^y€ ^
;
M
• i
II
MCLEAN COUNTY
(I
\.
It'*
yiAP or
COUNTY, tt- V
T 2+ N.
T 23 N.
T. SI N.
THE
HISTORY
McLean County,
ILLINOIS,
CONTAINING
A History of the County— its Cities, Towns, &c. ; Portraits of Early
Settlers and Prominent Men; General Statistics; Map of
McLean County; History of Illinois, Illustrated;
History of the Northwest, Illustrated;
Constitution of the United States,
Miscellaneous Matters,
&c, &c.
ILLUSTEATED.
CHICAGO:
WM. LE BARON, Jr., & CO., 186 DEARBORN STREET.
1879.
PREFACE
TN presenting our History of McLean County, we deem a few prefatory words
necessary. We have spared neither pains nor expense to fulfill our engagement with
our patrons and make the work as complete as possible. We have acted upan the
principle that justice to those who have subscribed, be they few or many, requires that
the work should be as well done as if it was patronized by every citizen in the county.
We do not claim that our work is entirely free from errors ; such a result could not be
attained by the utmost care and foresight of ordinary mortals. The General History of
the County was compiled by Prof. Merriman, of Bloomington, and the Township His-
tories of Bloomington, Normal and White Oak, by Capt. J. H. Burnham, and the balance
of the Townships by our historians, H. II. Hill and A. W. Kellogg. Some of the Town-
ship Histories are indeed longer than others, as the townships are older, containing
larger cities and towns, and have been the scenes of more important and interesting
events. While fully recognizing this important difference, the historians have sought to
write up each township with equal fidelity to the facts and information within their
reach. We take this occasion to present our thanks to all our numerous subscriber^
for their patronage and encouragement in the publication of the work. In this confident
belief, we submit it to the enlightened judgment of those for whose benefit it has been
prepared, believing that it will be received as a most valuable and complete work.
THE PUBLISHERS.
iv^d\_
CHICAGO:
CULVER. PAGK, HOYXE A CO., PRINTERS,
118 »nd ISO Monro* Strctt.
CONTENTS.
Page.
History Northwest Territory 19
Geographical 19
Early Exploration 20
Discovery of the Ohio 32
English Explorations and Settle-
ments 34
American Settlements 59
Division of the Northwest Terri-
tory ...1 65
Tecumseh and the war of 1812 79
HISTORICAL.
Page, i
Black Hawk and the Black Hawk
War 73
Present Condition of the North-
west 79
History of Illinois 88
Coal 108
Compact of 1787 95
History of Chicago 110
Early Discoveries 88
Early Settlements 94
Page.
Education „107
First French Occupation 91
Genius of La Sal e 92
Material Resources lo2
Massacre ot Fort Dearborn 117
Physical Futures 99
Progress of Development 101
Religion and Morals 1<i6
War Record ot Illinois 108
Page.
Source of the Mississippi 22
Mouth of the Mississippi 31
La Salle Landing on the Shore of
Green Bay 24
Buffalo Hunt.... 26
Trapping 28
Pontiac, the Ottawa Chieftain 42
Indians Attacking Frontiersmen... 55
A Pioneer Dwelling 60
ILLUSTRATIONS.
Page. ; Pass.
Lake Bluff 62 • Hunting Prairie Wolves at. an
Tecumseh, the Shawnee Chieftain... 68; Early Day 85
Indians Attacking a Stockade 71 ! Starved Rock, on the Illinois River,
Black Hawk, the Sac Chieftain 74 La Salle County, 111 89
Kinzie House 87 | Chicago in 1833 82
Lincoln Monument, Springfield, 111. 80 i Old Fort Dearbron in 1830 79
A Pioneer School House 81 I Present site of Lake Street Bridge,
High Bridge and Lake Bluff 33 '< Chicago, in 1833 58
Shalibona 121
JIcLKAX eOUXTY HISTORY.
Page.
General History of McLean County .1 89 Danvers
Arrowsmith Township 671
Allin "
Anchor "
Bloomington "
Bellefl'.wer "
Blue Mound "
Cropsey "
Cheney's Grove "
Chenoa "
Downs "
671
l>ry Grove
716
Dale
747
Empire
299
Funk's Grove
735
Gridley
723
Hudson
739
Lawndale
536
Lexington
498
Martin
701
Page.
Township 564
Page.
Mount Hope Township -577
695
4.^5
628
648
: 459
5*9
680
CAfl
730
686
Money Creek
610
Normal
Old Town T
515
618
Pil'l'M
.-..-,<
Randolph
599
Towanda
636
White Oak
4m
West
753
Yates
LITHOGRAPHIC PORTRAITS.
Page.
Adams, W. H. H 547
Bishop, James 781
Barnura, S. F 87?
Barnett, T. J 799
Benjamin, D. C 979
Carlyl, John 98
Cheney, W. H 691
Oarlock, A. W 1033
Dimmitt, Wm 205
Elder, W. A 511
Ewins, John A 835
Flagg, W. F 238
Funk, Isaac 637
Ferre, L 601
Franklin, Noah 745
Fisher, T. D 889
Freeman, G. W 50
Gridlev, A 277
Page.
Gregory, John 457
Greeninan, E. E 763
Gildersleeve, James T _.961
Hayes, James W . r 67
Hewett, E. C 565
Harem H 997
Keenan, J 925
Lewis, Samuel H 943
Moore, A. H 619
Mahan, J. C 108
Mitchell, T. F „ 475
McCullough, William 295
Ogden, B 865
Orme, W. W 313
Parke, Charles R 493
Parke, George W 403
Parkhurst, H 853
Rogers, Elihu 66
M593774
Page.
Rogers, Thomas P 439
Rit-bsame, C 1051
Smith, Giles A 331
Stetson, Albert 583
Schroeder, H 421
Soldiers' Monument 187
Stokes, George W 1018
Trimmer, Jesse 673
Tipton, Thomas F 385
Van Schoick, Wm 529
Van Dolah, D. H '. 727
Withers, Allen .349
Wakefi-ld, C 269
Whituier. P 241
West, Henry 817
Weednian, John 907
Wheeler, G. W 114
IV
CONTENTS.
BIOGRAPHICAL. SKETCHES.
Page. I
Page.
Page.
Arrow8mith 951 ! Danvers 10:55 I Mount Hope 934
Allin 1008 I Dry Grove ..' 1046 I Money Creok 1020
Anchor 1056 ! Dale 1027 Normal 831
Bloomington 761 Empire 869 O'd Town 995
Belleflower 1014 1 Funk's Grove 985 | Padua 914
Blue Mound 1023 | Gridley 906 Randolph 840
Cropsey 1059 i Hudson 94^ j Towanda 989
Cheney's Grove 897 ! Lawndale 1043 White Oak 1053
Chenoa 859 i Lexington 850 West 918
Downs 957 I Martin 1062 Yates 1060
ABSTRACT OF ILLINOIS STATE LAWJS.
Page.
Adoption of Children 132
Bills of Exchange and Promissory
Notes 123
County Courts 127
Conveyances 136
Church Organizations r ...157
Descent 123
Deeds and Mortgages 129
Drainage 135
Damages from Trespass 139
Definition of Commercial Terms 143
Exemptions from Forced Sale 128
Estrays 129
Fences 138
Forms :
Articles of Agreement 145
Bills of Purchase 144
Bills of Sale 146
Bonds 146
Page.
Forms :
Chattel Mortgages.... 147
Codicil 157
Lease of Farm and Build-
ings 149
Lease of House 150
Landlord's Agreement 150
Notes „ 144
Notice Tenant to Quit 151
Orders 144
Quit Claim Deed 153
Receipt 144
Real Estate Mortgaged to Secure
Payment of Money 151
Release 154
Tenant's Agreement 150
Tenant's Notice of Leaving 151
Warranty Deed 152
Will 155
Page.
Game 130
Interest 123
Jurisdiction of Courts 126
Limitation of Action 127
Landlord and Tenant 139
Liens 142
Married Women 127
Millers 131
Marks and Brands 131
Paupers 136
Roads and Bridges 133
Surveyors and Surveys 132
Suggestions to Persons Purchasing
Books by Subscription 158
Taxes 126
Wills and Estates 124
Weights and Measures 130
Wolf Scalps 136
MISCELLANEOUS.
Page.
Map of McLean County Front
Constitution of the U. S 160
Electors of President and Vice Pres-
ident 172
Practical Rules for Every Day Use.173
U. S. Government Land Measure. ..176
Agricultural Productions of Illi-
nois by Counties, 1870 186
Surveyors" Measure 177
How to Keep Accounts 177
Page.
Interest Table 178
Miscellaneous Tables 178
Names of the Statos of the Union
and their Signification 179
Population of the United States 180
Population of Fifty Principal Cities
of the United States 180
Population and Area of the United
States 181
Page.
Population of the Principal Coun-
tries in the World 181
Popu'ation of Illinois 182-183
State Laws Relating to Interest 184
State Laws Relating to Limitations
of Actions 185
Population of McLean Co 1064
Business Directory 1065
Errata 831
The Northwest Territory.
GEOGRAPHICAL POSITION.
When the Northwestern Territory was ceded to the United States
by Virginia in 1784, it embraced only the territory lying between the
Ohio and the Mississippi Rivers, and north to the northern limits of the
United States. It coincided with the area now embraced in the States
of Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, and that portion of
Minnesota lying on the east side of the Mississippi River. The United
States itself at that period extended no farther west than the Mississippi
River ; but by the purchase of Louisiana in 1803, the western boundary
of the United States was extended to the Rocky Mountains and the
Northern Pacific Ocean. The new territory thus added to the National
domain, and subsequently opened to settlement, has been called the
"New Northwest," in contradistinction from the old "Northwestern
Territory. "
In comparison with the old Northwest this is a territory of vast
magnitude. It includes an area of 1,887,850 square miles ; being greater
in extent than the united areas of all the Middle and Southern States,
including Texas. Out of this magnificent territory have been erected
eleven sovereign States and eight Territories, with an aggregate popula-
tion, at the present time, of 13,000,000 inhabitants, or nearly one third of
the entire population of the United States.
Its lakes are fresh-water seas, and the larger rivers of the continent
flow for a thousand miles through its rich alluvial valleys and far-
stretching prairies, more acres of which are arable and productive of the
highest percentage of the cereals than of any other area of like extent
on the globe.
For the last twenty years the increase of population in the North-
west has been about as three to one in any other portion of the United
States.
U9)
20 THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
EARLY EXPLORATIONS.
In the year 1541, DeSoto first saw the Great West in the New
World. He, however, penetrated no farther north than the 35th parallel
of latitude. The expedition resulted in his death and that of more than
half his army, the remainder of whom found their way to Cuba, thence
to Spain, in a famished and demoralized condition. DeSoto founded no
settlements, produced no results, and left no traces, unless it were that
he awakened the hostility of the red man against the white man, and
disheartened such as might desire to follow up the career of discovery
for better purposes. The French nation were eager and ready to seize
upon any news from this extensive domain, and were the first to profit by
DeSoto's defeat. Yet it was more than a century before an}' adventurer
took advantage of these discoveries.
In 1616, four years before the pilgrims " moored their bark on the
wild New England shore," Le Caron, a French Franciscan, had pene-
trated through the Iroquois and Wyandots (Hurons) to the streams which
run"nto Lake Huron ; and in 1634, two Jesuit missionaries founded the
first mission among the lake tribes. It was just one hundred years from
the discovery of the Mississippi by DeSoto (1541) until the Canadian
envoys met the savage nations of the Northwest at the Falls of St. Mary,
below the outlet of Lake Superior. This visit led to no permanent
result; yet it was not until 1659 that any of the adventurous fur traders
attempted to spend a Winter in the frozen wilds about the great lakes,
nor was it until 1660 that a station was established upon their borders by
Mesnard, who perished in the woods a few months after. In 1665, Claude
Allouez built the earliest lasting habitation of the white man among the
Indians of the Northwest. In 1668, Claude Dablon and James Marquette
founded the mission of Sault Ste. Marie at the Falls of St. Mary, and two
years afterward, Nicholas Perrot, as agent for M. Talon, Governor Gen-
eral of Canada, explored Lake Illinois (Michigan) as far south as the
present City of Chicago, and invited the Indian nations to meet him at a
grand council at Sault Ste. Marie the following Spring, where they were
taken under the protection of the king, and formal possession was taken
of the Northwest. This same year Marquette established a mission at
Point St. Ignatius, where was founded the old town of Michillimackinac.
During M. Talon's explorations and Marquette's residence at St.
Ignatius, they learned of a great river away to the west, and fancied
— as all others did then — that upon its fertile banks whole tribes of God's
children resided, to whom the sound of the Gospel had never come.
Filled with a wish to go and preach to them, and in compliance with a
THE NORTHWEST TERRITG*tY. 21
request of M. Talon, who earnestly desired to extend the domain of his
king, and to ascertain whether the river flowed into the Gulf of Mexico
or the Pacific Ocean, Marquette with Joliet, as commander of the expe-
dition, prepared for the undertaking.
On the 13th of May, 1673,. the explorers, accompanied by five assist-
ant French Canadians, set out from Mackinaw on their daring voyage of
discovery. The Indians, who gathered to witness their departure, were
astonished at the boldness of the undertaking, and endeavored to dissuade
them from their purpose by representing the tribes on the Mississippi as
exceedingly savage and cruel, and the river itself as full of all sorts of
frightful monsters ready to swallow them and their canoes together. But,
nothing daunted by these terrific descriptions, Marquette told them he
was willing not only to encounter all the perils of the unknown region
they were about to explore, but to lay down his life in a cause in which
the salvation of souls was involved ; and having prayed together they
separated. Coasting along the northern shore of Lake Michigan, the
adventurers entered Green Bay, and passed thence up the Fox River and
Lake Winnebago to a village of the Miamis and Kickapoos. Here^lar-
quette was delighted to find a beautiful cross planted in the middle of the
town ornamented with white skins, red girdles and bows and arrows,
which these good people had offered to the Great Manitou, or God, to
thank him for the pity he had bestowed on them during the Winter in
giving them an abundant " chase." This was the farthest outpost to
which Dablon and Allouez had extended their missionary labors the
year previous. Here Marquette drank mineral waters and was instructed
in the secret of a root which cures the bite of the venomous rattlesnake.
He assembled the chiefs and old men of the village, and, pointing to
Joliet, said : " My friend is an envoy of France, to discover new coun-
tries, and I am an ambassador from God to enlighten them with the truths
of the Gospel." Two Miami guides were here furnished to conduct
them to the Wisconsin River, and they set out from the Indian village on
the 10th of June, amidst a great crowd of natives who had assembled to
witness their departure into a region where no white man had ever yet
ventured. The guides, having conducted them across the portage,
returned. The explorers launched their canoes upon the Wisconsin,
which they descended to the Mississippi and proceeded down its unknown
waters. What emotions must have swelled their breasts as they struck
out into the broadening current and became conscious that they were
now upon the bosom of tha Father of Waters. The mystery was about
to be lifted from the long-sought river. The scenery in that locality is
beautiful, and on that delightful seventeenth of June must have been
clad in all its primeval loveliness as it had been adorned by the hand of
22
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
Nature. Drifting rapidly, it is said that the bold bluffs on either hand
" reminded them of the castled shores of their own beautiful rivers of
France." By-and-by, as they drifted along, great herds of buffalo appeared
on the banks. On going to the heads of the valley they could see a
country of the greatest beauty and fertility, apparently destitute of inhab-
itants yet presenting the appearance of extensive manors, under the fas-
tidious cultivation of lordly proprietors.
SOURCE OF THE MISSISSIPPI.
On June 25, they went ashore and found some fresh traces of men upon
the sand, and a path which led to the prairie. The men remained in the
boat, and Marquette and Joliet followed the path till they discovered a
village on the banks of a river, and two other villages on a hill, within a
half league of the first, inhabited by Indians. They were received most
hospitably by these natives, who had never before seen a white person.
After remaining a few days they re-embarked and descended the river to
about latitude 33°, where they found a village of the Arkansas, and being
satisfied that the river flowed into the Gulf of Mexico, turned their course
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 23
up the river, and ascending the stream to the mouth of the Illinois,
rowed up that stream to its source, and procured guides from that point
to the lakes. " Nowhere on this journey," says Marquette, " did we see
such grounds, meadows, woods, stags, buffaloes, deer, wildcats, bustards,
swans, ducks, parroquets, and even beavers, as on the Illinois River."
The party, without loss or injury, reached Green Bay in September, and
reported their discovery — one of the most important of the age, but of
which no record was preserved save Marquette's, Joliet losing his by
the upsetting of his canoe on his way to Quebec. Afterward Marquette
returned to the Illinois Indians by their request, and ministered to them
until 1675. On the 18th of May, in that year, as he was passing the
mouth of a stream — going with his boatmen up Lake Michigan — he asked
to land at its mouth and celebrate Mass. Leaving his men with the canoe,
he retired a short distance and began his devotions. As much time
passed and he did not return, his men went in search of him, and found
him upon his knees, dead. He had peacefully passed away while at
prayer. He was buried at this spot. Charlevoix, who visited the place
fifty years after, found the waters had retreated from the grave, leaving
the beloved missionary to repose in peace. The river has since been
called Marquette.
While Marquette and his companions were pursuing their labors in
the West, two men, differing widely from him and each other, were pre-
paring to follow in his footsteps and perfect the discoveries so well begun
by him. These were Robert de La Salle and Louis Hennepin.
After La Salle's return from the discovery of the Ohio River (see
the narrative elsewhere), he established himself again among the French
trading posts in Canada. Here he mused long upon the pet project of
those ages — a short way to China and the East, and was busily planning an
expedition up the great lakes, and so across the continent to the Pacific,
when Marquette returned from the Mississippi. At once the vigorous mind
of LaSalle received from his and his companions' stories the idea that by fol-
lowing the Great River northward, or by turning up some of the numerous
western tributaries, the object could easily be gained. He applied to
Frontenac, Governor General cf Canada, and laid before him the plan,
dim but gigantic. Frontenac entered warmly into his plans, and saw that
LaSalle's idea to connect the great lakes by a chain of forts with the Gulf
of Mexico would bind the country so wonderfully together, give un-
measured power to France, and glory to himself, under whose adminis-
tration he earnestly hoped all would be realized.
LaSalle now repaired to France, laid his plans before the King, who
warmly approved of them, and made him a Chevalier. He also received
from all the noblemen the warmest wishes for his success. The Chev-
24
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
alier returned to Canada, and busily entered upon his work. He at
once rebuilt Fort Frontenac and constructed the first ship to sail on
these fresh-water seas. On the 7th of August, 1679, having been joined
by Hennepin, he began his voyage in the Griffin up Lake Erie. He
passed over this lake, through the straits beyond, up Lake St. Clair and
into Huron. In this lake they encountered heavy storms. They were
some time at Michillimackinac, where LaSalle founded a fort, and passed
on to Green Bay, the " Baie des Puans" of the French, where he found
a large quantity of furs collected for him. He loaded the Griffin with
these, and placing her under the care of a pilot and fourteen sailors,
LA SALLE LANDING ON THE SHORE OF GREEN BAY.
started her on her return voyage. The vessel was never afterward heard
of. He remained about these parts until early in the Winter, when, hear-
ing nothing from the Griffin, he collected all the men — thirty working
men and three monks — and started again upon his great undertaking.
By a short portage they passed to the Illinois or Kankakee, called by
the Indians, "Theakeke," wolf, because of the tribes of Indians called
by that name, commonly known as the Mahingans, dwelling there. The
French pronounced it Kiakiki, which became corrupted to Kankakee.
"Falling down the said river by easy journeys, the better to observe the
country," about the last of December they reached a village of the Illi-
nois Indians, containing some five hundred cabins, but at that moment
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 25
no inhabitants. The Seur de LaSalle being in want of some breadstuffs,
took advantage of the absence of the Indians to help himself to a suffi-
ciency of maize, large quantities of which he found concealed in holes
under the wigwams. This village was situated near the present village
of Utica in LaSalle County, Illinois. The corn being securely stored,
the voyagers again betook themselves to the stream, and toward evening,
on the 4th day of January, 1680, they came into a lake which must have
been the lake of Peoria. This was called by the Indians Pim-i-te-wi, that
is, a place where there are many fat beasts. Here the natives were met
with in large numbers, but they were gentle and kind, and having spent
some time with them, LaSalle determined to erect another fort in that
place, for he had heard rumors that some of the adjoining tribes were
trying to disturb the good feeling which existed, and some of his men
were disposed to complain, owing to the hardships and perils of the travel.
He called this fort " Crevecceur" (broken-heart), a name expressive of the
very natural sorrow and anxiety which the pretty certain loss of his ship,
Griffin, and his consequent impoverishment, the danger of hostility on the
part of the Indians, and of mutiny among his own men, might well cause
him. His fears were not entirely groundless. At one time poison was
placed in his food, but fortunately was discovered.
While building this fort, the Winter wore away, the prairies began to
look green, and LaSalle, despairing of any reinforcements, concluded to
return to Canada, raise new means and new men, and embark anew in
the enterprise. For this purpose he made Hennepin the leader of a party
to explore the head waters of the Mississippi, and he set out on his jour-
ney. This journey was accomplished with the aid of a few persons, and
was successfully made, though over an almost u tknown route, and in a
bad season of the year. He safely reached Cana ia, and set out again for
the object of his search.
Hennepin and his party left Fort Crevecceur on the last of February,
1680. When LaSalle reached this place on his return expedition, he
found the fort entirely deserted, and he was obliged to return again to
Canada. He embarked the third time, and succeeded. Seven days after
leaving the fort, Hennepin reached the Mississippi, and paddling up the
icy stream as best he could, reached no higher than the Wisconsin River
by the 11th of April. Here he and his followers were taken prisoners by a
band of Northern Indians, who treated them with great kindness. Hen-
nepin's comrades were Anthony Auguel and Michael Ako. On this voy-
age they found several beautiful lakes, and " saw some charming prairies."
Their captors were the Isaute or Sauteurs, Chippewas, a tribe of the Sioux
nation, who took them up the river until about the first of May, when
they reached some falls, which Hennepin christened Falls of St. Anthony
26
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
in honor of his patron saint. Here they took the land, and traveling
nearly two hundred miles to the northwest, brought them to their villages.
Here they were kept about three months, were treated kindly by their
captors, and at the end of that time, were met by a band of Frenchmen,
BUFFALO HUNT.
headed by one Seur de Luth, who, in pursuit of trade and game, had pene-
trated thus far by the route of Lake Superior ; and with these fellow-
countrymen Hennepin and his companions were allowed to return to the
borders of civilized life in November, 1680, just after LaSalle had
returned to the wilderness on his second trip. Hennepin soon after went
to France, where he published an account of his adventures.
TEIE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 27
The Mississippi was first discovered by De Soto in April, 1541, in his
vain endeavor to find gold and precious gems. In the following Spring,
De Soto, weary with hope long deferred, and worn out with his wander-
ings, he fell a victim to disease, and on the 21st of May died. His followers,
reduced by fatigue and disease to less than three hundred men, wandered
about the country nearly a year, in the vain endeavor to rescue them-
selves by land, and finally constructed seven small vessels, called brigan-
tines, in which they embarked, and descending the river, supposing it
would lead them to the sea, in July they came to the sea (Gulf of
Mexico), and by September reached the Island of Cuba.
They were the first to see the great outlet of the Mississippi ; but,
being so weary and discouraged, made no attempt to claim the country,
and hardly had an intelligent idea of what they had passed through.
To La Salle, the intrepid explorer, belongs the honor of giving the
first account of the mouths of the river. His great desire was to possess
this entire country for his king, and in January, 1682, he and his band of
explorers left the shores of Lake Michigan on their third attempt, crossed
the portage, passed down the Illinois River, and on the 6th of February,
reached the banks of the Mississippi.
On the 13th they commenced their downward course, which they
pursued with but one interruption, until upon the 6th of March they dis-
covered the three great passages by which the river discharges its waters
into the gulf. La Salle thus narrates the event :
" We landed on the bank of the most western channel, about three
leagues (nine miles) from its mouth. On the seventh, M. de LaSalle
went to reconnoiter the shores of the neighboring sea, and M. de Tonti
meanwhile examined the great middle channel. They found the main
outlets beautiful, large and deep. On the 8th we reascended the river, a
little above its confluence with the sea, to find a dry place beyond the
reach of inundations. The elevation of the North Pole was here about
twenty-seven degrees. Here we prepared a column and a cross, and to
the column were affixed the arms of France with this inscription :
Louis Le Grand, Roi De France et de Navarre, regne ; Le neuvieme Avril, 1682.
The whole party, under arms, chanted the Te Deum, and then, after
a salute and cries of " Vive le Roi," the column was erected by M. de
La Salle, who, standing near it, proclaimed in a loud voice the authority of
the King of France. LaSalle returned and laid the foundations of the Mis-
sissippi settlements in Illinois, thence he proceeded to France, where
another expedition was fitted out, of which he was commander, and in two
succeeding voyages failed to find the outlet of the river by sailing along
the shore of the gulf. On his third voyage he was killed, through the
28
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
treachery of his followers, and the object of his expeditions was not
accomplished until 1699, when D'Iberville, under the authority of the
crown, discovered, on the second of March, by way of the sea, the mouth
of the " Hidden River." This majestic stream was called by the natives
" Malbouchia" and by the Spaniards, " la PaHssade^ from the great
^f&taSHrV
TRAPPING.
number of trees about its mouth. After traversing the several outlets,
and satisfying himself as to its certainty, he erected a fort near its western
outlet, and returned to France.
An avenue of trade was now opened out which was fully improved.
In 1718, New Orleans was laid out and settled by some European colo-
nists. In 1762, the colony was made over to Spain, to be regained by
France under the consulate of Napoleon. In 1803, it was purchased by
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 29
the United States for the sum of fifteen million dollars, and the territory
of Louisiana and commerce of the Mississippi River came under the
charge of the United States. Although LaSalle's labors ended in defeat
and death, he had not worked and suffered in vain. He had thrown
open to France and the world an immense and most valuable country ;
had established several ports, and laid the foundations of more than one
settlement there. " Peoria, Kaskaskia and Cahokia, are to this day monu-
ments of LaSalle's labors ; for, though he had founded neither of them
(unless Peoria, which was built nearly upon the site of Fort Crevecceur,)
it was by those whom he led into the West that these places were
peopled and civilized. He was, if not the discoverer, the first settler of
the Mississippi Valley, and as such deserves to be known and honored."
The French early improved the opening made for them. Before the
year 1698, the Rev. Father Gravier began a mission among the Illinois,
and founded Kaskaskia. For some time this was merely a missionary
station, Avhere none but natives resided, it being one of three such vil-
lages, the other two being Cahokia and Peoria. What is known of
these missions is learned from a letter written by Father Gabriel Marest,
dated " Aux Cascaskias, autrement dit de lTmmaculate Conception de
la Sainte Vierge, le 9 Novembre, 1712." Soon after the founding of
Kaskaskia, the missionary, Pinet, gathered a flock at Cahokia, while
Peoria arose near the ruins of Fort Crevecceur. This must have been
about the year 1700. The post at Vincennes on the Oubache river,
(pronounced Wa-ba, meaning summer cloud moving swiftly} was estab-
lished in 1702, according to the best authorities.* It is altogether prob-
able that on LaSalle's last trip he established the stations at Kaskaskia
and Cahokia. In July, 1701, the foundations of Fort Ponchartrain
were laid by De la Motte Cadillac on the Detroit River. These sta-
tions, with those established further north, were the earliest attempts to
occupy the Northwest Territory. At the same time efforts were being
made to occupy the Southwest, which finally culminated in the settle-
ment and founding of the City of New Orleans by a colony from England
in 1718. This was mainly accomplished through the efforts of the
famous Mississippi Company, established by the notorious John Law,
who so quickly arose into prominence in France, and who with his
scheme so quickly and so ignominiously passed away.
From the time of the founding of these stations for fifty years the
French nation were engrossed with the settlement of the lower Missis-
sippi, and the war with the Chicasaws, who had, in revenge for repeated
•There is considerable dispute about this date, some asserting it was founded as late as 1742. Wh"n
the new c:>urt house at Vincennes was erected, all authorities 0:1 the subject were carefully examined, and
>IQZ fixed upon as the correct date. It was accordingly engraved ou the corner-stone of the court house.
30 THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
injuries, cut off the entire colony at Natchez. Although the company
did little for Louisiana, as the entire West was then called, yet it opened
the trade through the Mississippi River, and started the raising of grains
indigenous to that climate. Until the year 1750, but little is known of
the settlements in the Northwest, as it was not until this time that the
attention of the English was called to the occupation of this portion of the
New World, which they then supposed they owned. Vivier, a missionary
among the Illinois, writing from " Aux Illinois," six leagues from Fort
Chartres, June 8, 1750, says: "We have here whites, negroes and
Indians, to say nothing of cross-breeds. There are five French villages,
and three villages of the natives, within a space of twenty-one leagues
situated between the Mississippi and another river called the Karkadaid
(Kaskaskias). In the five French villages are, perhaps, eleven hundred
whites, three hundred blacks and some sixty red slaves or savages. The
three Illinois towns do not contain more than eight hundred souls all
told. Most of the French till the soil; they raise wheat, cattle, pigs and
horses, and live like princes. Three times as much is produced as can
be consumed ; and great quantities of grain and flour are sent to New
Orleans." This city was now the seaport town of the Northwest, and
save in the extreme northern part, where only furs and copper ore were
found, almost all the products of the country found their way to France
by the mouth of the Father of Waters. In another letter, dated Novem-
ber 7, 1750, this same priest says : " For fifteen leagues above the
mouth of the Mississippi one sees no dwellings, the ground being too low
to be habitable. Thence to New Orleans, the lands are only partially
occupied. New Orleans contains black, white and red, not more, I
think, than twelve hundred persons. To this point come all lumber,
bricks, salt-beef, tallow, tar, skins and bear's grease ; and above all, pork
and flour from the Illinois. These things create some commerce, as forty
vessels and more have come hither this year. Above New Orleans,
plantations are again met with ; the most considerable is a colony of
Germans, some ten leagues up the river. At Point Coupee, thirty-five
leagues above the German settlement, is a fort. Along here, within five
or six leagues, are not less than sixty habitations. Fifty leagues farther
up is the Natchez post, where we have a garrison, who are kept prisoners
through fear of the Chickasaws. Here and at Point Coupee, they raise
excellent tobacco. Another hundred leagues brings us to the Arkansas,
where we have also a fort and a garrison for the benefit of the river
traders. * * * From the Arkansas to the Illinois, nearly five hundred
leagues, there is not a settlement. There should be, however, a fort at
the Oubache (Ohio), the only path by which the English can reach the
Mississippi. In the Illinois country are numberless mines, but no one to
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
31
work them as they deserve." Father Marest, writing from the post at
Vincennes in 181 2, makes the same observation. Vivier also says : " Some
individuals dig lead near the surface and supply the Indians and Canada.
Two Spaniards now here, who claim to be adepts, say that our mines are
like those of Mexico, and that if we would dig deeper, we should find
silver under the lead ; and at any rate the lead is excellent. There is also
in this country, beyond doubt, copper ore, as from time to time large
pieces are found in the streams."
MOUTH OF THE MISSISSIPPI.
At the close of the year 1750, the French occupied, in addition to the
lower Mississippi posts and those in Illinois, one at Du Quesne, one at
the Mauinee in the country of the Miamis, and one at Sandusky in what
may be termed the Ohio Valley. In the northern part of the Northwest
they had stations at St. Joseph's on the St. Joseph's of Lake Michigan,
at Fort Ponchartrain (Detroit), at Michillimackanac or Massillimacanac,
Fox River of Green Bay, and at Sault Ste. Marie. The fondest dreams of
LaSalle were now fully realized. The French alone were possessors of
this vast realm, basing their claim on discovery and settlement. Another
nation, however, was now turning its attention to this extensive country,
32 THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
and hearing of its wealth, began to lay plans for occupying it and for
securing the great profits arising therefrom.
The French, however, had another claim to this country, namely, the
DISCOVERY OF THE OHIO.
This " Beautiful" river was discovered by Robert Cavalier de La-
Salle in 1669, four years before the discovery of the Mississippi by Joliet
and Marquette.
While LaSalle was at his trading post on the St. Lawrence, he found
leisure to study nine Indian dialects, the chief of which was the Iroquois.
He not only desired to facilitate his intercourse in trade, but he longed
to travel and explore the unknown regions of the West. An incident
soon occurred which decided him to fit out an exploring expedition.
While conversing with some Senecas, he learned of a river called the
Ohio, which rose in their country and flowed to the sea, but at such a
distance that it required eight months to reach its mouth. In this state-
ment the Mississippi and its tributaries were considered as one stream.
LaSalle believing, as most of the French at that period did, that the great
rivers flowing west emptied into the Sea of California, was anxious to
embark in the enterprise of discovering a route across the continent to
the commerce of China and Japan.
He repaired at once to Quebec to obtain the approval of the Gov-
ernor. His eloquent appeal prevailed. The Governor and the Intendant,
Talon, issued letters patent authorizing the enterprise, but made no pro-
vision to defray the expenses. At this juncture the seminary of St. Sul-
pice decided to send out missionaries in connection with the expedition,
and LaSalle offering to sell his improvements at LaChine to raise money,
the offer was accepted by the Superior, and two thousand eight hundred
dollars were raised, with which LaSalle purchased four canoes and the
necessary supplies for the outfit.
On the 6th of July, 1669, the party, numbering twenty-four persons,
embarked in seven canoes on the St. Lawrence ; two additional canoes
carried the Indian guides. In three days they were gliding over the
bosom of Lake Ontario. Their guides conducted them directly to the
Seneca village on the bank of the Genesee, in the vicinity of the present
City of Rochester, New York. Here they expected to procure guides to
conduct them to the Ohio, but in this they were disappointed.
The Indians seemed unfriendly to the enterprise. LaSalle suspected
that the Jesuits had prejudiced their minds against his plans. After
waiting a month in the hope of gaining their object, they met an Indian
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
33
from the Iroquois colony at the head of Lake Ontario, who assured them
that they could there find guides, and offered to conduct them thence.
On their way they passed the mouth of the Niagara River, when they
heard for the first time the distant thunder of the cataract. Arriving
HIGH BRIDGE, LAKE BLUFF, LAKE COUNTY, ILLINOIS.
among the Iroquois, they met with a friendly reception, and learned
from a Shawanee prisoner that they could reach the Ohio in six weeks.
Delighted with the unexpected good fortune, they made ready to resume
their journey ; but just as they were about to start they heard of the
arrival of two Frenchmen in a neighboring village. One of them proved
to be Louis Joliet, afterwards famous as an explorer in the West. Ka
34 THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
had been sent by the Canadian Government to explore the copper mines
on Lake Superior, but had failed, and was on his way back to Quebec.
He gave the missionaries a map of the country he had explored in the
lake region, together with an account of the condition of the Indiana in
that quarter. This induced the priests to determine on leaving the
expedition and going to Lake Superior. LaSalle warned them that the
Jesuits were probably occupying that field, and that they would meet
with a cold reception. Nevertheless they persisted in their purpose, and
after worship on the lake shore, parted from LaSalle. On arriving at
Lake Superior, they found, as LaSalle had predicted, the Jesuit Fathers,
Marquette and Dablon, occupying the field.
These zealous disciples of Loyola informed them that they wanted
no assistance from St. Sulpice, nor from those who made him their patron
saint; and thus repulsed, they returned to Montreal the following June
without having made a single discovery or converted a single Indian.
After parting with the priests, LaSalle went to the chief Iroquois
village at Onondaga, where he obtained guides, and passing thence to a
tributary of the Ohio south of Lake Erie, he descended the latter as far
as the falls at Louisville. Thus was the Ohio discovered by LaSalle, the
persevering and successful French explorer of the West, in 1669.
The account of the latter part of his journey is found in an anony-
mous paper, which purports to have been taken from the lips of LaSalle
himself during a subsequent visit to Paris. In a letter written to Count
Frontenac in 1667, shortly after the discovery, he himself says that he
discovered the Ohio and descended it to the falls. This was regarded as
an indisputable fact by the French authorities, who claimed the Ohio
Valley upon another ground. When Washington was sent by the colony
of Virginia in 1753, to demand of Gordeur de St. Pierre why the French
had built a fort on the Monongahela, the haughty commandant at Quebec
replied : " We claim the country on the Ohio by virtue of the discoveries
of LaSalle, and will not give it up to the English. Our orders are to
make prisoners of every Englishman found trading in the Ohio Valley."
ENGLISH EXPLORATIONS AND SETTLEMENTS.
When the new year of 1750 broke in upon the Father of Waters
and the Great Northwest, all was still wild save at the French posts
already described. In 1749, when the English first began to think seri-
ously about sending men into the West, the greater portion of the States
of Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota were yet
under the dominion of the red men. The English knew, however, pretty
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 35
conclusively of the nature of the wealth of these wilds. As early as
1710, Governor Spotswood, of Virginia, had commenced movements to
secure the country west of the Alleghenies to the English crown. In
Pennsylvania, Governor Keith and James Logan, secretary of the prov-
ince, from 1719 to 1731, represented to the powers of England the neces-
sity of securing the Western lands. Nothing was done, however, by that
power save to take some diplomatic steps to secure the claims of Britain
to this unexplored wilderness.
England had from the outset claimed from the Atlantic to the Pacific,
on the ground that the discovery of the seacoast and its possession was a
discovery and possession of the country, and, as is well known, her grants
to the colonies extended " from sea to sea." This was not all her claim.
She had purchased from the Indian tribes large tracts of land. This lat-
ter was also a strong argument. As early as 1684, Lord Howard, Gov-
ernor of Virginia, held a treaty with the six nations. These were the
great Northern Confederacy, and comprised at first the Mohawks, Onei-
das, Onondagas, Cayugas, and Senecas. Afterward the Tuscaroras were
taken into the confederacy, and it became known as the Six Nations.
They came under the protection of the mother country, and again in
1701, they repeated the agreement, and in September, 1726, a formal deed
was drawn up and signed by the chiefs. The validity of this claim has
often been disputed, but never successfully. In 1744, a purchase was
made at Lancaster, Pennsylvania, of certain lands within the " Colony of
Virginia," for which the Indians received <£200 in gold and a like sum in
goods, with a promise that, as settlements increased, more should be paid.
The Commissioners from Virginia were Colonel Thomas Lee and Colonel
William Beverly. As settlements extended, the promise of more pay was
called to mind, and Mr. Conrad Weiser was sent across the mountains with
presents to appease the savages. Col. Lee, and some Virginians accompa-
nied him with the intention of sounding the Indians upon their feelings
regarding the English. They were not satisfied with their treatment,
and plainly told the Commissioners why. The English did not desire the
cultivation of the country, but the monopoly of the Indian trade. In
1748, the Ohio Company was formed, and petitioned the king for a grant
of land beyond the Alleghenies. This was granted, and the government
of Virginia was ordered to grant to them a half million acres, two hun-
dred thousand of which were to be located at once. Upon the 12th of
June, 1749, 800,000 acres from the line of Canada north and west was
made to the Loyal Company, and on the 29th of October, 1751, 100,000
acres were given to the Greenbriar Company. All this time the French
were not idle. They saw that, should the British gain a foothold in the
West, especially upon the Ohio, they might not only prevent the French
.36 THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
settling upon it, but in time would come to the lower posts and so gain
possession of the whole country. Upon the 10th of May, 1774, Vaud-
reuil, Governor of Canada and the French possessions, well knowing the
consequences that must arise from allowing the English to build trading
posts in the Northwest, seized some of their frontier posts, and to further
secure the claim of the French to the West, he, in 1749, sent Louis Cel-
eron with a party of soldiers to plant along the Ohio River, in the mounds
and at the mouths of its principal tributaries, plates of lead, on which
were inscribed the claims of France. These were heard of in 1752, and
within the memory of residents now living along the " Oyo," as the
beautiful river was called by the French. One of these plates was found
with the inscription partly defaced. It bears date August 16, 1749, and
a copy of the inscription with particular account of the discovery of the
plate, was sent by DeWitt Clinton to the. American Antiquarian Society,
among whose journals it may now be found.* These measures did not,
however, deter the English from going on with their explorations, and
though neither party resorted to arms, yet the conflict was gathering, and
it was only a question of time when the storm would burst upon the
frontier settlements. In 1750, Christopher Gist was sent by the Ohio
Company to examine its lands. He went to a village of the Twigtwees,
on the Miami, about one hundred and fifty miles above its mouth. He
afterward spoke of it as very populous. From there he went down
the Ohio River nearly to the falls at the present City of Louisville,
and in November he commenced a survey of the Company's lands. Dur-
ing the Winter, General Andrew Lewis performed a similar work for the
Greenbriar Company. Meanwhile the French were busy in preparing
their forts for defense, and in opening roads, and also sent a small party
of soldiers to keep the Ohio clear. This party, having heard of the Eng-
lish post on the Miami River, early in 1652, assisted by the Ottawas and
Chippewas, attacked it, and, after a severe battle, in which fourteen of
the natives were killed and others wounded, captured the garrison.
(They were probably garrisoned in a block house). The traders were
carried away to Canada, and one account says several were burned. This
fort or post was called by the English Pickawillany. A memorial of the
king's ministers refers to it as " Pickawillanes, in the center of the terri-
tory between the Ohio and the Wabash. The name is probably some
variation of Pickaway or Picqua in 1773, written by Rev. David Jones
Pickaweke."
• The following Is a translation of the Inscription on the plate: "In the year 1749. reign of Louis XV.,
King of France, we, Celeron, commandant of a detachment by Monsieur the Marquis of Gallisonlere, com-
mander-in-chief of New France, to establish tranquility In certain Indian villages of these cantons, have
buried this plate at the confluence of the Toradakoin, this twenty-ninth of July, near the river Ohio, otherwise
Beautiful River, as a monument of renewal of possession which we have taken of the said river, and all its
tributaries; inasmuch as the preceding Kings of France have enjoyed it, and maintained it by their arms and
treaties; especially by those of Ryswick, Utrecht, and Aix La Chapelle."
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY 37
This was the first blood shed between the French and English, and
occurred near the present City of Piqua, Ohio, or at least at a point about
forty-seven miles north of Dayton. Each nation became now more inter-
ested in the progress of events in the Northwest. The English deter-
mined to purchase from the Indians a title to the lands they wished to
occupy, and Messrs. Fry (afterward Commander-in-chief over Washing-
ton at the commencement of the French War of 1775-1763), Lomax and
Patton were sent in the Spring of 1752 to hold a conference with the
natives at Logstown to learn what they objected to in the treaty of Lan-
caster already noticed, and to settle all difficulties. On the 9th of June,
these Commissioners met the red men at Logstown, a little village on the
north bank of the Ohio, about seventeen miles below the site of Pitts-
burgh. Here had been a trading point for many years, but it was aban-
doned by the Indians in 1750. At first the Indians declined to recognize
the treaty of Lancaster, but, the Commissioners taking aside Montour,
the interpreter, who was a' son of the famous Catharine Montour, and a
chief among the six nations, induced him to use his influence in their
favor. This he did, and upon the 13th of June they all united in signing
a deed, confirming the Lancaster treaty in its full extent, consenting to a
settlement of the southeast of the Ohio, and guaranteeing that it should
not be disturbed by them. These were the means used to obtain the first
treaty with the Indians in the Ohio Valley.
Meanwhile the powers beyond the sea were trying to out-manceuvre
each other, and were professing to be at peace. The English generally
outwitted the Indians, and failed in many instances to fulfill their con-
tracts. They thereby gained the ill-will of the red men, and further
increased the feeling by failing to provide them with arms and ammuni-
tion. Said an old chief, at Easton, in 1758 : " The Indians on the Ohio
left you because of your own fault. When we heard the French were
coming, we asked you for help and arms, but we did not get them. The
French came, they treated us kindly, and gained our affections. The
Governor of Virginia settled on our lands for his own benefit, and, when
we wanted help, forsook us."
At the beginning of 1653, the English thought they had secured by
title the lands in the West, but the French had quietly gathered cannon
and military stores to be in readiness for the expected blow. The Eng-
lish made other attempts to ratify these existing treaties, but not until
the Summer could the Indians be gathered together to discuss the plans
of the French. They had sent messages to the French, warning them
away ; but they replied that they intended to complete the chain of forts
already begun, and would not abandon the field.
Soon after this, no satisfaction being obtained from the Ohio regard-
38 THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
ing the positions and purposes of the French, Governor Dinwiddie of
Virginia determined to send to them another messenger and learn from
them, if possible, their intentions. For this purpose he selected a young
man, a surveyor, who, at the early age of nineteen, had received the rank
of major, and who was thoroughly posted regarding frontier life. This
personage was no other than the illustrious George Washington, who then
held considerable interest in Western lands. He was at this time just
twenty-two years of age. Taking Gist as his guide, the two, accompanied
by four servitors, set out on their perilous march. They left Will's
Creek on the 10th of November, 1753, and on the 22d reached the Monon-
gahela, about ten miles above the fork. From there they went to
Logstown, where Washington had a long conference with the chiefs of
the Six Nations. From them he learned the condition of the French, and
also heard of their determination not to come down the river till the fol-
lowing Spring. The Indians were non-committal, as they were afraid to
turn either way, and, as far as they could, desired to remain neutral.
Washington, finding nothing could be done with them, went on to
Venango, an old Indian town at the mouth of French Creek. Here the
French had a fort, called Fort Machault. Through the rum and flattery
of the French, he nearly lost all his Indian followers. Finding nothing
of importance here, he pursued his way amid great privations, and on the
11th of December reached the fort at the head of French Creek. Here
he delivered Governor Dinwiddie's letter, received his answer, took his
observations, and on the 16th set out upon his return journey with no one
but Gist, his guide, and a few Indians who still remained true to him,
notwithstanding the endeavors of the French to retain them. Their
homeward journey was one of great peril and suffering from the cold, yet
they reached home in safety on the 6th of January, 1754.
From the letter of St. Pierre, commander of the French fort, sent by
Washington to Governor Dinwiddie, it was learned that the French would
not give up without a struggle. Active preparations were at once made
in all the English colonies for the coming conflict, while the French
finished the fort at Venango and strengthened their lines of fortifications,
and gathered their forces to be in readiness.
The Old Dominion was all alive. Virginia was the center of great
activities ; volunteers were called for, and from all the neighboring
colonies men rallied to the conflict, and everywhere along the Potomac
men were enlisting under the Governor's proclamation — which promised
two hundred thousand acres on the Ohio. Along this river they were
gathering as far as Will's Creek, and far beyond this point, whither Trent
had come for assistance for his little band of forty-one men, who were
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 39
working away in hunger and want, to fortify that point at the fork of
the Ohio, to which both parties were looking with deep interest.
" The first birds of Spring filled the air with their song ; the swift
river rolled by the Allegheny hillsides, swollen by the melting snows of
Spring and the April showers. The leaves were appearing ; a few Indian
scouts were seen, but no enemy seemed near at hand ; and all was so quiet,
that Frazier, an old Indian scout and trader, who had been left by Trent
in command, ventured to his home at the mouth of Turtle Creek, ten
miles up the Monongahela. But, though all was so quiet in that wilder-
ness, keen eyes had seen the low intrenchment rising at the fork, and
swift feet had borne the news of it up the river ; and upon the morning
of the 17th of April, Ensign Ward, who then had charge of it, saw
upon the Allegheny a sight that made his heart sink — sixty batteaux and
three hundred canoes filled with men, and laden deep with cannon and
stores. * * * That evening he supped with his captor, Contrecoeur,
and the next day he was bowed off by the Frenchman, and with his men
and tools, marched up the Monongahela."
The French and Indian war had begun. The treaty of Aix la
Chapelle, in 1748, had left the boundaries between the French and
English possessions unsettled, and the events already narrated show the
French were determined to hold the country watered by the Mississippi
and its tributaries ; while the English laid claims to the country by virtue
of the discoveries of the Cabots, and claimed all the country from New-
foundland to Florida, extending from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The
first decisive blow had now been struck, and the first attempt of the
English, through the Ohio Company, to occupy these lands, had resulted
disastrously to them. The French and Indians immediately completed
the fortifications begun at the Fork, which they had so easily captured,
and when completed gave to the fort the name of DuQuesne. Washing-
ton was at Will's Creek when the news of the capture of the fort arrived.
He at once departed to recapture it. On his way he entrenched him-
self at a place called the " Meadows," where he erected a fort called
by him Fort Necessity. From there he surprised and captured a force of
French and Indians marching against him, but was soon after attacked
in his fort by a much superior force, and was obliged to yield on the
morning of July 4th. He was allowed to return to Virginia.
The English Government immediately planned four campaigns ; one
against Fort DuQuesne ; one against Nova Scotia ; one against Fort
Niagara, and one against Crown Point. These occurred during 1755-6,
and were not successful in driving the French from their possessions.
The expedition against Fort DuQuesne was led by the famous General
Braddock, who, refusing to listen to the advice of Washington and those
40 THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
acquainted with Indian warfare, suffered such an inglorious defeat. This
occurred on the morning of July 9th, and is generally known as the battle
of Monongahela, or " Braddock's Defeat." The war continued with
various vicissitudes through the years 1756-7 ; when, at the commence-
ment of 1758, in accordance with the plans of William Pitt, then Secre-
tary of State, afterwards Lord Chatham, active preparations were made to
carry on the war. Three expeditions were planned for this year : one,
under General Amherst, against Louisburg ; another, under Abercrombie,
against Fort Ticonderoga ; and a third, under General Forbes, against
Fort DuQuesne. On the 26th of July, Louisburg surrendered after a
desperate resistance of more than forty days, and the eastern part of the
Canadian possessions fell into the hands of the British. Abercrombie
captured Fort Frontenac, and when the expedition against Fort DuQuesne,
of which Washington had the active command, arrived there, it was
found in flames and deserted. The English at once took possession,
rebuilt the fort, and in honor of their illustrious statesman, changed the
name to Fort Pitt.
The great object of the campaign of 1759, was the reduction of
Canada. General Wolfe was to lay siege to Quebec ; Amherst was to
reduce Ticonderoga and Crown Point, and General Prideaux was to
capture Niagara. This latter place was taken in July, but the gallant
Prideaux lost his life in the attempt. Amherst captured Ticonderoga
and Crown Point without a blow ; and Wolfe, after making the memor-
able ascent to the Plains of Abraham, on September 13th, defeated
Montcalm, and on the 18th, the city capitulated. In this engagement
Montcolm and Wolfe both lost their lives. De Levi, Montcalm's successor,
marched to Sillery, three miles above the city, with the purpose of
defeating the English, and there, on the 28th of the following April, was
fought one of the bloodiest battles of the French and Indian War. It
resulted in the defeat of the French, and the fall of the City of Montreal.
The Governor signed a capitulation by which the whole of Canada was
surrendered to the English. This practically concluded the war, but it
was not until 1763 that the treaties of peace between France and England
were signed. This was done on the 10th of February of that year, and
under its provisions all the country east of the Mississippi and north of
the Iberville River, in Louisiana, were ceded to England. At the same
time Spain ceded Florida to Great Britain.
On the 13th of September, 1760, Major Robert Rogers was sent
from Montreal to take charge of Detroit, the only remaining French post
in the territory. He arrived there on the 19th of November, and sum-
moned the place to surrender. At first the commander of the post,
Beletre ; refused, but on the 29th, hearing of the continued defeat of the
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 41
French arms, surrendered. Rogers remained there until December 23d
under the personal protection of the celebrated chief, Pontiac, to whom,
no doubt, he owed his safety. Pontiac had come here to inquire the
purposes of the English in taking possession of the country. He was
assured that they came simply to trade with the natives, and did not
desire their country. This answer conciliated the savages, and did much
to insure the safety of Rogers and his party during their stay, and while
on their journey home.
Rogers set out for Fort Pitt on December 23, and was just one
month on the way. His route was from Detroit to Maumee, thence
across the present State of Ohio directly to the fort. This was the com-
mon trail of the Indians in their journeys from Sandusky to the fork of
the Ohio. It went from Fort Sandusky, where Sandusky City now is,
crossed the Huron river, then called Bald Eagle Creek, to " Mohickon
John's Town" on Mohickon Creek, the northern branch of White
Woman's River, and thence crossed to Beaver's Town, a Delaware town
on what is now Sandy Creek. At Beaver's Town were probably one
hundred and fifty warriors, and not less than three thousand acres of
cleared land. From there the track went up Sandy Creek to and across
Big Beaver, and up the Ohio to Logstown, thence on to the fork.
The Northwest Territory was now entirely under the English rule.
New settlements began to be rapidly made, and the promise of a large
trade was speedily manifested. Had the British carried out their promises
with the natives none of those savage butcheries would have been perpe-
trated, and the country would have been spared their recital.
