Pleasant Grove Township (part 1 of 2)

Pleasant Grove Township

place, was the road for a number of years compelled to transfer its freight and passengers to boats, and float them to the mighty emporium on the western bank of the same mighty stream. It was finally overcome, however. A track was built to the east side of the river, opposite St. Louis, where, until the erection of the present grand bridge, the ferry-boat transferred them over the river.

With the change of terminus, a change of name occurred, and when the connection was eftected with the road leading eastward to the capital of Indiana, the name assumed its present form.

Now it connects with the " Bee Line," eastward, and forms a continuous route from the cities of the Mississippi Valley to those on the Atlantic seaboard.

Mr. E. B. McClure, the General Superintendent, is a citizen of Coles County, residing at Mattoon. Here is what what may be termed the " Halfway House," and here are some of the principal offices. The car-shops of this Company were removed from Litchfield, in 1870, and erected on a lot of ground donated by the residents of the northeast part of town, where they are placed. They were secured through a donation of |60,000 on the part of Mattoon, in whose history a full account of them may be found.

The Illinois Central Railroad

Like the Indianapolis & St. Louis, the Illinois Central had its rise in the Internal Improvement system of 1835, and, like that road, went down in the collapse of the system in 1840. Some work was done on the road during this period, chiefly at the northern end - its connection with the canal. It was intended to connect the canal and the junction of the rivers at Cairo by means of this road ; and from published statements of the late Judge Sidney Breese and letters of Stephen A. Douglas, we learn the idea originated as early as 1835, the commencement of the system referred to.

The revival of railroads and the consequent improvement in property received a great impulse in Congress by the grant of 3,000,000 acres of land to the State of Illinois for the construction of the Central road. A more munificent grant of land could hardly be imagined at that date, and to the Senators and Representatives in Congress of that session is the grant due. The provisions of the grant were that the road was to be completed in ten years. In case of failure, the unsold lands were to revert to the General Government, and for those sold the State was to pay the Government price. The. belt of land was to include each alternate section for a width of twelve sections, the odd-numbered sections to be the property of the railroad, the even-numbered ones to be the property of the Government, and to be sold at not less than double the ordinary price (|1.25 per acre), i. e., $2.50 per acre.

The lands in this belt not already sold were to be withdrawn from market and to remain so until the location of the road was permanently decided upon. The State found itself in possession of the grant of land at the session of 1850, and 1851, and as the act of Congress had passed the September previous, the intervening time had been assiduously taken up by the press and stump of the State in advocating and discussing plans for carrying out the project. It may be remarked here that every plan brought forward was secretly fed by private interests as much or more than by public good. Each town on any line from Cairo to La Salle knew it was destined to be the one the road should pass through. The session of the State Legislature was harassed by various monopolists, who saw in the brilliant prospects an easy way to secure wealth, and who, for a time, seriously crippled the enterprise. Many persons were strongly in favor of the State engaging in the work as it had done twelve years before, and advocated the payment of the State indebtedness by means of the sale of the lands and profits from the lands.

The maxim that " A burnt child dreads the fire" was exemplified here. The State did not care to repeat the experiment it had so disastrously attempted a few years before; especially so when an unexpected solution of the problem of how to best build the road presented itself.

Robert Schuyler, Geoi'ge Griswold, Gouverneur Morris, Jonathan Sturgis, George W. Ludlow and John F. A. Sanford, of New York City, and David A. Neal, Franklin Haven and Robert Rantoul, Jr., of Boston, came before the Legislature, represented by one of their number, and offered, if the State would give them the grant of land, they would build and equip the road, and have it in running order by the year 1854 ; that by the 4th day of July, in that year, the road would be completed. There was a speedy, unlocked for solution of the whole question. A company of capitalists step forward, propose to complete and equip the road in a given length of time, much shorter than the State could hope to - to, in fact, relieve them of all care in the matter, and, when done, to pay annually into the treasury 7 per cent of all its gross earning in lieu of all taxes. State and municipal. It is said, in their eagerness to obtain the road, the capitalists would have bound themselves to pay 10 per cent as readily as 7 ; but that that was engineered through the Assembly by a prominent citizen of Illinois, who was secured for this purpose by the company. After a little delay in getting the Commissioner of the Land Office, at Washington, to convey the land to the company, work was begun. At the outset, much strife was engen dered over the route the road should take, several towns vying with each other in their efforts to obtain not only the road through their midst, but the commencement of the branch to Chicago. The question was finally decided by the State selecting a route as direct as possible, through a region containing as much unsold land as possible, thereby gaining all the land she could. The main line ran from Cairo north to Central City, where the Chicago branch diverged in the direction of that city, taking in its route Coles County. The main stem continued north through Decatur, Bloomington, La Salle, Avhere it encountered the soutliern end of the canal, and on northward, ending at Galena. Thus, by rare sagacity, a company of capitalists found themselves in possession of a magnificent railway, built from the proceeds of bonds issued by them secured by the lands, without the outlay of a dollar of their own money. They set aside a certain part of the lands, the proceeds of which were to be applied to the interest on the bonds. The prices realized for all these lands ranged from |5 to |55 per acre, and as the road opened, an immense region of hitherto unproductive lands, the sales on the part of both the road and the Government were simply enormous. The Government was the real gainer, for much of the lands had been in the market over thirty years and had not found a purchaser. Now, the railway promised a speedy outlet for farm produce ; towns and villages sprung into existence with Western-like prodigality, and before a decade of years had passed, the enterprise had yielded a hundred-fold. It was the first subsidy granted any railroad by the Government - a practice which, we are prone to say, has, in a measure, been somewhat abused.

The Illinois Central Road was completed and in full running order by the winter of 1856, a year and a half from the time the memorialists agreed to make it, they having been delayed in getting the grant of land properly deeded to them by the Commissioner of the Land Office at Washington. Constructiontrains were running that winter, and on January 1, 1856, says Mr. Frank Allison, of Mattoon, a passenger-train made the first run from Chicago to Cairo.

This railway is one of the longest in the West, and from the 7 per cent of its earnings a revenue accrues to the State amounting now to over a half-million dollars annually. This, the Company has at various times endeavored to reduce or change ; but the people have set their faces against it, and, not long since, have placed it beyond the reach of the Legislature, by a constitutional amendment to the organic law of the State.

Other Railroads

In addition to the two extensive lines of railway crossing the county, three others have been added since the war ; none, however, so great or having such history as their predecessors.

The close of the late rebellion threw upon the country a large force of unemployed men, and a vast amount of capital. This latter was used in opening new enterprises, and, as the States had learned to let such affairs alone, men with tact and energy stood ready to enter upon them. A railroad from Mattoon to Danville ; from Mattoon to Gray ville, thence to Evansville ; from Charleston to several other towns in the State, was proposed, while roads in various directions across the county were projected. Of these enterprises we will mention none save the successful ones : the Grayville & Mattoon, the Decatur, Mattoon & Southern, and the Illinois Midland.

The Grayville & Mattoon Railroad began to be talked about as early as 1866. One effort brought on another, and in the columns of the Mattoon papers, from that time down to 1872 and 1873, large-headed articles appear every week or so, all prophesying great results. Townships along the line of the proposed road gave liberally in bonds and private subscriptions, as those along the line of the Indianapolis & St. Louis had done, and a speedy completion was expected. Only twenty-eight or thirty miles of grading were completed, however, and that in Richland County, and for four or five years the road lay dormant. In 1874, a new company was formed, and by two years had the grading completed to the south line of Coles County. Work was continued on up through the county, at first running the line to intersect the Illinois Central about a mile south of Mattoon. The grade was made here ; but afterward changed, and brought directly into the town. It was all completed and the track laid by July 4, 1878, and on that day a grand excursion, under the care of J. H. Herkimer, the Receiver, was inaugurated, and a hilarious day made along the route. The road has been operating since then, and has had a good local trade, the freight business especially being quite heavy. A. short time ago, Mr. Herkimer and his associate officers resigned, from various causes, and were succeeded by E. B. Phillips, Receiver; M. H. Riddell, General Traveling Agent ; S. C. Anthony, General Clerk, and S. M. Henderson, Roadmaster. This road received $75,000 in bonds from Mattoon Township and the city ; from the former, two-thirds, and from the latter, one-third. The vote on this question was held in Mattoon, Tuesday, February 9, 1869 ; 444 votes were cast in favor of the tax, and 7 against it. Whether the town and township are justified in such a heavy debt, in addition to several others of a similar character, i. e., the $60,000 for the shops, is a serious question, and one which conservative citizens are inclined to doubt.

The Decatur, Mattoon & Southern Railroad was begun in 1871, and completed to Hervey City, seven miles from Decatur, by 1873. Here, this Company was allowed a joint use of the Illinois Midland Company's ti-ack to Decatur, which the courts afterward decided they were entitled to, and which they yet use.

