Coles County, Illinois - The whole text, 1879 (part 12 of 21)

Another of the early settlers in this township, and who deserves more than a mere passing notice, was Thomas Affleck. He came from the "lowlands " of Scotland in 1832, and first settled on the Wabash, near Clinton, but came to this settlement in 1836. His wife is said to have been a most amiable woman, and died in 1840. Mr. Affleck is spoken of as a fine violinist, and spent much time in exercising on the sweet and pathetic airs of " Bonnie Scotia." Says one : " His rendering of ' Roy's Wife of Aldivalloch ' was such as none but a native Scot could equal. With his chin pressed down upon his fiddle, his large head and great staring eyes above, together with his powerful voice, he repeated and practiced the music of his native land." He was a model farmer and spent much time and labor in looking after his farm, digging ditches and otherwise improving it. He had once been a grocer in Dumfries, Scotland, his native place, and though long out of the business when he came to this country, it is said he was almost unequaled in putting up packages of goods, and could put up more coffee, sugar or pepper in a paper than any merchant in Oakland. And that when he had completed a job of this kind, the form of the package and the turns of the wrapping thread would be very artistic. He was quite a hunter, and when he wanted game he would " harness " up a yoke of cattle to his sleigh and strike out for the hunting-grounds, where, turning his cattle loose to feed, he would sit and wait and Avatch for his game, and would rarely miss a single shot in bringing it down. He was a great mechanical genius, and on this point a Dr. Pease, an amateur phrenologist, found his head on measurement to be twenty-four inches in circumference - equal to a No. 9 hat - and his " bump of mechanics" the largest he had ever examined. Referring to his mechanical genius, the reminiscences published in the Herald, from which we have already quoted extensively, say : " One of these was a mode of sandbars and deepening the outlet channels of rivers and harbors. This process, as he often described it to us, was very similar to the jetty system now used by Capt. Eads at the mouth of the Mississippi. It consisted in first confining the water by the means of ballast and piling on each side of the desired channel. This means he held would, of itself, in time effect its purpose, but to hasten it on he next proceeded to drive in the channel, every eight or ten feet, iron piling. These iron piling consisted of two flat bars perforated with inch holes and joined at the points, but designed to be separated above by the distance of an inch or less. He next let down between the bars thus constructed, sections of boileriron, twenty or thirty feet long, to a point near the bottom, where it was secured by pins placed in the bars. Thus, when the work was completed, it somewhat resembled the lower board of a plank fence, and the water forced underneath was expected to tear out a channel. This, in brief, is an outline of his idea. He claimed that he had successfully applied it on the Clyde, and in other harbors in Scotland, and had presented his project and claims to the Board of Admiralty. Of Sir James Graham, the then head of the Board, he spoke with his characteristic bitterness, and, being in lack of means, he turned his back in disgust upon the Old World, to find a home and a grave in Illinois." The Herald, concluding it lengthy notice of Mr. Aftieck, says : " But the habit of strong drink was the evil genius of his latter days, and when under its influence his temper and invective were peculiar and terrific. He thus went on drinking himself to death as fast as he could, hoping, in his unhappiness, soon to be at rest by the side of his deceased wife. His son-in-law. Rev. A. 0. Allen, persuaded him at last to go with him to his residence at Terre Haute, but not until the old man had exacted a pledge of Mr. Mosely and other citizens that they would see to the return of his body when the end should come. He did not stay long ; he parted with the world and its troubles on the 2d of June, 1852, aged 67 years; and Mr. Mosely and the citizens of Oakland fulfilled their pledge and laid him by the side of the wife of his youth."

Lyman, Aim on and Daniel Keyes were from the Empire State, and settled at what is still known as Donica's Point. They are all long since dead. Lyman went to the Mexican war, and left his bones to bleach on the bloody field of Chapultepec. Thomas Blair was another old settler at Donica's Point, but his native place is not now remembered. L. E. Archer was a Vermonter, and came to this settlement in an early day. He was an odd character, and many hard stories are still told "of him. He was very close in his dealings, and always got the best end of a barg9,in in a trade with his fellowmen, even stretching the truth to accomplish his purpose. It is said that his capacity for drinking whisky was almost unbounded, and that he always bought it by the gallon, in order to get it a little cheaper ; less than that quantity did him no good or harm, but after he had drunk a gallon it then began to "fly into his head." He died at the age of eighty-four years, and his family are scattered to the four quarters of the earth. A man named

William Nokes, or "Uncle Billy" Nokes, as he was called mostly, was an extraordinary character that should have special notice in these pages. He was from Kentucky, and came here at an early day in the settlement of Oakland Township. Like the great lawyer we have heard of, he

He was a great romancist, and like the majority of that class, he was usually the hero of his own stories. He used to say that in his younger days in the old Blue- Grass State, he had been a great favorite among the ladies, and had been compelled at a single term of the court at Louisville, to answer to a dozen different suits for breach of promise. From the personal description we received of him,* we do not doubt his power of attraction with the daughters of Eve. He went by the name of "Old Bag o' Shot," a name given him in honor of one of his stories, in which he claimed to have carried a bag, containing half a bushel of shot, along the streets of Louisville, and as the frost had just come out of the ground, he sunk to his knees every step, while the bricks of the pavement piled around his feet. This story, it is said, grew by repetition until the shot became two bushels and the displaced brick reached to his waist. Another story told of him, is that he once went to old 'Squire Ashmore's and made a complaint against a young man of eighteen years, for assault and battery. Though he was considerably "bunged up," the 'Squire persuaded him that it would not look well in a man who had carried two bushels of shot to prosecute a stripling of eighteen years, and so in his good-nature, Mr. Nokes withdrew his complaint. He removed to Iowa many years ago, where he died.

The winter of the '' deep snow " (1830-31) two families encamped on the Embarrass River, near where the railroad crosses. After the melting of the snow, the river rose higher than ever known before or since. One of these families was that of Aaron Collins, mentioned among the early settlers of Morgan Township, the other was a Mr. Mason, who settled on this side of the river, on what is now known as the Naphew farm. He did not remain here long, but sold to a man named William Chadd, a blacksmith, millwright and jack-of-all trades. Chadd was from the White River country in Indiana, possessed considerable means, and by the aid of three sons and seven daughters, soon opened a large farm. He is described as a " little, wizened, dried-up man of sixty, with a large nose and a very full eye." " Old Shad," the people called him for short, like Nokes, often regaled his friends with some very extravagant stories. Speaking of his resources, one day, he said he had a bushel of " cut money" laid by for a "rainy day." Like many of the other early settlers, he took the mill fever, and in addition to his blacksmith-shop, built a " corn- cracker " near by. Being asked one day if he could grind wheat on his mill, replied, " Well, yes, if I had a bolting-cloth ; in fact, I told the boys the other day that we'd try it, so I took a bushel of very clean, nice wheat and ground it. I then took the grist over to Mr. Reddin's and bolted it. Well, sir, I had a hundred pounds of flour and two and a half bushels of bran." Again we extract from the HeraMs reminiscences: " Mr. Chadd was possessed in a high degree with personal dignity. His children treated him with profound respect ; he was no joker, and did not permit anybody to joke him. Any insinuation as to the truth of his stories he promptly resented, for he told them in dead, sober earnestness. Seated on a horse-block one day, conversing with Mosely and Pemberton on the subject of music, he observed that the jew's-harp, if properly made, was the best instrument known. That he had once made one for a boy, a good big one several feet long. The bows or frame he made of " tire-iron " and the tongue was an inch steel bar. 'Why, you could,' said he, 'hear it three miles ! ' At this point Mr. Pemberton stupidly inquired as to how the boy got it into his mouth. Chadd treated the query with contemptuous silence, but afterward remarked to Mr. Mosely, ' Jack Pemberton would like to say something smart if he knew how.' The limits of this article forbids further details. A volume would scarcely contain all the incidents of Mr. Chadd's eventful life. Who has not heard of his duel before breakfast, when in a room eighteen feet square, securely locked, he and his antagonist armed with knives, fought for eight hours, ankle-deep in blood ? Who has not heard of his quarryblast on White River, which required the labor and teams of a hundred men six months to remove ? Who has not heard of his snake story, of his fish story, and his perpetual-motion saw-mill? Mr. Chadd was gathered to his fathers long ago, in the fullness of time and a good old age." We will give one more instance of his India-rubber stories, and then pass on to other scenes. This wa& of his professional experience, which he related to Dr. Rutherford, and exhibited to him his " spring lancet " and his " pullikin," the latter for extracting teeth, and estimated the number of teeth drawn with them, or it, at several barrels, and the blood shed by the "lancet " at the hogshead measure. He stated to the Doctor that he had once been applied to tap a woman for dropsy. From this duty he had shrunk, pleading ignorance and other disqualifications, but as no physician was in reach, he made an eifort, and although the woman was a small one, he drew from her one hundred and twenty gallons of water.