The renowned chief, Pontiac, was one of the leading spirits in these
atrocities. We will now pause in our narrative, and notice the leading
events in his life. The earliest authentic information regarding this
noted Indian chief is learned from an account of an Indian trader named
Alexander Henry, who, in the Spring of 1761, penetrated his domains as
far as Missillimacnac. Pontiac was then a great friend of the French,
but a bitter foe of the English, whom he considered as encroaching on his
hunting grounds. Henry was obliged to disguise himself as a Canadian
to insure safety, but was discovered by Pontiac, who bitterly reproached
him and the English for their attempted subjugation of the West. He
declared that no treaty had been made with them ; no presents sent
them, and that he would resent any possession of the West by that nation.
He was at the time about fifty years of age, tall and dignified, and was
civil and military ruler of the Ottawas, Ojibwas and Pottawatamies.
The Indians, from Lake Michigan to the borders of North Carolina,
were united in this feeling, and at the time of the treaty of Paris, ratified
February 10, 1763, a general conspiracy was formed to fall suddenly
42
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
PONTIAC, THE OTTAWA CHIEFTAIN.
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 4-J
upon the frontier British posts, and with one blow strike every man dead.
Pontiac was the marked leader in all this, and was the commander
of the Chippewas, Ottawas, Wyandots, Miamis, Shawanese, Delawares
and Mingoes, who had, for the time, laid aside their local quarrels to unite-
in this enterprise.
The blow came, as near as can now be ascertained, on May 7, 1762.
Nine British posts fell, and the Indians drank, " scooped up in the hollow
of joined hands," the blood of many a Briton.
Pontiac's immediate field of action was the garrison at Detroit.
Here, however, the plans were frustrated by an Indian woman disclosing
the plot the evening previous to his arrival. Everything was carried out,
however, according to Pontiac's plans until the moment of action, when
Major Gladwyn, the commander of the post, stepping to one of the Indian
chiefs, suddenly drew aside his blanket and disclosed the concealed
musket. Pontiac, though a brave man, turned pale and trembled. He
saw his plan was known, and that the garrison were prepared. He
endeavored to exculpate himself from any such intentions ; but the guilt
was evident, and he and his followers were dismissed with a severe
reprimand, and warned never to again enter the walls of the post.
Pontiac at once laid siege to the fort, and until the treaty of peace
between the British and the Western Indians, concluded in August, 1764,
continued to harass and besiege the fortress. He organized a regular
commissariat department, issued bills of credit written out on bark,
which, to his credit, it may be stated, were punctually redeemed. At
the conclusion of the treaty, in which it seems he took no part, he went
further south, living many years among the Illinois.
He had given up all hope of saving his country and race. After a
time he endeavored to unite the Illinois tribe and those about St. Louis
in a war with the whites. His efforts were fruitless, and only ended in a
quarrel between himself and some Kaskaskia Indians, one of whom soon
afterwards killed him. His death was, however, avenged by the northern
Indians, who nearly exterminated the Illinois in the wars which followed.
Had it not been for the treachery of a few of his followers, his plan
for the extermination of the whites, a masterly one, would undoubtedly
have been carried out.
It was in the Spring of the year following Rogers' visit that Alex-
ander Henry went to Missillimacnac, and everywhere found the strongest
feelings against the English, who had not carried out their promises, and
were doing nothing to conciliate the natives. Here he met the chief,
Pontiac, who, after conveying to him in a speech the idea that their
French father would awake soon and utterly destroy his enemies, said :
" Englishman, although you have conquered the French, you have not
/
44 THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
yet conquered us ! We are not your slaves ! These lakes, these woods,
these mountains, were left us by our ancestors. They are our inheritance,
and we will part with them to none. Your nation supposes that we, like
the white people, can not live without bread and pork and beef. But you
ought to know that He, the Great Spirit and Master of Life, has provided
food for us upon these broad lakes and in these mountains."
He then spoke of the fact that no treaty had been made with them,
no presents sent them, and that he and his people were yet for war.
Such were the feelings of the Northwestern Indians immediately after
the English took possession of their country. These feelings were no
doubt encouraged by the Canadians and French, who hoped that yet the
French arms might prevail. The treaty of Paris, however, gave to the
English the right to this vast domain, and active preparations were going
on to occupy it and enjoy its trade and emoluments.
In 1762, France, by a secret treaty, ceded Louisiana to Spain, to pre-
vent it falling into the hands of the English, who were becoming masters
of the entire West. The next year the treaty of Paris, signed at Fon-
tainbleau, gave to the English the domain of the country in question.
Twenty years after, by the treaty of peace between the United States
and England, that part of Canada lying south and west of the Great
Lakes, comprehending a large territory which is the subject of these
sketches, was acknowledged to be a portion of the United States ; and
twenty years still later, in 1803, Louisiana was ceded by Spain back to
France, and by France sold to the United States.
In the half century, from the building of the Fort of Crevecceur by
LaSalle, in 1680, up to the erection of Fort Chartres, many French set-
tlements had been made in that quarter. These have already been
noticed, being those at St. Vincent (Vincennes), Kohokia or Cahokia,
Kaskaskia and Prairie du Rocher, on the American Bottom, a large tract
of rich alluvial soil in Illinois, on the Mississippi, opposite the site of St.
Louis.
By the treaty of Paris, the regions east of the Mississippi, including
all these and other towns of the Northwest, were given over to England;
but they do not appear to have bten taken possession of until 1765, when
Captain Stirling, in the name of the Majesty of England, established him-
self at Fort Chartres bearing with him the proclamation of General Gage,
dated December 30, 1764, which promised religious freedom to all Cath-
olics who worshiped here, and a right to leave the country with their
effects if they wished, or to remain with the privileges of Englishmen.
It was shortly after the occupancy of the West by the British that the
war with Pontiac opened. It is already noticed in the sketch of that
chieftain- By it many a Briton lost his life, and many a frontier settle-
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 45
ment in its infancy ceased to exist. This was not ended until the year
1764, when, failing to capture Detroit, Niagara and Fort Pitt, his confed-
eracy became disheartened, and, receiving no aid from the French, Pon-
tiac abandoned the enterprise and departed to the Illinois, among whom
he afterward lost his life.
As soon as these difficulties were definitely settled, settlers began
rapidly to survey the country and prepare for occupation. During the
year 1770, a number of persons from Virginia and other British provinces
explored and marked out nearly all the valuable lands on the Mononga-
hela and along the banks of the Ohio as far as the Little Kanawha. This
was followed by another exploring expedition, in which George Washing-
ton was a party. The latter, accompanied by Dr. Craik, Capt. Crawford
and others, on the 20th of October, 1770, descended the Ohio from Pitts-
burgh to the mouth of the Kanawha ; ascended that stream about fourteen
miles, marked out several large tracts of land, shot several buffalo, which
were then abundant in the Ohio Valley, and returned to the fort.
Pittsburgh was at this time a trading post, about which was clus-
tered a village of some twenty houses, inhabited by Indian traders. This
same year, Capt. Pittman visited Kaskaskia and its neighboring villages.
He found there about sixty-five resident families, and at Cahokia only
forty-five dwellings. At Fort Chartres was another small settlement, and
at Detroit the garrison were quite prosperous and strong. For a year
or two settlers continued to locate near some of these posts, generally
Fort Pitt or Detroit, owing to the fears of the Indians, who still main-
tained some feelings of hatred to the English. The trade from the posts
was quite good, and from those in Illinois large quantities of pork and
flour found their way to the New Orleans market. At this time the
policy of the British Government was strongly opposed to the extension
of the colonies west. In 1763, the King of England forbade, by royal
proclamation, his colonial subjects from making a settlement beyond the
sources of the rivers which fall into the Atlantic Ocean. At the instance
of the Board of Trade, measures were taken to prevent the settlement
without the limits prescribed, and to retain the commerce within easy
reach of Great Britain.
The commander-in-chief of the king's forces wrote in 1769 : " In the
course of a few years necessity will compel the colonists, should they
extend their settlements west, to provide manufactures of some kind for
themselves, and when all connection upheld by commerce with the mother
country ceases, an independency in their government will soon follow."
In accordance with this policy, Gov. Gage issued a proclamation
in 1772, commanding the inhabitants of Vincennes to abandon their set-
tlements and join some of the Eastern English colonies. To this they
46 THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
strenuously objected, giving good reasons therefor, and were allowed to
remain. The strong opposition to this policy of Great Britain led to its
change, and to such a course as to gain the attachment of the French
population. In December, 1773, influential citizens of Quebec petitioned
the king for an extension of the boundary lines of that province, which
was granted, and Parliament passed an act on June 2, 1774, extend-
ing the boundary so as to include the territory lying within the present
States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Michigan.
In consequence of the liberal policy pursued by the British Govern-
ment toward the French settlers in the West, they were disposed to favor
that nation in the war which soon followed with the colonies ; but the
early alliance between France and America soon brought them -to the side
of the war for independence.
In 1774, Gov. Dunmore, of Virginia, began to encourage emigration
to the Western lands. He appointed magistrates at Fort Pitt under the
pretense that the fort was under the government of that commonwealth.
One of these justices, John Connelly, who possessed a tract of land in the
Ohio Valley, gathered a force of men and garrisoned the fort, calling it
Fort Dunmore. This and other parties were formed to select sites for
settlements, and often came in conflict with the Indians, who yet claimed
portions of the valley, and several battles followed. These ended in the
famous battle of Kanawha in July, where the Indians were defeated and
driven across the Ohio.
During the years 1775 and 1776, by the operations of land companies
and the perseverance of individuals, several settlements were firmly estab-
lished between the Alleghanies and the Ohio River, and western land
speculators were busy in Illinois and on the Wabash. At a council held
in Kaskaskia on July 5, 1773, an association of English traders, calling
themselves the " Illinois Land Company," obtained from ten chiefs of the
Kaskaskia, Cahokia and Peoria tribes two large tracts of land lying on
the east side of the Mississippi River south of the Illinois. In 1775, a mer-
chant from the Illinois Country, named Viviat, came to Post Vincennes
as the agent of the association called the " Wabash Land Company." On
the 8th of October he obtained from eleven Piankeshaw chiefs, a deed for
37,497,600 acres of land. This deed was signed by the grantors, attested
by a number of the inhabitants of Vincennes, and afterward recorded in
the office of a notary public at Kaskaskia. This and other land com-
panies had extensive schemes for the colonization of the West ; but all
were frustrated by the breaking out of the Revolution. On the 20th of
April, 1780, the two companies named consolidated under the name of the
" United Illinois and Wabash Land Company." They afterward made
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 47
strenuous efforts to have these grants sanctioned by Congress, but all
signally failed.
When the War of the Revolution commenced, Kentucky was an unor-
ganized country, though there were several settlements within her borders.
In Hutchins' Topography of Virginia, it is stated that at that time
" Kaskaskia contained 80 houses, and nearly 1,000 white and black in-
habitants — the whites being a little the more numerous. Cahokia con-
tains 50 houses and 300 white inhabitants, and 80 negroes. There were
east of the Mississippi River, about the year 1771 " — when these observa-
tions were made — " 300 white men capable of bearing arms, and 230
negroes."
From 1775 until the expedition of Clark, nothing is recorded and
nothing known of these settlements, save what is contained in a report
made by a committee to Congress in June, 1778. From it the following
extract is made :
"Near the mouth of the River Kaskaskia, there is a village which
appears to have contained nearly eighty families from the beginning of
the late revolution. There are twelve families in a small village at la
Prairie du Rochers, and near fifty families at the Kahokia Village. There
are also four or five families at Fort Chartres and St. Philips, which is five
miles further up the river."
St. Louis had been settled in February, 1764, and at this time con-
tained, including its neighboring towns, over six hundred whites and one
hundred and fifty negroes. It must be remembered that all the country
west of the Mississippi was now under French rule, and remained so until
ceded again to Spain, its original owner, who afterwards sold it and the
country including New Orleans to the United States. At Detroit there
were, according to Capt. Carver, who was in the Northwest from 1766 to
1768, more than one hundred houses, and the river was settled for more
than twenty miles, although poorly cultivated — the people being engaged
in the Indian trade. This old town has a history, which we will here
relate.
It is the oldest town in the Northwest, having been founded by
Antoine de Lamotte Cadillac, in 1701. It was laid out in the form of an
oblong square, of two acres in length, and an acre and a half in width.
As described by A. D. Frazer, who first visited it and became a permanent
resident of the place, in 1778, it comprised within its limits that space
between Mr. Palmer's store (Conant Block) and Capt. Perkins' house
(near the Arsenal building), and extended back as far as the public barn,
and was bordered in front by the Detroit River. It was surrounded by
oak and cedar pickets, about fifteen feet long, set in the ground, and had
four gates — east, west, north and south. Over the first three of these
48 THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
gates were block houses provided with four guns apiece, each a six-
pounder. Two six-gun batteries were planted fronting the river and in a
parallel direction with the block houses. There were four streets running
east and west, the main street being twenty feet wide and the rest fifteen
feet, while the four streets crossing these at right angles were from ten
to fifteen feet in width.
At the date spoken of by Mr. Frazer, there was no fort within the
enclosure, but a citadel on the ground corresponding to the present
northwest corner of Jefferson Avenue and Wayne Street. The citadel was
inclosed by pickets, and within it were erected barracks of wood, two
stories high, sufficient to contain ten officers, and also barracks sufficient
to contain four hundred men, and a provision store built of brick. The
citadel also contained a hospital and guard-house. The old town of
Detroit, in 17T8, contained about sixty houses, most of them one story,
with a few a story and a half in height. They were all of logs, some
hewn and some round. There was one building of splendid appearance,
called the " King's Palace," two stories high, which stood near the east
gate. It was built for Governor Hamilton, the first governor commissioned
by the British. There were two guard-houses, one near the west gate and
the other near the Government House. Each of the guards consisted of
twenty-four men and a subaltern, who mounted regularly every morning
between nine and ten o'clock, Each furnished four sentinels, who were
relieved every two hours. There was also an officer of the day, who per-
formed strict duty. Each of the gates was shut regularly at sunset ;
even wicket gates were shut at nine o'clock, and all the keys were
delivered into the hands of the commanding officer. They were opened
in the morning at sunrise. No Indian or squaw was permitted to enter
town with any weapon, such as a tomahawk or a knife. It was a stand-
ing order that the Indians should deliver their arms and instruments of
every kind before they were permitted to pass the sentinel, and they were
restored to them on their return. No more than twenty-five Indians were
allowed to enter the town at any one time, and they were admitted only
at the east and west gates. At sundown the drums beat, and all the
Indians were required to leave town instantly. There was a council house
near the water side for the purpose of holding council with the Indians.
The population of the town was about sixty families, in all about two
hundred males and one hundred females. This town was destroyed by
fire, all except one dwelling, in 1805. After which the present " new "
town was laid out.
On the breaking out of the Revolution, the British held every post of
importance in f;he West. Kentucky was formed as a component part of
Virginia, and the sturdy pioneers of the West, alive to their interests,
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 49
and recognizing the great benefits of obtaining the control of the trade in
this part of the New World, held steadily to their purposes, and those
within the commonwealth of Kentucky proceeded to exercise their
civil privileges, by electing John Todd and Richard Gallaway,
burgesses to represent them in the Assembly of the parent state.
Early in September of that year (1777) the first court was held
in Harrodsburg, and Col. Bowman, afterwards major, who had arrived
in August, was made the commander of a militia organization which
had been commenced the March previous. Thus the tree of loyalty
was growing. The chief spirit in this far-out colony, who had represented
her the year previous east of the mountains, was now meditating a move
unequaled in its boldness. He had been watching the movements of th6
British throughout the Northwest, and understood their whole plan. He.
saw it was through their possession of the posts at Detroit, Vincennes,
Kaskaskia, and other places, which would give them constant and easy
access to the various Indian tribes in the Northwest, that the British
intended to penetrate the country from the north and soutn, ana annihi-
late the frontier fortresses. This moving, energetic man was Colonel,
afterwards General, George Rogers Clark. He knew the Indians were not
unanimously in accord with the English, and he was convinced that, could
the British be defeated and expelled from the Northwest, the natives
might be easily awed into neutrality ; and by spies sent for the purpose,
he satisfied himself that the enterprise against the Illinois settlements
might easily succeed. Having convinced himself of the certainty of the
project, he repaired to the Capital of Virginia, which place he reached on
November 5th. While he was on his way, fortunately, on October 17th,
Burgoyne had been defeated, and the spirits of the colonists greatly
encouraged thereby. Patrick Henry was Governor of Virginia, and at
once entered heartily into Clark's plans. The same plan had before been
agitated in the Cclonial Assemblies, but there was no one until Clark
came who was sufficiently acquainted with the condition of affairs at the
scene of action to be able to guide them.
Clark, having satisfied the Virginia leaders of the feasibility of his
plan, received, on the 2d of January, two sets of instructions — one secret,
the other open — the latter authorized him to proceed to enlist seven
companies to go to Kentucky, subject to his orders, and to serve three
months from their arrival in the West. The secret order authorized him
to arm these troops, to procure his powder and lead of General Hand
at Pittsburgh, and to proceed at once to subjugate the country.
With these instructions Clark repaired to Pittsburgh, choosing rather
to raise his men west of the mountains, as he well knew all were needed
in the colonies in the conflict there. He sent Col. W. B. Smith to Hoi-
50 THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
ston for the same purpose, but neither succeeded in raising the required
number of men. The settlers in these parts were afraid to leave their
own firesides exposed to a vigilant foe, and but few could be induced to
join the proposed expedition. With three companies and several private
volunteers, Clark at length commenced his descent of the Ohio, which he
navigated as far as the Falls, where he took possession of and fortified
Corn Island, a small island between the present Cities of Louisville,
Kentucky, and New Albany, Indiana. Remains of this fortification may
yet be found. At this place he appointed Col. Bowman to meet him
with such recruits as had reached Kentucky by the southern route, and
as many as could be spared from the station. Here he announced to
the men their real destination. Having completed his arrangements,
and chosen his party, he left a small garrison upon the island, and on the
24th of June, during a total eclipse of the sun, which to them augured
no good, and which fixes beyond dispute the date of starting, he with
his chosen band, fell down the river. His plan was to go by water as
far as Fort Massac or Massacre, and thence march direct to Kaskaskia.
Here he intended to surprise the garrison, and after its capture go to
Cahokia, then to Vincennes, and lastly to Detroit. Should he fail, he
intended to march directly to the Mississippi River and cross it into the
Spanish country. Before his start he received two good items of infor-
mation : one that the alliance had been formed between France and the
United States ; and the other that the Indians throughout the Illinois
country and the inhabitants, at the various frontier posts, had been led to
believe by the British that the " Long Knives " or Virginians, were the
most fierce, bloodthirsty and cruel savages that ever scalped a foe. With
this impression on their minds, Clark saw that proper management would
cause them to submit at once from fear, if surprised, and then from grati-
tude would become friendly if treated with unexpected leniency.
The march to Kaskaskia was accomplished through a hot July sun,
and the town reached on the evening of July 4. He captured the fort
near the village, and soon after the village itself by surprise, and without
the loss of a single man or by killing any of the enemy. After sufficiently
working upon the fears of the natives, Clark told them they were at per-
fect liberty to worship as they pleased, and to take whichever side of the
great conflict they would, also he would protect them from any barbarity
from British or Indian foe. This had the desired effect, and the inhab-
itants, so unexpectedly and so gratefully surprised by the unlooked
for turn of affairs, at once swore allegiance to the American arms, and
when Clark desired to go to Cahokia on the 6th of July, they accom-
panied him, and through their influence the inhabitants of the place
surrendered, and gladly placed themselves under his protection. Thus
s^#/W$A^L£^^^ei^
RANDOLPH 77?
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 51
the* two important posts in Illinois passed from the hands of the English
into the possession of Virginia.
In the person of the priest at Kaskaskia, M. Gibault, Clark found a
powerful ally and generous friend. Clark saw that, to retain possession
of tke Northwest and treat successfully with the Indians within its boun-
daries, he must establish a government for the colonies he had taken.
St. Vincent, the next important post to Detroit, remained yet to be taken
before the Mississippi Valley was conquered. M. Gibault told him that
he would alone, by persuasion, lead Vincennes to throw off its connection
with England. Clark gladly accepted his offer, and on the 14th of July,
in company with a fellow-townsman, M. Gibault started on his mission of
peace, and on the 1st of August returned with the cheerful intelligence
that the post on the " Oubache " had taken the oath of allegiance to
the Old Dominion. During this interval, Clark established his courts,
placed garrisons at Kaskaskia and Cahokia, successfully re-enlisted his
men, sent word to have a fort, which proved the germ of Louisville,
erected at the Falls of the Ohio, and dispatched Mr. Rocheblave, who
had been commander at Kaskaskia, as a prisoner of war to Richmond.
In October the County of Illinois was established by the Legislature
of Virginia, John Todd appointed Lieutenant Colonel and Civil Governor,
and in November General Clark and his men received the thanks of
the Old Dominion through their Legislature.
In a speech a few days afterward, Clark made known fully to the
natives his plans, and at its close all came forward and swore alle-
giance to the Long Knives. While he was doing this Governor Hamilton,
having made his various arrangements, had left Detroit and moved down
the Wabash to Vincennes intending to operate from that point in reducing
the Illinois posts, and then proceed on down to Kentucky and drive the
rebels from the West. Gen. Clark had, on the return of M. Gibault,
dispatched Captain Helm, of Fauquier County, Virginia, with an attend-
ant named Henry, across the Illinois prairies to command the fort.
Hamilton knew nothing of the capitulation of the post, and was greatly
surprised on his arrival to be confronted by Capt. Helm, who, standing at
the entrance of the fort by a loaded cannon ready to fire upon his assail-
ants, demanded upon what terms Hamilton demanded possession of the
fort. Being granted the rights of a prisoner of war, he surrendered to
the British General, who could scarcely believe his eyes when he saw the
force in the garrison.
Hamilton, not realizing the character of the men with whom he was
contending, gave up his intended campaign for the Winter, sent his four
hundred Indian warriors to prevent troops from coming down the Ohio,
52 THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
and to annoy the Americans in all ways, and sat quietly down to pass the
Winter. Information of all these proceedings having reached Clark, he
saw that immediate and decisive action was necessary, and that, unless
he captured Hamilton, Hamilton would capture him. Clark received the
news on the 29th of January, 1779, and on February 4th, having suffi-
ciently garrisoned Kaskaskia and Cahokia, he sent down the Mississippi
a " battoe," as Major Bowman writes it, in order to ascend the Ohio and
Wabash, and operate with the land forces gathering for the fray.
On the next day, Clark, with his little force of one hundred and
twenty men, set out for the post, and after incredible hard marching
through much mud, the ground being thawed by the incessant spring
rains, on the 22d reached the fort, and being joined by his " battoe," at
once commenced the attack on the post. The aim of the American back-
woodsman was unerring, and on the 24th the garrison surrendered to the
intrepid boldness of Clark. The French were treated with great kind-
ness, and gladly renewed their allegiance to Virginia. Hamilton was
sent as a prisoner to Virginia, where he was kept in close confinement.
During his command of the British frontier posts, he had offered prizes
to the Indians for all the scalps of Americans they would bring to him,
and had earned in consequence thereof the title " Hair-buyer General,"
by which he was ever afterward known.
Detroit was now without doubt within easy reach of the enterprising
Virginian, could he but raise the necessary force. Governor Henry being
apprised of this, promised him the needed reinforcement, and Clark con-
cluded to wait until he could capture and sufficiently garrison the posts.
Had Clark failed in this bold undertaking, and Hamilton succeeded in
uniting the western Indians for the next Spring's campaign, the West
would indeed have been swept from the Mississippi to the Allegheny
Mountains, and the great blow struck, which had been contemplated from
the commencement, by the British.
" But for this small army of dripping, but fearless Virginians, the
union of all the tribes from Georgia to Maine against the colonies might
have been effected, and the whole current of our history changed."
At this time some fears were entertained by the Colonial Govern-
ments that the Indians in the North and Northwest were inclining to the
British, and under the instructions of Washington, now Commander-in-
Chief of the Colonial army, and so bravely fighting for American inde-
pendence, armed forces were sent against the Six Nations, and upon the
Ohio frontier, Col. Bowman, acting under the same general's orders,
marched against Indians within the present limits of that State. These
expeditions were in the main successful, and the Indians were compelled
to sue for peace.
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 53
During this same year (1779) the famous " Land Laws" of Virginia
were passed. The passage of these laws was of more consequence to the
pioneers of Kentucky and the Northwest than the gaining of a few Indian,
conflicts. These laws confirmed in main all grants made, and guaranteed
to all actual settlers their rights and privileges. After providing for the
settlers, the laws provided for selling the balance of the public lands at
forty cents per acre. To carry the Land Laws into effect, the Legislature
sent four Virginians westward to attend to the various claims, over many
of which great confusion prevailed concerning their validity. These
gentlemen opened their court on October 13, 1779, at St. Asaphs, and
continued until April 26, 1780, when they adjourned, having decided
three thousand claims. They were succeeded by the surveyor, who
came in the person of Mr. George May, and assumed his duties on the
10th day of the month whose name he bore. With the opening of the
next year (1780) the troubles concerning the navigation of the Missis-
sippi commenced. The Spanish Government exacted such measures in
relation to its trade as to cause the overtures made to the United States
to be rejected. The American Government considered they had a right
to navigate its channel. To enforce their claims, a fort was erected below
the mouth of the Ohio on the Kentucky side of the river. The settle-
ments in Kentucky were being rapidly filled by emigrants. It was dur-
ing this year that the first seminary of learning was established in the
West in this young and enterprising Commonwealth.
The settlers here did not look upon the building of this fort in a
friendly manner, as it aroused the hostility of the Indians. Spain had
been friendly to the Colonies during their struggle for independence,
and though for a while this friendship appeared in danger from the
refusal of the free navigation of the river, yet it was finally settled to the
satisfaction of both nations.
The Winter of 1779-80 was one of the most unusually severe ones
ever experienced in the West. The Indians always referred to it as the
"Great Cold." Numbers of wild animals perished, and not a few
pioneers lost their lives. The following Summer a party of Canadians
and Indians attacked St. Louis, and attempted to take possession of it
in consequence of the friendly disposition of Spain to the revolting
colonies. They met with such a determined resistance on the part of the
inhabitants, even the women taking part in the battle, that they were
compelled to abandon the contest. They also made an attack on the
settlements in Kentucky, but, becoming alarmed in some unaccountable
manner, they fled the country in great haste.
About this time arose the question in the Colonial Congress con-
cerning the western lands claimed by Virginia, New York, Massachusetts
54 THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
and Connecticut. The agitation concerning this subject finally led New
York, on the 19th of February, 1780, to pass a law giving to the dele-
gates of that State in Congress the power to cede her western lands for
the benefit of the United States. This law was laid before Congress
during the next month, but no steps were taken concerning it until Sep-
tember 6th, when a resolution passed that body calling upon the States
claiming western lands to release their claims in favor of the whole body.
This basis formed the union, and was the first after all of those legislative
measures which resulted in the creation of the States of Ohio, Indiana,
Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota. In December of the same
year, the plan of conquering Detroit again arose. The conquest might
have easily been effected by Clark had the necessary aid been furnished
him. Nothing decisive was done, yet the heads of the Government knew
that the safety of the Northwest from British invasion lay in the capture
and retention of that important post, the only unconquered one in the
territory.
Before the close of the year, Kentucky was divided into the Coun-
ties of Lincoln, Fayette and Jefferson, and the act establishing the Town
of Louisville was passed. This same year is also noted in the annals of
American history as the year in which occurred Arnold's treason to the
United States.
Virginia, in accordance with the resolution of Congress, on the 2d
day of January, 1781, agreed to yield her western lands to the United
States upon certain conditions, which Congress would not accede to, and
the Act of Cession, on the part of the Old Dominion, failed, nor was
anything farther done until 1783. During all that time the Colonies
were busily engaged in the struggle with the mother country, and in
consequence thereof but little heed was given to the western settlements.
Upon the 16th of April, 1781, the first birth north of the Ohio River of
American parentage occurred, being that of Mary Heckewelder, daughter
of the widely known Moravian missionary, whose band of Christian
Indians suffered in after years a horrible massacre by the hands of the
frontier settlers, who had been exasperated by the murder of several of
their neighbors, and in their rage committed, without regard to humanity,
a deed which forever afterwards cast a shade of shame upon their lives.
For this and kindred outrages on the part of the whites, the Indians
committed many deeds of cruelty which darken the years of 1771 and
1772 in the history of the Northwest.
During the year 1782 a number of battles among the Indians and
frontiersmen occurred, and between the Moravian Indians and the Wyan-
dots. In these, horrible acts of cruelty were practised on the captives,
many of such dark deeds' transpiring under the leadership of the notorious
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
55
frontier outlaw, Simon Girty, whose name, as well as those of his brothers,,
was a terror to women and children. These occurred chiefly in the Ohio
valleys. Cotemporary with them were several engagements in Kentucky,
in which the famous Daniel Boone engaged, and who, often by his skill
and knowledge of Indian warfare, saved the outposts from cruel destruc-
INDIANS ATTACKING FRONT1EKSMEN.
tion. By the close of the year victory had perched upon the American
banner, and on the 30th of November, provisional articles of peace had
been arranged between the Commissioners of England and her uncon-
querable colonies. Cornwallis had been defeated on the 19th of October
preceding, and the liberty of America was assured. On the 19th oi
April following, the anniversary of the battle of Lexington, peace was
56 THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
proclaimed to the army of the United States, and on the 2d of the next
September, the definite treaty which ended our revolutionary struggle
was concluded. By the terms of that treaty, the boundaries of the West
were as follows : On the north the line was to extend along the center of
the Great La,kes ; from the western point of Lake Superior to Long Lake ;
thence to the Lake of the Woods ; thence to the head of the Mississippi
River; down its center to the 31st parallel of latitude, then on that line
east to the head of the Appalachicola River; down its center to its junc-
tion with the Flint ; thence straight to the head of St. Mary's River, and
thence down along its center to the Atlantic Ocean.
Following the cessation of hostilities with England, several posts
were still occupied by the British in the North and West. Among these
was Detroit, still in the hands of the enemy. Numerous engagements
with the Indians throughout Ohio and Indiana occurred, upon whose
lands adventurous whites would settle ere the title had been acquired by
the proper treaty.
To remedy this latter evil, Congress appointed commissioners to
treat with the natives and purchase their lands, and prohibited the set-
tlement of the territory until this could be done. Before the close of the
year another attempt was made to capture Detroit, which was, however,
not pushed, and Virginia, no longer feeling the interest in the Northwest
she had formerly done, withdrew her troops, having on the 20th of
December preceding authorized the whole of her possessions to be deeded
to the United States. This was done on the 1st of March following, and
the Northwest Territory passed from the control of the Old Dominion.
To Gen. Clark and his soldiers, however, she gave a tract of one hundred
and fifty thousand acres of land, to be situated any where north of the
Ohio wherever they chose to locate them. They selected the region
opposite the falls of the Ohio, where is now the dilapidated village of
Clarksville, about midway between the Cities of New Albany and Jeffer-
sonville, Indiana.
While the frontier remained thus, and Gen. Haldimand at Detroit
refused to evacuate alleging that he had no orders from his King to do
so, settlers were rapidly gathering about the inland forts. In the Spring
of 1784, Pittsburgh was regularly laid out, and from the journal of Arthur
Lee, who passed through the town soon after on his way to the Indian
council at Fort Mcintosh, we suppose it was not very prepossessing in
appearance. He says :
11 Pittsburgh is inhabited almost entirely by Scots and Irish, who
live in paltry log houses, and are as dirty as if in the north of Ireland or
even Scotland. There is a great deal of trade carried on, the goods being
bought at the vast expense of forty-five shillings per pound from Phila-
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 57
delphia and Baltimore. They take in the shops flour, wheat, skins and
money. There are in. the town four attorneys, two doctors, and not a
priest of any persuasion, nor church nor chapel."
Kentucky at this time contained thirty thousand inhabitants, and
was beginning to discuss measures for a separation from Virginia. A
land office was opened at Louisville, and measures were adopted to take
defensive precaution against the Indians who were yet, in some instances,
incited to deeds of violence by the British. Before the close of this year,
1784, the military claimants of land began to occupy them, although no
entries were recorded until 1787.
The Indian title to the Northwest was not yet extinguished. They
held large tracts of lands, and in order to prevent bloodshed Congress
adopted means for treaties with the original owners and provided for the
surveys of the lands gained thereby, as well as for those north of the
Ohio, now in its possession. On January 31, 1786, a treaty was made
with the "Wabash Indians. The treaty of Fort Stanwix had been made
in 1784. That at Fort Mcintosh in 1785, and through these much land
was gained. The Wabash Indians, however, afterward refused to comply
with the provisions of the treaty made with them, and in order to compel
their adherence to its provisions, force was used. During the year 1786,
the free navigation of the Mississippi came up in Congress, and caused
various discussions, which resulted in no definite action, only serving to
excite speculation in regard to the western lands. Congress had promised
bounties of land to the soldiers of the Revolution, but owing to the
unsettled condition of affairs along the Mississippi respecting its naviga-
tion, and the trade of the Northwest, that body had, in 1783, declared
its inability to fulfill these promises until a treaty could be concluded
between the two Governments. Before the close of the year 1786, how-
ever, it was able, through the treaties with the Indians, to allow some
grants and the settlement thereon, and on the 14th of September Con-
necticut ceded to the General Government the tract of land known as
the " Connecticut Reserve," and before the close of the following year a
large tract of land north of the Ohio was sold to a company, who at once
took measures to settle it. By the provisions of this grant, the company
were to pay the United States one dollar per acre, subject to a deduction
of one-third for bad lands and other contingencies. They received
750,000 acres, bounded on the south by the Ohio, on the east by the
seventh range of townships, on the west by the sixteenth range, and on
the north by a line so drawn as to make the grant complete without
the reservations. In addition to this, Congress afterward granted 100,000
acres to actual settlers, and 214,285 acres as army bounties under the
resolutions of 1789 and 1790.
58
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
While Dr. Cutler, one of the agents of the company, was pressing-
its claims before Congress, that body was bringing into form an ordinance
for the political and social organization of this Territory. When the
cession was made by Virginia, in 1784, a plan was offered, but rejected.
A motion had been made to strike from the proposed plan the prohibition
of slavery, which prevailed. The plan was then discussed and altered,
and finally passed unanimously, with the exception of South Carolina.
By this proposition, the Territory was to have been divided into states
PRESENT SITE OF LAKE STREET BKIDGE, CHICAGO, IX 1833.
by parallels and meridian lines. This, it was thought, would make ten
states, which were to have been named as follows — beginning at the
northwest corner and going southwardly : Sylvania, Michigania, Cher-
sonesus, Assenisipia, Metropotamia, Illenoia, Saratoga, Washington, Poly-
potamia and Pelisipia.
There was a more serious objection to this plan than its category of
names, — the boundaries. The root of the difficulty was in the resolu-
tion of Congress passed in October, 1780, which fixed the boundaries
of the ceded lands to be from one hundred to one hundred and fifty miles
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 59.
square. These resolutions being presented to the Legislatures of Vir-
ginia and Massachusetts, they desired a change, and in July, 1786, the
subject was taken up in Congress, and changed to favor a division into
not more than five states, and not less than three. This was approved by
the State Legislature of Virginia. The subject of the Government was
again taken up by Congress in 1786, and discussed throughout that year
and until July, 1787, when the famous "Compact of 1787" was passed,
and the foundation of the government of the Northwest laid. This com-
pact is fully discussed and explained in the history of Illinois in this book,
and to it the reader is referred.
The passage of this act and the grant to the New England Company
was soon followed by an application to the Government by John Cleves
Symmes, of New Jersey, for a grant of the land between the Miamis-
This gentleman had visited these lands soon after the treaty of 1786, and,
being greatly pleased with them, offered similar terms to those given to the
New England Company. The petition was referred to the Treasury
Board with power to act, and a contract was concluded the following
year. During the Autumn the directors of the New England Company
were preparing to occupy their grant the following Spring, and upon the
23d of November made arrangements for a party of forty-seven men,
under the superintendency of Gen. Rufus Putnam, to set forward. Six
boat-builders were to leave at once, and on the first of January the sur-
veyors and their assistants, twenty-six in number, were to meet at Hart-
ford and proceed on their journey westward ; the remainder to follow a&
soon as possible. Congress, in the meantime, upon the 3d of October,
had ordered seven hundred troops for defense of the western settlers, and
to prevent unauthorized intrusions ; and two days later appointed Arthur
St. Clair Governor of the Territory of the Northwest.
AMERICAN SETTLEMENTS.
The civil organization of the Northwest Territory was now com-
plete, and notwithstanding the uncertainty of Indian affairs, settlers from
the East began to come into the country rapidly. The New England
Company sent their men during the Winter of 1787-8 pressing on over
the Alleghenies by the old Indian path which had been opened into
Braddock's road, and which has since been made a national turnpike
from Cumberland westward. Through the weary winter days they toiled
on, and by April were all gathered on the Yohiogany, where boats had
been built, and at once started for the Muskingum. Here they arrived
on the 7th of that month, and unless the Moravian missionaries be regarded
as the pioneers of Ohio, this little band can justly claim that honor.
60
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
'Gen. St. Clair, the appointed Governor of the Northwast, not having
yet arrived, a set of laws were passed, written out, and published by
being nailed to a tree in the embryo town, and Jonathan Meigs appointed
to administer them.
Washington in writing of this, the first American settlement in. the
Northwest, said : " No colony in America was ever settled under
such favorable auspices as that which has just commenced at Muskingum.
Information, property and strength will be its characteristics. I know
many of its settlers personally, and there never were men better calcu-
lated to promote the welfare of such a community."
«?viae&
A PIONEER DWELLING.
On the 2d of July a meeting of the directors and agents was held
on the banks of the Muskingum, " for the purpose of naming the new-
born city and its squares." As yet the settlement was known as the
"Muskingum," but that was now changed to the name Marietta, in honor
of Marie Antoinette.. The square upon which the block -houses stood
was called " Campus Martins ;" square number 19, " Capitolium ;" square
number 61, " Cecilia; 1 ' and the great road through the covert way, " Sacra
Via." Two days after, an oration was delivered by James M. Varnum,
who with S. H. Parsons and John Armstrong had been appointed to the
judicial bench of the territory on the 16th of October, 1787. On July 9,
Gov. St. Clair arrived, and the colony began to assume form. The act
of 1787 provided two district grades of government for the Northwest,
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 61
under the first of which the whole power was invested in the hands of a
governor and three district judges. This was immediately formed upon
the Governor's arrival, and the first laws of the colony passed on the 25th
of July. These provided for the organization of the militia, and on the
next day appeared the Governor's proclamation, erecting all that country
that had been ceded by the Indians east of the Scioto River into the
County of Washington. From that time forward, notwithstanding the
doubts yet existing as to the Indians, all Marietta prospered, and on the
2d of September the first court of the territory was held with imposing
ceremonies.
The emigration westward at this time was very great. The com-
mander at Fort Harmer, at the mouth of the Muskingum, reported four
thousand five hundred persons as having passed that post between Feb-
ruary and June, 1788 — many of whom would have purchased of the
"Associates," as the New England Company was called, had they been
ready to receive them.
On the 26th of November, 1787, Symmes issued a pamphlet stating
the terms of his contract and the plan of sale he intended to adopt. In
January, 1788, Matthias Denman, of New Jersey, took an active interest
in Symmes' purchase, and located among other tracts the sections upon
which Cincinnati has been built. Retaining one-third of this locality, he
sold the other two-thirds to Robert Patterson and John Filson, and the
three, about August, commenced to lay out a town on the spot, which
was designated as being opposite Licking River, to the mouih of which
they proposed to have a road cut from Lexington. The naming of the
town is thus narrated in the "Western Annals " : — " Mr. Filson, who had
been a schoolmaster, was appointed to name the town, and, in respect to
its situation, and as if with a prophetic perception of the mixed race that
were to inhabit it in after days, he named it Losantiville, which, being
interpreted, means : ville, the town ; anti, against or opposite to ; os, the
mouth ; L. of Licking."
Meanwhile, in July, Symmes got thirty persons and eight four-horse
teams under way for the West. These reached Limestone (now Mays-
ville) in September, where were several persons from Redstone. Here
Mr. Symmes tried to found a settlement, but the great "freshet of 1789
caused the " Point," as it was and is yet called, to be fifteen feet under
water, and the settlement to be abandoned. The little band of settlers
removed to the mouth of the Miami. Before Symmes and his colony left
the " Point," two settlements had been made on his purchase. The first
was by Mr. Stiltes, the original projector of the whole plan, who, with a
colony of Redstone people, had located at the mouth of the Miami,
whither Symmes went with his Maysville colony. Here a clearing had
62
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
been made by the Indians owing to the great fertility of the soil. Mr.
Stiltes with his colony came to this place on the 18th of November, 1788,.
with twenty-six persons, and, building a block-house, prepared to remain
through the Winter. They named the settlement Columbia. Here they
were kindly treated by the Indians, but suffered greatly from the flood
of 1789.
On the 4th of March, 1789, the Constitution of the United States
went into operation, and on April 30, George Washington was inaug-
urated President of the American people, and during the next Summer,
an Indian war was commenced by the tribes north of the Ohio. The
President at first used pacific means ; but these failing, he sent General
Harmer against the hostile tribes. He destroyed several villages, but
LAKE BLUFF.
The frontage of Lake Bluff Grounds on Lake Michigan, with one hundred and seventy feet of gradual ascent.
was defeated in two battles, near the present City of Fort Wayne,
Indiana. From this time till the close of 1795, the principal events were
the wars with the various Indian tribes. In 1796, General St. Clair
was appointed in command, and marched against the Indians ; but while
he was encamped on a stream, the St. Mary, a branch of the Maumee,
he was attacked and defeated with the loss of six hundred men.
General Wayne was now sent against the savages. In August, 1794,
he met them near the rapids of the Maumee, and gained a complete
victory. This success, followed by vigorous measures, compelled the
Indians to sue for peace, and on the 30th of July, the following year, the
treaty of Greenville was signed by the principal chiefs, by which a large
tract of country was ceded to the United States.
Before proceeding in our narrative, we will pause to notice Fort
Washington, erected in the early part of this war on the site of Cincinnati.
Nearly all of the great cities of the Northwest, and indeed of the
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 6-°>
whole country, have had their nuclei in those rude pioneer structures,
known as forts or stockades. Thus Forts Dearborn, Washington, Pon-
chartrain, mark the original sites of the now proud Cities of Chicago,
Cincinnati and Detroit. So of most of the flourishing cities east and west
of the Mississippi. Fort Washington, erected by Doughty in 1790, was a
rude but highly interesting structure. It was composed of a number of
strongly-built hewed log cabins. Those designed for soldiers' barracks
were a story and a half high, while those composing the officers quarters
were more imposing and more conveniently arranged and furnished.
The whole were so placed as to form a hollow square, enclosing about aD
acre of ground, with a block house at each of the four angles.
The logs for the construction of this fort were cut from the ground
upon which it was erected. It stood between Third and Fourth Streets
of the present city (Cincinnati) extending east of Eastern Row, now
Broadway, which was then a narrow alley, and the eastern boundary of
of the town as it was originally laid out. On the bank of the river,
immediately in front of the fort, was an appendage of the fort, called the
Artificer's Yard. It contained about two acres of ground, enclosed by
small contiguous buildings, occupied by workshops and quarters of
laborers. Within this enclosure there was a large two-story frame house,
familiarly called the " Yellow House," built for the accommodation of
the Quartermaster General. For many years this was the best finished
and most commodious edifice in the Queen City. Fort Washington was
for some time the headquarters of both the civil and military governments
of the Northwestern Territory.
Following the consummation of the treaty various gigantic land spec-
ulations were entered into by different persons, who hoped to obtain
from the Indians in Michigan and northern Indiana, large tracts of lands.
These were generally discovered in time to prevent the outrageous
schemes from being carried out, and from involving the settlers in war.
On October 27, 1795, the treaty between the United States and Spain
was signed, whereby the free navigation of the Mississippi was secured.
No sooner had the treat}* of 1795 been ratified than settlements began
to pour rapidly into the West. The great event of the year 1796 was the
occupation of that part of the Northwest including Michigan, which was
this year, under the provisions of the treaty, evacuated by the British
forces. The United States, owing to certain conditions, did not feel
justified in addressing the authorities in Canada in relation to Detroit
and other frontier posts. When at last the British authorities were
called to give them up, they at once complied, and General Wayne, who
had done so much to preserve the frontier settlements, and who, before
the year's close, sickened and died near Erie, transferred his head-
Q\. THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
quarters to the neighborhood of the lakes, where a county named after
him was formed, which included the northwest of Ohio, all of Michigan,
and the northeast of Indiana. During this same year settlements were
formed at the present City of Chillicothe, along the Miami from Middle-
town to Piqua, while in the more distant West, settlers and speculators
began to appear in great numbers. In September, the City of Cleveland
was laid out, and during the Summer and Autumn, Samuel Jackson and
Jonathan Sharpless erected the first manufactory of paper — the " Red-
stone Paper Mill" — in the West. St. Louis contained some seventy
houses, and Detroit over three hundred, and along the river, contiguous
to it, were more than three thousand inhabitants, mostly French Canadians,
Indians and half-breeds, scarcely any Americans venturing yet into that
part of the Northwest.
The election of representatives for the territory had taken place,
and on the 4th of February, 1799, they convened at Losantiville — now
known as Cincinnati, having been named so by Gov. St. Clair, and
considered the capital of the Territory — to nominate persons from whom
the members of the Legislature were to be chosen in accordance with
a previous ordinance. This nomination being made, the Assembly
adjourned until the 16th of the following September. From those named
the President selected as members of the council, Henry Vandenburg,
of Vincennes, Robert Oliver, of Marietta, James Findlay and Jacob
Burnett, of Cincinnati, and David Vance, of Vanceville. On the 16th
of September the Territorial Legislature met, and on the 24th the two
houses were duly organized, Henry Vandenburg being elected President
of the Council.
The message of Gov. St. Clair was addressed to the Legislature
September 20th, and on October 13th that body elected as a delegate to
Congress Gen. Wm. Henry Harrison, who received eleven of the votes
cast, being a majority of one over his opponent, Arthur St. Clair, son of
Gen. St. Clair.
The whole number of acts passed at this session, and approved by
the Governor, were thirty -seven — eleven others were passed, but received
his veto. The most important of those passed related to the militia, to
the administration, and to taxation. On the 19th of December this pro-
tracted session of the first Legislature in the West was closed, and on the
30th of December the President nominated Charles Willing Bryd to the
office of Secretary of the Territory vice Wm. Henry Harrison, elected to
Congress. The Senate confirmed his nomination the next day.
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 65
DIVISION OF THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
The increased emigration to the Northwest, the extent of the domain,
and the inconvenient modes of travel, made it very difficult to conduct
the ordinary operations of government, and rendered the efficient action
of courts almost impossible. To remedy this, it was deemed advisable to
divide the territory for civil purposes. Congress, in 1800, appointed a
committee to examine the question and report some means for its solution.
This committee, on the 3d of March, reported that :
" In the three western countries there has been but one court having
cognizance of crimes, in five years, and the immunity which offenders
experience attracts, as to an asylum, the most vile and abandoned crim-
inals, and at the same time deters useful citizens from making settlements
in such society. The extreme necessity of judiciary attention and assist-
ance is experienced in civil as well as in criminal cases. * * * * To
minister a remedy to these and other evils, it occurs to this committee
that it is expedient that a division of said territory into two distinct and
separate governments should be made ; and that such "division be made
by a line beginning at the mouth of the Great Miami River, running
directly north until it intersects the boundary between the United States
and Canada.".
The report was accepted by Congress, and, in accordance with its
suggestions, that body passed an Act extinguishing the Northwest Terri-
tory, which Act was approved May 7. Among its provisions were these :
" That from and after July 4 next, all that part of the Territory of
the United States northwest of the Ohio River, which lies to the westward
of a line beginning at a point on the Ohio, opposite to the mouth of the
Kentucky River, and running thence to Fort Recovery, and thence north
until it shall intersect the territorial line between the United States and
Canada, shall, for the purpose of temporary government, constitute a
separate territory, and be called the Indiana Territory."
After providing for the exercise of the civil and criminal powers of
the territories, and other provisions, the Act further provides :
" That until it shall otherwise be ordered by the Legislatures of the
said Territories, respectively, Chillicothe on the Scioto River shall be the
seat of government of the Territory of the United States northwest of the
Ohio River ; and that St. Vincennes on the Wabash River shall be the
seat of government for the Indiana Territory."
Gen. Wm. Henry Harrison was appointed Governor of the Indiana
Territory, and entered upon his duties about a year later. Connecticut
also about this time released her claims to the reserve, and in March a law
,QQ THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
was passed accepting this cession. Settlements had been made upon
thirty-five of the townships in the reserve, mills had been built, and seven
hundred miles of road cut in various directions. On the 3d of November
the General Assembly met at Chillicothe. Near the close of the year,
the first missionary of the Connecticut Reserve came, who found no
township containing more than eleven families. It was upon the first of
October that the secret treaty had been made between Napoleon and the
King of Spain, whereby the latter agreed to cede to France the province
of Louisiana.
In January, 1802, the Assembly of the Northwestern Territory char-
tered the college at Athens. From the earliest dawn of the western
colonies, education was promptly provided for, and as early as 1787,
newspapers were issued from Pittsburgh and Kentucky, and largely read
throughout the frontier settlements. Before the close of this year, the
Congress of the United States granted to the citizens of the Northwestern
territory the formation of a State government. One of the provisions of
the " compast of 1787" provided that whenever the number of inhabit-
ants within prescribed limits exceeded 45,000, they should be entitled to
a separate government. The prescribed limits of Ohio contained, from a
census taken to ascertain the legality of the act, more than that number,
and on the 30th of April, 1802, Congress passed the act defining its limits,
and on the 29th of November the Constitution of the new State of Ohio,
so named from the beautiful river forming its southern boundary, came
into existence. The exact limits of Lake Michigan were not then known,
but the territory now included within the State of Michigan was wholly
within the territory of Indiana.
Gen. Harrison, while residing at Vincennes, made several treaties
with the Indians, thereby gaining large tracts of lands. The next 3 ear is
memorable in the history of the West for the purchase of Louisiana from
France by the United States for $ 15,000,000. Thus by a peaceful mode,
the domain of the United States was extended over a large tract of
country west of the Mississippi, and was for a time under the jurisdiction
of the Northwest government, and, as has been mentioned in the early
part of this narrative, was called the "New Northwest." The limits
of this history will not allow a description of its territory. The same year
large grants of land were obtained from the Indians, and the House of
Representatives of the new State of Ohio signed a bill respecting the
College Township in the district of Cincinnati.
Before the close of the year, Gen. Harrison obtained additional
grants of lands from the various Indian nations in Indiana and the present
limits of Illinois, and on the 18th of August, 1804, completed a treaty at
St. Louis, whereby over 51,000,000 acres of lands were obtained from the
: -+
:
BLOOMINGTON
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 67
aborigines. Measures were also taken to learn the condition of affairs in
and about Detroit.
C. Jouett, the Indian agent in Michigan, still a part of Indiana Terri-
tory, reported as follows upon the condition of matters at that post :
" The Town of Detroit. — The charter, which is for fifteen miles
square, was granted in the time of Louis XIV. of France, and is now,
from the best information I have been able to get, at Quebec. Of those
two hundred and twenty-five acres, only four are occupied by the town
and Fort Lenault. The remainder is a common, except twenty-four
acres, which were added twenty years ago to a farm belonging to Wm.
Macomb. * * * A stockade incloses the town, fort and citadel. The
pickets, as well as the public houses, are in a state of gradual decay. The
streets are narrow, straight and regular, and intersect each other at right
angles. The houses are, for the most part, low and inelegant."
During this year, Congress granted a township of land for the sup-
port of a college, and began to offer inducements for settlers in these
wilds, and the country now comprising the State of Michigan began to
fill rapidly with settlers along its southern borders. This same year, also,
a law was passed organizing the Southwest Territory, dividing it into two
portions, the Territory of New Orleans, which city was made the seat of
government, and the District of Louisiana, which was annexed to the
domain of Gen. Harrison.
On the 11th of January, 1805, the Territory of Michigan was formed,
Wm. Hull was appointed governor, with headquarters at Detroit, the
change to take effect on June 30. On the 11th of that month, a fire
occurred at Detroit, which destroyed almost every building in the place.
When the officers of the new territory reached the post, they found it in
ruins, and the inhabitants scattered throughout the country. Rebuild-
ing, however, soon commenced, and ere long the town contained more
houses than before the fire, and many of them much better built.
