The Good Old Times in McLean County, Illinois, containing two hundred and sixty-one sketches of old settlers. A complete historical sketch of the Black Hawk War

Citation preview

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\ OF THE OF ILLINOIS V AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN

LIBRARY UNIVERSITY

977.359 D88g

I.H.S.

:

THE

GOOD OLD McLEAN COUNTY,

T

r

ES

ILLINOIS,

CONTAINING

Two Hundred and

Sixty-one Sketches of Old Settlers.

A COMPLETE

Historical

And

Sketch of the Black

Hawk War

descriptions of all matters of interest relating to

Written by Dr.

McLean

E DUIS,

LATE PROFESSOR OF GERMAN IN THE BLOOMINGTON

PtTBlilC

SCHOOLS.

BLOOMINGTON THE LEADER PUBLISHING AND PRINTING HOUSE. IS 7 4

County,

5

Entered, according


ls - 7 1828

211

1829

215

William H. Allin

Jonathan Maxson

206 208

jr

am Lindley

Hon. James Allin

190 193

Rev. Robert E. Guthrie

George Hinshaw.

177

182

Fal1 of

Robert Guthrie

Dr.

66

168

William Piiiimitt

Adam

1

September, 1830

216

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

IX IUTE OF SETTLEMENT. Fall of 1830

22]

Hon. John Moore

October, 1830

225

AmasaC. Washburn Dr. Stephen Ward Noble Abraham Stansberry James 0. Harbord Ephraim Platte Hon. James B. Price George Price John J. Price Lewis Bunn William C. Warlow John Lindley

1831 •'

Dr. John F.

1832

236 239

Spring of 1833 October, 1833

242 246

"

251

"

1833 ••

252

255

••

256

"

258

"

261

Fall of 1831

262

1835

276

Judge David Davis Elder William T. Major Chastine Major Dr. Laban S. Major Dr. John M. Major

Thomas Fell John Magoun Thomas Jefferson Karr Hon. James Miller

245

"

"

Henry

General A. Gridley

228

236

October, 1832

Allen Withers

1

PAGE.

David Simmons

"

288

"

290

••

292

200

" October, 1835

298

1835

301

"

306

•'

308 309-

William H. Temple

"

James Depew. Matthew H. Hawks Samuel Lander

"

312

"

314

Fall

William Thomas

Spring 1836

320

318

1835

Thomas Williams

•'

••

Kersey H. Fell

"

'

330

1836

336

Spring 1837

338

William

F.

Flagg

Judge John E. McCluu

Abraham Brokaw Andrew W. Scoggin

•'

348

1837

351

"

354

"

Dr. C. Wakefield

William O. Viney

August, 1837

John T. Gunnel! John W. Billings Henry Richardson

358

"

361

"

364 369

•'

Joshua Fell Jonathan Glimpse Dr. Henry Conkling Cheney's Grove. Jonathan Cheney Hon. William Haines Chene.y George Cheney

326

•

371

"

373

376

Fall 1838

1825

383

"

387

"

389




"

"

7'";

"

" 1833

798 son

March, 1834

802

Fall 1831

805

Spring 1834

806

John

If.

Stewart

Joseph E. Noble

V

Dr. Harrison Nobl

Walter Karr William Rust

John

F.

Rust

'

William M. Rust

Harvey J. Rust Campbell Wakefield Dr. Thomas Karr William Karr George Martin

Fall

1834

Juu«>, ..'

so'.'

810

••

'•

Icto

1835 1.

IS:;.",

812 SI

|

••

"

817

'•

"

819

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

XIV

DATE OF SETTLEMENT.

PAGE.

TOWANDA. Jesse Walden

Fall 1828

820

White Oak. John Benson, Br., John Benson, jr James Benson William

1823

T.T.Benson

823

"

827

"

831

"

Smith Dennian

September. 1829

833 835 837

Abraham Carlock

Spring 1831

838

Stephen Taylor

Fall 1837

841

•.

Elisha Dixon

1828

PERSONS HOLDING POSITIONS OF HONOR OR TRUST. Dr. Thomas P. Rogers Judge Thomas F. Tipton Judge Amasa J. Merrimau Judge Reuben M. Benjamin General John McNulta Hon. John L. Routt Henry Honscheidt John Hull, Superintendent of Schools '.

846 852 863

854 857

858 863 864

!

THE OLD SETTLERS.