January 16, 1874, the road passed into a Receiver's hands, and the name changed to the present one, it being formerly known as the Decatur, Sullivan & Mattoon Railroad. Since that date, the Receiver has been managing it. It is run in connection with the Indianapolis & St. Louis Road, and is under the care of Mr. E. B. McClure as Manager. Mr. W. H. Lewis is the General Agent. Both these gentlemen reside at Mattoon, and are connected with the Indianapolis & St. Louis Road.

The remaining road, the Illinois Midland Railway, runs through but a small part of Coles County. It crosses the township of Oakland from east to west, passing through the village. The road runs from Terre Ha.ute to Peoria, and is in three divisions, which originally were separate roads ; Avhen consolidated, the present name was adopted. The part running through Coles County was built from Decatur to Paris, under the name of the Paris & Decatur Railroad. It was completed in 1871, and, for a time, used the track of the Indianapolis & St. Louis Road from Paris to Terre Haute. When the Paris & Terre Haute Road was completed, in 1875, it formed a junction with that road, and, soon after, consolidated with it. Only about six miles of this railroad passes through Coles County, and that in the extreme northeast part, in Oakland Township, in whose history it is more fully noticed.

While on the history of railroads, it might not be amiss to say something about telegraphs. They were, in their infancy, regarded as somewhat supernatural, as all things are apt to be when we cannot understand them ; and, when a line was brought through Coles County in advance of the railway, it is related that it was not uncommon for some of the worthy citizens to hourly gaze upon it to see the news flash along. Their desires were, however, not gratified. They couldn't see the news ; but they thought they could hear it, especially when they stood near a post and heard the ring caused by the vibration of the wires, with the air passing over them. The supposition lasted very satisfactorily until they found out better, and was as harmless as deceptive.

The first operator in town was Fred Tubbs, and was succeeded by W. W. Craddock. They were here in 1850, at the time the railways of the State began their second era of construction, and have since been prominently known in the county. Other lines were added to the one running east and west across tiie county, as the railways were bujlt and the utility of such inventions became apparent. Now, they run in all directions, and one can talk with another, even though a continent be between them. Should the telephone supersede the telegraph, as it bids fair to do, those of the future will see a result almost beyond our conception. political and Wak record.

In the days of Whigs and Democrats, Coles was a Whig county by several hundred majority, in contests where party lines were closely drawn. Upon the organization of the Republican party, a change came over the color of its politics, and for a number of years it was Democratic; but, eventually, the Republicans gained the ascendency, and for several years carried the day in all important elections. At the present time, the political question is toned down to a point, that both of the great parties claim to be the dark horse. At the last Presidential election, the county Avas carried by the Hayes Electors by a small majority. In the local elections of the last few years, the spoils have been pretty equally divided between Democrats and Republicans. The present county oificers and their political faith are thus represented : Hon. J. R. Cun- . ningham, County Judge, Democrat ; J. F. Goar, County Treasurer, Republican ; William R. Highland, County Clerk, Democrat ; W. E. Robinson, Circuit Clerk, Republican. The latter was elected by a small majority, and his election contested by Mr. Clarke, his Democratic competitor for the office. The case was tried in the County Court, and occupied the spare moments of Judge Adams, of that august tribunal, from December until the June following, when it was decided in Robinson's favor. Clarke, still unsatisfied, appealed to the Supreme Court, which body confirmed the decision of the County Court, and thus Mr. Robinson's title to the office was settled. The other county offi- cers - J. E. Brooks, Sheriff; T. J. Lee, Superintendent of Schools ; and John L. Aubert, County Surveyor - are Democrats. Such is the political record of the county. It is probable, however, that, in a State or national contest, with a full vote on both sides, the Republicans would carry the day.

Coles County's war history is written in characters of blood upon a hundred battle-fields. Citizens of Coles have figured in every war, from the Revolution down to the great rebellion that shook the republic to its very foundation. In many of the Indian wars of the times, they have borne an honorable part. Upon the records of the County Commissioner's Court of 1835, we find the certificates of Elisha Hadden, John Parker, Joseph Painter, John Hart and Griffin Tipsoward, made under oath to the Commissioners' Court for the purpose of obtaining a pension under an act of the United States Congress passed in 1832. These parties made oath to their services in the armies of the United States during the Revolutionary war and the Avars with the Indians of those times. Hadden stated on his oath that he was in the battle of King's Mountain, in North Carolina, "against the British and Tories;" and that, in a battle soon after with the Cherokee Indians, he was wounded, and for three months lay in the fort helpless, and was then carried home to North Carolina on a litter. Painter testified that he was in the Revolutionary battle of Eutaw Springs, and several skirmishes in North Carolina. Hart, that he entered the service of the United States in 1776, and served under Gen. Clarke, and was in several battles with the Indians. Griffin Tipsoward, that he entered the service in Virginia, in 1775, and at the close of the war was discharged by Gen. Washington,

In the war of 1812, many of the pioneers of this county had participated, as elsewhere noticed, and some are still living who took part in that struggle with Johnny Bull. In the Black Hawk war of 1832, an entire company from Coles County (then in her infancy) responded to the call of the Governor for troops. Many of them are still surviving. The officers of this company were : James P. Jones, Captain ; Thomas Sconce, Isaac Lewis and James Law, Lieutenants. In the Mexican war, notwithstanding it was considered a Demo- . cratic issue and Coles was a Whig county, a full company was raised and participated in many of the battles, among which were those of Vera Cruz and Cerro Gordo. The officers of the company were : W. W. Bishop, Captain ; J. J. Adams, First Lieutenant ; H. C. Dunbar, Second Lieutenant, and Charles Jones, Orderly Sergeant. Bishop and Adams are dead, Dunbar lives in Texas, and several of the rank and file are still living in the county.

In the war of the rebellion. Coles County furnished quite a little army. The Seventh and Eighth Regiments of three-months men, each drew a company from the county ; the Seventh a company from Mattoon, and the Eighth a company from Charleston. The Twenty-first (Grant's old regiment) contained many men from Coles, as well as the Twenty-fifth, Thirty-eighth, Fiftyfourth, Sixty-second and One Hundred and Twenty-third Volunteers and the

Fifth Cavalry. The One Hundred and Twenty-third Regiment contained seven companies that were called Coles County companies. In a history like this, however, it is impossible to give a complete and correct record of a county's participation in the late war. Space will not permit. Besides, from the records that have been kept, it is not an easy matter to obtain the names of all who deserve mention. Therefore, we shall make no attempt to particularize any one, but will add that the record of Coles County soldiers is above reproach. Their deeds are engraved upon the hearts of their countrymen, and their reward is found in the happy reflection that the old flag still floats over all the States. And for those who laid down their lives to maintain the Union, and whose lone graves are fanned by Southern winds, we know of no better meed to their bravery, no sweeter tribute to their memory, than the beautiful lines from the pen of Col. Theodore O'Hara, of Kentucky, and dedicated to the heroes of that State who fell in the Mexican war, when their bones were collected and interred in the State Cemetery at Frankfort :

These beautiful lines, written for the Kentucky dead of the Mexican war, have been adopted by Massachusetts and inscribed upon a splendid monument erected to her dead heroes of the late war. They are a touching tribute to the soldier who lays down his life for his country and sleeps the eternal sleep, never more to heed the call to arms until the last reveille shall sound from the battlements of heaven. Peace to their ashes.

Miscellaneous History

There are few individuals, and perhaps few countries, but have some dark pages in their histories. To err is human nature, and to say that the people of Coles County, or certain classes of them, have sometimes erred is but to proclaim them human - not divine. The murder of Nathan Ellington by Adolph Monroe, in October, 1855, was a horrible affair, and, considering all the circumstances, pe(?uliarly distressing. Ellington is said to have been a man of most excellent character, and highly respected by all who knew him. Monroe was his son-in-law. He was a young man of commanding appearance, fine address, and had once stood high in the community, but had fallen a prey to intoxicating drink. A family feud was engendered, and one day, in an altercation with his father-in-law, he drew « revolver and shot him dead. For this crime he was tried by a jury of his peers, found guilty of murder in the first degree, and sentenced to be hanged. The day of execution came, and though in midwinter (the 14th of February, 1856;, and the ground white with snow, a great multitude gathered at the county's capital to witness the fulfillment of the law. The heavens were dark, as if draped in the " gloom of earthquake and eclipse," and the elements seemed poisoned with the spirit of vengeance, as manifested by the immense crowd which had assembled, not only from this, but from adjoining counties. In the mean time, a respite of thirty days was granted by the Governor to the doomed man. This produced a terrible commotion in the multitude, now changed into a howling mob, and threw it into the most insane excitement. It swayed back and forth from the Court House to the prisoner's cell, and resolved and re-resolved. The death of the fated man, in violation of law, was determined upon. His prison was assaulted by the mob, the officers of the law intimidated and overcome, and Monroe taken out of jail by ruthless hands. He was dragged to the valley west of town by the infuriated people, where a gallows was speedily erected, the doomed wretch lifted into a wagon, the rope adjusted, his limbs pinioned, the wagon moved from under him, and, without shrift, hurled into eternity. Monroe said to one man at the gallows : " I die, and if I go to hell, you will go to the same place, for you it was that sold me the whisky that has brought me to this terrible fate." What a haunting memory to cling to one through life ! It is scarce necessary to add that all the best people were universal in their condemnation of the dissrraceful affair.