Martin Zimmerman came from Augusta County, Va., in 1836, and settled first in Edgar County, where he remained about a year, and then removed to this township. He resided here until his death, which occurred in 1852. He has many descendants still in the county, who are among the prominent farmers and business men of the country. Enoch Sears and Asa Reddin were also early settlers in this township. David Winkler and the Hoskinses settled on Brush Creek. There are, perhaps, other old settlers whose names should be mentioned, but we have failed to obtain them. And then, after the Black Hawk

emigrants came in so rapidly that it is impossible to keep track of the period of their settlement and where they came from. So we will not attempt to further particularize, but take up other matters of interest.

By reference to the map in the front part of this work, it will be noticed that there is a jog, of two sections in width, in the north line of the county, the full extent of Oakland Township. When Douglas County was set off from doles, says Capt. Adams in his Centennial Address, the village of Oakland was regarded as having "great room for outgrowth and development" (and, we may add, it still retains this expectation of its people). Therefore, Coles County, as well as the people of Oakland, were unwilling that the village should be cut off in a new county ; hence the jog above referred to was made to keep the village of Oakland in this county.

Here, as in all newly-settled communities, attention was directed at an early day to mills ; for, with all the great inventions of the age, there has not yet been one devised by which the human race can live without bread. And in this town, as elsewhere, the mill business was in high popular favor forty years or more ago. To own a horse-mill gave one an air of importance, and a saw or grist mill, as an old settler expressed it, rendered the fortunate owner '-the biggest toad in the puddle." One of the first efforts at a water-mill was by Mr. Laughlin, where the river crosses the northwest corner of Section 12 ; but he was not very successful in his attempt. It passed into the hands of Henry McCumbers, familiarly called "Old Sport." But he never realized much from it, and, after struggling on with it for a few years with a perseverance worthy of a better cause, he finally gave it up entirely. A man by the name of Whitlock also tried ; and after a year's hard work, saw a friendly (or unfriendly) flood carry it away on a " march to the sea." Mr. Chadd referred to as the man of long-winded* stories, in another part of this chapter, had a genius for mills as well as for story-telling. He built a mill near the present railroad-crossing. He tried undershot, turbine, and re-action wheels ; but they amounted to little, and finally a flood took the whole structure away, and sent it after its predecessor, down the river. David McConkey was another w^ho spent more on a mill than he ever succeeded in getting back. It was the same old story - the floods carried it away, and left its owner in poverty. The era of steam-mills will be noticed in the history of the village.

A man of the name of Robert Bell was the first regular carpenter in Oakland Township, and, it is said, was a superior workman. Many specimens of his work still remain to testify to its quality. The finishing-lumber then was rough-sawed poplar, and had to be "dressed" by the carpenter, as planingmills and sash-factories were unknown. Everything needed in the construction of a house, including flooring, molding, etc., had to be worked out by hand, and the frames were generally of hewed material. The erection of a frame house, at that early period, was a much bigger job than at the present day ; and, in the place of the large lumber-yard we find in every town and village now, at that time the market was usually supplied by " whip-saw." At a very early day, Andrew Gwinn, with the aid of " Old Billy " Nokes, ran one of these " whip-saw" mills. Two men could saw 200 feet in a day, and this sold at $4 per hundred.

One of the first wagon-makers was a man named Alpheus Jacques. He, it is said, used to make wagons and buggies out of old rails and " 'most anything he could pick up." His skill with the draw-knife was remarkable, and the rapidity with which he turned out work was truly marvelous. Among the early blacksmiths were David McConkey and William Chadd. McConkey made considerable money as such, and then spent it in his attempts at a mill on the Embarrass, as already stated.

The first store in Oakland Township was kept by a man named Sherifi", an uncle to the present Postmaster at Paris, Edgar County. It was located on the road east of the village of Oakland, and his goods were hauled from Chicago by 'Squire Pemberton. " Chicago, then," says the 'Squire, " was no larger that the village of Oakland is now." The first post ofiice in the township was kept by Wilson Morrison, east of the village. It was on the confines of a large grove, surrounded by oak-trees, and thus received the appropriate name of Oakland - names since bestowed on the village and the township. In was on the mail-line between Paris and Decatur, and the mail was carried weekly on horseback between those places.

The name of the first pedagogue in Oakland is not now remembered, but schools were taught in the neighborhood quite early. The people have ever taken great interest in educational matters, and, at the present day, no town in Coles County is better favored with school facilities than Oakland. The matter will be again alluded to in the history of the village.

Church organizations, also, will be further noticed in the village history, as the Presbyterian, the oldest organization in the town, is located in the village of Oakland. The only church- edifice outside of the village is Prairie Union Christian Church, located in the southern part of the township. It was organized in the neighborhood schoolhouse, March 1, 1871, with thirty-two members ; three elders, viz., A. J. Shulse, S. D. Honn and D. W. Honn. The church was built and dedicated the same year the society was organized, and cost $1,830, not including the lot on which it stands. The present Elders are D. W. Honn, A. J. Shulse and John Childress. Previous to the erection of the church, the people of the neighborhood attended divine worship at the village of Kansas, in Edgar County. It is in a very flourishing state, with a present membership of about sixty-five, and a Sunday school during the summer season.

When settlements were first made in this part of the county, there were plenty of Indians in Southern Illinois, and likewise in this section. They were the Pottawatomies, Winnebagoes and the Kickapoos. They were friendly and did the whites no harm. The fright of the Black Hawk war had little effect here, from the fact that at the time it took place, there were very few settlers in this neighborhood. The Indians had a trading-post near the village of Camargo, in Douglas County, established by two men named Vesor and Bulbery, French Canadians. Near this post, the Indians had a burying-ground, and once every year held a grand powwow for the benefit of the departed souls of their deceased friends. In Morgan Township they had a camp, which is noticed in the history of that town.

Oakland Township is Republican in politics at the present time. In the old days of Whigs and Democrats, it was Democratic by a small majority, notwithstanding it gave Harrison a small majority in 1840, and Clay, in 1844. With these exceptions, it was Democratic. In the late war, Oakland did its duty nobly, and sent many of its young men, and old ones, too, to do battle for the Union.

The first Justice of the Peace in this section, was Samuel Ashmore, the old patriarch of the Ashmore family. The present justices of the township are, J. J. Pemberton and William Hunt. When Coles County adopted township or^yanization in 1860, G. W. McConkey was the first Supervisor of Oakland Township. The present Supervisor is H. Rutherford, and N. P. Smith is the present Town Clerk.

This concludes the general history of Oakland Township, and we will now proceed to devote a few pages to the history, laying-out and the location of

The Village Of Oakland

This enterprising little village is situated on the Illinois Midland Railroad, about twenty miles northwest from Paris. It was surveyed and laid out by Reubin Canterbury, County Surveyor, for Madison Ashmore, on the 12th of May, 1835. James Ashmore built the first residence in the village. McCord built a residence soon after the one built by Ashmore. Some say that McCord's was built before the village was laid out, while others hold to the fact as given above. The first store was kept by a man named McCleland Another was opened very soon after McCleland's, by a Mr. Trembly, but neither lasted long, and both "broke" in the business. Says the ^eraM reminiscence : "For the next four years, no goods of any kind, save what a peddler might bring in, were sold in Oakland. Our trading had to be done in Charleston or Paris. Not a spool nor a thread, nor even a pin, was to be had short of these towns. There was nothing here to buy goods with. Four-year-old steers went at $10 per head, and the only good horse we ever owned we bought for $50. Corn for many years never rated above 10 cents per bushel, and then was not considered a merchantable article."

The next effort at merchandising was made by Robert Mosely. In 1844, he opened a small stock of goods, and for a time had what little trade there was, all to himself. John Mills and R. T. Hackett were the next merchants, and about this time " Matt" Ashmore opened a kind of curiosity shop in Pemberton's old tavern stand. In the year 1847, Pemberton went into partnership Avith Mosely, and thus began their long partnership business. But we have neither time nor space to follow the mercantile business through its long and eventful career to the present time. Other points demand our attention.

The first tavern in Oakland was kept by Daniel Payne, soon after the laying-out of the village, and the next, perhaps, was kept by 'Squire Pemberton. The village at present has two first-rate hotels - the Oakland House, kept by H. A. Frederick, and the Union Hotel, by Mrs. Jones. The first post office was kept by McCleland, elsewhere mentioned as the first merchant. The present Postmaster is L. C. Thornton. The first blacksmith in the village was a man named Maxon, and his shop was a counterpart of that described by Longfellow, except that instead of the "spreading chestnut-tree" it stood under a spreading oak-tree. We are informed that it consisted mainly of a bellows and anvil, rigged up under an oak tree, and that there was no building belonging to it. The first doctor to practice in this section was of the name of Montague, but of him we learned but little. The next was perhaps Dr. H. Rutherford, who came here in 1840, and practiced the healing profession until he amassed quite a snug fortune, and physicians became so plenty that he could retire from a long life of laborious work.

