Full text of "Peoria city and county, Illinois; a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement"

LIBRARY OF THE

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN

977.352
R36p

v.l

I.H.S.

PEORIA

CITY AND COUNTY

ILLINOIS

A Rec(Md of Settlement, Organization, Progress and

Achievement

By COL. JAMES M. RICE

Local liistoiy is tlie ultimate substance of national history— Wilson

ILLUSTRATED

VOLUME

CHICAGO

THE S. J. CLARKE PUBLISHING COMPANY
1912

1 1^ .

CONTENTS

PART ONE

CHAPTER I

THE BEGINNING OF PKORIA '

CHAPTER n

THE ABORIGINES 5

CHAPTER HI

FORCES WIIRH MADE PEORIA AND THE MATERIAL OF WHICH IT WAS MADE... \J

CHAPTER IV

DISCOVERY I'.l' TH IC FRENCH 21

CHAPTER V

TAKING POSSESSION V.Y I. A SAI.LE ^S

CHAPTER VI

PEORIA UNDER THE FRICNl II 3^

CHAPTER Vn

liKITISH RULE IN ILLINOIS 1 763- 1 7/8 39

iii

00 J 070

iv CONTENTS

CHAPTER VIII

ILLINOIS AS A PART OF VIRGINIA I778-I784 47

CHAPTER IX

THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY 5'

CHAPTER X

PEORIA PART OF INDIANA TERRITORY — 180O-1809 57

CHAPTER XI

REMINISCENCES OF OLD SETTLERS 59

PART TWO

CHAPTER XII

GEOLOGIC FORMATION AND GEOGRAPHY OF THIS SECTION OF THE COUNTY MANY

VAI.UAI'.LE COAL VEINS STONE OF COMMERCIAL IMPORTANCE GRAVEL SAND —

TIMBER SOIL AND ITS PRODUCTIVITY VEGETATION 79

CHAPTER XIII

CREATION AND ORGANIZATION OF PEORIA COUNTY DIFFICULTIES IN OBTAINING

TITLE TO COUNTY SEAT PRESIDENT JOHN QUINCY ADAMS LENDS HIS ASSIST-
ANCE WILLIAM S. HAMILTON, SON OF ALEXANDER HAMILTON, ATTORNEY FOR

THE COUNTY CLAIMS TO LAND OF JOHN HAMLIN AND OTHERS ADJUSTED. . 85

CHAPTER XIV

PROCEEDI.N(;S OF THE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS' COURT THE COUNTY SEAT IS NAMED

PEORIA — GRAND AND PETIT JURY SELECTED — FINANCIAL CONDITION REPORTED —
ELECTION PRECINCTS ESTABLISHED — COOK COUNTY A PART OF PEORIA COUNTY —
FIRST ELECTION HELD IN CHICAGO — COUNTY COURT SUPERSEDES BOARD OF
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS — TOWI^SHIP SYSTEM ADOPTED — THE PROBATE COURT 95

CHAPTER XV

SELECTION OF A SITE FOR AND ERECTION OF A COURT HOUSE CIRCUIT COURT

JAILS — THE FIRST COURT HOUSE, SO-CALLED, A LOG CABIN THE FIRST BUILD-
ING ERECTED BY THE COUNTY A BRICK STRUCTURE THE SECOND COURT HOUSE

COUNTY INFIRMARY HOME FOR THE INSANE COUNTY OFFICERS IO5

CONTENTS V

CHAPTER X\T

'old PEOUIAS" HOME OF THE FRENXII AND INDIANS FOUNDED AIIOUT I763 IN 1778

THE NF.W VILLAGE WAS ESTAULISHED BY JEAN BAPTISTE MAILETT AND SINCE

KNOWN AS FORT CLARK, THE PRESENT CITY OF PEORIA THE VILLAGE DESTROYED

IN 1S12 — DESCRIPTION OF EARLY INHABITANTS AND THEIR HOMES — SOME WHO
LIVED IN OLD PEORIA SKTTLEM ICNT OF FR1-:N(I1 CLAIMS TO TRACTS OF LAXD. . 121

CHAr'TKR XVIT

EARLY THOROUGHFARES FIRST ROAD LAID OUT BY PEORIA AUTHORITIES — FERRIES

AND BRIDGES — DIXON's FERRY — THE ILLINt)IS RIVER — PRIMITIVE STEAMBOAT-
ING PEORIA AN IMPORTANT KAll.ROAl) CENTER — ILLINOIS TRACTION SYS-
TEM 135

CHAPTER XYIU

RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS OF PEORIA COUNTY THE CATHOLIC CHURCH FIRST IN

THE FIELD THE METHODISTS STRONG IN THE FAITH AND IN NUMBERS —

HISTORY OF MANY CHURCHES TO BE FOUND IN THIS CHAPTER I43

CHAPTER XIX

CONTINUATION OF CHURCH HISTORY — EARLY METHODISM IN PEORIA COUNTY —
THE "shack" or LOG CABIN HOME OF THE EARLY SETTLER THE MEETING PLACE
FOR THE CIRCUIT RIDER AND HIS FLOCK I7I

CHAPTER XX

THE TIME THAT TRIED MEN's SOULS — AN INTERESTING BIT OF UNTOLD HISTORY AS
WRITTEN BY COLONEL RICE LINCOLN AND JUDGE KELLOC.C, 203

CHAPTER XXr

THE CIVIL WAR — PRESIDENT LINCOLN CALLS FOR SEVENTY-FIVE THOUSAND MEN
AND PEORIANS RESPOND LOYALLY AND HEARTILY— PARTY LINES ARE DIMMED

AND PRACTICALLY ALL ARE FOR THE UNION ROBERT G. INGERSOLL TENDERS HIS

SERVICES AND BECOMES COLONEL OF A REGIMENT COMPLETE LIST OF PEORIA'S

HEROES — OTHER WARS — SOLDIERS' MONUMENTS 213

CHAPTER XXn

THE TOWNSHIPS OF PEORIA COUNTY^ WHEN SETTLED AND ORGANIZED PIONEER

FARMERS AND INTERESTING STORIES TOLD OF THEM' — FIRST SCHOOLS AND
CHURCHES BUILDING OF TOWNS AND VILLAGES — ALL PROSPEROUS COMMUNI-
TIES 261

vi CONTENTS

CHAPTER XXIII

VILLAGE OF PEORIA INCORPORATED IN 183I FIRST OFFICIALS VARIOUS INDUSTRIES

AND MERCANTILE CONCERNS OF THAT TIME EARLY CHURCHES, PREACHERS,

NEWSPAPERS AND DIRECTORIES PEORIA INCORPORATED AS A CITY IN WINTER OF

1844 — FIRST OFFICIALS FOR WHICH ONE HUNDRED AND NINETY-SEVEN VOTES
WERE CAST FIRST AND PRESENT PUBLIC BUILDINGS UTILITIES AND GOVERN-
MENT OF THE CITY — THE POSTOFFICE 325

CHAPTER XXIV

MEDICAL PERSONAGES AND AFFAIRS ASSOCIATED WITH THE HISTORY OF PEORIA

COUNTY- — PIONEER DOCTORS AND THEIR WAYS ^THE FRATERNITY AND THE

METHODS OF ITS MEMBERS OF TODAY AS SHOWN BY DR. O. E. WILL OSTEOP-
ATHY 347

CHAPTER XXV

THE BENCH AND EAR FIRST COURTS, JUDGES AND LAWYERS — AN INDIAN TRIED

FOR MURDER — SKETCHES OF SOME OF PEORIA's FAMOUS ADVOCATES — ^THE LATE
JUDGE m'cULLOCH's RECOLLECTIONS DESCRIPTION OF LINCOLN-DOUGLAS DE-
BATE — COLONEL ROBERT G. INGERSOLL — PEORIA BAR ASSOCIATION 365

CHAPTER XXVI

THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF PEORIA BRADLEY POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE PEORIA PUB-
LIC LIBRARY PARK SYSTEM HOTELS PLACES OF AMUSEMENT 387

CHAPTER XXVII

THE PEORIA PRESS ^THE FIRST EDITOR A SCHOLARLY MAN TRIALS AND TRIEULA

TIONS OF THE PIONEER PRINTER SKETCHES OF THE VARIOUS NEWSPAPERS OF

THE CITY THE PAPERS OF THE DAY VIE WITH ANY IN THE STATE 405

CHAPTER XXMII

ORGANIZATIONS OLD SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION THE PEORIA WOMEN's CHRISTIAN

HOME MISSION JOHN C. PROCTOR ENDOWMENT YOUNG MEn's CHRISTIAN

ASSOCIATION YOUNG WOMEN's CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION WOMAN's CLLHB AND

.OTHERS DEACONESS HOSPITAL FRATERNAL ORDERS 4I7

CHAPTER XXIX

HI.STORY OF BANKING IN PEORIA MEN WHO TOOK THE INITIATIVE IN THE BUSINESS

FIRST BANK BUILDINGS PEORIA STRONG IN ITS FINANCIAL CONCERNS

MODERN BANKS AND BANKING THE PEORIA CLEARING HOUSE 447

CHAPTER XXX

THE BOARD OF TRADE — INDUSTRIAL PEORIA USES MORE CORN THAN ANY CITY

IN THE UNITED STATES MILLIONS PAID THE GOVERNMENT YEARLY IN REV-
ENUE GREAT MANUF.\CTURING PLANTS AND M.\NV OF THEM 461

^ o

PART ONE

CHAPTER I
THE BEGINNING OF PEORIA

"Tlie student of history delights in a good foundation on which to start to
write history, without which, it is like beginning in the middle of a story." —
Rufiis Blanchard.

The history of Peoria is one of unusual interest. Emerging as it does grad-
ually from the dim, unknown and unknowable past, it connects the myths, fable,
and fancy of the Indian with the wonderful things of our modern life — the
Piasa bird with the flying machine. At the time when the first persons who
were able to write permanent and intelligible records of what they saw and
heard visited this country, the beautiful valley of the Illinois was in the posses-
sion of the "Illinois," a confederacy composed of five Indian tribes, the Kas-
kaskias, Peorias, Cahokias, Tamaroas, and ^litchigamies. The nanne of the
confederacy is now seen and will be forever recognized in the names of our
glorious state and our own lovely river connecting the great lakes on the north
with the great river, "Father of Waters," on the west.

I feel inclined to call the Pe-o'-rias our tribes, because their melodious name
is made imperishable in the name of our own fair city and our beautiful lake.

The Kaskaskias, who were the strongest tribe of the confederacy, have
given their name to one of the largest rivers in Illinois and also to the first
capital of the state.

The Cahokias are remembered in the name of a town near St. Louis which,
in many ways, is closely connected with the history of Peoria.

Sixty miles southeast of St. Louis the City of Tamaroa perpetuates the
memory of another tribe and the Mitchigamies have given their name to the
great lake on our north-eastern borders.

Thus, although the melancholy tale of the sufferings and extermination of
these Indians is read in the setting sun, their names will remind us forever of
those who were here before the coming of the white men.

When the first missionary asked the Indians what they were called, they
replied that they were "Illini" saying the word meant perfect, manly men.
The missionaries added the letters "ois" a French termination meaning a race
or tribe; hence the word "Illinois" means a race of perfect manly men. May
it long be truly characteristic of those who shall live within our boimdaries !

Peoria is situated near forty degrees and forty minutes north.

Peorians sometimes complain of the climate. It does occasionally change
a great many degrees in a short time but it changes more rapidly in some other
places in the temperate zone. Of course, in the far north it is always cold and
in the torrid zone it is always hot and little change either place and for some
ailments of persons of delicate health the Peoria climate is not suitable, but
for persons in good health, it is probably as healthy a climate as can be found
anywhere and it is believed that for the majority of such persons there is no
climate more desirable.

If we desire to learn what other places are situated in our latitude and would
follow our latitude eastward, we would pass near Logansport, Indiana ; Lima

2 HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY

and Canton, Ohio ; Pittsburg, Pennsylvania and a little south of New York
City ; crossing the Atlantic, we would land about one-third of the way down
on the coast of Portugal ; pass near .Madrid, Spain ; pass through the north end
of Sardena; then near Naples and Brindisi in Italy; Salonika in Greece; near
Constantinople and Erzerum ; near Baku on the western side of the Caspian, the
great oil country ; then in Central Asia ; near Bokahra and Samarkand in the
Steppes of Central Asia where it is often fifty degrees below zero in winter
and of tropical heat in summer, although it is about the same latitude as Peoria ;
then near Peking, China; within sixty miles of the north end of the great Jap-
anese island of Nipon; and crossing the Pacific land on the Pacific coast about
half way between San Francisco and the southern boundary of Oregon ; then
near Salt Lake City, the northern line of Colorado ; through Lincoln, Nebraska ;
and Burlington, Iowa, to Peoria.

Peoria is eighty-nine degrees and forty minutes west of Greenwich. If we
would follow that degree of longitude south, we would pass near Cairo. Mem-
phis and New Orleans and out in the Pacific Ocean, five hundred miles west
of Panama, going past the South pole and coming north on the opposite parallel,
we would pass near Calcutta ; Lasso, the great religious center of Thibet, the
holy capital city of the Buddhists ; thence through Siberia to the North pole
and from there down on this side of the earth, through the center of the west
one-third of Hudson Bay and through the west one-third of Lake Superior.

The contour of the earth's surface in this valley of the Illinois was of course,
the same when first seen by white men as it is now ; but in some portions of it,
swamps, the ancient habitant of ducks and wild geese, beavers and muskrats,
have been drained and turned into the most valuable of farms, gardens and
orchards, happy homes for happy families. This section of Illinois is very pro-
ductive, well watered and well supplied with coal and it will receive attention
in a subsequent chapter.

The vegetation has greatly changed. At that time, along the rivers and the
ravines leading to them, there were forests of hickory, oak, elm, walnut, locust,
ash, Cottonwood, hard maple or sugar trees, soft maple, wild cherry, red haws,
black haws, pers'mmons and pawpaws, together with wild plums, crab apples,
blackberries, raspberries, grapes, strawberries and gooseberries ; and away from
the streams were broad prairies covered with a kind of coarse tall prairie grass
— the seed stems of which were six or eight feet high — interspersed with rosin
weeds and with a blue flower so that at certain seasons of the year the prairies
seemed blue and purple, and in other seasons, gray, green or yellow. This vegeta-
tion, we are told by early pioneers, grew so high that horsemen on the level prairies
two or three hundred yards apart could not see each other ; and when in full
growth, it was waved by the summer breeze like the rolling billows of the deep
ocean, blue and green, very beautiful and enchanting. Some of these prairies
were fifteen or twenty miles wide and some of them extended in all directions
as far as the eye could reach. If at the season of the year when this prairie
grass was dry, it happened purposely or accidentally to be ignited, the confla-
gration was at once terrible and magnificent, and could be seen for a score of
miles. All these varieties of trees may still be found in reduced numbers here
and there, along the streams, but the prairie grass, the golden rosin weeds, and
the purple flowers are almost entirely things of the past though a specimen may
be found here and there, perhaps, in some country church yard that has never
been cultivated or pastured.

The Illinois valley was from its earliest history known to be a remarkable
producer of Indian corn. It seems to have been "The Corn Belt" from the very
start. The Indians also cultivated beans, melons and squashes. The productive-
ness of this part of the country was recognized from the beginning by the In-
dians in the name they gave their village, Peori.^. which signifies "The Land
of Fat Beasts." Marquette says of it that his party had seen nothing like the
Illinois valley for fertility.

HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY 3

The animals consisted chiefly of the bison wliich roamed in immense herds,
numbering thouscUids. These when stampeded could neither be stopped nor
turned aside, and one's only safety was to escape out of their way. The bison
were generally mis-called bulYalo by the inhabitants. They were not much like
the bufifalo. They were called "cattle" by some of the early missionaries and
explorers but they were not cattle in the sense in which we now use the word.
They were a separate and distinct species peculiar to this part of the world.
What we now call cattle in this country were lirst brought over to America by
Columl)us on his second voyage and from that time on were frequently
imported by the Spaniards. The bison were not valuable as dairy animals;
they furnished very little milk, although what they did give was rich
and good. Moreover, notwithstanding what Hennepin says, they probably were
not, and could not have been made useful as draft animals or for any domestic
purposes. Some of the early missionaries and pioneers tried to take them when
young and train them for draft purposes but on reaching their growth, they
would often run away to join any herd of their wild roving kindred coming
into the neighborhood ; si.x months afterward they might be found with the herd
with their halters or harness still on them. From the earliest time of which we
have any knowledge they were extremely numerous but about the time the
Indian left, they all migrated to the west in a body apparently and our Illinois
country knew them no more. Their departure was sudden and complete.

The Indians had no horses. These too were brought over from Europe by
the Spaniards, and probably by others of the white race. They eventually
became numerous ; and at the present time large herds of wild horses, the de-
scendants of the early importations, are found on some of our western plains.
These wild horses or ponies are smaller than those in our domestic use, but
hardy and enduring, and cattle ranchers use them because they can live on the
short grass of our semi-arid plains summer and winter without other food or
shelter. It was only after the Indians obtained and learned to use them, that
they were able to inhabit or migrate across the prairies.

Bears were to be found and the Indians greatly prized their meat for food.
There were also turkeys, ducks, geese, rabbits and foxes. The bears and foxes
are gone. The wolves that then abounded are now very scarce and rapidly
passing away. There were wild pigeons by the million but these are jow no
more. There were prairie chickens but now one can seldom be found. There
doubtless were c|uail and we still have them as well as the rabbits among us;
and thanks to our game laws, the quail may be preserved, for although they
are not a domestic bird they do not seem to flee from civilization.

It is not known that the Indians had any domestic animal except prol>al)ly
the dog.

The rivers, especially the Illinois, were at that time as now, filled with an
al)un<iance of the finest kind of fish and they were largely used for food by the
Indians.

CHAPTER II
THE ABORIGINES

"There's a sweetness in thy name,

Illinois, Illinois!
That betrays from whence it came,

Illinois, Illinois!
Soft and mellow are its sounds,
Loved beyond thy river bounds,
Land of prairies and of mounds,

Illinois, Illinois!
Land of prairies and of mounds,

Illinois, Illinois !"

There is indeed music in the word Illinois (Ill-i-noi).

