Whiteside County, Illinois - Chapter 26, 1877 (part 1 of 2)

Chapter 26

Union Grove township was originally a portion of Union Precinct and derives its name from the grove of timber in that township and Mt. Pleasant, which the original settlers named "Union Grove." The township was organized by the Board of County Commissioners in 1852, after the county adopted the "Township Organization laws." The topography of the township is varied. The eastern part is marked by a chain of gentle bluffs and small groves of timber; the northern, central and south-eastern portions is undulating and level prairie; extending through the western part is a narrow body of low land, known as swamp land, in which are the famous Union Grove Peat Beds. The "cattails," as the body of land is called, is bordered by bluffs on either side, sparsely covered with timber, and by drainage have been mostly reclaimed, and now present the fairest meadows in the county. The peat beds furnish an inexhaustible and excellent quality of peat. The peat deposits are fully described in the geological article. Valuable stone quarries are worked in the eastern part of the township at and near Unionville, and in the Cattail bluffs. The township is watered by Rock Creek, Cattail Creek, and small brooks. Good wells are easily secured. The soil is fertile, producing large crops, principally corn, the farmers being generally engaged in the production of that crop, hay and stock raising. Formerly large crops of wheat were produced, but now the yield is uncertain, and the business not so lucrative. The first settlers secured excellent crops of winter wheat, but now none is produced.

Among the pioneers of Union Grove previous to 1840, were: J. T. Atkinson and family, Daniel B. Young and family, Henry Ustick, Sr., and family, Ira Burch and family, Elisha Hubbart and family, John Richards and family, Stephen Jeffers and family, George Garlick and family, J. L. Powell, Benedict Brown, Joseph Town, Elijah Town, Benjamin Burns, J. A. Robertson, John Kent, Porteus Robertson, Silas Mitchell, James Terrell, John A King, J. J. Kellogg, M. L. Atkinson.

The first cabin was built in Union Grove in the spring of 1836, by Joshua T. Atkinson, and his daughter, Anna E., was the first white child born in the present township. She was born in November, 1836. The first death is not now certainly known, but is thought to be that of Payson Ustick. The first person interred in the burying ground near Edward Vennum's was Joseph Town. The first marriage celebrated in the township, was that of Frank Peck and Elizabeth Brown, J. T. Atkinson, J. P., officiating.

Union Grove Precinct was named by Jonathan Haines, Henry Boyer, and J. T. Atkinson. The claim where Unionville now stands was made by J. T. Atkinson, J. W. Stakes selecting the Morri.son side of the creek, the two gentlemen then being in a kind of partnership in the "settlement business." This division of claims was made by Messrs. Atkinson and Stakes in June, 1836, their claims having been the year previous.

Miss Mary Jeflfers taught the first school. It was in a double log cabin occupied by Henry Boyer, in what is now Mt. Pleasant, but being the school the people of Unionville sent their children to. This was in the summer of 1840. The same year a small frame school house was erected at Unionville, and Miss xVugusta Foster, now Mrs. Hubbard, of Moline, employed as teacher. The building is now occupied by Chas. Chesley as a dwelling house. The shingles were rived out and put in place by John Kent and John L. Powell. J. A. Robertson, B. Burns, and I. A. Maxwell, put up the frame. This was a pretentious school house in those days, and the first public school in the township.

Union Grove was very early in her history supplied with gospel privileges. The settlers were first provided with the itinerent and mission services, and the labor of the local preachers. Soon after Unionville came into existence several churches were organized ; with the exception of the Wesleyan Society the history of the Unionville churches will be found under the head of church history in the article on Morrison. The Wesleyans had a church edifice, and until a few years ago it was one of the old Unionville landmarks. There is no church building at present in Union Grove township, the people generally attending church services at Morrison.

In 1839 John A. Robertson and Benjamin Burns built a saw-mill at Unionville, and converted a great amount of the timber of the country into lumber. Messrs. Robertson and Burns, and Mr. Kent when afterwards in their employ, ''batched" it in a log cabin built on the hillside. This was probably the first residence in Unionville. The milling interests started in this small way was the nucleus of the village.

Unionville was laid out in 1841 by Henry Boyer, Henry Ustick, Sr., John A. Robertson, and M. L. Atkinson. Benjamin Burns was one of the proprietors of the town, which became a place of considerable importance, having several stores, shops, churches, schools, postofiice, etc., and was doing a large business, with promise of having a town of considerable size, when the railroad passed to one side, and Morrison sprang up. The stores, churches and many of the dwelling houses, with the principal portion of the citizens, moved over the creek. Unionville occupies a beautiful location and was finely laid out, and but for the circumstances mentioned might have become one of the most beautiful as well as substantial towns in the county.

In 1847 there was a Library Association in Unionville with a membership of over fifty and a considerable amount of property. On the books of the commissioners' Court of the county the names of the Trustees were recorded September 18,1847, as Henry Ustick, L. L.Hoag, Edward Vennum, W. C.Snyder, and J. A. Robertson.

The only grist mill now in the township of Union Grove is that known as Annan's Mill, situated on Rock Creek, at Unionville. The mill was built in 1858-'59 by William Annan and John A. Robertson, the work being commenced in the fornier year, and completed in all of its appointments just before Christmas in the latter, so that some grists were ground before New Year's. The building is of stone, two and a half stories high, besides the basement, and in size thirty-two by forty-two feet. It is one of the most substantial structures in the county, and has three run of large stone, and one of small size, called a pony stone, the former being four feet in diameter, and the latter thirty-four inches, and is used principally for grinding shorts, buckwheat, etc., saying a great deal of power. The mill has a capacity of grinding from ten to sixteen bushels of wheat in an hour, equal to two barrels of flour per hour, but as it is used now exclusively as a custom or grist mill, its full capacity is not exerted.

The present dam is a frame one, and was built in 1862, by Mr. Annan, the one used before that time being made mainly of brush. Mr. Annan came to Unionville in 1849, and purchased an interest in the saw mill, which then stood on the site of the present grist mill, and carried on the business in connection with John A. Robertson as partner, until timber became so scarce that it would not pay to run it longer, and it was torn down, and the grist mill erected. Shortly after the grist mill was built, Mr. Annan bought Mr. Robertson's interest, and since that time has been the sole owner.

The township has seven school districts, in each of which there is a good school building, well furnished with seats and apparatus. The township school fund is also large. The school building located at Unionville, in District No. 1, is a fine wooden structure, two stories high, standing on an eminence overlooking a wide extent of territory, and was erected in 185-4-'55, conjointly by the town and school district. At the towi; meeting in the spring of the former year, it was voted to raise six hundred dollars by tax to erect the structure, provided the district would raise nine hundred dollars. To this the district agreed, and the building was erected, the lower story being used for school purposes, and the upper one for those of the town. In 1856 the town sold its interest in the building to the school district, and from thenceforward it has been devoted to the uses of the school. Within its walls many of the citizens of Unionville, and the surrounding country, received their early education. It has always had a full attendance of scholars, and been presided over by able, experienced teachers. The Directors have spared no pains to mt^ke the school complete in all of its appointments. Columbus Vennum is the present Principal.

The first township meeting in Union Grove was held at the house of John A. Robertson, April 6. 1852, in Unionville. Stephen Jefi"ers was Moderator, and J. N. Vennum, Clerk. D. B. Young, W. C. Snyder, B. Burns, Stephen Jeffers, and Luther Gibbs, were appointed a committee on by-laws. A tax of one cent on each hundred dollars of taxable property was voted for the purpose of purchasing a book for the town. John A. Robertson, John Kent, and Luther Gibbs, were elected Overseers of Highways. The meeting adopted a resolution prohibiting hogs from running at large, and elected the following officers: Supervisor, Wm. C. Snyder; Town Clerk, A. P. Young; Assessor, Benj. Burns; Collector, Allen Graves; Overseer of the Poor, Jacob Baker; Commissioners of Highways, John A. Robertson, Edward Vennum, Stephen Jeffers; Constables: A. A. Richmond, J. N. Vennum; Justices of the Peace, D. B. Young, Reed Wilbur. At the regular meeting, April 11, 1853, the committee chosen at the previous annual meeting to draft by-laws, presented the following preamble and resolution: "Whereas, The by-laws passed by your town meeting (though said not to be valid in law) have proved all sufficient for the promotion of peace and good will between neighbors, therefore. Resolved, That we pass no other bylaws or restrictions whatever, but abide by the ancient land marks." At the same meeting $35 was voted to pay officers and other incidental expenses of the town for the current year. April 5, 1854, by a vote of tw*enty-one to two, the town decided to raise by taxation $600 to build a house for the use of the town, at or near Unionville, provided School District No. 1 raise by taxation or otherwise $900, to be used conjointly with the town funds, the upper story to be used by the town for town purposes, and the lower story by the School District for school purposes. In 1855 a tax of $275 was levied to build a bridge across the creek at Unionville. In 1856 the citizens of the town voted in favor of selling the township's interest in the town house to the School District. In 1864, by a vote' of 40 to 2, the town voted a tax for the purpose of paying bounties to soldiers, and in 1865 a further tax for bounties was voted by 32 to 1. In

1865 the township paid soldiers a bounty of $100, and levied a tax of threeeighths of one per cent, to pay war indebtedness. In 1869 Messrs. J. T. Atkinson, John Kent, and Edward Vennum, were appointed to take charge of the burial ground of the township, donated by Mr. Brown, and to keep the same in repair. In 1870 the citizens of the township adopted resolutions instructing their Supervisor to oppose any appropriations' for the new poor house, and also instructing him to advocate the plan of each town caring for its own poor.