In 1854, Clement & Clark built a steam-mill in the village of Oakland. It was a great institution in this primitive settlement, and people came for miles to see the engine work, and were frightened out of their wits when the steam blew off. A sash saw was added to it, but was soon dispensed with. The mill has several times changed proprietors and is now owned by John Burwell. The Smith mill, as it is called, is of rather recent building, and was put up by W. P. West some eight or ten years ago. The Herald's reminiscences thus speak of the originator of this last enterprise : " This man was what might be termed a fool for luck, and a spendthrift by nature. His father gave him a large farm at Culver's Grove. Getting embarrassed, he sold out, came down to this part of the country, and worried awhile with the McConkey mill. He next got hold of the Frank Williams' steam grist and saw mill. He succeeded in trading this worthless property to Thomas Kinney for a good farm in Edgar County. Selling the farm, he commenced building the mill before referred to, and at the same time he set up a grocery. About this time he succeeded in becoming guardian for the William Franklin heirs, for whom he drew pension money to the amount of $1,100. His luck continuing good, his grocery burnt down, and he received $1,500 of insurance. His borrowed money began pressing him and he sold out to his partner, W. 0. Smith, at a very good figure. If he had stopped here he would have had a good living remaining, but a man of the name of Foulke, of

Kansas, sold him an old rattle-trap of a mill for $5,000, worth about that many cents. This stroke finished him, cleaned him up, and it is said that he is still following up the mill business, but in a second-hand way."

The largo grain elevator standing by the railroad was built in 1875-76 by F. R. Coffman. One had been built here in 1872, and burned a short time after, when this one was built in its place. It is now owned by Dr. Rutherford, and is an excellent building, well-appointed in every particular, with steampower and with a capacity of 15,000 or 20,000 bushels of grain. It is standing idle at present.

The Oakland National Bank was established in 1874, with L. S. Cash, President, and John Rutherford, Cashier. The same officers still have charge of it, and are gentlemen of excellent business attainments, energy and enterprise.

The village of Oakland was incorporated years ago, but as the first records were not to be had we could not get the exact date, nor the names of the first Board of Trustees. The present Board is as follows, viz., William Henderson, M. W. Ammerman, J. W. Stokes, Frank Pleasant, J. R. Lawson and Merrill Hackett. William Henderson is President of the Board ; W. M. Bowman, Villat^e Clerk ; A. A. Dunseth, Police Magistrate, and John Tibbs, Town Marshal.

The first church was organized by the Old-School Presbytei'ians in the year 1831. They built a small log church on the site of the " upper grave-yard," which afterward was turned into a schoolhouse. They next erected a frame building on the public square, 25x40 feet, but for lack of funds never finished it. It was finally abandoned, and, in 1844, their present church edifice was erected. Rev. Isaac Bennett was one of the first preachers. He was a native of Philadelphia, was educated at Princeton and was a man of much intelligence and refinement. He was averse to noise, the cry of a child, when preaching, totally upset him. After his marriage, a "change came over the spirit of his dreams," and when two, three or four children had gathered about his knees, he was altogether another person, and could study his sermons better than ever and " preach right along in the stiifest kind of a squall." Rev. Mr. Montgomery was another preacher of this congregation ; also Rev. Mr. McDonald and Rev. Mr. Venable, of Paris. At present, there is no regular pastor. A good Sunday school is maintained, of which Mr. Eckard is Superintendent.

The Cumberland Presbyterians organized a society in 1843, under the Rev. James Ashmore, a son of Amos Ashmore and a brother to the wife of Rev. Mr. Bennett. They have an elegant little frame church in the village and a flourishing society. Rev. J. P. Campbell is the present Pastor. R. G. Forsythe is Superintendent of the Sunday school connected with this Church.

The Methodist Episcopal Church was organized by Rev. Arthur Bradshaw in 1858. Their church was built soon after its organization. The society is large and flourishing, and is under the pastoral charge at present of Rev. Mr. Lacy. Of the Sunday school of the Church, N, P. Smith is Superintendent.

The first school in Oakland was taught by Madison Ashmore, but the year is not now remembered. The first schoolhouse was a small frame building, which was used as a temple of learning until the building of the present large brick, some nine years ago. It is a spacious edifice, well designed for school purposes and cost about $7,000. Prof. Failing is Principal of the school at present ; Miss Lida Reel, Miss Kate Crawford and Miss Jessie Burr, teachers.

A. D. 1856. The first officers were Thomas J. Don Carlos, Master ; William D. Martin, Senior Warden ; Alfred D. Pemberton, Junior Warden ; John W. Kurtz, Treasurer ; Robert Mosely, Secretary. The present officers are : H. D. Williams, Master ; E. H. Warden, Senior Warden ; L. B. Crawford, Junior Warden ; L. S. Cash, Treasurer ; N. P. Smith, Secretary ; John Rutherford, Senior Deacon ; R. G. Forsythe, Junior Deacon, and John Menaugh, Tiler, with seventy members on the roll.

Oakland Chapter, No. 153, Royal Arch Masons, was organized October 24, 1872, with the following officers: A. P. Forsythe, High Priest ; S. M. Cash, King, and R. F. Larimer, Scribe. The present officers are : John Rutherford, High Priest; S. A. Reel, King ; R. F. Larimer, Scribe ; Jo. W. Clement, Captain of the Host ; D. H. Gordon, Principal Sojourner ; H. D. Williams, Royal Arch Captain ; L. B. Crawford, R. G. Forsythe, A. J. Taylor, Masters of the Veils ; L. S. Cash, Treasurer, and E. H. Warden, Secretary, with thirty members.

Oakland Lodge, No. 1,192, Knights of Honor, was instituted September 5, 1878, by Stanley Walker, D. D. Charter members: L. S. Cash, M. B. Valodin, W. C. Lacy, N. P. Smith, N. R. Moore, D. A. Rice, Rev. J. P. Campbell, William Henderson, Shep Florer, W. H. Glass, W. J. Peak, J. W. Turner, Lewis Kees, B. F. Smith, M. R. Williams, R. L. Burns, J. G. Hamilton and R. M. Young. The first officers were M. B. Valodin, D.; William Henderson, V. D.; L. S. Cash, Treasurer; D. A. Rice, R.; M. R. Williams, F. R.; N. P. Smith, D. and R. Present officers: William Henderson, D.;

Oakland Lodge No. 545, I. 0. 0. F., was instituted April 8, 1874. The charter members were A. A. Dunseth, A. M. Merrill, R. S. Smedley, J. P. Coons, James Stiles, of which A. A. Dunseth was first Noble Grand ; A. M. Merrill, Vice Grand ; and R. S. Smedly, Secretary, and A. A. Dunseth the first Representative. The present officers are : D. A. Rice, Noble Grand ; R. Gomel, Vice Grand ; William M. Bowman, Secretary, and N. P. Smith, Deputy Representative.

Welcome Encampment, No. 24, I. 0. 0. F., organized January 5, 1876. It is the old No. 24, of Charleston, which surrendered its charter during the war, and hence lost its number. The first officers were : J. G. Crawford, C. P.; S. M. Cash, H. P.; J. A. Johnson, S. W.; J. C. Bandy, J. W.; N. P. Smith, Scribe. The present officers are Robert Rutherford, C. P., and N. P. Smith, Scribe, with twelve members.

The first newspaper in Oakland was the Herald, and was established by J. W. Crane in 1875. It is at present owned by S. A. Reel & Co., with Rev. J. P. Campbell as editor. It is an eight-page paper, presents a fine appearance, and is one of the spiciest sheets in the county. The Oakland Ledger is a small paper, recently established in the village, and is an interesting little journal.

Oakland comprises some fifteen or twenty stores of all classes, including dry goods, grocery stores, hardware stores, furniture stores, etc., also a full line of shops of all kinds, blacksmith, wagon-makers, harness-makers, etc., etc. It has two good hotels, three churches, one excellent schoolhouse, two steammills, one grain elevator, a railroad and depot, and its full share of professional men.

The village has two cemeteries ; one is some distance from the village, in a northeast direction, and was laid out before the village. Many of the old settlers and pioneers sleep in the " upper grave-yard," as this burying-ground is called. The other is nearer the village, and was laid out in 1855. It is a pretty little cemetery, and is well beautified and adorned with trees and shrubbery.

In conclusion of this chapter, we would say that Oakland is a model little village, with the most favorable prospects for a bright future. Though'in early days it had the name of being a rough place, with some rough characters in it, yet education and civilization have done their work, and a more refined little city cannot be found in this or surrounding counties.

And never has a summer's morning smiled Upon a lovelier scene tlian the full eye Of the enthusiast revels on - when higli Amid thy forest solitudes he climbs

The breathless moment^when his daring step Is on the verge of the cliff, and he can hear The low dash of the waves with startled ear." - Halleck.

In this little narrow strip of earth, small and irregular in shape, known as Morgan Township, are represented the two extremes of nature, as it were - the beautiful level prairies and the wild broken country bordering the Embarrass

River. The latter, before the advent of the "pale-face" marred its virgin beauty, was covered with primeval forests, and to the west the prairies stretched away in nature's waving meadows. Upon the brakes and hills and bluffs rising from the river grew giant trees, which for centuries had defied the fury of the and still they had flourished in all their glory for years and ages. Giant oaks, spreading elms, towering walnuts, waving cottonwoods, with their trembling leaves, and many other magnificent forest-trees grew here in almost endless profusion. And beyond, as the ocean extends out from the beach, which limits it, extended the prairies, clothed in all the beauty of nature. Such was the aspect of the section of country to which this chapter is devoted when the pale-face came with all his bustling enterprise and proceeded, literally, to turn things topsy-turvy.

