Edgar County Biography Page

The History of Edgar County, Illinois

Transcribed and contributed by
Jane A. Fullington
jgeick@sprynet.com

This history of Edgar County is taken from the book, "The History of Edgar County, Illinois", published in 1879 by Wm. Le Baron, Jr. & Co., 186 Dearborn Street, Chicago, Ill. It was compiled by historians, W. H. Perrin, H. H. Hill, and A. A. Graham.

Hunter Township

History and Settlement

There is no spot in Edgar county more replete with historical interest than this township. In the forests of Hunter, erstwhile Wayne Precinct, was reared the first cabin of the white man built within the limits of the county, and that, too, more than sixty years ago. Far away in the beginning of the century that is now swiftly reeling off into the eternity of the past the last quarter of its course, immigrants began to cross the Wabash, and with the Star of Empire wend their way westward. In the spring of 1817, but a few short years after the close of the war of 1812, and less than a dozen years after Gen. Harrison had purchased this part of the county from the Indians, five hardy pioneers came from the older settled States to the "Far West," as this was then, in search of the "land of promise," where they might build up comfortable homes in which to spend their declining days. The five hardy ones above alluded to were Remember Blackman, John Stratton, Anthony Sanders, William Whitley and Aloysius Brown. Brown, Stratton and Whitley were from Kentucky, Blackman from New York and Sanders from North Carolina. Stratton was a brother-in-law of Col. Mayo. Whitley was a nephew of Stratton's, came from the same place, and with Stratton to the county. They settled in what is now Hunter Township, but, for years after township organization, was a part of Stratton, which latter town was named for Mr. Stratton. About 1852, Stratton sold out in this neighborhood and removed up on Kankakee, where he died in 1871-72, at the residence of a son who lives in that locality. A daughter, Mrs. Brown, lives in Brouillett Township, and, with Mrs. John Metcalf, a daughter of Whitley, are the only two persons now living in the county who came here that first spring. They were both born before their parents moved to the State, and were old enough to remember their removal thither. Whitley sold out in a few years, and removed to Paris Township, where he receives further notice. Brown, though from Nelson County, Ky., to this section was a native of Maryland. He was a zealous member of the Roman Catholic Church, and has a daughter who is Mother Superior of St. Mary's Catholic Convent, situated four miles this side of Terre Haute. Mr. Brown removed to Janesville, Wis., many years ago, where he died. In illustration of the hard times experienced by the pioneers of the country, we give the following, related to us by a lady who was cognizant of the fact at the time of its occurrence. Mrs. Brown, wife of the above gentleman, had but one dress, and, on Saturday evening, washed and hung it on a chair before the fire to dry, before retiring, in order that it might be ready to wear on Sunday. By some means, the chair fell over during the night, and the dress, next morning, was ashes. This left her, like Flora McFlimsey, with "nothing to wear," except underclothing, and but one change of that. So, as a substitute for the dress, she had to wear her husband's overcoat, although it was the month of May and the weather quite warm. In this attire she dressed until she could weave cloth and make a dress; for, be it remembered, friendly reader, there were no stores to step out to and buy a few yards of calico, and, ten chances to one, if there had been a store at hand, there was no money to buy the dress. As it happened, she had a piece of cloth in the loom, but she had no "filling," and, robed in her quaint attire, she called on a neighbor to borrow some for this case of extreme emergency.

Remember Blackman, another of these five early settlers, located first at Vincennes, afterward removed up to what was known as the "big field," east of Terre Haute, from which locality he came to this section, as already noted, in the spring of 1817. He has a daughter still living in the county, and another in Coles County. His last son died, on the old homestead, since we commenced our work of compiling this history. His oldest son went West, perhaps to Iowa, and was in the army in the late war, from that State. His next oldest, his youngest and an Irishman, who was a hired hand, together with two horses, were killed by the falling of a tree. They had been to Paris with the wagon, one very windy day, were returning, and when in sight of home the wind blew down a dead tree that stood by the roadside, crushing them all--a verification of Scriptural lore, that, "in the midst of life we are in death." Of twenty-two children born to him, but six of them arrived to the years of maturity. He is said to have been rather a disagreeable man in his family and hard to get along with, as evinced in the following story: From some cause, which is left to conjecture, his wife refused to sleep with him, and in order to bring her to her senses in this respect, one day, when she was absent, he sawed the rails of her bed so nearly in two that when she retired, at night, her couch went to the floor, with a crash. Both of them have long since passed away.

