Jefferson County, Illinois - Chapter 5 (1 of 2 so headed), 1883

And Their Descendants-Other Pio

SOME OF THE PIONEER FAMILIES OF THE COUNTV-THE CASEYS-THEIR EMIGRATION TO AMERICA-HOW THEY SERVED IN THE KEVOLUTION-FACTS ANU INCIDENTS OF THEIR RESIDENCE HERE-TUE;MAXEYS, ANOTHER OLD FAMILY-THEIR WELSH DESCENT-WHERE AND WHEN THEY SETTLED-THE .lOHNSONSTHEV ARE AN OLD FAMILY, TOO-SOMETHING OF THEM AND THEIR DESCENDANTS-OTHER PIO NEERS - INCIDENTS, ETC., ETC.

ri^HE early settlers of Jefferson County _L were mostly from the States south of the Ohio Eiver. The great majority of them were poor in worldly wealth; they were whai was termed " poor white trash" in the South, in old slave limes, and when the lirst of them came here, Illinois was still a Territory, reposing under the famous ordinance of 1187. Since the late war between the States has forever blotted out slavery, it may be interesting to know what was ^the " compact " or " ordinance " of 1787, so often quoted, coneerning the Northwestern Territory. It was as follows:

II. The inhabitants were guaranteed the benefit of the writ of habeas corpus and trial by jury, a proportionate representation to the Legislature and judicial proceedings according to the course of the common law. "All persons shall be bailable, unless for capital offenses, where the proof shall be evident or the presumption great. All tines shall be moderate, and no cruel or unusual punishment shall be inflicted; no man shall be deprived of his liberty or his property but by the judgment of his peers or the law of the land; and should the public exigencies make it necessary for the common preservation to take any person's property or to demand his particular services, 'jfull compensation shall be made for the same." No law ouo-ht ever to be made or have'^force in said territory that shall, in any manner, interfere with or affect private contracts or engagements made in good faith and without fi-aud.

III. Religion, morality and knowledge being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools aod the means of education shall forever be encouraged. Good faith, justice and humanity toward the Indians was to be observed; their lands and property not to be taken without consent and peace and friendship to be cultivated.

IV. The territory and States to be formed therein were to remain forever a part of the United States, subject to her law, the inhabitants to pay a just proportion of the public debt, contracted or to be contracted, not to tax the lands of the United States nor those of non-residents higher than those of residents; the navigable waters of the lakes to remain forever free to all citizens of the United States.

V. The Territory was not to be divided into less than three States, and, at its option, Congress might " form one or two (more) States in that part which lies north of an east and west line di-awn through the southerly bend or extreme of Lake Michigan." With 60,000 free inhabitants, such States were to be admitted into the Union on an equal footing with the original States.

VI. " There shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in the said territory, otherwise than in the punishment of crimes, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted," this section providing also for the reclamation of fugitives from labor.

Such was substantially the fundamental law of this vast territory, which has ever had a controlling influence upon the destiny of the States carved out of it, and saved some of them from the permanent blight of slavery. Many of the pioneers of Southern Illinois have left upon record the fact that they sought homes in this country because the land would not be blemished by Negro slavery, or that civil or social distinction would be yielded only to those who owned " niggers." A fat soil ready for the plow, " land flowing with milk and honey," and a temperate climate were not peculiar to Illinois or Jefferson County. But the pioneers thought not of this. Their grand aim was a home - a home free and untrammeled by arbitrary rules of social equality, and inspired by this noble purpose they plunged into the wilderness. They did not come in great rushing crowds, but alone or in meager squads, and they settled down to live where polite accomplishments were among the lost arts, and even where language was almost a superfluity. Rough they were, uncultivated, unrefined, bixt still noble in a rugged way and possessing the true qualities of heroism, courage and humility. They were men of action, and whetted their instincts in the struggle for existence against the wild game, the ferocious beasts and the murderous savage.

