Edgar County, Illinois - The whole text, 1879 (part 14 of 24)

Horatio Blanchard came from Brown County, Ohio, and settled in Prairie Township, in 1830. His original location was on the west side of the town, and he remained here until 1835, when he sold out and removed into Ross Township, where he still lives an enterprising citizen. He lived on one place for about forty-five years. At the close of the Black Hawk war, he walked all the way to Chicago and back, remaining there on this visit several months, and was there at the time the treaty was made with the Indians. The following year he repeated the trip, which was through an almost unbroken wilderness, inhabited only by Indians. The houses were often twenty-five miles apart. While in Chicago on this trip, he helped to build the first brick house erected in the Garden City. His first neighbors, he says, were Daniel and Lewis Camerer, of Brouillett Township, Col. William Wyatt, Judge Lowry, John Wilson, John Hannah, Israel D. Sayres, who lived in other sections of the country around him. He made a trip to Chicago every fall with his team for several years, hauling to that market grain and fruit, and bringing back groceries and salt. He made one trip to Rock Island with his team, via Joliet, taking dried fruit and feathers and, returning via Chicago, brought back to this settlement a load of groceries. When he settled here, game was so plenty that he often shot turkeys and deer from the door of his cabin. He is further noticed in the history of Ross Township.

John Wilson, who was one of the early settlers of Brouillett Township, was from Kentucky, and after living there but a short time, removed to this township. Remaining here a few years, he sold out, and with a large lot of stock - horses and cattle - went to Oregon, where, at last accounts of him, he was still living though almost a hundred years old. John Hannah came from Ohio. He went into the late war from this township, at the time an old man in years; came back and soon died from disease contracted while in the service. Daniel Newcomb, Edmund Clarke, John Jackson and Samuel Lowry were also from Kentucky. Clarke is dead, but his widow, and a son or two, are still living in the neighborhood. New'comb first settled in Brouillett Township ; is now dead, but two sons are still living. Lowry was a branch of the Lowry family, men¬ tioned so often in these pages, and moved away years ago. Jackson was one of the early settlers, but has been dead fifteen years or more. Josiah and George Thompson were among the early comers to Prairie Township. Joseph remained but a short time, and removed back South, where he came from. George was his nephew, and bought out Barker, when the latter moved back to Hunter. He has been dead about twelve years, but has a son living here and a daughter in Chrisman. Solomon Smith and Samuel Scott were early settlers in the township. Smith died last fall. Scott has been dead some six years, but has several sons living, who are wealthy. He was a native of Kentucky, but had been living some time in Indiana before coming to Edgar County. He has several sons, as above stated, living in the county still, and a daughter, all of whom are in good circumstances. David Light, another of the early settlers of Brouillett, was also an early settler in this town. His early history is given in the chapter devoted to Brouillett; also his encounter with a wolf is given in that chapter.

This brings the settlement of the towmship up to a period when people were coming in so rapidly as to render it a difficult matter to keep a record of them. The virtues of the prairies had been discovered, and immigrants w ere beginning to push out on the broad plains, among the tall grass, and stake out claims and put up cabins, that sometimes could scarcely be seen above the grass, and in every direction might be seen the long .teams, usually consisting of three or four yoke of cattle, breaking the prairie land and taking the initiative steps for mak¬ ing the magnificent farms to be found in this locality at the present day. -

Historical Facts And Events

The reader will notice in the map of Edgar County, two lines running through Prairie Township. That one passing through in a northwest direction is called the 10 o'clock line, and the one running a little east of north, the 1 o'clock line, and are the boundaries of a body of land purchased by Gen. Har¬ rison of the Indians, for the United States Government, as noted in another chapter. These lines intersect a short distance north of the county line in Ver¬ milion. The land east of the line, running north and south, wras surveyed sev¬ eral years before that on the west side, and by some carelessness, oversight or other cause, the section lines do not jibe,' or make a considerable jog, as will be seen by reference to the county map, and the variation seems to increase on the west side of the line, as it is laid off to the north, so that by the time the north line of the county is reached, the regular Congressional townships are completed at the line of the queer little corner extending down in Prairie Township, while it takes another tier of sections to complete them on the west side. Hence the north line of the county in the center of Prairie Township (at the little corner) is the north line of Town 16 north, Range 11 west, while the north line of the county is the north line of Town 16 north, Range 12 west. But why the little neck in the extreme northeast corner of Prairie Township was kept to Edgar County, or why the north line of the county was not run straight across from east to west, without making the little corner above described, are conundrums, and we, as well as everybody else, give it up. It is said to be a great annoyance to the people living in this little three-cornered boundary, preventing them from knowing just where they live, almost, whether in Edgar or Vermilion County.

At the March term of the County Commissioners' Court, in the year 1854, it was ordered that an election precinct, to be designated as " Prairie Precinct," be laid off and bounded as follows: Beginning at the county line one mile west of the northwest corner of Town 16 north, Range 11 west ; thence south to a point north of Range 12 west; thence east to the State line; thence north with the State line to the northeast corner ; thence along the county line to the beginning. And that the place of holding elections in the said precinct be at the house of Henry Mathers. Z. W. Riley and Miller Ingram were appointed Justices of the Peace. At the September term, 1855, precinct boundaries were changed somewhat, as noted in other parts of this history. When the county adopted township organization, in 1856, the boundaries of Prairie Township remained the same as Prairie Precinct. The present Supervisor of the town is Frank Maddock ; the Justices of the Peace are M. D. Scott and J. W. McGee.

At one time there wTas supposed to be salt in Prairie Township. The fol¬ lowing story is told of an old Dutchman, who used to live at Fort Harrison, of how he was " taken in" by the Indians. The red men told the Dutchman that there was a salt-spring capable of making much salt, and for his gun, horse and money, they would pilot him to the place, and that the salt was plenty enough to make him independently rich forever. The Dutchman took the bait, and the Indians led him into Prairie Township, on what is called Salt Fork, to a place that seems to have been a kind of deer-lick. It was a basin four or five rods across, tramped down a foot or two below the surface of the surround¬ ing county. Here they put on a kettle of the salt-water to boil, to try the salt¬ making capacity of it ; and, whenever the Dutchman's back wTas turned, an old squaw, whom the Indians had with them, would throw a handful of salt into the kettle. Thus the test proved satisfactory to the Dutchman, who, according to contract, paid over the promised sum to the Indians. Suffice it, the salt-spring turned out a swindle, and the Dutchman lost his horse, his gun and money ; the Indians proving for once, at any rate, too sharp for their pale-face friends. Since that time the little stream where this incident occurred has been called the Salt Fork instead of North Fork, as before

Schools, Churches, Etc

The first school taught in Prairie Township was by Mrs. Nancy Jones, the first wife of Richard Jones, one of the first settlers of the town. She was said to be a most estimable lady, and taught this school in 1830, in her own house, long before there were any schoolhouses built in this section of the county. They then lived where the town of Scotland now stands. The next school taught in the town was several years later, in the west part of the township, and was by a man of the name of Haines. This was the first school in this section, and was patronized by all the people living along the creek, both in Prairie and Ross Townships. Such was the feeble beginning of the schools of Prairie Township, which have since then increased in numbers and character, until they compare favorably with those of any section of the county. The town is laid off into the usual number of school districts, in which have been erected good, com¬ modious school-buildings, furnished with all the modern school furniture, and are well attended by those entitled to their benefits.

The first sermon preached in the township was by an old Dunkard preacher, of the name of Thompson, who used to preach in the settlement at a very early day. The churches of the township are Wesley Chapel, belonging to the M. E. Church, but used at present by the United Brethren, under the pastoral care of Rev. Mr. Baty. The church edifice was built in 1867, under the pastorate of Rev. T. Winns, the first M. E. minister on that circuit. This church is also used by the Christians, who have quite a flourishing congregation, in charge of Rev. Mr. Williams. Several of the schoolhouses are also used for religious meetings occasionally, and Sunday schools are maintained in many parts of the town.

Bonwell Post Office was established in 1851, and was located near where Wesley Chapel now stands. Arthur Bonwell was the first Postmaster, and held the office about four years. It was eventually discontinued, after the laying out of Scotland. The railroad crossing the township from east to west, known as the Indianapolis, Decatur k Springfield Railroad, is one of the early rail¬ road projects of the State, and was surveyed as the Air-Line Railroad, from Indianapolis to Springfield. But after its survey was made, like many other similar projects, it was dropped, and lay dormant until, a few years ago, it was completed under the above title. The township donated §1,200 to the building of it. A full history of it is given in the county history, and but a few words are necessary here. The road is of vast benefit to this section, and carries immense quantities of grain, stock and coal. The political aspect of Prairie is a little mixed at present, and it is hard to say just which way the political cat wTould jump. It was a \\ hig precinct in the old times of that party's popularity.