Anthony Sanders, the remaining one of the first five settlers, married a Quaker lady, it is said, for her money, who was much his senior. Mayo bought him out when he came to the place, in the following fall, and he removed into Stratton. But after remaining here a short time, he left his wife and went down the river, to the "South Country," perhaps to Louisiana, where he married another woman. His wife heard of it and followed him there, brought suit and succeeded in getting the land here decreed to her. She, however, finally died in the Poorhouse, though not, it is said, on account of poverty, but rather from choice, as she had money on interest. What finally became of him no one knows.

In 1817, Col. Jonathan Mayo came to the settlement, arriving November of that year, and located on what was then and is still called the "North Arm." He was from Floyd County, Ky., and, together with his wife, came all the way through from Kentucky on horse-back, an undertaking that would be deemed almost beyond the power of accomplishment at the present day. "Stratton, Whitley and myself," says Col. Mayo, relating some of his early experiences, "went to the 'Big Field,' east of Terre Haute, to buy corn for bread and to feed my horses on, for which we paid 33 cents per bushel in the field, most of which we hauled home on sleds on the snow, crossing the river at Fort Harrison." Though from Kentucky here, Col. Mayo was a native of Virginia, but at the age of ten years went to Kentucky with his parents, and remained there until his removal to Illinois in 1817. While living in the Blue-grass State, he was appointed by the Governor to take the census of Floyd in 1810, then but eighteen years old. Floyd County at that time embraced within its territorial limits Breathitt, Magoffin, Wolfe, Lancaster, Pike, Johnson and Martin Counties. He removed into the city of Paris in 1827, and is living now in the house into which he moved at that time. On the 6th day of November, 1878, he and the partner of his joys and sorrows celebrated the sixty-first anniversary of their marriage. Their golden wedding is long past and the diamond wedding is almost in sight, and still they are plodding on together. For more than threescore years they have fought life's battles hand in hand, joining in each other's joys, and blending their tears o'er the sorrows of life.

Col. Mayo was the first Clerk of the Circuit Court after its formation of the county, and held the position for more than twenty-five years. He also held various other county offices, in which he gave satisfaction. In order to better facilitate the discharge of his official duties, he removed to the city of Paris in 1827, as already noted. Rev. William J. Mayo, the father of Col. Mayo, came here in the fall of 1825. He arrived on the 30th of November; the fall had been one of almost unprecedented loveliness, without a drop of rain for weeks, but on that night it set in to rain and continued a day or two. He located near the line between Hunter and Stratton Townships, where he died August 1, 1849, lacking but a few days of being eighty years of age. He had eaten his dinner, shaved himself, chopped some fire-wood at his woodpile, walked to the house, and was scraping his feet at the door, when he dropped dead. Col. Mayo and Mrs. Driskell, wife of Joseph Driskell, are the only survivors of twelve children. Mr. Mayo was a local preacher of the M. E. Church. Joseph Driskell, a son-in-law of his, is from Kentucky, and settled here in 1829, but is living at present in the city of Paris. Rev. John W. McReynolds was from Allen County, Ky., and came here in 1822. He was a brother-in-law of Col. Mayo--having married a sister of Mrs. Mayo. For several years after coming to the country, he carried on a cabinet-shop, the first in the country. He was a local preacher of the Methodist Church, and, in 1825, joined the Illinois Conference, which then embraced Indiana, Illinois and Missouri. He bought out Alexander on the North Arm, together with other lands, until he possessed quite a large landed property. He finally embarked in the mercantile business, and, after a time, went into partnership with Munsell in that business. He also bought a tannery which he conducted for a time, and at which he made considerable money. He seems to have been an energetic, stirring man, both in religious and business matters. There was a singular coincidence in the death of him and his wife, in that he was taken sick the night she died, and in ten days he slept beside her, as though not even death should part them.