Another dark page in the history of Coles 'County was the riot which took place in Charleston during the stormy scenes occasioned by the late war, and the diversity of opinion with which the people regarded it. It is a fact much to be regretted that, with a record for patriotism second to no county in the State (as reckoned by the number of soldiers furnished), that such an event should have occurred to tarnish that glorious record. Doubtless both parties, the citizens and soldiers, were more or less to blame for the collision which took place between them, and in like manner responsible for the melancholy result. Of all the wars that have scourged the earth, a civil war is the most deplorable. In England's war of the roses, we have an illustration of the direful results of such a strife, and in our own internecine war we equaled, if we did not excel, the rival houses of York and Lancaster. It may be that the high-wrought excitement of the times presented an eligible excuse for the scene enacted in Charleston on the 29th of March, 1864, between the same people (brothers as it were) who saw the cause and object of the war through different 'glasses. The death of several persons in the streets of Charleston was the sad consequence of that difference of opinion. The feelings engendered by the war, which culminated in bloodshed, have long since toned down, and the participators in the deplorable affair (to call it by its mildest name) doubtless regret the part they acted in it. So, in no spirit of censure beyond a condemnation of mob violence on general principles, we will pass from the subject, flinging over the sad occurrence the spacious robe of charity.

In his Centennial Address, Capt. Adams narrates a melancholy occurrence in the township of Hickory, at or near Hickory Grove. In the winter of 1830-31, which is characterized in the history of Illinois as one of unusual severity, three men froze to death near this grove. They had undertaken to cross the prairie on horse-back ; the ground was covered with snow to a considerable depth, and the air piercingly cold. In their last extremity, they killed their horses, and, taking out their entrails, crawled into the warm carcasses, but before relief reached them they succumbed to the " Icy King of Terrors." The following is from the same source of information : " In 1831, three men of the name of Ellis were killed by lightning, in the southwest part of the county. The accident occurred on Wednesday, and they were not found until the Saturday following. When discovered, their bodies were as limber as that of a living person, and never stiffened like a body that meets death from natural causes. It was supposed that the lightning had broken the bones without rupturing the skin."

Passing from the grave to the gay, from the sad to the ludicrous, it becomes our duty, as a faithful historian, to chronicle an event that took place in Coles County in 1834, which, while it had a somewhat ludicrous termination, was begun in earnest, by one of the parties engaged in it, at least. The circumstance referred to, was a duel fought in Charleston, by Peter Glassco and John Gately. A difficulty had arisen between them, which blood alone could satisfy or settle, and, accordingly, they resorted to the code of honor to avenge their wounded dignity. A challenge was sent and accepted, seconds were selected and the weapons (big " boss " pistols) were chosen. The hostile parties met, with ten paces between them, and proceeded to wipe out their wrongs in the most approved style. The seconds loaded the pistols with blank cartridges, without Glassco's knowledge, however, who, it seems, was the most belligerent of the two, and the most deeply grieved. Finally, when all was ready, the principals were placed by the seconds, one, two, three, were called, and both parties fired. Gately fell, and his second, who had provided a bottle of pokeberry-juice for the purpose, ran to him and dexterously saturated his clothes with the contents of the bottle, thus giving him a most ghastly appearance. Glassco, petrified with terror, gazed at his bleeding victim, and, horrified at the " ruin he had wrought," exclaimed, " My God, I have killed him,", threw away his pistol and fled. About a year afterward, he was apprised of the fact that the duel was a "put-up job," and that Gately still lived, when, with the horror of murder removed from his soul, he returned to the county. He never fought another duel.

That scourge of the human race, the Asiatic cholera, one of the gifts of the Old World to the new, made a visit, in 1851, to Coles County. For a time "it made itself exceedingly odious and repulsive," says one, "and old and young alike were the victims of the fell disease." As is usually the case, it visited certain localities only, Charleston and Pleasant Grove Township being the suf- ferers. In these sections, many cases occurred ; some of them proved fatal, "while others recovered. The greatest consternation and excitement prevailed. Those not sick became panic-stricken, and fled in confusion and dismay. How many died of the disease cannot now be ascertained. Distressing as was the ordeal and melancholy in its result, yet it had its humorous side. A very amusing anecdote is told of Hon. 0. B. Ficklin's grim fight with the awful disease. He was attacked in the harvest-field, rushed home and went to bed, sent for all the doctors in town, called his wife and children to his bedside, bade them good-by, and kissed them one by one, concluding with his old colored cook, and prepared to die with the cholera. He dropped off to sleep, from which he awoke, a few hours later, completely restored. Having slept off the natural exhaustio7i (!) of the harvest-field, "Richard was himself again."

AVe spoke of a murder and a lynching, a little space ago. Charleston can boast of several other murders within her time. But we shall not go into details concerning them. Such incidents are better forgotten than perpetuated upon the pages of history. We will, therefore, pass them without further remark in this connection.

The Grave Of Lincoln'S Father

Thomas Lincoln, the father of the martyred President, was among the early settlers of Coles County. He removed from Kentucky (where the future President was born) to Spencer County, Ind., in 1816, when Abraham was but seven years old. Here he remained until 1830, when he removed to Macon County, 111., and located on the North Fork of the Sangamon River, ten miles southwest of Decatur. He came to Coles County about 1832-33, and settled in what is now Pleasant Grove Township : but Abraham, having in the mean time attained his majority, and commenced the battle of life on his own responsibility, did not come with the family to this county. In after years however, when he became a praccicing lawyer, he often attended the courts of Coles County, in which cases he never failed to visit his father in Pleasant Grove, and, it is said, always purchased as many presents (generally of a substantial character) as he could stow in his buggy, and conveyed them to the family, who were in indigent circumstances. Stuve's History of Illinois gives the following of President Lincoln's family : " Abraham Lincoln was born in La Rue (now Hardin) County, Ky., about two miles south of the village of Hodgensville, February 12, 1809. Here his father had taken up a landclaim of 300 acres, rough, broken and poor, containing a fine spring, known to this day as the ' Linkum Spring.' Unable to pay for the unproductive land, the claim Avas abandoned, and the family moved from place to place in the neighborhood, being very destitute. These removals occurring while Abraham was scarcely more than an infant, has given rise to different statements as to the exact place of his birth. It is said that in that part of Kentucky four places now claim the honor." Thomas Lincoln, the father of Abraham Lincoln.

finally removed to Indiana, and then to Illinois, as above stated, and died years ago in Pleasant Grove Township. There, in a quiet little cemetery, known as *' Gordon's Grave-yard," without stone or "lettered monument" to mark the spot, sleeps the old pioneer. We give below a poem, entitled the " Grave of the Father of Abraham Lincoln," written by G. B. Balch, Esq., of Pleasant Grove, and published in many journals throughout the country, from Lippin- Magazine to the county papers :

" In a low, sweet vale, by a murmuring rill, The pioneer's ashes are sleeping; Where the white marble slabs so lonely and still, In silence their vigils are keeping.

" On their sad, lonely faces are words of fame. But none of them speak of his glory ; When the pioneer died, his age and his name. No monument whispers the story.

" Bright evergreens wave over many a grave, O'er some bow the sad weeping-willow ; But no willow-trees bow, nor evergreens wave, Where the pioneer sleeps on his pillow.

" Some are inhumed with the honors of State, And laid beneath temples to molder ; The grave of the father of Lincoln, the great. Is known by a hillock and bowlder.

" Let him take his lone sleep, and gently rest, With naught to disturb or awake him, When the angels shall come to gather the blest To Abraham's bosom, they'll take him.''

