Macoupin County, Illinois - A Brief Sketch of the North-West Territory, 1879 (part 2 of 2)

"Tort Chartres, when it belonged to France, was the seat of the government of the Illinois. The headquarters of the English commanding officer is now here, who, in fact, is the arbitrary governor of the country. The fort is an irregular quadrangle. The sides of the exterior polygon are four hundred and ninety feet. It is built of stone, and plastered over, and is only designed for defence against the Indians. The walls are two foet two inches thick, and are pierced with loopholes at regular distances, and with two portholes for cannon in the facies, and two in the flanks of each bastion. The ditch has never been finished. The entrance to the fort is through a very handsome rustic gate. Within the walls is a banquette raised three feet, for the men to stand on when they fire through the loopholes. The buildings within the fort are, a commandant's and commissary's house, the magazine of stores, corps de garde, and two barracks. These occupy the square. Within the gorges of the bastion are a powder-magazine, a bake-house, and a prison, in the floor of which are four dungeons, and in the upper, two rooms and an out-house belonging to the commandant. The commandant's house is thirtytwo yards long and ten broad, and contains a kitchen, a dining-room, a bedchamber, one small rvom, five closets for servants, and a cellar. The commissary's house is built on the same line as this, and its proportion and the distribution of its apartments are the same. Opposite these are the storehouse, and the guard-house, each thirty yards long and eight broad. The former consists of two large store-rooms, (under which is a large vaulted cellar), a large room, a bed-chamber, and a closet for the store-keeper. The latter of a soldiers' and officers' guard-room, a chapel, a bed-chamber, a closet for the chaplain, and an artillery store-room. The lines of barracks have never been finished. They at present consist of two rooms each for officers, and three for soldiers. They are each twenty-five feet square, and have betwixt a small passage."

Such was Fort Chartres, believed at the time to be the most convenient and best-built stronghold in North America! Just before the French surrender, forty families lived in the neighboring village, in which stood a parish church, under the care of a Franciscan friar, and dedicated to St. Anne. At the time of the surrender to the English, all, with the exception of three or four familics, abandoned their homes, and removed to the west bank of the Mississippi, preferring the government of La Belle' France to the hated English rule, ignorant that by secret treaty the territory west of the Mississippi had been ceded to Spain, even before the transfer of the region eastward was made to the English.

But the glory of the old fortress soon departed! In 1756 nearly half a mile intervened between Fort Chartres and the bank of the Mississippi. A sand bar, however, was forming opposite, to which the river was fordable. Ten years later the current had cut the bank away to within eighty yards of the fort. The sand-bar had become an island, covered with a thick growth of cottonwoods. The channel between it and the eastern bank was forty feet in depth. In the great freshet six years after, in 1772, in which the American Bottom was inundated, the west walls and two of the bastions were swept away in the flood. It was abandoned by the British garrison, which took up its quarters in Fort Gage, on the bluff opposite Kaskaskia, which then became the seat of government From this date its demolition proceeded rapidly. In 1820 the south-east angle was still remaining. Only vestiges of the old Fortress can now be traced. Much of the stone was carried away, and used for building purposes elsewhere. Trees of stately growth cover the foundations. The river has retreated to its original channel, and is now a mile distant from the ruins. . growth of timber covers the intervening land, where less than a century ago swept the mighty current of the Father of Waters.

Under French Rule

During the few years immediately succeeding the completion of Fort Chartres, prosperity prevailed in the settlements between the Kaskaskia and the Mississippi rivers. Prairie du Rocher, founded about the year 1722, received considerable accessions to its population. Among the earliest French settlers to make their homes here were Etienne Langlois, Jean Baptiste Blais, Jean Baptiste Barbéau, Antoine Louvier, and the La Compte and other families, whose descendants are still found in that locality. New settlements sprang up, and the older ones increased in population. At Kaskaskia, the Jesuits established a monastery, and founded a college. In 1725 the village became an incorporated town, and the king, Louis XV., granted the inhabitants a commons. The Bottom land, extending upward along the Mississippi, unsurpassed for the richness of its soil, was in the process of being rapidly settled by the large number of new arrivals in the colony. Fort Chartres, the seat of government and the headquarters of the commandant of Upper Louisiana, attracted a wealthy, and for Illinois, a fashionable population.

After having been fourteen years under the government of the Western Company, in April, 1752, the King issued a proclamation by which Louisiana was declared free to all his subjects, and all restrictions on commerce were removed. At this time many flourishing settlements had sprung up in Illinois, centering about Kaskaskia, and the inhabitants were said to be more exclusively devoted to agriculture than in any other of the French settlements in the West.

M. D'Artaguette, in 1732, became commandant of Fort Chartres, and Goyernor of Upper Louisiana. Between New Orleans and Kaskaskia the country was yet a wilderness. Communication by way of the Mississippi was interrupted by the Chickasaws, allies of the English and enemies of France, whose cedar barks shooting boldly out into the current of the Mississippi, cut off the connection between the two colonies. It was in an attempt to subdue these that M. D'Artaguette, the commandant, lost his life. An ofticer arriyed at Fort Chartres from M. Perrier, Governor-General at New Orleans, in the year 1836, summoning M. D'Artaguette, with his French soldiers, and all the Indians whom he could induce to join him, to unite in an expedition against the enemy. With an army of fifty Frenchmen, and more than one thousand Indians, accompanied by Father Senat and the gallant Vincennes, commandant of the post on the Wabash, where now stands the city bearing his name, D'Artaguette stole cautiously in the Chickasaw country. His Indian allies were impatient, and the commander consented, against his better judgment, to an immediate attack. One fort was carried - another - and then in making the assault on the third, the young and intrepid D'Artaguette fell, at the head of his forces, pierced with wounds. The Indian allies made this reverse the signal for their flight. The Jesuit Senat might have fled, Vincennes might have saved his life, but both preferred to share the fate of their leader. The captives afterward met death at the stake under the slow torments of fire.

La Buissoniere succeeded as commandant at Fort Chartres. In 1739 a second expedition was undertaken against the Chickasaw country. La Buissoniere joined Bienville, then Governor-general of Louisiana, with a force of two hundred Frenchmen and three hundred Indians. The whole force under Bienville was twelve hundred French, and five hundred Indians and negroes. His men suffered greatly from malarial fevers and famine, and returned the following spring without conquering the Chickasaws, with whom afterward, however, amicable relations were established.

The period from 1740 to 1750 was one of great prosperity for the colonies. Cotton was introduced and cultivated. Regular cargoes of pork, flour, bacon, tallow, hides and leather, were floated down the Mississippi, and exported thence to France. French emigrants poured rapidly into the settlements. Canadians exchanged the cold rigors of their climate for the sunny atmosphere and rich soil of the new country. Peace and plenty blessed the settlements.

La Buissoniere was followed, in 1750, by Chevalier Macarty as Governor of Upper Louisiana, and Commandant of Fort Chartres. Peace was soon to be broken. The French and English war, which terminated in 1759 with the defeat of Montcalm on the plains of Abraham, and the capture of Quebec, began with a struggle for the territory on the Upper Ohio. Fort Chartres was the depot of supplies and the place of rendezvous for the united forces of Louisiana, and several expeditions were fitted out and dispatched to the scene of conflict on the border between the French and English settlements. But France was vanquished in the struggle, and its result deprived her of her princely possessions east or the Mississippi.

Character Of The Early French Settlers

The early French inhabitants were well adapted by their peculiar traits of character for intercourse with their savage neighbors of the forest, with whom they lived on terms of peace and friendship. For this reason, the French colonists almost entirely escaped the Indian hostilities by which the English settlements were repressed and weakened. The freest communication existed between the two races. They stood on a footing of equality. The Indian was cordially received in the French village, and the Frenchman found a safe resting place in the lodge of the savage. In scenes of social pleasure, in expeditions to remote rivers and distant forests, in the ceremonies and exercises of the church, the red men were treated as brothers, and the accident of race and color was' made as little a mark of distinction as possible.. Frequent intermarriages of the French with the Indians strongly cemented this union. For nearly a hundred years the' French colonists enjoyed continual peace, while the English settlements on the Atlantic coast were in a state of almost constant danger from savage depredations.

It was doubtless greatly owing to the peculiar facility with which the French temperament adapted itself to surroundings, and the natural address with which Frenchmen ingratiated themselves in the favor of the savages, that this happy condition of affairs existed. But something must be ascribed to the difference of character between the French and English in regard to their aggressiveness. The English colonists excited the jealousy and fear of the Indians by their rapid occupation of the country. New settlements were constantly being projected, and the white population pushed farther and farther into the wilderness. When the Indians saw their favorite haunts broken up, and their hunting grounds invaded, a natural feeling of distrust and jealousy led them to warfare against the English. With the French it was different. There was but little disposition to found new settlements, or occupy the wilderness. They were essentially a social people, and the solitary life of a pioneer in the forest was repugnant to their disposition. They lived in compact villages. Their houses were in close proximity. With abundant room for spacious streets, they yet made them so narrow that the merry villagers could converse with ease across the street, each from his own cottage. Hunting was a favorite pursuit, and the chief means of support. With this mode of life the French were content. Ambition failed to incite them to conquer the wilderness, and push their settlements to unknown regions, and avarice was wanting to lead them to grasp after great possessions. The development of the "territorial paradise," as La Salle had called the region through which he passed on his first voyage down the Mississippi, was to be accomplished by another race.

A Possession Of Great Britain

By the treaty of Fountainbleau, 1762, the vast possessions of France, east of the Mississippi, with the exception of the island of New Orleans, passed under British control. Fort Chartres and the other Illinois posts were surrounded by an impenetrable barrier of hostile savages, friends to the French and enemies to the English, and the French officers were authorized to retain command until it was found possible for the English to take possession. M. Neyon de Villiers was commandant of Fort Chartres, and upon his retiring in 1764, St. Ange d'Bellerive took upon himself the duties of that position. It was the time of Pontiac's conspiracy, when the Indian tribes, inflamed by the savage spirit of that warrior, were precipitating themselves on the English settlements from Canada to Carolina. The French commandant of Fort Chartres was besieged for arms and ammunition to be used against the English. The French flag was still flying over the Fort, and the fact of the territory haying been ceded to Great Britain was not generally known, except to those in authority. . The commandant was visited by embassies from the Illinois, the Delawares, Shawnees and Miamis, and finally Pontiac himself, at the head of four hundred warriors, entered the council hall. St. Ange d'Bellerive, unable to furnish arms, offered instead his good will. The reply was received with dissatisfaction. The Indians pitched their lodges about the Fort, and for a time an attack was seriously apprehended. Finally Pontiac dispatched a chosen band of warriors to New Orleans to obtain from the Governor there the assistance St. Ange refused to grant.

Pontiac was killed a few years after. Disappointed by the failure of his plans against the English, he retired to the solitude of the forests. In the year 1769, he suddenly made his appearance in the neighborhood of St. Louis. Arrayed in the French uniform given him by the Marquis Montcalm a short time previous to the latter's death on the Plains of Abraham, he visited St. Ange d'Bellerive, who at that time had removed from Fort Chartres to. St. Louis, where he had become one of the principal inhabitants and commandant of the Spanish garrison. While at St. Louis, he crossed the Mississippi to attend a social gathering of Indians at Cahokia. Becoming intoxicated he started to the neighboring woods, when an Indian of the Kaskaskia tribe, bribed by an English trader with a barrel of whiskey, stole up behind him and buried a tomahawk in the brain of the renowned warrior. St. Ange procured the body, and buried it with all the honors of war near the fort under his command in St. Louis. The tramp of a great city now sweeps over his grave.

Two attempts, on the part of the English, to take possession of Illinois and Fort Chartres, had been made by way of the Mississippi, but hostile Indians on the banks of the river had driven back the expeditions. Meantime a hundred Highlanders of the Forty-second Regiment, "those veterans whose battle ery had echoed over the bloodiest fields of America," had left Fort Pitt, now Pittsburg, and descending the Ohio, appeared before Fort Chartres while the forests were yet rich with the varied hues of autumn. St. Ange yielded up the citadel. It was on the tenth day of October, 1765, that the ensign of France on the ramparts of the Fort gave place to the flag of Great Britain. Kaskaskia had now been founded more than three-fourths of a century.

On the surrender of Fort Chartres, St. Ange with his garrison of twentyone soldiers retired from the country, and became commandant at St. Louis, an infant settlement just founded. A large number of the French residents of Kaskaskia and other settlements refused to live under English rule. Many of the wealthiest families left the country ; some removed across the Mississippi to the small village of Ste. Genevieve, under the impression that on the west bank of the Mississippi they would still find a home under the government of France, while in truth that territory had been ceded to Spain by a secret treaty in 1762. Others joined in founding the city of St. Louis. The French settlements in Illinois, at a period immediately preceding this date, were at the zenith of their prosperity. From that day the French inhabitants have declined in numbers and influence. In 1765, the population of the Illinois settlements was computed as follows: White men able to bear arms, seven hundred ; white women, five hundred; white children, eight hundred and fifty ; negroes, nine hundred; total, two thousand nine hundred and fifty. Onethird of the whites, and a still larger proportion of the blacks, removed on the British taking possession. A population of less than two thousand remained. Few English, or Americans, with the exception of the British troops, were in the country.

Captain Stirling, who now had command of the Fort, issued a proclamation guaranteeing the inhabitants the liberty of the Catholic faith, permission to retire from the country, and enjoyment of their full rights and privileges, only requiring an oath of fidelity and obedience to His Majesty, the English King. Captain Stirling died some three months after his arrival. In the period that elapsed before the coming of his successor, St. Ange d'Bellerive returned from St. Louis, and discharged the duties of commandant. Major Frazier, from Fort Pitt, exercised for a time an arbitrary power, and his successor, Col. Reed, proved still worse. He held the office eighteen months, and during that time aroused the hatred of the settlements by his oppressive measures. Lieutenant Colonel Wilkins assumed command in 1768.

Captain Pitman, to whose book on "The Present State of the European Settlements on the Mississippi" reference has already been made, gives the following description of Kaskaskia, as it appeared in 1766:

The village of Notre Dame de Cascasquias is by far the most considerable settlement in the country of the Illinois, as well from its number of inhabitants as from its advantageous situation.

"Mons. Paget was the first who introduced water mills in this country, and he constructed a very fine one on the river Cascasquias, which was both for grinding corn and sawing boards. It lies about one mile from the village. The mill proved fatal to him, being killed as he was working it, with two negroes, by a-party of Cherokees, in the year 1764.

"The principal buildings are the church and the Jesuits' house, woe has a small chapel adjoining it; these, as well as some of the other houses in the village, are built of stone, and, considering this part of the world, make a very good appearance. The Jesuits' plantation consisted of 240 arpents (an arpent is 85-100 of an acre) of cultivated land, a very good stock of cattle, and a brewery which was sold by the French commandant, after the country was ceded to the English, for the crown, in consequence of the suppression of the order.

"Mons. Beauvais was the purchaser, who is the.richest of the English subjects in this country; he keeps eighty slaves; he furnishes 86,000 weight of flour to the King's magazine, which was only part of the harvest he reaped in one year. Sixty-five families reside in this village, besides merchants, other casual people, and slaves. The fort which was burnt down in October, 1766, stood on the summit of a high rock opposite the village and on the opposite side of the river. It was an oblong quadrangle, of which the extreme polygon measured 290 by 251 feet. It was built of very thick square timber, and dove-tailed at the angles. An officer and twenty soldiers are quartered in the village. The officer governs the inhabitants under the direction of the commandant at Fort Chartres. Here are also two companies of militia."

Of Prairie du Rocher, Pitman writes that "it is a small village, consisting of twenty-two dwelling-houses, all of which are inhabited by as many families. Here is a little chapel, formerly a chapel of ease to the church at Fort Chartres. The inhabitants are very industricus, and raise a great deal of corn and every kind of stock. The village is two miles from Fort Chartres.

It takes its name from its situation, being built under a rock that runs parallel with the Mississippi river at a league distance, for forty miles up. Hereisa company of. militia, the captain of which regulates the police of the village."

In describing the distance from Fort Chartres, the author, doubtless, refers to Little Village, which was a mile or more nearer than Prairie du Rocher. The writer goes on to describe "Saint Philippe" as a "small village about five miles from Fort Chartres on the road to Kaoquias. There are about sixteen houses and a small church standing; all of the inhabitants, except the captain of the militia, deserted in 1765, and went to the French side (Missouri.) The captain of the militia has about twenty slaves, a good stock.of cattle, and a water mill for corn and planks. The village stands ona very fine meadow about one mile from the Mississippi.

From the same authority we learn that the soil of the country is in general rich and luxuriant. It was favorably adapted to the production of all kinds of European grains, which grew side by side with hops, hemp, flax, cotton and tobacco. European fruits arrived to great perfection. Of the wild grapes a wine was made, very inebriating, and in color and taste much like the red wine of Provence. In the late wars, New Orleans and the lower parts of Louisiana were supplied with flour, beef, wines, hams, and other provisions, from this country. At present, its commerce is mostly confined to the peltry and furs which are got in traffic from the Indians; for which are received in turn such European commodities as are necessary to carry on that commerce and the support of its inhabitants."

Conquest By Clarke

On the breaking out of the War of the Revolution, it is probable that the British garrison (removed in 1772 from Fort Chartres to Fort Gage, opposite Kaskaskia,) had been withdrawn. Illinois was remote from the theatre of action, and the colonists were little disturbed by the rumors of war which came from the Atlantic coast. The French inhabitants were rather in sympathy with the Americans than the English, but probably understood little the nature of the struggle. TIlinois belonged to the jurisdiction of Virginia. George Rogers Clark, who visited Kentucky in 1775, seems to have been the first to comprehend the advantages which would result from the occupation of Illinois by the Americans. He visited Virginia, where he laid his plans before Patrick Henry, the Governor of the State. Clark received his instructions, January, 1778, and the following month set out for Pittsburg. His instructions were to raise seven companies of men, but he could only succeed in enlisting four, commanded by Captains Montgomery, Bowman, Helm, and Harrod. On Corn Island, opposite Louisville, on the Ohio, Clark announced his destination to the men. At the mouth of the Tennessee, a man named John Duff was encountered, with a party of hunters, who had recently visited Kaskaskia, and also brought the intelligence that one Rocheblave, a French Canadian, was in command at that point, that he kept the militia well drilled, and that sentinels were posted to watch for the "Long Knives," as the Virginians were called, of whom the inhabitants were in terror. Securing his boats near Fort Massacre, (or Massac,) Clark undertook the journey across the country, one hundred and twenty miles, to Kaskaskia. It was accomplished with difficulty. On the afternoon of the fourth of July, 1778, the exhausted band of invaders came to the vicinity of Kaskaskia, and concealed themselves in the hills to the east of the town. After dark Clark proceeded to the old ferry-house, three-fourths of a mile above the village, and at midnight addressed his troops on the banks of the river. He divided his force into three parties. Two were to cross to the west side of the river, and enter the town from different quarters. The third, under the direction of Clark himself, was to capture the fort on the east side. Kaskaskia at that time was a village of about two hundred and fifty houses. The British commander last in charge had instilled in the minds of the people the impression that the Virginians, otherwise the "Long Knives," were a ferocious band of murderers, plundering houses, slaughtering women and ghildren, and committing acts of the greatest atrocity. Clark determined to take advantage of this, and so surprise the inhabitants by fear as to induce them to submit without resistance. Clark effected an entrance to the fort without difficulty. The other parties at a given signal entered Kaskaskia at the opposite extremities, and with terrible outcries and hideous noises, aroused the terrified inhabitants, who shrieked in their alarm, "The Long Knives!" "The Long Knives are here!" The panic-stricken townsmen delivered up their arms, and the victory was accomplished without the shedding of a drop of blood. M. Rocheblave, the British commandant, was unconscious of the presence of the enemy, till an officer of the detachment entered his bed-chamber, and claimed him as a prisoner. In accordance with his criginal plan of conquering the inhabitants by terror, and then afterward winning their regard and gratitude by his clemency, Clark, the next day, withdrew his forces from the town, and sternly forbade all communication between it and his soldiers. Some of the principal militia officers, citizens of the town, were next put in irons. The terror now reached its height. The priest, and a deputation of five or six elderly men of the village, called on Clark, and humbly requcsted permission to assemble in the church, to take leave of each other and commend their future lives to the protection of a merciful God, since they expected to be separated, perhaps never to meet again. Clark gruffly granted the privilege. The whole population convened at the church, and after remaining together a long time, the priest and a few others again waited upon the commander of the American forces, presenting thanks for the privilege they had enjoyed, and desiring to know what fate awaited them.

Clark now determined to lift them from their despair, and win their gratitude by a show of mercy. "What," said he; "do you take us for savages? Do you think Americans will strip women and children, and take bread from their mouths? My countrymen disdain to make war on helpless innocence.'' He further reminded them that the King of France, their former ruler, was an ally of the Americans, and now fighting their cause. He told them to embrace the side they deemed best and they should be respected,in the enjoyment of their liberty and the rights of property.

The revulsion of feeling was complete. The good news spread throughout the village. The church bell rang a merry peal, and the delighted inhabitants gathered at the chapel, where thanks were offered to God for their happy and unexpected deliverance. The loyalty of the inhabitants was assured, and ever after they remained faithful to the American cause. The French inhabitants of Kaskaskia were readily reconciled toa change of government. In October, 1778, the Virginia Assembly erected the conquered territory into the County of Illinois. This County embraced all the region north-west of the Ohio, and five large states have since been formed from it. Colonel Clark was appointed military commander of all the western territory, north and south of the Ohio, and Colonel John Todd, one of Clark's soldiers, who next to Clark had been the first man to enter Fort Gage, was appointed lieutenant-commandant of Illinois. In the spring of 1779, Colonel Todd visited Kaskaskia, and made arrangements for the organization of a temporary government. Many of the French inhabitants of Kaskaskia, Prairie du Rocher, and the other settlements, readily took the oath of allegiance to Virginia. Colonel Todd was killed at the famous battle of Blue Licks, in Kentucky, August, 1782, and Timothy de Montbrun, a Frenchman, succeeded him as commandant of Illinois County. Of his administration but little is known.

Land Tenures

The early French settlers held the possession of their land in common. <A traet of land was fixed upon for:a Common Field in which all the inhabitants were interested.

Beside the Common Field, another tract of land was laid off as the Commons. ll the villagers had free access to this as a place of pasturage for their stock. From this they also drew their supply of fuel.

Individual grants were likewise made. Under the French system, the lands were granted without any equivalent consideration in the way of momey, the individuals satisfying the authorities that the lands were wanted for actual settlement, or for a purpose likely to benefit the community. The first grant of land, which. is preserved, is that made to Charles Danie, May 10th, 1722. The French Grants at Kaskaskia extended from river to river, and at other places in the Bottom they commonly extended from the river to the bluff Grants of land were made for almost all the American Bottom, from the upper limits of the Common Field of St. Phillip's to the lower line of the Kaskaskia Common Field, a distance of nearly thirty miles.

The British commandants, who assumed the government, on the cession of the territory by France, exercised the privilege of making grants, subject to the approval of his Majesty, the King. Colonel Wilkins granted to some merchants of Philadelphia a magnificent domain of thirty thousand acres lying between the village of Kaskaskia and Prairie du Rocher, much of it already covered by French grants previously made. For the better carrying out their plans, the British officers, and perhaps their grantees, destroyed to some extent the records of the ancient French grants at Kaskaskia, by which the regular claim of titles and conveyances was partly broken. This British grant of thirty thousand acres, which had been assigned to John Edgar, was afterward patented by Governor St. Clair to Edgar and John Murray St. Clair, the Governor's son, to whom Edgar had previously conveyed a moiety by deed.

When Virginia ceded Illinois, it was_stipulated that the French and Canadian inhabitants, and other settlers, who had professed allegiance to Virginia, should have their titles confirmed to them. Congress afterward authorized the Governor to confirm the possessions and titles of the French to their lands; in accordance with this agreement, Governor St. Clair, in 1790, issued a proclamation directing the inhabitants to exhibit their titles and claims to the lands which they held, in order to be confirmed in their possession. Where the instruments were found to be authentic, orders of survey were issued, the expense of which was borne by the parties who claimed ownership. The French inhabitants were in such poverty at this time that they were really unable to pay the expenses of the surveys, and a memorial signed by P. Gibault, the priest at Kaskaskia, and eighty-seven others, was presented to Governor St. Clair, praying him to petition Congress for relief in the matter. In 1791 Congress directed that four hundred acres of land should be granted to the head of every family which had made improvements in Illinois prior to the year 1788. Before this, in 1788, Congress had also directed that a donation be given to each of the families then living at either of the villages of Kaskaskia, Prairie du Rocher, Cahokia, Fort Chartres, or St. Phillip's. These were known as "bead-right" claims.

At an early date speculation became active in the land claims of different kinds; bead-rights, improvement rights, militia rights, and fraudulent claims were produced in great numbers. The French claims were partly unconfirmed, owing to the poverty of that people, and these were forced on the market with the others. The official report of the commissioners at Kaskaskia, made in 1810, shows that eight hundred and ninety land claims were rejected as being illegal or fraudulent. Three hundred and seventy were reported as being supported by perjury, and a considerable number were forged. There are fourteen names given of persons, both English and French, who made it a regular business to furnish sworn certificates, professing an intimate knowledge, in every case, of the settlers who had made certain improvements upon which claims were predicated, and when and where they were located. A Frenchman, clerk of the parish of Prairie du Rocher, "without property and fond of liquor," after having given some two hundred depositions in favor of three land claimant speculators, "was induced" in the language of the report, "either by compensation, fear, or the impossibility of obtaining absolution on any other terms, to declare on oath that the said depositions were false, and that in giving them he had a regard for something beyond the truth."

The report of the commissioners raised many doubts in regard to the validity and propriety of a number of confirmations by the Governors, and much dissatisfaction among the claimants, and in consequence Congress, in 1812, passed an act for the revision of these land claims in the Kaskaskia district. The commissioners under this law were Michael Jones, John Caldwell, and Thomas Sloo. Facts damaging to persons who occupied positions of high respectability in the community, were disclosed. They reported that the English claim of thirty thousand acres confirmed by Governor St. Clair to John Edgar and the Governor's son, John Murray St. Clair, was founded in neither law nor equity, that the patent was issued after the Governor's power ceased to exist, and the claim ought not to be contirmed. Congress, however, confirmed it.

For a period of several years, emigration was considerably retarded by the delay in adjusting land titles. The act of Congress, passed in 1813, granting the right of pre-emption to settlers, was influential in bringing the public lands into market. Emigrants poured into the country, and improvements were rapidly made.

Civil Organization

The history of Illinois has been traced while a possession of France, and when under the British government; and the formation of Illinois as a County of Virginia has been noted. The several States afterwards agreed, on the adoption of the Articles of Confederation, to cede their claims to the western lands to the General government. Virginia executed her deed of cession March the first, 1784. For several years after there was an imperfect administration of the law in Illinois. The French customs partly held force, and affairs were partly governed by the promulgations of the British commandants issued from Fort Chartres, and by the regulations which had subsequently becn issued by the Virginia authorities.

By the ordinance of 1787, all the territory northwest of the Ohio not constituted into one district, the laws to be administered by a governor and secretary, a court was constituted of three judges. A general assembly was provided for, the members to be chosen by the people. General Arthur St.

In the year 1795, Governor St. Clair divided St. Clair County. All south of a line running through the New Design settlement (in the present County of Monroe) was erected into the County of Randolph. In honor of Edmund Randolph of Virginia, the new county received its name.

Shadrach Bond, afterward the first Governor, was elected from Ilinois, a member of the Territorial Legislature which convened at Cincinnati, in January, 1799. In 1800 the Territory of Indiana was formed, of which Illinois constituted a part, with the seat of government at Vincennes. About 1806, among other places in the West, Aaron Burr visited Kaskaskia in an endeavor to enlist men for his treasonable scheme against the government. In 1805, George Fisher was elected from Randolph County a member of the Territorial Legislature, and Pierre Menard was chosen member of the Legislative Council.

By act of Congress, 1809, the Territory of Illinois was constituted. Ninian Edwards was appointed Governor of the newly organized Territory, and the seat of government established at Kaskaskia. Nathaniel Pope, a relative of Edwards, received the appointment of Secretary.

For nearly four years after the organization of the Territorial Government no legislature existed in Illinois. All election for representatives was held on the eighth, ninth, and tenth of October, 1812. Shadrach Bond, then a resident of St. Clair County, was elected the first Delegate to Congress from Illinois. Pierre Menard was chosen from Randolph County member of the Legislative Council, and George Fisher of the House of Representatives. The Legislature convened at Kaskaskia on the twenty-fifth of November, 1812.

In April, 1818, a bill providing for the admission of Illinois into the Union as a sovereign State was passed by Congress. A Convention to frame a Constitution assembled at Kaskaskia in the following July. The first election under the Constitution was held in September, 1818, and Shadrach Bond was elected Governor, and Pierre: Menard, Lieutenant-Governor. Illinois was now declared by Congress admitted to the Union as on equal footing in all respects with the origit.al States. The Legislature again met at Kaskaskia in January, 1819. This was the last session ever held at Kaskaskia. Vandalia, the same year, was selected as Capital of the State. It was stipulated that Vandalia was to be the Capital for twenty years. At the end of that period it was changed to Springfield. Below we give list of governors and chief officers of Illinois.

Name Of Officer. Ofeice, Or Inauguration

NAME OF OFFICER. OFEICE, OR INAUGURATION, Nathaniel Pope,......«« avaseedtannee Secretary of the Territory,....... «......March 7, 1809. Ninian Edwards,..,..s.ccccssceesee se OVETTON, seca seeeedveuste tenes sos savecedes April 24, 1809. H. H. Maxwell,....cc0ee seoscseee-eAuditor Public Accounts, ...cccoss seers 1816, Daniels Pa Cooks sccsces x= sese ens <n ssn iae £6 Soe Mircece socsereeeJanuary 13, 1816, Joseph Phillips,........s0eseseceerersSECTetary,...e00. eappesandosonceine Po ae December 17, 1816. Robert Blackwell,......s0ee---ss--++ Auditor Public Accounts,........0-se++ April 5, 1817, Bltiah! CG: Bertvssnccssccassrscvscveencusit' ie bis ares sooroee August 29, 1817. John: THOMAS,..ccrc, sesceces'essosenes, DICASULETs,,cercnscteenccesesasteccdeeavecese 1818.

State Of Illinois

Shadrach Bond,......ccesessesseeeee Goverors)..isesssvestanses seesseeee seee oeesOctober 6, 1818, Pierre Menard. ci ccsswasncesacsecn Lieut-Governor, .........0++ saa tates wobtaioigs (Se 6, 1818, Elias K. Kane,.......ccccse-sccoeres Secretary Of State,...cccccccssesevesess PC: 6, 1818. Blijani@, IBeIryscccancesaccesesaaacras Auditor Public Accounts,.........-00006 1818. John Thomas,........-..+0 # esecece UXEQSUUEEL sates ccm enicegileserepeeterenteare 1818. Robert K. McLaughlin,........... é ae ec v vevanvavedercutsderoses -August 2, 1819. Edward Coles,........0«« Wisetesaccent Govertion) si. ciet ek, See December, 1822. Adolphus F, Hubbard,..... .ecceeess Lieut.-GOVEINOT,....0. seseceoes cocere senses vd 1822.

Abner, Field... .ccccssss ssescosccoosess DYCASUTET, cossneveconsce seis caia tester seoeeee January 14, 1823 David Blackwell,....... ssc. oecretary Of State,.....scccseereeeovereesApril 2, 1823.

Morris Birbeck, ......+000+e+ ++ Be ce ---October 15, 1824. George Forquer,...... secesasccbssees Ks se 59 .- January 15, 1825. Ninian Edwards,........... Pusivsgeet CZOVEITIOLs cleccscce esse cor .-.December, 1826. William Kinney, .......e0+ssssse0 Lieut.-GOvernory.c-.eeeee ie ti ere " 1826. Jamies Hall,......ces.ssssscnessconess BU KCASOLEr moscsacer.sesbeacarcts srs eeencnscd February 12, 1827. Alexander 'P. Fieid,....... sibes eeeipecretary, Of) State, scsseis.ne emetic January 23, 1829. John Reynolds,.......0.sc.00ccssone eeGOVEINOT, , +o. seauceecdsae faci neh eens December 9, 1830. PAIOCIG CASEY ccc coteenss vas srececase DVENG=(GOVEGNOls. aeceaccayieesn=syaoseees us 9, 1830. John Dement,....... Sesssese ce Dawsese LXCASITCKY cnecscaos sunatnccvcsasectscaureccs February 5, 1831. James T. B. Stapp, oseseeeeee Auditor Public neeoaute: Ra lessstsers AUCUSE 275253 1 HOSED DUNCAN 5... s.-vecu eee .cncen ses GOVEINOL jsereorossuee cee ose bie d Decaber 1834. Alexander M. Jenkins,........ pals ieuticGoviernorecster-,ceetes. eis " 1834. TEVUPIIANIS, casossves:assscecee oes ..-Auditor Public Accounts,............+.. November 16, 1835. ROME SSM GRED OMY: wesecccaisuonseeessa¢ DTCASINCIy aecsrancaasnse scents svsncssarareECeMber,5,, 1930. John D. Whiteside,............ aaa & Shen ssewslstntasn sceveseesiedsscciaes March 4, 1837. Mihomeas' Carlin,,..ssscccac-sosecsesese Governor, December, 1838. Stinson H. Anderson............+6 Lieut.-Governor, ee 1838. Stephen A. Douglas,........-...0 «Secretary of State,.............4..........November 30, 1840, Eymonieorumbull,.......0.<sscecesee ss AN ie tana atsistesaetees March 1, 1841. Malton. 'Canpenter,,-.:<.-9s...s+=s05e Treasarentcenccase Acca cst dossisies oc ace us 1841. Hales ONICIGS, 525/554 ssseecesslora-0. AUGILOL DUDIIC: ACCOUNTS, .....c.ss-rnee0 ce 1841, SUIS HOLA, wees sc tnacessce,.coasene RCOVELNOL ea ctavistreavtaten sewer nrinantver a DECEMDSL O.nOA 2, MGM ID OLE). eres' sssenaiseesso es NEtettt:= GOVernOlyareses telerausesssteecseres « 8, 1842, Thomas Campbell,.................. secretary of State,...... Gaslcoutesidace seen March 6, 1843. William L, D. Ewing,... Auditor Public Accounts,.............008 SO WLO4S, Thomas H. Campbell,............. ' P. A, (to fillvacancy),........ 26, 1846. ARICNSHUS) OF TENCHy. -0sscsssaosccee (Governor nceteonos esate vexccseivslnssaenacaes - December 9, 1846. Joseph B. Wells, .....00. + --. Lieu',-Governor,.... Os 9, 1846. Horace S. Cooley,........ ...Secretary of State, G23, 1540. Jorn "Moore;..;.... Abbe eienatbage to Treasurer, (to fill vacancy),.............. August 14, 1848. William McMurtry,......066 agecenS [Wienti= Governor sstettassnvsessesneerocoes January, 1849.

MBA viclal se GTC SS, snecce canseeatescesso Secretary of State (to fill yacancy),...April 3, 1850, ocly AT Matteson) -\..sccscsssceseeeee (GOVETHON: iacaccnccicwessvoneseresnsaveser cre January, 1853. Gustavus Koerner,.........02 secs Siete Gowernor i aasescesas.canst-cea veces SS I853: PLEX AM CEN LATTE seis onejizeses'-c-ses 9 ECLCLAry Of (SEALE, .caasc, aceoseinoes ee secees MELO GC. Ninian W. Edwards,............00. Superintendent Public Instruction,...March 24, 1854. William H, Bissell, OVETN OM pensersattersewadereceseectetsercese January 12, 1857. OMI COU sisceceace ss: cts Lieut,-Governor, ,...... see pede ce TT2 e185 75 Ozias'M, Hatch,... ESccretaryOnuotatesmscensnmerssiet ane TZ ,L O57 Jesse K. Dubois, Auditor Public Accounts,....... 388 LASTS 57. James Miller,;........ Site es susyetaes RULCASITC Us eseccsceesenes tres Bon EOS ae <a RED TS h7. William H., Powell,........ ........Superintendent PuLlic Instruction,... SL alos Newton Datemans, .ca.cs<sccsessases Go @ B3 as SIO! L550. William Butler,. ..... ...0. ..-se000 Lreasurer (to fill vacancy),.......-0sse00 September 3, 1859. ENICIRITA, WALES Ss ctpawe st ncns ccnswanse Governor,....... Crt oncereaidsscbsenysaasans January 14, 1861, Francis "A. Hoffman,.......se...06 Wiens GeOy.ernon Wyesacsttcacewresaceterendc KC A LOOK OZmiS A, Hlatehai i tctsecccsacnsses Secretary of State, ....c5..cs..05 Reverses CONTA, 1860. Messen DUD ONS; ssceessarsss-saceses Auditor Public Accounts,...... ........ LACS SOT: Daiiiainy BULLEN ccpe-sai'scosei-necnne Mreasuxer, yo.-s.00-< enn eed ISO. BN COMISALCITIAN ,...02.0ccsea0s,ens. Superintendent Public i nathdetion: as cA. TSOls Alexander Starne,... PL VOASULeGK teresa ca\netenaneescesessasoseas>< LOT SOs John P, Brooks,..... .-..-Superintendent Public Instruction,... 2, 1863" Richard J. Oglesby,.. Roe ROVETNON enacuonerdssscesesecsiiinecaeetssds == Ci 16) 1805. William Bross,....... aeeaveruesen's Lieut.-Governor,......+.+ COs 1505. Sharowlyndale)...c<.cs..c.ss soso Secretary of State,. aes eneetcnn ae 16, 1865, Onin Ls) Miners .<0<iedsce'sascenees Auditor Public A ceunts sh. daoghe oosbee saaen 12, 1864. James H. Beveridge,...... ... seas LNCASULET Wr scensuesccneceetnres=*aey:seerae January 9, 1865. Wewton BateMaAN,.....ccsessacsocees Superintendent Public Instruction,...January 10, 1865. George W. Smith, 5s..-..20-scesee0s SUCGRE heh ee nce. udev tnvecteescarsteesnan +e January, 1867. John M. Palmer,,.......s000.ssseeees GGOVERNON fevstontasvesstacdasenseasrine-saeeee January 11, 1869. John Dougherty,.......0....ceseseees Wient=Gavernor,..-cncssnctessseost-cnessee PEAT I PESOD, Edward Rummell,......... .....000. Secretary Ofpotate, .0....s0cssessenc-eeers COE EO Relefos Charles E. Lippincott, Auditor Public Accounts, j 6 SALT a S00. Erastus N. Bates,.........2+i0. ea SHINS he enter chia a SacI HOPED so TT, 1500. Newton Bateman,........-.0e0e--+008 Superintendent Public Pueeon January, 1871. Erastus) N. Bates,..:..0scecss--os0e FURCASUXED: pecacsianewerivcacavecsatees eeesee November 8, 1870. Richard J. Oglesby,........... -..--Governor,.. .-..... ee pareea--s january 13, 1873. John L. Beveridge,..........2+--+-++ Litenti-Governorss.csch-senectessns 5 smactane KD 13515875. George H. Harlow,.......... Graaess OOCTetArY (Of Slate, cawesaseuenes ones. LS TRA TEE Charles E. Lippincott,..,...........Auditor Public Accounts,...... asneonanea se BNLS 7.30 Srmmaast tts ter nocnacsers Si cacsacs ak KEASUTEL, sauaecieneshacnscanecacnscyes<seaze LT) te ie ote de i John L. Beveridge,........ .....+ Governor,.....-. » PPRUSanistaNaspeeeaneneaens 523) 1873; FORM, Warly,s <cvessssossnanenscccsean Lieut.-Governor, ........+++ Bia asereee caters E23 At S7 5. Re ME CULO, ocmnasnee ss 8, 1877. Andrew Shuman,......... ° Reacs eane < &, 1877. George H. Harlow,,.........+.------Secretary Of State, -.... ses cereees sé 8, 1877. Edward. Rutz, ........ Pan MOASIINGE: ccacecscesanons<anaavases ees F 8, 1877. T. B. Needles,,.... ...Auditor Public Accounts,.....+...-cs0+6 Sie ST Sib (ap S. M. Etter,........ sereeeeseeeeeeeeSUperintendent Public Instruction,... «s 8, 1877. POP, Slade, .cicasicasccossesse ecnsscons C ct) ' ore S 8, 1879.

Believing that it will be interesting to the younger readers of our work, we subjoin the following list of Presidents of the United States :

Presidents Under The Constitution, Term Of Fervice

PRESIDENTS UNDER THE CONSTITUTION, TERM OF FERVICE. George Washiigton,.:.coowssosessecsscsccces MANE res corre 1789 to 1797, eight years. John Adams,..........00 # else peneeceevseonsuans Massachusetts,.........++..1797 to 1801, four years. Thomas Jefferson,....... sssseercrecees sessenece VIFQINIA, ws e+eseeeee eee eeeeee 1801 tO F809, eight years jamaeSSMIACSO Necsus snccollspactiessiesnssasncnstce Atti TER cge enw Ear ico 1809 to 1817, eight years.