 Finances in 1816 571 
 
 Recovery not rapid in all parts of the state 571 
 
 Effect of the Douglas land bill on the eastern counties. . . 571 
 
 Need of transportation facilities in the northern counties 572 
 
 Effect of transportation lines on settlement 572 
 
 Importance of lines oi' communication 573 
 
 Nativities of the settlers of Illinois 573 
 
 Lines of communication and their influence on sectionalism .573 
 Period from 1830 to 1850 one of beginnings; the railroad 
 
 necessary to solve the prairio problem 574 
 
 [20] 
 
THE SETTLEMENT OE ILLINOIS EROM 183U TO 1850 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 Introduction 
 
 The stcite of llliiidiN ollVrs m unique opportunity for the 
 study of tlie westward movement and of the influences deter- 
 mining the character and h)cation of settlement. Owing to its 
 size, its favorable location, the routes by which it can be reached, 
 its varied physiographic divisions, its abundance of internal 
 watenvays, its numerous stretches of woodland, its extensive 
 prairies and the time taken for the frontier line to cross the 
 staite 'we may well expect to find within its limits a varied popu- 
 lation. 
 
 The settlement of the state may be divided into four clearly 
 defined periods, viz: (1) the period of the French occupation; 
 (2) from the coming of the Americans to the opening of steam 
 na.vigation on the Great Lakes; (3) from the opening of steam 
 navigation on the Great Lakes to the opening of the railroads 
 across the prairies; (4) after the opening of the railroads. 
 
 This investigation deals with the third period of settlement 
 (approximately fi'om 1831 to 1850) which itself is conveniently 
 divided into foiii- periods somewhat less clearly defined than the 
 general divisions already noted. First of thes(^ minor divisions' 
 is the period extending to the Black Hawk War; this serves 
 as an introduetorj' period for the greater development .soon 
 to follow. Second is the period of speculation and rapid set- 
 tlement which (^xlends to the collapse of tlic internal improve- 
 ment syste?n in the .state. It is difficult to fix a date for the 
 
 [211 
 
308 
 
 BULLETIN OF THE UXIVEKSITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 4 
 
 The Praibies and Woodlands of Illinois 
 
 North and east of the heavy line Is prairie country, less than 20 per cent, wood- 
 land. South and west of the heavy line is woodland, over 20 per 
 cent. (Goode. The Oeofjraphy of Illinois, 7.) 
 
 [22] 
 
 ' 
 
POOLEY SETTLKMENT OE ILLINOIS, 1830-50 309 
 
 close of this period since the effects of the fall of financial 
 credit were not felt as quickly in some parts of the state as in 
 others. The date falls between 1837 and 1840. The third 
 period extends to 1845 and is one of depression. The last 
 period, which follows 1845, is marked by a revival of confidence 
 in the financial condition of the state and a gradual increase 
 in the stream of immigration. In this period is felt the in- 
 fiueneo of the proposed railroads. In a general way it is 
 characterized by solid and substantial growth in wealth and 
 population. 
 
 Previous to 1830 the natural order of progression had been 
 observed in the movement of settlement to the West. The 
 hunter-pioneers of Kentucky and Tennessee had firmly es- 
 tablished themselves in the southern woodlands of Illinois and 
 had begTin to send out new pioneers who traveled up the great 
 internal water'way of the state, the Illinois river, or passed 
 over into the Military Tract and followed the wooded banks of 
 the i\Iississippi northward to the lead mines. These pioneers 
 had become a permanent part of the state's population but as 
 yet had not ventured away from the Avoodlands. They Avere 
 content to cultivate their little clearings in the timber until 
 succeeded by the small farmer, who, in turn, was sue^ieeded 
 by a third class, the more substantial farmer in search of a 
 permanent location. The prairies were still unkno\ATi and the 
 social organization of the South was waiting for some means 
 by which the difficulties accompanying the subjugation of the 
 prairies could be overcome. 
 
 The new forc^> came too late to aid the earliest class of settlers, 
 for events operated in such a way as to act as a check upon the 
 expansion of the hunter-pioneer. In 1832 the Black Hawk 
 War broke out, driving the out-posts of settlement backward 
 into the stronger southern communities and before a recovery 
 of lost ground could be effected a more powerful check was 
 administered to the expansion of settlement from the southern 
 part of the state. It was a new force in the westward move- 
 ment and by means of it the natural order of succession of 
 classes was overturned and the class of substantial farmers was 
 first upon the prairies of northern Illinois. The opening of 
 
 [23] 
 
310 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 steam navigation upon the lakes, therefore, introduced a new 
 class of pioneers into the westward movement. They were not 
 in possession of a fund of experience gleaned from pioneer 
 ajieestors who for generations had battled with the hardships 
 and problems of the frontier. They were simple farmers who 
 were placed npoii land already partly cleared by nature for oc- 
 cupation ; but the clearing had been done on such a grand scale 
 that the abimdance of riches caused trouble in' the attempt to 
 nicike use of them. With the.se prairie settlers the discussion 
 is chiefly concerned and 1830 is taken as the starting point. 
 
 The influence of lines of transportation coupled with the in- 
 fluence exerted by the prairies of northern and eastern Illinois 
 has operated to change the character of the western pioneei-s. 
 As the route of the Ohio and the southern wagon roads gave 
 character to the settlements in the South, so the northern route 
 was to give character to the settlement of the northern counties 
 and, owing to the increased rapidity of communication and the 
 increased volume of immigration, the effect, if anything, was 
 to be more marked. 
 
 A dovetailing process had gone on in the central part of the 
 state where the men from the Middle States and New England 
 elbowed their way in between the timber tracts of the South, 
 while the southern man chopped his Avay northward, through the 
 timber along the rivers, until he had reached Woodford, ]\Iar- 
 shall and Putnam counties. Here the eharacteristics are not 
 so marked. 
 
 A comparison of those of the northern and southern ends 
 of the state will, however, bring out clearly the distinction. 
 Instead of a gradual settlement by successive classes in the 
 North, as there had been in the South ivvhere the hunter and back- 
 woodsman with his rifle and hunting knife slowly moved on- 
 ward before the increasing tide of civilization, combatting the 
 savages and wild beasts, we see another development. The 
 pioneer was rapidly transported from his native state to the 
 West by the aid of steam and his conquest of the new countiy 
 was effected with like rapidity. Instead of the rifle and 
 hunting knife he brought his oxen and his farming implements. 
 Nor was this all ; the merchant, the artisan, the school master 
 
 [24] 
 
I'ooi-KY — si:rrLK.Mi:xT of illixois, 1830-50 311 
 
 ami till' pi-cju'luM" ('(11110 jilso. Tlic rmindiitioiis of civilization 
 wove laid rapidly and ci'catioii rather than ^M'Dwth s(>eiiis to have 
 beon the order of things. The .savajios haviii;^' left, the pioneer 
 had a. free hand and th(^ spread of settlement went on \\nth 
 cori'espdmlinu- eelei-ity. ('hurches and sehool houses sprang; up, 
 together with comfortable dwellings, for the log-cabin age did 
 not last long on the prairies. 
 
 Physical characteristics, too. have had an enormous effect 
 upon the location of population. Along the streams lay the 
 timber and to the timlier went the early settlers both from 
 north and south, for they knew little of the prairies. In the 
 valleys of the larger rivers the lowlands were at fii'st not oc- 
 cupied owing to floods and general unhealthf ulness ; in the 
 districts near the head watei-s of the rivers, the valleys were 
 not so low ; neither did the rivers tend to overflow for such ex- 
 tended periods. Consequently we see the settlements closer 
 to the streams, although still seeking, when possible, the elevated 
 portions of land near at hand. It is also true that on the more 
 level expanses of the state, away from the large rivers, the tim- 
 ber was first occupied. When the next influx of settlers came 
 an additional layer of settlement was formed around the timber 
 lands and removed from them by the space of a mile or so. 
 
 For years one of the greatest problems of the settlers was to 
 find markets. The navigable streams were the highways of 
 communication and hei*e and there along them were towns of 
 considerable prosperity, owing to the fact that the surround- 
 ing agricultural regions poured in yearly crops of produce to 
 be shipped down the streams to more advantageous markets. 
 Moreover, it was to these towns that the farmers 'were obliged to 
 come to obtain their supplies from the eastern cities and by 
 means of the traffic to and fro, the to\\ms gained in prosperity. 
 Few, indeed, and small were the inland towns for the reason 
 that they aft'orded no markets. To the lack of markets, then, can 
 be traced the internal improvement excitement which struck 
 the state in 1836. Cost of transportation from Galena around 
 by way of the ]^lississippi and the Ohio to the East was exces- 
 sively high and it was too far to cart such a hea^y product as 
 lead across the state to a lake port. The southern fanners like- 
 
 [251 
 
312 BLLLETIX OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 wise were obliged to cart to a river port; those of central Ill- 
 inois looked to Chicago for a market, often going one hundred 
 or one hundred and fifty miles with farm produce at the cost 
 of much time. Internal improvements were meeting with suc- 
 cess in other parts of the land, so it was natural that they 
 should be attempted in Illinois where markets were in great 
 demand. 
 
 The succeeding periods show like development and it is 
 highly probable that little by little the prairies would have been 
 assimilated, but it would have been a slow process, owing to 
 the difficulties of transportaition and of finding markets. When 
 1850 came, the northern part of the state presented a peculiar 
 bird's eye vie'w — strips of comparatively closely settled country 
 stretched away in every direct:on, indicating the timber tracts, 
 while between them was the unoccupied prairie. Here lay the 
 work for the railroads and these, by practically annihilating 
 distances, created markets by bringing the producer and the 
 coDsmner together, gave the settler something to cling to Avhen 
 he swung clear of the timber; in short, gave him the key to the 
 prairie. 
 
 Exceptions are, of course, to be found to the general laws 
 controlling the settlement of the prairies, but they are not fre- 
 quent enough to overthrow these laws which seem to be the 
 basis of the occupation of northern and eastern Illinois. 
 
 The object of this discussion is to show the progress of set- 
 tlement on the Illinois prairies, paying special attention to the 
 influence of physiographic conditions, to lines of communication 
 and to the change which took place so abruptly in the character 
 of the pioneer class of the West, and to show the differences ex- 
 isting between the pioneer of the woodlands and the pioneer of 
 the prairielands. Causes for the settlement are to be noted, 
 as well as such settlements as appear to be exceptional in char- 
 acter and illustrative of some peculiar phase of the westward 
 expansion. 
 
 [26] 
 
rOOLKV SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 313 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 Illinois Before 1830 
 
 For many years subsequent to the Revolution, Illinois at- 
 tracted but little attention. The legislature of Virginia, how- 
 ever, in 1778 organized a county to which it gave the name 
 now borne by the state and appointed for this newly organized 
 county a magistrate called a Lieutenant Governor. It came 
 under the control of the confederation when ceded in 1784 by 
 Virginia. 
 
 Although for years Kentuclvy and Tennessee had afforded 
 homes for pioneers who had found their way over the moun- 
 tains to the western world, Illinois and the Northwest seemed 
 to offer few inducements. After visiting the territory north- 
 west of the Ohio, preparatory to its organization into the North- 
 west Territory, ]\Ionroe wrote to Jefferson in a tone Vv'hieh showed 
 thart; he had as yet no comprehension of the future greatness of 
 this seemingly desolate country. "A great part of the territory 
 13," he said, "miserably poor especially that near Lakes Mich- 
 igan and Erie, and that upon the Mississippi and the Illinois 
 consists of extensive plains which have not had from appear- 
 ances, and will not have, a single bush on them for ages. The 
 districts, therefore, within which these fall will never contain' 
 a sufficient number of inhabitants to entitlf^ th'^n to i^if^niber- 
 ship in the confederacy."^ 
 
 For a time it seemed that Monroe had spoken truthfully for, 
 as yet, the railroads, the steamboats and the farming implements 
 which were to be of service in the settlement of the great 
 prairies Avere unkno'wn. Changes, however, soon began to take 
 
 Monroe. Writinr/H, 1, 117. 
 
HiLLKTlX OK THE UKIVEKSITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 Ga\trig 
 
 y-cT-/ \. 
 
 \. 
 
 ^ntcaqo 
 
 VP/) \v/\ S---'- 
 
 W.^ 
 
 V'i 
 
 
 
 ^r X'oVv-'^'^-'"^^ 
 
 
 
 CchoK 
 
 bleatine 
 
 
 Illinois in 1830 
 
 Shsdrc! portion shows location of scfllfinont : six or more per s<iuare mile; by 
 
 counties. 
 
 [28] 
 
rooLEY — sKTTMnrKXT OF iLLTXois, IS'iO-nO -'515 
 
 place. Till' soklim-s of (ieorge Rogers Chirk carried with them 
 to the Eaist tah^s of a wonderfully fertile and well-watered land 
 and soon the familiar story of pioneer life was re-enacted in the 
 river valleys of Illinois. The descendants of the frontiersmen 
 who had chopped the first trails across the Alleghanies and 
 who first wandered through the lonely western wilderness and 
 built the small stockaded handets of Kentucky and Tennessee, 
 impelled by the same restlessness which carried their fathera 
 toward the AVest now moved across the Ohio to continue the 
 struggle with wild nature- and the wilder I'edmen. for posies,-,ion 
 of the territory which today constitutes the state of Illinois. 
 
 The scene of earliest settlement in Illinois was the great 
 American Bottom. The settlers were the French who acted 
 as a connecting- link between the French of Canada and the 
 Great Lakes and those of the lower IMississippi. The Aaiierican 
 Bottom, so called to distinguish it from the Spanish possessions 
 across the river, was an extremely'" fertile tract of land extend- 
 ing- from the mouth of the Kaskaskia to the mouth of the Ill- 
 inois and containing about six hundred square miles.- The 
 French settlements extended along this bottom from Kaskaskia 
 to Cahokia more than fifty miles, and back a few miles from 
 the Mississippi. By 1800 the French Creoles in these settle- 
 ments numbered about 1.200. ■" 
 
 Several generations had flourished here happily under the 
 mild sway of French officials — the military commandant and 
 the priest — ^who ruled the people with an uncimtrolled but 
 parental autliority. Separated from all the world these people 
 acquired many peculiarities in language, dress, manners and 
 customs. ]Many of their original traits were lost but still many of 
 the leading characteristics of the nation were retained. The people^ 
 were kind-hearted, hospitable and social but rivalled the Indians 
 themselves for ignorance and laziness. A fruitful coimtry 
 made agriculture profitable when carried on. but the great 
 amount of game within easy reach tended to make the young 
 Frenchman follow the life of a hunter rather than that of a 
 
 '■^ F>ro\vn, Wiftcrn Ga'cttccr mi'l h\:!i;,-::nff' (liii'lc (ISIT). .:(>. 
 ••• Royaold , Illinois-. 10. 
 
 [29] 
 
316 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 farmer.-* In mechanic arts no progi-ess had been made; the 
 old wooden plo'ws used in the early days still served the needs 
 of this unprogressive people. 
 
 The dress and homes of this quiet people were equally simple. 
 Coarse blue cotton clothes, deer skin moccasins for their feet, 
 blue handkerchiefs for their heads were worn by both sexes. In 
 cold weather the skins of animals replaced the cotton clothing. 
 Log houses, a single story high, with pimcheon floors and 
 thatched roofs were their abodes. The furniture was designed 
 for usefulness rather than ornament."' 
 
 Around the village was a large tract known as the eoimnon 
 field. jMost of this was allowed to remain in open pasturage 
 but parts were cultivated by those who chose to enclose them. 
 Occupancy gave a title to land but all reverted to the com- 
 miuiity when occupation ceased. 
 
 So the Americans found them, a people of simple habits, un- 
 ambitious and submissive, unoppressed by taxes or political 
 grievances, recognizing a single church and under the leader- 
 ship of the village priest who was their guide, friend and 
 philosopher. 
 
 By 1781 the earliest American settlements had been made in 
 the American Bottom. In 1800 there were three hundred and 
 fifty families settled here, most of the men having been soldiers 
 of George Rogers Clark during his campaigns against Vin- 
 cennes and Kaskaskia. Two colonies of Virginians had come 
 in 1786 and 1793 settling at New Design and in the surrounding 
 country forming the nucleus of the American settlements." 
 Other settlers came from the various eastern states.'^ In all 
 the population of the state numbered 2,000 in 1800.^ 
 
 During the first decade of the new century population in- 
 creased rapidly,'' but the greater part was stiU in the American 
 
 Mlall, Shrlchrs (1S.'{5). 1, 148. 
 
 ■'' Mmjmine of Western History, lO, 562. 
 
 * Settlements were made at Horse I'rairio. Whiteside Station and Bello- 
 fontaine In Monroe county and at Turkey Hill in St. Clair county. 
 
 'There were settlers from Virginia. Kentucky, Maryland, Tennessee, New York, 
 New Jersey, Tennsylvania and New Emgland. 
 
 ' Reynolds, Illinois, 19. 
 
 •The census of 1810 states population as 12.2S4 ; Reynolds, Illinois, 19. gives 
 population as 2,000 in 1800. 
 
 [30] 
 
rOOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 18,30-50 317 
 
 Bottom although the frontier line was gradually moving towards 
 the interior of the state.^** Across the territory in the Saline 
 district a center of settlement had begun to form. In 1803 the 
 salt springs had been purchased from the Indians and leased 
 by the government to Captain Bell, a Kentuekian.^^ Shawnee- 
 town, the center of the district, soon began to give evidence of 
 becoming a town of some importance especially as a commer- 
 cial center. It Avas on the Ohio river, the great highway for 
 traffic and travel to the West and even at this early date "great 
 fleets of keel-boats concentrated at this point engaged in salt and 
 other traffic."^- Indian treaties during the decade opened up 
 millions of acres of Illinois land for settlement but in spite of 
 this fact the settlements still clung to the Ohio and Mississippi 
 rivers.^^ / 
 
 From the formation of Illinois territory in 1809 until the 
 close of the War of 1812, the settlements were engaged in a 
 struggle for existence. Many were abandoned during the war, 
 on account of Indian troubles. In the years immediately fol- 
 lowing 1810 the Chippewas. Kickapoos and Potto'w atomies 
 committed so many murders and thefts that Gov. Edwards 
 raised a military force to suppress the disturbers. One expedi- 
 tion destroyed a French village at Peoria which had been the 
 headquarters of a band of savages who ravaged the country. 
 
 Reports of the unhealthfulness of the new country, of Indian 
 outrages, of earthquakes, and the insecurity of land titles all 
 operated to retard the flow of settlers from the eastern states. 
 Owing to the fact that Illinois had, at different times, been 
 under French. British, Virginian and Federal rule, land titles 
 were often conflicting. A commission appointed in 1804 labored 
 for ten years to adjust these titles previous to the opening of 
 the land sale at Ka&kaskia in 181-t. The pre-errrption act of 
 1813 did mrrch to secure the pioneers in their possessions.^* 
 
 '■' RidKC Fiirm, Goschen. Wood River, Silver Creek, and Sboal Creek were the 
 new settlements. 
 
 " Moses, IlHnois, 1, 26.'5. 
 
 '2 Reynolds, ininois, 63. 
 
 "The treaties of Ft. Wayne (1803^ : Vlncennes (1803) : St. Louis (180-1) and 
 the second treaty of Vincennes (1804) opened 28,000,000 acres of Illinois land 
 to settlement. 
 
 "Davidson and Stuvi'-, IlUnnis, 201. 
 
 :3i] 
 
ol8 BILLKTIX OF THE VXIVKKSITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 With the passasie of tliis act aud with the cessation of Indian 
 raids after the ck)se of the War of 1812 a new epoch in the 
 settlement of the state began. The settlers acquired confidence, 
 land rose in demand and in value.^^ New Englanders and 
 foreigners came in greater numbers than ever before. The close 
 of the European wars had ruined the lucrative commerce of 
 New England and thrown many out of employment, some of 
 w^hom found their way to Illinois. 
 
 The great highway of travel was the Ohio river. A writer 
 of the time says "there is scarce a day except when the river is 
 impeded with ice but what there is a greater or less number of 
 boats to be seen floating down its gentle current to some place 
 of destination. No less than five hundred families stopped at 
 Cincinnati at one time, many of them having come a great dis- 
 tance. "^° From Kentucky and Tennessee groups of pioneers 
 still came seeking the extreme frontier. 
 
 Others came from the South Atlantic states. Ootton culture 
 had, through the invention of the gin and through the prevail- 
 ing high prices, become exceedingly profitable. The plantations 
 were increasing in size and numbers and the introduction of 
 the indu.stry into the uplands tended to crowd out the small 
 farmer since his more wealthy neighbor could offer prices for 
 land which practically compelled him to sell. Some who moved 
 went to the Gulf States; others wi.shing to avoid the competition 
 of slave labor turned to the northwest, and it became a familiar 
 sight to peopl(> along the roads of western travel to see the old 
 southern v\'agons covered with white sheeting and loaded with 
 an enormous cjuantity of beds, buckets, old-fashioned chaire 
 and such household furniture as was usually ouiied by our 
 log-cabin ancestors, slowly rattling along their way to the West. 
 
 On the eastern side of the territory the district of the Em- 
 barras was still the northern limit of settlement although there 
 were a few settlers as far north as Edgar county. Crawford 
 coimty with Palestine as a center of settlement had 2.100 set- 
 tlers at the time of the admission of the state.'' Russelville 
 
 "'Brown. Wrstrrn irti-dlvi'v ami Eiiiii/rdutK' Dlrcriitvii (1817l. 
 '"Hardin.','. Tour thirniijh the We-^tnn Cuuninj. 5. 
 " Kistnrii of Vrairford iinti Clark coni}t!fs, lOS. 
 
 [C2] 
 
rOOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 319 
 
 in the county next to the south was the center of population. 
 Directly to the west of Wabash county was the English settle- 
 ment of Albion in Edwards county. This settlement, begun by 
 Birkbeck and Flower, was one of the most important one&' in 
 Illinois.^® Gallatin county 'with Shawneetown as its chief settle- 
 ment was the most populous coimty on the eastern side of the 
 territory, having in 1818 about 3,200 settlers.^^ Thirty or forty 
 of these families resided in Shawneetown. A bank and a land 
 ofi&ce helped to make this village a decidedly important one. 
 America with a population of several hundred was the chief 
 southern tovvn,-*^ Cairo had a "local habitation and a name" 
 having as yet not fulfilled the expectations of its founders. 
 
 On the western side of the territory the pioneers grouped 
 their settlements into three divisions, those settlements around 
 the Big Lluddy river, those along the Kaskaskia and those north 
 of this last named district extending as far as Peoria. Of these 
 the settlements along the Big Muddy were the weakest for the 
 people moved very slowly towards the center of the state. 
 
 The old Kaskaskia district was still the most populous one 
 in the territorJ^-^ Settlements had been made along the Kas- 
 kaskia and its tributaries for a considerable distance towards 
 the interior. Kaskaskia, the seat of the territorial government, 
 had a large floating population but the increase of permanent 
 settlers was not large. There were in the toiwn in 1815 be- 
 tween seven and ten hundred people.-- Belleville, Cahokia. 
 and Prairie du Long were the other important settlements of 
 this part of the state. -^ In the interior there were few settlers.-* 
 
 In the district above Kaskaskia, Edwardsville, the county 
 town of ]\Iadison county, had sixty or seventy houses, a court- 
 house, a jail, a bank, a land office and a newspaper.-^ Alton 
 
 1* Davi^^son and Stuvo, Illinois, MO. 
 
 "Dana, Sketches of Western Country (1819), 15.3. 
 
 ^History of Alexander, Union and Pulaski counties. 449. 
 
 "Estimated at 11,842 (Dana, Sketches of the We.<<tern Country (1819), 153). 
 
 '^Edv.-ards. Illiiiois, 254. 
 
 ''•■' Cahokia iiad a population of Iietweon five hundred (Moses, Illinois, 1. 2G7) 
 and one tliousand (Life o; Gurdon S. Huhhr.rd, 47). 
 
 =" Bond county liad only forty settlers in 1818 (History of Bond and Montgom- 
 ery counties, ISl). The Washington county settlements were at Covinjcton, Beau- 
 coup and Carlyle. 
 
 »Dana. Sketches of the Western Country (1810), 14.". 
 
 ["31 
 
320 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 had one hundred houses, the owners of many of these being 
 people from the eastern states and in comfortable circum- 
 stances.-'^ The other settlements were smaller.-^ In all the 
 population of Madison county was estimated at from 4,000 to 
 5,500.-« 
 
 Beyond the frontiers already mentioned (the line of the Ohio 
 and Wabash, the immediate vicinity of the Big jNIuddy and of 
 the Kaskaskia and in Lladison county) littla'settlement was to 
 be found in the territory. The Kickapoos, a warlike Indian 
 tribe, held undisputed possession of central Illinois and con- 
 tinued to do so until the Treaty of Edwardsville was signed 
 in 1819.-® A few venturesome Kentuckians and Tennesseeans, 
 together with some from the older settlements on the western 
 side of Illinois had, however, pushed into the Sangamon country 
 before the Indian title had been extinguished. These were the 
 only settlers of the region. 
 
 Far to the north in the lead region the first permanent white 
 settlers were beginning to locate on Fever river. Likewise a 
 few were at Ft. Dearborn which had been rebuilt in 1816. The 
 Military Tract, although laid off, was as yet entirely unoccu- 
 pied. 
 
 The population of the territory when it began to seek ad- 
 mission into the Union was 30,000. Since 40,000 was necessary 
 for admission it devolved upon the census takers to make up 
 the deficiency. One very effective plan was to station the enum- 
 erators on the largest thoroughfares so they might be able to 
 count explorers, movers and settlers. As a result more than 
 one family of ten people grew to three or four times that num- 
 ber when finally placed in the census books. ^^ 
 
 Varied indeed was the population as the following quotation 
 shows. ''The early settlement of Clinton county will illustrate 
 the heterogeneous nativity of early immigrants. Before 1820 
 
 ^'11)1(1., 142. 
 
 " Mound Piaira and Milton were the other settlements. The latter had fifty 
 kouses (IHstorii of Madisoyi County, 83). 
 
 *» In the HiHtory of Madison County (130) the population of the county is 
 given as 4.000: Dana, Sketches (1819) 153, gives an estimate of 5,500. 
 
 *• Henderson, Early History of Savgamon County, 7. 
 
 ^ Brown, Early Illinois, 82, in Fergus Historical Beries 2. • 
 
 [34] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS^ 1830-50 321 
 
 there was a little group from Ohio; another from England, and 
 several representatives from Virginia, Pennsylvania, North 
 Carolina, Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee and one man from the 
 Isle of AVight,"^^ It is true that the pioneers from the South- 
 west exceeded the others in numbers but foreignei's, people 
 from the Middle Atlantic states and New Englanders were far 
 from being unknown in any of the regions. The Ohio river 
 was the means of directing these settlers to southern Illinois and 
 adding the northern element to the preponderating southern 
 stream which had come by way of the wagon roads. 
 
 Fifteen counties had been organized but altogether they 
 formed but one-fourth of the territory and were by no means 
 thickly settled. A line drawn from Alton, on the Mississippi, 
 through Carlyle to Palestine on the Wabash would mark the 
 northern extremity of settlement, but by no means does it mark 
 the settled portion of the territory.^- The pioneers clung closely 
 to the great river systems, making their clearings and erecting 
 their cabins along the banks of these streams. 
 
 Within the boundary stated were prairies of considerable 
 size, some of them being three days journey across. ^^ The set- 
 tlera. as yet, had not ventured upon them, believing them en- 
 tirely unfit for settlement. Palestine, Palmyra, Carmi, Shaw- 
 neetown, Golconda and Albion were the population centers of 
 eastern Illinois at the time of its admission. On the west Jones- 
 boro, Brownsville, Ka&kaskia, Harrisonville, Belleville, Cahokia, 
 Edwardsville and Alton were of greatest importance. In the 
 interior, Perry^sville and Covington 'were the centers. Of these 
 Kaskaskia, the seat of government and Shawneetown were the 
 best known and thither as a rule the early pioneers came and 
 from these points made explorations for the puipose of find- 
 ing suitable places to settle. 
 
 The year 1824 marks a turning point in the growth of the 
 state. By the ordinance of 1787 slavery had been forbidden in 
 the Northwest Territory, but it nevertheless existed in some 
 portions of Illinois. A considerable number of the settlers of 
 
 " History of Marion antl Clinton counties, 54. 
 
 »= Davidson and Stuve. Illinois, 302. 
 
 « Bieese, Early History of Illinois, preface 3. 
 
 [35] 
 
322 BULLETIX OF THE U]N'IVERSITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 the state being- southeraers who favored the institution, an' 
 attempt was made in the early twenties to call a convention to 
 revise the state constitution in such a manner as to make slavery 
 lawful.^* The defeat of the plan came in 1824 and from that 
 time dates an increase in immigration. Growth now went on 
 more rapidly and when 1830 came the fifteen counties of 1818 
 had grown to twenty-six and the population Avas 157,445^" in- 
 stead of the scanty 40,000 required for admission. 
 
 New settlements continued to spring up and the older ones 
 to increase in size.^*' America, Greenville, Mayville, Frankfort, 
 Equality, McLeansboro, Vienna, La!\vrenceville, Salem, "Water- 
 loo, Pinckneyville, Jonesboro, Fairfield and Vandalia each grew 
 to some importance before 1830,^'' the last named one being made 
 the capital city of the state in 1819.-"''' These towns were in the 
 immediate vicinity of the rivers and often in the timber lining 
 the banks. 
 
 Albion was an exception to the rule, however, having no water 
 communication close at hand. Faux, who was not entirely 
 friendly, describes the vilia;.;o in 1820 as havin'.': brit "one house 
 and ten or twelve log cabins, full of degenerating English me- 
 chanics, too idle to work" who passed their time eating, drink- 
 ing, brawling and fighting. The streets were almost impass- 
 able dwing to stumps and roots of trees protruding and puddles 
 of dirty water standing before the doors of the cabins.^^ The 
 town by 1830 had grown considerably, mechanics of every dis- 
 cription were here and a hotel, a smithy and some stores had 
 taken the place of the cabins.*" 
 
 Shawneetown had grown from a town of three or four houses 
 to a tdwn of sixty houses and three hundred inhabitants in 
 
 '* Harris. Nefjro Servitude in Illinolfs, 27-40. 
 
 '^'^ Eleventh Census (ISno), 14. 
 
 '« In 1810 some Shakers pstablished a settlement in Lawrence county on the 
 Embarras river. Fredericlc Ernst, a German of wealth and education, founded a 
 German settlement at Vandalia in 1810 (Re.vnolds, Illinoi<s, 183). Scattered settle- 
 ments were made along the Little Vermilion, the pioneers being generally en- 
 gaged in salt making, 
 
 "^ The Xational Calrndrtr, (18.".n>. 
 
 ^HiKtnry r.f Fatieftc Count!/, 1-. 
 
 "Faux, Memorable Days in America, 269i; Smith, C. W., A Contribution 
 toward a biopraphy of Morris Birkbeck and the EngUfh Settlement in Edwwrds 
 County, Illinois In Transactions of the Illinois State Historical Society, (1905), 
 Fordham, B. P., Personal Narrative. (Ogg, F. A. Editor). 
 
 *" Stuart, Three Years in North America. 2. 2.".". 
 
 [36] 
 
rOOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 323 
 
 1826." It was still, at the close of the decade 1821 to 1830, 
 the chief town of the eastern side of the state and the landing- 
 place of a great portion of tlie innnigrants coming by way of 
 the Ohio."*^ Cairo made no headway and in 1826 vv-as still a 
 village with only a tavern and a store,"*^ 
 
 The villages of southern Illinois at this period were but 
 frontier settlements containing from one to two hundred in- 
 habitants and many not more than twenty or thirty.** The 
 rivers were the connecting links between the settlements and the 
 chief lines of communication with the outside world. Roads, 
 too, were opened up between the chief centers of settlement. 
 From Vincennes, Shawneetown, Golconda and America roads 
 went across the state to St. Louis and Kaskaskia. Throughout 
 the timbered tracts the settlers were scattered, fonning ribbons 
 of settlement from the tv.-o great rivers on the south and west 
 of the state; but few indeed ventured further. Even as late 
 as 1830 the Indians came back to hunt within the limits of 
 settlement and fear of them retarded the advancement of the 
 frontier. 
 
 Although southern Illinois was as yet not thickly settled, it 
 had begim to throw out lines of pioneers towards the north. 
 The eastern portion of the state close to the rivers was well 
 taken up, as was the western part, but between the two lay 
 the unoccupied portion. Rather than risk the attempt to settle 
 and cultivate the prairies, the new settlers preferred to go 
 farther towards the frontier. It was a simple and natural 
 force whicli impelled them. The fathers and grandfathers of 
 these men from Kentucky and Tennessee had battled with 
 nature in the woodlands of the Southwest; the pioneers them- 
 selves had grown to manhood surroimded by the woodlands, they 
 were, in the settlement of Illinois, merely putting into operation 
 the results of the experiences of two or three generations of 
 pioneers. To them the prairies offered insurmountable ob- 
 stacles with which ihcy_feit_JtJu;^^s_useless_to cope. When the 
 
 *' Bixicrv of Gnllathi. Saline. TlarivUon, Franl-lin and WtlUamsnn Coiintlrs, 9."5. 
 *' Edward-. HMory of Illinois. .359. 
 *• The Americans as They Are, 78. 
 
 ♦• Patterson, Emhj Society in Southern Illinois, 109, in Frryus Ilistoricat 
 Series, 2, 14. 
 
 [37] 
 
324 BULLETIN OF THE UXIVEKSITY OF WISCOXSIX 
 
 tiniberland of southern Illinois was all claimed, the stream of 
 men from the old settlements slowly urged their oxen north- 
 ward through the settled portions to the new country which at 
 that time was rapidly gaining in fame. Here in this Sangamon 
 country the himter-pioneer found an ideal land and here we find 
 the re-enactment of the scenes of the first settlement of the ex- 
 treme southern portion of the state. 
 
 The fertile land of central Illinois, south of the Sangamon 
 river, was well watered and also well timbered. A few settlers 
 had found their way here before the Kickapoo title had been ex- 
 tinguished by the Treaty of Edwardsville in 1819, but it was not 
 until the decade 1821 to 1830 that the true settlement took place. 
 It was vnth a certain degree of confidence that the settlers took 
 possession of the new land, for they were comparatively close 
 to the strong settlements north of the Kaskaskia river and this 
 in touch with the rest of the state. 
 
 Here a sort of experimentation began. Between the tracts 
 of timber land were inviting stretches of prairie upon which, 
 owing to the proximity to the timber, the sod 'was not so tough 
 nor the grass so long as it was on the large prairies. The tran- 
 sition from Avoodsman to prairie cultivator on a small scale was 
 here made easy. The cabin, as before, was built at the edge 
 of the timber, if water was convenient, and a portion of the 
 prairie was fenced. The friendly timber gave shelter from the 
 excessive heat of summer as well as from the cold prairie winds 
 of winter; and moreover it furnished a refuge for stock in 
 summer when the open prairie was infested by myriads of 
 horse-flies. The open prairie saved the pioneer an enormous 
 amount of labor generally necessaiy to make his clearing and 
 he soon found that crops grew as well or even better here than 
 on cleared land. Success was then assured in the subjugation 
 of the prairies, providing they were very small ones, where 
 every man could, figuratively speaking, keep his back to the 
 timber and his attention on the prairie. 
 
 It must not, h(>wever, be understood that the settles went im- 
 mediately to such places where they were able to take advantage 
 of Ipoth prairie and woodland, for settlement clung closely to the 
 woods of the Illinois river and its tributaries for several years. 
 
 [38] 
 
rOOLEY SETTLEMr:NT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 325 
 
 Two hundred families were in the Sangamon country prior to 
 1820 and of these, sixty were grouped on Macoupin, Apple, and 
 Otter creeks, within thirty miles of the Illinois river.'*^ Cass, 
 ]\Iorgan and Scott counties, lying immediately between the 
 Sangamon and Illinois rivers, had only twenty families in 
 1820.^'^ Farther east along the Sangamon were a few scattered 
 families and others had ventured across the river to IMacon 
 county by 1827. 
 
 The question of slavery in Illinois having been settled 
 in 1824, immigration set in with renewed vigor, reaching 
 its greatest development in 1827 and in 1828.-*^ The set- 
 tlers: came in groups of five or ten families although it Avas 
 no uncommon sight to see one hundred wagons in a single 
 company going to the Sangamon country.'*® Steam navigation 
 had begun on the Illinois river in 1828 and by connecting the 
 frontier 'v\ith the older settlements strengthened the former to 
 such a degree that from these younger settlements a new migra- 
 tion soon began to take place. The extension took place rapidly 
 and by 1830 the timber lands of the Sangamon were densely 
 enough populated to Avarrant the erection of six new counties.*^ 
 The population of this Sangamon country in 1830 was 42,385.^*' 
 Of these twenty-eight were slaves.^^ 
 
 Spring-field, at first called Calhoun, was established in 1819." 
 Although it was perhaps the most important town in this part 
 of the state in 1830 and had between six and eight hundred 
 settlers', it was still characterized as "a straggling village."^* 
 Jacksonville in ]\Iorgan coimty was about the same size, and the 
 other settlements were of less importance.^^ 
 
 " Dana, SJcrtches of the Western Country, 144. 
 
 *' History of CofiS County, 18. 
 
 *^ History of Macon County, 34. 
 
 " Perrin, History of Jefferson County, 124. 
 
 " Greene, Morgan, Macoupin, Montgomery, Macon and Shelby. 
 
 ^Eleventh Census, (1890) 1.5. 
 
 « 2\iies' Register, 43, 35. 
 
 »* Barber and Howe, History of the Westein States, 1072. 
 
 "3 Stuart. Three Years in North Avierica, 2, 216-224. 
 
 ^ Carrollton, in Greene County, was begun in 1818 (History of Greene County, 
 328) ; Hillsboro, in Montgomery County, settled in 1817 or 1818 (History of 
 Bond and Montgomery Counties, 215) ; Decatur, In Macon County, was settled 
 In the early twentie , (History of Maeon County, 31) ; Shelbyville, in Shelby 
 Countv, was settled in 1825 (History of Shelby and Moultrie Counties, 42). 
 
 [39] 
 
336 BULLETIX OF THE UXIVEESITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 The ]\Iilitary Tract which comprised all the territory between 
 the Illinois and Mississippi rivere as far north as Rock Island 
 county, had been allotted by the Federal government to the vet- 
 erans of the war of 1812.^^ Few of the orig-inal grantees deemed 
 the land of sufficient value to repay the labor of settling and 
 cultivating and consequently but a small propor-tion took advan- 
 tage of the opportunity afforded for obtaining farms. Those 
 who lived close to the region, however, were awake to the value 
 of the land, and many settled upon it as "squatters" without 
 any valid title save that of occupation. To make improvements 
 under the existing circumstances was a venture which led to 
 doubtful returns. Often, indeed, when the pioneer had suc- 
 ceeded in making his clearing, building his cabin and perhaps 
 breaking a little plot of prairie land, the holder of the original 
 patent would appear upon the scene and oust him. So frequent 
 was this procedure that it soon became a profitable business for 
 a certain class of men to obtain these squatters' claims by means 
 of forged patents and it gave rise to much trouble. 
 
 The process of settlement in this part of the state was iden- 
 tical with that of the portions already studied. The two great 
 rivers served as connecting lines with the older settlements of 
 the South and along the tributaries we find the first settlers 
 establishing themselves. Peoria, the oldest town in this part 
 of the state had been deserted in the closing years of the eight- 
 eenth century. In 1813 Ft. Clark had been built and in 1819 
 the first permanent settlers came to Peoria.^" In 1825 the 
 county was organized and had at the time a population of 
 1.236^'' which included all the settlers of the northern part of 
 the state. 
 
 The counties at the southern end of the Tract (Calhoun and 
 Pike) are broken and hilly near the rivere. Gilead in Calhoun 
 county and Atlas in Pike county both situated in the timber 
 within convenient distance from the river but away from the un- 
 healthful bottoms were the only villages in 1830. Along the 
 creeks of Schuyler and Brown counties, Kentuckians, Virgin- 
 
 "Hi9tory of Fulton county, 101. 
 ''^History of Peoria county, 27.3-274. 
 " Ballance, Peoria, 45. 
 
 [40] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 327 
 
 ians, Pennsylvanians, Carolinians and Tennesseeans settled be- 
 side men frojn IndifUici, Ohio, Missouri and Illinois. Lewi&ton 
 and Canton in Fulton county completed the list of settlements of 
 importance on the eastern side of the Tract. 
 
 Adams county was the most populous district on the Mis- 
 sissippi river north of the mouth of the Illinois and Quincy was 
 the largest settlement.'^^ Venus in Hancock county was the only 
 other settlement of note in 1830. Few^ settlers had gone to 
 the interior.^'* 
 
 In all there were about 13,000 people in the IMilitary Tract 
 in 1830"*' and by far the greater percentage were close 
 to the great rivers forming the boundaries of the district. 
 In character the population w^as the same as that of the 
 Sangamon country, for the settlements' along the Illinois river 
 were only outgrowths of the older Sangamon settlements. The 
 Kentuckians and Tennesseeans appeared frequently as in south- 
 em Illinois taking possession of the timberlands and leading a 
 half-hunter, half-farmer life. New Englanders and men from 
 the ]\Iiddle States, however, were much more numerous than in 
 other parts of the state. 
 
 At the lead mines in the extreme northwestern part of Ill- 
 inois an exceptional settlement had already begun to form. 
 Lead had been found years before in the hilly region near tbe 
 Mississippi and after 1818 a steady stream of adventurers 
 flowed here. Southerners came in great numbers owing to the 
 convenient line of connnunication. By 1830 there were over 
 2,000 settlers at the Illinois mines and many more at the Wis- 
 consin and Iowa mines."^ 
 
 The primary object of this settlement was not to find suitable 
 farming lands well-supplied with timber and water. It was to 
 
 =* In 1825 there were forty votes cast at a county election (History of Adams 
 count!!, 262) ; in 1830 the population was 2,186. (Eleventh Census [1890] 14) ; 
 the population of Quincy \vas estimated at two hundred in 1830 ^Asbury, 
 Quincii, 41). 
 
 ■" Warren, Mercer, MGnclerson. Knox and Bureau counties had a combined popu- 
 lation of less than six hundred and fifty. (Eleventh Census [1890] 14.) 
 
 <" Ibid. 
 
 « Ibid. 
 
 [41] 
 
328 BULLETIX OF TIIK UNIVEKSITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 take advantage of the mineral deposits. Timber and water 
 were found in abundance, and also an excellent line of trans- 
 portation but these things were of secondary importance and 
 had the mines been found on the open prairie it is highly prob- 
 able that the settlement would have sprung up as rapidly as it 
 did under the existing conditions. 
 
 Chicago as yet showed no signs of its coming greatness. Lake 
 navigation by steam had not yet begun, nor had the settlers of 
 Illinois approached near enough to Lake Michigan to look to 
 Chicago for a market or a supply depot. The population of the 
 little village did not number more than one hundred.*'- 
 
 The population of the entire state in 1830 numbered 157,500 
 people.*'^ The population map for 1830 shows a nicely rounded 
 line of settlement which leads an unquestioning observer to be- 
 lieve that the advance of the frontier took place 'with mathemati- 
 cal precision. Closer study will reveal a different state of 
 aft'airs. Along the Ohio river and its numerous tributaries on 
 the eastern side of the state was a comparatively densely settled 
 area. Between the projecting ribbons of settlement which lined 
 the streams were the prairies as yet hardly occupied. The 
 same is true of the western side of the state along the Mississippi. 
 The Illinois river furnished the road to central and northern 
 Illinois.''* 
 
 The pioneer of the Illinois frontier was still of the hunter 
 type. He was primarily a woodsman who had come to the new 
 country ^A-ith his rifle, axe and hunting knife prepared to at- 
 tack the problem of the frontier in the same way his ancestors 
 had attacked it in Kentucky and Tennessee generations before. 
 He changed little before 1830, for his cautious contact with the 
 small prairies of the South gave him little real capital with 
 which to attack the broader expanses of the North. Practically 
 shut off from the prairie, he followed the woodlands until the 
 outbreak of the Black Hawk War in 1832, which date marks 
 
 «= Chicago Tribune, April 12, 1875. 
 '^ Eleventh Census, (1890) 14. 
 
 ** The census maps use the county as the unit, and therefore exliibit as settled 
 many areas really vacant. 
 
 142] 
 
rOOLEV SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 329 
 
 the beginning of a sudden and sharp transition in pioneer 
 characteristics. Before 1832 the settlement of the state was 
 only a continuation of pioneer days in the older states. Now 
 a new problem confronted the tide of pioneers who were crossing 
 the continent. On the wide treeless expanses of eastern and 
 northern Illinois were to be solved the problems which gave 
 rise to a new class of frontiersmen — the .prairie pioneers. 
 
 [43] 
 
BULLETIX OF THE UXIVEESITY OF WISCOXSIX 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 Causes for the Settlement of Illinois 
 
 The Americans as a people are prone to migrate. From the 
 earliest date at which the settlements scattered along the shores 
 of the Atlantic ocean were able to push their limits one mile 
 up the rivers towards the back country the gradual movement 
 to the AYest has appropriated the land step by step until the 
 entire expanse from coast to coast has been brought under the 
 direct control of the race. 
 
 The census of 1850 shows that of 17,737,000 free inhabitants 
 in the United States at that date over 4,100,000 or twenty three 
 per cent, had migrated from the states of their birth.^ 
 
 A general law concerning the order of classes seems to have 
 been followed in this movement of settlement to the West, es- 
 pecially before transportation by steam lent its enormous in- 
 fluence towards the development of the great AVest. First came 
 the hunter-pioneer ; next, the small farmer who drove the hunter 
 farther toward the frontier and who himself gave way in time 
 to the third class of settlers, the larger farmers whose aim was 
 to im.prove the land, erect homes and become the permanent oc- 
 cupants of the country. 
 
 The causes leading to this movement towards the West are of 
 two classes; general causes affecting the entire nation, and 
 special causes affecting localities at various times and in vary- 
 ing degrees. The general causes may be grouped under three 
 heads: the restless spirit pervading all classes, the systems of 
 internal improvements developed during the period, and the 
 financial causes. 
 
 ^ Ahsttact of the Seventh Census. (1850) 15. 
 
 [44] 
 
rOOLEY SETTLEilKNT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 331 
 
 The restless spirit which ever aimed towards expansion and 
 economic betterment is the great one among the general causes ; 
 its growth was the result of a combination of local causes and 
 of general causes which operated constantly throughout the 
 period. Dissatisfaction with existing conditions was prevalent 
 among all classes. I\Ioreover, it was believed that these con- 
 ditions could be improved in the new coimtry where land was 
 cheap and fertile and could be acquired and turned into fruit- 
 ful farms with a reasonalile effort upon the part of the settler. 
 
 There were in every community, citizens who had lost their 
 credit and of necessity needed new homes. In the woodlands 
 these people became solitary pioneers who felt most at ease 
 when "twenty miles from law and calomel" and who breathed 
 easiest when the nearest neighbors were ten miles away. The 
 farm laborers -who, dissatisfied with the existing scale of wages 
 in the older communities and understanding the science of 
 agriculture well enough to manage and work farms of their 
 own, moved to the frontier, took up government lands and laid 
 the foundations of new settlements beyond the limits of civil- 
 ization. These became the small farmers who moved along in 
 the wake of the hunter-pioneers. 
 
 To a considerable degree the farmers in the West were in- 
 fluenced by comparative land values. The available lands in 
 the East were mostly cultivated and brought high prices. The 
 small farmer had not the means with which to buy out his 
 neighbor should the latter desire to sell. In the West vast 
 stretches of land were offered for sale by the government at low 
 prices and consequently there vras a desire among the eastern 
 farmers to take advantage of the opportunity offered and by 
 disposing of their small but high priced farms to those able and 
 willing to buy, they could take up larger and more fertile farms 
 in the western country-. 
 
 In earlier years the histon^ of public lands is that of large 
 companies. Later, by successive changes in the administration 
 of such lands the prices and quantities were placed within the 
 reach of the smaller purchaser. Wlien in 1820 the price was 
 reduced to a dollar and a quarter per acre and land was sold in 
 lots as small as eighty acres, the incentive for the migration 
 
 [45] 
 
332 BULLETIN OF THE UXIVEESITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 westward was increased. The effect is seen when we notice the 
 Foote resolution introduced into the House in December, 1829, 
 asking that an inquiry be made concerning the advisability of 
 the rapid sale of the public lands. The significance of this lies 
 in the fact that the rapid sale of public lands at low prices was 
 draining the East of its laboring class and acting as a detriment 
 to the industrial enterprises which the eastern men were at 
 that time attempting to foster. 
 
 Again in 1834 when the question of ceding the public lands to 
 the states in which they were situated was reported upon by 
 Henry Clay, the committee stated that it was not of the opin- 
 ion that the cession should take place, or the price of land be 
 reduced, giving among other reasons that such a procedure 
 would operate as a bounty to increase emigration from the 
 older states, lessening the value of the eastern lands and drain- 
 ing them of currency and population.^ 
 
 To intensify the feeling of restlessness and dissatisfaction 
 already existing, another influence was brought to bear on those 
 who remained at home, by the people who had dared the pri- 
 vations of the frontier. Letters from successful pioneers painted, 
 in bright colors', the wonderful opportunities of the West; com- 
 panies, formed with the idea of taking up land and speculating 
 in it, sent hundreds of thousands of circulars to the East, worded 
 in such a way that their readers felt that the time for the rapid 
 accimiulation of wealth was at hand, and thousands hastened to 
 take advantage of the golden opportunities. Newspapers, in 
 some regions, aided in the work, pointing out the advantages 
 to be derived by farmers, and especially laboring men with a 
 small amount of capital, should they but move to the West.^ 
 JMoreover, the effect of western competition in agricultural pro- 
 ducts was pointed out and it was shown that before the lapse 
 of any great period of time the rapidly growing West would 
 undereell the East in its own market. 
 
 Rivalry among the great eastern cities for western trade 
 gave a cause for migration. The internal improvement systems 
 developed by the efforts of the various states in the attempt to 
 
 -H'ndte Documents, 323, 23 Congress, I Sess., 24. 
 ^Buffalo Commercial Advertiser, Mar. 24, 1846. 
 
 [46] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS^ 1830-50 333 
 
 benefit their cities afforded, Avhen completed, an easy access to 
 the 'West. The dissatisfied settlers, who hitherto had needed only- 
 some sucTi stimulant to start him to the new coimtry now took 
 advantage of the opportunity presented by a comparatively easy 
 journey westward. Others who were making a comfortable 
 living on their farms decided to remain at home but the new 
 lines of communication influenced these people in another way. 
 The AVest Hvas growing and its farms produced ever increasing 
 amounts of grain. Home markets could not consume the supply, 
 so the products were turned eastward through these lines of 
 communication and brought into competition with the produce 
 of the eastern farm. Prices fell and the man ^vho had remained 
 at home could no longer make his comfortable living and was 
 compelled either to lower his standard of comfort or to move to 
 the "West where it could be maintained. 
 
 If a system of roads produced a noticeable effect upon the 
 volume of migration westward, the introduction of steam navi- 
 gation had a still more marked influence. The inconveniences 
 of travel were diminished and the cost of transportation de- 
 creased by the steamboats of the Ohio river and the Great Lakes' 
 which soon became the means of travel of an ever- in creasing 
 number of immigrants. The importance of steam navigation in 
 aiding in the development of the West may be best illustrated 
 by a quotation. "Of all the elements of prosperity of the West — 
 of all the causes of its rapid increase in population, its growth 
 in wealth, resources and the improvement of its immense com- 
 merce and gigantic energies, the most efficient has been the navi- 
 gation by steam."* 
 
 Third in the list of general causes was the financial depres- 
 sion which swept over the country in the closing years of the 
 decade ] 831-1840.^ The panic can be attributed to no one 
 thing. Prominent among the causes was over-speculation. 
 Suddenly the people of the Ea.st saw that there were fortimes 
 to be made in western lands and no sooner was the discovery 
 
 * Memorial of ihc People of Cindnnati (1844), 28. 
 
 6 Sep. Hourne, The Distribution of the Surplus ; Dewey, Finaneial Ilistoni. Ch. 
 X ; Schiirz, Henry Clay, 2., Ch. XIX ; Scott, Repudiation of State Debts; Shep- 
 hard, MartM Van Burcn, Ch. VIII. 
 
 [47] 
 
334 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVEKSITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 made than the price of town lots, either real or imaginary, yrent 
 "up to enormous prices. "Wherever the surveyor took the magic 
 chain and compass — no matter how remote from population — 
 there it became certain that a mighty city would, at no distant 
 day, arise."" Walls of buildings in the various cities were 
 covered with maps of towns that were still miles in the woods 
 or feet under water. Hundreds of acres of land which were 
 valued at prices ranging from one hundred to one thousand 
 dollars have not yet reached the value at which they were sold 
 and resold during these months of frenzied speculation. 
 
 Farmers, traders and capitalists were, however, not the only 
 classes to become involved in the general upheaval during the 
 closing years of the thirties. As a result of the increase of 
 speculation there Avas a movement among the laboring class, 
 and a general demand for an increase of wages, to correspond 
 with the increase in prices. To attain this end, combined ef- 
 forts on the part of laboring men were necessary and a tend- 
 ency towards the federation of labor became distinctly marked. 
 Trade unions were formed, and before 1840, ship carpenters, 
 joiners, house carpenters, painters, roofers, brick-layers, tailore 
 hatters, harness-makers, shoe-makers, masons, factory operatives, 
 and others had organized unions.'^ 
 
 The upward movement of prices was such that the average 
 cost of a workman's living was twenty-one per cent, greater in 
 July, 1835 than it was in April, 1834 and sixty-four per cent, 
 greater in October, 1836 than in 1834.^ Higher wages and the 
 "ten-hour" day were the demands. Immediate concessions 
 were the only remedy and when these were not obtainable, strikes 
 followed. From 1834 to 1837 the cities of Philadelphia, Boston, 
 Hartford, Trenton, Washington, Natchez, St. Louis, Cincinnati 
 and Louisville all experienced labor troubles culminating in 
 strikes, showing the wide-spread influence of the movement.^ 
 
 The days of the greatest monetary inflation saw the wages 
 of the laborers increased to a considerable extent, and quietude 
 ruled for a time. The revulsion came in 1837. Employers at 
 
 ' Balestler. Annals of Chicago, 25, ia Fergus Hi.^torical Seric 
 "> Yale Reiiew, 1, 87. 
 8 Ibid., 1. 04. 
 » Ibid., 1. 98. 
 
 [48] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 335 
 
 first reduced the uiiniber of hours each laborer should work and 
 upon finding this of no avail, reduced the wages of the laborers. 
 With the fall in labor prices there came no corresponding fall 
 in prices of commodities. The army of the unemployed grew 
 rapidly and in September of 1837 the New York Era says "We 
 can state on the best authority that in the eastern states nine- 
 tentlis of the factories have been stopped and the same propor- 
 tion of men, women and cliildren thrown out of employment."^** 
 Resulting from this change in the condition of the laborers, 
 meeting's of a more or less riotous nature occurred in various 
 cities, but the most notable consequence Avas the unusual im- 
 migration to the West.^^ for these people, lacking the means 
 for support in their native cities, took up the heritage of the 
 poor man. cheap lands in a new country. 
 
 To the causes which operated throughout the entire land, local 
 causes must be added if we are to understand the reasons for 
 the increase and decrease in the volume of the westward move- 
 ment. In New England there was a never ceasing desire "to 
 see how things went in other parts;" a desire to find a land 
 which offered better advantages for accumulating wealth than 
 were found at home and as a consequence we find Yankees 
 everyvrhere. They moved up the river valleys of their native 
 states into the newer regions of northern' New England; next, 
 they settled western New York and later moved westward into 
 jMichigan, Wisconsin, Illinois and lovra. They found their way 
 to the southern states and even to the West Indies.^- 
 
 The surface of New England, much broken by hills and rocky 
 ledges, while it does not afford the best facilities for agricul- 
 ture on a large scale, offers opportunities for small farming. 
 The common grains — rye, corn, and buclrwheat, together with 
 potatoes and garden vegetables, were produced along the hill- 
 sides and in the valleys ^dth considerable succe&s.^^. Wheat 
 growing was never a source of wealth to the New England 
 
 1" Th^ 'New York Era, Sept. 5. 1837. 
 
 " Yale Review, 1, 09. 
 
 "A'h'e*' Rcgmer, 59. 224. 
 
 ^Hunt's Merchants' Maga::hie, 5. 201. 
 
 [49j 
 
336 BULLETIN OF THE TXIVERSITY OF "WISCONSIN 
 
 farmer^"* and of the other products little more than home sup- 
 plies were produced. 
 
 The farms were small, generally from fifty to two hundred 
 acres, divided into fields disproportionately small; sometimes 
 fifteen or twenty fields making a single farm.^^ The imple- 
 ments of husbandry were simple and did not afford the best 
 results. By 1830 all the available lowlands were taken up and 
 the hillsides were being used, especially in Vermont. The ris- 
 ing generation of young men finding how difficult it was to 
 support themselves on one hundred acres or less, turned their 
 eyes to the West. 
 
 If wheat could not be cultivated w'ith advantage, and if the 
 narrow valleys did not afford support for a numerous agricul- 
 tural class, there was an industry which would flourish., but 
 unfortunately it, too, tended pratically to diminish the amount 
 of cultivated land. The wool industry had received a great 
 impetus when the Merino sheep was introduced. "The provi- 
 dential acquisition of this inestimable animal" says a New 
 England paper "is in every point of view worthy the attention of 
 all classes of citizens, especially farmers. The golden fleece 
 of the Merino sheep presents to every prudent and thrifty 
 farmer a mine of M^ealth from which he may draw to his in- 
 dustry, economy and the extent of his means. '-'^^ 
 
 The value of the industry to the investor had been further 
 enhanced by the protective tariffs of 1824 and 1828, the greatly 
 increased foreign demand and the competition among the avooI 
 dealers at home. The average price of wool in Vermont for 
 the decade 1831-1840 was fifty-two cents a pound. ^'^ After 
 1839 a gradual decline took place.^^ Farmers interested in 
 varied agriculture had been imusually unsuccessful, especially 
 with their wheat crops from 1824 to 1837^" and many looking 
 for better fields of industry turned to sheep raising. In western 
 
 " TJie New Enylanda; 52, 338. 
 ^'^ Atlantic Monthly, 2«{. .S33. 
 ^'^ Boston Patriot, Oct. 3, 1810. 
 
 ^' House Misc. Document, lO.j, 52 Cong:., 2 Sess., 310. I'rices sometimes rose 
 to ninety cents per pound (files' Register, 40, 292). 
 ^»miej$' Register, 73, 331. 
 '"Goodhue, Hintory of Hhovcham (Vt. >, ij9. 
 
 [50] 
 
POOLE Y SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 
 
 337 
 
 ]\Iassacliusetts, in the Berkshire Hills, and in hill toA\Tis of the 
 Connecticut valley wool growing was one of the most lucrative 
 pursuits.-'' Factories continued to spring up to increase the 
 demand for wool.-^ 
 
 Sheep fanning, to be conducted with the greatest profit, re- 
 quires more extended tracts of land than do the other agri- 
 cultural pursuits, so the demand for desirable land in New 
 England grew rapidly as did the prices paid for it. "Wealthy 
 men found paying investments by buying the land of the small 
 farmer, even at advanced prices. Sales were practically com- 
 pelled for the poor man was offered prices he could not afford 
 to refuse. 
 
 The crisis of 1837 and a crop failure in the same year brought 
 economic distress to New England and helped to swell the num- 
 bers migrating. A decline in the price of wool followed and 
 although the tariff act of 1842 acted for a time as a stimulus 
 to the manufacture of wool, it did not remain in operation long 
 enough to make clear what its permanent effect would have 
 been.-- Here, it appears, began the decline from which the 
 sheep farming industry did not recover.-^ 
 
 About this time the farmers became interested in dairy farm- 
 ing and w^hen the railroads of the forties increased the value 
 of dairy products by opening up the markets in the cities many 
 
 '"Home Misc. Doc. 105, 52 Cong., 2 Sess., 239; Niles' Register, 49, 68. 
 
 2» In 1832 the value of woollens In Mass. amounted to $6,500,000; in 1837 
 they were valued at $10,400,000. Tliere were nearly two hundred mills in 
 operation manufacturing over 11,300,000 yards of cloth yearly. (Eighth Census 
 (1860), xxxii.) 
 
 =" Taussig, Tariff History, 144, of. Eighth Census (1860), xxxil. 
 
 ^ House Misc. Doc. 105, 52 Cong., 2 Sess., 343, gives the following statistics 
 concerning sheep and wool : 
 
 
 Wool (lbs. 
 
 produced) 
 
 Sheep (number) 
 
 
 1840 
 
 1S50 
 
 1840 
 
 1850 
 
 
 1,465,551 
 
 1,260,517 
 
 3,699,235 
 
 941,906 
 
 183,830 
 
 SS9,ir,0 
 
 1,364,034 
 
 1,108,476 
 
 3,400,717 
 
 585,].'?e 
 
 129,692 
 
 477,4.54 
 
 649,264 
 
 017,390 
 
 l,f.81,S19 
 
 378,266 
 
 90,146 
 
 403,463 
 
 451,5!7 
 
 ,«4,7.t6 
 
 New Hampshire 
 
 Vermont 
 
 1,014,123 
 
 ^lassachusetts 
 
 138,651 
 44,296 
 174,181 
 
 
 Connecticut 
 
 
 
 Total 
 
 8,440,90!) 
 
 7,055,509 
 
 3,820,307 
 
 2,2S7,5«3 
 
 
 [51] 
 
338 BULLETIK- OF THE UNIVEESITY OF WISCONSIN" 
 
 gave up wool-growing for dairying. The effect upon the sup- 
 ply of land was the same as before. 
 
 It appears that these causes combined to decrease the agri- 
 cultural population of New England, if relative amounts of 
 products may be taken as a basis for comparison.-* The pro- 
 ductions of wool, wheat, oats and rye had decreased in vary- 
 ing degrees in most of the states.-" The cultivation of corn had 
 increased. The number of cattle had increased in Maine and 
 Ehode Island but in all other states had decreased as had the 
 number of horees, sheep and hogs. 
 
 The decrease of the agricultural class can be accounted for in 
 two ways; these farmers either moved to the cities or to the 
 West. During the decade 1831-1840 when the sheep indus- 
 try had reached its height and the rapidly developing cattle 
 industry was claiming the New England lands, many of the 
 small farmers preferred to go into the less populous states of 
 Maine and New Hampshire. In these states land was not costly 
 and upon the whole was good for cattle and sheep fanning in 
 spite of the severe winters experienced there. By 1840, how- 
 ever, there were no longer extensive new areas in New England 
 and again a change came in the direction of the tide of emi- 
 gration. 
 
 The industrial life of the New England people was altered at 
 this time and for a while at least this seems to have stayed the 
 flow from this section. With the decline of agriculture there 
 came an increased activity along manufacturing lines. Dur- 
 ing the decade of 1841-1850 manufactures almost doubled in 
 value, giving employment to an increased number of hands. By 
 1850 over 298,000 people were employed and $158,000,000 were 
 invested in the factories of New England. IMassachusetts alone 
 had in 1850 manufacturing industries valued at $83,360,000 
 which almost equaled the amount invested by all the New Eng- 
 land states at the opening of the decade.-® 
 
 =' A caanse of methods in the censuses of 1840 and 1850 will not allow con- 
 clusions to be drawn from a comparison of figures denoting inhabitants engaged 
 in agricnltiirp. 
 
 " Rhod» Island showed an increase in the amount of oats; Vermont, of wheat. 
 
 ''Compendium of the Seventh Census (1850), 179; Compendium of the Sixth 
 Census (184U), 111-127. 
 
 [52] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 339 
 
 It is reasonable to believe that the class turned from agri- 
 culture would attempt to gain a livelihood by taking advantage 
 of the opportunities manufacturing offered. At this point, 
 however, a new influence acted to turn the New Englander 
 westward. Foreign immigrants were landing on our shores in 
 constantly increasing numbers and many of these people 
 remained to seek employment in the eastern cities.-'^ These for- 
 eigners furnished a large percentage of the laboring class of 
 the factories and by beating down wages compelled their Ameri- 
 can competitore to withdraw. The New Englanders, moreover, 
 did not care to be associated with the foreign workmen and 
 hence social as well as economic influences operated to hurry 
 great nimibers of these New England people westward over 
 the Great Lakes again to become farmers on the prairies of the 
 Middle West. 
 
 In the Middle Atlantic states conditions also favored emi- 
 gration. "Hard times" was the complaint of farmers, manu- 
 facturers and laborers in New York and Pennsylvania. Num- 
 erous memorials to Congress came from New Yorkers in 1834 
 asking that body to make some attempt to alleviate the distress 
 prevalent throughout the state. From Albany came the com- 
 plain of a lost market and a great cut in the wages of the labor- 
 ing men f^ from Rochester came the news that the flouring mills 
 had closed on account of the instability of money ;-^ from Otsego 
 county a memorial was presented saying that the merchants 
 could not collect their accounts; that mechanics could find no 
 employment; that real estate was on the decline and loans could 
 no longer be obtained ; that manufacturing interests could not 
 continue to operate to any advantage and that commercial con- 
 fidence was fast being lost and general stag-nation of business 
 threatened.^" From Ontario county, an agricultural district, 
 came the report that produce had fallen in value from twenty- 
 five to thirty-three per cent.^^ Like conditions prevailed in 
 
 =■ McLaughlin in Popular Science Montlihj, July, 1004 ; The yatioii, May 27, 
 18fi9. 
 
 ^Senate Debates, 23 Cong., 1 Sess., 1179. 
 ^' Ibid., 23 Cong.. 1 Sess., 1722. 
 «• Ibid., 23 Cong., 1 Sess., 1780. 
 =' Ibid., 23 Cong., 1 Sess., 147.5. 
 
 53] 
 
S40 BULLETIN OF THE UKIVEESITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 Pennsylvania. From Lancaster,^- JMurray,"^ Montg'omery,^* 
 York,^^ Mifflin,^" Union,-''' and other counties came memorials to 
 Conorress during the year 1834. 
 
 Among the laboring classes uneasiness was evident but in the 
 period of speculation and of inflated wages and values during 
 the years immediately preceding 1837, the wage earners seemed 
 content. A¥hen wages began to decline, however, and the prices 
 of living did not decrease in a like proportion, labor troubles 
 followed in the larger cities. An example of this is the 'flour 
 riot' in New York in 1837.^^ Rents remained high as did prices 
 of commodities. Labor was in over-supply and the crowd seek- 
 ing employment in the cities seemed constantly to increase. A 
 paper of the time commenting upon this increase attributed 
 it to the fact that the facilities for securing good educations 
 were so liberal and so generally accepted throughout the state — 
 New York — and that whenever the younger sons of the farmers 
 were qualified to engage in commercial pursuits they almost in- 
 variably hastened to the cities in search of employment, there- 
 by diminishing the agricultural class and increasing the labor- 
 ing class to the detriment of both.^*^ Laborers' wages decreased 
 and by 1840 the decrease ranged from twenty-five to thirty- 
 three per cent.^** and conditions seemed not likely to improve. 
 Newspapers discussed the situation and some did not hesitate 
 to advise every class of laborers to embrace the first opportun- 
 ity offered for emigrating to the West.*^ 
 
 Conditions seemed equally unfavorable for the farming class 
 and a decrease of the agricultural population took place in many 
 of the New York counties. In Dutchess county from 1830 to 
 1835 there was a decrease in the population which would have 
 been more marked had not the towns of Poughkeepsie and 
 
 32/6i(7., 23 Con., 1 Sess., 825. 
 
 ^^Iim., 23 Cong., 1 Sess., 1187. 
 
 ^ IMd., 23 Cong., 1 Sess., 1803. 
 
 ^'^ House Debates., 23 Cong., 1 Sess., 4188. 
 
 '«/;»V7., 23 Cong., 1 Sess., 40.39. 
 
 '''Ibid., 23 Cong., 1 Sess., 3642. 
 
 >' Panics in the United States, 20. 
 
 *^ Wisconsin Enquirer, June 25, 1842 (from the Albany Daily Advertiser). 
 
 *" Hazard, United States Commercial and Statistical Register, May 6, 1840. 
 
 « The New Yorker, April 22, 1837 ; July 21, 1838. 
 
 [54] 
 
roOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 341 
 
 Fishkill each added considerable numbers to their population 
 through the development of manufactures. The decrease was 
 attributed to "emigration to the West"^^ In Columbia county 
 the hard times of 1837 and 1838 were felt and the effects were 
 noticeable in the unusual number of business and dwelling 
 houses offered for sale." Likewise in Chautauqua, Chenango, 
 Genesee, Ontario, Schenectady and Otsego counties either a de- 
 crease was noticeable during the years following 1837 or the in- 
 creases were very small and these due not to agricultural but 
 to urban development.** In the case of Chautauqua county, 
 especially, there had been, since 1835, a steady decline.*-^ 
 
 This decrease was not a local thing as the Commercial Ad- 
 vertiser*^ shows, for in 1840 in more than two hundred towns 
 of the state there were fewer farmers than in 1835, due to the 
 fact, the writer of the article shows, that it cost more labor than 
 formerly to produce agricultural products, "Unless a more 
 systematic form of husbandry be adopted" says th<3 writer, 
 "the farms of this state will not exceed in price the worn-out 
 lands of Maryland and Virginia." Legislative aid was neces- 
 sary but was slow in coining. Competition by western produce 
 became yearh' a more potent factor in driving dov\ii prices'; 
 concentration of property and rapid increase of mortgaged 
 lands each lent its aid to increase the existing dissatisfaction 
 with the economic situation and consequently to aid the move- 
 ment westward. 
 
 To competition, a considerable part of the westward emigra- 
 tion may be attributed and for the cause of this rapid increase 
 of competition we must look to the Erie canal. Wliile 
 the canal was a work as general in its character as any under- 
 taking of the kind could well be, it exercised a negative influence 
 upon the welfare of farmers living beyond a distance of twenty- 
 five or thirty miles from it, and was the means of retarding the 
 
 « T^Ues' Rcgisicr, 49. 226. 
 
 ^^Histnry of Columbia County (N. Y.) 1. 329. 
 
 ** Buffalo Commcrckil Adiycrtiser, Aug. 19, 184.^: Oct. 10, 1845. 
 
 "From 1830 to IS:?.", tho increase had been 10,200; from IS."?.-, to 1840 it was 
 but 2,700 and from 1840 to 1845 there was a decrease (History of Columbia 
 County (N. Y.), 1, 345; Buffalo Commercial Advertiser, Oct. 10, 1845. 
 
 « Aug. 12, 1845. 
 
 [55] 
 
343 BULLETIN OF THE UXIVEESITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 advancemeut of agricultural interests in the northern and 
 southern counties of the state'* In fact it held out induce- 
 ments to the fanners in these counties to emigrate.*^ 
 
 Prior to the opening of the canal wheat and other grains 
 were grown in large quantities in the fertile valleys of New 
 York and foimd profitable markets; but the high prices paid 
 in eastern markets rapidly drew western grain eastward when 
 facilities for transportation were obtainable. In 1835 when the 
 cost of sending wheat from Illinois to New York City averaged 
 from twenty-five to thirty cents a busheP^ the Illinois farmer 
 found it profitable and nearly 100,000 bushels besides a consid- 
 erable amount of flour passed through the canal from the West 
 during the year.^*' Ten years later it cost the Illinois farmer 
 but five cents a bushel to send his wheat to Buffalo.^^ The 
 effect is seen in the 1,355,000 bushels of wheat, which, with. 
 717,500 barrels of flour and 3,000,000 poimds of wool, passed 
 through the canal from the West during that year." 
 
 The competition was too severe for the New York farmers 
 and numbers were compelled either to change their industries 
 to the more profitable ones of grazing and dairying or to move 
 to the cheap lands of the West, where they, too, could take ad- 
 vantage of the fertile soil and cheap transportation. The Erie 
 canal had been completed at the expense of the tax-payers of 
 New York. Now each successive tax le^y which was used to 
 keep the canal in repair served only to make the taxpayer's 
 property decrease in value owing to competition it helped to 
 create. The result of the canal policy seems evident — it oper- 
 ated against the welfare of the fanners who did not live in di- 
 rect contact with the canal and forced them in many cases to 
 leave the state in search of more advantageous locations. 
 
 The concentration of property also did its w^ork toAvards in- 
 creasing dissatisfaction and thereby increasing the number of 
 
 " Winden, Influence of the Erie Canal (MSS. Thesis, University of Wisconsin, 
 1900). 
 
 *^ American Railroad Journal and General Advertiser (1845), 58. 
 
 *» Northtcestern Gazette and Galena (III.) Adverti-icr, Aug. 22, 1835. 
 
 '•^ nelioir'H Revieii^Z, 102. 
 
 ^^ Buffalo Commercial Advertiser, Aug. 19, 1845. 
 
 ^- DcBoii'.i Ileriew, 2, 102. 
 
 [56] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 o43 
 
 emigrants. On account of this concentration of property the 
 Anti-Rent troubles broke out among the settlers living along 
 the Hudson and Schoharie rivers in eastern New York. Al- 
 though the movement was at first of little consequence it in- 
 creased in violence, culminating in an outbreak of a serious 
 nature which was only subdued by concessions by the land- 
 holders.^^ 
 
 A like disturbance over the "Genesee Tariff" took place in the 
 Holland Purchase in western New York in 1835. The Holland 
 Land Company had contracted its unsold lands and lands upon 
 which there were outstanding claims and unexpired contracts, to 
 two speculators. The new controllers demanded higher rents as 
 well as the interest vrhich had accumulated upon certain leases. 
 A general uprising of the farmers took place and some lawless 
 proceedings were carried on. These incidents are evidences of 
 a wide-spread discontent in the agricultural class of the state 
 and when coupled with the glowing reports of opportunities 
 offered in the West they throw light upon the agricultural 
 emigration thither. 
 
 The fever for the establishment of colonies in the West grew 
 constantly during the thirties and forties and beyond a doubt 
 some people who under other conditions would have remained 
 at home were carried away by enthusiasm for such undertak- 
 ings.^* 
 
 From Pennsylvania there came a steady stream of iimni- 
 grants seeking better homes. In the cities conditions similar 
 to those described in New York prevailed for the number of un- 
 emploj-ed laborers increased and wages decreased after 1837. 
 Manufacturers were not as successful as they wished to be. 
 Some blamed the insufficient protection afforded by the tariff,*^' 
 but undoubtedly the general financial unsteadiness was the 
 cause. 
 
 '^^ Delate wre <y. Y.) Gazette, Sept., 1874; Delaware (-V. Y.) Courier, Jan. 29, 
 1864 ; Feb. 5. 18C4 ; New York World, Jan. 19. 1880. 
 
 ^Chicago Weekly American, June 20, 1835; June 27, 18.3."); July 9, 1836; 
 New York Weekly Tribune. Nov. 5, 1842; History of Henry County (111.), 135; 
 Edson, Hixtory of Chautauqua County (N. Y.), 338: Curtiss. Western Portraiture, 
 292: Thirtieth Annirersary of the Sfttlement of Geneseo (Ul.K 
 
 "Hazard, United States Commercial and Statistical Register, 1, 333. 
 