While this was being done, Indiana had passed to the second grade
of government, and through her General Assembly had obtained large
tracts of land from the Indian tribes. To all this the celebrated Indian,
Tecumthe or Tecumseh, vigorously protested, and it was the main cause
of his attempts to unite the various Indian tribes in a conflict with the
settlers. To obtain a full account of these attempts, the workings of the
British, and the signal failure, culminating in the death of Tecumseh at
the battle of the Thames, and the close of the war of 1812 in the Northwest,
we will step aside in our story, and relate the principal events of his life,
and his connection with this conflict.
68
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
TECUMSEH, THE SHAWANOE CHIEFTAIN.
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 69
TECUMSEH, AND THE WAR OF 1812.
This famous Indian chief was born about the year 1768, not far from
the site of the present City of Piqua, Ohio. His father, Puckeshinwa,
was a member of the Kisopok tribe of the Swanoese nation, and his
mother, Methontaske, was a member of the Turtle tribe of the same
people. They removed from Florida about the middle of the last century
to the birthplace of Tecumseh. In 1774, his father, who had risen to be
chief, was slain at the battle of Point Pleasant, and not long after Tecum-
seh, by his bravery, became the leader of his tribe. In 1795 he was
declared chief, and then lived at Deer Creek, near the site of the
present City of Urbana. He remained here about one year, when he
returned to Piqua, and in 1798, he went to White River, Indiana. In
1805, he and his brother, Laulewasikan (Open Door), who had announced
himself as a prophet, went to a tract of land on the Wabash River, given
them by the Pottawatomies and Kickapoos. From this date the chief
comes into prominence. He was now about thirty-seven years of age,
was five feet and ten inches in height, was stoutly built, and possessed of
enormous powers of endurance. His countenance was naturally pleas-
ing, and he was, in general, devoid of those savage attributes possessed
by most Indians. It is stated he could read and write, and had a confi-
dential secretary and adviser, named Billy Caldwell, a half-breed, who
afterward became chief of the Pottawatomies. He occupied the first
house built on the site of Chicago. At this time, Tecumseh entered
upon the great work of his life. He had long objected to the grants of
land made by the Indians to the whites, and determined to unite all the
Indian tribes into a league, in order that no treaties or grants of land
could be made save by the consent of this confederation.
He traveled constantly, going from north to south ; from the south
to the north, everywhere urging the Indians to this step. He was a
matchless orator, and his burning words had their effect.
Gen. Harrison, then Governor of Indiana, by watching the move-
ments of the Indians, became convinced that a grand conspiracy was
forming, and made preparations to defend the settlements. Tecumseh's
plan was similar to Pontiac's, elsewhere described, and to the cunning
artifice of that chieftain was added his own sagacity.
During the } r ear 1809, Tecumseh and the prophet were actively pre-
paring for the work. In that year, Gen. Harrison entered into a treaty
with the Delawares, Kickapoos, Pottawatomies, Miamis, Eel River Indians
and Weas, in which these tribes ceded to the whites certain lands upon
the Wabash, to all of which Tecumseh entered a bitter protest, averring
70 THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
as one principal reason that he did not want the Indians to give up any
lands north and west of the Ohio River.
Tecumseh, in August, 1810, visited the General at Vincennes and
held a council relating to the grievances of the Indians. Becoming unduly
angry at this conference he was dismissed from the village, and soon after
departed to incite the southern Indian tribes to the conflict.
Gen. Harrison determined to move upon the chiefs headquarters at
Tippecanoe, and for this purpose went about sixty-five miles up the
Wabash, where he built Fort Harrison. From this place he went to the
prophet's town, where he informed the Indians he had no hostile inten-
tions, provided they were true to the existing treaties. He encamped
near the village early in October, and on the morning of November 7, he
was attacked by a large force of the Indians, and the famous battle of
Tippecanoe occurred. The Indians were routed and their town broken
up. Tecumseh returning not long after, was greatly exasperated at his
brother, the prophet, even threatening to kill him for rashly precipitating
the war, and foiling his (Tecumseh's) plans.
Tecumseh sent word to Gen. Harrison that he was now returned
from the South, and was ready to visit the President as had at one time
previously been proposed. Gen. Harrison informed him he could not go
as a chief, which method Tecumseh desired,, and the visit was never
made.
In June of the following year, he visited the Indian agent at
Fort Wayne. Here he disavowed any intention to make a war against
the United States, and reproached Gen. Harrison for marching against his
people. The agent replied to this ; Tecumseh listened with a cold indif-
ference, and after making a few general remarks, with a haughty air drew
his blanket about him, left the council house, and departed for Fort Mai-
den, in Upper Canada, where he joined the British standard.
He remained under this Government, doing effective work for the
Crown while engaged in the war of 1812 which now opened. He was,
however, always humane in his treatment of the prisoners, never allow-
ing his warriors to ruthlessly mutilate the bodies of those slain, or wan-
tonly murder the captive.
In the Summer of 1813, Perry's victory on Lake Erie occurred, and
shortly after active preparations were made to capture Maiden. On the
27th of September, the American army, under Gen. Harrison, set sail for
the shores of Canada, and in a few hours stood around the ruins of Mai-
den, from which the British army, under Proctor, had retreated to Sand-
wich, intending to make its way to the heart of Canada by the Valley of
the Thames. On the 29th Gen. Harrison was at Sandwich, and Gen.
Mc Arthur took possession of Detroit and the territory of Michigan.
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
71
On the 2d of October, the Americans began their pursuit of Proctor,
whom they overtook on the 5th, and the battle of the Thames followed.
Early in the engagement, Tecumseh who was at the head of the column
of Indians was slain, and they, no longer hearing the voice of their chief-
tain, fled. The victory was decisive, and practically closed the war in
the Northwest.
INDIANS ATTACKING A STOCKADS.
Just who killed the great chief has been a matter of much dispute ;
but the weight of opinion awards the act to Col. Richard M. Johnson,
who fired at' him with a pistol, the shot proving fatal.
In 1805 occurred Burr's Insurrection. He took possession of a
beautiful island in the Ohio, after the killing of Hamilton, and is charged
by many with attempting to set up an independent government. His
plans were frustrated by the general government, his property confiscated
and he was compelled to flee the country for safety.
-j 2 THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
In January, 1807, Governor Hull, of Michigan Territory, made a
treaty with the Indians, whereby all that peninsula was ceded to the
United States. Before the close of the year, a stockade was built about
Detroit. It was also during this year that Indiana and Illinois endeavored
to obtain the repeal of that section of the compact of 1787, whereby
slavery was excluded from the Northwest Territory. These attempts,
however, all signally failed.
'In 1809 it was deemed advisable to divide the Indiana Territory.
This was done, and the Territory of Illinois was formed from the western
part, the seat of government being fixed at Kaskaskia. The next year,
the intentions of Tecumseh manifested themselves in open hostilities, and
then began the events already narrated.
While this war was in progress, emigration to the West went on with
surprising rapidity. In 1811, under Mr. Roosevelt of New York, the
first steamboat trip was made on the Ohio, much to the astonishment of
the natives, many of whom fled in terror at the appearance of the
" monster." It arrived at Louisville on the 10th day of October. At the
close of the first week of January, 1812, it arrived at Natchez, after being
nearly overwhelmed in the great earthquake which occurred while on its
downward trip.
The battle of the Thames was fought on October 6, 1813. It
effectually closed hostilities in the Northwest, although peace was not
fully restored until July 22, 1814, when a treaty was formed at Green-
ville, under the direction of General Harrison, between the United States
and the Indian tribes, in which it was stipulated that the Indians should
cease hostilities against the Americans if the war were continued. Such,
happily, was not the case, and on the 24th of December the treaty
of Ghent was signed by the representatives of England and the United
States. This treaty was followed the next year by treaties with various
Indian tribes throughout the West and Northwest, and quiet was again
restored in this part of the new world.
On the 18th of March, 1816, Pittsburgh was incorporated as a city.
It then had a population of 8,000 people, and was already noted for its
manufacturing interests. On April 19, Indiana Territory was allowed
to form a state government. At that time there were thirteen counties
organized, containing about sixty-three thousand inhabitants. The first
election of state officers was held in August, when Jonathan Jennings
was chosen Governor. The officers were sworn in on November 7, and
on December 11, the State was formally admitted into the Union. For
some time the seat of government was at Corydon, but a more central
location being desirable, the present capital, Indianapolis (City of Indiana),
was laid out January 1, 1825.
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 73
On the 28th of December the Bank of Illinois, at Shawneetown, was
chartered, with a capital of $300,000. At this period all banks were
under the control of the States, and were allowed to establish branches
at different convenient points.
Until this time Chillicothe and Cincinnati had in turn enjoyed the
privileges of being the capital of Ohio. But the rapid settlement of the
northern and eastern portions of the State demanded, as in Indiana, a
more central location, and before the close of the year, the site of Col-
umbus was selected and surveyed as the future capital of the State.
Banking had begun in Ohio as early as 1808, when the first bank was
chartered at Marietta, but here as elsewhere it did not bring to the state
the hoped-for assistance. It and other banks were subsequently unable
to redeem their currency, and were obliged to suspend.
In 1818, Illinois was made a state, and all the territory north of her
northern limits was erected into a separate territory and joined to Mich-
igan for judicial purposes. By the following year, navigation of the lakes
was increasing with great rapidity and affording an immense source of
revenue to the dwellers in the Northwest, but it was not until 1826 that
the trade was extended to Lake Michigan, or that steamships began to
navigate the bosom of that inland sea.
Until the year 1832, the commencement of the Black Hawk War,
but few hostilities were experienced with the Indians. Roads were
opened, canals were dug, cities were built, common schools were estab-
lished, universities were founded, many of which, especially the Michigan
University, have achieved a world wide-reputation. The people were
becoming wealthy. The domains of the United States had been extended,
and had the sons of the forest been treated with honesty and justice, the
record of many years would have been that of peace and continuous pros-
perity.
BLACK HAWK AND THE BLACK HAWK WAR.
This conflict, though confined to Illinois, is an important epoch in
the Northwestern history, being the last war with the Indians in this part
of the United States.
Ma-ka-tai-me-she-kia-kiah , or Black Hawk, was born in the principal
Sac village, about three miles from the junction of Rock River with the
Mississippi, in the year 1767. His father's name was Py-e-sa or Pahaes ;
his grandfather's, Na-na-ma-kee, or the Thunderer. Black Hawk early
distinguished himself as a warrior, and at the age of fifteen was permitted
to paint and was ranked among the braves. About the year 1783, he
Went on an expedition against the enemies of his nation, the Osages, one
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
BLACK HAWK, THE SAC CHIEFTAIN.
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 75
of whom he killed and scalped, and for this deed of Indian bravery he was
permitted to join in the scalp dance. Three or four years after he, at the
head of two hundred braves, went on another expedition against the
Osages, to avenge the murder of some women and children belonging to
his own tribe. Meeting an equal number of Osage warriors, a fierce
battle ensued, in which the latter tribe lost one-half their number. The
Sacs lost only about nineteen warriors. He next attacked the Cherokees
for a similar cause. In a severe battle with them, near the present City
of St. Louis, his father was slain, and Black Hawk, taking possession of
the " Medicine Bag," at once announced himself chief of the Sac nation.
He had now conquered the Cherokees, and about tbe year 1800, at the
head of five hundred Sacs and Foxes, and a hundred Iowas, he waged
war against the Osage nation and subdued it. For two years he battled
successfully with other Indian tribes, all of whom he conquered.
Black Hawk does not at any time seem to have been friendly to
the Americans. When on a visit to St. Louis to see his " Spanish
Father," he declined to see any of the Americans, alleging, as a reason,
he did not want two fathers.
The treaty at St. Louis was consummated in 1804. The next year the
United States Government erected a fort near the head of the Des Moines
Rapids, called Fort Edwards. This seemed to enrage Black Hawk, who
at once determined to capture Fort Madison, standing on the west side of
the Mississippi above the mouth of the Des Moines River. The fort was
garrisoned by about fifty men. Here he was defeated. The difficulties
with the British Government arose about this time, and the War of 1812
followed. That government, extending aid to the Western Indians, by
giving them arms and ammunition, induced them to remain hostile to the
Americans. In August, 1812, Black Hawk, at the head of about five
hundred braves, started to join the British forces at Detroit, passing on
his way the site of Chicago, where the famous Fort Dearborn Massacre
V a a few days before occurred. Of his connection with the British
o.c. eminent but little is known. In 1813 he with his little band descended
the Mississippi, and attacking some United States troops at Fort Howard
was defeated.
In the early part of 1815, the Indian tribes west of the Mississippi
were notified that peace had been declared between the United States
and England, and nearly all hostilities had ceased. Black Hawk did not
sign any treat}-, however, until May of the following year. He then recog-
nized the validity of the treaty at St. Louis in 1804. From the time of
signing this treaty in 1816, until the breaking out of the war in 1832, he
and his band passed their time in the common pursuits of Indian life.
Ten years before the commencement of this war, the Sac and Fox
76 THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
Indians were urged to join the Iowas on the west bank of the Father of
Waters. All were agreed, save the band known as the British Band, of
which Black Hawk was leader. He strenuously objected to the removal,
and was induced to comply only after being threatened with the power of
the Government. This and various actions on the part of the white set-
tlers provoked Black Hawk and his band to attempt the capture of his
native village now occupied by the whites. The war followed. He and
his actions were undoubtedly misunderstood, and had his wishes been
acquiesced in at the beginning of the struggle, much bloodshed would
have been prevented.
Black Hawk was chief now of the Sac and Fox nations, and a noted
warrior. He and his tribe inhabited a village on Rock River, nearly three
miles above its confluence with the Mississippi, where the tribe had lived
many generations. When that portion of Illinois was reserved to them,
they remained in peaceable possession of their reservation, spending their
time in the enjoyment of Indian life. The fine situation of their village
and the quality of their lands incited the more lawless white settlers, who
from time to time began to encroach upon the red men's domain. From
one pretext to another, and from one step to another, the crafty white
men gained a foothold, until through whisky and artifice they obtained
deeds from many of the Indians for their possessions. The Indians were
finally induced to cross over the Father of Waters and locate among the
Iowas. Black Hawk was strenuously opposed to all this, but as the
authorities of Illinois and the United States thought this the best move, he
was forced to comply. Moreover other tribes joined the whites and urged
the removal. Black Hawk would not agree to the terms of the treaty
made with his nation for their lands, and as soon as the military, called to
enforce his removal, had retired, he returned to the Illinois side of the
river. A large force was at once raised and marched against him. On
the evening of May 14, 1832, the first engagement occurred between a
band from this army and Black Hawk's band, in which the former were
defeated.
This attack and its result aroused the whites. A large force of men
was raised, and Gen. Scott hastened from the seaboard, by way of the
lakes, with United States troops and artillery to aid in the subjugation of
the Indians. On the 24th of June, Black Hawk, with 200 warriors, was
repulsed by Major Demont between Rock River and Galena. The Ameri-
can army continued to move up Rock River toward the main body of
the Indians, and on the 21st of July came upon Black Hawk and his band,
and defeated them near the Blue Mounds.
Before this action, Gen. Henry, in command, sent word to the main
army by whom he was immediately rejoined, and the whole crossed the
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. ' 77
Wisconsin in pursuit of Black Hawk and his band who were fleeing to the
Mississippi. They were overtaken on the 2d of August, and in the battle
which followed the power of the Indian chief was completely broken. He
fled, but was seized by the Winnebagoes and delivered to the whites.
On the 21st of September, 1832, Gen. Scott and Gov. Reynolds con-
cluded a treaty with the Winnebagoes, Sacs and Foxes by which they
ceded to the United States a vast tract of country, and agreed to remain
peaceable with the whites. For the faithful performance of the provi-
sions of this treaty on the part of the Indians, it was stipulated that
Black Hawk, his two sons, the prophet Wabokieshiek, and six other chiefs
of the hostile bands should be retained as hostages during the pleasure
of the President. They were confined at Fort Barracks and put in irons.
The next Spring, by order of the Secretary of War, they were taken
to Washington. From there they were removed to Fortress Monroe,
"there to remain until the conduct of their nation was such as to justify
their being set at liberty." They were retained here until the 4th of
June, when the authorities directed them to be taken to the principal
cities so that they might see the folly of contending against the white
people. Everywhere they were observed by thousands, the name of the
old chief being extensively known. By the middle of August they
reached Fort Armstrong on Rock Island, where Black Hawk was soon
after released to go to his countrymen. As he passed the site of his birth-
place, now the home of the white man, he was deeply moved. His village
where he was born, where he had so happily lived, and where he had
hoped to die, was now another's dwelling place, and he was a wanderer.
On the next day after his release, he went at once to his tribe and
his lodge. His wife was yet living, and with her he passed the remainder
of his days. To his credit it may be said that Black Hawk always re-
mained true to his wife, and served her with a devotion uncommon among
the Indians, living with her upward of forty years.
Black Hawk now passed his time hunting and fishing. A deep mel-
ancholy had settled over him from which he could not be freed. At all
times when he visited the whites he was received with marked atten-
tion. He was an honored guest at the old settlers' reunion in Lee County,
Illinois, at some of their meetings, and received many tokens of esteem.
In September, 1838, while on his way to Rock Island to receive his
annuity from the Government, he contracted a severe cold which resulted
in a fatal attack of bilious fever which terminated his life on October 3.
His faithful wife, who was devotedly attached to him, mourned deeply
during his sickness. After his death he was dressed in the uniform pre-
sented to him by the President while in Washington. He was buried in
a grave six feet in depth, situated upon a beautiful eminence. " The
78 THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
body was placed in the middle of the grave, in a sitting posture, upon a
seat constructed for the purpose. On his left side, the cane, given him
by Henry Clay, was placed upright, with his right hand resting upon it.
Many of the old warrior's trophies were placed in the grave, and some
Indian garments, together with his favorite weapons."
No sooner was the Black Hawk war concluded than settlers began
rapidly to pour into the northern parts of Illinois, and into Wisconsin,
now free from Indian depredations. Chicago, 'from a trading post, had
grown to a commercial center, and was rapidly coming into prominence.
In 1835, the formation of a State Government in Michigan was discussed,
but did not take active form until two years later, when the State became
a part of the Federal Union.
The main attraction to that portion of the Northwest lying west of
Lake Michigan, now included in the State of Wisconsin, was its alluvial
wealth. Copper ore was found about Lake Superior. For some time this
region was attached to Michigan for judiciary purposes, but in 1830 was
made a territory, then including Minnesota and Iowa. The latter State
was detached two years later. In 1848, Wisconsin was admitted as a
State, Madison being made the capital. We have now traced the various
divisions of the Northwest Territory (save a little in Minnesota) from
the time it was a unit comprising this vast territory, until circumstances
compelled its present division.
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
79
PRESENT CONDITION OF THE NORTHWEST.
Preceding chapters have brought us to the close of the Black Hawk
war, and we now turn to the contemplation of the growth and prosperity
of the Northwest under the smile of peace and the blessings of our civili-
zation. The pioneers of this region date events back to the deep snow
OLD FOET DEARBORN, 1830.
of 1831, no one arriving here since that date taking first honors. The
inciting cause of the immigration which overflowed the prairies early in
the '30s was the reports of the marvelous beauty and fertility of the
region distributed through the East by those who had participated in the
Black Hawk campaign with Gen. Scott. Chicago and Milwaukee then
had a few hundred inhabitants, and Gurdon S. Hubbard's trail from the
former city to Kaskaskia led almost through a wilderness. Vegetables
and clothing were largely distributed through the regions adjoining the
80
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
lakes by steamers from the Ohio towns. There are men now living in
Illinois who came to the state when barely an acre was in cultivation,
and a man now prominent in the business circles of Chicago looked over
the swampy, cheerless site of that metropolis in 1818 and went south-
ward into civilization. Emigrants from Pennsylvania in 1830 left behind
LINCOLN MONUMENT, SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS.
them but one small railway in the coal regions, thirty miles in length,
and made their way to the Northwest mostly with ox teams, finding in
Northern Illinois petty settlements scores of miles apart, although the
southern portion of the state was fairly dotted with farms. The
water courses of the Jakes and rivers furnished transportation to the
second great army of immigrants, and about 1850 railroads were
pushed to that extent that the crisis of 1837 was precipitated upon us,
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
81
from the effects of which the Western country had not fully recovered
at the outbreak of the war. Hostilities found the colonists of the prairies
fully alive to the demands of the occasion, and the honor of recruiting
the vast armies of the Union fell largely to Gov. Yates, of Illinois, and
Gov. Morton, of Indiana. To recount the share of the glories of the
campaign won by ccx Western troops is a needless task, except to
mention the fact that Illinois gave to tne nation the President who save']
82
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
it, and sent out at the head of one of its regiments tne general who led
ts armies to the final victory at Appomattox. The struggle, on the
1 ;«!>.,
TO
M
whole, had a marked effect for the better on the new Northwest, g: ring
it an impetus which twenty years of peace would not have produced.
In a large degree this prosperity was an inflated one, and with the rest
of the Union we have since been compelled to atone therefor by four
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 83
years of depression of values, of scarcity of employment, and loss of
fortune. To a less degree, however, than the manufacturing or mining
regions has the West suffered during the prolonged panic now so near its
end. Agriculture, still the leading feature in our industries, has been
quite prosperous through all these dark years, and the farmers have
cleared away many incumbrances resting over them from the period of
fictitious values. The population has steadily increased, the arts and
sciences are gaining a stronger foothold, the trade area of the region is
becoming daily more extended, and we have been largely exempt from
the financial calamities which have nearly wrecked communities on the
seaboard dependent wholly on foreign commerce or domestic manufacture.
At the present period there are no great schemes broached for the
Northwest, no propositions for government subsidies or national works
of improvement, but the capital of the world is attracted hither for the
purchase of our products or the expansion of our capacity for serving the
nation at large. A new era is dawning as to transportation, and we bid
fair to deal almost exclusively with the increasing and expanding lines
of steel rail running through every few miles of territory on the prairies.
The lake marine will no doubt continue to be useful in the warmer
season, and to serve as a regulator of freight rates ; but experienced
navigators forecast the decay of the system in moving to the seaboard
the enormous crops of the West. Within the past five years it has
become quite common to see direct shipments to Europe and the West
Indies going through from the second-class towns along the Mississippi
and Missouri.
As to popular education, the standard has of late risen very greatly,
and our schools would be creditable to any section of the Union.
More and more as the events of the war pass into obscurity will the
fate of the Northwest be linked with that of the Southwest, and the
next Congressional apportionment will give the valley of the Mississippi
absolute control of the legislation of the nation, and do much toward
securing the removal of the Federal capitol to some more central location.
Our public men continue to wield the full share of influence pertain-
ing to their rank in the national autonomy, and seem not to forget that
for the past sixteen years they and their constituents have dictated the
principles which should govern the country.
In a work like this, destined to lie on the shelves of the library for
generations, and not doomed to daily destruction like a newspaper, one
can not indulge in the same glowing predictions, the sanguine statements
of actualities that fill the columns of ephemeral publications. Time may
bring grief to the pet projects of a writer, and explode castles erected on
a pedestal of facts. Yet there are unmistakable indications before us of
84 THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
the same radical change in our great Northwest which characterizes its
history for the past thirty years. Our domain has a sort of natural
geographical border, save where it melts away to the southward in the
cattle raising districts of the southwest.
Our prime interest will for some years doubtless be the growth of
the food of the world, in which branch it has already outstripped all
competitors, and our great rival in this duty will naturally be the fertile
plains of Kansas, Nebraska and Colorado, to say nothing of the new
empire so rapidly growing up in Texas. Over these regions there is a
continued progress in agriculture and in railway building, and we must
look to our laurels. Intelligent observers of events are fully aware of
the strides made in the way of shipments of fresh meats to Europe,
many of these ocean cargoes being actually slaughtered in the West and
transported on ice to the wharves of the seaboard cities. That this new
enterprise will continue there is no reason to doubt. There are in
Chicago several factories for the canning of prepared meats for European
consumption, and the orders for this class of goods are already immense.
English capital is becoming daily more and more dissatisfied with railway
loans and investments, and is gradually seeking mammoth outlays in
lands and live stock. The stock yards in Chicago, Indianapolis and East
St. Louis are yearly increasing their facilities, and their plant steadily
grows more valuable. Importations of blooded animals from the pro-
gressive countries of Europe are destined to greatly improve the quality
of our beef and mutton. Nowhere is there to be seen a more enticing
display in this line than at our state and county fairs, and the interest
in the matter is on the increase.
To attempt to give statistics of our grain production for 1877 would
be useless, so far have we surpassed ourselves in the quantity and
quality of our product. We are too liable to forget that we are giving
the world its first article of necessity — its food supply. An opportunity
to learn this fact so it never can be forgotten was afforded at Chicago at
the outbreak of the great panic of 1873, when Canadian purchasers,
fearing the prostration of business might bring about an anarchical condition
of affairs, went to that city with coin in bulk and foreign drafts to secure
their supplies in their own currency at first hands. It may be justly
claimed by the agricultural community that their combined efforts gave
the nation its first impetus toward a restoration of its crippled industries,
and their labor brought the gold premium to a lower depth than the
government was able to reach by its most intense efforts of legislation
and compulsion. The hundreds of millions about to be disbursed for
farm products have already, by the anticipation common to all commercial
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
nations, set the wheels in motion, and will relieve us from the perils so
long shadowing our efforts to return to a healthy tone.
Manufacturing has attained in the chief cities a foothold which bids
fair to render the Northwest independent of the outside world. Nearly
HUNTIXG PRATB1E WOLVES IN AX EARLY DAY.
our whole region has a distribution of coal measures which will in time
support the manufactures necessary to our comfort and prosperity. As
to transportation, the chief factor in the production of all articles exceu "•
food, no section is so magnificently endowed, and our facilities are yearly
increasing beyond those of any other region.
86 THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
The period from a central point of the war to the outbreak of the
panic was marked by a tremendous growth in our railway lines, but the
depression of the times caused almost a total suspension of operations.
Now that prosperity is returning to our stricken country we witness its
anticipation by the railroad interest in a series of projects, extensions,
and leases which bid fair to largely increase our transportation facilities.
The process of foreclosure and sale of incumbered lines is another matter
to be considered. In the case of the Illinois Central road, which formerly
transferred to other lines at Cairo the vast burden of freight destined for
the Gulf region, we now see the incorporation of the tracks connecting
through to New Orleans, every mile co-operating in turning toward the
northwestern metropolis the weight of the inter-state commerce of a
thousand miles or more of fertile plantations. Three competing routes
to Texas have established in Chicago their general freight and passenger
agencies. Four or five lines compete for all Pacific freights to a point as
as far as the interior of Nebraska. Half a dozen or more splendid bridge
structures have been thrown across the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers by
the railways. The Chicago and Northwestern line has become an aggre-
gation of over two thousand miles of rail, and the Chicago, Milwaukee
and St. Paul is its close rival in extent and importance. The three lines
running to Cairo via Vincennes form a through route for all traffic with
the states to the southward. The chief projects now under discussion
are the Chicago and Atlantic, which is to unite with lines now built to
Charleston, and the Chicago and Canada Southern, which line will con-
nect with all the various branches of that Canadian enterprise. Our
latest new road is the Chicago and Lake Huron, formed of three lines,
and entering the city from Valparaiso on the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne
and Chicago track. The trunk lines being mainly in operation, the
progress made in the way of shortening tracks, making air-line branches,
and running extensions does not show to the advantage it deserves, as
this process is constantly adding new facilities to the established order
of things. The panic reduced the price of steel to a point where the
railways could hardly afford to use iron rails, and all our northwestern
lines report large relays of Bessemer track. The immense crops now
being moved have given a great rise to the value of railway stocks, and
their transportation must result in heavy pecuniary advantages.
Few are aware of the importance of the wholesale and jobbing trade
of Chicago. One leading firm has since the panic sold $24,000,000 of*
dry goods in one year, and they now expect most confidently to add
seventy per cent, to the figures of their last year's business. In boots
and shoes and in clothing, twenty or more great firms from the east have
placed here their distributing agents or their factories ; and in groceries
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
87
Chicago supplies the entire Northwest at rates presenting advantages
over New York.
Chicago has stepped in between New York and the rural banks as a
financial center, and scarcely a banking institution in the grain or cattle
regions but keeps its reserve funds in the vaults of our commercial insti-
tutions. Accumulating here throughout the spring and summer months,
they are summoned home at pleasure to move the products of the
prairies. This process greatly strengthens the northwest in its financial
operations, leaving home capital to supplement local operations on
behalf of home interests.
It is impossible to forecast the destiny of this grand and growing
section of the Union. Figures and predictions made at this date might
seem ten years hence so ludicrously small as to excite only derision.
KTNZIE HOUS.E.
Early History of Illinois.
The name of this beautiful Prairie State is derived from Illim, a
Delaware word signifying Superior Men. It has a French termination,
and is a symbol of how the two races — the French and the Indians —
were intermixed during the early history of the country.
The appellation was no doubt well applied to the primitive inhabit-
ants of the soil whose prowess in savage warfare long withstood the
combined attacks of the fierce Iroquois on the one side, and the no less
savage and relentless Sacs and Foxes on the other. The Illinois were
once a powerful confederacy, occupying the most beautiful and fertile
region in the great Valley of the Mississippi, which their enemies coveted
and struggled long and hard to wrest from them. By the fortunes of
war they were diminished in numbers, and finally destroyed. " Starved
Rock/ 1 on the Illinois River, according to tradition, commemorates their
last tragedy, where, it is said, the entire tribe starved rather than sur-
render.
EARLY DISCOVERIES.
The first European discoveries in Illinois date back over two hun-
dred years. They are a part of that movement which, from the begin-
ning to the middle of the seventeenth century, brought the French
Canadian missionaries and fur traders into the Valley of the Mississippi,
and which, at a later period, established the civil and ecclesiastical
authority of France from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the Gulf of Mexico,
and from the foot-hills of the Alleghanies to the Rocky Mountains.
The great river of the West had been discovered by DeSoto, the
Spanish conqueror of Florida, three quarters of a century before the
French founded Quebec in 1608, but the Spanish left the country a wil-
derness, without further exploration or settlement within its borders, in
which condition it remained until the Mississippi was discovered by the
agents of the French Canadian government, Jolietand Marquette, in 1673.
These renowned explorers were not the first white visitors to Illinois.
In 1.671 — two years in advance of them — came Nicholas Perrot to Chicago
He had been sent by Talon as an agent of the Canadian government tc
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS.
89
00 HISTORY OF THE STATE OP ILLINOIS.
call a great peace convention of "Western Indians at Green Bay, prepara-
tory to the movement for the discovery of the Mississippi. It was
deemed a good stroke of policy to secure, as far as possible, the friend-
ship and co-operation of the Indians, far and near, before venturing upon
an enterprise which their hostility might render disastrous, and which
their friendship and assistance would do so much to make successful ;
and to this end Perrot was sent to call together in council the tribes
throughout the Northwest, and to promise them the commerce and pro-
tection of the French government. He accordingly arrived at Green
Bay in 1671, and procuring an escort of Pottawattamies, proceeded in a
bark canoe upon a visit to the Miamis, at Chicago. Perrot was there-
fore the first European to set foot upon the soil of Illinois.
Still there were others before Marquette. In 1672, the Jesuit mis-
sionaries, Fathers Claude Allouez and Claude Dablon, bore the standard
of the Cross from their mission at Green Bay through western Wisconsin
and northern Illinois, visiting the Foxes on Fox River, and the Masquo-
tines and Kickapoos at the mouth of the Milwaukee. These missionaries
penetrated on the route afterwards followed by Marquette as far as the
Kickapoo village at the head of Lake Winnebago, where Marquette, in
his journey, secured guides across the portage to the Wisconsin.
The oft-repeated story of Marquette and Joliet is well known.
They were the agents employed by the Canadian government to discover
the Mississippi. Marquette was a native of France, born in 1637, a
Jesuit priest by education, and a man of simple faith and of great zeal and
devotion in extending the Roman Catholic religion among the Indians.
Arriving in Canada in 1666, he was sent as a missionary to the far
Northwest, and, in 1668, founded a mission at Sault Ste. Marie. The
following year he moved to La Pointe, in Lake Superior, where he
instructed a branch of the Hurons till 1670, when he removed south, and
founded the mission at St. Ignace, on the Straits of Mackinaw. Here
he remained, devoting a portion of his time to the study of the Illinois
language under a native teacher who had accompanied him to the mission
from La Pointe, till he was joined by Joliet in the Spring of 1673. By
the way of Green Bay and the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers, they entered
the Mississippi, which they explored to the mouth of the Arkansas, and
returned by the way of the Illinois and Chicago Rivers to Lake Michigan.
On his way up the Illinois, Marquette visited the great village of
the Kaskaskias, near what is now Utica, in the county of LaSalle. The
following year he returned and established among them the mission of
the Immaculate Virgin Mary, which was the first Jesuit mission founded
in Illinois and in the Mississippi Valley. The intervening winter he
had spent in a hut which his companions erected on the Chicago River, a
few leagues from its mouth. The founding of this mission was the last
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS. 91
act of Marquette's life. He died in Michigan, on his way back to Green
Bay, May 18, 1675.
FIRST FRENCH OCCUPATION.
The first French occupation of the territory now embraced in Illi-
nois was effected by LaSalle in 1680, seven years after the time of Mar-
quette and Joliet. LaSalle, having constructed a vessel, the " Griffin,"
above the falls of Niagara, which he sailed to Green Bay, and having
passed thence in canoes to the mouth of the St. Joseph River, by which
and the Kankakee he reached the Illinois, in January, 1680, erected Fort
Crevecceur, at the lower end of Peoria Lake, where the city of Peoria is
now situated. The place where this ancient fort stood may still be seen
just below the outlet of Peoria Lake. It was destined, however, to a
temporary existence. From this point, LaSalle determined to descend
the Mississippi to its mouth, but did not accomplish this purpose till two
years later — in 1682. Returning to Fort Frontenac for the purpose of
getting materials with which to rig his vessel, he left the fort in charge of
Touti, his lieutenant, who during his absence was driven off by the Iro-
quois Indians. These savages had made a raid upon the settlement of
the Illinois, and had left nothing in their track but ruin and desolation.
Mr. Davidson, in his History of Illinois, gives the following graphic
account of the picture that met the eyes of LaSalle and his companions
on their return :
" At the great town of the Illinois they were appalled at the scene
which opened to their view. No hunter appeared to break its death-like
silence with a salutatory whoop ot welcome. The plain on which the
town had stood was now strewn with charred fragments of lodges, which
had so recently swarmed with savage life and hilarity. To render more
hideous the picture of desolation, large numbers of skulls had been
placed on the upper extremities of lodge-poles which had escaped the
devouring flames. In the midst of these horrors was the rude fort of
the spoilers, rendered frightful by the same ghastly relics. A near
approach showed that the graves had been robbed of their bodies, and
swarms of buzzards were discovered glutting: their loathsome stomachs
on the reeking corruption. To complete the work of destruction, the
growing corn of the village had been cut down and burned, while the
pits containing the products of previous years, had been rifled and their
contents scattered with wanton waste. It was evident the suspected
blow of the Iroquois had fallen with relentless fury."
Tonti had escaped LaSalle knew not whither. Passing down the
lake in search of him and his men, LaSalle discovered that the fort had
been destroyed, but the vessel which he had partly constructed was still
92 • HISTORY OF THE STATE OP ILLINOIS.
on the stocks, and but slightly injured. After further fruitless search,
failing to find Tonti, he fastened to a tree a painting representing himself
and party sitting in a canoe and bearing a pipe of peace, and to the paint-
ing attached a letter addressed to Tonti.
Tonti had escaped, and, after untold privations, taken shelter among
the Pottawattamies near Green Bay. These were friendly to the French.
One of their old chiefs used to say, " There were but three great cap-
tains in the world, himself, Tonti and LaSalle."
GENIUS OF LaSALLE.
We must now return to LaSalle, whose exploits stand out in such
bold relief. He was born in Rouen, France, in 1643. His father was
wealthy, but he renounced his patrimony on entering a college of the
Jesuits, from which he separated and came to Canada a poor man in 1666.
The priests of St. Sulpice, among whom he had a brother, were then the
proprietors of Montreal, the nucleus of which was a seminary or con-
vent founded by that order. The Superior granted to LaSalle a large
tract of land at LaChine, where he established himself in the fur trade.
He was a man of daring genius, and outstripped all his competitors in
exploits of travel and commerce with the Indians. In 1669, he visited
the headquarters of the great Iroquois Confederacy, at Onondaga, in the
heart of New York, and, obtaining guides, explored the Ohio River to
the falls at Louisville. -
In order to understand the genius of LaSalle, it must be remembered
that for many years prior to his time the missionaries and traders were
obliged to make their way to the Northwest by the Ottawa River (of
Canada) on account of the fierce hostility of the Iroquois along the lower
lakes and Niagara River, which entirely closed this latter route to the
Upper Lakes. They carried on their commerce chiefly by canoes, pad-
dling them through the Ottawa to Lake Nipissing, carrying them across
the portage to French River, and descending that to Lake Huron. This
being the route by which they reached the Northwest, accounts for the
fact that all the earliest Jesuit missions were established in the neighbor-
hood of the Upper Lakes. LaSalle conceived the grand idea of opening
the route by Niagara River and the Lower Lakes to Canadian commerce
by sail vessels, connecting it with the navigation of the Mississippi, and
thus opening a magnificent water communication from the Gulf of St.
Lawrence to the Gulf of Mexico. This truly grand and comprehensive
purpose seems to have animated him in all his wonderful achievements
and the matchless difficulties and hardships he surmounted. As the first
step in the accomplishment of this object he established himself on Lake
Ontario, and built and garrisoned Fort Frontenac, the site of the present
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS. 93
oity of Kingston, Canada. Here he obtained a grant of land from the
French crown and a body of troops by which he beat back the invading
Iroquois and cleared the passage to Niagara Falls. Having by this mas-
terly stroke made it safe to attempt a hitherto untried expedition, his
next step, as .we have seen, was to advance to the Falls with all his
outfit for building a ship with which to sail, the lakes. He was success-
ful in this undertaking, though his ultimate purpose was defeated by a
strange combination of untoward circumstances. The Jesuits evidently
hated LaSalle and plotted against him, because he had abandoned them
and co-operated with a rival order. The fur traders were also jealous of
his superior success in opening new channels of commerce. At LaChine
he had taken the trade of Lake Ontario, which but for his presence there
would have gone to Quebec. While they were plodding with their barK
canoes through the Ottawa he was constructing sailing vessels to com-
mand the trade of the lakes and the Mississippi. These great plans
excited the jealousy and envy of the small traders, introduced treason and
revolt into the ranks of his own companions, and finally led to the foul
assassination by which his great achievements were prematurely ended.
In 1682, LaSalle, having completed his vessel at Peoria, descended
the Mississippi to its confluence with the Gulf of Mexico. Erecting a
standard on which he inscribed the arms of France, he took formal pos-
session of the whole valley of the mighty river, in the name of Louis
XIV., then reigning, in honor of whom he named the country Louisiana.
LaSalle then went to France, was appointed Governor, and returned
with a fleet and immigrants, for the purpose of planting a colony in Illi-
nois. They arrived in due time in the Gulf of Mexico, but failing to
find the mouth of the Mississippi, up which LaSalle intended to sail, his
supply ship, with the immigrants, was driven ashore and wrecked on
Matagorda Bay. With the fragments of the vessel he constructed a
stockade and rude huts on the shore for the protection of the immigrants,
calling the post Fort St. Louis. He then made a trip into New Mexico,
in search of silver mines, but, meeting with disappointment, returned to
find his little colony reduced to forty souls. He then resolved to travel
on foot to Illinois, and, starting with his companions, had reached the
valley of the Colorado, near the mouth of Trinity river, when he was
shot by one of his men. This occurred on the 19th of March, 1687.
Dr. J. W. Foster remarks of him : " Thus fell, not far from the banks
of the Trinity, Robert Cavalier de la Salle, one of the grandest charac-
ters that ever figured in American history — a man capable of originating
the vastest schemes, and endowed with a will and a judgment capable of
carrying them to successful results. Had ample facilities been placed by
the King of France at his disposal, the result of the colonization of this
continent might have been far different from what we now beholi"
94 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS.
EARLY SETTLEMENTS.
A temporary settlement was made at Fort St. Louis, or the old Kas-
kaskia village, on the Illinois River, in what is now LaSalle County, in
1682. In 1690, this was removed, with the mission connected with it, to
Kaskaskia, on the river of that name, emptying into the lower Mississippi
in St. Clair County. Cahokia was settled about the same time, or at
least, both of these settlements began in the year 1690, though it is now
pretty well settled that Cahokia is the older place, and ranks as the oldest
permanent settlement in Illinois*, as well as in the Mississippi Valley.
The reason for the removal of the aid Kaskaskia settlement and mission,
was probably because the dangerous and difficult route by Lake Michigan
and the Chicago portage had been almost abandoned, and travelers and
traders passed down and up the Mississippi by the Fox and Wisconsin
River route. They removed to the vicinity of the Mississippi in order
to be in the line of travel from Canada to Louisiana, that is, the lower
part of it, for it was all Louisiana then south of the lakes.
During the period of French rule in Louisiana, the population prob-
ably never exceeded ten thousand, including whites and blacks. Within
that portion of it now included in Indiana, trading posts were established,
at the principal Miami villages which stood on the head waters of the
Maumee, the Wea villages situated at Ouiatenon, on the Wabash, and
the Piankeshaw villages at Post Vincennes ; all of which were probably
visited by French traders and missionaries before the close of the seven-
teenth century.
In the vast territory claimed by the French, many settlements of
considerable importance had sprung up. Biloxi, on Mobile Bay, had
been founded by D'Iberville, in 1699 ; Antoine de Lamotte Cadillac had
founded Detroit in 1701 ; and New Orleans had been founded by Bien-
ville, under the auspices of the Mississippi Company, in 1718. In Illi-
nois also, considerable settlements had been made, so that in 1730 they
embraced one hundred and forty French families, about six hundred " con^
verted Indians," and many traders and voyageurs. In that portion of the
country, on the east side of the Mississippi, there were five distinct set-
tlements, with their respective villages, viz. : Cahokia, near the mouth
of Cahokia Creek and about five miles below the present city of St.
Louis ; St. Philip, about forty-five miles below Cahokia, and four miles
above Fort Chartres ; Fort Chartres, twelve miles above Kaskaskia ;
Kaskaskia, situated on the Kaskaskia River, five miles above its conflu-
ence with the Mississippi ; and Prairie du Rocher, near Fort Chartres.
To these must be added St. Genevieve and St. Louis, on the west side
of the Mississippi. These, with the exception of St. Louis, are among
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS. 95
the oldest French towns in the Mississippi Valley. Kaskaskia, in its best
days, was a town of some two or three thousand inhabitants. After it
passed from the crown of France its population for many years did not
exceed fifteen hundred. Under British rule, in 1773, the population had
decreased to four hundred and fifty. As early as 1721, the Jesuits had
established a college and a monastery in Kaskaskia.
Fort Chartres was first built under the direction of the Mississippi
Company, in 1718, by M. de Boisbraint, a military officer, under command
of Bienville. It stood on the east bank of the Mississippi, about eighteen
miles below Kaskaskia, and was for some time the headquarters of the
military commandants of the district of Illinois.
In the Centennial Oration of Dr. Fowler, delivered at Philadelphia,
by appointment of Gov. Beveridge, we find some interesting facts with
regard to the State of Illinois, which we appropriate in this history :
In 1682 Illinois became a possession of the French crown, a depend-
ency of Canada, and a part of Louisiana. In 1765 the English flag was
run up on old Fort Chartres, and Illinois was counted among the treas-
ures of Great Britain.
In 1779 it was taken from the English by Col. George Rogers Clark.
This man was resolute in nature, wise in council, prudent in policy, bold
in action, and heroic in danger. Few men who have figured in the his-
tory of America are more deserving than this colonel. Nothing short of
first-class ability could have rescued Vincens and all Illinois from the
English. And it is not possible to over-estimate the influence of this
achievement upon the republic. In 1779 Illinois became a part of Vir-
ginia. It was soon known as Illinois County. In 1784 Virginia ceded
all this territory to the general government, to be cut into States, to be
republican in form, with " the same right of sovereignty, freedom, and
independence as the other States."
In 1787 it was the object of the wisest and ablest legislation found
in any merely human records. No man can study the secret history of
THE "COMPACT OF 1787,"
and not feel that Providence was guiding with sleepless eye these unborn
States. The ordinance that on July 13, 1767, finally became the incor-
porating act, has a most marvelous history. Jefferson had vainly tried
to secure a system of government for the northwestern territory. He
was an emancipationist of that day, and favored the exclusion of slavery
from the territory Virginia had ceded to the general government; but
the South voted him down as often as it came up. In 1787, as late as
July 10, an organizing act without the anti-slavery clause was pending.
This concession to the South was expected to carry it. Congress was in
96 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS.
session in New York City. On July 5, Rev. Dr. Manasseh Cutler, of
Massachusetts, came into New York to lobby on the northwestern terri-
tory. Everything seemed to fall into his hands. Events were ripe.
The state of the public credit, the growing of Southern prejudice,
the basis of his mission, his personal character, all combined to complete
one of those sudden and marvelous revolutions of public sentiment that
once in five or ten centuries are seen to sweep over a country like the
breath of the Almighty. Cutler was a graduate of Yale — received his
A.M. from Harvard, and his D.D. from Yale. He had studied and taken
degrees in the three learned professions, medicine, law, and divinity. He
had thus America's best indorsement. He had published a scientific
examination of the plants of New England. His name stood second only
to that of Franklin as a scientist in America. He was a courtly gentle-
man of the old style, a man of commanding presence, and of inviting
face. The Southern members said they had never seen such a gentleman
in the North. He came representing a company that desired to purchase
a tract of land now included in Ohio, for the purpose of planting a colony.
It was a speculation. Government money was worth eighteen cents on
the dollar. This Massachusetts company had collected enough to pur-
chase 1,500,000 acres of land. Other speculators in New York made
Dr. Cutler their agent (lobbyist). On the 12th he represented a demand
for 5,500,000 acres. This would reduce the national debt. Jefferson
and Virginia were regarded as authority concerning the land" Virginia
had just ceded. Jefferson's policy wanted to provide for the public credit,
and this was a good opportunity to do something.
Massachusetts then owned the territory of Maine, which she was
crowding on the market. She was opposed to opening the northwestern
region. This fired the zeal of Virginia. The South caught the inspira-
tion, and all exalted Dr. Cutler. The English minister invited him to
dine with some of the Southern gentlemen. He was the center of interest.
The entire South rallied round him. Massachusetts could not vote
against him, because many of the constituents of her members were
interested personally in the western speculation. Thus Cutler, making
friends with the South, and, doubtless, using all the arts of the lobby,
was enabled to command the situation. True to deeper convictions, he
dictated one of the most compact and finished documents of wise states-
manship that has ever adorned any human law book. He borrowed from
Jefferson the term " Articles of Compact," which, preceding the federal
constitution, rose into the most sacred character. He then followed very
closely the constitution of Massachusetts, adopted three years before.
Its most marked points were :
1. The exclusion of slavery from the territory forever.
2. Provision for public schools, giving one township for a seminary,
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS. 97
and every section numbered 16 in each township ; that is, one-thirty-sixth
of all the land, for public schools.
3. A provision prohibiting the adoption of any constitution or the
enactment of any law that should nullify pre-existing contracts.
Be it forever remembered that this compact declared that " Religion,
morality, and knowledge being necessary to good government and the
happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall always
be encouraged."
Dr. Cutler planted himself on this platform and would not yield.
Giving his unqualified declaration that it was that or nothing — that unless
they could make the land desirable they did not want it — he took his
horse and buggy, and started for the constitutional convention in Phila-
delphia. On July 13, 1787, the bill was put upon its passage, and was
unanimously adopted, every Southern member voting for it, and only one
man, Mr. Yates, of New York, voting against it. But as the States voted
as States, Yates lost his vote, and the compact was put beyond repeal.
Thus the great States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wis-
consin — a vast empire, the heart of the great valley — were consecrated
to freedom, intelligence, and honesty. Thus the great heart of the nation
was prepared for a year and a day and an hour. In the light of these eighty-
nine years I affirm that this act was the salvation of the republic and the
destruction of slavery. Soon the South saw their great blunder, and
tried to repeal the compact. In 1803 Congress referred it to a committee
of which John Randolph was chairman. He reported that this ordinance
was a compact, and opposed repeal. Thus it stood a rock, in the way
of the on-rushing sea of slavery.
With all this timely aid it was, after all, a most desperate and pro-
tracted struggle to keep the soil of Illinois sacred to freedom. It was
the natural battle-field for the irrepressible conflict. In the southern end
of the State slavery preceded the compact. It existed among the old
French settlers, and was hard to eradicate. The southern part of the
State was settled from the slave States, and this population brought their
laws, customs, and institutions with them. A stream of population from
the North poured into the northern part of the State. These sections
misunderstood and hated each other perfectly. The Southerners regarded
the Yankees as a skinning, tricky, penurious race of peddlers, filling the
country with tinware, brass clocks, and wooden nutmegs. The North-
erner thought of the Southerner as a lean, lank, lazy creature, burrowing
in a hut, and rioting in whisky, dirt and ignorance. These causes aided
in making the struggle long and bitter. So strong was the sympathy
with slavery that, in spite of the ordinance of 1787, and in spite of the
deed of cession, it was determined to allow the old French settlers to
retain their slaves. Planters from the slave States might bring their
98 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS.
slaves, if they would give them a chance to choose freedom or j^ears
of service and bondage for their children till they should become
thirty years of age. If they chose freedom they must leave the State
in sixty days or be sold as fugitives. Servants were whipped for offenses
for which white men are fined. Each lash paid forty cents of the fine. A
negro ten miles from home without a pass was whipped. These famous
laws were imported from the slave States just as they imported laws for
the inspection of flax and wool when there was neither in the State.
These Black Laws are now wiped out. A vigorous effort was made
to protect slavery in the State Constitution of 1817. It barely failed.
It was renewed in 1825, when a convention was asked to make a new
-constitution. After a hard fight the convention was defeated. But
slaves did not disappear from the census of the State until 1850. There
were mobs and murders in the interest of slavery. Lovejoy was added
to the list of martyrs — a sort of first-fruits of that long life of immortal
heroes who saw freedom as the one supreme desire of their souls, and
were so enamored of her that they preferred to die rather than survive her.
- The population of 12,282 that occupied the territory in A.D. 1800,
increased to 45,000 in A.D. 1818, when the State Constitution was
adopted, and Illinois took her place in the Union, with a star on the flag
and two votes in the Senate.
Shadrach Bond was the first Governor, and in his first message he
recommended the construction of the Illinois and Michigan Canal.
The simple economy in those da}*s is seen in the fact that the entire
bill for stationery for the first Legislature was only $13.50. Yet this
simple body actually enacted a very superior code.
There was no money in the territory before the war of 1812. Deer
skins and coon skins were the circulating medium. In J821, the Legis-
lature ordained a State Bank on the credit of the State. It issued notes
in the likeness of bank bills. These notes were made a legal tender for
every thing, and the bank was ordered to loan to the people $100 on per-
sonal security, and more on mortgages. They actually passed a resolu-
tion requesting the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States to
receive these notes for land. The old French Lieutenant Governor, Col.
Menard, put the resolution as follows : " Gentlemen of the Senate : It is
moved and seconded dat de notes of dis bank be made land-office money.
All in favor of dat motion say aye ; all against it say no. It is decided
in de affirmative. Now, gentlemen, I bet you one hundred dollar he
never be land-office money ! " Hard sense, like hard money, is always
above par.
This old Frenchman presents a fine figure up against the dark back-
ground of most of his nation. They made no progress. They clung to
their earliest and simplest implements. They never wore hats or cap?
BELLEFLDWER TP. <?
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS. 99
They pulled their blankets over their heads in the winter like the Indians,
with whom they freely intermingled.
Demagogism had an early development. One John Grammar (only
in name), elected to the Territorial and State Legislatures of 1316 and
1836, invented the policy of opposing every new thing, saying, " If it
succeeds, no one will ask who voted against it. If it proves a failure, he
could quote its record." In sharp contrast with Grammar was the char-
acter of D. P. Cook, after whom the county containing Chicago was
•named. Such was his transparent integrity and remarkable ability that
his will was almost the law of the State. In Congress, a young man,
and from a poor State, he was made Chairman of the Ways and Means
Committee. He was pre-eminent for standing by his committee, regard-
less of consequences. It was his integrity that elected John Quincy
Adams to the Presidency. There were four candidates in 1821, Jackson,
Clay, Crawford, and John Quincy Adams. There being no choice by the
people, the election was thrown into the House. It was so balanced that
it turned on his vote, and that he cast for Adams, electing him ; then
went home to face the wrath of the Jackson party in Illinois. It cost
him all but character and greatness. It is a suggestive comment on the
times, that there was no legal interest till 1830. It often reached 150
per cent., usually 50 per cent. Then it was reduced to 12, and now to
10 per cent.
