Edgar County, Illinois - The whole text, 1879 (part 7 of 24)

A narrow-gauge road is nowT in course of construction through the western part of the county. It was chartered as the Danville, Olney & Ohio River Railroad, March 10, 1869. Work was begun in 1871, and has since been prosecuted with varying success. Eight miles from Kansas south are already complete, and trains making regular trips. Thirteen miles farther south are graded and ready for the iron. This road already pays expenses, a principle fully demonstrated now in favor of this class of roads. It is expected to com¬ plete the line to a point near the south line of Jasper County, where a junction will be made with the Grayville & Mattoon Railroad, on whose track a third rail will be laid, and the trains run into Olney. The terminal points of this road when fully complete, will be made at Chicago on the north, and a point on the Ohio River opposite Paducah, Kv., on the south.

The present officers of the road are James Dawson, President; James K. Boyer, Vice President; W. H. Brown, Secretary; W. F. Boyer, Treasurer, and Samuel Shy, Attorney. All these officers, with the exception of the President, live at Kansas. Mr. Dawson resides at Westfield.

It will be seen by the foregoing sketch that Edgar County is very well favored by railroads. She has, indeed, given pretty liberally in aid of these sev¬ eral lines, to the no little fear of some of her people who have a dread of debt, no matter how contracted. Yet it is confidently affirmed that all these invest¬ ments have been of much and lasting benefit.

Agricultural

Edgar County enjoys the reputation of being one of the best farming sec¬ tions in the State. Without doubt, the claim to superiority in this regard is well founded. While some counties may show more of rich soil, and wffiile other counties may be better adapted to some specialty, yet we believe not a county in the State can lay claim to all of the advantages in climate, soil, water, timber and healthfulness that are justly claimed for this. While in some sec¬ tions a certain specialty may, with propriety, be claimed as peculiar, we believe that no county in the State combines so many natural advantages. In some of the more northern counties we find larger crops of corn, and in some of the more southern, a greater amount of fruit ; but these specialties, even in the localities named, are not a certain crop. The farmer's safest course is a diversity of products, and Edgar County furnishes an example of soil and climate which make it in an eminent degree fitted for such pursuits.

For a number of years, the natural advantages of this region were scarcely appreciated, as the farming was carried on in such a manner as to obtain results far below those now realized. Better farm machinery, better methods of plant¬ ing and cultivation and the adoption of crops better suited to the soil have wrought great changes. In an especial manner is this true in regard to methods of planting, cultivating, harvesting and taking care of products.

The way that our fathers performed their farming operations is so little known to the present generation who depend so much upon farm machinery, and require the horses to do all of the work, which men, women and children formerly did, that a description of the olden way, gathered from conversations with J. D. Darnall, William Shrader and numerous others, cannot but prove interesting to our younger readers. Banish all such modern innovations as reapers, mowers, corn-planters, wire-tooth horse hay-rakes, threshing machines and riding corn-cultivators, and a conception can be formed of primitive farm¬ ing facilities. This was the way corn was " got in '' : After the ground had been plowed with a wooden moldboard plow, which had to be cleaned every few rods with a paddle which hung to one of the handles, and had been scratched over with a harrow in which wooden pins were used for teeth, the little shovelplow and a single horse were used for marking out both ways. After the marking was done, the children, big and little, the women and the men went into the field with the great heavy iron hoes, with big iron ring or eye at the top, inserted into which was the heavy home-made handle. A boy, with a tin pail or small basket, went ahead and dropped the corn at the crossings. The company of u coverers, ' or "kiverers," followed with the hoes, raking the dirt upon the corn. Sometimes, however, the field was divided off, and the younger children were given so many hills to cover and the older and abler hands were required to take a longer part of the furrow. We rein ember as though it were only last May, when grandfather would pass along over the work and pronounce some of the " kiverin J' well done, and how ours was " slighted. ' It was because we had a pretty long row, and because we were anxious to get to the resting-place, where we always met another boy, who arranged his task that we might rest and talk together, awaiting the coming of the " dropper."

After the planting came the hoeing, now superseded by the improved culti- 'Vators. The tending, by the single-shovel plow, was common until a few years ago, but the single-shovel plow has had to take its place with the old spinningwheel and loom, and they are now counted as relics of a past age.

Cutting wheat, oats, rye and grass was formerly a laborious process. Eve11 within the recollection of the young men of the county, the scythe and cradle w'ere counted as improved implements of husbandry ; but the reaper and mower now in use not only do a better job but transfer the hardest of the labor to the horses.

In the old family Bible, we all remember seeing illustrations of the manner of separating the grain from the chaff and straw, by means of flails or by causing the cattle to tread upon it. These methods, in vogue three thousand or more years ago, were scarcely improved upon until within comparatively a recent date. In the early history of this county, precisely these methods prevailed. By and by,, came the old thresher, that merely knocked the grains from the chaff, leaving the same to be separated by throwing into the air on a windy day, or, later, to be run through the wind-mill turned by hand. One of these marvelous old machines has not been seen in Edgar County for many a year ; but in its place is the perfected thresher, which not only separates the grain from the chaff and straw, ready for the mill, but sacks and counts the number of bushels.

It is difficult to comprehend how, with corn at from six to ten cents per bushel, oats but little more, wheat at from thirty to fifty and other products in proportion, with the market at Chicago or Louisville, a farmer succeeded in obtaining enough for his products to pay for the saving of the same. It is not so difficult to understand why so much of the county lay for so many years without an occupant. Of course, the farmers in those days did not ride in car¬ riages, pay heavy taxes, wear fine clothes or indulge in many luxuries ; but they rode to meeting on horse-back or in the farm-'wagon, wearing their every¬ day clothes done up clean for Sunday, and paid the preacher with a bag of corn or potatoes or not at all, as they felt able. Yet, to say that they did not live comfortably and independently would be a great mistake. The rifle supplied, from the timber, venison and other game, and the actual needs of life were all supplied, though it wTould seem a great hardship to go back to what some are pleased to call the "good old times." was organized during the summer of 1854. The officers elected were: Silas H. Elliott, President; Leander Munsell, John TenBrook and William Kile, Directors; S. P. Read, Secretary, and William Kile, Treasurer.

The first fair was held in October of the year named, on the farm of Z. H. Magner, now known as the Harkrider farm. The inclosure consisted of a rail fence, and, with the exception of a few' sheds constructed of lumber hauled to the ground by S. H. Elliott, in winch were displayed goods from the stores of Paris, the trees furnished protection from sun and storm. There were no sta¬ bles, or even stalls, for the use of stock, but horses and cattle wrere hitched to- trees, and pigs and poultry were displayed in a manner to suit the owners. A number of the merchants brought samples of their goods, to fill up, and on the' whole, the exhibition was considered a success. Four hundred and twentyeight entries were made, and these, with the funds received from admissions, were sufficient to pay all premiums in cash. However, as the Society was but just starting, in need of the money, and most of those to whom premiums had been awarded were really interested more in the success of the enterprise than in the small amount received as premiums, they donated their prizes back to the Society. Perhaps but few fairs have since been held that caused more real enjoyment and were more generally voted a success than this first exposition in Mr. Magner's barn-yard. The novelty had not then worn off, and the tastes of its patrons had not been educated to the high tone in regard to such matters as we now find them.

In 1855, a part of the ground now owned by the Society was purchased, and arrangements made for clearing and fencing the same. Some temporary sheds were erected and a number of stalls built for cattle and horses. The fair that year was held for a period of two days - the 9th and 10th of October. This fair also proved to be a success.

From this time until 1861, annual fairs were held with continued interest. They were well attended, and the exhibitions grew in importance and quality. However, owing to a defective organization, and indebtedness contracted in the purchase of the grounds and necessary improvements made thereon, the Society became financially embarrassed. An effort was made this year to liquidate the debts by the sale of life memberships, but the plan failed. The grounds were sold at Sheriff's sale, and Leander Munsell became the purchaser, and thus the old Edgar County Agricultural Society became extinct. After this, those who had been most active in the old society, formed a joint-stock association, under the general law of the State, and a sufficient amount of funds was raised by stock subscription to redeem the property, Mr. Munsell very generously deeding the grounds to the new association upon payment of his claim, which was con¬ sidered much less than the value of the property.

The officers of the new society, elected in 1861, were William Kile, Presi¬ dent; J. D. Wallace, William Blackburn, T. 0. Rudy and A. McLain, Vice Presidents; S. H. Elliott, Recording Secretary; S. P. Read, Corresponding Secretary, and Hiram Sandford, Treasurer. At that time, the entire country was in a terrible state of excitement, consternation and general demoralization, caused by the war of the rebellion, the first gun of which had been fired in x\pril of that year. Notwithstanding, the new society held its annual fair in October.