Morgan Township lies in the north, or rather in the northeast, part of the county, and is bounded north, by Douglas County ; west, by Seven Hickory Township ; south, by Charleston, and east, by the Embarrass River. Through the north part of the town flows the classic stream known as " Greasy Creek," which, together with the origin of the name, is referred to in the county history. A little south of Greasy Creek is Dry Branch, another little stream flowino- into the Embarrass. As before stated, this township contains both timber and prairie, and is pretty equally divided between the two ; the timber-land lying adjacent to the Embarrass River, and the prairies next to Seven Hickory Township. Morgan is a fractional town, containing about twenty-four or twenty-five sections of land - two-thirds of a regular Congressional township. It has neither villages nor railroads, but the Indianapolis & St. Louis and the Illinois Midland Railroads pass near enough to be of considerable benefit to it in transporting its surplus grain and stock.

The first white settlers in Morgan Township are supposed to have been John Caldwell and his son, who bore the same name, and John Kennedy, They came from Fayette County, Ky., near the city of Lexington, and settled in the timbered portion of the township in 1830 - 31. The CaWwells lived here about twenty years, when they removed to Edgar County, where the elder died several years ago, but his son is still living in that county. This is about all that is known of the Caldwells at the present day. Kennedy remained but a short time, and moved back to Kentucky, where he resided several years, when he returned to Illinois, and died a few years ago in the city of Charleston.

Aaron Collins is another of the early settlers of Morgan Township, and is supposed by some to have settled here previous to the Caldwells and Kennedy, but after this long lapse of years it is hard to say which of these families was the first to pitch their tents in this section. Collins came from North Carolina in 1830-31, and built the house where his son-in-law, Reese McAllister now lives. He has been dead a number of years, but a son, Aaron Collins, Jr., still lives in the township.

Daniel R. and David R. McAllister, the latter usually called Reese McAllister, came to Morgan Township in 1833. They were from Indiana here, but were originally from Alabama. When moving to this place, they stopped in Ashmore Township, where they remained from spring until fall, when they removed to this township. Reese has resided here ever since, upon the place where his father-in-law, Aaron Collins, first settled, and Daniel, to the time of his death, which took place in 1871. John Skidmore came from Indiana to this settlement in 1831-32. He lived here in quiet until the breaking-out of the gold fever, when he started for California, but died on the way, and never reached the land of gold. Gibson Gastin came also from Indiana about the same time Skidmore came, and after remaining in the neighborhood a number of years, removed to Texas, since which time all trace of him is lost.

David Morgan, for whom the township was named, settled near what was called Greasy Point, April 20, 1834. He was originally from Washington County, Ky., near Springfield, the county seat, but removed to Vermilion County, Ind., where he remained several years before coming to this neighborhood. He was a prominent man in the community, and the first Justice of the Peace. He died in 1860, but has two sons, William and James Morgan, still living in the township, splendid representatives of the honest old pioneer, who has passed away. The latter still lives on the old homestead, where his father settled nearly half a century ago. Benjamin Clarke came from Kentucky about 1830 - 31, and died here several years ago. His wife is still living, and is the only one of the early pioneers who came here a grown-up person that survives. A son, Jackson Clarke, and several married daughters, live in the township still, and another son lives in Kansas.

Gowin Adkins, and Abraham Adkins, a cousin, settled in the town in 1833-34. The father of the latter came with him, and was of the same name. They are all dead ; Gowin died many years ago, but had a son and daughter. The former went into the army during the late war, and died while in the service of his country. Moses Golliday came from Pennsylvania, and settled in the township a year or two before the Adkinses. He bought out Caldwell ; David, a brother, came about the same time, and both he and Moses are dead. John Golliday, another brother, is still living.

Isaac Craig, an esteemed citizen of Charleston Township, was an early settler of Morgan. He came here in 1835. He was originally from Kentucky, and came to Illinois with his father in 1828, first settling in Clark County. Isaac Craig remained a resident of Morgan Township about twenty years, and then removed to Edgar County, where he resided for fourteen years, and then removed to Charleston, where he still lives, just north of the city. He was in the Black Hawk war - volunteered in one of the Clark County companies, but having friends in Edgar County, got a transfer to Captain Brimberrj's company of Edgar County. An early settler of the name of Johnson, located on the creek, but he was a "bird of passage," and did not remain long, hence not much is known of him.

The Chastenes were rather noted characters in this settlement, in an early day. Mr. Morgan bought a claim from one of them (there were two of them, Jesse and William Chastene), upon which there was a cabin, and twenty-five apple-trees which the old fellow had planted out. Mr. Morgan closed up the trade, and went to Palestine and formally entered the land. He then went to his home in Indiana, to move his family here, and when he arrived, old Chastene had dug up every apple-tree and carried them off to some new claim. These Chastenes are the amateur pork-packers alluded to in the general county history, and from whose questionable operations the little stream of Greasy Creek obtained its classic name.

Alexander Montgomery came from Indiana to this township. He was originally from Alabama, and was a brother-in-law to the McAllisters, and settled here the fall after they came to the town. He died here years ago. These are all of the earliest settlers in Morgan Township. Next is rather a later era, and includes such as John Winkelblack, Daniel Beck, Thomas West, Irwin Digby, Cooper Wallace, Y. E. Winkler. Winkelblack and Beck came from Virginia ; the latter is dead, but Winkelblack is still living. Thomas West was from Vermilion County, Ind., and came some years after the Morgans. He now lives in Douglas County. Digby came from the same section, and still lives in Morgan Township. So, also, was Wallace from Vermilion County, Ind., and his father, now living in Douglas County, was originally from Kentucky. Cooper Wallace has been dead a number of years. Winkler came from Indiana, but was originally from Kentucky also. He is still living. This concludes the list of the early settlers, so far as could be obtained.

General Features

When the first white people came to Morgan Township, there were plenty of Indians in this section. They once had a camp not far from where Reese McAllister now lives, and there are traces of it still to be seen there. The likeness of a man cut in the bark of a tree is still visible, though it shows every appearance of having been executed years and years ago. Many places have been noticed in this immediate neighborhood, supposed to be Indian graves, though, so far as we could learn, none of them have ever been examined to see whether they contain anything like human skeletons. A year or two ago, Henry Curtis, a son of Samuel Curtis, was one day " digging fish-bait," and dug up a human skull, and, upon examination, a few other bones were found, and rocks were laid in order, as though intended to form a rude sort of covering, ere the dirt was put on the corpse. But whether this was an Indian, or some lone white man, who had been murdered* in this wild spot, will probably never be known. But the evidence was pretty strong that it was a human being, either white, red or black, and had been carefully buried there, near the banks of the Embarrass River.

But, although Indians were plenty here when the whites first came, they were not at all troublesome, but were quite friendly toward the white people. They would furnish them with game, and hence proved of some benefit, at least. But long years have passed since the wild yell of the savage disturbed the echoes of this little community. But few are still left that can remember them as residents of Morgan, and soon, " Lo ! the poor Indian!" will live only in fireside tales.

Wolves and panthers, with occasionally a bear, inhabited this country forty or fifty years ago, and snakes were a spontaneous growth. Rattlesnakes were also very plenty. Mr. Morgan and his sons killed ninety rattlesnakes in one summer, on a ten-acre lot, and it was not a good season for rattlesnakes, either. Wolf-hunts were common, and their scalps commanded a bounty. A number of neighbors would band together, with dogs and guns, and the havoc made among the hateful little pests would sometimes be terrific. A man could pay his taxes in scalps, and, if he had an overplus, could pass them over to the Treasurer and get a county order for the balance due him.

We don't know whether the same custom prevailed here, or in Coles County, during the circulation of wolf-scalps as currency, that we have heard of in another section of the State, viz., that a man could go into a "grocery " and get a glass of whisky, throw down a wolf-scalp, and the grocery-keeper would give him back a coon-skin, or two opossum-skins, in change. But prairie wolves, like the poor savage, have gone West to grow up with the country and the grasshoppers.

The winter of the deep snow is remembered by the few old settlers still living in this part of the country. Though this fall of snow was but little over half as deep in this latitude as in the northern part of the State, yet it is acknowledged as the deepest ever witnessed here. It fell in December, 1830, and remained on the ground until the next March. Here it was only about two feet deep, but in the northern part of Illinois it was four feet on the level prairies. It was a hard time on stock, and on people, too, in a newly-settled country. Many wild beasts died from starvation while it lasted, and domestic animals had nearly as hard a time here, for, at that early day, the few people then in Coles County had not been in it long enough to have a surplus of hay and corn.

As a sample of the hard times the pioneers had to undergo, Mr. Morgan informed us that he had known thousands of bushels of corn to sell at 8 cents a buf hel, an excellent cow and c.ilf for $8, good horses for ^40, and wheat from 25 ^ents to 37| cents a bushel And, for y jars, the prices ranged at these figures, and, evin then, it was almost imposrible to get money for anything one hf'.d to sell, for there was but little of that commodity in the country.