The beyond

old settlers of

one will be

homes

McLean County are one by one passing unknown river, and in a few years not noble band of pioneers who made their

the shores of the

of the

left

what was then a wilderness, inhabited only by red men. Their descendants, and those who come after them, will live to enjoy the full measure of happiness and prosperity built upon the solid foundations laid by the old settlers and may the}- ever hold in grateful remembrance those fathers and mothers whose daring and hardihood were the source of our present greatness. May the good actions, the intrepidity, and the daring of the old settlers, remain green in the memory of coming generations, forin

;

ever

!

w ork

has been in preparation, five old settlers have Their names are James C. Harbord, of Bloomington township Alexander P. Craig, of Downs township Dr. John F. Henry, late of Burlington, Iowa; Patrick Hopkins, of Lexington and Daniel Crumbaugh, of Empire township. Peace Since this

T

passed away.

:

;

;

;

to their ashes

The present generation of McLean County is

so near, in point

of time, to the old settlers, that, as a rule, sufficient importance is

not attached to their early struggles, their fortitude, and

sacrifice,

which has resulted

county.

While the pioneers

by

all

who

self-

in the astonishing progress of the

are deservedly held in high esteem

study the local history of

Illinois, it will

remain

for

upon them the full degree of gratitude and veneration to which they are entitled. In the same manner we now look back to Revolutionary sires with a pride future generations to bestow

we do

not care to conceal.

THE OLD

Xvi

The

SETTLEllS.

old settlers were ardent believers in the future greatn

of Illinois, where they had found a rich soil, a beautiful country, and everything that could promise a wonderful development.

How well their anticipations have been fulfilled need not be told. Doubtless they did not believe that the very next generation after them would reap such golden returns from the original investments, but thev knew too well that such returns could not be delayed many years after the first inhabitants should pass away. In a few years the

War of Rebellion will be the

McLean Countv. Even now commenced to sweep

line

between early and

it is

thirteen years since that bloody storm

over the land, and

encounters have

left

late

times in

many who were engaged the scene of action.

fore, that the incidents

connected with the

preserved and kept fresh

great dividing

in

How

its

sanguinary

important, there-

first settlers

should be

in the recollections of their descendants.

records in old times were few and imperfect, but that which they reveal should be cherished with all the wealth of affection owing to souvenirs and relics handed down from a sturdy

The

ancestry.

M'LEAN COUNTY. Illinois was

made

Union in the year 1818, when about forty-five thousand. At that time the settlements made were in the southern part, and the first But a new State Capital was legislature met at Kaskaskia. selected. The town of Vandalia was laid out for this purpose it

had

a State in the

a population of

Kaskaskia River. The town received name by means of a practical joke played upon the commissioners who made the location. In Ford's History of Illinois we find " Tradition says that a wag, who was present, sugin the wilderness on the its

:

gested to the commissioners that the Vandals were a powerful nation of Indians, who once inhabited the banks of the Kaskaskia River, and that Vandalia, formed from their name, would

memory of that extinct but renowned people !" Vandalia was made the capital of the State and also the seat of perpetuate the

justice of the county of Fayette.

This county included a large

and the present county of McLean was within its boundaries. Before the spring of 1822 not a single white person had made a settlement within the boundaries of the present McLean County. For thousands of years the country had belonged to the Indians, the wolves, the deer and the rattle snakes. The rich soil had each year produced luxuriant crops of prairie grass, which, on the lowlands, grew from six to eight feet in height. In the fall of each year the prairie fires swept over it, leaving it black and bare and desolate. These fires prevented the growth of timber, except occasionally on the highlands or in broken country formed by streams of water. In the fall of 1821 John Hendrix and John W. Dawson came with their families to Sangamon County from Ohio. In the spring of 1822 they came to what is now called Blooming Grove and made a settlement, At that time not a single house

territory,

SKETCH OF

2

was

to

be found between Blooming Grove and Chicago. A few then engaged in making salt at Danville and a few

men were

miners were

at

(

ralena.

and the country is heard of. In about the year 1822 Gardner Randolph settled at Randolph's Grove. In the spring of 1823 John Benson, the old soldier of 1812. and his family came to Blooming After the

first

settler conies

others soon follow.

Grove and made a settlement, living first in a linn bark camp. During the same year the Stringfield family, consisting of the widow Stringfield and her sons Severe and Alfred M., came to Randolph's Grove, where they lived at first in a half-faced camp. Absalom and Isaac Funk and Mr. Brook came during the same }-ear and settled in Funk's Grove. On the second of May, 1823, the OrendorfYs, William and Thomas, came to Blooming Grove. It was during this year, too, that William II. Hodge, the pioneer schoolmaster, came to Blooming Grove from Sangamon County. Blooming Grove was the favorite spot for the new settlers, and the most of them came there; but the other groves were not long neglected. In about the year 1824 the old Quaker, Ephraim Stout, and his son Ephraim Stout, Jr., made a settlement in Stout's Grove. During this year Robert Stubblefield and family came to Funk's Grove and Thomas 0. Rutledge came with his mother and the Rutledge family to Randolph's Grove. The first sermon preached within the limits of the present McLean County was delivered by Rev. James He was an uncle of Squire StringStringfield from Kentucky. The little congregation was gathfield of Randolph's Grove. ered at the cabin of John Hendrix and there the services were held. In June, 1S24, Rev. Ebenezer Rhodes came with his family to Blooming Grove. He was a member of the Separate Baptist

denomination,

but

afterwards

joined

the

Christian

Wherever two or three families could be gathered together, Mr. Rhodes delivered to them a sermon. lie was the first regular preacher in McLean County, and for a long while Church.