The Village Of Scotland

Scotland is a little village of two of three hundred inhabitants, situated on the Indianapolis, Decatur & Springfield Railroad, about four miles from Chrisman. It was surveyed and laid out by George W. Foreman, County Surveyor, for William Scott, and the plat recorded September 17, 1872. Mr. Scott, one of the most enterprising citizens, and for whom the town is named, donated one-half of the lots embraced in the original plat to the 1., D. & S. Railroad, the railroad company selling the lots to individuals. The post office was estab¬ lished here in 1875, having been previously discontinued at Bonwell. A. Burson was appointed Postmaster, and has held the office ever since. William Scott built a flouring-mill here in 1873, which, having changed hands several times, has passed back into his possession. A very handsome and substantial twostory school-building has been erected, and is an ornament to the little village. A graded school is conducted from six to nine months of the year, and well patronized. The land upon which the building stands was donated by Mr. Scott and the I., D. & S. R. R. Company. The present business of Scotland may be summarized as follows : Three dry goods stores, Scott Brothers, H. H. Adams & Bro. and Thomas Hefflefinger ; A. Burson, drugs and the post office ; one flouring-mill, two blacksmith-shops, two physicians - Drs. Jenkins and Wright. The church history has been given in that of the township.

On the 9th day of March, 1854, at the meeting of the Board of Supervis¬ ors, an order was passed creating a precinct in the northwest part of the county, whose name and limits should be as follows :

" Ordered, That an election precinct, to be known as Young America Pre¬ cinct, be established and bounded as follows, viz.: Beginning at the northwest corner of the county, thence south with the county line to the south part of Township 16, Range 14 west ; thence east to the southeast corner of Township 16 north, Range 13 west; thence north two miles ; thence east to the west line of Prairie Precinct ; thence north to the county line ; thence along the county line west to the place of beginning."

It was also ordered that " the place of holding the election in said precinct be at the house of Perez Barker, and that James Gains, George Reed and John¬ son Ross be Judges of Election in said precinct."

By noticing these outlines on the map, the reader can readily trace the original exterior of the precinct. It then included nearly all of Ross Town¬ ship and none of what is now Shiloh. Subsequently, when the limits of

Embarrass and Pilot Grove Precincts were changed, and Buck formed from the latter, taking its place both in name and territory, the northern part of these two precincts was attached to Young America. In 1866, when Shiloh Town¬ ship was formed, it was created from the " south part of Y7oung America and the north part of Buck Townships." So say the records. The erection of Ross and Shiloh Townships left Young America in its present shape and size, which is large enough to admit of another division whenever the settlements iustifv such a move.

The township is six sections wide by eight and one-half long, containing, therefore, fifty-one full sections, or thirty-two thousand six hundred and forty acres.

The township, with the exception of the eastern and northern part, is all prairie. Here and there are a few groves of trees, of various sizes. The largest is Hickory Grove, in the northern part. Near it was made the first settlement in this township, an account of which appears in the historical part of this narrative. In former times, these groves afforded some good timber, which, however, has all been used in the erection of buildings, and is now superseded by an inferior second growth.

Until lately, the prairie portions of Young America were considered untillable, and were allowed to remain open. They were used largely by herders of cattle from other places, who drove their cattle here, herding them in the sum¬ mer-time, and feeding them in the winter on stalks purchased for that purpose. The same method of raising stock was employed in Shiloh Township, which is largely prairie country in area, and was formerly known as Young America. The prairie here is exceedingly level, and, naturally, affords little drainage. For this reason it was, in the common vernacular of the region, " a rather wet country." The prairie grass grew very rank, holding the water in its thicklyclustered roots and shielding the sun by its heavy growth. Hence, the country was in accord with its description, and did not present a very inviting prospect to the agriculturist. The land had been largely entered by speculators, who knew very well it would one day come under the domain of cultivation, and would be valuable. Time verified their predictions, as the sequel will show.

Past And Present

As has been incidentally mentioned, the first settler in this part of the county located at Hickory Grove. In the year 1820, a man named Helvene Stine came to this grove, began cutting trees, principally for coons or for honey. A\ bile engaged in this sport, he got after a good-sized coon, and in cutting down the tree, by some means, he was killed by its falling. He was buried in what was known as the Frazier Grave-yard, in territory now comprised in Vermilion County. He was the first man of whom any record exists as finding and being in this grove. No doubt, he, and other early pioneers, saw Mulberry

Grove and others about this same time, but no record is kept of their going to any of them. It is, however, safe to assume they went there and elsewhere in quest of game.

In 1822, Mr. Daniel Reed came to Hickory Grove, and finding it a. desira¬ ble place to live, built himself a cabin, and became the first settler in what is now Young America. That was a little wThile before Edgar County was created, and when the population in this part of the State was not counted by thou¬ sands.

At that date, there was no Paris or Danville, and to enter land, Mr. Reed had to go to Palestine, a good many miles south of him, to the land office there. Indians, deer, wolves and other native inhabitants of this part of the West were plenty. The Indians were only troublesome in that they would sometimes steal. Deer made good venison, interspersed with turkey and wild chicken, or with an occasional bear steak or tenderloin. Wolves would not only steal, but would kill. They soon learned the abode of civilization, and not only rendered the night hideous with their incessant howling, but made sad havoc with chicken-roosts or in the pig-pens. They soon learned to be rather partial for tender pork, and when the settler had any such property, he was obliged to guard it until it was large enough to defend itself against this scavenger of the prairie. After the settlements became numerous, successful wolf-hunts were inaugurated, which, in time, drove them from the country. Now, they or deer are a rarity.

Mr. Reed and his family seem to have been alone until, getting tired of his isolated condition, or his family may not have favored the place - at any rate, Mr. Marion Kendall states that when he came to what is now Young America Township there was not a man living in it. He is a native of Stafford County* Va., removing from the " Old Dominion," with his parents, to Kentucky, in 1814. In 1829, he came on horse-back to Illinois, on a prospecting tour. He remained here nearly a year, returning in 1830 to Kentucky. It was when on this trip, that he came to near Hickory Grove, and concluded to make it his future home. He says there was a pole-cabin, or body of one, about a mile north¬ west of the grove, but by whom it was built he does not know. He does not refer to Mr. Reed, who had probably left the grove. When Mr. Kendall returned to his home in the Blue-grass State, he married, and, in 1831, returned to Illinois and settled. In the fall of the same year, he was followed by Mr. Conrad Walters, who entered land, and, with the help of his hired man, Mr. Kendall and his father-in-law, Henry Retter, built him a cabin. While this was being built, he lived in the pole-cabin before referred to. His settlement was permanent and was one of the first in the township.

These seem to have been the majority if not all the settlers in this part of Edgar County for some time. Mr. George Reed was here in 1849, when Mr. Jerry Myers came to Mulberry Grove. He states that Mr. Reed and Joseph Culver were in Young America then, and does not recollect any others.

However, there were several families about Hickory Grove, and near, in what is now Vermilion County. They went to Old Horner, or Georgetown, for mail ; to Paris or to the mouth of Big Vermilion, twenty miles away, for milling purposes. They did not enjoy many luxuries. They were met by the necessi¬ ties of life and looked upon them as the chief part of their existence. We will not pause to describe their first homes, first mills, first plows, or anything considered first in the pioneer's life ; that has been done elsewhere in these pages, and as the frontier life is the same in all parts of the West, one description will apply to all. The settlers expected privation and discomforts ; but the hope of a better day ever nerved them to their tasks and kept them cheerful.

The early births and marriages in the community are interesting items and must not be omitted. Such events do not commonly come in the order given above, but the reverse. However, we will state them as they occurred. The first birth here, as far as we have been able to find, was that of Martin Reed, a son of Daniel Reed. The date of this event was not given us.

Two couples seem to come in for the glory as the first married in this com¬ munity. One informant says that Frank Barnett and Jerusha Walters can justly claim that honor, while another says that John Hildreth, a brother of A. K. Hildreth, and a daughter of Mr. Walters (name not given), were married about three years after the arrival of Mr. W. and his family, and that the honor properly belongs to them. The weight of evidence seems in their favor. In the latter case, we are told the wedding occurred in the log cabin erected for Mr. Walters in 1831, and that the marriage referred to was celebrated in pure pioneer style. A dance was kept up all night.

The occasion of a marriage in pioneer days was made a merry affair. After the ceremony had been performed, to which all the neighbors were invited, and when the old folks had gone home, the cabin was cleared and dancing begun. A good fiddler was always in demand, and was sure to be a welcome personage in a frontier dwelling. His music may not have been very classical ; one thing, though, may safely be said, it was stirring.