The Assessor's book of Union Grove township for 1877, shows 14,525 acres of improved land, and 7,988 acres of unimproved; improved lots, 20; unimproved, 22. The total assessed value of all lands is $334,715. No. of horses, 397; cattle, 1,385; mules and asses, 18; sheep, 178; hogs, 1,926; carriages and wagons, 121 ; sewing and knitting machines, 90; melodeons and organs, 29. Value of personal property, $53,983; railroad property, $26,141; assessed value of all property, $422,844.

The population of Union Grove in 1870 was 1,070, of which number 903 were of native birth, and 167 of foreign birth. The estimated population of the township in 1870 is 1,200. Popular vote in November 1876, 247.

Union Grove is ninety-six feet above low water mark in Lake Michigan, and six hundred and forty-five feet above the level of the sea, taking the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad track as the point of elevation.

Joshua T. Atkinson was born in Newburyport, Essex county, Massachusetts in 1810, and has resided only in that State and Illinois. He came to Whiteside county in November, 1834, and passed the following winter above the mouth of Coon creek, in old Prophetstown, occupying a part of a log cabin with J. W. Stakes and family. This was known as the McClure cabin, and was built by Bigelow & McClure, of Peoria, who had established a ferry on Rock river near the old Lewiston trail ford on that stream, it being the first ferry between the one at Dixon, and Van Ruff's at the mouth of the river. During a part of the same winter, in addition to the family of Mr. Stakes, and Mr. Atkinson, Messrs. Baxter, Benson, Bennett, and Charles Atkinson, with their families, made a home in the cabin. They had plenty of Indians for neighbors, but they were peaceable and friendly, and fond of fun and trade. Notwithstanding their limited quarters, 3Ir. Atkinson represents that all passed a pleasant winter, the only drawback being now and then a short allowance of provisions which would necessitate a journey to Fox river, or to Knox county. In the spring of 1835 he went to Round Grove, which by-the-way received its name from him and Mr. Stakes, with the intention of settling there, and in accordance with one of the rules in vogue at that day, "jack-knifed," a claim. As soon as this was done, he started to Henry or Rock Island county to get a team for'breaking purposes, and on his return found that he had been ousted by Messrs. Pilgrim, Nance, Jones, and others, who had broken patches all around the grove during his absence. There was nothing to do but submit, and he left there, and in company with J. W. Stakes, made claims to a large amount of land on both sides of Rock creek, in what is now Union Grove and Mt. Pleasant townships. After leaving Round Grove he that summer broke the first seven or eight acres where Morrison now stands. x\s the claim, or rather claims, made by Messrs. Atkinson and Stakes covered considerable territory, a division was made in June, 1836, Mr. Atkinson taking the part on the west side of Rock creek, and Mr. Stakes the part on the east side. Mr. Atkinson commenced making improvements on his claim, located in what is now Union Grove township, in the summer and winter of 1835, and built the first cabin in the township, and from the fifth to the eighth in the county. In July, 1836, he moved his family to the claim, and continued to reside there until his removal to Geneseo, Henry county, in 1875. He has the honor of making the first prairie or breaking plow in the township, and perhaps in the county. He was assisted in the iron work by Mr. Hubbard, brother of Alexis Hubbard, of Lyndon, and in the wood work by C. G. Woodruff, of the same place. The timber for the plow was cut in Union Grove, and considerable trouble occasioned in finding a tree of the right twist for the mould board. The land side bar of the plow was between four and five feet long, and the share between three and four feet, the plow turning a furrow from thirtytwo to thirty-six inches. This unique implement of husbandry was constructed in 1836. Mr. Atkinson also brought the first reaper into the county. It was one of McCormick's first manufacture, and was bought in 1837 or 1838. At the election held in the fall of 1836, the first one held in the county after its preliminary organization by the General Assembly, Mr. Atkinson was elected Justice of the Peace, and James Heaton, Constable. Mr. Atkinson was ordered to take the returns of the election to Galena, Jo Daviess county, a trip which consumed about four days time, at a cost of eight to ten dollars, for the customary fee of one dollar and fifty cents. He had to qualify as Justice of the Peace also at that place, Whiteside county being then yet attached to Jo Daviess for judicial purposes. Mr. Atkinson was always one of the first to assist in pushing forward any enterprise which looked to the development of the township and county of his adoption, and when the project of building a railroad through the county from Dixon to Fulton, was started, he entered at once heartily into the work, and used all of his influence to obtain aid to construct it. Ho was elected one of the first Directors of the Company, which was then known as the Mississippi & Rock Biver Junction Bailroad Company. The efforts of this company, strange to say, met with strong opposition from many along the proposed line, some urging one objection, and some another, while still others contented themselves with throwing ridicule upon it. One settler of influence said the road would not help to raise any more corn, pork or beef, and another, that it would be time enough fifty years afterwards to talk about building railroads. These objectors are now beneficiaries of the road to a large extent, and would gladly give their thousands rather than have it destroyed, or have the track moved to a different location. Mr. Atkinson took a very prominent part in township and county affairs from the time he first became a resident of Whiteside, and being a man of more than ordinary ability and activity wielded a wide influence in shaping them for the best interests of the people. After the organization of the township under the township organization law, he represented Union Grove in the Board of Supervisors for seven successive terms, and has also held other township offices. He was married in 1831 to Miss Emeline Little, of Plymouth, New Hampshire. Their children have been Anna E.; James W.; Sarah L.; Josiah L.; and George L. Of these, Josiah L. died in Union Grove in 1849, and George L. died in Colorado, in 1876. Anna E. married E. P. Keyes, and lives in Boston, Massachusetts. James W. married Miss Sarah M. Savage, daughter of the late W. J. Savage, of Morrison, and lives in Moline, Illinois. Sarah L. resides with her parents in Geneseo, Henry county. In a letter to the publishers of this work, Mr. Atkinson says: "The intercourse of over forty years with the citizens of Whiteside county has been friendly; their interests, and those of the county, have been my interests. May the future of Whiteside be as prosperous and happy as its past has been energetic and patriotic."

Henry Boyer was born in Monroe county, Va., September 11, 1805, and died at Unionville, July 22, 1873. He was married in Sangamon county, Illinois, July 22, 1830, to Miss Mary Powell, who was born in Pickaway county, Ohio, August 5, 1811. Mrs. Boyer died May 19, 1871. In 1836 Mr. Boyer came to Whiteside county from Sangamon county Illinois, and settled in what is now Mt. Pleasant township near the line between that town and Union Grove, on the west side of Rock creek. A few years later he moved into Union Grove township where he resided until the time of his death. He was a man of strong individuality, and was a prominent and working abolitionist when it cost courage to be one. He had the confidence of his friends and neighbors in an eminent degree in all things, and was prominent in the development of the county. Mr. Boyer was one of the founders of Unionville, and engaged in other enterprises for the advancement of the county. Children : Caroline, born April 29, 1831; Washington F., born July 16, 1832; Lydia A., born January 28, 1834; Elizabeth Jane, born January 5, 1836; Jacob W., born January 1, 1838; Samuel V., born December 22, 1839; Mary J., born November 7, 1841; Edward P., born August 25, 1843; Abigail, born June 9, 1845; John W., born December 17, 1847; Henry, Jr., born January 18, 1849; Emily, born August 1, 1851; Harriet B., born February 16, 1854. Caroline, and Henry, Jr., died in infancy. Washington F. is married, and lives in Union Grove. Lydia A. married Aaron P. Young, and resides in Mt. Pleasant. Elizabeth Jane married A. B. Lukens, and lives in Jasper county, Missouri. Jacob W. resides in Washington Territory. Samuel V. is married, and lives in Fulton. Mary J. married B. W. Shirk, and lives in St. Paul, Minnesota. Edward P. died in the army at Chattanooga, Tennessee, April 15, 1865. Abigail married M. M. Confrey, and resides in Jasper county, Missouri. John W. is married, and lives in Detroit, Michigan. Emily married A. C. Johnson, and resides in Chicago. Harriet B. is unmarried.

Biographical

Daniel Beers Youno was born in Sussex county, New Jersey, September 16, 1800. When he was quite a child his parents moved to Knox county, Ohio, and in 1831 he settled in Marion, now Morrow county, in the State. In 1837, he came to Whiteside county, and purchased a claim of six hundred and forty acres in what is now Union Grove township, of J. T. Atkinson, paying for the land and improvements, together with some farming implements, the sum of three thousand six hundred dollars. Mr. Young early took a part in the public affairs of Whiteside, and was elected the first Probate Justice of the county, serving from 1839 until 1842. He was also the first School Commissioner of the county, holding the office from 1840 until 1842. He was at one time elected County Treasurer, but declined to serve. In 1852, he was elected Justice of the Peace of Union Grove, and held the office until 1857, and in 1858 represented the township in the Board of Supervisors. He filled each of these positions with excellent satisfaction, bringing to them the Jeffersonian test, honesty, capability, and faithfulness to the constitution. As a man and a citizen, he stands high in the estimation of all. About twelve years ago he settled in Morrison whei-e he now resides. Mr. Young married 3Iiss Betsey Jackson, November 4, 1824. Miss Jackson was born October 28, 1805. The children by this marriage have been: Emily, born October 22, 1825; Abigail, born April 14, 1827; Charity Ann, born February 25, 1829; Harriet, born December 30, 1830; Jacob Clark, born August 27, 1832; Lucy, born May 18, 1834; Tryphena, born April 27, 1836; Aaron Nelson, born April 3, 1838; Jackson, born November 17, 1839; John Mitchell, born February 22, 1843; Sylvia Ann, born December 12, 1845; and Emeline Amelia, born December 3, 1847. Emeline Amelia died February 1, 1848. Emily married John A. Robertson, August 7, 1842, and died May 13, 1858 ( see biography of John A. Robertson). Abigail married Matthew B. Potter, October 20, 1847, and died August 26, 1863; children, Warren. Carrie, and Matthew. Charity Ann married John P. Potter, March 27, 1849, and resides in Henry county, Illinois; children, Alvina Rose, Bessie, and Noble. Harriet married Elbert Pinney, March 29, 1849, and resides in Preston, Missouri; children, Beers John, May, Lula, Charity, Nettie, and two others. Jacob Clark married Miss Amelia D. Harris, November 3, 1 858. and lives at Preston, Missouri; children, Emma, Cora, Leroy, Stella, aud one other. Lucy married John W. Jacobs, August 20, 1857, and lives in Carthage, Missouri; children, Ernest, Jay W., Bessie, and Bertha. Tryphena married Willis F. Johnson, January 13, 1859, and lives in Chicago; children, Wealthy May, and Anna Blanche. Aaron Nelson married Miss Anna M. Corell, March 26, 1867, and lives at Evanston, Cook county, Illinois; children, Albert, Ruth, William, and Paul. Jackson married Miss LydiaL. Lyman, October 2, 1865, and lives at Sioux Falls, Dakota Territory; children. Nelson, Homer and one other. John M. married Miss Mattie Mitchell, March 25, 1866, and lives in Miller county, Missouri; children, Willis, John Brady, and one other. Sylvia A. married George L. Hutchinson, January 7, 1867, and lives in Colorado; one child, Milford. Mrs. Young died January 13, 1872, and Mr. Young married Mrs. Harriet Allen, October 28, 1873. Mr. Young has forty-eight grand children, and seven great grand children.