 [57] 
 
344 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 The farmers, save in the more fertile valleys of the state, were 
 not very successful. The soil in the less favored regions was 
 "poor and hard to cultivate" an(J the country "broken and 
 hilly. "^^ In the most desirable localities the process of subdivi- 
 sion of farms had gone on to such a great extent that by the be- 
 ginning of the thirties the farms were exceedingly small, com- 
 prising often but ten or twenty acres.^'^ The younger genera- 
 tion growing up at this time was in need of a place to earn a 
 livelihood and some went to the cities, others to the West. 
 
 ]\Iany of the farmers 'were renters and each year spent as 
 much money for rent as would buy a western farm. For a de- 
 cade after 1835 Pennsylvania was flooded with circulars describ- 
 ing the beauties of the Illinois country, recommending the land 
 and offering flattering inducements to settlers.^^ When the less 
 prosperous years came the effect of these circulars became 
 marked and many took their way westward. By 1850 there 
 were nearly 38,000 Pennsylvanians in Illinois alone, but, as the 
 movement was a gradual one and due to no exceptional circum- 
 stances, the volume at different years is not easily determined. 
 
 From 1830 to 1850 the movement of population in the south- 
 ern states was one of decided importance. Before 1850 Virginia 
 had lost by emigration twenty-six per cent, of her native-born 
 free inhabitants. South Carolina had lost thirty-six per cent, 
 and North Carolina, thirty-one per cent.^^ Further exami- 
 nation of statistics, will, however show that the movement was 
 probably almost entirely within the limits of the planting states 
 themselves. From 1831 to 1840 Georgia gained nearly thirty- 
 four per cent, in population ; Alabama, ninety-one per cent., 
 Mississippi, one hundred and seventy-five per cent, and Arkan- 
 sas, two hundred and twenty-one per cent. In the next decade, 
 Kvhile the percentages of increase were lower, the actual gain 
 in population in these states was little less than in the preced- 
 ing decade and if Texas, which appears for the first time in the 
 
 "*" Lothrop, Directory of Champaign Cnuniy (III.), 118. 
 "' Hazard, Rcyister of Pennsylvania, 8, 88. 
 ^^ History of Lirinoston County (111.), .500. 
 '^^ Abstract of the Seventh Census (1850), 15. 
 
 [58] 
 
rOOLEY SETTLinrEXT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 345 
 
 census reports, be included, the increase was nearly 200,000 in 
 excess of that of the preceding decade. '"' 
 
 Just how large a part of this southern stream came to the 
 Northwest is difficult to determine ])ut an examination of county 
 histories discloses the fact that during the decade of 1831-1840, 
 pioneers from the South and Southwest frequently came to take 
 up the woodlands along the Illinois rivers. 
 
 To a combination of causes, we must look for the explanation 
 of this migration. The Indian lands of Georgia had been opened 
 for settlement and the cultivation of cotton was rapidly in- 
 creasing along the 'black belt' of the Gulf States. ^Moreover, a 
 general depression pervaded the older states of the South in the 
 thirties, due primarily to agricultural conditions and aggra- 
 vated by the general financial embarrassment of the last half 
 of the decade. From Maryland,"^ Virginia,^- and the Caro- 
 linas"^ came the cry of ' ' worn-out lands ' ' and general agricultural 
 depression. On account of the exhaustive process of the culti- 
 vation of the staples, tobacco and cotton, there had been going 
 on for years, a steady impoverishment of the land, but while the 
 price of cotton kept up it was a profitable industry for the 
 planter. A decline in prices, however, set in and following the 
 year 1837 there came a crisis in the cotton industry, which 
 proved a hard blow to southern interests, for prices fell so low 
 that the cultivation of this staple was no longer a paying ven- 
 ture.''* To make matters worse, the price of tobacco fell in a 
 corresponding degree.^^ 
 
 The cause for the ill-success of the agricultural class may be 
 seen in the character of the products. As a staple was the 
 strength and life of the South so Was it also the wealaiess. 
 In good years when crops flourished, all was well, but in poor 
 years 'when crops failed, disaster followed. Since the rich 
 planter class held most of the best lands of the South, the poor 
 
 fo Seventh Census (1850), 4, 5. 
 « Agues' Register, 49, 298. 
 «* Martineau, Society in America, 2, 41. 
 » Niles' Rcf/i^ter, 44. 222. 
 
 •* r/ie Agricultural Prospects of South Carolina: Her ncsources and Her True 
 Policy, In the Southern Quarterly Jicvicu-, S. 119. 
 ^ Niles' Register, 52, 131. 
 
 [59] 
 
34() BULLETIN OF THE UXIVEKSITY OF WISCONSIlSr 
 
 whites Avere confined to the less productive portions and from 
 this there arose a tendency to move. In the case of the planter, 
 the removal came with the wearing out of the old lands ; in the 
 case of the poor whites, the removal came whenever an oppor- 
 tunity presented itself. 
 
 In the southern mind many of the hardships experienced by 
 the people of that section could be attributed to the tariff. 
 This view is shown by Mr. Hayne, senator from South Caro- 
 lina, who in 1832 presented to the Senate a memorial which 
 stated that, ' ' Although other causes have conspired to reduce the 
 income of the citizens of the south, yet it is the tariff alone 
 which denies them the right of converting that reduced income 
 into such an amount of the necessaries and conveniences of life 
 as would certainly be at their command under a revenue sys- 
 tem of moderate duties . . . .""" Charleston is the ex- 
 ample cited to show the conditions which prevailed during the 
 early thirties. The merchants were bankrupt, the mechanics 
 in despair, grass was growing in the streets, houses were falling 
 in ruins, real estate was reduced to one-third its true value and 
 rents amounted to almost nothing. In the surrounding country 
 the fields were abandoned, agriculture drooping and slaves and 
 masters working harder than ever and faring worse.''^ Condi- 
 tions were not changed in 1837 as a correspondent writes to the 
 New York Star. He points out that the business houses were 
 failing and loans could be had only at rates ranging from four 
 to ten per cent, a month and then only on collateral securities 
 in the shape of jewels and other valuables.^® 
 
 In the Southwest conditions were not much better. A me- 
 morial from Louisville, presented to the Senate in 1834 says, 
 "Had a large invading army passed triumphantly through our 
 coimtry, it could not have so completely marred our prosperity. 
 . . The countenances of our citizens are more gloomy 
 and desponding than when the dread cholera was amongst 
 us."*'^ ]\roney here commanded five per cent, a month. 
 
 "'Senate Deviates, 22 Cong., 1 Sess., 174. 
 •' JMd., 22 Cong., 1 Sess.. 80. 
 '^:Xiles' Reuistrr, 52. 114. 
 
 •9 Refers to the removal of U. S. Bank Deposits. (Senate Delates, 23 
 Cong., L Sess., 719.) 
 
 [60] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 047 
 
 Another cause operated to turn migration northward dur- 
 ing this period. It was the iutiuenee of the institution of slav- 
 ery. Slaveiy, the emigrants from the South said, had a ten- 
 dency to create class distinction to a marked degree and to 
 depreciate the eft'ectiveness of free, white labor. As a conse- 
 quence immigrants came to Illinois from Virginia/" "West Vir- 
 ginia,"^ Maryland,^- Georgia," Kentuclvy/^ and Tennes- 
 see"^ expressly to escape the effects of slavery, which as they 
 said, operated against their interests in their native states. In 
 all probability this was the greatest influence operating to move 
 southern emigrants to northern homes. Free labor in 1832 
 received but twelve and one-half cents a day."*^ It was 
 unable to compete with slave labor and as a consequence it was 
 compelled to withdraw. 
 
 From the states north of the Ohio river, an exceedingly large 
 emigration came to the newer states. The causes for this move- 
 ment are not clearly defined and much of the emigration can 
 probably be attributed to the ever present desire to obtain better 
 farming lands. Ohio and Indiana were both good agricultural 
 states and owing to the fact that the chief industry was farm- 
 ing the revulsion of 1837 did not affect them to such an extent 
 as it did the eastern states." ]Monetarj' affairs in Ohio got into 
 a state of confusion, however, immediately after the panic, for 
 the "Three Dollar Law" was passed, by which no bank was 
 compelled to accept bills of any other bank for amounts of three 
 dollars or less. Considerable trouble was experienced owing 
 to this fact and undoubtedly losses resulted to all classes. 
 Money brought from ten to fifty per cent, a year/^ which placed 
 it beyond the reach of the average borrower and wrought hard- 
 ship upon the well-to-do. 
 
 ^0 Weekly Chicago Democrat, Feb. 4, 1848. 
 " Ihid. 
 
 ''^History of Mercer and Henderson Counties, (111.) 80?,. 
 "Ferrall, Ramhle throuoh the United States (1832), 166. 
 '•* Rec'ilh etions of John M. Palmer, 8. 
 "Stuart, Three Years in Xorth A7ncrica, 2. 235. 
 ^^ House Debates, 22 Con?., I. Sess.. 3154. 
 
 '''Greene County Torch Light, (Xenia, O.) Dec. 9, 1859; Ohio Statesman, Dec. 
 3, 18S9. 
 
 "Greejt County (0.) Torch Light, Dec. 9, 1839. 
 
 [61] 
 
348 
 
 BULLETIN OF THE UXIVEESITY OF WISCONSIX 
 
 Indiana had its experience with financial troubles. The in- 
 ternal improvement craze which seized upon so many of the 
 states before 1840 affected this state also and coupled with dis- 
 tress coming from too much banking, trading and speculation 
 threw the state deeply into debt/^ Many left to escape paying 
 their debts; some, mined by paying them, migrated in search 
 of other homes where they could begin life anew and build 
 up their broken fortunes. Still others seeing the immense debt 
 burdening the state and noting the slowness of the return of 
 financial solidity, feared an increase of taxes, sold their land 
 and moved out of the state to escape the additional burden 
 which they expected would be laid upon the people. 
 
 Soils varied greatly in fertility all through the states of the 
 old Northwest Territory bordering on the Ohio river. The "Wis- 
 
 " Haymond, Indiana. 21G. 
 
 [62] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS^ 1830-50 340 
 
 eonsin glacier had moved down over Illinois, Indiana and Ohio, 
 leaving a marked effect upon the fertility of the soil over 
 which it passed. Just how great this difference was can be 
 appreciated only by an examination of the agricultural statistics 
 for the two districts. The accompanying sketch®" shows in a 
 general way the glaciated and unglaciated portions of Ohio. 
 The portion of the state east of a line drawn through Canton, 
 Newark, Lancaster and Chillicothe has not had the benefit of 
 glacial action. In this area the streams run in deep narrow 
 channels whose valleys are fertile. On the highlands the soil is 
 shallow and the average production to the acre, especially in 
 wheat, not nearly so great as within the limits of the glaciated 
 district, being only as nine is to fourteen. Lacking the depth 
 of soil this unglaciated portion wore out rapidly and the crop 
 returns diminished each year. The census of 1900 shows that 
 on an average the comities inside the moraine produce $5,000 
 or more of agricultural products per square mile annually, 
 while outside the average production per square mile is between 
 $2,500 and $5,000.^^ 
 
 By 1850 the difference in the soils was noticeable. The reports 
 of 1850 for eight counties taken along the middle line of the im- 
 glaciated part of Ohio show forty-eight and six-tenths per cent. 
 of the land under cultivation ; while in eleven counties selected 
 from those within the limits of the moraine but not bordering 
 upon it fifty-seven per cent, of the land was cultivated showing 
 that farmers were not inclined to allow good land to lie un- 
 cultivated. In the case of dairy products the difference was 
 not so noticeable for this industry seemed the best suited to 
 southeastern Ohio. 
 
 In land values the difference was still more marked. Outside 
 the moraine, land was worth on an average, thirteen dollare and 
 seventy-five cents an acre while inside it was valued at more 
 than nineteen dollars an acre. In other words, a farm of one 
 hmidred acres in the glaciated part of the state was as valuable 
 as one of one hundred and forty acres in the less favored loca- 
 tions.®- 
 
 *>* For map see Geological Survey of Ohio (CoUimbiis, 1S84,) 5, 755. 
 ^^ Ticelfth Census (1900) Ayricitlturc, pt. 1, plate 4. 
 »^ Seventh Census (1850), 862-868. 
 
 [63] 
 
350 BLLLETIX OF THE UXIVEKSITY OF WISCOINTSIK 
 
 Like conditions prevailed in Indiana. The unglaciated part 
 of the state lacked fertility and the soil soon wore out. Statistics 
 for 1850 collected from eight counties inside the glacial moraine 
 and a like number outside of it show that glaciated land was 
 valued at twelve dollars and sixty cents per acre, while land not 
 glaciated was worth but six dollars and sixty cents per acre — 
 little more than half as much. The farms in the central part 
 of the state produced on an average fourteen bushels of cereals 
 per acre; in' the southern part, the average production was less 
 than eleven bushels per acre. In units of other produce, the 
 difference between the areas was as great; three and three- 
 fourths units being the average production per acre for the 
 glaciated portion and two and two-tenths units the average 
 outside the moraine.^^ 
 
 At first glance the differences may not seem marked enough 
 to have had any great effect but to the farmer who spent his 
 time working earnestly it was disappointing to find that he 
 could raise but half as much produce per acre as his neighbor 
 who worked no harder than he and who cultivated no more 
 groimd. In these relative land values it seems that a cause for 
 emigration can be foiuid.** 
 
 The flood of circulars which came from Illinois in the closing 
 years of the forties may have influenced some to move to that 
 state. At home, inducements were offered to some farmers to 
 move since capitalists found it a paying investment to buy up 
 the worn-out farms of southeastern Ohio and by means of fer- 
 tilizers to restore the strength of the land.^^ Many took ad- 
 vantage of the opportunity to sell and moved away. 
 
 A general law which seems to have always been fundamental 
 in the westward movement was doubtless in operation. Ohio 
 and Indiana had been settled with rapidity and had no\v been in 
 the Union for a generation or more; the boys of the younger 
 
 ^ Fleventh Cenfvs (IS.'OK 700-707. 
 
 •" In the selpctlon of oxnmples care has Ix^en takpn that New England settle- 
 ments should not be opposed to the southern settlements thus opposins thrift 
 and shiftlessnesg In as^ricultural methods. Contrast Von Hoist. Conntitntional 
 Eiatwy, 3, 570; Calhoun Papers In American Hist. Ass'n Reports (1898), 
 2, 100. 
 
 »^ Sevcvih Annual Report of the Ohio State Board of Aariculture (1852'>, 408. 
 
 [64] 
 
rOOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 351 
 
 generation were growing to manhood and knowing by experi- 
 ence the possibilities of the West and the ease with which the 
 western land could be procured, and knowing the returns ob- 
 tained by ordinary ejffort 'were anxious to become land owners. 
 The families of these pioneers were large as a rule, so a divi- 
 sion of the paternal inheritance could not be thought of by the 
 sons and they went out to take up lands for themselves. Travel- 
 ing by wagon they soon came to the prairies of Illinois and 
 finding the land here exceedingly fertile they were content to 
 settle wherever an opportunity, which generally meant timber, 
 presented itself. An examination of the nativities of the settlers 
 of the eastern Illinois counties will show a great percentage of 
 Ohio men and Indiana men, wiiich leads one to believe that 
 this immigration was a natural agricultural one produced by 
 no special causes save the general desire to obtain better eco- 
 nomic conditions. 
 
 From the foregoing causes it seems reasonable to believe that 
 the influences bringing about the western expansion in this 
 period, were primarily economic. The movement may be 
 characterized as an attempt upon the part of the American 
 farmer and laborer to 'widen his industrial field and to uplift his 
 standard of living by taking advantage of the opportunities 
 offered in the new "West, 
 
 [65] 
 
352 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVEESITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 The Way to the AVest 
 
 Broadly speaking the movement of the pioneers across the 
 continent has always been along the lines of least resistance, 
 following in a general way the lines of latitude. Illinois is a 
 remarkable illustration of the latter tendency. In length the 
 state is about four hundred miles and the parallels of latitude 
 •which mark its northern and southern extremities include all 
 those states from northern ]\Iassaehusetts to southern Virginia. 
 In the southern counties of the state a great part of the settlers 
 are descendants of the pioneers who came from the southern 
 and southwestern states; in the northern and eastern counties 
 the settlers, exclusive of foreigners, are principally descended 
 from New Englanders or people from the Middle States. 
 
 In the early pioneer days there were four established lines 
 of travel to the West, following trails made by nature. 
 Farthest to the north lay the line of the IMohawk valley, after- 
 w^ards to be the path of the Erie canal. Next, to the south, was 
 a line of communication which followed the course of the upper 
 Potomac and passed through southern Pennsylvania, western 
 Maryland and northern Virginia. Still farther south lay the 
 roads up the valleys of Virginia opening through the mountain 
 gaps into Tennessee and Kentucky, and lastly there were the 
 trails leading around the southern extremity of the Appa- 
 lachian system and spreading over the Gulf States. 
 
 To trace out any general line of travel is difficult but it ap- 
 pears that there was a tendency for the northern immigrants 
 to move towards the Ohio river or the Great Lakes and follow 
 these lines westward. This tendency is especially noticeable 
 when upon the completion of the Erie Canal the line of water 
 
 [6C] 
 
I'OOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 353 
 
 comniunication extended unbroken from New York city through 
 the Great Lakes. 
 
 Farther to the south it is a still more difficult matter to de- 
 termine the location of any general route of travel westward. 
 The southerner packed up his household goods, faced the West 
 and traveled by the most convenient road. An illustration 
 of this characteristic is given in the answer made by a North 
 Carolina man who, traveling westward with all his earthly 
 possessions, was asked where he was going. "No where in 
 pertick'lar" he answered. "Me and my wife thought we'd 
 hunt a place to settle. "We've no money, nor no plunder — 
 notliin' but just ourselves and this nag — we thought we'd 
 try our luck in a new country,"^ The vague desire for 
 a change of location is shown here as well as one class of people 
 moving from the South in the early decades of the century. 
 
 In order to understand the lines of travel, it is necessary to 
 note the convergence of the several minor lines with the great 
 trunk lines and also to note the divergence. From Montreal 
 and Quebec, which were the landing places of many Europeans 
 bound for the Northwest, the St. Lawrence river offered a con- 
 venient road.- The New Englanders, after the opening of the 
 Erie canal, in 1825, if they lived near the Hudson river valley, 
 were inclined to travel the nearest road to Albany and proceed 
 by water. There was a decided tendency among those living 
 within a convenient distance from Boston to go to that city 
 and thence to Philadelphia^ or Baltimore* and westward by 
 stage, canal and railway to a point upon the Ohio river, gener- 
 ally Pittsburg or Wheeling. 
 
 The peopl^ of northern and western New York and such other 
 parts of the state as were close to the Erie canal generally 
 followed it to the Great Lakes and thence westward.^ StiU 
 othei-s found it more convenient to go by the southern wagon 
 road leading from Kingston on the Hudson through Ithaca and 
 
 ' Chicajo ^VccK•U/ Ain'rirait, .Iiiue 20, IS.".". 
 
 * Boston Weekly Messenger, October 14, 1819. 
 
 ' Stories of the Pioneer Mothers of JUiitois {MSS. In UL State Historical 
 Library*- 
 
 * Illinois Monthly Magazine, 2, .52. 
 
 ^ Stor:('s of the Pioneer Mothers of Illinois {2ISS. in 111. State Hist. Library). 
 
 [67] 
 
354 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCOXSIX 
 
 Bath to the Alleg-ham- river*' or to Erie (Pa.) and thence south 
 to Beaver on the Ohio where they embarked upon rafts or 
 steamboats. 
 
 Buffalo was the great port for embarking for the West, and 
 so continued after the opening of the steamer lines on the lakes. 
 During the year 1834 some 80,000 people were coimted leaving 
 Buffalo.^ Eleven years later the number had grown to almost 
 98,000.^ Thousands of the travelers were destined to the ports 
 of Detroit, Mlwaukee and Chicago; the remainder were for 
 intermediate ports, for they did not believe the trip through the 
 entire length of the lakes to be the most advantageous. It 
 was a common occurrence for immigrants to leave the water 
 at Buffalo, or at Erie and then turn south to the Ohio river.' 
 Others went to Cleveland and reached the Ohio by way of the 
 Cuyahoga and Scioto rivers.^'* The greater number of settlers 
 bound for the states around the upper Lakes went to one of the 
 three great ports and found their way to their homes by various 
 methods. Some bound for central Illinois left the Lakes at 
 Detroit, came over land to the Kankakee river and floated down 
 it to the Illinois." 
 
 Those migrating from the Middle States turned towards the 
 great highways leading from Baltimore and Philadelphia over 
 the mountains to Pittsburg or Wheeling. From Philadelphia 
 the Columbia railway or the Schuylkill river and Union canal 
 connected with the Pennsylvania canal along the Susquehanna 
 and Juniata rivers. This route was followed to Hollidaysburg 
 where the Portage railway commenced. The railway acted as 
 a connecting link between the waterways of eastern and western 
 Pennsylvania. Writers and travelers comment upon it as one 
 of the wonderful achievements of the age. Jones in his Ill- 
 inois and the West (1838) says "the Portage Railroad over the 
 AUeghanies is a wonderful work. . . . The road consists 
 
 •Lloyd-Jones, Routes to Wisconsin (University of Wisconsin MS. Thesis (1902). 
 ' Nilcs' Register, 58, 234. 
 • All>acli, Annals of the ^Vest, 958. 
 » Illinois Monthly Magazine, 2, 53. 
 
 'o Stephen A. Douglas came to Illinois by this road in the early thirties. 
 {Proceedings of the III. Ass'n of the Sons of Vermont (1877) 11). 
 "Duis, Good Old Times in McLean County (111.), 229. 
 
 [68] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 355 
 
 of five inclined planes on each side of the moimtains with their 
 levels. The planes are from three-fourths of a mile to a mile 
 and a quarter in length and the levels from one to sixteen miles. 
 The short levels are furnished 'with horse power and the longer 
 ones with locomotives."^- From 183-1 it seems to have been the 
 custom to load the canal boats from the eastern side on cars 
 furnished for the purpose, transport them over the mountains 
 and deposit them in the canal upon the opposite side;^^ from 
 this point (Johnstown) the communication by water was un- 
 interrapted to the Ohio. Some immigrants came by way of 
 Lancaster, Columbia, Chambersburg and Somerset to Pittsburg 
 on the Ohio or to Brownsville on the Old National Road. 
 
 Baltimore's connection with the We&t was by way of the 
 National Road from Cumberland on the Potomac. The Chesa- 
 peake and Ohio canal leading to Pittsburg and the Baltimore 
 and Ohio raih^oad to Wheeling although primarily planned to 
 give Baltimore close connection w^ith the western country had 
 been slow in construction. By 1850 the canal was completed 
 only to Cumberland on the Potomac^* and the railroad had 
 reached this place but eight years before. The latter, however, 
 was of some importance at least in the conveyance of goods 
 to the West, almost 782,000 tons of freight having passed west- 
 ward previous to 1851.^^ 
 
 From the surrounding country along all the wagon roads, 
 came load after load of household goods bound for the various 
 Ohio river towns.^*' Hundreds preferred the National Road to 
 the Ohio, blocking it up with their caravans. Niles' Register" 
 says "the National Road has the whole season been blocked up 
 with movers' wagons and from the representations, people 
 enough have changed homes from the east to the west in 1839 to 
 add another state to the national constellation had they all lo- 
 cated in a single territory." 
 
 '= Jones, Illinois and the West, 16. 
 
 " Galena Gazette, Dec. 13, 1S34 (Extract from the BolUdayshurg {Pa.) 
 Aurora) ; Luchsinger, :Sew Glarus, in ^Yis. Hist. Colls., 12, 354. 
 
 " Ward, Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, in Johns Hopkins University Studice, 17, 
 534. 
 
 " Reizenstein, Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, in Johns Hopkins Universiti/ 
 Studies, 15, 359. 
 
 " Tr7iec7i«.(7 Gazette, Sept. 1, 1832. 
 
 " yUes' Register, 52, 224. 
 
 [69] 
 
35 G BULLETIN OF THE UXIVEESITY OF WISCONSIN- 
 
 From the South Atlantic states much the same general course 
 was followed. The roads up the Virginia valleys converged at 
 the Cumberland Gap, although some movers preferred to travel 
 towards the Potomac river striking the Old National Road there. 
 Still others followed along the road leading through Cliar- 
 lottesville (Va.), Staunton, Lewisburg and CharlestowTi to 
 Guyandotte on the Ohio.^^ From the Carolinas they followed the 
 Yadkin through Wilkesville, thence northward through Ward's 
 Gap (Va.) across the valley to the Great Kanahwa; or turning 
 southwest from Wilkesville some went through the State Gap 
 (N. C.) and found their way to one of the Ohio river towns by 
 way of the Cumberland Gap. The roads of South Carolina 
 followed the rivers, and converging at the Saluda Gap in the 
 Blue Ridge, passed through Asheville (N. C), through the 
 Smoky mountains and the Cumberland Gap to Kentucky.^** As 
 a general rule where there was any tendency to follow a beaten 
 line of travel it was towards some point on the Ohio between 
 Cincinnati and Louisville. If the whole trip was to be by 
 wagon the pioneers generally continued northward across the 
 Ohio to Vincennes (Ind.), Terre Haute (Ind.) or Shawnee- 
 tOMTl (111.) 2° 
 
 The great road from southern Kentuclcj^, central Tennessee 
 and the Carolinas lay through Christian and Caldwell coun- 
 ties in Kentucky crossing the Ohio at Ford's Ferry and pro- 
 ceeding along the road through Equality, ]\It. Vernon and 
 Carlyle. On this road could be seen every conceivable sort of 
 conveyance from a handsome family carriage to the humblest 
 sort of an ox-cart.^^ 
 
 One more regular route of travel must be noticed. This 
 is the ]\Iississippi river. New Orleans 'was the great port of 
 the South and here a considerable number of foreigners landed 
 each year. Few of these, it seems, cared to stay in the South 
 for the up-stream boats each year brought hundreds of Ger- 
 mans, Irish and other foreigners seeking homes in the interior.^' 
 
 "Peck. Gazetteer of Illinois (1837), 323. 
 ^^Reminiscences of Led Coffin, 76. 
 ^Hisiory of Coles Coiiiiiy (III.), 400. 
 '^'^ Personal Recollections of John M. Palmer, 11. 
 
 ^Emigrants' and Travelers' Ouidc through the Valley o/ the Mississippi, 341 
 Madison City Express, April 25, 1844. 
 
 [70] 
 
rOOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 357 
 
 The roads taken by the movers from the older states of the 
 Northwest Territory cannot be distinctly marked. The pio- 
 neers from Ohio living near the great river or its branches took 
 advantage of this convenient road.-^ Others living along the 
 line of the Old National Road were equally certain to take ad- 
 vantage of it. The people of Indiana, being close to Illinois, 
 were less likely to follow any one of these routes and it is dif- 
 ficult to find information regarding these settlers, other than 
 that they generally came in wagons or perhaps, when not in 
 possession of manj' household goods, on foot. 
 
 As there were points for congregation of immigrants, so were 
 there points for dispersion. Shawneetown, Vincennes and 
 Terre Haute on the eastern border of the state have already 
 been mentioned. Detroit, to the nortljeast, has also been shown 
 to be a place from which the pioneers spread over the country, 
 some of them reaching northern and central Illinois. On the 
 south, beyond the bounds of the state lay another, Louisville, 
 from which several roads by land and vrater presented them- 
 selves according to the destination of the traveler. 
 
 St. Louis was the important point for travelers coming by 
 way of the Mississippi. From this city nearly eveiy point in 
 Illinois could be reached in a reasonably short time since steam- 
 boats departed almost daily for all Illinois towns lying along 
 the Mississippi,-* and others plied up and down the Illinois 
 river.-^ By 1850 this latter line was increased in importance 
 by the opening of the Illinois-Michigan canal which connected 
 St. Louis and Chicago by a waterway. In 1831 stage lines also 
 led from St. Louis to various settlements throughout Illinois. 
 Three times a week the stage left St. Louis for Vincennes, In- 
 diana, passing through Belleville, Lebanon, Carlyle, Maysville 
 and Laurenceville ; once a week a stage went to Yandalia by 
 way of EdHvardsville and Greenville and once a week to Galena 
 by way of Edwardsville, Springfield and Peoria.-^ 
 
 ^History o' McLean Count)) (III.), 467. 
 
 ^* lUinoia Monthly Magazine, 2, 54; Buffalo Commercial Advertiacr, May 27, 
 1846. 
 
 "In IS-iG there were thirty-five steamboats on the Illinois River. (Ilistory 
 of Menard and Ma.ion Countirs. 501. ^ 
 
 ^'' Illinois Monthly Magazine. 2. 54. 
 
 [711 
 
358 BULLETIN OF THE UXIVEESITY OF WISCOjSTSIN 
 
 In the extreme northwest corner of the state in the lead re- 
 gion lay Galena, the objective point of all immigrants to that 
 region in the early days.-^ It was most easily reached by way 
 of the Mississippi, and in 1822 the "Virginia" on her way to 
 Fort Snelling stopped at Galena, being the first steamboat to 
 enter the port.-^ By 1846 steamers plied daily between St. 
 Louis and this port.-^ As the lead mining industry grew, the 
 importance of Galena as a distributing port for the Northwest 
 grew also. In 1832, ten years after the coming of the first 
 steamboat, one hundred steamboats and seventy keel-boats 
 landed there.^° 
 
 During the time of the earlier daj's in the northwestern part 
 of the state before the railroads began to operate, the merchants 
 of the section carted their goods overland from Galena, which 
 was the most convenient point for receiving supplies from the 
 east and south. Here, too, was the market of the farmers, or 
 at least the shipping point for markets down the river. So 
 intimate was Galena's connection with the South by means of 
 the great river, that for years its people were decidedly southern 
 in their sympathies as was indicated by the sentiments expressed 
 in their newspapers. 
 
 The objective point for immigrants to Illinois after 1834 was 
 Chicago, if the journey was made by way of the Great Lakes. 
 Frequently, indeed, we find mention of the number of immi- 
 grants landing at this point and of the rapidly increasing 
 number of vessels employed in transporting these people. In 
 1833 four vessels came to Chicago harbor," this number in- 
 creased to one hundred and eighty during the next year^^ and 
 to over four hundred and fifty in 1836.^^ "Almost all vessels 
 from the lower lakes are full of passengers and our streets are 
 thronged with wagons loaded with household furniture and the 
 implements necessary for farming. Foot-passengers, too, with 
 
 " strong, History of TVisconsin Territory, 118. 
 
 =" Oalena and its Lcadmincs, in Harper's Magazine, 32, 693. 
 
 '^Buffalo Commercial Advertiser^ May 27, 184G. 
 
 ^History of Jo Daviess County, 257. 
 
 =' Hunt's Merchants' Magazine, 18, 166. 
 
 2- Niles' Register, 47, 55. 
 
 ^Hunt's Merchant Magazine, IS, 166. 
 
 [72] 
 
rOOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS^ 1830-50 359 
 
 well-filled sacks on their shoulders come in large numbers."^* 
 This was the comment of a Chicago newspaper in 1835. In 
 1836 the same paper states that the town "is rapidly filling up 
 with strangers. "^^ After the financial depression which lasted 
 from 1837 to 1842, Chicago again began to feel the westward 
 movement, the Chicago Express noting that "the tide of immi- 
 gration is gradually setting in again to Illinois. "^^ 
 
 At a comparatively early date lines of communication were 
 established from Chicago to various points in eastern, central 
 and northern Illinois. The chief road to the settlements along- 
 the Vermilion and AVabash rivers was the 'Hubbard Trace.' or 
 the 'State Road' leading from Chicago to Danville.^^ In 1836 
 a line of wagons, operating between Chicago and the Kankakee 
 river was established. From this point connections were made 
 with the Illinois river steamboats by means of fiat boats. Primarily 
 this transportation line was for the benefit of St. Louis and 
 Alton merchants who were desirous of receiving their goods by 
 way of the lakes. ^^ Immigrants, however, took advantage of 
 the conveniences offered. Three years later the Frink and Bing- 
 ham stage line from Chicago to Galena was in operation adver- 
 tising that the entire journey of one hundred and sixty miles 
 would be covered by their coaches in two days and that pas- 
 sengers would be carried for twelve and one-half dollars per 
 head.2» 
 
 It has been indicated that, previous to the beginning of steam 
 navigation on the Great Lakes, the amount of travel along tliis 
 highway was limited. After its beginning the number of pas- 
 sengers desiring transportation increased with astonishing rap- 
 idity. With the increased demand by immigrants grew the 
 number of steamers. In 1833 eleven steamboats carried about 
 43,000 movers from Buffalo to the West.'*'' In the next year the 
 number of boats had gro^^^l to eighteen"*^ but it was not suffi- 
 
 ^ Chicago Weekly Chronicle, Nov. 21, 1835. 
 
 ^Ihid., June 18, 1836. 
 
 ^Chicago Express. June 27, 1843. 
 
 3' Beckwlth, History of Vei million County, 651. 
 
 ^^ Xorthtcestern Gazette and Qalena Advertiser, Jan. 16, 1836. 
 
 39/btff., Aug. 27, 1839. 
 
 *" MacGregor, Commercial Statistics of America, 675. 
 
 " Ibid. 
 
 [73] 
 
360 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIISr 
 
 cient to satisfy' the demaud, for sailing vessels of all descrip- 
 tions were used. During the summer season of 1835, it was 
 estimated that 1200 people daily left the port of Buffalo bound 
 for the far West.*- The year 1839 saw the establishment of a reg- 
 ular line of steamers from Buffalo to Detroit and Chicago." 
 There were eight boats in this transportation line and they made 
 trips from Buffalo to Detroit everj'' sixteen days. Between 
 Detroit and Chicago was a line of light boats and by 1847 the 
 traffic on the lakes had grown to such an extent that sixty 
 steamboats and three hundred and forty vessels of other des- 
 criptions were necessary to handle the traffic.** 
 
 The cost of transportation along this route of travel varied 
 considerably as competition became brisk. From Albany to 
 Buffalo at the beginning of the period the fare was fifteen dol- 
 lars and sixty-two cents*^ by packet. Three years later it had 
 dropped to fourteen and one-half dollars*''' and when railroads 
 got into running order transportation between these points cost 
 eleven dollars by land, and one and one-half cents per mile by 
 the canal, meals to be paid for by the travelers.*^ From Buf- 
 falo to Chicago by steamboat cost twenty dollars in 1840;*^ 
 fifteen dollars in 1842,*'' twelve dollars in 1847 ;'° and but ten 
 dollars in 1850;'^^ steerage passage could be obtained for about 
 half the above prices. Prices on propellers and schoonei-s 
 ranged from four to eight dollars as steerage or cabin passage 
 was taken.^- 
 
 Freight rates varied as did the prices of passenger traffic and 
 charges were made, sometimes by weight and sometimes by 
 barrel bulk." In 1836 the average cost per hundred weight 
 from New York to Chicago was one and one-half dollars.^* In 
 
 *- Chicayo Weekly America)), July 25, 1S."5. 
 
 *' Niles' Register. 44, 125. 
 
 ** De Bow'8 Revieic, 2, 1(12. 
 
 *'^ Illinois Monthly Magazine, 2. 52. 
 
 *'^ Eniigrant,r and Travelers' Guide to the Missi:isii)pi Valley, 3G3. 
 
 *' XoiTis and Gardiner, Illinois Annual Register (1847), 24. 
 
 " Evanston Historical Society, Proceedings (1902), 3. 
 
 *' Chicago Democrat, April 13, 1842. 
 
 ■"^ Norris and Gardiner, Illinois Annual Register (1847). 24. 
 
 " Evanston Historical Society, Proceedings (1902), 3. 
 
 " >?orris and Garainer, Illinois Annual Register (1847), 24. 
 
 ''^Albany Cultivator (1841), 8, 53. 
 
 " Chicago Weekly American, July 9, 1836. 
 
 [74] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 361 
 
 the early forties rates from Buffalo to Chicago were quoted 
 at fifty cents per hundred weight on heavy stuff and eighty- 
 seven and one-half cents on light stuff.'^^ It is evident from 
 these classifications of rates that room rather than weight was 
 what the shipper paid for. 
 
 The amount of goods each mover brought depended upon his 
 financial condition and his inclination to pay freight. Some 
 loaded their horses, wagons and all upon the decks of the boats; 
 others came with only what they could carry on their shoulders. 
 Advice as to wliat the immigrant should take with him to the 
 West varied greatly. One authority told the travelers that 
 they "should not pay freight on horses and cattle or upon 
 hogs."^** Another advised it, saying that the immigrants 
 need fear no difficulty in bringing stock with them as several 
 of the masters of boats seemed "to take great interest in the 
 shipment of choice stock to the West."^^ It seems probable, 
 however, that what stock was brought to Illinois by the settlers 
 generally came with those traveling overland. 
 
 Speed of travel increased as did the volimie. In 1836, seven- 
 teen and one-half days were consumed in making the trip from 
 New York to Chicago ;^'^ by 1840 the distance from Chicago to 
 Buffalo had been covered in two days and two nights.^^ Three 
 and one-half days for the same trip was the best time made be- 
 fore 1850. «° 
 
 The steamers seem to have been regarded as almost perfect 
 as is shown by the enthusiastic description of a lake steamer given 
 by a Chicago new^spaper man in 1841. "It is difficult," he 
 says, "to conceive of their superiors whether we regard swift- 
 ness or beauty of model. They float upon the w^ater like swans; 
 they move through it like its omti finny inhabitants. Travelers 
 from the South and East are in raptures watli them and they 
 may well be so. ' '^^ The large boats sometimes carried nine hun- 
 dred passengers with their luggage at one trip. Many of these 
 
 " Chicapo Democrat, April 13, 1S42. 
 
 "" Marshall. Formers' <in<1 Emigrants' Handhool:, 24. 
 
 ^- Albann Ctdtirator (1841), 8, 53. 
 
 "* Chicago Weekly American, July 9, 1S36. 
 
 "» Niles' Register, 58, 288. 
 
 "^Chicago Times, Dec. 2T, 1841. 
 
 »i Chicago Weekli/ American, Sept. 6. 1841. 
 
 [To] 
 
362 BULLETIN OF THE UXIVEESITY OF "WISCOXSIN 
 
 probably Avere deck passengers having no more accommodations 
 than mere shelter from the weather. Towards the close of the 
 forties the railroads which were developing slowly began to 
 divert the passenger traffic from the Great Lakes.*'- 
 
 Many immigrants' landed in Chicago who had not means 
 enough to take advantage of the stage lines, nor had they wag- 
 ons of their own. The more fortunate, hdwever, possessing 
 some fimds were often able to make an agreement with one of 
 the many fanneris hauling produce to Chicago, to transport their 
 goods into the interior. In such cases the owners trudged 
 along mile after mile to their destinations. The Bishop Hill 
 colonists are said to have travelled the entire distance from 
 Chicago to Henry county on foot, and some even came from 
 New York in the same way. In the sunmier the roads were 
 good but during the spring, before the sun had dried up the 
 moisture, they were in wretched condition. 
 
 In early days thousands of settlers had come to the "West on 
 river steamers. Illinois, although situated in the very heart 
 of the interior, has exceptional advantages for navigation. Its 
 boundaries measure eleven hundred and sixty miles and more 
 than eight hundred and fifty miles of this extent is made up of 
 navigable waters.*'^ 
 
 The first attempt to navigate the western rivers by the aid of 
 steam was made in 1811*''* and in 1817 the first steamboat to 
 touch a port on the Upper Mississippi reached St. Louis.®^ Five 
 years later Galena, at the extreme northern limit of the state 
 was reached. Previous to 1811 crafts of various descriptions 
 had been used in river traffic. Log canoes, pirogues, large 
 enough to carry twelve or fifteen barrels of goods, Kentucky 
 boats, keel-boats, eighty feet in length with a capacity of one 
 himdred barrels. New Orleans boats, capable of transporting 
 from four hundred to five himdred barrels at a time, barges, 
 with a capacity of 60,000 pounds, and finally great rafts upon 
 which whole families together with their household goods, farm- 
 
 "= Evanston Historical Society Proceedings (1902), 3. 
 ^ Xorth American Review, 51, 118. 
 -Albach, Annals of the West, 85."?. 
 
 <^ History of St. Clair County (111.). 21, in Illinois Local nistorics, 13, Wi3. 
 Hist. Society Library. 
 
 [7G] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF lELTNOIS, 1830-50 363 
 
 ing implements and domestic animals floated singly or in groups 
 down the Ohio and the Mississippi rivers.®" Occasionally the 
 boats were "poled" back np the river but the rafts were broken 
 up and either used for building the homes of the immigrants 
 •or were sold. 
 
 The keel-boats were built with the view of protection from the 
 Indians as well as for carrying large loads. Loopholes lined 
 the heavy wooden upper work of the boats. Partitions fonned 
 four rooms, — a cabin for the steward, a dining room, a ladies* 
 cabin and one for men. In later days stoves were furnished 
 and rude berths were constructed along the walls.''' Generally 
 such boats were manned by three hands, one to act as pilot and 
 two for rowing. Occasionally some mover, with an idea of les- 
 sening labor and increasing speed fitted up a pair of side wheels 
 for his boat. These were kept in motion by horses walking in 
 £i treadmill. Mention is made of such a boat, seventy-five 
 tons burden, making the trip all the way from the Muskingum 
 in Ohio to Winnebago county, Illinois, in 1839. It carried a 
 typical immigrant load, eighteen persons, besides horses, cattle, 
 swine, geese, ducks, chickens and farming utensils of all sorts 
 from wagons to hoe handles. Beds, bedding, household furniture, 
 wearing apparel and a full year's stock of provisions were also 
 in the cargo. ''^ 
 
 Down all the streams which fed the Ohio and especially 
 those leading from the lumber district of Pennsylvania and 
 New York floated immense rafts of lumber. Often two or three 
 were lashed together to make the trip which as a rule occupied 
 from three to four weelvs. The immigrants in order to make 
 themselves as comfortable as possible on the voyage erected rude 
 shanties which served for parlor, kitchen, bedroom and store- 
 house. Outside on the walls of the cabin could be seen all kinds 
 of sporting apparatus, dried meats, and every variety of men's 
 and women's wearing apparel. Occasionally a string of drying 
 clothes stretched along the raft suggested the dooryard of a 
 cabin rather than a floating village. Domestic animals and 
 
 8« See Schultz, Travels, 1, 120-13.3, for early river navigation ; also Ilulburt, 
 Historic Highways, 9. 
 
 «' The Americans as They Are, 5.3. 
 «« Miners' Free Press, May 14, 1839. 
 
 [771 
 
364 BULLETIX OF THE UNIVEKSITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 poultiy mixed with ploughs, wagons and other agricultural im- 
 plements took up the remaining room. So equipped, the movers 
 floated down the river and if by good fortune they avoided the 
 numerous snags and sandbars, in due time they reached the 
 mouth of the Ohio where more strenuous labor commenced, for 
 the raft must be "poled" to St. Louis, the distributing point 
 of the Upper Mississippi. These rafts were broken up here and 
 often brought the owner between five and fifteen thousand dol- 
 lai-s according to the size.®^ 
 
 "When in 1811 The Orleans went steaming down the Ohio 
 from Pittsburg and when six years later the Washington con- 
 vinced a despairing public that steamboat navigation would 
 succeed on western w-aters, the new era in western history 
 dawned."^" In 1830 two hundred and thirty steamboats were 
 navigating the Mississippi ;"^ by 1840 the number had increased 
 to four hundred and fifty.'^- In 1850 this river commerce was 
 valued at $550,000,000.^^ Lines of boats operated on the Wa- 
 bash and on the Illinois terminating at St. Louis, also between 
 Galena and St. Louis. 
 
 The first steamboats were not well fitted for river navigation. 
 The builders had copied the models adapted to deep water 
 navigation and as a result nearly all the boats drew too much 
 water, becoming useless during the later summer months when 
 the rivers were at a low stage. Owing to the patent held by 
 Fulton on side-wheel steamers the stern wheel was adopted. 
 Since the boats were very light in construction, many accidents 
 occurred from 'snags.' Explosions, too, were frequent owing 
 to defective boilers and carelessness upon the part of the oper- 
 ators. Two or three miles an hour'^* was the average rate of 
 speed against the current and in 1820 six or eight miles was 
 considered exceptional.''^ 
 
 ]\Iany were the difficulties encountered by the pioneer steam- 
 boats and manv were the inconveniences experienced hy the trav- 
 
 '» June;?, JUinni.i fivd the M'CHt, ^5 ; IIoa'cIIs, lirculiectUins of Life in Ohio, 85. 
 '"Hulburt, Historic Hiyhways, 9, lol. 
 " yUcs' Register, «4. 124. 
 
 '' ilrmnrial of the People of Cincinnati (1844), 1."?. 
 " De Bow, Jn'luatrial Rcxourcea, 2, 4<iO. 
 "* Howells. llecDlle'tinna of Life in Ohio. 74. 
 
 ""^ Emigrcnta' and Travelers' Guide through, the Mississippi Valley, 341. 
 
 [78] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 365 
 
 elers. A voyage up the Mississippi is vividly described, but 
 probably in an overdrawn manner, by one who made the trip 
 in 1832. "This hour," he says, "you get upon a sand-bank, 
 the next you are nearly snagged — driftwood in the river breaks 
 your paddle — the pilot is found to be a toper — the engineer an' 
 ignoramus — the steward an economist — the captain a gambler — 
 the black fireman insurgent and the deck passenger riotous. 
 This moment j'ou have too little steam and hardly advance 
 against the current; another, too much and the boat trembles 
 with the tremendous force exerted by the power that impels 
 her. To complete your dismay the captain agrees to take a 
 disabled steamboat, or a couple of heavily laden barges in tow 
 for the next four or five hundred miles. "^® 
 
 The amount of travel on the large boats was great indeed. 
 A boat of five hundred tons often carried one hundred cabin 
 passengers and five hundred deck passengers besides four hun- 
 dred tons of freight, making it a world in miniature. "In the 
 cabin you will find ladies and gentlemen of various claims to 
 merit; on the forward part of the boat the sailors, deck-hands 
 and those sons of Vulcan — ^the firemen — possessing striking 
 traits of character and full of noise and song and too often of 
 whiskey; whilst above in the deck cabin there is everything 
 Avhich may be called human — all sorts of men and women, of 
 all trades, from all parts of the world, of all possible manners 
 and habits. There is the half-horse and half-alligator Ken- 
 tucky boatman, swaggering and boasting of his prowess, his 
 rifle, his horse and his wife. One is sawing away on his wretched 
 old fiddle all day long; another is grinding a knife or razor; 
 here is a party playing cards; and in yonder comer is a dance 
 to the sound of the Jew 's harp ; whilst a f e'w are trying to de- 
 mean themselves soberly by sitting in silence or reading a book. 
 But it is almost impossible — the wondrous tale and the horrible 
 Indian story are telling; the bottle and the jug are freely cir- 
 culating; and the boisterous and deafening laugh is incessantly 
 raised, sufficient to banish every vestige of seriousness and 
 thought and sense. A friend of mine some time ago went down 
 from Cincinnati to New Orleans on board the steamboat 
 
 '« Latrobe, Rambler in 2iorth America, 1. 224. 
 
 [79] 
 
SGQ BULLETIX OF THE UNIVEESITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 * * * which carried fifty cabin passengers; one or two hun- 
 dred deck passengers; one negro driver with his gang of ne- 
 groes; a part of a company of soldiers; a menagerie of wild 
 beasts; a whole circus, and a company of play actors. "^^ Ger- 
 man and Irish inuni grants composed the greater number of the 
 deck passengers. Exposed to the inclemencies of the weather 
 many of these people were taken ill and on almost every voyage, 
 up the river especially from the ports of the extreme south it was 
 a common occurrence for some of these immigrants to fall vic- 
 tims to exposure. An exceptional case is noted in Niles' Regis- 
 ter where on one trip eighteen passengers died from illness con- 
 tracted through inadequate accommodations."^ 
 
 The cabin passengers enjoyed more comforts it seems, but ac- 
 counts given by travelers are far from agreeing on this point. 
 One accoiuit says, "the American steamboats are in the point 
 of elegance superior to those of other nations, and none but the 
 English are able to compete with them. The furniture, car- 
 pets, beds, etc., are thought elegant and in good condition. 
 . . , The fare is excellent and the breakfasts, dinners and 
 suppers are provided with such a multiplicity of dishes and 
 even dainties as would satisfy the most refined appetite. The 
 beverage consists of rum, gin, brandy and claret to be taken at 
 pleasure during meals; but out of that time they are to be paid 
 for. ""^ Still another writer tells of BiiLssels carpets, chande- 
 liers, annchairs, rocking chairs, mirrors and libraries and some- 
 times pianos on the Mississippi river boats.®" Such descriptions, 
 however, seem to be a little too brightly colored if we consider 
 the impressions of western travelers during the thirties, 
 "Happy he whose foresight has secured to him all the enjoy- 
 ment of the luxury of his own clean towels as none but the dis- 
 agreeable alternative of drying his pei'son by the heat of the 
 stove can be the fate of him w^ho has not done this. As to 
 making use of the common articles hung up for the accommoda- 
 tion of some thirty citizens in rotation no one can be termed 
 . . . delicate for avoiding that,"®^ says one. 
 
 ''''Emigrants' and Trarelcra' Guide throuQh the Mississippi Valley, 342. 
 " SHles' Register, 4«, ,301. 
 '» The Americans as Tliey Are, 106. 
 ^"New York Wceklji Tribune, June 17, 184.3. 
 
 *' Latrobe, Ravi'bles in North America, 1, 221. ■ M 
 
 [80] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 3G7 
 
 An Illinois river steamboat of 1838 was described in a no less 
 slighting manner. ' ' There was but one bedroom candlestick on 
 board and this was made with one candle to serve the four 
 ladies' state-rooms in turn, one being obliged to go to bed, 
 . . . the candle being then passed on to another. . . . 
 Of towels also there was but one, Avhich had to go the round 
 from cabin to cabin in the same way ; and the whole equipment 
 in furniture, fare and attendance was upon the same starved, 
 stinted and miserable footing. "^- 
 
 The rules governing the actions of passengers were printed, 
 framed and hung in a conspicuous place. The gentlemen were 
 forbidden to go to the table x^dthout coats or in any garb which 
 would disturb the company, neither should they enter the ladies' 
 state-room without the consent of the ladies. Gentlemen were 
 not to lie upon the beds with their boots or shoes on; they 
 were not to smoke cigars in the state-room; neither were they 
 to play cards after ten o'clock, nor at any time engage in con- 
 versation with the pilot. Marking on the furniture with a pen- 
 cil or anything else which would disfigure it was also mentioned 
 among the things not to be indulged in. Any transgression of 
 the above named rules was punishable by a fine for the first 
 offense; for the second, the transgressor was sent ashore.^^ 
 
 In one point discipline seems to have been lax. Gambling on 
 board the boats was prevalent to a marked degree. Not only 
 did the ordinary passengers indulge, but there were gangs of pro- 
 fessional gamblers who infested the principal towns from Pitts- 
 burg to New Orleans and constantly traveled up and do^n the 
 river fleecing all whom they were able to entice into games.^* 
 Murder, too, seems to have been no uncommon occurence if we 
 are to believe the current statements.^^ 
 
 In 1831 a passage from Beaver, Pennsylvania to Cincinnati, 
 bj'' steamboat was twelve dollars; to Louisville, sixteen dollars; 
 to Shawneeto\\Ti, twenty-two dollars and to St. Louis, thirty-one 
 dollars. From Philadelphia to St. Louis by stage and steam- 
 
 '- Buckingham, Eastern and Westent States of America. 3, 207. 
 
 *^ The Am-eiicams as They Are, 106 ; Steele, A Summer Journey in the West, 155. 
 
 ^Emigrants' and Travelers' Guide Through the Mississippi Valley, 343. 
 
 « Niles' Register, 54, 388. 
 
 6 [81] 
 
368 BULLETIN OF THE UXIVEKSITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 boat the cost, including meals, was about fifty-five dollars ; from 
 New Orleans to St. Louis, thirty dollars; from St. Louis to 
 Beardstown on the Illinois river, six dollars; to Quiney, six 
 dollars and to Galena, twelve dollars. Deck passage was much 
 cheaper. From Beaver to Louisville cost four dollars; from 
 Louis\iUe to St. Louis, three dollars; from New Orleans to St. 
 Louis, eight dollars and from St. Louis to Quincy and Galena 
 two dollars and three dollars respectively.^" 
 
 Prices were gradually lowered. By 1834 a traveler could 
 procure cabin passage from New Orleans to Pittsburg for be- 
 tween thirty-five and forty-five dollars and deck passage for be- 
 tween ten and twelve dollars.®^ In 1837 the "Western Trans- 
 portation Line operating between Philadelphia and St. Louis 
 by way of Pittsburg, Cincinnati and Louisville charged the fol- 
 lowing rates: To Pittsburg cost six dollars and the time for 
 the trip was six and one-half days ; to Cincinnati, eight and one- 
 half dollars, time eight and one-half days; to Louisville, nine 
 dollars, time nine and one-half days and to St. Louis, a distance 
 of seventeen hundred and fifty miles, the cost was thirteen dol- 
 lars and the time of travel, fourteen days. Packets which re- 
 duced the time cost more. The company charged seventeen 
 dollar's to Cincinnati, nineteen dollars to Louisville and twenty- 
 seven dollars to St. Louis.^^ 
 
 After 1840 from New York to Cincinnati cost only twelve 
 dollars; to Louisville, thirteen dollars; to St. Louis, fourteen 
 dollars and to Galena, sixteen dollars.^^ Meals were not in- 
 cluded. Their average cost was thirty-seven and one-half cents 
 each."° Stage travel cost six cents per mile.*^^ Deviations from 
 these prices were often made when a party consisting of a large 
 family or number of families desired passage to one place.®^ 
 
 The rates for the transportatiou of goods Avere in accordance 
 with prices of travel. Sixty-two and one-half cents per hun- 
 
 »' lUinoift Monthly Mn<jazine, 2. .')2. 
 
 OT EmigiartW and Travelers' Guide thromjh the Misnissippi Valhu, .341, 
 
 •» IlUnoia in 1837, 67. 
 
 *» Kapp. Etirtipran Emipration to the Unite;} Stcte/i, 70. 
 
 »» Mitchell, SIcetchbook of lUinots, 27. 
 
 " Ibid. 
 
 "Nilea' Register, 48, 242. 
 
 [82] 
 
POOLEY SETTLE:^[ENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 369 
 
 dred weight was the customaiy charge from New Orleans to St. 
 Louis; to Cincinnati it was about seventy cents and to Pitts- 
 burg between seventy-five cents and one dollar. Down stream 
 charges were less; thirty cents per hundred weight for dry 
 goods was the cost from Pittsburg to Cincinnati ; three and one- 
 half dollars per ton for iron goods for the same destination.^' 
 To other points proportionate charges were made. 
 
 The Ohio river route was one of the great highways to the 
 AYest during the period 1830 to 1850. Some idea of the volume 
 of travel down this river may be had by an examination of the 
 newspapers published in the towns along the river. The Cin- 
 cinnati Mirror of September 6, 1834 says: "We are so com- 
 pletely overrun by emigrants or movers with carriages, wagons, 
 cattle, horses, dogs and sheep that we are compelled to speak. 
 Our streets are a moving mass of living men, women, children 
 and everything joyously wending their way to their new habi- 
 tations." During the next decade the tide had in nowise dimin- 
 ished. "The number of emigrants who have left this city," 
 says the Cincinnati Gazette, "for the northern part of Illinois 
 and Iowa Territory by the way of St. Louis, as we are informed 
 by the officers of the boats, has been unusually large this season. 
 Boats leave our landing almost daily, crowded with substantial 
 emigrants from the back country with their live stock and farm- 
 ing apparatus bent upon seeking their fortunes in the West."®* 
 
 In the thirties the guide books published for the use of im- 
 migrants to the West frequently advised those intending to 
 move to do so in wagons. The expense was less than by other 
 methods. Live stock could be moved with less difficulty and if 
 occasion required the lighter goods only would be taken in 
 wagons and the heavier and bulkier farming implements sent 
 over the Lakes or down the Ohio. Sometimes furniture was 
 sent from New England all the way to Illinois by water, going 
 down the coast, around by New Orleans and up the ^lississippi.®" 
 In these cases someone generally made the trip that 'way to 
 look after the goods. 
 
 '■''' h'lnit/nnits' rii'l Travelers' Cuidr ThrniajU Ihr }[ixsiffiippi ydHr;/, SoT. 
 " t^incnnati Ooiette, April 21, 1842. 
 
 '^Stories of the Pioneer Mothers of Illinois. (Mrs. Julia Wolcott Carter's 
 Btory. AISS. in Illinois Historical Library.) 
 
 [83] 
 
370 BULLETIX OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCOIS'SIN 
 
 Prior to 1830 the ox-cart was much used for transportation 
 by those taking land routes to the West. These carts were not 
 built for rapid transit but rather for capacity. A yoke of oxen 
 hauling an enormous load generally loimged onward at the rate 
 of one and one-half miles an hour. After 1830 wagons began to 
 be seen in greater numbers and in the autumn montlis when 
 the weather was mild, the roads dry and hard and the rivers 
 fordable, after the crops of the year had been gathered and 
 sold, and when the cattle were fat and in good traveling condi- 
 tion, wagon after wagon, caravan after caravan could be seen 
 rattling along the roads to the West. 
 
 All along the highways of travel the newspapers made occa- 
 sional note of parties of more than ordinary size. From these 
 articles we are best able to gain an idea of the volume of west- 
 ward travel by means of land conveyances. "On the 27tli ult., 
 quite a caravan of the hardy sons of Pennsjdvania passed 
 through this city on their way to Stephenson county, Illinois. 
 There were fourteen wagons and sixty-one persons.""*' Again, 
 "on Thursday the loth inst., about one hundred and fifty per- 
 sons passed through this place southward, emigrating to Illinois 
 or perhaps to Missouri. They had their plunder in twenty-two 
 or twenty -three wagons.'"*^ One man traveling through In- 
 diana towards Vincennes counted four hundred emigrants' 
 wagons within a distance of fifty-five miles.*^ The Wheeling 
 Times in 1839 spealvs of the unprecedented amount of travel by 
 wagons passing through the town."** Numerous other news- 
 paper extracts to the same effect can be found. It seems prob- 
 able that those people living at any great distance from the 
 great waterways used wagons in traveling westward. This is 
 especially true among the farmers. There is, however, no way 
 of determining what percentage used this method of travel in 
 preference to the water routes. 
 
 The vehicles were of every kind; sometimes no vehicle was 
 used, for many a man traveled the whole way from the East on 
 
 'x' Madison Express, July 27, 1843. (Extract from the Michigan City Ga::ette.) 
 
 " Chicago Weekly Democrat, June 18, 1834. 
 
 amies' Register, 47, 163. 
 
 »» Madison Enquirer, June 8, 1839. 
 
 [84] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 371 
 
 foot. ''Sometimes the light wagons containing the possessions 
 of the movers were drawTi by the people themselves, the head of 
 the family between the shafts of the wagon, harnessed with a 
 collar and traces, while the rest of the family according to their 
 strength pulled with ropes attached to various parts of the ve- 
 hicle.^'^*' 
 
 The pioneers from Pennsylvania, Ohio and the southern 
 states betrayed their nativity and prejudice in the schootier- 
 shaped wagon box, the stiff tongue, the hind wheels double the 
 size of the forward ones and closely coupled together, the whole 
 drawn by a team of four or six horses guided by a single line 
 in the hands of the teamster riding the nigh wheeler. The har- 
 ness was of gigantic proportions; the massive leather breeching, 
 the heavy harness and collar, the immense housing of bearskin 
 upon the harness, the heavy iron trace chains, and the ponder- 
 ous double-tree and whiffle-trees all made a striking pictui'e. 
 
 The Nev/ Yorker and immigrant from farther east, was 
 marked as far as his caravan could be seen by a long coupled, 
 low boxed, two horse wagon provided with a seat, from which 
 with double lines the driver guided his lightly harnessed pair 
 of horses. ^°^ Occasionally the old 'steamboat' wagons were 
 seen, bearing some resemblance to the crooked, hea\'y wagons 
 used by the people from the southern states. 
 
 The contents of the immigrant wagons were astonishing in- 
 deed in amount as well as variety of articles. A glance under 
 the canvas covering disclosed a startling array of baggage — if 
 "women, guns, rifles, boys, girls, babies and other nick-nacks "^°- 
 may be called baggage. Below on the axles of the wagons 
 dangled pots and kettles of all forms and sizes. Sometimes 
 dogs and even cats were included among the movables of the 
 immigrating families. To the Yankee mover, a plough, a bed, a 
 baiTel of salt meat, a supply of tea and molasses, a Bible and a 
 wife were the indispensable articles.^"^ 
 
 In front of these westward moving caravans rode the older 
 
 »«« Niles' Register, 22, 320. 
 
 ^'^^ History of Grundy County (III), 149. 
 
 ^"^ Niles' Register, 52, 240. 
 
 ^•3 Chevalier, Society, Manners and Politics in the United States. 112. 
 
 [85] 
 
372 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN" 
 
 sons and sometimes the daughters. Their duties were chiefly to 
 attend to the driving of such domestic animals as had been 
 brought along. Sometimes a considerable amount of live stock 
 was driven along by the movers — one family came with five 
 hundred sheep, another man drove one hundred and fifty hogs 
 but as a general rule a few horses and cows, several sheep and 
 hogs made up the wealth of the pioneer. 
 
 Mr. Ho wells in his book on pioneer life in Ohio gives an amus- 
 ing description of the difficulties experienced in driving the 
 domestic animals — "to start off \vith a mixed drove of animals 
 was no trifling affair, for, though they would drive pretty well 
 after getting used to the road and a day or two's experience, their 
 obstinacy and contrarity at first was without parallel, and a 
 boy to each animal was little enough. First a pig would dart 
 back and run like a deer till he was headed and turned, by which 
 time the others would meet him and all have to be driven up ; 
 while in the meantime a cow or two would be sailing down a by- 
 lane with elevated head and tail, and a breathless boy circling 
 through a field or the woods to intercept her career; and then 
 the sheep 'would start over a broken piece of fence, the last fol- 
 lowing the first and leaping higher over every obstacle till they 
 were brought back to the road.""* It was not an uncommon oc- 
 currence, too, for the horses to be seized with sudden homesick- 
 ness during the night and depart for more familiar scenes. 
 
 Excessively warm weather and numerous flies sometimes so 
 worried immigrants that they resorted to night traveling,^''' 
 being unable to make progress during the da}'. When the 
 movers traveled in the day time their nights were passed in 
 camp. If a number of families were traveling together, when 
 night came the wagons were grouped in a neighborly fashion 
 in a convenient spot where water and wood were close at hand. 
 The fire was lighted and the camp utensils brought into use 
 in the preparation of supper while the men unharnessed the 
 dusty horees and turned them loose on the rich unfenced 
 prairie pastures. The scores of happy children liberated 
 
 "" Howells, Recollections of Life in Ohio, 87. 
 
 1°^ History of Bond and Montgomery Counties, .^28. 
 
 [86 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 373 
 
 from the tiresome day's journey romped through the grass en- 
 joying to their greatest capacity an unlimited play ground. 
 Beds were made up in the wagons and sometimes on the ground 
 when the weather permitted. In the morning the bustle of 
 preparation began, the stock was rounded up and started along 
 the road, horses harnessed and soon the work of another day 
 had begun. 
 
 The progress of such caravans was not rapid, being about 
 fifteen miles a day.^"** From the eastern states seven^"^ to 
 nine^°* weeks were consumed in making the trip to Ill- 
 inois. Sometimes heavy roads made the journey even more 
 difficult. The colony which settled at Geneseo, Illinois in 1836, 
 came along a road through INIichigan which was so nearly im- 
 passable that but seven miles were covered in six days.^"" 
 
 It is scarcely possible to make any estimate of value concern- 
 ing the cost of the overland travel. The equipments of the 
 pioneers, the amoimt of stock and the cost of tavern meals 
 varied greatly. Occasionally a scrap of information is found 
 which will serve as an illustration. A family of eleven persons 
 with two wagons, several cows and five hundred sheep came 
 a distance of two hundred and fifty miles to Illinois, in twenty- 
 one days at a cost of ten dollars spent for food."" 
 
 In the extreme western states taverns for the accommodation 
 of travelers were not numerous. Good houses of entertainment 
 were not to be found at all and such taverns as there 'were did 
 not receive much patronage from the immigrants who generally 
 brought all their supplies with them. Tavern prices were regu- 
 lated by the county commissioners court. IMeals cost from 
 twenty-five to thirty -seven and one-half cents; lodging, twelve 
 and one-half cents a night. Hor-ses were eared for at a rate 
 of fifty to seventy-five cents a day.^" The people who fre- 
 quented these taverns were of all classes and stations but the 
 
 ^0^ Ilixtory of Gnindii County (lU.). 314. 
 "■ Beckw;th, History of VennUion Couni;/ (111.). SSI. 
 10^ Thirtitth Annircrsary of the Sctilonctit of Gcncsco (111.). •" 
 "» Ihifl. 
 
 "» Duls, Ocod old Times in McLean County, 217. 
 
 •"Bent, Iliftory of ^ylliteside County (II!.), 57; Terrin, History of Kffinoham 
 County (III.), 40. 
 
 [sr] 
 
3ci BULLETIN OF THE UjS^IYEESITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 predominance of liimtei*s and small farmers gave marked 
 frontier characteristics to them. 
 
 Since the early settlers of the state came from all directions 
 in all sorts of conveyances, at all times of the year, with vary- 
 ing amounts of property and at costs vaiying as greatly as the 
 conveyances used and the roads traveled, it is extremely diffi- 
 cult to draw any conclusions save very general ones. One, 
 however, may be reached. The settlers who located in southern 
 and western Illinois generally came by way of the Ohio and 
 Mississippi rivers; those 'who settled in the northern part of 
 the state, by 'way of the Great Lakes; while the majority of 
 the pioneers of eastern Illinois came by wagons over no beaten 
 road. The migration to this part of the state is illustrative 
 of the simple agricultural immigration which goes on steadily 
 and so quietly as to attract little direct attention and con- 
 sequently is to be characterized with difficulty. 
 
 88 
 
rOOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS^ 1830-50 375 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 The Illinois axd the Fox River Valleys 
 
 Owing to the conditions which influenced the time as w^ell as 
 the character and rapidity of settlement of this part of the 
 state, the Illinois river valley is divided into three parts: the 
 counties along the middle Illinois, those along the upper Illinois 
 and those in the Fox river valley.^ The coimties of the middle 
 Illinois river valley were settled to quite an extent under the 
 influence of the Sangamon country and much earlier than the 
 northern counties, both Tazewell and Putnam counties having 
 organized local governments before 1830. In the upper Illinois 
 river counties the influence of the Illinois-Michigan canal is 
 noticeable both in the character and location of settlement. 
 Likewise the influence of lake transportation was of much im- 
 portance in the settlement of the Fox river valley. 
 
 Although the Sangamon country was quite thickly settled 
 by 1830, ]\Iason county, joining it on the north, had but few 
 settlers and not until 1841 was it organized as a eoimty. During 
 the period 1821-1825 the county was surveyed and the land 
 opened for settlement; but owing to the fact that it was re- 
 garded for years as a sandy, barren waste fit only for the 
 abode of hunters and others who did not depend on agriculture 
 for a living, few pioneers came to settle here, preferring instead 
 to go further to'wards the frontier.- 
 
 ^ The middle Illinois counties are those on the eastern side of the river north 
 of the Sangamon river ; Mason, Tazewell, Woodford, Marshall and Putnam. 
 Those on the western side are included in the Military Tract. La Salle, Grundy 
 and Wi!l counties are grouped under the head of upper Illinois river counties, 
 while in the Fox river valley are the counties of Kendall, Du Page, Kane, Mc- 
 Henry and Lake. 
 
 'Histori/ 'jf Menard and llason counties, 408. 
 
 [ 89 
 
370 
 
 BULLETIN" OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 © Cities of more tlian 2,000. 
 © To«-ns of less than 2.000. 
 v>> Villa £res. 
 
 Illinois and Fox River Valleys (1850) 
 
 Section west of the prairie line is more than 20 per c"nt. woodland. Year indi- 
 cates date of county organization. 
 
 [90] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 377 
 
 Havana, datiiiir from 1832, seems to have been the most im- 
 portant settlement of early days. Its growth must have been 
 very slow, since six years elapsed before the building: of the 
 first house.^ After 1834 groups of Canadians* and Germans' 
 settled here, who, by 1850 formed a large part of the settlement 
 which was still the most important one in the county. In other 
 parts settlements grew no faster until after 1840." 
 
 The character of the settlements sho^ws the influence of loca- 
 tion. An examination of nativities brings out the fact that 
 the greater number of the early settlers came from Kentuclcj', 
 Tennessee and Virginia, although New England and the Middle 
 Atlantic States had numerous representatives. There were also 
 settlers who came from Indiana and from the older counties 
 of Illinois. Of the foreigners present, Germans were in the 
 majority. The timbered parts of the county were taken up 
 first by the Kentuckians and Tennesseeans and w^hen, during 
 the period of speculation just previous to the financial panic 
 of 1837, the New Englanders' and the settlers from the Middle 
 States came, they were compelled to take up the unoccupied ter- 
 ritory which generally meant the small prairies. More rapid 
 gro'wth took place during the forties and in 1850 there were 
 5,900 settlers in the county.'^ 
 
 Tazewell county which was organized in 1827,® had 4,700 
 settlers by 1830,^ most of them being pioneers of the type most 
 frequently found in the hardwood districts of the middle West. 
 "While immigrants came in steadily during these years, it was 
 after 1830 that the most rapid increase came. 
 
 In 1836 Tremont in the central part of the county was es- 
 tablished by a New England colony. Jones in his Illinois and 
 the West (1838) gives a decidedly favorable description of the 
 town, saying that it was beautifully laid off with wide streets 
 and a public square around which were arranged the business 
 
 '■'J hid., 520. 
 * Ihir}., 411. 
 ^Ibid., 509. 
 
 " Bath, Mmsou City. AIIcq's Grove. Crane Creek aud other places each claimed 
 a few settlers. 
 
 ''Seventh Censins (18."0). 702. 
 
 ' Historical Encyclnpe/lia of Illinois, 3."5. 
 
 'Seventh Census (1850), 702. 
 
 [911 
 
378 BULLETIN OF THE TNIVEESITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 houses. The frame houses which composed most of the dwel- 
 lings of the town were painted white, giving the village a very 
 neat appearance. Three-fourths of the population were N^w 
 Englandere, which probably accounts for the orderly appear- 
 ance of the village.^" 
 
 A colony of importance was established in 1837 at Delavan 
 in the southern part of the county, being the result of the ef- 
 forts of a company of enterprising Rhode Island farmers. Like 
 other companies of the time it was a stock company with a 
 capital of $44,000. An agent sent to Illinois purchased 
 23,000 acres of land for the company and, to the great surprise 
 of all, located the tract upon the open prairie, at that time an 
 unheard of proceeding. Not a bush or a tree was in sight but 
 nevertheless the proprietors seemed well satisfied with the choice 
 and families immediately began to come in. 
 
 For a time they were lodged in the common home 'which was 
 the first building erected in the town of Delavan. The erection 
 of such houses seems to have been a rule among the companies 
 sending colonies to the "West and probably the idea was to guard 
 against discouragement of the new settlers and alleviate the 
 hardships attendant upon the opening up of a new country. 
 When the settlers were desirous of making homes for them- 
 selves at the earliest possible date such an arrangement certainly 
 must have been advantageous, but should any be inclined to 
 live at the company's expense this convenience must have been 
 abused. No time limit appears to have been placed upon the 
 stay in the common home but probably such a safe-guard was 
 provided. 
 
 One point of the contract signed by the members of the com- 
 pany deserves mention as something out of the ordinary. No 
 ardent spirits were ever to be brought into the to'wn and sold 
 or used as drink.^^ This clause also appears in the laws of the 
 Rockwell colony in La Salle county.^- 
 
 Still another colony was founded in Tazewell at this time, 
 at Mackinaw on the south side of the Mackinaw stream. As 
 
 '" .Tones. Illinois and the "West, 72. 
 " The Keiv Yorker, Aug. 31, 18.39. 
 "Ibid., Aug. 20, 183C. 
 
 [92] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 379 
 
 in the case of the Dehivan eolonj-, a eoininon house was first 
 erected and in 1838 was occupied by several families who were 
 Avaiting for the completion of their homes. ^^ 
 
 Washington, in the northern part of the county and Pekin 
 on the Illinois river were the other important villages in 18-40, 
 the latter being a typical western town, with flouring mills, 
 saw mills and pork packing industry. To some extent it was 
 the point of contact between the back country and the outer 
 world, gaining by advantage of location such commerce as the 
 demands of the settlers increased. Other settlements brought up 
 the number of inhabitants to 7,200 in 1840.^* 
 
 During tlie early years of the succeeding decade the increase 
 in population was slow, owing to financial depression, but after 
 1845 the number of settlers coming to the county gradually in- 
 creased. The number of southern immigrants decreased and 
 that of northerners increased but the growth of population was 
 not rapid, probably on account of the opening to settlement of 
 the northern and eastern counties of the state. The gain in 
 population had been about 4,000 since 1840 and the county now 
 had a population of over 12,000,^^ with three to^ms, Pekin, 
 Tremont and AVashington of some importance. 
 
 Judging from the small number of towns and from the fact 
 that but one, Pekin, had over a thousand inhabitants it seems 
 safe to conclude that the population Avas an agricultural one. 
 Small streams with timbered banks traversed the county, of- 
 fering an ideal country for the agricultural pioneers who, by 
 1850, had placed imder cultivation almost 73,000 acres of the 
 land. There still remained uncultivated some 92,000 acres, 
 nearly all of which was back from the rivers, away from the 
 timber.^'' 
 
 Settlers began to come to Woodford county in 1819 and by 
 1830 some forty-five arrivals, chiefly from Kentucky, Tennessee, 
 Ohio and Indiana had been received. In 1832, owing to the 
 Indian troubles, Woodford did not increase rapidly, since the 
 county was on the extreme frontier and not well protected 
 
 " Western Pioneer^ May 18, 1838. 
 ^'Seventh Census (1850), 702. 
 "Seventh Census (1850), 702. 
 "Teyton, Statistical View of Illinois. 13. 
 
 [93] 
 
380 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 against Indian raids. Up to 1850 Metamora was the most im- 
 portant settlement. In 1835 a company of settlers from Han- 
 over, New Hampshire, had settled here giving the name Hanover 
 to their village. They were as welcome to the Kentuckians then 
 living in the county "as a band of Hottentots." In 1843 the 
 village became the county seat and the name was changed to 
 Metamora. In this year the first store was built.^^ 
 
 The settlements in the county during the period from 1831 
 to 1850 were numerous but small, composed of little groups of 
 settlers who built their cabins on the edge of the timber and 
 enclosed enough prairie land for cultivation. The eastern part 
 or the prairie district of the county was not settled for several 
 years after 1850 and then only by the aid of the railroads,^* 
 and it is safe to say that of the 36,000 acres of land under 
 cultivation in 1850^'-^ the greater portion was in the w^estem 
 part of the county near the river. 
 