After the dance was well along, say about 9 or 10 o'clock, a deputation of young women stole off the bride and put her to bed, generally in the loft, where a bed had been provided, covered with clothes of her own manufacture. The young men of the party affected not to notice this proceeding, and no interval was allowed in the dance. As soon as the young ladies had returned, the young men watching their opportunity in like manner disposed of the groom, who was generally a very willing prisoner, and deposited him beside his bride. Often they were remembered with refreshments during the night ; and if a u Black Betty ' was handy (which was often the case, for whisky was as common a drink then as now, though apparently not so active on the imbiber) it was sent to the bedside of the pair, whereby they might imbibe from its contents did they desire. V h ether this was done at the wedding we have mentioned, we are not prepared to say ; we are only speaking of weddings in general.

Reference has been made to the number of Indians seen in this part of the country after the whites began to settle. They were generally of the Kickapoo tribe, and were peaceful. They, like the wild animals, felt the encroachment of the white man on their domain, and gradually left the country, following the path of the setting sun. Mr. Mason Kendall remembers seeing about five hundred Indians, who, when on their way to their reservation in the West, stopped in the grove and hunted about a week. Henry Kendall remembers that when he was about eleven years old his father took him to see the trenches they had dug in the ground, in which to properly dry their " jerked beef." This, he says, was nearly twelve years after the Indians had been there. He thinks they were a band of Cherokees, but does not now remember cer¬ tainly.

A rather historic row of cottonwood-trees stands in this township. They were for many years a landmark here. Some of them are now nearly three feet in diameter. They were planted by Mr. Mason Kendall, in the fall of 1838, on the day Henry Kendall was born. They, and he, are over forty years old.

Mr. Kendall has always been an active man in this township. He built the first store in these parts. It stood near where Mr. G. W. Kendall now resides, and contained the usual miscellaneous assortment of pioneer goods.

He was also the first to introduce successfully the cultivation and growth of clover, timothy and blue grass here. These have in time almost entirely super¬ seded the prairie grass. His son Henry was put in the saddle when nine years of age, to herd cattle. He says he has been there a good deal of the time since.

This narrative brings us down to the time the second influx of emigrants came in. This is the time referred to by Mr. Jerry Myers, who states that when he came to Mulberry Grove the Reed family were living at Hickory Grove, and Joseph Culver at Spring Grove. The others whom we have named he does not mention. They may have been near the boundary of some other township, or just in the edge of what is now Vermilion County, as, in the early days, that was a part of Edgar. Mr. William McNutt states that when he came, in 1854, there were two or three settlers here in addition to those mentioned by Mr. Myers in 1848 or 1849.

Among those of this period, say from 1848 to 1858, may be mentioned Mr. James Ofr, who came from Pennsylvania, Henry Ross, Thomas Guthrie and John and William McDonald.

These persons built cabins, opened farms as others had done, but were not obliged to undergo the same privations, as by this time the country was toler¬ ably well settled. Railroads were built to various parts of the West, and were the means of opening this vast domain to the people in the East.

All early settlements were made along the northern and eastern parts of the township. They had not learned the art of properly cultivating the prairies ;

As late as 1870, when a county map was made, and each resident's house located on it, the reader can notice the people lived in the eastern and northern portions entirely. Mr. Hume states that when he came, in 1865, there were no people on the prairie ; it was used as a large pasture, immense # droves of cattle being herded thereon.

After the Indianapolis, Decatur & Springfield Railroad was opened, in 1872, and people saw that by proper drainage this land could be made profit¬ able, they settled it as if by magic. The building of Hume and Metcalf opened an outlet through the railroad for the disposal of their crops, and not an acre of land was left unclaimed.

Inquiries relating to the first schools and churches in Young America Town¬ ship, omitting that part now included in Ross Township, develop the fact that the first schoolhouse was erected here in 1861. Some assert this date as incorrect, placing the first one, the " Old Green Schoolhouse " as early as 1854 or 1855. Mr. Hume says that in 1865 there were only three in the whole township. We are inclined to the opinion from all that could be learned, that the first one was erected prior to 1861, for to a certainty school was taught before that date. May be that only the room of a settler's cabin was used. One informant gives the first school teacher's name, saying it was Sarah Henthorn. He also states that the first schoolhouse was erected in 1861, that it stood neaf Mr. G. W. Kendall's, and that it is now used as a carriage-house. It is very certain that until 1870 or later, only three or four schoolhouses were in this town¬ ship. It will be remembered, that the population was sparse until 1872, and that but few would be needed. From that date until now, as the people came in and occupied the territory, others were erected as their wants required.

We are informed that Rev. Mr. Winn was the first minister of the Gospel in these parts. What year he came is not now accurately known. He was a Methodist, and with the characteristic promptness of that denomination, fol¬ lowed the pioneer to his frontier home, and endeavored to found a church. His efforts do not appear to have been very successful, for no church of any kind existed in \ oung America until the erection of one at Palermo, three or four.years ago. That, too, is a Baptist, and is now the only one of any denomination, we were told, in the township.

In the eastern part of Young America, persons desiring to attend relig¬ ious services go to Chrisman. While in other parts occasional meetings are held in schoolhouses, by clergymen of different denominations, who find adher¬ ents to their several religious faiths among the people.

Leaving the description of the country comprised in Young America, we will devote the remainder of the history to the villages. Of these, there are three in the township, viz., Hume, Metcalf and Palermo.

Hume

When Mr. E. W. S. Hume located where the village bearing his name now stands, there was not a single habitation near him. He came here in February, 1865, about the close of the late war, and purchased a tract of land on the pro¬ posed line of the railroad, which then began to attract some attention to this part of the country, and which has much to do with the settling of the prairies here. In November, Mr. Hume brought his family to their then new home, and opened a farm and began its cultivation.

The next year, Mr. Hume concluded a town could be started here, and laid his plans accordingly. Before he accomplished the object, however, he was joined by Henry C. Moore, Thomas H. McCoughty and H. B. Hammond, whose names appear on the plat as incorporators, filed in the Clerk's office. For them and Mr. Hume, Mr. George W. Foreman laid out the village of Hume early in November, 1873.

There was not a house on the original plat when the survey was made. Persons, however, stood ready to build as soon as good titles to lots could be obtained. 0. H. Rogers and brother built the first house on the plat. It is their present store, which they yet occupy. Next, a blacksmith-shop was built by Eben Hathaway, who still fills the part in life described so beautifully in Longfellow's poem. Michael Ewel and W. C. Smith next erected houses here. In the summer of 1874, the hotel was built and the store now occupied by Harry Boon. In 1875, the warehouse appeared. The schoolhouse was one of the first buildings erected. It is yet used ; and, as no incorporation has been effected in the village, the school is still under district control. As yet, there is no church here. Those who desire to attend religious services go to the Baptist Church at Palermo.

It will be observed from the foregoing description that the town grew with great rapidity for a year or two. In fact, the whole place was built up in that length of time. The buildings are all new, evidencing the comparatively short existence of the town.

Four stores, two or three shops of various kinds, one hotel, the post office, the depot and warehouse comprise the business part of Hume. It is an excel¬ lent shipping point for grain and stock, two or three firms being engaged in that business. Mr. Hume informed us that over one hundred thousand bushels of corn are annually sent from here, while oats and rye are shipped in paying

Not long since, a census wTas taken to ascertain the number of inhabitants, with a view to incorporate the town. The census, no doubt very thorough, as such are apt to be, gave a population of 270. As thirty more than that number are required by the State law, the idea was abandoned for the present.

This village, like Hume, owes its existence to the railroad. It was surveyed by Mr. C. E. Carpenter, early in November, 1874, for Mr. John A. Metcalf, from whom it received its name, and wTho owned the land on which it is situated. He is an energetic man, one of the early residents here, and, seeing the pros¬ pect for a town, immediately acted on his resolution to establish one. Mr. Asaph Rogers opened the first store, which is now kept by Henry Ross. There is but the one in the place Another was opened, but the trade did not has since been added an elevator, both of which are now under the control of the Ketchum Brothers. They are doing a good business, as much grain is brought here, especially corn.

The town is yet quite small, but enjoys considerable local trade. In addi¬ tion to the store, mill and elevator and post office there are a few' shops of vari¬ ous kinds, supported by the trade of the surrounding farmers.

Palermo

This small village, at Hickory Grove, is the oldest in the towmship. It wras begun in 1863 by Mr. Henry Ross, who built a store there and carried a good stock of goods. It wTas, not long after, joined by another similar enterprise, then a shop or two appeared, and the town was worthy a post office. It had been a kind of central point many years, and mail was brought here as early as the first store, if not a little before. It was at first intended to call the village and post office by the name of the grove ; but finding another Hickory Grove in the State, at the suggestion of Mr. C. L. C. Bradfield, the name Palermo wTas bestowed. We are informed it was named for a Western town. The place has and still enjoys a good local trade. The stores have a good custom, and wrere it on a railroad it would be more than a rival for its more fortunate neighbors. The school is under district control. The town is not incorporated ; even the plat is not recorded.

