Jersey County, Illinois - Chapter with an unread heading (no. 42 of those read), 1919

Summary Of Important Changes Retrospective

Perhaps no more satisfactory way of grasping ancl demonstrating the progress and development of countries and peoples, has, or can be adduced, than by contrasting the original with present conditions.

In June, 1673, when Marquette stood, with bared head, upon the bluff at Grafton, and "viewed the landscape o'er," he had under his view a primeval wilderness, the most prominent feature of which was the three great rivers converging at this point into one mighty stream flowing to the Gulf of Mexico , all in its native verdure, beauty, sub¬ limity, unbroken and undisturbed by the hand of man, inhabited by wild fowls, beasts and Indians. He doubtless realized, that for some great purpose of His own, the Creator had reserved this magnificent con¬ tinent, but not for a moment did he imagine that a century later would be announced as the basic foundation of its government, "That all men are created equal, with certain inalienable rights, among wdiich are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." Two centuries after Marquette, Rev. B. B. Hamilton, in his Centennial historical address, referring to the condition of Jersey County in 1831, says: "No one of the present generation can imagine the beauty of this wilderness, who did not pass over it in that early day." Though forty-two years have elapsed since these words were first uttered there are persons now living wdio passed over this wilderness in that early day, and others who followed closely after them.

oxen separated the grain from the stalk; the winnowing in the wind to separate the grain from the chaff; the boy corn-dropper who was paid ten cents a day ; corn covered by hoe, and as primitively cultivated ; the cards for making rolls, spinning-wheel and loom, where all cloth for clothing and domestic use was woven; when cooking was done in the fire-place, and log cabins, with coon, mink and opossum skins stretched upon the logs outside, with dirt or puncheon floors, doors with wooden hinges and latch, with punk and flint and steel to kindle the fire; the flint-lock rifle, for hunting and defense. In those times there were no regular mails, and letter-postage was twenty-five cents, paid at office of delivery; no railroad, telegraph, telephone, electric light, or post-office nearer than Wood River or Alton. All of these conditions are interest¬ ing as contrasted with the automobile tractor, propelling two or three plows; self-binders; the threshing separator, threshing 2,000 bushels a day ; electric railroads ; elevators ; daily rural and city post-office delivery ; daily newspapers; ocean cables and wireless telegraphy, and telephone communication with all the world ; the important events of one day printed fully in the following morning's daily newspapers; with air¬ planes in constant use as implements of war and for carrying mail ; steamships crossing to and from Europe in five days, as contrasted with thirty to sixty sailing vessels a century ago ; the automobile garage, which has almost entirely displaced the horse livery; with promise of early communication with Europe by airships. When it is remembered that at elections in 1839, the voter went into the polling-place and an¬ nounced, viva voce , for what candidate or proposition he desired to vote, and it was recorded accordingly, with no previous registration, consider¬ able contrast is afforded by the Australian ballot, election machinery, and various methods of today. Woman's Suffrage was not then an issue.

There are many persons living in this county whose lives overlap those of their ancestors, and by intercourse and association with them, they are connected back, not only to the organization of this county and state, but also with that of the United States. A few instances may be cited, among many, of equal, or perhaps superior authority, to illustrate the idea.

The Grimes Family

For example, Philip Grimes was born in Oldtown, Va., in 1782, and moved to Tennessee in 1808, where he was married ; enlisted in the War of 1812, was with General Jackson at the battle of New Orleans, moved to Wood River, Madison County, Ill., in 1816; in fall of 1818, he built a log cabin on section 2, English Township ; in 1819 moved there, and January 20, 1820, his son, Jarrett T. Grimes, was born. In the fall of that year, he sold his improvement to Jehu Brown, and removed to section 23 of the same township, where he lived until his death in 1851. Jarrett T. Grimes lived with his father until manhood, and was a close neighbor during his father's life. Thus it will be seen that he lived thirty-one years in intercourse with his father, having the benefit of learning the early history of the country, the habits, trials, and experi¬ ences of the people from one who had lived through them. Jarrett T. Grimes, the son, died July 11, 1915, at the age of ninety-five years, five months and twenty-one days, leaving children, grand-children, and neighbors, to perpetuate this stream of information. Philip Grimes was born before the Treaty of Versailles was signed, ending the Revolu¬ tionary War, and six years before Washington was first elected presi¬ dent of the United States, and in addition to participating in so much history making he had ample opportunities, to learn the previous history of his country from his ancestors.