In 1862, the officers elected were : A. Baldwin, President ; 0. Morris, Thomas McCord, J. V. Lycan, W. C. Walker and Henry Rudy, Vice Presi¬ dents ; S. H. Elliott, Recording Secretary ; S. P. Read, Corresponding Secretary ; Hiram Sandford, Treasurer, and D. A. Morrison, General Superintendent.

By the (late last named, the country was plunged in civil war, and, for the time, almost everything else was forgotten. Enterprises, local and general of almost every kind lagged, and many entirely suspended. Schools, seminaries and colleges, churches and other religious and benevolent organizations suffered from inattention. It was not strange, therefore, that agricultural societies, which, under the most favorable circumstances, have but a precarious existence, should, under these depressing influences, languish for a season. In all of the State but few county fairs were held from this time until the close of the war, and what were held were but shadows of their former selves. So we find recorded in the proceedings of the society, at the time mentioned, the following: " Owing to the excitement of the war, and the unsettled condition of the coun¬ try, it is thought best to postpone the holding of the fair indefinitely."

In 1863, at the annual stockholders' meeting, one share of stock was donated to Mrs. Olivia Read, widow of Col. Sheridan P. Read, who had been killed at the battle of Stone River, and who had for so many years been connected with the interests of the county.

In 1864, although the war was still going on, the people seemed to be used to it, and the demands on the farming community by the Government for cattle, horses, beef, and grain being so great, a new impulse was given to agricultural pursuits, and the society partook of the new life thus imparted. The society started out this year with new vig;or, and a successful fair was held.

Some additional stalls were built, a large premium-list was offered, and the result was in every way eminently satisfactory. The officers for 1864, were Thomas McCord, President; William Blackburn, J. D. Wallace, 0. Morris, Ira Arthur and J. V. Lycan, Vice Presidents; W. C. Walker, Corresponding Secretary; S. H. Elliott, Recording Secretary, and William B. Webster, Gen¬ eral Superintendent. In 1865, the war was over, and the agricultural fairs all over the State were general re-unions and hand-shakings. The boys whose lives had been spared were back, and this was almost the first general meeting of all classes in the county ; and this fair was peculiarly interesting from the fact that so many of the survivors were present. In this county, the officers of the society, elected in 1865, were S. H. Elliott, President ; W. 0. Wilson, J. D. Blackburn, 0. Morris, Henry Rudy, W. D. Webster and W. D. Blackburn, Vice Presidents; James A. Eads, Recording Secretary; W. C. Walker, Cor¬ responding Secretary ; H. Sandford, Treasurer, and Thomas McCord, General Superintendent. In this year a new floral hall was built, and other needed im¬ provements were made to the grounds.

At a meeting held July 13, 1867, a committee, consisting S. H. Elliott, William Kile and Hiram Sandford, was appointed for the purpose of erecting new buildings and making such other improvements to the grounds as they deemed necessary. Under the supervision of this very active and efficient com- rnittee, the present large and commodious amphitheater and agricultural hall were built, and other necessary and substantial improvements were made. During the next year, an additional floral hall was erected.

The fair of 1871 was notable, and made attractive by the presence of Weston, the great pedestrian, and also by the exhibition of a herd of twentytwo cattle averaging 2,600 lbs. in weight. The Legislature of the State having passed an act giving agricultural societies some additional powers, and making other modifications of their organizations, the society passed a resolution in 1872, accepting the provisions.

The present officers of the society and for the year 1879 are: W. 0. Wilson, President; John Arthur, 0. Morris, F. R. Augustus, S. Graham, A. Walker and William Blackburn, Vice Presidents ; Walter Booth, Secretary; R. N. Par¬ rish, Treasurer, and S. H. Elliott, General Superintendent.

From the date of the new organization, in 1861, with an able Board of Managers, and with means and enterprise at hand, the success of the company was assured, the character of the new company being thereby guaranteed. The fairs of the society have always been conducted on honorable and strictly business principles, and have uniformly been successful. It has always adver¬ tised liberal premiums, and has paid them in full. No gambling or games of chance have ever been allowed on the grounds. While many of the county societies have resorted to small side-shows, lotteries and other means of real swindling, for the purpose of keeping up expenses, this society has uniformly held to the principle that honesty was the best policy, and thereby has made it pay in the end. This would be a good place to moralize ; but we only stop to say that the stockholders have always endeavored to make this what its name implies - an agricultural society, its principal aim being to advance the agri¬ cultural interests of the farming community. The good accomplished is seen in the improvement of stock, and in the more advanced methods of farming. The little wooden moldboard plow, the reaping-hook or the flail would be as great a curiosity at the fair now, as the modern reaping-machine, the fine steel plows and the threshers would have been to the farmers of Edgar County forty years ago. It is true that the society has not made all of this change ; but it is due to its educating influence to say that its effect has been greater than any, except the keenest observers, can possibly appreciate. It will not do to say that the reason that the more modern farming utensils were not in use in the early times was that they were not in the market. The fact is, there was no demand for them. We all remember how many of the best agri¬ cultural implements had literally to fight their way to recognition ; and the -date of the first agricultural fair is not too early to place the record when there were many farmers in Edgar County who vowed they would not have a steel moldboard plow or one of the modern corn-cultivators. The long-nosed porker and the long-necked sheep, too, have gone ; and, were they now to rise from their tombs to confront their modern species, as seen at our fairs, they must, in shame for themselves, slink back into oblivion. The little boy with the basket on his arm, dexterously picking therefrom the four or five grains of corn for each hill (though he did it as rapidly as his older brother plowed the furrow into -which the grains were dropped), together with the other juve¬ niles who followed with the hoes, have many years since been superseded by the corn-planter, which, with a man to drive the team, will plant, in a better manner, more in a day than could ten men formerly.

A department devoted to the primary methods of farming, including all of the old utensils used therefor, would make a great attraction for any exhibi¬ tion.

If no other advantage had been gained to the farmers than the annual meeting, at which they meet and talk over the best methods of sowing, plant¬ ing and taking care of stock, the expenditure of time and money were well made.

The society has never made a cash dividend to its stockholders, the profits being held in the treasury to meet future contingencies, or expended on improvements of the grounds, a result of which is that the grounds of this society are among the handsomest in the State.

The society has become an institution in which the people of the county feel a personal interest and a just pride, and its fairs are said to be unsurpassed by any others in the State. *

The last fair, held in September, 1878, wTas the largest ever given by the society ; and, as compared with the first one held, twenty-four years before, was certainly a cause for great congratulation of its friends, and speaks great praise for its Managers, who have almost all been, from the beginning, its warmest supporters. The total entries aggregated 1,980, and the whole amount paid in cash premiums was $2,528.50. In addition to this, the current expend¬ itures and amounts paid for improvements were $1,381.83, making a total paid out of $3,855.33, all of which was realized from the receipts of the fair.