As has been mentioned, the Baptists have a church here. It was built three or four years since. Its members live in the village and in the adjacent country.

No other denomination, as yet, has any churches in the township, and in Palermo none are necessary. One church, well conducted, is abundant for any ordinary-sized American village.

When the survey for the railroad was made, in 1850, a station, to be named New Harmony, was designated, in the southwest part of the township. The road not being built, no town was platted. When the railroad was completed, in 1872, the growth of Hume and Metcalf put an end to any prospects for a village at New Harmony, and the project was abandoned. However, a stop¬ ping-place was made a little west of the old site, and, in honor of one of the principal residents near it, was named McGowan. There is nothing here but a platform.

What would have been appropriate in the introduction to the general his¬ tory of Edgar County becomes doubly so in introducing to our readers the his¬ tory of Edgar Township, containing, as it does, a village by the same name - a history of its name.

Gen. John Edgar was a native of Ireland, and, in 1776, at the beginning the American Revolution, was in the service of the British Government as an officer of a naval force on one of the American lakes. During the year named, he brought his wife to this country, and though he still continued in the serv¬ ice of the King, he nevertheless sympathized with the American cause, and many acts of kindness to the enemies of the English are recorded as having their origin in this noble-hearted man. Though he sustained himself until near the close of the war, as a British officer, he was yet suspected of being disloyal. Finally, the British cause became so distasteful to him that he could no longer endure it, and he resigned his office. Soon after his resignation, he removed to Illinois and located at the town of Kaskaskia. He was very wealthy and expended much of his means in building up the place. He built here the finest mansion in the Northwest Territory. Gen. Edgar was a true Irish gen¬ tleman, and as such, his fine mansion was always open to rich and poor alike, and while he entertained his wealthy and refined friends in a manner befitting their posi¬ tion, no beggar was ever sent from his door without receiving more than he had reason to expect. He thus endeared himself to all who came to know him, and his reputation for benevolence and hospitality was known far and wide. He brought to Kaskaskia a large stock of goods, and opened up a store for mer¬ chandise. He also built there a fine flour-mill, with which he supplied a large share of the New Orleans market. He invested, too, very largely in lands in the southern part of the State. For a number of years, he was the wealthiest man and paid the largest taxes in all of the Northwest. He was a man of lib¬ eral education, and, though not learned in the law, was elected Judge, and discharged the duties of the office in a most satisfactory manner. He was also chosen a member of the Legislature of the Northwest Territory when the Assem¬ bly met at Chillicothe, Ohio. The United States Government, in a fitting man- ner, acknowledged his worth and loyalty to the United States, by subsequently appointing him General of the Militia of Illinois, a position which he filled with the utmost dignity, and in which he seemed to take the greatest pride. Gen. Edgar died in 1832, after over a half-century's residence in the State, greatly regretted by all.

An incident is related, which, if true, may explain how the General's res¬ ignation of his British commission may have been hastened. While Mr. Edgar was deeply in sympathy with the patriots in their efforts to gain their freedom, his wife was intense in her hatred of the British, and as intensely solicitous of the welfare of the American soldiers. Among the many kind offices performed in their behalf, we cannot forego the following: Three American soldiers had been captured and were held prisoners by the .British. These men Mrs. Edgar had arranged to liberate, with instructions to appear at her house on a certain day, when she would furnish them with uniforms and arms, so that they might rejoin the American army. Mistaking the day, however, they appeared when Mrs. Edgar was absent, and the General was at home. The soldiers, not being aware that the General was a British officer, unfolded, without delay, their object. Mr. Edgar's duty to his Government he knew was to return the fugi¬ tives to prison, but he being so much in sympathy with the poor fellows, easily convinced himself that he need not interfere with his wife's affairs, and so, instead of remanding them to the tender mercies of a British prison, he pro¬ cured the necessary outfits and sent them on their way, rejoicing. Unfortu¬ nately, the men were recaptured, and upon being pressed for an explanation of their escape and equipment, they divulged the names of their benefactors. This brought fully to light the standing of Gen. Edgar, and he, hearing that this additional proof of his disloyalty to King George was in the hands of his superior officers, at once removed to the West, where he rightly guessed he would be out of the reach of his new enemies, should they attempt his arrest. His patriotic lady remained behind two years, settling up his affairs, and then came on and joined her husband at Kaskaskia. Surely, no more worthy name than that of John Edgar could be bestowed on a county, township or village, and as there are all of these embraced in the one county, we deem it not amiss to suggest that the patriotic Mrs. Edgar share in the honors.

In 1823, when Edgar County was formed, the territory now called by the name of Edgar Township was included in the three townships of Eairfield, ayne and Carroll, a small portion of the south being within the limits of I airfield, and the balance being nearly equally divided north and south between Carroll and Wayne, the old State road passing through Bloomfield being the line between the two.

At this time, there was not more than one family in what is now Edgar Township. Joshua Martin had then lived for about a year on what has since been known as the Stage Farm. Mr. Martin kept the post office at his place

These two names will scarcely be recognized by the more recent inhabitants, as they both died many years ago, and, we believe, none of the family now reside here.

The Lowry family, in the early days of the county, was one of the most important, not only on account of the numbers, but because of respectability and intelligence. William Lowry, who settled in the township in 1823, was Clerk of the Circuit Court of this county at one time. He was often called "Judge Lowry;" but whether he obtained the title of Judge from actual service as such officer, or whether it was bestowed upon him by general consent, we are not informed. Mr. Lowry was Foreman of the first grand jury ever convened in the county.

Reuben Lowry, a son of the above, was reputed in his time with being the swiftest runner in the Wabash Valley. With the Indians, this exercise was a great favorite ; and, among the tribe of four or five hundred Kickapoos who came to this neighborhood yearly to hunt, there were some very fleet ones, but it is said Reuben was more than a match for any of them. While making their annual hunting visit to this place, the Indians frequently sent for Reuben to come out and try his speed against some new-found runner who had, doubt¬ less, been in training for some time to match the white boy. But Lowry always came out victorious. The Indians were famous on betting, and would wager something, even if their judgment told them they would lose. On these occa¬ sions, they would usually put up a venison ham against a pint of salt ; but unless Lowry chose to let his opponent win the race, which he sometimes did to keep his red friends good-natured, they invariably lost the meat. The Lowrys were from Kentucky. We believe they are all gone from here now, having either died or removed to other parts.

During the five years following the advent of the Lowry family, principal among the pioneers of the township were Harrison and Hubbel Sprague, Will¬ iam and Jacob Wyatt, James Marrs and Wells Morgan.

The Spragues were from Vermont. They came with their father, then an elderly man, who died here many years ago. Hubbel Sprague is still a resi¬ dent of the county.

The Wyatts were an important family in pioneer times, and the name con¬ tinues to hold a respectable place in this county. William Wyatt was one of the early County Commissioners, which at that time was equivalent to the office of County Judge. He was also a Lieutenant in one of the companies that went from this vicinity to suppress the Indian outrages in Northwestern Illinois in 1832. Seueral of the Wyatt family still reside in the county.

Wells Morgan was amongst the very early settlers of the township. He was a man well liked by all who knew him. Some of the members of this family reside in the city of Paris.

James Marrs had a reputation that extended quite over this and the adjoin¬ ing counties. He was the proprietor of the old Steam Point Distillery, which though now, with its proprietor, molders in the dust, is well remembered by the early settlers of this region. The distillery, in the olden time, was the most popular institution in the country, not excepting the church. Indeed, we may well believe the one could scarcely be popular without the other. It is said that Marrs did make good whisky, and the denizens of the neighborhood appre¬ ciated it to the fullest extent. Politicians, farmers, lawyers and divines all believed in Mars - not in the red god of war Mars, but the superior dignitary who presided over the mill at Steam Point, that could transform rotten corn into a liquid fit not only for human beings, but for the god of war himself. Was he not a greater than the fabled warrior, who simply stirred up men's passions to fight each other, while the Marrs of Steam Point caused nothing but good feeling and jollity. To say that all the men drank in those days, we are informed on the most reliable authority, is not to overdraw the picture. A man who had no appetite for the product of Marrs' machine, would have been looked on, to say the least, as quite peculiar, if not a fanatic. -Very much in the same light would he who would have refrained from washing down his food with a glass of whisky have been regarded, as a man in this age who should neglect to perform his daily ablutions on the outer man. A man who would have been found sneaking around trying to convince the people against the injunction of the Bible itself - "take a little suthin' for the stomach's sake" - that it was a sin to drink Marrs' drops, wTould have been mobbed. However,, they talked temperance, somewhat, even in those days, but there were advocates of temperance, who thought a pint a day would be about the right standard.