The Gillham Family

William Gillham was the father of John D. and Ezekiel Gillham, and the father-in-law of John G. Lofton and John McDow. He and his father, Thomas Gillham, six brothers, and two brothers-in-law, were Revolutionary soldiers. After the close of the war, in 1812, William and four of his brothers located in Madison County, Ill., where four of them remained, but William and his family located in Lofton's Prairie in 1818, and he died at the residence of his son, John D., in 1825. His father, Thomas Gillham, came from Ireland and settled in Virginia in 1730, later moving to South Carolina, where he reared his family, and he and all of the male portion of the family enlisted in behalf of the Colonies, and through William and his family, their direct knowledge, experiences and family history may be traced back of the establishment of the government of the United States.

The Hamilton Family

The Hamilton family is another illustration. It was settled in Ver¬ mont soon after its cession to England by France under the Treaty of 1763, and in the first United States Census of Vermont, 1790, Hamiltons are listed as follows : Elisha, John, Aaron and Nathaniel in Chit- teiiden County ; Charles, Dudley, and Joseph. Elisha was married to Mary Smith, and Nathaniel, their son, was married to Betzy McClure. The dates of these marriages are now lost, but Thomas McClure Ham¬ ilton was born January 3, 1785, and died at Otterville, December 9, 1844. He was married to Apphia Brown November 11, 1805. Nathaniel, their son, was born March 24, 1814. lie was married to Mary B. Dougherty July 9, 1835, and he died August 2, 1893. Oscar B., their son, was born January 31, 1839. He was married to Eliza M. Brown October 25, 1860, and they are both still living. Captain Nathaniel Hamilton of Vermont was of the " Green Mountain Boys," under Generals Eathan Allen and Stark. Apphia Brown, who was married to Thomas M. Hamilton, was a daughter of Capt. Benjamin Brown, who was born in Licester, Mass., October 17, 1745. He was married to Jean Thomas July 9, 1772. He died October 21, 1821. She died January 14, 1840. They both died at the home of their son, Gen. John Brown, the founder of Athens Uni¬ versity, Athens, Ohio. Capt. Benjamin Brown, as one of the minute men, participated in the battles of Lexington and Concord, in Colonel Bernard's regiment, and in the battle of Bunker Hill, where he had one brother killed and another wounded. He was commissioned lieu¬ tenant in Captain Maxwell's company, of Colonel Prescott's regiment, Massachusetts Line, December, 1776, and commissioned captain in Col. Michael Jackson's Eighth regiment Massachusetts Line, holding his commission till 1779, and he wa^ pensioned for service after his removal to Ohio. Apphia Hamilton, third child of Captain Brown, was a woman of remarkably strong intellect, and a retentive memory, and was a great reader. Writing in her diary, when eighty years of age, Mrs. Mary A. C. Hamilton, widow of B. B. Hamilton, says: "Thomas McClure Hamilton was a deacon in the Baptist Church, and a man upon whom a man might call for advice or help in any emergency. He was always faithful to the sick and sorrowing, in fact a leading member of society, whose word was sufficient. What 'Uncle' Thomas said no one ever dis¬ puted. His wife, too, known far and near as 'Aunt' Apphia, was con¬ sidered the most intelligent and best-informed person, man or woman, in the neighborhood. If there was any doubt on any question, historical or political, 'Aunt'1 Opphia was called upon to settle it. She was a great reader, and kept herself well-informed on all the important ques¬ tions of the day. She was active and efficient in the church, and, not¬ withstanding all these demands upon her time, she never neglected her household, even the family weaving was done by her hand." Her father w7as born in 1745 and died in 1821. She was born in 1788 (before

Washington was elected president of the United States), and she died September 8, 1869, at the residence of the writer. She remembered dis¬ tinctly the death of Washington, and the profound impression imposed upon the public mind by that important event. Afterwards the family moved to New Design, Monroe County, Ill. At the time when many slave-owners were removing with their slaves and other chattels to Mis¬ souri, their main road of travel was through New Design, and, among others whom she mentioned as stopping there overnight in their home, was Sterling Price, afterwards governor of Missouri and general in the Confederate army during the Civil War. At the time mentioned by her, Mr. Price was a young man, of modest and agreeable demeanor, and was in charge of one hundred slaves and. the other effects of his father, who had made the trip by the river. This will serve to illustrate how these chains of family history may be traced back into colonial times, before the Declaration of Independence, and the government of the United States had assumed definite form as historic events.