John A. Robertson was born in Washington county. New York, August 5, 1812. He remained in hisnative State until 1836, when he started for the west on an investigating expedition, coming by way of the Lakes to Detroit, and from there to Chicago on foot. Starting from the latter place he visited Peoria and some other points in Illinois, and then returned to the east. Being pleased with the country, he came back in 1838, accompanied by Henry Ustick, Sr., and settled where Unionville now stands. He soon afterwards, in connection with Mr. Benjamin Burns, erected a saw mill on the site of the flouuing mill now owned by ]Mr. William Annan, which lattei mill he was also largely interested in building. Mr. Robertson was one of the proprietors of the village of Unionville. and assisted in laying out the town in 1839. As showing the contrast between the past and the present, he used to relate that while attending to his saw mill he had shot deer as they came down to the creek to cross. He also kept a hotel at Unionville, in the palmy days of the town, which was widely celebrated for the excellence of its table, and the superiority of its accommodations. Early in 1870 he retired from business, and resided with his daughter, Mrs. D. S. Spafford, in Morrison, until his death, December 5, 1875. He was a man of quiet disposition, of fine business abilities, and was highly esteemed by the entire community. Mr. Robertson married Miss Emily Young, daughter of D. B. Young, of Union Grove, August 7, 1842. Mrs. Robertson died May 13, 1858. Their children have been: Ann Eliza, born January 15, 1844; Andrew J., born November 26, 1845; Lewis, born March 16, 1848; Beers Y., born February 24, 1850; LeRoy, born August 7, 1852; Ida May, born April 9, 1855; and Fred Y., born May 3, 1858. Beers Y. died July 31, 1855. Ann Eliza married Dwight S. Spafford, November 16, 1865, and resides in Morrison; children: Frank S., Earl J., and Rob Roy. Lewis married Miss Hannah S- Williams in February, 1873, and resides in Kewanee, Henry county, Illinois; no children. Andrew J. and LeKoy are engaged in stock raising in Wyoming Territory; and Ida May and Fred Y. reside in Slorrison.

Benjamin Burns was born in Columbiana county, Ohio, November 13, 1813, and came to Whiteside county in October, 1837. He settled in what is now Union Grove township, his first eifort being the erection of a saw mill on Rock creek, on the site of the present grist mill of William Annan, in connection with John A. Robertson. He remained in partnership with Mr. Robertson, in running the saw mill, about three years, when he traded his interest with Silas Matthews for section 2 in Union Grove township, upon which he immediately removed. He retained the ownership of the entire section for some time, but as the settlers began to come in more rapidly, sold portions of it, reserving at last the old homestead with one hundred and fourteen acres. This farm is one -of the finest situated and best cultivated in Union Grove township. Mr. Burns is one of the oldest settlers now living in Whiteside county, and is a genial, hale, hearty gentleman, commanding and receiving the respect of all. He took a prominent part in the affairs of the township and county at an early day, but of late years has devoted himself almost wholly to the cultivation of his farm. He was married on the 8th day of October 8, 1841, to Miss Agnes Mosher, of Clyde. Their children have been: George, born September 3, 1842; Anna, born November 5, 1843; Emma, born April 17, 1845; Kattie, born June 24, 1847; Alvira, born June 6, 1849; Ross, born January 31, 1851; Zilpha, born June 6, 1852; Willie, born April 25, 1857; Clark, born January 6, 1859; Howard, born October 31,1860: and Clara, born April 28, 1867. Of these children, Ross died April 2, 1851, and Alvira September 20, 1854. Anna married Robert Trye, and lives in Clyde; Emma married Elliott Pollard, and lives in Sedgwick, Kansas; Hattie married Robert Fellows, and lives in Union (irove; Zilpha married James B. King, and lives in Clyde; and George married Miss Rena Medberry, and lives in Chebanse, Illinois. Willie, Clark. Howard, and Clara, reside at home.

John Kent was born in Morriston, Morris county. New Jersey, in 1816. When ten years of age he removed with his father to Ohio where he resided until April, 1839, when he came to Union Grove. He worked the first summer for Henry Ustick, and the next winter in the saw mill for J. A. Robertson and Benj. Burns. He made his first claim where he now resides near Union Grove

Station. In 1841 he married Miss Mary JefiFers, who taught the first school in the locality. When Mr. Kent commenced housekeeping he left his wife in their cabin alone and made a toilsome journey of twelve days to Chicago, where he traded a load of winter wheat for a stove with which to commence housekeeping. Mrs. Kent died July 13, 1876. Children: Sarah Elizabeth, now dead; Mary M., married to Volney Twitchell; Ellen A., married to John A. Blue; Omar L., married and resides on home farm; Lewis H., a lawyer; and John W. Mr. Kent's farms are among the finest and most advantageously located of any in the county, but when he made his claim, the "neighbors" about the grove considered he was going "clear out of the country."

John Richards was born in Radnorsliire, Wales, in 1791. During his residence there he was married in 1824, to Miss Ann Mitten, a native of the same place. At the age of 39 he concluded to change his place of residence, and with his wife came to the United States, and located in Ohio, where he remained four years. In 1836, he came with his family to what is now Union Grove township, making the journey by way of the lakes. While on lake Erie the vessel in which they were making the trip was wrecked, and the family barely escaped with their lives, losing all their money and goods, except one trunk, and the garments they were clothed in. Mr. Richards made a claim on section 34, and until his death, which occurred a number of years ago, devoted himself entirely to farming. He was highly respected, and enjoyed the esteem of all who knew him. Mrs. Richards still survives, and resides with her daughter on the old homestead. Their children have been: Margaret, born in 1825, and died in Wales; John, born in 1828; William, born in 1831; Richard, born in 1835; Eliza, born in 1838. John was married in 1848, to Mrs. Mary Swarthout; children; William E., George, Mary, Linda, and Lewis. William was married in 1859, to Miss Margaret Savage; children: Anna, Raphael, Delbert, and Me ttie. Richard was married in 1862 to Miss Luceba Hopkins; children: Alice Jane, and Rosa Rebecca. Eliza was married in 1854, to Lester Wells, who is now dead; children: Royal, Almena, Eveline, and Ralph.

Elisha Hubbart was born in Warwick county, Pennsylvania, February 7, 1797. When seven years of age he moved with his father's family to Otsego county, New York, where he remained until he was twenty, when he went to Broome county, in the same State, in which county he was married to Miss Irany Coburn, in March. 1820. He resided in Broome county, engaged in farming, and attending to his profession as horse farrier, until the spring of 1837, when he moved to Michigan, remaining there only about a year, and then continuing his journey westwai-d arrived at Lyndon, February 27, 1838, his wife's father and family having preceded him. He stayed a short time in Lyndon, and then made a claim on sections 34 and 35, in what is now Union Grove township, and in section 2 in the present township of Fenton, the claim containing two hundred and eighty acres. While preparing this claim for cultivation, he resided for the season on what is now known as the Dimick farm, in Mt. Pleasant township, and moved to his own farm in the fall of 1838. Mrs. Hubbart was born March 13, 1802, in New York State, and died May 12, 1839. Mr. Hubbart died February 10, 1842, at Snake Hollow, near Galena, while on a trip to sell hogs. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Hubbart have been: William W., born August 29, 1821; James C, born October 12, 1823; Simpson S., born March 3, 1825; Cynthia E., born April 21, 1827; Mary A., born March 14,1829; Benjamin F., born January 9, 1832; Czarina I., born September 9, 1836; Elisha H., born May 12, 1839. Mary A. died in Union Grove, in August, 1856. William W. married Miss Julia Penny, and lives in Erie; James C married Miss Mariah L. Putney, and lives in Erie; Simpson S. married Miss Adeline Remer, and lives in Union Grove; Cynthia E. married Reuben Baker, and lives in Kansas; Benjamin F. married Miss Virginia R. Thompson, and lives in Erie; Czarina I. married Ariah Broadwell, and died in the fall of 1859 at her home in Minnesota; and Elisha H. married Miss Harriet Remer, and lives near Puget Sound, in Washington Territory.