Otis McCulloch came to the township in 1820, and was from New York. He died many years ago, where he made his first settlement, and has a son still living on the old homestead. John Lycan came from Morgan County, Ky., in 1820, and after remaining in the settlement until 18--, removed to Paris Township. In 1829, he went to Clark County, where he purchased a distillery, and after devoting some years to the manufacture of the exhilarating beverage, he retired from the business, and at length died. George and Daniel Beckwith were from New York, and came to this section in 1818. They went to the salt works near Danville, Ill., where they spent some time making salt. After the formation of Vermilion county, Daniel Beckwith moved to Danville, where he figured as quite a prominent man. Represented the county in the Legislature a term or two, and held other positions of importance. He died a good many years ago, but his brother, George Beckwith, was living in Kankakee at the last account of him. Jacob Jones and his sons Samuel and Richard, and his son-in-law, Samuel Littlefield, were from Maine, and settled in Hunter Township, as early as 1819. They first stopped at Terre Haute; remained there but a short time, and came to this section, where they made settlements. In 1825, they removed to Brouillett Township, where a more extended notice of them is given.

The Alexanders, who are mentioned at some length in the history of Paris Township, deserve also to be mentioned in this chapter. John B. Alexander, the progenitor of all the Alexanders of this section, came originally from North Carolina, and settled in what was termed the Little Vermilion Timber, embraced now in the County of Vermilion, where after remaining a year or two, he came to Edgar County, and settled on the "North Arm," in what is now Hunter Township. He was a man of high standing, and of considerable prominence in the community. As noticed in another chapter, he was one of the first County Commissioners, the first Postmaster, and the first legislator of Edgar County. He resided in Hunter Township for a few years, then returned to Vermilion County, and finally located in the city of Danville, where he died in 1850. His son, Milton K. Alexander, was the first merchant of consequence, in Paris, and was also quite a military man, taking an active part in the Black Hawk campaign, as already noticed. Washington Alexander, of Paris, is also a son. Mr. Alexander brought to this country from the South a lot of cottonseed and prepared to grow his own cotton, and for several years did so quite successfully. He also put up a cotton-gin and a spinning-jack, which run thirty spindles, and manufactured all the cloth used in his family for every-day wear. Alexander McDonald came to the settlement in 1820; was from Tennessee and a son-in-law of John B. Alexander. He finally removed to Vermilion County, where he died.