Geological Formation

The geological deposits and formations of Coles County possess but little interest or importance, as compared to many other sections of Illinois. The soil of the prairies is of considerable thickness, of a deep black, or dark brown color, and very rich and productive. Beneath this soil, according to the geological survey of the State, is a loamy clay, which also produces well with proper cultivation. The most important feature of the geology of the county, however, is the coal-deposit, which is supposed to underlie the county. A man of the name of Owens, years ago, discovered coal, and a very good quality, too, near where John Mickleblack now lives. Recent investigations, we are informed, have developed the fact that not exceeding five hundred feet below the surface, coal abounds in great abundance. Doubtless the time is not far distant when these coal-fields will become a source of industry, as well as of great value to the country. According to geological survey, three-fourths of the surface of Illinois are underlaid by beds of coal, and consequently have a greater area of this valuable fuel than any other State of the Union. A scientific writer speaks thus upon the formation and discovery of coal : '- The vast accumulation of vegetable matter from carboniferous plants, either imbedded in the miry soil in which it grew, or swept from adjacent elevations into shallow lakes, became covered with sediment, and thus were transformed into coal. It has been estimated that eight perpendicular feet of wood were required to make one foot of bituminous coal, and twelve to make one foot of anthracite. Some beds of the latter are thirty feet in thickness, and hence 360 feet of timber must have beqn consumed in their production. The process of its formation was exactly the same as practiced in the manufacture of charcoal, by burning wood under a covering of earth. Vegetable tissue consists mostly of carbon and oxygen, and decomposition must take place, either under water or some other impervious covering, to prevent the elements from forming carbonic-acid gas, and thus escaping to the atmosphere. Conforming to these requirements the immense vegetable growths forming the coal-fields subsided with the surface on which they grew, and were buried beneath the succeeding deposits. Nova Scotia has seventy-six different beds, and Illinois twelve ; and consequently, in these localities, there were as many different fields of verdure overwhelmed in the dirt-beds of the sea. Thus, long before the starry cycles had measured half the history of the unfolding continent, and when first the expanding stream of life but dimly reflected the coming age of mind, this vast supply of fuel was stored away in the rocky frame-work of the globe. Here it slumbered until man made his appearance and dragged it from its rocky lairs. At his bidding, it renders the factory animate with humming spindles, driving shuttles, whirling lathes and clanking forges. Under his guidance the ironhorse, feeding upon its pitchy fragments, bounds and tireless treads over its farreaching track, dragging after him the products of distant marts and climes. By the skill of the one and the power of the other, the ocean steamer plows the deep in opposition to winds and waves, making its watery home a highway for the commerce of the world.

Beyond the coal-beds underlying the surface, the county, as we have said, is not very rich in geology. There are, we believe, some stone-beds along the Embarrass River, but the quality of the stone is poor and of but little value for building purposes. With this brief glance at the geological features, we will leave the subject, referring the reader to the Geological Survey of the State for further information on this interesting point of history.

The first newspaper was established in Coles County -in 1840, and was called the Charleston Courier. But as the township history will contain a more complete account of the press, we shall have little to say on the subject in this chapter. We wish, however, to leave on record our impression of the value of the files of county papers as sources of history. Their pages give a picture from week to week of both national and local events, which can be found nowhere else. Even the advertisements give much history, and we think there ought to be a provision made for keeping such files in the county and city offices.

There are at present in Coles County six newspapers, viz. : the Courier and Plaindealer, of Charleston ; the Oommercial, Journal and G-azette, of Mattoon ; and the Herald, of Oakland. These are live, energetic newspapers, well filled with the news of the day (this is not an advertisement), and deserve the liberal support of the people of the county.

This township is the middle one in the southern tier of townships in the county. It is a little irregular in shape, being bounded on the east by the Embarrass River, which follows a southern course, slightly inclining westward. The township is eleven sections long and four wide. This will give it forty- four sections, or 28,160 acres. As a part of the eastern sections are, however, in Hutton Township, there is probably not that amount of land by two thousand acres. The land is, in the main, excellent for farming purposes. It originally was nearly all covered with a dense growth of good timber, hence the township is among the earliest settled in the county. The only prairie of any size is one known by the very unclassical name of " Goose-Nest Prairie." It was probably a fine-look in_o- piece of country to the eyes of the first white man who saw it; but whether he gave it that name from finding a goose's nest there, or from its fancied resemblance to that repository of goose eggs, or whether he had been a classic student in his day, and had read of the fabled goose which laid a golden egg every day, and made it so valuable, is a matter of some dift'erence of opinion. Some say the primeval white man here looked upon the scene spread out before him and exclaimed, " This is the very goose nest." Others affirm he found a goose's nest here, and hence the name. If any of our readers care to pursue the subject to its end, and settle the point, we refer them to several old residents in the "Goose Nest" whom they can examine, and with whom they can argue the point. Which of the three origins is correct matters but little now ; one thing is certain, that name, so illustrative of the disposition of frontier life, will always stay.

The timber originally found in this township, much of which yet remains, is composed of all varieties indigenous to this part of Illinois. The most valuable is now nearly all gone, that remaining consisting of a more common kind, and used chiefly for fire-wood and fencing. As much of this abo.unds, but little, if any, coal is used in the township.

No streams of water traverse this part of the county, save a few small tributaries of the Embarrass and Muddy Creek. The largest is the little Indian Creek, which rises in Section 36, in La Fayette Township, and flows southeasterly almost entirely through Pleasant Grove. It has one small aftluent, rising in Section 3, Neither the main creek nor its branch is of a size to be of any practical use, save drainage. Two little creeks flow southward through the western part of the township, affording, like the Little Indian, a partial drainage to that part of country. The principal one is known as Big Muddy, from the character of its waters. Near it was an early settlement in this part of Coles County. The main surface of Pleasant Grove Township is somewhat undulating in appearance. There is not much wet land to be found in its borders. A few swamps are here and there to be seen, but these admit of easy drainage, and will, in time, all be brought under cultivation.

On Section 23, in this township, exists a natural curiosity. On a spot of ground, covering about one-half acre in extent, are ten springs, each sending forth a stream of remarkably cold water, highly impregnated with diff"erent medicinal qualities. What is strange, is that no two springs are alike in the quality of water they emit. One spring will be highly impregnated Avith car-- bonate of soda, while near it will be another impregnated with iron, another with chloride of sodium, and so, on - as many diff'erent waters as there are springs. As all are medicinal in their qualities, many persons resort here for the cure of various diseases which these waters are supposed to benefit. Indeed, many ai"e bettered by coming here, and it is the intention to fit up a place, so that accommodations can be furnished those desiring to come. The springs are now owned by Dr. Ilalbrook, who keeps, temporarily, many patients in his house, near the springs. The place evidences being a favorite resort of the Indians, as a great abundance of relics of these aboriginal inhabitants are found here.

Early Settlements

" Their whitened sails were neatly spread, And slowly on their course they sped, As, westward still they kept their way, Toward the setting orb of day."

The picture presented by Mr. George Balch of the coming of the emigant, in the above lines, is vividly true of the arrival of the first settlers to Central Illinois. No railways then existed in the great West. Indeed, they were only known in the East, and were more dreaded in England, where they began, than liked. They were then in crude infancy, and were not thought of in the West. Hence, the picture of their "whitened sails neatly spread,"' as the wagons of the pioneers came Westward, is not in the least overdrawn. They came chiefly from the South - from Tennessee, Kentucky and Alabama - as the sequel shows in the mention of each one.

Emigrants coming from these various Southern localities, at that day, generally converged at a point on the Ohio River, at or below Louisville. From there they came north, through Western Indiana, to Vincennes, the oldest settlement on the Wabash. From this place, sometimes they came directly west to their various localities, or went on north to Terre Haute, and from that place went to their chosen homes. Sometimes, however, they went on down the "beautiful river," on llatboats, to old Shawneetown, where they disembarked, reloaded their goods and themselves into their wagons, and came north to Carmi or Mount Carmel ; from either of which places they could find routes northward. While on the way, they encamped wherever night overtook them, generally making some grove of trees and stream of water their halting-places. Mr. Balch in his poem, from which two verses are already quoted, further describes their mode of camp-life. We subjoin it, as better descriptive of that scene than anything we have found :

" Four hundred miles behind them lay Their native land, so far away - Their childhood's home, their place of birth, Their father's and their mother's hearth.

" Before them stretched the boundless West, In all its native grandeur dressed ; Where, fresh from the Almighty's hand, There lay a second Promised Land .

" But now the sun, adown the west, In crimson clouds was robed for rest ; While in the east, with hidden sheen, The Goddess of the Night was seen,

" Too modest to unveil her light Until her lord had passed from sight. The weary day being almost spent, The pilgrims halt and pitch their tent.

" Beside a limpid, babbling rill, With shady groves along the hill Where savage bands, in other days, Had seen their sparkling camp-fire blaze ;

" And round it danced in savage glee Like beasts, as wild, like birds, as free. But as they now far west had fled. The pilgrims had no foes to dread.

" Their jaded steeds were loosed, at will To crop the herbage from the hill ; Their sparkling camp-fire's cheerful light Kept back the gathering shades of night,

" Which drew their sable curtains round The pilgrims' lonely camping-ground. While cheerful chats and cheering song Soon whiled a pleasant hour along

" In which their meal had been prepared. And by each one was gladly shared. Then, ere the pioneers retire. They gather round their cheerful fire,

" And talk of scenes. in other years. Of rising hopes and boding fears, Of childhood's happy hours, now fled. Of once loved friends, who now are dead,

" Of kindred dear, they left behind When starting west, new homes to find. In fancy saw the schoolhouse still, As once it crowned their college hill,

" While in its shady groves they strayed. And ' hide-and-seek ' in fancy played ; Or gathered round their grape-vine swing And heard their comrades' voices ring.

" Those comrades too, had left their plays - Forever gone their childhood days - And now, with trusty sword and shield, Like them were on life's battle-field.

