Pike County, Illinois - Chapter 1: Early Settlement, 1880

Chapter 1: Early Settlement

"We now begin to chronicle the history of one of the largest and wealthiest, as well as the oldest, counties in the great State of Illinois. To say that our task is a most difficult one will only be expressing the sentiment of all who have attempted the compilation of local history. Only such ])ersons can fully apj^reciate the embarrassment arising from the multiplied perplexities that are continually crowding around the local historian. We shall seek to make this a record as detailed and accurate as accessible data will permit. Of course it will be impossible to gather up all of the fragmentary facts of the three-score years of the county's history, of most wiiicli no written record was ever made, and many even important facts have slipped through the meshes of memory never to be recalled. Doubtless when the early pilgrim reads, or has read to him, historical items recorded in this volume, it will rekindle in memory recollections of kindred facts, not given us, and that otherwise would have been forever cast into the darkness of oblivion. Records of these items should be made as they are brought to light, that the future historian may have the greater abundance of material from which to compile.

Truth and accuracy will be our motto, yet that some errors will occur in names and dates, and even in statements, cannot be denied. Studious care will be taken, however, to avoid as many such inaccuracies as possible.

The face of the country of this county, save that portion b:)rdering on the Mississippi and Illinois rivers, is mostly rich, rolling prairie, watered by Bay, McGee, Six Mile, Honey, Pigeon and McCraney's creeks, with tlicir nuinerous and Kiiiall tributaries, aliuij; which are exteiitsive l)o(ii('s of tiinl)er. The luriners have nhiiitcd* artificial groves extcn.sively over the j»rairie, which has liad the etl'ect of ameliorating the climate, by keening the winds of an open country from the surface of the earth. n\ the energy and enterprise of tlie citizens of this county, it luis been transformed from the native wildernos into one of the nu»st attractive portions uf the State, if not of the West. It is claimed that there is no siK)t on tlie face of tlie earth capable of sustaining a denser population than the Military Tract; and those lamiliar with this beautiful portion c»f our State know that i'ike county is jmt excelled by any other within its boundary. That thisctuinty contains as intelligent, enterprising and thrifty agriculturists ha ]>robabIy am be found elsewliero in tljo same breadth of territory in the United States, few will deny. Fi?io barns, with all the modern improvements, comfortable dwellings, hiwns, ganlens, outhoUhes, etc., are t«» be foumi i>n every hand; towns and cities liavo sprung up as if b}' magic, and every knoll is graced by a church edirice or scliool building.

The natural resources of Pike county, as above alluded to, for agricultural an<l matiuf'acturin;: j)urj>ose.», and nuirketing, give to the farmers and manufacturers of tlie county sujKjrior advantages. The agricultural interest* of the county are well advanced. Indeed, it may be said that I'ike is the great aifricidlural county of Illinois. The soil is mostly rich prairie loam, and has great proiluctive (qualities. It is mostly tlivitliHl int4) farms i»f medium size, from SO to 32(» acres; but few large farms are to 1x5 f«»und. The l>enetit of this is appaivnt by the iticreasetl jH>pidation an<l a l»etter cidtivation. The staple crops of cereals are c«>rn, wheat and i»:its, which generally yield abundantly. This is the condiJi<tn of Pike county at jiresent. How »lif1erent when El>cnezer Franklin, with his family, located withirj its inirdersl Tiien these prairies were a vast wilderness covered with a rank growth of prairie grass, and much of the land now uiuler a high state tif cultivation was covered with heavy forests. At that time the native red men roamed unmolested over tlie flowery prairies and tlirougli dark f«>rests.

We wish to (juote in this connection tin* eloouent, ju.-^t and aj>- pri)priate tril)Ute }>aid to Pike county by Hon. Wm. A. Grimshaw in his "Centennial Address." It speaks in praiseworthy, yet truthful, «lescriptive terms of ))4>th people and c<»unty:

''The citizens of this county have always been marked for a love of our national Government, for participation in all SUite measures to promote the common g<»od of Illinois. With one brief exception, tlie period of the 'vigilance committee,* loc^l government has always been of an orderly character. Tlie brief excitement of that period led to more etKcient laws for the ])rotection of society, and thus good came out of evil. No fratricidal strife, no display of brothers in battle array with deadly cannon and all the dread habiliments of war, are portrayed here. The life of our citizens has been with few exceptions that of peaceful farmers and townsmen,

"Still as the current of your own gentle river, Illinois, with a few swells in the stream of life, when wars waged beyond the limits of the present county called off our men to war, has been the life of your people. Industry has prevailed. Education has had its marked intluence, and the holy gospel, taught in its beauty and simplicity, has pervaded every walk in life. Crime has, notwithstanding, been perpetrated, to be brought generally to condign punishment. Such is generally the end of those who violate the laws, human and divine.

" This county, once embracing the fairest portion of the once Eden-like State of Illinois, yet retaining within her limits land beautiful to look upon, desirable to inhabit, and famed for her fair daughters, her gallant sons, prosperous farmers and mechanics, able professional men and legislators, her present territory equal yet almost to some of the old thirteen States, owes much, if not all, of this to the patriotism and foresight of the Revohitionary fathers.

Section 1. - Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois represented in the General Assembly, That all that tract of country within the following boundaries, to wit : beginning at the mouth of the Illinois river and running thence up the middle of said river to the fork of the same, thence up the south fork of said river until it strikes the State line of Indiana, thence north with said line to the north boundary line of this State, thence west with said line to the western boundary line of this State, and thence with said line to the place of beginning, shall constitute a separate county to be called Pike.

" To repeat the extent of the boundaries: On the south, begin at the junction of the Illinois and Mississippi rivers, then follow the Illinois to the fork of the same, meaning the Kankakee, thence to the line of the State of Indiana, thence north and west embracing the territory from Chicago, following on the line of Wisconsin to the Mississippi river, including the famed lead mines of Galena, and to the channel of the Mississippi, thence descending to the place of beginning.

" First note the beautiful, still gliding river, the Illinois, then observe the majestic Father of Waters; traverse all this territory, great in extent, formerly the home of savage tribes of Indians, the land marked bv the tread of the buffalo and dotted over with the graves and mounds, the relics of extinct races, the fierce brute creation and game and fish abounding, prairies illimitable, adorned with flowers of gorgeous hues, fruits delicious in profusion and great variety, forests of vast size filled with gigantic trees and of many species, rivers bounding unfettered by mati's contrivances; then no locks and dams existed thereon, fish in myriads were the dwellers in those rivers, - and these all existed in 1821, when Pike county was struck off by name from the older settlements and the few counties then existing in Illinois.