But these hard times are all past now, and Morgan Township is, to-day, as prosperous a community as one will find in Coles County. True, we still find a few of the primitive log cabins of the earlier days, but they are not used as a matter of necessity, but from choice. They have become endeared to their owners, and are cherished as sweet mementos of the past. As a rule, Morgan Township has excellent residences, well-improved farms, good roads, and, indeed, everything to indicate a prosperous community.

Who was the first person born in Morgan Township is not now remembered. The first death is supposed to have been the wife of Aaron Collins, who died in the early days of the settlement of Morgan, or Greasy Creek, as the settlement was called. A child of Jefferson Florer was the first party buried in the Greasy Point Cemetery, near where James Morgan lives. This is one of the prettiest little burying-grounds we have noticed in the county. Located on high ground, and kept in excellent order, with many pretty marble slabs and some quite elegant monuments, it is, altogether, a lovely place.

The first marriage in the neighborhood was Clara Collins and Thomas Creighton, and they were married by David Morgan, a Justice of the Peace. The population of the township shows that the good old custom, begun thus early, has been kept up, and that there has been " marrying and giving in marriage," since this first couple stepped off" the shores of single blessedness.

Morgan Township has never had any mills, except one or two portable sawmills in the timbered sections along the Embarrass River ; one of these, however, we believe, once added a set of buhrs for grinding corn. Mr. James Morgan says that, when his father first settled in the township, they used to go to the Wabash, and to Decatur, to mill ; that two or three neighbors would join together, and, hitching three or four yoke of oxen to a wagon, would start off" to mill, and sometimes be absent a week or ten days. Milling is now done at Oakland and Charleston, and sometimes at mills in Douglas County.

There was no blacksmith-shop in Morgan Township at a sufficiently early to be made a matter of history. That useful trade is pretty well represented at the present day, however, and shops are to be found in every neighborhood. In the early day, the blacksmi thing was done by the workmen in the Oakland settlement.

David Morgan was the first Justice of the Peace in Morgan Township, and when the county adopted township organization, Nathan Thomas was elected the first Supervisor, and was succeeded the next year by John Winkleblack. The present Supervisor is J. B. Williams ; J. L. Rardin and Jesse Hudson, Justices of the Peace.

Schools And Churchfs

The first schoolhcuse was built in Morgan Township about 1839-40, bit who tauf.ht the first school in it cannot be told at this late day. There were schools in the settlement, however, before this house was built, but until it was erected, the settlers cabins were utilized as temples of learning. And as this is but a fractional town, it has but three schoolhouses within its limits, viz., Winkelblack's, Hazel Dell and California Schoolhouses. This results from the fact that many of the school districts are partnership districts with Seven Hickory Township, and with Sargent Township, in Douglas County. A strong effort is being made to get a new district in the northeast part of the township, a move that it seems should terminate successfully, for there is certainly abundant territory and population for a district and a house in this section.

There are two church edifices in the township. The first sermon preached, Avas by the Methodists. The Revs. Fox and McCane were early in the field, but, we believe, never established a permanent society. The first Cumberland Presbyterian ministers were Revs. James Ashmore and Hill. The Cumberland Presbyterian Union Church is located in the north part of the town, and was built in 1856-57. The society was organized in May, 1842, by Rev. James Ashmore, at the house of David Morgan. Preaching was held at the house of Mr. Morgan and at Aaron Collins', until the church was built. The present membership is 110, under the pastorate of Rev. J. P. Campbell. A Sunday school is maintained during the summer season, with an average attendance (last summer) of sixty-three children, under the superintendence of James Morgan, who is, also. Clerk of the Church Session.

There is also a Cumberland Presbyterian organization at the California Schoolhouse, but they have no regular preaching at the present time, although the organization is still kept up, also a Sunday school during the summer season.

Salem Missionary Baptist Church is in the extreme southern part of the town. It is a substantial frame building, and was put up about fifteen years ago, at a cost of |1,000. Rev. Mr. Thornton is the Pastor, and has a flourishing congregation for a country church. A Sunday school is carried on during the summer season.

Our readers will notice on some of the old maps a little place in Morgan Township called Curtisville. Notwithstanding its dignified name, it was never much of a village. A small store, a blacksmith-shop, with a "neighborhood " post office, comprised all of Curtisville. The store was kept by a man named Cutler Mitchell, and the post office was simply an office for the convenience of the neighbors, and whoever went to town brought out the mail-bag. It was not a regular office, nor was the mail brought regularly, but as it suited the convenience of some one who had other business at town.

Rardin Post Office is much the same kind of a place that Curtisville once was. We say once was, for what little there was of the place, has passed away, and there is nothing left to tell where it once stood but a dwelling and a blacksmith-shop. Rardin is on Section 4, and consists of a small store and a blacksmith-shop, together with a post office. Samuel Rardin keeps both the post office and the store. This little place and Curtisville, are the nearest that this neighborhood has ever approached to having a village in its midst.

Morgan Township is Democratic in politics ; in fact, it may be termed a Democratic stronghold. It has always been Democratic, from the earliest period of its existence to the present day. During the late war, Morgan did its part nobly, filling every call without a draft. But after all these years, it is impossible to obtain the names of those who participated in the long and sanguinary struggle. We shall not attempt to do so, but pass from the subject with a well-merited tribute to their bravery.

This township contains but little of special interest to the historian. Without villages, towns or cities, railroads, mills or manufactories, there is but little to write about, after the settlement of the town is described, unless we go off into a panegyric on its honest, honorable and upright citizens. This, however, is not our purpose, as the duty of an historian is to deal in facts, and not in fulsome flattery of persons or things. And thus we close our chapter on Morgan Township, with the statement that it is one of the most prosperous in this county, and is inhabited by people who " move on in the even tenor of their way," quietly attending to their own business, and not meddling with that of others.

This is one of the largest townships in the county. It is six sections wide from east to west, and is nine sections long. It contains, therefore, 54 sections, or 34.560 acres, none of which is waste land. With the exception of one or two groves, of which mention will be made hereafter, the entire township is prairie. It is, therefore, slightly undulating in its surface, and possesses an unusually rich, productive soil. Taking the township as a whole, there is not a finer body of land in the county. The surface is sufficiently undulating to admit of drainage, and the soil of sufficient depth to preclude its wearinor out.

The only streams of water to be found are Greasy Creek, in the northeast part ; the head of Flat Branch, in the northwest, and Cossel and a branch of Riley Creek, in the southwest. None of these flow through the township, but all head in it, and leave the town from three different directions. This fact establishes another, viz. : that the central part is high land, and sloping in all directions. The town, compared to others, is new, having been almost entirely unsettled until after completion of the Illinois Central Railroad, in whose grant of land it lay. The township took its name from a remarkable grove of hickory-trees situated toward the southwest part. This grove is said to have originally consisted of seven immense trees, standing alone in their grandeur, monarchs of all they surveyed. Tradition has it, too, that they were a prominent landmark in early days ; and, further back than the time of the white man's rule here, they were the shrine and camping-place of the aboriginal sons of the forest. Early emigrants going across this part of the State found them rising before them as monitors pointing out the country before them. Earlier than the emigrants were the surveyors, who came over this section of Illinois when yet a Territory, and who marked the grove on the plats they made of the country. Before them were the scouts and hunters, forerunners of a civilization destined, one day, to supplant the red men. These adventurers found the grove composed of the curious number of hickories, and note it in their annals of the country. From their size when seen by settlers about 1824 or 1825, they must have been more than a century old, and if so, were here when the country was captured from the British by Col. George R. Clark, 100 years ago.

Another small grove, known as Anderson's Grove, exists in another part of the township. It is, however, quite small, and has never yielded trees above a mediocre height and size, or of a quality suitable for building purposes. A curious growth of sassafras-trees has sprung up on the farm of Jesse O'Hair since he settled there. He says he cannot account for the trees, as he knows of no one planting any roots of that tree, or dropping any seed. He supposes the growth came from seeds dropped by birds, or roots left by Indians or travelers. At any rate, the trees have come up in the last quarter-century, and are of a good size. Mr. O'Hair has them fenced about, and uses the grove for a shade for stock. He is quite proud of its existence, and counts it a valuable adjunct on his farm.

Aside from what has been mentioned as timber-land, the entire town is prairie. When the first settlers came to the county, they found it a trackless, almost treeless, plain, variegated with here and there a small grove or a single shrub. It was covered with a luxuriant growth of grass, waving in the prairie breezes, the home of the wolf, deer and buffalo. A'^oid of life, save in its savage state, it indeed fulfilled the description of Irving, whose matchless essay on the prairies stands unequaled. These wastes are now the homes of plenty, and, under the hand and influence of civilization, are the finest parts of the county.