Horticultural

The first orchard planted in Edgar County was set out in the year 1817, by Dan¬ iel Lane, from Massachusetts. This orchard was of seedling yearling trees, and was planted east of Paris three miles. The seedlings had been grown from seed taken from Mrs. Yandeburg's orchard at Vincennes, Ind., and planted at Terre Haute, in the fall of 1815. Two years later, Mr. Lane came to this county, and replanted the young trees, as indicated. Consequently, the trees, a number of which are still living, are sixty-three years old. Some of these trees, from recent examinations, are found to be in good health and full of vigor, bearing almost every year ; and look as though they would yet outlive more than another generation. The original plat contained 178 trees. The largest of the original trees, now living, measures seven feet and six inches in circumference, one foot from the ground, another six feet nine inches, and several others more than six feet. A golden willow at the same place, and supposed to have been planted about the same time, is in perfect health and measures eleven feet and six inches around the body anywhere six feet above the ground. This was a productive orchard, and proved remunerative to the planter, by the sale of fruit, until a better character of trees was introduced and came into bearing. The fruit of this orchard was specially adapted to cider, for which purpose he finally used it. Mr. Lane possessed a recipe for preparing that liquid, by which its sweetness and purity were preserved for years. The process wTas kept by him a secret; and his most intimate friends could not prevail on him to disclose the method. He used to argue that seedlings were about as good as any, and the most profit¬ able ; but when the fine fruit drove his out of the market, he abandoned the idea, and, about 1842, employed Mr. B. 0. Curtis, then a boy, and since that one of the most scientific and well- posted nurserymen of Illinois, to graft a few hundred seedling stocks which stood in his garden, designing to plant a new orchard, which he did, with the best varieties. Mr. Curtis says that while thus occupied, Mr. Lane frequently brought out a pitcher of that excellent cider, remarking that the " Curtises could beat him with apples, but he guessed he could beat them on cider." As sometimes happens, some of these seedlings were of good quality ; one, a winter sweet apple, which Mrs. Lane called the pump¬ kin sweet. This variety was taken to Massachusetts, by James Dudley, and was called Lane's sweet ; and to the north part of this State, by L. Montague, and called the Illinois pumpkin sweet. Another variety, worthy of notice, was a dark-red autumn apple, and named by Joseph Curtis, father of B. 0. Curtis and pioneer nurseyman of Illinois, as the Lane's redstreak. Still another variety was an immense bearer, and at the age of fifty years had not a blemish. The fruit of this tree was large, smooth and of very superior quality. Augus¬ tine Boland, from Connecticut, was one of the very earliest settlers of the county, and planted the second orchard on the farm afterward owned by M. Step. He soon after planted another orchard on the land since occupied by G. W. Kimble. From this last orchard, in 1829, he gathered five bushels of apples, and the following season it produced considerable fruit for market. The first nursery in the county, and in the State, was planted in 1818, by Joseph Curtis, on the north arm of the Grand Prairie, four miles east of Paris. Mr. Curtis was a native of Hew Jersey, and removed with his father from that State, when a boy, to Manchester, Ohio, where be lived some fifteen years. Here he made an experimental nursery, raising new varieties from seed, collecting and testing - both in orchard and nursery - the best varieties that could then be procured. He also made numerous experiments in the manner of planting and grafting. One of his experiments in grafting resulted in a most valuable invention or discovery, which is now universally practiced. The method then in use was to graft and bud the stocks above the ground ; but on one occasion, having run out of stock, and having a few slips he concluded to insert them in roots. The success of the method has revolutionized this part of the nur- seryman's business. At the time, he did not realize the value of his discov¬ ery, nor did he know that the method had never before been practiced. It has since been determined, however, that Mr. Curtis is entitled to the honor of discovering this invaluable process. Mr. Curtis taught his method to many of the best informed nurserymen of the East, and so valuable did they deem it that they, in turn, sold the knowledge thus gained for $100 per lesson. Another mode of raising trees, which originated with him, was by propagating by genuine roots. To obtain the roots, the graft was planted a little deeper than usual, or the earth was drawn up to the yearlings, either of which processes would cause the lower part of the scion to put out roots freely. These grew stronger than the seedlings below, were esteemed genuine, and were preserved for multiplying the variety. Pear grafts, thus managed, did particularly well, and in three years made good sale trees on their own roots. Early in April, these roots were planted in borders, six feet wide, by laying them flat on the surface, full length across the border, one foot apart, being covered with three inches of soil. The following spring, they were taken up, divided and the sets planted in nursery rows, four feet apart, being at a distance from each other of one foot in the row. Two-year-old trees were always lay¬ ered in this manner, to get the genuine roots. A supply being obtained, the roots were cut in pieces of four inches in length, and planted upright in nur¬ sery rows, with the top of the root barely above the surface of the ground- Mr. Curtis believed that trees on their own roots were the most valuable, and were grown with the least labor.

The following are the varieties collected by Mr. Curtis in Ohio, New Jersey and other States, and brought by him to Fort Harrison, on the Wa¬ bash, in 1816, where they were planted, making two seasons' growth, and in the autumn of 1817, removed to this place and planted in nursery and orchard :

Winter Apples - Janette, yellow pippin, Milam, Smith cider, sweet Rhode Island greening, winter queen, Hannah, Newtown pippin, Newtown Spitzenberg, large Romanite, little Romanite, winter white, black gillyflower, lady-fingers, hard red, Shaker red and Priestly.

We have been thus particular in giving the above, as this was the very first orchard of grafted fruit in the whole State of Illinois, or in the whole Northwest. After the lapse of threescore years, but few of the trees are living. Some of these grand old trees that have seen two generations of men rise and pass away, and have afforded to them comfort, health and enjoyment are more than eight feet in circumference, over forty feet in height and have a circumfer¬ ence of head of one hundred and eighty feet. Doubtless these are the largest apple trees in the county.

Mr. B. 0. Curtis, to whom we are indebted for nearly all of the information concerning this subject, says that the Milam has been planted more extensively in the orchards of this county than any other apple. There are to-day more bear¬ ing trees of this than of any other six varieties. It is a staple production. There are no orchards without it ; and although a tender tree, there are many orchards of from one to ten acres, exclusively of this variety. He says this fruit has, at times, been so abundant here that he has seen them cribbed like corn, in rail pens lined with straw. Thousands of bushels were thus kept through the winter with slight loss except the freezing of a few on the outside and top.

Among the early pioneers who planted orchards in the eastern part of the county were R. Blackman, Elijah Austin, Col. J. Mayo, John Strat¬ ton, Col. J. M. Blackburn, Gen. J. Sandford, William Murphy, Laban Burr and E. Pursell. That of Col. Blackburn was one of the best of the early orchards, being of grafted varieties and suckers from trees that were known to have produced good fruit. He was the originator of the red Hughes crab, which he produced from the seed of the Hughes' Virginia crab. The variety obtained by Col. Blackburn was larger and much superior to the old sort, and decidedly the best cider apple known in this country.

In the vicinity of Paris, Samuel Vance,, who laid out the village in 1823, planted an orchard of seedlings the following spring. The trees were brought from the nursery of William Archer, of Clark County. In this orchard originated what proved to be a very popular midsummer apple, since known as Vance's har¬ vest. Smith Shaw, who settled on what is now the site of the eastern part of the city of Paris, planted some trees there. The city now covers the plat on which Shaw's orchard was planted, and only a few of the old trees remain.

Gen. M. K. Alexander was an enthusiast in this line of horticulture, and planted an orchard in the vicinity of Paris, as also did William Means and Adriel Stout. A few trees in these old orchards are still living.

William Shrader, John Shrader and Joseph Hite were the first to plant orchards in the southwestern part of the county. Mr. Hite brought the May cherry from Kentucky in 1827, this being the first introduction of that popular variety into this State. This cherry Has proven to be, from its great bearing qualities and hardiness, the most valuable variety for this section. Its great value, in respect to its hardy qualities, was not known until the severe winter of 1855-56, when almost all other varieties were entirely killed.

Mr. Curtis says the only varieties of grape cultivated here prior to 1836 were the black and white cape. In the year named, Mr. Curtis' father introduced the Catawba, Isabella, Madeira and Clinton. These all did well, until about the year 1853, when they began to be affected with the rot.

In 1844, Elijah Bacon brought from New York fifty varieties of apples, thirty of pears, and sixteen varieties of cherries, and planted a large orchard near Bloom¬ field. The first evergreens of the finer sorts were brought to this county by him ; and some of the firs, pines and spruce, planted by him nearly thirty-five years ago, are of majestic size and beautiful to behold. Mr. Bacon's zeal in the introduction of fine fruit, his great liberality in the distribution of seed, buds and scions, together with his great experience, have done much towrard building up the horticulture of this part of the State.

This county has no native evergreens except the cedar. In the early times, there was a grove of considerable extent at what is knowm as Cedar Cliff, on Brouillett's Creek. Many small seedlings were taken from this place and planted on the farms by the early settlers. They have grown into nice shade trees, and make pleasant many a cottage home. In 1852, the Curtis Brothers planted specimens of evergreens in their nursery-grounds north of Paris. Some of these have grown to be forty feet in height, and nearly four feet in circumference near the base.

and valuable nurseries were unthought of, he was annually sending out trees and plants to all parts of the country, by the hundred thousand. We have before us one of his first circulars, sent out with his shipments of trees, which was printed in 1838, when less than half of the State of Illinois had been ocsupied, and when some of the now populous counties contained not a single inhabitant. This old relic of horticultural advice instructs his customers "how to transplant and manage trees," and though it consists of but a single page, contains all of the valuable hints now seen in the more elaborate catalogues of the modern nurserymen.

ence here, and people came a distance of more than a hundred miles to buy. Mr. Curtis died in 1852, and, though in his last years not actively engaged in this industry, he was still enthusiastic* in the calling which he had pursued during a long life-time. This and surrounding counties have great reasons to be grateful to him for the interest he took in this work, for had the people of this section waited until trees were brought to their -doors, wThich only began to be the case with the advent of the railroad, this county would yet be almost without fruit. On the retirement of Mr. Curtis from the business in 1845, his four sons continued the same, under the name of Curtis Brothers, one or more of whom have continued till the present time.

Besides the enterprise already mentioned, several others engaged in the horticultural work, with varied success. James Dudley planted a small nursery in 1820, and continued to propagate trees for about three years, when he sold out the entire stock to a Mr. Olmstead, who removed it to Coles County. Ebenezer David commenced a nursery on Clay's Prairie, in the northeast part of the county, and continued till 1852.

William B. Caldwell, of Paris, has been in the business for about eighteen years. He has given attention to the finer varieties of fruit, shrubbery and vegetables. His nursery has a fine reputation in the Wabash Valley, and any desiring first-class articles are assured of getting that for which they bargain.