PHYSICAL FEATURES OF THE PRAIRIE STATE.
In area the State has 55,410 square miles of territory. It is about
150 miles wide and 400 miles long, stretching in latitude from Maine to
North Carolina. It embraces wide variety of climate. It is tempered
on the north by the great inland, saltless, tideless sea, which keeps the
thermometer from either extreme. Being a table land, from 600 to 1,600
feet above the level of the sea, one is prepared to find on the health
maps, prepared by the general government, an almost clean and perfect
record. In freedom from fever and malarial diseases and consumptions,
the three deadly enemies of the American Saxon, Illinois, as a State,
stands without a superior. She furnishes one of the essential conditions
of a great people — sound bodies. I suspect that this fact lies back of
that old Delaware word, Illini, superior men.
The great battles of history that have been determinative of dynas-
ties and destinies have been strategical battles, chiefly the question of
position. Thermopylae has been the war-cry of freemen for twenty-four
centuries. It only tells how much there may be in position. All this
advantage belongs to Illinois. It is in the heart of the greatest valley in
the world, the vast region between the mountains — a valley that could
100 HISTORY OP THE STATE OF ILLINOIS.
feed mankind for one thousand years. It is well on toward the center of
the continent. It is in the great temperate belt, in which have been
found nearly all the aggressive civilizations of history. It has sixty-five
miles of frontage on the head of the lake. With the Mississippi forming
the western and southern boundary, with the Ohio running along the
southeastern line, with the Illinois River and Canal dividing the State
diagonally from the lake to the Lower Mississippi, and with the Rock and
Wabash Rivers furnishing altogether 2,000 miles of water-front, con-
necting with, and running through, in all about 12,000 miles of navi-
gable water. ■ '
But this is not all. These waters are made most available by the
fact that the lake and the State lie on the ridge running into the great
valley from the east. Within cannon-shot of the lake the water runs
away from the lake to the Gulf. The lake now empties at both ends,
one into the Atlantic and one into the Gulf of Mexico. The lake thus
seems to hang over the land. This makes the dockage most serviceable ;
there are no steep banks to damage it. Both lake and river are made
for use.
The climate varies from Portland to Richmond ; it favors every pro-
duct of the continent, including the tropics, with less than half a dozen
exceptions. It produces every great nutriment of the world except ban-
anas and rice. It is hardly too much to say that it is the most productive
spot known to civilization. With the soil full of bread and the earth full
of minerals ; with an upper surface of food and an under layer of fuel ;
with perfect natural drainage, and abundant springs and streams and
navigable rivers ; half way between the forests of the North and the fruits
of the South ; within a day's ride of the great deposits of iron, coal, cop-
per, lead, and zinc ; containing and controlling the great grain, cattle,
pork, and lumber markets of the world, it is not strange that Illinois has
the advantage of position.
This advantage has been supplemented by the character of the popu-
lation. In the early days when Illinois was first admitted to the Union,
her population were chiefly from Kentucky and Virginia. But, in the
conflict of ideas concerning slavery, a strong tide of emigration came in
from the East, and soon changed this composition. In 1870 her non-
native population were from colder soils. New York furnished 133,290 ;
Ohio gave 162,623; Pennsylvania sent on 98,352; the entire South gave
us only 206,734. In all her cities, and in all her German and Scandina-
vian and other foreign colonies, Illinois has only about one-fifth of her
people of foreign birth.
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS. 1Q]
PROGRESS OF DEVELOPMENT.
One of the /greatest elements in the early development of Illinois is
the Illinois and Michigan Canal, connecting the Illinois and Mississippi
Rivers with the lakes. It was of the utmost importance to the State.
It was recommended by Gov. Bond, the first governor, in his first message.
In 1821, the Legislature appropriated $10,000 for surveying the route.
Two bright young engineers surveyed it, and estimated the cost at
$600,000 or $700,000. It finally cost $8,000,000. In 1825, a law was
passed to incorporate the Canal Company, but no stock was sold. In
1826, upon the solicitation of Cook, Congress gave 800,000 acres of land
on the line of the work. In 1828, another law — commissioners appointed,
and work commenced with new survey and new estimates. In 1834-35,
George Farquhar made an able report on the whole matter. This was,
doubtless, the ablest report ever made to a western legislature, and it
became the model for subsequent reports and action. From this the
work went on till it was finished in 1848. It cost the State a large
amount of money ; but it gave to the industries of the State an impetus
that pushed it up into the first rank of greatness. It was not built as a
speculation any more than a doctor is employed on a speculation. But
it has paid into the Treasury of the State an average annual net sum of
over $111,000.
Pending the construction of the canal, the land and town-lot fever
broke out in the State, in 1834-35. It took on the malignant type in
Chicago, lifting the town up into a city. The disease spread over the
entire State and adjoining States. It was epidemic. It cut up men's
farms without regard to locality, and 3ut up the purses of the purchasers
without regard to consequences. It is estimated that building lots enough
were sold in Indiana alone to accommodate every citizen then in the
United States.
Towns and cities were exported to the Eastern market by the ship-
load. There was no lack of buyers. Every up-ship came freighted with
speculators and their money.
This distemper seized upon the Legislature in 1836-37, and left not
one to tell the tale. They enacted a system of internal improvement
without a parallel in the grandeur of its conception. They ordered the
construction of 1,300 miles of railroad, crossing the State in all direc-
tions. This was surpassed by the river and canal improvements.
There were a few counties not touched by either railroad or river or
canal, and those were to be comforted and compensated by the free dis-
tribution of $200,000 among them. To inflate this balloon beyond cre-
dence it was ordered that work should be commenced on both ejids of
102 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS.
each of these railroads and rivers, and at each river-crossing, all at the
same time. The appropriations for these vast improvements were over
$12,000,000, and commissioners were appointed to borrow the money on
the credit of the State. Remember that all this was in the early days of
railroading, when railroads were luxuries ; that the State had whole
counties with scarcely a cabin ; and that the population of the State was
less than 400,000, and you can form some idea of the vigor with which
these brave men undertook the work of making a great State. In the
light of history I am compelled to say that this was only a premature
throb of the power that actually slumbered in the soil of the State. It
was Hercules in the cradle.
At this juncture the State Bank loaned its funds largely to Godfrey
Gilman & Co., and to other leading houses, for the purpose of drawing
trade from St. Louis to Alton. Soon they failed, and took down the
bank with them.
In 1840, all hope seemed gone. A population of 480,000 were loaded
with a debt of $14,000,000. It had only six small cities, really only
towns, namely : Chicago, Alton, Springfield, Quincy, Galena, Nauvoo.
This debt was to be cared for when there was not a dollar in the treas-
ury, and when the State had borrowed itself out of all credit, and when
there was not good money enough in the hands of all the people to pay
the interest of the debt for a single year. Yet, in the presence of all
these difficulties, the young State steadily refused to repudiate. Gov.
Ford took hold of the problem and solved it, bringing the State through
in triumph.
Having touched lightly upon some of the more distinctive points in
the history of the development of Illinois, let us next briefly consider the
MATERIAL RESOURCES OF THE STATE.
It is a garden four hundred miles long and one hundred and fifty
miles wide. Its soil is chiefly a black sandy loam, from six inches to
sixty feet thick. On the American bottoms it has been cultivated for
one hundred and fifty years without renewal. About the old French
towns it has yielded corn for a century and a half without rest or help.
It produces nearly everything green in the temperate and tropical zones.
She leads all other States in the number of acres actually under plow.
Her products from 25,000,000 of acres are incalculable. Her mineral
wealth is scarcely second to her agricultural power. She has coal, iron,
lead, copper, zinc, many varieties of building stone, fire clay, cuma clay,
common brick clay, sand of all kinds, gravel, mineral paint — every thing
needed for a high civilization. Left to herself, she has the elements of
all greatness. The single item of coal is too vast for an appreciative
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS. 103
handling in figures. We can handle it in general terms like algebraical
signs, but long before we get up into the millions and billions the human
mind drops down from comprehension to mere symbolic apprehension.
When I tell you that nearly four-fifths of the entire State is under-
laid with a deposit of coal more than forty feet thick on the average (now
estimated, by recent surveys, at seventy feet thick), you can get some
idea of its amount, as you do of the amount of the national debt. There
it is ! 41,000 square miles — one vast mine into which you could put
any of the States ; in which you could bury scores of European and
ancient empires, and have room enough all round to work without know-
ing that they had been sepulchered there.
Put this vast coal-bed down by the other great coal deposits of the
world, and its importance becomes manifest. Great Britain has 12,000
square miles of coal; Spain, 3,000; France, 1,719; Belgium, 578; Illinois
about twice as many square miles as all combined. Virginia has 20,000
square miles ; Pennsylvania, 16,000 ; Ohio, 12,000. Illinois has 41,000
square miles. One-seventh of all the known coal on this continent is in
Illinois.
Could we sell the coal in this single State for one-seventh of one cent
a ton it would pay the national debt. Converted into power, even with
the wastage in our common engines, it would do more work than could
be done by the entire race, beginning at Adam's wedding and working
ten hours a day through all the centuries till the present time, and right
on into the future at the same rate for the next 600,000 years.
Great Britain uses enough mechanical power to-day to give to each
man, woman, and child in the kingdom the help and service of nineteen
untiring servants. No wonder she has leisure and luxuries. No wonder
the home of the common artisan has in it more luxuries than could be
found in the palace of good old King Arthur. Think, if you can conceive
of it, of the vast army of servants that slumber in the soil of Illinois,
impatiently awaiting the call of Genius to come forth to minister to our
comfort.
At the present rate of consumption England's coal supply will be
exhausted in 250 years. When this is gone she must transfer her dominion
either to the Indies, or to British America, which I would not resist ; or
to some other people, which I would regret as a loss to civilization.
COAL IS KING.
At the same rate of consumption (which far exceeds our own) the
deposit of coal in Illinois will last 120,000 years. And her kingdom shall
be an everlasting kingdom.
Let us turn now from this reserve power to the annual products of
104 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS.
the State. We shall not be humiliated in this field. Here we strike the
secret of our national credit. Nature provides a market in the constant
appetite of the race. Men must eat, and if we can furnish the provisions
we can command the treasure. All that a man hath will he give for his
life.
According to the last census Illinois produced 30,000,000 of bushels
of wheat. That is more wheat than was raised by any other State in the
Union. She raised In 1875, 130,000,000 of bushels of corn — twice as
much as any other State, and one-sixth of all the corn raised in the United
States. She harvested 2,747,000 tons of hay, nearly one-tenth of all the
hay in the Republic. It is not generally appreciated, but it is true, that
the hay crop of the country is worth more than the cotton crop. The
hay of Illinois equals the cotton of Louisiana. Go to Charleston, S. C,
and see them peddling handfuls of hay or grass, almost as a curiosity,
as we regard Chinese gods or the cryolite of Greenland ; drink your
coffee and condensed milk ; and walk back from the coast for man}^ a
league through the sand and burs till you get up into the better atmos-
phere of the mountains, without seeing a waving meadow or a grazing
herd ; then you will begin to appreciate the meadows of the Prairie State,
where the grass often grows sixteen feet high.
The value of her farm implements is $211,000,000, and the value of
her live stock is only second to the great State of New York. in 1875
she had 25,000,000 hogs, and packed 2,113,845, about one-half of all that
were packed in the United States. This is no insignificant item. Pork
is a growing demand of the old world. Since the laborers of Europe
have gotten a taste of our bacon, and we have learned how to pack it dry
in boxes, like dry goods, the world has become the market.
The hog is on the march into the future. His nose is ordained to
uncover the secrets of dominion, and his feet shall be guided by the star
of empire.
Illinois marketed $57,000,000 worth of slaughtered animals — more
than any other State, and a seventh of all the States.
Be patient with me, and pardon my pride, and I will give you a list
of some of the things in which Illinois excels all other States.
Depth and richness of soil ; per cent, of good ground ; acres of
improved land ; large farms — some farms contain from 40,000 to 60,000
acres of cultivated land, 40,000 acres of corn on a single farm ; number of
farmers ; amount of wheat, corn, oats and honey produced ; value of ani-
mals for slaughter ; number of hogs ; amount of pork ; number of horses
— three times as many as Kentucky, the horse State.
Illinois excels all other States in miles of railroads and in miles of
postal service, and in money orders sold per annum, and in the amount of
lumber sold in her markets.
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS. 105
Illinois is only second in many important matters. This sample list
comprises a few of the more important : Permanent school fund (good
for a young state) ; total income for educational purposes ; number of pub-
lishers of books, maps, papers, etc.; value of farm products and imple-
ments, and of live stock ; in tons of coal mined.
The shipping of Illinois is only second to New York. Out of one
port during the business hours of the season of navigation she sends forth
a vessel every ten minutes. This does not include canal boats, which go
one every five minutes. No wonder she is only second in number of
bankers and brokers or in physicians and surgeons.
She is third in colleges, teachers and schools ; cattle, lead, hay,
flax, sorghum and beeswax.
She is fourth in population, ^n children enrolled in public schools, in
law schools, in butter, potatoes and carriages.
She is fifth in value of real and personal property, in theological
seminaries and colleges exclusively for women, in milk sold, and in boots
and shoes manufactured, and in book-binding.
She is only seventh in the production of wood, while she is the
twelfth in area. Surely that is well done for the Prairie State. She now
has much more wood and growing timber than she had thirty years ago.
A few leading industries will justify emphasis. She manufactures
$205,000,000 worth of goods, which places her well up toward New York
and Pennsylvania. The number of her manufacturing establishments
increased from 1860 to 1870, 300 per cent.; capital employed increased 350
per cent., and the amount of product increased 400 per cent. She issued
5,500,000 copies of commercial and financial newspapers — only second to
New York. She has 6,759 miles of railroad, thus leading all other States,
worth $636,458,000, using 3,245 engines, and 67,712 cars, making a train
long enough to cover one-tenth of the entire roads of the State. Her
stations are only five miles apart. She carried last year 15,795,000 'passen-
gers, an average of 36£ miles, or equal to taking her entire population twice
across the State. More than two-thirds of her land is within five miles of
a railroad, and less than two per cent, is more than fifteen miles away.
The State has a large financial interest in the Illinois Central railroad.
The road was incorporated in 1850, and the State gave each alternate sec-
tion for six miles on each side, and doubled the price of the remaining
land, so keeping herself good. The road received 2,595,000 acres of land,
and pays to the State one-seventh of the gross receipts. The State
receives this year $350,000, and has received in all about $7,000,000. It
is practically the people's road, and it has a most able and gentlemanly
management. Add to this the annual receipts from the canal, $111,000,
and a large per cent, of the State tax is provided for.
10G HISTOKY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS.
THE RELIGION AND MORALS
of the State keep step with her productions and growth. She was born
of the missionary spirit. It was a minister who secured for her the ordi-
nance of 1787, by which she has been saved from slavery, ignorance, and
dishonesty. Rev. Mr. Wiley, pastor of a Scotch congregation in Randolph
County, petitioned the Constitutional Convention of 1818 to recognize
Jesus Christ as king, and the Scriptures as the only necessary guide and
book of law. The convention did not act in the case, and the old Cove-
nanters refused to accept citizenship. They never voted until 1824, when
the slavei v question was submitted to the people; then they all voted
against it and cast the determining votes. Conscience has predominated
whenever a great moral question has been submitted to the people.
But little mob violence has ever been felt in the State. In 1817
regulators disposed of a band of horse-thieves that infested the territory.
The Mormon indignities finally awoke the same spirit. Alton was also
the scene of a pro-slavery mob, in which Lovejoy was added to the list of
martyrs. The moral sense of the people makes the law supreme, and gives
to the State unruffled peace.
With $22,300,000 in church property, and 4,298 church organizations,
the State has that divine police, the sleepless patrol of moral ideas, that
alone is able to secure perfect safety. Conscience takes the knife from
the assassin's hand and the bludgeon from the grasp of the highwayman.
We sleep in safety, not because we are behind bolts and bars — these only
fence against the innocent ; not because a lone officer drowses on a distant
corner of a street; not because a sheriff may call his posse from a remote
part of the county ; but because conscience guards the very portals of the
air and stirs in the deepest recesses of the public mind. This spirit issues
within the State 9,500,000 copies of religious papers annually, and receives
still more from without. Thus the crime of the State is only one-fourth
that of New York and one-half that of Pennsylvania.
Illinois never had but one duel between her own citizens. In Belle-
ville, in 1820, Alphonso Stewart and William Bennett arranged to vindi-
cate injured honor. The seconds agreed to make it a sham, and make
them shoot blanks. Stewart was in the secret. Bennett mistrusted some-
thing, and, unobserved, slipped a bullet into his gun and killed Stewart.
He then fled the State. After two years he was caught, tried, convicted,
and, in spite of friends and political aid, was hung. This fixed the code
of honor on a Christian basis, and terminated its use in Illinois.
The early preachers were ignorant men, who were accounted eloquent
according to the strength of their voices. But they set the style for all
public speakers. Lawyers and political speakers followed this rule. Gov.
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS. 107
Ford says: "Nevertheless, these first preachers were of incalculable
benefit to the country. They inculcated justice and morality. To them
are we indebted for the first Christian character of the Protestant portion
of the people."
In education Illinois surpasses her material resources. The ordinance
of 1787 consecrated one thirty-sixth of her soil to common schools, and
the law of 1818, the first law that went upon her statutes, gave three per
cent, of all the rest to
EDUCATION.
The old compact secures this interest forever, and by its yoking
morality and intelligence it precludes the legal interference with the Bible
in the public schools. With such a start it is natural that we should have
11,050 schools, and that our illiteracy should be less than New York or
Pennsylvania, and only about one-half of Massachusetts. We are not to
blame for not having more than one-half as many idiots as the great
States. These public schools soon made colleges inevitable. The first
college, still flourishing, was started in Lebanon in 1828, by the M. E.
church, and named after Bishop McKendree. Illinois College, at Jackson-
ville, supported by the Presbyterians, followed in 1830. In 1832 the Bap-
tists built Shurtleff College, at Alton. Then the Presbyterians built Knox
College, at Galesburg, in 1838, and the Episcopalians built Jubilee College,
at Peoria, in 1847. After these early years colleges have rained down.
A settler could hardly encamp on the prairie but a college would spring
up by his wagon. The State now has one very well endowed and equipped
university, namely, the Northwestern University, at Evanston, with six
colleges, ninety instructors, over 1,000 students, and $1,500,000 endow-
ment.
Rev. J. M. Peck was the first educated Protestant minister in tne
State. He settled at Rock Spring, in St. Clair County, 1820, and left his
impress on the State. Before 1837 only party papers were published, but
Mr. Peck published a Gazetteer of Illinois. Soon after John Russell, of
Bluffdale, published essays and tales showing genius. Judge James Hall
published The Illinois Monthly Magazine with great ability, and an annual
called The Western Souvenir, which gave him an enviable fame all over the
United States. From these beginnings Illinois has gone on till she has
more volumes in public libpalrles even than Massachusetts, and of the
44,500,000 volumes in all the public libraries of the United States, she
has one-thirteenth. In newspapers she stands fourth. Her increase is
marvelous. In 1850 she issued 5,000,000 copies; in 1860, 27,590,000 ; in
1870, 113,140,000. In 1860 she had eighteen colleges and seminaries ; in
1870 she had eighty. That is a grand advance for the war decade.
This brings us to a record unsurpassed in the history of any age,
108 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS.
THE WAR RECORD OF ILLINOIS.
I hardly know where to begin, or how to advance, or what to say. I
can at best give you only a broken synopsis of her deeds, and you must
put them in the order of glory for yourself. Her sons have always been
foremost on fields of danger. In 1832-33, at the call of Gov. Reynolds,
her sons drove Blackhawk over the Mississippi.
When the Mexican war came, in May, 1846, 8,370 men offered them-
selves when only 3,720 could be accepted. The fields of Buena Vista and
Vera Cruz, and the storming of Cerro Gordo, will carry the glory of Illinois
soldiers along after the infamy of the cause they served has been forgotten.
But it was reserved till our day for her sons to find a field and cause and
foemen that could fitly illustrate their spirit and heroism. Illinois put
into her own regiments for the United States government 256,000 men,
and into the army through other States enough to swell the number to
290,000. This far exceeds all the soldiers of the federal government in
all the war of the revolution. Her total years of service were over 600,000.
She enrolled men from eighteen to forty-five years of age when the law
of Congress in 1864 — the test time — only asked for those from twenty to
forty-five. Her enrollment was otherwise excessive. Her people wanted
to go, and did not take the pains to correct the enrollment. Thus the
basis of fixing the quota was too great, and then the quota itself, at least
in the trying time, was far above any other State.
Thus the demand on some counties, as Monroe, for example, took every
able-bodied man in the county, and then did not have enough to fill the
quota. Moreover, Illinois sent 20,844 men for ninety or one hundred days,
for whom no credit was asked. When Mr. Lincoln's attention was called
to the inequality of the quota compared with other States, he replied,
" The country needs the sacrifice. We must put the whip on the free
horse." In spite of all these disadvantages Illinois gave to the country
73,000 years of service above all calls. With one-thirteenth of the popu-
lation of the loyal States, she sent regularly one-tenth of all the soldiers,
and in the peril of the closing calls, when patriots were few and weary,
she then sent one-eighth of all that were called for by her loved and hon-
ored son in the white house. Her mothers and daughters went into the
fields to raise the grain and keep the children together, while the fathers
and older sons went to the harvest fields of the world. I knew a father
and four sons who agreed that one of them must stay at home ; and they
pulled straws from a stack to see who might go. The father was left.
The next day he came into the camp, saying : " Mother says she can get
the crops in, and I am going, too." I know large Methodist churches
from which every male member went to the army. Do you want to know
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS. 109
what these heroes from Illinois did in the field ? Ask any soldier with a
good record of his own, who is thus able to judge, and he will tell you
that the Illinois men went in to win. It is common history that the greater
victories were won in the West. When everything else looked dark Illi-
nois was gaining victories all down the river, and dividing the confederacy.
Sherman took with him on his great march forty-five regiments of Illinois
infantry, three companies of artillery, and one company of cavalry. He
could not avoid
GOING TO THE SEA.
If he had been killed, I doubt not the men would have gone right on.
Lincoln answered all rumors of Sherman's defeat with, " It is impossible ;
there is a mighty sight of fight in 100,000 Western men." Illinois soldiers
brought home 300 battle-flags. The first United States flag that floated
over Richmond was an Illinois flag. She sent messengers and nurses to
every field and hospital, to care for her sick and wounded sons. She said,
*• These suffering ones are my sons, and I will care for them."
When individuals had given all, then cities and towns came forward
with their credit to the extent of many millions, to aid these men and
their families.
Illinois gave the country the great general of the war — Ulysses S.
Grant — since honored with two terms of the Presidency of the United
States.
One other name from Illinois comes up in all minds, embalmed in all
hearts, that must have the supreme place in this story of our glory and
of our nation's honor ; that name is Abraham Lincoln, of Illinois.
The analysis of Mr. Lincoln's character is difficult on account of its
symmetry.
In this age we look with admiration at his uncompromising honesty.
And well we may, for this saved us. Thousands throughout the length
and breadth of our country who knew him only as " Honest Old Abe,"
voted for him on that account ; and wisely did they choose, for no other
man could have carried us through the fearful night of the war. When
his plans were too vast for our comprehension, and his faith in the cause
too sublime for our participation ; when it was all night about us, and all
dread before us, and all sad and desolate behind us; when not one ray
shone upon our cause ; when traitors were haughty and exultant at the
South, and fierce and blasphemous at the North ; when the loyal men hei e
seemed almost in the minority ; when the stoutest heart quailed, the bravest
cheek paled ; when generals were defeating each other for place, and
contractors were leeching out the very heart's blood of the prostrate
republic : when every thing else had failed us, we looked at this calm,
patient man standing like a rock in the storm, and said : " Mr. Lincoln
HO HISTORY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS.
is honest, and we can trust him still." Holding to this single point with
the energy of faith and despair we held together, and, under God, he
brought us through to victory.
His practical wisdom made him the wonder of all lands. With such
certainty did Mr. Lincoln follow causes to their ultimate effects, that his
foresight of contingencies seemed almost prophetic.
He is radiant with all the great virtues, and his memory shall shed a
glory upon this age that shall fill the eyes of men as they look into his-
tory. Other men have excelled him in some point, but, taken at all
points, all in all, he stands head and shoulders above every other man of
6,000 years. An administrator, he saved the nation in the perils of
unparalleled civil war. A statesman, he justified his measures by their
success. A philanthropist, he gave liberty to one race and salvation to
another. A moralist, he bowed from the summit of human power to the
foot of the Cross, and became a Christian. A mediator, he exercised mercy
under the most absolute abeyance to law. A leader, he was no partisan.
A commander, he was untainted with blood. A ruler in desperate times,
he was unsullied with crime. A man, he has left no word of passion, no
thought of malice, no trick of craft, no act of jealousy, no purpose of
selfish ambition. Thus perfected, without a model, and without a peer,
he was dropped into these troubled years to adorn and embellish all that
is good and all that is great in our humanity, and to present to all coming
time the representative of the divine idea of free government.
It is not too much to say that away down in the future, when the
republic has fallen from its niche in the wall of time ; when the great
war itself shall have faded out in the distance like a mist on the horizon ;
when the Anglo-Saxon language shall be spoken only by the tongue of
the stranger ; then the generations looking this way shall see the great
president as the supreme figure in this vortex of historv
CHICAGO.
It is impossible in our brief space to give more than a meager sketch
of such a city as Chicago, which is in itself the greatest marvel of the
Prairie State. This mysterious, majestic, mighty city, born first of water,
and next of fire ; sown in weakness, and raised in power ; planted among
the willows of the marsh, and crowned with the glory of the mountains ;
sleeping on the bosom of the prairie, and rocked on the bosom of the sea ,
the youngest city of the world, and still the eye of the prairie, as Damas-
cus, the oldest city of the world, is the eye of the desert. With a com-
merce far exceeding that of Corinth on her isthmus, in the highway to
the East ; with the defenses of a continent piled around her by the thou-
sand miles, making her far safer than Rome on the banks of the Tiber ;
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS. Ill
with schools eclipsing Alexandria and Athens ; with liberties more con-
spicuous than those of the old republics ; with a heroism equal to the first
Carthage, and with a sanctity scarcely second to that of Jerusalem — set
your thoughts on all this, lifted into the eyes of all men by the miracle of
its growth, illuminated by the flame of its fall, and transfigured by the
divinity of its resurrection, and you will feel, as I do, the utter impossi-
bility of compassing this subject as it deserves. Some impression of her
importance is received from the shock her burning gave to the civilized
world.
.When the doubt of her calamity was removed, and the horrid fact
was accepted, there went a shudder over all cities, and a quiver over all
lands. There was scarcely a town in the civilized world that did not
shake on the brink of this opening chasm. The flames of our homes red- •
dened all skies. The city was set upon a hill, and could not be hid. AK
eyes were turned upon it. To have struggled and suffered amid the
scenes of its fall is as distinguishing as to have fought at Thermopylae, or
Salamis, or Hastings, or Waterloo, or Bunker Hill.
Its calamity amazed the world, because it was felt to be the common
property of mankind.
The early history of the city is full of interest, just as the early his-
tory of such a man as Washington or Lincoln becomes public property,
and is cherished by every patriot.
Starting with 560 acres in 1833, it embraced and occupied 23,000
acres in 1869, and, having now a population of more than 500,000, it com-
mands general attention.
The first settler — Jean Baptiste Pointe au Sable, a mulatto from the
West Indies — came and began trade with the Indians in 1796. John
Kinzie became his successor in 1804, in which year Fort Dearborn was
erected.
A mere trading-post was kept here from that time till about the time
of the Blackhawk war, in 1832. It was not the city. It was merely a
cock crowing at midnight. The morning was not yet. In 1833 the set-
tlement about the fort was incorporated as a town. The voters were
divided on the propriety of such corporation, twelve voting for it and one
against it. Four years later it was incorporated as a city, and embraced
560 acres.
The produce handled in this city is an indication of its power. Grain
and flour were imported from the East till as late as 1837. The first
exportation by way of experiment was in 1839. Exports exceeded imports
first in 1842. The Board of Trade was organized in 1848, but it was so
weak that it needed nursing till 1855. Grain was purchased by the
wagon-load in the street.
I remember sitting with my father on a load of wheat, in the long
112 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS.
line of wagons along Lake street, while the buyers came and untied the
bags, and examined the grain, and made their bids. That manner of
business had to cease with the day of small things. Now our elevators
will hold 15,000,000 bushels of grain. The cash value of the produce
handled in a year is $215,000,000, and the produce weighs 7,000,000
tons or 700,000 car loads. This handles thirteen and a half ton each
minute, all the year round. One tenth of all the wheat in the United
States is handled in Chicago. Even as long ago as 1853 the receipts of
grain in Chicago exceeded those of the goodly city of St. Louis, and in
1854 the exports of grain from Chicago exceeded those of New York and
doubled those of St. Petersburg, Archangel, or Odessa, the largest grain
markets in Europe.
The manufacturing interests of the city are not contemptible. In
1873 manufactories employed 45,000 operatives ; in 1876, 60,000. The
manufactured product in 1875 was worth $177,000,000.
No estimate of the size and power of Chicago would be adequate
that did not put large emphasis on the railroads. Before they came
thundering along our streets canals were the hope of our country. But
who ever thinks now of traveling by canal packets ? In June, 1852,
there were only forty miles of railroad connected with the city. The
old Galena division of the Northwestern ran out to Elgin. But now,
who can count the trains and measure the roads that seek a terminus or
connection in this city? The lake stretches away to the north, gathering
in to this center all the harvests that might otherwise pass to the north
of us. If you will take a map and look at the adjustment of railroads,
you will see, first, that Chicago is the great railroad center of the world,
as New York is the commercial city of this continent ; and, second, that
the railroad lines form the iron spokes of a great wheel whose hub is
this city. The lake furnishes the only break in the spokes, and this
seems simply to have pushed a few spokes together on each shore. See
the eighteen trunk lines, exclusive of eastern connections.
Pass round the circle, and view their numbers and extent. There
is the great Northwestern, with all its branches, one branch creeping
along the lake shore, and so reaching to the north, into the Lake Superior
regions, away to the right, and on to the Northern Pacific on the left,
swinging around Green Bay for iron and copper and silver, twelve months
in the year, and reaching out for the wealth of the great agricultural
belt and isothermal line traversed by the Northern Pacific. Another
branch, not so far north, feeling for the heart of the Badger State.
Another pushing lower down the Mississippi — all these make many con-
nections, and tapping all the vast wheat regions of Minnesota, Wisconsin,
Iowa, and all the regions this side of sunset. There is that elegant road,
the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, running out a goodly number of
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS. 113
branches, and reaping the great fields this side of the Missouri River.
I can only mention the Chicago, Alton & St. Louis, our Illinois Central,
described elsewhere, and the Chicago & Rock Island. Further around
we come to the lines connecting us with all the eastern cities. The
Chicago, Indianapolis & St. Louis, the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne &
Chicago, the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern, and the Michigan Cen-
tral and Great Western, give us many highways to the seaboard. Thus we
reach the Mississippi at five points, from St. Paul to Cairo and the Gulf
itself by two routes. We also reach Cincinnati and Baltimore, and Pitts-
burgh and Philadelphia, and New York. North and south run the water
courses of the lakes and the rivers, broken just enough at this point to
make a pass. Through this, from east to west, run the long lines that
stretch from ocean to ocean.
This is the neck of the glass, and the golden sands of commerce
must pass into our hands. Altogether we have more than 10,000 miles
of railroad, directly tributary to this city, seeking to unload their wealth
in our coffers. All these roads have come themselves by the infallible
instinct of capital. Not a dollar was ever given by the city to secure
one of them, and only a small per cent, of stock taken originally by her
citizens, and that taken simply as an investment. Coming in the natural
order of events, they will not be easily diverted.
There is still another showing to all this. The connection between
New York and San Francisco is by the middle route. This passes inevit-
ably through Chicago. St. Louis wants the Southern Pacific or Kansas
Pacific, and pushes it out through Denver, and so on up to Cheyenne.
But before the road is fairly under way, the Chicago roads shove out to
Kansas City, making even the Kansas Pacific a feeder, and actually leav-
ing St. Louis out in the cold. It is not too much to expect that Dakota,
Montana, and Washington Territory will find their great market in Chi-
cago.
But these are not all. Perhaps I had better notice here the ten or
fifteen new roads that have just entered, or are just entering, our city.
Their names are all that is necessary to give. Chicago & St. Paul, look-
ing up the Red River country to the British possessions ; the Chicago,
Atlantic & Pacific ; the Chicago, Decatur & State Line ; the Baltimore &
Ohio; the Chicago, Danville & Vincennes; the Chicago & LaSalle Rail-
road ; the Chicago, Pittsburgh & Cincinnati ; the Chicago and Canada
Southern ; the Chicago and Illinois River Railroad. These, with their
connections, and with the new connections of the old roads, already in
process of erection, give to Chicago not less than 10,000 miles of new
tributaries from the richest land on the continent. Thus there will be
added to the reserve power, to the capital within reach of this city, not
less than 81,000,000,000.
114 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS.
Add to all this transporting power the ships that sail one every nine
minutes of the business hours of the season of navigation ; add, also, the
canal boats that leave one every five minutes during the same time — and
you will see something of the business of the city.
THE COMMERCE OF THIS CITY
has been leaping along to keep pace with the growth of the country
around us. In 1852, our commerce reached the hopeful sum of
620,000,000. In 1870 it reached $400,000,000. In 1871 it was pushed
up above $450,000,000. And in 1875 it touched nearly double that.
One-half of our imported goods come directly to Chicago. Grain
enough is exported directly from our docks to the old world to employ a
semi-weekly line of steamers of 3,000 tons capacity. This branch is
not likely to be greatly developed. Even after the great Welland Canal
is completed we shall have only fourteen feet of water. The great ocean
vessels will continue to control the trade.
The banking capital of Chicago is $24,431,000. Total exchange in
1875, $659,000,000. Her wholesale business in 1875 was $294,000,000.
The rate of taxes is less than in any other great city.
The schools of Chicago are unsurpassed in America. Out of a popu-
lation of 300,000 there were only 186 persons between the ages of six
and twenty-one unable to read. This is the best known record.
In 1831 the mail system was condensed into a half-breed, who went
on foot to Niles, Mich., once in two weeks, and brought back what papers
and news he could find. As late as 1846 there was often only one mail
a week. A post-office was established in Chicago in 1833, and the post-
master nailed up old boot-legs on one side of his shop to serve as boxes
for the nabobs and literary men.
It is an interesting fact in the growth of the young city that in the
active life of the business men of that day the mail matter has grown to
a daily average of over 6,500 pounds. It speaks equally well for the
intelligence of the people and the commercial importance of the place,
that the mail matter distributed to the territory immediately tributary to
Chicago is seven times greater than that distributed to the territory
immediately tributary to St. Louis.
The improvements that have characterized the city are as startling
as the city itself. In 1831, Mark Beaubien established a ferry over the
river, and put himself under bonds to carry all the citizens free for the
privilege of charging strangers. Now there are twenty-four large bridges
and two tunnels.
In 1833 the government expended $30,000 on the harbor. Then
commenced that series of manceuvers with the river that has made it one
/& W97M"^_
BELLEFLDWER TR
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS. 115
of the world's curiosities. It used to wind around in the lower end of
the town, and make its way rippling over the sand into the lake at the
foot of Madison street. They took it up and put it down where it now
is. It was a narrow stream, so narrow that even moderately small crafts
had to go up through the willows and cat's tails to the point near Lake
street bridge, and back up one of the branches to get room enough in
which to turn around.
In 1844 the quagmires in the streets were first pontooned by plank
roads, which acted in wet weather as public squirt-guns. Keeping you
out of the mud, they compromised by squirting the mud over you. The
wooden-block pavements came to Chicago in 1857. In 1840 water was
delivered by peddlers in carts or by hand. Then a twenty-five horse-
power engine pushed it through hollow or bored logs along the streets
till 1854, when it was introduced into the houses by new works. The
first fire-engine was used in 1835, and the first steam fire-engine in 1859.
Gas was utilized for lighting the city in 1850. The Young Men's Chris-
tian Association was organized in 1858, and horse railroads carried them
to their work in 1859. The museum was opened in 1863. The alarm
telegraph adopted in 1864. The opera-house built in 1865. The city
grew from 560 acres in 1833 to 23,000 in 1869. In 1834, the taxes
amounted to $48.90, and the trustees of the town borrowed $60 more for
opening and improving streets. In 1835, the legislature authorized a loan
of $2,000, and the treasurer and street commissioners resigned rather than
plunge the town into such a gulf.
Now the city embraces 36 square miles of territory, and has 30 miles
of water front, besides the outside harbor of refuge, of 400 acres, inclosed
by a crib sea-wall. One-third of the city has been raised up an average
of eight feet, giving good pitch to the 263 miles of sewerage. The water
of the city is above all competition. It is received through two tunnels
extending to a crib in the lake two miles from shore. The closest analy-
sis fails to detect any impurities, and, received 35 feet below the surface,
it is always clear and cold. The first tunnel is five feet two inches in
diameter and two miles long, and can deliver 50,000,000 of gallons per
day. The second tunnel is seven feet in diameter and six miles long,
running four miles under the city, and can deliver 100,000,000 of gal-
lons per day. This water is distributed through 410 miles of water-
mains.
The three grand engineering exploits of the city are : First, lifting
the city up on jack-screws, whole squares at a time, without interrupting
the business, thus giving us good drainage ; second, running the tunnels
under the lake, giving us the best water in the world ; and third, the
turning the current of the river in its own channel, delivering us from the
old abominations, and making decency possible. They redound about
Ht5 HISTOEY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS.
equally to the credit of the engineering, to the energy of the people, and
to the health of the city.
That which really constitutes the city, its indescribable spirit, its soul,
the way it lights up in every feature in the hour of action, has not been
touched. In meeting strangers, one is often surprised how some homely
women marry so well. Their forms are bad, their gait uneven and awk-
ward, their complexion is dull, their features are misshapen and mismatch-
ed, and when we see them there is no beauty that we should desire them.
But when once they are aroused on some subject, they put on new pro-
portions. They light up into great power. The real person comes out
from its unseemly ambush, and captures us at will. They have power.
They have ability to cause things to come to pass. We no longer wonder
why they are in such high demand. So it is with our city.
There is no grand scenery except the two seas, one of water, the
other of prairie. Nevertheless, there is a spirit about it, a push, a breadth,
a power, that soon makes it a place never to be forsaken. One soon
ceases to believe in impossibilities. Balaams are the only prophets that are
disappointed. The bottom that has been on the point of falling out has
been there so long that it has grown fast. It can not fall out. It has all
the capital of the world itching to get inside the corporation.
The two great laws that govern the growth and size of cities are,
first, the amount of territory for which they are the distributing and
receiving points ; second, the number of medium or moderate dealers that
do this distributing. Monopolists build up themselves, not the cities.
They neither eat, wear, nor live in proportion to their business. Both
these laws help Chicago.
The tide of trade is eastward — not up or down the map, but across
the map. The lake runs up a wingdam for 500 miles to gather in the
business. Commerce can not ferry up there for seven months in the year,
and the facilities for seven months can do the work for twelve. Then the
great region west of us is nearly all good, productive land. Dropping
south into the trail of St. Louis, you fall into vast deserts and rocky dis-
tricts, useful in holding the world together. St. Louis and Cincinnati,
instead of rivaling and hurting Chicago, are her greatest sureties of
dominion. They are far enough away to give sea-room, — farther off than
Paris is from London, — and yet they are near enough to prevent the
springing up of any other great city between them.
St. Louis will be helped by the opening of the Mississippi, but also
hurt. That will put New Orleans on her feet, and with a railroad running
over into Texas and so West, she will tap the streams that now crawl up
the Texas and Missouri road. The current is East, not North, and a sea-
port at New Orleans can not permanently help St. Louis.
Chicago is in the field almost alone, to handle the wealth of one-
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS. 117
fourth of the territory of this great republic. This strip of seacoast
divides its margins between Portland, Boston, New York, Philadelphia,
Baltimore and Savannah, or some other great port to be created for the
South in the next decade. But Chicago has a dozen empires casting their
treasures into her lap. On a bed of coal that can run all the machinery
of the world for 500 centuries ; in a garden that can feed the race by the
thousand years; at the head of the lakes that give her a temperature as a
summer resort equaled by no great city in the land ; with a climate that
insures the health of her citizens ; surrounded by all the great deposits
of natural wealth in mines aud forests and herds, Chicago is the wonder
of to-day, and will be the city of the . future.
MASSACRE AT PORT DEARBORN.
During the war of 1812, Fort Dearborn became the theater of stirring
events. The garrison consisted of fifty-four men under command of
Captain Nathan Heald, assisted by Lieutenant Helm (son-in-law of Mrs.
Kinzie) and Ensign Ronan. Dr. Voorhees was surgeon. The only resi-
dents at the post at that time were the wives of Captain Heald and Lieu-
tenant Helm, and a few of the soldiers, Mr. Kinzie and his family, and
a few Canadian voyageurs, with their wives and children. The soldiers
and Mr. Kinzie were on most friendly terms with the Pottawattamies
and Winnebagos, the principal tribes around them, but they could not
win them from their attachment to the British.
One evening in April, 1812, Mr. Kinzie sat playing on his violin and
his children were dancing to the music, when Mrs. Kinzie came rushing
into the house, pale with terror, and exclaiming : " The Indians ! the
Indians!" "What? Where?" eagerly inquired Mr. Kinzie. "Up
at Lee's, killing and scalping," answered the frightened mother, who,
when the alarm was given, was attending Mrs. Barnes (just confined)
living not far off. Mr. Kinzie and his family crossed the river and took
refuge in the fort, to which place Mrs. Barnes and her infant not a day
old were safely conveyed. The rest of the inhabitants took shelter in the
fort. This alarm was caused by a scalping party of Winnebagos, who
hovered about the fort several days, when they disappeared, and for several
weeks the inhabitants were undisturbed.
On the 7th of August, 1812, General Hull, at Detroit, sent orders to
Captain Heald to evacuate Fort Dearborn, and to distribute all the United
States property to the Indians in the neighborhood — a most insane order.
The Pottawattamie chief, who brought the dispatch, had more wisdom
than the commanding general. He advised Captain Heald not to make
the distribution. Said he : " Leave the fort and stores as they are, and
let the Indians make distribution for themselves; and while they are
engaged in the business, the white people may escape to Fort Wayne."
116 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS.
equally to the credit of the engineering, to the energy of the people, and
to the health of the city.
That which really constitutes the city, its indescribable spirit, its soul,
the way it lights up in every feature in the hour of action, has not been
touched. In meeting strangers, one is often surprised how some homely
women marry so well. Their forms are bad, their gait uneven and awk-
ward, their complexion is dull, their features are misshapen and mismatch-
ed, and when we see them there is no beauty that we should desire them.
But when once they are aroused on some subject, they put on new pro-
portions. They light up into great power. The real person comes out
from its unseemly ambush, and captures us at will. They have power.
They have ability to cause things to come to pass. We no longer wonder
why they are in such high demand. So it is with our city.
There is no grand scenery except the two seas, one of water, the
other of prairie. Nevertheless, there is a spirit about it, a push, a breadth,
a power, that soon makes it a place never to be forsaken. One soon
ceases to believe in impossibilities. Balaams are the only prophets that are
disappointed. The bottom that has been on the point of falling out has
been there so long that it has grown fast. It can not fall out. It has all
the capital of the world itching to get inside the corporation.
The two great laws that govern the growth and size of cities are,
first, the amount of territory for which they are the distributing and
receiving points ; second, the number of medium or moderate dealers that
do this distributing. Monopolists build up themselves, not the cities.
They neither eat, wear, nor live in proportion to their business. Both
these laws help Chicago.
The tide of trade is eastward — not up or down the map, but across
the map. The lake runs up a wingdam for 500 miles to gather in the
business. Commerce can not ferry up there for seven months in the year,
and the facilities for seven months can do the work for twelve. Then the
great region west of us is nearly all good, productive land. Dropping
south into the trail of St. Louis, you fall into vast deserts and rocky dis-
tricts, useful in holding the world together. St. Louis and Cincinnati,
instead of rivaling and hurting Chicago, are her greatest sureties of
dominion. They are far enough away to give sea-room, — farther off than
Paris is from London, — and yet they are near enough to prevent the
springing up of any other great city between them.
St. Louis will be helped by the opening of the Mississippi, but also
hurt. That will put New Orleans on her feet, and with a railroad running
over into Texas and so West, she will tap the streams that now crawl up
the Texas and Missouri road. The current is East, not North, and a sea-
port at New Orleans can not permanently help St. Louis.
Chicago is in the field almost alone, to handle the wealth of one-
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS. 117
fourth of the territory of this great republic. This strip of seacoast
divides its margins between Portland, Boston, New York, Philadelphia,
Baltimore and Savannah, or some other great port to be created for the
South in the next decade. But Chicago has a dozen empires casting their
treasures into her lap. On a bed of coal that can run all the machinery
of the world for 500 centuries ; in a garden that can feed the race by the
thousand years ; at the head of the lakes that give her a temperature as a
summer resort equaled by no great city in the land ; with a climate that
insures the health of her citizens ; surrounded by all the great deposits
of natural wealth in mines aud forests and herds, Chicago is the wonder
of to-day, and will be the city of the . future.
MASSACRE AT FORT DEARBORN.
During the war of 1812, Fort Dearborn became the theater of stirring
events. The garrison consisted of fifty-four men under command of
Captain Nathan Heald, assisted by Lieutenant Helm (son-in-law of Mrs.
Kinzie) and Ensign Ronan. Dr. Voorhees was surgeon. The only resi-
dents at the post at that time were the wives of Captain Heald and Lieu-
tenant Helm, and a few of the soldiers, Mr. Kinzie and his family, and
a few Canadian voyageurs, with their wives and children. The soldiers
and Mr. Kinzie were on most friendly terms with the Pottawattamies
and Winnebagos, the principal tribes around them, but they could not
win them from their attachment to the British.
One evening in April, 1812, Mr. Kinzie sat playing on his violin and
his children were dancing to the music, when Mrs. Kinzie came rushing
into the house, pale with terror, and exclaiming: "The Indians! the
Indians!" "What? Where?" eagerly inquired Mr. Kinzie. "Up
at Lee's, killing and scalping," answered the frightened mother, who,
when the alarm was given, was attending Mrs. Barnes (just confined)
living not far off. Mr. Kinzie and his family crossed the river and took
refuge in the fort, to which place Mrs. Barnes and her infant not a day
old were safely conveyed. The rest of the inhabitants took shelter in the
fort. This alarm was caused by a scalping party of Winnebagos, who
hovered about the fort several days, when they disappeared, and for several
weeks the inhabitants were undisturbed.
On the 7th of August, 1812, General Hull, at Detroit, sent orders to
Captain Heald to evacuate Fort Dearborn, and to distribute all the United
States property to the Indians in the neighborhood — a most insane order.
The Pottawattamie chief, who brought the dispatch, had more wisdom
than the commanding general. He advised Captain Heald not to make
the distribution. Said he : " Leave the fort and stores as they are, and
let the Indians make distribution for themselves; and while they are
engaged in the business, the white people may escape to Fort Wayne."
120 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS.
seized the savage round the neck with her arms and endeavored to get
hold of his scalping knife, which hung in a sheath at his breast. While
she was thus struggling she was dragged from her antagonist by anothei
powerful Indian, who bore her, in spite of her struggles, to the margin
of the lake and plunged her in. To her astonishment she was held by
him so that she would not drown, and she soon perceived that she was
in the hands of the friendly Black Partridge, who had saved her life.
The wife of Sergeant Holt, a large and powerful woman, behaved as
bravely as an Amazon. She rode a fine, high-spirited horse, which the
Indians coveted, and several of them attacked her with the butts of their
guns, for the purpose of dismounting her ; but she used the sword which
she had snatched from her disabled husband so skillfully that she foiled
them ; and, suddenly wheeling her horse, she dashed over the prairie,
followed by the savages shouting, " The brave woman ! the brave woman !
Don't hurt her ! " They finally overtook her, and while she was fighting
them in front, a powerful savage came up behind her, seized her by the
neck and dragged her to the ground. Horse and woman were made
captives. Mrs. Holt was a long time a captive among the Indians, but
was afterwards ransomed.
In this sharp conflict two-thirds of the white people were slain and
wounded, and all their horses, baggage and provision were lost. Only
twenty-eight straggling men now remained to fight five hundred Indians
rendered furious bjr the sight of blood. They succeeded in breaking
through the ranks of the murderers and gaining a slight eminence on the
prairie near the Oak Woods. The Indians did not pursue, but gathered
on their flanks, while the chiefs held a consultation on the sand-hills, and
showed signs of willingness to parley. It would have been madness on
the part of the whites to renew the fight ; and so Capt. Heald went for-
ward and met Blackbird on the open prairie, where terms of surrender
were soon agreed upon. It was arranged that the white people should
give up their arms to Blackbird, and that the survivors should become
prisoners of war, to be exchanged for ransoms as soon as practicable.
With this understanding captives and captors started for the Indian
camp near the fort, to which Mrs. Helm had been taken bleeding and
suffering by Black Partridge, and had met her step-father and learned
that her husband was safe.
A new scene of horror was now opened at the Indian camp. The
wounded, not being included in the terms of surrender, as it was inter-
preted by the Indians, and the British general, Proctor, having offered a
liberal bounty for American scalps, delivered at Maiden, nearly all the
wounded men were killed and scalped, and the price of the trophies was
afterwards paid by the British government.
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS.
121
SHABBONA.
JThis was engraved from a daguerreotype, taken when Shabbona was 83 years old.]
This celebrated Indian chief, whose portrait appears in this work, deserves
more than a passing notice. Although Shabbona was not so conspicuous as
Tecumseh or Black Hawk, yet in point of merit he was superior to either
of them.
Shabbona was born at an Indian village on the Kankakee River, now in
Will County, about the year 1775. While young he was made chief of the
band, and went to Shabbona Grove, now DeKalb County, where they were
found in the early settlement of the county.
In the war of 1812, Shabbona, with his warriors, joined Tecumseh, was
122 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF ILIiTNOIS.
aid to that great chief, and stood by his side when he fell at the battle of
the Thames. At the time of the Winnebago war, in 1827, he visited almost
every village among the Pottawatomies, and by his persuasive arguments
prevented them from taking part in the war. By request of the citizens
of Chicago, Shabbona, accompanied by Billy Caldwell (Sauganash), visited
Big Foot's village at Geneva Lake, in order to pacify the warriors, as fears
were entertained that they were about to raise the tomahawk against the
whites. Here Shabbona was taken prisoner by Big Foot, and his life
threatened, but on the following day was set at liberty. From that time
the Indians (through reproach) styled him " the white man's friend,'*
and many times his life was endangered.
Before the Black Hawk war, Shabbona met in council at two differ-
ent times, and by his influence prevented his people from taking part with
the Sacs and Foxes. After the death of Black Partridge and Senachwine,
no chief among the Pottawatomies exerted so much influence as Shabbona.
Black Hawk, aware of this influence, visited him at two different times, in
order to enlist him in his cause, but was unsuccessful. While Black Hawk
was a prisoner at Jefferson Barracks, he said, had it not been for Shabbona
the whole Pottawatomie nation would have joined his standard, and he
could have continued the war for years.
To Shabbona many of the early settlers of Illinois owe the pres-
ervation of their lives, for it is a well-known fact, had he not notified the
people of their danger, a large portion of them would have fallen victims
to the tomahawk of savages. By saving the lives of whites he endangered
his own, for the Sacs and Foxes threatened to kill him, and made two
attempts to execute their threats. They killed Pypeogee, his son, and
Pyps, his nephew, and hunted him down as though he was a wild beast.
Shabbona had a reservation of two sections of land at his Grove, but
by leaving it and going west for a short time, the Government declared
the reservation forfeited, and sold it the same as other vacant land. On
Shabbona's return, and finding his possessions gone, he was very sad and
broken down in spirit, and left the Grove for ever. The citizens of Ottawa
raised money and bought him a tract of land on the Illinois River, above
Seneca, in Grundy County, on which they built a house, and supplied
him with means to live on. He lived here until his death, which occurred
on the 17th of July, 1859, in the eighty-fourth year of his age, and was
buried with great pomp in the cemetery at Morris. His squaw, Pokanoka,
was drowned in Mazen Creek, Grundy County, on the 30th of November,
1864, and was buried by his side.