 In character of its settlers, Woodford county was typical of 
 the counties of the Middle Illinois Valley. Almost before the 
 Kentuckians and Tennesseeans were comfortably settled upon 
 their little farms on the borders of the timber lands Virginians, 
 Carolinians, New Yorkers, Pennsylvanians and others were 
 crowding in also. Men of all classes, nationalities and stations 
 met here. There were men who had been with Napoleon at 
 Austerlitz; who had followed him on his ill-fated Russian ex- 
 pedition ; exiled Poles ; Bavarians ; men who had sat in the 
 legislatures of conservative New England ; abolitionists from the 
 same section and slaves from the south. Half the states of the 
 Union were represented here and many foreign countries.^" 
 
 Since 1829 settlers had occupied Mai-shall county. Lacon, on 
 the Illinois river served as the shipping point for the farmers 
 and bade fair to become one of the most important of the towns 
 along the Illinois river. The site Avas purchased by a company 
 of Ohio men in 1831 and the to'wn of Columbia laid out. Dur- 
 ing the next few years quite a number of settlers came from 
 
 " History of Woodford Count)!, 2:58 ff. 
 ^* History of Woodford Count)). 4()(). 
 '" I'eyton, StatiHtieal View of IlUnoifi, 13. 
 ^0 History of Woodford County, 2ii7-2.'?5. 
 
 [94] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS^ 1830-50 381 
 
 Ohio, and the village grew until 1837.-^ In the western part 
 of the county, Henry was the most important settlement. Its 
 growth is illustrative of that of many of the settlements of 
 Illinois during this period. Founded in the early forties when 
 the state was in its financial difficulties, gro'vvth was slow imtil 
 after 1845 when better times came; by 1853 the population 
 uiunbered over one thousand. -- 
 
 Among the settlements proposed in the period before the 
 panic, few grew into realities. Lyons, Dorchester, Auburn, 
 Centerville, Troy City and Chambersburg were all laid out 
 during the period of speculation, but these ventures like many 
 others of the time failed to fulfill expectations, and farms took 
 the places of the proposed cities. For a time the town of "Web- 
 ster was a thriving settlement but it was later abandoned owing 
 to the unhealthfulness of the location. 
 
 Although Kentuckians and Tennesseans were first in the 
 groves of Llarshall county,-^ Ohio and New York had a num- 
 ber of representatives, while the name Yankee Street denoted 
 the presence of New Englanders. In 1850 nearly 5,200 set- 
 tlers-* were in the county and since but 36,000 acres of land 
 were cultivated-^ it seems reasonable to assume that little of 
 the prairie was taken up excepting along its edges. 
 
 Putnam county which was organized in 1825 had in 1830 
 about 700 inhabitants.-" In 1850 there ^were but 3,900." Hen- 
 nepin, the county seat and only settlement receiving recogni- 
 tion in the Federal census of 1850, dates from 1829. In 1831 
 the town lots of Hennepin were advertised in the Springfield, 
 Galena and Terre Haute papers but growth was slow, for eleven 
 families composed the population in 1833,-^ and in 1850 there 
 were but four hundred and thirty settlers here.-^ Granville, 
 Florid and Mt. Palatine were the chief villages but important 
 
 " Ford, History of Putnam and Marshall Counties, 106. 
 
 ^Ihid., 113. 
 
 "/bi(/., 142. 
 
 '* Seventh Census (18.50), 702. 
 
 " Peyton, Statistical Vietc of Illinois, 13. 
 
 '« Ford, History of Putnam and Marshall Counties, 29. 
 
 -'Seventh Census (1850), 702. 
 
 ^ Ford, History of Putnam and Marshall Counties, 87. 
 
 ^0 Seventh Census (1850), 714. 
 
 [95] 
 
382 BULLETIX OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 only in showing the tendency of the early settlers to locate 
 near lines of comniimication. In the last ease the tendency is 
 especially noticeable for the village attained what little import- 
 ance it enjoyed from its location on the Peoria-Ottawa state 
 road. Northern pioneers were the most numerous in this county 
 and of the New Englanders present Massachusetts furnished the 
 greatest number.^*' 
 
 In closing the discussion of this part of the state it may be 
 said that these counties along with those across the river, show 
 themselves to be border counties, the meeting place of the 
 hunter-pioneer and the farmer types of settlers'. Following 
 the results of experience gathered by generations of pioneers, 
 the Kentuckians and Tennesseeans climg to the timber land and 
 consequently advanced a considerable distance up the Illinois 
 river toward the northern part of the state. Close on their 
 heels through the lower counties, were the New Englanders 
 and New Yorkers, and in the upper counties of the region, 
 when the settlements were not well established and were com- 
 paratively wide-spread, we see the northeni element taking 
 the lead in numbers. An examination of county histories will 
 sho'w that in Llason and Tazewell counties, the great majority 
 of pioneers Avere southern men, in Woodford the percentage 
 was not so great, in IMarshall, still less, and in Putnam, the 
 northern coimty, the southern pioneer was an exception. 
 
 The reason seems evident since the locality was quite distant 
 from the influence of those southern communities below the 
 Sangamon river. Moreover, as the Kentuckian moved farther 
 and farther northward the Yankees became more and more 
 numerous much to his disapproval. Settlers from New Eng- 
 land and Ne!\v York had begun to swarm in during the tliirties 
 and taking up the unoccupied timber land, the frontier-loving 
 southerner could no longer find country wild enough and far 
 enough removed from the limits of civilization to make an ideal 
 frontier. 
 
 Here was the beginning of the conflict between the hunter- 
 pioneer of the South and the agricultural pioneer of the North, 
 The hunter needed the woodlands for a field from which to 
 
 ^ Illinois in 1SS7, 100. 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 383 
 
 gain his livelihood; he needed the game which lived within its 
 limits and he needed little land for agriculture. His progress 
 northward so far had been carried on with comparative speed 
 owing to the fact that he met little opposition from any other 
 type of frontiersman. In the southern counties, being first 
 upon the scene, he took up the timber land at his leisure, cleared 
 his plot of ground and lived a life 'which satisfied him. The 
 New Englander and the man from the Middle States, arriving 
 somewhat later, took what was left and occasionally it was 
 the prairie land, as seen in the instance of the Tremont settle- 
 ment in Tazewell county. So far the himter was firmly es- 
 tablished in his native region, the woodland, and was slowly 
 undergoing the transition from hunter to farmer. 
 
 The stream of settlers coming to the northern counties was 
 different in character. There was no desire among these pio- 
 neers to use the timber lands for hunting purposes but rather 
 for an aid in conquering the prairies. Faster and faster these 
 farmere poured into Illinois by the lake route. They filled up 
 the timber quickly and soon began to experiment with the 
 prairies. Weight of numbers and unity of purpose combined to 
 check the advance of the southern man, who, upon finding the 
 groves claimed, was compelled to look elsewhere for his kind of 
 country. 
 
 The population of the counties in this district amounted to 
 31,500 in 1850, the greater part having come in the decade 
 1841-1850 after the end of the financial depression. ^^ Havana, 
 Pekin, Lacon and Hennepin were the chief to\Mis, each one 
 situated on the Illinois river and deriving its importance from 
 its location on the common line of conununication with the 
 older settlements of the south. Of the 500,000 acres of land in 
 this district 220,000 were under cultivation.^- 
 
 Few settlers had come to the counties of the upper Illinois 
 valley before the Black Hawk War, La Salle county, which 
 was organized in 1831 being the only one with many settlers. 
 Beginnings of settlement were made at Ottawa in 1823 but the 
 Indian outbreak of 1832 put a stop to its growth. The Yankee 
 
 "Seren/fe Crnsm (18.50), 701, 702. 
 
 " Peyton, Statistical View of Illinois, 13. 
 
 7 , [97] 
 
384 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 settlement at Hickory Grove was the largest one in Will county 
 and this with Ottawa, was the only one in this part of Illinois, 
 strong enough to exist through the Indian War. 
 
 Some experiments in establishing colonies were tried here 
 but met with little success. The Rockwell colony, based upon 
 the principle of exclusion of intoxicating liquors, was an in- 
 teresting but unsuccessful New England experiment.^^ In 1830 
 a colony of young men from Northampton, Massachusetts, de- 
 siring to obtain a suitable site for a settlement, sent commis- 
 sioners to the state to make a selection of lands. Influenced by 
 the fertility of the soil, by the reported existence of immense 
 coal beds and by the proposed canal and railroad communica- 
 tions, the committee fixed upon La Salle as the most advanta- 
 geous location. Several settlers came during the year, a cabin 
 was erected upon the site of La Salle towai, but owing to the 
 inclement weather the greater number of the new settlers moved 
 away.^* 
 
 The Black Hawk War effectually put a stop to settlement in 
 these counties for the space of a year, driving the greater part 
 of the settlers back upon the stronger settlements in the south 
 and practically checking the spread of the hunter-pioneer class 
 long enough to allow the swarms of New Englanders and New 
 Yorkers to gain possession of the northern part of the state and 
 successfully exclude the southern men. 
 
 From the end of this war until the financial crash of 1837 
 there was a decidedly rapid growth of population along the 
 Illinois river. The Illinois and Michigan canal from Chicago 
 to the Illinois river, was to connect with the latter somewhere 
 in La Salle county. Settlers flocked in hoping to obtain lands 
 on or near the proposed line. When the laud sales were made 
 in 1835, however, the speculators present took the lion's share, 
 leaving but a small portion for the actual settlers. During the 
 following year came the greatest immigration of the period. 
 Ground was broken for the canal, July 4, 1836, and the begin- 
 
 • < The yeir Yorker, Aug. 20, 18.'!G. 
 
 ^ Past and Present of LaHaUc Cotintu, 1S7 ; History of Laf^uUe Counti/. 296. 
 
 98 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLII^OIS, 1830-50 385 
 
 ning: of active operations no doubt tended to increase greatly 
 the crowd of new comers. ^^ 
 
 Ottawa was still the chief town of La Salle county, having a 
 population of seven or eight hundred, most of whom were 
 "Yankees — a shrewd, selfish, enterprising, cow-milking set of 
 nien."^^ A fe\v stores, frame houses and Kentucky log cabins 
 composed the settlement.^^ Peru, a few miles farther down the 
 river, had sprung into existence shortly after the Black Hawk 
 War, The growth which took place soon after it was laid out 
 in 1834 was due to the fact that work on the canal and rail- 
 roads began soon after.^^ 
 
 The aiTival, at this time, of the first band of Scandinavians 
 was an event of some importance in the settlement of this part 
 of Illinois. From Ne\v York they followed the easiest and most 
 natural route to the state along the line of the Great Lakes. The 
 arrival of these foreigners gave a forecast of the influence 
 which the northern line of transportation was to have upon 
 the character of the settlements in these counties, for soon there 
 was to be a great throng of foreigners poured through the 
 Chicago gateway upon the prairies. 
 
 In Grundy county, a fringe of settlers established themselves 
 along the canal, but the spread of settlement was seriously in- 
 terfered with by the operations of land speculators who pro- 
 ceeded to buy up the lands back from the squatters' claims 
 bordering the canal. Advanced prices forced the later settlers 
 to look elsewhere for homes and as a consequence the develop- 
 ment of the county was not rapid. Its chief settlement, Kan- 
 kakee City, was the outgrowth of the speculation of the times 
 and is a good example of the mushroom type of cities. In its 
 best days the population numbered seventy-five; lots were sold 
 in New York and Chicago for thousands of dollars, but the 
 city fell with the crash of 1837, and today the site of the once 
 promising Kankakee City is a farm.^'^ 
 
 '^ Past and Present of LaSalle County, 104. 
 »« Tlue Chicaoo Weekly American, Feb. 4, 18.37. 
 "The Xeio Yorker, June 10, 1837. 
 ^ Past and Present of LaSalle County, 306. 
 "History of Grundy County, 319. 
 
 [99] 
 
386 BULLETIN OF THE UlN'IVEESITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 For two or three years following the eventful 1832, few set- 
 tlers came to Will county, but the land sale at Chicago in June, 
 1835, brought many immigrants. Farmers, speculators and 
 city promoters, jostled each other in their attempts to acquire 
 the more desirable portions. Those wishing land for homes 
 vrere, owing to a lack of ready money, not so fortunate in ob- 
 taining large quantities of ground as was the class of specula- 
 tors which took up section after section, and platted town after 
 town, some of which were never to know an existence. Pal- 
 myra, Williamsburg, MiddletowTi, Vienna, Carlyle, West Lock- 
 port, New Kochester, Buffalo and Lurenbergh were all laid 
 out but were soon abandoned. ^"^ 
 
 All efforts at towTi-making were, however, not futile, and 
 where tav^^ls were not attempted, the little clusters of farm houses 
 clinging to the timber showed a steady advance in the numbers 
 of settlers and by 1836 the population was great enough to 
 warrant the formation of a new county.*'^ New Englanders 
 and New Yorkers, traveling westward over the lakes either to 
 Chicago or Detroit and from there by land, found their way 
 to Will county, founding Plainfield, Lockport, Joliet and other 
 places. A group of Ohioans, more venturesome than their 
 neighbors, or from necessity, at this time dared the prairie and 
 took up their abode in the eastern part of the county at Monee.*^ 
 
 Lockport for a time seemed to offer the greatest possibilities 
 for growth. Anticipating its importance, settlers congregated 
 here, believing that its situation on the Illinois-Michigan canal 
 assured its success as a city. Gradually it grew in importance 
 and when the canal was opened in 1848 it became a shipping 
 point for the farmers of the surrounding country who were 
 eager to dispose of their surplus products in the most advan- 
 tageous markets.'*^ Joliet, which in 1835 was but a small vil- 
 lage, increased in size during the succeeding years and was, in 
 1837, the largest town in the county.** 
 
 *" Woodruflf, Joliet and ^yiU County Fort)/ Years Ago, 33. 
 *' Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois, 589. 
 ** History of Will County, 567. 
 « History of Will County, 432. 
 
 ** Illinois in i837, 123. gives the populatioa as six hundred but the estimate 
 must be talsen with caution, as the boolj is not entirely reliable. 
 
 [100] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS^ 1830-50 387 
 
 The period 1832-1837 while one of beginnings was also one 
 of rapid growth. Fear of the Indians had at last been removed, 
 new lands had been opened up and work on the canal begun. 
 Steam navigation on the lakes was rapidly attaining great di- 
 mensions, Avhich, with the influences previously mentioned and 
 the almost "universal desire for speculation in lands and prop- 
 erty, tended to make this period one of exceedingly great im- 
 portance in the settlement of this part of the state. Besides 
 the villages of Peru, Ottawa, Plainfield, Loekport and Joliet, 
 numbers of smaller ones had been made and hundreds of solid 
 New Englanders and New Yorkers had already established 
 themselves in the most desirable portions of the counties. 
 
 The bursting of the bubble of speculation in 1837 put a stop 
 to settlement for a time, however, and those parts of the state 
 dependent upon the advance of work on the canal for their 
 own increasing importance, felt a severe shock when, owing to 
 financial embarrassment, work on the system of internal im- 
 provements was, for the time, abandoned. Farm products de- 
 clined greatly in value but even in the face of this many of 
 those employed on the canal turned their efforts to farming 
 when operations on the canal ceased. 
 
 During the early years of the financial crisis the effect was 
 not so noticeable as it was in later years. The Rockwell Land 
 Company of Norwich, Connecticut, which had for several years 
 been interested in La Salle county lands sent one hundred colo- 
 nists to the county in 1837-38. The settlement gave promises for 
 the future but sickness among the settlers soon caused its de- 
 population. At one time it contained some two hundred in- 
 habitants.*^ 
 
 From the time La Salle was laid out in 1837 until work on 
 the canal and railroad ceased in 1841 there was a period of ac- 
 tivity and rapid growth, but decline began in 1840.'**' Immigra- 
 tion practically ceased and in 1843 La Salle had only about one 
 hundred inhabitants.*'^ Ottawa, the only town not showing 
 the effects of the cessation of work on the canal, grew apace and 
 
 "Pas* and present of LaSallc Countif, 296. 
 *'Il>id., 297. 
 "Ibid., 301. 
 
 [101] 
 
388 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 from 1837 to 18-40 doubled its population, becoming the most 
 important city in that portion of the state. One thousand in- 
 habitants, exclusive of canal laborers, composed its population. 
 Kew Yorkers and New Englanders were present in the greatest 
 numbers with a smaller representation from Pennsj^lvania, Ohio, 
 Kentucky and other western states. 
 
 In Joliet especially it is said that the people suffered actual 
 hardships during this period of financial trouble. The same 
 is true of Lockport which, as has been said, seemed to give 
 promise of becoming a prosperous towoi. Wlieatland, settled by 
 a number of Vermonters who made the journey overland from 
 their native state, was the only new settlement of note es- 
 tablished during the period. 
 
 By 1842 the financial aspect of the state began to brighten 
 and immigration to increase. By 1846 repudiation was no 
 longer thought of, confidence had increased to such a degree 
 that immigrants to the West gladly settled in Illinois instead 
 of turning to the north or going still farther to the west. From 
 this point the future of the state was assured and when work 
 was again resumed on the canal and the railroad, the surround- 
 ing country began a most rapid development. 
 
 The following period, 1843 to 1850, was one of gradual re- 
 vival. Little by little the tide of immigration increased and 
 with the increase came the necessity of conquering the prob- 
 lems of the prairie. Step by step the pioneers advanced into 
 the open until the smaller spaces between the lines of timber 
 were entirely taken up. By 1850 about eighty per cent, of the 
 land of La Salle county was under cultivation; forty-five per 
 cent, in Ginmdy county and a somewhat smaller portion in 
 Will county owing to its more extensive prairies.*® 
 
 Most important of the settlements along the upper Illmois 
 was Peru which, owing to its advantageous position on the line 
 of water communication with the Great Lakes by means of the 
 Illinois river and the canal, and its communication assured with 
 the northern and central portions of the state by railway, had 
 
 *" Seventh Census (1850), 728. 
 
 [102] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 389 
 
 become a town of 3.000 people who were at the close of our 
 period taking steps to procure a city government.'*'* 
 
 La Salle, in a way, illustrated the type of western towns of 
 the time. Its two hundred inhabitants were, according to ac- 
 counts, of none too good a class. One traveler says that upon 
 inquiry at one or two of the stores he "ascertained that there 
 were Christians in the place. "^° The two Ottawas which had 
 a combined population of over 3,200 people^^ were described 
 by the same author as making "a beautiful and flourishing 
 village . . . laid out and built with considerable taste 
 and beauty. "^^ It probably derived its neatness from the New 
 England population which was in the majority here. Streator 
 and IMendota, today to^\'ns of considerable size, were as yet 
 not thought of, needing the railroads to call them into exis- 
 tence. 
 
 Will county in 1850 had 16.700 inhabitants and Joliet, the 
 county town, had a population of 2,659.^^ In its growth of bus- 
 iness and development of industries, we see the influence of the 
 shi'ewd New Englander and New Yorker. I\Iills and quarries 
 were in successful operation, fifty stores supplied the wants of 
 the tow^nspeople and of the farmers of the surrounding country, 
 while the moral, religious and intellectual welfare of the com- 
 munity lacked nothmg in the v/ay of churches, schools and 
 newspapers. 
 
 Nor-wegians, "Pennsylvania Dutch" and thrifty German 
 farmers novr came in numbers and added their stolid industry 
 to the shrewd, sharp methods of the New Englander, each in 
 his respective way adding to his own welfare and to the wealth 
 of the countiy. The foreign population, however, did not be- 
 come of much importance imtil after 1845. 
 
 An examination of the nativities of the pioneers who came to 
 this part of Illinois before 1850 shows the influence of location 
 upon the character of the settlements. Closely connected by 
 
 *" Past and Present of LaSalle County, 309. 
 
 " Curtiss. Western Portraiture, 312. 
 
 '^^ Seventh Census (1850), 710. 
 
 ** Curtiss, Western Portraiture, 68. 
 
 '^Serenth Census (18.50), 710. 
 
 [ 103 
 
390 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 the Illinois river, with the settlements of the southern and cen- 
 tral parts of the state it is natural to expect the presence of 
 southern settlers in these counties. But they appear here only in 
 very' small numbers, being entirely outnumbered by the New Eng- 
 landere and New Yorkers who came by way of the Great Lakes. 
 The pioneers of Grundy county came principally from south- 
 em Ohio with a number from the southern and eastern states.^* 
 Most of the families had been pioneers in older settlements in 
 the states from which they came, and, having been trained on 
 the frontier, regarded it as the most attractive home. During 
 the last years of the forties Norwegians began to come in chiefly 
 from La Salle county. They were soon joined by others. In 
 Will and LaSalle counties the scarcity of settlers from the south- 
 ern states is plainly noticeable."^ 
 
 The statistics given show more plainh' than before the in- 
 fluence of lines of communication. The New Englanders and 
 New Yorkers were farther removed from this part of Illinois 
 than were the Kentuckians and Tennesseeans or their neigh- 
 bors of southern Illinois. Steam navigation, however, tended 
 towards the annihilation of distance and the Great Lakes offering 
 the highway to the fertile Illinois lands played by far the most 
 important part in fixing the characteristics of this northern 
 settlement. 
 
 It must be noticed also where these pioneers settled. The 
 wide bottom lands of the larger Illinois rivers, which, from un- 
 healthfukiess and liability to spring overflows, had kept the set- 
 
 " History of Grundy County, 148. 
 
 =^ Three hundred biographies ox Will County pioneers were exnniined with 
 the followinK results : one hundred and sixty came from the Middle Atlantic- 
 states, and of the e one hundred and thirty-six were New Yorkers ; forty came 
 from New England ; seventy-five from foreign lands, one-third of the foreigners 
 being Germans ; sixteen were from the western states ; six from the southern 
 states and but three from Kontucliy and Tennessee (HMtory of Will County, 
 659-900). Eight hundred biographies of early settlers of LaSalle county were 
 examined. Three hundred and sixteen came from New York, Pennsylvania 
 and New Jersey ; New York sent two hundred and twenty ; two hundred and 
 eight came from New England; one hundred from Ohio; one hundred from foreign 
 lands; thirty from the South Atlantic and Gulf states and but eighteen from 
 Kentucky and Tennessee (Baldwin, IJintory of LaSalle Cdunty, 122.5-483). 
 Combining the statistics noted it is found that over forty-three per cent, of 
 these pioneers came from the middle Atlantic states : twenty-two per cent, from 
 the New England states ; a little more than three per cent, from the southern 
 ftates and but two per cent, from Kentucky and Tennessee. 
 
 [104] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 391 
 
 tlei*s back from their immediate vicinities in the south, were un- 
 known in the north. The rivers were smaller, swifter and, 
 while they overflowed their banks in some instances, the 
 overflows did not remain for any length of time, consequently 
 there was not the possibility of unhealthful locations near by. 
 The towns as well as the earliest farms of this section of the 
 state, were close to the rivers, a thing not tnie along the south- 
 ern rivers save in exceptional eases. 
 
 Chicago's influence upon the growth of settlement is marked. 
 As an agricultural country is one of the necessities for a city's 
 growth, so is a nuirket one of the requisites for the de- 
 velopment of an agricultural district. In Chicago these north- 
 eastern counties found both a market and a supply depot, and 
 before the coming of the railroads made transportation easy 
 from all parts of the state it must be noticed that the develop- 
 ment was greatest in those counties near Chicago or near the 
 proposed Illinois-iMichigan canal line. Numerous smaller 
 towns sprang up, Peru, Ottawa, La Salle, Aurora and Joliet, all 
 upon the rivers, thus showing the instinctive desire the pio- 
 neers had for communication with the outside world. These 
 places hardly reached the city stage before 1850, for their abil- 
 ity to dispose of agricultural supplies and to act as supply de- 
 pots was limited owing directly to imperfect communication. 
 The railroads came later and solved the problem. 
 
 In the Fox river valley, Kendall and Du Page counties were 
 the only ones which had settlements before the Black Hawk 
 War. Naper's settlement in Du Page county was the only im- 
 portant one and numbered one hundred and eighty souls in 
 1832.^^ McHenry and Lake counties were not opened to set- 
 tlers at this date. By a treaty in 1833 the Chippewas, Ottawas 
 and Pottowatomies ceded the last of their lands in Illinois and 
 Avhile these lands were not opened to settlers until 1836, a few 
 pioneers had taken up claims in this part of the state before 
 that date.^^ 
 
 With the close of the Black Hawk War the pioneers ventured 
 
 =^* Richmond and Vallette, History of Du Page County, 6. 
 
 ^''Eighteenth Annual Report of the American Bureau of Ethnology (1896-97), 
 2, 750. 
 
 [105] 
 
392 BULLETI^^ OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCOXSIX 
 
 farther north along the river and all through the years 1834, 
 1835 and 1836 the miinigrants poured into the state, animated 
 by hopes of sudden v.ealth. All the timber land in Du Page 
 county was claimed by 1835 but for several years, in spite of 
 the rapid immigration, few houses could be found away from 
 the timber. Xaperville, advantageously situated on the road 
 from Ottawa to Chicago, was the most important town for a 
 time and its two taverns did a rushing business during the 
 period when land speculators thronged the neighborhood and 
 later when the farmers carted their surplus products to Chi- 
 cago. 
 
 By 1834 the line of settlements had reached Kane county and 
 cabins dotted the banks of the Fox river for miles, collecting 
 here and there into little villages where advantages Avere of- 
 fered. St. Charles, Elgin and Aurora sprang up along the 
 Fox in the course of a few years. 
 
 Aurora was located because the river at this point seemed to 
 offer some advantages of water power and by 1836 the settle- 
 ment had all the requirements of a thriving frontier village. 
 Even the panic of 1837 had no noticeable effect upon its steady 
 development, for unlike many of the early Illinois towns, Au- 
 rora was built upon a solid basis rather than upon imaginary 
 prospects. Elgin was also located upon the Fox river in 1835, 
 the location being selected on account of water power.^^ 
 
 St. Charles, a small settlement on the Fox between Aurora 
 and Elgin, lays claim to notice in this period through the class 
 of its settlers. In 1834 a colony of Virginians with over two 
 hundred head of live stock emigrated to this place. It seems 
 an exceptional case, for seldom indeed were southerners found 
 in this part of the state. During the same year another colony, 
 this time from New Brunswick, was added to the commimity.^^ 
 
 In spite of the fact that settlers were forbidden by the Fed- 
 eral government to reside in the recently ceded Indian lands of 
 Lake and McHenry counties until 1836, several claims were 
 made in Lake county on the Aux Plaines river in 1834."*^ Little 
 
 ^History of the City of Elgin, 3; in lUinois Local Histories, 2, Wisconsia 
 Historical Society Library. 
 
 '''Post and Present o, Kane County, 329, 331. 
 <» History of Lake County. 220. 
 
 [106] 
 
I'OOLEV SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 393 
 
 settlement was made, however, until 1836, for the summer of 
 1835 was exceedingly cold and many who came with the inten- 
 tion of settling here w-ere induced to move farther towards the 
 interior."^ By 1837 there were probably three hundred people 
 within the county limits.*'^ 
 
 The same conditions prevailed in McHenry county and the 
 population before 1836 consisted of a few squatters. Besides 
 the New Engianders who seem to have predominated there were 
 some Virginians and foreigners.®^ 
 
 The period 1837-43 was one of slow growth. Kendall and 
 Du Page counties were organized but neither had many set- 
 tlers. McHenry and Lake counties grew slowly in population 
 and especially in the size of their towns. Since these counties 
 were agricultural districts and had no markets in the immed- 
 iate vicinity there was no tendency towards concentration of 
 population. 
 
 During the remainder of the period until 1850 the develop- 
 ment is hard to trace, save in Kane county, where, owing to 
 water facilities, concentration took place to a greater extent 
 than in the other counties. The advancement which had been 
 made in population was accompanied by a like advancement in 
 the standard of living among the pioneers, for the farms at the 
 close of the period had the appearance of being well cultivated 
 and the log houses of the preceding decade had, in most cases, 
 given way to neater frame ones, prettily painted and well fur- 
 nished.*'* The timber lands slowlj^ disappeared and were sup- 
 planted by the orchards of the thrifty New Englander or Ger- 
 man. Schools were to be found in every village. 
 
 Elgin and Waukegan were towns of considerable importance 
 and each owed its growth to a different cause. Elgin was 
 primarily a manufacturing to"\\Ti, ranking well up as such 
 among the towns of the state in 1850. In addition to this fact 
 it could be called a railroad to^^^a also, for it was in 1850 the 
 terminus of the firet railroad of northern Illinois, which was 
 
 " Kingston, Early Western Days, 338, in Wis. Hist. Colls., 7. 
 
 " History of McHenry County, 1G6. 
 
 " Ibid., pas.Him. 
 
 ** Prairie Farmer, 7. 298. 
 
 [107] 
 
394 BULLETIX OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 in time to develop into a part of the Chicago and Northwestern 
 system. 
 
 Waukegan, with a population of 3,000 in 1850,*'^ had shown 
 a surprising growth. The back country was an agricultural 
 one and since settlement was going on rapidly, lumber and mer- 
 chandise were necessities. Waukegan had a good port and be- 
 ing closer to the settlers of these counties, than was Chicago, it 
 naturally became the landing place for the lumber used in the 
 back country and to this rapidly increasing trade the growth of 
 "Waukegan may be attributed."'^ The development of the rail- 
 roads later acted as a detriment to the city when they diverted 
 the trade of this rapidly growing district towards Chicago.^'' 
 Aside from Waukegan there was no town of any importance in 
 either Lake or McIIenry county. 
 
 From all portions of the nation the settlers came. After the 
 Southerners who trailed the army pursuing Black Hawk north- 
 ward, there came a swarm of Yankees from Boston, from the Con- 
 necticut valley, from the Berkshire Hills, from New Hampshire, 
 from Vermont and from Rhode Island. These were joined by New 
 Yorkers from the Genesee Valley, from Otsego, Syracuse, Utioa, 
 Plattsburg, Oneida, Orange, Tompkins, Washington and Che- 
 mung counties, and to these were added Scotch, Irish, "Penn- 
 sylvania Dutch," Welsh, French, Scandinavians, Germans and 
 even negroes.^^ The men from the northern states predominated 
 and everywhere the fine appearance of the farms and dwellings 
 denoted the thrift, comfort and wealth of the careful New York 
 and New England farmers. 
 
 Viewing the field as a whole, noticeable results appear. In 
 1830 there were some 6,000 people in the counties treated in this 
 chapter. By 1840 there were almost 46,000 and in 1850 the 
 
 '^Seventh Census (1850), 710. 
 
 <" In 1845 one hundred and ninety boats landed at Waukegan ; in 1850 the 
 numb<?r had risen to 1005. In 1846 there were 1.500,000 feet of lumber brought 
 to the port and in 18r>0 the lumber trade amounted to 1,500,000 feet. (Haines, 
 History vf Lake Count}/, 10.3-108.) 
 
 <" The importance of the trade may be judged from the development in popula- 
 tion, the Increase in the two counties for the decade 1841-50 being almost 24,000. 
 Seventh Census (1850). 702. 
 
 •=* A summary based upon an examination of the biographies given in the 
 county histories. 
 
 [ 108 ] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 395 
 
 number had reached 132,000. Settlement took place most rap- 
 idly in the northern counties during the decade 1811-1850, these 
 counties gaining more than twice as many settlers during the 
 decade as did the five counties in the INIiddle Illinois valley.«» 
 
 The influence of lines of transportation is plainly seen in the 
 characteristics of the northern settlements. Slowly the hunter- 
 pioneer of the south had worked his way through the timber 
 lands of the Illinois Valley until the Black Hawk War had 
 stopped his progress. When quiet again reigned along the 
 frontier line the pioneer returned to his work of conquest but 
 too late, for before he could regain lost ground the development 
 of steam navigation upon the lakes had opened the way for the 
 New York and New England farmers and they were busy in the 
 woodlands coveted by the Kentuckians and Tennessecans. In 
 the struggle between the two classes of pioneers for the posses- 
 sion of northern Illinois, numbers and speed of communication 
 had w^eight and the methods employed by the pioneer of the 
 earlier years gave way before the influence of steam, and the 
 hunter-pioneer was forced to leave this section of the country 
 and seek a home elsewhere. His work, however, had been ac- 
 complished, for these hardy hunters had, by following the line 
 of the Illinois river, cut the great prairie almost in two and had 
 given the agricultural pioneer a basis upon which he could 
 work when he grappled with the problems of the prairies. 
 
 While the agricultural population was much in excess of the 
 urban population there were in 1850 several towns of consider- 
 able importance in the valley. Peru and Ottawa each had 
 3,000 settlers, Joliet and Waukegan had 2,500 each, Elgin and 
 St. Charles more than 2,000 each, while Naperville and Pekin 
 had somewhere between 1,600 and 1,700 each. Several others 
 had less. In each case favorable locations upon the Illiiiois river 
 or upon roads leading to Chicago explain the gro\\'th of the 
 cities; some were located on account of the presence of water- 
 power, others to become a point of contact between an agricul- 
 tural back country and the markets so much needed. 
 
 *> From 1841 to 1850 the five counties of the middle Illinois Valley gained 
 20,300 settlers ; the three counties of the upper Illinois gained 18,000 and the 
 five Fox river counties gained 47,700. {Seventh Census (1850), 701-702.) 
 
 [109] 
 
396 BULLETIN OF THE UN^IVEKSITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 (g) Cities over 2,500. 
 
 (§) Cities over 1,000. 
 
 • Name Towns below 1,000. 
 
 • Villages. 
 
 The Military Tract (1850) 
 
 Curved line shows the limits of the prairie : less than 20 per cent, woodlands 
 Year indicates date of county organization. 
 
 [ 110 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 39T 
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 The Military Tract 
 
 The Military Tract includes most of that portion of the 
 state lying between the Illinois and Mississippi rivers, south of 
 Rock Island county. This territory, which had been set aside by 
 the Federal government for the veterans of the War of 1812, con- 
 tains thirteen entire comities and parts of three others, in all 
 more than 5,000,000 acres, not far from the area of the state of 
 ]\Iassachusetts.^ 
 
 Many grants were made but few were actually settled upon 
 by the grantees. Fearing the toils of pioneer life or lacking 
 a definite knowledge of the value of the lands ceded, many 
 sold their grants, (one hundred and sixty acres each) for nomi- 
 nal sums, considering themselves fortunate w^hen able to con- 
 vert what seemed visionary wealth into actual wealth, even 
 though it was no more than a cow or a horse. - 
 
 However, the people who resided in Illinois at the time were 
 well aware of the value of the land and proceeded to "squat" 
 upon it, since they were unable to get any valid title to it, not 
 knowing the actual owners. Cultivation by the squatters fol- 
 lowed and often trouble came also. Land sharks, ever on the 
 lookout for bargains, watched the increasing value of the 
 farms, hunted up the original owners, bought their claims and 
 returned to Illinois to oust the occupants and profit by their 
 improvements. Forged titles resulted and with these came al- 
 most endless chains of entanglements and litigation. 
 
 ^ See Van Zandt, A full description . . . of the Military Lands beticeen 
 the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers (Washington, 1818). 
 
 '^History of Fulton County, 191 ; J. Flint, Letters from America, 187 (Thwaites 
 Ed.), says, shares sold even so low as half a dollar per acre. 
 
 [Ill] 
 
•398 BULLETIN" OF THE UNIVEESITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 By 1831 eleven counties had been organized^ and the popu- 
 lation of the entire Tract numbered over 12,000 people, five- 
 sixths of whom were living in the southern part in the counties 
 of Calhoun, Pike, Adams, Schuyler and Fulton.^ 
 
 The first successful settlement in the ]\Iilitary Tract and the 
 only one before 1820 was at Peoria. During the French regime 
 Peoria had acted as a connecting link between the French on 
 the lakes and those on the Mississippi but, having caused the 
 Americans no little worry during the "War of 1812 it was de- 
 stroyed. At that date the village was a small one.^ Ft. Clark 
 was erected here in 1813*^ and in 1819 the permanent American 
 occupation began, the earliest settlers coming from southern 
 Illinois.'^ There were several other settlements in the county 
 by 1830 but of no great importance.^ 
 
 Calhoun county at the extreme southern end of the Tract, 
 was never, during the entire period, thickly settled." The lum- 
 l)ering industry in which most of the settlers were interested 
 tended to make the population an unstable one. Here we see 
 an example of settlement which is an exception to the general 
 rule. Primarily the population was one aiming to exploit the 
 lumbering resources of the district but there was also a farmer 
 class. On the Illinois prairie which extends along the foot of 
 the bluffs of the Illinois river was the fanning district of the 
 county. The land was fertile and the 'bottom' was high 
 enough above the river to escape flooding which in many locali- 
 ties compelled the early settlers to leave the cultivation of the 
 most fertile parts of the state until later and to take possession 
 of the higher wooded portions first, being careful to remain 
 as near as possible to the r-ivers in order to profit by transporta- 
 tion facilities which they offered. 
 
 ' The counties organized were Calhoun, Pilse, Adams, Hancock, Mercer, Schuy- 
 ler, Fulton, Peoria, McDonoush, Warren and Knox. 
 
 * Seventh Census (1850), 701-702. 
 
 ''There were sixteen men in the village. (Balance, History of Peoria, 18.) 
 
 "Life of Gurdon S. Hubbard, 28. 
 
 ' Ballance, History of Peoria, 45. 
 
 " Settlements were made at Chillicothe, Logan, Medina, Trlvoli and there was 
 ialso a colony of Ohioans la Halleck township. (History of Peoria County, 577, 
 591, 604, GOO, 618.) 
 
 » In 1830 there were over 1,000 settlers In the county and In 1850 the popula- 
 tion was a little over 3,000. (Seventh Census (1850), 701.) 
 
 [112] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMEXT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 399 
 
 Pike county, Avhicli received its first settlers in 1820 had a 
 population of 2,400 in 1830.^'' The county extends the entire 
 distance between the Illinois and Mississippi rivers in the vicin- 
 ity of which the land is broken and covered to quite an extent 
 with timber. Between the great river systems are rolling 
 prairies traversed by creeks whose banlvs are lined with timber 
 making the district one admirably fitted for meetiiig the desires 
 of the pioneers. The county consequently filled up rapidly 
 after its first settlement in 1820 and in 1850 had a population 
 of 18,800 people." 
 
 Schuyler county which until 1839 included Brown county, 
 was in 1830 the most thickly settled county of the IMilitary 
 Tract, having nearly 3,000 settlers.^- The pioneers even at this 
 early day were gathered from many parts of the country. The 
 first settler was a New Engiander who was soon follov/ed by 
 a colony from Kentuclcj'. Virginia, New York, Pennsylvania, 
 the Carolinas. Tennessee, Indiana, Ohio, Missouri and Illinois 
 each contributed settlers early.^^ '■\;Iiq settlements were small 
 and were generally placed back at some distance from the river. 
 Nearly twenty townships had received settlers before 1830.^* 
 
 Fulton county was organized in 1823^^" having been cut off 
 from Pike county. Lewiston and Canton' were the chief settle- 
 ments in 1830, the former becoming the county town. 
 
 While the large river forming the eastern boundry of these 
 coimties was the highway for communication with the rest of 
 the country, the first settlers did not congregate here. A few 
 grouped themselves near the river to take advantage of what 
 little commerce there was', but as a rule the settlers, being inter- 
 ested in agriculture, preferred to leave the river bottoms of 
 the large streams and take the timber land along the smaller 
 ones, for the small prairies adjoining relieved the pioneers of 
 
 ^"Seventh Census (1850), 70.''. 
 
 " Ibid., 702. 
 
 "Ibid., 702. 
 
 ^^ History of Schuyler and Brown Counties. 58, S. 
 
 ^* History of Schuyler and Brown Counties, 267-373. 
 
 " The county was supposed to have had three hundred and fifty voters at 
 the time of organization but at an election held that year only thirty-five votes 
 were cast (History of Fulton County. 214). 
 
 8 [113 
 
400 BULLETIN OF THE UXIVEKSITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 the labor of making clearings. j\Ioreover, the high ground back 
 from the rivers seemed more healthful, for in the bottoms fever 
 and ague were enemies greatly feared.^° 
 
 Of those counties bordering on the Mississippi river Adams 
 and Hancock were the most thickly settled. The first settlers 
 came to Adams county in 1820, and in 1825, when the county 
 was organized, forty votes were cast at the first election. Owing 
 to the scarcity of money and to the fact that the lands were 
 not yet on the market inunigration to this county was slow. 
 Quincy, the largest settlement and the seat of county govern- 
 ment, was first settled in 1822 and by 1830 had two hundred in- 
 habitants.^^ Various other sumller settlements brought the total 
 population of the county up to about 2,200.^* The names' Adams 
 and Quincy both given in honor of John Quincy Adams, seem 
 to imply the presence of New^ Englanders in the county at the 
 time of organization but the nativities of the early pioneers show 
 a majority of people from other sections of the countrj'^ and 
 especially from Kentucky. 
 
 Hancock county also on the Mississippi river had but five 
 hundred inhabitants,^^ Venus, later to be known as Nauvoo, be- 
 ing the chief touTi.-'' A settlement which had been made at 
 Oquawka landing on the Mississippi river in 1828 was the only 
 one in Henderson county in 1830.-^ In Mercer county, New 
 Boston and Keithsburg were the places first settled. Here some 
 Pennsylvanians established themselves in 1827 and earned a 
 livelihood by cutting wood for J\rississippi river steamboats. 
 For five years they remained but at the first Indian alann they 
 left for central Illinois and Mercer county was again without 
 inhabitants.-- 
 
 "What has been said eonceniing the location of the settlements 
 in the counties along the Illinois river will apply equally well 
 
 '• By consultina: a map of Illinois it will be noted that t'lie early spttlements 
 of Canton, Lewiston, Rnshville, Rip'.ey, Cnopprstown. Mt. Sterling. Vprsailles 
 and others are all placed hack a few miles from the Illinois river. 
 
 '■ Hisioni <jf Adarnti Count!/, 2ij9-268 ; Asbury, Quincy, 41. 
 
 ^'Seventh Ccnatis (18.50), 701. 
 
 '•76(rf., 701. 
 
 '^Thc yational Calendar (1830), 249. 
 
 "^ nistoiji of Mciccr and Henderson Counties, 869. 
 
 «/6id., 46, 119, 
 
 [114] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1S30-50 -iOl 
 
 to the settlements along the ^lississippi. The most important 
 town on this side of the Military Tract was, however, placed 
 directly upon the river. The location was admirable and 
 Qiiincy enjoyed all the advantages of a good landing place 
 and a healthful site on a high bluff over-hanging the river. To 
 the rear of the city was a rich agricultural district filling up 
 with settlers who, when their crops ripened, carted them to 
 Quincy for shipment to southern markets. Naturally it also 
 became the distributing point for the back country and through 
 the lively trade which sprang up the village made rapid strides. 
 The other early settlements in these counties were back a con- 
 siderable distance from the river, the pioneers selecting the 
 timbered tracts bordering the small prairies.-^ 
 
 The interior counties of the ^Military Tract, save in the case 
 of Bureau, had very few settlers in 1S30.-* In iMcDonough 
 county the settlements at Pennington's Point and Industry in 
 the southern part of the counts- seem to indicate that the first 
 settlement was made from the counties to the south. Nearly 
 all the pioneers were from Kentueln' and Tennessee and it is 
 probable that they followed up the tributaries of the Illinois 
 which flow through Schuyler county. Probably there were not 
 more than sixty voters in the county in 1830.-^ The settlement 
 of "Warren-® and Knox-" counties began in 1827 when a fam- 
 ily of New Englandere settled in the former. Stories of a rich 
 agricultural district were carried back to the older settlements of 
 Illinois by the 'bee-hunters' who passed through Knox county 
 in 1827 and in the following year pioneers from Schuyler 
 county came to settle here. Several settlements were started 
 and in 1830 the combined population of the counties numbered 
 about five hundred people.-® Bureau county had but five fami- 
 
 -' The other earlv s-ttieinents were in Adams connry and u-t-^ i^amo Point, 
 Clavtoa. Col'.iinbiii!. Ellinsrton and Fal! Creek. All wei'e in the interior. 
 
 *• McDonough. Knox. Stark. Bureau and Henry connties had about six hun- 
 dred in all (Sevenlh Census ilS-jOi. TOlK 
 
 = Clarke, Hi-'tonj of McDonough County, 19. 
 
 " History of 'Warren County, 107. 
 
 •'History of Knox County. 102. 
 
 ^ Seventh Census i1S.jO>, 701, 702. 
 
 [ 115 ] 
 
402 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVEKSITY OF WISCONSIN" 
 
 lies in 1828 although the first settlement had been made in 
 1820.=» 
 
 Such were the settlements of the IMilitary Tract in 1830. By 
 far the greater part of the population was in the southern part 
 of the Tract close to the more thickly settled districts of cen- 
 tral Illinois. There were no towns of any consequence save 
 Quincy, and the prairie district of the north was practically 
 ■untouched. The pioneers were chiefly southerners. From 1831 
 to 1850 Calhoim county did not increase rapidly in population 
 since it did not offer the advantages for agriculture that were to 
 be found in other parts of the state. When the lumber industry 
 began to wane the stream of settlers decreased accordingly. 
 Four small villages formed the urban population in 1850.^° 
 
 Pike county added over 16,000 settlers during the twenty 
 years and since there were but three villages in the county in 
 1850, it is natural to believe that the population was almost en- 
 tirely rural.^^ The pioneers had for a time remained as close 
 as possible to the timber but by 1850 there were settlements on 
 the small prairies.^^ " Corncrackers and Hoosiers with a right 
 smart sprinkling of Yankees" made up the population but al- 
 most every state in the union was represented here. A ]Mor- 
 mon town had been founded and had declined before 1850.^^ 
 
 The Illinois river coimties',^* Schuyler, Fulton and Peoria, had 
 in 1830 an aggregate population of 5,000 and ten years later 
 their population amounted to over 26,000.^^ Before Brown 
 county was cut off from Schuyler in 1839, La Grange and Mt. 
 
 " It was not a permanent settlement, being made by a French fur trader 
 named Bourbonnais. He was in the employ of the American Fur Company 
 {History of Bureau County, 79-83). 
 
 3»Gilead, Hardin, Illinois and Point were the settlements. Each had between 
 five and eight hundred settlers. (Seventh Census (1850), 704.) 
 
 " Pittsfleld, I'erry and Griggsfleld, each with less than seven hundred inhabi- 
 tants, were the villages. (Seventh Census (18.50), 714.) 
 
 "Almost half the county was under cultivation (Peyton, Statistical view of 
 Illinois, 13). 
 
 '3 History of Pike County, 239. 
 
 =* For convenience of treatment the counties of the tract will now be divided 
 Into three sections. The Illinois river counties being Schuyler, Fulton and 
 Peoria ; the Mississippi river counties being Adams, Hancock, Henderson and 
 Mercer; the counties of McDonough, Warren, Knox, Stark, Henry and Bureau 
 being classed as the inland counties. 
 
 ^Seventh Census (1850), 701, 702. 
 
 [116] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 403 
 
 Sterling had become towns of some importance. Several east- 
 ern parties were engaged in business at the former place, which, 
 owing to its situation upon the Illinois river, became a port of 
 some consequence in the river traffic. All the goods shipped 
 to the county came up the river and La Grange was the landing 
 place as well as the shipping point for the back country to^^^ls, 
 especially Mt. Sterling and Versailles.^o 
 
 Mt. Sterling, which was to be the county toAvn of Brown 
 county when organized, enjoyed but slow growth before 1834 
 when a revival of energy took place, the village growing to one 
 of fifty houses by 1837." The same revival of energy which 
 was the result of the speculative spirit which swept over the 
 countrj^ during the decade also gave Brown coimty its first ex- 
 perience with "paper toT\Tis," Washington being laid out in 
 1836.38 No further development was made, however. 
 
 Rushville, Fredericksville, Huntsville and Birmingham w^ere 
 the principal towns of Schuyler county in 1850. Rushville 
 enjoyed a steady growth from the time of its establishment in 
 1829. A wool carding factory and other industries, begim in 
 1831,3'' drew laborers and mechanics to the village which by 
 1832 had four hundred inhabitants clustered about five little 
 stores.^o Cholera during the year of 1834 swept away many 
 of the settlei-s but the little village continued to grow until in 
 1837 it was a town of 1,200 inhabitants having five churches, 
 twelve stores and four hundred houses.^^ jMost of the houses 
 were frame ones, the lumber probably being brought from 
 Calhoim county where the industry was carried on rather ex- 
 tensively. Fredericksville on the Illinois river was of some im- 
 portance as a shipping point. The other named towns were 
 still young and small, having been laid out in 1836." 
 
 Fulton county from 1830 to 1840 gained 12,300 inhabitants, 
 most of them going to the rural distriets.^^ Canton was a 
 
 "'^ History of Schuyler and Brown covnties, 322. 
 
 ^' niiuois in 1SS7, 105. 
 
 ^History of Schuyler and Brown counties, 271. 
 
 ^^nid., 234. 
 
 *° Illinois Monthly Magazine, 2, 260. 
 
 « Illinois in 1837, 128. ' 
 
 *^ History of Schuyler and Brown counties, 363-373. 
 
 *^ Seventh Census (1850), 701. 
 
 [117] 
 
404 BULLETIIS" OF THE UlSTIVEESITY OF WISCONSIISr 
 
 village of four hundred people in' 1835,** when it was completely 
 destroyed by a storm.*^ It had recovered some of its import- 
 ance by 1837 when with Lewiston and Farminton it was 
 named as one of the largest settlements in the county.*'' Wash- 
 ington, Fairview, Middleton, Liverpool, Ellisville and Berna- 
 dotte, all small towns consisting of a few cabins and a store, 
 make up the list of Fulton county settlements. Vermont, a 
 similar village seems to imply by its name a New England set- 
 tlement which, however, was not true. Kentuckians made the 
 settlement but the name was given by the solitary New Eng- 
 lander residing there, he having purchased with a jug of 
 whiskey the right to name the settlement.*' 
 
 Peoria county had in 1840 over 6,000 settlers*^ and the to^\^^ 
 of Peoria was the chief center of population. The town had a 
 favorable location being placed on a high bluff at the foot of 
 Peoria lake. In 1832 it was a small village of fifteen or twenty 
 log cabins but being the strongest one in this part of the frontier 
 it was the place of refuge for the pioneers who fled from the 
 northern districts at the opening of the Black Hawk War.*^ 
 Communication by steamboats on the Illinois river and by 
 stages overland kept Peoria in touch with the neighboring 
 settlements. In 1834 the population was estimated at between 
 three and four hundred^" and a year later at over eight hun- 
 dred.^^ In this last year the first Germans^- came to settle here 
 and in 1836 New Englanders first appeared in the town.''^ By 
 1837 it was a thriving toAvn.^* Rome, Chillicothe, Brimfield, 
 Northampton, Allentown, Kickapoo, Hudson and Caledonia 
 were settlements of lesser note.^^ 
 
 " History of Fulton county, 527. 
 " Chicago Weekly American, July 4, 1S35. 
 *" Illinois in 7837, 78-118. 
 " History of Fulton county, 899. 
 *>< Seventh Census (1850), 702. 
 *^ History of Peoria county, 451. 
 "o Chicoyo Weekly Democrat, June 4, 1834. 
 »' St. Louis Commercial Bulletin, Dec. 18, 1835. 
 "2 History of Peoria county. 4S0. 
 " Western Messenger, April, 183G. 
 
 ^Illinois in m?7, 12fi, says that rporia had twenty-five stores, two hotels, six 
 churches and over 1,600 inhabitants. 
 " History of Peoria county, 572-577. 
 
 [118] 
 
rOOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 405 
 
 Of the Llississippi river counties, Adams county gained over 
 12,000 inhabitants during the decade.'^" Quincy with its ad- 
 vantageous location grew with equal rapidity. For several 
 yeavs the lack of good building material and the high price of 
 lumber were difficulties to be overcome but the village doubled 
 its population from 1830 to 1832 and at the time of its incor- 
 poration in 1831 its population was estimated at six hundred. ^^ 
 
 During the next few years while the state enjoyed great 
 prosperity, Quincy continued to develop and the tide of immi- 
 gration increased steadily until in 1838 the village had a popu- 
 lation of 1,500 or more,^^ making it the largest settlement in 
 the Military Tract. ^" Its importance as a shipping point for 
 agricultural products was now recognized, three hundred steam- 
 boats arriving or leaving during the year of 1837, while the 
 trade in pork, flour and wheat amounted to $112,500 for that 
 year.*'" Sawmills were kept busy supplying lumber for new 
 buildings and with the increased demand for laborers the float- 
 ing population grew. The population was derived from all 
 countries but Yankees and Kentuckians were in the majority 
 and about equally divided.*"'^ In 1840 Quincy obtained a city 
 charter.*^'- 
 
 Outside of Quincy there were no settlements of much im- 
 portance. Payson, which was laid out in 1835, was surrounded 
 by a rich agricultural district and for a time gave promise of 
 becoming an important settlement but the development so well 
 begun soon ceased, probably owing to the rivalry with Quincy.^' 
 The remaining settlements were small being only agricultural 
 villages giving little promise of immediate development. 
 
 ^''Seventh Census (1S50), 701. 
 
 " Asbury, Quincy, 44. 
 
 "« Estimates varied: 1,500 (lUinoi.s in 1837, 127); 1.653 (Uedmond, Quincy, 
 15) ; 3,000 (R'lcldngbam. Easiern nnd 'Wcaiern niules, :5. 1C12). 
 
 "In 1835 Quincy had a population of seven hundred people. (Redmond. 
 Quincy, 14.) There were ten stores, a printing office and over one hundred 
 houses in the village. (Asbury, Quincy, 47.) In 1837 there were twecty-Hve 
 stores, a land office, three taverns, two t^aw mi'.Is and two churches. (Illinois 
 in 1S37, 127.) 
 
 ^ Redmond, Quincy, 15. 
 
 " Asbv.ry, Quincy, 47. 
 
 ^History of Adams county, 454. 
 
 •»/bt(f., 551. 
 
 [119] 
 
406 BULLETIN OF THE UXIVEKSITY OF "WISCONSIN" 
 
 Althong-li Hancock increased steadily in nimiber of settlers 
 it is difficult to speak accurately concerning their location since 
 there v:ere no towns of size in the county. Warsaw on the 
 bank of the Mississippi was laid out in 1834 but did not gro"W 
 to any size for a number of years.®* Venus, also well located 
 on the great river, "was slow in growth. The name was early 
 changed to Connnerce which was in turn to be forgotten when, 
 under the regime of Joseph Smith, Nauvoo rose upon the site 
 of Venus. Before the coming of the Mormons it had a few 
 hundred inhabitants and such facilities for business as were 
 generally foimd in pioneer towns.®^ Carthage and Fountain 
 Green, both later to be connected with the history of the Mor- 
 mon occupation, were the chief interior settlements, Pulaski, 
 Chili and La Harpe may also be mentioned.*"' 
 
 Henderson county, as j^et unorganized, had some small settle- 
 ments. Oquawka, laid out in 1836, was probably of the great- 
 est importance, being for yeare, until the building of the rail- 
 roads, the shipping point for the produce of Knox, Henderson 
 and Mercer counties,®^ Shokokon, also a river town, was the 
 center of a rich agricultural district and would probably have 
 increased in importance had it possessed the advantage of a 
 good landing. The river, however, was too shallow here for' 
 the boats and instead of becoming a shipping point it developed 
 the lumber industry. Eafts came down from Wisconsin and 
 were sawed here. Its population never exceeded three hun- 
 dred persons.^^ 
 
 Mercer county, although organized in 1825 grew very slowly 
 for ten years, there being not more than two hundred and fifty 
 settlers within its limits in 1835.®'' In 1840 there were almost 
 10,000 people here.'^° Keithsburg and New Boston were the 
 river towns but neither Avas of importance and of the numer- 
 
 '^ Histnry of Uanrnck countii. 038. 
 
 «5 Overland Monthly, 16, N. S. 620. 
 
 '^'^ History of Hancock county, passim. 
 
 •" History of Henderson and Mercer counties, 887. 
 
 «« Hid., 888. 
 
 «>Ihid., 48. 
 
 ""> Seventh Census (1850), 702. 
 
 [120] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS^ 1830-50 407 
 
 ous inland settlements Sugar Grove, settled b}'- Tennesseeans, 
 seems to have been the most thriving commnnity."^ 
 
 The inland eonnties of the Tract, McDonough, "Warren, Knox, 
 Stark, Henry and Bnreaii were all organized in the decade 
 1831-lS-lO and had in 1830 a combined population of a few 
 more than six hundred inhabitants." After the close of the 
 Black Hawk War the report Avas spread about that this portion 
 of the state was exceedingly fertile and would make an excellent 
 place for settlement. Accordingly, immigrants began to find 
 their way up the rivers and over the prairies from Ohio, In- 
 diana and various other places. 
 
 During the first few years immediately following the war 
 but little of note happened in McDonough county and but few 
 families moved in. The population, however, increased to over 
 2,800 before the close of 1835."^ Macomb, the seat of justice, 
 Edmonson's Prairie and Middletown were struggling settle- 
 ments in 1835. From 1837 to 1845 there were hard times in 
 ]\IcDonough county owing to the financial depression through- 
 out the state. IMoney was almost unknown and all business 
 transactions were carried on by means of barter, notes often 
 being made payable in a cow, a hoi^e or half a dozen hogs."* In 
 spite of the handicap, settlement increased and, at the close of 
 the decade 1831-1840, numbered over 5,000 inhabitants.^^ 
 
 After 1832 scattered settlements were located at various 
 points in Warren county and everywhere the pioneers peti- 
 tioned the county commissioners court for roads to connect the 
 widely scattered hamlets with market places. ]Monmouth, the 
 chief town, had but eighty inhabitants in 1835 but grew more 
 rapidly during the closing years of the decade."*' The popula- 
 tion of the entire county in 1840 was a little over 6,700 people."''' 
 
 In 1831 half a dozen weak settlements comprised all of Knox 
 
 ■1 Snear Grove had sixty settlers in 1835. The other settlements were in 
 Ohio Grove. Abington, Suez, Greene, Tre-emption, Richland Grove. Rivoli and 
 Eliza townships. {History of Henderson and Mercer counties, 272-742.) 
 
 '^Seventh Census (18r)0), 701, 702. 
 
 " Clarke, History of McDonough county, 76. 
 
 "Clarke, History of McDonouoh county, 60. 
 
 '^Scrcnth Census (18.50), 701. 
 
 ''* Pait and Present of Warren county, 142. 
 
 '^Seventh Census (1850), 702. 
 
 [ 1-21 ] 
 
408 BULLETIN OF THE UIvIVEESITY OF WISCOXSIN" 
 
 county's population but at the close of the decade there were 
 7,000 settlers within the limits of the county,'^ In 1835 Knox- 
 ville with a population of two hundred people was the chief 
 town.'^'^ A year later Galesburg, which was destined to be the 
 most important city of the county, was founded. In 1834 Ecv. 
 George W. Gale of Oneida county. New York, matured a plan 
 for planting a colony in the West which should be a center of 
 moral and intellectual influence. Later he issued a circular 
 setting forth his plan and soliciting subscribers. A committee 
 for exploration was sent out and upon its recommendation the 
 present site of Galesburg was purchased in 1835. Early in the 
 next year a colony of forty persons^" left New York and came 
 by canal boat up the Illinois river to a convenient landing place, 
 traveling from there overland. Log City was the name first 
 given to the settlement and by 1837 its populaton was estimated 
 at two hundred and thirty.®^ In ten townships settlements had 
 been located before 1840 but it seems nearly impossible to deter- 
 mine their size.*- 
 
 Henry county Avhich had but 1,260 settlers in 1840^^ was 
 occupied firet by colonies thereby being an exception to the gen- 
 eral rule governing the settlement of the state. "When specu- 
 lation in Illinois lands got fairly under way in 1835, Heniy 
 county became the scene of an exceptionally large number of 
 this experimental class of settlements. Persons authorized to 
 purchase large tracts of land visited the county during that 
 year and much to the detriment of the individual settlers, if 
 not to the benefit of the companies represented, made purchases. 
 As a result, Andover, Wethersfield, Geneseo, ]\Iorristown, La 
 Grange, and later the Bishop Hill colonies were established.^* 
 The first three had religious aims and all aimed at the dis- 
 semination of education save possibly the Bishop Hill colony 
 which seems to have been strictly religious. 
 
 ''^IMd., 702. 
 
 ■' History of Knox count}/, 62S. 
 
 ^Stories of the Pioneer Mothers of Illinois. (Letter of Mary Allen West. 
 MS8. In Illinois Historical Society Library.) 
 " Bascom, Settlement of Galcshnrg, 25. 
 '-History of Knox County, 479-507. 
 ^Seventh Census (1850). 701. 
 ^History of Henry County, 117. 
 
 [122] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 409 
 
 First of these experiments was the Andover settlement, situ- 
 ated a few miles southwest of the center of the county. A com- 
 mittee acting for a New York association located a tract of land 
 here in 1835, began the fii-st settlement upon it and platted a 
 <;ity. Success did not crown their efforts to any marked degree 
 for the land was held by the proprietors at too high a price and 
 immigrants passed it by.^"' 
 
 Returning from the planting of the Andover colony, Mr. Pills- 
 bury, one of the committee, immediately attempted to interest 
 Dr. Tenney, an influential minister of Wethersfield, Connecti- 
 cut, in a similar undertaking. An association of sixty men 
 with a capital stock of $25,000 was formed, land was purchased 
 in Henry county and a settlement begun.^'' Few of the pur- 
 chasers came west and consequently the gro'wth of the settle- 
 ment was slow. 
 
 During the winter of 183-^35 notices were published in several 
 of the New York papers calling a meeting of all people interested 
 in western colonization. The result was the formation of a New 
 York colony and the appointment of the usual committee for 
 exploration and purchase. The committee purchased 20,000 
 acres of land in Henry county. Each member of the colony 
 bound himself to erect upon his claim buildings to the value of 
 two hundred dollars and should this provision not be carried 
 out the land should revert to the company on the grounds of a 
 broken contract. Moreover it was provided that the settlers who 
 fulfilled their contracts should be allowed to take the claims of 
 the delinquent ones by paying three dollars an acre, or double 
 the original price of the claim. Seeing the possibility of making 
 a good bargain at least four-fifths of the colonists failed to ful- 
 fi.ll the building contract and by so doing doubled their money. 
 Many, however, were honest in their intentions but were pre- 
 vented from carrying them out because of the panic of 1837 
 which came before the two years had expired. The most de- 
 sirable lots were put up at auction and some six or seven tliou- 
 
 ^^ Hislori/ of ncnrji Count'i, 524. 
 
 '* The shares in the company sold for two hundred and fifty dollars each and 
 entitled the purchaser to one hundred and eighty acres of land, twenty of which 
 were to be timber land (History of Henry County, 137-140). 
 
 [123] 
 
410 BULLETIN OF THE UIJ^IVEESITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 sand dollars resulted to the association with which fund a pub- 
 lic lodging house was built for the accommodation of colonists 
 until they were able to erect their oa\ti abodes. A few colonists 
 came in 1836, five in all and by 1837 there were but ten families 
 on the whole prairie.^^ One more experiment therefore could,. 
 for the time, be called a failure. 
 
 As a result of a religious revival of unusual excitement in 
 New York the Geneseo colony was established in Henry county 
 in 1836. The idea was conceived in 1831 and after proper ex- 
 ploration a colony was formed. A village was to be laid out in 
 lots and the lots were to be sold only to such men as were of 
 good character. The proceeds were to go towards building a 
 high school. 
 
 In September, 1836, forty persons in wagons started across 
 Canada, southern Michigan and noi'thern Indiana to Illinois. 
 The journey took nine weelvs and when the little colony reached 
 its future home the members could not have been very favorably 
 impressed Avith the outlook. Their nearest neighbor on the west 
 was at Rock Island, twenty-five miles away; on the south the 
 Andover and Wetherefield colonies were just establishing them- 
 selves; on the east the Northampton colony was struggling to 
 gain a foothold at Princeton and on the north a ie^w straggling' 
 families lived along the Rock river. However, the colony erected 
 its canvas roofed church, opened its school and proceeded to 
 malve the best of the situation.^® 
 
 Henry county had but few settlers in 1840 and the settlement 
 does not seem to have been a natural one. Speculation was rag- 
 ing in the eastern states and the hope of sudden riches tempted 
 many to invest in western lands. Settlements would increase 
 the value of the holdings so it is natural to believe that land 
 owners would also be promoters of colonizing schemes and to 
 this it seems were due the colonies of Henry county. 
 
 Bureau county was settled slowly before the Black Hawk 
 War. Being a frontier county its inhabitants were exposed to 
 Indian attacks and few of the pioneers, daring as they might be, 
 cared to risk their lives on the extreme frontier when it offered 
 
 *' History of Henry County, 135. 
 
 ^Thirtieth Anniversary of the Settlement of Geneseo, 3-9. 
 
 [m] 
 
POOLE Y SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 411 
 
 no advantages superior to those of the more protected parts. 
 By 1831 only sixteen families resided within the limits of Bureau 
 county. A year later there were forty cabins in the county, 
 thirty of which were grouped on Bureau creek in the south- 
 eastern part. The largest settlement was that at Princeton 
 which was composed of nine families.*'^ 
 
 Princeton was settled in 1831 by a eolony from Northampton, 
 IMassachusetts. It was the first of a series of attempts at colo- 
 nization, such as have been spoken of in Henry count}'. The 
 Hampshire colony, as it was called, assembled at Albany, New 
 York, in May, 1831, and began its journey westward by way of 
 the Great Lakes to the St. Jo river in Michigan, whence the lit- 
 tle caravan proceeded on foot to the Kankakee river and floated 
 down it on a craft composed of two canoes lashed together. One 
 lone settler occupied the site of Princeton when the colony ar- 
 rived. The members established themselves here and called the 
 place Greenfield and although a settlement of a very small size, 
 it became in later years the nucleus' of a considerable New Eng- 
 land population.^*' A dozen other small settlements were begun 
 in the earl}' years of the decade, Bureau and Selby being the most 
 important ones and these having but four families each.®^ 
 
 In 1836 the influx began, for the wave which had started some 
 years before from the eastern states as a result of the specula- 
 tion craze was just reaching the western prairies of Illinois. 
 The land had come into the market in 1835 and nearly all the 
 good timber land was taken up at once. In 1836 the popula- 
 tion of the county doubled, but even then there were few people 
 here.^- In the entire county there was but one meeting-house, 
 two or three log school houses, two sui-veyed roads and not a 
 bridge.®^ Lamoille in the northeastern part of the county was 
 laid out in 1836. A store and a postoffice were added the next 
 year and a year later, a hotel.** 
 
 Another colony of New Englanders was established about ten 
 
 *» Taxpayers and Voters of Bureau Count}/, 90-91. 
 »» Matson, Reminiscences of Bureau County, 2G1. 
 •' Taxpayers and Voters of Bureau County, 102. 
 "^Ibid., 102. 
 
 *' Matson, Reminiscences of Bureau County, 397. 
 " Taxpayers and Voters of Bureau County, 135. 
 
 [125] 
 
412 BULLETIN OF THE TXIVEESITY OF WISCONSIlsr 
 
 miles southwest of Princeton in 1836. The colony had been 
 organized at Providence, Rhode Island and having taken the 
 usual steps for exploration, had purchased 17,000 acres. In 
 1837, forty persons came to the proposed site of Providence 
 village. For some time they resided in the colony house but 
 soon -were able to erect dwellings for themselves. Like all other 
 colonies sent out during this period of experimentation and 
 speculation, the greatest success did not attend the venture, but 
 the colony added wealth and numbers to the slowly growing 
 county which in 1840 had but 3,000 inhabitants.''^ 
 
 The decade 1831-1840 was one of rapid development in the 
 Military Tract and the bulk of the population was still in the 
 counties along the rivers.^*^ The process' of settlement was 
 the same as had taken place in the decade previous. The new 
 settlements along the tributaries of the large streams multiplied 
 but the growth of the older settlements was not rapid, since the 
 tendency displayed by the pioneers was ever to move towards 
 the interior, taking up such land as was near the timber, and to 
 shim the older settlements. This last characteristic was a 
 natural one for the timber lands in the older settled regions had 
 long been occupied and prices had advanced beyond what the 
 pioneer could afford to pay. He was compelled, therefore, to 
 move on to the prairie or toward the frontier and at this date he 
 preferred the latter alternative as the great number of new 
 settlements in the interior shows. 
 
 In some cases the hitherto unoccupied bottom lands were 
 taken up as the settlements of Rome, Chillicothe, Fredericks- 
 ville, Oquawka and others show. Along the numerous wooded 
 tributaries of Spoon river and Crooked creek which penetrated 
 the iVIilitary Tract, settlements were frequent and upon these 
 settlements as bases the later pioneers were to build when they 
 
 ^^ Seventh Census (1850), 701. 
 
 i« In ISnO the population o*" Pikp nnd Oalhorm counties was 1.''..460, a numeri- 
 cal gain of 9,983 and a per cent, gain of 286 ; the population of the Mi sissippl 
 river counties was 20.774. a numerical gain of 24.079 and a per cent, gain of 
 89.3 : the population of the Illinois river counties was .30.4.^0, a numerical gain 
 of 2.',094 and a per cent, gain of 468; the northern counties had a population 
 of 25.007. a numerical gain of 24,.384 and a per cent, gain of almost 4,000. 
 Seventh Census (1850), 701-702. 
 
 [126] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 413 
 
 began to experiment more seriously with the problem of the 
 prairies. 
 
 The colonial attempts at settlement were a new departure 
 and while as a <2:eneral rule the colonies were not successful 
 they seem to indicate that aside from the desire to make money 
 the people felt that by systematic organization and numbers 
 the prairies could be subdued. They were attempts to establish 
 settlements which would be self-sufficing for a time at least. 
 
 The decade 1841-1850 was also one of considerable advance- 
 ment. During the early years of the decade financial troubles 
 hindered the growth of settlement for the time; the state was 
 in distress, being overloaded with debt and thinking seriously 
 of repudiation but still attempting to stave off disaster as long 
 as possible by heavy taxation. The farmers could get little 
 for their produce and even these small prices were not paid in 
 cash. IMoney was so scarce that it was next to impossible to 
 get enough to buy government lands, however low the price 
 might be. In some places the settlers borrowed money at fifty 
 per cent, in order to get a clear title to their lands.^^ "When the 
 state gradually emerged from its difficult position, times became 
 better, money looser, taxes lower, confidence greater and settle- 
 ment began again to extend. 
 
 The growth of the Illinois river counties seems to have been 
 slow during the first half of the decade but was more rapid 
 after 1845. Peoria was the most important city along the Ill- 
 inois river, having enjoyed a rapid increase in numbers^® and 
 being a substantially built city well supplied with churches and 
 schools.^^ It wore a marked New England aspect.^*"' 
 
 ]\It. Sterling in Browai coimty with five hundred and fifty 
 inhabitants. Rushville in Schuyler county with twenty-six 
 hundred. Canton and Lewiston in Fulton county with over 
 fifteen hundred inhabitants each, were the chief villages of the 
 Illinois river counties. Fulton county had a population grouped 
 
 "'History of Henderson ami Mrrcer Counties. G2o. 
 
 ^» Estimates of Peoria's population are as foUows : In 1844, 1.619; in 1847, 
 4,079; in 1849, 5,061, (Ballance, Peoria, 204) ; in 1850, 5,890, (Drown, Histori- 
 cal View of Peoria. 148.) 
 
 ^^ Prairie Farmer, 7, 30. 
 
 »»«Ciirtiss, Western Portraiture, 317. 
 
 [127] 
 
414 BULLETIX OF THE UXIVEKSITY OF WISCONSIN" 
 
 in several comparatively large settlements, for nine in the county 
 were credited with more than one thousand inhabitants in 
 1850."! The whole district had in 1850 a population aggregat- 
 ing aknost 59,000 being nearly double the population of 1840.^"2 
 There were 281,000 acres of land under cultivation in 1850 
 which shows the development of the farming portions of these 
 oounties.^"^ 
 
 Adams county was still the most populous district along the 
 JMississippi river as well as in the entire Military Tract. Quincy 
 grew apace in numbers and commercial importance and in 1850 
 had a population of nearly 7,000, being second of Illinois cities 
 in size.^''* The influence of its favorable location is even more 
 marked after 1810 than before. A great deal of business was 
 transacted here aimually. In 1841, $330,000 worth of merchan- 
 dise was disposed of in the city and 420,000 bushels of grain 
 exported."^ The manufacture of flour which had begun some 
 year's before was now a rapidly increasing industry for the out- 
 put which numbered 21,500 barrels in 1843 had reached 68,000 
 barrels per annum in 1846. Pork packing was also a paying 
 industry now and during the fiscal year 1847-48 about 20,000 
 hogs were packed by the dealers in the city.^°*^ Business in- 
 creased and in spite of a temporary lull in 1849 caused by a. 
 visitation of Asiatic cholera and the Califomia gold fever which, 
 between them, carried away four hundred settlers,^*^^ Quincy 
 yearly became of more importance. It was a city of substantial 
 residences and numerous public buildings and business houses 
 which with its green parks and shaded walks gave an eastern 
 air to the thriving city.^"^ The export trade of the city amounted 
 to $500,000 per year by 1850 and a line of steamboats which 
 
 ^"^ Seventh Census (1850), 703-715. 
 
 ^<'- Ibid., 701. 
 
 103 Peyton. Statistical View of Illinois, 13. 
 
 ^0* Seventh Census (1850), 703. 
 
 ">^ Redmond, Qiiincy, 15. 
 
 '« Asbury, Quincy, 113-116. 
 
 "" Ihid., 81. 
 
 '0' There were twenty-six variety stores, two hardware stores, two book stores, 
 -five drug stores, ten ware-houses, six mills, four lumber yards, three machine 
 shops, two foundries, three printing offices, two hotels, thirteen churches, five 
 tprlvate and two public schools. (Redmond, Quincy, 15; Asbury, Quincy, 82; 
 JPrairie Farmer, 7, 383.) 
 
 [128 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 415 
 
 made daily trips to St. Louis brought back such goods as were 
 needed by the settlers of the district.^'"' 
 
 The entire population of the county was 26,500 in 1850, 
 fifteen settlements having more than eight hundred inhabitants 
 each.^^° Almost 150,000 acres of land under cultivation 
 showed the activity of the farmer class and the healthful in- 
 fluence of a good market.^" 
 
 In Hancock county the Mormons were the center of attrac- 
 tion until 1846, and while swelling the population of the county 
 until the date of their expulsion, their influence was a decidedly 
 negative one. At the time of their arrival Hancock county 
 had a population of about 7,000 but" now all immigration, save 
 that of the ]\Iormons ceased and emigration began until not 
 more than 4,000 American settlers were left in the county in 
 1845."- Aside from Nauvoo, the only settlements of note were 
 "Warsaw and Macedonia, and neither had a population of five 
 hundred people."^ 
 
 Coming from Missouri in 1839 the Mormon band settled at 
 Commerce, changed the name to Nauvoo and occupied almost 
 all the county together w^ith portions of the neighboring coun- 
 ties. A charter was granted by the state legislature and the 
 city of Nauvoo grew rapidly as the IMormon power increased 
 until it was estimated that there were in Nauvoo and the ad- 
 joining country, about 30,000 of the sect. Next to St. Louis, 
 it was the most important city of the Upper Mississippi."* The 
 charter was repealed in 1845 and decline set in. Expulsion 
 followed in 1846 and Illinois was rid of a class of people which 
 had caused only a passing prosperity. 
 
 Following the Mormon exodus came the Icarians. These 
 Icarians were Frenchmen who, in an attempt to put to a prac- 
 tical test the communistic doctrine of M. Cabet of Dijon, had 
 come to America, intending to settle in Texas. The plan proved 
 unsuccessful and a part of the colony under the leadei*ship of 
 
 i"" Prairie Farmer, 7, 38.3. 
 ^0 Seventh Census (1850), 703. 
 jii Peyton. Stntixtienl View of Illinoix, 1.". 
 "'JV^iZete' Register, 69, 109. See chap, xii., post. 
 ^^^ History of Hancock County, 6."8. 
 
 "* Smith and Smith, History of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter 
 Day Saints, 3. 1. 
 