Other Old Families

There are a number of other families in this county, whose history, could, in like manner, be traced back to French and colonial times, but space will not permit tracing these connections. Among many others might be mentioned the Whites, Browns, Simmons, Elliotts, Ruyles, Ryans, Rhodes, Palmers, Reddishes, Pattersons, Coopers, Englishes, Belts, Bates, Slatens, Brocks, Sissons, Doughertys, Noble, Lurton, Cockrell, Utt, Cummings, Black. Wyckoff, Van Horne, Cross, D'Arcy, Terry, Dabbs, Henson, Beeman, Bray, Wedding, Williams, Gunterman, Carrico, Waggoner, McDow, Piggott, Bowmans, McCollisters, Snells. Landons, Erwins, Rices, Downeys, Kirbys, Miners, et als. What a prolific field it is, rich with material facts, ready to the hand of the earnest and industrious investigator. So easily secured now, but, if neglected, will be forever lost. And again, when the life of one person covers the time of the existence of Jersey County, and that the connected lives of two persons cover the existence of the State of Illinois, and of the United States of America, thus illustrating what a small space of time our nation, state and county covers as the decades have passed, and yet the wonderful development from the small, persecuted, povertystricken settlements, to a nation of more than a hundred millions of people, and the center of wealth and civilization of the world. How short the space of time, from Lexington and Concord, to the second battle of

In 1839, elections were viva voce, that is, the voter went before the judges and clerks, and announced for what candidate he desired to vote, and his vote was recorded accordingly. Under the constitution of 1848, a return was made to the ballot system, and which was retained until the Australian ballot law and registration, substantially as now in use, was adopted.

Some amusing incidents occurred, at times, in those elections. In 1864, the feeling between the opposing parties was very strong, and at Otterville, there was one voter, whom the Republicans were especially desirous of having vote their ticket, but he refused to vote for Lincoln, and as a compromise the name of Lincoln at the head of the ticket was cut off, and in that form he voted it, .thus voting for the Lincoln electors and the whole ticket, the removal of the name of Lincoln having no effect whatever upon his vote as recorded. At that same election, a Democratic voter thought to puzzle his friends as to the way he voted, and secured the tickets of both parties, and folded them carefully, and one being considerably longer, he cut that one to the same length as the other, and put one of them in each of his vest pockets; when there was a lull in the voting he went and cast his ballot ; a short time later he came back to the polls, much excited, and demanded the return of his ticket, as he had voted the wrong one; which request was of course refused, as it was of course impossible to comply with it.

Agricultural Conditions

The first McCormick handrake reapers were brought by canalboat to Grafton in 1849, and were in use for several years. A man rode on the machine and raked the grain from the platform in bundles, and six or seven binders were given stations around the field to bind the bundles, and two men followed to place the bound bundles in shocks. The intro¬ duction of these machines greatly increased the acreage of land culti¬ vated in wheat. These were followed by the dropper. Later came the selfrake, then the wire, and finally the twine-binder, which, in its latest improved condition, we have now. A wonderful development from the

The original inventor of the threshing separator lived near Otterville. His name was Napoleon B. Lucas. He was a son of Governor Lucas of Ohio. He spent years of time, and all of his means and all that he could borrow, in securing his patents and perfecting the machine, and, not being able to defend it, other parties pirated his invention, manufactured the machines, and made fortunes, leaving the original inventor a stranded bankrupt. This same man Lucas invented a rattrap, which he took to New Orleans, and caught bushels of rats, and was offered $10,000.00 cash, for the right to manufacture and sell it in the State of Louisiana, but refused the offers, with the result that he received nothing from it, which is another demonstration of the fact, that inventors seldom reap any substantial financial benefits from their inventions.