"Pike county has been the mother of States to the west of Illi- Jiois. lliiviiig a pioneer j)o|)uhitioii of an enterjjrising turn, hir^e nunihcrs liave einiijrated totrctlu'r to Orciron, Texas utid (/uliforiiia and other rt'iiiote j>(»ints>, followiiii; tlie star ol" empire. Many estimable farmers who once lived in Pike have gone further east in Illinois and settled in the prairie counties.

-'The health of this county is almost invarial)ly good excepting in lowlands where some malarious disease comes on at times. Longevity exists to a marked degree and children fairly swarm. Prosperity and tine crops are the general results of industry."

Before jiroceeding further in detailing the immediate history of the county, we desire to mention a few important facts relative to the earliest history of this section of the State. In 1073 the great French explorers, Maniuette and Joliet, passeil down the Mississippi and up the Illinois in their canoes, on their first famous voyage d«>wn the great Father of Waters. Seven years later, Jan. 3, 16S0, LaSalle, with his little band of Frenchmen, came down the Illinois river as far as P«»oria lake, landed upon the opposite shore, and erected a fort - Fort OeveccDur. Thisfi»rt was soon evacuated and destroyed, yet the enterprising Frenchmen continued am«»ng the Indians as traders. Thev exerte«i no perc«|)tible civilizing intluence, liowever, upon the red-skins: indeed, by life and inter-marriago among them, they liecjimo in all resj>ects more and more like them, until their identity was almost lost.

Year after year rolled bv until almost a centurv an<l a half had passed since LaSalle stepped ashore from his skitf, before the aborigines who occupied the territory embraced within the present boundary of Pike county were molested by theencn>achments of the white man. Generation after generation of natives at>peare<l upon the wild scenes of savage life, roamed the forest and prairie, and glided over the beautiful, placid Illinois atid Mississippi rivers in their log and bark canoes, and passed away. Still the advance of civilization, the steady westward tread of the Anglo-Saxon, disturlied them not. The butfalo, deer, bear ami wolf roamed the prairie and woodland, the Indian their only enemy. But nature had destined better tilings for this fertile region. She had been too lavish in the distribution of natural advantages to leave it longer in the peaceable possession of those who had for centuries refused to develop, even in the slightest degree, any of her great resources. She accordingly directed hitherward the footsteps of the industrious, enterprising pioneer; and so fertile was the soil and so beautiful the flowers, so sparkling were the streams and shady the groves, that, in advance of all the surrounding country, the pioneers .sought and settled the timber land and prairie of Pike county.

of wannest regard for them. To pave the way for those who followed after them, to make their settlement in the West a pleasure, they bore the flood-tide wave of civilization; they endured all, suffered all. But few of these spirits now survive; they have passed away full of years and honors, leaving their children, and children's children and strangers to succeed them and enjoy the fruits of the toil, privations and savings of their long and eventful lives.

Too great honor cannot be accorded them, and we regret that we have not the data to speak more full}' and definitely of them, their personal experiences, their lives and their characters.

First American Settlements

Cominc: on down through the years for over a century, we wish to speak of the first American settlements in the State, as an introductory to the more immediate history of the original Pike county.

The first settlement made within the borders of the great State of Illinois by citizens of the United States was in 1784, when a few families from Virginia founded a small colony or settlement near Bellefontaine, in Monroe county. The next American settlement was made in St. Clair county, two of which were made prior to the year 1800.

The first American settlers in Illinois were chiefly from Kentucky, Virginia, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Tennessee and some from Maryland. Some of these had served with Gen. Clark, who conquered the country from the British in 1778. This whole people did not number more than 12,000 in 1812, but with the aid of one company of regular soldiers defetided themselves and their settlements against the numerous and powerful nations of Kickapoos, Sacs, Foxes, Pottavvatomies and Shawnees, and even made hostile expeditions into the heart of their country, burning their villages and defeatino; and driving: them from the territory.

When the State was admitted in 1818 the settlements extended a little north of Edvvardsville and Alton; south along the Mississippi to the mouth of the Ohio; east in the direction of Carlysle to the Wabash, and down the Wabash and Ohio to the conjunction of the Ohio and Mississippi. Such was the extent of the settlement in Illinois when the Tenutory was clothed with State honors.

There were but 15 organized counties represented in' the convention to frame the first Constitution. These were St. Clair, Randol|)h, Madison, Gallatin, Johnson, Edwards, White, Monroe, 'Pope, Jackson, Crawford, Bond, Union, Washington and Franklin. The last three were the vounijcest counties, and were formed in 1818.

and included nil of the territory west and north of tlie Illinois river, and its south fork, now the Kankakee river. At the tirst election in Pike county after its organization only 35 votes were polled, even thouijh it did extend over the entire northern jwirt of the State, and out (»f which more than fifty counties have since been organized.

A *' Gazetteer of Illinois and Wisconsin,'' j>ul)lished ahout 1S22, says that the county "included a part of the lands a])pn»priatetl by C(tni^ress for the payment of military bounties. The lau<ls cou- Btitutini; that tract are include<i within a peninsula of the Illinois and the Mississippi, and extend on the meridian line (4th), passing throui;h the nnuith of the Illinois, 102 miles north. Pike county will no doul)t be ilivided into several counties; some of which will become very wealthy and important. It is probable that the section about Fort (Hark (now Peoria) will l>e the most thickly settled. On the Mississippi river, above I^>ck river, lead ore i^ found in al)undance. Pike county ct»ntains between TOO and 800 inhabitants. It is attached to the Hrst judicial circuit, sends one member to the House of Representatives, and, with (ireene, one to the Senate. The county-seat is Cole's (Jrove, a jiost town. It was laid otit in IS'JI and is sitmited in townshi|> 11 south, in rani;e 2 west of the fourth princi|»al njeridian; very little im|)rovement has yet been made in this place or vicinity. The situation is high and healthy and bids fair to become a place of some importance.''

Thus the historian of three score years ago speaks of Pike county as it was in its original magnitude and wildness. II«>w changjid is the face of the country since liieni Who c<»uld have foretold its future greatness with any degree of knowledge or certainty!

We deem it within the province of this work to speak of the earliest settlement of all this vjist n-gion. Much of it was settled prior to that ]H)rtion contained within the ]>rcsent Ixjundaries of the count}', and as it wjw for many years a |»art <»f Pike county it is j>roper we should refer to it, briefly, at lea.-^t.