Simpson S. Hubbart was born in the town of Sanford, Broome county, New York, March 3, 1825. In May, 1837, he came West with his father's family, and arrived in Whiteside county February 27,1838. Shortly after their arrival the family settled on sections 34 and 35 in Union Grove, and section 2 in Fen ton, the farm containing two hundred and eighty acres. After the death of his father, in 1842, Mr. Hubbart and his brother, James C, became the owners of the farm, until he purchased the' latter's interest in 1855, since which time he has been sole owner, and has continued to reside upon it, his home being in Union Grove township. On the second of February, 1853, Mr. Hubbart married Miss Adeline E. Remer, of Union Grove. Their children have been: Fitz James, born January 3, 185-4; Mary Lillian, born September 2, 1855; Jene Douglas, born August 8, 1860; Franklin Lee, born November 4, 1862; Samuel Grant, born May 8, 1864; Susie I., born August 30, 1865; Charles Henry, born August 31, 1868; Stella May, born May 8, 1870; Franz Sigel, born November 13, 1871. Mary Lillian, Jene Douglas, Susie I., and Charles Henry are dead.

Stephen Jeffers was born in the town of Enfield, New Hamphire, March 21, 1790. He first moved to New York State, and came from there to Whiteside county in 1838, and located on Delhi prairie, in the present township of LTnion Grove, his farm being the same now owned and occupied by E. Y. Lapham. He was married in 1813, at AVindsor, New York, to Miss Cynthia Coburn. The children by this marriage have been: Perry L., born August 12, 1816; Mary, born July 20. 1818; Stephen, born September 20, 1820; John, born January 20, 1823; Charles, born September 14, 1825; Clarissa, born September 20, 1829; Ellen, born October 28, 1831; Sarah, born December 25, 1833; and Alvah,born May 20, 1836. Of these Perry L. married Miss Julia AVoodruff, October 15, 1836, and died in Lyndon September 2, 1854; Mary married John Kent in 1841, and died in ^Union Grove, July 13, 1876; Stephen married Miss Julia Maxwell, February 14, 1844, and lives in Ilanover. Jo Daviess county; Charles married Miss Elizabeth Williamson, April 4, 1851, and also lives in Hanover; Clarissa married Henry Chapin. September 30, 1851, and lives in Galena, Jo Daviess county; Ellen married B. D. Brown, July 5, 1852, and lives in Fenton; Sarah married Lineas J. Robinson, May 17, 1852, and lives in Fenton; Alvah married Miss Louisa Boyer, December 2, 1855, and lives in Iowa. Mr. Jefi'ers sold his farm in Union Grove in 1854, and purchased one in Fenton. He died in Fenton February 21, 1858, and is buried in the Lyndon cemetery. Mrs. Jeffers is still living at the advanced age of eighty years, and resides with her son-in-law, Mr. Lineas J. Robinson, in Fenton.

Ira Burcii was a native of New York State, and born May 24, 1800. He remained on the farm with his father until he was twenty-one years of age, when he commenced sailing on the lakes until 1832, being a captain for several years. On the 5th of April, 1832, he married Miss Joanna M. Bacon, of Ripley, Chautauqua county. New York. Mrs. Burch was born in Sunderland, Bennington county, Vermont, August 1, 1817. The children by this marriage have been: Harrison D., born July 22, 1833; Thomas J., born November 9, 1835; Eliza S., born December 14, 1837; William H., born August 14, 1840; Merritt, born December 20, 1841; Judson, born February 4, 1843; Ira S.,born June 25, 1844. Of these children, William H. died October 14, 1840; Merriti died March 1, 1842; and Judson died August 28, 1843. Harrison D. married Miss Elizabeth W.

Biographical 483

Wookey, January 1, 1856, and lives in Union Grove; Thomas J. married Miss Mary A. Cooley, July 4, 1858, and lives in Garden Plain; Eliza S. married George Cluff, October 8, 1855, and lives in Garden Plain; and Ira S. married Miss Margaret A. Thompson, March 12, 1866, and also lives in Garden Plain. Ira Burch, the subject of this sketch, came to Whiteside county in 1837, and settled on the west side of the cattail, a part of his land being in Union Grove, and part in Garden Plain, his house being in the former township. He died of lung fever, on the 10th of March, 1846, after an illness of five days.

Nathaniel L. Bond was born in Lewis county, New York, January 26, 1815, and came to Whiteside county in 1843, first settling on the bottoms in what is now Ustick township, where he remained five years, and then moved to Lyndon township, about a mile north of the village, living there twenty years. From there he went to DeKalb county and stayed a year, and then came to Union Grove, purchasing a farm on section 34 in that township. Mr. Bond was married on the 4th of March, 1841, to Miss Sallie M. Canfield, and their children have been: Lucinda S., born June 4, 1843; George E., born October 4, 1844; Norton H., born September 20, 1845; Laura A., born August 23,1847; Mary J., born January 15, 1849; Alzina L., born December 9, 1850; Ellen L., born May 29, 1852; Charles M., born July 4. 1853; Rosetta C, born January 27, 1856; Sewell L., born April 24, 1860. George E. died October 18, 1844; Norton H. died October 6, 1846; Ellen L. died March 12, 1863; and Sewell L. died November 7, 1860. Lucinda S. married William P. Crump, and lives in Mt. Pleasant township; Laura A. married George B. Drum, and lives in Unadilla, Otoe county, Nebraska; Mary J. married Horace Scribner, and lives in Lewis, Cass county, Iowa; Alzina L. married William E. Richards, and lives in Union Grove; Charles M. is unmarried, and lives in Larned, Prince county, Kansas; Rosetta C. lives with her parents in Union Grove.

Capt. John a. King was a native of New York State, and came to Whiteside county in 1837, and made a claim on the west side of the grove, in what is now Union Grove township. After making some improvemejits, he ascertained that his claim was on the school section, and then abandoned it for a small improvement two miles south near John Richard's present place. Capt. King had been part owner and Captain of a boat on the Hudson river, plying between New York and Albany, for several years before coming to Whiteside. In the fall of

1838, his wife, whose maiden name was Emily Odell, a sister of J. Danforth Odell, now of Morrison, came from New York to meet him with their first child, Emily C, then about eighteen months old. The family lived for the first year in a cabin 9 by 12 feet in size. The second child, Ann A., was born August 2,

1839, and the third, Albert C, July 4, 1842. Capt. King lived several years in Union Grove township, and then moved to Kingsbury, Newton township, where Mrs. King died shortly after. He then moved to Eastern Oregon, and died about 1873. Emily C. is the wife of C. W. Abbey, and resides in Abilene, Kansas; Ann A. married Mr. Arnold, is now a widow, and resides at Albany, Oregon; and Albert C. is a resident, and herdsman of the Wallowa Valley, Eastern Oregon.

Jacob Baker was born in Wilkesbarre, Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, October 6, 1796, and at the age of one year went to New York State with his parents, where he remained until after he was twenty-one years of age. On the 12th of October, 1817, he married Elizabeth Wilbur, and in the same month moved to Farmington, Trumbull county, Ohio, where he lived, with the exception of a few years in Portage county, Ohio, until 1839. In 1818 he joined the Methodist church in Portage county, Ohio, and in 1823 was given a license as an exhorter. In 1830 he was elected to the position of Circuit Steward, and held it until he moved to Illinois. In 1828 he was elected Justice of the Peace. Mr. Baker has been a strong advocate of the temperance cause since 1830, when he became a member of the old Washingtonian Society. In 1834 he joined an Abolitionist Society, when to be an Abolitionist meant persecution. His last political act in Ohio was to serve as a delegate to an Anti-Slavery Convention at Youngstown, in Trumbull county, to nominate a candidate for the Legislature. He left Ohio on the 16th of September, 1839, with teams, and his family consistingof thirteen persons, and arrived at Fulton, Whiteside county, October 12, 1839. There he bought a lot, and an unfinished frame house, finished the house and resided in it until 1842, when he purchased a claim in Ustick. from which he soon removed to Union Grove He formed the first Sabbath School in the county at his residence in Fulton in the fall of 1840. He was also a local preacher in the early times in Whiteside, preaching at different places in the county, and at Lyons, Iowa. He brought his radical abolition sentiments with him when he came to Whiteside, and took an earnest and active part in the Anti-Slavery movement which first began to be agitated in the West in the fall of 1840, when James G. Birney was the candidate of that party for President, and cast his vote for that gentleman, who received in this State only 159 votes. The great Anti-Slavery champion, Elijah P. Lovejoy, used to run slaves to Mr. Baker, on the "underground railroad," on their way to freedom. In the latter part of 1844 he withdrew from the M. E. Church because his views on the Slavery question were objected to, and on the 19th of January, 1845, called a meeting at the school house, in Union Grove, to organize a church that would sustain the Anti-Slavery movement. At that meeting Jacob Baker, Elizabeth Baker, Daniel B. Young, Betsey Young, Abigail Young, Henry Boyer, Sylvia Graves, and Olive Upson, were present and formed a Wesleyan church, the first in the county. Soon after others joined, and the number increased weekly. Rev. Chas. Drake was secured as pastor the next spring. For the lack of accommodations it was decided to build a church, which was done through the efforts of Mr. Baker and Daniel B. Young. The building was frame, 32 by 36 feet and stood on Mr. Baker's farm near Unionville, on the Morrison and Fulton road. It was taken down a few years since. In the fall of 1848 Mr. Baker was one of the delegates from Illinois to the General Conference of the Wesleyan church, held in the city of New York, and in the fall of 1868 a delegate to the General Conference of the same Church, held at Cleveland, Ohio. In 1852 he was a candidate of the Anti-Slavery party for Representative to the Legislature from the district of which Whiteside then formed a part, and received 47 votes, polling more than the party vote. On the 8th of April, 1863, he sold his farm in Union Grove, and moved to Morrison, and in the spring and summer of 1865, in connection with E. L. Worthington and Robert Paley, built the Revere House in that city. Since then he has lived a retired life at his residence in Morrison. Mr. Baker's first wife died on the 14th of May, 1874, at the age of 78 years. Mr. and Mrs. Baker had lived together as husband and wife for fifty-eight years, and raised a family of eleven children all of whom grew up to man and womanhood. On the 6th of of May, 1875, Mr. Baker married Mrs. Phoebe Wilbur, his present wife, at Hammond Station, Michigan. The names of his children are in order as follows: William R., died May 14, 1859; Sylvia M., wife of J. W. Battis, and living in Morrison; Oliver, living in Morrison; Benoni, died February 15, 1844; Lydia, wife of Henry C. Fellows, and living in Fulton; Reuben, living in Kansas, and Presiding Bishop of the Protestant Methodist Church in that State; Billings P., living in Ustick; Isaac W., died September 28, 1853; Dillon P., living in Sycamore, Illinois, and is publisher of a newspaper called the Free Methodist, and minister also of the Free Methodist Church; Hester Ann, died December 13, 1865, and Martha J., died November 22, 1872.