In a preceding chapter, we sketched the principal settlers and settlements, so far as we could obtain them, up to the organization of the county. In 'this chapter we propose to tell something of these pioneer families, also some of the later comers to the county, who they were, what they did, how they lived and what became of them. They found the soil when they came here unbroken by the hand of husbandry and the stillness of the forests undisturbed save by the noise ol the hunter's tread and the crack of the Indian's rifle. But undismayed, they went to work with a will, and the result amply repaid them for the hardships and dangers they endured.

The Casey family was and is the most numerous, perhaps, as well as the most prominent, of all the pioneer families of Jefferson County. Abner Casey,* the progenitor of the family in America, was born in the County Tyrone, Ireland, and there, upon arriving at the years of matm-ity, married a Welsh lady, who, like himself, possessed great physical and mental powers. They emigrated to America somewhere about the middle of the eighteenth century and settled in Virginia, close neighbors to Edmund Randolph. Their childi'en were all born while they lived on the Roanoke, and were Levi, Randolph and a daughter - Randolph being named for their illustrious neighbor. The family moved to South Carolina about the year 1760, lo- eated near Spartansburg, where they lived until after the close of the Revolutionary war. They were stanch patriots and bore an active and honorable part in the war for liberty and independence. Levi was a Colonel of South Carolina troops during the Revolution; Moses was a Cajatain in the same service and Randolph was a Sergeant under Francis Marion - the " Swamp Fox of the Santee." He was present on the memorable occasion when Gen. Marion feasted the British officer on sweet potatoes, roasted in his camp fire. He was' in many of the battles fought in the Carolinas and in Georgia during the war. His wife was Mary Jane Pennington, and their children were Levi, Randolph, Isaac, Abraham, Charity, Hiram, Samuel and Zadok. These were all born in South Carolina except Zadok, who was bom in Georgia, whither the family had removed about the year 1795, and where they remained until about 1800, when they removed into Tennessee, locating in Smith County. Here the father, Randolph Casey, died.

Of Randolph Casey's children, all eventually came to Illinois to reside except Hiram. He was a minister of the Gospel and made a visit here once, and while in the county preached to the pioneers with marked effect Samuel Casey was the last of the children to remove West, and came in 1832, locating in the edge of Grand Prairie, where he died in 1850, his wife dying only a few years ago. Zadok, the youngest, came in 1817. Of him we shall have more to say hereafter. Levi, the eldest son, came to Illinois in an early day, but never lived in Jefferson County. He settled in what is now -Johnson Coimty, where he died. Randolph, the second son, located on the Centralia road, about four miles from Mount Vernon. He afterward moved into Clinton County, and finally to Iowa and died there. Isaac Casey, the third Mon of Randolph Casey, came to Jefferson County, as noticed^in a preceding chapter, in the spring of 1817. He was born in 1765, and in 1788 was married to Elizabeth Mackey. Soon after his marriage, he emigrated to Kentucky and settled in Barren County, from whence he came to Illinois in 1803, locating on the Ohio River a short distance above Cave-in-Rock. His wife died in 1834 and in the fall of 1836, he married Jemima Oard. She died in 1846, and he then made his home with his children until his death. He was a man of the strictest integrity, a true type of the old-time Christian. He helped the helpless, aided the weak, fed the hungry, was a friend of peace and always ready to work to promote the inter ests of the church. Honest in business, courteous and kind, he was a friend to all mankind as were all men who knew him a friend to him. His children were Rebecca, William, Polly, Abraham T., Thomas M., Brunetta Catherine and Miranda. Rebecca married Isaac Hicks; Polly married Clark Casey: Brunetta married Carter Wilkey; Catherine married Henry Tyler and Miranda married George Bullock.