Educational

The basis of the school system of the State of Illinois and the Northwest was- the act of Congress by which one-thirty-sixth of the public lands were donated to the several Northwestern States, for the purpose of aiding a system of public free education. In the survey of the lands, thirty-six square miles or sections, constituted a township, and the sixteenth section of each township was designated as the school section. By the law of the State of Illinois, each Congressional township was made to constitute a school township, without regard to either county or other division lines. In many of the counties, especially in Northern Illinois, the county authorities have made the lines of political townships identical with the Congressional or school townships, but in Edgar County the only township wdiose lines are identical with the school township is that of Ross, some of the others being larger and some smaller. In the county there are twenty-five whole or parts of these school or Congres¬ sional towns, but the county lines are so situated that only nineteen of the school sections fall within the boundaries of the county. However, this has not been a disadvantage to Edgar County as the lands are sold, not for the benefit of the part of the town lying in the county in which the section falls, but for the whole township. Neither are the funds realized from the lands divided, but a Board of Trustees, elected for the school township regardless of county lines, manage the fund for the thirty-six sections. In many of the townships the land was sold at a comparatively early date, when land was cheap, and, therefore, but little was realized, the whole section in some instan¬ ces being sold at the Congress price. The land now would sell for from $25 to $50 per acre. This will explain why some townships are reported as having a principal fund of less than $1,000, while others, whose lands were sold later, have four times as much. The township fund of the whole county is, in round numbers, $56,000, being an average of a little more than $2,200 each. To say that any great mistake was made in thus disposing of the lands at so early a date, would be to cast a reflection on those having charge of the same. In the early history of the county, the people were poor and were sadly in need of the little revenue arising from so small a principal. With schoolhouses to build and teachers to pay, they found it no small burden to make provision for the education of the children. And then, again, it would have taken no less than a prophet to predict that within forty or fifty years, this land would double in value five times. Indeed, it was universally conceded that the prairie lands would never be occupied. And, again, how much more is land worth, after doubling in value five times in fifty years, than a like amount of money at 10 per cent interest? The fund realized, as above intimated, is irre¬ ducible, being loaned by lawr to responsible parties, at 10 per cent per annum, the interest only being used for the purpose of paying teachers' salaries.

In 1855, the Legislature of the State passed a law levying an annual school tax of 2 mills on the dollar on all taxable property in the State. This revenue is somewhat variable with different years and with different assessments, increas¬ ing as the country grows older and wealthier. In this county, the amount thus realized annually is nearly §10,000. These two funds constitute the nucleus of the school system in this, as in other counties of the State. By the law making these generous provisions for the education of the youth, a provision was enacted making it obligatory on the part of a district to support a school a cer¬ tain number of months in the year (formerly six, but at present five), other¬ wise the district receives no benefit from either fund. This provision insures the co-operation of district authorities in the support of school ; and, as a con¬ sequence, but few of the districts of the county are without the benefits of school instruction. Last year, as reported to the County Superintendent, William Roth, but two districts out of the whole 137 had less than five months, while most of them had more. The average number of months school was sustained last year was nearly seven.

By far the largest part of the means for sustaining the schools, however, is derived from direct tax, levied by the School Directors of the respective districts. This levy is made on all of the taxable property of the respective districts, and varies yearly according to the needs of the school. Owing to the comparatively small township fund in this county, and to the high class of schools sustained, this levy is very large, amounting, in some years, to over §50,000. The total expenditures for the purpose of sustaining schools last year was §65,665.50, of which §44,192.97 was paid for instruction. This is an average of an expenditure of nearly §500. Prior to 1855, a number of schools had been organized and houses built, but these were sustained mostly by private means ; and every community claimed the privilege of managing the school without interference of other parties, or modification by general laws. Teachers were accountable only to their employers, and no particular standard of qualification was required. Schools were kept open only for such length of time, or not at all, as the whims or prejudices of the people might dictate. Con¬ sequently, while some of the more wealthy and intelligent neighborhoods were well supplied with school facilities, others were almost wholly without them.

The first school in the county was opened in a little log building erected on William Whitley's land, northeast of Paris, in the neighborhood known as North Arm. This school was taught in 1820, about three years after the first settlement was made in the county. The honor of teaching this first school in the county is claimed for several different persons, but the credit is generally given to Amos Williams, who certainly did teach some of the earliest schools in that and other neighborhoods. Mr. Williams was, without doubt, a competent teacher for the few requirements of those times. A little spelling, reading and writing embraced the whole course, and, from the unusually well-kept records yet in existence, we are able to judge of this highest branch. Upon the organization of the county, in 1823, Mr. Williams was appointed C. C. C. C., as he signs himself, and afterward, in 1826, when Vermilion County was organized, having removed to that county, was elected to the same position there.

The first schools in the county which had the appearance of being in any degree of a public nature were the three organized in 1826, by the County Commissioners' Court - the one southeast and cornering with the village of Paris, one east of the village and the third including the village. The author¬ ity for organizing these schools was granted on the petition of the citizens of the respective sections. In the same year, John M. Kelly was appointed School Commissioner, with powers limited to the safe-keeping of the funds arising from the sale of school lands. Not until 1855, was any county officer appointed or elected with authority to examine teachers or superintend the schools. Yet these quasi-public schools and a few wholly private affairs increased in numbers, and those who would have an education, " whether school kept or not," thus obtained some knowledge of the elementary branches of learning.

Schools were established at a very early date in Elbridge, Stratton, Grand View, Sims, Paris, Brouillett and Hunter Townships, and in Prairie, Edgar and Embarrass a little later. The rest of the county was scarcely settled when the school law of 1855 went into effect, and schools organized in Ross, Buck, Kan¬ sas, Shiloh and Young America were mostly established under that improved system. By that date, about seventy public schools were in operation in the county ; and by the fall of 1858, four years after the passage of the act, there were 97, being an increase of 27 during that period. Since that time, there have been 40 additional districts formed, making in all, at present writing, 137. The public-school system at first met with some opposition ; but the ben¬ eficial results arising from the system soon became so apparent that the most prejudiced were constrained to acknowledge its merits; and it soon became so well grounded in the county that to speak of it in terms otherwise than compli¬ mentary is but to utter words which are at once taken as opposed to good gov- ernment, society and morals. To bring about a state of perfection, or anything approximating such condition, is a task which neither a single individual, though his powers be unlimited, nor a single generation, could perform ; and hence, we observe in this, as in many other counties, a slow but sure growth toward that desirable end.

We cannot better show the progress of the system in this county than by a few extracts taken from the reports of some of the County Superintendents, which we happen to have before us. From 1855 until the present date, County Superintendents of Schools have been authorized and required to give special attention to the working of the schools under their charge, to examine teachers and visit the schools. They have thus been eminently qualified to judge of the growth and improvement of the same.

The first report is that of Sheridan P. Read, in 1858, when the publicschool system had been in operation four years. After a statement that some complaints are made of the law, and that a few still oppose the new method, he continues : " Under the present law, there has been a great improvement in the schools of this county, and an increased interest is awakened in their behalf. The districts are erecting good, comfortable houses, and I do not fear but that Edgar County will take a high stand in educational matters hereafter. The great want that is felt here now is for well-qualified teachers. With that sup¬ plied, the schools will flourish." As may be easily inferred from Mr. Read's report, the schools were but beginning to show signs of healthful activity. They were, as yet, almost a novelty, and it is not strange that their opposers and defenders should both take extreme grounds, and vthat some errors should be committed. Such was the case ; and, while in some districts economy to extreme niggardliness was practiced, in others they went in debt to such an extent that the schools seemed burdensome. Nevertheless, it will be noticed in the subsequent reports that a uniformity of opinion pervades all these papers as to the advancement of the public schools.