" Some talked of ' mother's ' earnest prayer ; Some of ' father's ' anxious care : These, too, they feared they ne'er would meet This side the ' city's golden street.'

" The little church, to them so dear, Engaged their thoughts and claimed a tear ; They prayed that God would bless the place Where first they tasted of his grace.

" They called to mind their pastor's care, His counsel wise, and faithful prayer ; Rejoicing that they had a friend Whose prayers for them would still ascend

" To God, who, though enthroned on high. Will hear the lowly when they cry. And now to Him their thoughts are turned, While in their hearts for Him they yearned :

" For man is sure, when left alone, To think of God, and heaven and home. But darker grew the shades of night. The evening star had passed from sight,

" And there, around that lone camp-fire, Before the pioneers retire, They bow beneath the solemn grove And chant to God these lines of love.

" With heart and voice, and bended knee. Our Father, God, we come to Thee; No temple built by human skill, No ritual made by human will, Have we to bring.

"Our hearts shall be Thy temple home, Where Thou shalt reign, and Thou alone; And in these temples built for praise. Our humble notes of song we raise. Thy love to sing.

"We praise Thee for Thy constant care; For grace, the ills of life to bear ; For streugth to help us on our way. And bread of life from day to day, AVhich we partake.

" And now, we give ourselves to Thee, Oh, keep Thy trusting children free ! And guard us through the shades of night. And wake us with the moruing light. For Jesus' sake.

"Thus trusting on a Sovereign Lord, They rose from otf the grassy sward, And soon retired to peaceful rest. With naught but love within each breast.

"Their jaded steeds rest on the hill. Their tinkling bell is hushed and still, And silence reigns throiigiiout the earth, Like that which reigned before its birth."

Mr. Balcli continues in this poem to note the rise in the morning of the pioneers ; their search for a home ; their success in finding one in a forest through which a stream courses its way, and the erection of their cabin-home. It is very strikingly portrayed, and .«peaks well for his native genius. Had he had the advantages of an education, he would take rank with many writers widely known. As it is, we understand he intends publishing a volume of his poems, in which the remainder of the poem we quote will appear. Its length precludes further quotation in our pages.

Just who was the first settler in Pleasant Grove - often called Pleasant Prairie - is now hard to determine. Mrs. Chowning states that her father, John Gordon, came to the Kickapoo settlement in 1826, and the next year, she thinks in the spring, he moved down to Pleasant Grove, where she is now living. There he found an unfinished log cabin, built by an old Baptist preacher, called " Daddy " Barham. This cabin Mr. Gordon completed and used as a residence. Others, however, differ from this statement. Some assert that the first settlement was made in this township in 1827, by Isaac Fancher and Buck Houchin, near the head of Muddy Point Creek. This is the generally accepted view, and is given as true by Capt. Adams in his Centennial Address. Still, others claim that Jack Price came here prior to Fancher or Houchin, and that to him belongs the honor. From a pretty close investigation of the subject we are inclined to the opinion given by Capt. Adams. The weight of testimony is in favor of Fancher and Houchin. Price must have followed them closely, however, and may have been with them.

It is likely that these persons are all that settled in this township that year. If they brought their families as Mr. Gordon did, there were four settlers and four pioneer homes in the township that fall.

The next year, Mr. Joseph Glenn, then a young man, visited this settlement. After satisfying himself as to its desirableness, he determined to locate. He informed Mr. George Balch afterward, that Avhen he came here, there were five families in this settlement, and that he thought no others existed in the township. He says Dorcas Tulley, who lived near the south line of the county where John T. Jones now resides, was among the number. He also mentions Mr. Fancher. He named all of them, but the names have escaped Mr. Balch's memory. Those that we have mentioned would make just this number, and are, probably, the families Mr, Glenn referred to. Mr. Glenn lived here until a short time since, when his death occurred. He was rather widely known, and was blessed with an excellent memory. It is to be regretted now that he did not write down for preservation his recollections of the days he first lived here, and the events passing at the time. He, like many another, did not realize their value, and thus much of the early history of this part of Illinois is lost.

Mr. Glenn went to Lawrence County in the fall of 1829. He married Ellen Reynolds in 1830 or 1831, who was born in Illinois in 1808 or 1809, and is yet living. She is one of the oldest native-born citizens in this county. Mr. Glenn's farm was long known as the "Glenn Place," and was brought by its owner to a high state of cultivation.

In the spring of 1829, quite a number of settlers came. " Goose-Nest Prairie " was settled this spring by Rev. Daniel Barham (" Daddy " Barham, already referred to) and his sons John and Nathan, and Thomas Barker, who erected the first cabins there. If these were the first cabins built by the good minister, then the statement that he erected a cabin near the Gordon grave-yard in 1827, or before, is evidently an error by a year or two. As there is now no one left who lived through this time and is cognizant of it all, in all its details, it is extremely difficult to settle the point of the first settler. Rev. Barham was an efficient Baptist minister, and labored earnestly in his Master's calling, and may have been here as early as Mrs. Chowning thinks ; but, from the best testimony we are able to gather, it is two years later, i. e., in 1829. " The same spring that ' Daddy' Barham, his sons and Mr. Barker came," says Capt. Adams, "Michael Taylor and son, Elijah, John and Patrick Gordon and Dow Goodman located in the ' Goose Nest.' " This is further proof that Mrs. Chowning's father came in 1829, instead of 1827.

The first settlement on Indian Creek was made this same year. At the head of this creek, was an old Indian camping-ground, evidencing use in many generations past. It was a convenient spot for pasturage and water, and, as such, was regarded favorably by the pioneers. It is in the north and northeast part of the township, and may be considered the third settlement in the township. Its pioneers were Zeno Campbell, Gershom, William and Thomas Balch, who, as stated, located in 1829.

This same year, the Muddy Point settlement was augmented by the arrival of Joseph Glenn, Daniel Edson, Daniel Beals and his two sons, Oliver and Jesse, and William Dryden and Alfred Balch, who came to view the country. The next year, William Gammill and his sons Andrew and Samuel, and sons-in-law, A. Balch and Isaac Odell, also Abner Johnston, whose son is now President of the First National Bank at Charleston, came to Indian Creek and Muddy Point settlements. The year before, Jesse Fuller and his family came from Virginia and bought the farm now known as the " Sell " place. Mr. Fuller remained here until his death. Mr. Theron E. Balch located with his family this season, also. Mr. Balch became a very prominent man in his time. He was the first school-teacher in the township, was a firm friend of religion and was one of the best men in the pioneer days of the community. He arrived with his family in October, and settled in the timber, near the " Goose-Nest Prairie." Here he built him a small pole cabin, and during this winter, it is thought, taught the pioneer school in the township, in a small pole cabin, in Muddy Point settlement, near where the Cumberland Presbvterian Church is no'w situated. He and his wife were strong Abolitionists, liberating their slaves in the South before they came, bringing sorae with them. Mr. Balch was one of the earliest adherents to that party, and is said to have been one of the first seven men to vote that ticket. Mrs. Balch is yet living in Wisconsin, eighty-six years of age, blind and deaf. She has been a most remarkable woman in her time. She lives with one of her daughters, and has with her one of her liberated woman slaves, who is almost as old as her mistress.

The reader will observe that quite a number of persons located in the first two years of the settlements here. As many of them belonged to the Cumberland and Regular Presbyterian Churches, they united in August, 1830, and formed a Presbyterian Church under the care of the Old-School body - as it would be better known by that name - and began to hold services. As immigration was rapid during the next three or four years, however, a Cumberland Presbyterian Church was organized, and those professing that creed drew off from the other Church as soon as this opportunity afforded them a chance to join a church of their own choice.

On the 19th of November following the organization of the Church at Indian Creek, the settlement in Pleasant Grove was joined by a colony of sixteen grown persons and eleven children from Bedford County, Tenn., about fifty miles south of the city of Nashville. They came, like their predecessors, in the old Virginia wagons, drawn by two and four horse teams, making the journey of 400 miles in a few months. Now it is made in a day and a night. They camped out on the way, and while in Indiana, about fifteen miles south of Vincennes, they were obliged to stop and bury one of their number, a child, a son of Isaac and Mary Odell. A number of years ago, George D. Prentice, the veteran Louisville editor and poet, stood, he records, at the grave of a little child in Arkansas, buried from an emigrant wagon. He embalmed the incident in verse, which is so touching, and which applies to the burial of Mr. and Mrs. Odell's little child so well, that we reproduce a verse here :

"Not in the church-yard's hallowed ground, Where marble columns rise around, By willow or by cypress shade, Are thy poor little relicts laid. Thou sleepest here, all, all alone, No other grave is near thine own. ' Tis well, 'tis well; but oh, such fate

But yet it matters not, poor child. That thou must sleep in this lone wild ; Each springtime, as it wanders past, Its buds and blooms will round thee cast ; The thick -leaved boughs and moonbeams pale. Will 0 er thee spread a solemn veil, And softest dews and showers will lave The blossoms on the infant's grave."

