Morgan County, Illinois - The whole text, 1878 (part 6 of 21)

FRUITS. - " They gather on trees or plants," says Father Allouez, speaking of the Indians, in 1676, " fruits of forty-two different kinds, which are excellent." Father Membre, four years later, mentions grapes, from which they made wine for the " Celebration of the Divine Mysteries,' whose clusters were of a prodigious size, and of very agreeable taste. Pittman, in 1770, says : " European fruits come to great perfection. The inhabitants make wine, which is very inebriating, and is in * color and taste very like the red wine of Provence." Reynolds says : " This wine was made by the first settlers, but disappeared with the Europeans. The Creoles made little or none." At this early day, both the French . and Americans possessed large apple orchards. Morris Birbeck, in his letters from Illinois, in 1818, says : " The cultivation of the apple exceeds anything I have ever seen. Pears also succeed well. The peach bears fruit the third year from the stone, but the trees are short lived, and liable to blight. We have gooseberries and currants in perfection." Woods, his fellow settler, notices the native fruits as follows: " Persimmon is a fruit many people are fond of. It is something like a medlar. Pawpaws grow in clusters of three or four, on a shrub twenty feet high. Strawberries, nearly the same as scarlets, excellent, and in some places of great abundance. Raspberries are small and dry. Cherries grow in bunches, the same as currants, very small and bitter. May apples, a yearly plant, of only two leaves, the stalk one foot high, the fruit the size of a small apple, of a straw color, with small seeds, a very pleasant taste, grow wild. Plums are mostly small, and sour, but there are some whose flavor resembles that of a gooseberry. Blackberries, as I have before remarked, are excellent. The elderberries are fine, but generally eaten by the birds, as soon as colored. Pecan is a sort of a walnut, said to be the finest nut in the country. White walnut, or butternut, and black walnut, are not so good as the English walnut. Hazelnuts are in vast quantities, the shells hard, but the kernel good. I have some earthnuts - peanuts - growing in my garden, the green of them, something like clover, or rather lucern. They blow with a small yellow blossom. I planted them in rows and earthed them up like potatoes. They have two kernels, enclosed in a husk about one inch long and as large round." Peck, writing in 1831, after describing the wild fruits, B proceeds as follows : " Of the domestic fruits, the apple and the peach are chiefly cultivated. Pears are tolerably plenty in the French settlements, and quinces are grown with some success, by some of the Americans. Apples are easily cultivated and very productive. Many varieties are of fine flavor, and grow to a large size."

The early history of orchards and nurseries collected by the State Horticultural Society shows, of course, that the first orchards and nurseries were planted in the southern part of the State, where the earliest permanent settlements were begun. M. Giraridin is credited with orchard planting in 1770,of which some pear trees are yet living, near Cahokia. Samuel Judy planted an orchard of apple trees in Madison County, about 1802 or 1803. In 1816 and in 1818, nurseries and orchards were planted by some persons, notably by John Smith, of Greenville, Bond County ; Joseph Curtis, of Edgar County, and William B. Archer, of Clark County. Among the varieties of apples introduced by these men, were many of the sorts still most approved by the orchardists of the present day.

Between 1830 and 1840, Northern and Central Illinois received their first floods of emigrants, and with them came a greater energy and intelligence, that insured a speedy planting of fruit trees. Though the soil and climate were less congenial than in the southern part of the State, yet men like Arthur Bryant, Lewis Ellsworth, John A. Kennicott» Samuel Edwards, George Haskell, Edson Harkness, the Overmans, and others, pushed on through great difficulties to ultimate success. Still later the great nurseries of Phoenix, Douglass and others began to fill the land with vegetable life. The Illinois Central Railroad carried fruit by the wholesale along its main lines, and peaches and strawberries began to go northward by the train load. Single stations shipped thousands of bushels of strawberries in one season. At the present date, fully one per cent, of the State is now devoted to orchards.

DOMESTIC ANIMALS. - Illinois has always occupied a prominent place in the matter of animal industry. The early explorers marveled at the immense herds of bison found roaming over the vast prairies. George Rogers Clark, whose noted conquest of the country is narrated in the history of the Northwest in this volume, prophesied it would " one day excel in cattle." Horses stand first in the aggregate value of live stock in the State. Cattle and hogs almost equal them, and will probably excel in a few years. Horses are noticed by Reynolds in 1800. He says large herds were kept by the inhabitants, and informs us they were of the "Arabian strain. The Spaniards," he adds, " introduced them into their American possessions, and from this race originated the French horses. This blood of horses was brought into Spain from Arabia, by the Moors. Colonel William Whiteside," he continues, "in the year 1797, introduced into the country a fine blooded horse of the Janus stock." This was probably one of the first stocks of horses ever introduced into the State. In 1820, Woods says : "Most of the horses were of Spanish origin. They are light and clean, but not very handsome." Ford says : "A French pony is a marvel for strength and endurance. They are made to draw, sometimes alone, sometimes two together, one before the other, to the plow, or to the carts made entirely of wood, the bodies of which held about twice as much as the common wheelbarrow. Nothing like reins were used in driving ; the whip of the driver, with a handle about two feet, and a lash about two yards long, stopped or guided the horse as effectually as the strongest reins." Peck, as late as 1831, saysr " Wild horses are found ranging the prairies and forests in some parts of the State. They are small of size, of the Canadian or Indian breed, and very hardy." They were worth from fifteen to thirty dollars, and were found chiefly in the south part of the State, having descended from the horses introduced by the Spaniards. A good farm horse was worth from fifty to sixty dollars, and a good saddle or carriage horse from seventy to eighty dollars. Mules were brought here from Mexico, but no mention is made of their domestication. The southern horses were much improved by the introduction of better stock from Kentucky or Tennessee, where good horses were found at an early day, About 1850, the Morgan horse was introduced, and for a time was all the rage. Afterward the Norman horses were brought here, and for several years have absorbed more attention than any other animal. The Clysdale horse was introduced in 1857, by the Stock Importing Association, and has since been propagated in several parts of the State. Owing to the disappearance of the working ox, and the unsuitableness of the climate for the mule, horses have become almost the sole beast of burden and draught throughout the northern part of the State. In the southern and more wooded portion their places are partly occupied by other animals.

Neat cattle, even more than horses, have been a favorite product in this State. The " Wild cattle," as the Jesuits called the bison, suggested herds of tamer animals. " Cattle and sheep," says Charlevoix, in I721r " would multiply wonderfully here. Even the wild buffaloes might be tamed, and great advantages drawn from a trade in their wool and hides, and from their supplying the inhabitants with food." At that early date the French had cattle and poultry at Kaskaskia. Pittman, in 1770, says,. "At St. Phillippe, the captain of the militia has about twenty slaves and a good stock of cattle and planks. At Cahokia they have a great deal of poultry and good stocks of horned cattle." In 1800, Reynolds states that cattle were abundant, and that plowing was generally done by oxen "tied to the plow by a straight yoke, which was tied to the horns of the oxen by straps of untanned leather." He states that the horned cattle came from Canada, " were a hardy race, not large, but of neat formation, with generally black horns. They stood the winter better without grain/ than the American cattle, gave less milk in summer, and kicked all the time. The French scarcely troubled themselves with milking the cows, but turned the calves out with the other cattle, and made little or no butter." Of the cattle of the American settlers, he adds: "The cattle grewjarge, and the oxen were mostly excellent." In 1820, Woods says : " Oxen and cows are now more plentiful, but have hitherto been fetched from Indiana and Kentucky." Peck, in 1831, says: "Our neat cattle are mostly inferior in size to those of the older States. This is owing entirely to bad management. Our beef is the finest in the world," he proceeds. " It bears the best inspection of any in the New Orleans market. By the first of June, and often by the middle of May, our young cattle are fit for market."

tors of his afterward famed herd of " Island Grove." The Prairie Farmer, in 1843, notices the Devons of James McConuell, near Springfield. A letter of Governor Lincoln, of Massachusetts, to Governor Reynolds, of Illinois, published in the Union Agriculturalist, for 1841, shows that the former sent some crosses of Ayreshire and Short Horn cattle to a son in Alton that year, which was perhaps the first introduction of Ayreshire blood, even in a diluted state. By the time of the holding of the first State Fair, in Springfield, in 1851, the Short Horn appeared in very respectable numbers, and the Devons, though not much shown, were said by the Prairie Farmer to be already found in the north part of the State. In 1857, the formation of the Illinois Stock Importing Association, greatly increased the number of fine cattle in the State. Two years later, Colonel S. A. Buckmaster, of Alton, purchased several head of Jersey cattle from a Maryland drover, and since that date this breed is raised in Illinois. The number of thoroughbred cattle is now very large, composing principally, Short Horns, Jerseys, Devons, Herefords, and Ayreshires. The first mentioned variety is largely in the majority. A considerable portion of the common cattle, in many parts of the State, have an infusion of the blood of the various thoroughbreds.