Historians agree that the Indians who were in the valley of the Illinois when
it was first visited by the missionaries were neither the original inhabitants nor
their descendants, but that this whole country in the valley of the Mississippi
river comprising the states of Missouri, Iowa, Illinois, Ohio, and Indiana, to-
gether with some other northern states and also Arizona and New Mexico were
formerly inhabited by a race which has either perished from the earth or, going
farther south became the forefathers of the Aztecs, Toltecs and other ancient
peoples of Mexico and Central America. This early race has received the name
of Mound Builders because mound building was one of their chief characteris-
tics and the one by which we now know of their existence. Their mounds are
found without number in Ohio and other central western states. Many scores
of them are found opposite St. Louis on the Illinois side of the Mississippi
river and some within the boundaries of St. Louis itself. Some such mounds
have been seen by the writer in Arizona. There are some smaller mounds on
the east side of the Illinois river near Peoria and some within Peoria County near
Chillicothe.

These ancient people seem to have been tillers of the soil, and from the rec-
ords which they have left, such as they are, ethnologists have concluded that
they did not live chiefly by hunting or fishing. It is thought that the buffalo
were not here in their day. Whence the mound builders came or whither they
have gone is as yet a matter of conjecture. It is an interesting study which the
limits of our history do not permit us to pursue.

Mankind in ancient times and in many ancient countries as well as in
Mexico have built mounds of somewhat similar character, sometimes building
of stone, sometimes of sunburnt brick. In North America, they are often
built in terraces, the lowest part reaching a height of twenty or thirty feet,
upon which one or more smaller mounds are superimposed, as is the case
with the great Cahokia Mound. They are supposed to have been built as places
of religious worship and those who have built them are generally supposed to
have been worshippers of the sun.

There are many of these mounds in the United States, some of them being
regular and perfect pyramids or cones of earth, not faced with stone. The

6 HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY

largest group is situated on the level plain of the rich lowland bordering the
Mississippi opposite the city of St. Louis, within the bounds of our own Illinois
confederacy at the time of the first discoveries. In the midst of this plain
where its width is ten or twelve miles, there are still to be seen remains of a
mound builders' city, which in the interest, and extent of its ruin will compare
favorably with anything of the kind in the world. There are a great number
of mounds and earthworks there. In the midst stands the great Cahokia pyra-
mid, which, though not so high is said to be larger in the amount of ground it
covers than the largest of the pyramids of Eg}'pt and reaches a height of one
hundred and two feet. It covers an area of sixteen acres. Three sides, the
north, south and east, still retain their straight lines. The other has been some-
what washed away, probably by rains and from the pasturing of cattle on the
sides. From the terrace, a well eighty feet in depth penetrates the base of the
structure, which is seen to be composed almost wholly of the black sticky soil
of the surrounding plain. This is not an oval mound but a pyramid with straight
sides. A picture of it is presented on the adjoining page.

We may readily suppose that this large mound was built by manual labor,
the earth being simply carried and deposited in a pile.

The curious may study further details in regard to the Cahokia Mound in
"The Antiquities of Cahokia" where it is described by Breckinridge who visited
it in 1811.

The mounds in Illinois have never been as thoroughly investigated as we
could wish, but among the works of similar and probably related pre-historic
people is a mound which the writer has seen in Arizona about seven hundred
or eight hundred feet long and half as broad and probably twenty-five feet
high, about ten miles northeast of Phoenix. It has been explored by several
reliable parties and reports of their explorations may be seen in the office of
the Smithsonian Tnstitution.

The ancient cliff dwellers may have belonged to the same or a similar race.
Neither thev nor the INIound Builders seem to have known anything of the use
of iron. They and the Mound Builders had all disappeared before the Indians
came who occupied that territory both in Illinois and Arizona when first dis-
covered by white men as appears from the fact that the Indians of Illinois when
first seen by white men were unable to tell anything about the builders of any
of the mounds, or the houses of the cliff dwellers, or when they were built, or
why. They seem in fact hardly to have noticed their existence.

Among' other remains of these prehistoric people are painted rocks, with
their scarcelv intelligible records. The most remarkable of these pictographs
in Illinois were found between Alton and the mouth of the lUlinois river at the
mouth of the Piasa (pronounced Pi"-a-saw ) Creek. They are the two pictures
of the Piasa Bird— half dragon and half bird— cut into the rock one hundred
feet up the face of the cliff and painted in extremely durable colors of green,
red, and black. Near these pictures of the Piasa bird there were several pic-
torial writings which archaeologists think they are able to interpret. Who
will be the Champollian who shall read these Rosetta stones? Unfortunately
the Piasa bird and other ]3ictographs in that neighborhood are now gone for-
ever for within the last generation those bluffs have been quarried by the m-
mates of the Alton penite'ntiary to obtain rock to manufacture lime. However,
several earlv copies were made and are to be found in books of history and
romance. The picture of the Piasa bird as described by Marquette and copied
from the drawing which he is said to have made is given on an adjoining page.

^larquette, who was the first white man to see it, gives the following de-
scription : t • 1 J

"As we coasted along rocks (near Alton), frightful for their height and
length, we saw two monsters painted on one of these rocks, which startled us
at first, and on which the boldest Indian dare not gaze long. They are as large
as a calf, with horns on the head like a deer, a fearful look, red eyes, bearded

HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY 7

like a tiger, the face somewhat Hke a man's, the body covered with scales, and
the tail so long that it twice makes the turn of the body, passing over the head
and down between the legs, and ending at last in a fish's tail. Green, red, and
a kind of black, are the colors employed. On the whole, these two monsters
are so well painted that we conld not believe any Indian to have been the
designer, as good painters in France would find it hard to do as well ; besides
this, they are so high ui)on the rock that it is hard to get conveniently at them
to paint them. This is prettv nearh- the tigure of these monsters, as I drew
it off."

The pictures of that Piasa Bird as seen by white men before the rocks were
destroyed were much larger than calves. Marquette must have been deceived
by the distance they were from his canoes.

The Piasa Bird, on account of its being such a work of art and so terrible,
has become the subject of traditions amongst the Indians since Marquette's
time, but such traditions as ignorant and imaginative people might originate
themselves. It is possibly worth our time to relate one of' these traditions. It
is as follows :

"Many thousand moons before the arrival of the pale faces, when the great
Magalonyx and Mastodon, whose bones are now dug up, were still living in the
land of green prairies, there existed a bird of such dimensions that he could
easily carry oft' in his talons a full-grown deer. Having obtained a taste for
human flesh, from that time he would prey on nothing else. He was as artful
as he was powerful, and would dart suddenl}- and unex])ectcdly upon an
Indian, bear him oft' into one of the caves of the bluft'. and devour him. Hun-
dreds of warriors attempted for years to destroy him, but without success.
Whole villages were nearly depopulated, and consternation spread through all
the tribes of the Illini.

"Such was the state of affairs when Ouatogo, the great chief of the Illini,
whose fame extended beyond the great lakes, separating himself from the rest
of his tribe, fasted in solitude for the space of a whole moon, and prayed to
the Great Spirit, the Master of Life, that he would protect his children from
the Piasa.

"On the last night of the fast the Great Spirit appeared to Ouatogo in a
dream, and directed him to select twenty of his bravest warriors, each armed
with a bow and poisoned arrows, and conceal them in a designated spot. Near
the place of concealment another warrior was to stand in open view, as a victim
for the Piasa, which they must shoot the instant he pounced upon his prey.

"When the chief awoke in the morning, he thanked the Great Spirit, and
returning to his tribe told them his vision. The warriors were C|uickly selected
and placed in ambush as directed. Ouatogo offered himself as the victim. He
was willing to die for his people. Placing himself in open view on the bluff's,
he soon saw the Piasa perched on the cliff eyeing his prey. The chief drew up
his manly form to his utmost height, and, planting his feet firmly upon the
earth, he began to chant the deathsong of an Indian warrior. The moment after,
the Piasa arose into the air, and swift as the thunderbolt darted down on his
victim. Scarcely had the horrid creature reached his prey before every bow
was sprung and every arrow was sent c|uivering to the feather into his body.
The Piasa uttered a fearful scream, that sounded far over the opposite side
of the river, and expired. Ouatogo was unharmed. Not an arrow, not even
the talons of the bird, had touched him. The Master of Life, in admiration
of Ouatogo's deed, had held over him an invisible shield.

"There was the wildest rejoicing among the Illini, and the brave chief was
carried in triumph to the council house, where it was solemnly agreed that in
memorv of the great event in their nation's history, the image of the Pia.sa
should be engraved on the bluff.

"Such is the Indian tradition. Of course I cannot vouch for its truth. This
much, however, is certain, that the figure of a huge bird, out in the solid rock,
is still there, and at a height that is perfectly inaccessible.

8 HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY

"How and for what purpose it was made I leave it for others to determine.
Even at this day an Indian never passes the spot in his canoe without firing his
gun at the figure of the Piasa. The marks of the balls on the rock are almost
innumerable."

These works of the ])re-historic races are interesting to us because they are
within the territory occupied by our Illinois confederacy, and the story of the
Piasa bird because it was probably the invention of the Illinois and had the
chief of that tribe for its hero. The fact that the Indians who were here when
Marquette and other missionaries came really knew nothing about these old
ruins leads archaeologists to believe that the mound builders had gone long
before our tribes came, as otherwise our tribes would probably have had some
tradition of their presence or of how they were driven out. The mound builders
seem to have enjoyed a higher state of civilization than the Indian tribes who
succeeded them. Sic transit gloria miuidi.

The Indians who were found here were a barbarous and savage race, as
were most of those then found within the present territory of the United
States, though our tribes were probably not so fierce and brutal as many others.
Much as we most sincerely regret the fate of the Indians who seem to be passing
away, the author — as a present representative of a family which, for seven
generations, has lived each generation on the Indian frontier, — may be pardoned
if he suggests that there seems to have been some excuse for the maxim of the
old pioneers that "there were no good Indians but dead Indians." This, like all
rules, of course, is to be understood with its exceptions, some of which will
have attention later. There were some noble red men, and many of them were
barbarously treated by infamous white men. It is a painful fact that the selfish,
cunning and strong from that day to this have always imposed upon, trodden
down and destroyed the weak, unwary and unwise, whether white, red or black,
and are doing it in our very midst to-day notwithstanding all our efiforts and
all our constitutions and laws made to prevent it.

The laws of nature and the laws of God. which are the same thing, forbid
that the magnificent prairies and forests with which He has blessed mankind
should be permitted to remain in their primitive state as pasture ground for
bison and bears in order to accommodate Indians who were unwilling to work,
thus violating God's first command to man — "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou
eat bread" — while men who are willing to work and who can make one acre
produce more food than an Indian obtained from a whole section must be al-
lowed to go hungry. The Indians had no title to the land, and they could not
use it. They did not even have possession of any of it except for villages in
which they made no valuable improvements. They lived here and there.
Wherever" thev could find fishing, they set up their wigwams or built little
cabins sometimes of logs plastered with mud and covered with grass.

We must also remember that the first white men that came to visit the
Indians came for the purpose of teaching them a better mode of living, a thing
they needed to know but were very slow to learn.

The most beautiful parts of Virginia and Kentucky, the Shenandoah \'alley
and the P>lue Grass region of Kentucky were never settled by the Indians at
all but were left wildernesses and were the constant scenes of their internecine
wars, savages fighting savages in a war of destruction and extermination, and
this before ever the white men came. The name Kentucky, which the Indians
gave to that country meant in their language "the dark and bloody ground"
and they had made it such, while now to many "the old Kentucky Home" is
the most heavenly place on earth.

Nor can the white men be charged with killing ofif the Indians by fightmg
them; for between the time the first white men came and the time when they
could exert any influence over the Indians or fight them aggressively, many
more Indians were killed by Indians than were ever killed by white men.

It is the usual characteristic of all Indian warriors that they indulged in

'■-^^.^

IIORSHOR MILL, KASI' SIDK ( IK PEOIUA LAKK

^-^Sr

■*t*?^^^^"

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KUKAl'OO ROAD SCENE— OLD LOi; HI T

HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY 9

polygamy, made slaves of their squaws, refusing to work themselves, tortured
their captives, offered human sacrifices to their pagan gods and fought neigh-
boring tribes to extermination.

THE PEORIAS

VVe are now ready to be introduced to the Peorias and as it is the first time
that we have met them and as Marquette is our only mutual friend, we will
permit him to introduce us in his own way.

The time is the 25th of June, 1673; the place, the western bank of the
Mississippi, between Burlington and I'^ort Madison at the mouth of the Des
Moines.

Manjuette's introduction is somewhat long but very interesting and he gives
us a pretty good description of their manner of life and their hospitality. Al-
though neither he nor Joliet had ever met this tribe, each party had learned
something of the other through the traders and Marquette and Joliet under-
stood to some extent the languages of the Indians in this part of the country.
In his own words as translated for our better understanding by John G. Shea,
Marquette says :

"We advanced constantly, but as we did not know where we were going,
having already made more than a hundred leagues without having discovered
anything but beasts and birds, we kept well on our guard. Accordingly we
made only a little fire on the shore at night to prepare our meal, and after sup-
per kept as far from it as possible, passing the night in our canoes, which we
anchored in the river pretty far from the bank. Even this did not prevent one
of us from always serving as a sentinel, for fear of a surprise.

"At last, on the 25th of June, w-e perceived footprints of men by the water-
side, and a beaten path entering a beautiful prairie. We stopped to examine it,
and concluding that it was a path leading to some Indian village, we resolved
to go and reconnoitre ; we accordingly left our two canoes in charge of our
people, cautioning them strictly to beware of a surprise; then M. Jollyet and I
undertook this rather hazardous discovery for two single men. who thus put
themselves at the discretion of an unknown and barbarous people. VVe fol-
lowed the little path in silence, and having advanced about two leagues, we
discovered a village on the banks of the river, and two others on a hill, half a
league from the former.

"Then, indeed, we recommended ourselves to God, with all our hearts ; and,
having implored His help, we passed on undiscovered, and came so near that
we even heard the Indians talking. We then deemed it time to announce our-
selves, as we did by a cry, which we raised with all our strength, and then
halted without advancing any farther. At this cry the Indians rushed out of
their cabins, and having probably recognized us as French, especially seeing a
black gown, or at least having no reason to distrust us, seeing we were but two,
and had made known our coming, they deputed four old men to come and
speak with us. Two carried tol)acco-])ipes well-adorned, and trimmed with
many kinds of feathers. They marched slowly, lifting their pipes toward the
sun as if offering them to him'to smoke, but yet without uttering a single word.
They were a long time coming the little way from the village to us. Having
reached us at last, they stopped to consider us attentively. I now took courage,
seeing these ceremonies, which are used by them only with friends, and still
more on seeing them covered with stuffs, which made me to judge them to
be allies. I, therefore, spoke to them first, and asked them who they were;
they answered that they were Illinois, and, in token of jjeace, they presented
their pipes to smoke. The\- then invited us to their village where all the tribe
awaited us with impatience.' These pipes for smoking are called in the country,
calumets, a word that is so much in use that I shall be obliged to employ it
in order to be understood, as I shall have to speak of it freciuently.

10 HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY

■'At the door of the cabin in which we were to be received, was an old man
awaiting us in a very remarkable posture, which is their usual ceremony in
receiving strangers. This man was standing, perfectly naked, with his hands
stretched out and raised toward the sun, as if he wished to screen himself
from its rays, which nevertheless passed through his fingers to his face. When
we came near him, he paid us this compliment: "How beautiful is the sun, O
Frenchman, when thou comest to visit us I All our town awaits thee, and thou
shalt enter all our cabins in peace." He then took us into his cabin where there was
a crowd of people, who devoured us with their eyes, but kept a profound
silence. We heard, however, these words occasionally addressed to us : 'Well
done, brothers, to visit us !'

"As soon as we had taken our places, they showed us the usual civility of
the country, which is to present the calumet. You must not refuse it, unless
you would pass for an enemy, or at least for being impolite. It is, however,
enough to pretend to smoke. While all the old men smoked after us to honor
us, some came to invite us on behalf of the great sachem of all the Illinois to
proceed to his town, where he wished to hold a council with us. We w-ent with
a good retinue, for all the people who had never seen a Frenchman among
them could not tire looking at us ; they threw themselves on the grass by the
wayside, they ran ahead, then turned and walked back to see us again. All this
was done without noise, and with marks of a great respect entertained for us.

"Having arrived at the great sachem's town, we espied liim at his cabin-door,
between two old men, all three standing naked, with their calumet turned to
the sun. He harangued us in a few words, to congratulate us on our arrival,
and then presented us his calumet and made us smoke ; at the same time we
entered his cabin, where we received all their usual greetings. Seeing all
assembled and in silence, I spoke to them by four presents which I made: by
the first, I said that we marched in peace to visit the nations on the river to
the sea; by the second, I declared to them that God their Creator had pity on
them, since, after their having been so long ignorant of Him, He wished to
become known to all nations ; that I was sent on His behalf with this design ;
that it was for them to acknowledge and obey Him ; by the third, that the great
chief of the French informed them that he spread peace everywhere, and had
overcome the Iroquois. Lastly, by the fourth, we begged them to give us all
the information they had of the sea, and of the nations through which we
should have to pass to reach it.

"When I had finished my speech, the sachem rose, and laying his hand on
the head of a little slave, whom he was about to give us, spoke thus: T thank
thee, Blackgown, and thee. Frenchman,' addressing M. Jollyet, "for taking so
much pains to come and visit us ; never has the earth been so beautiful, nor the
sun so bright, as today; never has our river been so calm, nor so free from
rocks, which your canoes have removed as they passed ; never has our tobacco
had so fine a 'flavor, nor our corn appeared so beautiful as w^e behold it today.
Here is mv son, that I give thee, that thou mayest know my heart. I pray thee
to take pitv on me and all my nation. Thou knowest the Great Spirit who has
made us ail; thou speakest to Him and hearest His word; ask Him to give me
life and health, and come and dwell with us, that we may know Him.' Saying
this, he placed the little slave near us and made us a second present, an all-
mysterious calumet, which they value more than a slave; by this present he
showed us his esteem for our governor, after the account we had given of him ;
by the third, he begged us, on behalf of his whole nation, not to proceed further,
on account of the great dangers to which we exposed ourselves.