The colony mentioned, coming in the fall of 1830, were headed by William Oammill (already noticed), who knew something of the country, and, with Alfred M. Balch, was one of ^ the projectors of the move. In addition to these two, there were Mr. Balch's children - Ann Jane, who afterward became the wife of H. J. Reynolds, of Neoga; Nanny Caroline, who died in Mai'ch, 1853 ; Rhoda E., who died at thirteen years of age, and whose memory her brother Oeorge B. has touchingly preserved in verse. George B. was then very young, and has lived all his life in the township, noting all its changes, and has recorded many of them in poetry. Another family (and we shall name each family of this colony) was J. J. and Martha Adams, and their one child, W. E. Adams, then eleven days old. On his arrival, Mr. Adams, like the others, hastily erected a pole cabin, into which he moved. Before he could properly inclose it, the winter set in exceedingly cold, and with great difficulty could they preserve themselves and their child from freezing. The covers of the wagon were taken off, hung inside the cabin walls, and with one device and another, aided by the huge fire kept constantly burning in the great chimney, they managed to live through the winter. Many of their neighbors were no better oft". The next year, he and all the colonists raised a very good crop, putting it in with the old-fashioned barshare plows, remodeled and repaired their cabins, and by winter were prepared to stand the rigors of a Western winter. It will be recollected that the one before was made memorable by the ''deep snow," and the great freshet in the spring consequent upon the melting of the snow. It is fully noticed elsewhere, and need not be repeated here. It was the same over all the country, only of a greater depth in the northern part of the State. As a portrait and full sketch of Col. Adams' life appear elsewhere in this volume, we will omit any further mention of his deeds here. They are all worthy a place in the annals of Coles County, and when the Colonel died a few months since, he left behind him a record worthy of imitation by all.

Isaac and Mary Odell, son-in-law and daughter of Mr. Gammill, were also of this company. It was their child that died in Indiana and was left sleeping on the roadside. Their next son, George W. Odell, was the first child born in Charleston, which town was laid out the next summer after the colony's arrival. Col. Adams and A. M. Balch cut logs and built some of the first houses in that aspiring town. One of these may yet be seen on a hill in the western part of town, just east of where the Ashmore mill was burned. Of all the members of that colony who were men and women when they came, Mrs. Odell - " Aunt Polly " - is the only survivor.

The next family was Andrew and Jane Gammill and their three children, all of whom are living yet. One is Mrs. Caroline Shoemaker, of La Fayette Township, another Mrs. Adaline Hendricks, now in Missouri, and the third Mrs. Lucinda Whetstone, of Pomona, Kan. Mark and Matilda Baker with their two children, Joseph and Matilda, are the next family mentioned. Both the children are now dead. The father died in about two years after coming.

from malarial diseases. His wife aftei-Avard married M. Tyra Hays, and gave fame to Pleasant Grove by giving existence to three boys at one birth, all of whom are yet living.

Andrew Clark and wife were also in this colony. They had no children when they came. Mr. Clark was afterward well known in Charleston in the hotels there, being one of the early landlords of the town. In this colony were two young men, Philip Odell and S. K. Gammill, who should be noticed here. The first named, Odell, died in Charleston, about 1835. In the early issues of newspapers there, his obituary was published, wherein some friend embalmed his memory in verse which we now recall, and which many of the old people will doubtless remember:

The other young man, S. K. Gammill, afterward beca\ne prominently known in the south part of the county. He married Elizabeth Dryden, who yet lives. Mr. Gammill died about twelve years ago, of cholera.

The majority of the persons coming in this little colony, were members of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in their native State. They found no church of their own here, and the majority went into the Presbyterian Church at Indian Creek. They remained here, however, but a few years, when, being joined by more of their own profession, they formed a church at Muddy Point, and began services there.

The winter following - 1830-31 - Avas, as has been observed, one of great severity. The intense cold, the deep snow, the scanty provisions and poor accommodations made the pioneer's life one of privation, and to those who had enjoyed the milder serenity of a more southern clime, it called for the strongest powers of fortitude and courage. The following spring, owing to the great snoAV, was very wet, and it was late before crops could be planted. The cabins were repaired, or new and better ones built, fields were cleared, and preparations to found that home they all desired went steadily on. They Avent to the Wabash Point timber for mail, where George M. Hanson had the year before obtained a post office, and where quite a number of families, chiefly Methodists in religion, were settled. Those of Pleasant Grove also came here to mill, for Slover's Mill was about the only one in this part of the country. It was during this summer, it is thought, that C Campbell opened a blacksmith shop in the township. His shop was near the residence of Zeno Campbell. He was a good workman, making excellent axes, Cary plows and various other implements, Avhich could not have been obtained nearer than Paris, in Edgar County, or equally as distant places. It might be well to mention of Zeno Campbell that he was run for the Legislature on the Whig ticket, from this part of the county. He was an excellent man, but quiet and a little eccentric in his manner, refusing to go out and "stump" the field. This was very likely the cause of his defeat, as he was well respected wherever known. He gave the ground on which the Presbyterian Church was erected in 1832, and with his wife lived to the good old age of more than fourscore years. It will be remembered they came to Pleasant Grove in 1829.

The summer of 1831, brought with it a new influx of immigration. Those who stayed in this township were chiefly Presbyterian in religious views, while those who went to the Wabash Point settlement were largely Methodist. It was a kind of common understanding between the two settlements that persons coming to the new communities were to be mildly drawn to whichever settlement their religious sentiments favored. This they were always ready to do, ias all desired to keep up the home practices and felt easier and more content among their own church people. Among the emigrants of this season may be mentioned John and Michael Whetstone. John settled the farm where the mineral springs were found, supposed to have been known to the aboriginal inhabitants for ages. We have already described these springs and forbear any further mention of them. Other settlers were Hezekiah and Mary Balch and a son Walter AV., who is yet living in the neighborhood. They were from Alabama, from the same community that had before sent out Theron E. Balch and his wife. With Hezekiah and his family came Dr. Emmett Balch, who is now at Buckley, 111. John W. and Louisa Rodgers came with Dr. Balch from Alabama and settled with him here. Thomas and William Jeffi'ies, twa prominent men, with their families, came this same season from Kentucky.

The old storehouse, in the possession of Mr. Azariah Jeffries, has a history in itself which is Avell worth narrating. It is thus told by Mr. Jeff'ries : " The old storehouse is situated on Section 10, on land entered by Thomas Jeffries, the first Justice in this township. His children are Sallie Dieahl, James, John and Azariah. His house was built in September, 1852, for a store by T. A. Marshall and Milton True. Afterward, Mr. Marshall was elected to the State Senate, and afterward a colonel in the army. Mr. True was elected to the Legislature, and was a general in the army. Gideon Edwards, their clerk, was elected County Judge. When the two proprietors left the store, they sold to I. H. Johnston and Abram Highland, and the singular luck for office-holding seemed to fall upon them. Mr. Johnston was elected Sheriff" and Mr. Highland County Treasurer. They sold the building to Clay Worthen and Jefferson Doren. Mr. Worthen was twice elected Circuit Clerk. The mantle failed to fall on the shoulders of Mr. Doren, it seems, as it is not recorded he succeeded in being elected, though twice he ran for County Treasurer. While they owned the building. Dr. C. H. Brunk, a prominent physician in Shelby County, had his office with them. They sold to W. L. Funckhouser and John Hackley. Mr. F. is the largest land-owner in the township, and Mr. H. was Postmaster some time. These men sold to John W. Crawford, who was Postmaster, and who, with Dr. T. A. Kemper, a prominent physician, who had his office in the store- house, kept the building till he sold to the present owner, Azariah Jeffries. He has, as a consequence it seems, been elected School Trustee three years ; Director, nine years ; Commissioner, two years ; member of Legislature, two years ; a delegate to the Democratic Convention in Baltimore that nominated Horace Greeley ; been Chairman of the County Democratic Convention, Foreman of grand jury, on the petit jury, and a variety of other minor oflfices."