In the earliest days of Illinois, dairy products received little or no attention. In 1816, butter is quoted by the chroniclers of the time as worth twelve and a half cents per pound. During the winter, it doubled that price, however. Cheese was worth sixteen cents per pound. Peck, in 1831, writes: "Cows in general do not produce the same amount of milk, nor of so rich a quality, as in the New England States. Something is to be attributed to the warmth of our climate, and to the nature of our pastures, but more to causes already assigned. If ever a land was justly characterized as ' flowing with milk and honey,' it is Illinois and the adjacent States." Cheese is made by many families bordering on the Illinois River. Good butter sold for from eight to ten cents in the St. Louis markets, and cheese at the last-mentioned price. This must indicate that at that date large amounts of both products were made, else the price would have been greater.

Sheep were not much raised in the primitive days, when wolves and panthers roamed wild over the hills and prairies. The earliest French residents raised no sheep or goats. In 1797, a body of emigrants, from Hardin County, Virginia, settled near the New Design Settlement, in what is now Monroe County, and "cultivated fall wheat for market, and raised sheep and made linseys for clothing." In 1817, George Flower brought to Edwards County " six of the finest wool-growing animals ever imported into this country. This," he says, in 1842, " is the origin of my flock." According to Mr. Faux, an English farmer, who visited the settlements in 1819, Mr. Flower had a large herd of sheep, which roamed over the prairies in the day time, under care of a shepherd, and were housed at night. Fifty had just been destroyed by wolves, despite the precautions taken. The writers of early times mention the inferiority of the sheep, as compared to those they had seen in England, and say the Americans cared but little for their culture. Woods says : " The Americans keep sheep for the sake of their wool, which is manufactured into various articles of clothing, and at most of their cabins you may see carding, spinning, and weaving going forward ; for, to give the

American women their due, many of them are truly industrious, as they manufacture most parts of their dress, and, as they grow the cotton, flax,, and wool, it comes reasonable. These Americans hold mutton in the utmost contempt, and I have heard them say, people who eat it belong to the family of wolves. Wool sells on a small scale, for half a dollar a pound, without much regard to its fineness." Peck says : " Sheep do well in the country where the grass has become short, and where they are protected from the wolves. Common wool is worth thirty-seven and a half cents, in the fleece. Little is said or done to improve the breed of sheep by introducing the Merino or Saxony breed." The raising of sheep, since 1841, has been pursued with very fluctuating results. The number doubled, however, between 1860 and 1870, although the increase in the United States was less than thirty per cent. Improved breeds began to come in pretty freely as early as 1840, the Merino attracting the most attention. The higher prices paid for long coarse wools during and since the war, and the consumption of mutton, increased the demand for the Cotswold and Leicester, and these latter breeds are now more approved by many of the smaller sheep-growers.

Swine were first introduced by the French. " However," says Governor Reynolds, "they lived on a vegetable diet more than the Americans, and used less pork. Bacon was uncommon among them." In 1818, he speaks of hogs and cattle growing in the river bottoms, without much expense. Woods, in 1820, describes the swine of the West more fully, he says : " Pigs are numerous, being easily raised ; they are of various sorts, but many of them are of a sandy color, and some with wattles, that is, a piece of flesh about two inches long, and half an inch thick, growing out on their cheeks. They are of middling size, but from very hard keep, do not rise to much in weight. It is not uncommon for one person to have from sixty to one hundred in the woods, and left to shift for themselves, except giving them, now and then, a little salt. During the summer when grass and herbs are dry, and before the frosts begin to fall, it is almost impossible to describe how exceedingly poor they are. Most of them run till they are two and sometimes three years old, before they are killed, and in general, have but little fattening. Some years when there is a large quantity of acorns, hickory-nuts, etc., they are said to make good pork. A hog of two hundred pounds weight, is counted a ' chunk of a fellow,' and few exceeded that weight." "This species of stock," says Peck, in 1831, "may be called a staple in the provision of Illinois. Thousands of hogs exist without any expense, save in hunting and keeping them tame." " Few families," he continues, " in the West and South, put up their pork in salt pickle. Their method is to prepare it sufficiently for smoking, and then make bacon of hams, shoulders, and middlings, or broadsides. The price of bacon, the last season and the present, is six and seven cents. Good hams command eight cents in the St. Louis market. Stock hogs, weighing from sixty to seventy pounds each, alive, usually sell from one dollar to one dollar and fifty cents per head."

To the period last mentioned, no improved breeds appear to have been found in the country. About 1841, the Berkshires, Irish Grazier, and other breeds, were found in the central and northern parts of the State. The Stock Importing Association brought new specimens of Berk- shire and Irish Cumberland, and Yorkshire swine, in 1857. The Magie, or Poland China, soon took a prominent position, and was widely disseminated. In numbers of swine, Illinois stood in advance of every other State, in 1870, Missouri coming next. The report of the Board of Trade, of Chicago, in 1874-75, for pork-packing in the Mississippi Valley, shows 2,113,845 in Illinois, to 870,971 in Ohio, and less in other States. Cincinnati is no longer porkopolis.

The minor domestic animals were not neglected by the French settlers. Charlevoix found, in 1821, poultry grown by the French and Indians, at Kaskaskia. "They have a great deal of poultry," says Pittman, of the Cahokias, a half century later. " The common fowls," says R,e}Tnolds, " were abundantly raised, among the early French, and eggs gave the people much healthy and agreeable support." " The poultry," says Woods, " of the Wabash country, are fowls, geese, and ducks. Fowls are in great abundance, and sell for twelve and a half cents a piece. A dozen of eggs is generally the price of one chicken. Geese and ducks are kept by the Americans for the sake of their feathers, and not for sale, -or to eat." "Poultry is raised in great profusion," says Peck, "and large numbers of fowls taken to the St. Louis markets. It is no uncommon thing for the farmer's wife to raise from three to four hundred fowls, besides geese, ducks, and turkeys, in one season." "Bees," he adds elsewhere, "are profitable stock for the farmer, and are kept 1o a considerable extent. The cost is usually from one to two dollars a hive, in the spring. Silk-worms are raised by a few persons." Wild prairie chickens, ducks, geese, and turkeys, flourished in great abundance in the pioneer days of the country. Between the years 1850 and 1860, they were found in great numbers, and were considered good eating. They were usually caught by trapping or shooting. Bee trees were a verycommon sight in the early settlements. The Indians possessed a remarkable faculty for finding them, and hunting them formed one of their chief sports. This was the case also with the pioneer. What better sport did he desire than to go "bee-hunting" at night? Great progress has been made in the culture of the minor domestic animals, and only improved species are now found.

AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS. - In this narrative it will be highly appropriate to notice the tools that have been used in the PAST and PRESENT of agriculture. The French used the same implements they had been accustomed to, in their native country, and only learned improvement with the advent of the Americans. They had the old wooden plow, wooden wheeled cart, and straight yoke for their oxen ; the old sickle, and bound the sheaves of wheat with grass cut for the purpose. Their women performed much of this out-door labor, as well as all other kinds, on the farm.

As to the early American settlers, Governor Reynolds gives the following statements : " The old bar-share plow was used by the Americans, and sometimes the shovel plow in the growing corn. The common hoe was the same then as now. It was often very difficult to procure the ring and staples for ox yokes. The wood of the yoke was manufactured at home in great abundance. The harness for the horses was more difficult to procure. As smith's shops were almost unknown in the country, horses were seldom shod, and it appeared the animal in those days could lo better without shoes than at this time. Frequently poor farmers were compelled to use rawhide straps for traces, and some made hickory poles md hickory withes serve for traces in the plow. Truck wagons, the wheels being made of large sycamore logs sawn off, were frequently used, md were about equal to, but not so sightly as, the French carts, without grease. The truck wagons were made entirely without iron, and often ilmost entirely without tools. In these aboriginal times, husk collars rere mostly used. Sleds were sometimes used, but they were a poor 3xcuse. The Americans generally stacked their wheat and hay. Mowing the prairie grass, as well as reaping the wheat, was hot, hard labor. It ras a great trouble to thresh and clean the wheat. About the hardest rork I ever performed was winnowing the wheat with a sheet."

a period within the memory of many now living. Forty or fifty years igo the mouldboards of the plows were made of wood, which, in a few 3ases, was covered with hoop iron. These plows were about the only implements used in working the soil, harrows with wooden teeth, and rollers, being poorly made and but little used. Corn planters had no4" yet superseded the barefooted boys and girls, and wheat drills were entirely unknown. The grain cradle, a great improvement on the sickle, though it was introduced in Madison County as early as 1819, was but just comig into vogue. Grass was still cut with the scythe, and raked with hand rakes. Wheat and other grain was tramped out with horses, who traveled a circle over a carefully adjusted ring of cut bundles, laid with heads lapping over the butts and toward the coming hoofs. This mode of threshing is yet practiced where barns with large threshing floors are made. All this has changed. The bar-share and the shovel plow have ")een succeeded by the Carey, the Diamond, the Peoria, the Moline, the Deere, and a wonderful number of other earth turners. The gang and the sulky plows have increased the capacity of human labor, and lecreased its severity. The efforts of the State Agricultural Society have tested the efficiency of two or more attempts of steam plowing by traction, and although success is not yet attained, it seems attainable, and the next century will doubtless find steam plowing fairly established in the State. Machines drill the wheat, cut and bind the grain, and thresh and winnow it. Machines cut, rake, load, and stack the hay. It is an >pen question whether, in some cases, this labor is performed more )heaply, but it is certain it is done with far less expenditure of human strength.