 9 [ 129 ] 
 
416 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 Cabet himself landed at Nauvoo in March, 1846.^^^ Eight 
 hundred acres of land were rented and some of the abandoned 
 Mormon houses were bought. The industry of these people 
 and their peaceful, orderly habits caused them to be esteemed 
 by their American neighbors and consequently the settlement 
 prospered for several years. When the members left Illinois 
 some years later it was not by request. 
 
 After the jMormons left the state, settlers again flocked in and 
 at the close of the decade there were over 14,600^^*^ people in 
 Hancock county and 80,000^^^ acres of land were under culti- 
 vation. 
 
 Henderson and Mercer counties ivere occupied chiefly by 
 farmers who had established themselves in the timber along 
 the small streams. Oquawka, with less than six hundred in- 
 habitants, was the center of population in Henderson county 
 and maintained some importance as a shipping point for the 
 county until the railroads were built. Keithsburg, Millers- 
 burg and New Boston were the largest settlements in Mercer 
 county and not one of these had three hundred inhabitants. ^^^ 
 
 During the decade the counties had nearly doubled in popu- 
 lation having in 1850 over 51,000 inhabitants."^ There were 
 under cultivation 300,000 acres making it the greatest farming 
 district of the Military Tract.^-^ 
 
 The prairie counties of this division of the state did not in- 
 crease in population as rapidly during the decade 1841-1850, 
 as did the other portions lying along the Illinois and Mississippi 
 rivers. The gain in numbers amounted to over 20,000 or almost 
 5,000 less than during the preceding decade.^-^ Financial dis- 
 tress in the state, no doubt, had its efl'ect but probably the 
 greatest influence working was the character of the district. 
 Primarily a prairie region, the amount of woodland was 
 limited. The rapid influx of immigration during the earlier 
 years had filled up much of the desirable timber land leaving 
 
 "5 Reynolds, Illinois^ 372. See chap, xiil., post. 
 
 "<^Serciith Census (1850), 702. 
 
 *" Peyton, Stathtical View of Illinois, 13. 
 
 ^^» Seventh Census (1830), 702-713. 
 
 "• Ihid., 702. 
 
 "" I'eyton, Statistical View of Illinois, 13. 
 
 ^^' Seventh Census (1850), 701-702. 
 
 [130] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 417 
 
 only the prairie for the later arrivals. Facilities for trans- 
 portation were limited and so much trouble was experienced 
 in obtaining lumber for fences and houses, that rather than re- 
 main and face such difficulties the later comers moved on. 
 
 jMcDonough, Warren and Stark counties where little unoc- 
 cupied timber was left and where communication was poorly- 
 developed gained little in numbers during the decade.^^^ Toulon 
 in Stark county. jMonmouth in Warren county and Macomb in 
 ]\IcDonough coimty each has less than eight hundred inhabi- 
 tants. Knoxville and Galesburg in Knox county were of the same 
 size.^^^ 
 
 During this period Henry county was the scene of another 
 colonizing venture. This time it was by foreigners. Dissatis- 
 faction with the state religion of SAveden caused quite a number 
 to contemplate emigration and accordingly preparations were 
 made and a messenger was sent to America to find a suitable 
 location. Henry county was selected and in 1846 about five 
 hundred emigrants arrived there.^-'* By 1850 the number had 
 doubled^-^ and Bishop Hill, as the settlement was called, was 
 the most important one in the county. At this time the infant 
 settlements of Andover, Geneseo, Wethersfield and La Grange 
 were still struggling for life and Kewanee and Galva, towns ox 
 importance in Henry county today, had as yet not sprimg ijito 
 existence, being products of the railroads. 
 
 Bureau coimty had increased at the close of the period about 
 5,800 but the increase was confined to the region of the rivers 
 and old settlements. Princeton, Lamoille, Dover and Clarion' 
 were the settlements best known, the largest being Princeton 
 ■with a population of less than eight hundred.^-" One division 
 of Fourier's Phalanx made an unsuccessful attempt at estab- 
 lishing a settlement.^-" The entire population of these interior 
 counties in 1850 shows an increase of eighty per cent, over 1840 
 
 '"The gain for the three counties was less than 5.000 {Secciith Census (18.jO), 
 701, 702). 
 
 '■3 Ibid.. 710-716. 
 
 i**Blgelow, Bishop Hill Colony, 101-108, in Transactions of 111, State Hist. 
 Society, 1902. See chap, xiil., post. 
 
 '" M.lckelson, liinhop IJiil Caluny, :\C>, in Johns Hopkins UnivnsUu Studies, 10. 
 
 '-" Sernith CrnKus (IS.'Ol, 7'!.3. 
 
 i« Hinds, American Communities, 224. See chap, xill., post. 
 
 [131] 
 
418 BULLETIX OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 which is a smaller increase than either of the other sections and 
 probably is due to the greater amount of prairie land here. 
 
 From 1831 to 1840 the entire Military Tract gained 83,500 in 
 population ; during the decade 1841-1850 the gain was but 80,- 
 600, in all a gain of over 165,000 for the twenty years.^^® The 
 decline noticed in the last decade probably can be attributed to 
 increased competition from other parts of the state. The Rock 
 river valley, the Fox river valley and the upper Illinois river val- 
 ley were during the years 1841-1850 receiving great numbers of 
 settlers and, having excellent timber land in larger quantities 
 than remained unoccupied in the Military Tract, tended to at- 
 tract the new comers. 
 
 The rule concerning the late settlement of the prairies and the 
 early settlement of the woodlands holds in this portion of the state 
 as well as the others. The Illinois and Mississippi river coun- 
 ties, having numerous small streams and tracts of woodland, 
 settled rapidly but where the prairies were extensive the settle- 
 ment was slow. The local historians repeatedly mention this 
 fact and state that not until 1850, or even later, did the pio- 
 neers venture out into the open to any extent. The railroads 
 were a necessity and imtil they solved the problems of the prai- 
 ries, the pioneers were almost helpless in the face of the dif- 
 ficulties presented. 
 
 The largest settlements of the Military Tract, Peoria and 
 Quincy, can be said to have advanced to the dignity of cities 
 by 1850. Peoria iwas the most important port on the Illinois 
 river as was Quincy on the Mississippi and with the develop- 
 ment of the agricultural districts upon which they drew, as well 
 as the development of steam traffic on the rivers whereby the 
 southern markets were reached, these cities advanced rapidly 
 in wealth, population and importance. 
 
 In the case of Quincy the effect of a favorable location is par- 
 ticularly noticeable. Its easy communication with markets in 
 the South, its good landing place for steamers, its healthful site 
 upon a bluff above the river and its rich tributary agricultural 
 district aided in the rapid development already noted. More- 
 over the development of the flouring industry as weU as that of 
 
 ^^ Seventh Census (1850), 701-702. 
 
 [132] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 410 
 
 pork paeking also aided in the city's prosperity and in order to 
 save transportation expenses on manufactured goods, factories 
 of various descriptions sprang up to add to the growth of the 
 community. In fact the groAv-th of Quincy is an illustration 
 of the effect of favorable environment and of the interaction of 
 agricultural and manufacturing districts. 
 
 Next in order of size were those cities which, while not situ- 
 ated directly upon the large rivers, were in close contact with 
 them, being located from five to fifteen miles away, thus be- 
 ing free from the fevers which often swept the river bottoms, 
 and still not far enough away to offer any serious difficulties 
 in transportation. Pittsfield, Mt. Sterling, Rushville, Lewis- 
 ton, and Canton C'ty compose this class. In size they ranged 
 from 1,500 to 2,500 inhabitants. 
 
 The third class of towns comprised those of the interior 
 counties — generally the county seats — which, removed from 
 water communication with the outside w^orld Avere handicapped 
 to such an extent as to hinder growth. When the railroads 
 penetrated these counties their prosperity was to increase, but 
 not before. I\Iaeomb, jMonmouth, Galesburg, Toulon, Prince- 
 ton and other towns ranging from five hundred to one thousand 
 inhabitants are examples of this class. 
 
 Settlements by colonizing companies began to be of import- 
 ance during the decade 1831-1840 when the whole country be- 
 came entangled in land speculation. The Military Tract and 
 especially Henry county, came in for its share of such ven- 
 tures. No great success resulted, generally due to the lack of 
 active settlers and the overabundance of those wishing to settle 
 the county by theory rather than by practical attempts. 
 
 In the southern poi'tions of the Llilitary Tract the settlers to 
 a great extent were men from the southern states, because these 
 counties were settled earliest when this class of pioneers was in 
 the majority. As has been mentioned before, the counties' close 
 to the Sangamon country where many Kentuckians and Tenn- 
 esseeans resided, naturally received a large part of their set- 
 tlers from across the Illinois river. Along the Illinois river 
 the Kentuckians were numerous save in the cities, but as the 
 line of settlement moved farther and farther up the river the 
 
 [133] 
 
420 BULLETIISr OF THE UNIVEESITY OF WISCONSIN" 
 
 percentage of Kentuckians in the population decreased and that 
 of the northern pioneers increased.^-^ In the other portions 
 of the Military Tract like conditions prevailed and as the north 
 is approached the percentage of southerners decreases.^^° 
 
 Statistics seem to show that in the IMilitaiy Tract before 
 1850, the southern stream had begun to lose force and when 
 it met the stream of northern settlers in a contention for the 
 timber lands it gave way to the more energetic northern people 
 who took up the land. Having the faculty for adapting him- 
 self to his environments whatever they might be, the northern 
 pioneer seemed destined to succeed in the conquest of the 
 prairies. Far sighted, too, and believing in the feasibility of 
 railroads, having seen them succeed in the East, he was more 
 ready than his southern neighbor to venture away from the tim- 
 ber land and into the prairie. 
 
 129 An examination of the biographies of four hundred pioneers in Schuyler 
 and Brown counties before 1850 shows that one hundred and forty came from 
 the states of the Northwest Territory : one hundred and six from Kentucliy 
 and Tennessee, ninety of these beina; from Kentucky ; sixty-six from the Middle 
 Atlantic states ; forty from the southern states, sixteen from New England and 
 thirty from foreign lands. {History of Stchnyler and Brown counties, .S77-394.) 
 
 The biographies of 1,324 pioneers of I'eoria at the same date show that four 
 hundred and thirteen had come from the Middle Atlantic states; one hundred 
 and sixty-five from New England: one hundred and six from the Southi: one 
 hundred and fifty from the northwestern states ; fify-three from Kentucky and 
 Tennessee and four hundred and thirty-five fi'om foreign lands, (Ballnnce. Peoria, 
 201.) Also see further illustration in Chapter V on the Illinois and Fox river 
 valleys. 
 
 '"' One hundred and forty-three pioneers of Quincy before ISoO came from the 
 following regions. Eighteen per cent, were New Englanders, twenty-eight per 
 cent, were from the Middle Atlantic states, twelve per cent, from the South 
 Atlantic states, fifteen per cent, from the Northwest, twelve per cent, from 
 Kentucky and Tennessee and eleven per cent, from foreign lands. (Asbur.v. 
 Quincy, 103-106.) In New Boston and Kelthsburg in Mercer county forty-six 
 per cent, of the pioneers whose nativities are recorded by the local historian 
 came from the Northwest ; twenty-eight per cent, from the ^liddJe Atlantic 
 states ; eight per cent, from the South ; five per cent, from New England ; three 
 per cent, from Kentucky and Tennessee and ten per cent, were foreigners. 
 (History of Mercer and Henderson Counties, 92.) Monmouth, an inland town, 
 shows practically the same results, for seventy per cent, of the biographies ex- 
 amined show tlie sul)jects to have conic from northern states, twenty-one per 
 cent, from southern states and nine per cent, from foreign lands. (Past and 
 Present of Warren County, 203.) 
 
 [134] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 421 
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 The Bock River Valley 
 
 As an agricultural district the country around the Rock river- 
 can scarcely be surpassed. The surface is rolling prairie land 
 dotted with groves and springs while along the streams are 
 denser woodlands'. The open country is exceedingly fertile 
 and especially well adapted to the cultivation of grain. The 
 climate is delightful and while it is one which, like other por- 
 tions of our northern country, is subject to occasional marked 
 changes in temperature, these changes have never been severe 
 enough to cause more than slight inconveniences for the time. 
 
 It is scarcely to be wondered at that when once the pioneer 
 settlers became acquainted with this region they flocked to it 
 with almost incredible rapidity. In 1834 not a single county 
 had been fonned, but before 1840 eight counties had been or- 
 ganized and had a combined population of nearly 21,500. Dur- 
 ing the decade following, the increase was even more striking, 
 for by 1850 the population had trebled itself, numbering at that 
 date 66.200.^ This rapid growth seems wonderful in view of 
 the fact that it took place in a region practically isolated so far 
 as facilities for communication were concerned, and also at a 
 time when financial troubles oppressed the state as well as the 
 rest of the country. 
 
 Slight settlement had taken place in the valley previous to 
 1830, In 1804 by the treaty of St. Louis the federal govern- 
 ment acquired Rock Island in the IMississippi river from the 
 Sac and Fox Indians.- Shortly after Ft. Armstrong was built 
 
 ^Seventh Census (1850), 701-702. 
 
 " Flagler, History of the Rock Island Arsenal, 2. 
 
 [135] 
 
423 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVEKSITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 Chief towns. 
 Villages. 
 
 Rock Riveb Vaixey (1850) 
 
 West of the prairie line 20 per cent, of the country is woodland. East of the line- 
 all timber is along the rivers. The years indicate date of county organization. 
 
 [136] 
 
rOOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 423" 
 
 and Avlien the garrison came in 1816, Col. Davenport and his 
 family accompanied them, being for a number of years the only 
 whites in the vicinity, save the garrison. In 1826 the begin- 
 nings of the town of Farnhamsburg, the predecessor of Rock. 
 Island, was made. Col. Davenport and Kussell Farnham, part- 
 ners in the Indian trade, erecting a house on the mainland.* 
 For years the house was to act as post-office, hotel and court 
 house. Two yeai*s later a few families came to live on the 
 island but being impressed with the fertility of the mainland 
 and owing to its protected condition they ventured upon it.^ 
 The little settlement grew so rapidly that when the Black Hawk 
 War broke out four years later, it furnished fifty-eight men for 
 the service.^ 
 
 Some sixty miles up the river was another small settlement. 
 On the present site of Dixon where the trail connecting Peoria 
 and the lead region crossed the Rock river, a half-breed named 
 Ogee, attracted by the yearly tide of immigration flowing to 
 and from the lead mines, had established a ferry in 1826.^ By 
 1829 some, tired of the ceaseless traveling to and from the 
 mines, and impressed with the fertile land around them, had 
 settled at the ferry. A post-office for the accommodation of the 
 travelers had been established here and the settlers from as far 
 up the river as Rockford came here for their mail.^ At the 
 last named place stood a solitary pioneer cabin.^ Along the 
 Galena trace in the neighborhood of Dixon were scattered other 
 small settlements. 
 
 These were the settlements in the Rock river valley at the 
 outbreak of the Black Hawk War. They were few in number 
 and small in size but they portrayed pioneer tendencies by their 
 location. The pioneer wished elbow room and disliked the ham- 
 pering effects of civilization but still he was reluctant to give 
 up all connection with his fellow men. As a consequence his 
 
 ^History of Rock Teland County, 118-142. 
 
 * Stevens, Black Hawk "War, 79. 
 '■History of Rock Island County, 122. 
 
 * History of Dixon and Lee County, 14. 
 ''History of Lee County, 38. 
 
 * History of Dixon and Lee County, 4. 
 
 [137] 
 
424 BULLETIISr OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN" 
 
 settlements were established on the waterways in the new coun- 
 try, or, better still, where the much traveled wagon road crossed 
 the waterway, as at Dixon. The pioneer liked company but 
 not too much of it and by establishing- himself in such places 
 as have been named he was able to fulfill his desires. Where- 
 ever the wagon roads offered good connections with the neighbor- 
 ing settlements, there were to be found the settlers' cabins. This 
 is especially noticeable along the Peoria-Galena trace through the 
 valley. 
 
 In view of the facts cited, it seems proper to date the real set- 
 tlement of this portion of Illinois from the Black Hawk War. 
 Moreover, the last strip of Indian territory in the valley was 
 ceded to the government by the Winnebago Indians in Septem- 
 ber, 1832.^ 
 
 Tiie year 1831 had not been one of agricultural success 
 and this, followed by the Indian troubles of 1832, reduced 
 the settlers of the northern countiy to dire straits. So 
 far everything seems to have operated against the pioneers and 
 the country was not yet Imown to any extent. 
 
 The maneuvers of the troops in the Rock river valley while in 
 pursuit of Black Hawk gave the men some opportunity to be- 
 come acquainted with its advantages. It is evident that some of 
 the soldiers from the eastern states were wide awake to the pos- 
 sibilities of this region, for shortly after their return home the 
 vanguard of the New England and Middle states pioneers be- 
 gan to arrive in Illinois. One of the great causes for this im- 
 migration,^'^ we are informed was the stories told by the soldiers 
 concerning the beauty of the country and the fertility of the 
 soil. 
 
 During the next three years (to 1835) the pioneers, slowly 
 gaining confidence owing to the settlement of the Indian troubles, 
 again came to the Rock river valley, and, during the year 
 immediately preceding the revulsion of 1837, settlers foUoAved 
 vnth. increasing frequency. The Rock Island settlement under 
 the shelter of Ft. Armstrong grew rapidly, developing into the 
 
 Annual Report of the American Bureau of Etlinolooy 1S9G-1S97, S. 737 
 ^'> Evanston Historical Society PuWcations, (1902), 3. 
 
 [138] 
 
rOOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 425 
 
 town of Stephenson, which was the county seat of the newly 
 organized Rock Island county." In the immediate neighbor- 
 hood, Fulton, at the narrows of the Mississippi was founded.^- 
 ■Clinging to the wooded banks of the Eock river, were Prophets- 
 town, Sterling, Dixon, Oregon and Rockford, each at the time a 
 very small settlement and having no importance save that of 
 being a pioneer village. 
 
 Away from the river, however, in the groves bordering the 
 smaller tributaries were settlements equal in importance, at 
 that time, to the better known ones ; but, later outstripped in 
 gro^^'th because of increasing advantages of their neighbors, 
 they are today deemed insignificant. Still in this studj' of 
 settlement such places as Squaw Grove, Paw Paw Grove and 
 Buffalo Grove have significance for the names call attention to 
 the fact that in the early days of the conquest of the prairies 
 the pioneers first sought the timber as a base of operations be- 
 fore venturing out into the open. 
 
 Sterling, one of the largest to^Aiis in the lower Rock river val- 
 ley was organized in this decade and derived its name from a 
 peculiar incident. Chatham and Harrisburg, rival pioneer 
 towns situated opposite each other on the Rock river, struggled 
 through three years for leadership in the newly organized county 
 of Wliiteside, each desiring the honor of being the county town. 
 Each attempt upon the part of either contestant to gain prece- 
 dence failed until finally the right to the county seat was de- 
 <jided by tossing a coin. The towns were united and the name 
 Sterling was given to the new town.^^ 
 
 The northern part of the district did not, during the early 
 years, make as much headway in settlement as did that part 
 already mentioned. The most important center of population 
 in Boone county had but twenty-three voters^* in 1836. Its 
 importance was due to the etforts of a stock company which 
 endeavored to take advantage of the waterpower of the Kish- 
 
 '1 Organized in 18.35. 
 
 ^^Histori/ of ^yI^itcisil]e County. 157. 
 
 " Whiteside county was or.eanized in 18.3G. 
 
 '^^ Past and Present of Boone Cotinti/, 231. 
 
 [139] 
 
426 BULLETIX OF THE TXIVEESITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 waukee nver where it was crossed by the state road from Ga- 
 lena to Chicago." 
 
 Kockford, which was also, from its situation on the Eock river 
 where the state road crossed it, in an advantageous position, be- 
 gan its growth in 1835 and 1836. At the end of the latter year 
 frame houses had begun to supplant the rougher log cabins' of 
 the previous years. Its greatest rival was Winnebago which 
 for a time bid fair to become the most important towns of the 
 county but upon its defeat for the honor of being the county 
 seat a decline set in from which it never recovered. 
 
 In 1834, Congress made the Polish grant in Winnebago coun- 
 ty.^*^ After the Polish insurrection of 1830 and 1831 numbers 
 had been forced into exile, many coming to America, Those 
 who came to this country sent a committee to Congress petition- 
 ing it for a grant of land. Congress replied by granting them 
 thirty-six sections to be selected from the lands of Illinois and 
 Michigan, laying but one restriction upon the choice, that those 
 making the choice must select three townships adjoining each 
 other. When the selection was finally made by the Polish dele- 
 gate, Count Chlopiski, a year later, he selected the townships 
 on which Rockford and Rockton stand, thereby both violating 
 the terms of the grant and causing consternation among the 
 settlers who hoped in due time to obtain lawful possession of 
 the land upon which they had settled. Nothing, however, 
 came of the Polish grant, for these people settled in another 
 part of the country, and caused the Rock river settlere no more 
 trouble than that of keeping them from establishing clear titles 
 to their lands, for Congress, anticipating that the Poles would 
 eventually take up their residence upon the selected tracts, did 
 not put this land on the market until 1843.^^ 
 
 During the years 1835 and 1836 many settlers came to Stephen- 
 son county, especially in the latter year. While many of 
 these were miners from the lead region, some were from the east- 
 em states and a considerable number from the southern part 
 
 " Ihid., 280. 
 
 " Senate DelateSj 2S CongresSj 1 Seas., 1724. 
 
 " Church, Ilistori/ of Kockford, 210. The Poles settled in Texas. (North- 
 icestern Gazette and Oalena Advertiser, Sept. 24, 1836. 
 
 [140] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 427 
 
 of Illinois. This last class had, like many others, been impressed 
 with the fertility of the country when they had passed through 
 it in pursuit of Black Hawk and were now coming to take ad- 
 vantage of the opportunities it offered/^ The "Winnebago In- 
 dians, who, up to this time had by their presence in this part of 
 the state retarded settlement to a great degree, now withdrew 
 across the Mississippi and by their withdrawal made the set- 
 tlers in the district breathe easier, for the remembrance of the 
 Sac and Fox disturbances was still fresh in the minds of the 
 pioneers. The most important settlement was at Freeport, 
 where an Indian trading post was established upon the Peca- 
 tonica river in 1835. Over fifty families congregated at this 
 point during the following year." 
 
 Such was the Eoek river valley in 1837 when, owing to the 
 failure of so many speculative schemes, the financial depression 
 came and with it a new era in the settlement of the state. In 
 the period just discussed only beginnings were made ; some vil- 
 lages of respectable size had sprung up and hundreds of fam- 
 ilies were scattered here and there at the most attractive points. 
 
 This early period of settlement in the valley may be taken 
 as tjTJical of the progress of settlement into a new country. The 
 river served as the highway of communication with the outer 
 world ; the two great roads through the valley, the one crossing 
 the river at Dixon, the other at Rockford, also played their 
 part. The map will show the location of the principal towns 
 w^here the intersection of these highways took place, Rockford, 
 Freeport and Dixon, with Rock Island at the mouth of the val- 
 ley. Gradually the filling-in process took place and numer- 
 ous smaller towns dotted the banks of the river. Along the 
 two great wagon roads, settlements were also found but these 
 •were not to develop even into villages until the railroads came. 
 Back from the main stream along the tributaries were still 
 other settlements. Could we be allowed to view the valley as 
 £l whole the scene would be one of a line of cabins following the 
 
 "Johnston, Sketches of Stephenson County, 55. 
 ^"History of Stephenson County, 238. 
 
 [ 141 
 
428 BULLETIN OF THE TJXIVEESITY OF WISCONSIi!T 
 
 timber lands, along the streams, and leaving the great prairies 
 as yet iintoiiehed. 
 
 The towns, so far, had sho\\Ti no signs of becoming cities and 
 they were not to make rapid strides for another decade. The 
 reason seems simple. Lines of transportation were not devel- 
 oped save a poor one in the Rock river. Lack of transporta- 
 tion facilities caused a lack of markets and since good markets 
 help in the development of an agricultural district and are de- 
 pendent upon this development for support, it seems that the 
 problem of transportation was the key to the situation and in 
 the interacting influences of agriculture and steam was to be 
 found the solution of the prairie problem. When transpor- 
 tation was assured, development was rapid but it was not to 
 take place for several years to come because of the period of 
 financial embarrassment experienced by the state from 1837 to 
 1843. 
 
 This second stage of growth (1837-1843) was not one of 
 rapid development. It is true that settlers still came, but not 
 in large numbers; timber claims Avere still in demand but in 
 a less marked degree than formerly. Rock Island and Dixon 
 increased a little as did the smaller settlements of the lower Rock 
 river valley. A local historian notes the arrival of a colony of 
 wealthy New Yorkers near Dixon in 1838-^ but it seems scarce- 
 ly probable that men of much property would care to exchange 
 their homes for the privations of the frontier. 
 
 In the closing years of the decade, 1831 to 1840, Ogle county 
 grew little, but in the early for-ties settlers came more frequently. 
 Money was scarce ; times were hard ; few markets for farm pro- 
 duce presented themselves; the merchants refused to pay cash 
 for products, all of which served to make the lot of the pio- 
 neers a harder one. Those already in the country, believing in 
 the ultimate adjustment of conditions on a more favorable 
 basis, were willing to endure the hardships for the sake of fu- 
 ture possibilities and remained. A few others came. Grand 
 Detour, Oregon, ]\It. ]\Iorris, Buffalo Grove, Rochelle and By- 
 ron were the most important centers of settlement. 
 
 ^ Hietory of Dixon and Lee County, 7. 
 
 [142] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS^ 1830-50 429 
 
 Grand Detour, so-called from its situation in the great bend 
 of the Kock River, grew from a small village of a store and two 
 dwellings in 1837-^ to one of considerable size in 1842.-- Its 
 growth is typical of the development of the early towns'. Some 
 advantages of transportation facilities were enjoyed and the 
 surrounding agricultural country looked here for a market. 
 ^Manufactures developed to an extent owing to high prices of 
 transportation and it seemed the object of the community to be 
 as nearly as possible self-sufficing. 
 
 DeKalb county in 1840 had the least number of inhabitants 
 of any of the Rock river valley counties. This may be at- 
 tributed to its location which was midway between the line of 
 settlement along the Fox river and that along the Rock. No 
 river of size penetrated the county and consequently there was 
 no easy opening allowed for the settlers. There were, how- 
 ever, some settlements in the vicinity of the groves. Sycamore, 
 which today is one of the important towns, was in 1840 "a 
 dreary little village" of a dozen houses.-^ 
 
 Rockford was the chief town of "Winnebago coimty and be- 
 fore 1842 had become one of respectable size. In 1838 East 
 Rockford and West Rockford were two settlements apart from 
 each other. West Rockford had eighteen buildings; while the 
 settlement across the river was slightly larger.-* Similarity 
 of interests caused them to combine in 1839, when, together, 
 they were incorporated as the city of Rockford. At that time 
 the population amounted to two hundred and thirty-five.^^ 
 From this time in spite of the general depression throughout 
 the state, Rockford enjoyed a rapid growth. Chosen as the 
 seat of government for Winnebago county in 1839, its import- 
 ance increased and by 1841 it had come to be the most popu- 
 
 =' Sketches o' Ogle Count!/, 69. 
 
 ^ Rock River Gazette, Oct. 4, 1842, says the town had a good hotel ; two stores, 
 one of which did $30,000 worth of business In a single year ; a broom factory ; 
 a cigar factory; a flour mill with a capacity of 6.000 to 8.000 barrels a year; 
 a printing press ; and a saw mill. There was also a plow factory with a daily 
 capacity of filty plows. 
 
 '^History of DeKalb County, 386. 
 
 2* Church, History of Rockford, 134. 
 
 ^'^Ihid., 148. 
 
 [143] 
 
430 BULLETIX OF THE UNIVEESITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 lous town along the Rock river, having eight hundred inhabi- 
 tants.-« 
 
 Although "Winnebago was the most populous county in this 
 portion of the state in 1840, settlement was carried on under 
 -adverse conditions especially during the later thirties. Prices 
 were exceedingly high and money was scarce and those pioneers 
 who as yet were unable to raise products varied enough to sat- 
 isfy all their wants met with many hardships.-' 
 
 With money scarce as it was during this time it may well be 
 imagined what small chance the pioneer had to purchase the 
 necessities of life in such a country. One man ventured to say 
 that there were not twenty farmers' in the entire county in 1841 
 and 1842 who had a suit of clothes suitable to wear to church 
 or to court, which they had purchased with the fruits of their 
 labor on their farms. The truth of the situation was that those 
 who had an abimdance of products were unable to sell because 
 none were in a position to buy, owing to lack of funds. It was 
 indeed a time of discouragement and some men past the prime 
 of life, tired of battling with the hardships of the new country, 
 returned to their old homes in the East.-^ Such people, it is 
 certain, would by their stories of frontier trials and privations 
 •actively oppose the movement of any of their friends to the West. 
 Here we find one of the causes which operated against the settle- 
 ment of the state even as late as 1845. 
 
 To a certain degree, Stephenson county seems also to have 
 been an exception to the rule of slow settlement during the 
 years immediately following 1837. In that year there were 
 four or five hundred-^ settlers in the timber and in 1840 there 
 were 2,800.^° New England contributed most of the pioneers 
 •during this period although numbers of "Pennsylvania Dutch," 
 Nonvegians and English came also. The chief colony of Nor- 
 
 "" Chicago Weekly American, Jan. 22, 1841. The town had two newspapers 
 .at this date. (Church, History of Rockford, 215, 300.) 
 
 " Church, History of Rockford, 131, quotes the following prices : — Flour, six- 
 teen to thirty-two dollars a barrel ; pork, thirty dollars a barrel ; wheat, from 
 *hree to four dollars a bushel ; and sugar, twenty-five cents a pound. 
 
 ^•>Ibid., 131. 
 
 ^Tilinois in 1837, 1001: History of Stephenson County, 257. 
 
 '^Seventh Census (1850), 702. 
 
 [144] 
 
rOOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 431 
 
 wegians Ccinie from Nuinniedal and Tlielemark in 1839 and set- 
 tled at Rock Ivun. There were one hundred and fifty in the 
 colony.^^ In 18-12 a colony of English peasants from Devon- 
 shire and Sussex settled in Ridott township/" 
 
 Freeport developed as rapidly as did the rest of the county. 
 A few houses were erected in 1837, but owing to the high price 
 of lumber they were small ones.^^ All supplies were carted 
 overland from Galena, a distance of more than fifty miles, and 
 as a consequence prices were high and Freeport felt keenly the 
 lack of transportation facilities. However, the town soon began 
 to bear evidence of possibilities in the future and when in 1810 
 its population numbered almost five hundred it began to ape 
 the manners of a city.^* It appears to have been a frontier 
 town of none too good a type. "Saloons were maintamed and 
 gambling indulged in without limit. John Barleycorn reigned 
 in those days more generally in proportion to the number of 
 inhabitants than he does now, while the Tiger of Pharaoh was 
 a beast that roamed about freely. "^^ 
 
 Before passing from the discussion of this period it is neces- 
 sary to mention an impediment to immigration to this country, 
 which exercised more weight in the locality than financial 
 troubles or the want of transportation facilities. The settlers, 
 as we have noticed, were of all nations and from all portions of 
 the United States, so it is not to be wondered at that there was 
 infesting the Rock river country, a liberal share of counter- 
 feitere, thieves and murderers. To a greater or less extent this 
 class is always found on the outskirts of civilization and the 
 Rock river valley was particularly unfortunate in being the 
 rendezvous of such a band. These "Prairie Pirates" as they 
 were called numbered about three hundred men who made it a 
 business to buy moveable property and pay for it in counter- 
 feit money, to steal horses and rob the cabins of the pioneers.^*^ 
 The law seemed powerless against these desperadoes, for often 
 
 ^'Tselson, Scandinacians in the United States, 1, 132. 
 
 ^■History of Stephenson County, 2GS. 
 
 '3 Johnston, Sketches of Stephenson County, 91, 92. 
 
 ^Ihid., 93. 
 
 "History of Stephenson County, 2G4. 
 
 «» The yew Yorker, May 30, 1840. 
 
 10 [ 115 ] 
 
432 BULLETIN OF THE UXIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 members of the band were filling local offices and shielded their 
 companions. Lynch law alone restored order to the troubled 
 district when two of the "Pirates" were hanged.^" Qver one hun- 
 dred men sat upon the jury which convicted them and later pro- 
 ceedings were brought against these jurymen. They were in- 
 dicted for murder, tried but acquitted. The decisive action of 
 the pioneers effectually stopped the raids and settlers were more 
 secure thereafter in their lives and the possession of their prop- 
 erty. 
 
 Other conditions unfavorable to the rapid settling of the 
 country also prevailed in this period. i\Iarkets were scarce. 
 The Rock river man was compelled to cart his produce to Ga- 
 lena or Savanna, on the Mississippi river, or to Chicago if he 
 had a great quantity to sell. The expense of transportation 
 taken in connection with the value of his time left little or no 
 reward for the farmer who journeyed to market. To Galena 
 was a trip of a week or more; to Chicago, anywhere from four- 
 teen to twenty days, and after arriving, his wheat was worth 
 but forty or fifty cents a bushel.^^ 
 
 Moreover, the pioneer had trouble over his claims. Specu- 
 lators, always on the lookout for improved farms, not held by 
 good titles, were prone to snap up all such pieces until the 
 Claims Associations were formed and by might secured to every 
 settler his claim against "land-sharks" or "claim-jumpers." 
 After the land sales of 1842 and 1843 these associations, no 
 longer needed in this part of Illinois, gradually fell to pieces. 
 
 In spite of these drawbacks there was a Rock river emigra- 
 tion fever prevalent in many parts of the country, and settlers 
 poured in and scattered themselves along the timbered portions 
 until in 1840 the population of the valley had reached 21,500.^* 
 
 After 1843 the country filled up with amazing rapidity and 
 in 1850 had in it over 66,000 settlers."*' No longer did the small 
 colonies attract the attention of local historians and our infor- 
 mation concerning the development of this part of Illinois must 
 
 " Histoni of Ofile Count!/, 356. 
 ^History of Rock Island County, 225. 
 ^0 Seventh Census (1850), 701, 702. 
 *oih:d., 701, 702. 
 
 [146] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 433 
 
 be derived from such tliiugs as are deemed of importance by 
 those writers. From the growth of the cities also we are able 
 indirectly to form some conclusion concerning the growth of the 
 agricultural class', for wherever a prosperous agricultural com- 
 munity was formed, a town of some importance was close by, 
 since the latter must look to the former for support. 
 
 This great increase may be attributed to several causes. The 
 Rock river country was known as a place of extraordinary 
 facilities for agriculture. Those coming during the period 
 previous to 1843 had sent extremely favorable reports to the 
 East and naturally others followed the lead of the pioneers. 
 The financial revulsion was over and money became more plenti- 
 ful. Those people who had property in the East and wished to 
 move west could now find purchasers and were set at liberty. 
 During this period Illinois began to regain her good name, lost 
 with the brealdug down of her internal improvement scheme, 
 and her half notion of repudiation of her debts. Heavy taxes, 
 too, had kept many away, but with the re-establishment of her 
 finances upon a firm and honorable basis it seems that immi- 
 gration began anew. Finally the railroad through from Chicago 
 to Galena was, before the close of the decade, an assured fact. 
 Many flocked to the neighborhood of its line seeing its value 
 as a market maker. 
 
 From 1843 to 1850 is a period of rapid growth, but chiefly in 
 the agricultural districts. For example, the river towns of 
 Whiteside county show very little growth, while those settlements 
 farther inland show a rapid increase. The reason is evident. 
 This portion of the county had been settled at the earliest date 
 and all the available land had been taken up, consequently the 
 new comers moved further np the small streams toward the in- 
 terior. In Lee county the number of small settlements increased 
 in numbers and in size w'hile Dixon had nearly eight himdred 
 inhabitants by 1851.*^ Property valuation had increased as had 
 the amount of agricultural products.^- 
 
 *' History of Lee Count'j, 105. 
 
 *=T£eal estate was valued at i?!!! j.OOO ; personal property at $168,000, and 
 4.30.000 Imshels of small grain were produced each year (Scrrnth Censtia 
 (1850>, 730-2). There were also twelve corporations producing .$G0,000 worth 
 of articles each year {History of Lee County, 74). 
 
 [147] 
 
434 BULLETIX OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 In the counties of Ogle, DeKalb and Boone there was little 
 gro-\Yth in population. Lack of ready money and of markets as 
 well as disputes over land claims operated against the growth 
 of settlement. Moreover when the news of the discovery of 
 gold in California reached Illinois a number of the farmers left, 
 preferring to try their fortune in the far West rather than to 
 struggle against the difficulties at home.'*^ The population of 
 these counties was chiefly of the agricultural class although 
 Sycamore, DeKalb and Belvidere were settlements of some im- 
 portance, the last having a population of about one thousand.** 
 After 1845 the increase is more marked. 
 
 An examination of the sources of population in the counties 
 treated so far shows a decided predominance of immigrants 
 from the northern states and a very few from the southern 
 states.*^ 
 
 In the other northern counties of the valley the increase of 
 settlement was more rapid. Winnebago county was in 1850, 
 as in 1840, the most populous county of the district, having 
 nearly 12,000 inhabitants.*** Remembering the imfavorable 
 conditions prevailing in the county during the early forties, 
 this increase of settlement Avhieh must necessarily have come 
 during the last five or six years of the decade, is remarkable. 
 As the railroad across the northern part of the state was to pass 
 through the most thriving toAvn in the county, a market and an 
 outlet for produce was thereby assured. The outlaw gang had 
 been driven from the country, the financial difficulties were re- 
 moved and settlements having sprung up all over the county, 
 it was no longer a frontier. In these things, we are able to see 
 the causes of the thriving condition of the new country scarcely 
 two decades old. 
 
 In character the settlers did not differ from those in the other 
 
 " Boies, History of DeKalb County, 404. 
 
 ** Seventh Census (1850), 703. 
 
 *' An examination of the biographies of two hundred and seventy-seven early 
 settlers of Whiteside county shows that two hundred and seven came from 
 New England and the Middle Atlantic states and but nine from the southern 
 states {UMtory of Whiteside County, 77). Of three liundred and twenty-nine 
 In Lee county, two hundred and nineteen were northern men ; many were 
 foreigners and a few southerners (History of Lee County, 177). 
 
 *^ Seventh Census (1850), 702. 
 
 [148] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 435 
 
 counties of the valley. New Yorkers and New Englanders 
 greatly outnumbered the settlers from other places, if Roekford 
 and Rockton may be taken as examples.''^ Foreigner's were also 
 present.*® 
 
 Roekford was the metropolis of the northern prairies and en- 
 joyed the most rapid and steady growth of any of the towns 
 along the Rock river.*'* From a few scattered houses in 1838 
 it had grown to a town of 1,500 houses in 1850.^** Business was 
 thriving and numerous stores were supported by the people of 
 the surrounding country because this was the only supply 
 depot between Chicago and Galena. The appearance of the 
 town was not prepossessing. State street, the business street, 
 was "a crooked line of low wooden shops and stores, "^^ al- 
 though there were some respectable brick stores in the town.'- 
 A low wooden bridge separated rather than united the towns 
 which were even yet rival encampments instead of parts' of the 
 same town. The inhabitants of one town very seldom ventured 
 across to the opposite side of the river save on business and the 
 adventurers generally came home as quickly as possible. The 
 rivalry did not cease imtil the railroad came and put its depot 
 on the west side, which in the minds of the townsmen balanced 
 the prestige enjoyed by the east side in the possession of the 
 post-office. 
 
 Travelers seem to have been favorably impressed with Rock- 
 ford at this date. A correspondent for a New York paper 
 praises its location and says, "A better place for investments in 
 
 *■ The early homos of eight hundred and seventy-one of Rockfovd's settlers 
 are known. Four hundred and seventy came from New York, two hundred and 
 thirty-seven from New England and one hundred and sixty-two from other places 
 in Illinois. (Church, History of Roekford, 281.) 
 
 One hundred and two of the early settlers of Rockton are known. Fifty- 
 eight were New Englanders ; twenty-three from the Middle states ; eighteen, 
 foreigners and the rest from various places. (Carr. Histonj o' Rockton, \(\.) 
 
 *^ A colony of Scotch were at Willow Creek (Ilhstory of \\"inn('hago County, 
 454). 
 
 "Population of Roekford is given as follows; in 1S39, 235 (Churcli. His- 
 tory of Roekford, 148) ; in 1841, 800 (Chicago Weekly AmcHcan, Jan. 22, 1841) ; 
 in 1845, 1278 (Church, History of Roekford, 281) ; in 1850, 2093 {Seventh Cen- 
 sus (1850), 717). 
 
 '■"New York Weekly Tribune, Aug. 30, 1848. 
 
 "Goodwin, Commemorative Discourse (Roekford, Aug. 14, 1870). 
 
 »= Church, History of Roekford, 233. 
 
 [149] 
 
436 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF W'lSCOlSrSIN' 
 
 milling, manufacturing, etc., I did not see in the western 
 states. "^^ Still another speaks of it as, "one of the most beau- 
 tiful and prosperous villages on Rock Eiver" doing a large, 
 active business and containiag "many fine buildings and 
 mills. "=* 
 
 The farmere of the adjoining county were rapidly acquiring 
 wealth and on the whole were abundantly satisfied with their 
 circimistances. Thej^ possessed live stock valued at almost 
 $270,000 in 1850, and during the preceding year had produced 
 786,000 bushels of small grain,^^ a remarkable development when 
 one stops to think that fifteen years before there were no farms 
 under cultivation in Winnebago county. 
 
 Stephenson county more than kept pace with Winnebago dur- 
 ing the decade, receiving about 1,700 more settlers than did the 
 latter county and reaching a total population of 11,666.^*^ In 
 spite of the statements made by the local historians concerning 
 the slo^\•ness of settlement during the decade 1841-1850, it is 
 a fact that this county increased more rapidly than did any 
 other county of the valley. 
 
 Immigrants from the Middle States and particularly from 
 Pennsylvania formed the greatest part of the early pioneers of 
 Stephenson county. The Pennsylvanians were Germans who 
 proved themselves to be a substantial, industrious and thrifty 
 class of settlers. A typical "Pennsylvania Dutch" colony came 
 in 1843 and is described by one of the Pennsylvania papers in 
 the following manner." "On Wednesday May 31, a company 
 of about sixty emigrants passed through this place on their 
 way ... to Stephenson countj^ Illinois. They had four- 
 teen wagons, each drawn by an elegant span of horses. 
 They were all from one neighborhood, had plenty of cash and 
 appeared in fine spirits." 
 
 The foreign population of the county constantly increased 
 
 '^^New York Weekly Tribune, Aug. 20, 1848. 
 " Curtiss, Vestern PortraUure, 283. 
 '"Seventh Census (1850), 730, 732. 
 " Ibid., 702. 
 
 ^'Clarion (Pa.), Ilefiister (Extract copied from this paper by The Korthwestern 
 Gazette and Galena Advertiser, July 7, 18-1.^.>. 
 
 [150] 
 
rOOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 437 
 
 and congregated in and around Freeport. This place had in 
 1850 a population of 1,436,^'® one fourth of which were foreign- 
 ers, mostly Germans-^** 
 
 As Rockford was the center of the agricultural district of 
 "Winnebago county, so was Freeport of Stephenson county. It 
 was situated on the Galena-Chicago state road along which the 
 proposed railroad was to be built. Its growth was as yet re- 
 tarded by the fact that supplies were carried from Galena to 
 stock its stores, but the energy and hopefulness of the settlers 
 helped to build it up and give it a prominence in the district 
 which was to be increased when steam traffic was finally a reality. 
 Scattered along the line of the proposed railroad were small 
 settlements patiently awaiting the time when they, too, by the 
 aid of steam, would become markets for agricultural produce 
 and derive benefit from the products of the country. 
 
 To the north and south of the railroad line, wherever a patch 
 of timber gave shelter from the heat of summer and the cold 
 winds of winter, there could be found a settler's cabin and be- 
 fore the end of the period every available bit of timber had 
 been claimed. The farmers owned $326,000 worth of live stock, 
 and produced 759,000 bushels of small grain in 1850.*'° The 
 prairies were, hoAvever, still unsubdued if we maj'' judge from 
 the amount of unimproved land at this date, there being 123,300 
 acres not yet under cultivation and only 76,300 cultivated.^^ 
 Low prices alone worked to destroy the prosperity of the farmer 
 and when not long afterwards a remedy was applied the ad- 
 vance made by the district was a rapid one. For a time the 
 effect of the gold excitement was noticeable, for between one 
 and two himdred settlers left Stephenson county for the West.®- 
 
 In the discussion of the settlement of the Eock river valley 
 there are really but two periods; the first extending to about 
 1843 when the revival from financial troubles took place; the 
 second extending to the coming of the railroads. The first is 
 one of beginnings in which settlement was retarded by both in- 
 
 '^^ Seveuih Census (18.'>()K 713. 
 
 " Johnston, liJ;etche.<> of Stf'phcnxon Ccuniy. 7i'. 
 
 *« Seventh Census (1850). 730, 732. 
 
 ^ .Johnston, SIcetclics of Stephenson Countp, 71. 
 
 ^ ±li story of Stephenson County, 2S3. 
 
 [151] 
 
■iSS BULLETIN OF THE UXIVEKSITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 ternal and external influences. Speculators had caused a period 
 of 'boom' which collapsed with the weakening of the fijiancial 
 system. Troubles over land claims, lack of markets, the pres- 
 ence of the "Prairie Pirates" and poor communication with the 
 outside world all tended to make this earlier period one of un- 
 certainty among the settlers. 
 
 The later period is the one in which the true growth began. 
 Finances were again comparatively sound, the people were be- 
 coming acquainted with their prairie environments and most of 
 all the coming of the railroad was to give them markets. Fully 
 appreciating the advantages of the country, and fully realizing 
 that in order to take advantage of the opening opportunities 
 they would necessarily have to be on the scene at an early date, 
 settlers flocked there in thousands, coming to the northern 
 counties in the greatest nmubers.^^ Likewise in the northern 
 counties were located the chief towns, Freeport, Eockford and 
 Belvidere. In the southern part of the valley Dixon and Rock 
 Island alone had reached the dimensions of towns. 
 
 A glance at the census figures will show the northern counties 
 to be developing more rapidly than their southern neighbors. 
 The explanation of this lies in the influence which lines of com- 
 munication have upon the growth and character of new settle- 
 ments. Stage roads lead from Chicago Avestward across the 
 state in various ways to the Mississippi river towns. Chief of 
 these was Galena. The road leading to Galena passed to the 
 northward from Chicago through Belvidere, Eockford and Free- 
 port, Emigrants arriving in Chicago from the East by way of 
 the lakes and bound for the Eock river valley seemed inclined 
 to select this road to their destination. As an example, Belvi- 
 dere, according to the local historian, owed its develop- 
 ment to the fact that it was situated on this road. 
 Moreover, the railroad was surveyed through these counties and 
 the farmers' knew that the value of their produce, to a 
 
 "WhltrsJde and Lee counties had a combined population of 17,500 In 1850, 
 a gain of 10,400 In the decade ; DeKalh and Boone had about 15,000, having 
 gained 11,700 while Winnebago and Stephenson had .'^3,500 inhabitants which 
 was a gain of almost 23, GOO for the decade (Seventh Census (1850), 701-2). 
 
 [152] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 430 
 
 great extent, depended upon the expense incurred in getting 
 it to market, so they got as close as possible to the new line of 
 transportation. 
 
 New Englauders and New Yorkers were by far the most 
 numerous elements in the population, ''Pennsylvania Dutch," 
 Germans, Norwegians, and English, Irish and Canadians were 
 generally grouped in settlements by themselves, but they formed 
 a considerable part of the population of some districts, 
 especially in Freepoit and the northern portions of Stephenson 
 county. 
 
 As a result of this influence of New England and the northern 
 states, schools and churches rapidly sprang into existence, for 
 it was evident that wherever half a dozen families were- 
 grouped there must be a school and there must be divine services 
 if these people were to be contented with their lot in the western 
 country. If we could follow their development farther it would 
 be seen that but few years indeed elapsed between the log church 
 and school house and those of more pleasing and imposing 
 appearance. 
 
 However, it must be said that the true development of the 
 Rock river valley was just beginning; vast stretches of prairie 
 land still were lying unoccupied and the work of the railroads 
 was yet to be done. The foundations had been laid during the 
 period previous to 1850 but the social and industrial develop- 
 ment of the region was to be the task of those who were to come 
 later, and who by the aid of transpor-tation facilities and im- 
 proved farm machinery were to leave the woodlands for the open 
 prairies. 
 
 [153] 
 
440 BULLETIJV OF THE ITNIVEKSITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 Eastern Illinois 
 
 Eastern Illinois is truly the prairie district of the state; and 
 in this district settlement developed slowly, but five counties 
 having been organized previous to 1830.^ The period from 1830 
 to 1850 was one of beginnings in this part of Illinois. From 
 the first appearance of American settlers until the railway had 
 developed into a probability, the settlements were sparse, for 
 here, too, the prejudice of the pioneers against the prairies dis- 
 played itself. Few indeed were the settlers who ventured away 
 from the sheltering timber along the rivers and in nearly every 
 case the early settlements are to be found on the edge of the 
 timber lands. Exceptions, of coui"se, there were but they were 
 few. Along the most-traveled roads leading from the Wabash 
 river settlements to those along the Illinois river or to Chicago, 
 an occasional pioneer more venturesome than the rest built his 
 little cabin, but even in such cases he was careful to select some 
 spot where timber was close. 
 
 Local historians of eastern Illinois are agreed on the point 
 that the scarcity of settlement in that district prior to 1850 was 
 due entirely to the inaccessibleness of the country. I\Ir. Beck- 
 with in his History of Vermilion County says there was no settle- 
 ment on the prairie until 1849 when a rush of immigration 
 came in, in anticipation of the passage of Douglas's Illinois 
 
 ^ The counties discussed uiulei- tlit- liead "Eastfrn Illinois" are Jasper. EfTing- 
 ham, Cumberland, Coles, Shelby, Moultrie, Douglas, Edgar, Vermilion, Champaign, 
 Piatt, Macon, Logan, DeWitt, McLean, Livingston, Ford, Iroquois and Kanka- 
 kee. Of tliese Vermiiion, Edgar, Shelby, Macon, aud McLean were organized 
 before 1831. 
 
 r ir>4 ] 
 
rOOLEY SETTLE.MEXT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 
 
 441 
 
 ® To'.vns of over 1.000 inhabitants. 
 • Towns of less tlian 1,000. 
 
 Eastern Illinois (1850) 
 
 North and east of the curved line is the prairie : less than 20 per cent, woodland. 
 Year indicates date of county organization. 
 
 [155] 
 
442 BULLETIN OF THE TXIVEESITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 Centi'al Railroad bill, the discussion of which in Congress had 
 attracted much attention to the prairie lands of the state. - 
 
 The combined population of the five counties organized at the 
 opening of the period (1830) was less than 14,500 and two- 
 thirds of this number were within the limits of Vermilion and 
 Edgar counties on the Wabash river.^ Before the organization 
 of the state Edgar county had received settlers and during the 
 closing jTars of the decade 1821-1830 immigrants had poured 
 into this portion of the state in increased numbers, distributing 
 themselves along the rivers. Generally speaking, these early 
 pioneers were from Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio and the Caro- 
 linas. Directly to the north lay Vermilion county. Here the 
 population was grouped in the timber lands along the Vermilion 
 river and its tributaries in the southeastern part of the county. 
 
 Danville, the chief town, situated on the Vermilion river 
 which, at that time, was navigable for steamboats during a 
 great part of the year, had a population of three hundred and 
 fifty and was the most important settlement in this part of the 
 state.* Coal mining which later was to become the great in- 
 dustry around the settlement had begun, but only on a small 
 scale for the settlers did not comprehend the value of the coal 
 fields and instead of claiming great portions were content to 
 dig only what they needed for immediate use.^ 
 
 While the early years of the decade 1831-1840 Avere prosper- 
 ous years for central Illinois the spread of population was not 
 rapid in either of the Wabash river counties although they both 
 increased considerably in numbers of settlers.*' A filling-in 
 process was going on here instead of an extension of the frontier 
 line and the timbered banks of the numerous branches of the 
 Wabash which crossed this part of the state were being taken up. 
 Timber seemed plentiful and as yet there was no necessity for 
 
 2 Bfckwith, Jlistriry of VcnniVion Countu, SOI. 
 
 sVermiHon and Edgar counties had 5,800 and 4,100 settlers respectively;, 
 Shelby county had .3.000 ; Macon county 1,100; and McLean county had less 
 than one hundred families. Seventh Census (1850), 701, 702. 
 
 * Danville had six stores, four saw miKs, two .grist mills, a post-office, a court- 
 house and a land office. Illinois Monthly Mdfjazinc, 2, 4.5G. 
 
 = Beckwitb, History of VermiUon County, 847. 
 
 1 Some 7,500 settlers were added to the population of the two counties during^ 
 the decade. SeventTi Census (1850), 701, 702. 
 
 [ 15G ] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 443 
 
 the pioneer to move out into the prairies. Condensation, how- 
 ever, was aided by another influence, for early in the thirties' the 
 Indian troubles in the north frightened many of the settlere of 
 the upper Illinois river counties back to the stronger settlements 
 in the south. Here and there in the small groves of northern 
 Vermilion county and along the Hubbard trace leading to Chi- 
 cago were small settlements which were broken up at the first 
 alarm, the settlers moving to safer places and it was some time 
 before they dared to return to their former abodes. 
 
 From 1841 to 1850 nc'w forces were at work, tending to at- 
 tract settlement to other parts of the state rather than to the 
 "Wabash river counties. Little timber land was left on the 
 eastern side of the state and the ordinary immigrant could not 
 afford to pay fancy prices to be allowed to remain in the older 
 settled regions. The prairies alone were left in Vermilion and 
 Edgar counties and since practically nothing was kno^^^i con- 
 cerning pioneer life on these enormous tracts of unsheltered 
 country the pioneer feared to settle on them, thus being prac- 
 tically compelled to pass on by the eastern line of settlement 
 and head for the timber line of the Illinois and Sangamon 
 rivers or northward to the Iroquois and Kankakee. Favorable 
 reports, too, came from the interior of the state concerning 
 fertile land, fine timber and good water. 
 
 Later in the decade the Douglas Illinois Central Railroad 
 bill drew much attention to that portion of the state west from 
 Vermilion and Edgar and when the rush of settlers came dur- 
 ing the closing years of the decade this influence also operated 
 to the detriment of these counties for the railroad was too far 
 to the west to come in contact in any way with the Wabash 
 river settlements. 
 
 Besides, across the prairie in the neighborhood of the San- 
 gamon liver, settlements occurred often enough to remove the 
 more evident frontier characteristics, but not so often as to leave 
 no desirable land for newcomers. In short, central Illinois 
 along the western skirts of the great prairie offered more ad- 
 vantages to the pioneer at a less expense than did the older 
 ^Yabash settlements and naturally he went there. 
 
 Danville was in 1850, the most important town in this part of 
 
 [157] 
 
444 BULLETIN OF THE UXIVEKSITY OF WISCONSIJST 
 
 the state but it was not a city. In other parts of the state 
 Quincy, Galena and Chicago had grown to be cities at this date 
 because of developed resources and because of favorable loca- 
 tions, but Danville not being a market of consequence, or the 
 key to a great transportation line, was dependent upon an un- 
 developed resource — coal. "When mining was begun on a large 
 scale, Danville became a population center of sufficient import- 
 ance to be called a city. 
 
 The other settlements of importance in these counties were 
 Paris, Georgetown, Grand View% Embarras and Butler's Point.' 
 Paris was the chief town of Edgar county and Georgetown in 
 Vermilion county, being the seat of a seminary which for quite 
 a time was an educational center of importance, was a settle- 
 ment of considerable size in 1850.^ The population of the two 
 eoimties amounted to over 22,100 souls.^ 
 
 As the pioneers approached the heart of the great prairie, 
 the headwaters of those streams flowing into the Wabash, Ohio 
 and ^Mississippi rivers were reached. These tributaries being 
 small, unnavigable streams, offered little communication with 
 the rest of the state and it was with slow and somewhat uncer- 
 tain steps that the settlers ventured from southern Illinois, or 
 the Sangamon country, to take possession of the timber lands in 
 the prairie. The scanty settlements in this part of the state in 
 1830 show how slowly the acquisition of teiTitory was going on. 
 
 Effingham county had but fifty families in 1830,^'^ all collected 
 in five communities in the timber near the Embarras river; St. 
 Marie and Newton settlements near the same stream were the 
 settlements of greatest note in Jasper county. The scanty pop- 
 ulation of Cumberland county must be attributed to the wet, 
 swampy character of the soil, which made it poorly adapted for 
 farming land. A settlement of Kentuckians and Tennesseeans 
 on Bear Creek was the most important one in the county in: 
 1830." Coles county had sixty voters in 1831." Moultrie and 
 
 "> ffrventh Census (1850), 7<t7. 
 
 * Eeckwitb, History o' Vermilion Count!/, 521. 
 
 * Seventh Census (1850), 701-702. 
 
 10 perrin. History of Effinf/ham County, 12. 
 
 ^^ History of Cumberland, Jcsper and Richland Counties, 112. 
 
 " History of Coles County, 244. 
 
 [ 158 ] 
 
POOLE Y SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 445 
 
 Douglas counties, not so many. Macon county, on the ex- 
 treme eastern side of the Sangamon country, profiting by the 
 timbered portions of the streams and by its proximity to the 
 older established settlements of Sangamon county, had a con- 
 siderable population. The Stevens and Ward settlements, sit- 
 uated one on either side of the Sangamon river, near the present 
 site of Decatur, Avere the chief settlements.^^ The greater part 
 of the population lay along the river near the above-mentioned 
 villages. Decatur was a settlement having no distinction save 
 that of having a dozen log cabins and a street filled with 
 stumps.^* 
 
 Although De Witt county had settlers in the early twenties, the 
 spread of settlement progressed slowly. In 1829 Governor 
 Reynolds addressed the voters of the county at a political meet- 
 ing which was attended by all the voters for miles around. 
 Twenty-five in all came, "a motley crew, half of them at least 
 were bare foot, while the best dressed were in their shirt 
 sleeves. "^^ Logan, Piatt, Champaign and Ford counties had 
 small settlements here and there but with the exception of 
 Champaign county they remained unorganized for years. 
 
 ^McLean county, owing to its abundance of good timber land 
 and the fact that it lay close to the older settlements, filled up 
 rapidly, especially in the timbered tracts. The names Dry 
 Grove, Twin Grove, Blooming Grove and Funk's Grove, tell 
 plainly the story of settlement in McLean as well as in otlier 
 counties of this part of Illinois. No settlers ventured away 
 from the timber before 1849 or 1850.^*^ Blooming Grove, soon 
 to become Blcomington, was the most important settlement in 
 the county and had twenty families in 1830.^^ Along the Ver- 
 milion in Livingston county and at Bunkum and Milford in 
 Iroquois were gathcied a few families. 
 
 In 1830 Danville, Paris, Blooming Grove and Decatur were 
 the only settlements of any size in this part of Illinois. The 
 rest of the population was scattered throughout the country in 
 
 " History of Macon County, 31. 
 '* History of Edgar County, 306. 
 ^'•'History of De^Vitt County, 29G. 
 ^'^ History of McLean County, 591. 
 ''Ibid., 306. 
 
 [ 159 ] 
 
446 BULLETIN OF THE TJNIVEKSITY OF WISCOK^SIN 
 
 the timber lands, practically cut off from the rest of the state, 
 almost destitute of markets and of those commodities generally 
 enjoyed by older settlements. 
 
 However, a change was beginning to come about, for agri- 
 cultural implements were now of as much importance as the axe 
 and the rifle ; and the pioneer began to forsake the bluffs and the 
 bottomlands along the rivers and to adapt himself to new en- 
 vironments. The outside edge of the timber was found to be 
 more convenient than the river banks, for the only chopping 
 necessary was for the cabin since nature had made the clear- 
 ings long before the coming of the pioneers. Here began a 
 period of experimentation in which the pioneer *was to get an 
 idea of the possibilities of the great uncultivated fields all around 
 him. For a time he felt himself powerless to take advantage 
 of them since he had no means by which he could keep in touch 
 wath the rest of the world. Neither could he solve the problem 
 of wood and shelter, when separated from the friendly timber. 
 
 Hard times, lack of markets close at hand, financial distress, 
 state debts, high taxation, unfavorable reports spread by dis- 
 satisfied pioneers, which tended to keep back settlers, all made 
 the task of the prairie man harder through this period from 1830 
 "to 1850. The railroads had not been built yet and without their 
 aid in solving the problem of transportation and communica- 
 tion it is small wonder that the pioneers from Kentucky, Tenn- 
 essee and Ohio whose experience had all been with the timber 
 lands, advanced with caution and even timidity to the task which 
 lay before them. 
 
 Turning now to the southern counties of the prairie region, 
 the growth of settlement shows that the pioneers of Jasper 
 county came principally from Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana with 
 some from the eastern and southern states. They were "squat- 
 ters" who had been obliged by circumstances to leave the more 
 thickly populated districts and begin life again in a new 
 country.^^ By 1834 there were enough people to warrant the 
 formation of a new county, but the number must have been 
 small, since at the first few courts held, the services of nearly 
 
 ^'^ History of CumherJand, Jasper and Richland Counties, SS2-383. 
 
 [IGO] 
 
rOOLEV SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 447 
 
 all the male inliabitauts in the county were required to conduct 
 the court proceedings.^^ Land was taken up slowly. In 1836 
 there Avere possibly ten pieces of deeded land in the county and 
 conditions remained so until about 1845.-" Newton, the chief 
 village, in 1835 consisted of but four or five families and while 
 it had no public buildings, the village was fortunate in having 
 a sawmill, an institution highly prized by our pioneer an- 
 cestors.-^ The mail came once a week when the water was not 
 too high. 
 
 In 1837 an important addition was made to the population of 
 the county. For years there had been, in some parts of France, 
 a desire among the peasantry to attempt the planting of a colony 
 in America. The Piequet families, all well-to-do people, being 
 attracted by the plan, sent one of their number to America to 
 select and purchase a place suitable for the establishment of a 
 colony. After traveling quite extensively through the states of 
 the middle "West the agent selected a site in Jasper county and 
 returned to France in 1836 to make his report. In the follow- 
 ing year a colony of twenty-five people arrived from France, 
 purchased 12,000 acres of land and settled at St. Marie, calling 
 their settlement the Colonie des Freres}- In 1840 the settlers 
 in the comity did not number 1,500 in all. The chief settle- 
 ments were NeA\i:on and St. Llarie.-^ 
 
 After 1845 the lands began to be taken up more rapidlj^ and 
 new settlei^s were not so scarce. In the closing years of the dec- 
 ade, when the hard times were over and Illinois had voted 
 against repudiation and when the railroad seemed more than a 
 mere possibility, settlements increased in number. The popula- 
 tion of the county numbered in 1850 more than 3,200 souls and 
 Ne\\i;on, the chief center of population, had with its surrounding 
 farms a population of more than 1,100. The Crooked Creek, 
 North Fork and St. ]\Iarie settlements had between four and 
 seven himdred settlers each.-^ 
 
 "/bid., 389. 
 ^Ihid., 388. 
 *' Ihid., 481. 
 ^ Ibid., 484. 
 
 -^Seventh Caisus (1830), 709. 
 ^ Ibid., 709. 
 
 11 [ 161 ] 
 
448 BULLETIJ^ OF THE r^TIVEKSITY OF WISCOXSIX 
 
 Cumberland county, directly north of Jasper, was settled to 
 some extent by 1830, but was not organized until 1843, since the 
 development, like that of Jasper, was slow during these years. 
 Like Jasper, too, the greater part of the county was not in the 
 hands of actual settlers until about 1860."^ 
 
 The beginning of work on the National Eoad through this 
 county in 1832 gave an impetus to immigration and attracted 
 not a few settlers to its immediate vicinity, most of whom came 
 from New York and Ohio.-'' Greenup, located on the Embarras 
 river where it was crossed by the Old National Road, was the 
 most desirable place for settlement, and by 1840 it was a thriv- 
 ing village with mills and business advantages superior to any 
 other settlement for miles around.-' In 1850 its population 
 numbered more than nine hundred.-^ 
 
 Outside of Greenup, the county filled up slowly and before 
 1850 settlement was at a standstill. Cholera visited this part 
 of Illinois during the forties and added to the difficulties beset- 
 ting the pioneers and when the news of the discoveiy of gold in 
 California came, quite a number of the settlers left.-^ 
 
 Although there were no public buildings in Cumberland 
 county for several years, owing to the inability of "the inhabitants 
 to decide upon a county town,^** it was very well supplied with 
 school-houses. One church, built of logs, was the only house of 
 worship in 1840.^^ 
 
 Immediately after the close of our period, a time of prosperity 
 began, for the land warrants issued by the United States gov- 
 ernment to the soldiers' of the Mexican "War were converted into 
 holdings by the soldiers themselves, or had passed into the 
 hands of others desiring land and in the years follo^wing 1850 
 nearly every acre in the county was taken up.^- The population 
 of the county in this year was a few more than 3,700.^^ 
 
 ■'^ Hintory of Cumberland, Jasper and Richland Counties, 103. 
 
 -"Ibid., 113-114. 
 
 ^' Ibid., 123. 
 
 ^Seventh Census (18.50), 706. 
 
 '^History of Cumberland, Jasper and Richland Counties, 114. 
 
 «» Ibid., 136. 
 
 s' Ibid., 172. 
 
 ^•Ibid., 114. 
 
 ^'Seventh Census (IfsoO), 701. 
 
 [1G2] 
 
POOLE Y SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 449 
 
 In 1831 Effingham county was organized and during the 
 early part of the decade increased in population quite rapidly, 
 especially along the National Road which crossed the county. 
 A census taken in 1835 credits Effingham county with about 
 1,000 settlers and two hundred acres of improved farm lands.'* 
 Soon after, owing to the arrival of the German colony which set- 
 tled at Teutopolis, the land market was active and a consider- 
 able amount of land was taken up. 
 
 In 1837 Teutopolis was located and at once became a settle- 
 ment of importance and the nucleus of the foreign population 
 of the coimty. A company of Germans, one hundred and forty 
 in number, was formed in Cincinnati for the purpose of found- 
 ing a settlement in some western state. The subscribers were to 
 pay ten dollars a month until a sum of $16,000 had been raised. 
 In the meantime an investigating and exploring committee was 
 appointed to select a suitable place for a to-\\T2. This committee, 
 after tramping through a considerable part of Indiana and Ill- 
 inois, decided upon Effingham county as the most desirable lo- 
 cation, and reported it to the company as such. The company 
 bought 10,000 acres of land and laid out a town whose main 
 street was the National Eoad. 
 
 In 1838 the settlers began to arrive, some coming directly 
 from Germany and others from the German settlements around 
 Cincinnati. Those from the latter place came by water to St. 
 Louis and then by wagons to Teutopolis, a distance of one hun- 
 dred miles.^^ In all there were ninety families.^" From time 
 to time other families came and settled in the neighborhood. 
 Douglas,^^ St. Francis^* and Liberty townships were centers of 
 German settlement. The latter had a varied population, how- 
 ever, numbering 'New Englanders, Buckeyes, Southerners, 
 Hoosiers, English, Irish and Poles' along with its Germans.^^ 
 
 Although the county had 3,700 inhabitants in 1850,^° it had 
 
 8* Perrin, History of Effingham Count]), 5G. 
 ^Ihid., 251. 
 
 '• Salsbacher, Meine Reise nach der Vereinigten Staaterij 229, note. 
 ^"I'ouslas township Iia ] forty-iour adult male Germans in 1840. Perrin, 
 Effliighnm County, 147. 
 ■« Ihid., ::32. 
 -« I hid., 2.39. 
 *<> Seventh Census (1850), 701. 
 
 [ 163 ] 
 
450 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVEESITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 not a single church and not until 1852 was a house of worship 
 erected. When the first church was built, it was a simple log 
 structure and was made to serve as both school-house and church 
 and was free to all denominations.*^ 
 
 The beginnings of settlement were made in Shelby county 
 before 1830 and at that date the county had already been or- 
 ganized and had nearly 3,000 settlers. The early date of set- 
 tlement may be explained by the fact that the county is well 
 watered and well timbered since it is drained by many tribu- 
 taries of the Kaskaskia river. The increase in the number of 
 settlers during the twenty years amounted to 4,800. Moultrie 
 county, however, had been cut off from Shelby county in 1843 
 which serves in part to account for the small increase in the 
 number of settlers. Moultrie county's population in 1850 was 
 a few more than 3,200.*- 
 
 By far the greater number of the pioneers of these two counties 
 came from states west of the Alleghanies, which seems to 
 indicate that in this part of Illinois the absence of lines of com- 
 munication with the far eastern states served to limit the classes 
 of settlers to those who came from neighboring states.*^ 
 
 At the first election held after the organization of Coles 
 county in 1831, sixty votes were cast.** At the end of the de- 
 cade the population numbered 9,000, Mattoon and Charleston 
 being the chief towns.*^ Unfavorable conditions existed in the 
 county but the number of settlers increased in spite of the lack 
 of markets and the existing poor prices.*^ In 1850 there were 
 eight townships claiming between seven and fourteen hundred 
 settlers each. Charleston was a village of importance, having 
 
 *' Perrin, History of Effinuham County, 17C. 
 
 ** For populiation of Sliclby and Moultrie counties see Seventh Census (1850), 
 701-702. 
 
 *^ Tlie biographies of four hundred and fifty pioneers of Shelby and Moultrie 
 counties have been examined with the following results. Ninety-five settlers 
 came from Ohio, ei'ghty-seveu from Kentucliy, seventy from Tennessee, sixty- 
 six from other parts of Illinois, forty from the southern states, thirty-six from 
 Indiana and a few were foreigners and from the eastern states. History of 
 Shelby and Moultrie Counties, 319-333. 
 
 " History of ColCtS Cminty, 244. 
 
 "Seventh Census (1850), 705. 
 
 " Corn sold for eight cents a bushel and wheat for twenty-five cents. A eow 
 and a calf brought eight dollars and good horses were bought for forty dol- 
 lars. History of Coles County, 460. 
 
 ri64i 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS^ 1830-50 451 
 
 eight himdrecl and fifty inhabitants." School houses had been 
 erected at various places in the county and Charleston had a 
 church and a newspaper office.*^ The settlei-s came chiefly from 
 Kentucky with some representatives from Virginia, Tennessee, 
 the Carolinas and the states of the Middle West.*" 
 
 Champaigu county owing to its location in the heart of the 
 great prairie district, did not fill up rapidly, for timber was 
 scarce. Permanent settlements were few before the Black Hawk 
 War but after danger from the Indians had passed settlements 
 sprang up in the timber. Urbana, Mahomet, Newcomb, St. 
 Joseph, Condit and Sidney all had settlers by 1840°° when the 
 population of the coimty amounted to about 1,500 people.^^ 
 
 Urbana, the county town, was the most important settlement 
 and boasted of having a store in 1834. The goods sold here had 
 been purchased in Philadelphia, carted over the mountains to 
 Pittsburg and shipped down the Ohio to Evansville, Indiana, 
 from which place they were brought to Urbana by wagons. 
 Owing to the heavy cost of transportation, it is not surprising 
 to learn that calico and the coarsest kind of brown muslin brought 
 prices varying from thirty-five to fifty cents a yard. Other 
 articles sold at corTcspondingly high prices.^^ Among the 
 settlers of Urbana were numbered a physician, a preacher, 
 a lawyer and still more important personages for frontier set- 
 tlements, a blacksmith and a wagon maker.^^ 
 
 In the next decade the population of the county increased to 
 about 2,700 souls with Urbana and Homer as the chief towns, 
 neither of which had more than two hundred settlers." Cham- 
 paign, now by far the most important city of the county, had not 
 a single settler, being entirely the product of the railroad which 
 crossed the county in the next decade. 
 
 While Champaign was not a frontier county in 1850, and 
 while it was a large county with exceedingly fertile land, the 
 
 "Seventh Census (1S50), 705. 
 
 *^ History of Coles County, 318-322. 
 
 " Ibid., 500. 
 
 "o Lothrop, Champaign County Directory, 373-428. 
 
 ^^ Seventh Census (1850), 701. 
 
 "s^Lothrop, Champaign County Directory, 124. 
 
 M Ibid., 439. ^ j 
 
 ^Seventh Census (1850), 701-705. 
 
 [165] 
 
452 BULLETIX OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCOX'SIN 
 
 population was much smaller than that of many other counties 
 located in the northern or western parts of the state. The slow 
 settlement can be attributed to two things; the lack of lines of 
 communication with the populous eastern states, and the 
 rscarcity of timber land. The pioneers had not by 1850 learned 
 the solution of the problems of the prairie and those who came 
 to eastern Illinois sought places where timber was more plenti- 
 ful than here. 
 
 The earliest settlers had come to De "Witt county before 1830 
 but the organization of the county did not take place until 
 1839, o\ving to the small number of inhabitants. The Salt 
 Creek settlement, now known as Farmer City, had but four 
 families in 1832 and the nearest neighbors were ten miles away. 
 In 1839 the number of families had groA^Ti to nineteen.^^ De Witt 
 and Clinton villages had their first houses erected in 1835 and 
 1836.^'' By 1840 the former had a store, a mill, a hotel, a post- 
 office and a church which made it a tOAvn of much importance 
 in the county.^'' In 1840 the population of the county was 
 about 3,250 and in 1850 it w^as 5,000; Clinton and 'Waynes\'ille 
 with from three to four hundred inhabitants each, being the 
 principal settlements.^® 
 
 The nativities of the pioneers of De "Witt county show that 
 the early settlers came chiefly from the states of the Middle 
 West, the representatives of the eastern states being few.^® 
 
 The settlement of Piatt county began in 1830 when some 
 settlers came from Ohio. The county government was organ- 
 ized in 1840 with Monticello, a village of one hundred inhabi- 
 tants, as the county town."" Settlement increased but slowly 
 in the county and in 1850 the population was but 1,600.*^^ 
 
 Macon county which at the opening of this period had 1,100 
 
 ^^ History of De Witt County, 214-215. 
 
 ^Ibid., 151. 
 
 " ma., 287. 
 
 ^Seventh Census aS50), 706. 
 
 " Of two hundred and sixty settlers who came to De Witt county before 1850, 
 ninety-five came from Oliio. thirty-eight from Kentucliy, thirty from other parts 
 of Illinois, twenty-two from New York, twenty from Indiana, eighteen from 
 Tennessee and seven from New England. History of De Witt County, 339. 
 
 «" Norris and Gardiner, Illinois Annual Register (1847), 105. 
 
 "■Seventh Census (1850), 702. 
 