the only one.

both preached

When

the

were plenty.

made

a treaty

He

often traveled with Rev. Mr. Latta, and they

at the

same

place.

came to The Kickapoos ruled first

settlers

the country, the

the country.

Indians

They had

sometime previous, by which the whites acquired

M LEAN COUNTY.

when

6

came in to settle and occupy it the Kickapoos were angry, and some of them felt disposed to When John Ilendrix came to insult and annoy the settlers. Blooming Grove the Indians ordered him to leave. Not long afterwards they frightened away a family which settled on the Mackinaw. Old Machina, the chief of the Kickapoos, ordered all

their land

;

but

the whiles

Dawson family away, by throwing leaves in the air. This was to let the bootanas (white men) know that they must not be found in the country when the leaves of autumn should fall. In 182-3, when the Orendorffs came, Old Machina had learned to speak a little English. He came to Thomas Orendorff, and with a majestic wave of his hand said, " Too much come hack, white man, t'other side Sangamon." The Rhodes family was likewise ordered away. These things appeared a little threatening, but the settlers refused to leave and were not molested. It is the almost unanimous expression of the settlers that the Indians were the best of neighbors. They were polite and friendly, and Old Machina was quite popular among the whites, lie was particularly fond of childespecially with the women, r< n, and this touched their motherly hearts. The year 1825 was marked by some accessions to the little band of settlers. On the third of March, during that year, Rev. Peyton Mitchel came with his family to Stout's Grove. Mr. Mitchel was a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church and was a zealous and earnest Christian. In the fall of this year Jonathan Cheney made a settlement with his family at Cheney's Grove. His stock lived during the winter on the twigs of trees and came out in good condition in the spring. This food was liked by the cattle, and the settlers often fed their stock in this way. During this same year the family of William Evans came to Blooming Grove and made a settlement. This year was marked by some few improvements. The settlers were obliged to go long distances to mill and took large loads. They went first to Attica on the Wabash, one hundred and twenty miles distant. Afterwards they went to Green's mill on Fox River, near where Ottawa now stands, about eighty miles distant. But during the year 1825 Ebenezer Rhodes built a mill at Blooming Grove. The stones for grinding were the "nigger heads'' or boulders from the prairie. His mill was of the kind which be-

the

SKETCH or

4

came afterwards

William Orendorff. William Orendorff was born March 26, 1792, in Georgia. He is of German descent. His father's name was Christopher Orendorff and his mother was Elizabeth Phillips before her marriage. William OrendorfT was the oldest of a family of twelve children, eight boys and four girls, all of whom grew up to manhood and womanhood and all, except one, were married. He visited Illinois first in 1816 and emigrated to the State with his family during the following year, to St. Clair County and lived there and in Clinton County until the fall of 1822. During the winter of 1822 and '23 he lived in Sangamon County. In the spring of 1823 he moved to Blooming Grove. Fayette County, in what is now the county of McLean, and arrived there on the second of May, 1823. Soon after his arrival he was ordered away by Machina and others of the Indians, but refused to go and was not molested. Mr. Orendorff was a man of first-rate judgment and very popular and in 1825 was appointed justice of the peace by Governor Coles. It is seen by his commission that he was first nominated by the House of Representatives, confirmed by the Senate and commissioned by the Governor, and hold the office during good behavior. The following is the commission " Know ye that William Orendorff", having been nominated by the House of Representatives to the office of justice of the peace for the County of Fayette and his nomination having been confirmed by the Senate, I, Edward Coles, Governor of said State, for and on behalf of the people aforesaid, do appoint him Justice of the Peace for said county and do authorize and empower him to execute and fulfill the duties of that office according to law. And to have and to hold the said office with all the rights and emoluments thereunto legally appertaining during good behavior. In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the State seal to be affixed this sixth day of January in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and twenty-five, and of the independence of the United States :

the forty-ninth.

By [seal.]

the Governor

EDWARD

COLES:

M. Birkbeck, Secretary of State."

He

did not take the oath of office until the following Decern-

OLD SETTLERS OF

150

When

Tazewell County was cut oft' from Fayette, Mr. )rendorff was re-commissioned during good behavior, but when

ber.