Salem Town was born in the town of Gerry, Worcester county, Massachusetts, May 9, 1806, and moved to Jacksonville, 3Iorgan county, Illinois, in 1830. In the fall of 1836 he came to Whiteside county, remaining, however, only a short time, when he went back, returning in the spring of 1837, and settling in Union Grove. He removed to Clyde township about twenty years ago, and is now living there. He worked at the carpenter trade until 1863, when he lost his eyesight, and was blind for several years. In 1870 he submitted to an operation upon his eye by Dr. Edward E. Holmes, President of the Blind Asylum at Jacksonville, which entirely restored the sight in the eye affected. He has been blind in the other eye from infancy. Mr. Town married Miss Mary Ann Garliek, in Morgan county, Illinois, on the 16th of August, 1836. The following children have been born to them: Martha, August 18, 1837, - wife of Wm. McKinnel; Salem H., May 11, 1840; Sarah Ann, July 14, 1842 - wife of Geo. A. Whitcomb; George, September 11, 1846; Ezra O., October 25, 1849; and Lucy E., February 5, 1854, - wife of Isaiah Hendricks. Ezra 0. died in infancy. All the rest are married, except George, who is now a resident and farmer in Montana Territory. Salem H. and family live in Crawford county, Iowa. The others, with their families, reside in Whiteside county.

John U. Root is a native of Farmington, Trumbull county, Ohio, and was born July 27, 1823. In 1838 his father's family emigrated to Iowa, where they remained a year, and then came to Illinois and located in Hancock county. In 1841 they came to Whiteside county and settled at first in the present township of Mt. Pleasant, and lived there until 1843, when the farm upon which the subject of this sketch now lives, together with other land in Union Grove township, was purchased. Mr. Root was- married to Miss Elizabeth J. Hartsuck, in Union Grove, on the 24th of February, 1848. Their children have been: Clark C, born December 6, 1848; Mark A., born February 16, 1852; Sylvia A., born March 14, 1854; Phoebe A., born July 7, 1855; and Miles H., born October 23, 1865. Mr. and Mrs. Root also adopted a child, Lucy M., who was born July 31, 1857. Of these, Clark C. died February 21, 1857; Sylvia A., March 25, 1857; Lucy M., September 15, 1861; and Miles H., February 3, 1866. Mr. Root owns one of the finest farm? in the fertile township of Union Grove. It is located on the Fulton and Morrison road, near the Union Grove station on the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad, and contains two hundred and ninety-nine and a half acres, all of which is under excellent cultivation. He has in addition twelve acres of timber land. Mr. Root has given to his farm that thorough attention which always brings success. Although averse to holding public positions, he has been School Director, and held various town offices. His father, Mr. John Root, also settled in Union Grove in 1843, but afterwards moved to Morrison, where he died September 2, 1871, at an advanced age.

George Garlick was born in Cheshire, England, January 1, 1793. He was married to Mary Piatt, February 7, 1819, in England. She was born February 15, 1792. He emigrated with his parents to America, in 1835. In September, 1837, Mr. Garlick settled in Union Grove. Children: - Mary Ann, John, James, William, Alice, Thomas, George B. Mr. Garlick died in 1846, and Mrs. Garlick in 1857. George B., the youngest son, resides in Whiteside county.

M. L. Atkinson settled in Union Grove in 1838, and resided there until 1849, when he went to California. He afterwards returned for a short time. He is now in Portland, Oregon.

and gro-wth of Union Grove township, and who rank as successful farmers and business men, we may mention: Egbert E. Logan, for several years, and at present Supervisor of the township, whose farm is on sections 10 and 15; E. V. Lapham, on section 35; George 0. Odlin, on section 4; A. M. Teller, on sections 1 and 12; ED^yARD Yennum, on sections 2 and 11; David Summers, on section 4; John Y. Jackson, on section 25; Harmon E. Burr, on section 13; J. 0. A. Bennett, on section 25; A. A. Hulett, on section 26; Miles B. Shirk, on section Ifi; Capt. James Wilson, on section 16; Elijah Stinton, on sections 17 and 18; L. S. Elmendorf, on section 11; Daniel Fowler, on sections 14 and 15; W. A. Goodenough, on section 10; Linas Williams, on sections 7 and 8; Asahel Hurd, on sections 7 and 8; William Topping, on section 16; L. M. Bent, on section 12; M. J. Phinney, on section 22; William Fletcher, on section 17; John Hays, on section 4; Nathaniel Weaver, on section 15: H. Weaver, on section 22; E. 0 Sherwin, on section 3; W. F. Twining, on section 12; L. C. Twichell, on section 1; Richard Carnine, on section 22; Samuel R. Hall, on section 12; Orrin M. Bent, on section 12.

Ciiapteh Xxvii

The name of the great State of Illinois, the P^mpire State of the West, is derived from the aboriginal word Illini, signifying superior men. The termination as it is now applied to the State, and its principal river, is of French origin. According to tradition the Illinois, with the Miami and Delaware tribes, emigrated from the far West, the first stopping on their eastward course in the vicinity of Lake Michigan, the second in the territory now comprising the States of Indiana and Ohio, and the third in that now covered by the State of Pennsylvania, and a portion of Southern New York. The Illinois soon became a powerful confederacy, and in time occupied the most beautiful and fertile region in the great Mississippi Valley. This territory was afterwards coveted by the fierce and persevering Iroquois on the one side, and the savage and relentless Sacs and Foxes on the other. Years of incessant struggle followed, the Illinois endeavoring to hold their hunting grounds, maintain their existence as a nation, and their foes to drive them from it, and annihilate them. These long and severe contests so decimated the numbers of the Illinois that they could finally no longer withstand the attacks of their enemies. The remaining few, however, tradition says, true to their charactistic spirit and bravery, were determined not to surrender, and gathering at a rock on the Illinois river, known as "Starved Rock," kept out of the hands of their foes until every one met his or her death by starvation.

The first white man who visited the territory now comprising the State of Illinois, of whom there is any record, was Nicholas Perrot, an agent of the Canadian government to call a peace convention of Western Indians at Green Bay, with a view of opening negotiations for the discovery of the Mississippi river. The policy of the Canadian Government was to secure, if possible, the friendship and co-operation of the Indian tribes before venturing upon the expedition, as their opposition might prove troublesome, and very probably disastrous. Perrot was authorized to promise them the commerce and protection of the French Government, and in pursuance of his mission arrived at a point where Chicago now stands, in 1671, to meet the Miamas. The next white visitors were Fathers Claude Allouez and Claude Dablon, two Jesuit Missionaries, who came down from their mission at Green Bay, in 1672, and traversed a portion of Western Wisconsin, and Northern Illinois, visiting the various tribes of Indians on their route, and setting up the standard of the Cross wherever they found an opportunity. Following these Missionaries came the celebrated explorers, Joliet and Marquette, who had been recommended by M. Talon, the French Governor of Canada, to the home government, as suitable persons to execute the projected discovery of the Mississippi river. Both of these men had been educated a? Jesuit priests, although the former early abandoned his profession to engage in secular occupations. The latter possessed a mind of great religious susceptibility, and when quite young evinced a desire to enter the missionary field. He was consequently sent to America in 1666, by the Jesuit Order, as a missionary among the Indians, and in his zeal for the cause in which he was engaged, penetrated a thousand miles in advance of civilization. Both Joliet and Marquette possessed enterprise, boldness, and determination - characteristics eminently demanded by reason of the difficulties which surrounded their great undertaking.

On the 17th of May, 1673, the daring explorers, accompanied by five Frenchmen, and with a simple outfit, commenced their perilous voyage. Starting from the Jesuit mission, on the straits of Mackinaw, they coasted along the northern shore of Lake Michigan, entered Green Bay, and thence passed up Fox river and Lake Winnebago. Arriving at the portage shown them by the friendly Indians, their light canoes and scanty baggage were soon carried to the Wisconsin river, down which they floated until the 17th of June, when its mouth was reached, and with great joy their frail barks were pushed out on the floods of the lordly 3Iississippi. Their course down the mighty stream was full of advenlure, but of a character totally unlike that which was anticipated. It was yet eavly summer; nature was arrayed in its brightest robes of green; the weather was propitious, and the Indians met with on the banks of the river, friendly and hospitable. In this pleasant manner they journeyed until the middle of July, when the mouth of the Arkansas was reached. They had been on the river four weeks, and concluded they had descended sufficiently far to decide that its outlet was on the Atlantic side of the continent. It was also feared that if they went farther, dangers might be encountered by which the benefit of their discovery would be lost. They therefore retraced their course, and after several weeks of hard labor arrived at the mouth of the Illinois. Passing up this river they reached a large town of the Illinois confederacy called Kaskaskia, a name which afterwards became celebrated in the history of the State. Here they tarried a sufficient time to hold friendly meetings with the Indians, and also to secure the services of a chief and a posse of his men to conduct them to Lake Michigan. Resuming their journey they proceeded to the lake by the way of the rivers Illinois, Desplaines, and Chicago, and thence following the western shore of the lake entered Green Bay in the latter part of September, 1673, after an absence of four months, and having made a journey of two thousand five hundred miles. When the news of the successful issue of the voyage reached France it created the greatest enthusiasm at the Court, and among the people. It was believed that a vast dependency had been opened up to the French Government which in future years would bring to it a lucrative commerce, and untold accumulations of wealth. The following year Marquette returned to Kaskaskia, and founded the mission of the Immaculate Virgin Mary, it being the first Jesuit mission established in Illinois and in the Mis.sissippi Valley.