 [166] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 453 
 
 inhabitants, had in 1840, over 3,000 and in 1850 about 4,000.«2 
 Decatur was the chief town but enjoyed a rather unsteady 
 growth. It was begun in 1825 and was still a hamlet in 1836. 
 In spite of the fact that from 1836 to 1842 the state of Illinois 
 went through her darkest days, Decatur experienced her best 
 ones until after 1850. During this period the growth of the 
 village was comparatively rapid, owing to a belief among the 
 people that a railroad was soon to be built through the town. 
 In 1842 its population had reached five hundred, and here the 
 decline set in because of the vanishing hope concerning the 
 proposed railroad.''^ Through the rest of our period the town 
 was at a standstill and to some extent this seems true of the 
 county as a whole, for the gain of one thousand inhabitants in 
 a period of ten years does not seem a great deal for a county 
 which was situated in a rich agricultural district and no longer 
 on the frontier. From its proximity to the Sangamon country 
 and owing to its early settlement, it seems j)robable that a great 
 part of the population was from the southern states, having 
 followed up the Sangamon river.^* 
 
 ]\IcLean county, fortunate in having a liberal supply of 
 timber besides fertile prairie land, was an ideal country for new 
 settlers. As a result of these advantages the county which had 
 but ninety-three families at the time of its organization in 1830, 
 had, by the end of the decade, over 6,500 settlers, and by 1850 
 had reached the 10,000 mark.*'^ To the natural advantages 
 favoring IMcLean county there was one drawback which was of 
 a serious nature, and that was the lack of a handy market. 
 Chicago was the market for stock, and those farmers who had 
 produce to sell were of necessity forced to carry it to Chicago — 
 everj-thing which could walk, sheep, hogs, horses, cattle, turkeys 
 and geese, was driven. Occasionally other places served as 
 
 62 Ibid., 702. 
 
 0^ History of Macon County, 116. 
 
 «* Informatioii here is inadequate. The nativities of fifty-av3 Ia^T?"s and 
 judges have been recorded by a local historian. Twenty-four came irom the 
 South Atlantic States, seventeen from Kentucky and Tennessee, flve from the 
 Middle Atlantic States, two from New England, two from western states, and 
 two were foreigners. History of Macon County, 31. 
 
 *^ Seventh Census (1850), 70:2. 
 
 [167] 
 
45i BULLETIN OF THE U]N^IVEKSITY OF WISCOXSIN" 
 
 markets but it seems to have been a general rule to trade at 
 Chicago. 
 
 Although McLean county was considered as a frontier county 
 as late as 1840, yet it had some settlements of importance before 
 this date. Big Grove had one hundred and fifty families, Dry- 
 Grove had fifty, Cheney's Grove had twenty-four and Bloom- 
 ington had four hundred and fifty inhabitants.®^ Besides these, 
 there were two or three settlements made by colonies formed in 
 the East, 
 
 In 1830 a company in Butler county, Ohio, sent an agent to 
 Illinois to select and buy land preparatory to the establishment 
 of a settlement. The instructions were carried out and in the 
 fall of the year the colony, comprising five families in all, set- 
 tled in Dale township.*^^ 
 
 Five yeare later another enterprise of the same sort was be- 
 gun, but on a much larger scale. This time the promoters 
 were Ehode Island men and their plan was to open up the 
 western lands and settle enterprising farmers, merchanics and 
 tradesmen upon them, A charter was obtained from the state 
 and a company forined with a capital stock of $12,500, Each 
 subscriber was to receive three hundred and twenty acres of 
 land and four lots in the village of Mount Hope. In 1837 
 fifteen families left Rhode Island and Massachusetts and settled 
 upon their Illinois claims. A few houses were erected but 
 owing to the panic of 1837 the plan never succeeded well and 
 practically fell through. Eight thousand acres of land were, 
 however, taken up and entered by the company.*'^ 
 
 A similar fate overtook the Hudson colony in the same year. 
 The Illinois Land Association, as it was called, was organized 
 at Jacksonville in February, 1836. In the name of one of the 
 promotei's, nearly all the township of Hudson was entered. 
 The plan was to get subscribers for the company at two hun- 
 dred and thirty-five dollars per share. Each share entitled the 
 holder of the certificate to one hundred and sixty acres of land 
 
 "■ Ilistoin of McLean County^ 330. 
 ^-^ Ibid., 012. 
 
 ^History of McLean County, 579; Duis, Good Old Times in McLean County, 
 r36. 
 
 [168] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 455 
 
 besides twenty acres of timber for fencing, building and fuel, 
 and also four town lots in the village of Hudson which was to 
 be built upon the company's land. Since the greater part of 
 the timber land of the county had already been settled upon, 
 the agreement concerning the allotment of timber to each sub- 
 scriber could not be fulfilled and some dissatisfaction arose 
 therefrom, causing a number to withdraw. Twenty of the 
 stockholders became settlers in 1837 but the financial trouble 
 of that year put an end to the scheme. The settlers and pro- 
 moters were from Hudson, New York.''^ 
 
 Bloomington, it was believed in the early days, would never 
 be a town of any importance since stone, timber, coal, water 
 power and navigable waters, which were thought to be neces- 
 sities for a successful settlement, were not to be found in any 
 quantities near its site. Its growth, however, was a steady one, 
 save only in the period of depression following 1837. From a 
 village of eighty inhabitants in 1831^'' it increased to one hun- 
 dred and eighty in 1834 and four hundred and fifty by 1836."^ 
 The population had increased to six hundred in 1840 in spite 
 of the unfavorable conditions existing at the time.^- During 
 the next three years, however, the little town suffered. Lands 
 and town lots became almost worthless; improved land could 
 be bought for a dollar and a quarter an acre.'^^ By 1843 every 
 merchant had been forced into bankruptcy, money w'as scarce, 
 farm produce was well-nigh worthless, emigration began' among 
 those who could get away and immigration had practically 
 ceased. Much property was forfeited because of the inability 
 of the owners to pay taxes.^^ From this date times improved 
 and the village again began to grow. The small, irregular, 
 sparsely settled town developed from one of 600 in 1840 
 to one of 1.600 in 1850, while the precinct outside of the 
 town had an additional 1.000 settlers. Several other settle- 
 ments in the county had more than seven hundred settlers.''' 
 
 «» History of McLean County, 603. 
 
 '0 Ihid., 316. 
 
 " Duis, Qood Old Times in McLean County, 45. 
 
 •2 History of McLean County, 335. 
 
 'Ubid., 336. 
 
 "* McLean County Historical Society Publications, 1, 409. 
 
 -^Seventh Census (1850), 712. 
 
 [169] 
 
456 BULLETIX OF THE ITNIVEESITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 Most of the early pioneers came from vrestern states; Ohio 
 and Kentuekj' sending the greatest numbers."'^ 
 
 Of the northern counties of eastern Illinois, Livingston and 
 Iroquois counties were organized before 1850. In Kankakee 
 countv, then a part of Will county, was a settlement of interest. 
 It was a Canadian community, established by Noel Yasseur, 
 and for a time it flourished. Later, Americans came and filled 
 up the surrounding county, but Bourbonnais as late as 1879 
 still preserved to a great extent the customs and appearances of 
 a genuine Canadian village. In its best days possibly 6,000 or 
 7,000 people lived there in their quiet cottages, grouped about 
 the church, college, and convent.''^ The censiis of 1850 credits 
 the village with a population over 1,700.^^ 
 
 Wliile Livingston county was still a part of jMcLean coimty, 
 settlements were started in it and by 1832 the Rook Creek, Belle 
 Prairie and Indian Grove settlements each had a few pioneers. 
 At Pontiac and Amity, and in Oswego and Forrest townships, a 
 few settlers grouped themselves during the next few years.'^* 
 
 Pontiac, one of the two important settlements, was located by 
 New Yorkers who erected their cabins at this place in 1833. 
 Four years later the town was surveyed, platted and lots sold 
 at five dollars each. In 1850 a whole block in the same town 
 could be bought for ten dollars and if it was an unusually de- 
 sirable one perhaps twenty dollars would be required to pro- 
 cure it. In 1835 a few families from Ohio, Yermont and New 
 York joined those already in Pontiac and three years later the 
 first substantial addition was made in the shape of a colony 
 of seventeen persons from New York.^° 
 
 A decade later the village presented the same appearance, 
 having experienced no growth whatever. Half a dozen cabins, 
 
 " Of two hundred and sixty pioneers wlio came to McLean county before 1850, 
 sixty-one came from Kentucliy, sixty from Ohio, thirty from Virginia, four- 
 teen from Pennsylvania, thirteen each from New Yorlj and Tennessee and tea 
 from North Carolina. Only thirteen were New Englanders, eighty-eight from 
 the other Atlantic states, while one hundred and fifty were from the states west 
 of the mountains. Duis, Good Old Times in McLean Coutiiy, 12j-S05. 
 
 " American Catholic Quarterly Revieic, 4, 598. 
 
 ■!» Seventh Census. (1850), 716. 
 
 " History of Liciwjston County, 295-405. 
 
 ^Ibid., aoO-301. 
 
 [170] 
 
POOLEV SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 457 
 
 SO hidden away in the bushes as to be almost invisible, and a 
 court house composed the town of Pontiae. So insignificant 
 was this coimty to^\Ti at this date that, it is said, travelers some- 
 times inquired of its residents the distance to Pontiae. Its 
 population in 1849 was seventy-eight souls.®^ 
 
 To the township of Amity must be accorded the honor of 
 being the most important center of population in Livingston 
 county prior to 1850. Settled first in 1833, its population num- 
 bered two hundred in 1843 and about two hundred and fifty 
 in 1850.^- Many of the settlers had come from Ohio and were 
 decidedly above the class of pioneers generally found on the 
 fr-ontier.^^ 
 
 Besides these two settlements, but little else existed until along 
 into the fifties, for the true development of the county dates 
 from 1854, when the Chicago and Alton built its line.^* The 
 •opening of the Illinois and IMichigan canal in 1848 served to 
 bring some settlers from northern Ohio and Indiana and 
 southern Michigan, but the number was not large.^^ Settle- 
 ment had not left the line of the Vermilion river by 1850 and 
 even where so closely grouped this ribbon of settlement over 
 the county did not exceed five miles in width. Beyond these 
 limits occasional settlements were found but the largest ones 
 bad but four or five families eaeh.^^ 
 
 Development in all lines seems to have been slow. In 1847 
 not a store existed in Livingston county, the nearest approach 
 to such an institution being a peddler who made monthly trips 
 from Ottawa, supplying from his wagon the needs of every 
 family in the county. The mediums of exchange acceptable 
 were feathers, ginseng and deer skins.^^ The population in 1850 
 was 1,550.®^ the least of any county in Illinois. 
 
 The history of settlement in Iroquois county is a repetition of 
 that of the other prairie counties. Scattered settlements are 
 
 "/6f(Z., 300-301. 
 
 ^Ibid., 406-411; Seventh Census (1850), 711. 
 
 ^^ History of Livingston County, 411. 
 
 ^* Historical Encyciopedia of Illinois, 341. 
 
 ^ Hi'ifory of Livingston County. 5.34. 
 
 8« Ibid., 422. 
 
 «Uhid.. 245. 
 
 *^ Seventh Census (1850), 702. 
 
 [171 
 
458 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVEESITY OF "WISCONSIN 
 
 found along several of the wooded streams. The Kickapoo and 
 the Pottowatomie Indians remained in the county until the years 
 1836 and 1837 and while they were friendly undoubtedly their 
 presence served to retard settlement, for the Indian scare of 1832 
 was still fresh in the minds of the frontiersmen.^^ 
 
 Several colonies of some note came during the years 1834 and 
 1835. First to come was a Pennsylvanian colony numbering 
 thirty-two people, all of whom were owners of considerable 
 property. They settled at Milford, and two years later were 
 joined by a party of Virginians.^" In 1835 a colony of Nor- 
 wegians came, but in selecting a spot for settlement this colony 
 was imfortunate and hit upon a place which was unhealthful. 
 Sickness broke out among them and, discouraged by the outlook, 
 the entire colony, nimibering thirty people, left Beaver Creek 
 in 1837 and went to Wisconsin. ""^ 
 
 One example of a "paper town," we find in Iroquois county 
 in 1835 during the period of the craze for speculation which 
 swept over the country during the thirties. A company, known 
 as the Plato company, bought some land, laid out a to^vn and 
 advertised it in New York and Boston as "the head of naviga- 
 tion on the Iroquois" and "one of the handsomest locations for 
 a city in the world." Some lots were sold for higher prices 
 than Chicago lots commanded but the undertaking proved a 
 failure."- 
 
 Various small settlements were made during the decade but 
 the settlers clung closely to the timber and remained there until 
 the Illinois Central Railroad crossed the county."^ The pio- 
 neers came chiefly from Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky but repre- 
 sentatives from Pennsylvania, Virginia, Canada and Europe 
 were also present. The population in 1850 had reached 4,100.°* 
 
 In 1830 the population of the counties of eastern Illinois 
 amounted to 14,000 souls; in 1850 it numbered over 87,500, 
 
 ^^ Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois, 299. 
 
 "" History of Iroquois County, 138. 
 
 " Ihid., 339. 
 
 '■^ Ihid., 3SS. 
 
 "3 Settlements were located at Onarga, Ash Grove, Belmont, Upper Spring 
 Creek, Lower Spring Creek and in Middlefort, Del Rey, Concord, Iroquois and 
 Stock!and townships. Ibid., 209-480; pt. II, 7-12. 
 
 <>* Seventh Census (1850), 702. 
 
 [172] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 459 
 
 wliich seeiDS small when the immense tract of land over which 
 it was scattered is thought of. Little of the population was 
 urban for in all this region there were but four settlements 
 claiming more than one thousand inhabitants, and but nine 
 more having over seven hundred and fifty.®'' 
 
 The reason for the lack of towns seems' a simple one; cities 
 spring up either wdiere natural resources are to be exploited 
 or where business Avill naturally concentrate. Industry in 
 eastern Illinois was wholly argicultural and the products were 
 stock and grain. The great requirement was a market, and 
 inland towns such as Bloomington could not furnish it, because 
 there were no lines of transportation, whereby the accumulated 
 produce could be transferred to another larger market for dis- 
 tribution. Consequently a city could not exist in this agricul- 
 tural region save only with an outlet. When the railroads were 
 built from Chicago south and southwest, tapping this agricul- 
 tural region, prosperity' was assured and a market placed close 
 at hand for the farmer. The produce buyers of the inland 
 towns no longer feared an accumulation of goods either agri- 
 cultural or mercantile. The farmer, able to dispose of his pro- 
 duce, was inclined to buy more merchandise and the dealer 
 realized his profits. Business increased with the increase of 
 markets for farm produce, which was the work of the railroads. 
 
 The influence of timber upon the location of settlement is 
 noticeable in this part of the state.®*' Even in 1850 the pioneer 
 felt safest w^hen reinforced by a friendly strip of timber, and 
 at this date the process of taking up the woodlands was still 
 under way. In the southern and central counties these timber 
 tracts had been wholly taken up and around each patch of 
 timber was a circle of cabins whose occupants cultivated that 
 part of the prairie lying close by. Where the well-traveled 
 roads, such as the Hubbard trace or the National Road, crossed 
 the prairie, there were always found a string of settlers' cabins. 
 The filling up process which was to go on in the spaces inter- 
 
 »' Bloomington and Newton were the largest towns. 
 
 •o Note the location of the county towns of eastern Illinois. Effingham, Dan- 
 ville, Charleston, Shelbyville, Sullivan, Decatur, Monticello. Urbana, Clinton, 
 Bloomington, I'ontiac, Watseka and Kankakee, were situated in the timber lEiIong 
 the streams. 
 
 [173 
 
4G0 BULLETI]^ OF THE r^TIVEKSITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 vening between the timber settlements had thns begun but as 
 yet could not be carried on with any rapidity since transporta- 
 tion was no easier than before. On the northern frontier the 
 timber had not all been claimed and here the development of 
 settlement was not so far advanced as farther south. Besides 
 in the northeastern counties of eastern Illinois the swampy 
 lands practically prohibited settlement and it was not until 
 these swamps were drained that the counties were settled Avith 
 any degree of density. 
 
 An examination of the nativities of the early pioneers dis- 
 closes a different state of affairs than existed in southern Ill- 
 inois or in northern Illinois. It differs from southern Illinois 
 in the fact that a considerable number of settlers came from the 
 states north of the Ohio, but west of the mountains. In com- 
 paring the population with that of the northern counties it 
 is foimd that the percentage of settlers from New England or 
 the ]\Iiddle Atlantic states is much smaller in eastern Illinois 
 than in the northern section of the state. Here there were no 
 great trunk lines of transportation to influence settlement and 
 since many of the pioneers came from the neighboring states, 
 it seems reasonable to believe that the settlement of this part of 
 Illinois was the result of a natural movement of the agricul- 
 tural classes such as has taken place within recent decades from 
 those states east of the Mississippi river to Kansas, Nebraska, 
 Minnesota and the Dakotas. The impelling force was not one 
 which caused whole communities to move, but a force which 
 came from the belief that conditions for the accumulation of 
 wealth were better "farther west. "®^ 
 
 *' Tlie biographies of 1,138 early settlers in this part of the state have been 
 examined with the following results ; two hundred and eighty came from Ohio, 
 two hundred and ten from K-^ntucky, one hundred and six from Tennessee, 
 eighty from Indiana, eighty from other parts of Illinois, one hundred and sixty 
 from the southern states, eighty from the Middle Atlantic states and br.t a few 
 from New England. Six hundred and seventy-seven came from the four western 
 states, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee, and four hundred and sixty-one 
 from other places. 
 
 [174] 
 
POOLE Y SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS^ 1830-50 461 
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 The Le.u) Region 
 
 Long before the rest of northern Illinois received any settlers 
 the lead district had been explored. Hennepin's map of 1687 
 locates a mine in the neighborhood of the present site of Galena 
 and it is said that the French traders at Peoria purchased lead 
 from the Indians as early as 1690.^ A map of Louisiana pub- 
 lished in 1703 shoAvs plainly the location of Dubuque's mines 
 west of the JMississippi and also the Galena mines.- Forty years 
 later a score of miners eked a scanty existence here by means 
 of surface mining.^ In 1769 Martin Duralde received a conces- 
 sion of land on Le Seuer's River of Mines for the purpose of 
 mining* and after a lapse of nearly twenty years Julien Du- 
 buque appeared in the region and began mining on both sides of 
 the ^Mississippi, working 'diggings' as far east as Apple River.^ 
 
 It soon became known to the Americans that valuable lead 
 mines existed in this region and accordingly negotiations were 
 entered into with the Indians for the purchase of a tract of 
 land fifteen miles square, to be located somewhere on the right 
 bank of the Mississippi. In 1804 the treaty was signed® and 
 Congress passed a law^ providing for leasing the tract for terms 
 not to exceed five years. No leases were made, however, until 
 1822.^ Now the miners began to come one by one, to share in 
 
 iThwaltes, Notes on Early LcMmining, in Wis. Hist. CoUections, 13, 272. 
 
 »/bi(/., 276. 
 * Hid., 278. 
 ^ Ibid., 280. 
 
 ' Davidson and StuvS, Illinois, 346. 
 
 ' Washhurne, Lead Region and Lead Trade of the Upper Mississippi, in Hunt's 
 Merchant's Magazine, IS, 288. 
 
 [175] 
 
462 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVEKSITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 the industrj^ which, the Indians carried on to the best of their 
 ability.^ In 1816 the fir-st boat load of lead — seventy tons — was 
 sent doA^-n the river.° Col. Davenport, of Rock Island, an agent 
 for the American Fur Company, established a trading post at 
 Portage near the mouth of Fever river.^° 
 
 Even now the United States government had not convinced 
 itself of the exact location of the mines, for in the treaty con- 
 cluded with the Indians, August 24, 1816 at St. Louis, when all 
 lands lying north of a line drawn due west from the southern 
 extremity of Lake INIiehigan to the Mississippi Hiver were con- 
 ceded to the Indians, a reservation of five leagues square on the 
 same river was made by the treaty. This reservation was to be 
 designated at some later time by the President and it seems 
 evident that the sole object of this reservation was to obtain 
 -control of the lead mines whenever their location could be defi- 
 nitely determined.^^ 
 
 The exact date of the first permanent settlement by whites 
 in this region is not known. Boutilier,^^ Shull and Muir were 
 probably here before 1820 and tradition has it that a man named 
 January had for some years previous conducted a trading post 
 •at the mines.^^ In 1819 an expedition consisting of six or eight 
 boats carrving possibly one hundred men left St. Louis under 
 the command of Col. R. M. Johnson bound for Fever river. 
 After a slow trip of twenty days it reached Galena and the 
 business of making a treaty Avith the Indians was accomplished 
 after a parley of nine daj's. This negotiation concluded, "the 
 mines Avere then for the first time opened for civilized enter- 
 prise."" 
 
 For three years little or no addition was made to the settle- 
 ment. Estimates of the size of the settlement vary^° probably 
 
 * Thwaltcs, Xotcs on Earlii Lcadmining. in Wis. Hist. Collections, 1». 285. 
 
 ^Personal Recollections of Col. John Shaw, in Wis. Illst. Collections, 2. 228. 
 
 ^° history of Jo Daviess County, 233. 
 
 " Thwnites, Xotes on Early Leadmining, in Wis. Ilist. Collections, l.^i, 286. 
 
 '- Davidson and Stuvf", Illinois, 340. 
 
 ^"History of Jo Daviess County, 231. 
 
 ^* P.oiiner, Life and Adventures of Beckwourth, 20. 
 
 "Tenny, Early Times in Wisconsin, in Wis. Hist. Collections, 1, 95, says there 
 -were but two cabins at tlie mines; the author of The History of Jo Daviess 
 •County (228), gives the number of cabins as ten or twelve. 
 
 [ 17G ] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 4G3 
 
 owing to the instability of the mining population; but with the 
 arrival of Col. Johnson 'with his band of slaves^** the rapid 
 growth of population in the region begins. The first steam- 
 boat came up the Fever river in this year and the shipment of 
 lead in considerable ({uantities began. With the increase of 
 this product, the increase of population advanced.^'' During the 
 years 1821, 1822 and 1823 an aggregate of 335,000 pounds was 
 shipped from here; by 1827 it had increased to over 5,000,000 
 pounds and by 1829 to 13,344,150 pounds.^^ which appears to 
 have been the high water mark of export. 
 
 In 1824 two events of considerable importance happened; 
 the establishment of a store in the village^^ and the arrival of 
 the first colony of settlers. Up to this time the settlers were 
 entirely dependent upon the supplies which they brought with 
 them or upon those brought by the boats w^hich occasionally 
 came to the mines. The building of a store shifted a responsi- 
 bility which, in all pioneer communities, was one of great weight 
 and especially so in the case of the miners whose nearest neigh- 
 bors at this time were at Peoria on the Illinois river. The 
 colony hailed from Cincinnati and consisted of forty-three 
 people under the leadership of Dr. Meeker.-*' The voyage from 
 Cincinnati had consumed sixty days but this was considered 
 good time for a keel-boat. Upon their arrival they found a 
 settlement of about one hundred miners.-^ 
 
 Immigration now flowed in rapidly and the fifteen mile 
 boundary prescribed by the treaty of 1816 was overstepped. 
 Here and there in the surrounding country", at ShuUsburg, 
 East Fork and New Diggings, were grouped little mining 
 camps,-- and when the season opened in 1826 nearly two hundred 
 men were digging in the vicinity of Galena.-^ The number in- 
 
 *' Johnson brought between one hundred and one hundred and flfty slaves with 
 him. [Hisiory of Jo Daviess County, 243.) 
 
 " Chicago Evening Post, Sept. 5, 1806. 
 
 '■' Illiiioix (itiii her Resources, In Hunt's Merchants' Magazine, 5, 434. 
 
 " Galena and its Leadmines, In Harper's Magazine, 32, G92. 
 
 ^History of Jo Daviess County, 2SSi: Meeker, Early History of th^ Lead Re- 
 gion of Wisconsin, In Wis. Hist. Collections, 6, 276. 
 
 ^^ History of Jo Daviess County, 242. 
 
 •^ Davidson and Stuvi', Illinois, 346. 
 
 ^ House Executive Documents, 19 Congress, 1 Sess., 2, 7. 
 
 13 [ 177 ] 
 
46-i BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 creased to over four liimdred in June-* and by the coming fall 
 five hundred and fifty were there.-^ In the whole region it was 
 estimated that nearly sixteen hundred men were at work by 
 this time.-^ Fever River post office, of Crawford county, Ill- 
 inois was established in 1826-^ and the mail came from Vandalia 
 once every two weel^.-® Fever River voting precinct, contain- 
 ing all the voters in the mining region as far north as Michigan, 
 was also established in the same year,-'* and at the first election 
 two hundred and two votes were cast.^" The tax collector for 
 this settlement resided at Peoria and for a time could do no 
 more towards the completion of his task than to record the 
 names of the tax payers for the minens openly defied him and 
 refused to pay taxes.^^ 
 
 Although Kellog's trail and Bolle's trail were the great lines 
 of communication with the interior of the state, the most in- 
 teresting accession to the population of the mining district came 
 from the north. In the year 1821 Lord Selkirk's Swiss colony 
 had come to America and settled in the far-away valley of the 
 Red River of the North. For a period of five years they ex- 
 perienced many hardships, and becoming dissatisfied with their 
 lot, a part left for the South, settling in St. Louis, still another 
 part came to Galena in the autumn of 1826 and being financially 
 well-to-do these new arrivals proved welcome additions to the 
 settlement.^* 
 
 The fame of the lead mines spread abroad and the year 1827 
 saw a noticeable increase in the numbers of immigrants. House 
 after house was built and in place of the twenty cabins reported 
 by the mayor of Galena in 1826,^^ with their five hundred and 
 fifty inhabitants, there were now more than one hundred houses 
 and stores,^* and between 6,000, and 7,000 people residing in 
 
 2< Ibid. 
 
 ^ Hiktory of Jo Daviess County, 265. 
 
 '« Davidson and Stuvf', Illinois, .346. 
 
 ^History of Jo Daviess County, 246. 
 
 2* Davidson and Stuv(5, Illinois, 346. 
 
 2» History of Jo Daviess County, 247. 
 
 ^"History of Ogle County, 249. 
 
 s» Ibid. 
 
 3^ Chetlain, Recollections of Seventy Years, 6. 
 
 33 yUrs' Reoister, «3, 388. 
 
 3* History of Jo Daviess County, 253. 
 
 [178] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEME^'T OF ILLINOIS^ 1830-50 465 
 
 the district/''' The population at this date was also becoming 
 more stable. Americans, Irish and French predominated, al- 
 though in 1827^*^ there came the first representative of a nation- 
 ality which was soon to form an important element in the min- 
 ing coimtry. The new-comer was a Cornishman and, having 
 emigrated from the lead mining region of England, naturally 
 sought out that portion of the United States w^here he could to 
 the best advantage pursue his vocation. From 1830 to 1850 
 the Cornish population in this region increased rapidly, ^^ 
 
 Through the unwise action of some of the miners the Winne- 
 bago war^® broke out in 1827 and although the consequences 
 were not serious much inconvenience was experienced by those 
 miners living at some distance from Galena. All operations 
 ceased at the first alarm and the miners hurried to the settle- 
 ment where they were compelled to remain for some time ex- 
 periencing actual hardships owing to inclement weather, scar- 
 city of provisions and the limited accommodations for housing 
 the additional population. The trouble with the Indians once 
 over the miners again scattered over the country. 
 
 In the same year Jo Daviess county was organized and the town 
 of Galena surveyed and divided into lots. No title was given 
 to those occupying the lots and moreover it w^as provided that 
 upon thirty days notice lots were to be vacated by the settlers 
 no matter how much improvement had been made upon them.^* 
 Titles were, however, given in 1838. Although organized as a 
 county of Illinois the people were not enthusiastic about be- 
 coming a part of the state, preferring rather to be part of a 
 new state. In 1828, accordingly, a petition signed by the resi- 
 dents of this region was sent to Congress, praying that the 
 territory north of the line of 1787 be organized into a new 
 territory, the seat of government being at Galena.**" Nothing 
 
 •** Ford, Illinois, 67. 
 
 ^'^ History of Jo Dnrirss Couniij, 2.53. 
 
 ^' Copeland, Cornish in Sotithwestern Wisconsin, in Wis. Hist. Collections, 
 14, .30.-.. 
 
 ^ Mcl.auglilin, Leiris Cass, 124; Edwards, Illinois, 218. 
 
 39 Davidson and Stiiv4, Illinois, 340. 
 
 «> The line connected the southern point of Lake Michigan with a point on 
 the Mississippi River directly to the west. The Galena settlement was north 
 of the line. At the admission of the state, the boundary was made 42° 30' 
 (Sanford, State Soiercionty in ^Yisconsin, in Am. Hist. Assn. Reports (1891)^ 
 177-193). For the petition see House Document 35, 20 Cong., 2 Sess. 2. 
 
 [179] 
 
466 BULLETIX OF THE tJXIVEESITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 fwas done in the matter till in the forties when another attempt 
 was made by the northern comities to separate from the rest 
 of the state. At this time the boundary question was settled 
 at the present line. 
 
 Year by year the population of the lead region grew and 
 with it grew the importance of Galena, its market place and its 
 base of supplies. In 1830 the to-mi had some nine hundred 
 inhabitants/^ "a most singular and mysterious medley of people 
 from all quarters of the earth" seeking wealth. Illinois 
 settlers predominated, although there were probably representa- 
 tives from every state in the union.*^ Of the foreign popula- 
 tion, the Irish seem to have been most in evidence.^^ In 1832 
 one writer estimates the population of the village at six hundred 
 and sixty-nine people, there being some two hundred dwelling 
 houses, warehouses and shops.'** Another places the number 
 at between 1,000 and 1,500,*^ while the Galena correspondent 
 for the Baltimore American stated that "the town contained a 
 population of 5,000 to 7,000 inhabitants."*^ Of these estimates 
 probably the firet is the most reliable as it is the most conserv- 
 ative and is given by a resident of the tovra. Allowing for 
 the rapid increase of the summer the second estimate may prob- 
 ably be correct also, but the third one. published by Niles' Reg- 
 ister is much too high and possibly refers to the entire district, 
 the population of which had already been estimated at 10,000 
 souls.*^ "It was a lively little town giving promise of great 
 things in the future. ' '*^ A considerable number of stores had been 
 established, groceries abounded, a dozen lawyers and four or 
 five physicians were located there. The Methodists, Presbyter- 
 ians and Roman Catholics represented the religious sects, each 
 having established congregations.**^ 
 
 The story of the settlement of the lead region has practically 
 
 i-'Niles' Register, 03, 388. 
 
 « Reynolds, Illinois, 168. 
 
 « Ibid. 
 
 ** Miners' Journal (Galena, Ills.), May 9, 1832. 
 
 "Tliwaites, Narrative of Morgan L. Martin, in Wis. Hist. Collections, 11, 398. 
 
 ♦« A'lles' Register, 34, 344. 
 
 «' Miners' Journal, May 9, 1832. 
 
 " ^^waltes. Narrative of Morgan L. Martin, in Wis. Hist. Collections, 11, 398. 
 
 "Atwater's, Writings, 238. 
 
 [180] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 467 
 
 been told in the development of Galena. The succeeding years 
 are but repetitions of the earlier ones with this exception — the 
 field widened and soon the surrounding region for miles was 
 dotted with small mining camps and trading posts. '^'^ The occu- 
 pation was, however, interrupted, for the Black Hawk War 
 broke out in 1832 and again the miners hurried to Galena 
 asking protection from the Indians. The battle of the Bad Axe, 
 in August, 1832, broke forever the power of the Sac and Fox 
 Indians and when by the treaty closing the war the remnants 
 of the once powerful tribes were removed beyond the Missis- 
 sippi, the miners 'were at last allowed to cany on their work 
 in safety.^^ 
 
 With the close of the war, growth again began and the 
 "wonderful mixture of humanity"" gathered new ingredients, 
 for men of all nations and stations covered the "whole earth, 
 north, east and south of Galena . . . prospecting, digging 
 and looking for lead ore."^^ At Berreman, Vinegar Hill, 
 Hanover, Council Hill, Elizabeth, Rush, Apple River and Scales 
 ]\Iound, settlements formed varying in size but generally small, 
 consisting of from three to a dozen miners eacli.^* Of these 
 Elizabeth, on the Apple River, was most important and had in 
 1832 a population of forty-five. Before 1840 the village was 
 laid out and there were a school, a grist mill and a saiwmill in 
 operation.^^ 
 
 Slowly indeed Galena lost the characteristics of a frontier 
 town since the industry from which it drew its life tended to 
 keep the population unstable and operated against the advance- 
 ment of varied industries. However, in the closing years of the 
 decade from 1831 to 1840 it was described as a toA^ii of 1,800 
 inhabitants and as having all the appearance of an old city, but 
 deficient in cleanliness and comfort.^^ In addition to the 
 churches already established an Episcopal parish was organized 
 
 w>Thwaites, Story of the Black Haick War, in Wis. Hist. CoUcctions, 13, 22S 
 
 " Stevens, Black Haick VTar, 221-225. 
 
 " Murray, Travels in North America, 3, 129. 
 
 " Reynolds, Illinois, 169. 
 
 ^* History of Jo Daviess County, 555-608. 
 
 ^^ History of Jo Daviess County, 586. 
 
 »« Xiles' Register, 63, 388. 
 
 [181] 
 
468 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 and a chapel erected in 1838." A temperance society had been 
 organized;^® newspapers had from time to time been published, 
 but owing to difficulties had died out until the establishment of 
 The Northivestern Gazette and Oalena Advertiser in Novem- 
 ber, 1834^'' which has continued to the present time; a Library 
 Association had been formed supporting a library of over eight 
 hundred volumes f^ there was a fire department,''^ and a branch 
 of the State Bank of Illinois.'^- Balls''^ and theatres*'* furnished 
 amusement for the people, although accommodations for such 
 gatherings were limited. Such was the 'Leadmine City' when 
 it W'as incorporated by Act of the State Legislature in Febru- 
 ary, 1839.*'^ 
 
 By 1840 the population had increased to 3,000 and there 
 were in the city five hundred and fifty buildings, the rateable 
 property beuig estimated at from $1,600,000 to $1,700,000.«« 
 The bustle of business caused many an observer to prophesy a 
 brilliant future for the town for it was then the distributing 
 point for northwestern Illinois, as well as for southwestern 
 Wisconsin. To its inhabitants and to those of the surrounding 
 country it seemed destined to become "the largest and most 
 flourishing city of the West, north of St. Louis. ' '•''' Its location 
 was peculiar; crowded together at the base of the bluffs, to a 
 visitor it presented a singular appearance. Its compactness 
 coupled with the instability of its population caused the elec- 
 tion officials occasional embarrassment for, as Niles' Register 
 stated, "the inhabitants shift about so from place to place and 
 so many of them dwell in the holes and clefts of the roclvS that 
 it is difficult to say where they belong.'"'^ 
 
 From a commercial standpoint Galena as the center of the 
 
 '^•'History of Jo Daviess County, 504. 
 
 ^ Millers' Journal, May 9, 1832. 
 
 ^0 History of Jo Daviess County, 433. 
 
 «'>Ibid., 476. 
 
 ''Ihid., 458. 
 
 <"Ibid., 475. 
 
 <«/birf., 254. 
 
 « A Winter in the West, a, 50. 
 
 «= Galenu and its Leadmines, in HarperXs Magazine, 33, 693. 
 
 ''^Senate Document, 349, 26 Congress, 1 Sess., O. 
 
 "^ Madison Express, Feb. 1, 1840. 
 
 ^Niles' Register, 05, 171. 
 
 [182] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS^ 1830-50 469 
 
 mining region gained in importance during the decade. In 
 spite of adverse tariff legislation and the unsatisfactory govern- 
 mental administration of the mining lands, the industry in- 
 creased, until 1847, when owing to the closing down of furnaces 
 on account of the tariff,*'^ the shipments of lead steadily de- 
 creased.'*^ The exportation of wheat began'^ and although 
 nothing is stated concerning other farm produce it is not improb- 
 able that since this city was the most convenient trading post 
 of the region, the agricultural class looked to it as a market 
 for their products. The amount of exports was greater than 
 that of any town on the Mississippi above St. Louis, amounting 
 to about $2,500,000 in 1846."- Steamboats in great numbers 
 plied from this port down the Mississippi; in 1840 there were 
 three hundred arrivals and departures ;'^^ in 1846 there was a 
 still greater number."^ Thirty thousand families were depend- 
 ent upon Galena for their supplies of merchandise.'^^ The pop- 
 ulation of the city itself Avas reported to be 5,500."° 
 
 In 1846 a radical change was made by the government in the 
 administration of its mineral lands, which operated for the good 
 of those occupying claims upon such lands. After the acqui- 
 sition of this portion of the country by the treaty of 1804, Con- 
 gress had passed a lav/ reserving several of the lead mines from 
 sale and authorizing the President to lease such mines. At that 
 time the superintendence of the mines was one of the duties 
 of the treasury department, but in 1821 was transferred to the 
 war department which made the first leases in 1822. This sys- 
 tem which was practically beyond the control of law, and sub- 
 ject only to the will of the secretary of war was productive of 
 evils. Special agents, attorneys and others were finally 
 entrusted with the duties of granting leases and collecting the 
 rents. Favoritism and possibly worse things resulted. In 1835 
 
 «» Madison Express, Sept. S, 1S4G ; Weekly Northwestern Gazette, Aug. 18, 
 1846. 
 
 ■0 Western Journal and Chilian, March. 1S52, 303. 
 
 ■1 mies' Register, (JO, 304. 
 
 "Hall. The ^^^ast (1848), 102. 
 
 " Kiles' Register, «<), .''.8S. 
 
 "Hall. The TVesf (1848) 1(»J. 
 
 " Oalena Jeffersonian, Oct. 31, 1845. 
 
 w Ibid. 
 
 [183] 
 
470 BULLETIN OF THE UXIVEESITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 the system was for the time abandoned but was again revived 
 in 1841 and the efforts made by occupants to obtain possession 
 of their claims failed, owing to the exaggerated idea prevalent 
 among the government officials at Washington concerning the 
 mineral wealth of the region. In his report of 1845, Judge 
 Shields, who was commissioner of the General Land Office, ex- 
 posed the defects of the system and urged the sale of the min- 
 eral lands. As a result the Senate took hold of the question and 
 in July, 1846, a law was passed directing the President to 
 sell such mineral lands as were reserved in Illinois, "Wisconsin 
 and Iowa. Accordingly they Avere sold the next year and the 
 squatters who had heretofore held but little right to their land 
 now came into full possession of it.'^^ 
 
 Throughout the country few settlements had been made which 
 were of any importance, save only those which were mining 
 camps. Apple River, which in 1832 had a few stragglers, had 
 in 1845 some two hundred men all of whom were engaged in 
 mining."® Council Hill, a few miles to the east from Galena, 
 had at the close of the decade three hundred settlers, most of 
 whom Avere English. '^^ Some agricultur'al settlers had congre- 
 gated on the Old Sucker trail near the present village of Scales 
 Mound®" and Warren, Nora and Dunlieth (now East Dubuque) 
 had each a few scattered settlers dra^Mi from New York, Ten- 
 nessee, Ohio and from foreign countries.®^ These settlements, 
 however, amounted to nothing until the Illinois Central road 
 pushed its way across the state during the succeeding decade. 
 Millville, laid off in 1846, contained a dry goods store, a black- 
 smith shop and a tavern; this made it for several years the most 
 important village between Freeport and Galena.®- At the close 
 of the period 18,600 people lived in Jo Daviess county,®^ and 
 since there were at this time 60,000 acres of land under culti- 
 
 "^ Washburne, Lead Region and Lead Trade of the Upper Mississippi, in Hunt's 
 Merchant's Magazine, 18, 288. 
 
 "A-eto York Weekly Trihune, April 12, 1845. 
 
 " Guide to Illinois Central Rail Road Lands, (1861), 56. 
 
 "> Histor)/ of Jo Daviess County, 555. 
 
 "^Ibid., 542-558. 
 
 ^Ilid., 578. 
 
 "/6u2., 216. 
 
 [184] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS^ 1830-50 471 
 
 vation, we may believe that the agricultural as well as the min- 
 eral resources of the region were being developed.^* 
 
 Carroll county joins Jo Daviess county on the south and, 
 in a way, its settlement is connected with the expansion of the 
 lead region. Ten years after the whites settled on Fever River 
 the first settlers came to Carroll county. Three families estab- 
 lished themselves on the present site of Savanna in 1828.*^ Set- 
 tlement developed slowly before the Black Hawk War, but after 
 the war settlers came a little more regularly. By 1837, per- 
 haps, Savanna, which was yet the only town of any importance 
 between Rock Island and Galena, began to enjoy a period of 
 comfortable prosperity. It became the shipping point for hun- 
 dreds of pioneers of the middle and upper Rock river country, 
 since it was easier to reach than Galena. From as far up the 
 Rock river as Rockford and Freeport the pioneers came with 
 their farm products and returned with merchandise and liunber.^^ 
 In 1839 Savanna was chosen as the county seat. The fact that 
 two hundred and twelve votes were cast at the election^^ shows 
 that the growth during the period of the preceding ten years 
 had not been excessively rapid. 
 
 Through four years Savanna enjoyed the distinction of being 
 the county seat of Carroll ; at the end of this time another town 
 more centrally located took that position. In 1837 a Virginian 
 had located where Mt. Carroll now stands and laid out a town 
 called Richmond. Offering liberal inducements to settlers he 
 secured a ie^x, but the financial troubles of 1837 killed the en- 
 terprise.^^ Before the close of the year, however, a mill com- 
 pany located its buildings at Richmond. Being the scene of 
 improvements it naturally attracted settlei-s, who, increasing 
 in number, made vigorous efforts to bring their town to a place 
 where it would be a rival of Savanna. Savanna had failed to 
 comply with the provisions of the county organizing act, so 
 when Mt. Carroll made an attempt to become the seat of county 
 
 8* Peyton, Statistical Vicic of Illinois, 13. 
 ^History of Carroll County, 222. 
 »*Ihid., 359. 
 "Ibid., 229. 
 »8/Wd., 254. 
 
 [185] 
 
472 BULLETIX OF THE UXIVEKSITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 government, it was siiccessful.^^ Steadily the settlements grew 
 and smaller ones sprang up at places of vantage. In the course 
 of a few years Elkhorn Grove, Wysox, Lanark and Salem set- 
 tlements were added. The towns were small, however, and in 
 1850 the combined population in the county did not number 
 5,000 people.^^ 
 
 The settlement of the lead region cannot be taken as tj-pical 
 of the westward expansion. Exceptional conditions to a re- 
 markable extent influenced the settlement, and transporta- 
 tion facilities combined with a concentrated resource brought 
 out frontier characteristics. The life of the settlement in 
 the . earlier days depended entirely upon the success of 
 mining ventures and during this period, Galena, the centre 
 of population, may be said to have had all the characteristics of 
 a frontier mining town. On every frontier, it is true, we find 
 a mixture of peoples but in the lead region this mixture is found 
 in' a peculiarly marked degree. Foreigners from all portions 
 of the world and Americans from every state of the Union were 
 here thrown together indiscriminately. For the few bonds of 
 sjaupathy which would naturally exist in such a community, the 
 miners got along well together. Some were, perhaps, inclined 
 to vote before they were legally entitled to the privilege; others 
 openly opposed the tax collector. Some were men of question- 
 able character and nearly all were adventurers, but in spite of 
 these characteristics it is a noticeable thing that little "claim 
 jumping" was indulged in, few infringements made upon law 
 and above all there seemed to exiist among this people a thorough 
 trust and goodwill for every one. The only laws at first gov- 
 erning this portion of the state were contained on a single sheet 
 of foolscap paper, signed by the superintendents of the mines 
 and posted up in the most public places. They dealt with the 
 settlement of disputes over mining claims; but as for ordinary 
 business transactions such as credits, the people were to settle 
 these among themselves, entirely on the law of honor.^^ In 
 spite of this lax code of laws, seldom indeed did a miner fail 
 
 *^Ibid., 243. 
 
 *° 8evcnth Census (1S50), 704. 
 
 "^History of Jo Daviess County, 348. 
 
 risn] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEIMEXT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 473 
 
 to meet his obliccations and debts were freely contracted and 
 honestly paid; unr-nly characters were speedily and perhaps 
 often roughly expelled from the town. On the whole the com- 
 mnnity seems to have been a law-abiding one, even if the law 
 adhered to was the simple law of the frontier. As late as the 
 thirties, we are told, thei'e was little or no use for a jail, for dur- 
 ing- a period of three years but one criminal had occupied it and 
 he but for a week.^- 
 
 The change of Galena from a frontier settlement to a city 
 came when the development of the agricultural resources re- 
 sulted in a yearly surplus which demanded a market, as did 
 the products of the mines. Physiographic influences now be- 
 came of greater moment. The concentrated mineral resource 
 was in itself cause enough for the establishment of the city. To 
 this was added the influence of the suiTounding agricultural 
 country which w^as developed by those who failed to find wealth 
 in the mines. Lack of railroad communication made water 
 communication all the more important, and Galena, situated 
 conveniently upon the great water route to the southern markets 
 became the collecting point for agricultural products for the 
 markets of the South, as well as the distributing point for sup- 
 plies brought up the river. With the increase of the settled 
 area of the back country the importance of the city increased, 
 and so it continued until the Illinois Central railroad pene- 
 trated the sphere of influence of Galena and drained the trade 
 of the farming district towards the great lake port of Chicago. 
 
 Another characteristic in the lead district needs mention — the 
 population. It has been noted that foreigners formed a con- 
 siderable part of the population, but there was also a southern 
 element present in large numbers and southern sentiment was 
 for years strong in the community. To the mines may be 
 traced the cause for the foreign population, but to the line of 
 communication we must attribute the presence of the south- 
 em people. The INIississippi river w'as the thread of con- 
 nection between this region and the outside world. To the 
 east and the southeast especially before 1837 there was 
 nothing save the prairie. Peoria far to the south (one hundred 
 
 M Miner's .Journal May 9, 1832. 
 
 [187] 
 
47-i BULLETIN OF THE UNIVEESITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 and seventy miles) was the only neighbor during the early 
 days, consequently there existed little or no tie between Galena 
 and the rest of Illinois. Before the prairies of the north were 
 settled, a decidedly southern aspect had been assumed by the- 
 city and it was to remain so for many years. This characteris- 
 tic, it seems, goes to show the influence which transportation 
 routes have upon newly settled countries. Wherever a compara- 
 tively good line of communication leads through a locality in 
 which a tendency to emigrate exists, it is natural for those emi- 
 grating to follow this line of travel. An examination of the 
 nativities of settlers residing along the line in the newer country 
 will reveal the fact that a considerable number of these settlers 
 are from the older country bordering the same route of travel. 
 The settlement, development and prosperity of the lead region, 
 therefore are due to a series of causes in which mineral wealth, 
 transportation facilities and agricultural development each 
 plays a part. 
 
 [188] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS^ 1830-50 475 
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 Chicago 
 
 For a number of years after the war of 1812 Chicago grew 
 slowly. In 1818 there were, outside of the garrison enclosure, 
 but two log huts in the settlement and the nearest post office was 
 at Ft. Wayne, Indiana, from which the mail was brought once 
 a month.^ In 1820 when Schoolcraft visited Chicago he found 
 "a small village of ten or twelve houses accommodating sixty 
 people — half-breeds, Canadian-French fur-traders and Virgin- 
 ians. ' '- 
 
 Three years later Major Long visited Chicago and passed de- 
 cidedly unfavorable comments upon it. "The village presents 
 no cheering prospect as, notwithstanding its antiquity, it con- 
 sists of but a few huts, inhabited by a miserable race of men 
 scarcely equal to the Indians from whom they are descended. 
 Their houses are low, filthy and disgusting, displajnng not the 
 least trace of comfoi-t. . . . It is not impossible" he added, 
 ' ' that at some distant period when the banlcs of the Illinois shall 
 have been covered with a dense population and when the low 
 prairies which extend between that river and Ft. Wayne shaU 
 have acquired a population proportionate to the produce they 
 can yield, that Chicago may become one of the points in the 
 direct line of communication between the northern lakes and 
 the ]\rississippi but even the intercourse which will be carried 
 on through this communication will, we think, at all time be a 
 limited one; the dangers attending the navigation of the lake 
 and the scarcity of harbors along the shores must ever prove a 
 
 1 Mason, Early Chicago and Illinois, 12 ; Life of Gurdon S. Hubbard, 38. 
 = Wentworth, Reminiscences of Early Chicago, 3 In Fergus Historical Series 
 I., No. 7. 
 
 [189] 
 
476 BULLETIN OF THE TNIVEESITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 serious obstacle to the commercial importance of Chicago."* 
 Later development has shown beyond any doubt that the posi- 
 tion of Chicago together with the scarcity of good ports along 
 the lake has been of enormous advantage to the city. 
 
 By 1826 the taxable property in the Chicago settlement was 
 valued at $8,000, the American Fur Company owning by far 
 the greater part. Thirteen other property holders resided here 
 and the voting population numbered thirty-five.* In 1829 the 
 town was platted by the canal commissioners on land donated 
 by Congress to aid the state in the construction of the Illinois- 
 Michigan canal. The land sale took place in the fall of 1829 
 and competition among the land speculators forced the prices 
 of lots up to a fancy figure for a frontier village.' 
 
 In 1830 the population was estimated at anywhere from 
 twenty-five'^ to one hundred people,'^ although from time to 
 time an influx of immigrants bound for the interior increased 
 the population several fold for a short period.® Still, Chicago 
 hadnopost office but the village was now of sufficient importance 
 to receive a call from the mail-carrier once a week instead of 
 once a month, as formerly. Prospective work on the canal attracted 
 population and during the year immigrants began to swarm in. 
 A brisk trade sprang up with the Indians who remained in the 
 reg^ion, increasing the profits of the few traders located there, 
 but otherwise injuring the prospects for the growth of white 
 settlement. In 1831 Cook county was organized.^ Previously 
 it had been a precinct of Crawford county and had caused the 
 tax collector of the county no end of trouble, for each year he 
 was compelled to make the trip to Chicago to collect a few dol- 
 lars which would not pay the expenses of the trip. 
 
 "When 1832 opened there were half a dozen white families in 
 Chicago and some Indians," five log buildings composing the 
 
 ^ Mies' Register, 57, 3.5. 
 
 *Wentworth, Reminiscences of Earhj Chicago, 15 in Fergus Historical Series 
 1, No. 7. 
 
 '^ Kingston, Early Western Days in Wis. Hist. Collections, 7, 333. 
 
 ^ Land We Lore, 5, 470. 
 
 ' Chicago Trihtiiic, Apr. 12, 187.5. 
 
 « Four linndred immigrants wintered here in 1831-32. (Moses and Kirlsland, 
 Chicago, 1, 87.) 
 
 » Sliealian and Upton, The Great Conflagration, 26. 
 
 ^"Chicago Weekly American, Aug. 15, 1S."?5. 
 
 [190] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS^ 1830-50 -177 
 
 settlement.^ ^ As to the quality of the population at least one 
 writer had decided views and expressed them. "Next in rank 
 to the officers and commissioners may be noticed certain shop- 
 keepers and merchants resident here ; looking either to the in- 
 flux of new settlers establishing themselves in the neighborhood 
 or those passing yet farther to the westward for custom and 
 profit; not to forget the chance of extraordinary occasions like 
 the present. Add to these a doctor or two, two or three law- 
 yers, a land agent and five or six hotel-keepers. These may be 
 considered as stationary and proprietors of the half a hundred 
 clapboard houses around you . . . Then for the birds of 
 passage exclusive of the Pottawatomies — of whom more anon 
 — and migrants and land speculators as numerous as the sand, 
 you will find horse dealers and horse stealers — rogues of every 
 description, white, black, brown and red — half breeds, quarter 
 breeds and men of no breed at all; dealers in pigs, poultry and 
 potatoes — men pursuing Indian claims, some for tracts of land. 
 . . . others, for pigs which the wolves had eaten ; credi- 
 tors of the tribes or of particular Indians who know that they 
 have no chance of getting their money if they do not get it 
 from the government agents — sharpers of every degree, pedlars, 
 grog sellers ; Indian agents and Indian traders of every descrip- 
 tion and contractors to supply the Pottawatomies with food. 
 The little village was in an uproar from morning to night 
 and from night to morning; for during the hours of darkness 
 when the housed portion of the population of Chicago strove 
 to obtain repose in the crowded plank edifices of the village, 
 the Indians howled, sang, wept, yelled and whooped in their 
 various encampments; with all this the whites to me, seemed to 
 be more pagan than the red men."^- This view shows the con- 
 stant changing and shifting of population which renders it 
 almost impossible to make an intelligent estimate of the size 
 of the village.^^ It also brings to light the frontier character- 
 istics which the village was not long to retain. 
 
 ^^ Early Days on the Lakes {Walker Mss., in Buffalo Historical Society Publi- 
 cations), (1902), 5. 
 
 ^- Latrobe, Rambler in North America, 3. 152. 
 
 " Chicdoo Weekly Amrrican, Aiic. IT), 183.") estimates the population at two 
 hundred; Andreas, Chicago (1, 159) says three hundred and fifty; in (1, 177)i 
 his estimate for 1833 is two hundred and fifty. 
 
 [191] 
 
478 BULLETIN OF THE TNIVEESITT OF WISCONSIN 
 
 Beginning with the year 1833 Chicago enjoyed a wonderfully 
 Tapid growth until 1837. In May, 1833, the settlers organized 
 the ^'illage of Chicago and by the end of the year there were 
 one hundred and sixty frame houses^* in the settlement, which 
 showed a distinct advance over the few log huts of but two 
 years before. Commerce now began to spring up and in 1833 
 four vessels, aggregating seven hundred tons biu'den, arrived.^^ 
 Congress, to foster the new trade, made appropriations for the 
 improvement of the harbor which at this date was an exceed- 
 ingly poor one.^® A newspaper was established, The Chicago 
 Weekly Democrat, which was obliged to suspend publication 
 from time to time, owing to lack of paper.^'^ 
 
 The immigration of 1833 became a flood in 1834. During a 
 part of the month of April the arrivals numbered one hundred 
 a day, and it was estimated that in j\Iay some eight hundred 
 more arrived. Building grew apace and by the end of June 
 seventy-five new buildings had been added. The price of land 
 had begim to advance and desirable locations upon business 
 streets commanded a rental of three dollars per front foot.^* 
 The population was now established at 1,800.^® 
 
 If immigration to Chicago was remarkable in 1834 it was 
 enormous in 1835. In addition to the actual immigrants who 
 came yearly in ever-increasing numbers, the land sale which 
 was advertised to take place early in the year brought a crowd 
 of strangers and capitalists ready to avail themselves of the 
 rapid rise in land values which seemed sure to take place in 
 and around Chicago and along the line of the canal. 
 
 Speculation reached its height in 1835 and 1836 and in the 
 West, Chicago was its center. One transaction may be noted in 
 the way of illustration. Early in the spring of 1835 a Mr. 
 Hubbard bought eighty acres east of the river paying for it 
 $5,000. A few months after his purchase he had occasion to 
 go east and upon visiting New York, much to his surprise, he 
 
 " Flinn and Wilkie, Chicago Police, 44. 
 
 >' A"t7e»' Register, 51, 274. 
 
 ^'^ American Railroad Journal and General Advertiser (1847), 729. 
 
 " Gale, Reminiscences of Chicago, 47. , 
 
 »« Chicago Weekly Democrat, June 18, 1834. 
 
 '^» Andreas, Chicago, 1, 159. 
 
 [192] 
 
POOLFA' SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 479 
 
 found quite a speculation in Chiea.oo property raging- there. 
 Grasping the opportunity for a good bargain he hired an en- 
 graver, had a plat of his eighty acres prepared and sold half 
 of his land for $80,000. Upon returning to Chicago and spread- 
 ing the ne'ws, city property went up enormously in price; "every 
 man Avho owned a garden patch stood on his head, imagined 
 himself a millionaire, put up the corner lots to fabulous figures 
 and what is strange, never could ask enough."-" The price of 
 land rose an hundred and frequently a thousand fold."^ Saga- 
 cious men, looking far into the future, now seemed to perceive 
 that cities and villages covering but small plots of ground were 
 destined to grow without limit, and accordingly plunged wildly 
 into speculation in lands, fearing all the time that it was al- 
 ready too late to reap the greatest benefits from investments. 
 Over 572,000 acres of land were sold by the Chicago Land Of- 
 fice during the years 1835 and 1836.-- 
 
 To aid the spirit of speculation Avhich now raged in the West, 
 business was done almost entirely upon a credit basis and it so 
 continued until loss of confidence precipitated a financial crash. 
 The incessant coming and going of people made the population 
 of Chicago an unknown quantity during these years of specula- 
 tion and, as one authority says it was "so mercurial in its evolu- 
 tion that it was almost impossible to keep your finger on a man 
 long enough to count him. ' '-^ So rapidly did newcomers throng 
 into the town that the taverns could not begin to hold the 
 crowds; and men, women and children thronged the wharves 
 and streets. Storehouses were thrown open for their shelter 
 and when this device could no longer supply the demand for 
 lodging places tents were set up in the streets.-* 
 
 The business blocks of the to'vvn had grown considerably-' 
 and the demand of lumber for new buildings was beyond the 
 power of transportation facilities to supply, while the lack of 
 
 20 Ihid. 
 
 " Balestier, Annah of Cliicaf/o, 25. Fenjtis Hist. Series, T, 1. 
 
 "Prairie Farmer, S. 231. 
 
 "Gale, Reminiscences of Chicago, 103. 
 
 " Chicapo Weekly American, June 13, 183.-.. 
 
 " Chicago Weekly American, Aug. 15, 1835, gives the following list of busines9 
 houses in tlie town : Fifty stores ; eight taverns ; twenty-five mechanic's shops ; 
 two printing offices ; one steam mill ; one hrewery. 
 
 13 [193] 
 
480 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 meclianics to construct new buildings was for the time being a 
 drawback to the growth of the town.-" The streets were in no 
 better condition than formerly. Lake street had been turn- 
 piked but the irregular manner in which the boards had been 
 laid and the lack of proper slant in the gutters tended to collect 
 and stagnate the water drained from the streets, making them 
 places favorable to the breeding of fevers.^^ Such conditions 
 caused some people to hesitate to settle here and rather than 
 risk their health among such surroundings they went into the 
 interior. 
 
 The year 1836 was but a repetition of 1835 so far as develop- 
 ment was concerned. Excavation began on the Illinois and 
 Michigan eanaP^ which was a signal for a new crowd of settlers 
 and speculators to flock into the city. For the year-" four 
 hundred and fifty-six arrivals of boats are recorded. Besides 
 bringing immigrants in great numbere, large amounts of mer- 
 chandise were brought to supply the trade which had now de- 
 veloped with the back country. A person reading the county 
 histories of central and northern Illinois is struck by the fact 
 that a great proportion of the agricultural class of all these por- 
 tions of the state looked to Chicago for the market for their 
 produce and for the supply depot for such merchandise as they 
 needed. Rapidly indeed did this trade increase as the country 
 filled up and the demand was so great in both coimtry and in 
 the city itself that there was a shortage in 1836 since the dealers 
 had not calculated on such a tremendous increase in trade.^° 
 Stores became in great demand, ordinary places of business 
 bringing from $1,000 to $1,500 a year rent.^^ Population in- 
 creased, but not with such rapidity as in preceding years, due 
 probably to the fact that the commencement of work on the 
 canal drew away many from the town, for a time at least. 
 
 In March, 1837, Chicago was given a city government and 
 in the following May, William B. Ogden was elected mayor, at 
 
 =" Chicayo Weekly Democrat, Dec. 4, 1835. 
 
 "Ibid., July 25, 18S5. 
 
 =* Colbert and Chamberlain, Chicago, 46. 
 
 29 Niles' Register, 51, 274. 
 
 ^ Chicago Weekly American, July 9, 1836. 
 
 »' IMd. 
 
 [194] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS^ 1830-50 481 
 
 which election seven hundred votes were cast.^- Chicago was 
 now a aity indeed, in size as well as in government. By the 
 census of July of 1837 it was found that 4,179 people^' resided 
 within the city limits, which extended over ten square miles. 
 There were nearly five hundred buildings and the taxable valua- 
 tion of property, placed at one-fourth the true value, amounted 
 to $236,842. The city taxes for the year were $5,900.^* The 
 fact that the male population in the city, over twenty-one years 
 of age, out-numbered the female population over two to one^® 
 gives evidence of the pioneer character of the city even at such 
 a late date. 
 
 So far everything had been prosperous in this rapidly grow- 
 ing Avestern town and indications pointed to a still more pros- 
 perous future; but the financial revulsion which swept over 
 the country upon the heels of the craze for speculation proved a 
 sad blow to Chicago. ImmigTation to the city stopped, or at 
 least was checked to a great degree ; business stagnated and city 
 property became almost worthless, for no one wished to buy 
 and every one wished to sell. Some men, accounted the most 
 prosperous of Chicago's population in later years, owed their 
 wealth to their inability to dispose of their property during 
 these dark years of the city's history. The city gradually sank 
 lower and lower in public favor and in commercial importance 
 until it seemed "to sleep the sleep of death."-*' Slowly it 
 revived from its lethargy and from 1842 again began to show 
 signs of returning activity. 
 
 The population in 1838 was numerically less than in 1837 
 but a slight gain was enjoyed in 1839, as in 1840, from which 
 date the yearly gains were more substantial.^'' The greater 
 
 ^^ Illinois Blue Book, (1900), 147, gives seven hundred and nine votes. 
 "'Andreas, Chicnrio, 1. 159. 
 ^ Colbert and Chamberlain, Chicago, 49. 
 ■'^Andreas, Chicojjo, 1. 177. 
 ■"' Oiicarjo Times, Apr. .30, 1840. 
 
 "Andreas, Chicago, 1, 159, and Balestier, AnnaJe of Chicago, 35 In Fergus 
 Hist. Series, 1, give stat'.stics for the population of Chicago as follows : 
 
 1836 (A) 4000. (B) .•?,820 
 
 1837 (A) 4170, (B) 4179 
 
 1838 (A) 4000. (B) 4000 
 
 1839 (A) 4L'00, (B» 4200 
 
 1840 (A) 4470, (B) 4479 
 
 1841 (A) , (B) .5752 
 
 1842 (A) , (B) G248 
 
 [195] 
 
482 BULLETIN OF THE FNIVEESITY OF WISCONSIN" 
 
 portion of the inhabitants were actively engaged in trade, but 
 there were also a number of "retired families, anny officers and 
 persons living on incomes derived from land and funds. "^^ A 
 majority of the people were from the eastern states and thiis 
 class of settlers held control of the city government. In 1841 
 Mayor Sherman and the twelve aldermen in the city council 
 were all from the East.^" Probably foreigners were next in 
 number, there being 2,256, or almost thirty per cent, of the 
 total population, of foreign birth or parentage in 1843. The 
 population of the city at that date was 7,580.'*'' Of the foreign 
 element one-third were Irish and the greater part of the re- 
 mainder, German and Scandinavian. 
 
 Business houses had increased in importance as well as num- 
 bers ;''^ new buildings were rapidly going up, and the number 
 in the city had already nearly reached 1,400.*- The valuation 
 of city property was a matter of conjecture and estimates varied 
 widely.*^ 
 
 Chicago had now become a shipping point of consequence. 
 Previous to 1839 the city and the back country had been sup- 
 plied with flour and other provisions from the East but in that 
 year a vessel laden with seven hundred barrels of flour entered 
 the port and was compelled to leave again without being able 
 to dispose of her cargo.** The small consignment of wheat, 
 
 ^ Buckingham, Eastern and Western States, 3, 265. 
 
 '' Blanchard, The Northifcyst and Chicano, 1. 671. 
 
 ** Norris and Gardner, Illinois Annual Register (1847), 76. 
 
 " Maagregor, Commercial Statistics, 338. In 1840 there were four commercial 
 houses with a capital of .$35,000; ninety-seven retail stores, capital $400,000; 
 eleven lumber yards, capital $40,000 ; four newspapers and three printing offices ; 
 two flour mills ; one distillery and one furnace. 
 
 *= Colliert and Chamberlain, Chicago, 56; two hundred and fifty-six stores of 
 which thirty-seven were bricli and eight luindred and eighty-four dwelling houses 
 of which eight hundred and forty-two were frame. 
 
 *^ Blanchard, The Northwest and Chicago, 3, 17. 
 
 1843 .?1,441,314 
 
 rarker, Orowth of Illinois and Chicago, 19. 
 
 1841 .$1,067,445 
 
 1842 $1.5:^0,213 
 
 1843 $1,570,490 
 
 Western Journal and Civilian, 13, 5. 
 
 1840 $1,864,205 
 
 1841 .$1.SSS.160 
 
 1842 $2. .■•.2.-. 240 
 
 1843 $2,250,705 
 
 «* A ties' Register, 74, 265. 
 
 [196] 
 
rOOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 483 
 
 (seventy-eight bushels) which was shipped from Chicago in 
 1838, was followed by 3,700 bushels in 1839. Rapidly this 
 trade increased and during the early forties, great quantities 
 of grain poured into the city from the surrounding country. 
 In 1845, 1,000,000 bushels were exported and this amount was 
 doubled in 1847.-'= 
 
 Probably the origin of this export trade in wheat can be 
 traced to the failure of navigation on the Ohio and Upper 
 Mississippi. Supplies could not be obtained at St. Louis 
 in quantities large enough to supply all northern Illinois. 
 Neither could they be obtained at Galena, the other supply 
 point of the Upper Mississippi. As a consequence the 
 farmers turned their faces towards Chicago in search of their 
 winter supplies. Team after team wended its way to Chicago, 
 carting loads of wheat, the great staple of the farmers. Having 
 no money with which to buy supplies the farmers exchanged 
 their produce for such ones as they needed and, since wheat 
 'was the most valuable agricultural product it became the me- 
 dium of exchange for the farmer. Once trading at Chicago 
 they found that, owing to better facilities for transportation, 
 goods were not as high in price as in the towns along the river. 
 By 1841 nearly all the farmers in Illinois, Indiana and AViscon- 
 sin within a radius of two hundred and fifty miles carted their 
 wheat to Chicago.'"^ Before 1850 other articles of fann prod- 
 uce were shipped in considerable quantities. Lake commerce 
 made rapid strides even during this unfavorable period and the 
 export list which amounted to but $1,100 in 1836 had grown 
 to over $680,000 in 1843. The amount of imports which was 
 $325,200 in 1836 had increased to $971,850 in 1843 although in 
 1840 and 1841 it was considerably lower than in 1839.*^ 
 
 North of the Chicago River lay the residence district connected 
 with the business portion by bridges and ferrys. Here pleas- 
 ant residences surrounded by piazzas and gardens lined both 
 sides of the streets. During the period of depression the citi- 
 zens, despairing of ever seeing Chicago a great city, determined 
 
 *^Ei(/hth Census, (ISGO), Af/riculturc, slii. 
 *" Alhanu Aryus, Oct. 11, 1841. 
 *~ De Bow's Review, 5, 374. 
 
 [197] 
 
484 BULLETIX OF THE UXIVEESITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 to make it at least a pleasant one, and from the gardens Avhicli, 
 one by one, sprang into existence came the name "Garden 
 City."''^ Rows of trees separated the sidewalks from the streets 
 and added much to the appearance. As yet the streets Avere not 
 paved and many of them still had the green turf of prairie 
 grass in the center.^^ In wet weather and in the early spring 
 and fall they were often rendered impassable. It was even 
 necessary for the men to attend social events in long boots and 
 the ladies to take advantage of drays as a means of conveyance 
 for as yet carriages were scarce in this western eity.^'^ 
 
 A system of waterworks was established in 1839 when a com- 
 pany was chartered to supply the city with water. A reservoir 
 was erected on the lake shore and a pimip installed. A twenty- 
 five horse power engine drew the water from the lake into the 
 reservoir and distributed it through the city by means of a pipe 
 line composed of logs with a three to five inch bore.^^ Where 
 the pipe line did not reach, water carts supplied the residents. 
 This system was not replaced until 1851. 
 
 Such was Chicago in 1843. In spite of the disadvantages 
 experienced during the years immediately preceding, the city 
 had made rapid advance. Churches, hotels, school houses, 
 libraries and a medical college had been established;^^ its com- 
 merce had materially increased as had trade with the interior; 
 its population had increased in numbers and was no longer 
 marked with such instability as had formerly characterized it 
 and moreover speculation of the wilder kind had been effectually 
 dampened. Ever>i;hing seemed favorable for greater prosperity 
 and more rapid growth. 
 
 During the period 1843-50 Chicago enjoyed a steady de- 
 velopment. Its population which numbered 7,580 in 1843 had 
 increased to over 28,000 by 1850," and in the large percentage 
 of foreigners present partook to an extent of the characteristics 
 
 ^'Colbert and Chamberlain, Chicago, 52. 
 ^» Moses and Kirkland, Chicago, 1. 105. 
 ^ P.uoklngham, Eavicrn and Western States, 3. 202. 
 " Sheahan and Upton, The Great Conflagration, 29. 
 
 »2Balestier, Annals of Chicago. .S2 In Fergus Hist. Scries, 1; Xorris and Ga-d- 
 ner, IlUnois Annual Register (1847), 18-19. 
 ^^ Andreas. Chicago, l. 159. 
 
 [198] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 485 
 
 of a seaboard city.^* Speaking of this the Chicago corraspon- 
 dent of the New York Tribune says "of all the heterogeneous 
 compounds that ever agreed to live neighbors, I think the like 
 cannot be found this side of New York. It is only now and 
 then a man, taken as they come, who can talk English without a 
 *rurr-r-r' to his tongue. Yet we get along very jieaceably, 
 each man having enough to do to attend to his own business 
 without taking upon him the weight of other men's affairs."" 
 
 Business increased rapidly as did manufacturing industries 
 and commerce, property valuation rising proportionately.^" The 
 manufacturing establishments numbered one hundred and 
 seventy-seven and employed 14,000 men,^'^ of these concerns the 
 McCormick Reaper Works probablj^ l)eeame of greatest import- 
 ance. City property was valued at from seven to eight millions 
 of dollars.^* 
 
 By means of commerce more than by other means was Chicago 
 now able to lay claims to importance. In 1836 the harbor of 
 Chicago received four hundred and fifty-six vessels, bringing 
 goods valued at something over $325,000; exports for the year 
 amounted to but $1,100. The following decade wrought a 
 wondrous change. In 1846 the vessels arriving at Chicago 
 and leaving numbered 2,790'''^ and carried merchandise valued at 
 $4,938,000.*^° The products of the richest agricultural portion 
 of Illinois poured into the city bound for the East ; wheat, flour, 
 corn, oats and meat being the leading products. In 1836 not 
 a bushel of wheat was exported. In 1840 there were only 
 10,000 bushels, but in 1848 the amount exported was 2,160,000 
 
 '^^ Prairie Farmer, 9, 2:.'0. 
 
 '^Xew York Weckli/ Tribune, Sept. 8, 1845. 
 
 ^Bunt's Merchant's Magazine, (IS, 171) gives the following list of busi- 
 ness houses ; twenty-eight commission houses ; eleven clothing houses ; seven 
 drug stores ; eight cli-y goods stores ; sixty-four wholesale and retail dry gro- 
 cery stores ; sixty-three retail grocery stores ; four hat and cap stores ; twenty- 
 three hotels : ten newspapers ; twelve or fifteen insurance agencies ; fifteen lumber 
 dealers besides others. This was in 1845. 
 
 ^'' Industrial Chicago, 3, 585. 
 
 " Parlser. Growth of Illinois and Chicago, (19,) estimates the property at 
 $7,222,999; Blanchard, Ttvc Northwest and Chicago. (2. 17) places it at the same 
 figure. Western Journal and Civilian (12. 5) gives It as $8,101,000. 
 
 ^* Hunt's Merchants' Magazine, IS, 171. 
 
 ™ De Bow's Review, 5, 374. 
 
 [199] 
 
486 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 bushels, some of which went directly to Europe."^ In the 
 beef and lumber trade Chicago was equally as important, 
 becoming, by 1850, the foremost market in the country in the 
 amoimt of meat and lumber handled.^- 
 
 Chicago had grown with such wonderful rapidity both in 
 population and commercial importance that in the struggle for 
 wealth little attention had been paid to city improvements such 
 as lighting the streets, paving them, providing proper supplies 
 of water or proper sanitary arrangements. Criticisms un- 
 favorable in the extreme are abundant. For example one writer 
 says concerning drainage "the tiat of the town is so level that 
 it cannot be drained. The rain soaks in and dries up. It is a 
 dry spell now but tbe deep gutters at the sides of the streets 
 have yet abundant pools of green stagnant water. In a wet 
 spell the depth of the mud depends entirely upon the specific 
 gravity of the object fathoming it. There are no pavements 
 for there is not a stone as large as a bullet lin the Avhole country. 
 The sidewalks are laid with plank and the cross wallvs with 
 timbers. In the absence of mud there is a dust as fine as flour 
 and some twelve inches or more in depth which is set in motion 
 by every breeze and by the vehicles which plough through it. 
 The water from the wells is a filtration through this mud. The 
 inhabitants say they use lake water brought in by a hydrant but 
 the article I have seen is very different from what we used on 
 board the boat. It is decidedly dirty in its appearance and its 
 taste also, a very essence of fever and ague. . . . Upon the 
 whole, Chicago is about the last place a stranger would fancy 
 as a place of residence. ' '"^ 
 
 Another says, ' ' it was a rickety city of frame shanties . . . 
 inhabited by a pushing, hustling, lively people, shut off as one 
 looks at it now, from half the privileges and enjoyments that 
 make life endurable."®* 
 
 M First cargo of wheat bound for England left Chicago in 1847. {American 
 Agriculturist, C, 22G.) 
 
 o^Curtlss, Western Portraiture, 51; Hunt's Mcrcliants' Manazinc, (IS. 169> 
 States that 7,.').")0,000 feet of planks were handled in 1843, and 10O.3G8,O00 fwi 
 in iSuO; Cnrtiss, Western Portraiture, (45) gives the amount for 1850 as 175,- 
 000,000 feet. 
 
 fi Prairie Farmer, 7, 2G0. (Extract from the Utica (N. Y.) Gazette, 1847.) 
 
 " Van Dora, View of Chicago in 1S.',8, in Magazine of Western History, 10, 42. 
 
 [300] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 487 
 
 Its position among the cities of the country once established, 
 Chicago citizens began to look to local improvements. The old 
 frame buildings thrown together in the shortest possible time 
 rapidly gave way to more substantial brick edifices, in keeping 
 with the times. Previous to 1844 the city had practically been 
 at a loss to provide school houses for the children, being de- 
 pendent principally upon renting such rooms as could be fitted 
 up for the purpose. When, a few years later, one alderman 
 had persisted in obtaining an appropriation and building a 
 school-house, the people indignantly called it "Miltimore's 
 Folly" on account of the supposedly enormous expenditures of 
 money for an object the wisdom of which was questioned. The 
 mayor ridiculed the extravagance of the venture for it would 
 accommodate more children, he said, than would ever be in Chi- 
 cago. ]\Ioreover, he suggested that it be turned into an asylum 
 for the insane.^^ A change came about, however, and a traveler 
 through the city in 1850 says ''the greatest ornament of Chicago 
 is its Primary Schools, — its eommon or free school edifices are the 
 best buildings for that purpose I have even seen in any city.""^ 
 
 Churches, too, shared in the increased prosperity. From 
 cramped quarters occupied in the earlier years of the decade, 
 these churches had come to occupy more elegant and spacious 
 ones. Gothic architecture and stained glass windows had sup- 
 planted deserted warehouses and small frame buildings as places 
 of worship,**^ and in 1850 the property of the twenty-nine 
 churches in Chicago was valued at $273,000.*^^ 
 
 In 1850 the Chicago Gas Light and Coke Company was or- 
 ganized and secured a contract to furnish gas light to the city 
 for ten years.^'' The police force was also enlarged, one man 
 being assigned to each of the nine wards.'*' 
 
 Conununication with the interior was improved. In the 
 early spring the low prairies around Chicago were well-nigh 
 impassable for teams and this condition operated to the detri- 
 
 "^ Binckley, Chicayo of ihc Thinkct\ in LaJcesidc, 10, 201. 
 