DIVISIONS OF LAND - FENCES. - A very important and often heretofore very expensive consideration in Illinois farming, has been numerous fences to exclude predatory stock turned loose by one's neighbors. The first fencing for field purposes in Illinois, so far as we know, was done with rails, though the French are said to have used split palings about their houses. Reynolds mentions seeing the American pioneers carrying rails from the tree to the fence, for the want of a wagon to haul them. The scarcity of timber on the prairies, however, soon suggested the hedges on the one hand, and somewhat later, the idea of confining stock. As late as 1831, Peck speaks of rails as almost the only article used in fencing. Their cost was one dollar per hundred. He mentioned as an exceptional case a farm near him about to be enclosed with "planks," at a cost of seventy-five cents a rod. He mentions " feeble attempts as being made to substitute a live hedge of crab-apple, and of honey-locust, without success." Mr. Flagg, of Moro, Illinois, in preparing the Agricultural History of the State in 1876, says : " Some ten years later than this " - 1841 - " I remember a Scotchman making a hedge and ditch after the old country fashion, using the crab-apple instead of the thorn. This hedge was cut down a short time ago, after having stood over thirty years. It never was a good fence," he continues, " but I am strongly inclined to think that with a little more encouragement it would have made a capital fence." The Union Agriculturalist, in 1841, contains frequent correspondence on the hedge question, and honey-locust, buckthorn, white-thorn, and even osage orange, are suggested. As early as 1854, the editor of the Prairie Farmer, passing through Morgan and adjoining counties, speaks of the hedge question as already settled there, and that osage fences are a common wayside fence wherever he went. This was largely due to the efforts of Prof. J. B. Turner, who led the van in many a material and moral victory. Meanwhile the construction of railroads cheapened the construction of the pine fencing of Wisconsin and Michigan so much so as to discourage experiments in hedge culture. Since the war, the high prices of lumber, and the increased cost of rail fences, even in timbered regions, have given hedge planting a great impulse wherever the osage orange is sufficiently hardy, and given a stimulus to experimentation where it is not, to honey-locust, barberry, buck-thorn, etc. On the other hand, under township organization system, the townships have the power to prevent animals from running at large, and in State legislation the influence of the State Agricultural Board has made itself felt in restoring the common law practically, that makes the owner responsible for all damage by the animal running at large. The farms are all well fenced, and from the old system of Commons, established by the French, measured by the " arpent," down through the " claim " period, the wisdom of enclosed lands has made itself manifest. It is confidently claimed that Illinois has now more miles of serviceable hedge fence than any other State in the Union. Of the counties where farms are securely enclosed, Morgan stands equal to any.

Early Architecture

The old writers drew very pleasing pictures of the rural life of the first settlers in Illinois. We shall omit this period in our history, however, and confine our narrative to a time since the occupation of the country by the Americans. The cabins of the pioneers were of various sizes, and generally made of round logs. Some of the more favored ones, however, had hewed log cabins, and were regarded by their neighbors as more fortunate than themselves. These round, log cabins were made by taking two logs, generally about one foot in diameter, and, we will suppose, thirty and twenty feet long. This length of logs would build a tolerably sized cabin. The logs were notched in near the ends, the shorter laid upon the longer, forming the first round, and leaving a small space between the first tier and the second, which was laid in the same manner on these. In this way round after round was laid, until the sides of the cabin were ten or twelve rounds high, as the owner might desire. The last two end logs laid were made long enough to project over the corner three or four feet, thereby forming eaves to carry the water, during a rain, that distance from the cabin. This projection also afforded a diminutive porch, and in the summer kept the hot rays of the sun from the side of the house. After these logs were laid on, completing the walls of the cabin, two logs, cut slanting at the ends, and just long enough to fit between the notches, were laid on at each end of the cabin ; two more, cut in the same manner, and shorter than the first, were laid on these, and so on until an apex was reached. On the last one, generally about one foot in length, a long log, smaller than those laid in the sides of the building, was placed from one to the other, and also projecting over each some three or four feet. To secure these short, slant pieces forming the apex of the cabin, a cleft of a small tree was placed on the outside and securely pegged on, and also fastened to the last mentioned log or pole. One or two poles of the same length as that forming the " comb of the roof," as it was called, were generally laid between the eaves and the comb, supplying the place of rafters. On these, clapboards, split boards about four feet in length, were laid nearly double, so as to cover the joints ; the boards at the top of the cabin projecting a little over those on the other side. When the roof is thus covered, some poles are laid along the building to keep the shingles on. These poles were kept at about three feet distance from each other by pieces of wood laid on the roof between them. These poles were called weight poles, and sometimes stones were used in their stead. When all this was complete, the cabin was "raised," and where several neighbors joined in a day's work for some new comer, or some newly married persons, such a cabin would be constructed in one day. It was simply now a pen without any openings, save the cracks .between the logs. A door was made by sawing out a section in the logs to the lower one, which was generally sawn about half through and cut out to form a doorstep. The top of the door, was made in the same manner, and secured closeness. A stout piece of wood was pegged on each side, forming a jam, as it was termed, wooden hinges were made, and a door, made of split puncheon, hung thereon. A wooden latch with a leathern string hung outside fastened it. This old fashioned latch-string was always out, and owing to the known hospitality of the pioneer, has given rise to a very suggestive aphorism. A door was often made on each side of the cabin. Windows, after glass came in use, were made in the same manner, though smaller, and instead of being capable of raising and lowering, as in modern times, were hung on hinges, made to slide, or taken entirely out in warm weather. The floors were made of split pnnpheon, in most cases joined neatly and closely together, and laid on the ground, or on cross pieces. The chimney was generally placed at the end of the building, and made as follows : first, four or five logs were cut out, as for a door or window place, of whatever width the occupant chose. It was generally four or five feet in width, and often wider. Then some logs were cleft and placed so that the ends came just inside the cabin wall, and projecting outward, formed a square pen. These were placed one on the other until they rose as high as the opening in the wall. The chimney was carried up, as was the cabin, until it reached the top, when it was drawn in and constructed of sticks. It was drawn in gradually from the bottom upwards, until the top was generally about one foot square.

It was then thoroughly chunked and " daubed ;" often stones were placed at the bottom and some distance up the sides, so as to effectually prevent the action of fire. Next the cabin itself was chunked and daubed - that is, the cracks between the logs were filled with split pieces of wood, held in with pegs, and securely closed by daubing with mud. It was also plastered with loam or clay, and sometimes the inside was covered with well made split boards, pegged on. It was often whitewashed where lime could be obtained. A ceiling was made by taking stout poles and laying them on the upper tier of logs, their ends projecting through under the eaves, and being placed from two to four feet apart. On these split boards were laid, forming a floor. Sometimes the chimneys were walled several feet in height, and were always so carefully constructed that fires seldom occurred.

This completed the cabin. It was now ready for occupancy, and in it, many who now live in opulence, the fruit of years of labor, stoutly affirm they passed their happiest days. One room served all purposes, and when friends or travelers came, a bed was made on the floor, and every convenience offered in their power. Two cabins were often built near together, between them a space of ten or twelve feet was left, covered with a roof, and under this cover the pioneer stored many articles. One side of it was generally walled up, leaving the front open. A covered porch was also often seen in front of the cabins. Here the farmer could rest at noontide, and a common sight was the busy housewife spinning under this porch on a warm summer's day.

These cabins are yet used in many parts of the State, especially in the southern and wooded portion. Some have more modern conveniences, and are equal to many frame dwellings now built. But in the early days of the country, none other could be made. There were no mills for sawing lumber; the pioneer was almost always poor, and was compelled to endure many privations. Yet these dwellings were comfortable, and healthy, such diseases as consumption and bronchial affections being entirely unknown.

Buildings for stock and for the protection of farming machinery were the result of after days. Says an old writer : " When pigs are shut up for fattening, it is common to make a fence for them of rails, in the same manner as for fields ; sometimes one corner is covered over to make a lodging for them, but it is more common for them to be left to the mercy of the winds and weather ; but as they are hardy animals, and accustomed to hard living and lodging, it does not appear to hurt them. There are but few cattle yards and sheds. The cattle are mostly left abroad in the winter, with no other shelter but what the leafless trees afford." There were few granaries, except corn-cribs, and a few poultry houses, built generally the same as cabins, as were the stables also. The stables were often carried higher, to provide for a hay -loft ; some had a rack made out of a hollow log, which answered for a manger. These outhouses were built in the forest - as well as were all the cabins - and were sheltered from the blasts of winter thereby. As the country improved, the buildings were made better, and after the advent of the railroads good substantial buildings were erected, which now appear on every hand. It is doubtful if many counties in the State excel Morgan in the fine dwelling and barns scattered over her prairies.