Daniel Lane, from New Hampshire, settled in Hunter Township in 1818. He is said to have been a man who lived within himself; that is, would have but little to do with the people living in the neighborhood--would not associate with them nor indulge in the least sociability, until a circumstance occurred that taught him the value of neighbors in a backwoods country. A few years after he had located in the neighborhood, he went one day to Quaker Point, (in the present county of Vermilion) in search of cattle that had strayed away. He rode a large gray horse, and was followed by quite a formidable-looking dog of a dark-brown color, and, reaching his destination in the evening, remained over night, and the next morning set out to return, but lost his way. About the third day after, his dog came home, worn out and hungry, and it was but natural to suppose that he had been either killed or captured by Indians. The morning after his absence had been discovered about twenty-five of the neighbors, well armed, started in search, and on reaching the North Fork of Brouillett Creek, found a deserted Indian camp. Scouts were sent out to make observations, and soon returned with the information that they had found where Lane's horse had been tethered, as they knew by the color of hair found on the spot, and where bark had been peeled to tie him. The search was at once resumed, and with quickened steps the trail of the Indians was followed to the Little Vermilion, where another camp (likewise deserted) was found. Beyond this they followed the trail on to Butler's Point, where they encamped for the night, and early the next morning went to the salt works. There they learned that a party of Indians had been there the day before, and were then, as they supposed, camped a mile or two above on the river. Their squad was divided into two bodies, one going up the river on foot, and the other remaining with the horses and to reconnoiter down the river. The party that went up the river did not return until 4 o'clock P. M., when they found the others in a high state of excitement, caused by their prolonged absence and a belief that they had been surprised and captured by the Indians. The party who had been down the river reported they had found an Indian camp, and the fires still burning; that Lane's horse had there been shaved, as was the Indian custom with their ponies, and they had also seen where he had been tied. A "council of war" was held, and it was at once resolved to send to Col. Shelby, of Vigo County, Ind., for help. All were to return home and get supplies, and join Shelby. Joseph Curtis and Amos Williams, two early settlers, whose generous offer should be recorded in letters of gold, agreed to carry the message to Col. Shelby before they slept, though the distance was over fifty miles. After their departure, the party set out for home, and upon their arrival found Lane there alive and well. He had been lost all the while, and by the merest chance had found his way to Hall Sims', almost exhausted from hunger and travel, as was also his horse. After this little episode, the old man came out of his shell, as it were, and became quite neighborly and sociable. He figured rather conspicuously in the early courts of Edgar County, but as he has long since gone to his account, we will draw a veil over his faults, if faults they were, and leave all criticisms to others. Upon his old homestead stands a landmark, known far and wide throughout the country. It is a Lombardy poplar which once did duty as a riding-whip in case of emergency, and when no longer required in that capacity was stuck in the ground, when it took root and grew to a lofty tree. The story is that Mrs. Lane, Daniel Lane's wife, used it as a "riding-switch," in a trip from Vincennes to where they made their settlement in Hunter Township, and upon their arrival she planted it in the ground, and, it still flourishes; is fourteen feet now in circumference just above the ground, and, as we were informed by one gentleman, is eleven miles high. This doubtless is slightly exaggerated, but it is one of the highest of these high trees. Both Mr. Lane and his wife are long dead, and sleep upon the old homestead.

Augustin E. Boland is another of the early settlers of Hunter Township, and came here in 1818. He was a native of Connecticut, and a soldier in the war of 1812. At the close of that unpleasantness, he was discharged at Vincennes, Ind., and, after a few years in that vicinity and at Terre Haute, he came to Hunter Township, as stated above, in 1818. He never went back to the old Nutmeg State after peace was declared between the United States and Great Britain, but came to this settlement after a few years. He was crossing the Wabash one day, and his horse got into quicksand, and but for the timely assistance of some Indians, who chanced to be near by, fishing, he would have been drowned. His son, M. T. Boland, has in his possession and old Presbyterian hymn-book, printed in 1800, which his father carried away from home with him, when he entered the army, and during all his weary marches, and his camp life, it found a place in his knapsack. It is still in a state of pretty good preservation. He died in 1873, at the age of eighty-two years, and as a coincidence, died on this birthday. His wife died about two years ago. Of his family, there are left three sons and a daughter. A. E. Boland, and a sister, Mrs. Newlon, are living in Hunter Township; M. T. Boland, in Paris Township, and another son in Missouri.

Barna B. Reynolds was a brother-in-law of Aloysius Brown, and came from Kentucky, but both families were originally from Maryland. Reynolds came the same year that Brown did, but in the fall. Both were Roman Catholics, and Reynolds had a brother, Ignatius, that was a priest. He went to Charleston, S. C., and finally became a Bishop in the Catholic Church. He (Barna Reynolds) removed to Janesville, Wis., with Brown and died there years ago, but his widow was living at the last heard from her. John Gillam and two brothers came from Indiana about 1822. They were very poor, had neither homes nor much of the world's goods in any shape, and after remaining for a short time in the settlement, returned to the place from whence they came. The Murphys came from the Old Dominion, and located in this township. Lewis Murphy was the first of the family in the field, and came here as early as 1819. He was the first Judge of Probate after the formation of Edgar County. William Murphy, a brother to Lewis, came in 1820, and settled on a farm adjoining Col. Mayo, where he died many years ago. The first session of Circuit Court in Edgar County was held at his house. James Murphy was another brother, and built a horse-mill near the line between Hunter and Stratton Townships, and afterward a water-mill in Hunter Township. He finally moved to Brouillett Township. Still another brother was Dr. Url Murphy, and the first practicing physician in the township, and perhaps the county. He came to the settlement in 1821, a young man of promise, and a physician of merit, considering his youth. The next year he died being the first death in the neighborhood. His loss was severely felt, for physicians were not as plenty then as now; and although the population was less than at the present day, the people did sometimes require the "balm of Gilead."