Temperance

What progress has been attained in the Temperance cause ! One of the first acts of the commissioners of Greene County in 1821, was to license John Wilkin to keep a tavern on the Piasa. This policy of the license of taverns and roadside "grog-shops" was pursued until the separation of Jersey from Greene County, and for many years there¬ after. There was a hiatus while the "Maine Law" was in force in 1853 and 1854, but soon lapsed into the old plans, and liquor was obtainable at crossroad "grog-shops," stores, taverns, and other places throughout the county; and in the latter fifties the liquor interests obtained a strong hold on politics. It has been stated, upon good authority, that at the first election for county officers, in Jersey ville, a barrel of whiskey was opened on the street and the contents distributed in wooden buckets free, to the voters to drink from tin-cups. With passing years, and increase of population, the influence of liquor upon the life and habits of the people seemed to increase. Harvest whiskey was as regularly advertised and extolled in local weekly newspapers as any other goods or merchandise offered for sale. It was considered impossible to harvest a crop of wheat, without furnishing five "jiggers" a day to the men. in addition to their wages. In sales at public vendue, liquor was fur¬ nished. Stores kept it for customers. If a customer paid his old ac¬ count, he was invited by the proprietor to go to the "grog-shop" and have a drink. Indeed the drinking of liquor seemed to have become a fixed habit with many of the people, and not a few became habitual drunkards. To illustrate the difference in the results of drinking liquor by man, and the lower animals an instance will here be given, for the truth of which the wrriter can vouch. A man by the name of Bishop maintained a ' ' grog-shop ' ' in Grafton, in the later fifties, and he put a bushel or two of ripe peaches into a barrel and then filled the barrel with whiskey, from which he drew and sold to his patrons a superior quality of peach whiskey during the fall and winter. The next summer he emptied the peaches upon the street, and the hogs, at large, ate greedily of the peaches, and in a very short time drunken hogs were staggering, squealing and performing various antics, to the great amuse¬ ment of the small boys upon the street. The next day, after the hogs became sober, and for many days thereafter, the boys, to enjoy a repe¬ tition of the drunken performance, tried to drive the hogs back to the peaches, but they were not able to succeed ; the hogs would not go near, much less eat them. How different from man ! He will continue the repetition until drunkenness becomes a fixed habit. Not so with the swine.

Upon the adoption of the township local option statute, Jersey, as well as all of the other townships in this county, adopted it; but at the 1916 election, Richwoods Township rejected it, and Fielclon is the only place in Jersey County where a license can be procured for the sale of intoxicating liquor.

Religious Progress

In pioneer days, the equipment of a preacher was a bible and hymn book, which he carried in his saddle-bags on horseback. From the former, he read a selection of scripture and his text, and from the latter he read two lines of a hymn, and then lead in singing them ; did likewise with the next two, and so on till the hymn was finished. Then came the prayer, liable to extend from five to thirty minutes, according to cir¬ cumstances and the minister. Then the sermon of two hours, more or less, in which the church doctrines and government of other denomi¬ nations received the full measure of attention ; the Methodists denounc¬ ing the Baptists for close communion; baptism by immersion, and in¬ fant damnation, and the Baptists retorting with equal fervor against the Methodists concerning infant baptism, falling from grace, baptism by sprinkling or pouring, probation, etc. The ministerial standing of the preacher was rated upon his skill and ability in hurling invectives and denunciations at the other denominations, with no fraternal or brotherly spirit being manifested; and the appearance of the minister of one church in the pulpit of another would have been food for neigh¬ borhood gossip, not to say, scandal, for weeks, and perhaps months. These religious watchmen were zealous in guarding their flocks, lest the wolves and lions should break in and carry them off to other folds or pastures. All Protestant preachers made common cause in denouncing the Catholics as the emissaries of Satan.

It is very agreeable to realize, that in the passing years, this spirit of sectarian intolerance and bigotry has, like the ox-cart and wooden mouldboard plow, been relegated to the scrap-heap of the dim and misty past, and the several churches have ascended to a higher moral and spiritual plane, where the fatherhood of God and the brother¬ hood of man, are freely accepted, and all may repeat the prayer taught by the Son of God to his disciples, "Our Father, Who art in Heaven, Hallowed be Thy name, Thy Kingdom Come, Thy will be done on earth, as it is in Heaven," etc. ; God being our Father, we are his children, and brethren of each other, heirs of God, and joint heirs with our Lord Jesus Christ.

Other Changes

The first brass band in Jersey County was organized by Frederick Bertman, in 1852. He was a German merchant, and a great lover of good music. Having a large family of his own, he trained them and others that he secured to assist them, and the band was instituted, and he was the leader till 1856, when Paul Laresche assumed the leadership, which he held for fifty years, or until his health failed. Under these leaders, who devoted many years of arduous labor, purely from love of music, Jerseyville enjoyed the services of the best trained band in southern Illinois. Mr. Bertman 's daughters were leaders in all move¬ ments for the improvements in vocal and instrumental music in the city and community, and one of them, Mrs. Nellie H. Porter, is still residing here ; as is also her brother, Fred J. Bertman, who is a justice of the peace, and several nephews and nieces. Paul Laresche is also living here among his family and friends, at the ripe age of eighty-nine years.