William Casey, the eldest son of Isaac Casey, came to Jefferson County in 1817. About 1?36 or 1837, he moved to the north part of the State, but in a year or two, came back to this county and resided here until his death in 1854. His wife was Amy Barker; their children were Blackford, Maletna, William "Buck," Abraham, Drury B., Thomas, Melissa and Zadok. Mr. Casey was a compound of noble and generous qualities, and passions dark and bitter when aroused. He was enterprising and industrious, and for a long time one of the richest men in the county. A story is told of him, that when he moved back from the north part of the State, where he had lived and there are those who believe that he had large sums buried at the time of his death that will never be found, unless by accident. With all his faults, and who of us but has fanlts ? he ever maintained the dignified bearing of a gentleman of the old school.

Abraham T. Casey, the nest oldest brother of William, was a minister of the Gospel. He married Vylinda Maxey in 1819, and located on the Salem road, where he died in 1834. He was a faithful minister of the Cross, and preached through all the surrounding coantr}'. His children were Harriet, who married Dr. W. S. Van Cleve, of Centralia; Catherine, who married M. Morrow; Belveretta, who married J. R. Walker; Lafayette, an itinerant minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church: Sarah, who married John Sproule; Elizabeth, who mai-ried Marion Galbraith; and Martha, who man-ied Dr. Shirley, of Xenia.

Thomas M. Casey, the third son of Isaac Casey, was born in 1801, while his father lived in Barren County. Ky., and hence was but sixteen when the family moved to this county. He married Harriet Maxey in October, 1819. Though but eighteens years of age, he was possessed with a spirit of independence, and early in the following January went out and selected a place on his own land to build a residence. He found a site, raked away the snow, put up a rail pen. put his roof on, using rails for " weight poles," moved in and set up housekeeping on his own account. This was near where the twostory dwelling stands in which his last years were spent. He was a very religious man and devoted Christian. He was licensed to exhort in 1831, and to preach in 1843; ho was ordained a Deacon in the Methodist Episcopal Church by Bishop Morris, and an

Elder by Bishop Janes. He arranged all of his business and said, "I am now ready whenever God sees fit to call mo." His last words were, " Peace, all is peace." He had eleven children - Clinton M., Jane, William M., Cynthia, Caroline, Mary W., Barger, Rebecca, Nanny R., Abraham and Rhoda.

Abraham P. Casey, a son of Randolph, younger brother of Isaac Casey, settled in the county in 1818. In a few years, he moved out into Grand Prairie, where he built the first house in that part of the county. He did not remain there long, however, but came back to the neighborhood of his first settlement. He was a kind of miarratory character, and moved around considerably, remaining but a short time in a place. True to the proverb that "a rolling stone gathers no moss," he did not accumulate as much property as some of the other pioneers of the county, though he was so fond of hard money as to obtain the sobriquet of " Old Silver." He despised a paper currency, and if he lived to-day he would be perhaps a tireless opponent of the Greenback party. He finally moved to Missouri and died there about 1841 or 1842; his wife died about 1866. Their children were JohnC, Green P., Franklin S., Martin S., Isaac and two daughters, Clarissa, who married Uriah Hamblin, and Elizabeth A., who married Burrell McConnell. John C. married Polly Casey, and finally moved to Missouri, but came back to Jefferson County, where, in 1862, he died. Green P. married Margaret Watkins, a daughter of Lewis Watkins, and died in 1858. at his home on the Carlyle road. Franklin S. married Rhoda Taylor. He was a man of industrj' and of business enterprise, and his wife was an excellent and faithful helpmeet. He was First Lieutenant in Capt. Bowman's company in the Black Hawk war; faithfully served his coun- try during that short but vigorous campaign. He was for many terms one of the Judges of the county court, and in 1847 was a member of the Constitutional Convention. He died in 1871. Martin S. lived on the Richview road, near Grand Prairie, and died there.