William Reed came from the East in 1818, but what particular State, no one now remembers. He was a Lieutenant in the war of 1812, the first Sheriff of Edgar County, and, after the formation of Vermilion County, removed thither, and was Sheriff there for several years, and finally died there. James Johnson and John Laswell settled in the town in 1819, but like Reed their native State is not known. Johnson was the first chair-maker in the county, and made the first chairs Col. Mayo used after his settlement in the country, except some he made himself with a saw and auger. Johnson is forgotten, and no one can tell now what became of him. Laswell went West, but further, nothing is known of him. Nathaniel Morgan, from Kentucky, came to the town in 1821, and settled on land belonging to Col. Mayo. A married son settled in Edgar Township, where he is noticed among the early settlers of that town. They finally sold out and all moved to Texas. Elijah Austin was from Massachusetts and settled in the town in 1818, just on the old Indian boundary line. He was one of the first Justices of the Peace, and also one of the first County Commissioners. His wife died, and he married the widow of Laban Burr, and died about 1842. Jesse Sanders was from North Carolina and came in the spring of 1818. He was a single man at the time and soon went away, no one knows where he went, or what became of him. Alonzo Lapham was from New York, and settled in the town in 1820. He was a half-brother to Edward Wheeler, mentioned as one of he early settlers of Brouillett Township, and is mentioned elsewhere as operating a fulling-mill in the early times. William Newcomb was an early settler, but of him little is known.

James Hensly came from Kentucky, about 1822, and settled in what is now Hunter Township. In February, after he came to the country, his niece, Ruth Hensly, who lived with him, and had been on a visit at John Lycan's, living at the time where Abram Risser now lives, set out in the evening to return to her uncle's. Soon after starting, it began to snow; she became bewildered, and finally lost her way. There were but few roads then, or any settlements west of the boundary-line and north of Sugar Creek, and it was several days before she was missed. But at length it was found that she was lost, and the neighbors at once turned out in search of her. They first went through the Sugar Creek timber, then through that of Brouillett Creek, and as far north as Stage's Point. The third day, it commenced raining, taking off the snow, and late in the evening her tracks were discovered in the "Sangamon Trace," near Cherry Point. Twelve of the party agreed to continue the search, while the others returned home. The twelve pressed on, and abut dark reached Hickory Grove, where they built a fire and cooked supper, when six of the party again took the trace, leaving the others in camp. In about two hours, they returned, bringing the girl with them. She was in a rather deplorable condition. Her shoes and skirts were much worn, and she was almost frozen. When she became warmed and thawed, she suffered the most intense pain from cold and hunger. When she left Lycan's for her uncle's she had on two linsey dresses, besides heavy underclothes, and when it began to snow and rain she took off one of them; tied the body together with her garters, and filling it with dried prairie-grass, carried it on her back to keep from getting wet. A rather model umbrella, but of considerable value at the time. From the time of starting out until she was missed, and including the three days they were searching for her, she had wandered in the woods about a week, without food but such as she could pick up in the forest in midwinter. Though not at all frozen, she was so numbed and exhausted that, when brought to the fire, as above noted, her pain became almost unbearable. She finally married John Morgan, one of the men who took an active part in the search, and afterward removed to Texas.