The earliest history ami the tirst occupation of the original Pike coutity are enshrou<le<l in almost imjM'uetrable obscurity. After the la|)se of more than three quarters oi a century, the almost total absence of records. at»d the fact that the whites who visited or livcil in this region prior to 1S20 are all dea<l, render it imptjssible now to determine with any degree of certainty the name of him who is entitled to the honor of l>eing recorded as *' tirst settler." Perhaps the first man who sojourne<i within the Military Tract lived in what is n«»w Calhoun county. He went there about ISOl, and lived for years before any other settler came, and remained alone and unknown for a long time after the first pioneers moved into that section. Hi? home was a cjive dug out by himself, and was about a <|uarter of a mile from the Mississijtpi river. In 1H50 the boards of his cave tloor were dug up and the ground leveled. Who he was or where he came from was known only to himself, for he refused all intercourse with the settlers.

The next settlers, i)erhaps, were French trappers and lialt-breeds who formed quite a hirge colony on the Illinois river near the Deer Plains Ferrv, Calhonn county. Thesis remained there until the great hii:;h water of 1815 or l8lb, which drove them away. . Andrew Judy lived at this j)oint at a very early day. Major Roberts settled in Calhoun county in June, 1811. He came from Ohio. John Shaw came into that county at a \'ery early day and was one of the leadiui; men in the orijanization of Fike county, and for some time was County Conunissioner. lie settled at Gilead, the site of the original count3'-seat of I^ike county. He was the most noted and influential man in his day of all in all this region. He carried on farming, stock-raisino^, and conducted a stoi-e, and engaged in politics very largely. His inlluence was so great that he was able to rule the county indirectly, which he did for many years. He was denominated the " Black Prince," on account of his having great sway over the community. It is said that he had control over a large band of half-l)reeds, with which and his numerous other henchmen he controlled the elections, and earned everv measure he desired. He forged deeds, even h}' the quire, doctored poll books, etc. So great was his influence and at the same time so injurious to the settlers that the ])ublic issue was gotten up in its politics, of "Shaw," or "Anti-Shaw," and not until there was a great and united struggle that John Shaw lost his supremacy.

There was a man by the name of Davison who was found living as a hermit a few miles above the mouth of Spoon river on its banks by the first settlers in Fulton count}'. He was a physician and a man of culture and refinement. How long he had resided there l)efore discovered by the whites is not known, but evidently for many years, as the shrubberj' and trees that he had planted had grown (^uite large. He was selected as one of the first grand jurors for the Circuit Court of Pike county. He refused all intercourse with the whites, and about 1824 put his effects in a canoe, paddled down Spoon river and up the Illinois to Starved Itock, where he lived in obscurity until he died, which was a few years afterward.

In 1778 the French made a settlement at the upper end of Peoria lake. The country in the vicinity of this lake was called by the Indians Phn-i-te-wi, that is, a place where there are many fat beasts. Here the town of Laville de Meillet, named after its founder, was started. Within the next twenty years, liowever, the town was moved down to the lower end of the lake to the ])resent site of Peoria. In 1812 the town was destroyed and the iidiabitants carried away by Captain Craig. In 1813 Fort Clark was erected there by Illinois troops engaged in the war of 1812. Five years later it was destroyed by fire. Some American settlers, however, early came into this neighborhood. These were mostly soldiers of the war of 1812 who had been given bounty-land for their services and had come to possess it. An old veteran of that war by the name of AVm. Blanchard came to Peoria in 1819, soon moved over the river into Tazewell county, and in 1830 moved just over the line into Woodford, and is still livin;^ there, jierhaps the oldest livini; settler north id" the nututh of the Illinois river.

The first jtennHiient settlement hy the whiles in all Northwestern Illinois, of which any record or reliahle knowledi^e now remains, existed ahout 1S20 on the hanks of the river now known as the Galena. This river was then known as Feve, (tr Hean river. The Indian name for the river was Mah-cau-bee, the fever that blisters, and was mimed from the fact of the Indians having small-po.x here. Hundreds of the natives died and they gave the names of Big Siiiall-l*o\ river an<l Little Small-1'ox river to the streams upon which thev lived. The tornu-r was chan^red hv the whites to the more pleasant name of Fever river; the smaller is still known as Small-rox creek. Galena was known as " Fever River Settlement," and we find tre<juent mention of it in the old Gommissioners' Court reconls. John 8. Miller, who was perhaps t!ie first settler there, and Mk.-is .Meeker, perhaps the next, t>ften aj)plicd to the Court at Cc)le's Grove for licenses, recommendations to the Governor to he appointed Justice of the Peace, etc.

Fever river was als(j known in an early day hy the mime of IJean river, from the French name, Kiviere au I'eve, given it hy the early traders and adventurers. This section of country is referred to in the "Gazetteer of Illinois and .Missouri," a work published in 182'J and now vitv rare, as follows:

^^ Bean river (Kiviere au Feve, Fr. ), a navigable stream of Pike count\, emptying into the Mississippi three miles below Cat-Fish creek, and 20 miles below Dubu<jue's mines, and alK>ut 70 abuve liock river. Nine miles up this stream a snuill creek empties into it from the west. The banks of this creek, and the hills which hound its alluvium, are filled with lead ore of the best quality. Three miles below this on the banks of Bean river is the Traders' Village, consisting of ten or twelve houses or cabins. At this place the ore procured from the Indians is .-<in»'lted and then sent in boats either to Canada or New (Jrleans. The lands on this stream are poor, and are only valuable on account of the immense quantities of minerals which they contain."

In the same work Chicago is simply mentioned as "a village of Pike county, containing 12 (»r 15 houses and about GO or 70 inhabitants." Fort Dearborn had been built there in 1804, but so far was it in the wilderness that when the massacre of the garrison in 1812 occurred many days elap.<ed before it was kn(»wn to the nearest white settlement. There was also a fort and military garri^on on the Mississippi river where Warsaw is now locjited. This was known as Fort Edwards, and tlie name also occurs frequently in the old records of Pike county. One of the main wagon-roads, and one upon which the Commissioners e.\))eniled much time and money, was known as the Fort Edwards road.

ber of whites living north of the north line of the present boundary of Pike county. It is true, prior to that Adams, Fulton and Scliuvler counties had been organized, but they were very thinly popuhited. By 1830 and after the close of the 13hick Hawk war in 1832 and the expulsion of the Indians the northern part of the State settled uj> quite rapidly.