 '" Curtiss. Western Portraiture, 59. 
 
 "Ibid., 306. 
 
 '^Compendium, of the Seventh Census (1850), 140. 
 
 «» ColbtTt and Chaml>erl.ain, Chicayo, GO. 
 
 '0 Flinn and Wllkie, Chicago PoUcCj 58. 
 
 [201] 
 
488 BULLETIN" OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN" 
 
 ment of the city people as well as the farmers in the interior. 
 To overcome this difficulty substantial "plank roads" were 
 constructed in every direction at a cost of from $1,000 to $1,500 
 per mile and kept in repair by the tolls collected. Although 
 this was but one and one-half cents per mile the roads paid 
 dividends ranging from fifteen to forty per cent, annually.'^^ 
 To add to the facility of communication with the back country, 
 the Illinois and Llichigan canal was opened for traffic in 1848, 
 as was part of the Galena and Chicago Union railroad a year 
 later. For a time it seemed as if these additional lines of trans- 
 portation operated to the detriment of Chicago, especially in 
 the retail trade for it tended to draw the retail dealers nearer 
 to their customers. This loss, however, was rapidly supplanted 
 by a gain in the wholesale trade,'^- for around the city grew 
 up many smaller settlements which looked to Chicago as their 
 supply depot. 
 
 Of the thousands of acres of land sold at the Chicago Land 
 Office during the decade 1841 to 1850 much was close to the 
 city and little fell into the hands of speculators. This latter 
 fact aided in the settlement of the vicinity. Of the small 
 touTis in the immediate neighborhood of the city, Jefferson was 
 settled in 1830,^^ Qak Park in 1833,'"' Norwood Park in 1834," 
 Blue Island in 1835,'^ Evanston in 1836,"^' Lake View in 1844'8 
 and Hyde Park in 1848.'" By 1845 there were in Cook county 
 fwenty-two settlements besides Chicago, and twelve of these 
 claimed five hundred or more inhabitants each.^° The popula- 
 tion of the entire county was 43,385 in 1850.^^ 
 
 The development of Chicago must be called wonderful rather 
 than typical of the westward movement. During the early 
 years of its existence, while it passed through the 'log cabin' 
 
 "' Ciutiss, Western Portraiture, 52. 
 
 '■^Ihid., 52. 
 
 "■' Andreas, Cook County, 744. 
 
 '♦ Ihid., 782. 
 
 "/bir7., 477. 
 
 '" Ibid., G20. 
 
 ■'■'Ibid., 417. 
 
 "/bid., 708. 
 
 '"'Ibid., 007. 
 
 ^Ibid., 841. 
 
 *^ Seventh Census, (1850), 701. 
 
 [202] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 489 
 
 stage of development the growth may be safely called typical 
 of the growth of the AVest. Slowly the settlers came at first 
 and in the accounts of travelers can be found the incidents which 
 prove the frontier characteristics of the village. The years 
 of booming and speculation came during the period 1833-37; 
 steam navigation upon the lakes made the village a port of 
 importance; the land fever gave aid to an unnatural growth 
 but Chicago still remained a village for the lack of substantial 
 support. The financial revulsion of 1837 cheeked the growth 
 of the town as well as the state but with the return of confidence 
 in the early forties Chicago again came to life, this time to en- 
 joy a steady gro^\i;h in numbers and in prosperity and to take 
 advantage of its location. 
 
 At this date it appears that no longer can Chicago be taken 
 as a type of w'estern frontier towns but from this time on one 
 must look to physiographic conditions for an explanation of 
 its wonderful growth. As yet railroads had not penetrated the 
 great agricultural fields of the "West, but there was nevertheless a 
 demand for markets for produce and these markets were in the 
 East. During the decade 1841 to 1850 the prairies of Indiana, 
 Illinois and Wisconsin w^ere filling up rapidly and ever increas- 
 ing fields of wheat, oats and corn ripened with each autumn. 
 The increased number of settlers meant an increased demand 
 for lumber and supplies of all kinds and Chicago, situated at 
 the terminus of the great highway of communication with the 
 East naturally attracted farmers by thousands, who came to 
 exchange their farm products for the products of the East. 
 
 Chicago's growth was now substantial and normal because of 
 its' situation at the gateway of commerce. The great West, with 
 its ever increasing wealth of agricultural products, was its store- 
 house; the East was its market and the city, being the favored 
 point of collection and distribution, the connecting link between 
 East and West, was destined to grow in wealth and power with 
 the increasing demands of producer and consumer. Still 
 greater possibilities were to open up when during the fifties the 
 railroads were to radiate from the city to various points of 
 the rich farming lands around the lakes, greatly increasing the 
 area of influence of the rapidly growing metropolis. Primar- 
 
 [203] 
 
490 BULLETIX OF THE riv'IVERSITY OF WISCONSIN' 
 
 ily a commercial city, for a time, to commerce must be attrib- 
 uted the development, but soon manufactures grew up to add 
 to Avealth and industry and in this departure may be seen still 
 another cause for gro-ui;h. 
 
 Another point must next claim attention — the character 
 of the population. Here also is seen the influence of transpor- 
 tation routes. The line of the Great Lakes was the connecting 
 link between the West and the seaports of the Northwest and 
 along this great highway came many foreigners, who, desirous 
 of making their homes in the interior, took the easiest road 
 thither and came to the best known port. The result is seen 
 in the fact that one-third of Chicago's population was of for- 
 eign descent. Moreover, New Yorkers and New Englanders 
 abounded in the city and vicinity, probably for the same reason. 
 
 In a word, it appears that Chicago is the result of physio- 
 graphic influences, its favorable location allowing it to profit 
 by the influences of the interaction of the agricultural West and 
 the manufacturing East. Its location at the terminus of the 
 great line of communication with the East, thus becoming both a 
 distributing and a collecting point for an exceedingly wealthy 
 back country gave it the permanent foundation upon which to 
 build its industrial life,®^ 
 
 ^-Hunt's Merchants' Magazine, (9, .31) prints an article in 1843, discussing- 
 the claims to future greatness of the cities of the section. The writer offers evi- 
 dence to show that it will lie on the Great Lakes rather than on the Ohio river, 
 but "he decides in favor of the location at the mouth of the Maumee, rather thaa 
 Chicago. The article is of interest as showing the difficulty of contemporaneous 
 estimate of the condition which produced Chicago's ascendency. 
 
 [204] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 491 
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 Foreign Element in the Population of Illinois 
 
 Immigration first assumed large proportions during the 
 ■decade 1831-1840 and increased progressively during the next 
 twenty years, being relatively greater in proportion to the 
 native population than at any other period.^ Just what per- 
 centage of the immigrants to the United States found their 
 way to the Mississippi valley is difficult to determine as the es- 
 timates of the writers vary considerably and census statistics 
 are not available before 1850.^ 
 
 In 1850 Illinois had a population of 851,500 and of this num- 
 ber 110,600 'were foreigners.^ Owing to the fact that Illinois 
 was still a new state with an abundance of fertile land yet 
 unclaimed in 1830, when European emigration began to become 
 of some consequence, and that the state was situated at the ter- 
 minus' of the northern route of travel over the Great Lakes, it 
 is natural to expect that it would have a considerable and 
 varied foreign population and this is the case. 
 
 In selecting places for settlement there were decided prefer- 
 ences displayed by the various nationalities. The Germans, 
 naturally, inclining towards agriculture were most frequently 
 found in the agricultural districts ; the Irish seem to have stayed 
 in the cities or to have seiwed as laborers along the lines of 
 communication although an example of agricultural pursuits 
 
 ' MfLanublin, The Immifimnt. Past and Present, in The Poi)Ular Soiettce 
 Monthly, July, 1904, 225. 
 
 2 One writer says thata seventy-five of every hunclred continental immigrants to 
 tlie United States went west, Init only twenty-five of every hundred Irish and 
 English went west. (Walker, Mississippi TaUcn. 347.) Another says that onej- 
 third the total immigration located in the West. (Edinhunjh Review, 100. 242.) 
 
 ^Seventh Census (1850), 36. 
 
 [205] 
 
492 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 adopted by Irishmen is to be had in the country along the 
 lilies of the Illinois and Michigan canal. When the work on the 
 canal stopped in the early forties the Irish laborers turned their 
 attention to agriculture, some of them following it permanently. 
 
 The English, Scotch, French and Swedes also inclined to- 
 wards agricultural pursuits. Generally speaking the foreign- 
 ers tended to settle together in localities apart from the other 
 settlers and to maintain their national language and customs 
 as long as possible. This tendency is displayed even today in 
 both the country and the large cities. As time went on, how- 
 ever, the intermixture of Americans and foreigners became fre- 
 quent, and as the country became more and more densely set- 
 tled it was impossible for the various nationalities to avoid con- 
 tact and in many counties the varied composition of population 
 suggests an indiscriminate thro'vving together of representatives 
 of a dozen nationalities. 
 
 The lead region aifords an excellent example. One traveler 
 speaking of the district and its inhabitants says: "The miners 
 are the most wonderful mixture of humanity that ever I 
 beheld; they are from all parts of the world but chiefly from 
 Ireland, Derbyshire, Cornwall and Germany."* Still another 
 says concerning the same district, "I visited Galena in 1829 
 and found a most singular and mysterious medley of people 
 located in that place. People from all quartei's of the earth 
 had flocked there on account of the celebrity of the lead 
 mines. "^ In 1843 about thirty per cent, of Chicago's popu- 
 lation were foreigners" and by 1850 fully one-third were of for- 
 eign birth.'' One-third of the votes in Peoria in the election of 
 1849 were cast by foreigners.^ Almost twenty-five per cent., of 
 the population of Freeport in 1850 were foreigners.^ "In all 
 
 ♦Murray, Travels in North America (1854), 2, 129. 
 
 =* Reynolds, Illinois, 168. 
 
 "Norris and Gardiner, Illinois Annual Register (1847), 76; population of 
 Chicago, 7,580 ; of tliese 2,256 were foreign. Tlie Germans and Irisli togetlaer 
 numbered about 1,600. They were nearly equally divided. 
 
 ' Prairie Farmer, 9, 220. 
 
 'Eallance. Peoria, 201. The total vote was 1,.324. Foreigners cast four hun- 
 dred and thirty-five of these. Germans and Irish were most numerous. 
 
 » Johnston, Sketches of Stephenson County, 94. Population of Freeport 1,436 — 
 foreigners, 352. 
 
 [206] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 493 
 
 the large cities and toAvns of Illinois, Europeans, mostly Ger- 
 mans and Irish, have located to a considerable niunber within 
 the last fifteen or twenty years and in some localities the nnm- 
 ber far exceeds the native Americans,"^'' says Keynolds in his 
 history of Illinois and the statement does not appear to be 
 overdrawn. 
 
 These conditions appear true also for the parts of the state 
 outside the cities. Take for example Kane county. The local 
 historian says, "There is probably no county in Illinois that has 
 accumulated its population from such varied sources as has 
 Kane coimty. From first to last there have been no l»^ss than 
 ten distinct and separate nationalities which have furni:ilied not 
 individuals only but colonies, \vlao have made their settlements 
 in the borders of the staunch old county. "^^ These examples 
 do not, however, seem to be exceptional cases. 
 
 Germans were the most numerous of the foreigners in Ill- 
 inois in 1850, composing over one-third of the foreign popu- 
 lation of the state.^- Economic, political, and religious influ- 
 ences were at work in the fatherland causing a tide of migra- 
 tion from all parts of the country to America." Once in Amer- 
 ica the cheap land of the fertile ^Mississippi Valley was an in- 
 ducement sufficient to bring the Germans westward and the 
 line of transportation over the lakes directed the course of the 
 stream to the Chicago gateway of the Illinois prairies. 
 
 Religious unrest was one cause for German emigration. A 
 reorganization of the Lutheran church had taken place in the 
 later thirties and the ruling Hohenzollerns had ordered all sub- 
 jects to conform to the new belief. Penalties were threatened 
 for those who refused. Imprisonment, confiscation of property 
 
 10 Reynolds. Illinois, 184. 
 
 " Past and Present of Kane County, 222. 
 
 ^-ticvciith Census, (1S50), xxxvi. 
 
 "Emigrants came from Luxemburg (Mrs. I^vl. Gvoorophical Origin of the 
 German Immigration to Wisconsin, in Wis. Hist. Collections, 14. 377) ; Fomer- 
 ania, [Ibid.. 14, 349) ; Prussia, {Madison Enquirer, Oct. 26. 1839) ; Hesse, {Wts- 
 konsan Enquirer, July 28, 1842) ; Bavaria. iSchriften des Vercins fur Social 
 Pontile, 52, 90) ; Baden and Wartenburg, (Rahr, German Immigration to the 
 United States, 18!,0-1S30, 15, (MS. Thesis, University of Wisconsin. 19U3) : Baltic 
 Countries, (Mrs. Levi, German Immigration, in Wis. Hist. Collections, 14, 349) ; 
 Rhine districts (Littel's Living Age, 11, 201) ; and from the region of the Black 
 Forest (files' Register, TU, 392). 
 
 [207] 
 
494 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVEESITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 and allied persecutions were practised to such an extent that 
 many left their native land." 
 
 Political grievances, too, were of importance all through this 
 period. The unsuccessful attempts to obtain more liberal con- 
 stitutions, coming immediately after the July Revolution of 1830 
 in France, had not left the minds of the people in peace, and 
 many had emigrated. Gradually the movement gathered 
 strength for a new out-break against the bonds of absolutism. 
 The attempt was made for a more liberal government in 1848, 
 but it failed. The result is seen in the emigration of the ' ' Forty- 
 eighters. ' ' 
 
 Greatest of all the influences, however, were those of an eco- 
 nomic nature, and to these is due the increase of German emi- 
 ^ants in the decade 1841-1850. The small hand industries 
 which for years had been a means by which the poorer Germans 
 were enabled to make livings were now being beaten do\\Ti by 
 competition arising from the introduction of machinery.^^ The 
 evils of over-production and of over-population were at work. 
 Subdivision of the land had gone on to a great extent and so 
 small were the little plots of ground held by each peasant that 
 it was wdth difficulty that the poor people eked out a bare ex- 
 i,si;enee. In normal years, at the best only a few potatoes, a 
 little corn, oats, clover and hay could be raised by the peasants, 
 and even well-to-do farmers subsisted on milk, potatoes 
 and corn bread.^^ 
 
 When crops failed these poor peasants were destitute. Dur- 
 ing the early years of the decade crops were good but beginning 
 with the extremely severe winter of 1844 and 1845 a change 
 came. In that winter many of the vineyards were destroyed^'' 
 and in the following spring floods in the valleys of the Rhine, 
 Moselle, Main, Neckar, Danube, Elbe and Vistula rivers materi- 
 ally interfered with agriculture.^-^ IMoreover the potato ci'op 
 failed, causing a correspondingly large increase in the price of 
 bread stuffs and making it exceedingly difficult for the peasants 
 
 " iladison Enquirer, Oct. 26, 1839. 
 
 " See references in note 13 above. 
 
 "Ruhr, German Immujration, 14 (MS. Thesis, University of Wisconsin, 1903). 
 
 >' Kites' Register, US, 145. 
 
 "Ralir, Ocrman Immigration, 15 (MS. Thesis, University of Wisconsin 1903). 
 
 [208] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 495 
 
 to gain a livelihood. The severity of the famine increased in 
 1846^'' and the cold winter following added misery to the lot 
 of the peasants. In many places the wealthy class was com- 
 pelled to provide for the poor, to keep them from starving.-" 
 
 Dnring these years the agents of transportation companies 
 were busy among the people. Thej' were well dressed and well 
 supplied with money and told wondrous stories of wealth to 
 be easily acquired in America, of political freedom, light taxes 
 and easy government. 
 
 Resulting from these influences were such ventures as the 
 Geissner Gesellschaft which had a plan to organize a German 
 community in America as a state of the Union while retaining 
 its German characteristics.-^ Besides the organized colonies 
 which emigrated to America, thousands of Germans came 
 singly or in groups of two or three families and by 1850 there 
 M-ere in Illinois over 38,000.-^ 
 
 Before 1830 there seem to have been few communities of 
 Germans in the state but in the following years a rapid increase 
 took place. The earliest settlements were probably at Dutch 
 Hollow in St. Clair county and at Vandalia in Fayette county." 
 During the years 1831, 1832 and 1833 frequent additions were 
 made to the settlement in St. Clair county. The village of 
 Darmstadt marks the location of a colony of 'well-to-do agri- 
 culturists and tradesmen which sprang up in 1832. The so- 
 called 'immigration of 1833' brought a number of highly-edu- 
 cated Germans to this portion of the state giving the name 
 Lateiner settlement to the community. In 1837, the German 
 settlers formed forty per cent, of the population of the towTi- 
 ship.-* 
 
 In Effingham county on the southern edge of the prairie dis- 
 trict was another center of German settlement. A stock com- 
 pany was formed by some Cincinnati Germans and a site for 
 a town was selected touching on the National Road in the 
 
 " Niles' Register, 72, 31)2. 
 
 ^ The Htirhing<r. a. 2ST. 
 
 *i Korner, Das Deutsche Element, 300. 
 
 ^Seventh Census (1850), xxxvi. 
 
 ** Davidson and StuY6, Illinoia, 349 ; Kopfll, S., and Eggen, J., Die Schweizer- 
 Kolonie Highland in Illinois In Deutache-AmerQcanische Oeachichts-Bldtter, 
 April-July, 1906. 
 
 ^^ History of St. Clair County, 64. 
 
 14 [209] 
 
496 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 above named county. The first settlers came in 1838,-^ and 
 were soon joined by others from Cincinnati and Germany. In 
 1840 there were ninety families in and around Teutopolis, the 
 most important settlement.-" In the nearby townships there 
 were scattered German settlements.-^ 
 
 Gennan communities were scattered here and there along the 
 Illinois river before 1850. One of the early settlements began 
 in 1833 in "Woodford county and increased steadily.-^ Another 
 German community was established in Peoria about 1835;-^ it 
 formed almost one-sixth of the voting population of the towa 
 in' 1850.^^ During the latter half of the thirties a considerable 
 colony congregated at Havana, in Mason county.^^ A few years 
 later another settlement of Germans began at Bath in the same 
 county.^- At Perry in Pike county there was a German settle- 
 ment of some importance before 1850,^^ and in La Salle county 
 the German population was large enough to support three 
 churches.^* It appears that the above named settlements were 
 not the result of colonies organized in Germany, but that the 
 settlers came in smaller groups from the older settlements at 
 Cincinnati and St. Louis. After the political troubles in Ger- 
 many in 1848 the German population was generally derived 
 directly from Europe and the increase was more rapid. 
 
 In the northeastern and northern counties of the state the 
 Germans settled more frequently than in the southern counties. 
 Wishing to follow agriculture, they were attracted by the rich 
 prairie lands of the northern and eastern part of the state. A 
 convenient line of communication also helped to turn the swarm 
 of immigi'ants to Chicago, whence it scattered over the surround- 
 ing country. Cook, Lake, Du Page and Kane counties received 
 German settlers in numbers sufficiently large nearly to crowd 
 
 25 perrin, History of Effingham County, 251. 
 
 ^ Salsbacher, Meine Reise nnch dcr Vereinifjtcn Staaten, 229, note 2. 
 
 " I'errin, History of Effingham County, 147, 230. 
 
 ^History of Wovd.'ord County, 368. 
 
 '^History of Peoria County, 489. 
 
 ^ Deutsch-Amenkanische GeschichtstUitter, Jan., 1901, 22. 
 
 ^History of Menard and Mason Counties, 509. 
 
 ^^lUd., 57C. 
 
 '' History of Pike County, 474. 
 
 " Baldwin, History of La Salle County, 533. 
 
 [210] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 497 
 
 out the original settlers. After 1848 the numbers increased 
 rapidly, especially in Kane and Will counties, Aurora^'* and 
 Elgin^® in the former county being the chief centers of German 
 settlement. The settlements in Will county date from 1846 and 
 the success and growth of the communities seems due to the 
 efforts of Conrad Tatge. During the years immediately fol- 
 lowing, most of the government railroad lands were bought up 
 by Germans and soon those lands held by speculators also came 
 under their control.^'' 
 
 In the Rock river valley there were but three German settle- 
 ments of any importance before 1850 — Oregon in Ogle county," 
 Dixon in Lee county,^^ and Freeport in Stephenson county.*** 
 Of these Freeport was the most important ; foreigners composed 
 one-fourth of the population of the town and the German ele- 
 ment was by far the most numerous. A short distance north 
 of the town was another community of Germans located in 
 Ridott township.*^ 
 
 At Galena in Jo Daviess county,*^ Warsaw in Hancock county** 
 and Quincy** and Melrose*^ in Adams county were the chief 
 German communities of that portion of the state bordering on 
 the ]\Iississippi river. The settlements were, however, not large 
 in 1850, the greater part of the present German population, 
 having come at a later date. 
 
 Other settlements of Germans in all probability existed in 
 Illinois but since mention is not made of them in local histories^ 
 it seems safe to conclude that in 1850 at least, they were of no 
 great importance. 
 
 As a class the Germans were desirable settlers owing to their 
 quiet, sober, steady habits, their ability and industry. Those 
 
 3= Past and Present of Kane County, 236. 
 3" Chicaoo Repuhliean, Mar. 16, 1S67. 
 ^'History of ^VUI Count;/, 5.59. 
 
 ^Historii of Ogle County, 489. , ' 
 
 ^"History of Lee County, 177-185. 
 <" Johnston. Sketches of titephenson County, 94. 
 *' History of Htephcnson County, 283. 
 
 ■^ Rodolf, Pioneering in the Wisconsin Lead Region, in Wis. Hist. Collections., 
 15. 350. 
 *" History of Hancock County, 638. 
 "Asbun,-, i^uincy, lO.S-106. 
 **Hihtory of Adams County, 540. 
 
 [211] 
 
498 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF "WISCONSIN 
 
 who came without money to buy land hired themselves out to 
 lando^^•ners and were contented to serve as laborers imtil they 
 had learned the industry and acquired enough capital to make 
 purchases for themselves. They applied themselves to the cul- 
 tivation of the soil, not as adventurers for the sake of experi- 
 ment, but as farmers who meant to keep possession of it. They 
 brought with them the same patient laborious habits which had 
 distinguished them in their native land and as a consequence 
 the settlements made, while retaining the characteristics of the 
 fatherland to some extent, were models of well-ordered industry'. 
 The head of the family worked, the children worked and the 
 women worked, too, often as hard as the men, sharing the men's 
 labors in the fields; for the German 'although not destitute of 
 romance was far from believing that women were made only to 
 be ornamental.'^'' Following this rule it was not long before 
 each of these German families owned not only its dwellings but 
 the land upon which they stood. 
 
 While agricultural in their tastes the Germans were often 
 found 'in the cities, Chicago especially having quite a large Ger- 
 man population. It will be remembered that many of the early 
 GeiTnan settlers came by way of the Great Lakes, landing at 
 Chicago. Few of these had money to spare, some had none at 
 all. In the latter case they were unable to buy land but the in- 
 dustries of the city afforded abundant opportunities for mak- 
 ing good wages and many a German remained here hoping by 
 thrift soon to acquire enough capital to carry out his pet scheme 
 — to buy a farm. Living was high in the city, money accumu- 
 lated slowly, land rose rapidly in value and the would-be farmer 
 gradually changed to a city man. Others came and the tend- 
 ency to settle together manifesting itself, these later comers 
 remained with their countrymen in the towns. 
 
 In politics the Germans were strongly democratic, even tend- 
 ing towards socialism. Their leading political newspapers 
 called American democracy a mongrel affair. They were 
 radical on questions of land reform and often led observers to 
 believe they supported communism, apparently denying the 
 right of private property and suggesting the experiment of a 
 
 "'Atlantic Monthly, 32, 463. 
 
 [212] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 499 
 
 general division of goods among the people. This was true 
 especially about 1850, but probably did not fairly represent the 
 feeling of the great body of Germans, since the editors of that 
 time had but recently come from the revolutionary scenes of 
 1848.*^ HoAvever, it is probable that in spite of their tendencies 
 toward radical political views and in spite of the fact that they 
 attempted to an extent, at least, to retain the customs and lan- 
 guage of their native land, the Germans were a valuable addi- 
 tion to the population of the state. 
 
 Causes for Irish immigration are not difficult to find: re- 
 ligious troubles,*^ oppressive tithes,*^ absentee landlords,^** high 
 rents.^^ poor wages,^- poor cultivation of the soil, famines. The 
 moral degradation and lack of education all combined to make 
 the condition of the Irish peasant one of abject misery. 
 Greatest among the causes were crop failures and famines. 
 The years 1831, 1835, 1836, 1837 and 1839 were ones of partial 
 crop failure and the great famine of 1847 spread misery through- 
 out the entire island. It is reported that during this year five 
 and one-half millions of the population were dependent upon 
 the charity of the rest of the population — about three million 
 in number — for food.^^ ]\Iisery, destitution and sickness were 
 prevalent as is shown by the writers of the time,^^ and a corres- 
 ponding increase of Irish immigration to America resulted.^" 
 
 The Irish upon landing an America tended to remain in the 
 eastern cities, becoming day laborers or factoiy employes. 
 TVlien they left the cities it was generally to find work upon the 
 lines of transportation then in the process of construction. A 
 very small number devoted themselves to agricultural pur- 
 
 *' Christian Examiner, 51, 355; Bruncken, in Wis. Hist. Soc. Proceedings 
 (1901 >, 190. 
 
 <» X lies' Register, 40, 406. 
 
 *" Ihid.. 400. 
 
 ^Dublin Review, 1, 281-313; 15, 14S-1G8 ; 317-3G3. 
 
 ^^ American Review, G. 461, $15-$25 per acre. 
 
 ^^ FortnightUj Review, 8, 40. 
 
 ''^American Rcvicir, 6. 637. 
 
 ^ Blackwood^, 64, 477; BritSah Quarterly Revieic, 6, 524; Condon, Irish Race 
 in America, 302; Madison Express, April 13, 1847. (Extract from London Her- 
 ald. A letter written hy a Mr. Shaw then in Ireland) ; Niics' Register, 33, 5 ; 
 38, 431 ; 40, 455 ; 41, 379, 448 ; Western Journal and Civilian, 6, 247. 
 
 "Young, Report on Immigration (\'>^~'2\, 14, reports over 500,000 Irish land- 
 ing in America during the years, 1847, 1848, 1849 and 1S50. 
 
 [213] 
 
600 BULLETIX OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 suits for they were too poor to acquire land and, moreover, the 
 unpleasant experiences of their native home made Irishmen 
 skeptical concerning the possibilities of returns from this in- 
 dustry. 
 
 In 1850 there were almost 28,000 Irish in Illinois.^" There 
 were scattered settlements in the state before 1830, but the in- 
 flux came when work was begun on the Illinois and Michigan 
 canal, and for some time the greater portion of the Irish settle- 
 ment of the state lay close to the canal. The work invited large 
 bodies of laborers and naturally the Irish made their way in 
 considerable numbers from the seaboard cities to this district 
 where good wages and steady work seemed assured.^'^ They 
 were scattered all along the line, two hundred or more being at 
 Peru^® and La Salle^° in La Salle county, some in Grundy 
 county''*' and some in "Will county."^ In Chicago the largest 
 number were gathered, there being almost eight hundred Irish 
 in the city in 1843.*'- Nine per cent, of the voters of Peoria in 
 1849 were Irish.^^ 
 
 The course of events, however, operated in Illinois to change 
 a number of Irish from laborers to farmers. The work on the 
 canal progressed slowly for ten years. All sorts of expedients 
 were resorted to by the state authorities to sustain the work. 
 "When money was no longer available the laborers were paid off 
 in canal scrip which in consequence of the growing financial 
 embarrassments of the state sank a great deal in value and at 
 times was scarcelj^ convertible at all. Much of this scrip was 
 converted into land, however, and when work on the canal was 
 for the time abandoned in the early forties many of the Irish 
 laborers took up sections of land in the neighboring counties, or 
 in other portions of the state ; when they could be obtained town 
 lots were taken. As a consequence the farming population of 
 that part of the state immediately bordering the Illinois river 
 
 ^'Seventh Census (1850), xxxvi. 
 
 " Onahan, Irish Settlements in Illinois, in Catholic World, 3.'{, 357. 
 
 ■^Buckingham, Eastern and Western States, 3, 222. 
 
 M Baldwin, History of La Salle County, 225-483. 
 
 '^History of Orundy county, 143. 
 
 <" History of Will county, G59-906. 
 
 *^ Norris and Gardiner, Illinois Annual Rec/istcr (1847), 70. 
 
 ^ Ballance, History of Peoria, 201. 
 
 [214] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 501 
 
 from Peoria northward aud along the Illinois-Michigan canal 
 is composed largely of Irish. Some Irish farmers are also 
 found as far north as McHemy county.'''' 
 
 In Monroe county an Irish settlement began in 1844 and be- 
 fore the elapse of a decade more than three hundred families 
 had congregated in this portion of the state.*"^ At Dixon in 
 Lee county,'^"' at Quincy in Adams county'"' and at Galena in 
 the lead region''^ were communities of Irish but they were not 
 large. 
 
 As a class the Irish settlers were not so desirable as were the 
 Germans. Their poverty, their faith and their early education 
 made their immediate assimilation into the population of the 
 state impossible."^ Their mission in the early days seems to have 
 been the construction of the internal improvements of the state. 
 By their native adaptability to new surroundings the Irish 
 seemed best fitted for city life and many settled in the cities, 
 especially in Chicago. In speaking of the Irish settler a writer 
 of the time says: "His weakness lies in success . . . for 
 with ten dollars in his pocket he is abashed by nothing in 
 Heaven, earth or Chicago."^" 
 
 From England also there came many immigrants and for 
 reasons similar to those causing the Irish immigration. Agri- 
 cultural and industrial depression, enormous tithes, hea\y taxes, 
 poor wages and poor cultivation of the soil made the lot of the 
 peasant class a hard one. Periods of rash speculation were 
 followed by commercial crises which added their influence to 
 that already operating to injure the peasant class and to in- 
 crease dissatisfaction. 
 
 During the early thirties a general depression existed. 
 ''Landlords with mortgages or rent charges were ruined, tenants 
 farming on borrowed capital became parish paupers, bankrupt- 
 cies, seizures, executions and imprisonments for debt were prev- 
 
 " Onahan. Irish Settlements in Illinois, in Catholic World, 33. 159-160. 
 
 ^ Reynolds, Illinois, 183. 
 
 '^History of Lee County, 117-lSu. 
 
 '" Asbury, Quincy, 103-106. 
 
 <» Reynolds, Illinois, 108; Murray, Travels in North America (18.j4), 2. 129. 
 
 «» Metropolitan, 4, 721. 
 
 '^ Putnam's Magazine, 4, 028. 
 
 [315] 
 
502 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 alent; rents fell into arrears, tithes and poor rates remained 
 unpaid; labor bills were reduced and improvements discon- 
 tinued. '^'^ Wages were exceedingly low,"- artisans and farm 
 hands sharing alike in the poor returns to labor. Tithes were 
 exorbitant"^ and the taxes were equally heavyJ* 
 
 The results of these conditions soon showed themselves in 
 riots of a serious nature partly aimed at the wealthy classes 
 and the clergy and partly to break up the new industrial devel- 
 opment which had come with the introduction of machineryJ^ 
 For a time reform legislation allayed the trouble but riots and 
 disturbances broke out anew during the closing years of the 
 decade 1831 to 1841, and continued till 1844. 
 
 With each renewed agitation the number of emigrants in- 
 creased. Farmers, wishing better returns for their labor, ar- 
 tisans and professional men began to leave the country.'*' Clergy- 
 men urged their parishioners to emigrate to America where 
 wages Avere good.'^^ The London Roman Catholic Emigration 
 Society hastened to complete preparations whereby various 
 parties, each with its clergyman at its head might find new 
 homes in America.''^ New agitations by the trade unions and 
 the Chartists broke out to swell the numbers already crossing 
 the ocean. In fact ''there probably never was a nation to which 
 emigration on a great scale was more urgently suggested than 
 to England in the middle of the nineteenth century."^'' Al- 
 though her wealth was increasing rapidly, so too Avas her popula- 
 tion and the field for employment was constantly being confined 
 to narrower limits, profits were diminashed, rates of interest 
 reduced and the ranks of the uneasy class were being constantly 
 
 " Trail!, Social England, G, 211. 
 
 "- Farm laborers received nine shillings per week, in liaying time a trifle more. 
 {yUcs' Rcfjistcr, Hi), -154) ; annnal wages amounted to from twenty to twenty- 
 one pounds for farm laborers, (Ibid., 41, 321) ; artisans' wages were from fifty 
 to sixty cents per week. (Ibid., 43, 124.) 
 
 "In England 6,000,()<)() parishionere paid £ 8,89G,000 tithes while 108,000,000 
 In other parts of the world paid but £8,832,000. (Nilcs' Register, 40, IGO.) 
 
 ~* Family Magazine, 6, 416. 
 
 "Traill, Social England, «, 211. Niles' Register, 39, 454-456. 
 
 '«Niles' Register, 03, 400; North British Revieic, 18, 262. 
 
 " Placards posted throughout the country said that laboring men in America 
 received from three to four dollars per day. (The New Yorkei; June 17, 1837.) 
 
 " j/fldisow Express, June 1, 1843. 
 
 ""North British Review, 18, 259. 
 
 [216] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS^ 1830-50 503 
 
 augnu'iited. Diirinu' the years 1845-1847 emigration to the 
 United States doubled, which shows the dissatisfaction with 
 conditions existing in the kingdom.®" 
 
 Of this imniigration a portion came west and in 1850 there 
 were 18,600 English settlers in Illinois.*^ Settlements were 
 made early at Albion,®- Carlyle^^ and Prairie du Long.®* 
 
 Shortly after the opening of the lead mines the Comish began 
 to settle there and grew rapidly in nnmbers.®^ At Nauvoo dur- 
 ing the days of Joseph Smith a great number of English con- 
 gregated. Missionaries sent to England by the Prophet never 
 returned without a band of converts. In 1840 the fir-st band 
 came®*^ and by 1844 it was estimated that of 16,000 saints then 
 in and around Nauvoo, 10,000 were English.®^ Other settle- 
 ments of less note were scattered over the state.®® 
 
 As a class the English did not make good prairie pioneers for 
 they knew little of agriculture as it was carried on in the great 
 western country, and of all immigrants they experienced the 
 most difficulty in settling down and yielding themselves to the 
 conditions of a new country. Their minds were hampered with 
 prejudices in favor of the ciTstoms and habits of the mother 
 country, which, combined with the lack of those qualities which 
 make good pioneers, kept the English from being classed with 
 the successful settlers of the new country.®^ 
 
 '^ Yuiicg, Report on J nun if/ration (1S72), 12. 
 
 '^^ Seventh Census (1850), xxxvi. 
 
 s- Flower, English Settlements in Edtrards Co. lU., 147. 
 
 "Ibid., lOr;. 
 
 «* Davidson and Stuv6, IlHnois, 349. 
 
 " Copeland. The Cornish in S'lutliircstern Wisconsin, in Wis. Hist. Collections, 
 14, 305. 
 
 «« Smith and Smitli, Latter Day Saints, 2, 450. 
 
 8' Lewis. Impressions of America, 265. See also Beadle, Life in Utah, 50; 
 Cincinnati Chronicle, Amj. 26, 1840; Kennedy, Early Days of llormonism, 219; 
 Neic York Weekly Herald, April 9, 1842 ; Niles' Reyistcr, 69, 144 ; 60, 304 ;: 
 63, 400 ; 04, 96. 
 
 ^Settlements were made at: Roekton, Winnebago county (Carr. Roekton, 
 16) : P.utler's Point, Vermilion county (Beckwith, Vermilion Co., 640) ; Dixon, 
 Lee county (History of Lee County, 177-185) ; La Salle, La Salle county (Bald- 
 win, La Salle County, 225-483) ; I'eoria (Ballance, History of Peoria, 201) ; 
 Ridott township, Stephenson county (History of Stephenson County, 268) ; Will 
 county {History of Will County, 659-906) ; McHenry counts' (History of 
 McHenry ( nunty. 637). 
 
 *» Latroljp, The RamUcr in North America, 3, 163. 
 
 [317] 
 
504: BULLETHS-^ OF THE UXIVEKSITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 Economic causes operated in Scotland after 1830 to cause 
 emigration. The gro^rtli of the wool industry compelled many 
 of the peasant class to leave the country during the decade 1831- 
 1840."° The famine of 1847 rendered many others destitute and 
 aided in increasing emigration."^ In 1834 they began to come 
 to Illinois and formed little settlements throughout that part 
 of the state north of Peoria."- By 1850 there were 4,660 Scotch 
 in Illinois."^ A&' citizens in the new country they were well 
 thought of on aceoimt of their frugality, sobriety and industry. 
 As agriculturists thej' ranked high, it being estimated that seven 
 of every twelve famili^ succeeded."* 
 
 Scandinavian immigration to the United States was slight in- 
 deed before 1830 but by 1850 there were settled in Illinois some 
 3,500 people of this nationality."^ The first Norwegians settling 
 in Illinois came from New York in 1834."^ They settled at 
 La Salle and Ottawa and at other points in the Fox river val- 
 ley."" The most interesting Scandinavian settlement in the 
 state was the Bishop Hill Colony in Henry county. Owing to 
 religious difficulties at home five hundred left for America in 
 1846 and settled in the above named county. By 1848 the set- 
 tlement numbered 1,200 souls and continued to flourish for some 
 years after 1850."^ Various other settlements were scattered 
 about the state at this date."" 
 
 »« Niles' Register, 40, 93. 
 
 *' Littel's Living Aye, 13. 97. 
 
 »- Settlements were made at : Argyle, Winnebago county (History of ^Vinne- 
 Myo County, 454) ; Dundee, Kane county (History of Kane County, 230) ; Will 
 county (History of ^yi^ County, 242, 659-90G) ; La Salle county (Baldwin, La 
 Salic County, 225-483) ; Peoria (Ballance, Peoria, 201). 
 
 0^ Seventh Census (1S50), xsxvi. 
 
 "^Collins, Emigrants' Guide, 77. 
 
 ^'^ Seventh Census (1850), xxxvi. 
 
 8" Baldwin, La Salle County, 164. 
 
 "' nis.toricnl Magarinc, -. 202. 
 
 »' Mikkelson, Bishop Hill Colony, in Jolins Hopkins University Studies, 10; 
 Bigelow, Bishop Hill Colony, in Transactions of the Illinois Historical Society, 
 (1902) ; Niles' Register, 7a, 2G0 ; Bremer, Homes of the New M'orld, 2, 67. 
 
 '"Beaver Creek, Iroquois county (Anderson, Norwegian Immigration. 200, and 
 Nelson, Scanilinavians in the United States, 1. 129) ; Rock Uun, Stephenson 
 county, (Ibid., 1, 132 ; History of Stephenson County, 255) ; Nettle Creek, 
 Grundy county (History of Grundy County, 287) ; Mercer county (Reynolds. Illi- 
 nois, 183) ; Lee county (History of Lee County, 767)f: Princeton, Bureau county, 
 (Taxpayers and Voters of Bureau County, 133) ; Andover, Henry county (Nel- 
 son, Scandinavians in the United States, 1, 217) ; Moline, Rock Island counts 
 (Lbid., 1, 217) ; Galesburg, Knox county (Ibid., 1, 217). 
 
 [218] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 505 
 
 French, Swiss, Portuguese, Poles, Welsh, Spanish, Belgians, 
 Dutch, Italians, Austrians, Danes, Greeks, Mexicans, West In- 
 dians, Hawaiians, South Americans and even Chinese were rep- 
 resented in Illinois in ISoO.^"*' Of these nationalities the French 
 were the most numerous. When the Americans first came to 
 Illinois the French settlements along the American Bottom and 
 at Peoria were practically the only ones in the territory. The 
 Americans with their new ways and ideas of government and 
 law caused such wonder and even distrust among this simple 
 people that many moved away. Those remaining assumed by 
 degrees the American manners and language, but became of 
 less importance politically and socially as the American settlera 
 increased in nimiber. Few indeed were the French immigrants 
 before 1830 and at no time during our period did the annual im- 
 migration to the United States number 10,000 save in the years 
 1846 and 1847.^°^ During the early days in the northern part 
 of the state lone French-Canadian cabins were often found 
 along the rivers, inhabited by traders in the employ of the 
 American Fur Company. 
 
 The first French colony of any importance to be established 
 in Illinois after 1830 was at Metamora, Woodford county, in 
 1831."- In 1837 another was established by the Piquet brothers 
 at Saint Marie, Jasper county. The colony numbered twenty- 
 five persons and o\^Tied 12,000 acres of land."^ An interesting 
 colony of French was located in Hancock county where three 
 hundred followers of Cabet lived in the old INIormon town of 
 Nauvoo. Coming to Illinois in 1849 they remained there for 
 several years seemingly enjoying prosperity but internal troubles 
 finally broke up the settlement."* In Kankakee county there 
 was a cluster of French-Canadian settlements, chief among 
 which was Bourbonnais, which had a population of 1,719 in 
 1850."^ Here the old Canadian customs were maintained for 
 
 ^o^Serenlh Census (1S50), xxxvi. 
 
 "" Vonns. Rcpfttt on Immigration (1ST2^, 12-lG. 
 
 ^o"- nistory of Woodford County, 268, 368. 
 
 i"3//i.v/o)i/ of Ctnnhirhtnd. Ja.-fir and Richland Counties, 484. 
 
 '»» i:e.vno!ds, Ulinois. liTl.' ; Open Court. Aiijr.ist liS. 1800; Iliads. American 
 Communities ; Shaw. Icarin ; Flillquit, Socialism in the United Sitates. 
 
 ^'xi Seventh Census (1850), xxxvl ; Campbell, Bourhonnais In Trantsactiona of 
 the Illinois State Historical Society, (1906). 
 
 [819] 
 
506 BULLETIX OF THE UNIVEKSITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 years. The other settlements in the state were of lesser im- 
 portance.^"^ 
 
 Swiss settlements in the state were few. A general business 
 stagnation in 1844 cansed a considerable number of Swiss to 
 leave their native land.^°^ In 1815 a Swiss colony from Neuf- 
 chatel had established itself at Dutch Hill in St. Clair county.^°^ 
 A portion of Lord Selkirk's Bed Eiver colony settled at Galena 
 in 1826.^*''^ In Madison county near Highland another colony 
 was begun in 1831. It grew slowly until 1844 when over one 
 hundred colonists were added making it the most important 
 center of Swiss settlement in the state.^^° 
 
 Two Portuguese colonies, one near Springfield and one near 
 Jacksonville were interesting additions to the population of 
 Illinois in 1849. Exiled from the island of Madiera in 1847 
 owing to religious differences with the Catholic rulers, they 
 landed on the island of Trinidad, from which a number came to 
 the United States subsequently settling in Illinois. It is diffi- 
 cult to state the number of people composing the colonies ac- 
 curately.^" 
 
 Of other nationalities but few representatives were in the 
 state. A Polish settlement was planned early in the thirties and 
 a grant of land obtained on the Rock river, but the colony never 
 materialized. There 'were, however, a fe-w Poles in the state.^^^ 
 In Kane county a considerable Welsh population grew up after 
 
 "'■Settlements were made at: Teoria (Ballance, Peoria. 201); Dixon, Lee 
 county {Historu of Lee County, 117-18.5) ; Rockton, Winnebaso county (Carr, 
 Rockton, 16) ; Will county {History of Will County, C50-90G) ; Iroquois county 
 (P.pckwith. Iroquois County, 336). 
 
 "' Luchsinger, New Glarus, in Wis. Hist. CoJUctionSj 12, 340. 
 
 '»' History of St. Clair County, 62. 
 
 "" Chetlain, Recollections of Seventy Years, 6. 
 
 "0 Steinach, Scluceizer Kolonien, 248, Newbauer, Miss., The Stviss Settlements 
 ill Madison county, Illinois in Transactions of the Illinois State Historical So- 
 ciety, (1006). 
 
 >" Number placed at forty-two (Seventh Census (1850), xxxvi,) History of 
 Sangamon County, 578, says, "On the 19th of October, 1849, nearly three hundred 
 left New York for their new homes in Illinois'* : Reynolds, Illinois, 183, "I presume 
 tlie whole would amount to five or six hundred sauls" : Dcutsch-.\m<ril:nnisch« 
 Geschichtshldtter, Jan. 1, 1904, 32, "Und Ton dort wurden In Jahre 1849 gegen 
 300 . . . nach Illinois gebracht." 
 
 "2 Beckwlth, Ycrmilion County, 763. 
 
 [220] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 507 
 
 1836."^ Chicago had a colony of Bavarian' Jews.^" and prob- 
 ably in this city could have been found the few Mexicans, Ital- 
 ians, Austrians and others which are enumerated in the census 
 of 1850. 
 
 To the influence of cheap land and easy communication, it 
 seems, can be traced the cause for the foreign population of 
 northern Illinois. When immigration from European countries 
 had reached large numbers the lakes were navigated by steam 
 and afforded easy access to the interior of the continent. As 
 a general rule the immigrants were of the lower classes of 
 European society and had little money to spend. Those who 
 wished to become farmers needed land, and lack of money 
 necessitated cheap land, which lay in the West. The great 
 port at the end of the lakes was Chicago, the doorway to the 
 prairies where government lands could be had in abundance 
 at exceedingly low prices. Towards this city the immigrant 
 made his way as an examination of the population of the coun- 
 ties around Chicago will show. 
 
 Other influences were probably at work also. The greater 
 part of the immigration to the United States was from north- 
 em Europe and in the minds of the people was a well grounded 
 dislike for the institution of slavery owing to the competition 
 arising from it 'in fields of labor. To this influence can be at- 
 tributed the fact that little of the cheap land of the Southwest 
 was taken up by foreigners. The climate may also have oper- 
 ated to turn the stream of immigration northward, for in the 
 northern states was found a climate more nearly corresponding 
 to that oj^ northern Europe and consequently more to the liking 
 of the immigrants, for here crops could be raised similar to 
 those raised at home 
 
 "3 History of Kane County, 228. 
 ^^* Historical Magazine, 7, 346. 
 
 [221] 
 
508 BULLETI]Sr OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN" 
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 The Mormons in Illinois 
 
 The decade 1841-50 in the history of Illinois settlement is 
 particularly and peculiarly interesting owing to the foundation 
 of several settlements, within the limits of the state, whose im- 
 pelling motive was either religion or a desire to build up a new 
 and reformed social structure. First in order of time came the 
 Mormons, a sect believing themselves thoroughly imbued with 
 the true religion and wishing, by taking up their abodes within 
 the limits of friendly Illinois, to escape the persecution which 
 had followed them from place to place. 
 
 It is not necessary to speak of the doctrines of the Mormon 
 church which have made this institution a source of suspicion 
 and distrust to society in general and of hatred to those who 
 have come into direct opposition to its members. Of its early 
 history little need be said save that after the discovery of the 
 Golden Plates by Joseph Smith the prophet, the church grefw 
 with rapidity. A permanent settlement was not to be founded 
 however, since the people who were compelled to live as neighbors 
 of the Latter Day Saints looked upon them with a feeling of 
 aversion. 
 
 First settling in Ohio, they afterwards moved to Missouri 
 where they lived in peace for a short space of time. Here again, 
 after accumulating much property and bringing their lands to 
 a high state of cultivation, they were driven from their homes 
 by the Missouri ans, who, incensed by thefts and robberies com- 
 mitted in the neighborhood of the Monnon colony, did not stop 
 to inquire into causes or to seek out the guilty ones but in the 
 midst of the winter of 1838-39 fell upon the settlement and ex- 
 pelled the whole church from the state. In the dead of winter, 
 
 [222] 
 
rOOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 509 
 
 siiifenng from hunger, cold and sielmess, numerous families set 
 out on foot walking the entire distance to Illinois.^ Others, by 
 virtue of a treaty made with the men of ]\Iissouri, were allowed 
 to stay until spring. They offered their lands for sale ai small 
 prices and even bartered fanns for wagons and teams^ by means 
 of which to convey their families out of the state. 
 
 In the spring of 1839, the main body of the Saints arrived 
 in Illinois w'here they told tales of persecution and privation 
 which, linked with the spectacle of utter destitution and wretch- 
 edness which they presented upon arriving, awakened the warm- 
 est sjniipathy among the citizens^ of Hancock county where they 
 landed. Great hospitality and kindness were shown them by 
 the Illinoisans. 
 
 The town of Venus, later called Commerce, containing a few 
 hundred inhabitants,* and occupying one of the most beauti- 
 ful sites on the Mississippi river w-as the destination of the 
 Mormon emigrants. Here they settled to the number of 5,000^ 
 and changing the name of Commerce to Nauvoo, which, accord- 
 ing to the Prophet means in the Hebrew "the beautiful," they 
 began to build their habitations. They were soon located at 
 different points all over Hancock county and to some extent 
 thi'ough the adjoining counties of Pike, Schuyler, McDonough, 
 Henderson and Warren. The largest settlements outside of 
 Nauvoo were at LaHarpe, Plymouth, IMacedonia, Green Plains 
 and ]Montebello — all in Hancock county,*' Besides land pur- 
 chased in Illinois, additional purchases were made in Iowa terri- 
 tory just across the river. Together the total amount of land 
 purchased was about $70,000 in value. ^ On the Iowa side of 
 the river some 2,000 people 'were located.^ 
 
 With almost incredible rapidity the town of Nauvoo sprang 
 
 ^ Smith and Smith, Illst. of the Church of Jesus Christ and of the Latter Day 
 Saints, 2, 340. 
 
 'Iliid., 2, 340. 
 
 3 Bennett. History of the Saints. 139. 
 
 * Overland Monthly, Hi, N. S., 020. 
 
 ' Buckingham, Eastern and Western States, 3, 193. For illustrations of 
 Nauvoo see Berry, The Mormon Settlement in Illinois in Transactions of tjho 
 niinois State Historical Society, fl906). 
 
 - Gregg, The Provlut of Palmyra, 1.jG. 
 
 ' yules' Register, 57. 320. 
 
 » Cincinnati Chronicle, Aug. 20, 1S40. 
 
 [223] 
 
510 BULLETIN- OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 up. By May, 18-40, about three hundred dwellings had been 
 greeted." These were block houses,^" small wooden dwellings,^^ 
 And occasional structures of more imposing size and appear- 
 ance.^- Many more were in the process of constraiction. The 
 city was laid out with geometrical exactness. In dimension, it 
 was four miles in length and three in breadth,^^ filling up the 
 semicircular bend made by the river. The streets were wdde, 
 crossing each other at right angles^* forming squares having 
 an area of four acres each. These squares were subdivided into 
 four lots of an acre each.^^ In the center of the city was the 
 Temple Block. 
 
 At the time of the coming of the IMormons, two political par- 
 ties were contending for supremacy in the state and the ad- 
 vent of so many voters necessitated the party leaders taking 
 steps to gain control of the new vote and consequently each vied 
 with the other in its efforts to conciliate the Saints.^** Just previ- 
 ous to the election of 1840, the politicians crowded aroimd the 
 Prophet offering various inducements, but Smith, who was a 
 shrewd man, if nothing else, wisely kept from giving pledges 
 to either side until his price was offered.^^ 
 
 The price asked and given proved to be a high one and one 
 which was to cause the citizens of the surrounding country as 
 well as the state officers much trouble before many years had 
 passed. Charters for the city of Nauvoo; for the Nauvoo Le- 
 gion, a military organization wholly under the control of the 
 city but nominally part of the Illinois militia; for the Nauvoo 
 University, and for manufacturing purposes was the price.^® 
 The Whig party, believing the price satisfactory, signified its 
 willingness to pay it and the Mormons at the command of their 
 leader cast a solid Whig vote, cutting down the Democratic 
 
 » Nilcs' Register, 58, 192. 
 
 " Smith and Smith, Latter Day Saints, 2, 450. 
 
 " Kennedy, Early Days of Mormonism, 200. 
 
 ^^ Ibid. 
 
 " Ibid. 
 
 " SmuclJer, History of the Mormons, 158. 
 
 " Overland Monthly, Hi, N. S., 620. 
 
 isAmberley, The Latter Day Saints In Fortnightly Revieic, 12, 524 
 
 " Kennedy, Early Days of Mormonism, 204. 
 
 *» Bennett, History of the Saints, 139. 
 
 [224] 
 
rOOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 511 
 
 majority in the state to 1,900, the lowest it had ever been ImowTi 
 to be.^" The charters were granted at the meeting of the state 
 legislature. 
 
 The charter to the city granted almost unlimited powers. 
 It established a government within a government.-" It placed 
 the legislative power of the city in the hands of a mayor, a vice- 
 mayor, four aldermen and nine counsellors.^^ This council, the 
 charter said "shall have power and authority to make, ordain, 
 •establish and execute all such ordinances not repugnant to the 
 constitution of the United States or this state as they may deem 
 necessary for the peace, benefit, good order, regulation, conven- 
 ience and cleanliness of the city. "^- This, it will be observed, 
 did not bind the Mormon council to obser\'e the individual laws 
 of the state and they could claim the right to establish 
 a distinct and independent code of laws and it so happened.-* 
 Jurisdiction within the city Avas granted to a municipal court 
 composed of the mayor acting as Chief Justice and the four 
 aldermen as Associate Justices.-* 
 
 A power as great, or even greater, was conceded in the char- 
 ter for the Nauvoo Legion. This was a military body composed 
 of divisions, brigades, cohorts, regiments, battalions and com- 
 panies under the command of the Prophet,-^ and at the disposal 
 of the mayor for executive purposes. The number of troops 
 "was 3,000.-*^ The university was organized with a President, 
 a Board of Regents and chairs of Mathematics, English Litera- 
 ture, Languages, Rhetoric and Belles Letters, and Church His- 
 tory." 
 
 For a time, the power granted by these several charters was 
 used wisely enough and Nauvoo prospered, but the plenitude of 
 power was too much for those in command and it was abused 
 eventually when the authorities of the city went so far as to 
 
 "Nonis and Gardiner, Illinois Annual Reyiiter and Western BusiiiAss Di- 
 rectory (1847), 40. 
 
 ^ Kennedy, Early Days of Mormonism, 209. 
 
 "'■ Ibid., 207. 
 
 "Ibid., 206. 
 
 -^ Amberley, The Latter Doy f^aints, in Fortnightly Rciieic, 13, 52G. 
 
 ** Kennedy, Early Days of Mormonism, 207. 
 
 ^^Ibid., 208. 
 
 =« Amberley, TJie Latter Day Saints, in Fortnightly Review, 13, 526. 
 
 " The Neic York Weekly Herald, Jan. lij. 1842. 
 
 15 [225] 
 
512 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVEKSITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 establish a recording office in Tvhicli alone transfers of land 
 could be recorded.-^ In addition to this an office for the issue 
 of marriage licenses was established which was in direct oppo- 
 sition to the rights of Hancock county.-^ At last it Avas pre- 
 sumed by the municipal council to ask that the mayor be 
 allowed to call in and use the United States troops whenever he 
 should deem it necessary for the protection of himself or fol- 
 lowers.^'' 
 
 Here, in the powers of the charters granted by the state of 
 Illinois to the city of Nauvoo lay both the strength and weak- 
 ness of the Mormon government. The strength was due to 
 privileges granted which allowed the feeling of security to the 
 inhabitants necessary to development; the wealmess, in the 
 jealousy aroused in the minds of the citizens of the surrounding 
 country due to the rapid advance of the Mormons in wealth 
 and the overbearing attitude arising therefrom. 
 
 Before following out the adverse effects of the charters upon 
 the Mormon Community, a glance must be taken at the rapid 
 development of the city in size and wealth. The latter part of 
 1841 and the early months of 1842 may be regarded as the high 
 tide of Mormon prosperity in Illinois, — "the season of peace- 
 ful sunshine before the storm. "^^ Great improvements were 
 made in the city during the time. Several hundred houses, 
 some of them brick and stone were erected,^^ and on April 6, 
 1841, the eleventh anniversary of the founding of the church 
 in New York, the cornerstone of the Temple was laid in the 
 presence of several thousand assembled Saints.^^ It was an 
 imposing structure of gray limestone^* and represented on out- 
 lay of $1,000,000.3'' 
 
 Industry did not lag in the meantime. Sawmills at Nauvoo 
 
 *^ Kennedy, Early Days of Mormonism, 207. 
 
 3» Ibid. 
 
 ^lUd., 221. 
 
 "^Nauvoo Times and Seasons, Sept. 15, 1841. 
 
 =' Gregg, The Prophet of Palmyra, 183. 
 
 "^ The building was one hundred and twenty feet by eighty feet. . It was 
 sixty feet in height and to the top of the dome measured one hundred and fifty 
 feet. (Ibid., 383.) 
 
 ^NeiD York Weekly Tribune, July 15, 1843. Gregg (383) cites an estimate of 
 the cost at $1,500,000, which he says is an exaggeration. 
 
 [226] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 513 
 
 and Black River Falls^*^ in Wisconsin were in operation, manu- 
 faeturino: lumber for building pui-poses. A steam flour mill, 
 a tool factory, a foundry and a factory for chinaware were in 
 busy operation, bearing testimony of Mormon industry.^^ The 
 city also owned a steamboat. ^^ 
 
 It is hard to fix the population exactly at this or any other 
 date during the colony's stay in Illinois, for the various writ- 
 ers seldom, if ever, agree. Estimates of the population of Nau- 
 voo during 1841 vary from 3,000^^ given by the Prophet him- 
 self to 10,000 given by a later writer.^'' Probably the former 
 is nearer the correct number. Estimates of the Mormon popu- 
 lation in Nauvoo the next year show similar discrepancies. 
 Agreeing upon one point alone, that the growth of the commun- 
 ity was wonderfully rapid, the authors proceed to place the 
 numbers at anywhere from 5,000*^ to 30,000.*- Here again, 
 fortunately, we have an estimate made by a Mormon and pub- 
 lished in the Nauvoo Times and Seasom, which places the popu- 
 lation of the city itself at 10,000.*^ Allowing for others 
 scattered through the towns around Nauvoo, 16,000" may be 
 said to cover the entire number. 
 
 In the latter half of 1842, Nauvoo had its greatest popula- 
 tion. Not only had the Saints from Missouri occupied the nefw 
 city, but hundreds from all over the country, complying with 
 the summons of the Prophet to assemble at Nauvoo and aid in 
 the construction of the Temple and the University, turned their 
 faces toward the home of the church and hastened to take up 
 their abodes either within the city or its immediate neighbor- 
 hood.*^ 
 
 ^'^ Brunson, A Western Pioneer, 2, 168. 
 
 2' Kennedy, Early Days of Mormonism, 199. 
 
 ^ Ibid. 
 
 3» Smith and Smith, The Latter Day Saints. 2, 501. 
 
 *^ Caswell, The Prophet of the ^'iiicteenth Century, 212. 
 
 "Gregg, The Prophet of Palmyra, 223. 
 
 «> The New York Herald, June 17, 1843. 
 
 *^ The New York Weekly Herald, Jan. 15, 1842 — copied from The Nauvoo Tlincs 
 and Seasons. 
 
 " Davidson and StuvC, History of Illinois, 498 ; New York Weekly Tribune, 
 July 15. 1848. estimates 15,00(3 — 17,000; Madison City Express. July 27, 1843, 
 copies from the Burlington Iowa Gazette and estimates 15,000 to 17,000. 
 
 " Gregg, The Proplwt of Palmyra, 162. 
 
 99, 
 
 n 
 
514 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 The plans of Joseph Smith were far-reaching and he deter- 
 mined that the sinners of other lands should be called to re- 
 pentance. Elders were appointed to go to England/" Scotland, 
 Ireland and Nova Scotia, besides others who were to spread the 
 new doctrine in the eastern states, Wisconsin Territory and 
 Galena.^^ Handsome young 'women were chosen also to aid in 
 the missionary work.*® 
 
 The work prospered, especially in England, from which place 
 many came to swell the congregation at Nauvoo. On June 6, 
 1840, a colon}'- of forty emigrants sailed from England, under 
 the leadership of Elder Moore.'*" Three months later the Liver- 
 pool Chronicle mentions the sailing of a packet from that port 
 having on board two hundred steerage passengers belonging 
 ^'to a sect called Latter Day Saints and boimd for Quincy in 
 the state of INIichigan, on the borders of the Mississippi, where 
 a settlement has been provided for them by one of their sect, 
 •who has purchased a large tract of land in Michigan. "^° 
 
 Occasionally newspapers recorded the movement of these col- 
 onies to Nauvoo. The Cincinnuti Chronicle, evidently mean- 
 ing the first colony mentioned, speaks of thirty Mormons ar- 
 riving in that city by keel-boat.°^ They had split into two par- 
 ties at Pittsburg and the route of the second party does not 
 seem to have been known by the writer. He, however, states 
 that another party of the same sect, (probably the larger party 
 which left in September) is on the way from England des- 
 tined for Nauvoo. In all there were two hundred and forty who 
 eame in 1840." 
 
 The years 1841, 1842, 1843, 1844 and 1845 saw additional 
 converts from foreign lands come to dwell under the direct 
 guidance of the Prophet.^^ The immigrants generally came in 
 
 <« Beadle, Lf/e m Utah, 59. 
 
 " A' ilea' Register, «4, 336. 
 
 *8 Jhid., 63, 400. 
 
 «» Smith and Smith, The Latter Day Saints, 2, 450 ; Kennedy, Early Days of 
 Mormonism, 219, states the colony was under the leadership of Brigham Young. 
 
 ^Niles' Register, 5», 144. 
 
 " Cincinnati Chronicle, Aug. 26, 1840. 
 
 " Kennedy, Early Days of Mormonism, 219. 
 
 "Smith and Smith, The Latter Day Saints (3, 1) give the following figures: 
 1841 (769) ; 1842 (1991) ; 1843 (769) ; 1844 (501) ; Kennedy, Early Days of 
 Mormonism (219), gives: 1840 (240) ; 1841 (1135) ; 1842 (1014) ; 1843 (769) ; 
 oo statistics for 1844 and 1845. 
 
 [228] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 515 
 
 large colonies numbering sometimes two,^'* three" or even five 
 himdrecP*' souls. They landed at various ports from Quebec^'^ 
 to New Orleans'^ and eame to Nauvoo either by way of the Ohio 
 or Mississippi river. The unanimous opinion of people coming 
 in contact with these emigrants on their way to the West was 
 that they were respectable looking^** farmers or mechanics and 
 by no means from the lowest classes in England,"^ people "who 
 would make good settlers if they were free from the infatua- 
 tion of Mormonism.'"'^ 
 
 This constant stream of immigration, it will be seen, did 
 much towards aiding the rapid gro-\\i;h of Nauvoo and the pe- 
 culiarity worthy of most attention seems to be that by far the 
 greatest number of foreign converts were English. One writer- 
 who visited Nauvoo during 1844 says that ''of the 16,000 fol- 
 lowers assembled at Nauvoo, 10,000 are said to be from Eng- 
 land.'"^- The other foreigners were from Germany and Scot- 
 land. 
 
 With increase of numbers, an increase of prosperity came and 
 with increased prosperity, more effort was made towards beau- 
 tifying the city. In the construction of houses taste was shown 
 and often evidences of wealth.''^ The work on the temple 
 progressed steadily, additional manufactures were added to the 
 number already in operation, evincing industry and economie 
 success.*'* NcAv farms were enclosed, the land was put under 
 cultivation and a general air of success pervaded the whole 
 neighborhood.^^ 
 
 Nauvoo impressed visitors in various ways. One visitor in 
 speaking of the city says, ''Such a collection of miserable 
 
 ^Xeic York Wceklij Herald, Apr. 9, 1842. 
 " Museum of Foreign Literature, 45, 9. 
 ^"X^iles' Register, «4, 96. 
 "/feid., 60, 304. 
 
 ■» Xew York "Weekly Herald, Apr. 9, 1842 ; Madison City Express, Apr. 25,. 
 1844. (From St. Louis Era.) 
 
 W-Veuj York Weekly Herald, Apr. 9, 1842; Cincinnati Chronicle, Aug. 26, 1840. 
 
 "• Museum of Foreign Literature. 45, 9. 
 
 '^^ Madison City Express, Apr. 23, 1844. (From The St. Louis Era.) 
 
 " Lewis, Impressions of America and the American Churches, 265. 
 
 '^Madison City Express, July 27, 1843. 
 
 ** Smucker, History of the Mormons, 159. 
 
 ^Ibid. .]] 
 
 [229] 
 
516 BULLETIN OF THE UXIVEESITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 houses and hovels I could not have believed existed in one 
 place. "«« 
 
 Other writers who have visited the place speak more highly 
 of it and some with marked enthusiasm. Among these a cer- 
 tain Mr. Newhall. who visited Nauvoo in the autumn of 1843, 
 published his impressions in a New England newspaper, giving 
 a description which is both vivid and interesting. He says, 
 "Instead of seeing a few miserable log cabins and mud hovels 
 which I had expected to find, I was surprised to see one of the 
 most romantic places that I had visited in the West. The 
 buildings, though many of them were small, and of wood, yet 
 bore marks of neatness which I have not seen equalled in this 
 country. The far-spread plain at the bottom of the hill was 
 dotted over with the habitations of men, with such majestic 
 profusion that I was almost willing to believe myself mistaken, 
 and instead of being in Nauvoo of Illinois among Mormons, 
 that I was in Italj^ at the city of Leghorn which the location of 
 Nauvoo resembles very much. I gazed for sometime with fond 
 admiration on the plain below. Here and there rose a tall 
 majestic brick house, speaking loudly of genius and the untir- 
 ing labor of the inhabitants. I passed on into the more active 
 parts of the city looking into every street and lane to obser-ve 
 all that was passing. I found all the people engaged in some 
 useful and healthy employment. The place was alive with 
 business — much more than any place I have visited since the 
 hard times commenced. I sought in vain for anji;hing that 
 bore marks of immorality but was both astonished and highly 
 pleased at my ill success. I could see no loungers around the 
 streets nor any drunkards about the taverns. I did not meet 
 with those distorted features of ruffianism or with the 
 illbred and impudent. I heard not an oath in the place. I 
 saw not a gloomy countenance, all were cheerful, polite and in- 
 dustrious.""'^ From this description we may conclude that 
 there was something to commend in Nauvoo and its inhabitants, 
 for the writer had visited many places in his trip through the 
 
 '»> Overland Monthly, 16, N. S. G17. 
 
 •' Smucker, History of the Mormons, 152. (Extract from the Salem (Ma^s.) 
 Advertiser.) 
 
 [230] 
 
rOOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS^ 1830-50 517 
 
 "West and had had abundant opportunities offered for compar- 
 isons. 
 
 The newly built dwellings of the rural districts around Nau- 
 voo did not present the same uniform prosperity. This can be 
 explained by the fact that these farms were just being opened 
 up and the habitations erected upon them were in keeping with 
 the general character of pioneer dwellings. 
 
 Such was Xauvoo, the city of the Latter Day Saints, when the 
 storm broke over them. The city itself was the largest one in 
 Illinois, having in 1845 some 15,000''® inhabitants. Next to St. 
 Louis, it was the most important central point and supply de- 
 pot of the western territory.''^ Some families had left by 
 1844, already anticipating a visitation similar to the one exper- 
 ienced in Missouri, but others had been added in greater num- 
 bers to take their places''' until by the end of 1844, 30,000 Mor- 
 mons resided in Nauvoo and its vicinity.'^ 
 
 In order to understand the expulsion of the Mormons, it 
 is necessary to return to the early history of the settlement. 
 Scarcely had the IMormons settled in Hancock county when 
 trouble arose. Several inhabitants of Shelby county became 
 converts, whereupon a mob attacked them. The Mormons in 
 retaliation secured warrants from Judge Breese calling for the 
 arrest of fifteen of the leaders, but the militia, when called upon 
 to assist in serving the warrants, flatly refused.'- 
 
 Little bj^ little the opposition grew, quietly at first, but 
 turned by later events into an open and bitter hostility. The 
 extraordinary privileges granted by the charter'^ to Nauvoo 
 were instrumental at first in exciting the envy and distrust of 
 the citizens of the surrounding country. An independent mili- 
 tary force devoted to the Prophet and the right claimed by 
 him to disregard warrants for the arrest of any person in Nau- 
 voo, if issued from other places, seemed more than the people 
 could bear. Moreover, .the political party which had not re- 
 
 «^ Beadle, Life in Utah, 134. 
 
 «» Chicago Tribune, Mar. 6, 188G. 
 
 '0 Nauvoo Times and Seasons, 5, 743. 
 
 " Smith and Smith, Latter Day Saints, 3, 1. 
 
 ^Xiles' Register, 5(5, 336. 
 
 " Amberley, The Latter Day Saints, ia Fortnightly Review, 12. 527. 
 
 [231] 
 
518 BULLETIN OF THE UXIVEKSITY OF WISCONSIN' 
 
 ceived the Mormon vote was exasperated and combining forces 
 with others, incensed by different causes, they conspired against 
 the power of the Saints. On December 9, 1842, a motion was 
 made in the legislature of Illinois to repeal the charter.^^ 
 Joseph Smith's brother, at that time a member, spoke earnestly 
 against the proceeding, appealing to the Locofoco party to 
 sustain his city. As a result no vote was taken and the Xauvoo 
 charter was safe for the time. 
 
 Reports also spread through the state that some Mormons 
 at the instigation of Smith, had made an attempt upon the life 
 of ex-governor Boggs of Missouri.'^' Some foundation was 
 given to the reports when Governor Reynolds issued requisition 
 papers for the arrest of Smith as a fugitive from justice. After 
 some delay, caused by the ]\Iormon authorities at Nauvoo, Smith 
 gave himself up for trial, and after being heard, was released, 
 owing to insufficient evidence being produced agaginst him.''^ 
 
 Still another episode helped to inflame the Illinoisans. Jolm 
 C. Bennett, at one time the right hand man of Smith and com- 
 mander of the Nauvoo Legion, quarreled 'with his chief and left 
 the city in great wrath.'^^ Having been for several years in 
 high circles in Nauvoo, he worked great harm to the Saints by 
 publishing an expose'^ of Mormonism, severe and scathing in its 
 nature, and substantiating in every respect reports of corrupt- 
 ness and immorality existing within the city. Eagerly grasp- 
 ing at anything which would give them a right to work ven- 
 geance upon the citizens of Nauvoo, many good and patriotic 
 men began to believe that Nauvoo was a second Sodom and a 
 foul spot which should be blotted out."^" 
 
 As time Went on the hatred increased and difficulties multi- 
 plied. One of the many charges made against these people 
 was that they were prone to appropriate the property of their 
 Gentile neighbors. ^° This was strenuously denied by the Mor- 
 
 "2V'i7cs' Register, «3, 304. 
 ■<*IUd., 63, 389. 
 ■"Ihid., «3, 389. 
 
 " Kennedy, Early Days of Mormonism, 222. 
 
 '» The work is entitled, Ilistory of the Saints : or an Expose of Joe Smith 
 and Mormonism, (Boston, 1842.) 
 
 ■» Kennedy, Early Days of Mormonism, 222. 
 *» Gregg, The Prophet of Palmyra, ISO. 
 
 [232] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS^ 1830-50 511^ 
 
 mons. Extremely poor when they arrived in Illinois, owing 
 to the fact that they had been dragged about from place to 
 place and robbed of their goods either by unbelievens or by the^ 
 elders of the church in attempts to accumulate property for 
 tiieir own personal benefit, the j\Ionnons had gained in wealth so 
 rapidly that their honesty was questioned. 
 
 The doctrines of the church did not support theft but they 
 did teach that, sooner or later, the goods of the Gentiles were 
 to fall into the hands of the Saints.*^ Since they were the true 
 children of the Lord to whom belonged the earth and its rich- 
 ness, it was only just and proper that the IMormons should ap- 
 propriate such portions as were deemed necessary.*- Such were 
 the allegations of their critics. 
 
 Out of fairness to that part of the Mormon population of 
 Nauvoo which believed in the church and tried to live moral 
 lives it must be said that probably a large number of the thefts 
 committed were the work of a class of horse-thieves, house- 
 breakers and villains who gathered in Nauvoo that they might 
 cloak their deeds in mj^stery.*^ This class cared nothing for re- 
 ligion and were baptised that they might find refuge in the city, 
 for refuge 'was given to all claiming a part in the church. 
 "When stolen property was traced to Nauvoo, which Avas often 
 the case, neither the owner nor even officers of the law were 
 able to recover it. Pursuers were set at defiance within the 
 Mormon stronghold, often robbed of their horses and driven 
 out of the city with insults.** Because of this protection it 
 was not long until thefts were committed in broad daylight 
 before the eyes of the farmers themselves who were powerless to^ 
 prevent depredations. 
 
 Moreover, it was charged that Nauvoo harbored a nest of 
 counterfeiters who operated in the surrounding county. *° Specie 
 alone would be taken at the government land offices in payment 
 for lands. These men would on occasions load their bogus 
 
 " Ibid. 
 
 ^Letter of Henrietta C. Jones in Stories of the Pioneer Mothers of Illinois. 
 (MSS. in 111. Hist. Library.) 
 "Gunnison, The Histoiij of the Mormons, IIG. 
 '*Nilc8' Register, «9, 110. 
 ^ New York Weekly Tribune, Jan. 5, 1S46. 
 
 [233] 
 
520 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 coin into a wagon, cover it with light articles of merchandise to 
 give the outfit the appearance of a peddler's wagon, and proceed 
 into land districts where specie was in demand. There they 
 would trade off their coin for paper money. Tales of the 
 *' spiritual- wife " doctrine were also afloat in the country, which 
 supported by the expose of Bennett added fuel to the fire. 
 
 Even this list of grievances shows but in part the reason for 
 the downfall of the Church of Mormon in Illinois. Jealousy, 
 rivalrj^ and dissension within the church itself at last opened 
 the road, by means of which the final expulsion took place. A 
 new church with "William Law as President was established 
 during the spring of 1844.^° Not satisfied Avith this move Law, 
 with the faction, decided to establish a newspaper in the strong- 
 hold of Mormonism with the avowed puipose of making an at- 
 tack upon the leaders of the church. Accordingly on June 7 
 of the same year, the Nauvoo Expositor appeared, bearing the 
 motto, "The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the 
 truth. ''^' It boldly attacked Smith and his associates for im- 
 morality. The first issue was the last, for on the tenth of the 
 month the city council declared the Expositor a nuisance and 
 the city marshal at the head of the police force destroyed the 
 press, while the editors fled from the city making appeals to the 
 laws of the state for redress.^^ 
 
 The action of the Mormon authorities was construed as an 
 attack upon free speech, liberty of the press and the right of 
 private property,'^^ and writs for the arrest of Joseph Smith 
 and others were secured at Carthage, the county seat of Hancock 
 county. ''° Officers were sent to make the arrests but after they 
 were effected the constable of Nauvoo produced a writ of habeas 
 corpus sworn out before the municipal court of the city and 
 compelled the release of the prisoners.^^ Feeling against the 
 Mormons ran high and many of them foreseeing serious trouble 
 
 »* Gregg, The Prophet of Palmyra, 237. 
 "Kennedy, Early Bays of Mormonism, 234. 
 
 MAmberley, The Latter Day Saints in Fortnightly Review, 12, 527; Nilea* 
 Register, GO, 278. 
 
 " Kennedy, Early Days of Mormonism, 234. 
 
 ooNiies' Register, 06, 278. 
 
 " Kennedy, Early Days of Mormonism, 239. 
 