Thomas and Hezekiah Balch were the first two Justices of the Peace elected in this part of the county. William Jeffries was the second County Sheriff, serving from 1834 to 1838. The first incumbent of this ofiice was Ambrose Yocum. elected at the first election of the county in February, 1831. He died before the expiration of his term of office, and Mr. Jeffries was elected to the vacancy and to another term. The voting-place in Febi'uary, 1831, was at the house of James Ashmore, situated where Parker Clark now lives, in La Fayette Township. Every one in the county entitled to a vote came here, and, as the county then included Douglas and Cumberland Counties, many of the voters came a considerable distance to discharge the duties of citizenship. When Pleasant Grove was made a precinct, the voting-place Avas fixed at Beni White's house, in the south part of the precinct. It afterward was made at Tully's still, now in Cumberland County. It then went to Thomas Jeffries, where it remained a few years, and was then taken to a log schoolhouse on Indian Point, near where the Presbtterian Church now is. The next move was not till after the organization of the township, when it was moved to the Balch Schoolhouse, where it stayed thirteen years. About two years ago, it was taken to the Nicholson Schoolhouse, where it will probably abide some time. The still house, mentioned as one of its abiding-places, might be more fully noticed. It was built by Dillard Tulley as a horse-mill in 1832, and was the first enterprise of the kind in this part -of the county. It was afterward converted into a still, and as such was a pioneer. In those days every one drank whisky ; no Avedding, no house-raising, no harvesting, no election, was carried on without plenty of that animating beverage being used. It was considered essential, and looked upon as one of the necessities of life. Maybe, to save carrying Avhisky to elections, was one reason why they were held here. Anyway, it was a place of popular resort, and was certain to call out all the voters ; that was one consideration. When Cumberland County was set off from Coles, there Avas left a strip of land a mile or two wide, on the north, which has since been attached. In this strip the still was located. A very common Avay to get the Avhisky was to take a bushel of corn and a coffee-pot, and go to the still, exchange the corn for a gallon of Avhisky and bring it home in the coffee-pot. That was before the era of jugs. Capt. Adams says he was often sent to Tulley's still in that way Avhen a boy. He tells a story on himself, which is worth preserving here, as illustrative of the customs in the "good old days." He says he was once sent Avith the^bushel of corn and a ncAv jug - they having just been introduced - for the customary gallon of whisky. He used a fresh cob for a cork in the jug, and, on his return, kept pulling out the cob and sucking the whisky it absorbed. By the time he reached home, he was, to use his own expression, " as full as a goose I " His mother quickly noticed his condition, and, turning to her husband, remarked, emphatically : " There, Jefferson, that's the last time that boy goes to the still I " And it was the last time. Good men, one after another, saw the evil tendency of the habit, and, one after another, banished it from their tables, firesides and harvest-fields.

The same summer of 1831, Theron Balch established a Sunday school in his own cabin. He was aided by the first minister in this part of the county - Rev. Isaac Bennett, who came here under the care of the Philadelphia Presbytery, to look after this field. He preached the first sermons heard in this part of Illinois, coming all the way from Philadelphia on horse-back. Further mention will be made of him in the chapter devoted to churches in this township. The summer this pioneer Sunday school vras established, Julia Balch, a daughter of Theron, taught a day school in the little pole cabin where her father had wielded the birch the winter before.

We have mentioned the fact of the settlers going to Slover's Mill and to George M. Hanson's post office, at the Wabash Point timber. This summer, however, they came to the county seat, just then established, for mail, and as Thomas Travis, one of the pioneers of this year, erected a horse-mill, thev could get grinding nearer home. In addition to the one at the Wabash Point, they had gone, in some instances, to a mill where Greenup, in Cumberland County, is, on the Embarrass. The mill of Mr. Travis, and the blacksmithshop of Mr. Campbell, brought commodities nearer their doors, and made many of the inconveniences heretofore experienced things of the past. Already a brighter day was coming.

The season of 1832 brought still more persons seeking homes in the West. Now they began to come in so rapidly that it is impossible to name all. We will, however, give the names of some, as far as we could gather them. It is not necessary to get all, nor to attempt to follow their fortunes. The story of one is the story of all. The biographical portion of this work shows more fully than we can hope to show the lives of many of the pioneers and their deeds in the land of their choice. Among those who came in 1832, we will mention James and Lyda Glenn, with two or three children. They came from Lawrence County, and both are long since dead. Another member of this family was William, an older brother than either the others. He was a o-reat hunter in his time, a veritable Daniel Boone, as it were. There were, also, Daniel and Rachel Edson, with one or two children. They settled the farm where the widow Landers now lives. Then there were Wells Needham and his wife, and others of that company. All the old settlers will doubtless remember John Harvey, an old teacher of the old school. He was a great fiddler, and, in that capacity, was in constant demand for the old-time dances. He was, withal, a little superstitious, and believed in witches. Possibly he read the story of the witches so often he became imbued with their reality. His greatest delight was to hunt squirrels, and in this he became a veritable Nimrod. One of his oddities was a habit of pulling his nose when eating. It in some way seemed to assist him in swallowing his food.

The readers of these narratives will doubtless observe the absence of roads at this period in the history of the county or that of the townships. Until this year, there were no organized efforts in this direction. For several reasons, no roads, save bridle-paths, were to be seen in any place. The settlers were too much occupied in preparing their homes so they could live in comfort ; in getting crops sown and gathered, so they might have something aside from wild meat and "johnny-cake" to eat, and in various enterprises, all necessary to their life here The roads were part of the economy of pioneer life that could be allowed to wait other developments.

The season of 18'32 is made memorable by the breaking-out of the Black Hawk war. The causes of this war, and its history in a general way, are fully given in the history of the Northwest, in this volume, and for this purpose we omit any mention save locally. Col. Adams, who seems to have always possessed a combative spirit, and was always foremost in defending the frontiers, raised a portion of a company, with which he repaired to Shelbyville, where the full number was obtained, and where they were properly enlisted. Col. Adams' companions from Pleasant Grove were Obadiah Vincent and Harry Wilson, both of whom are yet living. They furnished their own horses, provisions and ammunition. From Shelbyville they went to Fort Dixon, on Rock River, thence to the Four Lakes, where Madison, Wis., now stauds, and followed the retreating Indians till the capture of Black Hawk and the termination of the war. After their return home, they resumed their former avocations, and were never afterward called upon to assist in subduing the red men.

The fall of that year is made memorable by the brilliant meteoric shower. As that event is, however, fully described in the history of Mattoon Township^ and as it, like the "deep snow" and " sudden freeze," occurred over all the country, one description applies to all.

Following on down through the coming years we can note no events out o^ the usual order of frontier life. Improvements were constantly going on ; new homes were being built ; more emigrants came yearly, until the country in 1827, when the first settlers came, was changed from a wilderness to one occupied by many busy, happy homes, full of enterprise, and all realizing the hopes entertained when they came.

The financial crisis of 1840, incident on the failure of the grand system of internal improvements, effected all the residents of the State. True, no lines of roads had been projected through Pleasant Grove, but the proposed construction of two railroads in the county, the hopes excited by their building and their failure in common with all the rest, made times hard in every township in the county. The country was, however, full of resources, and in ten years' time had provided for the payment of its enormous indebtedness, and was again on the road to prosperity. The citizens of Pleasant Grove had partaken of this general improvement in various ways. These were exemplified in better habitations, now built of brick and frame. Schoolhouses were getting plenty, school terms were longer, and were more efficient. Other denominations, such as the Methodists and Cumberland Presbyterians, were pi-eparing to build houses of worship, and more of the luxuries of life were apparent. The era of log cabins, and their accompanying discomforts, was passing away.

A good story it told of two aspiring youthful Ninirods in this township, which is certainly worth a place in its annals. A certain fanner had a field of corn, where the grass had been allowed to grow after it was planted until a good growth had been gathered. Deer and all kinds of game abounded then in great numbers. The deer would come to this field at night, soon after the corn was cut, and eat the leaves from the stalks around the shocks. By this means they had destroyed a good deal of fodder. This the owner did not relish much but could see no way to help himself The two youthful hunters determined securing some of the deer, and secretly made arrangements therefor. Going into the field in question after dusk, they had not long to wait till they heard a rustling in the leaves, and waited with beating hearts the approach of the game. Soon a dark object came near enough and one of them raised his gun and fired. The object fell. "Now," said the other, " havn't we done it?" " We!" replied his comrade, contemptuously, " haven't /done it? " By this time they had reached the object, which gave a pitiable bleat, and they found - a calf. " Now," said the one who had fired the shot, " haven't we done it ? " " Yes," said the other, "haven't yow done it? " To the boys' credit, it must be said, they skinned the calf, took the hide to the owner, and paiii him for the damage. They could have gone off and no one known who had killed the calf. But for many a day they heard not the last of " that calf story ! "

The young men learned to enjoy it with all the rest, and will, if they are liv ing and see this description, enjoy a laugh over their exploit.

Of the remaining history of Pleasant Grove Township, little can be said. That of the churches and schools will appear in separate chapters, and will add to the value of these annals. On down through the Mexican war, in which Col. Adams and a few of her citizens took a part ; through the era of the rebuilding of railroads, in 1854, 1855 and 1856, to the time the Grayville and Mattoon Road was begun and until it was completed, we find no incidents of consequence. The G. & M. Railroad brought a market near the township and affords an easy outlet for its products. There is, in the history of this township, the narrative of one family, who produced a man whose name and deeds will live while the world shall endure, which must not be omitted. We have reserved mention of them until this time, as we desired giving what could be gleaned concerning them in an unbroken account. We refer to the Lincoln family.