We now come to a period in the history of the settlement of this county when we will restrict ourselves to the present boundaries of Pike county. The few broken references to the settlement of the Military Tract and Northern Illinois we offer as a slight historic token to the grand old original Pike county - to Pike county as it was in its primitive days. They are brief and scattering, but, owing to the fact, as previously remarked, that there are no records extant, and that tiie earliest pioneers have passed away, it is impossible to give more, other than to elaborate and enlarge on the facts already stated, which we will not do for want of space.

Prior to the coming of the first settler to Pike county there had often been P^rench traders, hunters and travelers passing through the native forests and crossing the wild and beautiful prairies. They pitched their tent for the night, and amid the vast wilderness, inhabited only by wild beasts and the native red man, rested their weary limbs oidy to move at the early dawn. The first individual of whom we have account, and this is traditionary, that settled in Pike county as it is, or who made it his home for any considerable time, was J. B. Teboe (Tibault), a Canadian Frenchman. He came somewhere during the period between 1817 and 1819, and occupied a cabin on the banks of the Illinois river, situated on what is now section 33, Flint township. There is no doubt this man was in that locality prior to 1S20. He lived as a hunter, and for a time we think ran a ferry, but whether he is entitled to the honor of being termed the " first settler " we very much doubt. He, it seems, tilled no land and made no permanent abode, nor had a family. He was killed at Milton in 1844.

Franklin And Srinn The First Settlers

The man who may properly be denominated the first settler of Pike county was Ebenezer Franklin. He came to the county in March, 1820, and first stopped upon the northwest quarter of section 27, half a mile east from where Atlas was afterward located and up '-Jockey Hollow." He brought with him his family, consisting of his wife, son and three daughters, besides a Mr. Israel Waters. This gentleman afterward moved to Adams county. When Franklin first came he found no neighbor with whom he could stop until he had reared his cabin. He was obliged to pitch his tent and gather his family around him in his tented mansion provided with the meager and rude furniture lie brought with him and what he constnictod iifter his arrivnl. There is no doul»t the familv sutlereil from tl»e chiiliiii; winds of early sprini;, hut they were sturdy pioneers and witlistood the privations and hardships as became true pioneers. He resided in his tent until May, when he erected a rutle \n^ cabin.

The next settler t<» conif in atter Vranklin was Daniel 8hinn. He Ciime from ]hita\ ia, Oliio, and arriveii ahout the last of Aj)ril, 1820. On Ids way here he 6t<)ppe<l at Kdwardsville, where ho left most of his lar<?e family, which consisted of a wife and eiji^ht cliildren: Benjamin. .lohn, Kli/.a, Hannah, Mary, Phebe, Daniel and JSancy. John Weld), now liviuir live mih's i-ast of Pittt.tield, then ottly bi.x years of a^e, came witli them. Mi'. Webb is now the oldest living settler in the county by four years, that is, he came to the county four years prior to any other nwin now living in the county. Mr. Shinn was the tirst man who iirou;:ht a wa^i»n into I'ike county, probably tiie first to the Military Tract. He settled near Mr. Kranklin, and the two lived in tents until May, when they i)oth erected cabins, aidin;j one aucjther in their laitors. Mr. Shinn witli two of his sons cleared a piece of ground and j)lanted thrt-e acres of corn. It took but c«»tnp:iratively little lalxir to raise ^rain, but to have it ground or prepared for food was a hard task. At this early day there were no mills within reach of these early }>il^rims. The first mill tlu'V had to fj.. to was a horse-iiiill run by .lohn Shaw in Callutun county. Mr. I'ranklin erected his cabin upon the southeast (juartcr of section 22, Atlas township, or what is now Atlas, three- fourths of a mile from Atlas and al>out 150 yards north of whert' the road has since run. Many years aj^o, even, the place waa covered with a sj)indlin;^ growth of youn^ trees.

Mr. Shinn h>catcil a.s a near neighbor to -Mr. I'ranklin. Ho beciime a ^reat wolf-hunter, prompted by the fact of hjs bein;^ unab'e to raise stock, owin<; to their ravages. He lost 2<tO pij^s by that rapacious animal, and resolve<J to make war ti|H»n them. He finally succeeded in raising fine ho^s by shutting them uj) in a close lo<; stable from their enrliest pighood.

The Shinn family were orifrinallv from Mew Jersey. On their way West they stoj)ped for awhile at Cincinnati, where they followed ^ardenin^. After a long and useful life Mr. Shinn died at a little over 70 years of age, while on a visit to his daughter at Pittsfield in 1852. He took an active part in the early history of the

In the year 1^1*0 there also came, from Pittsfield, Mass., the Rosses: William (Col.i, Clarendon. I>eonar«l (Capt.i, and Henry J. (Dr.V, also Samuel Davis, W^m. Sprague and Joseph Cogswell, all settling in or near Atlas .Leonard had been Cai)tain in the war of 1812, and William obtained his title afterward by having \)een appointed Colonel of Illinois militia. Davis was a ijee-hunter, who built t'or himself and large family a log cabin on section 16. Two years afterward he moved into Missouri. Most of these men brought their families to their new homes the following February, having previously left them at Alton. Mr. Cogswell was from Berksliire, Mass.

The Rosses in coming West had a tedious iournev. Thev came by flat-boats down the Alleghany and Ohio rivers, and by wagons from Shawneetown to Upper Alton, where at that time but one house existed, occupied by Major Hunter. Here they left their families, and coming northward, they found an Indian camp at the mouth of the Hlinois river, where they split ])uncheons and laid them across two canoes and thus safely carried over their w^agons. The horses were made to swim alongside. Continuing up the Mississippi bottom they marked the trees as they went, for there were no roads and nothing to guide them but an occasional Indian trail. They arrived at section 27 in township 6 south and 5 west, *' at last," whence, according to tradition, the name "Atlas." Some wished to name the place " Charlotte," after a certain lady in the comjiany. This beautiful land of prairie and timber charmed the immigrants, and they at once set to work their energies and constructed a camp to shelter themselves while preparing quarters for their families. They hurried up four rough log cabins, knowing that Indians were numerous and that probably not more than five white men were within 50 miles of them east of the Mississippi.

James M. Seeley, father of Dr. Seeley, of Pittsfield, came to this county about this time. Charles McGiffin and Levi Newman settled on this side of the Mississi])pi river opposite Louisiana on a slouirh called " McGiffin's Slough," but not known by that name now; but they had no families. McGiffin died two years atterward and Newman moved over into Morgan county.