During the interval between the settlement of the timbered parts of the county and the open portions, the prairies were the scenes of many exciting wolf and deer hunts. The former animals were a foe to young pigs and poultry, even after settlers came out here to live. They ravaged hen-roosts with brazen impunity, often in broad day, but more commonly at night. They also evidenced a desire for fi-esh, tender pork, and depopulated pig-sties with as much effrontery as they did hen-roosts. To exterminate them, grand hunts were organized. A company of men, sometimes over a hundred in number, mounted on horses, followed by all the dogs and boys who could come, surrounded a certain portion of country, often quite extensive, and gradually closing in the circle, drove all before them. In early times, they would have sometimes a dozen wolves and as many deer in the doomed circle. When the line had been properly closed.

a fire from guns and pistols was opened on the animals, care being taken not to shoot over a certain level. The real fun began when two or three ventursome wolves broke the lines and made tracks for liberty and life. Then no shooting was allowed. They must run down the wolf, and that meant a trial of speed and mettle. An ordinary wolf would outrun nine horses out of ten in an even race, and but few dogs could hope to catch him. The exhilarating sport - the spectacle of numbers of horses galloping across the plain in full tilt, after a wolf - gave spirit and vim to the participants, and made the day not easily forgotten. Deer-hunts were conducted by parties only, who depended on their skill as hunters to capture them, and not on the speed of horses or the excitement of a day's sport. As the country filled with settlers, these pastimes gradually died out, as the game disappeared, until now they are a thing of the past.

The prairie is now covered with cattle and fields of grain, and in place of the wild beasts and wild men who once made it their home, the white man finds opulence and ease as a reward for his labor.

No permanent settlement seems to have been made here until about 1850. Before that date, as far as we have been able to learn, what few persons came into the bounds of this town came here to herd cattle,* and do not seem to have made any permanent residence. The prairie portions of the country were used for this purpose long after the settlers came, they preferring rather to pasture than to cultivate it. About the time of which we speak, however, the attention of emigrants was more particularly directed to this part of the West, as it was found the prairies could be more easily cultivated, when once broken, than the timber-lands. The soil was free from roots and stubs, and more productive. Hence, plows adapted to the turning of the prairie sod began to appear, and farms were entered where not a tree stood.

Samuel and John Rosebraugh settled in the southwest part of this township in 1850 or 1851, and with William and Jack Coons, Abner Brown, Benjamin McNeal and Milo Mitchell, may be considered the pioneers of this part of the county, if we may rightly call settlers of that date pioneers. These families, with a few others, came here, opened farms, erected houses and began life - not in log cabins, but in houses that mark the second era in this country. They built frame dwellings because these were cheaper than any other then, and because there was no timber near them from which to get logs to build cabins. They, therefore, did not experience the vicissitudes of a pure pioneer life here. The country was then emerging from an era of hard times and coming to a basis of real prosperity. Railroads were in operation in the Eastern and Middle States, and had even superseded the river travel as far west as Illinois. At Chicago, now the metropolis of the West, one railroad was in operation, and was earnestly extending its lines westward. Charters were being granted to other roads, which were now actively engaged in opening the country. The agitation regarding the construction of the Illinois Central Railroad was claiming the attention of the people and their Representatives in Congress. The agitation culminated in 1852 in the immense grant of land given to that road. Its history is presented elsewhere in these pages, and to it the reader is referred. Suffice it to say, as soon as the route was determined, the country through which it passed settled as if by magic. The lands embraced in the grant extended into Seven'Hickory^Township, and as soon as they were thrown upon the market, were rapidly taken up. Mr. Jesse O'Hair says that when he came here, in 1854, he does not think there were over a dozen voters in the entire precinct, and these were nearly all in the southern part. He remembers the families we have mentioned, but thinks there were verv few others. Those who were here as herders of cattle, lived elsewhere, and could not be counted as residents. They all went to Charleston to vote and for all their trading. When the land came under the control of the Illinois Central road, being partly in their grant, and buyers finding out its exceeding richness, it did not wait long for purchasers. Mr. O'Hair says to attempt to tell individually who came in from 1854 to 1859, the year the township was created, would be to enumerate about one hundred families. From this, it will be seen how rapidly the country was taken up - twelve or fifteen voters in 1853 and 1854, nearly one hundred in 1859. That tells the story of its settlement. W. E. Adams says that in 1855, he went to the north part of the township to see after some cattle, and found the farm of J. E. Wyche, fenced, in a measure, and occupied by a tenant. Judge Adams says it was the farthest farm north in the township, and was somewhat isolated, being out alone on the prairie. It was used for a stock farm. He was back there four or five years after, and the prairie was "full of homes." Each one who came erected frame houses, and began on a farm all prairie. Hence their beginning was entirely different from any who began life in the forests. Here no cabins were built ; no hunts for bee-trees and game in the woods occurred : none of the elements of a life on the pioneer plan, as commonly experienced in this part of Illinois, are found. We will, therefore, not go into a needless repetition of the life of the first settlers here. It is given in the biographical part of this book more fully than we can hope to gather it, and to that part of the narrative we would refer the reader. The people came after the railroads were opened, thus avoiding the long journey of those that preceded them. Before they were completed through this county, emigrants came to Terre Haute by way of the railroads, and from thence to their destination in their wagons.

After the creation of townships, in 1859, the voting-place was made at what was termed the Nicholas Schoolhouse, where it was continued until the Center Schoolhouse was erected, when that place was made the polling-place, and is now used.

Before leaving the history of the township, we will note an event, occurring in 1864, viz., an unusually severe wind and storm. It is referred to in the history of Mattoon, where it did much damage. There it scattered fences, tore down trees, unroofed and blew down buiklings, in one case carrying the house clear off the floor, leaving the family - Benjamin Tiff's - on the floor without any protection. Where it went through the woods, it made a " clean sweep," taking down everything in its way. Several persons were injured, and some stock killed. Within the memory of the " oldest inhabitant," it is the severest windstorm that ever visited this region.

Just as soon as a sufiicient number of persons were found in the township to warrant the erection of a schoolhouse, one was built in the southwestern part. This was about the year 1855, some assert a year later. It was a neat, frame building, and accommodated, at first, a large extent of territory. About a year after it was completed, the rapid influx of settlers commenced, and, within a year's time, several houses were erected. School was opened under the freeschool system, that having been established over ten years. No subscriptionschools, supported entirely in that manner, were ever taught here. As the lands in this township always brought an excellent price, the sale of the 16th Section brought the township a good school-fund, as will be observed in the statistics we present. The township supports excellent schools now, and, as the excellent character of the people attests, they are repaid for the outlay. The statistics to which reference is made are from the office of the County Superintendent of Schools, and are as follows :

From the foregoing table, it is evident the population of the township is nearly two thousand, an excellent growth in less than thirty years' time.

There are only two churches in Seven Hickory Township, though a few are just over its border in other townships, in whose histories they are noticed. The two to which reference is made are the Methodist and Christian Churches. The first of these, the Olive Branch Church, was organized about 1865 or 1866, possibly earlier, and, for a time, like all early churches, held services in the members' houses. Afterward, the schoolhouses were used. In 1869, a very comfortable frame church was erected, which is yet occupied. Rev. Wallace was among the ministers here about this time, and was one of the active participants in its erection and dedication. The congregation is now in a good condition every way, and supports regular services. Its rapid growth is attributed, mainly, to the sudden settling of the township, and to one or two prosperous meetings.

The Christian Church, known as the Rural Retreat Church, began by holding services in persons' houses, who were professors of this creed. Soon, a start was made, a congregation established, and the meetings transferred to the schoolhouses. As the growth, at first, was somewhat slow, no house of worship was erected till 1865 and 1866. The membership is now about fifty. The first preacher here was Rev. Jesse Campbell, whose successors were Joseph Hosteetler and Nathan Wright, the present Pastor, who now lives in Paris.

A Bit Of Railroad History

A few years after the close of the late war, the people of this township, like many others, concluded a railroad, running north and south through their territory, would be a good thing in many ways, and, finding a desire existing in Charleston for a northern and southern outlet, concluded to levy bonds to aid in its construction. Charleston had a watchful eye on the county seat, which Mattoon was zealously trying to get, and saw in the proposed road a fine opportunity to secure that necessary part of her existence. The bonds were voted for, to run a series of years, to bear a good rate of interest, and for them the township was to have a railroad running southward from Tuscola, through Charleston, to some good point. After the project had gotten well under way^ and, we believe, a little work had been done on the proposed route, it was noticed by a large part of the citizens in the south part of the township that the road would be better for all were it changed and run to Danville. The people of Charleston concurred fully in this idea, as it was undoubtedly better for them. It gave them an eastern outlet then, as well as a northern one, and brought them more directly in communication with the coal-fields. The route was changed, then, to go north a little over half-way through the township, then bear northeasterly and proceed as directly to Danville as the nature of the country would allow. No sooner was this broached, however, than the people in the northern part of the township raised a remonstrance to such a proceeding. They did not care to be taxed to support a road that did not come directly to them, and prepared to contest the payment of the bonds. The upshot of the whole matter was, the case was taken into court, where it now rests. Meanwhile, work and all preparations on the road have stopped. The people of Charleston are confident it will be yet resumed, and that one day the railroad will be built. Should the change of route invalidate the bonds, others can be raised, say they, and as the road would be of great advantage to the county seat, strenuous efforts will be made to complete it.