•T replied, that I did not fear death, and that I esteemed no happiness
greater than that of losing my life for the glory of Him who made all. But
this these poor people could not understand.

"The council was followed bv a great feast which consisted of four courses,
w hich we had to take with all their ways ; the first course was a great wooden

HISTORY ()!■ PEORIA COUXTY 1]

dish full of sagnniity. that is to say, of Indian meal boiled in water and seasoned
with grease. The master of ceremonies, with a spoonful of sagamity, pre-
sented it three or four times to my mouth, as we would do with a little chil.l;
he did the same to M. Jollyet. I""or the second course, he brought in a second
dish containing three fish ; he took some pains to remove the bones, and having
blown u[)on it to cool it, put it in my mouth, as we would food to a bird ; for
the third course, they produced a large dog, which they had just killed, hut
learning that we did not eat it, it was withdrawn. Finally, the fourth course
was a piece of wild ox, the fattest portions of which were init into our mouths

"After this feast we had to visit the whole village, which consists of full
three hundred cal)ins. ^Vhile we marched through the streets, an orator was
constantly haranguing, to oblige all to see us without being troublesome ; we
were everywhere presented with belts, garters, and other articles made of the
hair of the bear and wild cattle, dyed red, yellow and gray. These are ihcir
rareties ; but not l^eing of consequence, we did not burthen ourselves with them.

"We slept in the sachem's cabin, and the next day took leave of him, promis-
ing to pass back through his town in four moons. He escorted us to our canoes
with nearly si.x hundred persons, who saw us embark, evincing in every possible
way the pleasure our visit had given them. On taking leave, I personally
promised that I would return the next year to stay with them, and instruct
them. Rut before leaving the Illinois country, it will be well to relate what
I remarked of their customs and manners.

"To say Illinois is, in their language, to say 'the men" as if other Indians
compared to them were mere beasts. And it must be admitted that they have
an air of humanity that we had not remarked in the other nations that we had
seen on the way. The short stay I made with them did not permit me to
acquire all tlie information I would have desired. The following is what I
remarked in their manners :

"They are divided into several villages, some of which are quite distant from
that of which I speak, and which is called Peouarea. This produces a diversity
in their language which in general has a great affinity to the Algonquin, so that
we easily understood one another. They are mild and tractable in their dis-
position, as we experienced in the reception they gave us. They have many
wives, of whom they are extremely jealous ; they watch them carefully, and
cut off their nose or ears when they do not behave well ; I saw several who bore
the marks of their infidelity. They are well-formed, nimble, and very adroit in
using the bow and arrow ; they use guns also, which they buy of our Indian
allies who trade with the French ; they use them especially to terrify their
enemies by the noise and smoke, the others lying too far to the west, have never
seen them, and do not know their use. They are war-like and formidable to
distant nations in the south and west, where they go to carry off slaves, whom
they make an article of trade, selling them at a high price to other nations for
goods.

"The distant nations against whom they go to war, have no knowledge of
Europeans ; thev are acquainted with neither iron nor cojjper, antl have nothing
but stone knives. When the Illinois set out on a war jiarty, the whole village
is notified by a loud cry made at the door of their huts tlie morning and evening
before they set out. The chiefs are distinguished from the soldiers by their
wearing a scarf ingeniously made of the hair of bears and wild oxen. The face
is painted with red lead or ochre, which is found in great quantities a few days'
journey from their village. They live by game, which is abundant in this coun-
try, and on Indian corn, of which they always gather a good crop, so that they
have never suffered from famine. They also sow beans and melons, which are
excellent, especially those with a red seed. Their s(|uashes are not of the best;
they dry them in the sun, to eat in the winter and spring.

"Their cabins are verv large : they are lined and floored with rush mats.
Thev make all their dishes of wood, and their s])oons of the bones of the buffalo,
which thev cut so well that it serves them to eat their sagamity easily.

12 HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY

"They are liberal in their maladies, and believe that the medicines given
them operate in proportion to the presents they have made the medicine-man.
Their only clothes are skins ; their women are always dressed very modestly
and decently, while the men do not take any pains to cover themselves. Through
what superstition I know not, some Illinois, as well as some Nadouessi (Sioux
or Dacotas), while yet young, assume the female dress, and keep it all their
life. There is some mystery about it, for they never marry, and glory in de-
basing themselves to do all that is done by women ; yet they go to war, though
allowed to use only a club, and not the bow and arrow, the peculiar arm of men ;
they are present at all the juggleries and solemn dances in honor of the calumet;
they are permitted to sing, but not to dance; they attend the councils, and
nothing can be decided without their advice ; finally, by the profession of an
extraordinary life, they pass for manitous (that is, for genii), or persons of
consequence.

"It now only remains for me to speak of the calumet, than which there is
nothing among them more mysterious or more esteemed. Men do not pay to
the crowns and sceptres of kings the honor they pay to it ; it seems to be the
god of peace and war, the arbiter of life and death. Carry it about you and
show it, and you can march fearlessly amid enemies, who even in the heat of
battle lay down their arms when it is shown. Hence the Illinois gave me one, to
serve as my safeguard amid all the nations that I had to pass on my voyage.
There is a calumet for peace, and one for war, distinguished only by the color
of the feathers with which they are adorned, red being the sign of war. They
use them also for settling disputes, strengthening alliances, and speaking to
strangers. It is made of a polished red stone, like marble, so pierced that one
end serves to hold the tobacco, while the other is fastened on the stem, which is
a stick two feet long, as thick as a common cane, and pierced in the middle ;
it is ornamented with the head and neck of difl:'erent birds of beautiful plumage;
they also add large feathers of red. green and other colors, with which it is
all covered. They esteem it particularly because they regard it as the calumet
of the sun ; and, in fact, they present it to him to smoke when they wish to
obtain calm, or rain, or fair weather. They scruple to bathe at the beginning
of summer, or to eat new fruits, till they have danced it. They do it thus:

"The calumet dance, which is very famous among these Indians, is per-
formed only for important matters, sometimes to strengthen a peace or to as-
semble for' some great war; at other times for a public rejoicing; sometimes
they do this honor to a nation who is invited to be present ; sometimes they use
it to receive some important personage, as if they wished to give him the en-
tertainment of a ball or comedy. In winter the ceremony is performed in a
cabin, in summer in the open fields. They select a place surrounded with trees,
so as to be sheltered beneath their foliage against the heat of the sun. In the
middle of the space they spread out a large parti-colored mat of rushes; this
serves as a carpet, on which to place with honor the god of the one who gives
the dance; for every one has his own god, or manitou as they call it, which is
a snake, a bird, or 'something of the kind, which they have dreamed in their
sleep, and in which they put all their trust for the success of their wars, fishing,
and hunts. Near this 'manitou and at its right, they put the calumet in honor
of which the feast is given, making around about it a kind of trophy, spreading
there the arms used by the warriors of these tribes, namely, the war-club, bow,
hatchet, quiver, and arrows.

"Things being thus arranged, and the hour for dancing having arrived, those
who are to sing take the most honorable place under the foliage. They are the
men and the women who have the finest voices, and who accord perfectly. The
spectators then come and take their places around under the branches ; but each
one on arrival must salute the manitou. which he does by inhaling the smoke
and then puffing it from his mouth upon it. as if offering incense. Each one
goes first and takes the calumet respectfully, and supporting it with both hands,

TTISTORV ()I- PEORTA COUNTY 13

makes it dance in cadence, suitiiii,' himself to the air of the song; he makes it
go through various figures, sometimes showing it to the whole assembly by
turning it from side to side.

"After this, he who is to begin the dance appears in the midst of the as-
sembly, and goes first ; sometimes he presents it to the sun, as if he wished it to
smoke ; sometimes he inclines it to the earth ; and at other times he spreads
its wings as if for it to fly; at other times, he approaches it to the mouths of
the spectators for them to smoke, the whole in cadence. This is the first scene
of the ballet.

"The second consists in a combat, to the sound of a kind of drum, which
succeeds the songs, or rather joins them, harmonizing cjuite well. The dancer
beckons to some brave to come and take the arms on the mat, and challenges
him to fight to the sound of the drums ; the other approaches, takes his bow
and arrow, and begins a duel against the dancer who has no defence but the
calmnet. This spectacle is very pleasing, especially as it is always done in time,
for one attacks, the other defends; one strikes, the other parries; one flies, the
other pursues ; then he who fled faces and puts his enemy to flight. This is
all done so well with measured steps, and the regular sound of voices and
drums, that it might i)ass for a very pretty opening of a ballet in I'rance.

"The third scene consists of a speech delivered by the holder of the calumet,
for the combat being ended without bloodshed, he relates the battles he was in,
the victories he has gained ; he names the nations, the places, the captives he
has taken, and as a reward, he who presides at the dance jjresents him with a
beautiful beaver robe, or something else, which he receives, and then he presents
the calumet to another, who hands it to a third, and so to all the rest, till all
having done their duty, the presitling chief presents the calumet itself to the
nation invited to this ceremony in token of the eternal peace which shall reign
between the two tribes."

Indian customs form a very enticing study but space forbids more being
said about them here. H. H. Bancroft in discussing these questions says that
his work embodies the researches of some five hundred travelers.

Hennepin gives the following account of the village of the Kaskaskias near
Starved Rock.

"It contains four hundred and si.xty cabins made like long arbors and cov-
ered with double mats of flat flags, so well sewed that they are never pene-
trated by the wind, snow or rain. Each cabin has four or five fires, and each
fire has one or two families, who all live together in a good understanding."

This was probably the largest and best built village in the territory occupied
by the Illinois tribes at that time.

More frequently they lived in wigwams, a kind of a rude tent made by
setting a circle of poles in the ground, tying the tops together and covering them
over with skins of wild animals. These wigwams they could take down and
move as quickly as a soldier could move his tent. This they did frequently, and
would leave even their villages in .-i body for their hunting grounds, only re-
turning with the change of season.

Concerning tribal boundaries, H. H. Bancroft says:

".Accurately to draw partition lines between primitive nations is impossible.
Migrating with the seasons, constantly at war, driving and being driven far past
the limits of hereditary boundaries, extirpating and being extirpated, over-
whelming, intermingling: like a human sea, swelling and .surging in its wild
struggle with the winds of fate, they come and go, here to-day, yonder to-mor-
row. A traveler passing over the country finds it inhabited by certain tribes ;
another coming after finds all changed. ' One writer gives certain names to
certain nations; another changes the name, or gives to the nation a totally dif-
ferent locality. An approximation, however, can be made sufficiently correct
for ])ractical purposes."

The location of our Illinois tribes is somewhat difficult for they made no

14 • HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY

permanent improvements. They never owned their land in severalty. Xo
Intlian could point out a piece of land as belonging to him and to his family
after him. and as being his to improve it for their benefit.

MIGR.\TIOXS OF THE ILLINOIS

The location of our Indian tribes is shown as definitely as possible by the
adjoining maps.

I'ractically, when first discovered, our Illinois tribes occupied the Illinois
\'al!ey and the banks of the Mississippi for a little distance below it. { See
first cut on the adjoining page.)

Our own Peorians occupied a village where Peoria City now stands and
one on the west bank of the Mississippi river, almost due west from Peoria
together with all of the territory between the Illinois and ^Mississippi rivers,
south of a line connecting these two villages.

The Kickapoos were found between the Rock River and the Mississippi.
The Pottawottomies in the southeastern corner of Wisconsin and our tribes
were bounded on the northeast by the W'ea Aliamis and on the southeast by
the Piankeshaw Miamis, while the powerful and bloody Shawnees extended
over into the southeast corner of Illinois along the Ohio river.

Eighty-one years later in 1765 (see cut number two), when this territory
was ceded by France to England, the Indians had moved further south. The
Sauks and Foxes then inhabited the territory between the Illinois river and the
Mississippi. The Pottawottomies had come to occupy the territory about the
southern end of Lake Michigan. The Kickapoos who were at first found in
the neighborhood of Galena were now occupying central Illinois east of the
Illinois river, and the Illinois tribes, very much reduced in number were driven
down and were living about the mouth of the Kaskaskia river opposite St.
Louis. Yet later, at the outbreak of the war of 1812, between the Americans
and the English, w'hile the W'innebagos had crowded down and were occupying
part of the territory north of the Rock River, the Sauks and Foxes were still
up along the Mississippi river. The Pottawottomies, who so mercilessly mas-
sacred the Kaskaskias near Starved Rock, were occupying the northern half
of the valley of the Illinois and the Kickapoos were in the southern part of
Illinois. The Piankeshaw Miamis were driven over into Indiana and the rem-
nant that was left of our poor Illinois tribes were occupying a little territory
down near St. Louis.

General William IJ. Harrison in a letter dated 1814 says that when he was
first appointed governor of Indiana territory, in 1800, our once powerful Illinois
confederacy was reduced to about thirty warriors of whom twenty-five were
Kaskaskias, four Peorias and one a Mitchigamian. A furious war between
them and the Sauks had reduced them to this forlorn remnant and they had
taken refuge among the white people of the towns of Kaskaskia and St. Gene-
vieve. Since 1800 they have been moved from reservation to reservation until
in 1872 they had dwindled to forty men, women, and children, and were located
in the northeast corner of what is now Oklahoma, having merged with the
!Miamis and other tribes.

The Illinois confederacy had already commenced to decline when the first
white men came here, but they were once a powerful organization. Father
^lembre says that in 1680 they had seven or eight thousand souls in their one
village at Starved Rock. In the days of their power, they had nearly exter-
minated the \\"innebagos, and their war parties had penetrated the towns of
the Iroquois as far east as the valleys of the Mohawk and the Genesee. Mar-
quette himself says in the passage quoted above, "They had an air of humanity
that we had not remarked in the other nations we had seen."

A daughter of a sub-chief of the Peoria tribe gave birth to a son in 1793
where the Kaskaskia and the "River of the Plains" unite to form the beginning

A SCENK IX 1'.1;A1)I-KV I'AI;K

HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY 15

of the Illinois and called him Eaptiste Peoria. His reputed father was a French-
Canadian trader named Baptiste. The son was a man of large stature, pos-
sessed of great strength, activity and courage and was like Keokuk, the great
chief of the Sac and Fox Indians, a fearless and expert horseman. He soon
came into prominence and his known integrity and ability secured the confidence
of all so that he was for many years in the employ of the United States govern-
ment. By precept and example he spent the better portion of a busy life in
persistent efforts to save the fragment of the Illinois and Miamis by encourag-
ing them to adopt the ways of civilized life. He finally collected the remnants
of the scattered tribes of Indians and in 1867 led them out to the northeast
corner of Indian Territory, where he died at the age of eighty years.

It will be interesting to those who now reside in Peoria and vicinity and
own and occupy the land once occupied by the Peorias as hunting and fishing
grounds when the white men first came, to know what has become of the rem-
nant of the Indians who lived here at that time.

The different tribes composing the Illinois confederacy were amalgamated
with each other and they all then jjecanie known as the Peorias, and then again
thev were amalgamated with the Miamis and were called the Peoria-Miami
Indians and we have seen that they moved out to northeastern Oklahoma to a
reservation there, where they are now living, under the leadership of Baptiste
Peoria, one of their leading men.

All but five of the one hundred forty-four Peorias wear citizen's dress —
that is, white man's dress.

The Indians in the accepted sense have disappeared leaving a race in which
white blood predominates — a people having nothing in common with the Indian
and having everything in common with the whites.

As long ago as 1890, of the one hundred sixty Indians, one hundred forty
could converse in English well enough for ordinary purposes.

Twenty years ago, all the Peorias were made citizens of the United States
and of Oklahoma. Those people are self-supporting, not having received any
pension for the last twenty years. In that community there are three white
persons to each Indian.

Upon their reservation is incorporated a town called Peoria, where they
have a postofTice, about twelve miles northeast of Wyandotte, with a popula-
tion in 1Q04 of two hundred, at which time out of one hundred ninety-two
Peorias, there were seventy-one half blood or more and one hundred twenty-one
of less than half blood.

In estimating the number of Indians now living and in estimating their in-
crease or decrease a mistake is almost always made. They count every person
of more or less Indian blood as an Indian just as fully as if he were a full
blooded Indian. It might be if this process was kept up long enough we would
all be counted as Indians. For this reason, in really estimating the number of
Indians of the Peoria-Miami tribes in existence at present, of the two hundred
who are half bloods, more or less, that ought to be considered as one hundred
Indians and one hundred whites. The whites are as well entitled to count a
half blood as the Indians are. According to this way of reckoning, it will be
seen that the Indians of the Peoria-Miami tribe now .should be considered as
er]ual to one hundred full blood Indians.

The restriction on the sale of their homesteads of our tribes will expire in

in marriage and divorce and all other matters, they follow the laws of then-
state..

^ince they have become citizens, the government of the United States has
no further control over their persons. .Although some Indians are poor, the
Peorias, as a rule, are in comfortable circumstances according to the standard
of communities such as theirs. They are a fairly well-to-do people, there being
among them some thrifty and successful farmers and stock raisers. Therd are

16 HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY

a few uneducated ones in the tribe. A number of them are people of intelli-
gence, education and refinement, comparing more than favorably with a large
proportion of the whites who have settled among them. Several reside and
are engaged in business in Miami, Oklahoma, a modern town of about three
thousand people located within the agency on the Neosho river.

There remain a very few full bloods, yet among these are some of the best
citizens. Many of the tribe are members of the Society of Friends and others
belong to various denominations.

The wife of the present member of the legislature from their county is a
Peoria, a member of one of the old and respected families of the tribe.

Soon the Indians like the Angles, the Saxons, the Danes and the Celts, the
Normans and the Gauls will cease to exist among us as a separate people.

Should some future Bulwer Lytton write the romance of "The Last of the
Roving Red Monarchs of the Prairies" his hero would be Baptiste Peoria.

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CHAPTER III

FORCES WHICH MADE PEORIA AND THE .MATERIAL OF WHICH

IT WAS MADE

"I beg pardon, once and for all, of those readers who take up 'history'
merely for amusement, for plaguing them so long with old fashioned jjolitics,
and Whig and Tory, and Hanoverians and Jacobites. The truth is, I cannot
promise them that this story shall be intelligible, not to say probable, without it."
— Sir Jl'alter Scott.