In 1S21, John and Jeremiah Ross, brothers of the preceding' Rufus Brown. John Wood (afterward State Governor) and Willard Keyes arrived at Atlas. Here Brown kept a tavern, but he and these two Rosses and Mr. Wood removed to Adams county. When they first came to Pike county Wood and Keyes first settled on the 16th section just below New Canton and kept bachelor's hall on the bank of a creek, subsequently named "Keyes " creek, after one of these men. They had a few hogs, two yoke of oxen and a small iron plow, by which latter they broke up a piece of ground before building a cabin. In three or four vears thev sold out and went to Adams county, where Wood founded the city of Quincy. He was then a young man, vigorous and ambitious. One day he, with William Ross, the founder of Atlas, and Ca])t. Ross, the Sheriff of Pike countv, were traveling over the countrv north and west of this county, but then within its borders. When nearing the Mississippi river he told his companions to foUow him and he would show them where he whs troiiii; to build a citv. Thev went about a mile otV the main trail when thev reached the j)rt'sent site of the city of Quincy. TliL' view presented l»» the trio of sturdy frontiersmen was a mai^niticent one. The hand of the white man had never touched the soil, or disturbed the beautiful decorations of nature. Below them swept the Father of Waters vet unburdi-ned bv steam iuivi<;ation. Mr. Wood tried to show his companions the advantages the location had, but Mr. Iloss, thoroughly interested in buihlin*^ uj) his own town of Atlas and so sanjjuine of its future j^reatness, that the l>eautiful and excellent location selected by Mr. Wood was completely over.'^liad()Wed 1>V that ein'oved bv his village. Mr. Win. Ii4iss congratulated his yount^ friend and hoped he would nuike of his town a success, but lie despaired of it ever amounting to much, for, as he remaiked to the Governor, " It's too near Atlas."

Othek Settlers

In IS21 there also cauw to the county James McDomild, who settled opposite Louisiana, (»n Sny Islantl, and kept a ferry. He opene«l the first farm on the road betwei-ii .Atlas and Louisiana, l»ut flootlg tlntwned liim out. He was from Wa.-hington county, N. V., anil his family consiste*! of himself, wife atul four daughters. The next spring he was found dead at his ferry, 8nppo.*ed to have been murdere<l. .losepli .Jackson afterward mairied his widow.

In the tsummer of 1821, Garrett \'an Deusen came to the county and settled on tiie Illinois river near the old Griggsvilie Landing. He was the first settler on the east side of the county except two transient French families, who had located some distance below. He erected the secondhand-mill in the county, the tirst having been put up by Col. lii.ss, at Atlas.

The summer of 1S21 sorely trie*! the lioarts of the sturdy settlers in ajid alxtut Atlas. That was a sickly season and scarcely a family but followed some of its meml)cr8 to the newly made cemetery, until over one-halt the entire population were numbered with the dead. The jtrevailing cause of the visitation of such a calamity to the settlers was the malaria emanating from the vegetable dewiy of the newly broken {irairie ami the decomposition of immense quantities of Msh in the jxuids below the town. The victims of this dreadful malady were lai<l in cofKns made from bass-wo<Kl puncheons, holK)Wed out and consigned to earth in a grave yard near Franklin's first location, and about 400 yards west of Shinn's. The bones and dust of 80 pers(»ns now lie buried there, and at pre.«ient there is not a stone or head-boanl. or any .-igns whatever of it.s being a cemetery. There was no physician nearer than Louisiana during this scourge, and with this fact, and taking into consideration the poor facilities the settlers had for providing for and nursing the sick, it remains no wonder that so many died.

During tliis year Col. Ross built a small brick house, the first in the county. Two years afterward he erected a much larger brick structure adjoining it. *

First Public Improvements

This year also the first court-house in the county was built. Daniel Shinn took the contract for cutting and hauling the logs, at $6, and for $26 he got out the puncheons and finished the building. It was completed without nails or iron in any shape. It was 16 by 18 feet in dimensions, with one door and two windows, the door on the east side, one window on the south side and another on the west side; desks made of puncheons; chimney outside; and the clapboards of the roof held on with weight-poles and knees. There were no trees around the house, but plenty of hazel-brush in the vicinity.

This year the first school was taught in the county, by John Jay Ross, son of Capt. Leonard Ross. It was kept in the court-house, and the names of his pupils were, so far as remembered, Orlando, Charlotte, Schuyler, Mary Emily and Elizabeth Ross, Benjamin, John, Eliza and Pho3be Shinn, John Webb, Frederick and Eliza Franklin, Jeremiah and William Tungate, James, Laura and Nancy Sprague. James W. Whitney taught the next school, which was also at Atlas.

A Few More Of The Earliest Pilgrims

About this time Dexter Wheelock and wife settled at Atlas, where for a time he kept a hotel and a general store. He had been a drummer in the war of 1812, and was an active and generous man. He died many years ago, and his son, John G. Wheelock, has been a prominent citizen of the county.

The spring of 1822 two brothers named Buchanan settled at "Big Spring." A Mr. Allen (father of Lewis) came to the county this year, and was probably the first settler in the neighborhood of IVlilton. His wife was a sister of the celebrated Daniel Boone. An old gentleman named Clemmons also settled about this time near Milton, where his sons now reside. Joel Moore, now living two miles north of Pittsfield, on Bay creek, was the first settler on that stream.

This year Mr. Franklin sold out his place near Atlas, to Col. Ross, for$30 or $40, and removed to a ])ointa little south of Pittsfield, where Mr. Allen now lives; he sold out here again ere long to Mr. Goodin, and located near Milton, on a prairie called after him, " Franklin's Prairie;" and this home too he subsequentlj^ sold, removing this time to Perry. He died in Milton in 1878.

of the same year at Atlas. Some say, however, that there was a white person horn in this county some time previous to this; Ijow true that is we cannot state antlioritatively.