The French Government, however, did not occupy the territory now embraced in Illinois until 1780, seven years after the exploration of Marquette and Joliet. This was efi'ected by Robert Cavalier, better known as La Salle. He was born at Rouen, France, and early exhibited the traits of character which distinguished him in his western career. Being a Jesuit, he was deprived, under the laws of France, of inheriting the property of his father, and being thus circumstanced, determined to emigrate to Canada, where he had a brother, a priest of the order of St. Sulpice, living. Upon his arrival he was given a tract of land on the St. Lawrence river by the Superior of the Seminary of St. Sulpice, at Montreal, and while employed in improving it, commenced the study of the Indian languages, and in three years is said to have made rapid progress in the Iroquois, and eight other tongues and dialects. During the time he was engaged in his studies he was visited by a band of Senecas, and learned from them that a river called the Ohio, rising in their country, flowed to the sea, but at such a distance that it required eight months to reach its mouth. In this statement the Mississippi and Ohio were considered as one stream, and with the geo- graphical views then prevalent, it was supposed to fall into the Pacific ocean, somewhere near the Gulf of California. Placing great confidence in this hypothesis, La Salle determined to make an exploration, but as no pecuniary aid could be procured at that time from the Government, he was compelled to rely on his own resources, and with these limited means purchased four canoes and the necessary supplies for the expedition. After he had everything completed, however, the government added some canoes and supplies, and the journey was undertaken. This was La Salle's first expedition, and although its results were beneficial, yet they were far from proving satisfactory.

When Frontenac became Governor of Canada, another expedition was fitted out, with La Salle as its commander, and starting above the Falls of Niagara, sailed to Green Bay. From thence they passed down to the mouth of the St. Joseph river, and ascending it, reached the present site of South Bend, Indiana, where they landed, and transported their canoes to the Kankakee river. Following this sluggish stream the expedition reached the Illinois river in January, 1680, and floating down upon its placid waters soon reached an expansion of the river, now called Peoria Lake, where they disembarked. La Salle, wearied with difiiculties, determined to erect a fort at this place, in which he and his men might pass the winter without molestation, and accordingly selected a site at the lower end of the lake, where the city of Peoria is now situated. Upon the completion of the fort, the name of Crevecoeur^ meaning broken-hearted, was given to it, an appellation fully in accord with its subsequent misfortunes. From this point La Salle, in accordance with his previous intentions, determined to further explore the Mississippi, but did not accomplish this purpose until 1682, two years later. Upon his return from Fort Frontenac, where he had gone for supplies, he found the Fort had been destroyed by the Iroquois, the enemies of the Illinois, and Tonti, his lieutenant, with the men he had left in charge, driven away. A fruitless search was made for them, and La Salle then passed down the Illinois to the Mississippi. Tonti was afterwards found among the Pottawatamies, near Green Bay.

In 1682 a temporary settlement was made by the French at the old Kaskaskia village, in what is now La Salle county. This settlement was removed in 1690, with the mission connected with it, to Kaskaskia on the river of that name, emptying into the Mississippi, in St. Clair county. Undoubtedly the reason of the removal of the old Kaskaskia settlement and mission to the new locality was, because the dangerous and difficult route by Lake Michagan and the Chicago portage had been nearly abandoned, and the easier and safer route by the Mississippi, Fox, and Wisconsin rivers, taken by travellers and traders. The removal to the vicinity of the Mississippi brought the town within the line of travel. Cahokia was settled about the same time as Kaskaskia, although it is maintained that it is somewhat Ihe older place. It never, however, attained such prominence as Kaskaskia.

From 1682 until 1765, the territory now comprising the State of Illinois was under French rule, and formed a part of Louisiana. During that time the population probably never at any one time exceeded ten thousand, including whites and blacks. Many settlements of considerable importance, however, sprung up throughout the vast domain, the principal ones in Illinois being: Kaskaskia, on the Kaskaskia river, five miles above its confluence with the Mississippi; Cahokia, near the mouth of Cahokia creek, and about fiva miles below the present city of St. Louis; Fort Chartres, twelve miles above Kaskaskia; and St. Philip, about forty miles below Cahokia, and four miles above Fort Chartres. These, with the exception of St. Louis, are the oldest French towns in the Mississippi Valley. The village of Kaskaskia at one time numbered about three

On the 10th of October, 1765, the ensign of France, on the ramparts of Fort Chartres, gave way to the flag of Great Britian. In alluding to this event, Bancroft says: "At the time the colonies of the xltlantie seaboard were assembled in preliminary Congress at New York, dreaming of liberty and independence for the continent, the great valley east of the Mississippi, with its broad rivers rushing from the mountains and gathering in the plain, its vast prairies unsurpassed for their wealth of soil, its boundless primeval forests with their deep solitudes, into which were presently to be summoned the eager millions of many tongues to build their happy homes, passed finally from the dominion of France under the yoke of Great Britian." The Anglo-Saxon, by this transfer, gained a permanent foothold on the banks of the great river; and new life, instinct with energy and progress, was infused into the country. Just prior to the English occupation there was a large exodus of the old Canadian French. Feeling assured that their ancient enemies would soon obtain control of the upper part of the French dependency, they moved their slaves and other personal effects from it, most of them going to St. Genevieve, across the Mississippi. Fair and liberal concessions were offered to those who remained, which had the effect of inducing many to stay. A proclamation for a civil administration of the laws of the country was issued on the 21st of November, 1768, and for this purpose a civil tribunal to consist of seven magistrates or judges, from among the people, was appointed, who were to hold monthly terms of court. A term of this court was held, commencing December 6, 1768, at Fort Chartres, which was the first common law jurisdiction ever exercised within the present limits of Illinois. This court proved to be anything but popular. The people were under the laws of England, and in obedience to them the administration of civil jurisprudence was sought to be brought nearer to the people, than it had been under the French laws. But the French mind, trained to abide by the dicta and decisions of theocratic and military tribunals, absolute in both civil and criminal cases, was unable to appreciate the trial by jury. Believing that their rulers were ever right, they gave themselves no trouble or pains to review their acts, and they thought it very inconsistent in the English to refer nice questions relating to property to a tribunal consisting of farmers, mechanics, and tradesmen, rather than to judges learned in the law. This perplexity in comprehending the common law system prevailed even many years later, when Illinois had passed under the jurisdiction of the United States.

Seeing that it was impolitic to enforce the execution of the English system of law upon the newly acquired territory, the English Parliament, in 1774, restored to the people their ancient laws in civij cases, without the trial by jury, and guaranteed the free exercise of their religion, which rehabilitated the Roman Catholic clergy with the privileges stipulated in the articles of capitulation of Montreal in 1760. The act was known as the "Quebec Bill," which extended the boundaries of the province of Quebec to the Mississippi river, including all the French inhabitants at Detroit, Mackinaw, on the Wabash, and in the Illinois country. The object was to firmly attach these remote colonies, as well as all Canada, to the English Government, and to thwart the rising opposition of the colonies on the Atlantic seaboard to its policy. Other acts were "passed of a conciliatory nature in reference to these people by the British Parliament, but their effect was not wholly what was desired. The eastern colonies became more and more irritated by these acts, in conjunction with those passed for their governance, and finally the war of the Revolution commenced, which in the end was to

The honor of wresting Illinois from the British yoke is due to Col. George Kogers Clark. Col. Clark was a native of Albemarle county, Virginia, and was educated as a Surveyor. Shortly after attaining his majority he enlisted as one of Governor Dunmore's staff, and was present in the campaign on the river Scioto, in 1774. For meritorious conduct he was offered acommission in the royal service, but as the feeling between the colonies and the mother country had already begun to be unfriendly, he declined. At the breaking out of the Revolutionary war he was one of the most active in behalf of the colonies, and was soon appointed to important positions. For valuable services rendered, added to a full knowledge gained of the western frontier, he was made Lieutenant Colonel, and soon afterwards authorized to raise seven companies of fifty men each, with which to attack the British force at Kaskaskia. These troops were to receive the pay and allowance of militia, and to act under the laws and regulations of the State of Virginia then in force as to militia. Although strenuous efforts were made, only a portion of this force could be raised, and when those who had joined the expedition were ready to march to the destined point, there were but one hundred and fifty-three men in the ranks. This little army started from Coon Island, opposite Louisville, during a total eclipse of the sun, on the 24th of June, 1778, and on the 4th of July following reached Kaskaskia. The garrison entrenched in the fort at the town was then under the command of a French Canadian named llocheblave, who kept his troops well drilled, had sentinels stationed on the Mississippi, and had ordered the hunters and Indians in their excursions through the country to watch for the rebels, or "Long Knives," as they jjesignated the Virginians. The American force concealed themselves at first among the hills east of the Kaskaskia river, while parties were sent out by Col. Clark to reconnoiter. Everything being in readiness, the troops were divided into three parties, two of which crossing to the west side of the river, were to proceed to different parts of the town, while the other, under Col. Clark, was to capture the fort on the east side. The plan of attack was successfully executed, and Kaskaskia captured. So quickly and thoroughly was this done, that the British commandant was not aware that he was a prisoner until an officer of the detachment which had entered the fort, entered his bedroom and tapped him on the shoulder. Kaskaskia being safely in the hands of the Americans, an expedition was planned for the capture of Cahokia. Major Bowman and his company were selected as one party for the new contest, the other being made up of the French militia who had renounced Great Britian after the capture of Kaskaskia, the entire detachment being but little inferior in numbers to that which invaded the country. The expedition reached Cahokia before the news of the surrender of Kaskaskia was known to the inhabitants, and being guided by the same skill which proved so successful at the latter place, the former also soon fell into American hands. Following this achievement came the capture of Vincennes, and British domination in the West was at an end.