There prevailed in Europe in the days of Le Grand Monarque and the great
protector, about the middle of the seventeenth century, many fundamental
principles and ideas influencing society, ecclesiastical and civil, which were
strenuously contending with each other for supremacy. These warring ele-
ments prompted and controlled the discovery and settlement of North America
and influenced our development, determining the character and progress of our
people and being still efl:'ective in the shaping of our institutions, our laws, and
our civilization. The predominance of some of them in North America and
their former suppression in South America have made the difference that
exists to-day between the people, the laws, the civilization and progress, the
happiness and glory of these two continents. Our southern sister republics are
now making great advances and for several decades have been but this has come
about largelv through their efforts to follow our example and because they have
been under the shadow of our flag. In all probability there would not be a
republic there to-day if the United States had not demonstrated the proposition
that a government of the people, by the people and for the people can live, at
least for a hundred years and more.

The colonies in South America were a hundred years old at the inception
of those in North America. This was perhaps a disadvantage to them for they
were begun at a time when civil and religious liberty were little understood any-
where in the whole world, and they were controlled by Spain and other nations
which in these respects were the least progressive of all — church and state were
allied and autocratic ; and the greatest ambition of the people was the acquisition
of gold. Only one party was allowed in Spain, the leaders being selfish, cor-
rupt and tyrannical while the working people were little better than serfs or
beasts of the plow.

On the other hand when our continent was colonized personal liberty, espe-
cially the liberty of the mind, had begun to be developed ; men were beginning
to pursue their own wav of thinking and to express their opinions freely and
IHiblicly and the plain working people were more respected through all luirope.

In England at this time four great classes of fundamental principles of gov-
ernment were at work each represented by a political party and each favoring
and favored by some special religious faith and form of church government.
The churches differed from each other as much in their form of government as
in their creeds and each endeavored to have the civil government brought as
nearly as possible to the rules and forms under which it controlled its ecclesias-
tical matters. The Independents carried their radical democratic principles not
only into matters of church but into matters of state as well. The Presbyte-

VoL 1—2 _

18 HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY

rians were in both respects more conservative and stood for the principles of
representative republican government. Then there was the established Episcopal
Church with its prelates and bishops, its hierarchy in church and its specially
favored nobilitv and gentry, its primogeniture and entailed estates. The fourth
party was that of the Roman Catholics, a powerful element in the state. Charles
II was a professional member of the Episcopal Church but in his heart he was
a sympathizer and lover of the Roman Catholic Church and died in its confession.
His brother and heir apparent to the succession was an open and pronounced
Roman Catholic and wdien he came to the throne, lived on a pension from Louis
XI\' the grand master of absolutism. The kings of France and England both
believe in the right of kings to rule absolutely by divine appointment and with-
out the consent of the people. Fortunately no one of these four principal politi-
cal parties had the uncontrolled power for any great length of time.

In France, under Louis XI\", the last of these four principles of absolutism
held full sway. The church and state were absolutely allied and thoroughly
autocratic, and the king allowed no opposition to his own views or wishes. He
surrounded himself with able men who merely executed his will and whose
highest aim was to increase and spread abroad the glory of the king. Colbert,
his great promoter of French industry, manufactures and trade, and his gen-
erals Turenne, Conde and A'aban surpassed the statesmen and soldiers of all
other countries while Louis himself was pre-eminently able, efficient, and accom-
plished among the kings and princes of his time which he rendered the most
illustrious in the French annals. He caused the court of \'ersailles to be every-
where admired as the model of taste, refinement and distinction but he sought
nothing but the gratification of his own selfishness and love of pleasure, his
pride and desire of renown and splendor. His reign became the grave of free-
dom, of morals, of firmness of character, and of manly sentiment. Court favor
was the end of everv effort of his subjects and flattery the surest means of
reaching it. \'irtue and merit met with little acknowledgment. He built up
the glory and magnificence of his own age and nation while he destroyed the
only sure and permanent foundations of government. Without the free power
in the people to conscientiously criticize superiors with impunity, no country can
be progressive and enduring. Louis permitted nothing of the kind in either
church or state. Without power in the citizen to act according to his own in-
dividual judgment and on his own initiative, controlled only by necessary and
equitable laws and his own conscience undominated by the dictation of auto-
cratic superiors, no people can be intelligent, progressive, courageous, strong or
safe. This power in either church or state, Louis completely crushed out in his
kingdom. The magnificent centralization of wealth and splendor in his tnne
ended after a few generations in a terrible downfall and the horrors of the
French revolution and Louis and his wrong principles were responsible for it.
There was onlv one clause in the constitution of France and that was made by
the king himself. It reads thus, "The State, I am the State."

Spain too was a monarchy under the absolute control of the Catholic Church.
There were other feebler nations that made settlements in what is now the
territory of the United States. But the three great kingdoms of Europe —
Spain, England and France — were almost equal in strength, and for hundreds
of years it was the policy of European nations to preserve, if possible, the bal-
ance of power.

At the time the history of Peoria begins, from the Gulf of :\Iexico to the
North Pole, there were very few European settlements situated more than ten
miles distant from a port accessible to ocean vessels and these were small and
insignificant.

Florida was held bv the Spaniards. St. Augustine is the oldest settlement
in the L^nited States. It was and is a walled town, founded in 1565 by Spaniards.
Possibly Santa Fe. New Mexico, also Spanish, was the next. French Calvinists,
under the patronage of Admiral Coligny, had made a settlement a short time

HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY 19

before at St. John in Florida, Ijui the Spanish navy ruthlessly destroyed the
place, murdering the women and children and making slaves of the men whom
they did not murder. These peoi>le were destroyed because they were Protes-
tants.

Meanwhile the Fnglish were planting enduring colonies. The Dutch had
settled in New York and the Swedes in Delaware but their control was of
short duration. Except for these little colonies, which were soon absorbed by
the English, the Atlantic coast was settled from Florida to Canada under the
auspices and protection of the English government. However, the colonies dif-
fered greatlv in character. Each one of the four parties of England was spe-
cially interested in its own particular colony and the people of each colony par-
took of the characteristic of the party, church or sect which colonized it.

New England was colonized by the Independents. They were divided into
different sects and were not always tolerant of each other, but they did not differ
greatly in the character of their people or even in important matters of creed
or of ecclesiastical and civil government.

The Dutch colony of New York (New Amsterdam) soon passed into the
control of the Duke of York, a Roman Catholic, but all religions were tolerated
and most were to be found there.

Pennsylvania belonged to a Quaker and Quakers predominated there ; but
it also contained man\- Presbyterians and men of other sects, all of whom en-
joyed religious liberty.

New Jersey and Delaware were settled partly by Swedes and Quakers and
largely by Presbyterians.

Maryland belonged to a Roman Catholic proprietor but although thus owned
and governed the majority of the people were Protestants from a very early
day. Religious liberty prevailed there until 1692 when it passed for a short
time under the control of the PZpiscopalians.

The leading \irginians were from the beginning lovers and imitators of the
English gentry. They loved the English Episcopal Church, which was the es-
tablished church until after the beginning of the Revolutionary War, and it was
rather intolerant in the lower counties, nevertheless the \'irginians were always
strong and valiant defenders of liberty. For business reasons, the Lutherans
were tolerated by sjjecial statute at an early date ; and the valleys of the Shenan-
doah and Holston rivers were first settled by the Scotch and Scotch-Irish Pres-
byterians, whom Gov. Gooch sought to introduce, on account of their heroic
fighting qualities, as a defense against the Shawnees, Cherokees, and other war-
like Indians promising that they should be allowed to enjoy their own religion
in their own way. There were also some Dutch immigrants who were Protestant
dissenters. It will be seen in another chapter that Virginia was really Illinois'
mother country.

Neither of the Carolinas nor Georgia was sufficiently settled before the mid-
dle of the seventeenth century to make it an appreciable element in early colonial
life or politics.

At the time of the discovery of Illinois, there were jirobably 150,000 white
people settled on the shores of the .Atlantic Ocean within the present territory of
the United States ; to the west of them in a territory bounded ijy the great lakes,
the Mississippi river, and the Gulf of Mexico, there were approximately an
equal number of Indians (150,000). Probably Plymouth had 6,500 whites;
Connecticut, 13,000; Massachusetts, 19,000; Maine, New Hampshire, and Rhode
Island had about 3,500 each; New York, icS,ooo; Virginia about 42,000; Mary-
land probablv ifi,ooo; Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware possibly 6,000;
the Carolinas and Georgia together, 7,000.

We have given this review of the condition of the eastern colonies because
they were at that time establishing and developing those great principles of
civil and religious liberty upon which they united and formed of themselves a
great nation which from the days of George Rogers Clark and his \'irginians

20 HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY

protected and defended us and of which we ourselves have since become a
part so that their destiny and ours have become one ; and further because the
men of heroic character, indomitable energy, self-rehance and individual initia-
tive who made Peoria were themselves the unique product of those older
colonies.

There was not a prelate of any church or sect within the territory of the
colonies until after the Revolutionary War nor a nobleman, except those who
were made noble in nature by the grace of God and their own efforts.

The attempt of France to colonize the new world had not been very success-
ful. They made their first permanent settlement at Port Royal three years
before Jamestown was settled. Champlain established a colony at Quebec in
1608. In 1644 Cardinal Richelieu organized the "Company of New France"
which was to have the monopoly of trade for fifteen years and on the other hand
it agreed to take three hundred French Roman Catholic settlers each year to
the colony and to provide each settlement with three priests.

In 1660 there were no more than two thousand French settlers in New France
and there were not probably more than two or three times that many at the time
Marquette and Joliet visited Illinois.

CHAPTER IV
DISCO\ERY BY THE FRENCH

"Thou too sail on. O ship of State!

Sail on, O Union, strong and great!

Humanity with all its fears,

With all the hopes of future years,

Is hanging breathless on thy fate !

We know what .Master laid thy keel.

What Workman wrought thy ribs of steel.

Who made each mast, and sail, and rope,

What anvils rang, what hammers beat,

In what a forge and what a heat

Were shaped the anchors of thy hope."
■'Our hearts, our hopes, are all with thee,

Our hearts, our hopes, our prayers, our tears,

Our faith triumphant o'er our fears,

Are all with thee, — are all with thee!"

In the foregoing pages we have given something like a "flying machine" view
of the forces that united in the making of Peoria and have controlled its destiny
It remains to see how, when, and for what purpose, those various influence;
explored and finally colonized and developed our city and county.

We have seen how our beautiful valley of the Illinois and the whole valley
of the Mississippi were inhabited successively by two great races which have
moved away forever or perished from the earth. Meanwhile the forces oi
history were preparing for the coming of the third, — the white race. We have
seen that in Euro])e \his race was then divided into four great parties, each
of which was represented in America, and we have seen how they differed among
themselves in principles and ideas of government. We have omitted discussion
of the Quakers and other small sects, which did not much believe in any form
of government. How these great parties contended on the farther side of the
Atlantic and on this side, and have continued to contend to the present day. and
how their principles have affected us and still affect us and how we Americans
have endeavored with more or less success to eliminate the bad and retain the
good of each, are among the interesting questions now before us.

Earlv in the seventeenth century the French had commenced to establish
trading posts and missionary stations on our northern lakes. There was one
of these at La Pointe near the southwestern corner of Lake Superior, surrounded
by the Apostle Islands, almost due north from the western part of Peoria
County. It was from there in 1653. — twenty years before Marquette and Joliet
started on their vovage of discovery, when the Grand Monarch has been ten
years on the throne of France, ten years after the formation of the first con-
federacv between the New England colonies for the purpose of resisting the
encroachment of the French and Indians, and about the time Cromwell was
dissolving the Long Parliament — that a missionary. Father Jean Dequcrre. a
Jesuit, early in 1653, started for the Illinois and, it is said, established a flourish-

22 HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY

ing mission — the first mission in the Mississippi valley — probably at the place
where Peoria is now situated. "He visited various Indian nations on the borders
of the Mississippi, and was slain in the midst of his apostolical labors in 1661.
"In 1657, Father Jean Charles Drocoux, Jesuit, went to the Illinois, and re-
turned to Quebec the same year."

"In 1663, Father Claude Jean Allouez was appointed Vicar General of the
north and west, including Illinois. He preached to the Pottawottomies and
Aliamis about Green Bay; in 1665, he returned to Quebec, and went to the Illi-
nois in 1668, and visited the missions on the Mississippi."

"In 1670, Father Hugues Pinet, Jesuit, went to the Illinois, and established
a mission among the Tamarois, or Cahokias, at or near the present site of the
village of Cahokia, on the borders of the Mississippi. He remained there until
the year 1686, and was at that mission when Marquette and Joliet went down
the Mississippi. In the same year M. Bergier, priest of the Seminary of Quebec,
succeeded him in the mission to the Tamaroas or Cahokias: and Father Pinet
returned to the mission of St. Louis (Peoria), where he remained until he died,
the i6th of Tulv, 1704, at the age of seventy-nine."

"In 1670," M'. Augustine Meulan de Circe, priest of the Seminary of Quebec,
went to Illinois. He left the mission there in 1675 and returned to France."
"Thus it will be seen that for tzventy years, to wit. from 1653 to 1673, anterior
to the discovery of Marquette and joliet, there was a succession of missions in
the Illinois." "There are no other memorials of these missions now extant,
as known to us, except those preserved in the Seminary of Quebec, from a copy
of which the above notices are taken. The only object is to show, that for
years before Marquette and Joliet visited the country, the 'Illinois' and 'Mis-
sissippi' had been discovered, and missions actually established on their
borders. That these good fathers made notes on their travels, and rendered
accounts of the various Indian tribes which they visited along the Father of
Waters, to their superiors, there can be no doubt. What have become of these
memorials of early western adventure and discovery now? It is impossible to
say. That they would throw much light on the early history of the west, there
can be no doubt."

The Grand Monarque who always had in his service the most alert, ac-
complished, able and devoted officers, i'n 1873 had Count de Frontenac as governor
of Canada, M. Talon, as Intendent, or Supervisor of the Civil Government,
and Claud F. Dablon, as the Father Superior of the Jesuit :\Iissions. These
able men knew the importance of the' discoveries made by the missionaries and
traders, for they had been told about the Mississippi and believed that it emptied
either into the Gulf of California or into the Gulf of :\Iexico; and they now
determined to have that matter thoroughly and officially explored. For this
purpose they selected Sieur Jollyet, who was a most able and thoroughly com-
petent young man, born in this" country and endowed with every quality that
could be desired in such an enterprise, having experience and a knowledge of
the languages of the Ottawa Country, where he had spent several years; hav-
ing moreover the tact and prudence necessary for an expedition so dangerous
and difficult, and a courage that feared nothing.

For several years, Father James Marquette, a Jesuit missionary, has longed
to have the great river and the prairies of Illinois explored and the Gospel car-
ried to the Indians; and when an opportunity was offered of accompanying
Toliet he at once accepted it with delight and enthusiasm, putting their expedi-
tion under the protection of the Blessed \'irgin Immaculate, and promising
her that if she did him the grace to discover the great river, he would give it the
name of "Conception." In 1669 while stationed at Che-goi-me-gon he selected
a young Illinois as a companion by whose instructions he became familiar with
the dialect of that tribe. . , t ■

Toliet and Marquette with two canoes and five service men started on their
trip the 17th of May, 1673, from the Mission of St. Ignez opposite Mackinack.

HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY 23

They coasted along the northern shore of Lake Michigan and entered the waters
of Green Bay ; from its head they passed the portage into the river Wisconsin
and down that into the Mississippi, the great river, tiien without a name, and
named it Conception River. This discovery was made on the i/th of June,
1673, just thirty days after they started. Without many interesting incidents
they followed down the Mississippi until they arrived at three little villages of
the I'eorias, members of the Illinois Confederacy, on the western shore of the
Mississippi almost directly west of Peoria. Marquette's description of this visit
has been already quoted. From there they went on south to the vicinity of the
Arkansas River where they found a different and more warlike people. They
were already convinced that the great river emptied into the Gulf of Mexico,
and they were told that it w^ould be very dangerous for them to go any farther,
not only because the Indians there were unfriendly and warlike, but because
they might meet Spanish explorers. For these reasons they wisely concluded
to return and report their valuable discoveries rather than to go on further and
by their own deaths cause the loss of all they had gained. They therefore
started up the .Mississippi River but on reaching the mouth of the Illinois they
determined to take it as a shorter route to the lakes. Near Alton they dis-
covered the pictures of the Piasa Bird and other pictographs already described.

It was on the 17th of July, just thirty days after their discovery of the
Mississippi, that they began their return voyage. Marquette expresses his
admiration of what he saw in the Illinois valley in the following language:

"We had seen nothing like this river for the fertility of the land, its prairies,
woods, wild cattle, stag, deer, wild-cats, bustards, swans, ducks, parrots and even
beaver ; its many little lakes and rivers. That on which we sailed is broad, deep,
and gentle for sixty-five leagues. During the spring and part of the summer,
the only portage is half a league."

^Marquette was a very devoted missionary and never lost an opportunity to
publish the Gospel to the Indians whom he met. He stopped three days at the
village of Peoria, preaching his faith in all their Cabins. As he was embarking,
the Indians brought to him at the water's edge a dying child which he baptized
a little before it expired; deeming this, as he says, "an admirable providence"
for the salvation of that innocent soul and one by which all the fatigue of his
voyage was. well repaid.

We regret exceedingly that Manjuette did not more fully describe his visit
to our Peoria village. He says nothing of the previous visits of Father Jean
Dec|uerre, or by any of the other priests that are said to have been here before
him. Perhaps he may not have known atwut these visits or he may have had
his own reason for not mentioning them. I believe he does not mention the fact
that the Indians here were the same tribe that he met in Iowa but this was
undoubtedly the case. At any rate, he seems to have been well received and to
have spent a busy three days with them and to have baptized a child.^ Perhaps,
though he does not refer to it, the Indians already knew something of Christianity
from former missionaries.

This expedition of Jolict and .Marquette "was a w^onderful journey," says
Stephen L. Spear, "without serious accident or misadventure from start to
finish. Xo deaths, no sickness, no desertions, no dissensions among them-
selves, no conflicts wdth the natives, no fatal scarcity of corn, no waste of time,
no change of plan, none of the usual misfortunes accompanying such expeditions
in those days — a canoe voyage of more than 2,300 miles in bark canoes over an
uncharted route without map or guide — without shelter from scorching sun
or pelting rain or driving wind — anchoring near mid-stream at night, not daring
to go forward for fear of rock and rapids ; not daring to camp on shore for fear
of surprise by hostile natives ; refraining from shooting the game with which the
country abounded for fear of attracting the attention of unwelcome neighbors —
their little stock of corn and dried meat the only commissary on which they could
draw for supplies ; yet 20 miles a day upstream and down, through foul weather

24 HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY

and fair, including all stops and portages, returning to their point of departure
without a mishap worthy of record."