In nothing has there been such a wonderful change of sentiment, not only in this community, but all over the county ; and as we write we can hardly realize that we are telling the truth, but for the fact that we now see and from the best authority have heard. A good old Deacon in the Bloomfield Baptist Church, as late as 1837, had a nephew who was just starting in the footsteps of pious ancestors and other relatives to preach the Gospel. Of this young minister the Deacon was extremely solicitous that he should fully sustain the splendid reputation of his predecessors in the divine calling. Shortly after embarking in the holy profession, the young minister began to explain some of the script¬ ural passages which had formerly been supposed not only to give license in the matter of drinking, but to encourage the same as meaning just the opposite. About this time the Washingtonians began to counsel a little moderation, and a society was formed by Abraham Lincoln, at Bloomfield, and the Rev. G. W. Riley, then the young minister to whom we have been alluding, was elected President. This coming to the ears of the good Deacon, the minister's uncle, he called on him, without delay to counsel with him, and to endeavor to show him the error into which he was about to fall. Mr. Riley, however, had taken a new departure and could not be moved, though argued and pleaded with for a long time. At length, after all scriptural arguments were exhausted, policy and political arguments were brought out. He showed him conclusively that he would certainly injure himself in the estimation of church people, and ended with this assertion : " Why, Garrard, I tell you this thing is designed by the enemies of the Government to overthrow it."

Mr. James Gordon, one of the early pioneers, says that it was considered a very proper thing indeed for a candidate to use liquor for electioneering pur¬ poses, and the prospective officer who would not use it freely was sure to remain only prospective. He was elected three times Sheriff of the County, and in each election his success was largely owing to the superior article and quantity distributed.

Be it recorded, however, to the credit of Marrs and his numerous patrons, that beastly drunkenness was not common. Mr. Marrs was an honest distiller, and made whisky out of corn, without the introduction of modern decoctions.

Is not the adulteration of the liquors as practiced by distillers of later times about to work the destruction of the traffic ? In forty years, from a uni¬ versal drinking community has grown an almost universal total abstinence county. In the whole county of Edgar is not an open drinking-shop to-day, and the man who openly advocates the use of intoxicating liquors as a beverage is looked upon as almost lost to decency.

The old Steam Point Distillery did a thriving business for a few years, but finally cheaper whisky, and a modified view of the liquor question began to lessen the profits of the establishment,, and the machinery was removed to Big Creek, in Clark County, in 1832, and ran there for a time. Marrs removed to the West, and died some years ago. The frame of the old gin-mill stood many years after its usefulness (?) had been outlived.

In 1829, a number of families came out from Ohio and Kentucky, and set¬ tled in the neighborhood of Bloomfield, and some of the parties soon after founded the town. This was in reality a colony, and their location here proved to be one of the most important events in the history of the township. They were people of much more than ordinary character and intelligence, and their influence on the social and moral interests of this part of the county has been felt to this day. Among those who settled here at that time were James and William Gordon, John and James Riley, Joseph Odey, Samuel McClain, John McKee and Abram Conroy.

Of these, the Riley family has proved to be one of the most important in the county. Of this family of Baptist preachers, the work of preaching the Gospel peculiar to that denomination dates back to the time of Rev. Garrard Riley, grandfather of the already elderly G. W. Riley, now of Paris. The mantle has successively fallen on the sons since his time, and in the third generation, four of the name, sons of Rev. John W. Riley, are proclaiming the same doctrine. Perhaps but few remember the Rev. Garrard Riley, as he lived here but six months when his death occurred. He was a man of ability and of great love of the cause he advocated, and withal one of the best of men. His loss to the little colony for whom he hud preached a few times, and to whom, in the short period, he had greatly endeared himself, was greatly deplored. He died at the age of sixty-two, and was buried at Bloomfield. Rev. John W. Riley is well remembered as a man of a great deal of power and worth as a preacher. He was the first Pastor of the Baptist Church, organized at Bloomfield in 1830. He died at the age of seventy-five.

The country tannery, like the ancient carding machine, is an old-time insti¬ tution. Not only are skins not tanned at home, but even the animals are sent to the cities to be slaughtered, and the business of preparing leather from the animals' hides is now all transferred to those who carry it on in a very different manner and on a much larger scale. In the early times, almost " every 'wellregulated community " had its tannery. Farmers killed their own cattle and sheep, took the skins to the tan-yard and had them made into leather, which, after several months, they had returned to them, paying the tanner for his work. Then the farmer, if he was not himself a shoemaker, took his own leather to the shoemaker, who made it up into foot-wear, receiving pay simply for the making of the articles. The gathering of the tan-bark from the newlycut oak-trees, the grinding of the bark in the mill turned by the old blind horse, the vats and the red mound of worn-out bark, which used to interest us so much, have all gone, being monopolized by the wealthy company or the cor¬ poration.

The Gordon Brothers were tanners, and upon their location here, found a good opening for their business. They started the tannery at the village of Bloomfield in 1830, and run it quite successfully for eight years. Then they concluded to quit the business, and no one being desirous of continuing, they sold out the leather on hand, and the tannery ceased to be. James Gordon afterward moved to Paris and kept hotel for awhile. He is still a resident of that city. William, after the closing of the tannery, turned his attention to merchandising.

John McKee was one of the most favorably known citizens of the countv. He resided here for almost a half-century, dying here only a year or so ago. He accumulated a large property and died wealthy. Probably no name appears on the county records, as administrator of estates, as often as does that of John McKee. He was a man in whom every one had confidence, and the manner in which he managed affairs intrusted to him, gave satisfaction to all. Samuel, James and John McKee, still residents of this part of the county, are sons of iliis pioneer. On many of the old and some of the newer maps, may be seen near the middle of the south line of the township, a figure' named "Wolf Mound. The name is suggestive of a plentiful pest that formerly preyed upon the pigs and chickens of the pioneers in these parts, and we are informed this mound, now the site of illiam Mosses residence, was a favorite burrow foi these animals in the early times before the wolf-scalp law was enacted.

Wolf-hunting was not only a favorite sport for pioneers, but on account of the annoyance, they created an absolute necessity, and after the scalp law was passed, it became to some quite a profitable business. A man frequently captured enough of wolf-scalps in a day to pay him for several days' work on the farm. And then there were the grand wolf-hunts, in which all of the neighbors on a certain day, by appointment, would join, and dividing into two opposing companies, would hunt on a wager of a barrel or two of Marrs' essence of corn, for two or three days at a time. A favorite method of hunting these pests, as well as other game, was by what was called the "circular hunt." The territory having been selected where the hunt was to take place, as much of it was surrounded by the hunters as their numbers would indicate, they began riding or walking toward a common center, hallooing and scaring up the animals in front and at their sides, thus heading them toward the point at which the hunt was expected to culminate. After scaring them from their hiding-places, the circle began to close up and diminish in extent until at length wolves, rabbits, foxes, and sometimes deer, were literally penned up together, so that by shout¬ ing and racing around, it was an easy matter, while they were thus confused, to destroy great numbers of them. At this point, the excitement among the hunters wras very great, and the skill displayed was not inconsiderable in the capture of such of the animals as attempted to break through the lines.

Rev. G. W. Riley, now of Paris, remembers taking part in one of these general campaigns against the wolves. He says they were about to thus close up on a number of the animals when a large, old cunning fellow dodged between the feet of the horses and attempted to make good his escape ; but the Elder, mounted on a good active horse, well trained to follow the dodgings and turnings of the wolf, was as equally determined to "let no guilty wolf escape," left the ranks of the hunters and swiftly galloped after the retreating canine. He gained on the object of his pursuit, and was in a pretty fair way to make short work of him, and for the purpose was just leveling his gun, when the wolf made a sudden stop in his flight. The horse, becoming a little disconcerted at the sudden action of the wolf, also stopped as suddenly. But the rider had no idea of a halt, and, indeed, the momentum he had acquired in his hasty pursuit would not permit him to stop ; so, the next instant, he realized that he was occu¬ pying the unclerical position of standing on his head on the back of a wild wolf - a feat that no circus-rider had ever before attempted, and, to our knowl¬ edge has never since accomplished. The Elder, however, did not maintain this inverted position but for a moment ; the wolf was off again like a shot, and Mr. Riley as soon as possible assumed a proper standing posture. After hastily looking around to see if his comrades had enjoyed the feat which he had invol¬ untarily performed, he mounted his horse and was again soon in the midst of the general crusade. The short, sharp bark of the 'wolf is rare now in this part of the country, and a specimen captured now and then is sold as a curiosity.