In 1861 subscriptions were taken up in many of the river towns, to
erect a monument over the remains of Shabbona, but the war breaking
out, the enterprise was abandoned. Only a plain marble slab marks the
resting-place of this friend of the white man.
Abstract of Illinois State Laws.
BILLS OF EXCHANGE AND PROMISSORY NOTES.
No promissory note, check, draft, bill of exchange, order, or note, nego-
tiable instrument payable at sight, or on demand, or on presentment, shall
be entitled to dags of grace. All other bills of exchange, drafts or notes are
entitled to three dags of grace. All the above mentioned paper falling
due on Sunday, New Years' 1 Day, the Fourth of July, Christmas, or any
day appointed or recommended by the President of the United States or
the Governor of the State as a day of fast or thanksgiving, shall be deemed
as due on the day previous, and should two or more of these days come
together, then such instrument shall be treated as due on the day previous
to the first of said days. No defense can be made against a negotiable
instrument (assigned before due) in the hands of the assignee without
notice, except fraud was used in obtaining the same. To hold an indorser,
due diligence must be used by suit, in collecting of the maker, unless suit
would have been unavailing. Notes payable to person named or to order,
in order to absolutely transfer title, must be indorsed by the payee. Notes
payable to bearer may be transferred by delivery, and when so payable
every indorser thereon is held as a guarantor of payment unless otherwise
expressed.
In computing interest or discount on negotiable instruments, a month
shall be considered a calendar month or twelfth of a year, and for less
than a month, a day shall be figured a thirtieth part of a month. Notes
only bear interest when so expressed, but after due they draw the legal
interest, even if not stated.
INTEREST.
The legal rate of interest is six per cent. Parties may agree in writ-
ing on a rate not exceeding ten per cent. If a rate of interest greater
than ten per cent, is contracted for, it works a forfeiture of the whole of
said interest, and only the principal can be recovered.
DESCENT.
When no will is made, the property of a deceased person is distrib-
uted as follows :
123
124 ABSTRACT OF ILLINOIS STATE LAWS.
First. To his or her children and their descendants in equal parts ;
the descendants of the deceased child or grandchild taking the share of
their deceased parents in equal parts among them.
Second. Where there is no child, nor descendant of such child, and
no widow or surviving husband, then to the parents, brothers and sisters
of the deceased, and their descendants, in equal parts, the surviving
parent, if either be dead, taking a double portion ; and if there is no
parent living, then to the brothers and sisters of the intestate and their
descendants.
Third. When there is a widow or surviving husband, and no child or
children, or descendants of the same, then one-half of the real estate and
the whole of the personal estate shall descend to such widow or surviving
husband, absolutely, and the other half of the real estate shall descend as
in other cases where there is no child or children or descendants of the
same.
Fourth. When there is a widow or surviving husband and also a child
or children, or descendants of the latter, then one third of all the personal
estate to the widow or surviving husband absolutely.
Fifth. If there is no child, parent, brother or sister, or descendants of
either of them, and no widow or surviving husband, then in equal parts
to the next of kin to the intestate in equal degree. Collaterals shall not
be represented except with the descendants of brothers and sisters of the
intestate, and there shall be no distinction between kindred of the whole
and the half blood.
Sixth. If any intestate leaves a widow or surviving husband and no
kindred, then to such widow or surviving husband ; and if there is no such
widow or surviving husband, it shall escheat to and vest in the county
where the same, or the greater portion thereof, is situated.
WILLS AND ESTATES OF DECEASED PERSONS.
No exact form of words are necessary in order to make a will good at
law. Every male person of the age of twenty-one years, and every female
of the age of eighteen years, of sound mind and memory, can make a valid
will ; it must be in writing, signed by the testator or by some one in his
or her presence and by his or her direction, and attested by two or move
credible witnesses. Care should be taken that the witnesses are not inter-
ested in the will. Persons knowing themselves to have been named in the
will or appointed executor, must within thirty days of the death of
deceased cause the will to be proved and recorded in the proper county,
or present it, and refuse to accept ; on failure to do so are liable to forfeit
the sum of tiventy dollars per month. Inventory to be made by executor
or administrator within three months from date of letters testamentary or
ABSTKACT OF ILLINOIS STATE LAWS. 125
of administration. Executors' and administrators' compensation not te
exceed six per cent, on amount of personal estate, and three per cent,
on money realized from real estate, with such additional allowance a?
shall be reasonable for extra services. Appraisers' compensation $2 pei
day.
Notice requiring all claims to be presented against the estate shall btf
given by the executor or administrator within six months of being quali-
fied. Any person having a claim and not presenting it at the time fixed
by said notice is required to have summons issued notifying the executor
or administrator of his having filed his claim in court ; in such cases the
costs have to be paid by the. claimant. Claims should be filed within two
years from the time administration is granted on an estate, as after that
time they are forever barred, unless other estate is found that was not in-
ventoried. Married women, infants, persons insane, imprisoned or without
the United States, in the employment of the United States, or of this
State, have two gears after their disabilities are removed to file claims.
Claims are classified and paid out of the estate in the following manner :
First. Funeral expenses.
Second. The widow's award, if there is a widow ; or children if there
are children, and no widow.
Third. Expenses attending the last illness, not including physician's
bill.
Fourth. Debts due the common school or township fund .
Fifth. All expenses of proving the will and taking out letters testa-
mentary or administration, and settlement of the estate, and the phgsi-
eians bill in the last illness of deceased.
Sixth. Where the deceased has received moneg in trust for any pur-
pose, his executor or administrator shall pay out of his estate the amount
received and not accounted for.
Seventh. All other debts and demands of whatsoever kind, without
regard to qualitg or dignitg, which shall be exhibited to the court within
two gears from the granting of letters.
Award to Widow and Children, exclusive of debts and legacies or be-
quests, except funeral expenses :
First. The familg pictures and wearing apparel, jewels and ornaments
of herself and minor children.
Second. School books and the familg librarg of the value of $100.
Third. One sewing machine.
Fourth. Necessarg beds, bedsteads and bedding for herself and family.
Fifth. The stoves and pipe used in the family, with the necessary
cooking utensils, or in case they have none, $50 in money.
Sixth. Household and kitchen furniture to the value of $100.
Seventh. One milch cow and calf for ev erg four members of her familg.
12G . ABSTRACT OF ILLINOIS STATE LAWS.
Eighth. Two sheep for each member of her family, and the fleeces
taken from the same, and one horse, saddle and bridle.
Ninth. Provisions for herself and family for one year.
Tenth. Food for the stock above specified for six months.
Eleventh. Fuel for herself and family for three months.
Twelfth. One hundred dollars worth of other property suited to her
condition in life, to be selected by the widow.
The widow if she elects may have in lieu of the said award, the same
personal property or money in place thereof as is or may be exempt from
execution or attachment against the head of a family.
TAXES.
The owners of real and personal property, on the first day of May in
each year, are liable for the taxes thereon.
Assessments should be completed before the fourth Monday in June,
at which time the town board of review meets to examine assessments,
hear objections, and make such changes as ought to be made. The county
board have also power to correct or change assessments.
The tax books are placed in the hands of the town collector on or
before the tenth day of December, who retains them until the tenth day
of March following, when he is required to return them to the county
treasurer, who then collects all delinquent taxes.
No costs accrue on real estate taxes till advertised, which takes place
the first day of April, when three weeks' notice is required before judg-
ment. Cost of advertising, twenty cents each tract of land, and ten cents
each lot.
Judgment is usually obtained at May term of County Court. Costs
six cents each tract of land, and five cents each lot. Sale takes place in
June. Costs in addition to those before mentioned, twenty-eight cents
each tract of land, and twenty-seven cents each town lot.
Real estate sold for taxes may be redeemed any time before the expi-
ration of two years from the date of sale, by payment to the County Clerk
of the amount for which it was sold and twenty-five per cent, thereon if
redeemed within six months, fifty per cent, if between six and twelve
months, if between twelve and eighteen months seventy-five per cent.,
and if between eighteen months and two years one hundred per cent.,
and in addition, all subsequent taxes paid by the purchaser, with ten per
cent, interest thereon, also one dollar each tract if notice is given by the
purchaser of the sale, and a fee of twenty-five cents to the clerk for his
certificate.
JURISDICTION OF COURTS.
Justices have jurisdiction in all civil cases on contracts for the recovery
of moneys for damages for injury to real property, or taking, detaining, or
ABSTRACT OF ILLINOIS STATE LAWS. 127
injuring personal property ; for rent; for all cases to recover damages done
real or personal property by railroad companies, in actions of replevin, and
in actions for damages for fraud in the sale, purchase, or exchange of per-
sonal property, when the amount claimed as due is not over $200. They
have also jurisdiction in all cases for violation of the ordinances of cities,
towns or villages. A justice of the peace may orally order an officer or a
private person to arrest any one committing or attempting to commit a
criminal offense. He also upon complaint can issue his warrant for the
arrest of any person accused of having committed a crime, and have him
brought before him for examination.
COUNTY COURTS
Have jurisdiction in all matters of probate (except in counties having a
population of one hundred thousand or over), settlement of estates of
deceased persons, appointment of guardians and conservators, and settle-
ment of their accounts ; all matters relating to apprentices ; proceedings
for the collection of taxes and assessments, and in proceedings of executors,
administrators, guardians and conservators for the sale of real estate. In
law cases they have concurrent jurisdiction with Circuit Courts in all
cases where justices of the peace now have, or hereafter may have,
jurisdiction when the amount claimed shall not exceed $1,000, and in all
criminal offenses where the punishment is not imprisonment in the peni-
tentiary, or death, and in all cases of appeals from justices of the peace
and police magistrates ; excepting when the county judge is sitting as a
justice of the peace. Circuit Courts have unlimited jurisdiction.
LIMITATION OF ACTION.
Accounts five years. Notes and written contracts ten years. Judg-
ments twenty years. Partial payments or new promise in writing, within
or after said period, will revive the debt. Absence from the State deducted,
and when the cause of action is barred by the law of another State, it has
the same effect here. Slander and libel, one year. Personal injuries, two
years. To recover land or make entry thereon, twenty years. Action to
foreclose mortgage or trust deed, or make a sale, within ten years.
All persons in possession of land, and paying taxes for seven consecu-
tive years, with color of title, and all persons paying taxes for seven con-
secutive years, with color of title, on vacant land, shall be held to be the
legal owners to the extent of their paper title.
MARRIED WOMEN
May sue and be sued. Husband and wife not liable for each other's debts,
either before or after marriage, but both are liable for expenses and edu-
cation of the family.
128 ABSTRACT OF ILLINOIS STATE LAWS.
She may contract the same as if unmarried, except that in a partner-
ship business she can not, without consent of her husband, unless he has
abandoned or deserted her, or is idiotic or insane, or confined in peniten-
tiary ; she is entitled and can recover her own earnings, but neither hus-
band nor wife is entitled to compensation for any services rendered for the
other. At the death of the husband, in addition to widow's award, a
married woman has a dower interest (one-third) in all real estate owned
by her husband after their marriage, and which has not been released by
her, and the husband has the same interest in the real estate of the wife
at her death.
EXEMPTIONS FROM FORCED SALE.
Some worth $1,000, and the following Personal Property : Lot of ground
and buildings thereon, occupied as a residence by the debtor, being a house-
holder and having a family, to the value of $1,000. Exemption continues
after the death of the householder for the benefit of widow and family, some
one of them occupying the homestead until youngest child shall become
twenty-one years of age, and until death of widow. There is no exemption
from sale for taxes, assessments, debt or liability incurred for the purchase
or improvement of said homestead. No release or waiver of exemption is
valid, unless in writing, and subscribed by such householder and wife (if
he have one), and acknowledged as conveyances of real estate are required
to be acknowledged. The following articles of personal property owned
by the debtor, are exempt from execution, writ of attachment, and distress
for rent : The necessary wearing apparel, Bibles, school books and family
pictures of every person ; and, 2d, one hundred dollars worth of other
property to be selected by the debtor, and, in addition, when the debtor
is the head of a family and resides with the same, three hundred dollars
worth of other property to be selected by the debtor ; provided that such
selection and exemption shall not be made by the debtor or allowed to
him or her from any money, salary or wages due him or her from any
person or persons or corporations whatever.
When the head of a famil}' shall die, desert or not reside with the
same, the family shall be entitled to and receive all the benefit and priv-
ileges which are by this act conferred upon the head of a family residing
with the same. No personal property is exempt from execution when
judgment is obtained for the wages of laborers or servants. Wages of a
laborer who is the head of a family can not be garnisheed, except the sum
due him be in excess of $25.
ABSTRACT OF ILLINOIS STATE LAWS. 129
DEEDS AND MORTGAGES.
To be valid there must be a valid consideration. Special care should
be taken to have them signed, sealed, delivered, and properly acknowl-
edged, with the proper seal attached. Witnesses are not required. The
acknowledgement must be made in this state, before Master in Chancery,
Notary Public, United States Commissioner, Circuit or County Clerk, Justice
of Peace, or any Court of Record having a seal, or any Judge, Justice, or
Clerk of any such Court. When taken before a Notary Public, or United
States Commissioner, the same shall be attested by his official seal, when
taken before a Court or the Clerk thereof, the same shall be attested by
the seal of such Court, and when taken before a Justice of the Peace resid-
ing out of the county where the real estate to be conveyed lies, there shall
be added a certificate of the County Clerk under his seal of office, that he
was a Justice of the Peace in the county at the time of taking the same.
A deed is good without such certificate attached, but can not be used in
evidence unless such a certificate is produced or other competent evidence
introduced. Acknowledgements made out of the state must either be
executed according to the laws of this state, or there should be attached
a certificate that it is in conformity with the laws of the state or country
where executed. Where this is not done the same may be proved by any
other legal way. Acknowledgments where the Homestead rights are to>
be waived must state as follows : " Including the release and waiver of
the right of homestead."
Notaries Public can take acknowledgements any where in the state.
Sheriffs, if authorized by the mortgagor of real or personal property
in his mortgage, may sell the property mortgaged.
In the case of the death of grantor or holder of the equity of redemp-
tion of real estate mortgaged, or conveyed by deed of trust where equity
of redemption is waived, and it contains power of sale, must be foreclosed
in the same manner as a common mortgage in court.
ESTRAYS.
Morses, mules, asses, neat cattle, swine, sheep, or goats found straying
at any time during the year, in counties where such animals are not allowed
to run at large, or between the last day of October and the 15th day of
April in other counties, the owner thereof being unknown, may be taken up
as estrays.
No person not a householder in the county where estray is found can
lawfully take up an estray, and then only upon or about his farm or place
of residence. Estrays should not be used before advertised, except animals
giving milk, which may be milked for their benefit.
130 ABSTRACT OE ILLINOIS STATE LAWS.
Notices must be posted up within five (5) days in three (3) of the
most public places in the town or precinct in which estray was found, giv-
ing the residence of the taker up, and a particular description of the
estray, its age, color, and marks natural and artificial, and stating before
what justice of the peace in such town or precinct, and at what time, not
less than ten (10) nor more than fifteen (15) days from the time of post-
ing such notices, he will apply to have the estray appraised.
A copy of such notice should be filed by the taker up with the town
clerk, whose duty it is to enter the same at large, in a hook kept by him
for that purpose.
If the owner of estray shall not have appeared and proved ownership,
and taken the same away, first paying the taker up his reasonable charges
for taking up, keeping, and advertising the same, the taker up shall appear
before the justice of the peace mentioned in above mentioned notice, and
make an affidavit as required by law.
As the affidavit has to be made before the justice, and all other steps as
to appraisement, etc., are before him, who is familiar therewith, they are
therefore omitted here.
Any person taking up an estray at any other place than about or
upon his farm or residence, or without complying with the law, shall forfeit
and pay a fine of ten dollars with costs.
Ordinary diligence is required in taking care of estrays, but in case
they die or get away the taker is not liable for the same.
GAME.
It is unlawful for any person to kill, or attempt to kill or destroy, in
any manner, any prairie hen or chicken or woodcock between the 15th day
of January and the 1st day of September ; or any deer, fawn, wild-turkey,
partridge or pheasant between the 1st day of February and the 1st day
of October ; or any quail between the 1st day of February and 1st day of
November ; or any wild goose, duck, snipe, brant or other water fowl
between the 1st day of May and 15th day of August in each year.
Penalty : Fine not less than $5 nor more than $25, for each bird or
animal, and costs of suit, and stand committed to county jail until fine is
paid, but not exceeding ten days. It is unlawful to hunt with gun, dog
or net within the inclosed grounds or lands of another without permission.
Penalty: Fine not less than $3 nor more than $100, to be paid into
school fund.
WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.
Whenever any of the following articles shall be contracted for, or
sold or delivered, and no special contract or agreement shall be made to
the contrary, the weight per bushel shall be as follows, to-wit :
ABSTRACT OF ILLINOIS STATE LAWS. 131
Pounds.
Pounds.
Stone Coal,
- 80
Buckwheat, -
- 52
Unslacked Lime,
- 80
Coarse Salt,
- 50
Corn in the ear,
- 70
Barley, -
- 48
Wheat, -
- 60
Corn Meal,
- 48
Irish Potatoes,
- 60
Castor Beans,
- 46
White Beans,
- 60
Timothy Seed, -
- 45
Clover Seed, -
- 60
Hemp Seed, -
- 44
Onions, -
- 57
Malt, -
- 38
Shelled Corn,
- 56
Dried Peaches,
- - - 33
Rye, - - - -
- 56
Oats, -
- 32
Flax Seed,
- 56
Dried Apples,
- 24
Sweet Potatoes, -
- 55
Bran, -
- 20
Turnips,
- 55
Blue Grass Seed, -
- 14
Fine Salt, -
- 55
Hair (plastering),
8
Penalty for giving less than the above standard is double the amount
of property wrongfully not given, and ten dollars addition thereto.
MILLERS.
The owner or occupant of every public grist mill in this state shall
grind all grain brought to his mill in its turn. The toll for both steam
and water mills, is, for grinding and bolting wheat, rye, or other grain, one
eighth part; for grinding Indian corn, oats, barley and buckwheat not
required to be bolted, one seventh part; for grinding malt, and chopping all
kinds of grain, one eighth part. It is the duty of every miller when his
mill is in repair, to aid and assist in loading and unloading all grain brought
to him to be ground, and he is also required to keep an accurate half
bushel measure, and an accurate set of toll dishes or scales for weighing
the grain. The penalty for neglect or refusal to comply with the law is
$5, to the use of any person to sue for the same, to be recovered before
any justice of the peace of the county where penalty is incurred. Millers
are accountable for the safe keeping of all grain left in his mill for the
purpose of being ground, with bags or casks containing same (except it
results from unavoidable accidents), provided that such bags or casks are
distinctly marked with the initial letters of the owner's name.
MARKS AND BRANDS.
Owners of cattle, horses, hogs, sheep or goats may have one ear mark
and one brand, but which shall be different from his neighbor's, and may
be recorded by the county clerk of the county in which such property is
kept. The fee for such record is fifteen cents. The record of such shall
be open to examination free of charge. In cases of disputes as to marks
or brands, such record is prima facie evidence. Owners of cattle, horses,
hogs, sheep or goats that may have been branded by the former owner,
132 ABSTRACT OF ILLINOIS STATE LAWS.
may be re-branded in presence of one or more of his neighbors, who shall
certify" to the facts of the marking or branding being done, when done r
and in what brand or mark they were re-branded or re-marked, which
certificate may also be recorded as before stated.
ADOPTION OF CHILDREN.
Children may be adopted by any resident of this state, by filing a
petition in the Circuit or County Court of the county in which he resides,
asking leave to do so, and if desired may ask that the name of the child
be changed. Such petition, if made by a person having a husband or
wife, will not be granted, unless the husband or wife joins therein, as the
adoption must be by them jointly.
The petition shall state name, sex, and age of the child, and the new
name, if it is desired to change the name. Also the name and residence
of the parents of the child, if known, and of the guardian, if any, and
whether the parents or guardians consent to the adoption.
The court must find, before granting decree, that the parents of the
child, or the survivors of them, have deserted his or her family or such
child for one year next preceding the application, or if neither are living,,
the guardian ; if no guardian, the next of kin in this state capable of giving
consent, has had notice of the presentation of the petition and consents-
to such adoption. If the child is of the age of fourteen years or upwards,,
the adoption can not be made without its consent.
SURVEYORS AND SURVEYS.
There is in every county elected a surveyor known as county sur-
veyor, who has power to appoint deputies, for whose official acts he is
responsible. It is the duty of the county surveyor, either by himself or
his deputy, to make all surveys that he may be called upon to make within
his county as soon as may be after application is made. The necessary
chainmen and other assistance must be employed by the person requiring
the same to be done, and to be by him paid, unless otherwise agreed ; but
the chainmen must be disinterested persons and approved by the surveyor
and sworn by him to measure justly and impartially.
The County Board in each county is required by law to provide a copy
of the United States field notes and plats of their surveys of the lands
in the county to be kept in the recorder's office subject to examination
by the public, and the county surveyor is required to make his surveys
in conformity to said notes, plats and the laws of the United States gov-
erning such matters. The surveyor is also required to keep a record
of all surveys made by him, which shall be subject to inspection by any
one interested, and shall be delivered up to his successor in office. A.
ABSTRACT OF ILLINOIS STATE LAWS. 133
certified copy of the said surveyor's record shall be prima facie evidence
of its contents.
The fees of county surveyors are six dollars per day. The county
surveyor is also ex officio inspector of mines, and as such, assisted by some
practical miner selected by him, shall once each year inspect all the
mines in the county, for which they shall each receive such compensa-
tion as may be fixed by the County Board, not exceeding 85 a day, to
be paid out of the county treasury.
ROADS AND BRIDGES.
Where practicable from the nature of the ground, persons traveling
in any kind of vehicle, must turn to the right of the center of the road, so
as to permit each carriage to pass without interfering with each other.
The penalty for a violation of this provision is $5 for every offense, to
be recovered by the party injured; but to recover, there must have
occurred some injury to person or property resulting from the violation.
The owners of any carriage traveling upon any road in this State for the
conveyance of passengers who shall employ or continue in his employment
as driver any person who is addicted to drunkenness, or the excessive use of
spiritous liquors, after he has had notice of the same, shall forfeit, at the
rate of $5 per day, and if any driver while actually engaged in driving
any such carriage, shall be guilty of intoxication to such a degree as to
endanger the safety of passengers, it shall be the duty of the owner, on
receiving written notice of the fact, signed by one of the passengers, and
certified by him on oath, forthwith to discharge such driver. If such owner
shall have such driver in his employ within three months after such notice,
he is liable for $5 per day for the time he shall keep said driver in his
employment after receiving such notice.
Persons driving any carriage on any public highway are prohibited
from running their horses upon any occasion under a penalty of a fine not
exceeding $10, or imprisonment not exceeding sixty days, at the discre-
tion of the court. Horses attached to any carriage used to convey passen-
gers for hire must be properly hitched or the lines placed in the hands of
some other person before the driver leaves them for any purpose. For
violation of this provision each driver shall forfeit twenty dollars, to be
recovered by action, to be commenced within six months. It is under-
stood by the term carriage herein to mean any carriage or vehicle used
for the transportation of passengers or goods or either of them.
The commissioners of highways in the different towns have the care
and superintendence of highways and bridges therein. They have all
the powers necessary to lay out, vacate, regulate and repair all roads^
build and repair bridges. In addition to the above, it is their duty to
eTect and keep in repair at the forks or crossing-place of the most
134 ABSTRACT OF ILLINOIS STATE LAWS.
important roads post and guide boards with plain inscriptions, giving
directions and distances to the most noted places to which such road may
lead; also to make provisions to prevent thistles, burdock, and cockle
burrs, mustard, yellow dock, Indian mallow and jimson weed from
seeding, and to extirpate the same as far as practicable, and to prevent
all rank growth of vegetation on the public highways so far as the same
may obstruct public travel, and it is in their discretion to erect watering
places for public use for watering teams at such points as may be deemed
advisable.
The Commissioners, on or before the 1st day of May of each year,
shall make out and deliver to their treasurer a list of all able-bodied men
in their town, excepting paupers, idiots, lunatics, and such others as are
exempt by law, and assess against each the sum of two dollars as a poll
tax for highway purposes. Within thirty days after such list is delivered
they shall cause a written or printed notice to be given to each person so
assessed, notifying him of the time when and place where such tax must
be paid, or its equivalent in labor performed ; they may contract with
persons owing such poll tax to perform a certain amount of labor on any
road or bridge in payment of the same, and if such tax is not paid nor
labor performed by the first Monday of July of such year, or within ten
days after notice is given after that time, they shall bring suit therefor
against such person before' a justice of the peace, who shall hear and
determine the case according to law for the offense complained of, and
shall forthwith issue an execution, directed to any constable of the county
where the delinquent shall reside, who shall forthwith collect the moneys
therein mentioned.
The Commissioners of Highways of each town shall annually ascer-
tain, as near as practicable, how much money must be raised by tax on real
and personal property for the making and repairing of roads, only, to any
amount they may deem necessary, not exceeding forty cents on each one
hundred dollars' worth, as valued on the assessment roll of the previous
year. The tax so levied on property lying within an incorporated village,
town or city, shall be paid over to the corporate authorities of such town,
village or city. Commissioners shall receive $1.50 for each day neces-
sarily employed in the discharge of their duty.
Overseers. At the first meeting the Commissioners shall choose one
of their number to act General Overseer of Highways in their township,
whose duty it shall be to take charge of and safely keep all tools, imple-
ments and machinery belonging to said town, and shall, by the direction
of the Board, have general supervision of all roads and bridges in their
town.
ABSTRACT OF ILLINOIS STATE LAWS. 135
As all township and county officers are familiar with their duties, it
is only intended to give the points of the law that the public should be
familiar with. The manner of laying out, altering or vacating roads, etc.,
will not be here stated, as it would require more space than is contem-
plated in a work of this kind. It is sufficient to state that, the first step
is by petition, addressed to the Commissioners, setting out what is prayed
for, giving the names of the owners of lands if known, if not known so
state, over which the road is to pass, giving the general course, its place
of beginning, and where it terminates. It requires not less than twelve
freeholders residing within three miles of the road who shall sign the
petition. Public roads must not be less than fifty feet wide, nor more
than sixty feet wide. Roads not exceeding two miles in length, if peti-
tioned for, may be laid out, not less than forty feet. Private roads
for private and public use, may be laid out of the width of three rods, on
petition of the person directly interested ; the damage occasioned thereby
shall be paid by the premises benefited thereby, and before the road is
opened. If not opened in two years, the order shall be considered
rescinded. Commissioners in their discretion may permit persons who
live on or have private roads, to work out their road tax thereon. Public
roads must be opened in five days from date of filing order of location,
or be deemed vacated.
DRAINAGE.
Whenever one or more owners or occupants of land desire to construct
i drain or ditch across the land of others for agricultural, sanitary or
mining purposes, the proceedings are as follows :
File a petition in the Circuit or County Court of the county in which
the proposed ditch or drain is to be constructed, setting forth the neces-
sity for the same, with a description of its proposed starting point, route
and terminus, and if it shall be necessary for the drainage of the land or
coal mines or for sanitary purposes, that a drain, ditch, levee or similar
work be constructed, a description of the same. It shall also set forth
the names of all persons owning the land over which such drain or ditch
shall be constructed, or if unknown stating that fact.
No private property shall be taken or damaged for the purpose of
constructing a ditch, drain or levee, without compensation, if claimed by
the owner, the same to be ascertained by a jury ; but if the construction
of such ditch, drain or levee shall be a benefit to the owner, the same
shall be a set off against such compensation.
If the proceedings seek to affect the property of a minor, lunatic or
married woman, the guardian, conservator or husband of the same shall
be made party defendant. The petition may be amended and parties
made defendants at any time when it is necessary to a fair trial.
136 ABSTRACT OF ILLINOIS STATE LAWS.
When the petition is presented to the judge, he shall note therein
when he will hear the same, and order the issuance of summonses arid
the publication of notice to each non-resident or unknown defendant.
The petition may be heard by such judge in vacation as well as in
term time. Upon the trial, the jury shall ascertain the just compensation
to each owner of the property sought to be damaged by the construction
of such ditch, drain or levee, and truly report the same.
As it is only contemplated in a work of this kind to give an abstract
of the laws, and as the parties who have in charge the execution of the
further proceedings are likely to be familiar with the requirements of the
statute, the necessary details are not here inserted.
WOLF SCALPS.
The County Board of any county in this State may hereafter alluw
such bounty on wolf scalps as the board may deem reasonable.
Any person claiming a bounty shall produce the scalp or scalps with
the ears thereon, within sixty days after the wolf or wolves shall have
been caught, to the Clerk of the County Board, who shall administer to
said person the following oath or affirmation, to-wit: "You do solemnly
swear (or affirm, as the case may be), that the scalp or scalps here pro-
duced by you was taken from a wolf or wolves killed and first captured
by yourself within the limits of this county, and within the sixty days
last past."
CONVEYANCES.
When the reversion expectant on a lease of any tenements or here-
ditaments of any tenure shall be surrendered or merged, the estate which
shall for the time being confer as against the tenant under the same lease
the next vested right to the same tenements or hereditaments, shall, to
the extent and for the purpose of preserving such incidents to and obli-
gations on the same reversion, as but for the surrender or merger thereof,
would have subsisted, be deemed the reversion expectant on the same
lease.
PAUPERS.
Every poor person who shall be unable to earn a livelihood in conse-
quence of any bodily infirmity, idiocy, lunacy or unavoidable cause, shall
be supported by the father, grand-father, mother, grand-mother, children,
grand-children, brothers or sisters of such poor person, if they or either
of them be of sufficient ability ; but if any of such dependent class shall
have become so from intemperance or other bad conduct, they shall not be
entitled to support from any relation except parent or child.
ABSTRACT OF ILLINOIS STATE LAWS. 137
The children shall first be called on to support their parents, if they
are able ; but if not, the parents of such poor person shall then be called
on, if of sufficient ability ; and if there be no parents or children able T
then the brothers and sisters of such dependent person shall be called
upon ; and if there be no brothers or sisters of sufficient ability, the
grand-children of such person shall next be called on ; and if they are
not able, then the grand-parents. Married females, while their husbands
live, shall not be liable to contribute for the support of their poor relations
except out of their separate property. It is the duty of the state's
(county) attorney, to make complaint to the County Court of his county
against all the relatives of such paupers in this state liable to his support
.and prosecute the same. In case the state's attorney neglects, or refuses, to
complain in such cases, then it is the duty of the overseer of the poor to
do so. The person called upon to contribute shall have at least ten days'
notice of such application by summons. The court has the power to
determine the kind of support, depending upon the circumstances of the
parties, and may also order two or more of the different degrees to main-
tain such poor person, and prescribe the proportion of each, according to
their ability. The court may specify the time for which the relative shall
•contribute — in fact has control over the entire subject matter, with power
to enforce its orders. Every county (except those in which the poor are
supported by the towns, and in such cases the towns are liable) is required
to relieve and support all poor and indigent persons lawfully resident
therein. Residence means the actual residence of the party, or the place
where he was employed ; or in case he was in no employment, then it
shall be the place where he made his home. When any person becomes
chargeable as a pauper in any county or town who did not reside at the
commencement of six months immediately preceding his becoming so,
but did at that time reside in some other county or town in this state,
then the county or town, as the case may be, becomes liable for the expense
of taking care of such person until removed, and it is the duty of the
overseer to notify the proper authorities of the fact. If any person shall
bring and leave any pauper in any county in this state where such pauper
had no legal residence, knowing him to be such, he is liable to a fine of
$100. In counties under township organization, the supervisors in each
town are ex-officio overseers of the poor. The overseers of the poor act
under the directions of the County Board in taking care of the poor and
granting of temporary relief; also, providing for non-resident persons not
paupers who may be taken sick and not able to pay their way, and in case
of death cause such person to be decently buried.
The residence of the inmates of poorhouses and other charitable
institutions for voting purposes is their former place of abode.
138 ABSTRACT OF ILLINOIS STATE LAWS.
FENCES.
In counties under township organization, the town assessor and com-
missioner of highways are the fence-viewers in their respective towns.
In other counties the County Board appoints three in each precinct annu-
ally. A lawful fence is four and one-half feet high, in good repair, con-
sisting of rails, timber, boards, stone, hedges, or whatever the fence-
viewers of the town or precinct where the same shall lie, shall consider
equivalent thereto, but in counties under township organization the annual
town meeting may establish any other kind of fence as such, or the County
Board in other counties may do the same. Division fences shall be made
and maintained in just proportion by the adjoining owners, except when
the owner shall choose to let his land lie open, but after a division fence is
built by agreement or otherwise, neither party can remove his part of such
fence so long as he may crop or use such land for farm purposes, or without
giving the other party one year's notice in writing of his intention to remove
his portion. When any person shall enclose his land upon the enclosure
of another, he shall refund the owner of the adjoining lands a just pro-
portion of the value at that time of such fence. The value of fence and
the just proportion to be paid or built and maintained by each is to be
ascertained by two fence-viewers in the town or precinct. Such fence-
viewers have power to settle all disputes between different owners as to
fences built or to be built, as well as to repairs to be made. Each party
chooses one of the viewers, but if the other party neglects, after eight
days' notice in writing, to make his choice, then the other party may
select both. It is sufficient to notify the tenant or party in possession,
when the owner is not a resident of the town or precinct. The two
fence-viewers chosen, after viewing the premises, shall hear the state-
ments of the parties , in case they can't agree, they shall select another
fence-viewer to act with them, and the decision of any two of them is
final. The decision must be reduced to writing, and should plainly set
out description of fence and all matters settled by them, and must be
filed in the office of the town clerk in counties under township organiza-
tion, and in other counties with the county clerk.
Where any person is liable to contribute to the erection or the
repairing of a division fence, neglects or refuses so to do, the party
injured, after giving sixty days notice in writing when a fence is to be
erected, or ten days when it is only repairs, may proceed to have the
work done at the expense of the party whose duty it is to do it, to be
recovered from him with costs of suit, and the party so neglecting shall
also be liable to the party injured for all damages accruing from such
neglect or refusal, to be determined by any two fence-viewers selected
as before provided, the appraisement to be reduced to writing and signed
ABSTRACT OF ILLINOIS STATE LAWS. 139
Where a person shall conclude to remove his part of a division fence,
and let his land lie open, and having given the year's notice required, the
adjoining owner may cause the value of said fence to be ascertained by
fence-viawers as before provided, and on payment or tender of the
amount of such valuation to the owner, it shall prevent the removal. A
party removing a division fence without notice is liable for the damages
accruing thereby.
Where a fence has been built on the land of another through mis-
take, the owner may enter upon such premises and remove his fence and
material within oix months after the division line has been ascertained.
Where the material to build such a fence has been taken from the land
on which it was built, then before it can be removed, the person claiming
must first pay for such material to the owner of the land from which it
was taken, nor shall such a fence be removed at a time when the removal
will throw open or expose the crops of the other party ; a reasonable
time must be given beyond the .six months to remove crops.
The compensation of fence-viewers is one dollar and fifty cents a
day each, to be paid in the first instance by the party calling them, but
in the end all expenses, including amount charged by the fence-viewers,
must be paid equally by the parties, except in cases where a party neglects
or refuses to make or maintain a just proportion of a division fence, when
the party in default shall pay them.
DAMAGES FROM TRESPASS.
Where stock of any kind breaks into any person's enclosure, the
fence being good and sufficient the owner is liable for the damage done ;
but where the damage is done by stock running at large, contrary to law,
the owner is liable where there is not such a fence. Where stock is
found trespassing on the enclosure of another as aforesaid, the owner 01
occupier of the premises may take possession of such stock and keep the
same until damages, with reasonable charges for keeping and feeding and
all costs of suit, are paid. Any person taking or rescuing such stock so
held without his consent, shall be liable to a fine of not less than three
nor more than five dollars for each animal rescued, to be recovered by
suit before a justice of the peace for the use of the school fund. Within
twenty-four hours after taking such animal into his possession, the per-
son taking it up must give notice of the fact to the owner, if known, or
if unknown, notices must be posted in some public place near the premises.
LANDLORD AND TENANT.
The owner of lands, or his legal representatives, can sue for and
recover rent therefor, in any of the following cases :
First. When rent is due and in arrears on a lease for life or lives.
140 ABSTRACT OF ILLINOIS STATE LAWS.
Second. When lands are held and occupied by any person without
any special agreement for rent.
Third. When possession is obtained under an agreement, written
or verbal, for the purchase of the premises and before deed given, the
right to possession is terminated by forfeiture on con-compliance with the
agreement, and possession is wrongfully refused or neglected to be giver
upon demand made in writing by the party entitled thereto. Provided
that all payments made by the vendee or his representatives or assigns,
may be set off against the rent.
Fourth. When land has been sold upon a judgment or a decree of
court, when the party to such judgment or decree, or person holding under
him, wrongfully refuses, or neglects, to surrender possession of the same,
after demand in writing by the person entitled to the possession.
Fifth. When the lands have been sold upon a mortgage or trust
deed, and the mortgagor or grantor or person holding under him, wrong-
fully refuses or neglects to surrender possession of the same, after demand
in writing by the person entitled to the possession.
If any tenant, or any person who shall come into possession from or
under or by collusion with such tenant, shall willfully hold over any lands,
etc., after the expiration the term of their lease, and after demand made
in writing for the possession thereof, is liable to pay double rent. A
tenancy from year to year requires sixty days notice in writing, to termi-
nate the same at the end of the year ; such notice can be given at any
time within four months preceding the last sixty days of the year.
A tenancy by the month, or less than a year, where the tenant holds
over without any special agreement, the landlord may terminate the
tenancy, by thirty days notice in writing.
When rent is due, the landlord may serve a notice upon the tenant,
stating that unless the rent is paid within not less than five days, his lease
will be terminated ; if the rent is not paid, the landlord may consider the
lease ended. When default is made in any of the terms of a lease, it
shall not be necessary to give more than ten days notice to quit or of the
termination of such tenancy ; and the same may be terminated on giving
such notice to quit, at any time after such default in any of the terms of
such lease ; which notice may be substantially in the following form, viz:
To , You are hereby notified that, in consequence of your default
in (^here insert the character of the default), of the premises now occupied
by you, being etc. (here describe the premises), I have elected to deter-
mine your lease, and you are hereby notified to quit and deliver up pos-
session of the same to me within ten days of this date (dated, etc.)
The above to be signed by the lessor or his agent, and no other notice
or demand of possession or termination of such tenancy is necessary.
Demand may be made, or notice served, by delivering a written or
ABSTRACT OF ILLINOIS STATE LAWS. 141
pnnted, or partly either, copy thereof to the tenant, or leaving the same
with some person above the age of twelve years residing on or in posses-
sion of the premises ; and in case no one is in the actual possession of the
said premises, then by posting the same on the premises. When the
tenancy is for a certain time, and the term expires by the terms of the
lease, the tenant is then bound to surrender possession, and no notice
to quit or demand of possession is necessar}'-.
Distress for rent. — In all cases of distress for rent, the landlord, by
himself, his agent or attorney, may seize for rent any personal property of
his tenant that may be found in the county where the tenant resides ; the
property of any other person, even if found on the premises, is not
liable.
An inventory of the property levied upon, with a statement of the
amount of rent claimed, should be at once filed with some justice of the
peace, if not over $200 ; and if above that sum, with the clerk of a court
of record of competent jurisdiction. Property may be released, by the
party executing a satisfactory bond for double the amount.
The landlord may distrain for rent, any time within six months after
the expiration of the term of the lease, or when terminated.
In all cases where the premises rented shall be sub-let, or the lease
assigned, the landlord shall have the same right to enforce lien against
such lessee or assignee, that he has against the tenant to whom the pre-
mises were rented.
When a tenant abandons or removes from the premises or any part
thereof, the landlord, or his agent or attorney, may seize upon any grain
or other crops grown or growing upon the premises, or part thereof so
abandoned, whether the rent is due or not. If such grain, or other crops,
or any part thereof, is not fully grown or matured, the landlord, or his
agent or attorney, shall cause the same to be properly cultivated, harvested
or gathered, and may sell the same, and from the proceeds pay all his
labor, expenses and rent. The tenant may, before the sale of such pro-
perty, redeem the same by tendering the rent and reasonable compensation
for work done, or he may replevy the same.
Exemption. — The same articles of personal property which are bylaw
exempt from execution, except the crops as above stated, is also exempt
from distress for rent.
If any tenant is about to or shall permit or attempt to sell and
remove from the premises, without the consent of his landlord, such
portion of the crops raised thereon as will endanger the lien of the land-
lord upon such crops, for the rent, it shall be lawful for the landlord to
distress before rent is due.
142 ABSTRACT OF ILLINOIS STATE LAWS.
LIENS.
Any person who shall by contract, express or implied, or partly both t
with the owner of any lot or tract of land, furnish labor or material, or
services as an architect or superintendent, in building, altering, repairing
or ornamenting any house or other building or appurtenance thereto on
such lot, or upon any street or alley, and connected with such improve^
ments, shall have a lien upon the whole of such lot or tract of land, and
upon such house or building and appurtenances, for the amount due to
him for such labor, material or services. If the contract is expressed, and
the time for the completion of the work is beyond three years from the com-
mencement thereof; or, if the time of payment is beyond one year from
the time stipulated for the completion of the work, then no lien exists.
If the contract is implied, then no lien exists, unless the work be done or
material is furnished within one year from the commencement of the work
or delivery of the materials. As between different creditors having liens,
no preference is given to the one whose contract was first made ; but each
shares pro-rata. Incumbrances existing on the lot or tract of the land at
the time the contract is made, do not operate on the improvements, and
are only preferred to the extent of the value of the land at the time of
making the contract. The above lien can not be enforced unless suit is
commenced within six months after the last payment for labor or materials
shall have become due and payable. Sub-contractors, mechanics, workmen
and other persons furnishing any material, or performing any labor for a
contractor as before specified, have a lien to the extent of the amount due
the contractor at the time the following notice is served upon the owner
of the land who made the contract:
To , You are hereby notified, that I have been employed by-
(here state whether to labor or furnish material, and substantially the
nature of the demand) upon your (here state in general terms description
and situation of building), and that I shall hold the (building, or as the
case may be), and your interest in the ground, liable for the amount that
may (is or may become) due me on account thereof. Signature,
Date,
If there is a contract in writing between contractor and sub-contractor,
a copy of it should be served with above notice, and said notice must be
served within forty days from the completion of such sub-contract, if there
is one ; if not, then from the time payment should have been made to the
person performing the labor or furnishing the material. If the owner is
not a resident of the county, or can not be found therein, then the above
notice must be filed with the clerk of the Circuit Court, with his fee, fifty
cents, and a copy of said notice must be published in a newspaper pub-
lished in the county, for four successive weeks.
ABSTRACT OF ILLINOIS STATE LAWS. 143
When the owner or agent is notified as above, he can retain any
money due the contractor sufficient to pay such claim ; if more than one
claim, and not enough to pay all, they are to be paid pro rata.
The owner has the right to demand in writing, a statement of the
contractor, of what he owes for labor, etc., from time to time as the work
progresses, and on his failure to comply, forfeits to the owner $50 for
every offense.
The liens referred to cover any and all estates, whether in fee for
life, for years, or any other interest which the owner may have.
To enforce the lien of sub-contractors, suit must be commenced within
three months from the time of the performance of the sub-contract, or
during the work or furnishing materials.
Hotel, inn and boarding-house keepers, have a lien upon the baggage
and other valuables of their guests or boarders, brought into such hotel,
inn or boarding-house, by their guests or boarders, for the proper charges
due from such guests or boarders for their accommodation, board and
lodgings, and such extras as are furnished at their request.
Stable-keepers and other persons have a lien upon the horses, car-
riages and harness kept by them, for the proper charges due for the keep-
ing thereof and expenses bestowed thereon at the request of the owner
or the person having the possession of the same.
Agisters (persons who take care of cattle belonging to others), and
persons keeping, yarding, feeding or pasturing domestic animals, shall
have a lien upon the animals agistered, kept, yarded or fed, for the proper
charges due for such service.
All persons who may furnish any railroad corporation in this state
with fuel, ties, material, supplies or any other article or thing necessary
for the construction, maintenance, operation or repair of its road by con-
tract, or may perform work or labor on the same, is entitled to be paid as
part of the current expenses of the road, and have a lien upon all its pro-
perty. Sub-contractors or laborers have also a lien. The conditions and
limitations both as to contractors and sub-contractors, are about the same
as herein stated as to general liens.
DEFINITION OF COMMERCIAL TERMS.
$ means dollars, being a contraction of U. S., which was formerly
placed before any denomination of money, and meant, as it means now,
United States Currency.
£ means pounds, English money.
@ stands for at or to. lb for pound, and bbl. for barrel; $) for per or
by the. Thus, Butter sells at 20@30c $ lb, and Flour at $8@12 f bbl.
% for per cent and # for number.
May 1. — Wheat sells at $1.20@1.25, "seller June." Seller June
144 ABSTRACT OF ILLINOIS STATE LAWS.
means that the person who sells the wheat has the privilege of delivering
it at any time during the month of June.
Selling short, is contracting to deliver a certain amount of grain or
stock, at a fixed price, within a certain length of time, when the seller
has not the stock on hand. It is for the interest of the person selling
"short," to depress the market as much as possible, in order that he may
buy and fill his contract at a profit. Hence the " shorts " are termed
" bears."
Buying long, is to contract to purchase a certain amount of grain or
shares of stock at a fixed price, deliverable within a stipulated time,
expecting to make a profit by the rise of prices. The "longs" are
termed "bulls," as it is for their interest to "operate" so as to "toss"
the prices upward as much as possible.
NOTES.
Form of note is legal, worded in the simplest way, so that the
amount and time of payment are mentioned.
$100. Chicago, 111., Sept. 15, 1876.
Sixty days from date I promise to pay to E. F. Brown*
or order, One Hundred dollars, for value received.
L. D. Lowky.
A note to be payable in any thing else than money needs only the
facts substituted for money in the above form.
ORDERS.
Orders should be worded simply, thus :
Mr. F. H. Coats: Chicago, Sept. 15, 1876.
Please pay to H. Birdsall, Twenty-five dollars, and charge to
F. D. Silva.
RECEIPTS.
Receipts should always state when received and what for, thus :
$100. Chicago, Sept. 15, 1876.
Received of J. W. Davis, One Hundred dollars, for services
rendered in grading his lot in Fort Madison, on account.
Thomas Brady.
If receipt is in full it should be so stated.
BILLS OF PURCHASE.
W. N. Mason, Salem, Illinois, Sept. 15, 1876.
Bought of A. A. Graham.
4 Bushels of Seed .Wheat, at $1.50 - $6.00
2 Seamless Sacks " .30 - - .60
Received payment, $6.60
A. A. Graham.
ABSTRACT OF ILLINOIS STATE LAWS. 145
ARTICLES OF AGREEMENT.
An agreement is where one party promises to another to do a certain
thing in a certain time for a stipulated sum. Good business men always
reduce an agreement to writing, which nearly always saves misunder-
standings and trouble. No particular form is necessary, but the facts must
be clearly and explicitly stated, and there must, to make it valid, be a
reasonable consideration.
GENERAL FORM OF AGREEMENT.
This Agreement, made the Second day of October, 1876, between
John Jones, of Aurora, County of Kane, State of Illinois, of the first part,
and Thomas Whiteside, of the same place, of the second part —
Witnesseth, that the said John Jones, in consideration of the agree-
ment of the party of the second part, hereinafter contained, contracts and
agrees to and with the said Thomas Whiteside, that he will deliver, in
good and marketable condition, at the Village of Batavia, 111., during the
month of November, of this year, One Hundred Tons of Prairie Hay, in
the following lots, and at the following specified times ; namely, twenty-
five tons by the seventh of November, twenty-five tons additional by the
fourteenth of the month, twenty-five tons more by the twenty-first, and
the entire one hundred tons to be all delivered by the thirtieth of
November.
And the said Thomas Whiteside, in consideration of the prompt
fulfillment of this contract, on the part of the party of the first part,
contracts to and agrees with the said John Jones, to pay for said hay five
dollars per ton, for each ton as soon as delivered.
In case of failure of agreement by either of the parties hereto, it is
hereby stipulated and agreed that the party so failing shall pay to the
other, One Hundred Dollars, as fixed and settled damages.
In witness whereof, we have hereunto set our hands the day and
year first above written. John Jones,
Thomas Whiteside.
AGREEMENT WITH CLERK FOR SERVICES.
This Agreement, made the first day of May, one thousand eight
hundred and seventy-six, between Reuben Stone, of Chicago, County
of Cook, State of Illinois, party of the first part, and George Barclay, of
Englewood, County of Cook, State of Illinois, party of the second part —
WITNESSETH, that said George Barclay agrees faithfully and dili-
gently to work as clerk and salesman for the said Reuben Stone, for
and during the space of one year from the date hereof, should both
live such length of time, without absenting himself from his occupation;.
14 (J ABSTRACT OF ILLINOIS STATE LAWS.
during which time he, the said Barclay, in the store of said Stone, of
Chicago, will carefully and honestly attend, doing and performing all
duties as clerk and salesman aforesaid, in accordance and in all respects
as directed and desired by the said Stone.
In consideration of which services, so to be rendered by the said
Barclay, the said Stone agrees to pay to said Barclay the annual sum of
one thousand dollars, payable in twelve equal monthly payments, each
upon the last day of each month ; provided that all dues for days of
absence from business by said Barclay, shall be deducted from the sum
otherwise by the agreement due and payable by the said Stone to the said
Barclay.
Witness our hands. Reuben Stone.
George Barclay.
BILLS OF SALE.
A bill of sale is a written agreement to another party, for a consider-
ation to convey his right and interest in the personal property. The
purchaser must take actual possession of the property. Juries have
power to determine upon the fairness or unfairness of a bill of sale.
COMMON FORM OF BILL OF SALE.
Know all Men by this instrument, that I, Louis Clay, of Princeton,
Illinois, of the first part, for and in consideration of Five Hundred
and Ten dollars, to me paid by John Floyd, of the same place, of the
second part, the receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged, have sold, and
by this instrument do convey unto the said Floyd, party of the second
part, his executors, administrators, and assigns, my undivided half of
ten acres of corn, now growing on the farm of Thomas Tyrrell, in the
town above mentioned ; one pair of horses, sixteen sheep, and five cows,
belonging to me, and in my possession at the farm aforesaid ; to have and
to hold the same unto the party of the second part, his executors and
assigns, forever. And I do, for myself and legal representatives, agree
with the said party of the second part, and his legal representatives, to
warrant and defend the sale of the afore-mentioned property and chattels
unto the said party of the second part, and his legal representatives,
against all and every person whatsoever.
In witness whereof, I have hereunto affixed my hand, this tenth day
of October, one thousand eight hundred and seventy-six.
Louis Clay.
BONDS.
A bond is a written admission on the part of the maker in which he
pledges a certain sum to another, at a certain time.
ABSTRACT OF ILLINOIS STATE LAWS. 147
COMMON FORM OF BOND.
Know all Men by this instrument, that I, George Edgerton, of
Watseka, Iroquois Count} r , State of Illinois, am firmly bound unto Peter
Kirchoff, of the place aforesaid, in the sum of five hundred dollars, to be
paid to the said Peter Kirchoff, or his legal representatives ; to which
payment, to be made, I bind myself, or my legal representatives, by this
instrument.
Sealed with my seal, and dated this second day of November, one
thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
The condition of this bond is such that if I, George Edgerton, my
heirs, administrators, or executors, shall promptly pay the sum of two
hundred and fifty dollars in three equal annual payments from the date
hereof, with annual interest, then the above obligation to be of no effect ;
otherwise to be in full force and valid.
Sealed and delivered in
presence of George Edgerton. [l.s.]
William Turner.
CHATTEL MORTGAGES.
A chattel mortgage is a mortgage on personal property for payment
of a certain sum of money, to hold the property against debts of other
creditors. The mortgage must describe the property, and must be
acknowledged before a justice of the peace in the township or precinct
where the mortgagee resides, and entered upon his docket, and must be
recorded in the recorder's office of the county.
GENERAL FORM OF CHATTEL MORTGAGE.
This Indenture, made and entered into this first day of January,
in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and seventy-five,
between Theodore Lottinville, of the town of Geneseo in the County
of Henry, and State of Illinois, party of the first part, and Paul Hen&haw,
of the same town, county, and State, party of the second part.