schools of this county are gradually improving. A new interest is being man¬ ifested on the subject of schools, and a better class of teachers is demanded. Teachers' wages are still inadequate to secure the services of that class of teach¬ ers, which the educational interests of the county require." He further adds that though there is a continued improvement , and the deficiency of teachers, spoken of by Mr. Read, is in a measure supplied, there is yet a manifest lack of moral support and encouragement by parents. Of course, it was perfectly nat¬ ural that whatever lack of zeal and interest was manifested should be rather with parents than with Superintendent and teachers. It would have been a surprising state of affairs had it been otherwise. So it is not surprising that, within five years, the following opinion by the Superintendent, A. J. Mapes, should appear in his report to the State Superintendent : " The general educational interest manifest a greater degree of interest in' good schools and teachers than formerly. The schoolhouses which have recently been constructed, and those in process of construction, are a great improvement on those of other days, being better, more commodious, well ventilated, and generally having excellent seats, desks and blackboards. Two years later, Mr. Mapes, in his second report, .says : " During the past two years, there has been a great improvement in the schools of this county in every particular ; in fact a greater degree of progress has been manifested than ever was known in the history of our schools before." Instead of a lack of teachers, as was reported formerly, Mr. Mapes congratulates the county that a law has recently been passed, requiring additional qualifications, and that, by this means, he has been enabled to limit the number of would-be instructors, and he says : " In reference to the introduction of the elements of natural science into the common schools, I would state, that it has had a very healthful influence on our teachers in this county, as it has resulted in striking from our roll many that were drones in the society of teachers ; and those who are still engaged in the work, it has tended to improve, and better qualify them for their arduous duties. I think the additional requirements of teachers is having a truly beneficial effect ; and I would say, rather advance the standard of requirements, than take one step backward. We have no trouble in obtaining teachers that are well qualified ; and all seem to think the addition of the nat¬ ural sciences has been a help to them, in the discharge of their duties as teach¬ ers." These sentiments, based on a close observation of four years, contrast widely with what might have been heard, in all parts of Edgar County, fifteen years before. The standard of qualification set up by Mr. Mapes would have excluded nine-tenths of the teachers under the administration of Mr. Read. Fifteen years had brought out an entire set of new teachers - educated mostly, it is true, in the common schools of the county - but of a grade much improved compared with the style and qualification in vogue during their own school life. Again, the boys have grown to be men, and are now the school directors, trust¬ ees and patrons ; and to this cause may be traced many improvements observed on every hand. Later reports are not within our reach ; but we learn from other well-informed sources that the almost perfected system, as described, not only continues to prevail, but that real improvement is observable. Under the administration of affairs, by Mr. R. S. Cusick and, at present, under Mr. William Roth, the condition of schools is such as to give the people of Edgar County good cause for congratulation.

The following statistics, furnished by Mr. Roth, showing the present condi¬ tion of the public schools of the County, will doubtless prove interesting :

Several attempts have been made to establish private schools, for the pur¬ pose of giving instruction in the higher branches of education, with varying success. Notably among these were the seminary, under the auspices of the M. E. Church in Paris, and the private school organized at Grand View by Rev. Mr. Steele, mentioned at greater length in the history of those townships. The only attempt of this character that has proved to be enduring is that founded by the Rev. I. H. Venable. This institution has had so much to do, not only with the diffusion of knowledge among the people in its immediate vicinity, but of the whole county, that we have taken considerable pains to learn the facts in relation to its history from the beginning. Especially of late, has this institution had a marked work in the preparation of young men and women for the duties of the schoolroom.

In 1841, Rev. I. H. Venable concluded to open an academic school for the education of youth in the higher branches of learning, in the town of Paris, then a little hamlet of a few hundred inhabitants. He commenced his school with eight pupils - three boys and five girls - in a small room, on the lot now used for Edgar Collegiate Institute. His school increased, and by the com¬ mencement of the second term, he had to employ assistance, and for this pur¬ pose secured the services of John L. Means. This was then the only school where the classics were taught in all of Eastern Illinois. A larger schoolroom was soon in demand, and was built ; more teachers were employed, and many students were fitted and sent to college, and teachers prepared for the country and village schools. In 1849, Mr. Venable sold the property to the people, who elected Trustees, to whom were intrusted the care of the property, the general conduct of the school, and the appointment of Principal and other teach¬ ers. James II. Nelson came from Indiana, and took charge of the school as Principal for five years. 1 He sustained the reputation of the institution, added a department of music, and had a large and successful school. Subse¬ quently, E. B. Bishop and others had charge as Principal. From this insti¬ tution there went out into the active duties of life a large number of men and women, well educated, and who have exerted a highly beneficial influence in molding society. Many clergymen, lawyers, judges, legislators, teachers and first-class business men are now living in different portions of this and other Sates who laid the foundation of their intellectual attainments in this school.

In 1866, Prof. J. Hurty was called to Paris to take charge of the public schools, re-organized. From this arrangement a new impulse was given to the cause of education in the county. Capt. George Hunt was then County Super¬ intendent of Schools of Edgar County. He called the teachers together to attend an institute, the first ever held in the county, and Prof. Hurty, being an enthusiast in that kind of work, was requested to conduct the same. This dates the beginning of a new system of teaching and conducting schools in Edgar County, and especially of Paris. Three years later, the Trustees of Edgar Academy secured a charter from the Legislature. In 1871, Prof. Hurty retired from the public schools, and established his Normal Academy, which has since been an important factor in the educational product of this and surrounding counties. A number of young men and women have gone from this school every year to enter first-class colleges. Many excellent teachers and first-class business men are now engaged in responsible positions who had the foundations of success laid by the thorough training obtained in this school.

In 1876, Hurty 's Normal Academy was merged with Edgar Collegiate In¬ stitute, and Prof. Hurty was elected Principal, and Prof. E. B. Bishop, Professor of Ancient Languages. The design and peculiar characteristic of this institution, as managed at present, is to fit young men and women for practical life; and while the polish of education is by no means neglected, the more substantial points are brought out and impressed upon the minds of the pupil. It has been the aim to make this an institution such as would meet all of the requirements of those desiring a liberal education, and at the same time fit the young men and women of Edgar County for the active duties of the schoolroom, the banking-house, the store and the farm, without involving the necessity of sending them abroad, thus incurring heavy expense and exposing them to contact with a class of society not found at honie. In this, Prof. Hurty and his assistants are said to be eminently successful.

As an evidence of the high estimation in which the Academy is held by its patrons and pupils, a re-union of such as have been directly interested in its welfare was held last August, at which a large number of the old students were present. Prof. Plurty's students invited the old-time pupils of the Academy, and one of the most enjoyable and profitable occasions was the result. A large attendance was had, and many were present who had attended the school near forty years before, on the same ground. Mr. John L. Means, who was Mr. Venable's first assistant, was present and presided, and gave a historical ad¬ dress. Prof. J. H. Nelson was also present, and gave the history of the school under his administration. A sumptuous dinner was prepared, addresses by old and young were made, and the days of school life were lived over again.

The success of this institution, both the past and present, has resulted from the practical teaching. Students are not simply taken over the dull routine of book exercises, but every principle is developed and applied to practical use. Students are not crammed for examinations, but are taught to think and work, and use what they have learned. The best prepared students that enter college go, many of them, from this institution ; and many of them enter banks, com¬ mercial houses, and high schools as Principals, and acquit themselves with honor to the Academy where they received their training, and with credit to themselves.

It was a beautiful sentiment of Goethe, when he compared our little round of being to a summer residence at a watering-place. "When we first arrive," said he, "we form friendships with those who have already spent some time there, and must soon be gone. The loss is painful, but we content ourselves with the second generation of visitors, with whom we spend some time and daily become more intimate; but these also depart, and we are left alone with a third set, who arrive just as we are prepared for our departure." In this view of human life, there is nothing to displace the idea of earthly com¬ munion with those wTlo are absent. It is a curious truth that when two living friends part, they are, as it were, dead to each other until they meet again. Letters may be interchanged, but the present of the one is not the presence of the other - and what gloomy event may not happen between ! It is a trite simile, perhaps, that in this world we are like ships on the ocean - each striving alone amid the war of the elements ; and in the far-forward distance shadowed before us are the dim outlines of the land of death. Some reach it soonest, but thither all are bound; and there their state is fixed, immutable, eternal. Slowly the race of mankind is passing away; there are sad partings and sweet remem¬ brances. Let the first be viewed as merely separation for a season - a friendly severance of holiest ties in hope of quick renewal. No sadder realization of the inscrutable decree that "Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return," is wanting than collecting the history of a country or people. For example: In Paris Township, we look around us for the old landmarks of fifty or sixty years ago, and find them moldering in the church-yard. The first generation of visitors to the "summer watering-place" are mostly gone, and the second and third, and even the fourth, generations are crowding on to this " sea-side retreat." Those of the " first set " w'ho still linger are on the shady side of life, descending the hills of existence in the shadow of age. These beautiful plains, once the home of the lordly savage and his kindred, have experienced many and wonderful changes. The visitor of to-day, ignorant of the past of the country, could scarcely be made to realize it. The pioneers who braved the perils of "flood and field" to open up these broad, productive lands, have melted away like mists before the morning sun, and, as we remarked a little space ago, now rest in the church-yard. Few, very few, of the early settlers of this section are left, and that period is fast rolling on when no one can truth¬ fully say, "I knew them." The work, then, of writing this history was not begun any too soon, as by far the greater number of the early settlers are gone, and age has dimmed the memory of some who remain. Had the work been deferred for a few years more, would have been obliterated, and much of the important history been lost. Fortunate it is for the historian, and more fortunate, too, for those who desire an authentic record of events pertaining to their country, that some few. still remain with us whose memories are clear, and whose recollections are unclouded.