Charity Casey was the only daughter of Randolph and Mary Jane Casey. She was born in South Carolina, and married William Depriest in Tennessee, whither her faciily had moved. They came to Illinois in 1819. She was a very large woman, weighing some 316 pounds when she came to this county. Illinois seemed to agree with her health, and she weighed before she died nearly 350 pounds. Her sons were Green and Isaac, who lived for awhile in the county, but af terwai-d went to Missouri, and finally died there. Lucinda, a daughter of William and Charity Depriest, married Elijah Joliflf, who was an early settler in the county.

This comprises a brief sketch of the Casey family and their settlement in Jefferson County, with the exception of Gov. Casey, whom we reserve for a subsequent chapter. The Caseys were a rather remarkable family, and produced some rather remarkable men and women. The old ones, the pioneers, are dead and gone, some of them many years ago, but this brief sketch will recall a type and character of that early day. The family was and is still a numerous one, as we have said, and numbers among its members some of the best and most distinguished citizens of the county.

The Maxey family comes next in historical importance in the early settlement of the county. Edward Maxey, the first of the name of whom we have any account, was a native of Wales. He emigrated to America long prior to the Revolutionary war, and settled in Virginia. Of him or his family but little is known, except that a son, Walter Maxej', waa the father of Jesse, who was boru and reared in Virginia, where he married, and afterward removed to Sumner County, Tenn. He was once attacked by the Indians, who tomahawked and scalped him and left him for dead. He recovered, however, and lived twenty years after the event. His children were William, Edward, Walter, John and I Elizabeth. William Maxey, the eldest son was born in Virginia in 1770, and married Mary Emily Allen, a daughter of Rhoda Allen. In 1818, they removed to Illinois, and Maxey built a horse-mill in the fall of 1820, which proved a great blessing to the people of the county. He was one of the early Justices of the Peace, having been appointed in 1821, and filled that office for a number of years. Many jokes and anecdotes were told of his official life, of which the following will serve as a sample: Being naturally difBdent. the marriage ceremony was a cause of great embarrassment, and its performance among the most difficult acts he was called on to execute. Cases of debt or assault and battery he could dispose of in short order, but when it came to tying the nuptial knot, he was, to quote a slang phrase of modern invention, " all broke up." His first attempt was in uniting in marriage Ransom Moss and Anna Johnson. Their marriage took place on the 6th of July, 1821, and he had carefully prepared for it. He thought he "knew his piece," but when the couple came before him he lost his cue and broke down completely. Some say he commenced to recite the Declaration of Independence, instead of the marriage ceremony, and discovering his mistake, went back and started over again, and this time drifted into the constitution of the United States. Gov. Casey used to accuse him of informing the happy couple by way of prelude that the Lord instituted matrimony in the days of man's ignorance instead of "innocence." Finally, with the aid of a Methodist book of discipline and Clark's Commentaries, he succeeded in getting through the ceremony and concluded with an invocation to the "Lord to have mercy on their souls." Mr. Maxey has now been dead for many years, but his influence for good was long felt in the community. His wife died in 1837 and he in 1838. They are described as an honest, industrious, pious old couple, full of kindness and simplicity of heart, and great lovers of children. Their whole lives were but the teaching of the sublime lesson about the cup of cold water to the little one, and their influence upon their immediate circle is not yet obliterated. They had eleven children - Clarissa, Henry B., Bennett N., Elihu, Harriet, Vylinda A.. Charles H. , Joshua C, Hostillina (who died in childhood), William M. A. and Jehu.

Henry B., or Burchett Maxey, was born in 1795, in an old block-house erected during the Indian troubles, soon after the Revolution. He came to Illinois and settled on what was called Maxey's Prairie. At the sale of lots in Mount Vernon in September, 1819, he bought one, on which he erected the first house built in the town. He was a man of considerable prominence, and hold numerous offices; also built several houses at ditferent times. Additional to his other accomplishments, he was a great hunter, and oace killed eight bears in half a mile of his own house. He was shi-ewd, active, alert and rich in animal life and vigor, with many of his natural faculties cultivated almost to the perfection of the Siberian bloodhound. He once walked from Brownsville, a distance of seventy or eighty miles, through an unbroken wilderness full of wild animals. He slept . at night in the woods, and when the sun was clouded he had only the moss on the trees to guide him in his course. He married Peggy Taylor, and their children were Eliza R., who married S. G. Hicks; William P., who died in 1818 - the first death in the county; Thomas B., now living at Xenia Elizabeth A., who married John Breeze Elihu K, who died in Missouri; John H who died in 1846, on his way from St. Louis James C, who married Nancy J. Moss; Ed ward M. K., living in Missouri: Jehu J. Henry B., who died in 1865; Franklin C, who moved West, and Harvey M.