In 1819, Rev. Joseph Curtis, a local preacher of the Methodist Church, came to the township and settled on what is known as the Curtis farm. He was from Ohio, and made the first effort at planting a nursery in Edgar County, and also organized the first Methodist class in the county, which will be again alluded to. He died more than twenty years ago, but his wife is still living, though quite aged. The Lowrys were from Kentucky, and settled first in Hunter Township, and afterward in Brouillett and Edgar. Joseph Lowry was the first one of the name in the settlement, and came in 1820, and, after a few years, removed to Vermilion, where he died of milk-sickness. Judge William Lowry was a brother of Joseph, and came to the county the next year. He was an Associate Justice in Kentucky, which position entitled him to the prefix of Judge. After living in Hunter for a few years, he removed to Edgar, and later to DeWitt County. John and James Lowry were brothers to those already mentioned, and, after a few years, moved to DeWitt County. Judge Lowry brought some blooded cattle here with him from Kentucky; but they never amounted to much in this then wild country. The "green-head flies" were too severe for blooded stock. James Dudley was from Massachusetts, about 1819-20, and settled in this township. After becoming unable to work at farming, he embarked in the mercantile trade, and sold, perhaps, the first goods in Edgar County. His first effort was peddling, and afterward he opened a store at Daniel Lane's. Later, he removed to Coles County, and, it is said, became very rich; went East and married in his old age.

The Hunters came from Greencastle, Ind., to Hunter Township, but were originally from Tennessee. The family consisted of the elder John Hunter, and six sons, viz.: John Hunter, still living in Hunter Township; S. K. Hunter, living in Paris; William, Christopher, Andrew and George, the latter locating near the line, a part of his land lying in Indiana and a part in Edgar County. They (the sons) came here in 1828, and entered land, returned to Indiana, and removed to the county in 1832, the elder Hunter coming the year previous. John Hunter is still living upon his original settlement in this township; Christopher died in Paris; George, on his farm, near State line, and William and Andrew died in Missouri. The father was of English descent, and died in 1832, soon after removing to the county. His wife was of Scotch origin and died in 1857, at the age of eighty-three years. She was the last of a family of six children, whose combined ages at the time of death were upward of six hundred years. John Hunter is a man of considerable prominence in the community. He served two years as Deputy Sheriff, and later as United States Marshal, to take the census of Putnam County, Ind. After his removal to Edgar County, he was elected Sheriff, in 1846, serving two years, afterward (in 1851 and 1852), as Deputy Sheriff. He was also the Chairman of the first Board of Supervisors of the county. Hon. A. J. Hunter, of Paris, is a son of John Hunter, and a lawyer of merit, who has distinguished himself, not only at the bar, but in the Legislature of the State.

In the early days of the country, Henry Clay, the great Kentucky statesman, entered two or three sections of land in this township, embracing what is still known as Clay's Prairie. He also entered Section 21 for Hon. William A Burwell, Member of Congress from Virginia, and a warm, personal friend. He caused his own land to be improved, well stocked with fine Kentucky bluegrass animals, and placed one of his sons, Thomas Clay, in charge of it, as a means, perhaps, of breaking and weaning him away from dissolute companions, about his old home, at Lexington, Ky. But the change of scene effected little change in the course of his habits, and his father determined to take him home and sell the land. Negotiations were opened between him and the Hunters, the result of which was the sale of 1,600 acres of land on Clay's Prairie to John and S. K. Hunter, and which still remains in their possession.

James Carney is a jolly old bachelor, and came from Madison County, Ky., in 1834, and located where he now lives. Like all old bachelors, he has his peculiarities, one of which is, that his land lies about equally in Illinois and Indiana; his house stands directly on the line, and is so located that he dines in Illinois and sleeps in Indiana. As he sits in his sanctum he can look out of its south window over the plains of Hoosierdom, and a single pace will place him in the dominions of Gov. Cullom or Gov. Williams. J. R. Moorehouse came from New Jersey in 1833, in a one-horse wagon, and five in family--his father and mother and three children, himself fourteen years old at the time. They stopped in Indiana, where they remained from November 23, to Christmas, living all this time in the wagon. About the middle of March, moved into an unfinished cabin in Vigo County, Ind., where they remained sixteen years. In the mean time he had grown up and married, and, in 1849, came to Edgar County and settled in this township, where he still lives. This includes the names of all the early settlers whose history we have been able to gather. If omissions have been made, which is altogether probable, with the first settlements extending back to such a remote period, it was unintentional.

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Hunter Township

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