Commercial Interests

Although no town has ever been started in this township, it can boast of a store and a blacksmith-shop. The former was started by John Mason, about eight years ago, who saw an opportunity to enrich his exchequer and do some good for his neighbors. He has a very good country store, filled with all sorts of goods wanted by the farmers. His stock is decidedly miscellaneous in character, as all such stores are apt to be, as a miscellaneous taste and want are to be satisfied. He carries on a system of exchange, also, getting the products of the farmers, and selling them in Charleston to produce-dealers.

The blacksmith-shop is run by J. H. Davidson, and is said to be a good one. It, like the store, saves farmers coming several miles to the county seat for "odd jobs ; " and, as there are a good many "odd jobs," and as Mr. Davidson makes wagons, he has plenty to do.

These two employments are the only ones pursued in the township, outside of farming. The country is pre-eminently an agricultural one, and, as cattle and hogs are the main staple, corn is the principal cereal grown. Could a turnpike-road be built through the township to Charleston, it would be an excellent investment, as many products could be brought there that the farmers are obliged to forego or wait till good roads come. Some talk of utilizing criminals, confined in the Jail waiting trial, on the construction of such a road is heard. It would not only keep them, but would benefit the country.

This township, located in the northern tier, and second in order from the western boundary of the county, is bounded on the north by Douglas County, and on the east, south and west respectively by Seven Hickory, La Fayette and North Okaw Townships. In its extent, it embraces one and one-half townships, being nine miles north and south by six miles east and west. When Douglas County was, by act of legislation, called into existence, its southern boundary was located in such a position as to give to the northern tier of townships in Coles County an extra half-township, and this accounts for the somewhat irregular shape of Humbolt and the other northern townships. Like many of the adjacent townships, its surface is almost wholly composed of open prairie. Along the western boundary are found the outskirts of the Okaw timber ; a very little timber is found marking the course of the Flat Branch, a small stream traversing the township from east to west. Add to this a small grove on Section 10, a little southeast of the village of Humbolt, and we have the entire timbered area of the township, leaving fully nine-tenths of its surface prairie. Taken throughout its whole extent, the surface of the township is not sufficiently high and broken to be termed rolling ; nor yet is it so low as to be properly designated flat ; perhaps, gently Undulating would best describe it. Humbolt is exclusively an agricultural district. It contains no cities, and but a single village, that of Humbolt. The soil is a deep black loam, such as is common to much of the prairie regions of our great and growing State. It extends to a great depth, and yields an abundant harvest of the various grains adapted to the climate. Corn is the staple product, though wheat, oats and barley yield well. Flat Branch, a small stream rising in the northwestern corner of Seven Hickory Township, and flowing in a general western direction, crosses the northern half of Humbolt, and, with its tributaries from the north and south, aifords an outlet for the northern and central portions of the township, through which their surplus waters are discharged. The southwestern portion of the township is rather flat, but has suSicient fall to admit of drainage, and, by means of open ditching and underground tiling, extensively employed in the past few years, many broad and fertile acres heretofore left uncultivated have been reduced to a high state of cultivation. These low lands, when eff"ectually drained, are richer and more productive than the higher lands in the immediate vicinity. The Chicago Branch of the Illinois Centi-al Railroad enters the township near the middle of its northern boundary. It passes almost directly south to the village of Humbolt, on Section 4, at which point it bears to the west, and, taking a general southwestern direction, leaves the township near the western boundary of Section 31, making about twelve miles of railroad in the limits of the township. After the organization of the township, various names were proposed, among others, that of " Blue-Grass Grove." This was objected to on account of its length. The name "Flat Branch" was suggested, but was deemed objectionable in that it might give to strangers and those desiring to settle in the township incorrect views of the elevation of the land. Finally, A. A. Sutherland, who figures somewhat prominently in the village history, and who was a great admirer of the eminent German scientist and traveler. Baron Friederich Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt, offered the name by which the township is now known and designated. This proved acceptable to all, and was so recorded. How or why the " d" was dropped in the spelling of the word '- Humbolt," as applied to the township, we are at a loss to say. Perhaps it was simply in order to Americanize the word, or, possibly, to correspond with the energy and push of this Western country, as in its shortened form it would be more easily written and less difficult in orthography. The wealth of the township consists in its many well-improved farms, its broad acres of arable and pasture lands. Its annual productions, under favorable circumstances, rank second to but few in the county. Passing from the topography of the township, we next enter, upon that period of its history pertaining to its

These, when compared with the first settlements made in other portions of the county, are of recent date. Few settlers, if any, had located in the present limits of Humbolt Township, prior to the year 1836. True, a settlement had been made along the Okaw as early as 1833, but this was farther west and is now included in North Okaw Township, When the first settlers of Humbolt Township came, they found the few farms then in cultivation, either in the timber or nestling close by it, for none dared venture far from the timber with cabin or farm. So the wide-stretching prairie lay unmolested by the hand of man. It was one wide-spread field, where nature sported in her wildest freaks, clad in the habiliments of all that could be called beautiful and lovely. Turn which way they might, they were met with wildness, loneliness and beauty combined, all on a grand scale and well calculated to make impressions as lasting as the eternal hills. The wildness was beauty made doubly so because innocence was written in letters of gold upon the untold thousands of unfolding flowers just bursting from their wintry homes and peeping out to catch the early sunbeams and drink in the morning dewdrops. Unmolested by the foot of man, they spread their beautiful colors and golden hues to the praise of Nature's God, eclipsing the lilies of Eden and the roses of Sharon, and forever throwing in the shade the floral gardens of the world. When John Poorman arrived, in the fall of 1836, and settled in the northwest corner of the township, on Section 31, he found just north of him, on Section 30, Julius Dugger, who, from the improvements made, Mr. Poorman thinks must have settled as early as 1833 or 18.34. All seem willing to accord to Dugger the honor of building the first cabin and making the first improvement in what is now Humbolt Township. Bailey Riddle, from North Carolina, had settled in 1833, but his cabin was just across the line in Okaw Township. John Pemberton, from Kentucky, came in the fall of 1834 or 1835, and settled near Eiddle, but after remaining a short time sold out and went farther west. The fall of 1835, brought in William Brann; that of 1836, Poorman, Noble, Junken, Jacob and David Hoots. In 1837, James Walker and John Matthews were added to the settlement. Poorman was from Pennsylvania; Brann, Junken and Walker from Rush County, Ind.; Matthews, from Tennessee or Kentucky, and the Hootses from North Carolina. With the exception of Poorman and Jacob Hoots, these all settled in what is now included in Okaw Township, east of the Okaw or Kaskaskia, and on Sections adjacent to the western limit of Humbolt Township. Poorman's location has already been designated. Jacob Hoots located directly south of him on Section 6. For some years there seemed to be no disposition on the part of those coming m to settle east of the improvements already made. They either passed, on and settled nearer the river, or, crossing the stream, sought a more desirable location in the western outskirts of the timber. In 1840, W. B. Hawkins, then a young man of nineteen summers, came from Rush County, Ind., and purchased a fractional eighty on Section 6, east of Hoots. About the same time, Thomas K. Fleming, originally from Kentucky, erected a cabin and opened up a farm still farther east on the prairie. About the same date, Henry Horn, from Virginia, settled a little northeast of the Hawkins purchase. Benjamin Beavers was next in the township, east of Poorman's. Jacob Hoots died in 1842, and Joseph Finley, from Ohio, was the next to settle on his farm. The settlers already mentioned, comprise all those who were living in the township to the close of 1842 or 1843. Hawkins returned to Indiana in