The Early Settlement

The territory embraced in Paris Township was a part of the Kickapoo hunting-grounds for years after settlements were made on the east side of the old Indian boundary line. The lands west of this line were not bought from the Indians until 1822, and were then surveyed and placed in the market. But that part of the county lying east of the line referred to, was purchased by Gen. Harrison in 1809, as noted in the county history, and offered for sale at Vincennes as early as 1816. Hence, settlements were made in the eastern part of the county several years before a white man ventured thus far West.

Among the early settlers of Paris Township we may mention Thomas Jones, Samuel Vance, Charles Ives, William Whitley, Leander Munsell, James Wiley, Laban Burr, Gen. M. K. Alexander, Col. Jonathan Mayo, Abner Dill, Smith Shaw, Joseph B. Vance, Solomon Dill, M. M. Dill, Maj. E. P. Shaw, Thomas Brock, John B. Alexander, Adriel Stout, Nathaniel Wayne, Thomas Tenery, Garland B. Shellady, James Jones, William Means, David Crosier, George Redmon, Robert Brown, Lawson Kimble, John Lycan, Madison Johnson, Rev. John V. Bovell, William Johnson, John Bovell, James Hoskins, Rev. William Philips, Abraham Welsh, James T. Whitney, John Montgomery, Thomas Morgan, Patrick Whalen, Washington Alexander, Michael Whalen, John S. Dill, George W. Redmon, Thomas Pinson, James Pinson, Robert M. Ray, Jacob G. Lycan, James H. Tenery, Patrick C. Tenery, Willard Center, William Vance, George Moke, James Gordon, William D. Darnall, Sylvester Barker and many others, perhaps, whose names we have been unable to learn. Of all this list of pioneers, Thomas Jones is conceded to be the first settler in Paris Township. He came from Christian County, Ky., and settled in the southern part of the township in July, 1821, and had a family of three sons and four daughters. After the father's death, which occurred at an early day, the family emigrated to Texas, where two of the sons were killed by Indians. Hall Sims, an early settler of Sims Township, married one of the daughters.

Samuel Vance came ;to Illinois in the fall of 1822, and settled in Paris Township near the city. His residence was about half a mile northwest of the public square, and his original farm is mostly embraced in the city of Paris at the present time. He was born in Virginia, but removed to Tennessee where he resided for ten years, then came to Illinois, as noted above. He donated twenty-six acres of land, upon which the county seat of Edgar County was located, and which is more fully noticed in another page. Mr. Vance died in 1856. A son, Joseph B. Vance, is still living, also a maiden daughter, who resides in the city of Paris. William Vance, another son, lately deceased, has four sons living, who may he classed among the live business men of the town. Charles Ives settled in Paris Township in 1822, and was from Connecticut. His father came with him to the county, and was very old and feeble at the time, tottering upon the brink which forms the boundary line between two worlds, and lived but a few years after settling here. The younger Ives was a man of considerable prominence, and one of the first Board of County Commis¬ sioners, as well as Bepresentative in the State Legislature for two terms. He moved to the State of Michigan many years ago and all trace of him is lost.

Smith Shaw was a native of the Palmetto State, and located in Illinois as early as 1814. He left South Carolina and stopped for a few years in Tennes¬ see. Erom there he removed to Missouri, but was forced to "flee from the wrath to come," during the war of 1812, on account of the depredations committed by the Indians while the war was going on. He took his family from Missouri to Ken¬ tucky, when he came to Indiana and then to Illinois, stopping in Crawford County in the fall of 1814, and spending the winter in old Fort La Motte, which stood within the present limits of Palestine, then the county seat of Crawford County. The next spring, he entered land half a mile east of Pales¬ tine, where he lived until his removal to Edgar County, in December, 1822. He settled on land now embraced in the city of Paris, and on a part of which his son, Maj. E. P. Shaw, now lives. Mr. Shaw left the neighborhood of Pales¬ tine on account of the malarial diseases prevalent there, and which, to a consider¬ able extent, still cling to the place. When he came to Paris, he found Samuel Vance and Thomas Jones living in the neighborhood. Jones had raised a crop of corn, and Shaw bought corn of him to last him until he could raise a crop, or provide himself elsewhere. He died in 1838 ; his wife survived him, pass¬ ing away in 1875 at the age of eighty-six years. Maj. E. P. Shaw, a son, lives on the land owned by his father at his death, and is a merchant of Paris. He was Major of the Tenth Illinois Cavalry during the late war, and went out in 1861, remaining two years when his health gave way and he was forced to resign and come home. H. S. Shaw is a brother, and Mrs. Amanda Smith, widow of the late Dr. Smith, is a sister. These live in Paris, and besides, there is a sister in California, and another in Kansas, and a brother in Charleston, Ill. William M. Shaw, an older brother, was in the Black Hawk war. A. F. Shaw, the brother living in Charleston (but then living in Paris) was Second Lieutenant in the Fourth Illinois Volunteers (Col. Baker) during the war with Mexico. Another brother was killed in the late war, in Virginia. Thomas Brock was probably from Ohio, and came here very early. He started a tan-yard about 1828-29. Mr. Shaw sold him ten acres of ground, upon which was an excel¬ lent spring. There were improvements on the land, also a good orchard, and

Hon. John B. Alexander was a native of North Carolina, and had lived in Georgia, Tennessee and Alabama before emigrating to Illinois. He settled in Vermilion County, or in territory now embraced in Vermilion County, in- 1 820, locating on the Little V ermilion River, and was the second family who settled in what was called " The Little Vermilion Timber." He removed to Edgar County in 1821, and located in the North Arm settlement, known then under the euphonious title of Cambridge City. Both Edgar and Vermilion Counties at that time were a pare of Clark, and while living in "Cambridge City," Mr. Alexander was elected a Commissioner of Clark County. He was elected one of the first three Commissioners of Edgar after its formation, also the first Representa¬ tive in the Legislature, as well as the first Postmaster. To the latter office, he was appointed by Uncle Sam about 1822-23. He soon resigned, however, and his son, Milton K. Alexander, was appointed in liis stead. Mr. Alexander remained in the county but a few years, then returned to the settlement from whence he came, and finally removed to Danville, where he died in 1850, at the age of eighty-five years. Though he did not live in Paris Township, he was a man of considerable prominence, holding various public offices and positions of honor and trust, and we deem it but proper that notice should be made of him here, as well as in the history of Hunter Township, where he lived while a citizen of the county. His ancestors were natives of the north of Ireland; but at the time of the Revolution, the Alexander family, it is said, were quite numerous in the Carolinas, no less than six of them having signed the Mecklenburg* Declaration of Independence. When but a boy, living near Charlotte, he very distinctly remembered seeing Lord Cornwallis and his red coats, during their occu¬ pancy of that country, and of going to mill on horse-back and passing through the British camp. His wife (Barbara King) was a native of Scotland, and passed away a few years before him. Hugh King, a brother of hers, came to America before the Revolutionary war, and served through the doubtful struggle as a fifer in the American army. He also died in Danville.

Gen. Milton Iv. Alexander, was a son of John B. Alexander, and took a prominent part in the Black Hawk war, as noticed in the county history. He settled in Paris in 1823, the year the county was organized, and soon after en¬ gaged inmercantile and agricultural pursuits. On the establishment of mail facil¬ ities, he was appointed Postmaster (in place of his father who had resigned), a position he held for twenty-five years. During the war of 1812, though but a boy in years, he undertook the sternest duties - those imposed by a soldier's life. He was out with the Tennessee Mounted Volunteers, under Gen. Jackson, against the warlike savages of the south, instigated to hostilities by the opportunities offered by the war. He was chosen First Lieutenant by his comrades, and from the time he entered the service until the taking of Pensacola, November 6,

1814, remained under the immediate command of Gen. Jackson. When Jackson moved with the main body of his army to New Orleans, it fell to the lot of Lieut. Alexander to remain with that portion of the troops left in Florida to chastise the barbarous Seminoles, and thus he lost the glory won by all who par¬ ticipated in the battle of New Orleans. After the war was over, he returned to his old home (then in Tennessee), where he was married in 1819, to Miss Mary Shields, and, as above stated, came to Edgar County and located in Paris in 1823. In 1826, he was commissioned Colonel of the Nineteenth Regiment of Illinois Militia by Gov. Edward Coles, and in December, 1830, was appointed Aide-de-Camp to Gov. Reynolds, as elsewhere stated. In 1832, he was elected and commissioned Brigadier General of the Second Brigade of Illinois Volunteers, and was in active service in that capacity until the close of the Black Hawk war. In 1837, he was elected by the joint vote of the General Assem¬ bly, a member of the Board of Commissioners of Public Works, an office of great trust and responsibility, as under the general system of internal improve¬ ment entered upon at that time by the State, legislative appropriations were made amounting in the aggregate to $10, 000, 000, and these Commission¬ ers were by law authorized to locate, superintend and construct the extensive works of river improvement and railroad building undertaken by the State gov¬ ernment. They were authorized to employ such engineers, superintendents and laborers as, in their opinion, they might deem necessary ; to obtain for the State the possession of the necessary lands belonging to private parties ; to buy all lands belonging to the General Government, subject to entry, for the distance of five miles on each side of the line of the contemplated railroads; and to audit and allow all accounts for the expenditure of money on works under their supervision. At the first meeting of the Commissioners, he was chosen Presi¬ dent of the Board, a position which he retained until the whole system of inter¬ nal improvement was abandoned. In 1830, he became a member of the Presby¬ terian Church of Paris, and maintained his connection with it until his death, July 7, 1856. Few men have left a brighter record behind them (perhaps none in Edgar County) or a larger circle of devoted friends, than Gen. Alexander.