During the years 1830 to 1833, Ensign Mitchell, Solomon Bond and Will¬ iam Barr came to the township. The first named of these three is still a resi¬ dent of the township, and is verging on toward a hundred years. Mrs. Mil¬ dred Barr, widow of William Barr, still resides in the township. Mr. Barr died twenty-five years ago.

Napoleon B. Stage, Daniel Triplet, now near Cherry Point, and Elisha Holt were also very early settlers. Mr. Holt, it is said, had an idea that a bushel of corn was always worth just 25 cents, and no difference if the demand was great or small, he never asked more or less. In the early times, there was no market of any consequence, except to such as were either moving into or through the country ; and if an emigrant stopped at Mr. Holt's door for the purpose of buying a bushel of corn for his horses, though Mr. Holt's neigh¬ bors all sold corn at 50 cents, his price was half that ; and did his neighbors sell for 10 cents, the crop being large and the demand light, he, nevertheless, replied, u I reckon a bushel of corn is worth about 25 cents, and never let it go for less."

The first church organized in the township was by the Baptists, at Bloom¬ field, in 1830. The organization was effected by Rev. J. W. Riley, who after¬ ward preached for the congregation for six years. He then removed to Ohio, leaving the Church in charge of his son, Gf. W., vTho wras then just entering the ministry. Under the pastorate of the Rev. Gr. W. Riley, the Church pros¬ pered vrell for twelve years. It continued its existence at Bloomfield under various ministers until 1872, when the organization w^as removed to Chrisman. In the history of that tovmship it receives further notice. This Church, says Rev. G. V . Riley, organized the first Baptist Sunday school in the Wabash Valley, in 1840.

A year after the organization of the Church alluded to, the Anti-Mission Baptists established themselves here by organizing a little church, consisting of a dozen members. This Church, though it has never increased materially in membership, is yet extant; and when the other Baptist organization removed to ( hrisman, bought the building formerly occupied there. Of the Anti- Mission Church, Rev. Mr. Payne, Editor of the Chrisman Progress , is present Pastor.

In about the year 1833, the Methodists of Bloomfield organized a society of that denomination, and built a house of worship in 1850. This organiza¬ tion is also transferred to Chrisman. and the building is unoccupied, but it is designed to remove it to Edgar Station.

In 1874, a Baptist Church was established at the village of Horace. This is an offshoot of the old Church of Bloomfield, and was organized in 1874, by

Rev. J. W, Riley. They have since built a very neat and convenient church edifice, by far the best in the township, and one of the handsomest in the county. Its cost was $3,000. The society has a membership of about one hundred. Rev. C. B. Seales is the Pastor.

The first schoolhouse erected in Edgar Township was a little log building at Steam Point ; at least this is the only one remembered in the township in 1830. Rev. G. W. Riley thinks it had not been used before the date men¬ tioned. At that time he taught a few children there.

Dr. Jesse Payne taught here, and also in other parts of the township in private houses. Dr. Payne was an excellent teacher; and in respect to the first instructors in Edgar Township, it was more than ordinarily fortunate. This township stands high in an educational point. We are credibly informed that in style of schoolhouses, in ability of teachers employed, and in general interest manifested in education by the citizens, this township is not behind any in the county.

Edgar Township was organized April 7, 1857, by the election of N. B. Stage as Supervisor ; George 0. Dinsmore, Town Clerk ; James Adams, As¬ sessor ; Philip Williams, Collector ; Allen McClain and David Naylor, Justices of the Peace ; James S. Clark and J. R. Cowrey, Commissioners of Highways ; Thomas Wynn, Overseer of the Poor, and George Titus, Constable. At first, the township was named Bloomfield, but at the second session of the Board of Supervisors it was changed to what we now find it.

The present officers are : R. K. Collins, Supervisor ; John F. Stephenson, Town Clerk ; George R. Marrs, Collector ; Stephen Julian, Assessor ; C. W. Clark, Ezekiel Morris and Lawson Seybold, Commissioners of Highways, and A. C. Hawkins, Constable.

Village Of Bloomfield

This once thriving little place, but now almost " deserted village," was laid out by Rev. John W. Riley, March 17, 1831. It will be remembered that Riley, Gordon and others had come to this vicinity and located a year and a half before. Quite a number of families had been attracted to the neighborhood, and at that time, there being no railroads, this was considered an eligible site for a prosperous town. It did seem so. It was near the fine little stream of Brouillett Creek and on the main traveled highway between Paris and Chicago, and how could it help but amount to something ? The country was settling up around it, and merchandise of various kinds and trades were in demand. Even before the town was laid out, some improvements had been made here.

Mr. Riley had established a little store and sold some goods, and the Gordon Brothers had established their tannery. A blacksmith-shop was also in oper¬ ation in the neighborhood. James D. Miller built the first cabin. James Gordon erected the first hewed-log house, and kept it as a hotel. John W. Rilev moved a house from outside, and a few other cabins erected began to give the place quite a village look.

Dr. Noel was a young man, just studying medicine, and came out here from Southern Indiana to experiment on some of the Suckers. He had no horse, but adopted a city style of visiting his patients on foot. He did not accu¬ mulate enough wffiile here - about two years - to buy, and returned to Indi¬ ana. On his way back he was drowned in the Ohio River.

A Masonic lodge was established here in 1853, but was afterward removed, with many other of the institutions of Bloomfield, to Chrisman. So it will be seen that, with its three churches, its school, its lodge, several stores, shops and other business, with its one hundred and fifty or more inhabitants, Bloom¬ field must have been a place of no ordinary importance. But the relentless railroad came along, and soon it became apparent that its prospective great¬ ness was about to vanish in thin air. Edgar, Horace and Chrisman have all been built on its ruins.

Village Of Edgar

Edgar Station was laid out in 1872, for Napoleon B. Stage, by George W. Foreman, County Surveyor. The railroad had just been located through here, and this was the occasion for the enterprise.

The pioneer of this town was Gideon Minor, who had been keeping store at Bloomfield. He built the first house, a dwelling, and then brought out from Bloomfield, on trucks, his store-building. He also brought over the post office, having been appointed Postmaster, with authority to remove the institution to the new town. The same fall, Charles Earhart moved a dwelling from Bloomfield and built a blacksmith-shop. Then, N. B. Stage, the pro¬ prietor of the town, brought two dwelling-houses from his farm, and the next year, built a wagon-shop. In the fall of 1872, Hunter & Burns built a dwell¬ ing and barn and commenced pressing hay. They did a good business for a couple of years, when their barn was blown down, and since then it has not been operated.

The same fall, William Porter put up the store-building now occupied by Edward Kirby, with a stock of drugs and began selling groceries. In 1873, Alexander Somerville moved two dwellings from Bloomfield, and other build¬ ings were erected by other parties.

The town now contains three stores, several shops and other business in proportion. No schoolhouse has been erected yet. The school is kept a halfmile south of town.

No church-building has yet been provided by any denomination, though it is in contemplation to bring out the old Methodist building from Bloomfield, this year.

Village Of Horace

This place was laid out only two and a half years ago. Horace is another offspring of the Paris & Danville Railroad. It was laid out for A. Tucker, by H. Guthrie, County Surveyor, June 6, 1876. A store had been kept at this place for some years before the town was laid out, by Horace Johnson and Osborn Tucker. The Tuckers were some of the oldest settlers of this part of the county, and lived here before the road was built. They continued the store until about two years ago.

F. M. Rannev built the first dwelling, in 1875. He also put up a black¬ smith-shop the same year. The Baptist Church had been erected the year before. Avery convenient and substantial school-building was erected in 1878.

Wilson McCarty built a storehouse two years ago, which he sold to the Tuckers, they renting the same to C. C. Cook, who bought out Tucker's goods and commenced merchandising.

Wetzel Station

At this Station, a store is kept by Jacob Wetzel, who also buys grain and acts as agent of the Railroad Company. No post office or other business is found here.

Edgar Township is bounded on the north by Ross and Prairie, on the east, by Brouillett and Hunter, on the south by Paris, and on the west by Buck and Shiloh. Most of the eastern part of the township is, or wTas formerly, covered by timber, which borders on the little streams of water which pass through that part. The west part is nearly all prairie, and here is found the richest land. The east part was the first to settle, it being covered by timber and supplied with water, both of which the early settlers considered essential to a good farm¬ ing country. The Paris & Danville Railroad, finished through here in 1872, passes almost from north to south through the middle portion. On the east side of the township, and forming part of the line, will be seen, on the map, a straight line, bearing toward the northeast, and terminating in Vermilion County by meeting another line coming from the southeast, thus forming a kind of wedge-shaped piece of land. These lines have an interesting history. They, with another line connecting their southern terminations, embrace what is known as Harrison's Purchase. The Indians did not understand the use of the compass, and, having many times before been swindled by the whites, would have nothing to do with the "Devil's box," as they called it. They had, how¬ ever, a method of surveying that they understood, and their method must be adopted, or none. Their plan was to run a line from a certain point toward the sun at 10 o'clock in the forenoon, and another, from the same place of begin¬ ning, at 1 o'clock in the afternoon. These lines were to extend to certain points designated, and then be connected by a straight line. It is said that even, as proposed bv the overwise chiefs, the whites, after all, beat them out of a few thousand acres of the best land in the Wabash Valley.