They were from Kentucky, and traced their lineage to an ancient family on Atlantic Coast. The parents of the President, who lived during their declining years in this township, are the only ones of the name who dwelt in this county or even, we believe, in this State. Thomas Lincoln was, all his life, one of those easy, honest, commonplace men, who take life as they find it, and, as a consequence, generally find it a life of poverty. He left Kentucky, where he had in vain essayed to prosper, about the year 1816, and located on the north shore of the Ohio River, in Spencer County, Ind., where he and his son, then a lad of about eight years old, kept a ferry. He remained here a few years, when he removed to a farm which he purchased, a few miles north of the county seat, in Spencer County. Here Abraham's mother died, and here, in a little country church-yard, unmarked by any stone, and shaded by a few straggling foresttrees, she is quietly sleeping. Two years after, his father married again. In 1830, the family removed from Spencer County to Macon County, 111., settling about ten miles southwest of Decatur. Here Abe Lincoln, then just of age, aided the family in their start on the prairies, and here he split the rails, which, in after years, cut the important figure in politics almost akin to the log cabin and hard cider in Harrison's day. The next spring, the young man went into life for himself, earning, it is said, his first money on a flatboat. The parents, left to themselves, made a poor living, and, a little over a year after, removed to the southwest part of Coles County, near the line between Paradise and Pleasant Grove, and essayed to begin life anew. They arrived here in the fall of 1831, having been in Macon County since the spring of 1830. They settled near Buck Grove, where they built a cabin, and remained a few months, probably till the following spring, when they moved to Goose-Nest Prairie, obtained some land, erected a cabin and settled down to life. Mr. Lincoln, though an excellent man, and a much-esteemed citizen, possessed no faculty whatever of preserving his money, when he made any, hence he always remained poor. He was easily contented, had few wants, and those of a primitive nature. He was a foe to intemperance, strictly honest, and, supposing others the same, often suffered pecuniary losses. He left the active management of his affairs gradually to his stepson, John Johnston, and, erecting himself a cabin on a knoll, on the western part of his land, passed his declining days in comparative ease, measured by his own estimate. He lived to see his son an excellent lawyer, and, when Abe was on his circuits, practicing law, he always came out to the old cabin to visit his parents. It was his custom, on such occasions, to load his buggy with provisions and take them with him. Thomas Lincoln lived on the farm until January 9, 1851, when he died, from an attack of fever. Abraham Lincoln had come to see him in response to his wish through a lettei" from Mr. A. H. Chapman, and spent some time Avitli him. He left word to send ftr him in case the disease assumed a malignant form. A severe attack soon followed his departure, proving fatal, and before Abe could be notified, his father was gone. In his early life, he joined the Baptists ; afterward, the " Presbyterian-Baptists," as they were called, and finally, owing to a disaffection in the church, the Christians, in whose communion he died. He had learned to read and write, after his marriage ; but as far as any further education was concerned, he had none. He was noted for his peaceable qualities ; for settling, arbitrarily, disputes among his neighbors, and was, in that respect, universally respected. While in the old cabin, where he lived and died, we were shown the family record, copied by Mr. Hall from a leaf of the family Bible. It is well worth recording, and we give it entire. It reads :

" John D. Johnston, son of Daniel and Sarah Johnston, was born May 10, 1810, and married to Mary Barker Oct. 13, 1834, who was born July 22, 1816."

When Mr. Lincoln died, the estate came into Mr. Johnston's hands, who, not then realizing the value attached to many of the family records, allowed them to be carelessly carried off by idle curiosity-hunters and become lost. Mr. Lincoln now lies buried in the little Gordon church-yard, no monument marking his grave save " a hillock and bowlder." Mr. George B. Balch has embalmed the spot in poetry, which we present our readers in preceding pages. After Abraham Lincoln was elected to the Presidency, he visited the grave of his father in company with A. H. Chapman and John Hall. It was on a rather cold day in February, just preceding his inauguration, and after viewing the spot, the party returned to Farmington, where a sumptuous dinner had been prepared for the distinguished man. When Mr. Lincoln returned to Charleston, he asked one of the younger members of the Hanks family to find out the probable cost of a tombstone for his father's grave. During the conversation on the subject, Mr. Lincoln asked Mr. Chapman what he thought the expense would be. Mr. Chapman answered not less than |40, or more than $60, he thought. " Well," said the President, " see what it will cost and let me know at- Washington, and I will send you an inscription I Avant put on." The war came on, and he could not attend to it. It has been erroneously supposed that he left money, and it was not appropriately used. This, Mr. Chapman says, is untrue, and that the only ai-rangement made was the one already given. Further proof is givon in a letter from Mrs. Lincoln after her husband's untimely death, wherein she refers to the thought often expressed by the President that as soon as his term of office expired, he would return here and see to the erec- tion of the monument. As his estate is ample now to put such a monument as will perpetuate the memory of Thomas Lincoln, when properly presented before the heirs, they will no doubt attend to it. Another rumor is prevalent in the community where Thomas Lincoln died. It is supposed that Avhen the President visited the grave at the time mentioned, he cut the letters " T. L." on a walnut board and drove it into the ground at the head of the grave. This the writer of these pages endeavored to find, but could not. Mr. Chapman says he did not cut the letters and place the board at the grave as represented. He was with him all the time, and he says no such thing happened. The board in question was found by the writer to be the end of a fence rail, with the letters " T. E." cut in it, and standing at the foot of the grave. Rumors of all kinds are easily started ; but no one could be found who knew the board was there, or who kneiv the money was left. "Nathan had told Nathan's son," and that was all there was about it. After the death of Thomas Lincoln, " Grandmother Lincoln," as she was always called, lived on the old farm or with her relatives in Charleston and Farmington. She was a kind, good woman, and died universally respected. She lies buried in the same church-yard with her husband, and like him has no stone to mark her restingplace. During her life, she was allowed the benefits of the farm, which after her death passed into the hands of her son, John Johnston. Mr. John Hall purchased it from him and now resides there.

The Schools

As has been noticed, Theron E. Balch taught a school in a small pole cabin in the winter of 1829-30. Some place it the next winter ; but the weight of opinion favors the time given. School was continued here with commendable regularity each winter, and sometimes in the summer. All were supported by subscription. Each patron subscribed as many pupils as he could send at $2.50 each per quarter - three months, and paid the tuition in various articles of barter, coonskins, beeswax, hides, honey, or whatever the dominie could exchange for board or clothing. As the different parts of the precinct settled, other schools were built, and as these settlements grew, better houses appeared. But little if any change occurred in the modes of instruction, length of term, and mode of paying the teacher until a revenue was derived from the State Treasury from the sale of school lands. Again, in 1844, 1845 and 1846, the revenue was farther augmented by the gradual adoption of free schools, ^. e., supported by a general tax. These, in time, superseded the old subscription schools. Now. the law compels each district to conduct a school a certain number of months in the year to derive any benefit from the general fund. In addition to this, the Directors of each district may levy such a tax as they deem sufficient to carry on the school a month or two in excess of the time required by law. This gives in many districts, school from six to nine months in each year. The old log school with its puncheon floor, slab seats, paper window, long writing- desk, broad, open fire-place, cross teacher, Smiley's Arithmetic, American Speller, and other primitive appliances, is now a thing of the past. Since 1860, better houses and higher grades of instruction are required, and a consequent advantage and advancement the result. Frame houses began to appeal in 1858, 1859 and 1860 ; and, in 1853, a brick one arose on the site of Farmington. It Avas, however, intended as a seminary, but after serving a while in that capacity, became a common schoolhouse, and finally a store.

Incidental mention has been made throughout the preceding pages of churches and schools in Pleasant Grove Township, reserving a more extended notice of these subjects in a separate chapter. The first church in this part of the county was built on the Little Indian Creek in 1832. Two years before, on August 30, 1830, the Presbyterian Church of Pleasant Prairie, so say the records, was organized by the Rev. B. F. Spillman, connected with, and under the care of, the General Assembly. The organization was effected with fourteen members. They were Thomas Mayes, Agnes Mayes, Theron Balch, Ann Boyd, Thomas McCracken, Nancy McCracken, James Ashmore, Cassandra Ashmore, Rachel Ashmore, Margaret Ashmore, William Wayne, Mary Wayne, James Logan and Elizabeth Logan. Of these persons none are now living. They met for organization at the house of Theron Balch, it is supposed, or, if the pole cabin schoolhouse was erected, there. Whether Mr. Spillman remained long preaching here, is not known. Probably not, as it is thought he was over this part of Illinois looking after scattering members of the Presbyterian congregations, and organizing them into churches. Hence, he would be here but a little. Their earliest minister was Rev. Isaac Bennett, a rather eccentric character, w;ho, it will be observed, is noticed elsewhere in this work. He was here some three or four years. This church was the first Presbyterian Church established in the county, and was, for a number of years, the only place of worship in the township. The Church records show no additions until the next summer. On July 24, 1831, fourteen more members are received, eleven on certificate, and three on profession. These are the members of the colony whose history is given on previous pages. They came the fall after the or^nization of the Church, but, being principally members of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, waited a while hoping to found a church of their own. As the settlement was young, however, they gave up such plans for awhile, and joined with the Indian Point Church.