Trip To I.Ouisia.Na

The first settlers sutlered much from want (if provision, as well as from the litneliness of their wiKlerness homes. Durini; the year 1822, Franklin and Shinn, <jjettiiig out of provisions, starleil to Louisiana for a suppi}'. On arriving at the river they gave the customary signal for the ferryman to coino over after them, hut could not make liim hear. Heing strong and fearless they undiMto(»k to swim the great river, even with their clothing on. They hutfeted the waves well for a time, and made good progress, hut untortunately Mr. Shii\n took the cramp, and cjime near drowning, and would have drowned if it had not heen for his C4»mj)anionV presence of mind. Franklin, hy heating him, got him out of the cramp: In urtler to make further progn*ss, however, they were compelled to divest themselves of their clothing. After a long, hard and dan- ^rous struggle they finallv lande«l upon the Missouri shore, ah<jut three-ijuarters of a mile ih'Iow town, hut void of clothing. They njade tln'ir presence known, Intwever, ari<l wen* sixdi furnished with clothing.

Criminal Drowned

During this same yciir(1822)a man hy the name of Franklin, not El>enezer, stole a gun from a Mr. Hume. In unikingaway with it in his haste he was unfortunate enough to lose it while swimming McCiee's creek. lie was juirsued, caught, ajid in a very summary trial hefore (Jol. lioss, Justice of the I'eiice, wa> sentenced to have 25 lashes laid upon his bare back. This punishment l)eing inflicted (and we are told he l)ore it nobly), he was given his lil)crty. He soon Committed another crime, however, wiu* CAu;;ht, hut l>r(»ke from custotly. The pioneers were full t;f pluck, and when they set out to accomplish anything they generally did it, at whatever price. He was tracked to Fort E<lwards (now Warsaw) and again captured. They had no jail or place to confine such a cunning fellow with any safety; so it was «letermine<l to send him to the jail at Kdwardsville. ConsUible Farr and John Wood (e.\-Governor) to<»k charge of him to convey him to Edwanlsville, Knowing he would take advantage of every opportunity to escape, they lashed him to the hack of a mule, by tying his feet underneath. They cjime to a creek on their journey, and the young man thinking that an excellent opportunity to escape, plunged in, even agiiinst the threatenings of his escort. He heeded them not, but yelled back that he would "go to h - 1 and kick the gate open for them." The water was high and before the mule had reached the farther shore he went down beneath the waves, carrying with him his rider. Both were drowned. Franklin's lx)dy was rescued and buried upon the bank of the creek. When Messrs. Farr and Wood returned to Atlas, Col. Ross asked them where their prisoner was, Uiey had returned so quickly. " Oh, we've drowned him," was their indifferent reply. "You have to account for him in some way according to law, you know," said Col. Ross. "Oh, yes," they attain replied, "we've drowned him." Franklin's bones were some time afterward taken up and wired together by Dr. Vandeventer, and the skeleton is now in the possession of his familv at Versailles, III.

In 1823 Alfred Bissell came to the county and located at New Hartford, or rather, nearly a mile north of the present town. Mr. Bissell raised the first a]iples in Pike county. He finally sold out to a ]Vrr. Brown, some of whose family still reside upon the place. Daniel Ilusong came to the county the same year, also an old man by the name of Nicholas, who was the first settler near Highland. Another gentleman, Mr. John Matthews, who was considerably advanced in life, the father of B. L. Matthews, and the grandfather of Col. Matthews, came and located north of Griggs ville.

After this period settlers came in ra]fldly, and it is quite impossible for us to note the ad\ent of each one. That will be done to a very great extent in our township histories.

First Fourth-Of-July Celebration

The first Fourth-of-July celebration ever held in Pike county, and probably in the Military Tract, was held at Atlas in 1823. Col. Ross thus speaks of jt in a letter written at the time to a friend in the East, which is still preserved: "July 4, 1823. - The first celebration of the Fourth of July was held in Atlas, Pike county. 111. Oration delivered by Nicholas Hanson, of Albany, N. Y. The Declaration of Independence was read. There was an audience of about fifty persons, who afterward partook of an excellent dinner ])repared by Rufus Brown at his tavern. The audience marched in procession after dinner. A jolly good time was had drinking toasts, etc., and 'all went merry as a marriage bell;' this being the first celebration ever held in Pike county, or in this Military Tract."

This Rufus Brown, spoken of, subsequently removed to Quincy, where he built a log house on the lot where the Quincy House now stands. After living in Quincy for a time, he pulled up and moved further West, and has since died.

First Jail And Visit Of The Indians

1824. - This year the first jail at Atlas was built. Daniel Husonff hewed the lo<;s and Daniel Shinn did most of the work on the building. The door was four inches thick. Wrought spikes were used, and for hinges bars were employed which were as thick as a man's arm. The only window was a hole about the size of a pane of ^lass. The logs were a foot square and *' scotclied " down, and tlie place for ushering in ])ri8oner8 was in the roof. It was a ffood jail, however, - even better, s»»ino tliiiik, than the jail at Pittsfield some years ago. The old Atlas jail huilding is still in existence, but has been removed to near the Levee and is considerably dilaj)idated.

This year oM Keokuk ami oOO of his men, on their way to light Indians below 8t. Ltuiis, stoj)|>e<l on the 8ny near Atlas, over night, and had a war dance. They hatl sent to the whites at Atlas a notice in advance that they inteniled them no harm. Keokuk was a fine-looking man, it is said, while lilaek Hawk, who also frequently visited this region, was rather a small man, with one eye.

Nov. 11. Is24, Marcellus Iloss was born, a son to Col. Wm. lioss at Atlas, tlje first white male chihl boiil in Pike county. It is stated, however, in Mr. (irimshaw's historical sketch, that a son to Ebeiiezer Franklin was born before this, and still others say that a son was burn before ^his date in the family of Mr. Ward. In the proceedings of the Old Settlers' Association it is stated that Rev. John IIo|)kins, of New Hartford, was born in Pike county May 30, 1822; that he attended school at Atlas when there were but five scholars, and that he bound alter the first reaper in the county. In Jidy, 1836, Col. William Uoss ajid family removed to Pittsfield, where he remained until his death, and where Marcellus still resides.

In ls26 there came to Atlas, from Berkshire, Mass., that eminent man. Col. Benjamin Barney, who still survives, residing at Barry. He "was a man of great physical powers, of strong natural sense, benevolerit, patriotic, not learned in book lore, but wise in that which made him a leader in trying times; was sober, industrious and always at his post. His tales of early adventure are marvelous, and yet undoubtedly true." - Grimshaw. He was born in September, 179"), emigrated first to Sandusky, O., and afterward was one of the first live settlers in Seneca county in that State. In Ohio he married Minerva Harris, who died in 1849. He was the first blacksmith in Pike county, and probably the first in the whole Military Tract. He made the first plow ever made in this county, and was for a long time known as " the c^junty blacksmith." He was induced to stop at Atlas mainly on account of his being offered the position of Deputy Sheriff by Capt. Ross, the newly elected Sheriff. Col. Bartiey bore a prominent part in the Black Hawk war, and his life has all along been so identified with the history of Pike county that his name will occur frequently in this volume.