Marcjuette has generally been considered the historian of that exploring
expedition. Joliet lost his instruments and his memoranda and nearly lost his
life at La Chine Rapids, yet he nevertheless prepared a map from memory,
which was sent to France by Frontenac. The report of Marquette was intended
as Joliet's official report of his voyage.

CHAPTER V
TAKING POSSESSION BY LA SALLE

The last chapter gave an account of the discovery of the Illinois country.
This will describe how it was claimed and held for the French King and the
Roman Catholic Church.

Eight years before Joliet and ]\Iarquette made their historic exploration,
Jean Talon, Coun.selor and Intendant to Louis XIY, wrote to John Colbert,
the King's Prime '^Minister, as follows:

"Canada is of such a vast e.xtent that I know not of its limits on the north,
thev are so great a distance from us. and on the south there is nothing to prevent
his Majesty's name and arms being carried as far as Florida, New Sweden,
New Netherlands, New England ; and that through the first of these countries
access can be had even to Mexico. All this country is diversely watered by the
Saint Lawrence and the beautiful rivers that flow into it latterly, that com-
municate with divers Indian nations rich in furs, especially the more northern
of them. The southern nations can also be reached by way of Lake Ontario, if
the portages (beyond) with which we are not yet acquainted, are not very
difficult, though this may be overcome. If these southern nations do not abound
in peltries as those of the north, they may have more precious commodities.
And if we do not know of these last, it is because our enemies, the Iroquois,
intervene between us and the countries that produce them."

Talon does not seem to consider the possibility of reaching the southern
country by the way of the Illinois and Mississippi, or even by the way of the
Wabash and Ohio, which afterwards were avenues of trade and travel. Per-
haps he was not sufficiently sure about them. His plan seems to have been
to follow up some river and make a connection by a portage with the
head waters of the Ohio. Talon's scheme would probably have been better
than the western ones if he could have succeeded and held it, because it would
have confined the Atlantic colonies east of the mountains more easily; but it
would have been more difficult to hold because the portage would have been
longer and the Iroquois and the colonies were dangerously near.

Talon also wrote Colbert in 1671, two years before Marquette's expedition,
as follows : ■ .

"I am no Courtier, and assert, not through a mere desire to please the King,
nor without just reason that this portion of the F"rench Monarch will become
something grand." "What I discover around me causes me to foresee this, and
those colonies of various nations so long settled on the seaboard already tremble
with afifright in view of what his Majesty has accomplished here in the interior
within seven years. Measures adopted to confine them within narrow limits
by taking possession, which I have caused to be effected, do not allow them to
spread, without subjecting themselves at the same time to be treated as usurpers
and to have war waged against them, and this truth is what, by all their acts,
they seem to greatly fear. They already know that your name is spread abroad
among the savages' throughout all those countries and that he alone is there
regarded by them, (the savages) as the arbitrator of peace and war. All detach
themselves insensibly from other Europeans and excepting the Iroquois, of

26 HISTORY OF PEORIA COUXTY

whom I am not as yet assured, we may safely promise ourselves to make the
others take up arms whenever we please."

The King's able minister and his intendant saw the great importance of tak-
ing possession of the valleys of the ^Mississippi, Illinois, and Ohio, and of hemming
in and confining the Atlantic seaboard colonies to the eastern side of the Alle-
ghany Alountains, for they belonged to rival nations in Europe and were founded
on theories of government — as regards both church and state and social life —
very different from those of P'rance, besides being aggressive competitors for
the Indian trade.

La Salle was an extraordinary man. "It is easy to reckon up his defects
but it is not easy to hide from sight the Roman virtues that redeemed them.
Beset by a throng of enemies, he stands like a King of Israel, head and shoulders
above them all. He was a tower of adamant against whose front hardships
and dangers, the rage of men, of the elements, the southern sun, the northern
blast, fatigue, famine and disease, delay, disappointment and hope deferred,
emptied their cjuivers in vain.''

Four years before Joliet's discovery La Salle had fitted out an expedition
to explore the Ohio from its source to the sea, and had actually started on
the expedition ; but owing to disagreements with the ecclesiastical part of his
associates, he was diverted from his purpose and returned home without even
reaching the Ohio. Then for some years he led the life of a "Runner of the
Woods,'' but he was more than a runner. He was of good birth and education
and of correct habits, a promoter of great enterprises whose management he
imposed on himself, a man of great ambition and tenacity, shirking no hard-
ships, apparently incapable of discouragement and unconscious of defeat to the
last.

Joliet, after his return from his exploring expedition with Marquette, met
La Salle at Fort Frontenac. Here the two celebrated explorers conferred
together as to the geography of the country and its future possibilities. La Salle,
enterprising and ambitious as he was, saw in its development a great opportunity
and seized it with delight, energy and enthusiasm. He applied to the King for
a charter, which was granted. May 12, 1678. This authorized him to build a
new and much stronger fort at Fort Frontenac, (now Kingston, Canada) granted
him a large tract of land in the vicinity and authorized him to take possession
of the country, of which they hoped to make a glorious New France, and to
fortify it and hold it for the great King and the Roman Catholic Church.

His party was soon gathered. Chevalier Henri de Tonti, an Italian by birth,
son of the merchant who invented the Tontine system of accumulating money.
a professional soldier with much experience in European wars, a brave and able
man, who afterwards proved himself to be a most faithful and loyal friend of
La Salle, was introduced to him by Prince de Conti ; and they, together with
Louis Hennepin, a Franciscan Friar, Father Gabriel de La Ribourde, and Zeno-
bius or Zenoble Membre, all members of the Franciscan order of the Roman
Catholic Church, furnished the ability, intelligence and character for the new
expedition. The priests of this order were sometimes called "Gray Friars,"
and they were also known in Belgium, Holland and France as "Recollects,"
while the Indians called them "Bare Feet'' or "Gray Gowns." La Salle seems
to have preferred this order to that of the Jesuits, although both orders were
prominent and devoted to the missionary work everywhere ; and the writings
of these two orders constitute nearly the entire written history of this valley
until it was ceded by France to England in 1763, or even as late as July 4th,
1778, when George Rogers Clark under a commission from Patrick Henry, the
Governor, took possession of this country for Virginia.

La Salle and Tonti organized their expedition and built at Fort Frontenac,
a ship called the Griffon, with whicli they expect to keep up the communication
with the settlements on the western lakes and carry on their commerce. La
Salle, Tonti, Hennepin, and the two Recollects, with thirty-two persons in all

HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY 27

sailed from Fort I-'rontenac the 7tli of August, 1679, after the "Te Deum" and
amid the firing of cannon, bringing a good supply of arms, merchandise, and
seven small cannon.

La Salle's plan was to seize and fortify the Mississippi and Illinois rivers and
establish trading posts and missionary stations which should be put under the
charge of the Friars.

Reaching Mackinac with his party in September, 1679, he passed on to
Green P)ay and remained there until their vessel, the Griffon, was loaded with
furs. This was sent back with a pilot and five good sailors for Montreal to
dispose of the cargo and return as soon as possible with the additional sup-
plies needed for the furtherance of the expedition. Among other things it was
to bring iron and material to build and equip a vessel on the Illinois river to be
used in navigating that river and the Mississippi. La Salle and fourteen men
then proceeded with four canoes, considerable merchandise and a quantity of
utensils and tools to the southern bend of Lake Michigan and built a fort at
the mouth of St. Joseph's river, where he was joined by Tonti with twenty addi-
tional men.

On the third of December, La Salle with thirty men and eight canoes ascended
the Miami river to a point near South Bend to make a portage to the Kankakee
and thus reach the Illinois. When they reached the village of the Kaskaskias
at Starved Rock, they found it deserted. The Indians, however, as was their
custom on leaving their villages in the fall for a hunting season in the. south,
had stored some corn for their use on their return. La Salle was compelled to
take about twenty bushel of this for he was out of provisions.

With these fresh supplies he passed on down the Illinois to Peoria Lake.
Here they saw a number of wooden canoes on both sides of the river and about
eight cabins full of Indians, who did not see them until they had doubled a point
behind which the Illinois were encamped within half a gun shot. La Salle and
his men were in eight canoes abreast with all their arms in their hands. At
first the Indians were alarmed and ran away. He managed to call them back
and after a day spent in dancing and feasting, Hennepin notified them that
they had come not to trade but to preach. For this purpose, they assembled the
chiefs of the villages, which were on both sides of the river. La Salle explained
that the French desired to be their allies and that they would bring over addi-
tional Frenchmen, who would protect them from the attacks of their enemies
and would furnish them all the goods they needed, and that they intended to
build a great wooden canoe and sail down to the sea bringing them all kinds of
merchandise by that shorter and more easy route. The Indians agreed and gave
a description of the Mississippi river.

At Peoria La Salle met a large number of t!ie Kaskaskias returning to their
village. La Salle explained to them that he had taken some of their corn as a
matter of necessity and he settled with them for it to their satisfaction. La Salle
now decided to' remain at Peoria until the opening of the river in the spring.

The next day after they landed, a Miami chief named Monso arrived with
a lot of kettles, axes, knives, etc.. in order bv these presents to make the Illinois
believe that the F"renchmen intended to join their enemies who lived beyond the
Colbert (Mississippi) river. One of the Illinois chiefs, named Omaouha, notified
La Salle that the Miamies were working against them. La Salle believed that
Monso had been sent by other Frenchmen who were jealous of his success for
he was surprised to find that Monso knew all about his affairs in detail.

Nicanape, a brother of the most important of the Illinois chiefs, made a speech
at the feast trying to persuade the Frenchmen to abandon their idea of going on
down the river, telling them that the river was unnavigalile. full of falls and
sandbars and infested with dangerous enemies. .After the meal La Salle explained
to Nicanape that when Monso was plotting with him the night before in secret.
La Salle had not been asleep and his manifest knowledge of the motive of
Nicanape silenced him. In the meantime Monso started back. The Indians sent

28 HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY

runners after Monso to bring him back for cross-examination but as his tracks
were hidden by a recent fall of snow they were unable to overtake him. Never-
theless La Salle's men were somewhat disheartened and six of them deserted.
They were at that time probably on the western side of the river near Birket's
Hollow.

La Salle, having gotten consent of the Indians, now commenced to build a
fort, a stockade of logs. This was soon finished and named Fort Creve Coeur.
Concerning the location of this fort there has been a great deal of controversy
and argument. It seems certain, however, that the main fort was built at the
southern extremity of the lake on the eastern side of the Illinois river: some think
it was located above the lower end of the lake near the upper free bridge, and
some that it was located three miles below, near Wesley City. Each of these
locations has been marked by a stone and both are on high points of the bluff.

It is now confidently asserted by Daniel R. Sheen, Esquire, of this city, that
Fort Creve Coeur was situated just across the river from Peoria on the line of
Fayette street, and on a little mound only a few feet above high water mark.
Notwithstanding the fact that both of the other locations for Creve Coeur have
been endorsed by enthusiastic societies and marked by monuments, I am rather
inclined to think that Fort Creve Coeur was located in the latter place, not only
because it seems to meet the descriptions given by the builders better, but because
it is the most reasonable place for such a fort built for the purpose for which
this was constructed. At that place and from there on down, the river is always
open in the spring several weeks earlier than it is above. There is also at that
place a bend in the shore and a slough making a kind of port or harbor. The
ground is high enough to avoid the danger of overflow in high water and it is
low enough for boats to be brought up close to the fort or even within the pali-
sades. It is manifest that this would be desirable as the fort was not built for a
temporary purpose only, but as a protection to the commerce they hoped to
establish on the Illinois river; and for this latter purpose it would be necessary
that it should be close to the harbor and to the boats that were to be protected.
The white men had no cannon of long range; and the Indians had none at
all, while their muskets were only short range guns. They did most of their
fighting with clubs and bows and arrows. Thus a fort on a high point of the
bluff would afiford no protection to a boat in the water below. jNIoreover it
would be hard to keep a fort so located supplied with provisions and water, a
very essential thing. From a military point of view it seems to me altogether
probable that the fort would have been built on a little bay near the water's
edge at a place where the water from the numerous springs coming into the
river would keep it open and free from ice a much greater part of the year
than it would be a little farther up, and where the boats would not be threatened
with floating ice as they would have been if anchored near where Wesley City
now stands. Also, it would have been placed near enough to the village of
Peoria on the western shore to be in easy communication with it and yet free
from danger of an attack from it. The location of this fort is a very interesting
question because the buildings there were the first ones erected by white men
in Illinois.

It would be well to have careful examination made into this matter and to
examine the old remains of the fort that are alleged to be found at the place
named h\ Mr. Sheen and perhaps erect another monumental stone to show the
location of the first building erected by white men in Illinois. Peorians are
specially interested in this location for if the fort were standing now where Mr.
Sheen claims it stood it would face our city and be plainly visible from our
steamboat landing.

At the same time that the fort was being built the keel for a vessel was laid
near the fort, but before the work on the boat had advanced far, some of Tonti's
men deserted, partly from want of pay, perhaps partly through a disposition to
cut lose from restraint and perhaps from fear of the Irociuois. This made it

HISTORY OI' PKORIA COUXTY 29

necessary to suspend work on the vessel and La Salle and Tonti agreed that
the former should go back on foot to enlist a fresh force of men and bring the
necessary supply of materials for finishing and furnishing the boat and that
Tonti should liave the river explored farther west and south.

A young Illinois passing La Salle's shipyard traced for them with coal a
fairly accurate map of the Mississippi river, assuring them that there were no
falls or rapids between them and the gulf, giving the names of the nations along
the shore. The next morning, after public prayers, La Salle visited the village,
where he found the Illinois assembled having a feast. They again tried to per-
suade him of the dangers of proceeding down the river. La Salle informed them
that he knew all about it and the savages thought he had learned it all in some
very mysterious way. Tlie Illinois then apologized saying that they had told
him their false stories only with the desire to keep the Frenchmen with the
Illinois ; and they then all admitted that the river was navigable to the sea. The
chief Oumahouha ( Omaha ) adopted Zenoble Membre as his son. Tiie tribe
lived at that time only half a league from Fort Creve Coeur.

Early in March La Salle left Tonti in command at Fort Creve Coeur and
taking five men went back to Niagara to look after the Griffon and secure neces-
sary supplies. Hennepin started down the river Illinois on his exploring expedi-
tion. February 29, 1680. He describes the river as skirted by hills, ascending
which you discover prairie further than the eye can reach. Hennepin reached
the Tamaroas, two leagues from the mouth of the Illinois, Alarch 7, 1680. The
Tamaroas then had their village six or seven leagues below the mouth of the
Illinois and west of the river ^Mississippi. On April 11, 1680, Hennepin was
captured by Indians on the upper Mississippi. After a long captivity and much
suffering, he was rescued by Daniel Greysolon Duluth, a cousin of Tonti.

When Hennepin and La Salle were gone, Tonti commenced the construc-
tion of another fort on the western side of the river, supposed to be where the
old pottery stood near llirket's Hollow. In all this work the French were
doubtless very greatly assisted by the Illinois, who as well as the French would
feel the need of it as a defense against their terrible common enemies, the
Iroquois. When Tonti was left by La Salle in command of F'ort Creve Coeur,
he was supplied with powder and lead, guns and other arms to defend himself
in case he was attacked by the Iroquois.

La Salle while on his trip east sent back orders to Tonti to go to Starved
Rock and build a strong fort there, and for this purpose Tonti started north-
ward. On the way, however, all of his men deserted except two Recollects
and three men newly arrived from France, taking with them everything that
was most valuable. Tonti went back to hold Fort Creve Coeur with his six
men and did hold it all summer.

On September 10, 1680, sudden as a clap of thunder, the Iroquois invaded
the Illinois. Tonti had only a few hours notice and in trying to negotiate with
the Iroquois came near being treacherously killed. The Illinois fled down the
river, leaving everything behind, even their corn, which was destroyed. Tonti
and Zenoble met the Irof|uois in council .September 18, 1680. The Iroquois
told Tonti they were going to eat some of the Illinois before they went away,
whereupon Tonti resenting the inference that he might be persuaded to desert
his friends, kicked away their presents and the parley broke up in anger. I'onti
expected to be killed before morning and resolved to sell his life dearly. At
day-break, however, the Iroquois told Tonti and his men to depart, which they
promptly did knowing they could no longer, by remaining, be useful to the Illi-
nois. Tonti was wounded during the parley but was allowed to start for Green
Bay with his few men. The next day. September 19th, after Tonti started
back. Father Gabriel Ribourde, who had retired a short distance for private
prayer was killed by a band of renegade Kickapoos. The Iroquois returned to
New York taking a large number of female jirisoners with them. During the
continuation of this parley, the Iroquois must have been encamped or had a

30 HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY

village near Fort Creve Coeur. This probably was a very temporary village as
well as temporary fort because the Iroquois had come in only eight days before
like a clap of thunder. Their fort must have been near Creve Coeur because
they exchanged messages several times a day.

Tonti went on up to Canada hoping to join La Salle but for the time being
failed to find him.

La Salle, meanwhile, on returning to Peoria, finding that his fort was de-
stroyed and that the Indians had been driven away, passed on down the river
seeking for Tonti. but not finding him, he returned to Fort St. Joseph. There
he met Tonti and proceeded with consummate ability to organize a great con-
federacy of the western Indians, including the Illinois, ]\Iiamies, Foxes, Shaw-
nees, Tamaroas and others, forming an alliance offensive and defensive with the
French and each other against their mutual enemies, the Iroquois, who were the
allies of the colonies east of the Alleghanies. La Salle then returned east for
new supplies, again leaving Tonti in command.