Bennett N. Maxey was a soldier in the war of 1812, and was with Gen. Jackson at New Orleans. He was one of Col. Coffee's mounted men, and when those troops mistook an order and retreated, he alone of the entire command stood his ground until the men rallied and retui-ned to their position. His comrades called him " Broadhorns," on account of his broad shoulders and prodigious strength. His wife, like many of the j^ioneer women, was about as " good a man " as he was himself, and did her full part in the battle of life. Their children were Emily, William H. , James J., Charles H , Joshua C-, Eliza and Thomas J. Their oldest dausfhter, Emily, married Andrew Ray and died in a few years. William and James were preachers; Charles was a Captain in the One Hundred and Tenth Regiment during the late wai', and came home in 1863-64 and died; Joshua died of a wound in .Louisville; Eliza married John N. White; Thomas served through the late war, and now lives near Ashley.

Elihu, the fourth son of William Maxey, married Eveline Taylor in 1819. He owned one of the early mills of the county, and hence was a benefactor of the early settlers. His first wife died, and he married Sarah

Guthrie. He met with death accidentally in October, 1853. He rode out into the woods one morning to " hunt the cows," but was absent so long his family became uneasy, and, his horse coming home without a rider, excited their serious apprehensions The neighbors were notihed and search made. His body was found two or three miles from home, cold in death. It was supposed he had been kicked by his horse. He had ten children, five sons and tive daughters: Talina married Mervil Smith; Perigan T. died on Puncheon Camp; Henry lives near Walnut Hill; Parmelia married Samuel Walker; William C. is dead; Elizabeth married a man named Penix; Margaret married Thomas Maddox, and Eliza married James Maddox; Thomas married Eliza Smith, and E. Phelps died at Nashville during the late war.

Charles H. Maxey married Sal lie Bruce in 1824 He was the fifth son of William Maxey, and was a man of great physical power. His children who lived to maturity were Caroline, Mary, Martha, Susan and Drucilla. The first married S. F. Parker; Mary married Joseph Burke; Martha married C. Frost; Susan married George A. Collins and Druoilfa married James Swift.

Joshua C. Maxey, the sixth son of William, was born in 1807, married Susan Criswell in 1881, and at present lives on the old Maxey homestead. He is a Methodist preacher, and several times has had charge of circuits by special appointment. He is a truly Christian man and an enthusiastic Sunday school worker. He raised but two children, two dying in childhood. William T. married Mary A. Cummins, and Martha married John C. Tyler.

physician and a local preacher. His children are Simeon W., who served in Stratton's company in the late war; Samuel T., a Methodist preacher, also served in the army; Harriet J., who married Frank Satterfield; William C, who married Gertrude Lane and served three years in the late war; Sarah C, married Sanford Hill; and Nelson, who married Miss Berger.

Jehu G. D. Maxey is the youngest son of William Maxey. He married Mary A. Bruce, and their only child, James H. , died when he was but two years old. Mr. Maxey is an exhorter in the Methodist Episcopal Church, and an earnest worker in the Sunday school.

Edward Maxey, a brother to William Maxey, and the second son of Jesse Maxey, moved to Allen County, Ky., and from thence to Jefferson County, 111. He mai'ried Elizabeth Pitner in Tennessee, but they never had any children. They raised several adopted children, among them Judge Satterfield. He was a man of high honor and integrity; was Justice of the Peace for twenty years. County Commissioner, a pioneer school teacher, a preacher and a man in whom there was no guile. He died about 1850, and his wife soon after.