In 1778 Illinois, by reason of its capture by Col. Clark, became a part of Virginia, and in October, 1778, the Legislature of that State passed an act organizing the county of Illinois, which included all the territory of the common- .wealth west of the Ohio river. As it then existed, Illinois was the largest county in the world, exceeding in superficial extent the whole of Great Britain and Ireland. On the 1st of March, 1784, Virginia executed a deed of cession of all this territory to the LTnited States, the deed being signed by her delegates in Congress, Thomas Jefferson, Samuel Hardy, Arthur Lee, and James Monroe.

It stipulated that the territory should be cut into States not less than one hundred and not more than one hundred and fifty miles square; to be republican in form, and to be admitted into the Union with the same rights of sovereignty, freedom, and independence as the other States; that indemnity for the expenses her expeditions incurred in subduing the British posts in the west, be allowed her; that land not exceeding one hundred and fifty thousand acres should be allowed George Rogers Clark, his officers and soldiers; and that the proceeds of the sales of the lands ceded should be considered a common fund for all the States, present and future. The cession was accepted by the United States, and Congress passed an ordinance to establish a form of government for all the territory in the west. The title of the United States to the lands northwest of the Ohio river, however, did not become complete until September 13, 1786. The name of the North-Western Territory was then applied to it.

The celebrated ordinance of 1787, the fruit of the wisest and ablest legislation ever undertaken by man, was passed by the Congress of the United States on the 13th of July, 1787. The contest for its adoption was long and severe, but in the end justice and right triumphed. The following are the six unalterable articles of compact between the people of the original States and the people of the Territory: I. No person, in peaceable demeanor, shall be molested on account of his mode of worship or religious sentiments. II. The inhabitants to be guaranteed the benefits of the writ of habeas corpus and trial by jury; a proportionate representation in the legislature, and judicial proceedings according to the course of the common law; all persons shall be bailable, unless for capital ofi'ences, where the proof shall be evident, or the presumption great; all fines shall be moderate, and no cruel or unusual punishments shall be inflicted; no man shall be deprived of his liberty, or his property, but by the judgment of his peers, or the law of the land; should the public exigencies make it necessary, for the common preservation, to take any person's property, or to demand his particular services, full compensation shall be made for the same; no law ought ever to be made or have force in said Territory, that shall in any manner interfere with, or afi'ect private contracts or engagements made in good faith and without fraud. III. Religion, morality and knowledge being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged; good faith, justice and humanity towards the Indians is to be observed, their lands not to be taken without consent, and peace and friendship to be cultivated. IV. The territory, and States to be formed therein, are to remain forever a part of the United States, subject to her laws; the inhabitants to pay a just proportion of the public debt, contracted or to be contracted; the lands of the United States, and those of non-residents, not to be taxed higher than those of residents; and the navigable waters of the lakes to remain forever free to all citizens of the United States. V. The territory not to be divided into less than three States, but Congress, at its option, may form one or two more States in that part which lies north of an east and west line drawn through the southerly bend or extreme of Lake 3Iichigan; with sixty thousand inhabitants such States to be admitted into the Union on an equal footing with the original States; and VI. " There shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in the said territory, otherwise than in the punishment of crime, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted." Such was the fundamental law which shaped the destiny of the great and flourishing States which originally formed a part of the North Western Territory. By means of that law States were saved from the blighting curse of slavery. Maj. Gen. Arthur St. Clair was elected by Congress the first Governor of this Territory.

ern Territory, and provided that all that part lying westward of a line beginning on the Ohio river opposite the mouth of the Kentucky, running thence north via Fort Recovery to the British Possessions, should constitute a separate Territory, and be called Indiana. This Territory included the present States of Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Indiana, except a small piece on the eastern side between the mouth of the Kentucky and Great Miama rivers. This Territory continued until by act of Congress approved Februrfi-y 3, 1809, all that part of it lying west of the Wabash river, and a direct line drawn from that river and Post Vincennes, due north to the territorial line between the United States and Canada, was formed into a separate Territory, and called Illinois. This boundary included the present State of Wisconsin within the limits of Illinois Territory. The seat of Government was located at Kaskaskia, and Ninian Edwards was appointed the first Governor.

By 1818 the population of Illinois had increased to such an extent that her people desired a position among the sisterhood of States. Accordingly a petition was sent in January of that year from the Territorial Legislature, then in session at Kaskaskia, to Nathaniel Pope, the delegate in Congress, praying for the admission of the Territory into the Union as an independent State. Mr. Pope immediately brought the subject before Congress, and at an early day thereafter was instructed by the committee to which the matter was referred, to report a bill in pursuance of the petition. This was done, and the bill duly reported, but owing to a pressure of other business, it did not become a law until April. The bill, as it became a law, contained several amendments to the original one submitted, and which were in the main those proposed by Mr. Pope. The amendments were: 1st, to extend the northern boundary of the new State to the parallel of 42 degrees 30 minutes north latitude, and 2d, to apply the three per cent, fund arising from the sales of the public lands, to the encouragement of learning, instead of making roads, as had been the case at the admission of Ohio and Indiana. Gov. Ford, in his valuable work, says: "these important changes were proposed and carried through both Houses of Congress by Judge Pope, upon his own responsibility. The Territorial Legislature had not petitioned for them; no one at that time having suggested or requested the making of them; but they met the unqualified approbation of the people of Illinois." We might add that the feeling of approbation has steadily increased from that day to the present, and will keep on increasing as long as the people feel the need of education.

Illinois was the eighth State admitted into the Union, and is situated between Latitude 36 degrees and 56 minutes, and -12 degrees and 30 minutes north, and longitude 87 degrees and 30 minutes, and 91 degrees and 40 minutes west from Greenwich. The extreme length of the State from north to south is three hundred and eighty-eight miles, and its extreme breadth from east to west is two hundred and twelve miles. Its area is fifty-five thousand four hundred and five miles, or thirty-five million, four hundred and fifty-nine thousand, two hundred acres. It is bounded on the north by the State of Wisconsin; on the northeast by Lake Michigan; on the east by the State of Indiana, from which it is separated in part by the Wabash river; on the south by the Ohio river; and on the west by the Mississippi river. The number of counties at present is one hundred and two.

In pursuance of the act of Congress, a convention was called in Illinois, in the summer of 1818, to form a Constitution for the new State. In the election of delegates to the convention the only questions before the people were, the right of the constituent to instruct his representative, and the introduction of slavery, both of which were debated with great earnestness during the canvass.

A majority of delegates elected were found to be in favor of the former, and opposed to the latter. Jesse B. Thomas, of St. Clair, was chosen President of the Convention, and William C. Greenup, Secretary. At that time there were only fifteen counties in the State, as follows: St Clair, Randolph, Madison, Grallatin, Johnson, Edwards, White, Monroe, Pope, Jackson, Crawford, Bond, Union, Washington, and Franklin. This Constitution was not submitted to a vote of the people for their approval or rejection, nor did they have much to do with the choice or election of officers generally under it, except as to the Governor, General Assembly, Sheriff and Coroner.

The first election under the Constitution for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and members of the General Assembly, was held on the third Thursday, and two succeeding days, in September, 1818. All white male inhabitants twentyone years old, who were residents of the State at the passage of the Constitution, were allowed to vote. Shadrach Bond was elected Governor, and Pierre Menard, Lieutenant Governor, without opposition. Their terms of service were until 1822, or four years. The General Assembly met at Kaskaskia on the 5th of October following, and organized the government by appointing Joseph Phillips, Chief Justice, and Thomas C. Browne, John Reynolds, and William P. Foster, Associate Justices of the Supreme Court. Ninian Edwards and Jesse B. Thomas, were elected Senators in Congress. Elias P. Kane was appointed Secretary of State; Daniel P. Cook, Attorney General; Elijah C. Berry, Auditor of Public Accounts; and John Thomas, State Treasurer. Under the auspices and guidance of these gentlemen, Illinois was launched on her career of administration as an independent State of the Union. The assembly having organized the State government and put it in motion, adjourned to meet in the winter of 1818-'19.