 [234] 
 
rOOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLIXOIS, 1830-50 521 
 
 left the city. Joseph Smith phieed the city under martial law, 
 while armed bands of Gentiles formed throughout the country 
 enrolled under the sheriff's orders, ready to march upon Nau- 
 voo.^- 
 
 Here Governor Ford interfered. Coming to Carthage he 
 sent a message to the prophet demanding an explanation of the 
 trouble. Smith went in person to Carthage to make his defence 
 and was bound over, together with the members of the Nauvoo 
 city council, to appear at the following term of court. Almost 
 immediately after the hearing, the prophet with three followers 
 was arrested upon the charge of treason and thrown into jail.°^ 
 Rumors were afloat that an attempt would be made to rescue 
 the prisoners, and, to frustrate this plan, an entrance was forced 
 into the jail by a party of militia-men and both tlie Smiths were 
 murdered. °* 
 
 The Alormons in Nauvoo feared a general attack upon their 
 city, while a panic spread through Carthage. In two hours the 
 town was deserted. ]\Ien, women and children, all fearing 
 Mormon vengeance fled on foot, on horseback and in wagons. ^'^ 
 The shock was too great for the Mormons and they made no 
 attempt to take vengeance.''® Nine men were indicted, charged 
 with the murder of the Smiths but were acquitted after trial.®^ 
 
 The Mormon power, although it had received a severe blow, 
 was not broken. Brigham Young took up the reins of govern- 
 ment and Nauvoo gave promise of prosperity but another setback 
 was experienced almost immediately. The August election had 
 resulted in the success of the Mormon ticket in Hancock county 
 and officials obnoxious to the Gentiles were elected.^^ The pre- 
 vious September had seen a body of resolutions passed by the 
 citizens of the county stating that they would refuse to obey 
 officers elected by the Mormons.'*" This was followed in June, 
 1844, by another act, passed by the citizens of Warsaw, being 
 
 ''Klles' Register, 0«, 27S. 
 
 " Kennedy, Er.rJy Days of Mormonistn, 240-24' 
 
 ^* Niles' Register, CO, 311. 
 
 " Greg^, The Prophet of Palmyra, 280. 
 
 o^Niles' Reguster. GO, 329. 
 
 »' Gregg, The Prophet of Palmyra, 298. 
 
 »9/&iV/., 320. 
 
 »» Niles' Register, 05, 70. 
 
 [235] 
 
522 BULLETIN OF THE "CXIVEKSITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 miicli more threatening in character. The resolutions called for 
 the expulsion of the Monuons from the township and advised 
 the neighboring townships to adopt the same plan. Moreover, 
 they favored driving all Mormons into Nauvoo and demanding 
 from them their leaders. A refusal would be taken as a signal 
 for a war of extermination and, the resolutions continue "we 
 shall hold ourselves at all times at readiness to co-operate with 
 our fellow-citizens in this state, Missouri and Iowa to extermi- 
 nate, utterly exterminate, the wicked and abominable Mormon 
 leaders. "^00 
 
 The state legislature took up the matter in December, 1844, 
 and before the end of January, 1845, a bill to repeal all the 
 Mormon charters had passed both houses and the fate of Nau- 
 voo was sealed.^"^ Although at this time it was the largest and 
 most prosperous town in the state it began to decline in spite 
 of all etforts made by the Mormons to sustain it.^°- 
 
 For the remainder of the year 1845 the Saints remained at 
 Nauvoo and the vicinity but not unmolested. Over two hun- 
 dred houses belonging to Mormons were burned at Morle3i;own, 
 Bear Creek, and Green Plains.^°^ Deputies were sent to Young 
 in September telling him that the ^lormons 'were to be expelled 
 from the state, to which notification he replied that he had al- 
 ready determined to leave Nauvoo.^*** 
 
 A formal treaty was made to the effect that the Mormons- 
 should leave in the spring of 1846, provided they were protected 
 from attacks in the meantime and allowed to dispose of their 
 property in peace.^"^ Representatives from Brown, Pike, 
 Adams, Schuyler, Knox, Henderson and other counties, men of 
 high standing who earnestly desired the welfare of the state, 
 met in Carthage early in October and passed resolutions stating 
 that in their belief the removal of the Mormons was the only 
 solution to the existing difficulty and recommending to the peo- 
 
 "x>y«7es' Register, «0, 278. 
 
 "" Gregg, The Prophet of Palmyra, 321. 
 
 >»2 Smith and Smith, Latter Day Saints, 3, 122. 
 
 losGreg^', The Prophet of Palmyra, .';28 ; Beadle, Life in Utah, 137. 
 
 >** Amberley, The Latter Day Saints, In Furtniyhtly Review, 12, 534. 
 
 >«» Ihid. 
 
 [236] 
 
rOOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 523 
 
 pie of the surroiindinj? counties that the proposition of the Mor- 
 mons to move in the spring be accepted.^'*" 
 
 All during the winter of 1845-46 prodigious preparations 
 were made in Nauvoo for removal in the early spring. All the 
 houses and even the Temple were turned into workshops and be- 
 fore the river was clear of ice in the spring 12,000 wagons were 
 ready for use.^°^ AVhile the river was yet frozen and the cold 
 ^vas intense, the first band, numbering one thousand, left Nauvoo 
 for the West/"® but the great body of the Saints remained in the 
 city imtil they had performed a sacred duty — ^the completion of 
 the Temple. Although they knew they could never use it, yet 
 it was finished with elaborate care and consecrated early in 
 May.^o^ By the middle of the month 16,000"'' had left, leaving 
 only about one thousand who had not yet been able to dispose 
 of their property."^ 
 
 Some wished to remain, saying they had left the church and 
 »could no longer be obnoxious, others had not the means to get 
 away. The Gentiles, however, were not 'willing to agree to this, 
 Tjelieving that peace could not be restored as long as a vestige 
 ■of Mormonism was left. The prevailing sentiment was that 
 "'Every Saint, mongrel or whole-blood" and every thing that 
 looked like a Saint, talked or acted like a Saint, should be com- 
 pelled to leave.^^- 
 
 The more often the IMormons expressed a desire to remain in 
 Illinois the more determined were the citizens that they should 
 not. Things approached a crisis and it soon appeared that those 
 Mormons who remained, now probably six hundred in number, 
 seemed resolved to defend their city to the last.^^^ The Gentiles 
 T^egan to gather their forces and 1,200 under the leadei-ship of 
 Eev. Brockman laid regular seige to Nauvoo in September, 
 1846."® After a pitched battle, which resulted in the death of 
 
 *** Gregg, The Prophet of PaUnyra, 335. 
 
 "'Beadle, Life in Utah, 142. 
 
 ><" Gregg, The Prophet of Palr,iyi-a, 343. 
 
 >»» Amberley, The Latter Day Saints, in Fortnightly Revlcic, 12. 534. 
 
 »>» Smith and Smith, Latter Day Saints, 3, 1G4. 
 
 »■» Beadle, Life in Utah, 142. 
 
 "- Madison Express, Feb. 12, 184G. 
 
 '^'^^Kiles' Register, 7, 272. 
 
 "' Amberley, The Latter Day Saints, In Fortnightly Rei-lcw, IS, 534. 
 
 [23T] 
 
52-i BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN" 
 
 several on each side,"^ the Mormons surrendered and agreed to 
 leave the state at onee.^^^ 
 
 Naiivoo was now abandoned save for the lone jMormon agent 
 who remained in charge of the property,"^ wistfully looking 
 for purchasers or tenants, and waiting for any possible answer 
 to the following advertisement : 
 
 "Temple for Sale. 
 The undersigned Trustees of the Latter Day Saints propose to 
 sell the Temple on very low terms, if an early application is 
 made. The Temple is admirably designed for Literary or Re- 
 ligious purposes. Address the undersigned Trustees. 
 
 Almon W. Babbitt, 
 Joseph L. Heywood, 
 Jolm S. Fullmer. 
 Nauvoo, May 15, 1846."^^^ 
 
 To Illinois, the expulsion of this sect seems to have been a 
 blessing, for peace and quiet had for years been almost unknown 
 in that portion of the state lying around the Mormon strong- 
 hold. Of the four religious or communistic settlements in Ill- 
 inois this one alone was not welcome, and alone of all was not 
 allowed to work out its o'vvn destiny unmolested. One reason 
 may be assigned. The people of the state firmly believed the 
 Mormons nothing more than a band of imposters and rascals. 
 While the ]\Iormon settlement in Illinois is an exceptional case 
 in the settlement of the state it can be considered as a phase 
 of the westward expansion. It is an example of a body of 
 religious enthusiasts attempting to find a place on the frontier 
 where they could put into operation their social and religious 
 views. 
 
 Originating in western New York which Avas a hot-bed for 
 religious excitement, the followers moved to Ohio, then to JVIis- 
 souri, then to Illinois and finally to the far West. Smith was 
 bom in Windsor county, Vermont, and moved to New York in 
 1815. The people among whom he found himself were ex- 
 
 "omiea' Register, 71, 64. 
 
 "' Wai-smo Signal, Oct. 13, 1846. 
 
 "'HlHqult, History of Socialism in the United States, 129. 
 
 •'"JVauioo yew Citizen, Feb. 24, 1847. 
 
 [238] 
 
rOOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 525 
 
 treinely religious and superstitions. Prophecies and miracles 
 were believed in and the Bible accepted literally making the 
 state a natural field for wild religious speculation. With in- 
 creased converts came the vision of a community devoting itself 
 entirely to the teachings of the Book of Mormon. The frontier 
 was the natural place for such a community to work out its 
 destiny and a home was sought, first in Ohio, then in Missouri 
 and then in Illinois. 
 
 However free the life and thought of the West might be it 
 could not be brought to agree with or even, at last, to allow the 
 exercise of views which seemed to be pernicious and destructive 
 to religious and social order. The expulsion of the Mormons 
 from IMissoui-i and from Illinois shows another pioneer char- 
 acteristic yet in the early stages of development. It was one 
 of the first signs of "border ruffianism" which was developed 
 so rapidly in the Kansas struggle of the next decade. In this 
 early stage the characteristic displayed was the beginning of the 
 intolerant spirit towards a disliked institution. The expulsion 
 was arbitrary; it was done simply because of antagonism and 
 while iMormon ideals, beliefs and customs can in no way be sup- 
 ported, the action of tlie citizens of the states is open to con- 
 demnation. 
 
 In some ways the city of the Mormons followed the general 
 tendency and laws of development of western towns. Situated 
 on a convenient transportation line and having a good back 
 country to draw upon, it was boimd to grow should external 
 conditions not hinder. The development cannot, however, be 
 attributed to natural causes at work in the western country; 
 but it must be attributed to an immigration growing under 
 fanatical religious pressure and here again Nauvoo is the ex- 
 ception in westward expansion. Aside from the desire of a 
 body of people to 'work out a social, communistic and religious 
 experiment near the frontier line, the Mormon colony is not 
 t\'pical in the western movement. 
 
 [239] 
 
v$26 BULLETIN OF THE TTNIVEESITY OF WISCOlSrSIN 
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 Communistic Settlements in Illinois 
 
 Before the Mormons were driven from Illinois, another inter- 
 esting community Avas established within the bounds of the 
 state. The newcomers were followers of the French socialist, 
 Pourier, and were putting to a practical test the theory ad- 
 vanced by this man. The workings and life of the two settle- 
 ments founded in Illinois seem to have attracted but little at- 
 tention and abnost nothing is known of the communities save 
 that one of them numbering over one hundred members existed 
 for a year and a half in Sangamon county. Of the earlier ex- 
 periment in Bureau county nothing is known. 
 
 Fourier, the father of the theory, founded his philosophy of 
 human relations to God, the v/orld and fellowmen upon the basis 
 of harmony. God created the universe on an harmonious plan, 
 hence harmony was the kejTiote of all things. Within each 
 person certain instincts and passions predominate and where- 
 ever these passions and instincts were properly developed for 
 the good of society, there the ideal state was to be found. 
 
 For the proper development of the Phalanx, the basic unit 
 of the system, three square miles of land were necessary upon 
 which was to be built the Palace or common house. Every- 
 thing was held in common and division of labor was highly 
 developed. Farmers, capitalists, scientists and artists all had 
 their spheres of employment. To each laborer a fixed sum was 
 paid according to the amount of work he did and according to 
 his ability. All profits went to a common fimd. All children 
 received equal instruction and from earliest childhood were 
 trained for the Phalanx according to their inclination.^ 
 
 ' Ilillquit, Ilhtory of Socialism in the United States, 85. 
 
 [340] 
 
POOLKY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 527 
 
 Practical tests of these dreams were made and, through the 
 efforts of Albert Brisbane, Fourierism was introduced into the 
 United States.- Societies were formed in Massachusetts, New 
 York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin, 
 ]\Iichigan and Illinois. As a rule they were shortlived affairs 
 and the ones in Illinois were no exception to the rule. 
 
 Bureau county was the scene of the first experiment in Ill- 
 inois. No definite information is obtainable concerning the 
 number of members, the amount of land held by the society 
 or the length of life of the commimity. It had its beginning 
 in 1843 and was apparently a venture which met with no suc- 
 cess.^ 
 
 Two years later the Integral Phalanx began its life in San- 
 gamon county, a few miles from Springfield. The settlement 
 had one hundred and twenty members and owned over five 
 hundred acres of land. Five or six buildings were erected 
 upon the land besides the large central building which was a 
 two-story structure, three hundred and sixty feet long and 
 twenty-four feet wide.* 
 
 In actual life this community, while intending ultimately to 
 follow out Fourier's idea in its details, does not seem to have 
 conformed to the established rules during the early days of its 
 existence. A correspondent to the New York Tribune wrote 
 that "until the members were prepared to organize they in- 
 tended to operate on a system of hired labor and pay each in- 
 dividual a full compensation for all assistance rendered in labor 
 or other services and charge each a fair price for 'what he re- 
 ceived from the common store house of the Phalanx. What 
 remained to each individual was then credited to him as stock 
 and drew ten per cent, compound interest. "° A further evi- 
 dence that the community was never thoroughly organized as a 
 Phalanx operating upon a communistic basis is found in the 
 same article, for the correspondent says; ''It is better that the 
 different families should remain separate for five years than 
 
 *Ibid., 87. 
 
 ' Uinds, American Communities, 224. 
 
 * A'eu? York Weekly Tribune, Nov. lu, 1845. 
 
 5 Ibid. 
 
 16 [241] 
 
528 BULLETIN OF THE "UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 to bring them together under circumstances worse than civil- 
 ization." The venture lasted but seventeen months.^ Prob- 
 ably only the more enthusiastic members moved away to similar 
 settlements in other places, the others remaining to take advan- 
 tage of the excellent farming country. 
 
 Next in order of time came the Swedish colony at Bishop Hill 
 in Henry county. It was both religious and communistic in 
 character. 
 
 In Sweden no one was allowed to worship excepting accord- 
 ing to forms of the established Lutheran church. In 1825 a 
 split came in the church. A new sect composed of peasants and 
 a few of the clergy, and known as the Devotionalists arose in 
 the province of Helsingland.'^ For seventeen years these De- 
 votionalists, under the guidance of their liighly respected leader 
 Jonas Olson, assembled unmolested to read their Bibles, still 
 enjoying their privileges as full members of the Established 
 Church.^ The work of the Devotionalists was commendable 
 for it tended towards furthering industry and sobriety among 
 the peasant class whose morals had been very low. 
 
 Erie Jansen, who was also the head of a dissenting sect now 
 (1842) appeared upon the scene, speaking with great effect to 
 various assemblages of Devotionalists. The Jansonists had been 
 cast out of the Established Church in 1834 and from that time 
 had been subjected to persecutions by the orthodox party.* 
 Jansen had been imprisoned but escaped through Norway to 
 Denmark and thence to New Tork.^** 
 
 A large number of Swedes having now become dissatisfied 
 with the state of religious affairs in their native land resolved 
 to emigrate. The Jansonists included many among their num- 
 ber who were miners and poor peasants unable to bear the ex- 
 pense of a voyage to America. To remedy this, the idea of 
 making the colony communistic was conceived and carried out.^^ 
 A messenger sent in 1845 to seek a place suitable for a colony, 
 
 'Hinds, Americuii Conuniimtirs, i:24. 
 
 ' Mikfcelsen, The Bishop HUl Colony, In Johns Hopkins Univ. Studies, 10, 15. 
 
 » Ibid. 
 
 oiUd., 24. 
 
 " Nelson, Scandinavians in the United States, 2, 2-3. 
 
 " Mikklesen, The Bishop Hill Colony, in Johns Hopkins Univ. Studies, 10, 27. 
 
 [242] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 529 
 
 upon arriving in New York, was directed to Victoria, Kjiox 
 county, Illinois. A satisfactoiy location having been found 
 and the news conveyed to Sweden, preparations for departure 
 were completed. 
 
 In the early summer of 1846 between four and five hundred 
 emigrants^- set sail from Sweden, landing at New York where 
 they were met by Eric Jansen, who acted as their conductor to 
 Illinois. The scant means of the party were almost exhausted 
 upon landing and as they were still far from their destination 
 a serious problem confronted them. It is said that some of the 
 men traveled the whole distance from New York on foot while 
 the women and children were sent by way of the Erie canal 
 and the Great Lakes to Chicago. From Chicago to Henry 
 county (the destination having been changed from Knox county 
 owing to the reported unhealthful climate of that place) all 
 excepting the weakly, women and children journeyed on foot, 
 a distance of more than one hundred miles.^^ 
 
 The Harbinger in speaking of the party as it left Chicago 
 in September, 1846, says that on the faces of these immigrants 
 there were expressions of patient, intelligent endurance. "They 
 were not bowed down with weakness and care like the French 
 and Italian emigrants, nor stem and stolid like the newly arrived 
 Germans, nor wild and vehement like many of the Irish — they 
 walked erect and firm, looking always hopeful and contented 
 though very serious," and the greatest gentleness and good will 
 prevailed among them.^* When they arrived in Hen'ry county 
 they purchased land and named their new home Bishop Hill in 
 honor of the birth place of Jansen. ^^ 
 
 It could not be said that their lives were happy during the 
 first winter in Illinois. They lived in several log houses, two 
 tents and a dozen "dug-outs."^*' Their fare was no better than 
 their lodgings — pork with bread baked from the commeal ground 
 bv their mill furnished their food. "When the stream which 
 
 " Xelson, Scandinavians in the United States, 2, 2-3 ; Bigelow, The Bishop 
 Hill Colony in the 111. Hist. Society Transactions (1902), 101-108. 
 "Hinds, American Communities, 303. 
 " The Harbinger, 3, 257. 
 " Hinds, Amet'ican Communities, 303. 
 *" Nelson, Scandinavians in the United States, 2, 3. ; 
 
 [243] 
 
530 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVEKSITY OF WISCONSIN" 
 
 turned the mill wheel could not be used, the work was done by 
 two or three men. Scanty fare and poorly ventilated apart- 
 ments soon brought on disease and the new settlers were either 
 shaking with ague or burning with fever. Cholera appeared 
 and a score died, while many fled to escape this scourge.^' 
 
 During 1847 four hundred more arrived and by the close of 
 the following year there were 1,200 in the settlement.^^ Cholera 
 broke out again in 1849 and checked immigration.^® 
 
 Like the Puritans the first thoughts of the Swedish settlers 
 were for a church and a school. A large tent-° (some say a 
 log structure) -"^ was erected for divine services. In summer 
 the meetings were held in the open air. A mud cave at first 
 answered the purpose of a school house.-^ 
 
 During the first year at Bishop Hill the colonists divided 
 their waking hours between labor and worship save the time 
 when they gathered around the common tables. "At five in 
 the winter and four in the smumer the bell summoned them to 
 their morning devotions which sometimes lasted two hours. "^^ 
 Sometimes at noon and after the evening meal services were 
 again held. A school of theology was instituted and young 
 men after studying the English language a few months, were 
 sent forth to convert the United States and the world.^* Their 
 success was moderate, the Yankees being especially hard to 
 convert since they were "too busy inventing bad clocks and 
 peddling cheap tinware to listen to what the niissionaries had 
 to say."2» 
 
 Farming was carried on extensively and was well done.^' 
 Thousands of acres of land were cultivated and hundreds of 
 cattle and horses went to make up the wealth of the settlement.^^ 
 
 " ninds, American Communities, 305. 
 
 " BlgeJow, Tiie Bishop Hill Colony In the 111. Hist. Society Transactions 
 U902), 101-108; yil€8' Register, 70, 260; gives the population as 1.100. 
 
 " Blgelow, The Bishop Hill Colony in the 111. Hist. Society Transoiction* 
 ('1902), 101-108. 
 
 * Hinds, American Communities, 305. 
 
 ° Nelson, Scandinavians in the United States, 2, 3. 
 
 " Hinds, American Communities, 305. 
 
 » IMd., 30G. 
 
 "Nelson, Scandinavians, in the United States, 2. 4. 
 
 »Mikklesen, The Bishop Hill Colony in Johns Hopkins Uwiv. Studies, 10, 31. 
 
 " Nelson, Scandinavians in the United States, 2, 4. 
 
 " Hinds, American Cornmunitiea, 310. 
 
 [244] 
 
rOOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS^ 1830-50 531 
 
 ]\Ien, women, boys and girls alike worked in the fields.-* Flax 
 and broom corn were produced, and as many of the colonists had 
 been expert weavers in their native land they pursued the in- 
 (histiy in their new homes.-" Sawmills were erected and fur- 
 nished an abundance of lumber.^'' The manufacture of kiln- 
 dried bricks became one of the industries.^^ 
 
 By 1850, when the greatest prosperity of the colony began, 
 nearly every province of Sweden was represented at Bishop 
 Hill, which was, at that time, by far the most populous and im- 
 portant settlement in Henry county.^- Between $10,000 and 
 $15,000 in gold had been put into circulation by these Swedes 
 in purchasing land and the necessaries of life, which, since trade 
 in the section of the state was being carried on almost entirely 
 by barter, was a matter of no little importance to the people.'^^ 
 
 Dissension finally arose within the colony and culminated in 
 the murder of Jansen in 1850.^* As has been stated the Bishop 
 Hill settlement was communistic in character and the wealth 
 of the colony which was held in common was controlled by 
 seven trustees who held office subject to the approval of the 
 male members of the colony.^^ The common dining hall, where 
 the whole community numbering more than a thousand were 
 fed, was a feature distinctly communistic.^*' The trustees were 
 provided for by a charter granted to the colony by the legisla- 
 ture of Illinois in 1853. Two years later financial entangle- 
 ments due to unsuccessful speculation by the trustees caused 
 the dissolution of the colony,^^ and here ended perhaps the most 
 successful experiment among the communistic settlements of 
 Illinois. 
 
 In the closing years of the decade 18-11-1850 another social 
 experiment was begun on the site of the Monnon city, Nauvoo. 
 
 ^ Ihid., 307. 
 
 "Nelson, Scandinniians in the United Slates, -, 4. 
 
 ^"Ihid., 4. 
 
 ^ Hinds, American Communities, SIO. 
 
 ^ Mikklesen, The Bishop Hill Colony In Johns Hopkins Univ. Studies, 10. 30. 
 
 33 Ibid. 
 
 « Bremer, The Homes of the New World, 2, 67-70. 
 
 "Hinds, American Communities, 311. 
 
 morbid., 310. 
 
 "Nelson, Scandinavians in the United States, 2, G. 
 
 [245] 
 
532 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 The founder was M. Etienne Cabet, a Frenchman, whose child- 
 hood had been passed during: the stormy days of the French 
 Revohition and whose youth had witnessed the struggle of 
 France in her vain endeavor to satisfy the ambition of Napo- 
 leon, It is scarcely to be wondered at that this man who was 
 one of some ability as a statesman and a writer should have 
 conceived a plan by means of which he thought to correct the 
 corrupt organization of society. The abolition of self-interest 
 and selfishness must, he believed, be effected; common o^vner- 
 ship of property must be established; freedom of religion must 
 be tolerated; women must be given the same social rights as 
 men and equality be made the basis of society.^^ 
 
 These communistic doctrines met with much support among 
 the common people of France but not with the higher classes. 
 Not only were the French interested but other nationalities and 
 in foreign countries the better classes of artisans seemed to be 
 the ones most in favor of Cabet 's teachings.^® By the Social- 
 istic paper La Populaire, Cabet 's ideas were disseminated 
 among the artisans of Germany, Spain, Italy and Switzerland — 
 every^vhere that the French language could be read. By 1848 
 some 400,000 people adhered to the Icarian doctrine.*" 
 
 Owing to the fact that it was not generally accepted in France, 
 Cabet decided to move to America and establish his settlement 
 there. Thousands who wished to go had not the means, so 
 sixty-nine were chosen as a vanguard, from among those who 
 could afford to make the voyage, and in February, 1848, they 
 left Havre bound for New Orleans.*^ Fifteen hundred were 
 soon to follow, but upon the establishment of the Second Repub- 
 lic in 1848 it seemed as if better days were coming in France, 
 and the greater part of those intending to leave for America 
 changed their plans and remained at home. Later in the year 
 four hundred came.*- The destination of the colony was Texas" 
 but it was not long before the dream of a commimity farm of 
 
 ^ Reynolds, Illinois, 374. 
 
 »» Robinson, A Social Experiment in The Open Court, Aug, 28, 1890. 
 
 " IMd. 
 
 " Ibid. 
 
 « IMd. 
 
 ** Hinds, American Communities, 328. 
 
 [246] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS^ 1830-50 533 
 
 a million acres in that state faded away under a series of hard- 
 ships too severe for the people to stand. On January 1, 1849, 
 Cabet landed in New Orleans.** The colony now consisted of 
 four hundred and eighty souls with an average capital of 
 thirty-five dollars per individual.*^ 
 
 The Texas venture was a failure. Some were discouraged 
 and gave np;*^' others remained firm, determined to carry out 
 their original plan of a colony based upon a proper social 
 structure. Exploring parties were sent out to seek a more 
 favorable location and Nauvoo was selected.*" Brigham Young 
 when he had organized the migration to Salt Lake had left the 
 Mormon property at Nauvoo in the hands of an agent who re- 
 mained waiting for a purchaser. This was an excellent op- 
 portunity for the Icarians, since the land was well cultivated 
 and there were good houses all of which could be obtained at a 
 nominal figure. Eight hundred acres of land were rented and 
 a mill, distillery and several houses were purchased.*® Here, 
 dispirited and homesick as they were, the Icarians attempted 
 to carry out their ideas of a reorganized social life, as well as 
 circumstances would allow. 
 
 A constitution was drawn up setting forth the fundamentals 
 of governmental and social structure. The idea was to replace 
 the old world by a new one; to supplant the rule of Satan by 
 the rule of God ; moral death by regeneration ; ignorance by edu- 
 cation; domination and servitude by enfranchisement and lib- 
 erty; aristocracy by democracy; and monarchy by republican- 
 ism. Furthemiore, they desired to replace excessive opulence 
 of a few by the well-being of all; to substitute a religion of 
 reason which would induce men to love each other, for religions 
 mixed with superstition, intolerance and fanaticism; to adopt a 
 social organization in which the word "society" would no 
 longer be mockery and falsehood; to replace individual prop- 
 erty, the source of all abuse, by social property; to purify the 
 institutions of marriage and family by educating women as 
 
 " Robinson, A Social Experiment in The Open Court, Aug. 28, 1890. 
 
 « Ibid. 
 
 ** Reynolds, Ilrinois, ;^72. 
 
 "Robinson, A Social Experiment In The Open Court, Aug. 28, 1890; Miller, 
 Mrs. J. G., The Icarian Community of Nauvoo, Illinois In Traneactiona of tbe 
 Illinois State Historical Society, (1906). 
 
 ** Ilillquit, Uistoiy of SociaUam in the United States, 129. 
 
 [247] 
 
534 BULLETIN OF THE UXIVEKSITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 well as men and allowing them imrestrieted choice in the selec- 
 tion of husbands, and finally to base all upon liberty, equality 
 and fraternity.*^ 
 
 Unity, solidarity, equality and respect of law 'were to be per- 
 fected by having all live as one family, assuming mutual re- 
 sponsibility, suppressing servitude and submitting to the rale 
 of the majority. The exercise of natural liberty should extend 
 tc the right of defense from attack, social liberty should not be 
 exercised beyond the law while political liberty consisted in as- 
 sisting to make laws. The fundamental guiding principle was to 
 be found in the maxim "Love thy neighbor as thyself."^'' 
 
 All male members over twenty-one years of age were allowed 
 to take an active part in the government. All branches of so- 
 ciety were under the supervision of committees and education 
 was given special attention, for in the younger generation Cabet 
 hoped to see the realization of his ideals of social and govern- 
 mental structure, and the children 'were educated accordingly 
 by the community, living together as a single family. 
 
 The everyday life of the community was simple but inter- 
 esting. Each member worked according to his strength, labor- 
 ing ten hours a day. On Sunday lectures were given on moral 
 and religious subjects; dancing and the enjoyment of nature 
 were indulged in during the day while theaters and concerts 
 were held in the evening. The business of the community was 
 discussed on Saturday evening.'^^ 
 
 The industry of the members, their peaceful and orderly 
 habits caused them to be esteemed by their American neighbors. 
 They Avere a sociable and intellectual people living a better life 
 than could have been lived under a system of individualism and 
 they formed a pleasant contrast to the people avIio had occupied 
 the site of their colony only a few years before. 
 
 Financial troubles, however, at last caused dissension and 
 numbered the Icarian community among the failures of social- 
 istic experiments. The colony divided, part going with Cabet 
 to St. Louis and the remainder to lowa.^^ 
 
 *' Charter and ByLaics of the Icarian Community, 7-8. 
 
 ''Olhid., 9-16. 
 
 " Reynolds, JUinois, 376. 
 
 ""Robinson, A Social Experiment in Tlic Open Court, Sept. 11, 1890. 
 
 [248] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS^ 1830-50 535 
 
 There were a uuinber of smaller colonies in the state based 
 upon plans of a more or less eonnuunistic nature. In the Ill- 
 inois river valley^" were the Tremont, Delavan and Mackinaw 
 colonies in Tazewell county and the Rockwell colony in La Salle 
 county; in the ^Military Tract'* there were the Andover, Weth- 
 ersfield and Geneseo colonies in Henry county, the Hampshire 
 and Providence colonies in Bureau county and Gale's colony 
 in Knox county; in Eastern Illinois'^ there were the Rhode 
 Island and Hudson colonies in McLean county, the German 
 colony at Teutopolis, Effingham county, the French Colonie des 
 Frercs in Jasper county and Noel Vasseur's Canadian colony 
 at Bourbonnais, Kankakee county. 
 
 It was generally the plan of the organizers of these colonies 
 to form stock companies, purchase land and allot tracts of it 
 to the members of the companies in proportion to the amount 
 of stock held.^*' Some of the colonies were chartered by the 
 state. ^^ Often a common house was erected by the company 
 for the accommodation of the settlers until homes could be pro- 
 vided for the families. ^^ 
 
 These colonies may be taken as a phase of the westward move- 
 ment which seems to have appealed particularly to New Eng- 
 landers and Ncav York. There had been, since earliest times, 
 a desire among New Englanders to live in compact settlements. 
 From political and religious instincts the earliest settlers in 
 New England clung closely together. This tendency was 
 strengthened by Indian wars and physiographic influences. 
 It appears that, although many New Englanders came west 
 alone trusting to individual efforts to establish homes in the 
 new country, there was also a distinct movement to settle in 
 
 "See Ch. IV. for details of settlement and growth. 
 
 " Ch. v. 
 
 "tTi. VIU. 
 
 =»Tbe Delavan company had a capital of $44,000 and held 23.000 acres of 
 land {ch., IV.) ; the Wethersfleld colony had a capital of $25,000 and held 20,- 
 000 acres of land (c/t., V) ; the Rhode Island colony had a capital of $12,500 
 (eft., V7/7) : the I'rovidence colony held 17,000 acres (ch., V) : the German colony 
 at Teutopolis held 10,000 acres (ch., VIII) ; and the French colony In Ja^er 
 county had 12,()<i0 acres (ch., VIII). 
 
 "The Rhode Isuand Colony in McLean county was chartered by the state of 
 Illinois (Ch. VIII). 
 
 "The I'rovidence colony (ch., V), the Delavan and Mackinaw colonies all 
 provided common houses (ch., IV). 
 
 [249] 
 
536 BULLETIN OF THE UXIVEKSITY OF WISCOISrSIN 
 
 colonies. From New York, also, similar attempts were made, 
 but when one remembers that western New York was settled 
 by New Englanders shortly after the Revolution, an explanation 
 may be foimd in the New England origin of the New Yorkers. 
 Probably many of these colonies which were planned in the 
 thirties are due to the spirit of speculation which was rife in 
 the country at the time. It is equally true that the financial 
 difficulties of the closing years of that decade brought many of 
 these ventures to an untimely end. Still another idea may have 
 been in the minds of the promoters. The great prairies of the 
 West could hardly be occupied successfully by individuals but 
 ■until the concerted efforts of numbers it seemed that success 
 could be obtained. Occasionally religion played a part in the 
 birth of new colonies but it appears that the religious and social 
 influences acted more strongly in those ventures which foreign- 
 ers attempted. 
 
 In the cases of the Phalanx and of Icaria can be seen an in- 
 teresting phase of the westward expansion. These were at- 
 tempts by a number of enthusiasts to put into operation cer- 
 tain social ideals which they held. The frontier, or at least 
 the new westera coimtry, was the most favorable X)lace for these 
 experiments, for here the members believed they could work 
 out their plans unhampered. Illinois was still enough of a 
 frontier state to allow the greatest possible social freedom and 
 yet it lacked the dangers of the extreme frontier. 
 
 The foUc^wers of Fourier were quiet, peaceful agriculturists 
 who preached no doctrine harmful to society and they were con- 
 sequently allowed to remain undisturbed, being regarded by the 
 people of Illinois as a band of dreamers', who sooner or later 
 would see the weakness of their beliefs and abandon them. 
 
 In the Icarian community is found an excellent example of 
 a democratic government combined with pure communism in 
 property. When one examines the difficulties which confronted 
 the Icarians, and remembers that the members of the commun- 
 ity were only average Frenchmen endowed with ordinary traits 
 of human nature he will see that even though these people tried 
 earnestly to live more equal, unselfish, altruistic lives they had 
 embarked upon a difficult enterprise. Moreover, when it is 
 
 [250] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 537 
 
 remembered that the colony was composed chiefly of artisans 
 from the French cities, rather than people of the farming class, 
 and that they were totally ignorant of American customs, lan- 
 guage, laws and business it may be wondered at that the colony 
 attained the degree of success which it did. Besides there was 
 no religious sentiment to spur on the members to success as was 
 the case in the Bishop Hill settlement. 
 
 The Bishop Hill colony, primarily religious in character, de- 
 veloped, through necessity, into a commimistic experiment. 
 Upon arriving in Illinois, circumstances further developed com- 
 munistic traits. Being from a foreign land and being un- 
 familiar with American customs and forms of government, these 
 newcomers felt that they were strangers, and being attached 
 to the customs of their native land they continued to enjoy them. 
 Moreover, in the new country there was, owing to the lack of 
 transportation facilities, little opportunity for contact with the 
 outer world. Agriculture was the chief industry, but with the 
 manufacture of cloth, lumber and other necessaries and w'ith 
 the establishment of a college in connection with their church 
 and school, the settlers made their community nearly self-suf- 
 ficing. The common kitchen and dining-room and the super- 
 vision of all business by trustees were important communistic 
 features. The log houses and "dug-outs" for abodes; the meals 
 of pork and com bread; the attacks of fever and ague, all show 
 the frontier characteristics of the colony. 
 
 In some respects the Bishop Hill colony differed from the other 
 settlements of the same general class. The members attempted no 
 new social organization as did the Icarians or the followers of 
 Fourier, neither were they, like the Mormans, attempting to es- 
 tablish a new religion, but they were, like the Puritan fathers, 
 fugitives' from their native land attempting to worship as they 
 wished in a new country. The communism practiced was not 
 based upon a theory but was merely the outgrowth of existing 
 circumstances and the desire of the well-to-do to aid the more 
 unfortunate ones. 
 
 [251] 
 
538 BULLETIN" OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCOJil^SIN 
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 The Prairie Pioneer 
 
 So far in the march of the frontiersmen toward the West, the 
 way had been blazed by the himter-pioneer type. The woods- 
 men from Kentucky and Teimessee, impelled by an increasing 
 desire to claim new lands had, by sheer force pushed the frontier 
 line slowly towards the western horizon. Behind this class 
 of settlers came another which moved more slowly and which 
 for a time seemed to be outstripped in the race for new lands. 
 Small farmers composed the class. They were not constantly 
 changing their locations but rather were content to remain in 
 one place until they could dispose of their farms with some 
 profit. By 1830, therefore, the frontier line of the farmers was 
 far in the rear of that of the woodsman. 
 
 Physiography, however, caused the two classes to meet and 
 oppose each other in the state of Illinois. Bounded on the south 
 by the Ohio river, the highway of the hunter-pioneer from the 
 Southwest; and covered by a network of streams on whose 
 banks were groves of hard wood, Illinois was first sought by 
 the pioneers from Kentucky and Tennessee. Slowly, at first, 
 these groves were taken up, but by the early twenties' the San- 
 gamon country had been reached and soon the valley of the 
 Illinois was the site of hunters' cabins. It seems that a part 
 of the w^ave of frontiersmen, which was crossing the valley of 
 the Mississippi, paused, turned northward and followed the 
 line of the Illinois river towards the prairies. 
 
 By 1830 the noise of the southern axe and the crack of the 
 southern rifle were heard along northern Illinois rivers, but 
 before the decade was two years old the outbreak of Black 
 
 [253] 
 
rOOLEY SETTLEMI-:XT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 539 
 
 Hawk's warriors drove even the most venturesome back to the 
 stronger settlements of the south. The re-occupation of the 
 temtory was slow, the advance cautious and the volume of the 
 stream from the South slight. An improvement in transpor- 
 tation facilities now took place which gave the agricultural 
 settlere an advantage in the westward movement, and by open- 
 ing a line of direct communication with the East, allowed the 
 farmer to compete with the hunter for the first occupation of 
 northern Illinois. 
 
 Boats of any considerable size were few on the Great Lakes 
 and few indeed, at first, were the innnigrants who came to Ill- 
 inois by the lake route. The advent of steam navigation brought 
 a flood of settlers from the East. Yankees and New Yorkers, 
 despised by the men of the Southwest, were poured upon the 
 prairies of Illinois and took up the woodlands coveted by the 
 Kentuckians and Tennesseeans before the latter could recover 
 the ground lost in the Black Hawk War. Consequently, a bound- 
 ary was placed to the activity of the hunter-pioneer in Illinois, 
 
 So far in the movement of settlement across the continent the 
 large farmer had followed in the wake of the hunter and the 
 small farmer, buying up the clearings of the latter, extending 
 their limits and devoting himself to intensive cultivation. 
 Navigation of the lakes by steam reversed the order of things 
 and the man who was formerly in the rear guard of this army 
 of occupation was now in the front ranks. In the sense of 
 making clearings for cultivation he was not a pioneer, for nature 
 had already made clearings on a scale so vast that the settlers 
 who wished to take advantage of them must of necessity become 
 the pathfinders in the solution of the new problem which con- 
 fronted the advancing frontier. A direct line of water com- 
 munication with the East, therefore, confronted the best New 
 England stock, and the substantial men of the Middle States 
 with the question of the occupancy of the prairie. In short, 
 northern Illinois did not go through the ordinary- evolution 
 which marks the growth of settlement in the wooded sections 
 of the West, for the permanent occupants of the soil were the 
 first occupants. 
 
 At the opening of the period, 1831-1850, the great prairies 
 
 [253] 
 
540 BULLETIN OF THE nSTIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 whicli extended over central, eastern and northern Illinois, 
 were scarcely marked by improvements save on the southern 
 and western bounds, and then only to a veiy limited degree. 
 The hunter-pioneer had shunned them, firmly believing that ow- 
 ing to many disadvantages they never would be settled.^ This 
 belief is only a repetition of the prophecy of Llonroe, made half 
 a century before, when he said, "the districts . . . will 
 never contain a sufficient number of inhabitants to entitle them 
 to membership in the confederacy."^ 
 
 Inviting as were the prairies in appearance, there was a sense 
 of vastness connected 'with them which seemed to overpower the 
 observer, leaving on him an impression of greatness which could 
 not be subdued. They offered a new problem for the pioneer 
 to solve and of necessity he was compelled to approach it cau- 
 tiously at first. 
 
 Thus far the settler in Illinois had by dint of hard work 
 cleared small tracts of land on the borders of the rivers, erected 
 his cabin and planted a crop of grain, trusting that from small 
 beginnings he Avould, in time, be able to widen the limits of 
 his clearing to more respectable dimensions, "Wood and water 
 he had in abundance and where these were lacking he thought 
 was no fit habitation for man. Moreover, the timber always 
 proved a welcome protection from the icy winds of winter and 
 the myriads of flies in the summer.^ 
 
 Timber was scarce on the prairies and what little there was, 
 was grouped along the river courses leaving vast stretches of 
 country without shade. Here and there stood a bunch of 
 scrubby oaks, sometimes interspersed with rough and stunted 
 pine and black walnut, hazel brush and long tough grass. From 
 appearances the settlers reasoned that the sterility of the soil 
 was responsible for such lack of development in the timber and 
 the name "barrens" was given to such lands. 
 
 The water supply, too, Avas a most serious objection to any 
 attempt to cultivate the prairies. In some places the land was 
 low and swampy and required draining. Fever and ague at- 
 
 * Personal RecollecUoiUs of John M. Palmer, 12. 
 
 * Monroe, Writings, 1» 117. 
 
 * Henderson, History of the Sangamoti Country, 174. 
 
 [254] 
 
rOOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 541 
 
 tacked the settlers in these parts of the prairie and proved a 
 great drawback to settlement.* In other places running water 
 was exceedingly scarce — so scarce that it would necessitate dig- 
 ging wells should the settler desire to keep any stock.^ 
 
 Necessity, however, caused expansion and practically forced 
 the first stream of settlers out upon the prairies. The earli- 
 est arrivals had very naturally taken up their abode on the edge 
 of the timber, appropriating a certain amount of it for use in 
 building cabins, out-houses and fences. The later comers could 
 do but one of two things, either move farther west where all the 
 timber was not taken, or move on to the prairie, going no far- 
 ther than circumstances compelled them. 
 
 The prairies improved upon acquaintance and gradually the 
 more venturesome cut loose from the woodlands and selected 
 the higher portions of the prairie but in doing so they were care- 
 ful to remain as near as possible to a road. The fertility of the 
 soil abundantly repaid any additional labor necessary for the 
 hauling of fuel, rails or house timber, In some cases, fuel was 
 furnished by nature, for where timber failed, coal Avas often 
 found*^ and could be mined at a small cost.'' 
 
 Still, timber land was so highly prized by the settlers that it 
 would bring more money than a cultivated farm of prairie land. 
 The lack of timber was soon partially overcome, however, for 
 the settlers early began to experiment with young timber and 
 it did not take long to find out that within a comparatively 
 short time quite large trees could be grown from seed.® 
 
 Reports of a climate severe in winter and productive of 
 epidemics in summer made many question the advisability of 
 emigrating thither. Although the climate of northern Illinois 
 seemed to be about the same as that in New England, on the 
 average, it w^as also subject to greater changes.* The snow 
 
 * Lewis, Impressions^ 277. 
 
 » 2feto York Weekly Tribune, Aug. 30, 1848. 
 
 * Harding, Tours Through the Western Country, 8. 
 
 ''yew York Weekly Tribune, Sept. 15, 1845, says the cost of coal was but 
 three cents per bushel. It also gives the price of land as follows : unimproved 
 prairie land, one and one-fourth to eight dollars per acre : improved prairie land, 
 seven to twenty dollars per acre ; and improved timber land, eight to twenty 
 dollars per acre. , ■ ■.. 
 
 « Jones, Illinois and the West, 35. '^ ' 
 
 * Xcic York Weekly Tribune, Aug. 30, 1848. 
 
 [255] 
 
'542 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVEKSITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 >did not fall in such quantities as in New England but the cold 
 !\vas more intense and the winds which swept the prairies were 
 harder to bear in these exposed districts. Domestic animals 
 sometimes fell victims to the hard prairie winters^" and occa- 
 sionally some imfortunate person froze to death.^^ It appears, 
 •however, that such wintere were exceptional and when one hap- 
 pened to be colder than usual it was recorded. The winter of 
 1830-31 was one long remembered in Illinois. Snow fell al- 
 most continuously from November until Januarj^, measuring in 
 some places twelve feet in depth.^- It was taken by many of 
 the old pioneers as a convenient event from which to reckon 
 time, showing that such severity of the climate was not by any 
 means a common thing. 
 
 All through the period during which emigration came in large 
 numbers to Illinois, a constant discussion was kept up as to 
 whether or not the climate was favorable to the health of the 
 settlers. So important was the question and so much effect did 
 the discussion have upon travelers, newspaper men and writers 
 t)f emigrant guide books, that in many places comments are made 
 upon the general condition of health in the newly settled dis- 
 tricts. 
 
 An examination of the statements made by both sides reveal 
 the fact that there was a considerable amount of sickness in the 
 new settlements and the older ones which were located along the 
 river valleys. One account says that in 1840 "at Oregon City 
 more than seven-eights of the inhabitants were sick at one time ; 
 at Daysville and at Watertown in a population of ninety or 
 one hundred inhabitants not more than six or eight escaped; 
 and on the Illinois and Mississippi rivers hundreds were sick 
 and many more died in proportion to the number of inhabi- 
 tants than on Rock River. "^^ This is later modified by another 
 writer who, while he admits that in the early days on Rock River 
 there was much sickness, says that, "Since that time the mortal- 
 ity of northern Illinois has ranged on a per cent, that would 
 contrast favorably with what are generally deemed the most 
 
 "> Illinois Monthly Magazine, 2, 100. 
 " A Winter in the West, 1, 202. 
 " History of Oreene County, 286. 
 »» The New Yorker, May 30, 1840. 
 
 [256] 
 
rOOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 543 
 
 salubrious sections of the Union — the New England States."^* 
 
 It was generally conceded that those people who settled on the 
 higher portions of the prairies escaped the fevers and the ague 
 which infested the regions around the rivers and in the low 
 prairies. Exposure to hardships, lack of a comfortable habita- 
 tion, imwise selections of places for the building of houses, the 
 change of food^' and overwork^" caused as much sickness as did 
 unhealthful locations. In spite of adverse tales from the prairie 
 land and in spite of the distance from the eastern states and the 
 inconveniences and slowness of travel a continuous stream of set- 
 tlers spread over the prairies and began to build homes and to 
 till the land. 
 
 As was the case in southern Illinois, the first habitations of 
 the settlers were log cabins built close to the edge of the timber 
 for protection from the wind and that fuel and timber for 
 outbuildings and fences might be easily obtained. Generally 
 these cabins had but a single room, but occasionally two or even 
 three. Boards, shingles and puncheons were all made by the 
 settlers and, while rough, they answered the purpose very well. 
 Windows were few, most of the light coming in through the door 
 and chimney. 
 
 In early days lack of furniture and agricultural implements 
 was the rule, not the exception. One man came to begin life 
 in the new country with no other equipment than "a rifle gun 
 and fifty cents Avortli of powder and lead, a little scant bedding 
 and a skillet and piggin." Another had but a "straw tick, a 
 broken skillet, a bucket, a rifle-gun, a butcher knife and a steel- 
 yards."^^ The prairie man needed more goods and since he 
 generally came by way of the lakes he could bring such furni- 
 ture and implements of agriculture as he needed. 
 
 Although log cabins were the first abodes of the prairie men 
 they were not satisfactory, neither did they last long, for as the 
 pioneers moved farther and farther from the timber the labor 
 of hauling logs grew greater, and other expedients seemed neces- 
 sary. Houses of a very comfortable kind could be built of clay 
 
 " Xeic York ^y(•rkll/ Tribune. Sept. 15, 1845. 
 "//?inoi« Monthly Magazine, 2, 51. 
 ^*Alhan!/ Cultivator, S, 53. 
 ^^ History of Johnson County (Ind.), 330. 
 
 17 [257] 
 
544 BULLETIN OF THE TNIVEKSITY OF "WISCONSITT 
 
 and roofed Avith lumber at no very great expense, provided the 
 place was not too far removed from Chicago/* In 1841 ordinary 
 lumber which cost from eight to thirteen dollar's a thousand 
 in Chicago sold for fifty-five dollars a thousand in ^McDonough 
 county in the Military Tract.^^ 
 
 Transportation was the great expense and had to be over- 
 come, for the Yankee was not satisfied with mud cabins. He had 
 not lived in such dwellings in New England and therefore he 
 made strenuous efforts to increase his comforts. Liunber, 
 transported by way of the Great Lakes and hauled overland 
 from Chicago was too expensive, but lumber was necessary and 
 as a consequence saw mills were among the first improvements 
 in the new country. With the advent of this industry the 
 change from log or mud cabins to more comfortable frame houses 
 was by no means slow. Small, at first, the houses of the settlers 
 gTew as necessity required and wealth permitted. 
 
 After preparing a habitation, be it a mud cabin or a lumber 
 shanty, the next thing which the settler had to do was to pre- 
 pare some land upon which to raise a crop and here, too, was 
 a problem as difficult to solve as the erection of a dwelling. 
 True, there were no trees to clear away but there was a sod to 
 break which was so tough that it would yield to the plow but 
 slowly. Should the settler hire some one to do the breaking for 
 him the expense would be greater than the cost of the land 
 itself.^" If he did it himself the process was slow and laborious. 
 Operations were begun during the last days of April and finished 
 by the first of July,-^ for the sod when turned over must have 
 time to rot or it would remain heavy and unproductive for two 
 or three years. At the first plowing it was customary to drop 
 corn in every second or third furrow, from which twenty or 
 thirty bushels to the acre were often gathered. -- 
 
 Ox teams to the number of three, four, five or even six yokes 
 were used, hitched to a pair of cart wheels and these to a plow 
 
 ^^ American Agriculturist, (184.3), 15. 
 " Chicac/o Weekly American, Sept. 21, 1841. 
 
 ™ Marshall, Farmers' and Emigrants' Hniulhnolc, 403. T^and cost one and one- 
 quarter dollars per acre; breaking cost one and one-hall dollars per acre. 
 ^ The Cultivator and Farmer (Albany), 1, 80. 
 ^American Agriculturist (1843), 8, 15. 
 
 [258] 
 
rOOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS^ 1830-50 545 
 
 with a beam fourteen feet long and a share which weighed any- 
 where from sixty to one hundred and twenty-five pounds." 
 The furrow cut measured from sixteen-* to thirty-" inches in 
 width, and from two to six in depth.-** Deep plowing was not 
 as satisfactory as the more shallow plowing, for in the latter 
 case the roots of the grass would rot more quickly.^^ In some 
 eases, in order to hasten decomposition of the matted tangle of 
 roots, the land was cross-ploughed, but generally this was not 
 deemed necessary. 
 
 Estimates as to the amount of land which one of these large 
 "breaking teams" could plow in a day varies from one acre-^ 
 to two and one-fourth acres.-® When a team of horses was 
 used and a smaller plow, an acre was considered an average 
 day's work.^" Betvv-cen eighty and one hundred acres could be 
 plowed in a season.^^ Generally, two or three seasons were 
 necessary" to decompose the sod thoroughly and render the soil 
 light and loose enough to be turned readily by ordinary plows. 
 
 When the prairie man had broken his land, generally about 
 twenty-five acres, the first year, and had planted his crop of 
 corn, another problem presented itself. Fences were necessary 
 to protect the growing fields from the devastations of live stock. 
 When the farmer had access to timber the problem did not pre- 
 sent a difficult aspect, for a rail fence could be made with a 
 reasonable amount of labor, but when he was on the open prairie, 
 some twenty miles from tim^ber, another solution had to be 
 found. Some firmly believed that any money spent on fencing 
 the prairies was money thrown away;^- but others persisted in 
 experimenting. Sod, picket, hedge, board and lastly wire were 
 tried. ^^ All Idnds were expensive,^* however, with the exception 
 
 ^American Agriculturist (1843), 1, 15. 
 
 »« Ihid., 1, 15. 
 
 "^ Madison Express, Dec. 1, 1841. 
 
 ^Albany Cultivator, 8, 80, or Cultivator and Farmer, 1, 80. 
 
 " IMd. 
 
 '^ American Agriculturist (1843), 1, 15. 
 
 ^ Prairie Farmer, (1847), 7, 140. 
 
 '^ Albany Cultivator, (1840), 7, 80. 
 
 ^^ Prairie Farmer, (1847), 7, 140. 
 
 ^American Agriculturist (1843), 1, 370. 
 
 "Prairie Farmer, 6, pasbim. 
 
 *» Rail fence cost over one hundred and forty dollars a mile ; wire fence, one 
 hundred and fifty-six and one-hall dollars a mile ; board fence, one hundred and 
 eighty-two dollars a mile. Prairie Farmer, 8, 302. 
 
 [259] 
 
54G BULLETIX OF THE UNIVEKSITY OF WISCONSIN" 
 
 of the hedge fence, and this was objectionable, owing to the 
 amount of grass and weeds growing up around it, and furnish- 
 ing food for the prairie fires.'^ 
 
 Prof. J. B. Turner of Illinois College experimented for some 
 time with various shrubs, hoping to find some one which would 
 solve the problem of fence for the prairie. After several fail- 
 ures he found the osage orange would answer the purpose very 
 well.^^ Ditching, embanking and surmounting the embank- 
 ment by a three rail fence was also found to be satisfactory, and 
 was used to some extent,^'^ but it, like other fences tried, showed 
 a woeful lack of ability to keep the farmer's hogs out of his 
 corn. 
 
 Only w^hen wire was at last manufactured in large quantities 
 at a comparatively low price was the fence problem on the 
 prairie solved. Up to that time the prairie farmer was accus- 
 tomed to fence larger tracts of ground for cultivation and omit 
 partition fences, leaving all his fields in one. It was advised 
 that this method should be followed among neighbors, allowing 
 them the protection of large enclosing fences and relieving each 
 •of the expense of division fences.^* Often, instead of fencing 
 the cultivated portions of the farm, the order was reversed and 
 the stock was enclosed in pastures, leaving the fields open.^^ 
 
 Gophers and prairie chickens added materially to the troubles 
 of the prairie farmers, for they dug and scratched out newly 
 planted grain.^" Sometimes the ravages of these offenders 
 necessitated the planting of a field as often as three times in a 
 season, and then the farmers would sometimes get only half a 
 crop. Men, boys, dogs and all available combatants were en- 
 listed against the pests and regularly organized gopher hunts 
 were sometimes indulged in.*^ A more dangerous antagonist 
 was foimd in the prairie wolf. This animal had a great capacity 
 for stealing young pigs, robbing hen-houses and committing other 
 depredations. To clear the country of them, hunts were also 
 
 " Marshall, Farmers' and Emigrants' Handhook, 97. 
 ■"WiUard, Early Education in Illinois, 115. 
 *' Marshall, Farmers' and Emigrants' Handhook, 97. 
 ^ Ante r loan Agriculturist, (1843), 1, 15. 
 " Reynolds, Sketches, 102. 
 *>The yew Yorker, May 22, 1S41. 
 *' JVcekly Chicago Democrat, May 26, 1848. 
 
 [260] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS^ 1830-50 547 
 
 orfranized'- and the days upon which they took place were 
 holidays. 
 
 AYheat and corn were the staple products of the prairie, but 
 oats, potatoes, turnips and buckwheat Avere also cultivated Avith 
 success. Fruit, however, did not bring good returns to the 
 farmer. Prices were far from encouraging/^ the fact being 
 probably due to the lack of a market. Since supplies could be 
 obtained at very reasonable rates at the lake ports, and since 
 prices paid for farm produce were higher in the lake cities,** 
 Chicago was the natural center for Illinois produce. Although 
 Chicago was a great deal over a hundred miles from the central 
 Illinois counties, the farmers came in numbers from this part 
 of the state, as well as from the north to sell their grain at this- 
 place and to take their supplies from it. The market was so- 
 far, that sometimes the farmers could go but once a year; some- 
 times they went more than once. In some eases a number of 
 neighbors would club together, load one or two wagons, hitcb 
 two or three yoke of oxen to each wagon and so haul their prod- 
 uce.*° It w^as not an imcommon sight in the autumn after- 
 the harvests were gathered to see in one day two hundred 
 wagons, all loaded wnth farm produce,*^ rattling their w^ay along 
 the old State Road from Galena to Chicago. 
 
 In the early forties high rates for transportation along the- 
 Erie canal did much to keep western f ar-mers from shipping their 
 produce to New York; but a considerable amount, however, 
 found its way thither.^^ While this operated against the west- 
 em farmer and tended to depress his market, another influence 
 from the East tended to make the lake route the natural high- 
 way for western produce to the East. England in the forties 
 levied a discriminating tariff upon foreign wheat, flour, beef, 
 pork and lard. Canadian flour was admitted into English 
 
 ^^ History of Coles County, 464. 
 
 *^ History of Coles County, 460; Lothrop, Champaign County Directory, 125* 
 Prlcfs were as follows: Wheat twenty-five to thirty-seven and one-half cents 
 per bushel, In the best years sixty cents ; oats eight to nineteen cents ; cora 
 ten to twenty-five cents ; hogs twenty-five cents to one and one-half dollars per 
 hundred weight ; a cow and a calf eight dollars and a good horse forty dollars^ 
 
 ** lladi/inn (TVis.) Enquirer, Aug. 11, 1841. 
 
 " Anderson, First Chcpter of Norwegian Immigration, 228. 
 
 *^ Past and Present of Kane County, 460. 
 
 *' Albany Cultivator, (1842), 150. 
 
 [261] 
 
548 BULLETIK" OF THE "UNIVEKSITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 ports at one dollar less per barrel than flour from other coun- 
 tries. Similar favors were shown in other produce. It did 
 not take the Yankee or New Yorker of northern Illinois long 
 to see that he could ship his wheat to Canada, have it made into 
 flour there and take advantage of the discriminating duty in 
 that manner.*^ This tended to center the wheat industry at 
 Chicago and the growth of this industry is noticeable during 
 these years. 
 
 In spite of low prices, however, agriculture flourished and 
 offered better returns to the western fanner than to the eastern 
 man. Less labor by one-half was needed, less capital was in- 
 vested; the average yield per acre was more in the West than 
 in the East and the cost of lake transportation was low enough 
 to allow the western man to compete successfully in the eastern 
 market.^^ The great problem before the farmer was how to 
 reach one of these lake ports to dispose of his produce as well 
 as to receive lumber and other necessaries. The outgrowth of 
 these desires was the internal improvement sj^stem of the 
 thirties. 
 
 The Illinois-lMichigan canal was of primary importance in 
 the Illinois internal improvement system. Joliet was perhaps 
 the first to notice the possibility of connecting the Illinois river 
 and Lake Michigan by a canal.^^ Governor Bond at the first 
 meeting of the Illinois legislature in 1818 brought up the sub- 
 ject of the canal; his successor, Governor Coles, devoted some 
 space to it in his message of 1822. A board of commissioners 
 was appointed in 1828 and two years later an act to incorporate 
 the canal with a capital of $1,000,000 was passed; but failure 
 to have the stock subscribed caused the plan to fall through for 
 the time. In 1827, Congress granted to the state of Illinois 
 every alternate section in a belt of country extending six miles 
 on either side of the canal, and in 1829 a canal board was or- 
 ganized.^^ In 1835 the first loan was made and work began 
 in 1836, continuing until March, 1843, during which time the 
 
 *^ Executive Documents, 190, 28 Cong., 1 Sess. 
 *» New York Weekly Tribune, Sept. 15, 1845. 
 ""> ITiUburt, AntiquitiOB of Chicago, 147. 
 »' De Bow'8 lievi€ic, 17, 2G6. 
 
 [262] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS^ 1830-50 549 
 
 state expended $4,679,49-1 on tlie project.*^^ In September, 1845, 
 the work was resumed and by 1848 was completed."^^ 
 
 Other improvements besides the canal were planned ; $100,000 
 was to be expended for the improvement of the Great Wabash, 
 a like sum on the Illinois and also on the Rock river; the Kas- 
 kaskia and Little Wabash were to get $50,000 each for improve- 
 ments; the Great Western mail route from Vincennes to St. 
 Louis. $250,000; the Central railroad from Cairo to Galena; 
 the Southern Crossroad from Alton to Mt. Carmel; the North- 
 ern Crossroad from Quincy to the Indiana state line, and other 
 minor roads were to be built.^* 
 
 The immensity of the system can best be grasped by noticing 
 statistics. A census taken in 1835 records the population of 
 the state as 271,700;^=^ in 1900 it was 4,821,550.^« The debt 
 authorized for these improvements in the first instance was 
 $10,230,000, but the estimate was found to be too low by half 
 and the state was committed to a liability of $20,000,000 or at 
 the same ratio today the debt would amount to some $350,000,- 
 000, a debt which the state would not care to assume. 
 
 So intent were the people in providing markets, in furnishing 
 suitable transportation facilities and thereby opening up the 
 resources of their state, that they did not count the cost, seeing 
 only results. The immediate results were not what had been 
 anticipated and with the breaking of the bubble of speculation 
 and the collapse of the system as planned in Illinois', the finances 
 of the state were almost ruined, simply because it had not the 
 strength to solve the transportation problem.^' 
 
 The livestock industry^ developed rapidly on the prairies. 
 Abundant pastures were within the reach of all, and the farmer 
 naturally developed the grazing industry. As early as 1818, 
 some Illinois farmers had made it a business to raise cattle for 
 the Baltimore and Philadelphia markets,^^ and the industry had 
 
 '* Moses, Illinois, 1» 465. 
 » Davidson and Stuv(5, Illinois, 485-6. 
 " Davidson and StuvC-, Illinois, 436. 
 '^Ihid., 438. 
 
 'i^ Twelfth Census, (1900), Population, 1. 16. 
 "■ Scott, Repudiation of State Debts, 100-217. 
 
 M Warden, Statistical, Political and Historical Account of the United States, 3, 
 «2. 
 
 [263] 
 
550 BULLETIX OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 groAvii steadily. Before 1850 thousands of cattle were raised 
 on the prairies of Illinois, a\lissoiiri and loWa each year and 
 sold to drovers who took them to Ohio to fatten for the eastern 
 markets.^" 
 
 In spite of the fact that sheep could not be kept upon the 
 prairies without considerable attention, especially during the 
 winter months, the industry rapidly gained favor among the 
 fanners. Heavy losses were at first experienced, due chiefly to 
 mismanagement, for the animals usually purchased in western 
 New York or Philadelphia were driven the entire distance dur- 
 ing the hot summer mouths or the colder ones of autumn to a 
 new home where scarcely any provision had been made for their 
 shelter.*^" As a consequence many died. 
 
 Gaining knowledge by experience, the various branches of 
 industry were soon put upon an excellent paying basis. Some 
 found stock raising profitable, others adapted themselves to the 
 cultivation of grain which at first was harvested and threshed 
 by hand ; but before 1850 these primitive methods had given way 
 to more improved ones. Drills were used in planting the seed ; 
 mowing machines Were used in cutting the hay and reapers for 
 the grain ; threshing machines, too, were used before the period 
 was over.*'^ 
 
 The effect of machinery upon the amount of produce was 
 marked. In 1850 Illinois was fifth among the states in the 
 amount of wheat produced ; in 1860 it was first with an annual 
 product of more than 23,800,000 bushels.^- In 1840 Illinois 
 was seventh in the production of Indian corn ; in 1850 it was 
 third with an annual output of nearly 57,650,000 bushels 
 and ten years later it led all the states, producing over 
 115,000,000 bushels or nearly one-seventh of the entire amount 
 produced.*'^ Like increases appeared in other productions.** 
 
 ^^ The Prairie Farmer, 9, 305. 
 '^American Agriculturist, 4, 247. 
 " Curtiss, ^yl\'itcrn Porirailure, 291. 
 «^ Eifjhth' Census, (1860), Agriculture, 29, 
 " 1 hid., 4«, 47, 
 
 ^Runt's Merchants' Magazine, 5, 436, gives statistics for 1840; Abstract of 
 the Seventh Census, (IS.jO), 89-00, gives statistics for 1850: 
 
 [264] 
 
rOOLEY SETTLEMEXT OF ILLINOIS^ 1830-50 551 
 
 "With the increased ability for handling large crops and with 
 the possibility of increased land communication the farms tended 
 to increase in size. Practically, the prairie man had done all 
 he could in the way of subduing these vast stretches of land. 
 The railroads were now necessary to solve the remaining prob- 
 lems. Each successive wave of settlement helped to add cells to 
 the comb already forming on the edge of the prairies ; but the 
 process of assimilation was slow save w'here a line of transpor- 
 tation added its influence. 
 
 Pioneer saw mills worked away steadily causing a transition 
 from the log-cabin age to that of lumber houses, but the change 
 was slow at first. Previous to the opening of the Illinois-Mich- 
 igan canal, lumber sold at sixty dollars a thousand in Ottawa; 
 but the first load through the canal cut the price in two and 
 successive loads reduced it still more. Freight rates the other 
 way were high; at first the price for transporting wheat from 
 Ottawa to Chicago was twelve and one-half cents per bushel. 
 Later it dropped to eight and then to four cents per bushel,"^ a 
 price which the farmers 'were glad to pay to have their produce 
 taken across the swampy country around Chicago. This was 
 in only one locality, however, and the other parts of the state 
 were sadly in need of transportation facilities to assist in their 
 development. 
 
 The life of the pioneer has characteristics which are the same 
 no matter what his location may be. "While new difficulties 
 'were encountered by the prairie pioneer, and he himself, gen- 
 erally speaking, was different from the pioneer of southern 
 Illinois, there were characteristics which these two types of set- 
 tlers held in common. 
 
 The first settlers of the southern part of the state were often 
 
 1840 1850 
 
 Horses and mul-es 200 , 741 278 , 226 
 
 Cattle 612.000 912,000' 
 
 Hogs 1,446,000 1,910,000 
 
 Sheep 487.000 894,000 
 
 Bushels of wheat .3,263,500 9,414,000 
 
 Bushels of oats 5,082,000 10,087,241 
 
 Bushels of corn 22,524,000 57,647,000 
 
 Lbs. of tobacco 475,250 841,394 
 
 "> Illustrated History of La Salle County, 1, 212. 
 
 [265] 
 
552 BULLETI^^ OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 of the wandering type and were constantly seeking new homes. 
 These pioneers were followed by a second class of settlers who 
 generally had some property and were able to pay cash for at 
 least part of their lands, and to make additional improvements. 
 Lastly, came the man of property whose idea was to cultivate 
 the land in the best possible manner and become a permanent 
 resident.®*^ 
 
 The pioneers of the first class were poor, indeed, enjoying few 
 of the comforts of life and too often were so lazy as to make no 
 effort whatever to better their condition. They lived in rags 
 and idleness, providing for their families by hunting and oc- 
 casionally cultivating a small patch of corn and vegetables but 
 doing no other work, leading, on the whole, a most shiftless life 
 and seeking no advancement. Morality, too, was of a low 
 standard especially among these people and the poorer European 
 iimnigrants who settled in the South.*^'^ 
 
 The second and third classes were much advanced beyond 
 the first. These people aimed to advance their material condi- 
 tion and worked constantly to accomplish their object. 
 
 Immigration to Northern Illinois after the opening of steam 
 navigation on the Great Lakes reached such a volume that it 
 seems impossible to make any such classification as has been 
 made for Southern Illinois. There was no gradual procession 
 of types but an influx of the agricultural type. So rapidly was 
 the land filled up that a residence of three months in Chicago, 
 for example, gave one the right to be recognized as an old 
 settler.®^ 
 
 Travelers through this part of the state give conflicting ac- 
 counts regarding the inhabitants and their homes. The general 
 sentiment seemed to be that the settlers were of a class superior 
 to the early pioneers of the southern counties. In many places 
 "neat white houses, tasteful piazzas, neat enclosures and newly 
 planted shrubberies" gave evidence of New Englanders or peo- 
 ple from the Middle Atlantic states.^' The people, as a rule, 
 were contented with their homes and evinced no desire to emi- 
 
 8" Wyse, America, Its Realities and Resources, 2, 349-352. 
 " Christian Exatnitier, 87, 272. 
 <» A Wi/tter in the West, 1, 200. 
 •9 Ibid., 2, 62. 
 
 [266] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 553 
 
 grate,'" save a few who tiesired to iio to the Oref,'ou territoiy. 
 Occasionally surprise is manifested at the character and intel- 
 lirronce of settlei-s.'^ 
 
 The frontier, however, seems always to have been also the 
 home of a disreputable class of people, and northern Illinois 
 was no exception to the rule. The more quiet citizens were 
 constantly terrified by gangs of horse thieves, robbers, mur- 
 derers and counterfeiters. For years southern Illinois had been 
 infested by such individuals and as the frontier moved norMi- 
 ward across the state, these bands of desperadoes followed it."- 
 The islands of the Mississippi and the groves along its banks 
 were homes for such bands." 
 
 The heterogeneous character of settlement in the northwestern 
 part of the state is described by a New York paper of the time. 
 It says; "The settlers here are all descriptions of people; for- 
 eigners, Canadians, Hoosiers, Buckeyes, Marylandei's. Virgin- 
 ians, Kentuckians, Yankees, etc., with a large share of cut- 
 throats, blacklegs, murderers, counterfeiters, robbere, thieves and 
 all manner of scamps that infest a newly-settled country; and 
 what is still worse . . . when any such rascals are caught, 
 which is seldom, there is no such thing as putting the law in 
 force or convicting them in anyway before they will be smuggled 
 out of the reach of justice and get clear."'* Wliile the illus- 
 stration may be exaggerated somewhat and intended to check 
 the floAv of population it also serves' to show^ that among the law- 
 abiding settlers there w-ere also many who were a decided detri- 
 ment to the country. 
 
 Such conditions did not exist everywhere. The frontier, it 
 is said. l)rino's out the worst as well as the best of men's char- 
 acters and incidents may be cited to prove this. During the 
 early mining days at Galena, men from the South and West 
 congregated to work the mines, and these men as a class pos- 
 
 '" Scott, Journal of a Missionary Tour (1843), 107. 
 
 "' The Xcic Yorker, Aug. 19, 1837. 
 
 ^ Barber, History of all the Western States and Territories, 248. 
 
 "3 The names of the Driskel brothers, Daggett, Bowman, and others for years 
 were connected in the minds of the settlers with every outrage committed in 
 the northwestern counties. Gahna Gazette and Northu-cstern Advertiser, 
 July 0, 1841. 
 
 " The iVCic Yorker, May 30, 1840. 
 
 [267] 
 
554 BULLETI^r OF THE UNIVEKSITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 sessed and practiced many of the noblest traits of manhood. 
 "As an illustration of their innate integrity of character it is 
 perhaps only necessary to state that locks and keys were un- 
 Iniown in the country and all places of abode were always left 
 unfastened and open to the reception of all, who received a 
 cordial welcome and a free invitation to partake of every hos- 
 pitality the 'dug-out' or shanty afforded. Debts were con- 
 tracted without reserve at the first interview with a new comer 
 and he seldom ever failed to meet his promise of payment."" 
 
 Most noticeable of characteristics common alike to the pio- 
 neers of the prairie and the woodland was that of boundless 
 hospitality. The new settler was received kindly and given 
 substantial aid by those who had been in the country longer ; his^ 
 cabin was quickly built and often in addition to assistance thus 
 received it was not improbable that the friendly neighbors- 
 would furnish the new settler with some live stock if he had 
 none.''*' One would give poultry; another, a hog; a third, a 
 calf and so on until there would be quite a drove of stock upon 
 the clearing. No matter hov\^ poor the new settler might be, if 
 he did not show a prospensity to dispute over trifles or to com- 
 plain of the disadvantages of the new country, and criticise the 
 manners and habits of the people, and cite the superiority of 
 things in the place from whence he came, he would be received 
 with blunt frankness and unaffected hospitality. His reception 
 was just as much of the opposite character should he presume 
 to cast reflections upon conditions existing in his new home. 
 
 To the wayfarer, likewise, the western man extended his 
 simple but hearty hospitality. Every stranger was made wel- 
 come to all the primitive home afforded. There was always a 
 place at the table and always room for another lodger, no mat- 
 ter how many already occupied places in the home. This hos- 
 pitality was extended in a manner peculiar to the frontiersman. 
 He gave it in a simple, unassuming way and wished no remarks 
 even if complimentary, and above all things he wished no cita- 
 tion of unpleasant things encountered before, or any mention of 
 entertainment received elsewhere which was not so good. Such 
 
 •= rarkinson, Pioneer Life in Wisconsin, In the Wis. Hist. Collections, 2, 3321 
 "Holmes, Account of the United States, 133. 
 
 [268] 
 
POOLE Y SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS^ 1830-50 555 
 
 remarks were considered as reflections upon the people of the 
 country and from them it was inferred that like remarks would 
 be made ag:ain and perhaps in connection with the entertainment 
 "then enjoyed. 
 
 The country and the surroundings of the pioneer seemed to 
 change him in a few years. Even the quiet, conservative men 
 from the East became rough, independent and simple in habits, 
 <;areless of dress, frank in speech, friendly and generous to all 
 whom they could trust. Seldom, if ever, did the prairie man 
 fail to make a favorable impression upon those he chanced to 
 meet. "Wlien he had reached a period of comparative prosperity 
 nothing was too good for him. He lived in the midst of plenty. 
 His cattle, horses and acres he numbered by the hundreds; his 
 fields of grain and corn were wide in extent and he enjoyed his 
 prosperity continuously which seemed only to improve his good- 
 will, for nowhere could be found men who would obey the calls 
 of friendship or answer the claims of benevolence with more 
 cheerful promptness or with greater sacrifices to personal con- 
 Tenience.'^'' 
 
 The daily life of the pioneer was a varied one. Besides cul- 
 tivating his fann, repairing his buildings and agricultural im- 
 plements he found time to hunt, to assist his neighbors and 
 sometimes to make attempts to educate himself.'* Besides the 
 ■smaller affairs these pioneers provided for local government, 
 for churches, for schools, for higher education and for the rail- 
 ways and telegraph systems. 
 
 Naturally enjoying society, primitive as it might be, these 
 •early settlers met often at races, shooting-matches, house-rais- 
 ings, log-rollings, weddings, funerals, elections and on court 
 ■days.'^" Political and religious questions were freely and some- 
 times violently discussed, at all such meetings and often with 
 
 "' HaM, Sketches, 2, 70. 
 
 "Mr. Conant records that on one daj' he "read the Latin Grammni-"' ; on 
 another he "made a coffln for Mrs. Dougherty and he!p?.d to bury her" ; ou 
 ■another he "planted corn and prepared for the wedding'" ; on another he "married 
 Betsy Kelsey" ; on others he " made a table and borrowed six busheks of pota- 
 toes", "read a sermon" ; "made a wagon" and on one day being unwell he "studied 
 •algebra" and "wrote a temperance address". Life of A. H. Conant. 4.3. 
 
 " Western Monthly Magazine, 1, 52. Haines, Social Life and Scenes in the 
 Early Settlement of Central Illinois In Tranisactions of the Illinois State Histori- 
 -cal Society, (19Uo.) 
 