John Maxey, the youngest son of Jesse Maxey, came to Illinois in 1823, in company with William and Jonathan Wells. He, too, was a Methodist preacher, and after living eight or ten years in the county, removed to Wayne County, where he died. He raised but one son, Stephen, who died many years ago, and three daughters. Theodosia married the Rev. Joseph Heliums: Elizabeth married Greenbury Wells, and Katie married Jesse Breeze, of Walnut Hill. Such, in brief, is the record of the pioneer Maxeys, who were among the early settlers of Jefferson County, and who contributed largely to

The Johnsons, perhaps, might nest be mentioned in the catalogue of pioneer families. Like the Caseys and JNIaseys, they are a numerous family, and have been a prominent one from the earliest settlement of the county.

Benjamin Johnson, the ancestor of the Johnsons living here, was a native of Maryland, but removed to Hanover Coiinty, Va., where he died. John Johnson, a son of his, was the father of the pioneer Johnsons who came to Jefferson County. He married Hannah Medlock, who died early, leaving three children. He afterward married Betse}' Tyler, a widow, who had (rhree children by her first husband. By this second marriage Mr. Johnson had four children - Lewis, James, Betsey and John. After his death (about 1803), his widow and her family moved to Sumner County, Tenn. The Tylers, Mrs. Johnson's children by her first husband, were also early pioneers in Illinois.

Lewis Johnson, the eldest son of John Johnson by his second marriage, was among the early settlers in Jefferson County. He married Mrs. Winn, formerly Miss Stone, by whom ho had nine children - Milly, Anna, Lucy, James E., John T., Nicholas S., Elizabeth, Nancy and Susan. Mr. Johnson was licensed to preach in Tennessee in 1812; was ordained Deacon there by Bishop Roberts in 1816, and Elder by the same Bishop in Illinois in 1827. He was a pious man, and lived a purely Christian life. It is said that for a period of fifty years ho held prayers in his family regularly three times a day. He died in January, 1857, at the age of eighty, and his wife in December following at the age of eighty -three years. Of his children, Milly married Asahel Bateraan in

Tennessee, but removed to Illinois in an early day. Anna married Ransom Moss in 1821 and has numerous descendants fin the county. Lucy married Launcelot Foster. He died early from a peculiar disease brought on from exposure while hunting. Their house was burned a year or so after their marriage and their month-old infant burned to death in it James E. was the oldest son of Lewis Johnson. He was converted in 1821 and soon after began to exhort. He went back to Tennessee, where he attended school dui-ing the winter and then returned to Illinois and commenced preaching. He preached throughout Southern Illinois, Missouri and Arkansas, as a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church. His health gave way and he was forced to cease regular j)reaching. He came here and improved a farm where John T. Johnson now lives, or recently lived. He died at the age of seventy years. John T., the next oldest brother to James, was also licensed to preach, when but twenty-one years old. He joined the Illinois Conference (Methodist Episcopal Chm-ch) and for many years preached in this State and Indiana. In 1843, he located in this county on a farm, but still continued preaching. He has always been considered a lucid, interesting preacher, a successful farmer and a useful man. The next brother, Nicholas S., married Minerva HoUiday. He lived in Grand Prairie some years, where he finally died. Elizabeth married T. B. Afflack and moved to Grand Prairie and then to Kichview. Nancy married James Bai-nes and also lives in Richview. Susan married U. G. Witherspoon, of Kentucky. They finally removed back to Kentucky after living here for a time, and now reside in Crittenden County.