Washington Alexander, a brother of the last-named gentleman, is still living in Paris. He also served in the Black Hawk war, but in the regiment of Col. Moore. He acted as a courier between that officer and Gov. Revnolds, whom he found on the Illinois River at Fort Milburn. After leaving Hickory Grove in the northwest corner of the county, near Palermo, and where he stayed the first night, he found it twenty miles then to the next house. Decatur comprised a dozen or two log houses with stumps standing in the streets, from which trees had recently been cut. Peoria consisted principally of a pile of logs that had been hauled there for the purpose of building a fort or stockade, and he was un¬ able, he says, to get a feed of corn or oats for his horse, in the future city. And this was but a fair sample of what Central and Northern Illinois was at that time. Mr. Alexander describes a trip made by Isaac R. Moore and himself to Philadelphia, to purchase goods. They traveled to the Quaker City on horse-back, and returned by way of New York, coming from- Buffalo to Chicago in a schooner (having sold their horses) and from Chicago walked home. On their way down from Chicago, they fell in with a couple of drunken Indians, who were occupying themselves quarreling and fighting most of the time. They had pounded each other up considerably, and one of them had learned enough of English to make a pretty successful effort at swearing at his companion, indul¬ ging freely in such expressions as "G - d d - n h - 1, no good Indian, any how."

Col. Jonathan Mayo, another of the early settlers on North Arm Prairie, and who is extensively noticed in the county history, as well as in that of Hun¬ ter Township, deserves, also, some mention in Paris Township, where he has resided since 1827. He was the first Circuit Clerk of the county, and removed into the city in order to be nearer the place of his business. Col. Mayo held the office of Circuit Clerk from the organization of the county (except two years the office was held by Amos Williams) until 1848, when, under the Con¬ stitution adopted in 1847, it became elective by the people. When appointed Clerk, he went to Clark County and took the oath of office ; returned, and swore in Lewis Murphy, Judge of Probate, and all the Justices of the Peace who had then been commissioned. In addition to the office of Circuit Clerk, Mr. Mayo was appointed Recorder and Notary Public, by Gov. Coles, offices he held for years. The first election ever held in the county was held at his house, in the spring of 1818, for the selecting of delegates to form a State Con¬ stitution, and at which time, he says, " there were only fourteen votes cast." In the fall following, another election was held at his house, at which time the first Congressmen and Legislators were elected under State Government. The first religious services held in the county were at his house, and a class of the Methodist Church was formed there, by Rev. Joseph Curtis, in the spring of 1819. Three of that class are yet living, though sixty years have come and gone since its formation, namely, Mr. and Mrs. Mayo and Mrs. Curtis, the wife of the minister who organized it. Col. Mayo has been blind for several years, and is growing rather feeble in bodily health, but his mind is vivid and his rec¬ ollection of the early times distinct. A daughter of his is wife of Rev. Mr. Wil¬ kins, the Pastor of the Methodist Church of Paris, and another daughter is the wife of Col. Rives, the Deputy Circuit Clerk.

Nathaniel Wayne was originally from Richmond, Va., where he had learned the trade of a shoemaker. He came to Paris in 1823, and bought one of the first lots (sold at the public sale of lots), on which he built a tavern. This was the first public house in the place, and stood on the lot now occupied by the Opera-house. He afterward entered land in the western part of the county, and opened a public house there, and finally removed to Iowa. Thomas Tenery came to the county in 1820, and was from Kentucky, the same part of the State from which the Lowrys came, and was related to them. In coming to the country, Tenery brought the stock* overland, while the Lowrys all came by water. He was the first brickmaker we have heard of in the township and, perhaps, in the county. He made the brick for Col. Mayo's chimneys at hispresent residence, likewise all the brick used in the county for several years. James H. Tenery and Patrick C. Tenery were sons of Thomas Tenery ; the former died here some four years ago, and Patrick moved away. Robert M. Ray was from Ohio, and settled here in 1830. He served two terms as Sheriff of the county ; moved in the city, broke up in business and then moved away. The Whalens came from Kentucky, in 1826. Patrick Whalen died a few years ago, and Bartholomew is still living in the township. He was one of the first blacksmiths in the county. William Whalen lives in Coles County. Aaron Pinson was from Virginia, and settled here in 1825. He had several sons, but none are now living in this section of the country.

James Wiley came to Illinois in 1826, and settled on Big Creek, in Clark County, and, in 1827, moved to Paris. He first found shelter in an old log cabin that stood south of the square, near the center, and just east of the old frame Court House. In August, 1827, he and his wife went to a camp-meet¬ ing, somewhere on Big Creek, and during their absence from home, on Sunday, some one broke into the house, and stole, out of an old trunk, $37, the last cent he had in the world. The sum was in silver, and was being saved by him for the purpose of entering forty acres of land. Neither thief nor money were ever discovered, but there is some consolation in the reflection, said one of Mr. Wiley's sons, " that the one who took it may have needed it to pay his ferriage over the dark river." In 1828, Wiley moved into a cabin belonging to Samuel Vance, and during the latter part of the year, built a cabin on land afterward known as the Myner place. While living in the Vance cabin, which stood northwest of the I. & St. L. Depot, a prairie wolf came near the house in broad daylight, and was only prevented from making a dinner of Mrs. Wiley's chick¬ ens by the most vigorous shouting. In 1829, Wiley took charge of Bell's mill, on Big Creek, which was one of the early institutions of the county. From the mill, he went to a place southwest of Paris, where he remained until Octo¬ ber, 1830, when he purchased a tavern stand, situated where the Metcalf store¬ house now is, on the south side of the public square, where he remained until 1832. When he came to the country, in 1827, there were but a few families in what is now Paris Township. Among those then here, were Col. M. K. Alex¬ ander, Col. Mayo, Samuel Vance, Smith Shaw. The Meanses, the Dills and the Redmons, and, perhaps, a few others, scattered around in the edge of the timber.

In the spring of 1823, William Means, his brothers-in-law, William Beard and Eleven Tucker, and two sons-in-law, David Crosier and Adriel Stout, settled in the immediate vicinity of the present city of Paris. They formed a sort of colony, and were from Adams County, Ohio, settling first in Vermilion County in the early part of 1822, or rather in territory now embraced in that county, but at the period of which we write it was, together with Edgar, a part of Clark County. Means had been to Illinois in 1821, and entered land in Ver¬ milion, and early in 1822, with some of his oldest sons, came out and raised a crop. He returned to Ohio in the fall and moved his family to his new home, bringing the little colony alluded to above. They all came by water in a a keelboat," except Means and Beard, who came overland with the stock, while the others came down the Ohio River and up the Wabash as far as Macomb's Ferry, where winter overtook them and the river froze over. They then abandoned the boat and hauled their goods the remainder of the way in wagons. They had intended running their boat on up the Wabash to the mouth of the Ver¬ milion, and up it to their land; but Jack Frost decreed otherwise, and blowing his breath about him,

In 1823, they moved down into this county, Mr. Means locating where his son, Thomas Means, now lives ; Mr. Beard a little east of him, while Crosier and Stout settled near by. Tucker settled in Elbridge Township, -upon his first coming to the country in 1822, there being a few families already living there. The field lying just south of Thomas Means' house was the first land broken by Mr. Means after his settlement, and has been in cultivation for about fifty-five years. Thomas Means claims to have lived longer on one place than any man in Edgar County - living on the old homestead, where his father settled in 1823. John C. Means, a brother to Thomas, lives a few miles distant. These are all of the family now living in the county. A sister (Mrs. Bovell) lives in Coles County ; another sister (Mrs. McDonald) lives in Iowa. Crosier moved to Chi¬ cago, and then to Iowa, where he died about two years ago, and his wife some years before. Mr. Stout died in the neighborhood where his kindness and benevolence had long been as household words. He wras a good man, and is noticed elsewhere as the originator of Sunday schools in Paris ; and it is told of him that for sixteen years he never failed to be at his post on Sunday as Super¬ intendent of the Sunday school. And when he died, some twenty-odd years ago, a multitude of friends united in laying a crown of respect upon his bier. His wife, too, has been dead many years. The elder Means and Beard died on their original settlements years ago. Thomas Means gives the following account of their mill facilities, the first season they were in the county : Stout was a potter, and manufactured earthenware, and had brought with him a mill for grinding the glazing used in his pottery. The buhrs were about the size of an average grindstone and about as thick. This mill they rigged up to be turned by hand in some way, and the smaller members of the family became the millers, spending most of their time in the occupation, and had hard work at that to keep the meal-chest supplied. When Means came to Paris Towmship there was quite a large camp of Kickapoos, about three-fourths of a mile south