La Salle again rejoined Tonti in December, 1681, and started on the third
winter's journey down the Illinois for the mouth of the Alississippi river with
a party of twenty-three Frenchmen and thirty-one Indians. This time they
crossed Lake Michigan and entered the mouth of the Chicago river. From there
they followed down the course of the Deep Waterway Canal (which was not
built then, and is not yet. but will be soon) and halted at Peoria long enough
to repair their canoes and transfer their supplies from the sledges to the boats,
for this trip as far as Peoria had been made by placing their boats on sledges
and drawing them by hand on the ice on the frozen rivers and on the snow
across the portage. They then successfully passed on down the Illinois and
Mississippi river to the Gulf of ^Mexico, and took possession of the country and
all its seas, harbors, ports, etc., including the long string of particulars that in
those days were included in documents of that sort, in the name of the "most
high, mighty, invincible and victorious Prince Louis the Great, by the Grace of
God, King of France and Navarre, P^ourteenlh, by that name," April 9. 1682.

They then started on their return. La Salle fell sick and had to be left behind
at Chickasaw Bluffs, while Tonti came on ahead. La Salle followed later and
joined him at Alackinac. All this magnificent domain was then, according to
the charter granted him by the Grand Monarch, "La Salle's Country" to be
held by him for and in the name of the French King and for his own profit.

La Salle on his return proceeded, in the winter of 1682 and 1683, to erect a
fort at Starved Rock called Fort St. Louis du Rocher, about which he gathered
the remnant of many western tribes, twenty thousand or more Indians. This
was to be the military headquarters of La Salle's Country, the principal trad-
ing post of the whole region, the rallying point of all of the western red war-
riors in opposition to the Iroquois. \\'hen it was finished, he placed Tonti in
command and early in the summer of 1683, La Salle left his glorious domain —
never to see it again. Some time after he was gone. Tonti led or accompanied
his Illinois allies and joining a body of French and Canadian Indians drove the
Iroquois back to their home villages and punished them severely.

La Salle's friend. Count Frontinac, had been succeeded by La Barre. who was
an enemy of La Salle's and thwarted him in every possible way; so that now
La Salle was compelled to return to France and appeal directly to the French
King. There he was successful and organized a new expedition with the inten-
tion of returning to America and establishing a fort and a commercial city for
his territory at the mouth of the Mississippi river. It was a grand conception
and if he had not accidentally missed the mouth of the Mississippi, landing
further west on the shore of Texas, thus losing his ships and his life in an
efifort to return, it is hard to determine how great a colony that able man
might have developed. His plans were magnificent. His ability was great. His
life was terminated by the treachery of one of his own men.

CHAPTER VI
PEORIA UNDER THE FRENCH

Joliet and Marquette, La Salle and Tonti had come and gone like meteors
in the sky, wonderful in their brilliant achievements as any of the knights of
old. After them there is little to be told of the French occupation of the Mis-
sissippi valley that is creditable to the mother country.

Tonti was left by La Salle in charge at Starved Rock of all his fortifications
and headquarters for all his wide domain and for the confederacy of the west-
ern Indians which he had organized. But the enemies of La Salle were in charge
of Quebec and they sent Chevalier de Bogis to supersede Tonti in his com-
mand, which he did but retained Tonti as a captain of troops. They remained
in charge of the Fort at Starved Rock, representing different interests and hav-
ing but little symi)athy with each other's plans. In the following March, the
approach of their common enemy, the Iroquois, compelled them to unite in a
defense of their post, where they were besieged for six days by two thousand
warriors. Their position, however, was so strong and their means of defense
so adequate that the hitherto victorious Iroquois were repulsed with loss and
compelled to abandon the siege. This was the last invasion of the savages from
the east. From this time on for many years, the Illinois and allied tribes re-
sumed their yearly residence in the vicinity of the fort without molestation. The
protecting guns of the French and the presence of Tonti, who made the fort his
headquarters for many years, rendered their safety secure. It was also the
abode of many French traders and merchants with their families.

From this point Tonti roamed the Western world over, and trading, fight-
ing, and exploring, he made six trips up and down the Mississippi and visited
Montreal. i\lackinac and points on Lake Michigan. In 1702 he was deprived
of his command and joined d'Iberville to aid him in his efforts to colonize lower
Louisiana, and the fort at Starved Rock was ordered abandoned. It was, how-
ever, occasionally occu[)ied as a trading port, until 1718, when it was raided by
the Indians and burned on account of the licentiousness of the French
inhabitants.

In 1686-9 he accompanied Rev. J. F. Buisson Sentsome on his trip with a
company of priests from Mackinaw down to Natchez.

To the Recollet monks of St. Francis was first assigned the care of the
American mission l)Ut Cardinal Richelieu superseded this order and confined the
spiritual welfare of the natives and settlers of Canada to the Jesuits. There
were accremonious quarrels between these two rival religious orders, which
were intensitied by the ])articipation therein of the civil authorities and which
continued until the suppression of the Jesuits in most of the provinces of France
and their expulsion from the province of Louisiana, in 1763 or before, and from
the entire Dominion of France in 1764.

After the departure of La Salle there was luit little done by the French in
Illinois for the next thirty years. An account of the succession of priests, who
were sent to the missions at Peoria by the religious orders to which they be-
longed to care for the spiritual welfare of the French traders and Indians, is
all there is to keep up the continuity of the story. It is a melancholy tale of

32 HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY

suffering and death, and an evidence of the warmth, zeal, and piety of these
faithful followers of the cross.

Father Gabriel Lanibronde, Jesuit, went as a missionary to the Illinois in
1678 and was slain at his mission in 1680.

Father Maxime Le Clerc went to the Illinois in 1678. He was killed by the
Indians in 1687.

Father Zenoble Membre, Recollet, went to the Illinois in 1678, returned in
1680, and was employed in visiting the tribes on the Mississippi.

Father Louis Hennepin went to the Illinois in 1678 with La Salle; was oc-
cupied in making discoveries on the Mississippi where he was made prisoner
in 1680 and afterwards ransomed.

M. Jean Bergier, mentioned as the successor of Father Pinet, priest of the
Seminary of Quebec, went to the Illinois in 1686; was at the Tamaroas or
Cahokia mission; died there in 1699; was buried by Father Marest, who was
in the mission to the Kaskaskias.

During the year 1694-5 Father Grevierre attended his labors among Peorias
until 1699 when he was recalled. He returned to the Illinois mission in 1700
and continued his labors with the Peorias, where he was assaulted by a med-
icine man of the tribe from whom he received a severe wound which finally
resulted in his death, at Mobile in 1706.

Peoria then was left without a priest until the Indians had promised better
behavior, when Father Deville was sent to them.

M. Phillip Boucher, priest of the Seminary of Quebec, was sent to the Tam-
aroas or Cahokia mission, to assist M. Bergier; remained with him until 1696,
when he went to visit the Arkansas and other Indian tribes on the lower Mis-
sissippi: returned and died at Peoria in 1719.

In 1692, Father Louis Hyacinth Simon, went as missionary to "St. Louis,"
(Peoria) ; went from there in 1694 to visit the different establishments and posts
on the Mississippi; returned to Quebec in 1699.

Father Julien Benettau, Jesuit priest, went to the Illinois in 1696; labored
at the mission of (Peoria?) St. Louis with great success; died there in 1709.

M. Francois Juliet de Montigney, priest, in 1696 was sent to Louisiana in
the character of vicar-general, by the bishop of Quebec. He visited the mis-
sions in Illinois. St. Louis, the Tamaroas or Cahokias, while M. Bergier was
there, traversed the whole country, and returned to Quebec in 1718.

M. Michael Antoine Gamelin, priest of the Seminary of Quebec, accom-
panied him. They descended the Mississippi, and went as far as Mobile.

Father Gabriel Marest, Jesuit, went to the Illinois in 1699; fixed his resi-
dence at Kaskaskia ; died there in 1727.

Father Antoine Darion, priest, went in 1700 on a mission to the Tunicas, a
tribe living on the Mississippi; and adjoining the Natchez. He went from
Quebec.

Rev. Phillip Boucher labored a while at St. Louis (Peoria) and died there
in 1718.

Under the French government the territory of Illinois was at first under
the administration of the governor of Canada, the seat of government being at
Quebec. The region being so very remote and the population so exceedingly
sparce, little if any civil authority was exercised over the people. As the Illi-
nois country had been settled by Frenchmen coming through Canada, who had
left manv relatives there, and as they liad always traded there, the affections
of the old French settlers still remained with Canada ; but in consequence of
La Salle's discovery of the mouth of the Mississippi and of his taking posses-
sion, in the name of his king, of all the countries drained by it, the people of
France now began to come into the Mississippi valley by way of the Gulf, as
La Salle had foreseen and planned. As early as the year 1700, they had pene-
trated as far north as the River Maramac, not more than twenty miles south
from St. Louis, and had there begun the smelting of lead with which that region
was supposed to abound.

\1K\V (iK A I'KdUIA 1!KS11)KX( K STIIKKT

Vli:\V OF PKORIA'S PRINCIPAL BUSIXKSS S'lRKET

PKdlMA WAIKi; l-Kn\r. I-|;(IM TIIK l.oWKi; KUKK ISKIDiiK

HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY 33

In 171 1 that portion of Canada or New France in which this part of the
State of IlHnois is located was detached from Canada and attached to the prov-
ince of Louisiana, and thereafter continued for many years to constitute a part
of it.

In those days fabulous stories of the great wealth of Louisiana in gold,
silver, pearls and precious stones were circulated in Europe. Such paltry
things as the great fertility of the soil, or as coal, iron, and lead were uot much
thought of. Adventurers explored the country throughout its entire extent in
search of the precious metals, little of which was found, but great discoveries
were made of lead, iron and mineral coal.

In the spring, 1712, the French at Fort St. Louis "The Rock" (Starved
Rock) established a trading post here at Peoria Lake, and a number of families
came thither from Canada and built cabins in the Indian village. For fifty
years French and half-breeds continued to live in the town with the Indians as
one people, and during that time peace and harmony prevailed between them.

On August 17, 1 71 7, John Law, the celebrated financier, procured from the
king a charter for the Company of the Occident for the whole of the colony of
Louisiana, which included Illinois, with power to sell and alienate the lands in
such manner as they might think proper, and with power to appoint governors
and other superior officers and to dismiss them and to appoint others. They
were also given a monopoly of the tobacco and slave trades and the
exclusive right to refine gold and silver. In pursuance of this charter,
a government was organized over the whole territory, including the Illinois
country. On the 9th of F"ebruary, 1718, there arrived at Mobile by ship from
France, Pierre Duque Boisbriant, a Canadian gentleman, with the commission
of Commandant at Illinois. He was a cousin of Bienville, then governor of
Louisiana, and had already served under him in that province. In October of
the same year, one hundred years before Illinois became a state, accompanied
by several officers and a detachment of troops, he departed for the Illinois coun-
try, where he was ordered to construct a fort. Late in the year Boisbriant
reaclwJ Kaskaskia and selected a site for his fort sixteen miles above the vil-
lage,|^n the left bank of the JMississippi. Merrily rang the a.xes of the soldiers
in the forest by the mighty river, as they hewed out the ponderous timbers for
IJalisades and bastian. And by degrees the walls arose, and the barracks and
commandant's house, and the store house and great hall of the Indian company
were built and the cannon, bearing the Coat of Arms of Louis XIV, were
placed in position. In the spring of 1720 all was finished and the lilies of the
Bourbons floated over the work which was named "Fort Chartres."

In 1719, while Fort Chartres was in process of erection, the company of
the East Indies, established years before by Colbert, was tmited with the Com-
pany of the \\ est under the name of the Company of the Indies, which latter
company then assumed jurisdiction over the province of Louisiana. Under its
authority a provincial council for Illinois was established.

This council speedily made Fort Chartres the center of the civil govern-
ment and of the colony, and its members executed grants of land upon which
some titles still rest, though but few permanent improvements and actual settle-
ments were made. They dispensed justice, regulated titles and administered
estates, in fact established the court which for more than forty years decided
the causes which arose in the Illinois country according to the principles and
mode of procedure recognized by the civil law.

Phillip Francis Renault, director general of the mines of the Company of
the Indies, and formerly a banker of Paris, reached Fort Chartres before its
completion and made his headquarters at the post. He brought with him two
hundred and fifty miners and soldiers and five hundred slaves from San Do-
mingo. This is said to have been the beginning of slavery in Illinois.

Renault, as director of the Mines, pursued for years with indefatigable en-
ergy the exploration of the Mississippi valley for mineral, carrying his pros-

34 HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY

pecting far up the Missouri to the Rocky Mountain and up the Ohio and its
tributaries to the Alleghanies. He obtained a concession to himself of several
tracts of laud some of which are known to have contained valuable mines. The
concession in which we Peorians are most interested embraced a tract of land on
Peoria lake, which under the name of Renault claims gave rise to much contro-
versy in congress, as well as some unrest at Peoria.

This claim was described as: "One league in front at Pimiteau ou the
River Illinois facing the east and adjoining to the lake bearing the name of the
village, and on the other side of the banks opposite the village for a half league
above it with a depth of five leagues, the point of the compass following the
Illinois river down the same upon one side and ascending by the river of Arcary
[de d'Arescy, elsewhere called the des Arcouy. — Ed.] which forms the middle
through the rest of the depth."

The wording of this grant goes to show that at that time, June 14, 1723,
there was a village located on Lake Pimiteau, or Lake Peoria, the precise loca-
tion of which is not definitely stated. The heirs of Renault have, from time
to time, set up a claim to the land so granted at Lake Peoria. Their last claim
was that it embraced a tract lying on both sides of the Kickapoo creek at its
mouth extending up the river as far as Bridge street, and following the creek
as its middle line for a distance of five leagues, or fifteen miles by one league,
or three miles, in width. The description however is of such an uncertain na-
ture it was not possible to locate it with any degree of accuracy, and it never
has been recognized by the government in any of its surveys.

Here we have the fact well authenticated by a grant of land based thereon
that in 1723 there existed at Pimiteau ( Pimiteoui ) a village bearing the same
name as the lake upon which it was situated. Whether or not this was the
same village mentioned by IMarquette, St. Cosme, and Grevierre, does not appear.
But that it was a French village can scarcely be doubted. Tradition says that
the object of this grant was to secure control of a lead mine, of which some
evidence had been found. In the light of the present day it would seem more
highly probable that Renault's aim was to secure control of the valuaWPKSroal
fields which, it was evident, bordered upon the Kickapoo creek, then calT^anhe
Arcary or Arcoury.

In 1732 the charter of the Company of the Indies was surrendered, and
Louisiana, including what is now the state of Illinois, was thereafter governed
by officers appointed directly by the French crown, under a code of laws known
as the Common Law of Paris. These laws however not being adapted to the
exigency of civil or social relations in a new country were not generally en-
forced ; the commandant exercising an arbitrary but mild authority which was
acquiesced without complaint.

The majority of the colonies who had come with the Indies company were
poor and illiterate and for the most part they took themselves to hunting and
iDoating. Few men of talent and enterprise remained and became merchants
and traders on a large scale with the Indians.

In 1734 Pierre d'Artaguiette was appointed commander of the Illinois dis-
trict and his administration was popular and successful. In 1736, however, he
conducted a disastrous expedition against the Chickasaws who had long op-
posed the advancement of the French settlers on the Mississippi. His force
was composed of a part of the garrison of Fort Chartres, a company of vol-
unteers from the French villages, and a large portion of the warriors of the Kas-
kaskias. making an army of two hundred French and four hundred Indians.
The Illinois and Miami Indians were under the command of chief Chicagou.
Major d'Artaguiette had been promised re-inforcements from New Orleans
but they failed to arrive and there was nothing left to the brave young com-
mander but to fight. He was severely wounded in the engagement as were
manv of his officers. His Indian armies fled and the Chickasaws soon remained
masters of the bloody field. D'Artaguiette and some other Frenchmen were
taken prisoners and burned at the stake.

HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY 35

We have reached the point where the names of Washington and Virginia
come into our story.

In 1611, March 12th, the English king had granted to the Virginia company
all the land between parallels thirty and forty-one nmning from the Atlantic to
the western sea. The northern line of \'irginia under that charter ran about
three miles north of Peoria county, so that the whole of Peoria county was in
Virginia.

As the French and English colonies increased in population and extended
their settlements, the question of the boundary between them became one of in-
creasing importance and brought the two rival nations into collision with each
other. The first strong competition took place on the head waters of the Ohio
river. The first exciting cause of this was the formation of the Ohio Com-
pany under a grant from the English crown. Not an Englishman had at that
time settled northwest of the Ohio river. The Indians held the whole country
with a tenacious grip and had not even a distant fear that the English would
ever be able to dispossess them.

The grant to the Ohio company was obtained for a tract situated within the
present limits of the state of Ohio. The company was composed of eight asso-
ciates, of whom Lawrence Washington, Augustine, and George Washington
were three. Measures for the occupancy of these lands were taken by com-
mencing to build a fort near where Pittsburg now stands but the men there
employed were driven away by a large force of French and Indians. This was
the beginning of the French and Indian war, which lasted from 1754 to 1759.
It involved nearly the whole of Europe in the struggle, for its issue was en-
tangled with the old question as to the balance of power on the continent.

The Canadian tribes of Indians sided with the French ; the Iroquois and
others sided with the English, and all of the Indians were on the warpath on
one side or on the other to help settle this question, one of the momentous ques-
tions of the world's history, as events have proven.

Washington had investigated the situation on the head waters of the Ohio
to learn what was the strength of the enemies and of their forts and what they
were proixibly ])lanning to do. The information brought by Washington con-
vinced the governor of Virginia that the French were preparing to take posses-
sion of the Ohio valley, and Major Washington, as he then was, was ordered
to the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers to superintend the
completion of a fort there. V^hen he arrived at the place, he found that it had
already been taken possession of by the French with a force of a thousand men.
He thereupon determined to proceed to the mouth of Red Stone Creek where
the warehouses of the Ohio company were situated. He encountered Sieur de
Jumonville de \'illiers, who had been despatched with a military force and a
summons to Washington to require him to withdraw from French territory. On
May 28th, Washington successfully attacked him, killed ten of the French in-
cluding De\'illiers, and captured twenty-one prisoners, while his own loss was
one killed and three wounded. This was Washington's first battle, in which he
was twenty-two years old.

Coulan, a brother of the deceased French general, was sent from Montreal
with twelve hundred French and Indians. As Washington only had three hun-
dred all told, he retreated to Fort Necessity. Here he was attacked on July 3rd
and compelled to surrender.