Agricultural Organizations

It will be well in this connection to give a brief resume of the agricultural organizations in the State, including the agricultural societies of Morgan County.

The isolated condition of the farmer causes him to act slowly in availing himself of the generally conceded advantages of association and cooperation ; but at a very early day beginnings were made by the early pioneers. Woods, in 1820, says : " An agricultural society was established last year, and Mr. Birbeck made president. It held its first meeting at Kaskaskia, but whether there was any other meeting I do not know."

Faux, in November, 1819, says of Moses Birbeck : " He has just returned from a tour through Illinois, by way of Kaskaskia, where he was chosen president of the Agricultural Society of Illinois, one grand object of which will be to, rid the State of stagnant waters." This fixes the date of organization nearly, but does not mention any other officers. The Edwardsville Spectator, of May 16, 1820, contains a letter to Henry S. Dodge, secretary of the Agricultural Society of the State of Illinois, from Curtis Blakeman, of Madison County, who gives an account of a crop of corn, of between nine and ten acres, yielding 120 bushels of shelled corn to the acre. Mr. Dodge was probably the first secretary of the association. This society remained intact several years, and numbered among its members men of worth and standing. " Becoming tired of keeping up their organization, the members," says one of their number, George Churchill, " turned over their surplus fund to the Sunday School agent, Rev. J. M. Peck, and disbanded." This society, though small, did much good in the State. The Agricultural Society of Madison County, organized Feb. 0, 1822, at Edwardsville, was probably suggested by the State society just mentioned. It existed but a short time, holding its last meeting November 3, 1824. There are no records of existing societies until 1839, when the Union Agricultural Society was chartered. It comprised the greater portion of Lake, McHenry, Kane, Cook, DuPage, Will, and LaSalle Counties. It started the Union Agriculturalist and Western Farmer, about the close of 1840, or Beginning of 1841. It gave quite an impulse to agriculture in those counties, and doubtless to more than it ever accomplished. It held four annual cattle shows, the last occurring in 1844. It seems to have discussed, to some extent, agl ricultural education. Judge John Dean Caton, of Ottawa, was its firspresident, William B. Ogden, its treasurer, and John S. Wright, secret tary. Louis Ellsworth, well known in agricultural and horticulturacircles, was vice-president at the first organization, and subsequently president. M. L. Dunlap, better known as " Rural," of the Chicago Tribune, was one of its secretaries. Judge Caton thinks there were nine persons who formed the organization, but few of whom now survive.

Nearly at the same time with the organization of the Union Agricultural Society, a new effort was made and a second Illinois State Agricultural Society, organized at Springfield, about the beginning of 1841. The January number of the Union Agriculturalist,^ that year, contains an account of a meeting in the Senate chamber on the 12th of that month. It seems to have been an adjourned meeting. James M. Bradford, of Sangamon, presided and John S. Wright was secretary. Mr. Brown, of

Sangamon, reported a constitution, which was discussed and adopted. On the 15th, another meeting was held, at which Mr. Brown, from a committee, reported a list of officers who were elected. They were : Wm. Wilson, of White County, president ; two vice-presidents from each of the nine judicial circuits of the State; Isaac S. Britton, of Sangamon, recording secretary ; John S. Wright, of Cook, corresponding secretary ; and John Williams, of Sangamon, treasurer. But little appears to have been accomplished by this organization. The Prairie Farmer, of 1848, contains a report from its corresponding secretary, Mr. Wright, mainly made up of recommendations. He states that county societies had been organized in the counties of LaSalle, Winnebago, JoDaviess, Putnam, Hancock, Knox, Peoria, McDonough, Schuyler, Adams, Morgan, Scott, Sangamon, Greene, Madison, Coles, Edgar, Jackson, and Jefferson. The Union Agriculturalist states that fairs were held in 1841, in LaSalle, Sangamon, Morgan, and Winnebago, under the name of the Agricultural Society of Illinois. All these societies, State and local, seem to have declined and expired within a few years.

The Buel Institute, of Putnam County, an organization which has " never let go," was organized in 1846, and is now the oldest agricultural society in the State. At the time it was formed, a society was created in Macoupin County. Kane County held a fair the same year, and that of Peoria County was postponed. No other evidences appear of any other societies, on the pages of the agricultural periodicals at that time. The Prairie Farmer of 1847, notices no agricultural gatherings of any kind in any part of the State. In 1848, it notes a coming fair of the Buel Institute, and an organization of a society in Rock Island. In an editorial on " Our Agricultural Societies," written that year, in the pages of the Prairie Farmer, the editor says : " It will be no news to announce that the greater number of these are either not in existence, or are in a state of entire slumber." But evidences of a better day were appearing. That same year, in October, a convention of nurserymen met in Peoria. A second meeting was held in November, 1847, at Farmington, Fulton County, and is referred to as the " Illinois Horticultural Society." The same year the Chicago Horticultural Society was organized, with J. H. Kerizie as president. It held at least five exhibitions.

At Princeton, in December, 1850, the Northwestern Fruit Growers' Association began its work, which, in 1857, it handed over to the Illinois State Horticultural Society. In 1851, the first Alton Horticultural Society was formed, and has been continued, with one or two exceptions, annually until this day. The year 1851 was notable for the organization of the Industrial League, under the lead of Prof. J. B. Turner, which did much to forward the discussion of agricultural education. Prof. Turner was born and raised on a farm. Accustomed to severe toil and industry, he educated himself, graduating with honor at Yale College. For a while he was a tutor at New Haven, where he won high encomiums from his associates. He came to Illinois in 1832, when this country was a comparative wilderness, the home of the savage. He well remembers, and narrates interesting reminiscences of noted Indians, and of trips to Chicago and elsewhere, when the compass was his only guide. He was one of the early professors in Illinois College, in which position he remained fifteen years, when failing health admonished him to seek a more vigorous occupation. He then began to turn his attention to agriculture, and to engage vigorously in that pursuit. Here he led the advance in many reforms ; introduced the Osage orange fence ; was the first to advocate and use farm machinery ; was a constant contributor to various literary, scientific, and agricultural journals, and was one of the earliest and warmest advocates of the present common school system of the State. He has always been a forcible writer, and tenaciously energetic in any reform he advocated. He has been prominently connected with all State agricultural societies, and was among the earliest agitators and supporters of such organizations. In 1853, the Illinois State Agricultural Society was chartered and organized, and continued under that name until 1871, when it was re-organized, and continued under the name of the State Board of Agriculture. The first organization was effected in 1853, in Springfield, and for the next twenty-five years there has been no break in its continuity. A vice-president from each congressional district has been biennially elected. These were nine in number at the first election. They were afterward increased to fourteen, and in 1870, they were nineteen in number.

Many subordinate and independent organizations have sprung up to forward the specialties comprehended in the scope of the State Agricultural Society, and Board of Agriculture. Of these, the oldest and most efficient has been the Illinois State Horticultural Society, organized at Decatur, in 1856. It succeeded the Northwestern Fruit Growers' Association in 1857, organized, in 1850, and itself ante-dated by the meetings of 1846 and 1847. Since 1867, it has been aided by a State appropriation of $2,000 per annum, the most of which has been devoted to the publication of its annual reports. In 1874, the Illinois State Horticultural Society was declared a public corporation, by act of the legislature, and required to report its receipts and expenditures. In 1868, the Northern Horticultural Society was organized, and has since held annual meetings of great interest, the most of which have been reported in the Transactions of the State Society, as well as those of Alton, Warsaw, Adams County, Galesburg, Jacksonville, and other local institutions of the same character.

The Illinois Wool Growers' Association was formed in 1H64, and is still in existence. The Illinois Swine Breeders' Association, in 1869; the Illinois Poultry Association, probably in 1874 ; the Illinois State Dairyman's Association, some years since, and the Fish Culturists have lately organized. These and kindred associations tend more and more to a division of labor, and discussion of the many branches of agriculture.

A later and more novel form of agricultural association is seen in the order of the Patrons of Husbandry. Its object is " mutual instruction and protection." In pursuit of this object, it necessarily comes in contact with those who prefer that the farmer should devote himself solely to seeking the maximum of production, and leave distribution to the "laws of trade." Hence, this form of action and its allies have been subjected to some ridicule and abuse. Nevertheless, the organization has done a good work in arousing the agricultural classes to a sense of their own ignorance, of the impositions which have been placed upon them, of the utter necessity of doing their own thinking, and of having their share in the control of prices. At the close of the year 1875, at the fourth session of the State Grange, this order had organized 1,586 granges in Illinois, 1,325 of which had paid dues that year. More or less associated with and much in sympathy with this movement, have been the various open, and occasionally partisan, organizations of farmers' clubs, and the State Farmers' Association, the latter of which was organized in 1872, and has devoted itself more to the agitation and discussion of those subjects that most concerned the political-economical relations of the agriculturist, such as trade, transportation, and taxation.