As an incident of the early history of the county, the following notice in the Grafton Phoenix, published Thursday, July 29th, 1843, at Grafton, Ill., may be mentioned.

Jersey County, Saturday, July 22; Delhi, Monday, July 24; Stone Schoolhouse, Tuesday, the 25 ; Gilead, Calhoun County, Thursday, the 27 ; Hamburg, Calhoun County, Friday, the 28 ; Atlas, Pike County, Saturday, the 29 ; Milton, Pike County, Monday, the 31 ; Perry, Pike County, Tuesday, August 1.

Stephen A. Douglas was a nephew of Gilbert Douglas of Otterville, one of the executors of Dr. Silas Hamilton's will, and he was enter¬ tained by the Hamilton family when he spoke at the stone schoolhouse. In the campaign of 1844, two years later, Stephen A. Douglas and David M. Woodson made the contest for Congress, and again spoke at the stone schoolhouse at Otterville.

In the same issue of the Grafton Phoenix quoted from is the name of Henry Clay for president ; 0. H. Browning, for congress ; for county commissioner, Thomas Carroll; county commissioners' clerk, Richard Graham ; for recorder, Thomas L. McGill ; for probate justice of the peace, Martin B. Miner; for county treasurer, Coe Edsall; for school commissioner, James Harriot; for surveyor, Levi McNeil; and Jacob Godfrey for constable in Grafton precinct. There also is an original article by B. B. Hamilton, entitled, "The Drunkard's Death," he being the author of the Centennial History of Jersey County, published in 1876.

Financial Statement

Though the latter statement seems a very great increase over those of earlier years, it can be said in justice to the county board, that they have been careful, honest, diligent, and painstaking in their man¬ agement of the county finances; and instead of being prodigal in ex¬ penditures, the main criticism has been that they have been inclined to be too strict, almost to the extent of parsimoniousness, in passing upon claims against the county, which in itself, is a virtue, rather than a fault, in such a representative body. Nevertheless, the contrast, between the earlier, and later expenditures of the county, are very great.

Important Events

1819 - Lofton's Prairie and Piasa Settlement and settlements along the Mississippi and Illinois rivers in Quarry and Richwoods townships ; also settlement in English Township.

1821 - Land Office opened at Edwardsville for entry of lands in Madison and Greene counties after the purchase of Indian rights in that territory.

1830 - Foundation of Otter Creek Prairie Settlement by Dr. Silas Hamilton, and entry of a large amount of land by Joseph Russell in English Township.

1835 - Erection of Hamilton Primary School under will of Dr. Silas Hamilton. The First Free School in Illinois, and the most advanced school in the county for forty years.

1915- 1916 - Establishment of Jersey Township High School in Jer¬ seyville and the employment of Prof. D. R. Henry as superintendent of the Jerseyville public schools and principal of the Township High School.

1916 - Establishment of *a Non High School District No. 74 in Jersey County. (This district includes all territory in the county not included in the four year high school district.)

1865-1866 - Construction of the Jacksonville, Alton & St. Louis Rail¬ road through Jersey County, establishing depots at Jerseyville and Delhi.

1881-1882 - Construction of Chicago, Peoria & St. Louis Railroad as a branch of the Wabash Railroad through Jersey County in 1881, with stations at Fidelity, Jerseyville, McClusky, Dow, Elsah and Grafton. In 1889 and 1890, the change of that road from Dow Station through Belltrees, Lock Haven, to Alton ; later extended to St. Louis, and the extension from Lock Haven to connect with the old line at Elsah.

The first entry of land made in this county was in 1821, In 1853 Congress passed an Act that lands that had been opened for entry and unentered on a certain date in 1854, should be subject to entry at 12bo cents per acre (known as the Bit law) ; and $5.00 would enter forty acres of land, and $10.00 would enter eighty acres, $20.00 160 acres, and $80.00 would enter a section. Under that law all of the lands sub¬ ject to entry in Jersey, Greene, Macoupin, Montgomery and Christian counties were entered, and thereby transferred from the books of the land office to the assessment rolls of the different counties mentioned. Large quantities of lands were entered at that time by residents of this and the other counties named. Notably, Dr. E. A. D'Arcy entered six or seven sections in Christian and Montgomery counties. Some of the other persons who entered large tracts of land in those counties were Jonathan Plowman, Murray Cheney, John G. Dougherty, Jasper

M. Terry, George W. Lowcler, James Lumsden, John W. Utt, William Cox, William U. Landon, William Shephard, George W., B. F. and William Waggoner, Thomas Cummings, Israel Chappell, Lewis Chance, John W. Sisson in Logan County, and many others, and soon there¬ after there was a large number of persons that removed from Jersey County to the lands entered by them in the prairie counties.