Fort Chartres, Illinois, at this time was garrisoned by a regiment of grena-
diers and the fort had just been rebuilt of stone, for it had been of wood, at a
cost of a million dollars.

Upon learning of the defeat of Jumonville de Villiers, Captain Neyon de
Villiers of Fort Chartres was despatched with a company to join the force of
his brother Coulan from Fort Duquesne to aid in overcoming "Monsieur de
Wachenston." The result of this campaign brought to the gallant Captain
\'illicrs and his post on the Mississippi a well earned distinction, for the Illinois

36 HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY

country was largely depended upon for supplies, which were transported in
boats down the Mississippi and up the Ohio to Fort Duquesne, in which ser-
vice Neyon de Villiers rendered valuable aid. His honors in this war were
dearly bought for he was the only one of several brothers, who was not slain
in the defense of Canada.

Five years before this time, that is, in 1749, the British white population of
the thirteen colonies was estimated at one million, fifty-one thousand. That of
the French in all of New France, exclusive of their Indian allies, was about
fifty-two thousand.

The desire of the English colonists to speculate in the lands northwest of the
Ohio was very strong and many prominent men were connected with all such
schemes, including Ijesides the Washingtons already mentioned, John Murray,
Earl Dunmore, Governor of Virginia, and the Franklins, father and son.

The French and Indian war which was begun as we have seen, at what is
now Pittsburg, was practically ended five years later, Sept. 13, 1759, on the
plains of Abraham at Quebec where the gallant and able commanders on each
side lost their lives. From this time forth France lost all power and control
in Canada and the whole north west.

As soon thereafter as the dilatory movements of the governments could bring
it about, France surrendered all her claims to her remaining possessions in
North America to Great Britain by the treaty of Paris, which was signed in
1763. She had ceded her territory west of the Mississippi to Spain the year
before.

Thus ended the magnificent scheme planned by La Salle for making in the
Mississippi valley a new France, even greater than the old. It failed because
it was not based upon proper fundamental principles of government. Abso-
lutism and despotism cannot succeed in a new country such as this was.

At the end of almost ninety years of French control, it will be interesting
to consider w-hat Illinois gained by it. In the year 1763 when France ceded this
country to Great Britain, what did she transfer within that part now included
in Illinois? A population consisting of about two thousand whites and five or
six hundred negro slaves — and a system of legalized slavery. The soil and
forests as nature had made them. Here and there a little wooden town; a
magnificent stone fortress, the grandest that up to that time had been built within
the present borders of the United States, standing on a sandy foundation too close
to the channel of the erratic Mississippi ; a rude wooden village insecurely
founded on the same treacherous stream ; three or four other villages scarcely
worth naming and a few inefficient water mills located on unreliable streams.
And wdiat else besides? No agriculture beyond the supply of immediate wants,
and possibly for export, as much flour, bacon, pork, hides, tallow and leather
as would be produced on one good prairie farm of six hundred acres ; no build-
ings but the rudest and they of wood — there were no brick; no commerce ex-
cept trade and barter with the natives of the forest ; no mines developed ; no
looms or churns in use and no factories built, no schools established, no print-
ing press set up, no roads except the trail of the Indian and the buff^alo, no
bridge other than an occasional tree felled across a narrow stream and no trans-
portation facilities superior to those of the red men : no civil officers, no popular
election ever held, few people outside of the priests who were able to read, and
there were not many of them — the Jesuits having just been expelled in a sum-
mary manner — no civil courts and no legislatures. There were only a few
homesteads so owned by the occupants, that they could develop and improve
them, leave them to their heirs with a good title. There was nothing to broaden
and strengthen the intellectual life of the people or their political life. There
was nothing to produce the strong, active, self-reliant, progressive, and courage-
ous characters that are necessarily found in the successful frontiersman or
pioneer. There was little or no inducement to the citizen to do anything for
the progress of the country, and little ability on the part of the people to ac-

HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY 37

complisli it if they had so desired. All of this was the fault of their institu-
tions. The government was centralized and autocratic both of church and state.
The initiative was not accepted or desired on the part of the private citizen, or
indeed permitted to them. Without these no new country can prosper. I-"rench
institutions themselves on both sides of the sea were tottering. The Grand
Monarque had died many years before. The financial interests of the country
had been committed to John Law, the author of the Mississippi bubble, and the
bubble had burst and John Law had died in poverty. Even the kingdom of
France was approaching its downfall. The whole institutions of government in
every branch were resting on foundations as insecure as the foundation of their
magnificent fort. It remains to be .seen when Clarke and his \'irginians come
what can be done with the same natural advantages by free men under free
institutions which allow the citizens a large degree of personal, religious, and
civil freedom and cultivate in him self-reliance and energy, train him to do his
own thinking, and offer him an opportunity to labor for his own benefit and
the benefit of his children and heirs, guaranteeing to him the reward of his
labor. The government heretofore has existed for the benefit of the governing
class and the result shows beyond a doubt that such a government will ulti-
mately be a failure evervwhere. The French made no effort to establish colonies
of self-supporting, self-governing people.

CHAPTER VII
BRITISH RULE IN ILLINOIS— 1763-1778

We have already seen that the government of the I'rench over this region for
eiglity years or more had been of httle or no benefit to the people of Illinois.
We will now see that the government exercised by the English was worse, for it
was as damaging as they could make it.

The English government desired colonies solely for the benefit they could
derive from them in the way of trade and they used every means to keep them
in such a state of subjection that England could monopolize that trade, a policy
which they had already so successfully and so cruelly carried out in the case of
Ireland. This they hoped to be able to do in the colonies along the sea-coast,
for by their navy they controlled the ocean ; but they felt sure they would not
be able to secure any considerable amount of benefit to themselves from the
inland settlements, for the transportation from there to Great Britain for pro-
duce and from Great Britain to them for manufactured articles would be so
great that such commerce could not be made profitable. For this reason they
discouraged settlement in the northwest.

Another strong reason they had for not wishing to encourage such settlement
was that they hoiked by use of the Indian tribes on the frontiers to be able to
keep the eastern colonies in a more servile state of subjection. In furtherance
of this policy, they continually made large presents to the Indians and endeav-
ored in every possible way to prejudice them against the colonists, and prom-
ised them that the vast territory of the Ohio and Illinois valleys and western
lakes should be kept as one vast hunting ground for the red men.

Notwithstanding this, after England had driven the French from Canada and
the Northwest, the Indians fearing they could no longer rely upon the protection
of the French, and that they would be entirely within the despotic power of the
English when the colonies and the king should be united, shrewdly concluded
they must at once make a strong and desperate defense of the country west of
the .\lleghanies or be driven from the lands of their fathers.

They had been taught by the French to hate the English and many of the
tribes near the colonies who had been friendly to them up to this time, began to
think that they must unite with their red brethren of the west or be rendered
entirely helpless.

Pontiac, who has been called the Colossal Chief of the Northwest, the King
and Lord of all that country. Chief of the Ottowas, respected and adored in a
manner by all of the Indians, a man of "integrity and humanity" according to
the morals of the wilderness, of a comprehensive mind, fertile in resources and
of an undaunted nature, conceived the idea of uniting all of the Indian tribes
and entirely driving out the whites from the whole of the northwest and the
Mississippi' valley. He proceeded with consummate ability to execute his plan.
He secured the co-operation of nearly all of the Indian tribes and planned that
on one and the same fateful day, May i, 1763, they should surprise, attack,
and destrov all of the forts of the white men west of the Alleghanies. This
they carried out within sixty days in a way that would seem incredible. The
forts were all surprised and destroyed except two.

40 HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY

Jt would be an interesting story to tell how each of these forts was captured
without any intimation of the coming calamity, and men, women, and children
massacred. The only two forts in all the country that were not surprised and
captured were those at Detroit and Pittsburg. They managed to withstand a
siege until they were relieved. Except them, the entire northwest was in the
power of Pontiac. Under his able leadership this unexampled and magnificent
confederation of Indians had intended to make this a war of extermination of the
whites west of the Alleghanies. They hoped to get rid of the white men at
once and forever in all this country and so terrify the English that none of
them would ever attempt to enter their hunting grounds again. "They roamed
the wilderness, massacring all whom they met. They struck down more than
a hundred traders in the woods, scalping every one of them ; quaffing their
gushing life-blood, horribly mutilating their bodies. They prowled round the
cabins of the husbandmen of the frontiers ; and their tomahawks struck alike
the laborer in the field or the child in the cradle. They menaced Fort Ligonier,
at the western foot of the Alleghanies, the outpost of Fort Pitt. They passed
the mountains and spread death even to Ikdford. The unhappy emigrant knew
not whether to brave danger, or to leave his home and his planted fields, for
wretchedness and poverty." Of course we know that Pontiac and his allies
were fighting against the inevitable. His people with their methods of life, with
their civilization and their government such as it was, were unable to develop
the strength of the wonderful regions they possessed and must submit to the
power of Great Britain, which sent in regiments of regular soldiers and called
out the volunteers and militia and soon put an end to Pontiac"s reign. It had
not been possible for him to know the tremendous forces of the colonies and the
king beyond the Alleghanies and the ocean, wdiom he had set himself up to
oppose, or he W'ould never have tried it.

Amherst, the British commander, then stationed at New York and represen-
tative of the British government in North America, treated the Indians with con-
tempt. He issued an order, August lo, 1763, offering one hundred pounds to
anyone who would assassinate Pontiac and ordered his soldiers to take no pris-
oners but to put to death all that fell into their hands. He deemed the Indians
as unfit to be accepted as allies and unworthy to be respected as enemies, and he
ordered his soldiers to take no prisoners but to put to death all that fell into
their hands of the "nations who had so unjustly and cruelly committed
depredation."

Pontiac appealed to the French for further assistance but was told that the
French had ceded this country to the English and could no longer assist them.
Despondent, yet revengeful, he returned to the Illinois country. Here is where
he had first received the encouragement which determined him to make the
attempt to drive out the English, and here at least he thought he would find a
friend in Neyon de \'illiers, the only survivor of six brothers who lost their lives
in fighting the English ; but receiving answer that he had already been sent word
that France and Great Britain were at peace and that his scheme was imprac-
ticable, and when he was still further assured by Crogan that the French would
adhere to their treaty with the English and could no longer oiifer the Indians
any support, his feelings can be more easily imagined than described; seeing
that his cause w^as lost, he surrendered and made peace, a treaty which he there-
after respected.

As compared with the officers of the English government who attempted to
secure the assassination of the peaceful farmers and traders of their own blood
and religion, by offering gold and trinkets to bloody savages for the scalps of
citizens murdered by stealth in their quiet homes, and who finally offered five
hundred dollars for the assassination of Pontiac himself, Pontiac — considering
that he was raised a barbarian — was a man of integrity and honor worthy of our
esteem. He had led out his Ottowa warriors to assist in Braddock's defeat.
He organized his brother red men in order to drive the invader from the land

HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY 41

of his fatliers, led them and ])lanned for them with consummate abihty until
overwhelmed by superior force.

It is said that Pontiac while visiting^ his old friends, St. Ange and Chouteau
at St. Louis, then a Spanish colony, learned that the Indians were carousing
at Cahokia and concluded to join the party. While he was there and they were
all drinking heavily, a hired assassin, for the promise of a barrel of wdiiskey,
stole up behind him and buried his tomahawk in his brains, and left him lying
where he fell until St. .Ange claimed his body and buried it in St. Louis, early
in April, 1769.

Pontiac's red friends of the Northwest most wrongfully blamed the Illinois
Indians with the murdering of Pontiac and resolved to exterminate them. They
attacked them at their chief village, La Vantum, in sight of Starved Rock, where
the most of them were at that time assembled, and after terrific and bloody
fighting for a whole d^y, in which a large proportion of the Illinois warrior's
were slain, compelled them to retire during the night to the summit of Starved
Rock. There they were starved to death and perished, all but one young warrior
who during a severe rain-storm and darkness of the night took a buckskin cord,
which had been used for drawing water, and fastening it to the trunk of a cedar
tree let himself down into the river and thus made his escape, the only survivor
of this fearful tragedy. This young warrior was partly white, being a descend-
ant, on his father's side, from the French who lived at Fort St. Louis many
years before. Being alone in the world, without friends or kindred, he went to
Peoria, joined the colony, and there ended his days. He embraced Christianity,
became an officer in the church, assuming the name of Antonia La Bell, and
his descendants were living in 1882 near Prairie du Rocher, one of them, Charles
La Bell, being a party to a suit in the United States court to recover a part of
the land where Peoria now stands.

ENGLISH T.\KE POSSESSION

Going back to four years before the death and Imrial of Pontiac. we find
that the first step of the English toward taking actual possession of the north-
west was to send George Croghan on an expedition down the Ohio on his way
to Illinois. On reaching the soil of Illinois, just below the mouth of the Wabash,
he was attacked, on the 6th of June, 1765, by eight Kickapoo warriors and com-
pelled to surrender. When he had been taken as far as Vincennes, the Indians
found they had a man not to be trifled with, since he was the representative and
agent of the great and powerful nations which had just put a successful end to
Pontiac's War. They released him on the i8th of July and he started for the
Illinois villages. On the way he met Pontiac at the head of a detachment of
Indians. Now for the first time, Pontiac's stubborn resolution gave way and he
consented to confer with Croghan as to peaceful relations, which resulted in his
renouncing his hostile policy and promising to use his influence in favor of
peace. This made it unnecessary for Croghan to go further and he started for
Detroit, where he had a council with other Indians.

A detachment of the 42d regiment of the Highlanders under Captain Stirling
was sent to Fort Chartres, where they arrived on the loth of October, 1765, by
the way of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers and on that day the last flag bearing
the lilies of France within the state of Illinois fell from the flag staflf and the
cross of St. George rose in its stead.

The first English court ever convened in Illinois held its first session at Fort
Chartres, December 9, 1768, under orders from General Gage. By proclama-
tions from George III, dated 1765 and 1772, private ownership in the soil was
forbidden. The inference was plain that he intended to divide the whole country
up into baronial estates, still following the policy that the country was to be
governed for the benefit of the rulers rather than of the people, a policy which
could not succeed in a new country to be settled by independent Americans.

42 HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY

The thirteen colonies were already beginning to be insubordinate and were still
further provoked by the act of June 2, 1774, called the Quebec Bill, by which
parliament extended the limits of Canada to include all of the territory north
of the Ohio, in seeming utter disregard of the jurisdictional rights of \'irginia
and some other colonies under their charter from the king. The people com-
posing the French province were of a character much more easily to be ruled
by the autocratic decrees of their superiors than were the people of tlie thir-
teen colonies.

DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE

This policy of suppression led to the Declaration of Independence on the
4th day of July, 1776. Although this northwestern territory was not repre-
sented in the convention that adopted that declaration, wrongs to the north\yest-
ern territory were given as some of the reasons for the dissolution of the political
bands. The charges against the king were that "He had endeavored to prevent
the population of these states ; for that purpose obstructing the laws for natural-
ization of foreigners; refusing to pass others, to encourage their migration
hither, and raising the conditions of new appropriations of lands." His consent
to laws "for cutting off our trade with all parts of the world;" "For abolishing
the free system of English laws in a neighboring province (Canada), establish-
ing therein an arbitrary government, enlarging its boundaries so as to render it
at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into
these colonies ;" and, "he has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has
endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers the merciless Indian
savages, whose known rule of warfare is an undistinguished destruction of all
the ages, sexes and conditions."

Virginia's conquest of the northwest

The attack of the Indians on the American frontier had become so numerous,
so treacherous, and so bloody, and were so evidently excited by the British,
that George Rogers Clark, one of the great men of the frontier, who had been
appointed by Mrginia to organize the militia in what was afterward the county
of Kentuck'v, concluded that the proper way to prevent those attacks was to
drive the British out of the Northwest. For this purpose he called on Patrick
Henry, the governor, and received a commission to raise volunteers for the
defense of Kentucky. The success of the expedition depended so largely on the
celerity and the secrecv with which it should be carried out, that it was not
thought practicable to take anyone into confidence except the governor, Patrick
Henrv, and George \\'vthe, George Mason, and Thomas Jefferson. They gave
Clark twelve hundred pounds in money and promised to use their influence
to secure three hundred acres of land for every man who should engage in the
expedition.

The secret instructions to Clark were to go west ostensibly for the purpose
shown by his commission and open letter of instructions, and then under a
private letter of instructions, suddenly to attack the British at Fort Chartres
and \'incennes and then at Detroit. \Mien he told his men at Louisville, Ky.,
the object of his expedition, a considerable part of them refused to go further.
W'ith one hundred and fifty-three men, instead of the three hundred and fifty
which he expected to have, he concluded to press forward. He had been notified
by spies whom he sent out for that purpose, of the condition of affairs at Fort
Chartres and Vincennes. He passed down the Ohio in boats with his oars double
manned and working night and day continuously, reached the soil of Illinois,
landed and at once proceeded on foot without any sort of baggage wagons to
Fort Chartres, which he reached in six days more, making ten days from Louis-
ville to Fort Chartres. He arrived in the evening of the 4th of July, and con-

HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY 43

cealed his men on the east side of the river until dark, in the meantime sending
out spies to reconnoiter. After dark he proceeded to and took possession of the
old ferry house about a mile above the town, making prisoners of the family.
They waited until the town was wrapped in slumber, when, with his men as-
sembled around him, Col. Clark delivered to them a short address. This
address is printed in full as nothing could so well, so authoritatively and plainly,
describe the motives and feelings that compelled these men to undergo the
privations they did :

"Soldiers, we are near the enemy for which we have been struggling for
years. We are not fighting alone for liberty and independence, but for the
defense of our frontiers from the tomahawk and scalping knife of the Indians.
We are defending the lives of our women and children, although a long distance
from them. These British garrisons furnish the Indians with powder and lead
to desolate our frontiers, and pay gold for human scalps.

"We must take and destroy these garrisons. The fort before us is one of
them, and it must be taken. \\'e cannot retreat, we have no provisions, and
we must conquer.

"This is the 4th of July ; we must act to honor it and let it not be said in
after times that \'irginians were defeated on that memorable day. The fort and
town, I repeat it, must be taken at all hazards.