At this adjourned session a code of statute law was passed, borrowed mostly from the statutes of Kentucky and Virginia. One of the most remarkable laws of this code was the one concerning negroes and mulattoes. It really reenacted in Illinois all the severe and stringent laws to be found in a slave State. Among its provisions were the following: No negro or mulatto should be allowed to reside in the State until he had produced a certificate of freedom, and given bond, with security, for good behavior, and not to become a county charge. No person was to harbor or hire a negro or mulatto who had not complied with the law, under the penalty of five hundred dollars fine. All such free negroes were to cause their families to be registered. Every negro or mulatto not having a certificate of freedom, was to be deemed a runaway slave; was liable to be taken up by any inhabitant; committed by a justice of the peace; imprisoned by the sheriff; advertised; sold for one year, and if not claimed within that time, was to be considered a free man, unless his master should afterwards reclaim him. Any person bringing a negro into the State, to set him free, was liable to a fine of two hundred dollars. Riots, routs, unlawful assemblies, and seditious speeches of slaves, were to be punished with stripes, not exceeding thirty-nine, at the discretion of any justice of the peace. Slaves were to be punished with thirtyfive lashes for being found ten miles from home without a pass from their master, and it was made lawful for the owner of any dwelling or plantation to give, or order to be given, to any slave or servant coming upon his plantation, ten lashes upon his bare back. Persons who should permit slaves and servants to assemble for dancing or revelling, by night or day, were to be fined twenty dollars. It was made the duty of all sheriffs, coroners, judges, and justices of the peace, on view of such an assemblage, to commit the slaves to jail, and order each one of them to be whipped, not exceeding thirty-nine stripes on the bare back to be inflicted the next day, unless the same should be Sunday, and then on the next day after. In all cases where free personswere punishable by fine under the criminal laws of the State, servants were to be punished by whipping, at the rate of twenty lashes for every eight dollars fine. No person was to buy of, sell to, or trade with a slave or servant, without the consent of his master; and for so doing, was to forfeit four times the value of the article bought, sold, or traded. Lazy and disorderly servants were to be corrected by stripes, on the order of a justice of the peace. These unjust and unholy provisions were continued in all the revisions of the law subsequently made, until 1865, when by an act of the General Assembly, approved February 7th, they were entirely repealed. For nearly half a century the people of Illinois had permitted them to remain as a foul blot on the escutcheon of the State. To be sure they were to all intents and purposes a dead letter for years, but the fact that they remained on the statute book ready for enforcement at any time, shows shameful negligence on the part of the people, as well as of their representatives to the Legislature.

The Legislature of 1818-'19 also provided for the removal of the seat of government from the ancient town of Kaskaskia which had claimed it as its individual property for more than one hundred and fifty years, under all the ruling powers. Commissioners were appointed to select a new site, and as there was no town in existence which appeared to be eligible, they made choice of a place then in the wilderness, on the Kaskaskia river, northeast of the settlements. Having made the selection, the question of name arose, and for some time remained a debatable one. It was agreed that the future capital should bear a high sounding cognomen, and at the same time have the classic merit of perpetuating the memory of the ancient race of Indians by whom the country had first been inhabited. The name of Vandalia was finally selected, and although high sounding enough, it has ever since remained a puzzle as to what particular race of Indians it alludes, and whose memory it intends to perpetuate.

The population of the State in 1820 was 55,211, showing a ratio of increase exceeding three hundred per cent, within the proceeding decade. Of this population scarcely a twentieth part were the descendents of the old French or Canadian settlers. The entire balance were Americans, and with the exception of some from Pennsylvania, were almost wholly from the Southern States. Agriculture was the principal pursuit of the people. A verj few merchants supplied them with the necessaries which could not be produced or manufactured at home. Nothing was exported, or if there had been any property fit for exportation, there was no market for it abroad. Money was scarce, and people began to sue one another for their debts.

To remedy the existing evils, the Legislature of 1821 created a State Bank. It was founded without money, and wholly upon the credit of the State. It was authorized to issue one, two, three, five, ten and twenty dollar notes, bearing two per cent, annual interest, and payable by the State in ten years. A principal bank was established at Vandalia, with four or five branches in other places. The Legislature elected all the ofiicers and directors, a large number of whom were members of the two houses, and all of them professional politicians. The bank was directed by law to lend its bills to the people, to the amount of one hundred dollars, on personal security, and for a greater sum upon the security of mortgages upon lands. The bills were to be received in payment of all State and county taxes, and for all costs and fees, and salaries of public officers, and if a creditor refused to endorse on his execution his willingness to receive them in payment of debt, the debtor could replevy, or stay its collection for three years by giving personal security. The bank went into operation in the summer of 1821, and every man who could get an endorser borrowed his hundred dollars. Three hundred thousand dollars of the new money was soon lent without much attention to security or care for eventual paj-mcnt. As a consequence the notes first fell twenty-five cents, then fifty, and then seventy cents below par. For about four years there was no other kind of money in circulation but this uncurrent State bank paper, and more than half of those who had borrowed considered what they had gotten from it as so much clear gain, and never intended to pay their loans from the first. This state of things existed to a greater or lesser extent until Gov. Ford's administration, when a sound and healthy system of finance was adopted.

The general election in August, 1822, resulted in the election of Edward Coles as Governor, and Adolphus F. Hubbard, Lieutenant Governor. The question of slavery entered into this election to a very considerable extent, Coles being the anti-slavery candidate, and Judge Phillips, his principal opponent, the pro-slavery. The country had but just emerged from the angry contest over the subject of slavery as connected with the admission of Missouri into the Union, in which the then Senators in Congress, Messrs. Edwards and Thomas had taken a leading part, being the originators of the compromise line of 30 degrees and 30 minutes, while the member of the House, Daniel P. Cook, had opposed the admission of Missouri as a slave State. The Legislature chosen at this election, however, was pro-slavery, showing that while a majority of the people of the whole State was opposed to slavery, the small counties were sufiiciently favorable to it to send a majority of members to the General Assembly who held views in consonance with its advocates. A strong effort was therefore put forth by this majority to make Illinois a slave State. This could only be done by amending the constitution, which required a two-thirds vote in each House to pass the proposition submitting the question to a vote of the people. It was soon ascertained that the requisite two-thirds vote could be obtained in the Senate, but in the House one vote was lacking. There had been a contested election case from Pike county, but the then sitting member, Nicholas Hanson, had been awarded the seat. Hanson was opposed to making Illinois a slave State, while his contestant, John Shaw, favored it, and the question came up of reversing the decision already made. It was easily carried, and Shaw admitted, and by his vote the proposition for a convention was carried. The campaign which followed was one of the most fierce and bitter ever known in the State, but resulted in defeating the convention scheme by a vote of 6,640 against, to 4,972 for it. That vote saved Illinois from the disgrace of slavery, and the attempt to enroll it as one of the slave States was never afterwards repeated.

At the election in August, 1826, Ninian Edwards was elected Governor, and Rev. William Kinney, a Baptist minister. Lieutenant Governor. In 1830, John Reynolds was elected Governor, and Zadoc Casey, Lieutenant Governor. During this administration both the Governor and Lieutenant Governor were elected to Congress, and consequently resigned their positions. Lieutenant Governor Casey was elected in 1822, and upon his resignation Gen. W. L. D. Ewing, a senator, was chosen to preside over the Senate. At the August election in 1834, Gov. Reynolds was also elected to Congress, more than a year ahead, as was then the law. to succeed Mr. Slade, but shortly afterwards the incumbent died, when Reynolds was also chosen to serve out his unexpired term. Accordingly he set out for Washington in November of that year to take his seat in Congress, and Gen. Ewing, by virtue of his ofiice as President of the Senate, became Governor for ju.st fifteen days, when, upon the meeting of the Legislature, to which he sent his message as acting Governor, he was relieved of his exalted position by the Governor elect. This is the only time that such a conjuncture has happened in the history of the State. It was during the ad- ministration of Gov. Reynolds that the Bhick Hawk war broke out, and terminated. This war was commenced under the pretence that the treaties made by the Indians with Gen. Harrison in 1804, and the subsequent ones with Gov. Edwards and August Chouteau, in 181-6, and 1816, by which the former ceded all their land on Rock river, and much more elsewhere, were void. Black Hawk's account of the treaty of 1804, which was the main one, the others being confirmations of it, is as follows: Several of the members of the tribe had been arrested and imprisoned in St. Louis for murder, and that some of the chiefs had been sent down to provide for their defence; that while there, and without the consent of the nation, they were induced to sell the Indian country, that when they came home it appeared they had been drunk most of the time they were absent, and could give no account of what they had done, except that they had sold some of the land to the white people, and had come home loaded with jewelry and Indian finery. This was all the nation ever heard of or knew about the treaty. Looking upon it in this light, he resisted the order of the Government for the removal of his tribe west of the Mississippi, and in the spring of 1831, re-crossed the river with his women and children, and three hundred warriors of the British band, together with some allies from the Potawottamie and Kickapoo nations, to establish himself upon his ancient hunting grounds and in the principal village of his nation. This village was situated near the mouth of Rock river, and the lands covering the site and for some distance around had been surveyed and sold under the treaty by the United States Government. The purchasers had moved there, built their houses and fences, and improved the land, and when Black Hawk came across the Mississippi he found them in full occupation. His first act was to order them away, and when they refused, threw down their fences, unroofed their houses, cut up their grain, drove oflF and killed their cattle, and threatened the people with death if they remained. These acts of the Indians were considered by the Government to be an invasion of the State, and Gov. Reynolds addressed letters to Gen. Gaines of the United States army, and to Gen. Clark, Superintendent of Indian Affairs, calling upon them to use the influence of the general Government to procure the peaceful removal of the Indians, if possible, and at all events to defend and protect the American citizens who had purchased the lands from the United States, and were now about to be ejected by the Indians. Gen. Gaines repaired to Rock Island with a few companies of regular soldiers, and soon ascertained that the Indians were bent on war. He immediately called upon Gov. Reynolds for seven hundred mounted volunteers, and the Governor obeyed the requisition. A call was made upon some of the northern and central counties, in obedience to which fifteen hundred volunteers rushed to his standard at Beardstown, and about the 10th of June were organized and ready to be marched to the seat of war. The whole force was divided into two regiments, an odd battalion, and a spy battalion. The 1st Regiment was commanded by Col. James D. Henry; the 2d by Col. Daniel Lieb; the odd battalion by Major Nathaniel Buckmaster; and the spy battalion by Major Samuel Whiteside. The whole brigade was put under the command of Major General Joseph Puncan, of the State Militia. The subsequent events of the war will be found on pages 35 to 39 inclusive, of this history, and in the elaborate and eloquent address of Hon. Elihu B. Washburne, upon the presentation of the portrait of the Prophet to the people of Whiteside, published at the close of this volume.