Bourbon, Illinois

Bourbon Township consists of forty-two sections of land in the southwest part of the county, equal to about the same number of square miles, and 27,175 acres. Amongst the first settlers were Geo. Dehart and his sons, Samuel and Lucas. He was road-master in Coles county and his district extended from Sadorus' Grove, on the north county line, to a point six miles south of the Springfield road. Allen and William Campbell were also of the first. Mr. Allen Campbell was, at the time of his death in 1875, with one exception, the largest land owner in the county. Isaac Gruelle, Maiden Jones, Israel Chandler and his sons, were amongst the earliest comers. Of these, Dr. Apperson is living in the township, a large land owner and has an extensive medical practice. He is a nephew of Dr. John Apperson, who was the first physician in Coles county. Maiden Jones, who came in 1840, was Sheriff" of Coles county when Douglas county was parted from it. He was elected in 1S5S, and was elected to the Stace Legislature in 1864 and again in 1S66. Lemuel Chandler was the first Supervisor of the township and served four consecutive terms. The Dehart sons are yet well known active business men. Curtis G. and Campbell McComb, at present citizens of the county, were old residents of Coles at the institution of the new county. Thomas Moore entered wrest half northeast quarter section 23, 15, 7, in 1S31.

Passage source: History of Douglas County, Illinois, published 1876.

In the sonthwest part settled the Amish of some twenty-five families, who were preceded here by M. Yoter, Miller and others in 1864. They much resemble the society of Friends in plainness of attire, integrity and almost total exemption from pauperism. The name is derived from that of the founder of the society who, in the German States of Europe, saw fit to secede from the Menonites, of whom much has been heard lately, with regard to:the emigration of large numbers of them from Russia to the West. The proposed marriages are publicly announced, and a marriage outside ot the Society is "tolerable and not to be endured." They dress plainly, partly to avoid the frivolities of fashion, and partly that there may be no notable distinction between the rich and the poor. They have no churches or meeting houses but meet at each others dwellings, as the spirit moves them. The clothing of the men is often confined with hooks and eyes, but the notion that thsy wear no buttons is erroneous. The heads of the women are lawavs covered with a neat white cap and over the neck and shoulders

Passage source: History of Douglas County, Illinois, published 1876.

Adults only are baptized and that by pouring. Infants are not entitled to this sacrament, they preferring to teach first, for every descendent has a birth-right in the church. Of German extraction and long settled in western Pennsylvania, their speech amongst themselves is an odd mixture of German and English, the "American" part of which can be readily detected by an intelligent observer, and the language is popularly known as "Pennsylvania Dutch." They all speak "American" as well as their neighbors, so that, trusting to the hearing alone, few would suspect the presence of a German speaking person. Almost painfully neat in their housekeeping, forehanded in everything pertaining to the comfort of the inner man, with great hospitality, all educated with industry, integrity and economy, they are a valuable addition to the population and wealth of Douglas county.

Passage source: History of Douglas County, Illinois, published 1876.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Bourbon Township - it names this place 6 more 6 times.