This part of Edgar County was, in its first division, included in Carroll Township. After the creation of Vermilion County, in 1826, the limits of that precinct were considerably curtailed, and not many years after were divided. Before the adoption of the township system, in 1856, Young America Precinct had been made, including in its boundary a great part of what is now Shiloh Township. It embraced quite an extent of territory which, as it settled, soon became necessary to divide to accommodate the population.

In the spring of 1866, a petition was prepared and signed by Jacob Rogers and 49 others, residing in the south part of Young America, and north part of Buck Township, asking for a new township to be created out of these. The petition was presented to the Board of Supervisors on March 3 of that year, and by them granted. The limits were defined, and the name Bull's Head given it. This name does not seem to have been very acceptable to the denizens of the new district, for a petition was at once prepared and circulated, asking for a change of name to Shiloh. It was numerously signed, and presented to the Board on the 27th of April. It was at once granted, and the objec¬ tionable name passed away.

It may be well to state that, going farther down into the political history of Shiloh Township, the territory included in it formerly belonged in part to Embarrass and Pilot Grove Precincts. When Buck was formed mainly from the latter precinct, and Embarrass changed to its present limits, the northern part of that and Pilot Grove was merged into Young America. Hence when Shiloh Township was formed, it was taken from Young America and Buck Townships.

When Shiloh Township was created, there were few residents there. It is one of the youngest in the county, this region remaining unsettled until after the late war. A few residents had gathered about Mulberry Grove, in its southern part, but in the northern portion, prairie land, none were living. This scarcity of population is evidenced in the fact that when the township was created, only fifty names were on the petition. Several of those who signed the petition were residents then of Buck Township, which left a still smaller population in Shiloh, or, as it would be better expressed, that part of Young America made into Shiloh.

The township is almost all prairie. Its surface is rather too level for good drainage, and on this account more than any other may be based the reason for its slow settlement. In the northern and western portions this is eminently the case. Before it was settled, the long prairie grass, luxuriantly abundant here, held the water falling on the surface of the earth, and rendered the ground at most seasons of the year, too wet for cultivation. No natural drainage pre¬ senting itself, the prairies did not offer a very inviting farm to the person accustomed to more rolling or even hilly and wooded homes in the Eastern States. Those who lived in the adjacent vicinity often expressed themselves as unwill¬ ing to give anything for the land, and allowed it to remain free in its own domain. It had, however, been observed by keen speculators, when the rail¬ road had been surveyed through it, and knowing some day would see it dotted with the homes of industry, they were content to purchase and wait.

Brushy Fork, of Embarrass River, traverses the central northern part of this township. It rises in Goose Lake, a good sized pond, just west of Mul¬ berry Grove. The creek has one or two small affluents, which afford some drainage to the country they traverse. Ditches are needed here to bring the land to a proper condition for profitable cultivation.

Much good has been done by tile- draining, which is getting to be the chief mode of carrying off the surplus water. It is cheaper than the open ditch in the long run, and much more effective. In addition to this, no land is lost by the space occupied by the ditch. Artificial springs are also made at the outlets of these ditches, if desirable, and water secured at no expense in dry seasons.

The eastern part of the township is drained by Brouillett's Creek, which heads a little way southwest of Goose Lake. It passes directly through the head of Mulberry Grove, and leaves the township about a mile and one-half south of its northeast corner.

Timber

With the exception of Mulberry Grove, and a few straggling growths of small trees and brush, the entire township is prairie land. The small, ragged growth of timber seen occurs mostly along the eastern boundary or on the south side next to Buck Township. Mulberry Grove received its name from the Indians, who fancied it resembled a mulberry in shape. They gave many names to small growths of timber occurring at frequent intervals on the prairies, all of which accorded with their fancied resemblance to some external object. In many places, all these names are yet preserved. The grove here contains about fifteen hundred acres of land, and has in its day produced some excellent timber. The best of this is now all gone, and only an inferior second growth takes its place. The first settlement in the township was made near this grove, and the first cabins built from logs obtained there.

At present, corn is the chief crop raised here. Oats, rye, barley, wheat and other cereals are also grown, but not so extensively as corn. It is the great staple product of the Prairie State, and, like cotton in the South, is king. A great deal is now used in fattening stock, as experience has proven that corn can be driven to market with more profit than hauled. Cattle and hogs are raised in great numbers. Swine command a steady market, while cattle are not behind. Prior to the settlement of the prairies in this township, stockgrowers in Indiana and elsewhere drove large herds of cattle up here, herding them in the summer, and feeding them in the winter on the stalks of corn left standing, purchased for that purpose.

The entire population of the township, we were told, are engaged in farm¬ ing. An examination of the list of tax-payers, elsewhere in these pages, shows every man a farmer but one. This exhibits conclusively the occupation of the people. Hume and Metcalf on the north, Isabel, Redmon and Paris on the south, are the principal markets for this township. From these places the grain, stock and other marketable produce find their way to Eastern and Northern cities.

Area

Shiloh Township is ten and one-half miles long on the northern border ; seven on the eastern, five on the lower southern ; after a turn of three miles northward, it again proceeds five and one-half miles west, where it turns north four miles. This gives an area of fifty-seven sections, or 36,480 acres, if all sections and half-sections contain the full number of acres in a Government section. The township is composed of parts of Towns 15 north, Range 13 west, 15 north, Range 14 west, and 15 north, Range 12 west.

Compared with many other townships, Shiloh possesses but little history ; when they were old, it was just starting. The timbered parts of the county received the early emigrants, and for many years no attempt was made to set¬ tle the prairies. One reason for this was, the first settlers came from a tim¬ bered country, and knew but little about the prairies. Another was, they had no plows that would turn the prairie sod, and allowed it to remain as a pastur¬ age. The soil was found to be rich, however, wherever tested, and could not be permitted to remain wild. When it began to settle in earnest, people came in as by magic, and in from three to five year's time after they came on the prairie, and demonstrated it could be cultivated, not an acre was left un¬ claimed.

Mr. Jerry Myers, now living near Hume, states that he came to the south part of this township in the spring of 1848 or 1849, probably the former year. When he came, he found Archibald Myers and George Bailey living near the grove, while the next settlers, north, were the Reed family, living at Hickory Grove, where Palermo now is. Between Mulberry and Hickory Groves, there was not a single resident.

Archibald Myers had been living here a number of years, and had a com¬ fortable home, made of logs cut in the grove. His house stood southwest of the grove, and here, on the land he entered, he lived until his death. Mr. Bailey lived near him and had a start similar to his. Mr. Jerry Myers settled in the eastern part of the grove, and built him a house of material obtained principally therein. He had lived, prior to this time, near Baldwinsville, in Hunter Township. When he came to Shiloh, then Young America, he went to a new country, probably to grow up with it; at least, he followed the sage's advice and went West, even if he did not go far. For four of five years, these three families were alone in this neighborhood. They went to Paris for milling purposes, trading, and for their mail. While they were here, the railroad project revived, and the Indianapolis & St. Louis, then Terre Haute & Alton, Railroad began to awaken the slumbering hopes of a growing city at this point. When these families went to the. county seat, they traveled in as direct a line as possible, across the prairie. They were not intercepted by fences until near their destination.

East and south of this neighborhood was thickly settled. Hence, all their communications with others brought them there for any "neighboring " purposes. They were, however, surrounded by good land. Drovers, who came annually here to herd and feed stock, took back good accounts of the fertility of the soil, could it be properly drained, and others were contemplating a move here.

In 1855, Mr. D. D. Wood came to this settlement, and erected a "Jackson log-house," as he called it. It was made of hickory logs, hewed slightly on the inner side, and being a firm friend of " Old Hickory," he denominated his house by the name given. He lived with Jerry Myers while constructing his Democratic cabin and prepared for his family. He located just west of the grove, near Goose Lake. He was the fourth settler in the township. From this time on, it is impossible to tell of each one as he located. They now began to come in rapidly, taking up the country in the south part of the town¬ ship. The story of one is the story of all, and to repeat each is useless. The Craigs and others came in at this period, each one building him a cabin where he could not afford a frame dwelling, and each one opened a farm. As one after another came in and the circle of neighbors widened, improvements, material, social and otherwise, were introduced, conducing much to their pleas¬ ure, comfort and happiness.