Barry

During this age of quick transit we often speak of mail " facilities," but for pioneer times it would be more appropriate to say mail '' difRciilties." It must be borne in mind that it cost 25 cents for the early ])ilgrlms who came to this country to get a letter from their friends in the East or South, and then the mails came only at long intervals. Col. Barney relates a bit of experience as a mailcarrier in early day, which is quite thrilling.

There had been no mail received at Atlas for about six weeks. The [Uinois river was high, and filled with running ice so that it was impossible to cross it with any degree of safety. Capt. lioss was postmaster at Atlas, the only place in the county where there was a postoffice, and he as well as the other settlers were exceedingly anxious to get the mail from Carrollton, the point from which the Pike county mail was brought. Carrollton is on the east side of the river and 40 miles distant from Atlas. Postnuister Ross had made liberal offers to induce some one to go after the mail, but none had yet succeeded in getting it. The six dollars he had offered was a great motiv'e, and at least three men at different times had attempted the trip, but could get no further than the Illinois river, and would return discouraged. At last, becoming exceedingly anxious to hear from the outside world, Mr. Koss made the very liberal offer of ten dollars to any one who would carry the mail to Carrollton and return \rith the mail from that point. This offer was made Saturday night, and Col. Barney resolved to attempt to win the prize. It must be remembered that in those primitive times ten dollars was considered a large amount of money; and the Colonel said, when he returned and got his money, that he felt as though he was rich enough to start a bank.

]\lr. Barney was up before day Sunday morning getting ready for the trip. His wife prepared a lunch of corn-cake and venison for him to take with him and eat upon the way; but unfortunately he forgot it when he left home. He had traveled but a few miles ere it began to snow. The large flakes began to fall thicker and faster, and the wind began to blow and soon the storming elements were raging around him with great fury. He quickened the pace of his horse and finally arrived at the Illinois river at a point where there had been a ferry and where he intended to cross. The man who had conducted the terry had recently died, leaving a family of wife and several small children. They lived in a rude cabin upon the western bank of the river; the widowed mother lay sick and near death's door; they were without medicine, food or care, and suft'ering untold misery. The Colonel ]>ut his horse in the smoke-house attached to the cabin, which was so small that the horse could not turn around in it. He then hired a lad who was there at this time to assist him over the river. After much difficulty he readied the eastern bank and started oft' on his trij) to Carrollton on foot.

{rot the mail and started homeward. iU-fore leavin«^ Carrollttui, lowevcr, he called ujkui the doctor and reported the coM<lition of the Woman at the ferry. The physician said he had heen down to the river two or three times on his way to visit her but coukl not ^t over, and had concluded that she was dead. Ilepive the ('olojiel Some medicine for her, and the kind lady at the postotHce <;ave liim a lar<;e packa;;e of provisions alscj to take to the distressed woman. This packaj^e wei<rhed ahout 1() pounds, and with tlie mail, which was «jnite larire and consisted mostly of military matter, he started on toot for the river. It was dusk when he arrived in the river Intttoin. To add to the already ^reat jieril in which he found himself, a large pack of wolves, ahout 50 in numl>er, ftdlowed him, s«une ot them yelping furiously. The hohh'r ones Would appn)ach closely and gnarl at the lone footman, whoni they were eager to imike a meal of. lie would frighten them <»tr by slap|>ing his han«ls on the mail-bags, nuiking a loud, sharp noise. This he did repeatedly, and perhaj»s it was the ordy way lie Could get througli safely, as he had no lire-arms or weaj>ons of any kind, lie n'ache<l the river only to tind difficulties nn»re complicate«l: he could not get over. He hallooed, but in vain. He got into an <»ld boat which lay fastened in the ice out from the shore, and lay «lown. thinking he would be c<)mpelle<l to remain there duriiii^ the night. He so<»n found himself shivering with cold, and Would certaiidy freeze to death if he remained there longer. He an»use<l himself, got a j^Mile and tinally worked his way over the river, fn»m cake to cake of the tiouting ice, th«>ugh a dangerous task it Was. He remainiKi over night at the cabin ami gave the widow the me<licine ami provision sent her. These relieved her present wants, but slie continued to decline, and shortly afterward dieil.

The Colonel at last reache<l Atlas, with the long-looke<l-for imiil. He made the settlers joyous with the letters brought from their friends an<l was himselt made happy by the receipt of ten dollars, which he had certjiinly well wirned.

In the .spring of 1^20, James Wani, vvh<t haa kittled about four miles south of Atlas near 8i.\- -Mile creek, and whose farm lay ])artly on the blutl' ami partly in the bottom, made a trip to Fort Clark, now Peoria, and other settlements in that direction in com]»any with Col. I^iss, on an electioneering tour, or to view some land. On arriving at Crooked creek on their return, just above a drift of flood- wood, Mr. Ward ventured to cross, but was drowned. Mr. Ross, thus left in a wilderness with the shades of night fast hovering around him, and the gloom cast over him by the loss of his companion, wandered on down the stream, not daring to cross and not desiring to stop. Soon he saw a light in the diststnce and followed on down until he came to the cabin of a lone hunter. Here he was taken in, provided for and kept for the night. In tlie morning the body was recovered and bnried upon the bank. The horse had made the shore and was found fastened to a tree by liis bridle being caught in a limb. A year or so afterward the bones of the drowned man were taken up and re interred with Masonic honors.

Col. Ross' Keel-Boat

In 1826 Col. Ross built a keel-boat called "The Basket," which was hauled down to the Sny and launchetl. It would hold about 50 tons, and in this craft the Colonel shipped the produce of the neighborhood, as beef, pork, hides, etc. He used to pack about 400 head of ^cattle every season. Dressed beef was only two and a half cents a pound. Dealers had the hide and tallow as their reward for killing and dressing. They sold their beef in the South, New Orleans generally, for five dollars a barrel, tallow ten cents a pound, dry hides five cents, andgreen hides two and a half cents a pound. To get their boats over sand-bars they would unload th6 barrels, roll them over the bars and then reload. On one trip it required one whole day to get over a distance of twelve miles.