A pursuit so intimately connected with the interests of a people, could not exist without its representative periodicals. The oldest agricultural paper in the state was the Western Plowboy, a double-column octavo, published semi-monthly, at Edwardsville, Madison County, by John York Sawyer, during the year 1831. The twenty-fifth number was published January 24, 1832, and gives notice of its discontinuance for want of proper support. From an extract in the twelfth number it is learned there were then "no less than seven" agricultural papers in the United States.

The Union Agriculturalist and Western Farmer was probably the next paper started. It was the organ of the Union Agricultural Society in 1840-41, and was edited by the society's secretary, John S. Wright. It was the Prairie Farmer of later years, and is yet in existence, the oldest rural periodical in the Northwest. In 1856, the Illinois Farmer, edited by Simon Francis, was started in Springfield. It was afterwards edited by M. L. Dunlap - " Rural " - and was discontinued in 1865. Since the last named period, quite a number of such magazines and papers have been started, until now Illinois, in the scope and ability of her agricultural literature, surpasses any other State except New York, whose great metropolis gives that State a publishing center of more apparent than real advantage.

Morgan County has always kept in the advance in agricultural pursuits. The earliest settlers were men of ability, and kept apace in the interests attached to their calling. The has had a continuous existence since its inauguration in 1851, with the exception of 1862, when the society gave way to the demands of war, and gave the grounds to the One Hundred and First Regiment, Illinois Volunteers. The records from 1851 to 1854, are somewhat obscure. It appears that there were two societies in existence, one of which held a fair on Wednesday and Thursday, the 22d and 23d of October, 1851. Of this society the officers were Jos. Morton, President ; W. L. Sargent and S. T. Mathews, Vice Presidents, and Win. G. Johnson, Secretary. This fair was held on the poor-house grounds, then in the eastern part of Jacksonville. At this fair stock alone was exhibited, a rope being stretched around the enclosure where the stock was shown. At the close of each day, a hat was passed around and a collection raised to aid in defraying the necessary expenses. About the same time, or a few days after, an exhibition of textile fabrics and home manufactures was given in the public square, the fancy articles being attached to ropes stretched about on the grounds. It is probable these exhibitions were the first of the kind in the county. No records of any prior to this date exist, nor do the recollections of any of the older citizens fix on any dates before this accurately. Some aver that fairs were held as early as 1838 or '40, others at various dates from 1840 to '51, but no one can state definitely during this period or give any accurate description of such exhibitions. There may have been a few small exhibits held and probably were, but no fair under an organized association before the one of which mention has been made.

About the year 1852 or '53, the two organizations appear to have united, and on November llth, 1854, a charter was received by the "Morgan County Agricultural Association." The first officers of this association were Judge Stephen Dunlap, President; James Green and Col. Jos. Morton, Vice Presidents ; Cyrus Mathews, Treasurer, and Austin Rockwell, Secretary. Soon after, this society purchased of Col. George M. Chambers fifteen acres of land, situated in the southwestern part of the city of Jacksonville. Here annual exhibitions were held until the year 1858. On the 20th of February of that year these grounds were sold to Mr. Henry Saunderson, for five thousand dollars, and thirty acres of ground, a mile and a half west of the public square were purchased of Col. James Dunlap. This was a more desirable location, and is still used by the association. The fairs have always been a decided success in this county, the exhibitions being equal to any in the State. The association secured the location of the State Fair on their grounds for the year^l 860, which was largely attended from all sections of the State. From three to four thousand dollars are annually paid in premiums by the association. The present officers are N. D. Graves, President ; F. M. Morton and J. H. Potts, Vice Presidents; B. F. Beesley, Treasurer, and James M. Dunlap, Secretary.

Before closing this chapter it will be well to notice the agricultural resources of the county. For the year 1877, there were reported 13,760 acres of wheat; 97,680 acres of corn; 26,780 acres of meadow; 21,486 acres of other field products ; 124,000 acres in pasture ; 3,594 in orchard, and 66,052 in woodland. There were only 48 acres returned as swamp lands. The value of the various farm products is not given, nor the amounts in bushels. The yield has been very large and assures abundance for the residents of the county, in addition to large quantities shipped to other markets.

Morgan County contains, according to the report of the County Assessor, made to the State Board of Equalization, from the returns made to him in the Spring of 1877, 353,352 acres of land. By this board the county was placed in the third class, and the lands valued at $22 per acre, or a total value of $7,773,744 ; by the County Assessor it was rated at $19.54 per acre, or a total value of $6,904,498.08. Of the number of acres given, 287,300 are classed as improved lands, valued by the assessor at $22.36 per acre, or a total of $6,424,028. The remainder of the lands, 66,052 acres, are classed as unimproved lands, and are valued at $7.26 per acre, or a total of $479,537.52. Of this latter class, but little is waste land, the greater portion being pastured. There were returned by the assessor at the same time, 3,387 improved city and town lots, and 2,074 as unimproved. The former were valued at $700.87 each, or $2,373,853 in all. The latter were valued at $73.13 each, or $151,672

The value of manufactured articles is $935, that of manufacturers' tools and machinery, $5,385; of agricultural tools, $33,186 ; $68,193 are in the hands of bankers and brokers, while an additional credit of $16,778 is reported ; $596,482 are otherwise invested, while over $300,000 worth of bank stock is held. The value of household and office property is $132,325.

To recapitulate: The total value of lands is $6,904,498.08; of lots, $2,525,525 ; of railroad property (real estate), $12,550 ; of live stock, $745,410 ; of farming machinery and other implements, $128,855 ; and of the other items enumerated, $1,151,314. To this may be added other items, aggregating about $300,000, making the total wealth of the

Political History

If the reader will turn to the History of the Northwest, published elsewhere in this volume, he can readily trace the progressive stages through which that country passed until its ultimate division into territories and states. He will there learn that the Illinois Territory was formed from the Indiana Territory in 1809, and made an independent municipality. Nineteen years prior to this date, in February, 1790, Arthur St. Clair (who had been appointed Governor of the Northwest Territory by Congress, October 5, 1787), and the Secretary, Winthrop Sargent, arrived in Kaskaskia to execute the orders of the late Congress regarding the inhabitants of the then far West. The country within the boundaries of our present State, extending northward to the mouth of the Little Mackinaw Creek, on the Illinois, was organized into a county, named after His Excellency, Governor St. Clair. This was the first county formed in the limits of Illinois. It was divided into three judicial districts, and Cahokia made the seat of government.

St. Clair County remained intact until 1795, when Randolph was formed by running a line through the New Design settlement in the present Monroe County, due east to the Wabash River, and all that country south of this line was established into the county of Randolph, named in honor of Edmond Randolph, of Virginia.

Harry Reinbach

the Indiana Territory lying " west of the Wabash River, and a direct line drawn from the said Wabash River and Post Vincennes, due north to the territorial line between the United States and Canada," should, after the first of March following, constitute a separate territory, and be called Illinois. It will be perceived this included the present State of Wisconsin. The population of the newly organized territory was estimated at about nine thousand, leaving double that number in Indiana.

On September 6, 1812, the territorial legislature established the counties of Madison, Gallatin, and Johnson. The first named of these included what is now Morgan County. In 1815, Edwards and White Counties were erected ; in 1816, Monroe, Crawford, Jackson, Pope, and Bond, and in 1818, Union, Franklin, and Washington were formed. It will thus be seen that when the convention met in July, 1818, to draft a constitution for the State of Illinois, fifteen counties were represented. Illinois was admitted as a State soon after, the first election for officers being held in September.

With the rapid increase of population the division of the State into smaller counties became necessary. In 1821 Greene County was formed out of the northern portion of Madison. Its northern boundary, however, was established as it yet exists, and all that country north to, and beyond the Illinois River, was attached to it for judicial purposes.

During the session of the General Assembly of 1822 - '23, the Military Tract was laid, out into counties. The county seat of Pike County was established, and the records of lands, patents, deeds, etc., were recorded at Atlas. This tract had formerly been attached to Madison. On January 31, 1823, Morgan County was established. The act relating to its formation reads as follows :

" SEC. 1. That all that tract of country within the following boundaries, to-wit : Beginning at the northwest corner of Greene County ; thence east to the range line between seven and eight west of the third principal meridian ; thence northerly along the middle of the prairie that divides the waters of the Sangamon River from those of Apple Creek, Mauvaisterre and Indian Creeks, until it arrives at the middle of range eight ; thence north to the middle of the main channel of Sangamon River ; thence down the said channel to the middle of the main channel of the Illinois River ; thence down said last mentioned channel to the place of beginning.

" SEC. 2. - Be it further enacted, That the electors of said county shall meet on the first Monday of March next at the house of James G. Swinerton to elect three county commissioners, a sheriff, and a coroner, and that Joseph Klein, John Clark, and Daniel Lieb, be, and they are hereby appointed the judges of said election ; who shall give notice thereof and proceed on that day to conduct the same according to the existing laws of this State, or such as may then be in force, relative to the election for county officers.

ten days thereafter, and, after being duly sworn, shall proceed to determine on some convenient place as near the center of population as circumstances will admit ; and such place, when located, shall be the seat of justice until otherwise provided by law. Such commissioners shall be allowed two dollars each per day for the time necessarily employed, to be paid out of the county treasury.