1842, and took unto himself a helpmeet with a view to returning soon after to his Western home. His return, however, was delayed till 1850, when he came, built a cabin and set about improving his farm. In the mean time, Joshua Nixon had settled at Blue-Grass Grove. In the southeast corner of the township, James Shoemaker, and possibly Robert Hill, had settled as early as 1850. Few, if any, other settlements were made in the township prior to the building of the railroad in 1856. From that time forward, settlements multiplied rapidly, and in a few short years the far stretches of prairie to the east, which the earliest settlers had thought would remain uninhabited for many decades, were thickly studded with human habitations. Of those mentioned as having settled in the township as early as 1840, but two are now remaining - John Poorman and W. B. Hawkins. The others have nearly all passed over the silent river ; a few have passed to the West, and new settlers have taken their places. The earliest settlers of this part of the county were exempted from many of the hardships and privations endured by those who preceded them a decade or more of years in the settlement of other portions of the county. Progress and improvement was visible on every hand. The days of the hominy-mortar and hand-mill had passed away, and the glorious eraof horse-mills had been fully inaugurated. As early as 1837 or 1838, Jesse Fuller had a horse-mill near the Okaw, about three miles southwest of where Poorman settled. This served the adjacent settlement and kept it supplied with meal. When a grist of wheat was to be ground, it became necessary to make a trip to True's mill, some ten or twelve miles distant. The flour manufactured is said by the old settlers to have been of a very superior quality. Going to mill, by those who were obliged to cross the prairie for any considerable distance, was usually performed after night, in order to avoid the annoyance of the flies. Sometimes a pilgrimage was made to Spangler's mills, on the Sangamon River, distant forty miles. Terre Haute and St. Louis aftbrded a market for their surplus supply of hogs, while their cattle were driven north to Chicago. These they often sold at what would now be considered starvation prices for the producer ; but as their wants were few and simple, and easily supplied, they managed to live comfortably, and most of them even to lay by in store. In 1841, when the money issued by the Springfield Bank was worth only about 50 cents to the dollar and all kinds of Illinois money was taken at a great discount, Mr. Poorman relates that loading his wagon with bacon, one barrel of soap, lard and butter, he made a trip to La Fayette, Ind. He realized for his bacon $2.50 per hundred, lard 6 cents and butter 5 cents per pound. The proceeds he invested in groceries, clothing, leather and other necessaries for family consumption. The soap he exchanged for a barrel of salt. He thus saved himself from contracting debts, and to-day he claims that he got his start in life while his neighbors were paying off" their debts, contracted while he was hauling that load to market. The early meetings, as in other sections, were held in the cabins of the settlers. " Preachingplace," as it was then called, was at Poorman's house, five or six years. The early ministers were Arthur Bradshaw and Joseph Lane, in local relation with the M. E. Church. The Baptist brethren held services at Bugger's cabin, and among their early ministers were Revs. Martin, Threlkeld and Riley, Regular Baptists and circuit-riders. The first church built in Humbolt Township was erected by the Methodist society, near the western limits of the township, in the latter part of 1856. Among the early church members we find the names of John Poorman and family, Thomas K. Fleming and wife, John Southen and family, some of the Hootses and others. The congregation was rather a mixture of Methodists and Presbyterians, the different organizations having the use of the house on alternate Sundays. This house was afterward moved over to the village of Milton (now Humbolt) and used for a number of years by the Methodist society. About the year 1873, it was taken down and the material shipped to Larned, Kan., there rebuilt and occupied as a banking-house. Besides the four churches in the village, we find two others in the township. Wesley Chapel, in the southeastern portion, was built about 1866. Central Chapel, in the northeast corner, was erected in 1868 or 1869. These are the property of the M. E. Church. The nucleus of the congregation at Wesley was taken from Humbolt and Salem, that of Central from Humbolt. The first school of which we have any record was presided over by Noble Brann, and was conducted in a vacant cabin, built by John Matthews in the fall of 1837. This cabin stood about one mile northwest of Poorman's. Brann was a Hoosier, and a teacher of the olden style, that made the recreant "jump Jim Crow." In point of education, the township has kept pace with the times. In the township proper are nine districts, each supplied with a good frame building. Schools were sustained during the past year for a term of 68 months, making an average of 7 5-9 months to each district. Number of males attending, 171 ; females, 140. Male teachers employed, 9 ; females, 3. Highest monthly wages, males, $50 ; females, $30. Estimated value of school property, |5,200. Apparatus, 1250. Principal township fund, |4,700. Special district tax, $2,658. Total amount paid teachers, $2,412. Total expense for the year, $3,053.

The first man who came among the early settlers of Humbolt Township, to relieve them of their bodily " aches and pains," was a Dr. Bacon, whose residence was in what is now Douglas County. He was here, perhaps, as early as 1838. Dr. Apperson, nephew of Dr. John Apperson, of Paradise Township, was also among the early physicians. The first death that occurred was that of a little daughter of John Poorman's. She died in 1841, from the effects of a rattlesnake bite, and was buried in what is called Brann's graveyard, in Okaw Township. She lingered only eight hours after receiving the injury, yet her sufferings were intense. Jacob Hoots died in 1842, and was, doubtless, the first adult whose death occurred in the township. These were days in which the early settlers were exhorted by every-day experience, that it was a good thing to observe faithfully the Scriptural injunction, ' Watch as well as pray.' Not only were wolves enemies to their flocks of lambs and young pigs, plentiful on every hand, but snakes of various kinds infested the prairies. Of these, the most dreaded was the rattlesnake; much stock was injured and several persons were bitten by them ; the breaking-up and cultivation of the prairie soon caused their extinction. As late as 1850, W. B. Hawkins says that, in breaking one round, he killed three full-grown rattlesnakes. On one occasion, when gathering strawberries, in company with two or three others, the party killed no less than twenty-six during the day. The prairie-wolves were a source of no little annoyance to the first settlers. To encourage them to use all the means within their reach to rid the country of these ravenous beasts, the Legislature of Illinois passed special acts, the first giving 75 cents, and the last $1.50 for each wolf-scalp. Thus wolf-scalps became a legal-tender, in taxpaying at least. This was a wise act on the part of the Legislature, and gave quite an impetus to the great work of destroying the destroyer. The greatest and most successful wolf-chases were just after the fall of a deep snow, for the snow impeded the swiftness of the wolf much more than it did the fleetness of the horse. Immediately after the fall of a deep snow, each settler, armed and equipped for the race, would mount his "Pegasus," and, accompanied by his dog, would proceed to the place of rendezvous. The following graphic delineation of the chase has been given by one of the early settlers : " The Blue- Grass Grove, a little southeast of where the town of Milton (now Humbolt) stands, was the grand rally ing-point for all the settlements for miles around. It was a grand scene to be out on the wide-spread prairie, all covered with its white carpet of beautiful snowflakes, and to see far away in the distance squads of horsemen, some standing still, others in full chase of the almost flyiftg wolf, that appeared in the distance like some dark bird, skimming the snow ; some two or three miles away are two or three horsemen on the look-out. Far off" in the distance are two or three men urging their horses to their utmost speed toward the guard that is on the look-out. The look-out party know that the others are in full pursuit of the desired game; every eye is strained to catch a glimpse of the fleeing vagabond, but it is yet too far away to be seen; nearer and nearer come the flying horsemen; at length the wolf is seen from one hundred to two hundred yards ahead, and appears to fly almost, while the swift-footed horses seem to drink in the excitement of the chase, and, with outstretched necks and wide-spread nostrils, leaving behind them one continued stream of flying snow, thrown up by their nimble feet, stretch every nerve to overtake the flying game. The whole scene becomes intensely exciting ; the poor wolf is running for life, but, unfortunately, there is danger just ahead ; he is running toward other horsemen, on fresh horses, who join the chase, and a few hundred yards bring the fresh horses up with the game ; not unfrequently the foremost horse runs over the wolf, killing or crippling it so that the next man finishes the job. Sometimes, three or four such races are in sight at one and the same time, for the hunters from every section are concentrating their forces, and drawing near the great rallying-point with from eight to ten wolves. Every man is at his post, while the wolves are making every effort to escape. But every avenue of escape is closed, the dogs are let loose, and now men, horses, wolves and dogs are pell-mell together, and the work of destruction goes on ; the barking and yelping of the dogs, with the shouting of the hunters and running of the horses, all these combined, made an exciting scene. It was great fun for the hunters, but death to the poor wolves ; in some instances it proved pretty dear sport to the hunter, costing him his best horse for sometimes, under the influence of the excitement, he pushed his horse too far, so that he fell dead under his rider." In the spring season, great pains were taken to find their dens, for the purpose of destroying their young. These were generally found on some high point in the wide prairie, far from the habitation of man ; all that were caught were scalped, both old and young, and the scalps laid up as so much cash against tax-paying day. But the days of wolf hunts have long since passed away, and the "varmints " are seen no more in all the land. We come now to trace the history of the only village in the township, and with it close this section of our work.

The Village Of Humbolt

In 1853, A. A. Sutherland, who had settled one mile east of Charleston as early as 1828, purchased a tract of land in Section 4, in Humbolt Township, east of and adjoining the present roadbed of the I. C. R. R. He erected a shanty, the same fall, and engaged in boarding hands employed in the construction of the road. The Railroad Co. reserved one-half section, about one mile south of the present site of the village, with a view to making a station at that point. After the completion of the road, in order to secure the station and the town site on his premises, he donated to the R. R. Co. ten acres of land. This transaction occurred in 1859. Immediately after the acceptance of the donation, in company with Thomas K. Fleming, he laid out and platted twenty acres east of and adjoining the land donated. This appears as the original town plat. Soon after, the R. R. Co. sold their land to Wesley Wampler, who laid it out in town lots. This is known as Wampler's Addition, and on this the principal part of the town was built. About the year 1860 or 1861, a Mr. Hill made an addition north of the original plat, and Wampler made a second addition west of the railroad. T. K. Fleming built the first residence on the townsite, and Wesley Wampler the second. These were both built in 1859. Others came in rapid succession, purchased lots and erected dwellings, so that, by the beginning of 1861, the village had well-nigh attained its present size. Like many of our Western prairie towns, it sprang into existence almost as if by magic. The war coming on in 1861, checked for a season its progress. Wampler was the first agent, built the first store and sold the first goods after the layingout of the village. Lewis Hutchinson had kept a country store at this point prior to the laying-out of the village, but was not here at this time. John Payne, from Paris, Edgar Co., opened a general store early in 1860. Dr. 0.