County, Va., about the year 1778. He married Clarissa Masey in Tennessee, and in 1818 came to Illinois with five children. His wife died in 1847, and he afterward married Mrs. Livingston. He was a man of the most unswerving honesty, and was a respected and upright citizen. He died in 1860 at the age of eighty-two years. Siiteen children were born to him, one of whom died at the age of seventeen months, another at nine years, while the rest lived to maturity. His eldest son, John N. Johnson, marrie Sarah Hobbs in 1834. He was a stirring and enterprising man, and built several houses in Mount Vernon, among them the City Hotel, which was known as the Johnson House. He was a physician, and graduated in the healing art in Cincinnati, but did not follow the profession through life. He died in 1858, leaving a wife and five children. James D. and A. Curtis, his sons, are among the prominent citizens and business men of Mount Vernon. Others of James Johnson's children are mentioned elsewhere in this work.

John Johnson, the youngest brother of Lewis and James Johnson, came to Illinois in 1834, and hence can scarcely be reckoned among the pioneers of Jefferson County. He was a preacher in the Methodist Episcopal Church, and in discharge of his ministerial duties traveled over a large portion of Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois, Tennessee and Mississippi for a period of twenty-five years. He was a man of great power in debate and in the pulpit, and his fervent piety and patient endurance were unexcelled by any minister in the conference to which he belonged. He died in Mount Vernon in 1858, aged seventyfive years. His children were Dr. T. B. Johnson, who died in Kentucky in 1870; the wife of Blackford Casey; J. Fletcher, Washington S., G. Wesley, J. Benson, a girl and boy who died in childhood, and Adam C, the faithful historian of the pioneers of Jefferson County, and whose sketch of Mount Vernon forms several interesting chapters of this volume.

Among other pioneer families of the county who will receive adequate mention as we proceed with oui- work, we may note the following who came in a few years after the organization of the county: The Hickses, the Wilkersons, the Jordan family, Overton Harlow, the Baldridges, Fleming Greenwood, Thomas D. Minor, the Maxwells, Mathew Cunningham, and a number of others.

We have now given in this and in the chapter on the early settlement a record of some of the pioneer families. The sketches as they appear in this book are drawn by those who never saw the originals, and who can know of them only by much talking with those who did know them long and well, and while they were here and playing their part in life, and from the brief sketches that have hitherto been written of them. To pick out the representative peojale of all the different classes of a community and draw a true representation of them - so true that any reader can gather an actual personal acquaintance with those who were, perhaps, dead before he was bora, is no easy task, yet one, if done well and truly, will give him a just and correct idea of those about whom he is studying history for the purpose of learning. For a certain quality of society will produca a certain kind of men or a certain kind of character - a leading character, with strong marks and signs, that arrests attention and fixes upon him the duty of furnishing posterity the key to the whole mass of his fellow-men who were his neighbors and cotemporaries.

original. This is best, for then thons ia less danger of prejudices, either for or against the subject that constitutes the picture, and false colors are not liable to slip in. There is less incentive (there should be none) to suppress here and overdraw there; in short, less of prejudice, and consequently more of truth. But men who write are affected by much the same prejudices of color of vision in viewing transactions of which they formed a part, as other men, and for this reason, history is written by strangers or the sons and dausrhters of strangers, who live in the long years and ages after the actors and their immediate descendants have passed away.

So far, we have attempted to give the names and settlement, as already stated, of the first actual settlors of the county, together with some of the old and prominent and numerous families who came here over half a century ago. These notices and sketches have been necessarily brief. Many of those already mentioned will receive further notice in connection with works upon which they were actively engaged, and with subjects wherein they bore important parts. In the chapters devoted to the history of the different townships, many other pioneers hitherto unnoticed will be written up and receive full justice according to their merits. That their works are confined to divisions so small as townships does not imply that they are of no moment or interest. Men, at most, are but as coral, feeble, insignificant, working out of sight, but they transmit some occult quality o- power, upheave society until, from the moral and intellectual plateau, rises, as Saul above his fellows, a Shakes peare, a Phidias or a Hamilton, the royal interpreters of the finest sense in poetry, in art and statesmanship.