A Few Occurrences Of 1826

Capt. Hale, a Missionary Baptist minister, came to the county in the summer ol»1826, but at this time several other ministers were also preaching in Pike county, as Messrs. Garrison, Medford and Lewis Allen. Mr. Medford was a smart man, and had a circuit extending from Rushville to some point in Calhoun county. Capt. Hale probably organized the first Baptist Church in the county.

This year also the first store building in the county was erected, by Col. Ross at Atlas. It was built of hewed logs, and in dimensions was 3 6 feet square. The principal part of a merchant's stock those days was whisky.

In the fall of 1826 the first whisky made in the county was manufactured by Mr. Milhizcr, a Pennsylvania Dutchman, although it is also claimed that Mr. Blair, spoken of a little further on, erected the first distillery; but his distillery was erected in 1829 or 1830. Mr. Milhizcr made but one barrel of whisky.

Soon after his arrival Col. Ross put up a band-mill by which he could grind four or five bushels a day, but he soon built a larger mill which, with four good horses, would grind from 25 to 30 bushels a day. Settlers from even 25 miles above Quincy used to come to this mill. Good fine flour, however, was brought from Cincinnati, O., but this costly article was used only on occasion of visits from friends, or on Sunday when the family thought they could stand the expense of such a luxury. For most of their milling at this period the settlers in this section went to St. Louis, Mo. There was no Alton then.

tlie snimncr of 1827 there was a great deal of rain, and tlie stroanis rose lii<;lier than they ever did alterward until 1851, TheSny Carte was naviirjihje for steam-boats at least as far up as Atlas, as Col. Ross proved to the astonishment of many. lie had three steamboats in his service, and one of them in j>articuhir, the "Mechanic," came up to a |K)int directly o])posite Atlas. It.'^ an-ival was announced by the tiring of guns.

The tirst wiieat raised in Pike county was raised this year by Col. Ross and Mr. Seeley, and it was also the tirst wlieat ground witlua the limits of the county.

This year came Benjamin B. Barney, no relation of Coi. Barney. Endeavoring to trace their relationship one day the Colonel said he was from ^lassachusetts, wlien Benjnnnn B. rcjdied with an oath, "Oh, if you are a Yankee you are no connection of mine." This Benjamin B. jiarney l)ought Col. Ross' horse-mill nnd kept it a long time, probably unlil it was W(»rn out or finally abandoned.

In the vicinity of Atlas, Henry Long, from Baltimore city, settled about the year 1827. During a residence of many years, until his decease on his furm, he was a useful citi;;en and upright man. lie reared a second numerous family' of intelligent and e<iucated children. His son, Jesse I/jng, has Iwen a Supervisor of Atlas township, ami resides on the old luimestead of his father. Nathan Watson, now living about five miles south of BittsHeld with his son Job, »ime to the county in 1827. During this yejir or some time previously, there came to Atlas, James .M. Sceley, who was for 12 years (1828 - '40) noted aj» the honest, easy Siierilf of Pike county. It was his duty to collect revenue. If a man was not ready to pay his tax, Seeley j)aid it and trusted him. Mr. S. had a numerfMis family, of whom Dr. K. M. Seeley, who was a surgeon during the late war, was i>ne; another was Dr. David Seeley, who w:i> .iti early settler of Texas, where he died.

Among tiie many prominent citizens now living who came to the county in 1828, was James Ross, who introduce<l and used the first cradle in the county for cutting wheat. It was a great curiosity to the pioneers, but a fanjiliar thing to him, as he was from Pennsylvania wliere cradles were common. He eqiiijtped and ran the first turner's lathe and cai)inet-£hop in Pike county. This shop was in one end of the first clerk's oflice building in Atlas. His shop was burned out here. He is now closing his long and eventtul life in Pittstield. iLven when he was 60 years of age he was a fine dancer and could whistle almost eijual to the flute. It has always been interesting to hear him tell stories of pioneer times.

Tiiis vear Wm. ^[ontgonicrv Blair, a New-Lii^lit minister, came with his family to Kinderhook. His son Montijomerv, now livin<^ at ]^)arrv, was then 19 years of a^je. The family emiirrated oriirinallj from Kentucky to Ohio, then to Indiana and lastly to tliis county. When they arrived here, however, they found that several otlier families had preceded tliem in this part of the county, namely, an old hermit named Peter Harper, a refugee from justice, having come here from Indiana, He was at Kinderhook. To the north of where Barry now stands were David Edwards and Edward Earle, and to the south lived Samuel Gary, on section 30, then the Jackson family and ]Mr. Howard and John Milhizer. Harper lived at" Kinderhook uutil his death.

Mr. Blair built the first log cabin at Kinderhook, and the next year he huilt the first mill in this part of the county, and also a distillery, which is said by some to be the first in the county. Although this gentleman made considerable whisky, the distillery had finally to be abandoned on account of there not bein^ gi-ain enough raised in the country to make the business pa}'. lie sometimes made as high as two or three barrels of whisky per day by a process known as " steam distilling." Wheat at this time was only three "bits " a bushel, and Mr. Blair kept a stock on hand for two or three years waiting for a better market. Milling was so difficult to obtain that several days were generally wasted by jiersevering parties lingering around the mill to see that their grist was ground in its proper turn, or in frequent visits to the mill. At this period beef and pork were only one and a half cents a pound. A large three-yearold steer would brinar only ten dollars.

By this time the immigrants had become sd numerous and tho events of history so coinplicated that they cannot be very well grouped by years either in the memories of old settlers or in written histor}'.

The second conrt-honse was built in 1829 by Elijah Petty and Col, Ross, contractors, at a cost of $<>50. About this time the clerk's office building was erected in Atlas, It was a double log building, and one end was occupied by James Ross as a cabinet shop. This building was totally destroyed by Are one ni^ht duriii": the winter of the big snow, as referred to further on. Many of the earliest records were thus lost, and many others would have been burned but for the great exertions and braver}' of Mr, James Ross.

John Barney, now residing at Pittstield, is a brother of Col. Benj. Barney, and came to the county in 1830. Soon after the countyseat was removed to Pittsfield, Mr. John Barney was elected treas- urer, wliicli office lie tilled with lidellty for a luiinber ot years. All the money raiseil aiul e.xpeiuied tor the construction of the ])re8ent court-house and the tirst Pittstield jail passed through his hands. It beii)^ once charged that he was a little behind with the |tul)lic funds, an investigation was instituteti, which resulted in showing that instead of his being in tlebt to the county, the county was owing him over a hundred dollars.