" SEC. 4. That the citizens of Morgan County are hereby declared entitled in all respects to the same rights and privileges as are allowed in general to other counties in the State. Provided always. That when freeholders are capable of performing any duty, or are entitled to any privilege, householders shall, for all such purposes, be considered as freeholders in said county, and shall and may perform all the duties appertaining to the different offices in said county.

On February 17, this act was amended, changing the time of the meeting of the commissioners appointed to locate the seat of justice, from the first Monday of March to the third Monday, and that the election be held on the same day.

It will be observed that the act quoted at length, fixed the boundaries of Morgan County so that it included the present counties of Cass and Scott. It was then about forty miles long, thirty-two miles wide, and included about 1280 square miles, or nearly 800,000 acres of land.

On the day designated in the act, the third Monday in March, 1823, an election was held at the house of James G. Swinerton. This was situated about six miles southwest of the present city of Jacksonville.

At this election Milton Ladd, member of the Legislature from Johnston County, was chosen Judge of Probate Court, and was also appointed Clerk of Circuit Court. Dennis Rockwell was appointed Recorder. Mr. Ladd made one visit to Morgan County and declined the office to which he was elected. Dennis Rockwell was then appointed clerk and Aaron Wilson judge. The county was attached to the first judicial district, of which John Reynolds (afterwards elected Governor in 1830) was judge. Jonathan Piper, Stephen Pierce, James Deaton, John Clark, Daniel Lieb, Thomas Arnett, Samuel Bristow, Equillar Hall, David Blain, John Green, Joseph Buchanan, and Seymore Kelley, were appointed justices of the peace, and Johnson Shelton surveyor. Of all these Equillar Hall is probably the only survivor. At the election for county officers, Dank-: Lieb, Peter Conover, and Samuel Bristow, were chosen county coma, sinners, and William B. Green, sheriff. Dennis Rockwell was subsequently appointed clerk of this court. The house of Mr. Swinerton was chosen as the temporary seat of justice, and the first court held there. The first Circuit Court was held by Judge John Reynolds, on the third Monday of April, following the election, in an old log cabin owned by Dr Cad well, near Mr. Swinerton's house. In 1822, the territory of which Morgan County was composed was attached to the senatorial district composed of Greene and Pike Counties, and of the representative district composing Greene County. Dr. George Cadwell was elected to the Senate, and Archibald Job, of Beardstown, to the House of Representatives. "I question," says Judge Thomas, in a paper read before the Old Settlers' Association, " if two better men for the positions could have been found in the district, for integrity, honesty, and good sound sense, they have not been equaled by any of their successors."

At the election in 1824, Thomas Carlin (elected Governor in 1836) and Isaac N. Piggott (for many years a resident of St. Louis, and, if now living, over ninety years of age) were candidates for the Senate. Carlin obtained the certificate of election, but Piggott contested his right, and, upon investigation, the question was referred back to the people, and a new election was the result. Carlin was elected by a decisive majority. Mr. Job was re-elected to the House.

But few sessions of court were held at Mr. Swinerton's. It will be noticed in reading the act creating the county that Samuel Bristow, John Clark, and Henry Fahnestock were appointed a committee to fix upon a temporary seat of justice for Morgan County. They selected a place called " Olmstead's Mounds," about eight miles west of the present city of Jacksonville. By an act passed January 6, 1825, John Howard, Abraham Pickett, and John T. Lusk, of Madison County, were appointed commissioners to fix upon a permanent seat of justice for the county. They were required to meet at the house of James Deaton on the first Monday of March, and, after being duly sworn, were " to locate the permanent seat of justice of said county at the most eligible place, as near the center of the territory as practicable, having due regard to the present and future population."

These commissioners met on the day appointed, and settled the present site of the city. The land then belonged to the government, but early the next day was purchased by Thomas Arnett and Isaac Dial at private sale for one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre. It was in sections 20 and 21, Mr. Arnett purchasing the former section, and Mr. Dial the latter. On the 10th of March they laid out a town thereon, giving to the county for the use of public buildings forty acres. There was living on the town site a man named Cox, a hatter by trade, who occupied a cabin which stood a little to the northeast of the present fountain in the public square. This cabin he soon after sold to Mr. Thomas Carson, who thereby became an early resident of the county seat. He was the first tavern-keeper therein, and was well known.

The first term of the Circuit Court met in the new seat of justice on uesday after the second Monday in May, 1825. John S. Sawyer was circuit judge, Dennis Rockwell clerk, and Joseph M. Fairfield sheriff. A two-story frame court house was soon built. It stood on the northwest part of the square, and was placed on round blocks. Its cost was about four hundred and fifty dollars. It was thirty by forty feet square. In the Summer of 1825, the few records of the county were brought from Olmstead's Mound to the court house and placed therein. This court house remained in use until the night of December 6, 1827, when, with all its contents, it was destroyed by fire. The loss was not great, however, as the records were few, and the recorder, Dennis Rockwell, had by chance taken the record of deeds to his house for some purpose, thereby saving it.

The jail was constructed of square timbers, firmly fastened together, and was a rather unsafe depository for prisoners. It stood on a lot of

The election in August, 1826, was fiercely contested between Ninian Edwards and Thomas C. Sloe for governor, and Daniel P. Cook and Joseph Duncan for Congress. Edwards and Duncan, though of different political parties, were elected by small majorities. Mr. Job was returned to the State Senate from the Counties of Morgan, Schuyler, Fulton, Peoria, and Adams ; and John Leeper and Daniel Lieb were sent to the House of Representatives from Morgan County.

It has been stated in these pages that Morgan County included what is now Cass and Scott Counties. Its eastern boundary has been but little if any changed since the act of creation in January, 1823. On February - 12, 1835, the boundary question between the Counties of Sangamon and Morgan was definitely settled by an act of legislature, the line remaining the same until this day. The commissioners appointed were William Weatherford, Harvey Rigger, and John R. Tilts. They occupied in this duty April 14, 15, 16, and 17, 1835, and established the line by stone pillars set in the ground one mile apart.

Cass County was set off in 1837 ; Scott County in 1839. The causes which led to the formation of these two counties were various. The residents of Cass County claimed that they did not have a fair and equal representation in the needs of the principal parts of the county ; that a clique or ring was formed against them. Other reasons were also given. The county was large and would admit of division, and its interests would be advanced, argued many. One of the most potent reasons, especially in the formation of Scott County, was the desire among many towns to become county seats. Almost every western town has at some period of its existence aspired to become a county seat, and had, in its own opinion, unanswerable reasons in support of its aspirations. This, without doubt,, had much to do in the creation of these two counties, as the towns of Beardstown and Virginia in the territory of one, and Winchester in the other, were urgent aspirants for such positions. The people living near the towns were in sympathy with them, and the representatives from the county were instructed by their constituents to foster a bill looking to the division. Another reason was argued, and with a good emphasis, in that part comprising Cass County - the remoteness of the county seat. This fact, with the large extent of territory in Morgan County, was a good reason for the division.

During the session of the General Assembly of 1836-7, a bill for the division of Morgan County was introduced in that body, and became a law, being approved March 3, 1837. Its main provisions are as follows: * * * " All that tract of land within the following boundaries, to wit : Beginning at a point in the center of the main channel of the Illinois River, where a line running through the center of township 17 north intersects the same in range 13 west ; thence east with said line to the east side of the County of Morgan ; from thence north to the center of the main channel of the Sangamon River ; thence down said river to the center of the main channel of the Illinois River ; thence down said river to the place of beginning, shall constitute a county, and shall be named Cass."

could be established. The people comprising the County of Morgan were to meet at their respective voting places on the third Monday in April, and vote on the question of division. Should the question be decided in the affirmative, the voters in the new County of Cass were to assemble at their voting places and decide on a location for a permanent seat of justice. On the first Monday in August they were to meet again and elect their county officers. The act further provided that the owners of lots or lands where the seat of justice should be located, should donate to the county not less than fifteen acres of land, the proceeds of which, when sold, should be applied to the erection of the necessary county building. In case Beardstown should be chosen to be the county seat, the corporation was required to pay into the county treasury not less than ten thousand dollars, in installments, to be applied to the same, purpose.

The vote of the people favored the decision, and on the 12th of July following the act already quoted, an act creating the county passed the General Assembly, and became a law. It fixed the seat of justice at Beardstown, in conformity with the desire of the people, should that town comply with the conditions set forth in the first act. This last act further provided that the court house should be erected on the public square in Beardstown. The returns of the election were to be made to O. M. Long and Thomas Payne, justices in Beardstown ; the school fund was to be divided between Morgan and Cass, in ratio to the population as determined by the last election, and as soon as the county officers to be elected in August were qualified, the county was declared to be in complete order. Beardstown failed to comply with the requirements of the act, and a petition was presented to the legislature declaring that fact, and praying for a change from that town to Virginia. That body passed an act on March 2, 1839, removing the seat of justice to Virginia. It was, however, again taken to Beardstown, and again brought to Virginia, where it now exists. The territory embraced in Cass County comprises 239,579 acres, and for its area is one of the most valuable counties in the State.