Witnesseth, that the said party of the first part, for and in consider-
ation of the sum of one thousand dollars, in hand paid, the receipt whereof
is hereby acknowledged, does hereby grant, sell, convey, and confirm unto
the said party of the second part, his heirs and assigns forever, all and
singular the following described goods and chattels, to wit :
Two three-year old roan-colored horses, one Burdett organ, No. 987,
one Brussels carpet, 15x20 feet in size, one marble-top center table, one
Home Comfort cooking stove, No. 8, one black walnut bureau with mirror
attached, one set of parlor chairs (six in number), upholstered in green
rep, with lounge corresponding with same in style and color of upholstery,
now in possession of said Lottinville, at No. 4 Prairie Ave., Geneseo, 111.;
148 ABSTRACT OP ILLINOIS STATE LAWS.
Together with all and singular, the appurtenances thereunto \>elong-
ing, or in any wise appertaining ; to have and to hold the above described
goods and chattels, unto the said party of the second part, his heirs and
assigns, forever.
Provided, always, and these presents are upon this express condition,
that if the said Theodore Lottinville, his heirs, executors, administrators,
or assigns, shall, on or before the first day of January, A.D., one thousand
eight hundred and seventy-six, pay, or cause to be paid, to the said Paul
Ranslow, or his lawful attorney or attorneys, heirs, executors, adminis-
trators, or assigns, the sum of One Thousand dollars, together with the
interest that may accrue thereon, at the rate of ten per cent, per annum,
from the first day of January, A.D. one thousand eight hundred and
seventy-five, until paid, according to the tenor of one promissory note
bearing even date herewith for the payment of said sum of money, that
then and from thenceforth, these presents, and everything herein con-
tained, shall cease, and be null and void, anything herein contained to the
contrary notwithstanding.
Provided, also, that the said Theodore Lottinville may retain the
possession of and have the use of said goods and chattels until the day
of payment aforesaid ; and also, at his own expense, shall keep said goods-
and chattels; and also at the expiration of said time of payment, if said
sum of money, together with the interest as aforesaid, shall not be paid,,
shall deliver up said goods and chattels, in good condition, to said Paul
Ranslow, or his heirs, executors, administrators, or assigns.
And provided, also, that if default in payment as aforesaid, by said
party of the first part, shall be made, or if said party of the second part
shall at any time before said promissory note becomes due, feel himself
unsafe or insecure, that then the said party of the second part, or his-
attorney, agent, assigns, or heirs, executors, or administrators, shall have
the right to take possession of said goods and chattels, wherever they
may or can be found, and sell the same at public or private sale, to the
highest bidder for cash in hand, after giving ten days' notice of the time
and place of said sale, together with a description of the goods and chat-
tels to be sold, by at least four advertisements, posted up in public places
in the vicinity where said sale is to take place, and proceed to make the
sum of money and interest promised as aforesaid, together with all reason-
able costs, charges, and expenses in so doing ; and if there shall be any
overplus, shall pay the same without delay to the said party of the first
part, or his legal representatives.
In testimony whereof, the said party of the first part has hereunto
set his hand and affixed his seal, the day and year first above written.
Signed, sealed and delivered in
presence of Theodore Lottinville. [l.s.]
Samuel J. Tilden.
ABSTRACT OF ILLINOIS STATE LAWS. 149
LEASE OF FARM AND BUILDINGS THEREON.
This Indenture, made this second day of June, 1875, between David
Patton of the Town of Bisbee, State of Illinois, of the first part, and John
Doyle of the same place, of the second part,
Witnesseth, that the said David Patton, for and in consideration of
the covenants hereinafter mentioned and reserved, on the part of the said
John Doyle, his executors, administrators, and assigns, to be paid, kept,
and performed, hath let, and by these presents doth grant, demise, and
let, unto the said John Doyle, his executors, administrators, and assigns,
all that parcel of land situate in Bisbee aforesaid, bounded and described
as follows, to wit :
[Here describe the land.~\
Together with all the appurtenances appertaining thereto. To have
and to hold the said premises, with appurtenances thereto belonging, unto
the said Doyle, his executors, administrators, and assigns, for the term of
five years, from the first day of October next following, at a yearly rent
of Six Hundred dollars, to be paid in equal payments, semi-annually, as
long as said buildings are in good tenantable condition.
And the said Doyle, by these presents, covenants and agrees to pay
all taxes and assessments, and keep in repair all hedges, ditches, rail, and
other fences ; (the said David Patton, his heirs, assigns and administra-
tors, to furnish all timber, brick, tile, and other materials necessary for
such repairs.)
Said Doyle further covenants and agrees to apply to said land, in a
farmer-like manner, all manure and compost accumulating upon said
farm, and cultivate all the arable land in a husbandlike manner, accord-
ing to the usual custom among farmers in the neighborhood ; he also
agrees to trim the hedges at a seasonable time, preventing injury from
cattle to such hedges, and to all fruit and other trees on the said premises.
That he will seed down with clover and timothy seed twenty acres yearly
of arable land, ploughing the same number of acres each Spring of land
now in grass, and hitherto unbroken.
It is further agreed, that if the said Doyle shall fail to perform the
whole or any one of the above mentioned covenants, then "and in that
case the said David Patton may declare this lease terminated, by giving
three months' notice of the same, prior to the first of October of any
year, and may distrain any part of the stock, goods, or chattels, or other
property in possession of said Doyle, for sufficient to compensate for the
non-performance of the above written covenants, the same to be deter-
mined, and amounts so to be paid to be determined, by three arbitrators,
chosen as follows: Each of the parties to this instrument to choose one,
150 ABSTRACT OF ILLINOIS STATE LAWS.
and the two so chosen to select a third ; the decision of said arbitrators
to be final.
In witness whereof, we have hereto set our hands and seals.
Signed, sealed, and delivered
in presence of David Patton. [l.s.]
James Waldron. John Doyle. [l.s.]
FORM OF LEASE OF A HOUSE.
This Instrument, made the first day of October, 1875, witnesseth
that Amos Griest of Yorkville, County of Kendall, State of Illinois, hath
rented from Aaron Young of Logansport aforesaid, the dwelling and lot
No. 13 Ohio Street, situated in said City of Yorkville, for five years
from the above date, at the yearly rental of Three Hundred dollars, pay-
able monthly, on the first day of each month, in advance, at the residence
of said Aaron Young.
At the expiration of said above mentioned term, the said Griest
agrees to give the said Young peaceable possession of the said dwelling,
in as good condition as when taken, ordinary wear and casualties excepted.
In witness whereof, we place our hands and seals the day and year
aforesaid.
Signed, sealed and delivered Amos Griest. [l.s.]
in presence of
NlCKOLAS SCHUTZ, AARON YOUNG. [L.S.]
Notary Public.
LANDLORD'S AGREEMENT.
This certifies that I have let and rented, this first day of January,
1876, unto Jacob Schmidt, my house and lot, No. 15 Erie Street, in the
City of Chicago, State of Illinois, and its appurtenances ; he to have the
free and uninterrupted occupation thereof for one year from this date, at
the yearly rental of Two Hundred dollars, to be paid monthly in advance ;
rent to cease if destroyed by fire, or otherwise made untenantable.
Peter Funk.
TENANT'S AGREEMENT.
This certifies that I have hired and taken from Peter Funk, his
house and lot, No. 15 Erie Street, in the City of Chicago, State of Illi-
nois, with appurtenances thereto belonging, for one year, to commence
this day, at a yearly rental of Two Hundred dollars, to be paid monthly
in advance ; unless said house becomes untenantable from fire or other
causes, in which case rent ceases ; and I further agree to give and yield
said premises one year from this first day of January 1876, in as good
condition as now, ordinary wear and damage by the elements excepted.
Given under my hand this day. Jacob Schmidt.
ABSTRACT OF ILLINOIS STATE LAWS. 151
NOTICE TO QUIT.
To F. W. Arlen,
Sir : Please observe that the terra of one year, for which the house
and land, situated at No. 6 Indiana Street, and now occupied by you,
were rented to you, expired on the first day of October, 1875, and as I
desire to repossess said premises, you are hereby requested and required
to vacate the same. Respectfullv Yours,
P. T. Barnum.
Lincoln, Neb., October 4, 1875.
TENANT'S NOTICE OF LEAVING.
Dear Sir:
The premises I now occupy as your tenant, at No. 6 Indiana Street,
I shall vacate on the first day of November, 1875. You will please take
notice accordingly.
Dated this tenth day of October, 1875. F. W. Arlen.
To P. T. Barnum, Esq.
REAL ESTATE MORTGAGE TO SECURE PAYMENT OF MONEY.
This Indenture, made this sixteenth day of May, in the year of
our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, between William
Stocker, of Peoria, County of Peoria, and State of Illinois, and Olla, his
wife, party of the first part, and Edward Singer, party of the second part.
Whereas, the said party of the first part is justly indebted to the said
party of the second part, in the sum of Two Thousand dollars, secured
to be paid by two certain promissory notes (bearing even date herewith)
the one due and payable at the Second National Bank in Peoria, Illinois,
with interest, on the sixteenth day of May, in the year one thousand eight
hundred and seventy-three ; the other due and payable at the Second
National Bank at Peoria, 111., with interest, on the sixteenth day of May,
in the year one thousand eight hundred and seventy-four.
Now, therefore, this indenture witnesseth, that the said party of the
first part, for the better securing the payment of the money aforesaid,
with interest thereon, according to the tenor and effect of the said two
promissory notes above mentioned ; and, also in consideration of the fur-
ther sum of one dollar to them in hand paid by the said party of the sec-
ond part, at the delivery of these presents, the receipt whereof is hereby
acknowledged, have granted, bargained, sold, and conveyed, and by these
presents do grant, bargain, sell, and convey, unto the said party of the
second part, his heirs and assigns, forever, all that certain parcel of land,
situate, etc.
[Describing the premises.]
To have and to hold the same, together with all and singular the
Tenements, Hereditaments, Privileges and Appurtenances thereunto
152 ABSTRACT OF ILLINOIS STATE LAWS.
belonging or in any wise appertaining. And also, all the estate, interest,
and claim whatsoever, in law as well as in equity which the party of
the first part have in and to the premises hereby conveyed unto the said
party of the second part, his heirs and assigns, and to their only proper
use, benefit and behoof. And the said William Stocker, and Olla, his
wife, party of the first part, hereby expressly waive, relinquish, release,
and convey unto the said party of the second part, his heirs, executors,
administrators, and assigns, all right, title, claim, interest, and benefit
whatever, in and to the above described premises, and each and every
part thereof, which is given by or results from all laws of this state per-
taining to the exemption of homesteads.
Provided always, and these presents are upon this express condition,
that if the said party of the first part, their heirs, executors, or adminis-
trators, shall well and truly pay, or cause to be paid, to the said party of
the second part, his heirs, executors, administrators, or assigns, the afore-
said sums of money, with suoh interest thereon, at the time and in the
manner specified in the above mentioned promissory notes, according to
the true intent and meaning thereof, then in that case, these presents and
every thing herein expressed, shall be absolutely null and void.
In witness whereof, the said party of the first part hereunto set their
hands and seals the day and year first above written.
Signed, sealed and delivered in presence of
James Whitehead, William Stocker. [l.s.]
Fred. Samuels. Olla Stocker. [l.s.]
WARRANTY DEED WITH COVENANTS.
This Indenture, made this sixth day of April, in the year of our
Lord one thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, between Henry Best
of Lawrence, County of Lawrence, State of Illinois, and Belle, his wife,
of the first part, and Charles Pearson of the same place, of the second part,
Witnesseth, that the said party of the first part, for and in consideration
of the sum of Six Thousand dollars in hand paid by the said party of the
second part, the receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged, have granted,
bargained, and sold, and by these presents do grant, bargain, and sell,
unto the said party of the second part, his heirs and assigns, all the fol-
lowing described lot, piece, or parcel of land, situated in the City of Law-
rence, in the County of Lawrence, and State of Illinois, to wit :
\B.ere describe the property.]
Together with all and singular the hereditaments and appurtenances
thereunto belonging or in any wise appertaining, and the reversion and
reversions, remainder and remainders, rents, issues, and profits thereof ;
and all the estate, rignt, title, interest, claim, and demand whatsoever, of
the said party of the nrst part, either in law or equity, of, in, and to th*
ABSTRACT OF ILLINOIS STATE LAWS. 153
above bargained premises, with the hereditaments and appurtenances.
To have and to hold the said premises above bargained and described,
with the appurtenances, unto the said party of the second part, his heirs
and assigns, forever. And the said Henry Best, and Belle, his wife, par-
ties of the first part, hereby expressly waive, release, and relinquish unto
the said party of the second part, his heirs, executors, administrators, and
assigns, all right, title, claim, interest, and benefit whatever, in and to the
above described premises, and each and every part thereof, which is given
by or results from all laws of this state pertaining to the exemption of
homesteads.
And the said Henry Best, and Belle, his wife, party of the first
part, for themselves and their heirs, executors, and administrators, do
covenant, grant, bargain, and agree, to and with the said party of the
second part, his heirs and assigns, that at the time of the ensealing and
delivery of these presents they were well seized of the premises above
conveyed, as of a good, sure, perfect, absolute, and indefeasible estate of
inheritance in law, and in fee simple, and have good right, full power,
and lawful authority to grant, bargain, sell, and convey the same, in
manner and form aforesaid, and that the same are free and clear from all
former and other grants, bargains, sales, liens, taxes, assessments, and
encumbrances of what kind or nature soever ; and the above bargained
premises in the quiet and peaceable possession of the said party of the
second part, his heirs and assigns, against all and every person or persons
lawfully claiming or to claim the whole or any part thereof, the said party
of the first part shall and will warrant and forever defend.
In testimony whereof, the said parties of the first part have hereunto
set their hands and seals the day and year first above written.
Signed, sealed and delivered
in presence of Henry Best, [l.s.]
Jerry Linklater. Belle Best. [l.s.]
QUIT-CLAIM DEED.
This Indenture, made the eighth day of June, in the year of our
Lord one thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, between David Tour,
of Piano, County of Kendall, State of Illinois, party of the first part,
and Larry O'Brien, of the same place, party of the second part,
Witnesseth, that the said party of the first part, for and in considera-
tion of Nine Hundred dollars in hand paid by the said party of the sec-
ond part, the receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged, and the said party
of the second part forever released and discharged therefrom, has remised,
released, sold, conveyed, and quit-claimed, and by these presents does
remise, release, sell, convey, and quit-claim, unto the said party of the
second part, his heirs and assigns, forever, all the right, title, interest,
151 ABSTRACT OF ILLINOIS STATE LAWS.
claim, and demand, which the said party of the first part has in and to
the following described lot, piece, or parcel of land, to wit :
\_ITere describe the land.~\
To have and to hold the same, together with all and singular the
appurtenances and privileges thereunto belonging, or in any wise there-
unto appertaining, and all the estate, right, title, interest, and claim
whatever, of the said party of the first part, either in law or equity, to
the only proper use, benefit, and behoof of the said party of the second
part, his heirs and assigns forever.
In witness whereof the said party of the first part hereunto set his'
hand and seal the day and year above written.
•Signed, sealed and delivered David Tour. [l.s.J
in "presence of
Thomas Ashley.
The above forms of Deeds and Mortgage are such as have heretofore
been generally used, but the following are much shorter, and are made
equally valid by the laws of this state.
WARRANTY DEED.
The grantor (here insert name or names and place of residence), for
and in consideration of (here insert consideration) in hand paid, conveys
and warrants to (here insert the grantee's name or names) the following
described real estate (here insert description), situated in the County of
in the State of Illinois.
Dated this day of A. D. 18 .
QUIT CLAIM DEED.
The grantor (here insert grantor's name or names and place of resi-
dence), for the consideration of (here insert consideration) convey and
quit-claim to (here insert grantee's name or names) all interest in the
following described real estate (here insert description), situated in the
County of in the State of Illinois.
Dated this day of A. D. 18 .
MORTGAGE.
The mortgagor (here insert name or names) mortgages and warrants
to (here insert name or names of mortgagee or mortgagees), to secure the
payment of (here recite the nature and amount of indebtedness, showing
when due and the rate of interest, and whether secured by note or other-
wise), the following described real estate (here insert description thereof),
situated in the County of in the State of Illinois.
Dated this day of A. D. 18 .
RELEASE.
Know all Men by these presents, that I, Peter Ahlund, of Chicago,
of the County of Cook, and State of Illinois, for and in consideration of
One dollar, to me in hand paid, and for other good and valuable considera-
ABSTRACT OF ILLINOIS STATE LAWS. 155
tions, the receipt whereof is hereby confessed, do hereby grant, bargain,
remise, convey, release, and quit-claim unto Joseph Carlin of Chicago,
of the County of Cook, and State of Illinois, all the right, title, interest,
claim, or demand whatsoever, I may have acquired in, through, or by a
certain Indenture or Mortgage Deed, bearing date the second day of Jan-
uary, A. D. 1871, and recorded in the Recorder's office of said county,
in book A of Deeds, page 46, to the premises therein described, and which
said. Deed was made to secure one certain promissory note, bearing even
date with said deed, for the sum of Three Hundred dollafs.
Witness my hand and seal, this second day of November, A. D. 1874,
Peter Ahlund. [l.s.]
State of Illinois, )
Cook County. ) I, George Saxton, a Notary Public in
and for said county, in the state aforesaid, do hereby
certify that Peter Ahlund, personally known to me
as the same person whose name is subscribed to the
foregoing Release, appeared before me this day in
[ ^nSf^ ] person, and acknowledged that he signed, sealed, and
delivered the said instrument of writing as his free
a^d voluntary act, for the uses and purposes therein
set forth.
Giv^n under my hand and seal, this second day of
November, A. D. 1874.
George Saxton, N. P.
GENERAL FOIrM OF WILL FOR REAL AND PERSONAL PROPERTY.
I, Charles Mansfield, of the Town of Salem, County of Jackson,
Srate of Illinois, being aware of the uncertainty of life, and in failing
health, but of sound mind and memory, do make and declare this to be
my last will and testament, in manner following, to wit:
First. I give, devise and bequeath unto my oldest son, Sidney EL
Mansfield, the sum of Two Thousand Dollars, cf bank stock, now in the
Third National Bank of Cincinnati, Ohio, and the farm owned by myself
in the Town of Buskirk, consisting of one hundred and sixty acres, with
all the houses, tenements, and improvements thereunto belonging ; to
have and to hold unto my said son, his heirs and assign^, forever.
Second. I give, devise and bequeath to each of my daughters, Anna
Louise Mansfield and Ida Clara Mansfield, each Two Thousand dollars in
bank stock, in the Third National Bank of Cincinnati, Ohio, and also each
one quarter section of land, owned by myself, situated in the Town of
Lake, Illinois, and recorded in my name in the Recorder's office in the
county where such land is located. The north one hundred and sixty
acres of said half section is devised to my eldest daughter, Anna Louise,
6
150 ABSTRACT OF ILLINOIS STATE LAWS.
Third. I give, devise and bequeath to my son, Frank Alfred Mans-
field, Five shares of Railroad stock in the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad,
and my one hundred and sixty acres of land and saw mill thereon, situ-
ated in Manistee, Michigan, with all the improvements and appurtenances
thereunto belonging, which said real estate is recorded in my name in the
county where situated.
Fourth. I give to my wife, Victoria Elizabeth Mansfield, all my
household furniture, goods, chattels, and personal property, about, my
home, not hitherto disposed of, including Eight Thousand dollars of bank
stock in the Third National Bank of Cincinnati, Ohio, Fifteen shares in
the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and the free and unrestricted use, pos-
session, and benefit of the home farm, so long as she may live, in lieu of
dower, to which she is entitled by law; said farm being my present place
of residence.
Fifth. I bequeath to my invalid father, Elijah H. Mansfield, the
income from rents of my store building at 145 Jackson Street, Chicago,
Illinois, during the term of his natural life. Said building and land there-
with to revert to my said sons and daughters in equal proportion, upon
the demise of my said father.
Sixth. It is also my will and desire that, at the death of my wife,
Victoria Elizabeth Mansfield, or at any time when she may arrange to
relinquish her life interest in the above mentioned homestead, the same
may revert to my above named children, or to the lawful heirs of each.
And lastly. I nominate and appoint as executors of this my last will
and testament, my wife, Victoria Elizabeth Mansfield, and my eldest son,
Sidney H. Mansfield.
I further direct that my debts and necessary funeral expenses shaJ
be paid from moneys now on deposit in the Savings Bank of Salem, the
residue of such moneys to revert to my wife, Victoria Elizabeth Mansfield,
for her use forever.
In witness whereof, I, Charles Mansfield, to this my last will and
testament, have hereunto set my hand and seal, this fourth day of April,
eighteen hundred and seventy-two.
Signed, sealed, and declared by .Charles
Mansfield, as and for his last will and
testament, in the presence of us, who,
at his request, and in his presence, and
in the presence of each other, have sub- )>
scribed our names hereunto as witnesses
thereof.
Peter A. Schenck, Sycamore, Ills.
Frank E. Dent, Salem, Ills.
Charles Mansfield, [l.s.]
Charles Mansfield, [l.s.]
ABSTRACT OF ILLINOIS STATE LAWS. 157
CODICIL.
Whereas I, Charles Mansfield, did, on the fourth day of April, one
thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, make my last will and testa-
ment, I do now, by this writing, add this codicil to my said will, to be
taken as a part thereof.
Whereas, by the dispensation of Providence, my daughter, Anna
Louise, has deceased November fifth, eighteen hundred and seventy-three,
and whereas, a son has been born to me, which son is now christened
Richard Albert Mansfield, I give and bequeath unto him my gold watch,
and all right, interest, and title in lands and bank stock and chattels
bequeathed to my deceased daughter, Anna Louise, in the body of this will.
In witness whereof, I hereunto place my hand and seal, this tenth
•day of March, eighteen hundred and seventy-five.
Signed, sealed, published, and declared to^
us by the testator, Charles Mansfield, as
and for a codicil to be annexed to his
last will and testament. And we, at
his request, and in his presence", and in
the presence of each other, have sub-
scribed our names as witnesses thereto,
at the date hereof.
Prank E. Dent, Salem, Ills.
John C. Shay, Salem, Ills.
CHURCH ORGANIZATIONS
May be legally made by electing or appointing, according to the usages
•or customs of the body of which it is a part, at any meeting held for that
purpose, two or more of its members as trustees, wardens or vestrymen, and
may adopt a corporate name. The chairman or secretary of such meeting
shall, as soon as possible, make and file in the office of the recorder of
deeds of the county, an affidavit substantially in the following form :
State of Illinois,
>
County. j SS>
I, , do solemnly swear (or affirm, as the case may be),
that at a meeting of the members of the (here insert the name of the
church, society or congregation as known before organization), held at
(here insert place of meeting), in the County of , and State of
Illinois, on the day of , A.D. 18 — , for that purpose, the fol-
lowing persons were elected (or appointed) [here insert their names]
trustees, wardens, vestrymen, (or officers by whatever name they may
choose to adopt, with powers similar to trustees) according to the rules
and usages of such fchurch, society or congregation), and said
158 • ABSTRACT OF ILLINOIS STATE LAWS.
adopted as its corporate name (here insert name), and at said meeting"
this affiant acted as (chairman or secretary, as the case may be).
Subscribed and sworn to before me, this day of , A.D.
18—. Name of Affiant"
which affidavit must be recorded by the recorder, and shall be, or a certi-
fied copy made by the recorder, received as evidence of such an incorpo-
ration.
No certificate of election after the first need be filed for record.
The term of office of the trustees and the general government of the
society can be determined by the rules or by-laws adopted. Failure to
elect trustees at the time provided does not work a dissolution, but the
old trustees hold over. A trustee or trustees may be removed, in the
same manner by the society as elections are held by a meeting called for
that purpose. The property of the society vests in the corporation. The
corporation may hold,' or acquire by purchase or otherwise, land not
exceeding ten acres, for the purpose of the society. The trustees have
the care, custody and control of the property of the corporation, and can,
token directed by the society, erect houses or improvements, and repair
and alter the same, and may also when so directed by the society,
mortgage, encumber, sell and convey any real or personal estate belonging
to the corporation, and make all proper contracts in the name of such
corporation. But they are prohibited by law from encumbering or inter-
fering with any property so as to destroy the effect of any gift, grant,,
devise or bequest to the corporation ; but such gifts, grants, devises or
bequests, must in all cases be used so as to carry out the object intended
by the persons making the same. Existing societies may organize in the
manner herein set forth, and have all the advantages thereof.
SUGGESTIONS TO THOSE PURCHASING BOOKS BY SUBSCRIPTION.
The business of publishing books by subscription having so often been
brought into disrepute by agents making representations and declarations
not authorized by the publisher ; in order to prevent that as much as possi-
ble, and that there may be more general knowledge of the relation such
agents bear to their principal, and the law governing such cases, the fol-
lowing statement is made :
A subscription is in the nature of a contract of mutual promises, by
which the subscriber agrees to pay a certain sum for the work described ;
the consideration is concurrent that the publisher shall publish the book
named, and deliver the same, for which the subscriber is to pay the price
named. The nature and character of the ivork is described in the prospectus
and by the sample shown. These should be carefully examined before sub-
scribing, as they are the basis and consideration of the promise to pay,
ABSTRACT OF ILLINOIS STATE LAWS. 159
and not the too often exaggerated statements of the agent, who is merely
employed to solicit subscriptions, for which he is usually paid a commission
for each subscriber, and has no authority to change or alter the conditions
upon which the subscriptions are authorized to be made by the publisher.
Should the agent assume to agree to make the subscription conditional or
modify or change the agreement of the publisher, as set out by prospectus
and sample, in order to bind the principal, the subscriber should see that
such conditions or changes are stated over or in connection ivith his signa-
ture, so that the publisher may have notice of the same.
All persons making contracts in reference to matters of this kind, or
any other business, should remember that the law as to written contracts is,
that they can not be varied, altered or rescinded verbally, but if done at all,
must be done in writing. It is therefore important that all persons contem-
plating subscribing should distinctly understand that all talk before or after
the subscription is made, is not admissible as evidence, and is no part of the
contract.
Persons employed to solicit subscriptions are known to the trade as
canvassers. They are agents appointed to do a particular business in a
prescribed mode, and have no authority to do it in any other way to the
prejudice of their principal, nor can they bind their principal in any other
matter. They cannot collect money, or agree that payment may be made
in anything else but money. They can not extend the time of payment
beyond the time of delivery, nor bind their principal for the payment of
expenses incurred in their buisness.
It would save a great deal of trouble, and often serious loss, if persons,
before signing their names to any subscription book, or any written instru-
ment, would examine carefully what it is ; if they can not read themselves,
should call on some one disinterested who can.
6
160 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
AND ITS AMENDMENTS.
We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union r
establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the common
defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty
to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution
for the United States of America.
Article I.
Section 1. All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in
a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and
Mouse of Representatives.
Sec. 2. The House of Representatives shall be composed of mem-
bers chosen every second year by the people of the several states, and the
electors in each state shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of
the most numerous branch of the State Legislature.
No person shall be a representative who shall not have attained to the
age of twenty-five years, and been seven years a citizen of the United
States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that state in
which he shall be chosen.
Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among the sev-
eral states which may be included within this Union, according to their
respective numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole
number of free persons, including those bound to service for a term of
years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three-fifths of all other persons.
The actual enumeration shall be made within three years after the first
meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subse-
quent term of ten years, in such manner as they shall by law direct. The
number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty thousand,
but each state shall have at least one Representative ; and until such
enumeration shall be made the State of New Hampshire shall be entitled
to choose three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode Island and Providence Plan-
tations one, Connecticut five, New York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylva-
nia eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five,
and Georgia three.
When vacancies happen in the representation from any state, the
Executive authority thereof shall issue writs of election to fill such
vacancies.
The House of Representatives shall choose their Speaker and other
officers, and shall have the sole power of impeachment.
Sec. 3. The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two
Senators from each state, chosen by the Legislature thereof for six years ;
and each Senator shall have one vote.
Immediately after they shall be assembled in consequence of the first
election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into three classes.
The seats of the Senators of the first class shall be vacated at the expira-
AND ITS AMENDMENTS. 161
tion of the second year, of the second class at the expiration of the fourth
year, and of the third class at the expiration of the sixth year, so that
one-third may be chosen every second year; and if vacancies happen by
resignation or otherwise, during the recess of the Legislature of any state,
the Executive thereof may make temporary appointments until the next
meeting of the Legislature, which shall then fill such vacancies.
No person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the age
of thirty years and been nine years a citizen of the United States, and
who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that state for which he
shall be chosen.
The Vice-President of the United States shall be President of the
Senate, but shall have no vote unless they be equally divided.
The Senate shall choose their other officers, and also a President pro
tempore, in the absence of the Vice-President, or when he shall exercise
the office of President of the United States.
The Senate shall have the sole power to try all impeachments. When
sitting for that purpose they shall be on oath or affirmation. When the
President of the United States is tried the Chief Justice shall preside.
And no person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds
of the members present.
Judgment, in cases of impeachment, shall not extend further than to
removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of
honor, trust, or profit under the United States; but the party convicted
shall nevertheless be liable and subject to indictment, trial, judgment,
and punishment according to law.
Sec. 4. The times, places and manner of holding elections for Sen-
ators and Representatives shall be prescribed in each state by the Legis-
lature thereof ; but the Congress may at any time by law make or alter
such regulations, except as to the places of choosing Senators.
The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such
meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, unless they shall by
law appoint a different day.
Sec. 5. Each house shall be the judge of the election,, returns, and
qualifications of its own members, and a majority of each shall constitute
a quorum to do business ; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to
day, and may be authorized to compel the attendance of absent members
in such manner and under such penalties as each house may provide.
Each house may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish its
members for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds,
expel a member.
Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and from time to
time publish the same, excepting such parts as may, in their judgment,
require secrecy ; and the yeas and nays of the members of either house
on any question shall, at the desire of one-fifth of those present, be entered
on the journal.
Neither house, during the session of Congress, shall, without the
consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other
place than that in which the two houses shall be sitting.
Sec. 6. The Senators and Representatives shall receive a compen-
sation for their services, to be ascertained by law, and paid out of the
treasury of the United States. They shall in ail cases, except treason r
102 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES
felony, and breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their
attendance at the session of their respective houses, and in going to and
returning from the same ; and for any speech or debate in either house
they shall not be questioned in any other place.
No Senator or Representative shall, during the time for which he was
elected, be appointed to any civil office under the authority of the United
States, which shall have been created, or the emoluments whereof shall
have been increased during such time ; and no person holding any office
under the United States, shall be a member of either house during his
continuance in office.
Sec. 7. All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of
Representatives ; but the Senate may propose or concur with amendments
as on other bills.
Every bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and
the Senate, shall, before it becomes a law, be presented to the President
. the United States ; if he approve he shall sign it ; but if not he shall
return it, with his objections, to that house in which it shall have origi-
nated, who shall enter the objections at large on their journal, and
proceed to reconsider it. If, after such reconsideration two-thirds of that
house shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, together with the objec-
tions, to the other house, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if
approved by two-thirds of that house, it shall become a law. But in all
such cases the votes of both houses shall be determined by yeas and nays,
and the names of the persons voting for and against the bill shall be entered
on the journal of each house respectively. If any bill shall not be returned
by the President within ten days (Sundays excepted), after it shall have
been presented to him, the same shall be a law, in like manner as if he
had signed it, unless the Congress, by their adjournment, prevent its
return, in which case it shall not be a law.
Every order, resolution, or vote to which the concurrence of the
Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a
question of adjournment), shall be presented to the President of the
United States, and before the same shall take effect shall be approved by
him, or, being disapproved by him, shall be re-passed by two-thirds of
the Senate and House of Representatives, according to the rules and lim-
itations prescribed in the case of a bill.
Sec. 8. The Congress shall have power —
To lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to pay the debts,
and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United
utates ; but all duties, imposts, and excises shall be uniform throughout
the United States ;
To borrow money on the credit of the United States ;
To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several
States, and with the Indian tribes ;
To establish a uniform rule of naturalization, and uniform laws on
the subject of bankruptcies throughout the. United States ;
To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, and
fix the standard of weights and measures ;
To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securities and
current coin of the United States;
To establish post offices and post roads ;
AND ITS AMENDMENTS. 163
To promote the progress of sciences and useful arts, by securing,
for ^mited times, to authors and inventors, the exclusive right to their
respective writings and discoveries ;
To constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court ;
To define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high
seas, and offenses against the law of nations ;
To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules
concerning captures on land and water ;
To raise and support armies, but no appropriation of money to that
•use shall be for a longer term than two years ;
To provide and maintain a navy ;
To make rules for the government and regulation of the land and
naval forces ;
To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the
Union, suppress insurrections, and repel invasions;
To provide for organizing, arming and disciplining the militia, and
for governing such part of them as may be employed in the service of the
United States, reserving to the states respectively the appointment of the
officers, and the authority of training the militia according to the disci-
pline prescribed by Congress ;
To exercise legislation in all cases whatsoever over such district (not
exceeding ten miles square) as may, by cession of particular states, and the
acceptance of Congress, become the seat of the government of the United
States, and to exercise like authority over all places purchased by the
consent of the Legislature of the state in which the same shall be, for
the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dock yards, and other needful
buildings ; and
To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying
into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this
Constitution in the government of the United States, or in any depart-
ment or officer thereof.
Sec. 9. The migration or importation of such persons as any of the
states now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited
by the Congress prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight,
but a tax or duty may be imposed on such importation, not exceeding ten
dollars for each person.
The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended,
unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may
require it.
No bill of attainder or ex post facto law shall be passed.
No capitation or other direct tax shall be laid, unless in proportion
to the census or enumeration hereinbefore directed to be taken.
No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from any state.
No preference shall be given by any regulation of commerce or rev-
enue to the ports of one state over those of another; nor shall vessels
bound to or from one state be obliged to enter, clear, or pay duties in
another.
No money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in consequence of
appropriations made by law ; and a regular statement and account of
the receipts and expeditures of all public money shall be published from
time to time.
164 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES
No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States : and no
person holding any office of profit or trust under them, shall, without the
consent of the Congress, accept of any present, emolument, office, or title
of any kind whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign state.
Sec. 10. No state shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or confeder-
ation ; grant letters of marque and reprisal ; coin money ; emit bills of
credit ; make anything but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of
debts ; pass any bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law impairing the
obligation of contracts, or grant any title of nobility.
No state shall, without the consent of the Congress, lay any imposts
or duties on imports or exports, except what may be absolutely necessary
for executing its inspection laws, and the net produce of all duties and
imposts laid by any state on imports or exports, shall be for the use of the
Treasury of the United States ; and all such laws shall be subject to the
revision and control of the Congress.
No state shall, without the consent of Congress, lay any duty on
tonnage, keep troops or ships of war in time of peace, enter into any
agreement or compact with another state, or with a foreign power, or
engage in war, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent danger as will
not admit of delay.
Article II.
Section 1. The Executive power shall be vested in a President of
the United States of America. He shall hold his office during the term
of four years, and, together with the Vice-President chosen for the same
term, be elected as follows :
Each state shall appoint, in such manner as the Legislature thereof
may direct, a number of Electors, equal to the whole number of Senators
and Representatives to which the state may be entitled in the Congress ;
but no Senator or Representative, or person holding an office of trust or
profit under the United States, shall be appointed an Elector.
[ * The Electors shall meet in their respective states, and vote by
ballot for two persons, of whom one at least shall not be an inhabitant of
the same state with themselves. And they shall make a list of all the
persons voted for, and of the number of votes for each ; which list they
shall sign and certify, and transmit, sealed, to the seat of the government
of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate. The Pres-
ident of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Rep-
resentatives, open all the certificates, and the votes shall then be counted.
The person having the greatest number of votes shall be the President,
if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed \
and if there be more than one who have such majority, and have an equal
number of votes, then the House of Representatives shall immediately
choose by ballot one of them for President ; and if no person have a ma-
jority, then from the five highest on the list the said House shall in like
manner choose the President. But in choosing the President, the vote
shall be taken by states, the representation from each state having one
vote ; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members
from two-thirds of the states, and a majority of all the states shall be
necessary to a choice. In every case, after the choice of the President,
• This clause between .brackets has been superseded and annulled by the Twelfth amendment.
I
AND ITS AMENDMENTS. 165
the person having the greatest number of votes of the Electors shall be
the Vice-President. But if there should remain two or more who have
equal votes, the Senate shall choose from them by ballot the Vice-Presi-
dent.]
The Congress may determine the time of choosing the Electors, and
the day on which they shall give their votes ; which day shall be the same
throughout the United States.
No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United
States at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible
to the office of President ; neither shall any person be eligible to that
office who shall not have attained the age of thirty-five years, and been
fourteen years a resident within the United States.
In case of the removal of the President from office, or of his death,
resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and duties of the said
office, the same shall devolve on the Vice-President, and the Congress
may by law provide for the case of removal, death, resignation, or inabil-
ity, both of the President and Vice-President, declaring what officer shall
then act as President, and such officer shall act accordingly, until the dis-
ability be removed, or a President shall be elected.
The President shall, at stated times, receive for his services a com-
pensation which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the
period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive
within that period any other emolument from the United States or any of
them.
Before he enters on the execution of his office, he shall take the fol-
lowing oath or affirmation :
" I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the
office of President of the United States, and will, to the best of my ability,
preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States."
Sec. 2. The President shall be commander in chief of the army and
navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several states, when
called into the actual service of the United States; he may require the
opinion, in writing, of the principal officer in each of the executive
departments, upon any subject relating to the duties of their respective
offices, and he shall have power to grant reprieves and pardon for offenses
against the United States, except in cases of impeachment.
He shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the
Senate, to make treaties, provided two-thirds of the Senators present con-
cur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the advice of the Senate,
shall appoint ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, judges of
the Supreme Court, and all other officers of the United States whose
appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be
established by law ; but the Congress may by law vest the appointment
of such inferior officers as they think proper in the President alone, in
the courts of law, or in the heads of departments.
The President shall have power to fill up all vacancies that may
happen during the recess of the Senate, by granting commissions which
shall expire at the end of their next session.
Sec. 3. He shall from time to time give to the Congress information
of the state of the Union, and recommend to their consideration such mea-
sures as he shall judge necessary and expedient ; he may on extraordinary
1GG CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES
occasions convene both houses, or either of them, and in case of disagree-
ment between them, with respect to the time of adjournment, he may
adjourn them to such time as he shall think proper ; he shall receive
ambassadors and other public ministers ; he shall take care that the laws be
faithfully executed, and shall commission all the officers of the United
States.
Sec. 4. The President, Vice-President, and all civil officers of the
United States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and con-
viction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.
Article III.
Section I. The judicial power of the United States shall be vested
in one Supreme Court, and such inferior courts as the Congress may from
time to time ordain and establish. The Judges, both of the Supreme and
inferior courts, shall hold their offices during good behavior, and shall, at
stated times, receive for their services a compensation, which shall not be
diminished during their continuance in office.
Sec. 2. The judicial power shall extend to all cases, in law and
equity, arising under this Constitution, the laws of the United States, and
treaties made, or which shall be made, under their authority ; to all cases
affecting ambassadors, other public ministers, and consuls ; to all cases of
admiralty and maritime jurisdiction ; to controversies to which the United
States shall be a party ; to controversies between two or more states ;
between a state and citizens of another state ; between citizens of differ-
ent states ; between citizens of the same state claiming lands under grants
of different states, and between a state or the citizens thereof, and foreign
states, citizens, or subjects.
In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers, and consuls,
and those in which a state shall be a party, the Supreme Court shall have
original jurisdiction.
In all the other cases before mentioned, the Supreme Court shall
have appellate jurisdiction, both as to law and fact, with such exceptions
and under such regulations as the Congress shall make.
The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeachment, shall be by
jury ; and such trial shall be held in the state where the said crimes shall
have been committed ; but when not committed within an)' state, the
trial shall be at such place or places as the Congress may by law have
directed.
Sec. 3. Treason against the United States shall consist only in levy-
ing war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid
and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the tes-
timony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open
court.
The Congress shall have power to declare the punishment of treason,
but no attainder of treason shall work corruption of blood, or forfeiture,
except during the life of the person attainted.
Article IV.
Section 1. Full faith and credit shall be given in each state to the
public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state. And
AND ITS AMENDMENTS. 167
the Congress may, by general laws, prescribe the manner in which such
acts, records, and proceedings shall be proved, and the effect thereof.
Sec. 2. The citizens of each state shall be entitled to all privileges
and immunities of citizens in the several states.
A person charged in any state with treason, felony, or other crime,
who shall flee from justice and be found in another state, shall, on demand
of the executive authority of the state from which he fled, be delivered
up, to be removed to the state having jurisdiction of the crime.
No person held to service or labor in one state, under the laws thereof
escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any law or regulation
therein, be discharged from such service or labor, but shall be delivered
up on the claim of the party to whom such service or labor may be due.
Sec. 3. New states may be admitted by the Congress into this Union ;
but no new state shall be formed or erected within the jurisdiction of any
other state ; nor any state be formed by the junction of two or more states,
or parts of states, without the consent of the Legislatures of the states
concerned, as well as of the Congress.
The Congress shall have power to dispose of and make all needful
rules and regulations respecting the territory or other property belonging
to the United States ; and nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed
as to prejudice any claims of the United States or of any particular state.
Sec. 4. The United States shall guarantee to every state in this
Union a republican form of government, and shall protect each of them
against invasion, and on application of the Legislature, or of the Execu-
tive (when the Legislature can not be convened), against domestic vio-
lence.
Article V.
The Congress, whenever two-thirds of both houses shall deem it
necessary, shall propose amendments to this Constitution, or, on the ap-
plication of the Legislatures of two-thirds of the several states, shall call
a convention for proposing amendments, which, in either case, shall be
valid to all intents and purposes as part of this Constitution, when rati-
fied by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several states, or by con-
ventions in three-fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode of ratifi-
cation may be proposed by the Congress. Provided that no amendment
which may be made prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and
eight shall in any manner affect the first and fourth clauses in the ninth
section of the first article ; and that no state, without its consent, shall
be deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate.
Article VI.
All debts contracted and engagements entered into before the adop-
tion of this Constitution shall be as valid against the United States under
this Constitution as under the Confederation.
This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be
made in pursuance thereof, and all treaties made, or which shall be made,
under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the
land ; and the Judges in every state shall be bound thereby, anything in
the Constitution or laws of any state to the contrary notwithstanding.
The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the mem-
168
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES
bers of the several state Legislatures, and all executive and judicial offi-
cers, both of the United States and of the several states, shall be bound
by oath or affirmation to support this Constitution ; but no religious test
shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under
the United States.
Article VII.
The ratification of the Conventions of nine states shall be sufficient
for the establishment of this Constitution between the states so ratifying
the same.
Done in convention by the unanimous consent of the states present, the
seventeenth day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand
seven hundred and eighty-seven, and of the independence of the
United States of America the twelfth. In witness whereof we have
hereunto subscribed our names.
GEO. WASHINGTON,
President and Deputy from Virginia.
New Hampshire.
John Langdon,
Nicholas Gilman.
Massachusetts.
Nathaniel Gorham,
Rufus King.
Connecticut.
Wm. Sam'l Johnson,
Roger Sherman.
Delaware.
Geo. Read,
John Dickinson,
Jaco. Broom,
Gunning Bedford, Jr.,
Richard Bassett.
Maryland.
James M' Henry,
Danl. Carroll,
Dan. of St. Thos. Jenifer.
New York.
Alexander Hamilton.
New Jersey.
Wil. Livingston,
Wm. Paterson,
David Brearley,
Jona. Dayton.
Virginia.
John Blair,
James Madison, Jr.
North Carolina.
Wm. Blount,
Hu. Williamson,
Rich'd Dobbs Spaight.
Pennsylvania.
B. Franklin,
Robt. Morris,
Thos. Fitzsimons,
James Wilson,
Thos. Mifflin,
Geo. Clymer,
Jared Ingersoll,
Gouv. Morris.
South Carolina.
j. rutledge,
Charles Pinckney,
Chas. Cotesworth Pinckney,
Pierce Butler.
Georgia.
William Few,
Abr. Baldwin.
WILLIAM JACKSON, Secretary.
AND ITS AMENDMENTS. IQQ
Articles in Addition to and Amendatory of the Constitution
of the United States of America.
Proposed by Congress and ratified by the Legislatures of the several states,
pursuant to the fifth article of the original Constitution.
Article I.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion,
or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of
speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble,
and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Article II.
A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free
state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.
Article III.
No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house without
the consent of the owner, nor in time of war but in a manner to be pre-
scribed by law.
Article IV.
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers,
and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be vio-
lated ; and no warrants shall issue but upon probable cause, supported by
oath pr affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched
and the persons or things to be seized.
Article V.
No person shall be held to answer for a capital or otherwise infamous
crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in
cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia when in actual
service in time of war or public danger ; nor shall any person be subject
for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb ; nor shall
be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be
deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law ; nor
shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
Article VI.
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a
speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district
wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have
been previously ascertained. by law, and to be informed of the nature and
cause of the accusation ; to be confronted with the witnesses against him ;
to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor ; and to
have the assistance of counsel for his defense.
Article VII.
In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed
twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact
170 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES
tried by a jury shall be otherwise re-examined in any court of the United
States than according to the rules of the common law.
Article VIII.
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed*
nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
Article IX.
The enumeration, in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be
construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
Article X.
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution,
nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively,
or to the people.
Article XI.
The judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to
extend to any suit in law or equity commenced or prosecuted against one
of the United States by citizens of another state, or by citizens or sub-
jects of any foreign state.
Article XII.
The Electors shall meet in their respective states and vote by ballot
for President and Vice-President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an
inhabitant of the same state with themselves ; they shall name in their
ballots the person to be voted for as president, and in distinct ballots the
person voted for as Vice-President, and they shall make distinct lists of
all persons voted for as President, and of all persons voted for as Vice-
President, and of the number of votes for each, which list they shall sign
and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the United
States, directed to the President of the Senate. The President of the
Senate shall, in presence of the Senate and House of Representatives,
open all the certificates, and the votes shall then be counted. The person
having the greatest number of votes for President shall be the President,
if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed ;
and if no person have such majority, then from the persons having the
highest number not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as
President, the House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by
ballot, the President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall be
taken by States, the representation from each state having one vote; a
quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two-
thirds of the states, and a majority of all the states shall be necessary to
a choice. And if the House of Representatives shall not choose a Presi-
dent whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the
fourth day of March next following, then the Vice-President shall act as
President, as in the case of the death or other constitutional disability of
the President. The person having the greatest number of votes as Vice-
President, shall be the Vice-President, if such number be the majority
of the whole number of electors appointed, and if no person have a major-
AND ITS AMENDMENTS. 171
ity, then from the two highest numbers on the list, the Senate shall choose
the Vice-President ; a quorum for the purpose shall consist of two-thirds
of the whole number of Senators, and a majority of the whole number
shall be necessary to a choice. But no person constitutionally ineligible
to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the
United States.
Article XIII.
Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a
punishment for crime, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted,
shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their juris-
diction.
Sec. 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appro-
priate legislation.
Article XIV.
Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States and
subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States, and
of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law
which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United
States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property,
without due process of law, nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction
the equal protection of the laws.
Sec. 2. Representatives shall be appointed among the several states^
according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of per-
sons in each state, excluding Indians not taxed ; but when the right to
vote at any election for the choice of Electors for President and Vice-
President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the execu-
tive and judicial officers of a state, or the members of the Legislature
thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such state, being
twenty-one years of age and citizens of the United States, or in any way
abridged except for participation in rebellion or other crimes, the basis of
representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the num-
ber of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens
twenty-one years of age in such state.
Sec. 3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress,
or Elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or
military, under the United States, or under any state, who, having previ-
ously taken an oath as a Member of Congress, or as an officer of the
United States, or as a member of any state Legislature, or as an execu-
tive or judicial officer of any state to support the Constitution of the
United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the
same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress mav
by a vote of two-thirds of each house, remove such disability.
Sec. 4. The validity of the public debt of the United States author-
ized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and boun-
ties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be ques-
tioned. But neither the United States nor any state shall pay any debt
or obligation incurred in the aid of insurrection or rebellion against the
United States, or any loss or emancipation of any slave, but such debts,
obligations, and claims shall be held illegal and void.
172
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES.
Sec. 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate
legislation, the provisions of this act.
Article XV.
Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall
not be denied or abridged by the United States, or by any state, on
account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
Sec. 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appro-
priate legislation.
ELECTORS OF. PRESIDENT AND VICE-PRESIDENT.
November 7, 1876.
COUNTIES.
a m
■s fly
5*=«
is*
COUNTIES.
&£!
«32
|||
op's
Adams
Alexander...
Bond
Boone ,
Brown
Bureau
Calhoun
Carroll
Cass
Champaign..
Christian ....
Clark
Clay
Clinton
Coles
•Cook
Crawford
Cumberland .
DeKalb
DeWitt
Douglas
DuPage
Edgar
Edwards... .
Effingham...
Fayette
Fora
Frniklin
Fulton
■Gallatin
■Greene
Grundy
Hamilton
Hancock ...
Hardin
Henderson...
Henry
Iroquois
Jackson
Jasper
Jefferson
Jersey
Jo Daviess...
Johnson ... .
Kane
Kankakee . . .
Kendall ,
Knox
Lake
La Salle ,
Lawrence...,
Lee
4953
1219
1520
1965
944
3719
441
2231
1209
4530
2501
1814
1416
1329
2957
36548
1355
1145
3679
1928
1631
2129
2715
970
1145
1881
1601
966
4187
703
1695
1996
627
3496
330
1315
4177
3768
2040
1346
1345
2907
1367
5398
2627
1869
5235
2619
6277
1198
3087
6308
1280
1142
363
1495
2218
900
918
1618
3103
3287
2197
1541
1989
2822
39240
1643
1407
1413
1174
1357
1276
2883
466
2265
2421
742
1302
4669
1140
3160
1142
1433
4207
611
1015
1928
2578
2071
166
2166
2276
893
2850
1363
524
2632
1647
6001
1329
2080
41 17
17
43
183
145
111
74
604
207
236
112
132
102
277
38
129
65
746
94
25
161
61
43
57
204
391
89
282
1
108
770
134
1
340
249
106
647
140
61
172
26
309
141
55
514
27
100
Livingston...
Logan
Macon
Macoupin....
Madison
Marlon
Marshall .
Mason
Massac
McDonough.
McHenry
McLean
Menard
Mercer
Monroe
Montgomery
Morgan
Moultrie
Ogle
Peoria
Fope
Perry
Piatt
Pike
Pulaski
Putnam
Randolph....
Richland
Rock Island..
Saline
Sangamon ...
Schuyler
Scott
Shelby
Stark
St. Clair
Stephenson..
Tazewell
Union
Vermilion...
Wabash
Warren
Washington.
Wayne
White
Whiteside....
Will
Williamson..
Winnebago..
Woodford . . .
Total
3550
2788
3120
3567
4554
2009
1553
1566
1231
2952
3465
6363
1115
2209
845
2486
::nti!i
1245
3833
4665
1319
1541
1807
3055
1043
646
2357
1410
3912
980
4851
1522
910
2069
1140
4708
3198
2850
978
4372
650
2795
1911
1570
1297
3851
4770
1672
4505
1733
2134
2595
2782
4076
4730
2444
1430
1939
793
2811
1874
4410
1657
1428
1651
3013
3174
1672
1921
5443
800
1383
1316
4040
772
459
2589
1552
2838
1081
5847
1804
1269
3553
786
5891
2758
3171
2155
3031
936
1984
1671
1751
2066
2131
3999
1644
1568
2105
275958 257099 16951 130 157
1170
37
268
114
39
209
135
86
20
347
34
518
10
90
7
201
109
28
104
95
5
48
117
35
14
2
55
27
641
29
115
182
341
96
99
26
44
3
288
207
138
39
482
469
133
677
41
70
237
. Practical Rules for Every Day Use.
How to find the gain or loss per cent, when the cost and selling price
are given.
Rule. — Find the difference between the cost and selling price, which
will be the gain or loss.
Annex two ciphers to the gain or loss, and divide it by the cost
price ; the result will be the gain or loss per cent.
How to change gold into currency.
Rule. — Multiply the given sum of gold by the price of gold.
How to change currency into gold.
Divide the amount in currency by the price of gold.
How to find each partner's share of the gain or loss in a copartnership
business.
Rule. — Divide the whole gain or loss by the entire stock, the quo-
tient will be the gain or loss per cent.