The Bovells came from Tennessee. John Bovell settled here in 1826, where he lived for years. His son John Vance Bovell married a daughter of William Means. A nephew of Mr. Bovell's was a Presbyterian minister of some note, and preached here for a number of years. His father came here from Tennessee, when very old and feeble, to find a home with his children. James F. Whitney came to Charleston in 1830, and to Paris in 1832, and was from Kentucky. He served as Sheriff in 1843-44 and died with the cholera while in office. John Montgomery was also from Kentucky. He was a quiet citizen, possessing limited knowledge and taking but little part in the business matters of the country. He came to the town in 1825, and finally moved away, but where he went, we could not learn. Robert Brown was likewise from Ken¬ tucky. He came in 1825-26, and died at least forty years ago. Madison and William Johnson were from Ohio, and settled here about 1826-28. They are both still living - Madison near the head of Sugar Creek, two miles from Paris, while William lives in the city and is one of the owners of the Paris City Mills. John Lycan is mentioned as one of the early settlers of Hunter Township, but he, after some years, moved into Paris Township, and later to the city, where he is noticed as one of the first blacksmiths. He finally sold out in Paris and removed to Clark County, and died there, but has descendants still living in this county. George Moke was from Kentucky and came here about 1828. He was Second Lieutenant in Capt. Robert N. Griffin's company during the Black Hawk war. He died on his farm south of Paris some eighteen or twenty years ago. He was noted all over the county as a crier of public sales, and, as our old friend Darnall puts it, was " independent, bold and boisterous, and a red-hot Democrat - so straight in the faith, that like the negro's stackpole, he leant backwards."

William Whitley was one of the very earliest settlers in the county. He was from Kentucky, and located on the "North Arm " in the spring of 1817, not only before the formation of the county, but before the State was admitted into the LTnion. In 1823, he sold out in that neighborhood to Rev. Mr. McReynolds, and moved into Paris Township, and settled where Joe Redmon now lives. He has a daughter, Mrs. Freemen, living in the city of Paris ; Mrs. John Met¬ calf is also a daughter. He was one of the first Constables ever appointed in the county. We find on the court records that the first grand jury, after being "impaneled, sworn and charged, were placed in charge of Wm. Whitley, Con¬ stable," and that he received §1 per day for attending on the grand jury two days. He sold out here, and bought land on Sugar Creek, where he built a mill, and did quite a business in that line, and finally died there. He served a term as Sheriff of the county, being elected to the position in 1828. Aaron and Thomas Pinson and Solomon McGwire were from Kentucky. The latter came in 1824, the others in 1825-26, and all are now dead and gone.

Lawson Kimble is from Ohio, and came to the county in 1830. He located three miles north of Paris, where his son, G. W. Kimble now lives, and where he remained until 1855, when he removed to the city of Paris, and is still a resident of the place. When he came to the settlement, M. K. Alexander and James Jones had stores in the village of Paris; Eob Shields, a grocery, which, with a blacksmith-sliop or two, and a tavern by Abner Dill, comprised the future city. In his trip to this country, Mr. Kimble came down the Ohio River in a little flatboat to the mouth of the Wabash, and up the Wabash to Terre Haute in a steamboat ; the remainder of the journey was accomplished in wTagons. He had made a trip to the country as early as 1828, in search of a location. In the spring of 1829, he made another trip, when he entered the land upon which he settled at the time he removed to the neighborhood in 1830. James. Jones came from New York and settled near Pans. He married a daugh¬ ter of Samuel Vance, and has been dead for years. James Gordon was one of the early settlers of Edgar Township, and, in 1840, moved into Paris, then a feeble village. At the time he came to the city, he says there were but a few families living in it. Alexander had a store ; Jones also had a store, and Leander Munsell was likewise in the mercantile business. Abner Payne and James Archer were keeping tavern, and he bought out the latter, whose tavern ^vas where Walker's store now stands. Mr. Gordon tells the following story illus¬ trative of city improvements: A few years ago they were repairing the streets and putting down some crossings, when some logs were reached several ieet below bthe surface. Of course this was a matter of considerable surprise and speculation, and he was finally sent for to see if he could throw any light on it. After running back in his mind a score or two of years, he remembered that, at one time, the city - or village it was then - had made a number of crossings from the corners of the public square, by splitting open logs and laying them down with the flat side up, they had thus become buried several leet under ground.

The Dills and Redmons came from Kentucky, and settled in Pans Town¬ ship. Abner Dill, the father of the Dills known now in Pans, settled in the town about 1825-26. He has been dead several years, but has two sons, namely, M. M. and Jackson Dill, living in the city. M. M. Dill is one ot the proprietors of the Edgar County Mills, and a solid business man of the city. George Redmon settled some two miles south of Paris in He died lour or five years ago. George W. Redmon, a son, lives in Paris, and is also a partner in the magnificent Edgar County Mills. A daughter ol the elder Redmon, and widow of David Connelly, also lives in Paris. William D. Darnall is an early settler of Grand View Township, where his father located in 1822, and in the history of which town they are more particularly referred to. They were from Kentucky, and William D. is the last one left of a large family. He has for some time, been living in the city of Paris, and to him wre are indebted for many historical facts of Grand View, and of other portions of the county.

Sylvester Barker is an early settler of Brouillett Township, but moved into Paris in 1839, where he has since resided. His history is so fully given in the his¬ tory of Brouillett that we could say little here without repeating what has been said already. Garland B. Shellady is an early settler, and the first lawyer who located in Paris. James Hoskins was an early settler, but has been dead for many years. Of Welsh, Morgan, Center and a few others in our list of old settlers, given at the beginning of this chapter, we have been able to learn but little beyond their names. With this, we conclude the early settlement of the town, and will proceed to other matters connected with the early history.

First Stores, Post Office, Etc

As already mentioned, the first regular store in Paris was opened by Gen. M. K. Alexander, about 1823. We have been informed that James Jones kept a store here before Alexander, but we have been unable to learn anything defi¬ nite concerning it. Alexander was for many years a prominent merchant of the place, and, doubtless, was the first wrho carried on the business extensively. The merchants of the township are more particularly referred to in the chapter devoted to the city of Paris. Alexander was also the first Postmaster in the township of Paris. The duties of the position were not onerous, nor the emol¬ uments of the office very great, as there were but six newspapers taken in the county, while letters were like angel's visits, " few and far between," and cost 25 cents apiece. It is said that the mail-carrier used to stop at George Redmon's, a mile and a half south of town, to have his horse cared for, and taking it afoot, would bring the mail on to the office in his hat. We will wager a " cookey " that Mr. Sheriff cannot carry the mail of a single day, that comes to the Paris Office now, in his hat. In the early times, milling facilities of this section were rather limited, and consisted, we are informed, of a little water-mill owmed by a man named Center, and stood near where the railroad crosses Sugar Creek, just east of Paris. A large steam-mill and distillery was built by the Sutherlands, twenty years ago or more, about two miles north of Paris, and cost some $7,000. The mill is now owned by Link & Sons, but the distillery has not been in opera¬ tion for a number of years. The first blacksmith, Justice of the Peace, other precinct and township officers are not remembered. The time has been so long that these unimportant matters have long since been forgotten. The school and church history is given in the city of Paris, as are also many other points of interest usually given in the townships. But the history of the township centers in Paris, which seems to have been the scene of all important events, such as first stores, schools, churches, etc.

Like all other portions of Edgar County, and all Illinois, for the matter of that, Paris Township abounded in game, and herds of forty and fifty deer were often seen together, while turkeys, quails and many other of the feathered species were plenty. Many of the early settlers depended almost entirely upon the forest to furnish them with meat, and, as a matter of course, spent much of their time hunting deer and bears, the latter also being quite plenty in th? country at that time. While, as to prairie wolves, they were as numerous as Falstaff 's blackberries. Organized bands, for the purpose of wolf-hunts, were common, and was as keenly relished by the people as ever fox-hunting was in England, where the latter sport in the olden time was reduced to a science. At one time in Illinois, there was a premium on wolf-scalps ; a man could pay his taxes with them, and, indeed, they might almost have been termed the currency of the country. It is said that a man could go into a saloon - groceries they called them then - and buy a pint of whisky, hand out a wolf-scalp and get his change in coon, ground-hog, or opossum skins. This is perhaps stretched a little, and we give it without vouching for its correctness.