In 1870 to 1872 there was a large number of persons in Jersey County that bought what was known as "Agricultural College Scrip," with which they entered government lands in eastern counties of Ne¬ braska, and a great many persons from Jersey County removed there. Others removed to Nebraska and Kansas, and took the benefit of the Homestead Exemption Law. This was especially marked among those who had been soldiers in the Civil War who were given special privi¬ leges under the Homestead Law. After the discovery of lead ore at Galena and Dubuque, there were a number of persons from this county that removed to the lead mines, expecting to make their fortunes. Some of them returned later, others did not. The same thing occurred in 1849 to 1851 after the discovery of gold in California, and many citizens of this county fitted out ox, horse and mule teams and drove through, expecting to make great fortunes in digging gold, and were willing to incur the dangers from Indians and the hardships incident to the journey in order to try the experiment of accumulating a fortune. Some of them died by the way. Others remained in California, and still others returned after several years' experience in that region; these different movements had the effect of reducing the population of this county materially.

In the first settlement of the county there were no mills for grinding either wheat or corn. Soon after, in 1828, Greg McDaniel built a water grist-mill for grinding grain, on Otter Creek, in the western part of Otter Creek Township. Later mills were built by Hiram White, his brother Ira White, and Charles Smith on Otter Creek in that township. Farther west in Rosedale Township, Bryce's mill and Barnett's mill were built. These mills supplied the country for twenty years, and then steam grist-mills were erected, the first one by Adams and French in Jerseyville. Later in 1855, AVilliam H. Allen of Grafton erected a large grist-mill. One was erected also at Elsah, and at Otterville, Fieldon, Fidelity, Newbern, and two or three at Jerseyville. The build¬ ing of the large mills at Minneapolis grinding from 3,000 to 5,000 barrels a day, and like large mills at other points, particularly Alton, and St. Louis, seriously affected the business of the small mills in Jersey County, and they were all abandoned, and none of them are now in operation. Elevators for the handling of grain are operated at all of the rail¬ road stations in Jersey County, and also are equipped with facilities for the shipment of livestock. This has had the effect of changing en¬ tirely the mode of handling grain produce and livestock throughout the county.

In 1856 the Grafton quarries were opened and in later years became quite an extensive and important industry at Grafton. There has also developed at Grafton an extensive industry in the building of steel small and light draft boats ; also government dredge boats. Some of the largest and most complete dredge boats upon the Mississippi River have been constructed at Grafton. The distilleries erected at Elsah and Graf¬ ton have had their day and all passed away.

Hog War

At the time of the first settlement of this county, livestock of all kinds was permitted to run at large. Farms were small and were fenced for protection of their livestock. The livestock was all marked, and the marks of the owners were registered in the county clerk's office, and trespassers upon this livestock were classed in the same grade as horse-thieves and pickpockets.

In 1853 there was a short corn crop on the prairies, and several farmers .joined and drove their hogs into the forest south of Otter Creek to fatten upon the acorns, or mast, as it was called in- that locality. The most of those lands were what was called "Congress" or "Government Lands, ' ' the intruders claimed the right to the feed produced by nature. On the other hand, the settlers in that locality claimed the right to the crop for their own herds, and promptly armed themselves to protect their rights, to the last extremity. The intruders also armed themselves to protect their property and their rights. Luckily, a suit for trespass was instituted before a justice of the peace, and a change of venue gave time for wiser counsel to prevail, and the intruders withdrew and took their hogs home, which ended, what, at the beginning, promised to result in much bloodshed. These facts are collected from a. history of occur- ' rences, written some years ago, by W. W. Dabbs, who participated in them and was acquainted with all of the parties, and which is now filed in the archives of the Jersey County Historical Society.