Multiply each partner's stock by this per cent., the result will be
each one's share of the gain or loss.
How to find gross and net weight and price of hogs.
A short and simple method for finding the net weight, or price of hogs,
when the gross weight or price is given, and vice versa.
Note.— It is generally assumed that the gross weight of Hogs diminished by 1-5 or 20 per cent
of itself gives the net weight, and the net weight increased by X or 25 per cent, of itself equals the
«ross weight.
To find the net weight or gross price.
Multiply the given number by .8 (tenths.)
To find the gross weight or net price.
Divide the given number by .8 (tenths.)
How to find the capacity of a granary, bin, or wagon-bed.
Rule. — Multiply (by short method) the number of cubic feet by
6308, and point off one decimal place — the result will be the correct
answer in bushels and tenths of a bushel.
For only an approximate answer, multiply the cubic feet by 8, and
point off one decimal place.
How to find the contents of a corn-crib.
Rule. — Multiply the number of cubic feet by 54, short method, or
(173)
174 MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION.
by 4£ ordinary method, and point off one decimal place — the result will
be the answer in bushels.
Note.— In estimating corn in the ear, the quality and the time it has been cribbed must be taken
into consideration, since corn will shrink considerably during the Winter and Spring. This rule generally holds
good for corn measured at the time it is cribbed, provided it is sound and clean.
How to find the contents of a cistern or tank.
Rule. — Multiply the square of the mean diameter by the depth (all
m feet) and this product by 5681 (short method), and point off one
decimal place — the result will be the contents in barrels of 31£ gallons.
How to find the contents of a barrel or cask.
Rule. — Under the square of the mean diameter, write the length
(all in inches) in reversed order, so that its UNITS will fall under the
tens ; multiply by short method, and this product again by 430 ; point
off one decimal place, and the result will be the answer in wine gallons.
How to measure boards.
Rule. — Multiply the length (in feet) by the width (in inches) and
divide the product by 12 — the result will be the contents in square feet.
How to measure scantlings, joists, planks, sills, etc.
Rule. — Multiply the width, the thickness, and the length together
(the width and thickness in inches, and the length in feet), and divide
the product by 12 — the result will be square feet.
How to find the number of acres in a body of land.
Rule. — Multiply the length by the width (in rods), and divide the
product by 160 (carrying the division to 2 decimal places if there is a
remainder) ; the result will be the answer in acres and hundredths.
When the opposite sides of a piece of land are of unequal length,
add them together and take one-half for the mean length or width.
How to find the number of square yards in a floor or wall.
Rule. — Multiply the length by the width or height (in feet), and
divide the product by 9, the result will be square yards.
How to find the number of bricks required in a building.
Rule. — Multiply the number of cubic feet by 22£.
The number of cubic feet is found by multiplying the length, height
and thickness (in feet) together.
Bricks are usually made 8 inches long, 4 inches wide, and two inches
thick ; hence, it requires 27 bricks to make a cubic foot without mortar,
but it is generally assumed that the mortar fills 1-6 of the space.
How to find the number of shingles required in a roof.
Rule. — Multiply the number of square feet in the roof by 8, if the
shingles are exposed 4£ inches, or by 7 1-5 if exposed 5 inches.
To find the number of square feet, multiply the length of the roof by
twice the length of the rafters.
MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION. 175
To find the length of the rafters, at one-fourth pitch, multiply the
width of the building by .56 (hundredths) ; at one-third pitch, by .6
(tenths) ; at two-fifths pitch, by .64 (hundredths) ; at one-half
pitch, by .71 (hundredths). This gives the length of the rafters from
the apex to the end of the wall, and whatever they are to project must be
taken into consideration.
Note.— By J{ or X pitch is meant that the apex or comb of the roof is to be X or M the width of the
building higher than the walls or base of the rafters.
How to reckon the cost of hay.
Rule. — Multiply the number of pounds by half the price per ton,
and remove the decimal point three places to the left.
How to measure grain.
Rule. — Level the grain ; ascertain the space it occupies in cubic
feet ; multiply the number of cubic feet by 8, and point off one place to
the left.
Note.— Exactness requires the addition to every three hundred bushels of one extra bushel.
The foregoing rule may be used for finding the number of gallons, by
multiplying the number of bushels by 8.
If the corn in the box is in the ear, divide the answer by 2, to find
the number of bushels of shelled corn, because it requires 2 bushels of eai
corn to make 1 of shelled corn.
Rapid rules for measuring land without instruments.
In measuring land, the first thing to ascertain is the contents of any
given plot in square 3 r ards ; then, given the number of yards, find out the
number of rods and acres.
The most ancient and simplest measure of distance is a step. Now,
an ordinary-sized man can train himself to cover one yard at a stride, on
the average, with sufficient accuracy for ordinary purposes.
To make use of this means of measuring distances, it is essential to
walk in a straight line ; to do this, fix the eye on two objects in a line
straight ahead, one comparatively near, the other remote ; and, in walk-
ing, keep these objects constantly in line.
Farmers and others by adopting the following simple and ingenious con-
trivance, may always carry with them the scale to construct a correct yard
measure.
Take a foot rule, and commencing at the base of the little finger of
the left hand, mark the quarters of the foot on the outer borders of the
left arm, pricking in the marks with indelible ink.
To find hoiv many rods in length will make an acre, the width being given.
Rule. — Divide 160 by the width, and the quotient will be the answer.
1T6 MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION.
How to find the number of acres in any plot of land, the number of rods
being given.
Rule. — Divide the number of rods by 8, multiply the quotient by 5 r
and remove the decimal point two places to the left.
The diameter being given, to find the circumference.
Rule. — Multiply the diameter by 3 1-7.
How to find the diameter, when the circumference is given.
Rule. — Divide the circumference by 3 1-7.
To find hoiv many solid feet a round stick of timber of the same thick-
ness throughout will contain when squared.
Rule. — Square half the diameter in inches, multiply by 2, multiply
by the length in feet, and divide the product by 144.
General rule for measuring timber, to find the solid contents in feet.
Rule. — Multiply the depth in inches by the breadth in inches, and
then multiply by the length in feet, and divide by 144.
To find the number of feet of timber in trees with the bark on.
Rule. — Multiply the square of one-fifth of the circumference in
inches, by twice the length, in feet, and divide by !*.44. Deduct 1-10 to
1-15 according to the thickness of the bark.
Howard ' s new rule for computing interest.
Rule. — The reciprocal of the rate is the time for which the interest
on any sum of money will be shown by simply removing the decimal
point two places to the left ; for ten times that time, remove the point
one place to the left; for 1-10 of the same time, remove the point three
places to the left.
Increase or diminish the results to suit the time given.
Note.— The reciprocal of the rate is found by inverting the rate ; thus 3 per cent, per month, in-
verted, becomes % of a month, or 10 days.
When the rate is expressed by one figure, always write it thus: 3-1,
three ones.
Rule for converting English into American currency.
Multiply the pounds, with the shillings and pence stated in decimals,
by 400 plus the premium in fourths, and divide the product by 90.
U. S. GOVERNMENT LAND MEASURE.
A township — 36 sections each a mile square.
A section — 640 acres.
A quarter section, half a mile square — 160 acres.
An eighth section, half a mile long, north and south, and a quarter
of a mile wide — 80 acres.
A sixteenth section, a quarter of a mile square — 40 acres.
MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION. 177
The sections are all numbered 1 to 36, commencing at the north-east
corner.
The sections are divided into quarters, which are named by the
cardinal points. The quarters are divided in the same way. The de-
scription of a forty acre lot would read: The south half of the west half of
the south-west quarter of section 1 in township 24, north of range 7 west,
or as the case might be ; and sometimes will fall short and sometimes,
overrun the number of acres it is supposed to contain.
The nautical mile is 795 4-5 feet longer than the common mile.
SURVEYORS' MEASURE.
7 92-100 inches make 1 link.
25 links '* 1 rod.
4 rods .'... " 1 chain.
80 chains ( " 1 mile.
Note. — A chain is 100 links, equal to 4 rods or 66 feet.
Shoemakers formerly used a subdivision of the inch called a barley-
corn ; three of which made an inch.
Horses are measured directly over the fore feet, and the standard of
measure is four inches — called a hand.
In Biblical and other old measurements, the term span is sometimes
used, which is a length of nine inches.
The sacred cubit of the Jews was 24.024 inches in length.
The common cubit of the Jews was 21.704 inches in length.
A pace is equal to a yard or 86 inches.
A fathom is equal to 6 feet.
A league is three miles, but its length is variable, for it is strictly
speaking a nautical term, and should be three geographical miles, equal
to 3.45 statute miles, but when used on land, three statute miles are said
to be a league.
In cloth measure an aune is equal to li yards, or 45 inches.
An Amsterdam ell is equal to 26.796 inches.
A Trieste ell is equal to 25.284 inches.
A Brabant ell is equal to 27.116 inches.
HOW TO KEEP ACCOUNTS.
Every farmer and mechanic, whether he does much or little business,
should keep a record of his transactions in a clear and systematic man-
ner. For the benefit of those who have not had the opportunity of ac-
quiring a primary knowledge of the principles of book-keeping, we here
present a simple form of keeping accounts which is easily comprehended,
and well adapted to record the business transactions of farmers, mechanics
and laborers.
MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION.
1875.
A. H. JACKSON.
Dr.
O.
Jan.
10
To
u
17
By
Feb.
4
To
u
4
To
March
8
By
u
8
By
u
13
By
U
27
To
April
9
To
k<
9
By
May
6
By
M
24
To
July
4
By
7 bushels Wheat at $1.25
shoeing span of Horses
14 bushels Oats at $ .45
5 lbs. Butter at .25
new Harrow
sharpening 2 Plows .
new Double-Tree
Cow and Calf
half ton of Hay
Cash
repairing Corn-Planter
one Sow with Pigs ......
Cash, to balance account . .
$8
75
$2
6
30
1
25
18
2
48
00
6
2o
25
4
17
50
35
$88
$88
05
50
00
40
25
00
75
15
05
1875.
CASS A MASON.
Dr.
Cr.
Marcl
i 21
21
23
1
1
19
26
10
29
12
12
1
By 3 days' labor ....
. . at $1.25
$6
8
10
2
2
20
18
00
10
00
75
70
00
20
$3
25
12
18
9
T r >
u
May
u
To 2 Shoats
To 18 bushels Corn.
By 1 month's Labor
at 3.00
at .45
00
To Cash
June
By 8 days' Mowing
at $1.50
00
u
To 50 lbs. Flour
July
K
Aug.
u
To 27 lbs. Meat
By 9 days' Harvesting
To Cash
at $ .10
at 2.00
at 1.50
00
00
Sept.
To Cash to balance account
$67
75
$67
75
INTEREST TABLE.
a slmplh rulk fos accurately computing interest at any given feu cknt. for any
Length of Time.
Multiply the principal (amount of money at interest) by the time reduced to days; then divide this product
by the quotient obtained by dividing 360 (the number of days in the interest year) by the per cent, of interest,
ami the quotient thus obtained will be the required interest.
Solution.
ILLUSTRATION.
$462.50
.48
Require the interest of $462.50 for one month and eighteen days at 6 per cent. An
interest month is 30 days; one month and eighteen days equal 48 days. $4b2.50 multi-
plied by .48 gives $222 0000; 360 divided by 6 (the per cent, of interest) gives 60, and
$222.0000 divided by 60 will give vou the exact interest, whicl is $3.70. If the rate of 370000
interest in the above example were 12 per cent., we would divide the $222.0000 by 30 6)360 \ 185000
30); if 4 per cent., we would divide by 90; if 8 per )
<because 360 divided by 12 gives
«ent., by 45; and in like manner lor any other per cent.
60/$222.0000($3.70
180
420
420
01)
MISCELLANEOUS TABLE.
12 units, or things, 1 Dozen. I 196 pounds, 1 Barrel of Flour. I 24 sheets of paper. 1 Quire.
12 dozen, 1 Gross. 200 pounds, 1 Barrel of Pork. 20 quires paper 1 Ream.
20 things, 1 Score. | 56 pounds, 1 Firkin of Butter. | 4 ft. wide, 4 ft. high, and 8 ft. long, 1 Cord Woou.
MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION. 179
NAMES OF THE STATES OF THE UNION, AND THEIR SIGNIFICATIONS.
Virginia. — The oldest of the States, was so called in honor of Queen
Elizabeth, the "Virgin Queen," in whose reign Sir Walter Raleigh made
his first attempt to colonize that region.
Florida. — Ponce de Leon landed on the coast of Florida on Easter
Sunday, and called the country in commemoration of the day, which was
the Pasqua Florida of the Spaniards, or " Feast of Flowers."
Louisiana was called after Louis the Fourteenth, who at one time
owned that section of the country.
Alabama was so named by the Indians, and signifies " Here we Rest."
Mississippi is likewise an Indian name, meaning " Long River."
Arkansas, from Kansas, the Indian word for " smoky water." Its
prefix was really arc, the French word for " bow."
The Carolinas were originally one tract, and were called "Carolana,"
after Charles the Ninth of France.
Georgia owes its name to George the Second of England, who first
established a colony there in 17-32.
Tennessee is the Indian name for the "River of the Bend," i.e., the
Mississippi which forms its western boundary.
Kentucky is the Indian name for " at the head of the river."
Ohio means " beautiful ; " Iowa, " drowsy ones ; " Minnesota, " cloudy
water," and Wisconsin, " wild-rushing channel."
Illinois is derived from the Indian word illini, men, and the French
suffix ois, together signifying "tribe of men."
Michigan was called by the name given the lake, fish-weir, which was
so styled from its fancied resemblance to a fish trap.
Missouri is from the Indian word " muddy," which more properly
applies to the river that flows through it.
Oregon owes its Indian name also to its principal river.
Cortes named California.
Massachusetts is the Indian for "The country around the great hills."
Connecticut, from the Indian Quon-ch-ta-Cut, signifying "Long
River."
Maryland, after Henrietta Maria, Queen of Charles the First, of
England.
New York was named by the Duke of York.
Pennsylvania means " Penn's woods," and was so called after William
Penn, its orignal owner.
180
MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION.
Delaware after Lord De La Ware.
New Jersey, so called in honor of Sir George Carteret, who was
Governor of the Island of Jersey, in the British Channel.
Maine was called after the province of Maine in France, in compli-
ment of Queen Henrietta of England, who owned that province.
Vermont, from the French word Vert* Mont, signifying Green
Mountain.
New Hampshire, from Hampshire county in England. It was
formerly called Laconia.
The little State of Rhode Island owes its name to the Island of
Rhodes in the Mediterranean, which domain it is said to greatly
resemble.
Texas is the American word for the Mexican name by which all that
section of the country was called before it was ceded to the United States.
POPULATION OF THE
UNITED STATES.
States and Territories.
Alabama
Arkansas
California
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire.
New Jersey
New York.
North Carolina ..
Ohio
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina...
Tennessee.
Texas
Vermont
Virginia
West Virginia....
Wisconsin
Total States.,
Arizona
Colorada
Dakota
District of Columbia.
Idaho
Montana
New Mexico
Utah ..
\Vashi ngton
Wyoming
Total Territories
Total United States .
Total
Population.
484
560,
537,
125,
187,
.184,
,539.
,680,
,191,
364,
,321
726,
626
780,
,457
,184,
439,
827,
,721,
122,
42,
318,
906.
,382,
,071,
,665.
90,
,521,
217.
705,
,258,
818,
330,
,225
442
,054
992
471
247
454
015
748
109
891
637
792
399
011
915
915
894
351
059
706
922
295
993
491
300
096
759
361
260
923
791
353
606
520
579
551
163
014
,670
38,113,253
9,658
39,864
14,181
131.700
14,999
20,595
91,874
86.786
23,955
9,118
442,730
38.555.983
POPULATION OF FIFTY
PRINCIPAL CITIES.
Cities.
New York, N. Y....
Philadelphia, Pa...
Brooklyn, N. Y
St. Louis, Mo
Chicago, 111
Baltimore, Md
Boston, Mass
Cincinnati, Ohio...
New Orleans, La. .
San Francisco, cal.
Buffalo, N. Y
Washington, D. C.
Newark, N. J
Louisville, Ky
Cleveland, Ohio....
Pittsburg, Pa
Jersey City, N. J . .
Detroit, Mich.
Milwaukee, Wis
Albany, N. Y
Providence, R. I
Rochester, N. Y
Allegheny, Pa
Richmond, Va
New Haven, Conn...
Charleston, S. C
Indianapolis, Ind. . . .
Troy, nTY
Syracuse, N. Y
Worcester, Mass
Lowell, Mass ,
Memphis, Tenn
Cambridge, Mass
Hartford, Conn ,
Scranton, Pa ,
Reading, Pa
Paterson, N.J
Kansas City, Mo
Mokile, Ala
Toledo. Ohio
Portland, Me
Columbus, Ohio
Wilmington, Del....
Dayton, Ohio
Lawrence, Mass
Utica, N. Y
Charlestown, Mass.
Savannah, 6a
Lynn. Mass
Fall River, Mass
Aggregate
Population.
MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION.
181
POPULATION OF THE UNITED STATES.
Area in
States and square
Territories. Miles.
States.
Alabama
Arkansas
California
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Katisas ,
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts..
Michigan* ,
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire,
New Jersey
New York
North Carolina.,
Ohio
Oregon ,
47,
60,
39.
95,
Last Census of
Population.
1870.
1,350,544
528,349
857,039
50,722 996,992
52,198 484,471
188,981 560,247
4674 537,454
2,120 125,015
59,268 187,748
58,000 1,184,109
55.410 2,539,891
33,809 1,680,637
55,045 1,191.792
81,318 364,399
37,600 1,321,011
41,346 726,915
31,776 626,915
11,184 780,894
7,800 1,457,351
56,451 1,184,059
83,531 439.706
47,156 827,922
65,350 1,721,295
75.9P5 123.993
112,090 42,491
280 318.300
320 906,096
000 4,382.759
704 1,071,361
964 2,665.260
244 90,923
Michigan taken in 1874
Miles
R. R.
1375. 1872.
1.651,912
1,334.031
598,429
246,280
52,540
1,026,502
4,705,208
1,671
25
1,013
820
227
466
2,108
5,904
3,529
3.160
1,760
1,123
539
871
820
1,606
2,235
1,612
990
2,580
828
593
790
1.265
4,470
1,190
3,740
lo9
States and
Territories.
States.
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina..
Tennessee
Texas
Vermont
Virginia
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Total States.
Territories.
Arizona
Colorado
Dakota
Dist. of Columbia.
Idaho
Montana
New Mexico
Utah
Washington
Wyoming
Total Territories.
Area in
square
Miles.
46,000
1,306
29,385
45,600
237,504
10,212
40,904
23,000
53,924
1,950,171
113,916
104,500
147,490
60
90,932
143,776
121,201
80,056
69,944
93.107
965,032
Population.
1870.
3,521
217,
705,
1,258,
818,
330,
1,225,
442,
1,054
38,113,253
9,658
39,864
14,181
131,700
14,999
20,595
91.874
86,786
23,955
9,118
442,730
Miles
R. R.
1875. 1872.
258,239
925,145
1,236,729
5,113
136
1.201
1,520
865
675
1,490
485
1,725
59,587
392
375
'498
1.265
Aggregate of U. S.. 2,915,203 38,555,983 60,852
* Included in the Railroad Mileage of Maryland.
PRINCIPAL COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD;
Population and Area.
Countries.
Population.
Date of
Census.
Area in
Square
Miles.
Inhabitants
to Square
Mile.
Population.
China
British Empire
Russia
United States with Alaska
Prance
Austria and Hungary
Japan
Great Britain and Ireland
German Empire
Italy
Spain
Brazil
Turkey
Mexico
Sweden and Norway
Persia
Belgium
Bavaria
Portugal
Holland
j x ew Grenada
Chili ...
Switzerland
Peru
Bolivia
Argentine Republic
Wurtemburg
Denmark
Venezuela
Baden
Greece
Guatemala
Ecuador
Paraguay
Hesse
Liberia
San Salvador
Hayti
Nicaragua
Uruguay
Honduras
San Domingo
<Y>sta Rica
Hawaii.
446,500.000
226.817,108
81,925,400
38,925,600
36,469,800
35,904,400
34,785,300
31,817.100
29,906,092
27.439,921
16,642,000
10,000.000
16,463,000
9,173.000
5,921.500
5,000,000
5,021,300
4,861,400
3,995,200
3,688,300
3,000.000
2,000.000
2,669,100
2,500,000
2,000,000
1,812,000
1,818.500
1,784.700
1,500,000
1,461,400
1,457.900
1,180,000
1,300,000
1,000,000
823,138
718,000
600,000
572,000
350,000
300,000
350,000
136,000
165.000
62.950
1871
1871
1871
1870
1866
1869
1871
1871
1871
1871
1867
1869
1870
1870
1869
1871
1868
1870
1870
1869
1870
1871
'1869
1871
1870
'1871
1870
1871
'1871
1871
1871
1871
1871
1871
'1870
3,741,846
4,677,432
8.003,778
i, 603. 884
204,091
240.348
149,399
121,315
160,207
118,847
195,775
3,253.029
672,621
761,526
292,871
635,964
11,373
29,292
34,494
12,680
357,157
132,616
15,992
471.838
497,321
871,848
7,533
14,753
368,238
5,912
19,353
40,879
218,928
63,787
2,969
9,576
7,335
10,205
58.171
66,722
47.092
17,827
21,505
7.633
119.3
48-6
10.2
7.78
178.7
149.4
232.8
262.3
187.
230.9
85.
3.07
24.4
20.
7.8
441.5
165.9
115.8
290.9
8.4
15.1
166.9
5.3
4.
2.1
241.4
120.9
4.2
247.
75.3
28.9
5.9
15.6
277.
74.9
81.8
56.
6.
6.5
7.4
7.6
7.7
80.
Pekin
London
St. Petersburg.
Washington
Paris
Vienna ,
Yeddo
London
Berlin
Rome
Madrid
Rio Janeiro
Constantinople
Mexico
Stockholm
Teheran
Brussels
Munich
Lisbon
Hague
Bogota
Santiago
Berne
Lima
Chuquisaca
Buenos Ayres..
Stuttgart
Copenhagen....
Caraccas
Carlsruhe
Athens
Guatemala
Quito
Asuncion
Darmstadt
Monrovia
Sal Salvador . . .
Port au Prince
Managua
Monte Video. . .
Comayagua
San Domingo...
San Jose
Honolulu
1,648,800
3,251,800
667,000
109,199
1,825,300
833,900
1,554,900
3,251,800
825,400
244,484
332,000
420,000
1,075,000
210.300
136,900
120,000
314,100
169,500
224,063
90,100
45,000
115,400
36,000
160,100
25.000
177.800
91,600
162,042
47,000
36,600
43,400
40,000
70.000
48,000
30.000
3,000
15,000
20,000
10,000
44.500
12,000
20,000
2.000
7,633
182
MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION
POPULATION OF ILLINOIS,
By Counties.
COUNTIES.
Adams
Alexander. .
Bond
Boone
Brown
Bureau
Calhoun
Carroll
Cass
Champaign.
Christian ..
Clark
Clay
Clinton
Coles
Cook
Crawford
Cumberland
De Kalb...
De Witt...
Douglas
Du Page
Edgar
Edwards
Effingham. .
Fayette
Ford
Franklin
Fulton
Gallatin
Greene
Grundy
Hamilton . .
Hancock
Hardin
Henderson .
Henry
Iroquois
Jackson
Jasper
Jefferson...
Jersey
Jo Daviess.
Johnson
Kane
Kankakee.
Kendall ...
Knox
Lake
La Salle ...
Lawrence..
Lee
Livingston
Logan
AGGREGATE.
1870. 1860. 1850. 1840. 1830. 1830
56362
10564
I3I52
12942
12205
32415
6562
16705
1 1 580
32737
20363
18719
15875
16285
25235
349966
13889
12223
23265
14768
13484
16685
21450
75"5
15053
19638
9103
12652
38291
i"34
20277
14938
13014
35935
5H3
12582
355o6
25782
19634
11234
17864
15054
27820
112
3909I
24352
I2399
39522
2IOI4
60792
12533
27I7I
3M7I
23053
41323
4707
9815
H678
9938
26426
5144
H733
II325
I4629
IO492
I4987
9336
I O94 1
I4203
144954
"551
83"
10820
7I40
I470I
I6925
5454
7816
in
1979
9393
33338
8055
16093
10379
99'5
29061
3759
950i
20660
12325
9589
8364
12965
12051
27325
9342
30062
15412
13074
28663
18257
48332
9214
1 765 1
11637
14272
26508
2484
6144
7624
719S
8841
3231
4586
7253
2649
3203
9532
4289
5139
9335
43385
7135
3718
7540
5002
9290
10692
3524
3799
8075
5681
22508
5448
12429
3023
6362
14652
2887
4612
3807
4149
5862
3220
8109
7354
1S604
4114
16703
7730
13279
14226
17815
6121
5292
1553
5128
14476
3313
5060
1705
4183
3067
1741
1023
2981
1475
1878
7453
3228
37i8
9616
1 020 1
4422
1697
3247
3535
8225
3070
1675
6328
3682
13142
10760
II95I
3945
9946
1378
1260
1695
3566
1472
5762
4535
6180
3626
6501
7060
2634
9348
7092
2035
759
2333
21
I390
3124
IO9O
3940
755
2330
3"7
4071
1649
2704
4083
1841
7405
7674
2616
483
4i
1828
2555
2111
1596
274
'3668
626
2931
931
*23
2999
3444
1763
3155
1542
691
843
MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION.
183
POPULATION OF ILLINOIS— Concluded.
COUNTIES.
Macon
Macoupin..
Madison
Marion
Marshall
Mason
Massac
McDonough.
McHenry ....
McLean
Menard
Mercer
Monroe
Montgomery
Morgan
Moultrie
Ogle.
Peoria
Perry
Piatt
Pike
Pope.
Pulaski
Putnam
Randolph
Richland
Rock Island
Saline
Sangamon ..
Schuyler
Scott
Shelby
Stark*.
St. Clair
Stephenson..
Tazewell
Union
Vermilion . .
Wabash
Warren
Washington.
Wayne
White
Whitesides . .
Will
Williamson . .
Winnebago .
Woodford . . .
Total. . .
AGGREGATE.
1870. 1860. 1850. 1840. 1830. 1820
26481
32726
44I3I
20622
16950
16184
9581
26509
23762
53988
"735
18769
12982
253f4
2S463
10385
27492
47540
13723
10953
30768
1 1437
875-5
6280
20859
12803
29783
12714
46352
17419
10530
25476
10751
51068
30608
27903
16518
30388
8841
23174
17599
19758
16846
27503
43013
17329
29301
18956
2539891
13738
24602
31251
12739
13437
10931
6213
20069
22089
28772
9584
15042
12832
13979
22112
6385
22888
36601
9552
6127
27249
6742
3943
5587
17205
9711
21005
9331
32274
14684
9069
14613
9004
37694
25112
21470
11181
19800
7313
18336
I373I
12223
12403
18737
29321
12205
24491
13282
1711951
3988
12355
20441
6720
5180
592i
4092
7616
14978
10163
6349
5246
7679
6277
16064
3234
10020
17547
5278
1606
18819
3975
2265
3924
1 1079
4012
6937
5588
19228
10573
7914
7807
37io
20180
1 1666
12052
7615
1 1492
4690
8176
6953
6825
8925
536i
16703
7216
"773
4415
851470
3039
7926
14433
4742
1849
53o8
2578
6565
4431
2352
4481
4490
19547
3479
6i53
3222
11728
4094
2131
7944
2610
14716
6972
6215
6659
1573
1 363 1
2800
7221
5524
9303
4240
6739
4810
5133
7919
25M
10167
4457
4609
476183
1122
1990
6221
2125
(*)
26
2000
2953
12714
1215
2396
3316
^■1310
4429
12960
£2959
2972
7078
4716
3239
5836
2710
308
1675
2553
6091
157445
13550
*2I
I5l6
26lO
3492
*5
5248
2362
1517
1114
4828
*49
55i62
184
MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION.
STATE LAWS
Relating to Rates of Interest and Penalties for Usury.
States and Territories.
Alabama
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Dakota
Delaware
District of Columbia ..
Florida
Georgia
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi ....
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico ,
New York
North Carolina
Ohio
Ontario, Canada '..
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Quebec, Canada
Rhode Island
South Carolin i
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington Territory
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
Legal
Rate al-
Rate of
lowed by
Interest.
Contract.
per cent
per cent.
8
8
IO
Any rate.
6
IO
IO
Any rate.
IO
Any rate.
7
7
7
12
6
6
6
IO
8
Any rate.
7
12
IO
24
6
IO
6
IO
6
IO
8
12
6
8
5
8
6
Any rate.
6
6
6
Any rate.
7
IO
7
12
6
IO
6
IO
IO
Any rate
IO
12
IO
Any rate
6
6
7
7
6
Any rate
7
7
6
8
6
8
6
Any rate
IO
12
6
Any rate
6
Any rate
6
Any rate.
7
Any rate
6
IO
8
12
IO
Any rate
6
6
6
6*
IO
Any rate.
6
6*
7
IO
12
Any rate.
Penalties for Usury.
Forfeiture of entire interest.
Forfeiture of principal and interest.
Forfeiture of excess of interest.
Forfeiture of entire interest.
Forfeiture of principal.
Forfeiture of entire interest.
Forfeiture of entire interest.
Fine and imprisonment.
Forfeiture of entire interest.
Forfeiture of excess of interest.
Forfeiture of entire interest.
Forfeiture of ex. of in. above 12 per cent.
Forfeiture of entire interest.
Forfeiture of entire interest.
Forfeiture of excess of interest.
Forfeiture of ex. of in. above 7 per cent.
No Usury Law in this State.
Forfeiture of excess of interest.
Forfeiture of entire interest.
Forfeiture of entire interest.
Forfeiture of thrice the excess and costs.
Forfeiture of entire interest.
Forfeiture of contract.
Forfeiture of entire interest.
Forfeiture of excess above 6 per cent.
Forfeiture of excess of interest.
Forfeiture of excess of interest.
Forfeiture of excess of interest.
Forfeiture of entire interest.
Forfeiture of excess of interes'
Forfeiture of entire interest.
* Except in cases defined by statutes of the State.
MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION.
STATE LAWS
Relating to Limitations of Actions : Showing Limit of Time in which
Action may be Brought on the following :
States and Tereitories.
Alabama
Arkansas
California,
Colorado
Connecticut
Dakota
Delaware
District of Columbia .
Florida
Georgia
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri....
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
Ohio
Ontario (U. Canada)..
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Quebec (L. Canada)..
Rhode Island
South Carolina
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington Territory
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
Sealed and
Assault
Open
Notes.
Judg-
witnessed
slander,
Accts.
ments.
Instru-
&c.
ments.
Years.
Years.
Years.
Years.
Years.
I
3
6
20
IO
I
3
5
IO
IO
I
2
4
5
5
I
6
6
3
3
3
6
6
20
17
2
6
6
20
20
I
3
6
20
20
I
3
3
12
12
2
4
5
20
20
I
4
6
7
20
2
2
4
5
5
I
5
IO
20
10
2
6
20
2o
20
2
S
IO
20
10
I
3
5
5
15
I
2
IS
IS
15
I
3
5
10
20
2
6
20
20
20
I
3
3
12
12
2
6
20
20
20
2
6
6
6
10
2
6
6
10
6
I
3
6
7
7
2
5
IO
20
10
2
5
IO
10
10
I
4
5
5
10
2
2
4
5
4
2
6
6
20
20
2
6
6
20
16
I
6
IO
10
10
2
6
6
20
20
3
3
3
10
10
I
6
15
15
IS
2
6
6
20
20
2
6
6
IO
20
I
6
6
20
20
I
5
5
30
30
I
6
6
20
20
2
6
6
20
20
I
6
6
IO
6
I
2
4
IO
5
I
2
4
5
7
2
6
4
8
8
I
5
s
10
20
2
3
6
6
6
I
5
10
10
10
2
6
6
20
20
I
6
15
15
15
PRODUCTIONS OF AGRICULTURE, STATE OF ILLINOIS, BY COUNTIES.— 1870.
JOUNTIES.
Total
Adams
Alexander
Bond
Boone
Brown
Bureau
Calhoun
Carroll
Cass
Champaign
Christian
Clark
Clay
Clinton ■
Coles
Cook
Crawford
Cumberland
DeKalb
JDeWitt
Douglas
DuPage
Edgar
Edwards
Effingham
Eayette
Ford
Franklin
Fulton .....
Gallatin
Greene
Grundy
Hamilton
Hancock
Hardin
Henderson
Henry
Iroquois
Jackson
Jasper
Jefferson
Jersey
JoDaviess
Johnson.
Kane
Kankakee
Kendall
Knox ,
7-iake
LaSalle
Lawrence
Lee
Livingston
Logan
Macon
Macoupin
Madison
Marion
Marshall
Mason
Massac
McDonough
McHenry
McLean
Menard
Mercer
Monroe
Montgomery
Morgan
Moultrie
Ogle
Peoria
Perry
Piatt
Pike
Pope
Pulaski
Putnam
Randolph
Richland
Rock Island
Saline
Sangamon
Schuyler
Scoit
Shelby
Stark
St. Clair
Stephenson
Tazewell
Union
Vermilion
Wabash
Warren
Washington
Wayne
AVnite
Whitosides
Will
Williamson
Winnebago
Woodford
Improved
Land.
Number.
19.329.952
Woodl'nd
287.926
13,83b
145,045
137.307
57,062
398,611
37,684
186,864
92.902
419,368
241,472
118.594
146.922
150,177
208,337
348.824
105,505
75,342
334,502
168.539
147,b33
164,874
<J65,458
58,912
120,343
187,196
141.228
80,749
228,132
49,572
175,408
193,999
88,996
311.517
28.117
140,954
265,904
322.510
78,548
90,867
118,951
94.147
156 517
57,820
240, 12U
312,18*
164.004
330,829
207.77b
533,724
87,828
322,21*
377,505
321,70b
205.25b
231.05b
257.032
173.081
166,057
209.453
25.151
261,635
230 5bb
494.978
134.17B
222 80b
92.810
276,682
2J3.45L
144,220
316,883
170,729
93,754
94.454
233 785
55.980
19,319
37271
140.764
75,07b
155214
72,309
421.748
96,195
85,331
310.179
138,129
231,117
254,857
229,126
75,832
360,251
54,063
2'i6187
177 592
147.352
92.398
239 809
419.442
12S.448
211.878
225,504
Number.
5,061.578
112,576
17.761
42,613
29,886
35,491
41,866
63.443
29,793
33,493
16,789
19,803
102,201
80,612
48.868
45,214
19,635
78,350
40,334
17,722
29,548
11,89
17,243
66,803
57,585
56.330
93,460
2,996
3,994
123.823
68,750
93.242
6,256
93,878
43,385
44,771
34,705
12,620
22.478
87,642
67,023
94,888
51,427
82,07t
3
34,646
10,978
14,244
41,566
21,072
48,117
72,738
12,071
12,46*
17,394
18,153
81,224
89.450
61,579
fo.26''
31,739
33,39b
52,54 7
53,293
40,36b
34.931
45.977
83.369
47,804
60,217
24,783
43,643
48.666
68.47U
5.978
128,953
87,754
12.51fc
17.184
162.274
50,618
31,239
70 393
51,085
62.477
44,633
74,908
12,375
76,591
43.167
45,268
83 606
53,078
37,558
27 294
55,852
146,794
78.167
21.823
24,261
116.949
37.238
25,217
UCher un
improved
Number.
1.491.331
19,370
1,915
2,658
25 608
15,803
2,754
33,302
6,604
58,502
19,173
5,420
5,225
8,722
3,274
17,337
27,185
5,604
6,551
17.633
7,316
3.851
14,282
830
26,206
16.786
63,976
86,710
4,076
2.565
29.653
4,505
3,343
18.480
107
14,243
31,459
63.498
5.991
12,250
778
1,363
45,779
79,141
399
10,598
2,283
25.155
24.399
2.35b
3,273
7,409
41,788
408
9,115
7,343
13,675
4,142
2,97b
31,013
3b
14,035
57,998
49,087
13.95*
22,538
66b
8,495
1,376
13.112
14,913
2,516
220
13,897
9,302
4.174
1,170
2 025
20,755
809
19,932
21,294
1.610
9,314
2.783
2,016
13,701
14,846
5,300
31,122
509
14,583
1 931
10,486
869
37.310
6.335
1.618
15,237
23,135
Spring
Wheat.
liushels.
10.133.207
Winter
Wheat.
Bushels.
19 995.198
Rye.
Bushels.
2.456.578
Indian
Corn.
Bushels.
129.921.395
16,191
700
241,042
13,276
465,236
75
418,073
12,165
102.577
18,360
1,894
500
2.651
144,296
60
550
398,059
106,493
7.683
106,096
13 283
77
42,571
365
193,669
21,700
129
181,378
13
161,112
462,379
57,160
890
282,758
188,82b
103,466
90,681
267,764
168,914
271,181
450.793
120,20b
198.05b
55,239
160
550
106,129
73,261
273,871
401,790
211.801
36,15*
289,291
59
18,196
17.128
497,038
92,361
26,382
130
28,137
450
243,541
200
89,304
56,221
18
15,526
124.630
2,550
527,394
li2,417
44,806
m 290
266
457,455
195,286
176
408.606
178,139
947.616
42,658
368.625
599
117,502
724
221,298
260
127,054
123,091
504,041
195,118
85,737
610,888
154.485
4,904
212,924
84,697
190
11,695
65,461
693
247,360
122,703
195,71b
351,310
1,008
111,324
223,930
83,093
577,400
15(1
92,347
232,750
32,306
69,062
445
10.480
329.036
87.808
100 553
558,367
555
92,191
325
480
1,249
7,654
221
2,193
264,134
2.260
1,339
40,963
196,613
861,398
1,207,181
173,652
900
125,628
72,316
36,146
270
10,955
45,793
13,203
651,767
744.891
357,523
196,436
5,580
31.843
350,44b
39,762
1,057,497
70,457
44,92*
796
1,031,022
150,268
2.279
83.011
247.658
165,721
266.105
452,015
1,562621
2,118
72.410
180.231
249,558
202.201
5.712
672,486
164,689
184,321
264
1,996
170,787
2.468
108,307
20,989
30
6,240
35,871
4,742
43,811
• 186
25.721
2.772
45,752
10.722
7,308
3,221
1,619
8,825
20,171
15,497
14,798
21,018
11 540
9,01
7,532
37,508
528
19,759
25.328
11,577
5.195
131,711
512
415
4,931
11.672
133,533
865
96,430
35,76b
23,259
524
9,165
5,934
7:185
2,46!-
23,618
12,935
5,163
113,547
5.871
48,301-
1,121
14,829
26,163
37,232
29,223
2.404
3.685
V4.517
36,135
49,182
544
52.401
29,264
39.824
4,283
40.77!"
1,425
3,291
5,53. r
6,670
157,504
99,50*
1,01b
9,24,6
25,303
2,309
222
7.707
3,235
3.401
20,003
568
23,073
20,841
930
23,686
30.534
1,008
135,362
59,027
1.73"
52,476
72,212
2,576
8,665
418
31.658
8,030
6.228
137.985
20.426
1,452,905
244,220
1,064,052
466,985
337,769
3,030,404
234,041
1,367.965
1,146,980
3,924.720
1,883,336
614,582
1,019.994
813.257
2,133,111
570,427
581,964
403,075
1,023,849
1,311,635
1,680,225
331,981
2,107,615
352,371
620.247
962.525
565,671
653.209
1,508,763
509,491
1,051.313
295,971
735,25*
1,510,401
172.651
1,712,901
2,541,683
799,81b
611,951
461,345
887,981
519,120
1,286,32b
343, 29!-
674,333
637,39b
681,267
2,708,31b
517,868
3,077,02*-
656,36;
1,656,97!-
1,182,691
4,221,641
2,214,466
1.051.544
2,127,549
1,034,057
1,182,903
2,648,721-
133,126
1,362,49b
1,145,005
8,728.878
l,973.88i
2,054,962
543.7U
1,527,896
3,198,835
1,753.141
1,787,06b
969,224
384,446
1,029.725
1,399,188
315,958
195.735
334,259
510.081'
482.594
1,459,65?
531,51b
4,388,763
440,975
752,771
2,082.578
1,149 878
1,423.121
1.615,679
2,062,053
679.753
2,818.027
421,361
2,982,853
836.115
1,179,291
870.521
2,162,943
1.131,458
655,710
1,237.406
2,154,185
SOLDIERS MONUMENT
BLOOMINGTON
HISTORY OF MoLEAN COUNTY.
By PROF. C. P. MERRIMAN.
In many respects, McLean County is one of the finest in the State, and, in some par-
ticulars, it has no rival. We will here notice several of the causes that have produced
this result. •
It is now the largest county in the State, and there are but few acres of waste land
in its whole surface. Being situated in the central portion of the State, it is free from
the severities of winter which visit some of the northern counties, and equally free from
the summer heats experienced in some of the southern ones, as well as from the malarial
influences of the rivers in the western, southern and southeastern portion of it.
About one-ninth of its surface is covered with groves, most happily located in the
southern, western and central portion, protecting its prairies from the rough visitations
of violent winds, and furnishing grateful shade and shelter to stock in the changing sea-
sons. In these groves may be found some of the finest timber-lands in the country, pro-
ducing white oak, red oak, maple, hickory, black walnut, white ash, black ash,
elm, butternut, buckeye, sassafras, and a variety of smaller growths common in the
country.
In common with this portion of the Mississippi Valley, the surface inclination and
the drainage of this county are toward the southwest. It is moderately rolling, compar-
ing favorably with its adjoining counties, being free from extreme flatness, and from
abrupt changes, [ts summit elevation is about 220 feet above Lake Michigan, 545
feet above the water at the junction of the Ohio and the Mississippi at Cairo, and
795 above the ocean. That it is more elevated than the surrounding country is evident
from the fact that it is well supplied with running water by the incipient streams that
contribute to the formation of the Vermilion, Sugar Creek, the Mackinaw, the
Kickapoo and the Sangamon River, running south, southwest, west, northwest and
northeast. Good water is found in all parts of the county by digging, and in the north-
eastern portion there are many natural springs of excellent water. Such are the physical
features of its surface, and the happy location of its large and small groves that, in the
leafy season of the year, it presents many scenes of quiet and picturesque beauty
which are scarcely surpassed in any country.
While the most of its surface is available as arable land, much of it is, happily,
adapted to stock-raising, and is largely devoted to that business. Belleflower, in the
southeastern corner of the county, is probably the finest township of land in the State ;
and, perhaps, the finest in any State. Much of its natural turf has been broken with a
team of two horses, while in other portions of the county a team of four and even of six
oxen has been required for the purpose. Its deep, rich soil is mixed with black sand,
190 HISTORY OF McLEAN COUNTY.
rendering it sensitive to the influences of the sun, very easy of cultivation, and largely
productive. Much of that portion of it that was sold as swamp lands at prices varying
from $4.50 to $5.50 per acre, on being properly drained, proves to be the most valuable
in the country, as at some feet below the rich surface there is a substratum of pebbles,
which retains moisture in dry seasons, and receives the excess of water in wet
seasons.
This county may also challenge comparison with any one in the State as to
the character of its inhabitants for energy, enterprise, public spirit, industry and liber-
ality, especially of its early settlers. These qualities have chiefly contributed to place
the county in its present highly prosperous and influential position. It has furnished
many members of the State Legislature, Circuit Judges, Representatives to Congress, a
State Superintendent of Instruction, a State Treasurer, a Territorial Governor, a Lieu-
tenant Governor, a Judge of the Supreme Court of the State, and a Judge of the
Supreme Court of the United States, as well as several Generals, and numerous other
officers of distinction ; but what is vastly better, it has furnished many thousands of
excellent citizens, male and female, in all the walks of life.
This is not the appropriate place for a discussion of various theories on the origin
of the prairies, yet a brief reference to the subject may not be improper to show why
this section of the country is now, and will permanently remain, among the most desira-
ble and important in the whole Union.
" One theory is that the soil resulted from the decomposition of vegetable matter
under water, and that the attending conditions were incompatible with the growth of
timber." Another theory is that the prairies are the results of the scarcity of moisture
in the atmosphere of the interior of continents. It is well known that the quantity of
water which annually falls in this country diminishes as the center of the continent is
approached from the Atlantic and the Pacific, and that the amount of timber-lands
diminishes in about the same ratio, resulting in a wide central waste. But be this as it
may, the fact remains the same, that we are here located in the midst of happy
surroundings, made up of lovely vales, gentle slopes, wide fields^and grateful forest
groves.
It is well known that the pioneers of Illinois suffered much less in opening up its soil
than did those of Ohio, Indiana and Michigan, from malarious diseases. This is
undoubtedly owing to the sparseness of forests and large groves. The changeableness
of our climate, and the great difference of temperature between our winters and our
summers, have been made the grounds of objection to this section of the country. But
these very extremes contribute very largely to the productiveness of the country. Our
rich, deep, heavy soil is mellowed up by the frosts of winter, and so quickened by the
heats of summer as to produce a greater variety and richness of vegetable productions
than any other country within the same extent of surface. This result is greatly attrib-
utable to the effects of the very cold north winds from the regions of the great lakes,
and the hot winds coming up the Mississippi Valley, about which some are disposed to
complain.
Tradition says that our great staple production, Indian corn, was brought from the
South, where it originally grew very tall and slim, but produced very little grain. But its
excessive growth of stalk was checked by our cool climate, and yet its grain brought to
perfection by our short hot summers, and the productiveness greatly increased. Owing
HISTORY OF McLEAN COUNTY. 191
to the same influences, we can successfully produce here the hardy vegetables of a north-
ern climate, and many of the delicious productions of a semi-tropical one Being rhus
located in the very center of the corn-producing region, as surely as effects fallow causes, we
are in the midst of animal development — having near us the greatest grain, beef and
pork market in the world. This fortunate state of things is simply the result of natural
and permanent causes. One of our geologists says, in speaking of our soil : " This
splendid soil-forming deposit is destined to make Illinois the great center of American
wealth and population. Perhaps no other country of the same extent on the face of
the globe can boast a soil so ubiquitous in its distribution, and so universally pro-
ductive. Enriched by all the minerals in the crust of the earth, it necessarily contains
a great variety of constituents. Since plants differ so widely in the elements of which
they are composed, this multiplicity of composition is the means of growing a great
diversity of crops, and the amount produced is correspondingly large."
This paragraph, in a few words, states with much felicity the character of our soil,
and suggests possible improvements in the direction of the introduction of new and
valuable vegetables and fruits, of which we at present have no adequate idea. The soil
is here, and the climate is here, and the necessary science and skill will develop this
section of the West into the richest agricultural country in the world. Other countries
have their specialties ; bub here we can have in great perfection and in wonderful pro-
fusion all the essentials and many of the luxuries of life.
When to these facts and considerations we add that this county is in the midst of
the most magnificent coal-measures known to the world — extending over no less than
thirty-seven thousand square miles — sufficient to supply fuel for economical and manu-
facturing purposes for all time to come ; that our railroad connections are excellent ;
that our educational facilities, our social, moral and religious privileges are inferior to
none in the country, we may well be proud of old McLean.
Not much needs here to be said of the geology of this county. Its features, in
this respect, are so similar to those of much of the surrounding country, and now so
well known to the general reader, that we shall notice only a very few of them.
Speaking in reference to this county, the State Geologist says : " The soil is gener-
ally a rich, brown mold, varying somewhat, in different localities, in the proportion of
clay, etc., which it contains, some portions being more argillaceous than others. In the
timber, however, the soil is of somewhat different character ; the lighter colored and
more argillaceous subsoil, appearing at or near the surface. The geological forma-
tions appearing at the surface, consist almost entirely of the Drift and later formations.
The underlying rock, as far as can be ascertained, consists entirely of the different beds
of the coal-measure series.
The two shafts at Bloomington afford us the most satisfactory section of any of the
excavations in the district, enabling us to identify the two seams of coal which they
penetrate, with Nos. 4 and 6 of the general Illinois Kiver section. The following sec-
tion, made up from records afforded by both shafts, illustrates well the variation of the
strata of the middle coal-measures in this region. This section commences at the base
of the Drift, and its upper portion, from 1 to 4 inclusive, was afforded by the Blooming-
ton Coal Company's shaft, and the remainder by that of the McLean County Coal-
Mining Company, which has struck a lower coal at the depth of 513 feet 8 inches
below the surface.
192 HISTORY OF McLEAN COUNTY.
Feet. Inches.
15. Slate 3
16. Fire-clay 4 6
17. Sand Rock 20 6
18. Soapstone 62 5
19. Black Slate 2 7
20. Fire-clay 1 7
21. Sulphurous rock 1 2
22. Gray slate 11 1
23. Shale 1 2
24. Hard lime rock 2 1
25. Gray slate 2 8
26. Soapstone 6 8
27. Coal. 8 8
Feet. Inches.
1. Clay shale 16
2. Sandstone 32
3. Clay shale 1
4. Coal No. 6 4
5. Fire-clay 13
6. Limestone 2 7
7. Fire-clay 10
8. Clay shale 8
9. Fire-clay 15
10. Shale 5 6
11. Soft blue slate 22 7
12. Black slate 5
13. CoalNo. 4 '. , 4 6
14. Fire-clayi 10
In the northern and eastern portions of McLean County, we have only the records
of several borings, which afford but few particulars as to the character of the underly
in g beds - INDIANS.
When this section of the State began to be settled by the white people, the Kicka-
poo and the Pottawatomie Indians were in possession of the country between the
Wabash and the Illinois Rivers. The two tribes seemed to be so promiscuously inter-
mixed with each other, and with the fragments of some other tribes, as scarcely to be
distinguishable, on the part of the early settlers. Although they had confessedly dis-
posed of their title to the country to the United States Government, they manifested
some hostility of feeling when the pioneers came to take actual possession of their
former hunting-grounds, and of the homes of themselves and of their fathers. They
seemed to feel that their leaving the country was yielding to an inevitable necessity,
brought upon them by the unwelcome encroachments of the white man, rather than
complying with the terms of a voluntary cession of the territory. The old Kickapoo
chief, Machina, even threatened unpleasant consequences to the first installment of set-
tlers in this county if they did not leave. But there were no evil results. In fact,
the intercourse between these Indians and the early settlers, was, in this section of the
country, of the most friendly character, as a general thing. They would sometimes
steal necessaries from those whom they hated ; but the lives and the property of those
who treated them kindly, and with whom they were on friendly terms, were as safe as
among any other people. If they wanted a pig, or something of the kind, from a white
neighbor, they were told to help themselves, and, on the other hand, if a friendly house-
wife wanted some game for food, it would soon be forthcoming from the red man. There
is no record, nor yet tradition, that any white person was ever killed by the Indians
within the limits of this county, unless, perchance during the war of 1812.
These Indians had their headquarters near Old Town Timber, near the center of
the county, their fort covering several acres, surrounded by a palisade and an embankment
on each side of it. Pleasant Hill, another of their stations, a few miles north, was with
them a favorite place for the cultivation of the few vegetables which they raised. In
the summer, many of them liked to stay about the southeast end of Blooming Grove,
the scene of the earliest settlements in this county.
This section of the country was evidently a great favorite with the Indians. Here
game of all kinds was abundant, wild fruits were plenty and excellent, the climate was
HISTORY OF McLEAN COUNTY. 193
genial, the range for their ponies was inexhaustible, the groves and the streams were
conveniently frequent, and the scenery was unsurpassable in its quiet beauty. Here
were the graves of their fathers, and here were the scenes of their own exploits and
their homes. But they seemed to feel that they were a doomed people, and to antici-
pate their fate. Some of them were very intelligent people ; and in their intimate inter-
course with friendly whites, they would sometimes indulge in sad rehearsals of the many
wrongs which their tribes had suffered from the hands of the white man, as they had
been successively crowded from one portion of the country to another, westward, ever
westward !
The Indians remained in this section of the country until the Black Hawk war ;
and during that conflict, they seemed to flit about, equally desirous of avoiding contact
with the whites and the Indians engaged therein. These Indians afterward emigrated
to Northwestern Iowa, to fade from the memory of the early settlers in this State, and,
eventually, from the face of the earth.
In reference to them, we may adapt the lines of the poet, and say :
" Full many a one was born to die unseen,
And waste his fierceness on the desert air."
ORIGIN.