On February 16, 1839, the act forming the County of Scott passed the General Assembly. Its boundaries were defined, provision was made for holding an election for county officers, and for dividing the school fund between .Morgan and Scott Counties. An election for county officers was ordered to be held on the third Monday in March, at the town of Winchester, and proper persons designated to receive the returns of this election. Winchester was by the same act declared to be the permanent seat of justice, provided it would erect a court house and jail. It could expend for this purpose five thousand dollars, dividing that sum in the erection of the two buildings, as the county commissioners should desire. The county thus formed comprises 156,814 acres of land, and left Morgan County with its present area. The total wealth of Scott County, as assessed for the year 1877, is $3,461,588 ; that of Cass is $4,940,712 - $8,402,300 in all.

It has been noticed that the court house built in 1825 in Morgan County, was burned in 1827 - ten years before the erection of Cass County. This fire occurred on the night of December 6th, and on the 17th a special meeting of the county commissioners was called. At this meeting James Deaton and Allen Q. Lindsey were present, James Gillham, the remaining member of the board, absent. The first record of this court after the fire, and the first now preserved, reads as follows: "Whereas, on the night of the 6th instant the court house of this count}7", together with the office of the clerk of the Circuit and County Commissioners' Courts, and all the papers and records of said offices, were destroyed by fire. It is ordered by this court that the county treasurer pay to the order of Dennis Rockwell, clerk of this court, out of the first money received into the treasury, fifty dollars in specie, for the purpose of purchasing books and stationery for the use of the county offices/' Many persons had purchased lots of the county, and to those whose deeds were destroyed, or not recorded in the book mentioned as preserved from the fire, the commissioners were called upon to give new deeds, which they in all cases did, the giving of these papers being among the first acts of the County Court.

The law at this time required all tavern-keepers and merchants to obtain a license from the County Court. The former class had their rates of charges established by this court, as also were those of the keepers of ferries. The first tavern-keeper in Jacksonville, and with but little doubt the first in Morgan County, was Mr. Thomas Carson, already mentioned as an early resident on that town site. His rates of charges, if they were affixed, are not now known ; but they probably differed but little from those of Mr. George M. Richards, the first tavern-keeper in the county whose license is preserved. It bears date January 14, 1828. He paid into the county treasury five dollars, and gave a bond, with Thomas Luttrell as security. The following were his rates, as they appear in the county records :

These items were commonly included in all tavern licenses, save that " cordial " was afterwards added at 25 cents per half-pint, and these were the common charges allowed. It is quite interesting to note these old transactions, the same in all counties in the West, and to note the various changes therein during succeeding years. The use of ardent spirits gradually was taken from the license, and now no charges whatever are specified, that being left to the discretion of the landlord. It would have been almost as discretionary had the County Court regulated the price of merchandise. Such attempts are almost always fallacious, as the laws of demand and supply invariably govern such transactions.

The care of the poor, review of roads, justices' districts, and such matters, engaged the attention of the County Court at its first sessions. As the county increased in population, its division into smaller road and justices' districts was made. The first juries lists are now lost. The first one preserved is that drawn for the April term of court in 1828. The grand jury was composed of the following gentlemen : William Woodr William Rodgers, Frederick Bolinger, Samuel B. Jones, David Marks* George M. Richards, Allen B. Hughes, Larkin Brown, Matthew Elder, Nathan Compton, Joshua Crow, Solomon Penny, William Miller, George Camp, William Sharon, Ira A. Hooker, William B. Schott, Thomas Cowhick, Martin Humphries, and Thomas Allen. Those composing the " travers " jury, as it was called, were Richard Beall, Samuel Holloway, Charles W. Horrell, Samuel Berry, Elias Williams, James Martin, Stephen Burrows, James D. Morrison, William Jarrod, Benjamin Shartzer, Peter Dew, Samuel White, David Hibbard, Thomas Wishwall, Richard P. Carter, John Box, John Wilson, Andrew Armstrong, James Taylor, Benjamin William Wyatt, Solomon Perkins, Samuel Matthews, and James Redman.

At the meeting of the County Court on March 4, 1828, the county was divided into seven road districts, which number was shortly greatly increased, so rapidly did the county fill with settlers. On the 6th of the same month, the court ordered the clerk to give notice that on the 10th of April following, the building of a court house would be let to responsible bidders. At first the plan was to construct a brick building, two stories high, forty feet square. On the 22d a special meeting of the commissioners was called, and the plan altered, making the building fifty feet long and forty feet wide. None of the bids offered for its construction were accepted, and no contracts made that year. The next year the county commissioners were Joseph M. Fairfield, John Wyatt, and Samuel Rogers, and at a meeting of this court on January 31, 1829, it was decided to let the work in separate bids, and these were accordingly advertised. On the 14th of March, the contracts for its construction were let ; the brick and stone work to Garrison W. Berry and Henry Robley, for $1,720 ; the carpenter work to Rice Dunbar and Henry Robley, tor $1,350, and a few minor contracts to other individuals. On March 5, 1830, contracts for finishing the court house, putting in windows, placing window-shutters in place, with many other articles needed, was let to Rice Dunbar and Henry Blandford, for $1.250 ; for lathing and plastering to Henry Robley and Isham Dalton, for $326. 62^ ; for painting to John Challon, for $389, and to James .Hurst, for the floors $41. The court house was accepted by the county commissioners at their meeting on September 8, 1830. The contractors and builders were paid in installments, as had been agreed. The total cost, when complete, was about £4,000. The building was the first brick house in the county, and occupied the central square of land on the south side of State street and west of Main street. To meet the expense in the erection of this edifice, and for the county revenue, a tax was ordered levied at the meeting of March 4th, 1829, on all slaves, indentured or registered, negro or mulatto servants, on pleasure carriages, on distilleries, on stock in trade, on live stock, and on all personal property, except household furniture - the ratio being one-half per cent. One per cent, was also established for the erection of public buildings, in accordance with an act passed by the General Assembly.

This court house remained in use until it was superseded by the present commodious structure, completed in 1868. It had served the county thirty-eight years, and then gave way to its handsome successor. It had for some time been the desire of the citizens generally that it should be removed from its position, and the square left for an ornament to the town. The " old court house," as it was called, was also inadequate to the increasing demands of the county, and was, when the "new court house" was erected, pulled down and the material used elsewhere. The present structure is one of the finest in the West, and is unusually safe from fire. It is constructed almost entirely of stone and iron; the first named material being obtained from the quarries at Joliet.

The old jail was built of hewed timbers, each was about one foot square, and every wall was made double. Between these double walls, upright pieces of timber, of the same dimensions as that used in the wall, were placed, so that if a criminal attempted to escape by cutting through the wall, these inner pieces would, when a section was cut out of one of them, drop down, and thus the process would have to be repeated until the whole would be cut away. This would take more time than any criminal could use without being detected, and it is doubtful if the process was ever attempted. At the meeting of the County Court, on "March 9, 1832, it was decided to erect a new jail, and the clerk of that court was ordered to advertise in the Illinois Patriot, for sealed proposals from builders for its construction. It was determined it should be built of brick and stone, and the contract for that part of the construction was, at a subsequent meeting, awarded to Abram Dewitt, for about eighteen hundred dollars. The carpenter work was given to Ebenezer Miller, for nearly fifteen hundred dollars. The jail was completed in 1833, its entire cost being about thirty-five hundred dollars.

This jail was the stronghold for detaining criminals many years. It, in turn, also became unsafe through the lapse of years, and was declared unfit for use. In the spring of 1804 steps were taken for the erection of a more substantial jail. The old one was pronounced unsafe and uncomfortable by the county commissioners, who decided to erect a new one. After mature deliberation, it was decided to construct the building with iron cells, and Hon. Stephen Dunlap, a member of the court, was instructed to proceed to Cincinnati, Ohio, with a competent mechanic, and make arrangements for its construction.

Mr. Jessee T. Newman had offered $3,000 for the old lot and jail. It was decided to accept this offer, and purchase another site. After examining various offered sites, a lot owned by Mr. John Trabue was selected and he was paid for the same $3,500. Work on the jail was soon after begun, and prosecuted until its completion. The building cost $27,500, and is yet in use.

The keeping of the county poor has always been a serious question in the management of county affairs. At first they were " farmed out," as it was termed, that is given to suitable persons to keep. These were obligated to provide a reasonable maintainance. In case the person kept was able to work, the one keeping him could obtain a partial recompense in that manner, and in addition was given an allowance from the county treasury. Minors were bound out until of age, and the person to whom they were given was required to provide for them schooling a reasonable length of time during the year. These and various methods were tried in the early days of the West, but did not at all times prove satisfactory. With all due diligence, in some cases the poor would fall into the hands of those who only desired gain by their labors, and who cared nothing for their moral advancement. Minors would often be mistreated and unprovided with the means of education, and their moral training wholly neglected.