 [269] 
 
556 bulletin; of the univeesity of Wisconsin 
 
 keenness and ability. News of the outside world was passed 
 from neighbor to neighbor, for newspapers were scarce in the 
 early days. Books were few. Horse-racing, jumping, wrestling, 
 hunting and dancing were the amusements enjoyed. Card 
 playing was not tolerated by respectable people and a fiddle 
 was, to the church people, only the devil painted red.**^ 
 
 Active measures were taken by the legislature of Illinois to 
 stop gambling. A law was passed in the early thirties by which 
 a fine of twenty-five dollars was to be levied on any person 
 bringing into the state or selling a pack of playing cards or a 
 set of billard balls "or any other device or anything invented 
 or made for the purpose of being used in games of hazard. ' ' A 
 like fine was to be imposed upon a purchaser of the condemned 
 articles, or anyone indulging in games of dice, billards or cards 
 "for money or property" and a fine of one hundred dollars 
 upon ' ' any tavern keeper or owner of a grocery or tipling shop ' ' 
 who should allow any form of gambling in his place of busi- 
 ness.®^ The pioneer had a standard of morality of his own 
 and thought nothing of the free use of intoxicants. At every 
 gathering the whiskey jug seemed indispensable, occasioning 
 at times disturbances wliich, from a present day view-point, 
 could never be overlooked. 
 
 Education^- did not thrive well among the early settlers of 
 southern Illinois. The poverty of the settlers, the hardships of 
 frontier life, the long Indian wars, the slight returns which the 
 lands yielded for school purposes were all so many hindrances. 
 Save a few settlers who came from New England in the early 
 days, the mass of pioneers was composed of people from Ken- 
 tucky and Tennessee with others from Virginia and Pennsyl- 
 vania. In these states the common school system had not been 
 
 "» Chicafjo Intcr-Occan, Dec. 14, 1904. 
 
 «^ Extract from statute. (Sangamon Journal, May 7, 1836.) 
 ^ For a discussion of education In the Northwest and especially Illinois, see: 
 McMaster, History of tlw People of the United States, 5, 370 ; S. WlMard, 
 Brief History of Early Education in Illinois in Report of Sup't of Public Instruc- 
 tion of Illinois (1884) ; W. L. nilsbury, Early Education in Illinois, in ibid., 
 (1886) ; Rev. A. D. Mayo, Education in the 2Jorthwest during the first half Cen- 
 tury of the Republic, noO-lSiO in Report of the Commissioner of Education, 1895- 
 96 (House Documents, 54 Cong., 1 Sess., No. 5.) ; Rev. A. D. Mayo, The Develop- 
 ment of the Common School in the Western States 18S0-1865 in Report of th« 
 Commissioner of Education, 1898-99, 1, 357-450. 
 
 [270] 
 
rOOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 557 
 
 developed and naturally little attention was paid to the develop- 
 ment of such a system in early Illinois. 
 
 Bj' an act of 1825, voters in any county might create districts, 
 establish schools for -white children betAveen the age of five and 
 twenty and maintain them by a tax of one-half mill on each 
 dollar of taxable property. The law was not compulsory and 
 unless a majority of the voters favored a school, none would 
 exist. The people vigorously resisted the law and the legis- 
 lature in 1829 repealed as much of it as provided for state aid 
 and declared that no man should be taxed for the maintenance 
 of schools unless he first gave his consent in writing. 
 
 Education was not wholly neglected, however. Here and 
 there in the pioneer communities, teachers such as they were 
 gathered the children of the neighborhood together in some 
 kitchen or abandoned log cabin and gave them instruction for 
 scanty pay. By 1840 Baptists, Methodists, Congregationalists, 
 Episcopalians, Presbyterians and Catholics all had seminaries 
 of higher education located in the state. 
 
 With the influx of New Englanders and New Yorkers to 
 northern Illinois, changes for the better took place. These 
 pioneers believed thoroughly in the value of schools and wher- 
 ever two or three families settled together, there it was certain 
 a school was soon to be started. The Ladies' Association for 
 the Education of Girls; the Illinois Institute of Education and 
 the State Association of Educators with other similar organi- 
 zations fought to bring about the system of common schools 
 which was finally organized in 1854. The effect of the agita- 
 tion is seen in the results of the decade 1841 to 1850. In 1850 
 there were 2.640 public schools in Illinois and 132.000 pupils in 
 attendance — the number of schools having doubled in the ten 
 years and the attendance increased four-fold. 
 
 In a general way the development of churches was the same. 
 While meetings were held -with regularity among the pioneers 
 of southern Illinois it was not until the advent of the northern 
 stream of immigrants that we find churches erected for every 
 community of any size. The circuit riders were to remain for 
 years until the pioneer communities were wealthy enough to 
 maintain a pastor in each one. 
 
 [271] 
 
558 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 It appears that previous to 1850 the agricultural pioneer had 
 only made beginnings. His knowledge of the prairies was lim- 
 ited; he could see the problems confronting him and did his 
 best to cope with them using such means as he had. The prob- 
 lems of transportation and markets were the serious obstacles 
 to be overcome, Rivers formed one solution to these problems 
 but where they failed it was necessaiy to construct roads. An 
 examination of the location of the most important roads of the 
 decade 1841-1850 shows well the needs of the farmer. From 
 eastern, central, western and northern Illinois, roads centered 
 at Chicago. Here was the supply depot of the prairies; here 
 was the great shipping point, for lake transportation was cheaper 
 than that on the rivers. Chicago was the connecting link 
 between the land and the lake transportation as is shown in 
 later days when so many of the great railway systems which tap 
 the agricultural districts of the "West center at Chicago. 
 
 The great unoccupied stretches of land between the timbered 
 tracts ^\-ere to be left for the settlers of the next decade to claim. 
 Wlien an increased use of improved farm machinery allowed the 
 settlers to handle larger tracts of land with success and when 
 the railroads penetrated the prairies and placed markets within 
 the reach of the farmers, then the almost insurmountable ob- 
 stacles presented by the great tracts of treeless land were over- 
 •come. 
 
 [2721 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 559 
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 Conclusion — A Resume 
 
 The population map of 1830 shows that in no part of Illinois 
 were there more than eighteen inhabitants to the square mile 
 and that about two-thirds of the state was either entirely unoc- 
 cupied or had less than seven inhabitants to the square mile. 
 The most thickly settled parts of the state were along the Wa- 
 bash, Ohio and Mississippi rivers. In the interior considerable 
 settlement had been made along the Illinois and Sangamon 
 rivers.^ 
 
 By 1840 it appears that further encroachment had been made 
 upon the great prairies, for all of the state, with the exception 
 of a small part on the eastern side was credited with at least 
 two inhabitants to the square mile. At this date the Military 
 Tract is shown as settled and the outskirts of settlement along 
 the Illinois river extended to Chicago instead of Peoria as desig- 
 nated a decade before. Population was densest on the west- 
 ern side of the state in a belt extending from Quincy to Jack- 
 sonville and thence south into Madison and St. Clair counties. 
 The least number of settlers was on the northern and eastern 
 prairies.- 
 
 In 1850 those parts of the state bordering the "Wabash, Ohio 
 and Mississippi rivers were all credited with not less than 
 eighteen inhabitants to the square mile. The strip of territory 
 along the Illinois river was equally well settled as were those 
 counties in the extreme north. 
 
 The prairies of eastern Illinois and of the Military Tract are 
 
 » Twelfth Census, (1900), Statistical Atlas, plate 6. 
 ^Ibid., plate 7. 
 
 18 [273] 
 
560 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVEKSITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 17 
 
 I I I I III Six or more per square mile In 1840. 
 
 I j Six or more per square mile : added during decade 1841-50. 
 
 c 
 
 J Less than six per square mile in 1850. 
 
 DlSTBrBXTXIOX OF POPULATION BT COUNTIES 
 
 [274] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 561 
 
 Eighteen or more per square mile. 
 
 DlSTRIBUTIOX OF POPTJIATION BY COUNTIES (1850) 
 
 [275] 
 
562 BULLETIX OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCOXSIN" 
 
 clearly marked by the sparseness of settlement. No part of the 
 state had more than forty-five settlers to the square mile.^ 
 
 These maps give a general idea of the location of population, 
 but in detail they are not accurate. Settlements in 1830 were 
 entirely within the timbered tracts; by 1840 the frontier had 
 moved farther to the north, but still the settlers clung to the 
 timber. Not until after 1850 was the settlement of the open 
 prairies to be really accomplished. 
 
 During the years 1831 and 1832 the beginnings of settlement 
 were made in northern and eastern Illinois. At the first alarm 
 of the Black Hawk War the settlers, save in a few instances 
 where communities seemed strong enough to maintain themselves 
 against an Indian attack, fled back to the more thickly populated 
 portions of the state and for the time the spread of settlement 
 ceased along the northern Illinois frontier. These settlements 
 had been planted by pioneers of the hunter type and when the 
 flight southward came it appears that the hunter-pioneers lost 
 their opportunity for settling the woodlands along the rivers 
 of northern Illinois. 
 
 Several causes operated to make this retreat before the In- 
 dians a permanent one. The trip through the northern portion 
 of the state in pursuit of the fleeing Indian chief disclosed for 
 the fir'st time its wonderful resources as an agricultural district. 
 Here we see the greatest effect of the war of 1832 ajid one over- 
 powering the temporary compression of settlement during that 
 year. 
 
 From 1833 until 1837 or 1838 Illinois had a wonderful growth. 
 The last of the Indian land titles within the limits of the state 
 were extinguished, and the Indians themselves were either in- 
 duced or compelled to vacate their claims in Illinois and to cross 
 the Mississippi, thus removing the last cause for Indian scares 
 and reassuring the immigrants from the East that their families 
 and homes would be safe on the Illinois frontier. Land sales 
 were constantly taking place at the various of&ces of the state 
 and the immense internal improvement system already planned 
 and soon to be begun, lead the people not only of Illinois but 
 
 ' Ihid., plate 8. 
 
 [276] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 563 
 
 of the eastern states, to believe that here were to be presented 
 numerous opportunities for rapid acquisition of wealth. 
 
 So far in the history of the westward movement the difficul- 
 ties of travel had been many and severe. The trips made across 
 the western country in wagons were tiresome indeed and the 
 easier journeys down the Ohio had been attended with difficul- 
 ties and dangers not to be overlooked, while a journey to the 
 "West by way of the Great Lakes was not to be thought of, 
 since a vessel in the upper lakes was as yet a curiosity. The 
 year 183-1 saw the solution of this problem of transportation, at 
 least to a great degree, for the advent of the steamer upon the 
 lakes gave to the immigrant the means of comparatively safe 
 and easy passage to the West and moreover, allowed him to 
 carry more household goods, farming implements and domestic 
 animals with which to begin life in the new country. 
 
 There has always been among Americans a disposition to 
 immigrate to the West in order to benefit themselves in the at- 
 tempt to acquire wealth. During the thirties this desire was 
 greatly increased in the East. The national debt had been paid 
 and had been divided among the various states; trade had 
 reached a high development and there was a feeling among the 
 people that money was abundant, that every one was well-to-do 
 and that investments, in land especially, could not help but 
 result in the rapid accumulation of wealth. The farmers of 
 New England, especially the generation of young men who could 
 see no future for themselves in their native states, began to look 
 to the great West for a livelihood. The development of the 
 wool industry tended also to consolidate the small farms into 
 large ones, and those farmer-s seeing an opportunity to dispose 
 of their small holdings at good prices did so with the intention 
 of moving to a new country. In the middle states frequent re- 
 ports came, telling of the wonderful opportunities in the west- 
 ern country. Pamphlets advertising Illinois lands flooded the 
 states from Ohio to the sea-board. Since the subdivision of 
 farms had. in the ^Middle Atlantic states, reached such a degree 
 that the small patches of ground would no longer comfortably 
 support families, and since renters began to see that in the 
 space of a few years they could own farms in the West by the 
 
 [277] 
 
564 BULLETHS" OF THE UNIVEESITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 investment of no more capital than they paid from year to year 
 for rent, many were more than willing to trj^ the experiment of 
 western life. 
 
 All things seemed favorable for a period of speculative mania ; 
 money seemed plentiful, western lands offered excellent oppor- 
 tunities for the rapid accimiulation of wealth, a generation of 
 young men was ready to begin life for itself and lastly, the 
 problem of transportation had, to a great extent, been solved. 
 The result was a natural one; the period of speculation mater- 
 ialized and there came to the western country an unequalled 
 flood of inmiigration. 
 
 Gradually the stream increased in size and by 1835 the specu- 
 lation in Illinois lands was fairly under way. The stages, 
 steamboats, hotels, taverns and places of general resort were 
 thronged with land sellers and land buyers and in advance of 
 the thickest of the throng like an army of locusts seeking to 
 devour the broad acres of the National domain,* was the crowd 
 of land speculators. Five million dollars worth of lands 
 v.'as entered during 1836.^ Even business men of sober, 
 careful judgment, farmers and mechanics formerly wary 
 and conservative, added their stimulus to the ever-increas- 
 ing scramble for land and invested to the utmost limit which 
 their credit would allow. Individuals who had reached 
 their limit of credit, joined themselves together into companies 
 and with the aid of the banks continued their financial gym- 
 nastics. 
 
 It is estimated that during the years 1835, 1836 and 1837 
 more than five hundred new towns were laid out in Illinois," 
 each company believing that its town was, in the near future, 
 to become a metropolis, the center of a thriving, populous, 
 wealthy community. During the year 1836 in Will county 
 alone, nine towns'' were laid out, and Will county was no ex- 
 ception to the general rule prevailing in the state. The lots in 
 these "paper towns" were advertised in eastern cities and many 
 
 * Salisbury, The Speculative Craze of 'S6. in Buffalo Hist. Soc. PuWcationa, 
 (1906), 4, 324. 
 " Davidson and Stuv6, Illinois, 4.34. 
 'History of McLean County, 487. 
 ^ Woodruff, Joliet and Will County, 33. 
 
 [278] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 565 
 
 which today are sites of some fanner's field brought fancy 
 prices. 
 
 It is not to be understood that, during all this period of 
 wild speculation, Illinois received no benefit or did not increase 
 in permanent population, or that no towns of tliis period were 
 to become permanent ones. Some companies organized by New 
 Englanders and New Yorkers were sound enough financially to 
 withstand the shock of 1837 and to establish in Illinois, towns 
 which were destined to weather the financial storm which swept 
 over the state during the years immediately following. In Mc- 
 Lean coimty the Hudson^ and Mt. Hope" colonies; in TazeweU 
 county the Tremont^" and Delavan" colonies; in Henry county 
 the Andover,^- Wethersfield^^ and Geneseo^* colonies; in Bureau 
 county the Providence^^ colony and in Knox county the Gales- 
 burg^^ colony are all examples of the successful town building 
 ventures of the time. 
 
 These colonies seem to have been carefully planned and well 
 financed. The land upon which they were located was, as a 
 general rule, purchased before any move was made from the 
 East by the settlers. It is true that the success attendant upon 
 these various enterprises was at first not marked but they were 
 able to maintain a footing during adverse circumstances and to 
 take advantage of the more favorable conditions which followed 
 during the later forties. 
 
 The lack of success experienced by the Rockwell colony^'' in 
 La Salle must be attributed rather to the drawback of an un- 
 healthful location than to financial distress. The Morristown 
 colony ^^ established in 1836 cannot be classified as a successful 
 colony because of the few settlers who came. An unwise pro- 
 
 » History of McLean County, G03. 
 » Ibid., 597. 
 
 "• Chicago Weekly Atnei'ican, Feb. 20, 1836. 
 " The Netc Yorker, Aug. .31, 1839. 
 ^Etstonj of Henry County, 524. 
 "Ibid., 137. 
 
 ^* Thirtieth Anniversary of the Settlement of Oeneseo, 5. 
 " Matson, Remini.scencr.9 of Bureau County, 331. 
 
 ^'Stories of the rionccr Mothers of Illinois. (Letter of Mai-y Allen West, Ms. 
 In Illinois Hist. Library). 
 
 "Baldwin, History of La Salle County. 375. 
 " History of Heniit County, 135. 
 
 [279] 
 
566 BULLETIX OF THE UXIVEKSITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 vision concerning the holding of land and the forfeiture of it 
 in case of default upon the part of the settlers to make improve- 
 ments within a limited time, operated to the detriment of set- 
 tlement. The provision placed a premium on the non-accept- 
 ance of land, for by so doing the defaulter was able to double 
 the money he had invested. 
 
 Illinois, however, does not owe her wonderful growth in pop- 
 ulation during this period, to the establishment of colonies. 
 The substantial growth took place through the efforts of individ- 
 uals to establish homes for themselves and to acquire prop- 
 erty in the new country. Along the border of the Great Prairie 
 in Eastern Illinois the numerous pioneers from Ohio and Ken- 
 tucky settled. Fearing as yet to venture out into the open, 
 they took up the lands near the sheltering timber and thus 
 formed a net-work of settlement far out into the prairie without 
 encountering any of its real difficulties. Along the great river 
 system of the Illinois, the Kentucky and Tennessee hunter, fol- 
 lowing the experience of generations of pioneers accustomed to 
 combat the difficulties of the forest rather than the prairie, 
 pushed their way northward to meet the stream of New Eng- 
 landers and New Yorkers following the line of the proposed 
 canal. Across in the Military Tract the same operation was 
 going on along the Mississippi river and its numerous branches. 
 The lead region, of course, owes its development to other than 
 agricultural causes or desires to subdue a new country. The 
 Rock river valley was rapidly filling up, especially in the upper 
 portion 'where water and good timber tracts were freely inter- 
 spersed with the prairie lands. Here the southwestern and 
 southern pioneer was seldom seen and New Englanders, New 
 Yorkers and Pennsylvanians formed the greater part of the 
 population. 
 
 Lack of money among the new settlers, trouble over land 
 claims and the difficulty of getting lumber and supplies from 
 the lines of water transportation, coupled with a lack of markets 
 for farm produce "w^ere the only drawbacks to the development 
 of the state at this time. Serious as these may seem, the de- 
 velopment of Illinois during this period of "boom" was a rapid 
 one and the ground work of settlement laid in the northern 
 
 [280] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLI>fOIS, 1830-50 507 
 
 part of the state during these years of prosperity was strong 
 enough to tide the young commmiities over the trying year's 
 to folloNv when it looked as if the state was surely to encounter 
 financial shipwreck. 
 
 In this period just described (1833 to 1837) the character of 
 the settlement of northern Illinois was fixed once for all — the 
 prairie man who was primarily a pioneer of the agricultural 
 class, or the third type in the succession as followed heretofore, 
 had now jumped into first place to the exclusion of the hunter 
 and the small farmer. Events had operated for this and the 
 result was inevitable. "While the pioneers who had occupied the 
 Illinois river woodlands were still safely residing in the south- 
 ern settlements w^aiting for the last echoes of the Black Hawk 
 War to die away on the frontier, events were shaping themselves 
 for a new immigration of a different type. Restlessness had 
 ever been a failing of Americans and it was increased after 1830 
 by a combination of influences. In the previously enumerated 
 causes^® may be found the reasons for the new flow of immi- 
 gration to Illinois, and in the application of steam to lake traffic 
 may be found the influence directing this stream of immigra- 
 tion, which gave eastern rather than southern characteristics to 
 northern Illinois. Illinois land was as fertile as any in the 
 "West and land was what the immigrant wanted ; Chicago was 
 the terminus of the lake route, a natural gateway to the prairies 
 and as a consequence when the great rage for speculation broke 
 out in the thirties and a wild rash was made to the West, Illi- 
 nois received a liberal share of the new settlers. 
 
 The hunter-pioneers who were again returning to the wood- 
 lands of the upper Illinois were few in numbers; the agricul- 
 tural pioneers from New England and New York were poured 
 into Illinois in swarms by the ever-increasing number of lake 
 steamei-s. As the mania for speculation increased, the army of 
 immigrants increased also, until all the available timber of 
 this portion of the state was taken up. The hunter was primar- 
 ily a frontiersman ; the new immigrant was primarily a farmer. 
 The former wished to keep the new country as a hunting ground, 
 a sort of frontier; the latter wished at the earliest possible per- 
 
 " Ch., II. 
 
 [281] 
 
568 BULLETIX OF THE UXIVEKSITY OF WISCON^SI]vr 
 
 iod of time to convert the new country into an agricultural 
 one. The hunter's woodlands were taken up; he knew nothing 
 of the prairie and in all probability did not care to cultivate 
 it. There was nothing left for him then but to move farther 
 to the West in quest of the frontier. In this contest for the 
 northern part of Illinois, volume and rapidity of transportation 
 had been on the side of the agricultural man and numbers and 
 steam had won, over inferior numbers and slower communi- 
 cation. The result was inevitable as soon as the transportation 
 problem had been solved, and to this element, primarily, it 
 seems, must the northern complexion of this part of Illinois 
 population be attributed. 
 
 The period of depression extends over the years from 1837 
 to 1843. Beginning in the eastern states the panic and its with- 
 ering results swept quickly over the entire country. Specula- 
 tion in western lands, in railways, in canals, in corner lots and 
 river fronts tied up much money which was needed to conduct 
 the business of the country. Overtrading, by means of which the 
 country was drained of its specie;-'' the rapid multiplication of 
 'wild-cat' banks-^ and subsequent suspension of specie pay- 
 ments, together with Jackson's specie circular, precipitated the 
 panic of 1837." 
 
 Distress prevailed in the East, especially among the laborers 
 and mechanics and in the rural districts the farmers soon began 
 to feel the effects of the situation. Those who could get away 
 from the cities did so and facing the West, looked to it to sup- 
 ply homes and a new start in life. Farmers were, however, not 
 able to sell their lands, for there were none who could buy. 
 Consequently it appears that the majority of the immigrants 
 to the West at this particular period, could not have belonged 
 to the agricultural class in their native states. It was expected 
 that a great influx of settlers would follow on the heels of this 
 panic and it was so stated by some of the western papers.^* 
 Observations made in the East show similar expectations, and 
 they, for a time at least, proved correct. A Boston paper of 
 
 =" Banker's Mayazine, 12, 390. 
 
 =1 Walker, Money, 319. 
 
 "* Wilson, Division and Reunion, 94. 
 
 "^ Cliicago Weekly American, May 13, 1837. 
 
 [283] 
 
I'OOLKY SKTTLKMKXT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 500 
 
 April 14, 1837, says "The emip:ration to the great west is rapidly 
 increasing from ditt'erent parts of the country. The present 
 stagnation in business — and the disastrous eifects upon our 
 mechanics and laborer's — will tend to send many of them from 
 our large towns and cities, where their services have been in 
 constant demand for some years."-* 
 
 The course of events in Illinois operated against the rapid 
 settlement of the state during this period. Had not its own 
 finances come into such a deplorable condition, Illinois could 
 have profited by the movement to the West. Local conditions 
 coupled with the general unsettled situation of the country 
 served to intensify the depression in the state and the six years 
 following 1837 were perhaps the darkest ones in its history. 
 
 Thousands of acres of land had been purchased by the set- 
 tlers and payments were regularly falling due. The effect of 
 the Specie Circular was to draw off coin. Money became very 
 scarce and the farmers, in order to obtain specie with which to 
 make payments on their lands, were compelled to pay rates of 
 interest which were excessively high. Twenty-five per cent, 
 was exacted on five year loans and sometimes as high as seventy- 
 five per cent, paid for one year loans.-'^ To make matters worse 
 counterfeit bank notes and much bogus coin got into circula- 
 tion.-^ The agricultural class suffered severely, too, on ac- 
 count of lack of markets. Few or no cash sales could be made 
 for farm produce and when such sales could be effected, prices 
 were - exceedingly low. Barter was the means of carrjnng on 
 trade and notes were sometimes drawn, payable in a cow or a 
 horse or other farm products.-^ 
 
 The state by 1842, was in debt $14,000,000 for money wasted 
 on internal improvements;-^ the domestic treasury was in ar- 
 rears over .$300,000 for ordinary governmental expenses; the 
 state banks were beginning to grow shaky and then to collapse. 
 After July, 1841, no attempt was made to pay even the interest 
 
 ^* Chicago Weekly American, May G, 1837 (Bosioyi Mercantile Journal. April 14, 
 1837). 
 
 M The New Yorker, Jan. 12, 1839. 
 
 »> The Netc Yorker. .Iiine 5, 1841. 
 
 '^ Clarke. History of McDonough Count;!. GO. 
 
 ** Blanchard, The Northtceat and Chicago, l. G63. 
 
 [283] 
 
oTO BULLETIX OF THE U^^IVEESITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 on the public debt; taxation was high and the people v/ere un- 
 able to pay even moderate rates. Illinois was in ill repute. 
 There was no trade; real estate Avas almost unsalable; business 
 was stagnated ; everybody wanted to sell his property and move 
 aAvay but there were only a few either abroad or within the 
 state who cared to buy. As it is summed up by Mr Blanch- 
 ard, the increase or decrease of Illinois' population for the per- 
 iod was small for ''the impossibility of selling (property) kept 
 us from losing population and the fear of disgrace and high 
 taxes prevented us from growing materially."-^ 
 
 Almost endless disputes over land claims arose during this 
 period to increase the turmoil in the state. Squatters had set- 
 tled upon government lands and made improvements and upon 
 the sale of these lands at the land offices, disputes over posses- 
 sion arose, for often those who had purchased a title to certain 
 lands found, upon their arrival upon their purchases, that they 
 were already occupied and portions placed under cultivation 
 by settlers who seemed not at all disposed to yield their rights 
 to the disputed tracts. 
 
 Affairs began to assume a better aspect towards the end of 
 1842 and the people began to take courage and commenced to 
 work their way out of the depression. Governor Ford, then the 
 chief executive of the state, opposed with might and main the 
 movement towards repudiation of the state's debt. Neither 
 did he wish immediate payment of this debt, if it was to in- 
 crease the burden of taxation. The sentiment of the legis- 
 lature of 1842 and 1843 was also against any great increase 
 of taxes, but finally a direct tax of one and one-half mills was 
 levied for the purpose of paying the interest on the debt.^" The 
 most noteworthy move of this legislature was the passage of a 
 set of resolutions in Avhich it was stated that as representatives- 
 of the state of Illinois the members of the legislature recog- 
 nized the legal and moral obligation of discharging every debt 
 contracted by authorized agents of the state. Furthermore^ 
 the resolution contained a direct disavowal of repudiation, and 
 as direct a statement that the revenues and resources of the 
 
 ^Jhid., 1, G59. 
 w/Wrf., 1, 6G2. 
 
 [284] 
 
rOOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 571 
 
 state would be appropriated to pay its debts as soon as such 
 appropriations eoiild be made without impoverishing and op- 
 pressing the people.'^ 
 
 The wise financial administration of Governor Ford and the 
 expression by the legislature against repudiation did much to- 
 wards renewing confidence in the state of Illinois, and, attracted 
 by the brilliant opportunities presented, immigrants again be- 
 gan to come in. The seasons of 1843 and 1844 were seasons of 
 poor crops which operated against the state's prosperity and 
 tended to delay the revival for a short time. 
 
 By 1846 there were $9,000 in the state's treasury instead of 
 a deficit; the auditor's warrants sold at par, or nearly so in- 
 stead of at a fifty per cent, reduction as in 1842; silver and 
 gold coins were replacing the bank notes of a few years before 
 and $3,000,000 of the state debt had been paid and the pay- 
 ment of $5,000,000 more provided for immediately upon the com- 
 pletion of the Illinois-Michigan canal, ^- It appeared that Ill- 
 inois had at last started upon the road to a sound financial sys- 
 tem and the increase of population by immigration during the 
 succeeding years shows to what extent this feeling of confidence 
 in the future of the state, was shared by such people of the 
 eastern states as were seeking homes in the West. 
 
 The recovery was. however, not an immediate one in all dis- 
 tricts. In the western portion of the state, in Mercer and Hen- 
 derson counties, as late as 1848, it was with great difficulty that 
 the farmers were able to procure enough money to pay for their 
 lands.^^ In Ogle county, too, money was scarce for several years. 
 Gradually the stream of new settlers increased, the timber lands 
 were all taken up and the more venturesome settlers pushed 
 short distances out into the prairies. 
 
 During the closing years of the decade, however, when Doug- 
 lass' Bill asking for a grant of land for the Illinois Central 
 railroad, was being discussed in Congress, attention was at- 
 tracted to the prairie region of the state and upon the passage 
 of the bill when the railroad became an assured fact, settlers 
 
 " yUes' Register, 63, 325. 
 
 =>- Blanchard, Xorthiccut and Chicago, 1, 664. 
 
 ^History of Mercer and Henderson Counties, 623. 
 
 [285] 
 
572 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF "WISCONSIN 
 
 began to take up the prairie land which had for more than 
 twenty years been open for occupation, but had not been bought. 
 The construction of the road effectually opened up the country, 
 giving the pioneers something to connect them with the rest 
 of the world. 
 
 In the nor-thern portion of the state conditions were some- 
 what similar. Lack of communication and of ready markets 
 retarded settlement. Chicago and Galena in opposite comers 
 of the state "were the only markets of considerable importance 
 and carting supplies to and from these points was slow work. 
 The northern railroad line was begun late in the forties and with 
 it came an increase of population, but in 1850 there was still 
 a great amount of unsettled country.^* Some emigration took 
 place from various quarters of the state in 1849 and 1850, 
 owing to the discovery of gold in Califomia,^^ but it was hardly 
 enough to be of much consequence. 
 
 Lines of transportation and communication influenced the 
 character of the settlement of the various districts of the state. 
 On the outskirts of the Great Prairie of eastern Illinois, in 
 the timbered portions, were found the pioneers of the south- 
 western states, who had come by the southern wagon roads to 
 this district. Later the men from Ohio and Indiana filled up 
 the remaining spaces. They, too, to a great extent, came by 
 various wagon roads and finding good land in this region were 
 content to settle upon it. In the middle Illinois river counties 
 the same thing is noticeable as in the southern portion of the 
 Military Tract. Contact with the central Illinois counties, 
 which were populated to a great extent by Kentuckians, in- 
 fluenced the population of these districts. Going farther to the 
 north we find in the upper Illinois river counties and the val- 
 leys of the Fox and Rock rivers, the New Yorkers and New 
 Englanders. They had come by the easiest road, over the Great 
 Lakes, and had settled in the northern countias before the south- 
 ern stream had reached the northern timber tracts. Across the 
 
 '■^ Lothrop, Directory of Champaign County, 122 ; Beckwith, History of Iro- 
 quois County, 337; Beckwith, History of Vermilion County, 801. 
 
 " History of McLean County, 232 ; Boies, History of DeEalb County, 404 ; His- 
 tory of Sangamon County, 536. 
 
 [286] 
 
rOOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 573 
 
 state in the lead region a community with southern sympathies 
 was planted. The ]\Iississippi river was the highway of com- 
 merce and travel for this part of the state and the southern 
 cities were the outlets of its commerce. As a consequence 
 southern influences were brought to bear directly on the inhab- 
 itants of the distnct. Many of the settlers were southerners by 
 birth and this fact combined with the close connection with 
 the South by way of the river tended to give the entire region 
 a marked southern tone. 
 
 The importance of communication is shown by the fact that 
 the chief cities, Quincy, Peoria, Rushville, Peru, Ottawa, Joliet, 
 Elgin. St. Charles, Rockford and Galena"*' were on or near the 
 rivers. Chicago and Waukegan were on Lake Michigan. 
 Many of the small inland villages, through the influence of the 
 railroads, grew to be of importance after 1850. 
 
 The census states that 736,931 native born Americans re- 
 sided in Illinois in 1850. Of these 343,618 were natives of the 
 state itself and 393,313 had come from other localities. Over 
 36,500 were New Englanders; 112.000 were from the Middle 
 States; nearly 52,600 were from the South Atlantic States; 
 2,400 from Kentuclry and Tennessee; 98,400 from the states of 
 the Northwest Territory, and 9,469 were from across the Miss- 
 issippi. New York sent 67,180 immigrants ; Ohio 64,219 ; Ken- 
 tucky, 49,588 ; Pennsylvania, 37,979 ; Tennessee, 32,303 ; Indiana, 
 30.953 and Virginia, 24,697. The other states each sent less 
 than 20,000. Not one New England state is found in the above 
 list, the greatest number coming from any of those states came 
 from Vermont, which sent 11,381. The representation from 
 California was the least of all — ^tliree.^^ 
 
 In closing the discussion it may be stated that the great per- 
 vading power which influenced the settlement of northern Ill- 
 inois and built up this portion of the state with astonishing 
 rapidity and which gave the northern character to its popula- 
 tion was the development of steam navigation upon the lakes. 
 It is true that the spirit of immigration pervaded the entire 
 nation and that this factor augmented by general influences 
 
 " Each town had 2,000 or more Inhabitants. 
 ^''Seventh CensuSj (1850), xxxvl. 
 
 [287] 
 
574 BULLETIX OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCOXSIX 
 
 sweeping over the East and by local conditions in its various 
 regions served as levers to start the movement westward with 
 tremendous force; but it remained for the transportation lines 
 of the Great Lakes to shape the course of the movement and to 
 turn the stream into Illinois through its gateway at Chicago. In 
 this respect the settlement of northern Illinois is typical of the 
 development of the North Middle States in that the influence 
 of the lines of transportation tended to reproduce in the New 
 West hundreds of communities in sympathy with their parent 
 states across the Alleghanies. The strong bonds of lines of 
 transportation connecting the East and the West, tended to 
 wipe out sectional feelings between these parts of the nation and 
 the lack of lines connecting the North and South serves to in- 
 crease this feeling between the North and the South. Sectional- 
 ism in the United States, with the increase of these transporta- 
 tion lines now changed rapidly from longitudinal to latitudinal. 
 Strictly speaking, the period from 1830 to 1850 is one of 
 varied characteristics, but taken in the light of the solution of 
 the problem of the prairies, it is one of beginnings only. The 
 pioneer as yet did not understand the wide, treeless areas around 
 him ; he lacked confidence in his ability to cope with the difficul- 
 ties they offered and he lacked the power to overcome these 
 obstacles single-handed. Steam was again to be the key to the 
 situation and during the following decade when the railroads 
 spanned the state south and west from Chicago the line of com- 
 munication with the East was completed. The market was 
 brought closer to the consumer and to the producer, the prob- 
 lem of obtaining lumber and merchandise at reasonable prices 
 was solved and most important of all, when the prairie farmer 
 was finally able to see railroad trains cross the state day after 
 day, he felt that no longer was he shut off from the rest of man- 
 kind when at last he swung clear of the timber and built his 
 cabin on the open prairie. 
 
 [288] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 575 
 
 Bibliography 
 
 Owing to the nature of the subject matter in this monograph 
 the material used is widely scattered. There are no works deal- 
 ing exclusively with the settlement of the state and one is, 
 therefore, compelled to search the state, county and city histories 
 for the desired information. 
 
 Information concerning the social and economic conditions 
 influencing the movement of population towards the West must 
 be sought in the local histories and newspapers of the eastern 
 states. Some of the government reports contain considerable 
 valuable material on these points. Estimates of the cost of 
 transportation are accessible in the numerous emigrants' guides 
 and gazetteers of the period ; routes of travel are also designated 
 but much information can be obtained on this point by con- 
 sulting the biographies of the early pioneers. The newspapers 
 tell much of the volume of immigration. 
 
 For the struggles of the pioneers with the prairies, local his- 
 tories, autobiographies and reminiscences of the early pioneers 
 are valuable, as are periodicals such as the Prairie Farmer 
 which contains much information concerning the cultivation of 
 the prairies. In the writings of the many travelers who passed 
 through the West in the years preceding 1850, information can 
 be had concerning pioneer society. However, it is well to use 
 these accounts with caution since many of the writers were not 
 friendly. J. B. McMaster's History of the People of the United 
 States, 5, chap, xlviii shows the feeling entertained by English 
 travelers towards the people and institutions of the United 
 States. In the proceedings, publications and collections of 
 learned societies are often found articles of interest treating of 
 pioneer days. 
 
 19 [ 289 ] 
 
676 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 I. General Authorities 
 
 (1) Illinois: 
 
 Illinais in 1837 (1837) ; 
 
 Illinois Blue Booh (1900); 
 
 Historical Encyclopaedia of Illinois (1900); 
 
 Breese, S., Early History of Illinois (1884); 
 
 Brown, H., History of Illinois (1844) ; 
 
 Brown, AV. H., An Historical Sketch of the Early Move* 
 
 ment in Illinois for the Legalization of Slavery, in 
 
 Fergus Historical Series, 4 ; 
 Carpenter, W. H., and Artlinr, T. S., History of Illinois 
 
 (1857) ; 
 Davidson, A., and Stuve, B., A Complete History of Illi- 
 
 nais from 1673 to 1873 (1874) ; 
 Edwards, N. TV., History of Illinois and Life and Times 
 
 of Ninian Edwards (1870) ; 
 Ford, T., History of Illinois (1854) ; 
 Flower, G., History of the English Settlement in Ed- 
 
 ivards County, Illinois (Chicago 1882) ; 
 Gerhard, F., Illi^iois As It Is (1857) ; 
 Goode, J. P., The Geography of Illinois. Maps; 
 Harris, N. D., History of Negro Servitude in Illinois 
 
 1719 to 1864 (1904) ; 
 James, E. J., Territorial Records of Illinois, in Illinois 
 
 State Historical Society Publications (1901) ; 
 MeCormick, H., A Topical Guide to the Study of the 
 
 History of Illinois. (Normal 111. 1906) ; 
 Moses, J., History of Illinois (2 vols. 1889-1892) ; 
 Parker, J. M., The growth of the State of Illinois and the 
 
 City of Chicago (1872) ; 
 Patterson, R. W., Early Society in Southern Illinois in 
 
 Fergus Historical Series, 2 ; 
 Reynolds, J., Illinois: My Own Times (1854, 1855 also 
 
 1879) ; 
 
 [ 290 ] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 577 
 
 Shaw, A., Local Government in Illinois in Johns Hop- 
 kins TJniversiUj Studies, 1. 
 (2) Generaij Works: 
 
 Panics and Cmnmeixial Revulsions in the United States 
 (1857) ; 
 
 Blanchard, R., The Northwest and Chicago (2 vols, Chi- 
 cago, 1898-1900) ; 
 
 Bourne, E. G., Distribution of the Surplu^s (1885) ; 
 
 Dewey, D. R., Financial History of the United States 
 (1903) ; 
 
 Gould, E, W., Fifty Years on the Mississippi (1889) ; 
 
 Haymond, W. S., Indiana (1879) ; 
 
 Hulburt, A. B., Historic Higlnvays of America (16 vols. 
 1902-1905) 9, Waterways of Expansion; 
 
 McCuUoch, H,, Men and Measures of Half a Century 
 (1888) ; 
 
 McMaster, J. B., A History of the People of the United 
 States 5, 6. (7 vols. 1883-1900) ; 
 
 Seott, W. A., Repudiation of State Debts (1893) ; 
 
 Stevens, F. E., The Black Haivk War (1903) ; 
 
 Strong, M. N., History of the Territory of Wisconsin 
 from 1836-184S (1885); 
 
 Taussig, F. W., Tariff History of the United States (re- 
 vised edition 1898) ; 
 
 Von Hoist, H., The Constitutional and Political History 
 of the United States, 2,3. (8 vols. 1876-1892) ; 
 
 Walker, C. B., The Mississippi Valley (1880); 
 
 Wilson, W., Division and Reunion, 1829-1889 (1901). 
 
 II. Public Documents, State Reports, Etc. 
 
 ^ ' '-■ , . i 
 
 Reports of the Superintendent of the Federal Census, especially 
 
 for 1830, 1840 and 1850; 
 Abstract of the Seventh Census (1850) ; 
 Compendium of the Seventh Census (1850) ; 
 Eighth Census (1860) Agriculture; 
 
 [291] 
 
578 BULLETIN OF THE UXIVEESITY OF "WISCONSIN 
 
 Twelfth Census (1900) Statistical Atlas; 
 
 Congressional Debates (1825-37) ; 
 
 The Congressional Globe (1833-1873) ; 
 
 Senate Documents (1817-1849) ; 
 
 ScTiate Miscellaneous Documents (1847-) ; 
 
 Executive Documents (1830-1847) ; 
 
 Ho^ise Executive Documents (1S47-) ; 
 
 House Miscellaneous Documents (1847-) ; 
 
 House Reports of Committees (1819-) ; 
 
 Reports of the Commissioner of Education; 
 
 Eighteenth Annual Report of the American Bureau of Ethnol- 
 ogy (1896-97) ; 
 
 Seventh Report of the Ohio State Board of Agriculture (1852) ; 
 
 Report of the Geological Survey of Ohio, 5; Economic Geology 
 (1884) ; 
 
 Report of the Illinois and Michigan Canal Commissioners 
 (1884) ; 
 
 Pillsbury, W. L., Early Education in Illinois in Sixteenth Bien- 
 nial Report of the Superintendent of Public Instruction of 
 the State of Illinois (1886) ; 
 
 Willard, S., Brief History of Early Education in Illinois in 
 the Fifteenth Annual Report of the Superintendent of Pub- 
 lic Instruction in the State of Illinois (1884) ; 
 
 Memorial of the Citizens of Cincinnati to the Congress of the 
 United States Relative to the Navigation of the Ohio and 
 the Mississippi Rivers (1844) ; 
 
 Constitution of the South Carolina Institute, for the Promotion 
 of Art, Mechanical Ingenuity and Industry (1849). 
 
 III. Publications of Historical Societies 
 
 Publications of the Illinois State Historical Society (1899- 
 1905). 
 
 Annual Proceedings of the Illinois Association of Sons of Ver- 
 mont (10 vols. 1877-1776) ; 
 
 Evanston Historical Society Publications (1902) ; 
 
 Early Campmeetings in the McLean County (III.) Historical 
 Society Transactions, 2, (1903) ; 
 
 [292] 
 
rOOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 579 
 
 Armstrong-, P. A., Historical Oration delivered before the Old 
 Settlers Association of Grundy County, Illinois, Jidy Jf., 
 1876 at Morris, Illinois (1876) ; 
 
 Boss, H. E., Early Newspapers in Illinois in Franklin So- 
 ciety Puhlications, 2, (1870) ; 
 
 Cheyney, E. P., The Anti-Rent Agination in the State of New 
 York 1839-1816 in the University of Pennsylvania Publi- 
 cations (1887) ; 
 
 Goodwin, H. M., A Commemorative Discourse delivered in the 
 First Congregational Church, Bockford, August IJf., 1870 
 (1870) ; 
 
 Gratiot, H., A Pioneer of Wisconsin in Wis. Hist. Society Col- 
 lections, 10; 
 
 Haines, J., Social Life and Scenes in the Early Settlement of 
 Centred Illinois in Transaction of the Illinois Stcto l:A;tQ.-- 
 ical Society (1905) ; 
 
 Kingston, J. T., Early Western Days in Wis. Hist. Society Col- 
 lections, 7 ; 
 
 Kofoid, Carrie P., Puritan Influence in the Formative Years of 
 Illinois History in Transactions of the Illinois State His- 
 torical Society (1905) ; 
 
 Murray, D., The Anti-Bent Episode in the State of New York 
 in J.m. Hist. Association Beports, 1, (1896) ; 
 
 Parkinson, D. ]\I., Pioneer Life in Wisconsin in Wis. Hist. So- 
 ciety Collections, 2 ; 
 
 Reizenstein, M., The Baltimore and Ohio Bailroad in John Hop- 
 kins University Studies, 15; 
 
 Eodolf, T., Pioneering in the Wisconsin Lead Begion in Wis. 
 Hist. Society Collections, 15; 
 
 Salisbury, G. H., The Specidative Craze of '36 in the Buffalo 
 Historical Society Puhlications, 4, (1896) ; 
 
 Sanford, A. H., State Sovereignty in Wisconsin in the Am. Hist. 
 Association Beports (1891) ; 
 
 Tenney, H. A., Early Times in Wiscoiisin in Wis. Hist. Society 
 Collections, 1 ; 
 
 Thwaites, R. G., Story of the Black Hawk War, in ihid., 12; 
 
 Notes on Early Lcadmining in the Fever {or Galen-a) Biver 
 Begion. in ibid., 13; 
 
 [293] 
 
680 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 Tipton, T. F., Sj^orts and Pastimes of the Pioneers in McLean 
 County Historical Society Transactions, 1, (1899) ; 
 
 "Walker, Capt. A., Early Days on the Lakes in the Buffalo His- 
 torical Society Publications, 5, (1902) ; 
 
 Ward, G. W., The Early Development of the Chesapeake and 
 Ohio Canal Project in the Johns Hopkins University Stud- 
 ies, 17; 
 
 Winden, J., Influence of the Erie Canal (MSS. Thesis, Univer- 
 sity of Wisconsin 1900). 
 
 IV. Reminiscences, Biographies, Papers, Etc. 
 
 Calhoun Papers in American Hist. Association Beports, 2, 
 (1899) ; 
 
 Stories of the Pioneer Mothers of Illinois (MSS. in the Illinois 
 Historical Library) ; 
 
 Cofifin, Levi, Reminiscences (1880) ; 
 
 Palmer, John M., Personal Recollections (1901) ; 
 
 Collyer, R., The Life of A. H. Conant (1868) ; 
 
 Bonner, T. D., Life and Adventures of Beckivourth (1858) ; 
 
 Chetlain, A. L., Recollections of Seventy Years (1899) ; 
 
 Ford, W. C, [Ed] Papers of James Monroe (1904) ; 
 
 Hamilton, H. E., [Ed] Incidents and Events in the Life of Gur- 
 don Saltonstall Huhhard (1888) ; 
 
 Ho'wells, W. C, Recollections of Life in Ohio from 1813 to 
 ISiO (1895) ; 
 
 McLaughlin, A. C, Lewis Cass (Boston, 1900) ; 
 
 Reid, H., Biographical Sketcli of Enoch Long, an Illinois Pio- 
 neer (1884) ; 
 
 Rombauer, R. E., Life of the Hon. Gustavus Koerner in Trans- 
 actions of the Illinois State Historical Society (1904) ; 
 
 Schurz, C, Henry Clay (2 vols., Boston, 1900) ; 
 
 Shaw, Col. J., Personal Narrative in Wis. Hist. Society Collec- 
 tions, 2 ; 
 
 Shephard, E. M., Martin Van Buren (Boston, 1900) ; 
 
 Thwaites, R. G., Narrative of Morgan L. Martin in Wis. Hist. 
 Society Collections, 2 ; 
 
 [294] 
 
POOLEY SKTTLEMEXT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 581 
 
 Tillson, C. H., Reminiscences of Early Life in Illinois, 1819 to 
 
 1827 (1870); 
 Willard, S., Personal Reminiscences of Life in Illinois, 1830^ 
 
 1850 in Transactions of the Illinois State Historical Society 
 
 (1906.) 
 
 V. Travels, Gazetteers and Emigrants' Guides 
 
 Those worlvs which have been most useful in the preparations 
 of this monograph are the following: 
 Abdy, E. S., Journal of a Residence and Tour in the United 
 
 States of North America 1833-1834 (London 1835) ; 
 Albach, J. R., Annals of the West (Cincinnati 1846, St. Louis 
 
 1850, Pittsburg 1857) ; 
 The Americans as They Are (London 1828) ; 
 A New Yorker. A Winter in the West (2 vols. New York 1835) ; 
 Atwater, C, W7'itings (Columbus, 0., 1833) ; 
 Barber, J. W., and Howe, H., All the Western States and Ter- 
 ritories (Cincinnati 1867) ; 
 Barclay, Capt, An Agricultural Tour in the United States and 
 
 Upper Canada (Edinburgh and London 1842) ; 
 Beck, L. C, A Gazetteer of the States of Illinois and Missouri 
 
 (Albany 1823) ; 
 Blois, J. T., Gazetteer of the State of Michigan . . . and a 
 
 Directory for Emigrants (Detroit and New York 1840) ; 
 Bremer, Fredrika, The Homes of the New World; Impressions 
 
 of America (2 vols, translated by Mary Howett, New York, 
 
 1853); 
 Brown. R. S., Western Gazetteer (1817) ; 
 
 Buckingham, J. S., The Eastern and Western States of Amer- 
 ica (3 vols. London 1842) ; 
 Chevalier, I\I., Society, Manners and Politics in the United States 
 
 (Boston 1839) ; 
 Collins, S. H., The Emigrants' Guide to and Description of 
 
 the United States of America (London 1830) ; 
 Conkej^ "W., A Journey from 3Iassachusetts to Illinois in 1830 
 
 in Transactions of the lUinais State Historical Society 
 
 (1906) ; 
 
 [ 295 J 
 
5S2 BULLETIN OF THE UiXIVEKSITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 Curtiss, D. S., Western Portraiture and Emigrants' Guide (New- 
 York, 1852) ; 
 Dana, E., Geographical Sketches on the Western Country (Cin- 
 cinnati 1819) ; 
 Davis, W. W., A Trip From Pennsylvania to Illinois in 1851 
 
 in Transactions of the Illinois State Historical Society 
 
 (1904) ; 
 De Bow, J. D., The Industrial Resources of the United States 
 
 (3 vols. New York 1854) ; 
 Faux, W., McmoraUe Days in America (London 1823) ; 
 Farnham, Eliza W., Life in Prairie Land (New York 1846) ; 
 Ferrall, S. A., A Ramble of 6000 Miles Through the United 
 
 States of America (London 1832) ; 
 Ferguson, W., Ameiica by River and Rail (London 1856) ; 
 Flint, T., History and Geography of the Mississippi Valley (2 
 
 vols., edition 1832) ; 
 
 Letters from America (Thwaites Edition) ; 
 Fordham, E. P., Personal Narrative (edited by F. A. Oc;^) ; 
 Godley, J, R., Letters from America (2 vols. London 1844) ; 
 
 Guide to the Illinois Central Railroad Lands (Chicago 
 1861) ; 
 Grand, F. J., The Americans in Their Moral, Social and Polit- 
 ical Relations (2 vols. London 1837) ; 
 Hall, J., Letters from the West (Cincinnati 1828) ; 
 
 Legends of the West (Cincinnati 1833) ; 
 
 Statistics of the West (Cincinnati 1836) ; 
 
 Notes on the Western States (Cincinnati 1838) ; 
 Hall, E. H., The Northern Counties, Gazetteers and Directory 
 
 for 1855-1856 ; A Perfect and Complete Guide to Northern 
 
 Illinois (Chicago 1855) ; 
 Harding, B., Tours Through tlte Western Countrij, 1818- 
 
 1819 (New London 1819) ; 
 Hawes, G. W., Illinois State Gazetteer and Business Directory 
 
 for 1858-1859 (Chicago 1859); 
 Jones, A. D., Illinois and the West (Boston and Phila. 1838) ; 
 Latrobe, C. J., The Rambler in North America (2 vols. New 
 
 York 1835); 
 Lewis Rev. G., Impressions of America (Edinburgh 1845) ; 
 Lloyd-Jones, C, Immigration Routes to Wisconsin (MSS. Thesis 
 
 University of Wisconsin 1902) ; 
 
 [296] 
 
roOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 583 
 
 MacGregor, J., Commercial Statistics of America (London) ; 
 
 Mai-shall, J. T., Fanner's and Emigrant's Handbook (New 
 York 1845) ; 
 
 Martineaii, Harriett, Society in America, 1834-1836 (3 vols. 
 London 1837) ; 
 
 Meeker, N. C, Life in the West (New York 1868) ; 
 
 Mitchell, S. A., Sketches of Illinois (Pliila. 1838) ; 
 
 Murray, C. A., Travels in North A^nerica (2 vols. London 1854) ; 
 
 Norris and Gardiner, Illinois Annual Register and Western 
 . Business Directory for 1847 (Chicago 1847) ; 
 
 Patten, E., A Glimpse at the United States and the Northern 
 States of America (London 1853) ; 
 
 Peck, J. M., Guide for Emigrants (1831) ; 
 
 Peck, Rev. G., Traveler's Directory for Illinois in the Metho- 
 dist Quarterly Review, July, 1843; 
 
 Peyton, J. L., A Statistical View of the State of Elinois (Chi- 
 cago 1855) ; 
 
 Rantoul, R., Letter to Robert Schuyler . . . on the Value 
 of the Public Lands of Illinois (Boston 1851) ; 
 
 Regan, J., The Emigrant's Guide to the Western States of 
 America (Edinburgh 1852) ; 
 
 RejTiolds, J., Sketches of the Country on the Northern Raute 
 from Belleville, Illinois to the City of New York (Belle- 
 ville 1854); 
 
 Salsbacher, Dr. J., Jlcine Reise nach der Vereinigten Staaten 
 (Vienna 1845) ; 
 
 Scott, Rev. J. L., A Journal of a Missionary Tour (Providence, 
 1843) ; 
 
 Shultz, C, Travels on an Inland Voyag^e (2 vols. New York 
 1810) ; 
 
 Smith, J. C, The Western Tourist and Emigrants' Guide (New- 
 York 1839); 
 
 Stuart, J., Three Years in North America (2 vols. New York 
 1833) ; 
 
 Steele, Mrs., A Summer Journey in the West (New York 1841) ; 
 
 Tanner, H. S., View of the Valley of the Mississippi (1834) 
 
 Thomason, Rev. D. R., Hints to Emigrants (London 1849) 
 
 Thwaites, R. G. [Ed.], Early Western Travels (1748-1846) 
 
 [297] 
 
584 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WlSCOIfSIX 
 
 Van Zandt, N. B., A Full Description . . . of the Military 
 Lands between the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers (Wash- 
 ington, 1818) ; 
 
 Vieiv of the Valley of the Mississippi or the Emigrants' and 
 Travellers' Guide to the West (Phila. 1834) ; 
 
 "Warden, D. B., Statistical, Political and Historical Account of 
 the United States of North America (3 vols. Edinburgh, 
 1819) ; 
 
 "Whittlesey, C, Recollections of a Tour through Wisco7isin in 
 1832 in Wis. Hist. Socidij Collections, 1 ; 
 
 Wyse, F., America; Its Realities and Resources (3 vols. London, 
 1846). 
 
 "VI. Periodicals 
 
 Considerable information has been gathered from periodicals 
 both American and European, but the material is scattered. 
 The articles in the European magazines deal chiefly with eco- 
 nomic and social conditions and are noted in that part of the 
 bibliography dealing with immigration and foreigners in Ill- 
 inois. 
 
 Many newspapers of value for material on Illinois are found 
 in the files in the Chicago Historical Society and those in the 
 Merchants Library at St. Louis. 
 
 For the files in the State Historical Library of "Wisconsin, see 
 the Annotated Cdtalogue of Newspaper Files (1899) ; 
 
 The following publications were used constantly: 
 DeBoiv's Commercial Review of the South and West (1846- 
 
 1860). 
 Hazard, S., [Ed.] United States Commercial and Statistical 
 
 Register (1839—). 
 Hunt's Merchants' Magazine and Commercial Review (1839- 
 
 1870). 
 Niles' Weekly Register (1811-1849). 
 Illinois Monthly Magazine (1831-1832). 
 The Prairie Farmer (1840 — ). 
 The Western Monthly Magazine (1833-1837). 
 Others which have been used to a less degree are: 
 
 [ 298 ] 
 
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 585 
 
 Hazard, S., [Ed.] Ecgistcr of Pennsylvania (1828-1836). 
 
 Homaus. J. S., [Ed.] Tlie Banker's Magazine and State Fi- 
 nancial Register, 12. 
 
 Latid We Love, 5. 
 
 Magazine of Western History (1884-1891). 
 
 Putnam's Monthly Magazine of American Literature, Science 
 and Art, 4. 
 
 The A^nerican Railroad Journal and General Advertiser (1845- 
 1861). 
 
 The Atlantic Monthly, 26. 
 
 The Christian Examiner, 51, 82. 
 
 The Family Magazine, 6. 
 
 The Nation, 8. 
 
 The National Cale^idar (1830). 
 
 The New Englander, 52. 
 
 Yale Review, 1. 
 
 Scattered material has been found in the following Illinois 
 
 newspapers : 
 
 Chicago American (1835-1842). 
 
 Chicago Democrat (1833-1861). 
 
 Chicago Express (1843). 
 
 Chicago Evening Post (for Sept. 5, 1896). 
 
 Chicago Inter Ocean (for Dec. 14, 1904). 
 
 Chicago Journal (1844-1853). 
 
 Chicago Times (for April 30, 1846). 
 
 Chicago Tribune (1847). 
 
 Gem of the Prairies (1847-1851). 
 
 Illinois Advocate and State Register (1833-1835). 
 
 Minei*'s Journal (1826). 
 
 Miner's Free Press (1840). 
 
 Nauvoo Neighbor (1843-1845). 
 
 Nauvoo New- Citizen (for Feb. 24, 1847). 
 
 Nauvoo Times and Seasons (for Sept. 15, 1841). 
 
 Northwestern Gazette and Galena Advertiser (1834 ). 
 
 Peoria Register and Northwestern Gazetteer (1837-1839). 
 
 Rock ford Forum (1847). 
 
 Rock River Gazette (for Oct. 14, 1842). 
 
 Sangamo Journal (1836-1838). 
 
 [299] 
 
586 BULLETlJSr OF THE U^^IVEKSITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 Semi-Weekly Galena Jeffersonian (1845-1855). 
 
 The Western Pioneer and Baptist Standard Bearer (1830- 
 
 1835). 
 Warsaw Signal (for Oct. 13, 1846). 
 Western Citizen (1842-53). 
 Western Herald (1846-1847). 
 
 Newspapers published outside of Illinois: 
 Albany Argus (1813-1856). 
 Alha7iy Cultivator (1834). 
 American Agricidturist (1842), 
 Boston Patriot (1809-1831). 
 Boston Weekly Messenger (1811). 
 Buffalo Commercial Advertiser (1844-47). 
 Cincinnati Chromcle (1836-1850). 
 
 Cincinnati Gazette (1815 ). 
 
 Delaware (N. Y.) Courier (for Jan. 29, Feb. 6, 1864). 
 
 Delaware (N. Y.) Gazette (for Sept., 1841). 
 
 Genesee Farmer (1831-1840). 
 
 Greeiie County (0.) Torchlight (1838). 
 
 Louisville Weekly Messenger (1836-1838). 
 
 Madison Express (1839-1848). 
 
 New York Era (for Sept. 5, 1837). 
 
 New York Weekly Herald (1841). 
 
 New York World (1860). 
 
 The New Yorker (1836-1841). 
 
 The Ohio Statesman (1837). 
 
 Wheeling Gazette (for Sept. 1, 1832). 
 
 Wisconsin Enquirer (1838-1842). 
 
 Wiskonsan Enquirer (1842). 
 
 VII. Local Histories 
 
 Much of the material upon the specific settlements of the state 
 has been obtained from county histories. When there are two or 
 more of the same county, both are noted. They differ in re- 
 liability and must be used with caution. When the histories 
 of two or more counties are in one volume, they are grouped 
 in the summary under one title. The following works have 
 been consulted in addition to county histories of other states; 
 
 [300] 
 
rOOLKY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 587 
 
 Adams County, (1879). 
 
 Alexander, Union and Pidaski Counties, (1883). 
 
 Bond and Mmiigomcry Counties, (1882). 
 
 Boone County, (1877). 
 
 Bureau County, Voters and Tax payers, (1877). 
 
 Bradsby. Henry C, History of Bureau County, (1885). 
 
 IMatson, Xehemiah, Reminiscences of Bureau County, (1872). 
 
 Carroll County, (1878). 
 
 Cass County, (1882). 
 
 Champaign County. (1878). 
 
 Lotlirop, J. S., Champaign County Directory, (1871). 
 
 Coles County, (1879). 
 
 Andreas, A. T., Cook County, (1884). 
 
 Crawford and Clark Counties. (1883). 
 
 Cumberland, Jasper and Richland Counties, (1884). 
 
 Boies, Henrys L., De Kail) County, (1868). 
 
 De Kalh County, Voters and Tax payers, (1876). 
 
 De Witt County, (1882). 
 
 Blanehard. Rnfns. Du Page County, (1882). 
 
 Richmond, C. W. and Vallette, H. F., Du Page County, (1857). 
 
 Edgar Coamty, (1879). 
 
 Effingham County, (1883). 
 
 Fayette County. (1878). 
 
 Fultmi County, (1879). 
 
 Gallatin, Saline, Hamilton, Franklin and Williamson Counties, 
 
 (1887). 
 Greene County, (1879). 
 Grundy County, (1882). 
 Gregg. Tliomas, Hancock County, (1880). 
 Henry County, Tax Payers and Voters, (1877). 
 Beckwith, Hiram W., Iroquois County, (1880). 
 Jefferson County, (1883). 
 Jo Daviess Comity, (1878). 
 Kane County. (1878). 
 Hiel^s, E. "W., Kendall County, (1877). 
 Knox County, (1878). 
 Haines, Elijah W., Lake County, (1852). 
 
 [ 301 ] 
 
588 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVEESITY OF WISCONSIN- 
 
 Lake County, (1877). 
 
 La Salle County, (1886). 
 
 La Salle County, Past and Present, (1877). 
 
 Baldwin, Elmer., La Salle County, (1877). 
 
 Lee County, (1881). 
 
 Livingston County, (1878). 
 
 Macon Comity, (1880). 
 
 Madison County, (1882). 
 
 Marion and Clinton Counties, (1881). 
 
 Mc Donough County, (1878 and 1885). 
 
 Mc Henry Comity, (1886). 
 
 Mc Lean County, (1879). 
 
 Duis, Dr. E., Good old Times in Mc Lean County, (1874). 
 
 Menard and Mason Counties, (1879). 
 
 Mercer County, (1882). 
 
 Ogle Comity, (1878). 
 
 Ogle County, Sketches, (1859). 
 
 Peoria County, (1880). 
 
 Pike County, (1880). 
 
 Ford, Henry A., Putnam and Marshall Counties (1860). 
 
 Rock Island County, (1877). 
 
 Henderson, John G., Early History of the Sa/ngamon Country, 
 
 (1873). 
 Schuyler and Brown Counties, (1882). 
 Shelby and Moultrie Counties, (1881). 
 St. Clair County, (1881). 
 Stephenson County, (1880). 
 
 Johnston, W. J., Sketches of Stephenson County, (1854). 
 Beckwith, Hiram "W., Vermilion County, (1879). 
 Coffeen, Henry A., Vermilion County, (1871). 
 Warren County, (1877). 
 Whiteside County, (1877). 
 Will County, (1878). 
 Winnebago County, (1877). 
 Woodford County, (1878). 
 
 [302] 
 
rOOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 589 
 
 VIII. Biographical Records 
 
 In connection with the county histories enumerated, the fol- 
 lowing Biographical Records were of value in determining the 
 
 nativities of the early settlers: 
 
 Bureau, Marshall and Putnam Counties, (Clarke, Chicago, 
 1896). 
 
 De Kalb County, (Clarke, 1898). 
 
 De Witt County, (Clarke, 1901). 
 
 Hancock, McDonough and Henderson Counties, (1894). 
 
 Jo Daviess and Carroll Counties, (Chapman Bros., Chicago,^ 
 1889). 
 
 Kane County, (Beers, Leggett & Co., Chicago, 1888). 
 
 Kankakee County, (1893). 
 
 Kendall County, (George Fisher & Co., Chicago, 1876). 
 
 Livingston and Woodford Counties, (1900). 
 
 McLean County, (Clarke, 1899). 
 
 Ogle County, (Clarke, 1899). 
 
 Rock Island County, (1885). 
 
 Whiteside County, (Chapman Bros., 1885) ; also one by Clarke, 
 1900. 
 
 Winnebago and Boone Counties, (Chicago Biographical Pub- 
 lishing Co., 1892). 
 
 Woodford County, (Chapman Bros., 1889). 
 
 IX. Histories of Chicago 
 
 A great deal has been written upon Chicago and its wonder- 
 ful gro\vth. Of the mass of material, the following works were 
 found most useful : 
 
 Andreas, A. T.. History of Chicago, (3 Vols. 1885). 
 Balestier, Joseph N., Annals of Chicago in Fergus Histo-rical 
 
 Series, 1. 
 Binckley, J. M., The Chicago of the Thinker, in the Lakeside, 
 
 Oct., 1873. 
 Bross, "W., History of Chicago, (1876). 
 
 Colbert, E. and Chamberlin, E., Chicago and the Great Con- 
 flagration, (1872). 
 
 [303] 
 
590 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 Cleaver. C, A History of Chicago from 1833 to 1892, (1892). 
 
 Flinn, J. J., and Wilkie, J. E., A History of the Chicago Police, 
 (1887). 
 
 Gale, E. 0., Reminiscences of Early Chicago and Vioinity, 
 (1902). 
 
 Hayes, A. A., Jr., Metropolis of the Praines, in Harper's Maga- 
 zine, Oct., 1880. 
 
 Hulbert, H. H., Chicago Antiquities, (1881). 
 
 Kirkland, J., Story of Chicago, (2 vols. 1892-1894). 
 
 Mason, E. G., Early Chicago and Illinois, (1890). 
 
 Moses, J. and Kirkland, J., History of Chicago, (2 vol. 1895). 
 
 Sheahan, J. W., and Upton, G. P., The Great Conflagration, 
 (1872). 
 
 Van Dorn, L., A View of Chicago in 1848 in Magazine of West- 
 ern History, May, 1889. 
 
 "Wentwortli, J., Reminiscences of Early Chicago, in Fergus 
 Historical Series, 1. 
 
 By Gone Days and Early Chicago, (A collection of newspaper 
 articles on the early history of Chicago. Chicago Histori- 
 cal Society Library). 
 
 General Directory and Business Advertiser of the City of Chi- 
 cago, (1844). 
 
 Historical and Commercial Statistics of Chicago in Western 
 Journal and Civilian, April, 1854. 
 
 Industrial Chicago, (6 vols., 1894). 
 
 Statistical and Historical View of Chicago, (1869). 
 Other local histories are: 
 
 Asbury, H., Reminiscences of Qimicy, (1882). 
 
 Ballance, C, The History of Peoria, (1870). 
 
 Bascom, Rev. F.. An Historical Discourse: Confimemorative of 
 the Settlement of Galeshurg, (Galesburg, 1866). 
 
 Carr, E. I., The History of RocUon, 1820 to 1893, (1898). 
 
 Church, C. A., History of Rochford, (1900). 
 
 Davidson, J. N., Some Distinctive Characteristics of the History 
 of our Lead Region in Forty Sixth Annual Proceedings of 
 State Historical Society of Wisconsin, (1899). 
 
 Drown, S. D., Record and Historical View of Peoria, (1850). 
 
 Eads, A. B., Illustrated History of Rockford, (1884). 
 
 [304] 
 
rOOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 591 
 
 Flagler, D. "\V., Ilistorij of the Koch Island Arsenal, (1877). 
 Meeker, M., Early History of the Lead Region of Wisconsin in 
 
 Wis. Hist. Soc. Collections, 6. 
 Redmond, P. H., History of Quincy, (1869). 
 Roy, J. E., Memorial Address and Proceedings at the Thirtieth 
 
 Anniversary of the Settlement of Geneseo, (Chicago, 1867). 
 Sellon, C. J., History of Galeshurg, (1857). 
 Washbume, E. B., The Lead Region and Lead Trade of the 
 
 Upper Mississippi in Hunt's Merchant's Magazine, March 
 
 1848. 
 Woodruff, G. H., Forty Years Ago — A Contribution to the 
 
 Early History of JoUet and Will County, (1874), 
 History of Dixon and Lee County, (1870). 
 History of the City of Elgin, {Chicago Republican, March 16,. 
 
 1867). 
 Galena and Its Lead Mines in Harper's Magazine, May, 1866.. 
 
 X. Foreigners in Illinois 
 
 Information concerning the conditions in Europe which lead 
 
 to emigi'ation can be found in the periodicals of the time. The 
 
 location of this population in Illinois is easiest found in the 
 
 local histories and in the secondary works on foreigners in the 
 
 United States. The following works have been useful in 
 
 gathering material: 
 
 Deutsch-Amerikanische GeschichshUitter (Chicago 1900 — ). 
 
 Schriften des Vereins fiir Social Politik, 52. 
 
 European Etnigration to the United States in Edinburgh Re- 
 view, July, 1854. 
 
 Foreign Immigration, Its Natural and Extraordinary Causes 
 in American Whig Revieiv, Nov., Dec, 1847; April ,1848; 
 
 Immigj-ation into the United States in DeBow's Review, ISIarch, 
 1848. 
 
 Manufacturing Emigration in Litt ells' Living Age, Jan., 1847. 
 
 The Famine Lands in ibid., April, 1847. 
 
 The Revolutions of Europe, 1830-1840 in the North American 
 Review, July, 1848. 
 
 German Emigration in Littell's Living Age, Oct., 1846. 
 
 20 [ 305 ] 
 
592 BULLETIX OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 German Emigration to America in the North American Review, 
 
 July, 1820. 
 Our Poor Law Administration in the British Quarterly Review, 
 
 April, 1868. 
 Present Conditions of Great Bntian in the Edinburgh Review, 
 
 April, 1851. 
 The Modern Exodus in its Effects on the British Isles in the 
 
 North British Review, Nov., 1852. 
 Ireland and Its Famine in the British Quarterly Revieiv, May, 
 
 1847. 
 Ireland in 1834 in the Dublin University Magazine, Jan., 1835. 
 The Irish in America in the Metropolitan Jan., 1857. 
 The American Review, 6. 
 Blackwood's Magazine. 64. 
 The Dublin Revieiv, 1, 15. 
 The Fortnightly Revieiv, 8. 
 The Harbinger, 2. 
 Anderson, R. B., The First Chapter on Norwegian Immigration, 
 
 1821-1840 (Madison, 1895). 
 Bagenal, P. H., The American Irish and their Influence on Irish 
 
 Politics (London 1882). 
 Becker, M. J., The Germans of 1849 in America (1887). 
 Bruncken, E., How Germans become Americans in Wis. Hist. 
 
 Society Proceedings (1898). 
 Burritt, E., Ireland; in Littell's Living Age, April, 1847. 
 Campbell, C. B., Bourbonnais; or the Early French Settlement 
 
 in Kankakee County in Transactions of the Illinois State 
 
 Historical Society (1906). 
 Chickering, J., Immigration into the United States, (1848). 
 Condon, E. 0., The Irish Race in America (1887). 
 Copeland, L. A., The Cwnish in Southwestern Wisconsin in 
 
 Wis. Hist. Society Collections, 14. 
 Engels, F., The Condition of the Working Class in England in 
 
 1844 (Translated by Florence K. Wischnewetzky, New 
 
 York, 1887). 
 Flom, G. T., The Scandinavian Factor in the American Popu- 
 lation in Iowa Journal of History and Politics, 3. 
 Hale, E. E., Letters on Irish Emigration (1852). 
 
 [306] 
 
POOLET SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 593 
 
 Kapp, F., Immigration and the Commissioners of Emigration 
 of the State of New York (1870). 
 
 Kopfli, S., and Eggen, J., Die Schweizer-Kolonie Highland in 
 Illinois in Deiitch-Amerikanische Geschichtsbldtter, April- 
 July, 1905. 
 
 Korner, G., Das Deutsche Element in den Vereinigten Staaten 
 von Nordamerika 1818-1848 (Cincinnati, 1880). 
 
 Lalor, J, J., The Germans in the West, in the Atlantic Monthly 
 Oct., 1873. 
 
 Levi, Mrs. K. E., Geographical Origin of German Immigration to 
 Wisconsin, in Wis. Hist. Society Collections, 14. 
 
 Luchsinger, J., The Planting of the Swiss Colony at New Glarus, 
 Wisconsin in Wis. Hist. Society Collections, 12. 
 
 Maguire, J. F., The Irish in America (1868). 
 
 McLaughlin, A., The Immigrant, Past and Present, in the Pop- 
 ular Science Monthly, July, 1904. 
 
 Nelson, 0. N., History of Scandinavia and Succcssfxd Scandi- 
 navians in the United States (2 vols. 1893). 
 
 Newbauer, Ella F., The Siviss Settlements in Madison County, 
 Illinois in Transactions of the Illinois State Historical So- 
 ciety (1906). 
 
 Onahan. "W. G., Irish Settlements in Illinois in the Catholic 
 World, May, 1881. 
 
 Rahr, L. F., German Immigration to the United States i840- 
 1850 (MSS. Thesis, University of Wisconsin 1903). 
 
 Shea, J. G., The Canadian Element in the United States, in the 
 American Catholic Quarterly Review, Oct. 1879. 
 
 Smith, C. W., A Contribution towards a Bibliography of Morris 
 Birkbeck and the English Settlement in Edwards County, 
 Illinois in Transactions of the Illinois Historical Society 
 (1905). 
 
 Steinach, A., Schweizer Eolonien (N. Y. 1889). 
 
 Traill, H. D., [Ed.] Social England, 6. (6 vols. 1897.) 
 
 Turner, F. J., German Immigration into the United States in 
 the Chicago Becord-Herald, Sept, 4, 1901. 
 
 Young, E., Special Report on Immigration (1872). 
 
 Young, E,, Labor in Europe and America (1875). 
 
 [307] 
 
594 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 XI. Social Settlements 
 
 Amberley, V., TJie Latter Day Saints in the Fortnightly Re- 
 view, Nov., 1869. 
 
 Beadle, J. H., Life in Utah. 
 
 Bennett, J. C, History of the Saints, (1842). 
 
 Berrian, W., Catalogue of Books, Eaiiy Newspapers and Pamph- 
 lets on Mormonism, (1898). 
 
 Berry, O. F., The Mormon Settlements in Illinois in Transac- 
 tions of the Illinois State Historical Society (1906). 
 
 Bigelow, H., The Bishop Hill Colotiy in the Illinois Historical 
 Society Proceedings (1902). 
 
 Brisbane, A., Articles on Fourierism in the New York Tribune 
 (1841-1843). 
 
 Caswall, H., The Prophet of the Nineteenth Century (London 
 1843). 
 
 Ounnison, J. W., The Mormons or Latter Day Saints in the 
 Valley of the Great Salt Lake (1852). 
 
 Oregg, T., The Prophet of Palmyra (1890). 
 
 Haven, Charlotte. A Girl's Letter from Nauvoo in the Overland 
 Monthly, 16, 17. 
 
 Hillquit, M., History of Socialism in the United States (1903). 
 
 Hinds, W. A., American Communities (1902). 
 
 Kennedy, J. H., Early Days of Mormonism, (1888). 
 
 Mikkelson, M. A., The Bishop Hill Colony in the Johm Hop- 
 kins University Studies, 10. 
 
 Miller, Mrs. J. G., The Icarian Community of Nauvoo, Tllinois 
 in Transactions of the Illinois State Historical Society 
 (1906). 
 
 Noyes, J. H., History of American Socialism (1870). 
 
 Robinson, Madame E. Fleury, A Social Experiment in The 
 Open Court, Aug. 28, Sept. 11, 1890. 
 
 Shaw, A., Icaria, (1884). 
 
 Smith, President Joseph, and Smith, Apostle H. C, History of 
 the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Sadnts, (4 
 vols. Lamoni, la., 1902). 
 
 [308] 
 
rooLEV — sirrTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 5r>5 
 
 'Smucker, S. M., The Religious, Social and Political Ilistonj of 
 
 the Mormons (1858). 
 ■Stenhouse, T. B. II., The Rocky Mountain Saints (1873). 
 Charter and By-Laws of the Icarian Community, (1857). 
 The Detriments of Civilizaiion and Benefits of Association, as 
 
 taught by Cliarlcs Fourier . . . (1844). 
 ..A Handbook of Reference to the History, Chronology, Religion 
 
 and Country of the Latter Day Saints . . . (1884). 
 
 '[ 309 ] 
 
THE SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS FROM 1830 TO 1850 
 
 BY 
 
 WILLIAM VIPOND POOLEY 
 
 A THESIS SUBMITTED FOR THE DEGREE OP DOCTOR OP PHILOSOPHY 
 UNIVERSITY OP WISCONSIN 
 
 1905 
 
 (REPSINTBD from the bulletin of the university of WISCONSIN 
 HISTORY SERIES, VOL. I, PP. 287-595.) 
 
 MADISON, WISCONSIN 
 1908 
 

 
 
 
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