In 1781, Virginia ceded to the United States the territory northwest of the Ohio
River, which was deeded to the United States in 1784, the deed being signed on the
part of Virginia by her illustrious citizens, Thomas Jefferson, Samuel Hardy, Arthur
Lee and James Monroe. In 1787, Congress passed an act establishing the North-
western Territory and authorizing the organization of a territorial government, the Terri-
tory embracing all northwest of the Ohio River to which Virginia held any claim. In
1789, Congress passed another act, putting the government of said Territory in opera-
tion. In 1800, by another act of Congress, the said Territory was divided ; the western
portion of it, embracing all west of a line beginning at the Ohio, opposite the mouth of
the Kentucky River, and running thence to Fort Recovery ; and thence north until inter-
secting the territorial line between the United States and Canada, which was to be
called the Territory of Indiana.
Again, in 1809, Congress passed an act dividing Indiana Territory into two separate
governments, and constituting the portion of it lying west of the Wabash River and
a direct line drawn from the said Wabash River and Post Vincennes, due north to the
territorial line between the United States and Canada, a Territory, thus separated, and to
be called Illinois. In 1818, an act of Congress enabled the people of Illinois to form a
Constitution and a State Government, the State being admitted into the Union the same
year, and the boundaries being thus defined : Beginning at the mouth of the Wabash
River; thence up the same, and with the line of Indiana to the northwest corner of
said State ; thence east with the line of the same State to the middle of Lake Michigan;
thence north, along the middle of said lake, to north latitude forty-two degrees and
thirty minutes ; thence west to the middle of the Mississippi River ; and thence down
along the middle of that river to its confluence with the Ohio River ; and thence up
the latter river along its northwestern shore to the beginning.
Under the territorial government, the State was divided into fourteen counties, a»
follows: Bond, Madison, St. Clair, Monroe, Randolph, Jackson, Johnson, Pope,
Gallatin, White, Edwards, Crawford, Union, Washington and Franklin. In 1809, the
194 HISTORY OF McLEAN COUNTY.
territory now embraced in McLean County was included in St. Clair County ; the Ter-
ritory of Illinois being divided into two counties, Randolph and St. Clair, the former
embracing all the southern portion of the Territory, and the latter all the northern por-
tion. In 1812, McLean County was embraced in Madison County. In 1814, McLean
formed part of the counties of Madison and Edwards ; that portion of it lying west of
the Third Principal Meridian being in Madison ; and that portion lying east of it being
in Edwards. In 1817, it formed part of Bond and Crawford Counties ; that portion of
it lying west of said Meridian being in Bond County ; and that east of it in Crawford.
In 1819, McLean County formed part of Clark and Bond Counties; that portion of it
west of the Meridian being in Bond, and the eastern portion in Clark. In 1821, the
portion of McLean County west of the Meridian was included in Sangamon County,
and the eastern portion in Fayette County. In 1826, Vermilion County was created,
and all that portion of what is now McLean County, formerly part of Fayette, was
attached to Vermilion for county purposes ; the western portion remaining in Sangamon.
In 1827, that portion of McLean west of the Meridian belonged to Tazewell County ;
the eastern portion remaining in Vermilion. In 1829, the boundaries of Tazewell
County were re-adjusted, but McLean remained as before, divided between Tazewell and
Vermilion.
In 1830, McLean County was created with the following boundaries : Beginning
at the southwest corner of Township 21 north, Range 1 west of the Third Principal
Meridian ; thence north between Ranges 1 and 2 west of said Meridian, to the north-
west corner of Township 28 north ; thence east between Ranges 28 and 29, to the
northeast corner of Township 28, Range 6 east of the Third Principal Meridian ; thence
south between Ranges 6 and 7 east of said Meridian, to the southeast corner of Town-
ship 21 north, Range 6 east of the Third Principal Meridian ; thence west to the place
of beginning. This territory lay wholly within the counties of Tazewell and Vermilion ;
the latter not within the county proper, but lands attached for county purposes. The
original boundaries of McLean County, as will be seen by the above description, com-
prised eight townships north and south, and seven ranges east and west, being in extent
42 by 48 miles, and in regular form — a perfect rectangle — containing fifty-six townships.
In 1837, Livingston County was created, and 9 J townships were taken from
the northeast corner of McLean. In 1839, De Witt County was created, taking 4f
townships from the south end of McLean ; and in 1841, Woodford County was created,
taking, in a zigzag direction, from west to northeast about 9 townships from the north-
west corner of McLean, and reducing it to its present shape and dimensions, but still
leaving it the largest county in the State.
REPRESENTATION.
At the time McLean County was organized, Tazewell and McLean were together
entitled to one Representative and one Senator in the State Legislature ; and the Clerks
of the County Commissioners' Courts of the two counties were required to meet at
Bloomington to compare the election returns of Senator and Representative. At the
same time, the counties of Peoria, Jo Daviess, Putnam, La Salle and Cook were enti-
tled to one Senator and one Representative. This indicates a remarkable change in the
relative population in the middle and the northern portion of the State, though the
increase here has itself been remarkable for its steadiness and rapidity.
HISTORY OF McLEAN COUNTY. 195
AN ACT CREATING McLEAN COUNTY.
Section 1. Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in
the General Assembly, That all that tract of country lying within the following bound-
aries, to wit : Beginning at the southwest corner of township numbered twenty-one
north, of range numbered one, west of the third principal meridian, thence north between
ranges numbered one and two, west of said meridian, to the northwest corner of town-
ship numbered twenty-eight north ; thence east, between townships numbered twenty-
eight and twenty-nine, to the northeast corner of township numbered twenty-eight, of
range numbered six, east of the third principal meridian ; thence south, between ranges
numbered six and seven, east of said meridian, to the southeast corner of township
numbered twenty-one north, of range numbered six, east of said meridian ; thence west
to the place of beginning, shall constitute a new county, to be called McLean.
Sec. 2. For the purpose of fixing the- permanent seat of justice of said county,
the following-named persons are appointed Commissioners, viz. : Lemuel Lee, of Fay-
ette County ; Isaac Pugh and Elisha Freeman, of Macon County, which Commis-
sioners, or a majority of them, shall meet at the house of James Allen, in said county,
on the second Monday of February next, or within five days thereafter, and, being
first duly sworn by some Justice of the Peace of the State, faithfully and impartially to
take into view the convenience of the people, the situation of the present settlement,
with a strict view to the population and settlements which will hereafter be made, and
the eligibility of the place, shall proceed to explore and carefully examine the country,
determine on and designate the place for the permanent seat of justice of the same ;
provided, that the proprietor or proprietors of the land shall give and convey, by deed
of general warranty, for the purpose of erecting public buildings, a quantity of land, in
a square form, or not more than twice as long as wide, not less than twenty acres ; but
should the proprietor or proprietors of the land refuse or neglect to make the donation
aforesaid, then said Commissioners shall fix the said county seat (having in view
the interest of the county) upon the land of some person who will make the donation
aforesaid. If the Commissioners shall be of opinion that the proper place for the seat
of justice is, or ought to be, on lands belonging to Government, they shall so report, and
the County Commissioners shall purchase one-half quarter section, the tract set forth,
in their name, for the use of said county. The Commissioners aforesaid, so soon as
they decide on a place, shall make a clear report to the County Commissioners' Court,
and the same shall be recorded at length in their record-book. The land donated, or
purchased, shall be laid out into lots and sold by the County Commissioners to the best
advantage, and the proceeds applied to the erection of public buildings and such other
purposes as the Commissioners shall direct, and good and sufficient deeds shall be made
for the lots sold.
Sec. 3. An election shall be held at the several places of holding elections as now
laid off by Tazewell County, in the said county of McLean, on the second Monday of
March next, for one Sheriff, one Coroner and three County Commissioners, who shall
hold their offices until the next general election, and until their successors be qualified ;
and the Justices of the Peace and Constables who are now in office and residing within
the limits of said county of McLean, shall continue in office until the next quadrennial
election for Justices of the Peace and Constables, and until their successors be qualified.
And it shall be the duty of the Clerk of the Circuit Court of said county, and if there
196 HISTORY OF McLEAN COUNTY.
be none acting, then the Recorder or Judge of Probate, shall give at least fifteen days'
notice previous to said election, and who shall appoint the judges and clerks of said elec-
tion, who shall be legal voters ; and the returns of the election shall be made to the
Clerk, Recorder, or Judge of Probate Court, as the case may be, who gave the notice
aforesaid, and by him, in the presence of one or more Justices of the Peace, shall be
opened and examined, and they jointly shalL-give to the persons elected Commissioners,
certificates of their election, and like certificates to the persons elected Sheriff and Cor-
oner, to forward to the Governor ; which election shall in all other respects be conform-
able to law.
Sec. 4. All courts for said county shall be held at the house of James Allen until
public buildings are erected, unless changed to some other place by order of the County
Commissioners' Court, who shall make the same a matter of record.
Sec. 5. The Commissioners herein appointed to locate the county seat shall be
allowed two dollars per day each, for every day by them necessarily employed in
making said location, to be paid by said county.
Sec. 6. The seat of justice of said county of McLean shall be called and known
by the name of Bloomington.
(Approved December 25, 1830.)
OFFICIAL IIISTORY.
After the creation of McLean County, as herein previously stated, by act of the
State Legislature, in 1831, the First Judicial Circuit of the State consisted of Pike,
Calhoun, Greene, Morgan, Sangamon, Tazewell, Macon, McLean and Macoupin
Counties ; and the first term was to be legally held in this county at the house of Mr.
James Allen, in Bloomington, on the first Thursday after the first Monday after the
fourth Monday in April in 1831. The Circuit Courts were then presided over by the
Judges of the Supreme Court of the State, and the Circuit Judge of the Fifth Judicial
Circuit. The Hon. Samuel D. Lockwood presided in the court, in this circuit, from
1831 till 1835 ; Hon. Stephen T. Logan presided from 1835 till 1837 ; Hon. Jesse B.
Thomas, from 1837 till 1839; Hon. William Thomas, from 1839 till 1840; Hon.
Samuel H. Treat, from 1840 till 1849.
The Circuit Judges then becoming elective, Hon. Djavid Davis was elected, and
presided in this circuit from 1849 till 1863; then Hon. Jo hn M. S cott, from 1863 till
1870; Hon. Thomas F. Tipton, from 1870 till 1877, and then Hon. Owen T. Reeves,
the present incumbent7"became his successor. ""* ~~ *
At the first term of the Court in this county, Mr. James Allen was the Clerk pro
tempore. In September, 1832, Gen. Meritt L. Covell was appointed Clerk, who held
the office till 1845 ; then Mr. James T. Gildersleeve held it till 1849 ; then Mr. Will-
iam H. Allen was elected to the office, and held it till 1853 ; then Mr. William McCul-
lough, till 1863; then Dr. E. R, Roe, till 1868; then Rev. Robert E. Guttoke, till
1872 ; then Mr. Samuel F. Dolliff, till 1876, who was succeeded by Mr. James C.
McFarland, the present incumbent.
David B. Campbell, Esq., was Prosecuting Attorney in this circuit from 1849 till
1854. In 1855 and 1856, A. McWilliams, Esq., held the office ; in 1857 and till 1860,
it was held by Ward H. Lemon, Esq. ; in 1861 and 1862, by William H. Young, Esq.;
in 1863 and till 1867, by Henry S. Greene, Esq.; in 1867 and 1868, by Hon. Thomas
HISTORY OF McLEAN COUNTY. 197
F. Tipton; in 1869, 1870 and 1871, by Jonathan Rowell, Esq. Since that time, it
lias been held by J. W. Fifer, Esq., the present incumbent.
GRAND JURORS.
The first grand jury summoned together in this county, in 1832, was composed of
the following-named persons : John Houchins, Robert Turner, Thomas Glenn, Gard-
ner Randolph, Jesse Funk, John Buckles, James Merrifield, AsahdGridley, Nathan
Low, Ephraim Myers, John Hendrix, John Cox, Reuben Carlock, William Herford,
Henry Buckner, Ephraim Stout, Jr., John Doudy, William Patrick, Elbert Dickerson,
Aaron Foster, Benjamin Downey and Jacob Ellis.
RELATIVE POPULATION.
It may be of interest to some of our readers to learn that when this, the First
Judicial Circuit, in 1832, was composed of nine counties, including McLean, the other
eight all lying south of it, except Tazewell, the Fifth Circuit was composed of fifteen
counties, as follows : Cook, La Salle, Putnam, Peoria, Fulton, Schuyler, Adams, Han-
cock, McDonough, Knox, Warren, Jo Daviess, Mercer, Rock Island and Henry. This
shows very plainly from what direction came mostly the early settlers of the State, and
in what direction the incoming population moved. Now, the relative population is
reversed, the then insignificant county of Cook at present containing something like
one-sixth of the entire population of the State.
PETIT JURORS.
The first petit jury called together in this county, in the spring of 1832, was com-
posed as follows : Andrew Brock, Gabriel Watt, Thomas Cuppy, John Moore, Esq.,
David Noble, Silas Waters, Amos Conaway, Henry Ball, Eli Frankerberger, Benjamin
Hains, John Kimler, John H. S. Rhodes, John Maxwell, Sr., James Canada, Henry
Hains, John Durley, Lewis Soward, Patrick Hopkins, Jacob Spawr, Absalom Funk,
John Dixon, David Wheeler, James Toliver, Mathew Robb.
COUNTY COURT.
The first Commissioners of the County Court, for the transaction of county busi-
ness, Hons. Jonathan CJieney, Timothy B. Hoblitt and Jesse Havens, held the first
session of their court in Bloomington, May 16, 1831.
Their successors in office have been, in 1832, Mr. Seth Baker and Mr. Andrew
McMillan; in 1838, William Qr^niorff, Esq.; in 1839, Mr. James R. Dawson; in
1840, Mr. Henry R. Clark; in 1841, Messrs. Nathan Low and William Conaway; in
1842, Mr. Israel W. Hall ; in 1843, Mr. Jesse Funk ; in 1844, Mr. William Bishop ;
in 1845, Mr. Henry Vansickle ; in 1847, Mr. Ezekiel Arrowsmith ; in 1848, Mr.
James Vandolah.
At the December term, 1849, the form of the Court was changed, the county
business being transacted by a Presiding Judge and two Associate Judges, and the
probate business by the Presiding Judge. Hon. John E. McClun had been elected
Presiding Judge, and Messrs. Silas Waters and Joseph H. Moore, Associate Judges.
In 1853, Hon. John M. Scott became Presiding Judge, and Hiram Buck, Esq., Asso-
ciate Judge, Associate Moore being re-elected. In 1854, Hon. B. H. Coffey became
Presiding Judge, and Milton Smith, Esq., became Associate in 1855. In 1856, Hon.
A. J. Merriman was elected County Judge, and, by re-elections, held the office sixteen
198 HISTORY OF McLEAN COUNTY.
years, till 1872. The jurisdiction of the Court was then greatly extended, and Hon.
R. M. Benjamin, the present incumbent, was elected to that office.
At the organization of the Commissioners' Court, in 1831, Dr. Isaac Baker was
Clerk, and he acted also as Surveyor. In 1839, B. H. Coffey became County Clerk,
and served till 1854. His successor, E. H. Rood, served till 1857, and he was suc-
ceeded by Dr. W. C. Hobbs, who served till 1861 ; then Reuben L. Davis was Clerk
till 1866, and then Robert S. Mclntyre till 1870. His successor was Johnson W.
Straight, till 1874 ; then Reuben L. Davis was again Clerk till 1878, when Charles W.
Atkinson, the present incumbent, was elected to that office.
The first County Treasurer was Mr. Thomas Orondorff, in 1831. In 1833, Mr.
David Wheeler was appointed Treasurer. In 1836, James Rains became Treasurer,
and Richard Edwards in 1837. In 1838, G. B. Larrison was appointed Treasurer pro
tern., and Gen. Asahel Gridley was appointed to that office in 1839. In 1841, Gen.
Gridley resigned the Treasurership, and was succeeded by W. P. Brown, Esq. In 1842,
William H. Temple was elected Treasurer, and became Assessor in 1845, and the two
offices were held by the same person for several terms. In 1853, Mr. William Thomas
became Treasurer and Assessor, and served till 1858, in both capacities, when the
Supervisors' Court was established, and Township Assessors were employed ; but Mr.
Thomas served as County Treasurer till 1862. He was succeeded by Mr. Thomas
Fell, who was Treasurer till 1866; then Col. John L. Routt served till 1870; then
Mr. Lewis E. Ijams, till 1872 ; then Mr. Joseph Dennison, till 1876 ; then Mr. Isaac
Stroud, till 1878 ; then Mr. Dennison, who is the present incumbent, again became
Treasurer.
Cheney Thomas, Esq., appears to have been, in 1832, the first Sheriff and County
Collector in this county. In 1835, Mr. Martin Scott became his successor, and served
till 1840, when Mr. G. B. Larison succeeded to the office of Sheriff. In 1842, Mr.
Richard Edwards was Sheriff. In 1844, Mr. William McCullough was elected Sheriff
and Collector, and served till 1850, and was then succeeded by Mr. Jonathan Glimpse
in 1851 and 1852 ; by Mr. George Parke in 1853 and 1854 ; by Mr. John J. Price
in 1855 and 1856 ; by J. H. Moore, Esq., in 1857 and 1858 ; by Mr. William P.
Withers in 1859 till 1862 ; then by Mr. Normal Dixon in 1863 and 1864 ; by Henry
A. Ewing, Esq., in 1865 and 1866; by Mr. Edward M. Pike in 1867 and 1868 ; by
Mr. Richard Osborn in 1869 and 1870 ; by Mr. Gustave Lange in 1871 and 1872 ;
by Mr. Henry Honscheitin 1873 and 1875 ; by James Goodheart in 1875 till 1878;
then by Mr. Joseph Ator, the present incumbent.
In 1832, James Latta, Esq., was appointed Commissioner of School Lands, and
was succeeded by Jesse W. Fell, Esq., in 1834. In 1836, Mr. Cheney Thomas was
elected School Commissioner. In 1844, Mr. James B. Price became School Commis-
sioner, and was succeeded in 1850 and 1851 by John M. Scott, Esq., and he was suc-
ceeded by Mr. C. P. Merriman in 1852 till 1858; then by Mr. Daniel Wilkins in 1859
till 1862; then by Mr. C. P. Merriman again in 1862 and 1863; and by Mr. Daniel
Wilkins again in 1864 till 1868 ; then by Mr. John Hull from 1869 till 1875, and
then by Mr. William H. Smith, the present incumbent.
In 1831, Samuel Durley, Esq., was appointed Assessor and Recorder. In 1835,
Dr. Isaac Baker became County Assessor. In 1839, Mr. William H. Hodge was
appointed County Collector, and again in 1840, Mr. R. C. Cowden being Assessor. In
HISTORY OP McLEAN COUNTY. 199
1841, Zera Patterson, Esq., became County Assessor, and again in 1842. In 1843, Mr.
Isaac Smalley became Assessor, and Mr. William Creel, Collector. The offices of Sheriff
and Collector, and those of Treasurer and Assessor were then united till 1858, when the
Supervisors' Court came into the control of the county business.
In 1831, Dr. Isaac Baker seems to have been appointed Surveyor, by the County
Commissioners' Court, or, at least, to have been employed as such, till 1835, when Mr.
Elbert Dickason was Surveyor, who served till 1839 ; then Dr. Harrison Noble till
1847; then Mr. Nelson Buck till 1849; then Mr. James T. Swartz till 1851 ; then Mr.
Peter Folsome till 1857 ; then Mr. William T. Horr till 1859 ; then Mr. Peter Folsome
again till 1861 ; then Mr. John P. Hely till 1863; then Mr. J. M. Spaulding till 1865;
then Mr. George P. Ela till 1869 ; then Mr. William P. Anderson till 1875; then Mr.
George P. Ela, the present incumbent, was again elected.
PROBATE JUSTICES.
Samuel Durley, Esq., was appointed Probate Justice, and held the office from 1831
till 1835 ; Cheney Thomas, Esq., succeeded him, and served till 1837 ; then W. P.
Brown, Esq., served till 1839 ; then Wells Colton, Esq., till 1843 ; then Zera Patter-
son, Esq., till 1850, when the form of the Commissioners' Court was changed, and the
Probate business passed into the hands of the County Judge.
In 1836, Mr. Elijah Rockhold was elected Coroner. Mr. William Matthews
served several terms. In 1868 and 1869, Mr. Mark Ross was Coroner; then Mr. Luke
Nevin till 1872 ; then Mr. William H. Hendrix till 1878, and then Dr. D. M. Foster,
the present incumbent, came into office.
supervisors' court.
At the first meeting of the Supervisors' Court, May 17, 1858, the members present
were as follows : From Mount Hope, Daniel Winsor ; Mosquito Grove, Presley T.
Brooks ; Danvers, James Wilson ; Funk's Grove, William S. Allin ; Dale, Richard
Rowell ; Dry Grove, Elias Yoder ; White Oak, Benjamin F. Rowell ; Randolph, Alfred
M. Stringfield ; Bloomington, David Simmons and Hon. John E. McClun ; Nor-
mal, William G. Thompson ; Hudson, James H. Cox ; Savanna, Sylvester Peasley ;
Old Town, Scammon Rodman; Towanda, N. S. Sunderland; Money Creek, William F.
Johnson ; Gridley, Taylor Loving ; Lee, Josiah Horr ; Blue Mound, James A. Doyle ;
Lexington, Jacob C. Mahan ; Chenoa, J. B. Graham ; Kickapoo, Henry West ; Pleas-
ant, Ezekiel Arrowsmith. Hon. John E. McClun was chosen Chairman, and the Court
proceeded to business.
CIRCUIT COURTS.
In 1839, the Eighth Judicial Circuit of the State was composed of Sangamon,
Tazewell, McLean, Livingston, Macon, Dane, Logan and Menard Counties.
In 1841, the circuit consisted of Menard, Sangamon, Christian, Logan, Shelby
Macon, DeWitt, McLean, Champaign, Tazewell, Mason, Piatt and Livingston.
In 1850, the circuit consisted of Piatt, Sangamon, Tazewell, Woodford, Logan,
McLean, DeWitt, Champaign, Vermilion, Edgar, Shelby, Moultrie, Macon and Chris-
tian Counties.
In 1861, the circuit consisted of McLean, Logan and DeWitt Counties.
In 1871, the circuit was composed of McLean, DeWitt and Logan Counties.
In 1873, it was changed to McLean and Ford, and it has remained the same.
200 HISTORY OF McLEAN COUNTY.
APPORTIONMENT.
In 1831, at its creation, McLean County was entitled, conjointly with Tazewell, to
one Representative and one Senator in the State Legislature.
In 1836, McLean County was entitled to two Representatives and one Senator con-
jointly with Macon County.
In 1841, the State being redistricted, McLean County was entitled to one Repre-
sentative by itself, and one conjointly with Livingston, and to one Senator conjointly
with Livingston, Piatt, DeWitt and Macon.
In 1848, Tazewell, McLean, Logan, DeWitt and Macon Counties constituted the
Eleventh Senatorial District and it was entitled to one Senator ; and McLean and DeWitt
constituted the Twenty-ninth Representative District, and it was entitled to one Rep-
resentative.
In 1861, McLean and DeWitt constituted the Thirty-eighth Representative District
and were entitled to two Representatives ; and McLean, DeWitt, Piatt, Moultrie and
Macon constituted the Tenth Senatorial District and were entitled to one State Senator.
In 1871, McLean became, by itself, the Twenty-eighth Senatorial District of the
State, and is entitled to one Senator and three Representatives.
CONGRESSIONAL.
In 1831, the State was divided into three Congressional Districts, the Third Dis-
trict consisting of Greene, Morgan, Sangamon, Tazewell, Macon, McLean, La Salle, Cook,
Putnam, Peoria, Henry, Knox, Jo Daviess, Mercer, Warren, Hancock, McDonough,
Fulton, Schuyler, Adams, Pike and Calhoun Counties.
In 1841, the State was divided into seven districts, and the Fifth District consisted
of Lake, McHehry, Boone, Cook, Kane, De Kalb, Du Page, Kendall, Grundy, La Salle,
Will, Iroquois, Livingston, McLean, Champaign, Vermilion and Bureau Counties.
In 1852, the State was redistricted into nine districts, the Fourth District being
composed of Will, Kendall, Grundy, La Salle, Putnam, Bureau, Livingston, Iroquois,
Vermilion, Champaign, McLean and DeWitt Counties.
In 1861, our Congressional District consisted of Sangamon, Logan, DeWitt,
McLean, Tazewell, Woodford and Livingston Counties.
In 1871, this District, the Thirteenth Congressional, became composed of Mason,
Tazewell, McLean, Logan and DeWitt, and remains the same.
In the Constitutional Convention of 1847, McLean County was entitled alone to
one member, and to one conjointly with Livingston County. Judge David Davis, now
United States Senator, and Hon. Samuel Lander were the said members.
In the Constitutional Convention of 1869, McLean County, conjointly with DeWitt,
was entitled to two members. Hon. R. M. Benjamin, of McLean, and Hon. C. H.
Moore, of DeWitt, were those two members.
SWAMP-LANDS.
McLean County obtained about twenty-seven thousand acres from the United States
in virtue of the Swamp-lands act. These lands have been sold for about $130,000,
and the proceeds have been devoted to educational purposes — $70,000 to the State
Normal University, and the rest has been distributed to the townships, for the benefit
of the common schools. The sale of these lands has been effected through the agency
of Judge A. J. Merriman, under the sanction of the Supervisors' Court.
HISTORY OF McLEAN COUNTY. 201
REPRESENTATION.
The State of Illinois, up till 1831, constituted one Congressional District, and was
represented in Congress, from 1830, the year in which McLean County was created,
until 1832, by Hon. Joseph Duncan ; and the Third District, including McLean County,
was represented from 1832 till 1834 by the same gentleman.
From 1834 to 1838, the Third District was represented by Hon. William L. May.
From 1838 to 1842, the Third District was represented by Hon. John T. Stuart.
In 1841, the State was divided into seven districts, and the Fifth District, includ-
ing McLean County, was represented, from 1842 to 1850, by Hon. John Wentworth.
In 1851 and 1852, the district was represented by Dr. Richard T. Molony.
In 1852, the State was redistricted, and the Fourth District, including McLean
County, was represented by Hon. Jesse 0. Norton, in 1853, 1854, 1855 and 1856.
In 1857, 1858, 1859, 1860, 1861 and 1862 it was represented by Hon. Owen
Lovejoy.
In 1861, the District, including McLean County, was changed, taking effect at
the November election in 1862. In 1863 and 1864, the new district was represented
by Hon. John T. Stuart. In 1865, 1866, 1867, 1868, 1869 and 1870, it was repre-
sented by Hon. Shelby M. Cullom. In 1871 and 1872, it was represented by Hon.
James C. Robinson.
In 1871, the State was again redistricted, to take effect at the November election
in 1872, and McLean County was embraced in the Thirteenth Congressional District,
which was represented, in 1873 and 1874, by Hon. John McNulta. In 1875 and 1876,
it was represented by Hon. Adlai E. Stevenson. Inl877 and 1878, it was represented
by Hon. Thomas F. Tipton. The district is again represented by Hon. Adlai E. Stev-
enson, the present incumbent. — — —
STATE LEGISLATURE.
Until 1872, McLean County was represented in the State Legislature by Repre-
sentative and Senatorial Districts ; since that date it has constituted a Senatorial Dis-
trict by itself — the Twenty-eighth. The Senators have been as follows :
In 1832, Hon. James Bird ; 1834, Hon. Benjamin Mitchell ; 1836 and 1838, Hon.
James Allen; 1840, Hon. John Moore; 1842, Hon. R. F. Barnett; 1844 and 1846,
Hon. George W. Powers; 1849, Hon. E. 0. Smith; 1851 and 1853, Hon. Asahel
Gridley; 1857 and 1859, Hon. Joel S. Post; 1861, Hon Richacd J. Oglesby ; 1863
and 1865, Hon. Isaac Funk ; 1867, Hon. W. ILjCheney ; 1869, Hon. John McNulta ;
1871, Hons. JoWMcNulta and Michael Donahue ; 1873 and 1875, HonTJohn Cusey;
1877 and 1878, Hon. John M. Hamilton.
REPRESENTATIVES.
In 1832, Hon. Benjamin Briggs; 1834, Hon. William Brown; 1836, Hons. John
Moore and John Hinshaw ; 1838, Hons. John Moore and Thomas Cheney; 1840,
Hon. Asahel Gridley; 1842, Hon. Andrew McMillan ; 1844, Hon. David Davis ; 1846,
Hon. James Robeson ; 1849 and 1851, Hon. James B. Price; 1853 and 1855, Hon.
John E. McClun ; 1857, Hon. J. H. Wickizer ; 1859, Hon. Leonard Swett ; 1861,
Hon. Harvey Hogg; 1863, Hon. Harrison Noble; 1865, Hons. Harrison Noble and
John Warner ; 1867, Hons. William M. Smith and H. S. Greene; 1869, Hons. Will-
iam M. Smith and J. Swigart ; 1871, Hons. William M. Smith, W. C. Watkins, E. R.
202 HISTORY OF McLEAN county.
Roe and G. H. Funk ; 1873, Hons. A. E. Stewart, T. F. Rogers and John Cassedy ; 1875,
Hons. A. E. Stewart, T. P. Rogers and John F. Winter; 1877, Hons. T. F. Mitchell,
T. P. Rogers and John F. Winter; 1879, Hons. T.P.Rogers, T. F. Mitchell and H. A.
Ewing.
COUNTY BIBLE SOCIETY.
At a meeting held in the Presbyterian Church in this city in September, 1852, the
McLean County Bible Society was re-organized, and the following Constitution adopted :
CONSTITUTION.
Article 1. This Society shall be called the McLean County Bible Society, the object of
which shall be to promote the circulation of the Scriptures without note or comment.
Art. 2. This Society shall be auxiliary to the American Bible Society, and, after supply-
ing the destitute within its own limits, shall pay over its surplus funds to that Society to aid in
supplying other places.
Art. 3. The payment of any sum annually shall constitute membership. Those contrib-
uting $5 at one time shall be members for life, and entitled to one common Bible annually for
distribution.
Art. 4. The officers of this Society shall consist of a President, Vice President, Secretary,.
Treasurer and Depositary, and three Directors who, together, shall constitute an Executive Com-
mittee, for the transaction of business ; and Pastors co-operating shall be Vice Presidents, and
each Church shall be entitled to one Director.
Art. 5. It shall be the duty of this committee to meet as occasion may require, to appoint
local and traveling agents, to see that funds are remitted and books procured, to make arrangements
for raising funds and circulating books annually in all parts of the county, and to perform any
other acts in accordance with this Constitution which they may deem calculated to promote the
usefulness of the Society.
Art. 6. Any branch organization agreeing to purchase its books of this Society and place
its surplus funds at its disposal shall be recognized as an auxiliary, and its members shall be
considered as also members of the County Society.
Art. 7. There shall be an annual meeting of the Society on call of the officers, when an
address shall be delivered, reports presented by the Secretary and the Treasurer, officers-
elected and such other business transacted as may be necessary. Immediately after this meeting,
the Secretary shall transmit an account of it, together with an abstract of the reports, and the
names and post offices of the officers to the Secretaries of the parent society at New York, and
to the agent of said society for this State, and also offer the same for publication in the county
newspapers.
Art. 8. This Constitution may be altered at any annual meeting by a vote of a majority
of the members present.
The Society then elected Rev. F. N. Ewing, President; Hon. J. E. McClun, Vice
President ; Prof. D. Wilkins, Secretary ; Mr. John Magoun, Treasurer ; Mr. John
Ewing and Mr. Coleman, Directors.
At the annual meeting of the Society, September, 1853, very little business seems
to have been done other than the election of officers and listening to addresses.
At the annual meeting, December 3, 1854, at the .Methodist Episcopal Church,
the Society was addressed by Rev. Mr. Lord, State Agent, and by other gentlemen.
The reports of the Secretary and the Treasurer are not attainable just at present ; but
we learn, incidentally, that about $100 were raised and expended annually by the
Society until 1857, when an agent was employed, and the Society commenced to employ
more efficient means to effect its purposes. Substantially, the same officers were con-
tinued for the current year, except that Mr. Linas Graves was chosen Secretary. At a
HISTORY OF McLEAN COUNTY. 203
subsequent meeting of the Executive Committee, the same month, quite a number of
local agents were appointed to solicit aid for the Society.
At the annual meeting, November 4, 1855, the usual devotional exercises were had,
there were some interesting discussions, and about the same officers chosen, except that
Mr. 0. T. Reeves was made Treasurer, who resigned, and was succeeded by Mr. O.
Rugg before the close of the current year. At a subsequent meeting of the Executive
Committee, June 9, held at the request of the State Agent, Rev. Mr. Lord, the Treas-
urer was authorized to procure a sufficient supply of Bibles and Testaments for the
county, and Mr. Lord was authorized to procure an agent to canvass the county the next
year.
At the annual meeting of the Society December 7, 1856, an eloquent address was
delivered by Rev. A. Eddy, the Treasurer made his report, Hon. John E. McClun was
chosen President, and the other officers were continued.
At the fifth anniversary of the Society, at the Methodist Church, December 7,
1857, Rev. F. N. Ewing presided in the absence of the President, Hon. J. E. McClun.
The County Agent, Rev. Joseph Messer, made his report as follows : During the cur-
rent year, he had labored eighty-five days, and held annual meetings of branch societies
at Randolph Grove, LeRoy, Cheney's Grove, St. Clairville, Old Town Timber, Money
Creek, Pleasant Hill, Lexington, Hudson, Concord, White Oak Grove and Johnson's
Precinct. He had lectured 35 times, and visited 1,048 families. He had received
from the county depository books to the amount of $157.08; had deposited with the
branch societies, sold, donated and returned books to the same amount. He had
received from the branch societies $412.66, and paid to the County Treasurer $250.62,
and the balance paid his own wages and expenses. He had obtained new subscriptions
to the amount of $228.71, there remaining $588.09 due on old subscriptions; books
now in branch societies, $620.03; receipts of societies the past year, $466.72, and books
circulated during the year, $249.34. He had found 40 families destitute of the Script-
ures. The report of the agent was received with the thanks of the Society. The same
officers were rechosen, except that Mr. John Magoun was made Treasurer. Twenty
German Bibles were donated to Rev. Mr. Andre for the benefit of his Bible class ;
the agent was instructed to forward the surplus funds to the parent society in New
York, and measures taken to canvass more thoroughly the city of Bloomington.
At the annual meeting, in December, 1858, the weather was very severe, and but
few were present. The reports of the Treasurer and Agent were adopted, and the
officers of the Society retained.
The seventh anniversary was^held at the Methodist Church, December 18, 1859.
The new Agent, Rev. Mr. Ansley, and the Treasurer, Mr. Magoun, made acceptable
reports ; Mr. L. W. Capen was chosen President, and the other officers retained. The
Society was addressed very interestingly by Rev. Mr. Price and Rev. Mr. Knowlton.
At the annual meeting, December 30, 1860, in the Presbyterian Church, the old offi-
cers were retained, the reports of the Agent and the Treasurer approved, and the Society
ably addressed by Rev. Messrs. Pitner, Clark and Eddy. At a meeting of the Execu-
tive Committee, $30 were appropriated to each of the following individuals, to make
them life-members of the American Bible Society : Rev. A. Eddy, Rev. H. R. Price,
Rev. L. Taylor, Rev. S. W. Knowlton, Rev. Mr. Clark, Messrs. James C. McFarland r
Daniel Sill, Francis Smith and Miss Ann Gastman.
204 HISTORY OF McLEAN COUNTY.
The County Agent, Rev. J. Ansley, reported that he had received during the year,
from the County Society, $101, and from the branch societies, $484.46, making
$585.46 ; and that the disbursements amounted to the same — $408.14 of it being sent
to the American Bible Society at New York. During the year, 823 families had been
visited; new subscriptions raised, $219.10; families found without the entire Bible,
38 ; children under sixteen years of age, able to read, without Testaments of their own,
70 ; books sold in the county, $177.14 ; books given and drawn in the county, $77.36 ;
total, $254.50. Books now on hand in county and branch societies, $653.92. Three
$30-pledges were also obtained to make life-members of the American Bible Society.
The ninth anniversary of the Society was held at the Methodist Church, Decem-
ber 17, 1861. Spirited addresses were made by Revs. G. R. Moore, Rucker and Price.
The old officers were continued. The County Agent, Rev. J. Ansley, made his annual
report substantially as follows : Cash received from the County Society,'$335.50 ; from
the branch societies, $419.11 ; total, $754.61. Disbursements for the year, the same,
of which $524.04 were sent to the American Bible Society, New York ; $224.04 in pay-
ment for books, and $300 donation. Families visited, 1,019; new subscriptions
obtained, $202.38 ; books sold in the county, $237.67 ; books given in the county
(largely to our soldiers), $132.51 ; total, $370.18. Books now on hand'in the county
and branch societies, $756.38.
At a meeting of the Executive Committee, December 30, 1859 (not previously
reported), by a donation of $30, the following-named gentlemen were made life-members
of the American Bible Society ; Messrs. John Magoun, John E. McClun, O. Rugg,
D. Wilkins and Rev. F. N. Ewiog. At another meeting of said Committee, December
17, 1861, the following-named gentlemen were made members for life of the same
Society : Mr. L. W. Capen and Revs. L. C. Pitner, L. B. Kent, M. L. Moore, R. Con-
over, A. Bowen, J. Ansley, William E. Johnson, C. H. D. Harris and A. J. Thomas.
The tenth annual meeting of the Society was held in the Presbyterian Church,
February 8, 1863. The old officers were retained. Interesting speeches were made by
Rev. Mr. Button, Chaplain in the army, and Rev. Dr. Porter. Rev. J. Ansley, County
Agent, reported : Cash received from the County Society, $443.88 ; from the branch
societies, $645.45; total, $1,089.33. Disbursements amounting to the same, of which
$829.66 were paid to the American Bible Society, $458.91 for books, and $370.75
donation. Families visited during the year, 1,174 ; new subscriptions obtained,
$268.32 ; books sold in the county, $346.30 ; books given and drawn in the county,
$152.13 ; embracing 853 volumes given to the soldiers. Books circulated in the county,
$498.43 ; books on hand in County Society and branches, $748.20.
At a subsequent meeting of the Executive Committee, by a donation of $30 to
each, the following gentlemen and ladies were made life-members of the American Bible
Society : Revs. William T. Lowe, J. Gr. Evans ; Mrs. O. Rugg, Mrs. J. E. McClune,
Mrs. Bradner, Mrs. Maxwell, Messrs. George Hill, Isaac S. Mahan, George Bradford,
S. Conkling and Rev. Mr. Berry.
At the eleventh annual meeting of the Society, at the Methodist Church, January
10, 1864, Mr. Henry Richardson was chosen President. The Society was ably addressed
by Judge John M. Scott, and also by Prof. Knowlton, H. H. Hatch, Esq., and the
Agent. At a subsequent meeting of the Executive Committee, Rev. Mr. Andrus was
employed as an agent of the Society, at $500 a year, and Revs. Elburk and Hayes,
^%%> 2)/ ////// -«7^-
BLOOMINGTON
HISTORY OF McLEAN COUNTY. 207
and Mr. Danley, at $25 per month. Rev. Mr. Young was appointed to visit the
German population. The usual reports were not ready.
At the twelfth annual meeting of the Society, January 5, 1865, at the Presby-
terian Church, Mr. J. W. Maxwell was chosen Treasurer and Depositary of the Society ;
the other officers were retained. The meeting was highly entertained by speeches from
Revs. Dr. Porter, Bailey, Andrus and Price. The usual reports were not in readiness.
At the thirteenth annual meeting of the Society, the old officers were retained,
except that Mr. 0. Rugg was chosen President, December 17, 1865, at the Methodist
Church. The meeting was entertained by speeches from Revs. Rutledge, Lowe, Ellis
and Bailey. Mr. J. W. Maxwell, Treasurer, made his report, which was referred to
Auditing Committee. Rev. Mr. Mayers, County Agent, made a partial report.
The fourteenth annual meeting of the Society was held in Shroeder's Hall, Decem-
ber 23, 1866. The old officers were retained. Mr. J. W. Maxwell, Treasurer, and
Mr. Ira Bristol, County Agent, made their reports. The meeting was entertained by
addresses from Revs. Hartshorn, State Agent, Rabe, Ellis and Jacques.
The fifteenth aunual meeting of the Society was held in the Methodist Church,
December 22, 1867. The old officers were retained. The Secretary's report covered
those of the Treasurer and the Agent. Meeting addressed by Revs. McElroy, McDougal,
-and the State Agent, Hartshorn.
The sixteenth annual meeting of the Society was held in the Presbyterian Church
March 14, 1879. The old officers were re-elected. The reports of Mr. J. W. Maxwell,
Treasurer, and of Mr. C. K. Daniels, County Agent, were read and referred to com-
mittee. Very interesting addresses were delivered by President Edwards, of the Nor-
mal University, and Judge Culver, of Pontiac.
The seventeenth anniversary of the Society was held in Schroeder's Opera-House,
April 8, 1870. Mr. W. H. Winegardner was chosen President, and the other officers
substantially retained. Mr. J. W. Maxwell, Treasurer, and Rev. Mr. Daniels, County
Agent, presented their reports, which were read and approved. Rev. Dr. Reed de-
livered a very fine address, which was well appreciated by the audience.
The eighteenth anniversary of the Society was held in the Academy of Music,
April 9, 1871. The old officers were rechosen. The audience was very large, and
listened with much interest to the addressess delivered by Rev. Mr. Pilcher, R. R.
Williams, Esq., and Mr. Jackman, Superintendent of machine shops, Chicago & Alton
Railroad. From the report of the County Agent, Mr. C. K. Daniels, we select the follow-
ing items. During the year, he had addressed 38 public meetings, obtained
new subscriptions amounting to $819.82, collected on subscriptions and notes, $1,048.98,
received from local agents and branch societies, $582.46, and from sale of books, $315.20,
making the entire receipts $1,946.64. He had traveled 1,100 miles, visited, with assist-
ance of local agents, 1,400 families. Number of books circulated, 1,400, to the value
of about $900 ; number of branch societies, 27, having in their depositories
books to the value of $716.81, and 8694.42 worth in the county depository, amounting
to $1,411.23. There are 220 local agents, and 33 pastors co-operating in the
county. The Treasurer's report shows receipts to be $1,946.64, and disbursements and
$175.92 on hand, amounting to the same, $1,200 of which was sent to parent society,
New York. Books left over and purchased during the year, $1,643.39 ; books on hand
and distributed to the same amount.
208 HISTORY OF McLEAN COUNTY.
The nineteenth anniversary of the Society was a very interesting occasion. The
former officers were retained. The meeting, April 21, 1872, in Schroeder's Opera-
House, was very large, and most ably addressed by Dr. E. 0. Haven, President of the
Northwestern University, at Evanston. The substance of the reports was : Books in the
depository at the commencement of the current year, and purchases, $1,621.65 ; books
delivered to branch societies, sold, and on hand, the same. Cash received from sales
and branch societies, $2,089.51 ; disbursements and balance in Treasury, the same, of
which $1,106 were sent to parent society, New York. The resources of the Society
amount to $1,816.02. The County Agent, Mr. C. K. Daniels, had delivered 47
addresses ; obtained by subscriptions, $ 1 ,430 ; secured 4 life-members to par-
ent society; made cash collections, $1,739.04; traveled 2,700 miles; visited 2,179
families; circulated 1,600 Bibles and Testaments ; found 48 families destitute of the
Bible ; supplied 24, and did much other labor in the cause.
The twentieth anniversary of the Society was held in the Opera-House, July 27,
1873. Rev. John Ansley was chosen President, and the other officers retained. The
hall was packed, and many could not gain admittance. The meeting was eloquently ad-
dressed by Bev. Mr. Barnes. Measures were taken to supply the cars of the Chicago
& Alton Bailroadwith Bibles and Testaments. The Treasurer's report shows $2,514.60
in books held over, in receipts from branches through agent, and sales at depository.
The disbursements were the same, except $365.30 in treasury. Sent to parent society,
$1,444.24. Books in the county depository, and in those of the branch societies r
$1,370.20. The County Agent had addressed 32 public meetings, and obtained
$725 in subscriptions ; had traveled 2,000 miles ; 2,324 families were visited, 39
found without Bibles and supplied ; about 180 books were circulated, and much
other labor done.
The twenty-first anniversary of the Society was held at Durley Hall, June 7, 1874.
The meeting was immense. The former officers were retained. The audience was ad-
dressed by Mrs. Jennie Willing, Dr. Edwards, of Normal, and Rev. Dr. Fallows. The
Treasurer's report shows that $797.33 were received for books sold, and $829.45 for col-
lections and donations. To the parent society, $1,066.77 were sent, the expenses paid,
and $352.54 in the treasury. Value of books received during the year, $1,293.32 ;
value of books donated to supply Chicago & Alton Railroad cars, $207.47 ; value of
books in the chief and branch depositories, $1,317.37. Protestant Churches co-operat-
ing, 77 ; branch societies, 29; families visited, 1,696; destitute families supplied
with Scriptures, 12.
The twenty-second anniversary of the Society was held in Durley Hall, May 16,
1875. Mr. William Bone was chosen President, and Mr. J. A. Willson, Secretary.
The immense audience was addressed by Dr. Edwards, of Normal. From the Treas-
urer's report, we learn that the receipts from books sold were $674.55 ; from collections
and donations, $775.60 ; paid to the parent society $1,222.16 ; and, after paying the
expenses, $185.55 cash in the treasury. The value of books received during the year
was $900.21 ; the value of books sold, $674.75 ; and the value of books remaining in
the depositories, $1,441.14.
The twenty-third anniversary of the Society was held Aug. 27, 1876, at the Meth-
odist Church. The audience was large, and was addressed very satisfactorily by Rev.
A. I. Hobbs. The old officers were continued. At a previous meeting of the Executive
HISTORY OF McLEAN COUNTY. 209
Committee, the following persons were constituted life-members of the County Soci-
ety : Miss May Bedell, of Lawndale ; Mr. William Morris, of West ; Mr. William
Baldridge, of White Oak, and Mr. J. M. Mitchell, of Gridley. As reported by the
Treasurer, there had been received from the County Agent $892.32, from the branch
societies, $221.75, and from sale of books in county depository, $570.40. The expenses
were paid, $663.92 sent to the parent society, and $719.36 remained in the treasury.
Books delivered to branches, $330.19 ; remaining in depository, $602.15. County
Agent had spoken publicly 42 times; 1,736 families were visited ; 70 destitute families
supplied with Bibles; 1,280 miles traveled; 2,000 books circulated, and much other
labor was performed for the Society.
The twenty-fourth anniversary of the Society was held in the Presbyterian Church,
September 16, 1877. The old officers were retained, and the meeting addressed by Dr.
W. H. H. Adams. The Treasurer reported $1,933.72 receipts from all sources, with
what was on hand at the previous report. Expenses were paid, $1,044.30 sent to parent
society and $335.41 remained in treasury. Amount of books received from New York,
$1,065.35 ; books sold at depository, $530.45 ; books on hand, $750.21. Rev. James
Ferguson assisted the County Agent in canvassing. Families visited in the county,
4.000 ; number of destitute families and individuals supplied with Bibles, 183 ; miles
traveled, 1,800 ; value of books donated, $164.07 ; value of books sold, $739.03 ; value
of books on hand in the county, $1,600.
The twenty-fifth anniversary of the Society was held at the Methodist Church,
June 9, 1878. The old officers were retained. Meeting addressed by Revs. A. I.
Hobbs, J. A. Kumler and J. M. Baugh. The report of the Treasurer shows : Cash
from all sources, $1,127.07 ; disbursements show expenses paid, sent to American Bible
Society, $491.47, and remaining in treasury, $391.61. Books sold, $398.82 ; books
purchased, $314.60; books on hand, $641.64 in the county depository, and $818.98
in those of the branch societies. Miles traveled by the County Agent, 1,150; addresses
delivered, 25; families visited, 1,000; local agents, 150; branch societies 32; value of
books circulated, sold and donated, $448.42.
The Society has been in operation twenty-five years. It has sent to the American
Bible Society from $12,000 to $15,000, in payment for books or as donations, $1,000 hav-
ing been recently transmitted to it from the estate of the late Mr. T. C. Humphrey, of this
county. Many thousands of Bibles and Testaments have been put into the hands of
the people of this county through its agency, and incalculable good done by its many
incidental influences. The Society is in a healthy condition, and in hopeful spirits in
reference to its future successes, when the present financial embarrassments shall have
subsided.
PHYSICAL FEATURES.
As will be seen in another place, while speaking of its origin, McLean County
assumed its present form and dimensions in 1841, on the formation of Woodford
County. The main body of it is forty-two miles east and west, and thirty-two north
and south, the northeast and the northwest corners having been cut off. There is no stream
of water of any considerable size within its limits. In the northeastern portion of the
county there are several creeks, as Bray's Creek, Henline Creek, Turkey Creek, Patton
Branch, Money Creek, Crooked Creek and Buck Creek ; and in the northwestern por-
tion, Denman's Creek, Rock Creek, Six-Mile Creek and many smaller ones all running
210 HISTORY OF McLEAN COUNTY.
northwest, and combining to form the Mackinaw, which runs west, leaving the county
near the northwest corner of Township 25 north, Range 2 east, and passing into Taze-
well County. In the northeast corner, Rock Creek and some other small creeks run
north, into the Vermilion.
In the western portion of the county are several branches of Sugar Creek, running
southwest, and leaving the county on the west side of Townships 22 and 23 north,
Range 1 west of the Third Principal Meridian. In the southwestern portion is Kick-
poo Creek, with its many branches, running southwest and leaving the county in the
northeastern part of Township 21 north, Range 1 east, and entering De Witt County.
In the southeastern portion are the branches of Salt Creek, running south into De Witt
County, in Township 21 north, Ranges 4 and 5 east ; and in the eastern part of the
county are the incipient waters of the Sangamon River, running east and south, and
leaving the county near the the southeastern corner of Township 23 north, Range 6 east.
This all shows very clearly that the middle portion of McLean County is a gentle
swell of country, higher than the surrounding counties ; it shows, also, how generally
and impartially all parts are supplied with running water.
Nor are the distribution and the size of its forest groves less admirable. In the
northwest is White Oak Grove ; in the north, Mackinaw Timber ; in the west, Stout's
Grove ; in the center, Blooming Grove and Old Town Timber ; in the south, Funk's
Grove, Randolph Grove and Buckle's Grove, and in the east, Cheney's Grove. As a
whole, this distribution ot streams and groves could scarcely be improved for agricult-
ural pursuits and for stock-raising, as well as for convenience, health and beauty. In
the southeastern portion of the county, more timber-land may seem desirable ; but there
is compensation in the fact that West and Belleflower are two as fine townships of land
as the sun shines upon in his daily course.
EARLY TIMES.
As will be seen elsewhere, the territory now comprising McLean County was, in
1821, embraced in two other counties, that portion of it lying west of the Third Prin-
cipal Meridian being in Sangamon County, and the rest in Fayette, and the capital of
the State was Vandalia, the county seat of the latter county.
At that time, there were no white settlers within the present limits of the county.
Although the Indians had, sometime previously, bargained away- this section of the
West to the United States Government, they were still in full possession of the country
and roamed over it at will, enjoying all its advantages, as formerly.
The first surveying on the territory now composing this county was done in April,
1821, by Mr. John F. McCullum, who ran the Third Principal Meridian from the
standard line, on the south side of Town 21, as far north as the north line of Town 25.
The standard line on the south side was run also in April, 1821, by Mr. Joseph
Borough ; and the line north of Town 25 was surveyed in March, 1822, by Mr. Enoch
Stein. These lines were the bases of the survey of the county. Ranges 1 and 2 east
were surveyed in October and November, 1823, by Messrs. A. M. and P. M. Ham-
trameck. Range 3 east was surveyed in January and February, 1824, by Mr. Beal
Greenup. Ranges 4 and 5 east were surveyed in April, 1824, by Mr. John Barcroft.
Range 6 east was surveyed by Mr. B. Recton, probably in 1824; and Range 1 west
of the Third Principal Meridian, by Mr. P. M. January, in June, 1823.
HISTORY OF McLEAN COUNTY. 211
In their notes, these surveyors speak of there being a settlement of white people
on Section 15, in Randolph Township, in 1823. There was a camp of Delaware Indi-
ans on the northwest quarter of Section 36, in Lexington Township, near which was
their corn-field, consisting of a few acres. There was also a town of the Kickapoo
Indians near the present village of Pleasant Hill. Their corn-field, of about twenty
acres, was on the line between Sections 17 and 20. Mr. Patrick Hopkins, still living
in the vicinity, saw corn growing- in that field, on the 25th of May, 1830, which the
Indians had planted, and which was at that time twenty inches high — the biggest corn
ever seen in this section of country