advantage of the people and transferred their depredations from one side to the other of the Mississippi River, according to the imminence of dangers that threatened them in one or the other locality. A feeling of unrest was particularly obvious after the issuance of the Emanci¬ pation Proclamation by President Lincoln on January 1, 1863. The pro-slavery people of this county (and there were a good many of them), it is said, influenced their relatives and acquaintances who had enlisted in the Union Army to desert their comrades and not fight in this war for freeing the negroes. There were two organizations here; the "Union League Organization," and the "Knights of the Golden Circle." As will be supposed, the "Knights of the Golden Circle" represented the Pro-Slavery party, and the "Union League" those who favored Lincoln and the prosecution of the war. Under the influence of the more conservative men of both parties, the sentiment of the county was so controlled and directed that very few lives were lost during that dangerous and exciting period in our county's history. This has been referred to in the earlier pages of the history.

The formation of the Nutwood Drainage and Levee District in Richwoods Township, was a very important event in this county, where there has been re-claimed from swamp lands about 7,000 acres of the richest and most productive agricultural lands in the world. The de¬ velopment of the fruit industry in this county within the last few years has made that one of the important industries of the county. Some of those who have been leaders in this movement have been R. P. Shackelford, Snedeker Bros., John Shea and Christopher Ringhausen. It has been demonstrated by them and others that the soil of this county is peculiarly adapted to the development of fine fruit. Our farm¬ ing people have taken quite advanced positions in the development of the livestock and hay and grain industries of the county. Some of the finest specimens of horses, mules, cattle, of high pedigree, are to be found in this county, and our farming community is reaping large rewards, for its care and development of these industries. Lands that were entered here for $1.25 per acre have been sold on the market for $200 per acre, but recently, showing the change in conditions since the early settlement of the county.

services in the European War, and the formation of the societies for promoting the Red Cross, Y. M. C. A., and auxiliaries that are working for the benefit of our soldier boys "over there,"

The Jersey County Centennial Celebration of the one hundredth anniversary of the admission of the State of Illinois into the Union as a state was held in the city of Jerseyville, September 7, 1918. Upon which occasion two bronze tablets were unveiled upon the public square, one of said tablets being upon a. granite boulder, from the farm of Hiram White, in section 23, township 17 R. 12, furnished by George IT. and William Dougherty, commemorative of the Hamilton Primary School, the first free school in the State of Illinois, which was unveiled by Miss Lilah Dougherty, a student of that school and a great-great-granddaugh¬ ter of William Dougherty, one of the original settlers, with Dr. Silas Hamilton of the Otter Creek Settlement 1830, and a granddaughter of William Dougherty, the present president of the Hamilton Primary School Fund.

An address was delivered by Judge 0. B. Hamilton, a grandson of Thomas M. Hamilton, one of the executors of Dr. Silas Hamilton's will, upon the life of the donor, Dr. Silas Hamilton, and his founding of Otter Creek Settlement, 1830, his founding and endowment of the Ham¬ ilton Primary School 1835, and the history of said school; also an address by John I. White, the only living teacher of the school, now living in this county, who taught a school in the original Stone School House, in the winter of 1863-4.

The other tablet is upon a boulder from the Samuel Snedeker farm, in Jerseyville, and is commemorative of the Hickory Grove Settlement, the organization of the town and City of Jerseyville, and the County of Jersey. The tablet was unveiled by Miss Elizabeth Daniels, a greatgranddaughter of George H. Jackson, the first recorder of Jersey County. An appropriate historical address was delivered by Hon. Joseph W. Becker, superintendent of schools of Jersey County. An address was also delivered by Hon. Francis G. Blair, state superintendent of public instruction of the State of Illinois. The music was under the direction of Mrs. H. S. Daniels, wife of Hon. Harry S. Daniels, ex-mayor of the City of Jerseyville, son of James S. Daniels, who also served Jerseyville as mayor. Hon. William F. Shephard, the present mayor of said city, presided, and conducted the services on this occasion.

Centennial School Pageant

The Jerseyville grade school, and the Jersey Township high school, under the direction of the teachers, gave a historical centennial pageant, entitled "Illinois Past and Present," in the Davis Woods, on Monday, May 27, 1918. The pageant portrayed primitive days, pioneer life on the frontier, the admission of Illinois as a state and the leading historical events, 500 young people and children participating in its presentation. The leading characters were costumed to represent their parts. The pageant required two hours and thirty minutes in its presentation, and was witnessed by fully 3,000 people. Superintendent D. R. Henry organized the plan and work of the pageant.