The earliest attempts to keep this class of people by the county were made about 1840. A poor farm was established a few miles north of Jacksonville, and many of them sent there for keeping. The house was not built expressly for this purpose, having been a residence, but was used. Additions were made to it in 1847, when Joseph Halsep was superintendent, as the accommodations were not such as desired. At this time insane persons were kept by the county. Mrs. Dix, a woman who devoted her life to this unfortunate class of humanity, and whose history is given in connection with that of the Insane Asylum, elsewhere in this volume, came about this time to Morgan County and visited the poor house. Finding all classes of the poor kept together, and no provision for the insane, she vigorously set to work to remedy the evil. She visited the county commissioners and urgently importuned them to sell the property and purchase elsewhere. She selected a site just east of the city, and succeeded in her purpose. On July 12, i847, James H. Linton was appointed agent, on behalf of the county, to purchase fourteen acres at a price not to exceed fifty dollars per acre. Before the purchase was made the number of acres was increased 10 thirty. On September 10th the old poor house, and property belonging thereto, was ordered to be sold. An addition to the new location was purchased of W. B. Warren, in 1854, for four thousand dollars. In accordance with the views of Mrs. Dix, a building for the use and care of the insane was erected, in addition to the building intended for the paupers, and new and improved methods adopted in the treatment of all.

This farm was occupied until 1867. The city's growth had reached the grounds, and advantageous offers were made to the county for the property. As the population of the county had increased, the number of poor augmented until more land and more accommodations were necessary. Land adjoining the farm was too valuable for such purposes, and the county commissioners decided to sell the property, and, by going farther from the city, purchase more land. On January 27, 186u, in accordance with an order of this court, the county farm, and all property therewith, was sold at public sale to Joseph R. Askew and John T. Springer for $13,375. These persons soon after laid the farm out in town lots, and as such it is now known as Askew and Springer's addition to Jacksonville. This sale necessitated a new location. The most eligible site, offering timber for fuel, was the farm of Cornelius Goltra, about three miles northwest of the city. This farm, of two hundred acres, was purchased for about $13,000, and the present poor house built thereon. It is a good structure, capable of accommodating all those who may call upon the county for keeping, and is excellently managed. In ordinary years the farm bears a large share of the expense, and furnishes employment to all inmates able to work.

The erection of the several county buildings has now been conclusively stated, and it will be well before closing this chapter to note the various divisions of the county. From its earliest existence, as settlements increased, the justices' and road districts were set off, and their boundaries determined. On June 30, 1828, the county was divided into five election precincts, known as Jacksonville, Exeter, Sandy, Apple Creek, and Clay Creek precincts. The judges appointed for each district were: Joseph Klein, John Leeper, Aaron Wilson, Jacksonville; Daniel Lieb, Baxter Broadwell, and Daniel Burbank, Exeter ; James Hatchin, Alexander Walls, and Alvin Coe, Sandy ; John Lappington, John Williams, and Thomas Luttrell, Apple Creek ; Thomas Gatton, William Sumners, and Joshua Crow, Clay Creek. Indian Creek precinct was not long after added, and William Lager, Isaac R. Bennett, and Equillar Hall appointed judges of election. All those named were to serve two years from the date of the appointments. On the next day after the division of the county into election precincts, the trustees for the school sections were appointed. On June 8, 1831, William Thomas was appointed school agent on behalf of the county to sell these sections, and thereby create a school fund. His bond was $12,000, and he, with his characteristic honesty, discharged his duties faithfully. It is doubtful if the National Congress ever passed an act, which resulted in equal benefit to the people, as this one. Three years before Judge Thomas' appointment, on Sept. 2, 1828, the Mound school district was established; probably the first school district, at least the first on record, in the county. At this time no bridges were built for the accommodation of travelers. All crossing of streams was done by ferries, the owners of which were allowed to charge a fee, regulated, like tavern licenses, by the County Court. On the day the trustees for the school sections were appointed, the rates of ferriage over the Illinois River were established as follows :

"' For each four-horse or ox team and carriage, seventy-five cents ; for each two-horse or ox team and carriage, fifty cents ; for each onehorse and carriage, thirty-seven and one-half cents; for each man and horse, twelve and a half cents ; for each footman, six and a fourth cents ; for each head of loose horses or cattle, six and a fourth cents ; for each head of hogs, sheep or goats, three cents." These were the common rates charged. The price of license was according to the location. At Beard's ferry it was four dollars ; at Grun's, two dollars, and at Phillips', three. Others were charged like amounts.

Enough has now been told to give an intelligent idea of the acts of the county as a corporate body. At every meeting of the County Court new tavern and ferry licenses were issued. Prominent among the names appearing on the records are those of Joseph Bently, Nathan H. Gest, Abraham Vance, Abraham DeWitt, and Thomas Bently, all of whom were licensed to " keep tavern " in the county seat, and the majority of whom paid five dollars fee. Ira Kelley was licensed to open a house of entertainment in Exeter, Thomas Beard at his ferry, Archibald J. Hite at a mill on Sandy Creek, Jacob Ekelburner at Naples, and others at different places, as the county filled with settlers, and the needs of the country required. These persons' rates of charges were all fixed, and, as will be seen by the reader in those quoted elsewhere, included wine, gin, rum, cordial, and whisky.

The increase in population also demanded new road districts, which from time to time were made. New polling places were also established, and we find as early as 1830, Jacksonville had so increased in inhabitants, that on June 8th of that year an additional voting place was made therein.

The next year Stephen R. Bartlett and Isaac Negus were licensed to sell clocks. The former, being a non-resident, was charged twenty-five dollars for the privilege, while the latter, a resident, was charged half that sum. Knapp & Pogue, B. and Francis Ayers paid ten dollars for the privilege of opening a store and doing business in the county seat. At the meeting of the Commissioners' Court, on March 9, 1831, the following firms were licensed to sell goods in the county. From the number the reader will readily perceive the increase in population and commerce a lapse of five years had produced in Morgan County. The list with the rates of charges for the license is herewith appended as given on that day :

Alexander T. Douglas, five dollars ; James Dunlap & Co., twelve dollars and fifty cents ; Nathan H. Gest, seven dollars and fifty cents ;. N. and N. H. Johnson and Joshua D. Austin, five dollars each ; John P. Wilkinson, the same as James Dunlap & Co. ; Archibald T. Hite, Joseph M. Fairfield, William Hunter, and Davenport & Henderson, each five dollars ; Hook & Wish wall and James P. Coddington & Co., seven dollars and fifty cents each, and Gillett & Gordon, fifteen dollars, making a total amount received that day from this source, ninety-seven dollars and fifty cents. Tavern licenses had by this time raised, as we find F. C. Maupin was charged eleven dollars to open such a house on Apple Creek, and five dollars to " vend merchandise therein."

By an act of the legislature, approved April 23, 1831, James Green, John Henderson, and Joseph Cloud were appointed commissioners " to survey and lay out" a State road from Henderson's Grove in Montgomery County to Jacksonville, and afterwards John Green and Abraham Vance were appointed to lay out this road through the county to Naples on the river. This road was reviewed from Jacksonville to Naples by Abraham Vance, John Green, and Alexander Wells, and thereby finally established. Throughout the county's existence its several acts as a corporate body have been similar to those narrated, being changed as the exigencies required, and as the increase in population, wealth, and commerce demanded. The county is yet under the old form of government, the township form not being adopted. Three commissioners comprise the County Court, and attend to all business relating to the commonwealth..

The political history of Morgan County would be incomplete without a list of its officers. It is here given as furnished by the Secretary of State :

On a beautiful autumnal afternoon, in the month of September, 1869, a large concourse of people gathered to witness the dedication of Diamond Grove Cemetery. On reaching the cemetery, the company gathered about a fine monument standing near the entrance. It is of white Italian marble, with a square base about three feet in diameter, and about three feet high above the pedestal to the shaft, which is of the same material ind eight feet in height, surmounted with a wreath, making the whole leight of the monument, from the foundation to the top of the shaft, thirteen feet. It is the first monument which strikes the visitor as he mters the enclosure, and its historic inscriptions at once explain the fact that the cemetery itself bears the same name given it by the first pioneers )f the county. On the eastern base of the monument appears the follow ing inscription :

Isaac Fort Roe

Facing the drive- way, on the north side of the monument, is a bass-relief representation of him who sleeps beneath, in his pioneer Iress, with rifle on his left arm, and broad-ax in his right hand, while in the distance the pioneer's cabin is seen.

On the south side of the monument the following historical sketch engraved : " An emigration society in the city of New York, October 12, 1819, appointed David Berdan, Isaac Fort Roe, and George Nixon, to explore the Western States and select places of settlement for its members. They left the city October 15, 1819, crossed the Wabash at Vincennes December 26, passed and named Diamond Grove January 23, 1820, in which he selected a place of residence, and in February built a log cabin and became one of the first three settlers in the county."

After appropriate exercises dedicating the cemetery and the monument, Judge William Thomas read the following paper, prepared by him from facts, many of which were obtained from the journal of Mr. Berdan,. furnished by his son, Judge Berdan: