Madison County, Illinois - Chapter 65: Leef Township, 1912

This township, north of a state road run¬ ning east and west, is bounded on the south by Saline, west by Alhambra, north by New Douglas and Bond county, and east by Old Ripley in Bond county, consisting of thirty sections of land, all arable, being wholly prai¬ rie with the exception of about two hundred acres of timber land and a few mounds in the northwestern portion. The headwaters of Sil¬ ver creek run through it in a southerly direc¬ tion.

It is claimed that some one settled in the township as early as 1804, but the fact is known that James Pearce made the first set¬ tlement in the timber on the east side of Saline creek in section 34 in 1818, part of the socalled Silver creek settlement, his cabin being the most northerly situated, at the head of Silver creek. Thos. Johnson built the first house in section 33, the present site of the town of Saline about in 1818, the exact time not being ascertained, but the building was an old one in 1840.

James Pearce is on record as the first land owner in the township, having entered the west half of the southeast quarter of section 34 on April 14, 1817, and again on January 16, 1818, eighty acres more in the same section. His the southwest quarter on August 3, 1829. Father James Pearce was born in North Caro¬ lina. His parents moved to Kentucky, where he grew up and was married to Miss Lucy Allison. Three children were born to them in that state, Hugh A., Robert and William W. He emigrated to Madison county in 1815, liv¬ ing the first three years near Edwardsville be¬ fore settling in Leef township. He was mar¬ ried twice, six children being born to him by his first wife after coming to this county. They were Wiley, Joseph B., Alfred C., Me¬ linda, Francis M., and James. His second wife was Miss Frances Martin, whom he mar¬ ried in 1837, and by whom he had five children, one having died in infancy, the others being Mathias B., Thomas N., Sarah E. and Rachel. Of the children Hugh, Robert, Wiley, Joseph B. and Alfred moved to southern states when they had grown to manhood. William W. located in Alhambra and became one of the largest land owners in the county. Francis M. became a physician and, living in Alhambra, represented the county in the Legislature. All the other children moved either out of the township or to other states. Mr. Pearce was the first justice in the township and filled the office many years. The first death was an in¬ fant of his in 1824.

to Miss Susan Carson, of Saline township, in 1859. In 1848 the old gentleman moved to Olive township, where he died in 1864 at the age of 74 years.

Jesse Allison, Thos. Allison and Thomas Johnson were the other early settlers of Leef township. Jesse Allison, brother-in-law of James Pearce, settled in 1824 what later be¬ came the William Schrumpf farm. He moved to Highland and then to Cooper county, Mis¬ souri, where he died. His brother, Thomas Allison built a cabin on the land of James Pearce in the early days, but soon also moved to Cooper county, Missouri, where he was killed by bushwhackers during the Civil war. Thos. Johnson, Jr., built a cabin north of the Salem graveyard, about 1830. He lived there about thirty years and then moved west. Hugh A. Pearce settled north of his father's in 1829, but moved south in 1834. D. Charter settled in the forks of Silver creek about 1844 and improved a good farm. The first farms north in the prairie were started and improved by G. W. Rockwell, A. J. Flinn, and Frank Housong. Mr. Rockwell was born in Clay county, Mo., and came to Madison county in 1838.

German immigrants soon began to settle in this township, so that the farmers are mostly German, or now of German descent. Jacob Leu, who changed his name to Leef, came from SchafT hausen, Switzerland, was the first from that country to settle here, who by in¬ dustry, energy and economy in farming event¬ ually became the owner of more than three hundred acres of land. Upon township or¬ ganization the township was named in his -honor. He came to America in 1834 when nineteen years of age, remaining in St. Louis until 1840 and then1 came to Saline township, finding employment under S. H. Mudge for five years, during which time he saved up enough money to buy a small farm of forty acres in 1845, gradually increasing his hold¬ ings so that he became one of the richest farmers. His place had been originally set¬ tled by Benjamin Furbee, and when he located there the prairie north of him was unsettled for miles, remaining nearly so until after the Civil war when it was quickly settled mostly by Germans.

Mr. Leef was married to Miss Regina Reichert on April 8th, 1844. His son, John S. Leef, is serving his second term as chair¬ man of the board of supervisors of Madison county. Another son, Jacob, lives in Alham¬ bra and Sylvester and John H. in Highland.

Other prominent early German settlers were the StafTelbach family, and Nicholas and John Ambuehl, who came from Switz¬ erland in 1839, Francis M. Wagner, and Dan¬ iel Ruedy - all of them had been successful and became well-to-do through their own ef¬ forts. Mr. Leef died in 1894, and the others have also passed away years ago.

Though the township is entirely agricultural, excepting the part of the village of Saline, yet it has an unusual attraction in the Diamond Mineral Springs at the west end of the village. This health resort was founded by Stephen Bardill at his stone quarry, where he discov¬ ered the health-giving mineral water. Several years after he had established it, he sold out to A. J. Krafft, who built a fine hotel and con¬ verted the grounds into a nice park, so that during the summer months he receives many visitors and patients not only from neighbor¬ ing towns, but also from the large cities.