Schools And Churches

Jerry Myers says the first school established in the township was started in the winter of 1855-56. By this date, enough persons had settled about the grove to warrant the erection of a frame schoolhouse. which was built near wrhere Mr. William Kiles now lives. He thinks the school was taught by a Mr. Edmonson, and that there was a very fair attendance of scholars. This was the only schoolhouse in the township for four or five years. By that time, the population had so increased that another was necessary and it was erected. Then again, when the settlers were numerous enough, and so scattered as to warrant the erection of a third house, that appeared, and so on until the present number was reached.

There is but one church in the township. That is situated in the south¬ eastern part, near the township line. It is owned by the Protestant Methodists, who erected it about seven years ago. They have a small congregation, part of whom live in the adjoining township of Edgar.

About 1849 or 1850, the United Brethren built a church just over the line in Edgar Township, which may properly be termed as the first church in the com¬ munity. This, the first residents in Shiloh attended, and many yet go there for divine services, who are members of that denomination.

Shiloh Township is so young, compared to the other parts of Edgar County, that its history must necessarily be brief. We have here recorded the earliest settlement, wThich, in the future, will be valuable to the coming historian.

Maps are so frequently changed in their appearance, nowadays, that we who studied geography but a few years ago are at a loss to trace the places that, to us then were familiar. The rivers designated on these charts still remain the same, but all else is changed. The teacher, almost every time he applies for a new certificate, is obliged to brush up on geography ; and the pupil, whenever a change is made in books, has to take up the study anew. We are always studying this branch. Unlike mathematics or grammar, vdiich seem to have an end, and vrhose rules seem to be, in a measure, fixed, the boundaries of States, counties and townships are as unstable as the banks of the Missouri River themselves, and are shifting and changing with every flood of political or financial disturbance. It is, howrever, both instructive and amusing to look over a map of the country as it was in the olden time. If we compare a map of the eastern coast of the United States, as published by the authority of the British Government in the year 1700, with modern publications of a like char¬ acter, we shall find features so different in the two as would not only be sur¬ prising to people ignorant of the history of the country subsequent to that date, but wffiich v7ould cause no little astonishment in the minds of the wellinformed.

Look at a map of the Northwest during a period just prior to 1765, and you will find it marked as " French Territory." Then, this same territory r from the date named until 1778, is delineated as a " British Province/' After this, from 1778 until 1787, what is now the State of Illinois appears as a part of Virginia. After this, for thirteen years, with a vast amount of other terri¬ tory, it was called the Northwest Territory. In 1800, when our grandfathers were going to school, they were taught to call the whole of Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin and Michigan by the name of ''Indiana Territory; " and by this title it was known until 1809, when the mapmakers again had to change, and Illinois and Wisconsin were called the " Illinois Territory." In 1818, when our fathers began to study geography, the atlases in which grandfather and grandmother studied would no longer answer the purpose, for Illinois had then become a State, with boundaries co-extensive with what we now find them. The changes which have come to the geographical features of the State since its admission into the Union are equally noticeable. The original number of counties was only fifteen ; and, though Edgar has an ancient flavor, it was not one of them. These fifteen counties have been so divided and subdivided that we now have one hundred and two.

When Edgar County was first formed, its northern boundary was north of Chicago, and so continued until 1826. In that year, a slice of about four thousand square miles was taken off to make Vermilion County, and the map had to be changed.

When the county was first organized it contained but five townships, or pre¬ cincts as they were called, and these have been changed and modified, so that we now have fifteen, and not a single one of the original townships remains in boundary the same as originally. The names of the original townships were Pike, Wayne, Carroll, Fairfield and Ripley, and not a single one of these names is retained. An unfortunate spider, having fallen into a bottle of ink, and being lifted therefrom and placed upon a sheet of blank paper would make a map as easily distinguished as the map of this region a half a century ago. Buck Township, at first, lay partly in Fairfield and partly in Carroll. In 1856, it was formed with bounds very different from what we now find them, a portion having been cut from the north and added to Shiloh. The mapmak¬ ers have been further worried by the location of railroads, the building of towns and the laying-out of highways.

The township, as described at present, which, however, we do not guarantee for more than five years, is as follows : It is bounded on the north by Shiloh ; on the east, by Paris and Edgar : on the south, by Grand View, and on the west, by Kansas and Embarrass.

This is, almost exclusively, a prairie township, there being only a few acres of timber in the whole of it. The only streams of water are two small branches of Catfish Creek, the one flowing from the northwest corner, and the other through the southwest. The land is nearly all level, and, in some places, almost too flat for successful cultivation, though good drainage is making this the very best land in the county, as it is the richest. The soil of the whole township may be said to be of the most productive character, and is well adapted to the raising of corn, oats, rye, wheat and other vegetables common to this region. A great deal of pork is produced, and also considerable of fine cattle. At the time of the adoption of the act authorizing counties to organ¬ ize by townships, this was one of the most sparsely settled of the original thirteen. On account of a lack of timber, this land had been neglected. A good deal of prairie was under cultivation, it is true, but no one yet dared to venture clear out on the prairie without also owning a little tract of timber, from which to obtain fuel and lumber for fences and buildings. But when the country was found 'to be literally resting on a bed of fuel, and when the railroads began to be built and to bring in, from the pineries of the north and from other sources, a class of lumber better adapted to the use of build¬ ing than the hard wood nearer home, the fear of the wood destitution on the prairies began to vanish. At the time of which we write, there were but just a sufficient number of citizens in the township competent to hold all of the offices.

Among those who were considered early settlers are remembered Andrew Lycan, Absalom Pitcher, Horace Griswold, William Titchenor, William Cul¬ bertson, Henry Rudy, Uriah Colier, Jacob Hinds, S. R. Metcalf, Emanuel Myers. These were all here before or about 1850. Of course this date, as compared with other townships, is quite modern, the townships on three sides of it having been settled already twenty years or more. Some of these had been early settlers in other parts of the county, and were, therefore, pioneers in every sense of the word. Some of them have been of more than ordinary importance, and deserve more than a mere mention.

Horace Griswold is an example of a self-made man, and every incident related of him but tends to show the strong will and persistence underlying his character which have made him successful. He came out here in 1840, and worked at his trade - that of shoemaker - -in Paris for a time. Then he removed to Grand A iew, continuing to peg away at the same business, as though it was his all. At last he had accumulated some means, and he made a little venture in real estate in this township. This proved successful, and he con¬ tinued to add acre to acre until he now owns nearly a section. An instance of his ability to accomplish large results by simple means is given in a trip which he once made to Connecticut from this place. The distance traveled was 1,040 miles, and the whole trip was accomplished on horseback in twenty-six days, or at an average of about forty miles a day. Where is the young man in Edgar County now who would undertake such a trip to see his mother, or even as a matter of business ." He says he has ridden over the road from his farm to Dudley, a distance of one and a half miles, after his meals, enough to complete the circuit of the earth one and a half times. It is said of

Andrew Lycan, who died in Paris Township, a few years ago, was a car¬ penter. He is remembered to have built, for George Redmon, the first frame house in Paris Township outside of the city. He was for a great number of years, much interested in the County Agricultural Society, and his name will be found often on its records.

Mr. Culbertson has also been a prominent patron of the society, and is noted as a fine stock-raiser. He still resides in the township near May's Station.

Uriah Colier and Jacob Hinds came from Indiana, and settled in the south part of the township. They are good farmers, and have both made money by industry and economy. They are brothers- in-law.

William Titchenor was a man of more than ordinary ability. He was a preacher in the Christian Church. He was also somewhat of a politician, and was elected from this district to a seat in the State Senate, in which office he gave good satisfaction. He removed from here to California about twenty-five years ago, and is, consequently, scarcely remembered, except by the older resi¬ dents of the county.

Simpson R. Metcalf was in the Mexican war, and settled here on his return from there. He lived here about ten years. He has since removed to Douglas County.

Emanuel Myers is what is known as a a good, honest Dutchman." Mr. Myers, by that industry and economy peculiar to the Teutons, has accumulated a good property. He has filled several prominent offices in the township, and has discharged their duties creditably.

By the year 1857, when this township was organized, among those who had also settled on the prairie are remembered Dr. J. M. Boyles, Burt Hol¬ comb, William M. Snyder, John J. Perisho, Moses Burnet, Stephen Trogdon, Elias Morris, W. H. Barnhill, Adam Stewart, Madison and John Clinton, Richard Stanley, William Cline, James Yance, Thomas Marks and H. Breeding.