"After these stirring remarks they began crossing the river in silence, to
accomplish which took about two hours. He immediately divided his little
army into two divisions and marched half his men quietly into the town at one
end, and half at the other. When in the town they raised their horrible, un-
earthly yell, which struck terror into all of the inhabitants, for it was the first
intimation they had that the "Long Knives' were in the country. The garrison
oblivious of an enemy were taken completely by surprise.

"Simon Kenton, at the head of a small detachment, sought the quarters of
Gov. Rocheblave, and found that official peacefully sleeping beside his wife, he
having no intimation of danger until Kenton, tapping him on the shoulder,
informed him he was a prisoner.

"The capture of the post was complete.

"What little knowledge of French the Americans possessed was utilized in
proclaiming to the French inhabitants tliat if they remained in their homes
cjuictly they would not be molested, but if they acted to the contrary, they would
be annihilated."

Clark's policy was to terrorize the inhabitants at first and make them feel
their helplessness and then show them leniency.

The next day when the priest came to ask permission to have religious services
in the church to seek the divine blessing before leaving, and asked permission to
take some of their provisions with them, Clark suddenly changing his aspect,
wished to know why they wanted to go away, telling them that he had come to
take them in as citizens of the United Colonies and did not wish to interfere
with their religion, or their property, or their laws, or their business; but that
if any of them desired to leave, they might peacefully withdraw. He also
told them that the king of France had united his armies with those of the Ameri-
cans, which was news to them and greatly pleased both the French and Indians
and added to their confidence in the American cause. The inhabitants were
so well pleased that the French immediately took the oath of allegiance to the
United Colonies with enthusiasm.

Col. Clark was disposed also to deal leniently with Rocheblave, and invited
him to dine with him; but instead of meeting his courtesies half-way and making
the best of his misfortunes, the disgruntled Franco-British officer became violent
and insulting. To such a length did he carry his insolence that the colonel felt
compelled to place him in irons, and soon after sent him to Williamsburg as a
prisoner of war. In 1780, breaking his parole, he made his way to New York,
where, in 17S1, he applied for a command and authority to recapture the Illinois

44 HISTO"RY OF PEORIA COUNTY

posts. His slaves were confiscated and sold, the proceeds, amounting to five
hundred pounds, being distributed among the troops of Col. Clark.

When Clark was about to proceed to V'incennes to capture that post, Gibault,
the priest, persuaded him not to do it but to send him over as ambassador, which
Clark did ; Gibault went over with a small party and as there were no forces
there except French and Indians, easily persuaded them to take the oath of
allegiance to the United Colonies. Captain Helm of Clark's regiment, who had
gone over with Gibault, took charge.

When Hamilton at Detroit learned what had happened, he took a detach-
ment of three hundred fifty warriors in October, 1778, to retake possession of
Vincennes. As he approached the fort and was within hailing distance. Captain
Flelm haulted him, standing by his gun with a lighted fuse. When Hamilton
called for his surrender at discretion. Helm refused unless he was granted the
honors of war, which was done. He then surrendered himself and one man,
all he had.

When news of what had happened came to George Rogers Clark, he knew
that his own situation was desperate. He was receiving no support from
Virginia and his forces were too small to withstand a siege, although he com-
menced to prepare for one, the best he could. Just then Francis \ igo, an Italian
trader of St. Louis, arrived from \'incennes and informed Clark that Hamil-
ton was confident that nothing would be done until spring, at which time he
proposed to make an advance in force ; but in the meantime had weakened him-
self by sending out his force of Indians in dift'erent directions, especially down
to the Ohio river to prevent Clark from returning to \'irginia and to prevent
reinforcements being sent to Clark. The genius of Clark came to his relief.
He knew and said that he must immediately take Hamilton prisoner or Hamilton
would take him. He thereupon called together all the forces he could, a con-
siderable part of which were Frenchmen, and on the 7th of February started
across the country to capture \'incennes. In eleven days he reached the edge
of the drowned lands of the Wabash river, which were flooded. To cross these
required five days more, during two of which they had to travel in water up to
their breasts at times.

Hamilton was one of the most bloodthirsty of the representatives of the
British government in this country. He was methodical in his use of the In-
dians. He gave standing rewards for scalps but offered none for prisoners,
thereby winning for himself the nickname of "The Hair Buyer." His contin-
uous volunteer parties composed of Indians and whites, spared neither men,
women nor children.

He promised that in the coming year as early as possible all of the nations
from the Chickasaws and Cherokees to the Hurons and Five Nations should
join in the expedition against A'irginia.

Clark's force on reaching dry land made no delay whatever but with drum
beating and white flag flying, entered Mncennes at the lower end of the vil-
lage. The town surrendered immediately and assisted in the siege of the
fort, which was immediately invested. During the night Clark threw up in-
trenchments within rifle shot of the fort, and under their protection his riflemen
silenced two pieces of cannon. In the forenoon when Hamilton asked for
parley, Clark demanded his surrender at discretion, to which the British replied
they would sooner perish to the last man; and oft'ered to capitulate on the con-
dition that they might march out with the honors of war, and return to Detroit.
Clark replied that he could by no means agree to that. He said. "I will not
again leave it in your power to spirit up the Indian nations to scalp men, women,
and children." Before night Hamilton and his garrison, hopeless of succor and
destitute of provisions, and overestimating Clark's strength, surrendered as
prisoners of war.

Steps were immediately taken to conciliate the Indians, "who, observing the
success of the Americans in obtaining possession of so many important British

HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY 45

posts, began to reflect whether it was not for their interest to make friends with
the winning side. The consideration which most inlliicnced their decision, how-
ever, was the fact, repeatedly urged upon them, that 'their old father, the king
of the French, had come to life again and was mad at them for fighting for the
British.' A council was held at which all the tribes of the Wabash were repre-
sented, who declared themselves to have changed their minds in favor of the
Americans."

The forces that X'irginia had raised to send to reinforce Clark were neces-
sarily diverted to an attack upon the Cherokees, who were part of the force
relied upon by Hamilton and who were terribly punished by those X'irginia
troops.

For the rest of the year the western settlements enjoyed peace, and the con-
tinued flow of immigrants through the mountains of Kentucky and the country
on the Holston river so strengthened them that they were never again in danger
of being broken up by any alliance of the savages.

This ended the control of the liritish, such as it was. over the state of Illi-
nois and the northwest. It lasted for fifteen years, during which time the
British government had shown itself unfriendly to the people of this country
and during the last three years of which she had been carrying on ilie war of
the Revolution, with the aid of the Indians. From this time on the govern-
ment passed to the commonwealth of Virginia.

CHAPTER VIII
ILLINOIS AS A PART OF X'IRGIXIA— 1778-1784

With the capture of Kaskaskia and the fort there on the 4th of July, 1778,
the Northwest ceased to be a part of the British dominion and became a part
of the Commonwealth of Virginia — at least as far north as the limits of the Vir-
ginia charter — and it so remained until March ist, 1784.

During all of this time except the last months the Revolutionary war was
still pending, and through all of that time there were murderous excursions by
the Indians, prompted by the English, into all of the Northwest, into Kentucky
and the western part of X'irginia. These were stealthy parties, as a rule, and
were of almost weekly occurrence, but they were at this time usually confined
to the country now within the states of Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and western
\'irginia ; Illinois being comparatively free from them.

We have seen that the regiment that was raised by the Commonwealth of
\^irginia to re-inforce Col. Clark was diverted to intercept the Cherokees. who
were preparing to come to the support of the British in the Northwest. That
attack was very successful but it left Col. Clark unsupported. With wonderful
ability he succeeded in securing and retaining the support of the French and
Indians and managed to hold the country for X'irginia.

The \'irginia llouse of Burgesses or delegates proceeded immediately to
extend a civil jurisdiction over the country, and in October, within three
months of the capture of Kaskaskia, it enacted a law establishing the county
of Illinois, which included then all of the Northwest, and provided for the
appointment of a county lieutenant or commandant, who should take the oath
of fidelity to the commonwealth according to his own religion, whatever that
might be. .All of the civil officers to which the inhabitants had Ijeen accustomed,
necessary for the preservation of peace and the administration of justice, were
to be continued and the officers, except those of the militia, were to be chosen
by the majority of the citizens at elections to be convened for that purpose in
their respective districts by the county lieutenant or his deputy, such officers to
be commissioned by the county lieutenant.

Patrick Henry being then the governor of X'irginia. thus became ex-officio
the first governor of Illinois. He appointed Col. John Todd of Kentucky
county, the first commandant of the county of Illinois and gave him a letter
instructing him to cultivate the good friendship of the French and Indians, for,
if unhappily this territory should be lost to the French, it might never be again
secured, since early prejudices are so hard to wear out.

As the head of the civil government. Todd was to have command of the
militia, who were however not to be under command until ordered out by the
civil authority to act in conjunction with it.

Col. Todd was born in Montgomery county. Pa., but was reared and edu-
cated in X'irginia by his uncle, the Rev. John Todd of Hanover county, \'a.,
who conducted a school or college there. Todd studied law and settled in Fin-
castle in X'irginia. where he practiced for several years and about 1775 moved to
Kentucky.

Col. John Todd immediatelv entered upon the duties of his office as county

48 HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY

lieutenant and was seldom absent from his government up to the time of his
death. He was authorized to raise a regiment for the defense of the frontier.
His career was ended by his death in the llattle of Blue Licks. He was a man
of fine personal appearance and talents, an accomplished gentleman, universally
beloved, and died without a stain upon his character and without even one enemy
upon earth.

The elections provided for by this act of Virginia are believed to be the first
elections held in Illinois under authority of law, and, the settlers there being
mostly French, they resulted in the election of Frenchmen to nearly all of the
offices except those in the militia.

To prevent the taking uj) of large tracts of land by prospectors and specu-
lators, Todd issued a proclamation enjoining all persons from making any new
settlements of lands and requiring the exhibition to duly appointed officers of
the evidence of title of those already in possession. To those who are ac-
quainted with the difficulties arising from the complication of title in a new
settlement or country by speculators under doubtful laws, and where the lands
had not been properly surveyed in advance, this will be recognized as a very
wise provision.

Licenses to erect factories, conduct stores and traffic in general merchan-
dise were granted without restrictions.

Under instruction from Governor Henry, Todd proposed to the Spanish
authorities in St. Louis and St. Genevieve, the establishing of commercial rela-
tions between the governments of Spain and Virginia and oft'ered military as-
sistance in case it should be needed. This offered friendship was in the end
basely betrayed.

In 1779 Todd was commissioned colonel of a \'irginia regmient and was
thereafter actively engaged in military operations throughout the west but con-
tinued to fulfill his duties as commandant as well as distance and the calls of
duty upon him would permit.

August 5th, 1779, Gen. Clark turned over his military command of Ilhnois
to Col. John Montgomery with headquarters at Kaskaskia, who assigned Capt.
Linetot to duty along the Illinois river.

It was feared that the English would endeavor to recover the territory of
Illinois and it was not clear that the Spaniards would not willingly suffer these
Illinois settlements — although they were their allies — to fall into British hands,
hoping in that case for an opportunity to retake them and make them
Spanish territory. The governor of Canada did proceed, under instructions
from home, to organize an attack upon the Spanish posts along the Alississippi
and upon the Illinois settlements, and the governors of the British garrisons
were instructed by secret circular letters to co-operate in the movement. This
was discovered by the interception of letters by the Spanish governor at New
Orleans, who immediately attacked the English stations in the vicinity and thus
prevented the re-inforcements expected by the British in their attack on St.
Louis, St. Genevieve, and the Illinois settlements.

The English expedition arrived on May 26, 1780, before St. Louis and pre-
pared to make the attack. Clark, who had been informed of this while at the
Falls of the Ohio, hastened to and arrived at Cahokia with a small force twenty-
four hours' before the appearance of the British and their allies. His mere
presence was a tower of strength.

The commander of the English expedition reported to his superior that they
failed on account of the infidelitv of some of their Indian allies but boastfully
claimed that sixty-eight of the enemy were killed, eighteen black and white
people made prisoners, many cattle destroyed, and forty-three scalps brought m.
The retreat of the English was a very hasty one, they being closely followed
by Col. John Montgomery with a force of three hundred fifty men, including a
party of" Spanish allies. 'Montgomery followed them to Peoria lake and thence
to Rock river, destroying towns and crops on the way. Thereafter, the In-
dians were not disposed to attack the people of Illinois

CHILDREN'S PLAV CKdlM) IN (;LK\ liAK I'AUK

(I.X lioSK ISLAND. CiLEN UAK I'AIIK

HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY 49

Some time after the repulse of this invading force of the liritish, a company
of only seventeen Illinoisans, commanded by Thomas Brady, a patriotic citizen
of Cahokia. retaliated by attacking the British post at St. Joseph in what is now
the state of Michigan, and capturing it; but he was ambushed and defeated on
his way back to Illinois and most of his command taken prisoners. He escaped
and St. Joseph fell again into the hands of the British. Thereupon the author-
ities at St. Louis and Cahokia, joining the forces of the Illinoisans and the
Spanish, organized an expedition of about thirty Spaniards under the command
of Don Ugenio Pourre, and aijout thirty French under the command of Jean
(John) Baptiste Maillet. and some two hundred Indians, and proceeded to re-
take it. The Spanish officer was senior in rank and had command of the ex-
pedition. They placated the Indians on the way and captured St. Joseph again
without striking a blow; the British flag there was replaced by that of Spain
and possession taken in the name of his Catholic Majesty who claiined not only
St. Joseph and its dependencies but also the valley of Illinois river, an extreme
exhibition of infidelity to the Illinoisans who had assisted in the campaign. The
Spanish commander made such reports to .Madrid as to create an important
complication in the final settlement of the treaty between England and the
United States and might have given Spain the country north of the Ohio river
but that his Catholic Majesty demanded too much from the British, including
the cession of Gibralter. To this demand the British never would consent but
were prompted by it to release their claim to the Northwest to the United States
to prevent it from falling into the power of Spain. Since St. Joseph at the time
it was captured was not a part of the Illinois country, either as a district or
territory, the claim of the Illinois river as a sequence to the capture of that fort
was a l)arefaced fraud without a shadow of evidence to supj)ort it ; nevertheless,
it required all of the sagacity, firmness, and wisdom of Jay, Franklin and Adams
to prevent the claim from being allowed. If Spain had succeeded in making
the Northwest Spanish territory instead of American, it would have been the
death blow to the prosperity of Peoria and all of the Northwest, as well as to
the whole United States, and would have made the Father of Waters a private
Spanish canal.

This Jean Baptiste Maillet is the same man who settled in Peoria in 1778,
and in 1779 was commissioned captain of militia for Peoria, receiving his com-
mission from Cahokia to which district Peoria then belonged. It is probable
that at the time this expedition started, he was at Cahokia, for the French had
been driven down there temporarily and most of his men, although they may
have been Peorians, were probably there at the time they started for St. Joseph.
This is the same Maillet also who started Ville de Maillet or Lower Peoria
about 1778 about where Bridge and Llarrison streets are, which new village
was named for him. Maillet deserved to have the new village named for him
for in his time he was one of Peoria's greatest men. He extended his trading
operations far and wide even to the Rocky Mountains. He was killed in 1801.

This is the last expedition during the Revolutionary war in which Peorians
or other Illinoisans took part.

On account of the attention of Virginia being diverted to resisting the at-
tacks of the Indians n.earer home, the county of Illinois received very little at-
tention and was practically without a government imtil it passed beyond the
control of \''irginia by the cession of the country to the United States.

Through this interim the French inhabitants were the greatest sufferers, be-
ing easily imposed upon and not being of the character of people to defend
themselves.

Several years before the close of the Revolutionary war, it began to be ap-
parent that the confederation of the colonies did not confer power enough upon
the general government to enable it to preserve its own existence, and that a
closer bond of union must be provided or the government would fall to pieces ;
but the smaller colonies which had no territory west of the mountains, feared to

50 HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY

go into a closer bond with the large colonies with their great expanse of terri-
tory for fear they would be overruled and be deprived of their equal rights in
the government. Congress, therefore, in 1780 recommended to those states
which owned territory in the west, to cede it all to the United Colonies. This
they finally concluded to do.

Virginia by an act passed January 2, 1781, authorized her delegates in the
confederate congress to transfer her claims to western lands, as well as her
jurisdiction over the country, to the United States on certain conditions. This
tender was accepted by the general government and Virginia by a new act of
December 20. 1783, authorized her delegates in the confederate congress, by
proper deed under their hands and seals, to convey, transfer, assign, and make
over to the United States in congress assembled, for the benefit of said states,
all right, title, and claim, as well the soil as the jurisdiction which the common-
wealth had to the country within the limits of the Virginia charter lying north-
west of the Ohio river — upon the condition that the territory so ceded should
be laid out and formed into distinct republican states, having the same right
of sovereignty, freedom, and independence as the other states, congress to pay
\'irginia the necessary reasonable expenses incurred by that state in subduing
the P.ritish forts and maintaining forts and garrisons and defending them. That
the French and Canadian inhabitants who had professed themselves citizens of
\'irginia should have their possessions confirmed to them and should be pro-
tected in the enjoyment of their rights and liberties. Also, that a quantity of
land, not exceeding one hundred fifty thousand acres, promised by Virginia to
George Rogers Clark and the soldiers of his regiment, should be laid ofif in one
tract, to be afterwards divided among the said officers and men in due propor-
tion "according to the laws of \'irginia. All other lands, which were more than
one hundred and sixtv-six million acres, should be considered as a common fund
for the use and benefit for the United States, including the state of Mrginia.

The provisions of this act of the House of Burgesses were carried out on
March i, 1784. by a deed of cession signed by Thomas Jefiferson, Samuel Hardy,
Arthur Lee, and James Monroe, who were then delegates for the commonwealth
of \'irginia in the confederate congress. Two of the signers of this deed by
\'irginia to the congress afterwards became presidents of the United States.

This document was signed, sealed and delivered in a little less than seven
weeks after the definitive freaty of peace with Great Britain was ratified by con-
gress, and from that time forth Illinois ceased to be a part of the State of Vir-
ginia or in any way under its control and became territory of the United States.

CHAPTER IX
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY

By the deed of cession of ^larch i, 1784. not only all property interest but
the right of sovereignty passed from X'irginia to tiie continental congress and
Virginia no longer attempted to exercise any control over the territory. Con-
gress, as soon as a proper bill could be prepared, on April 23, 1784, passed an
ordinance to establish a form of government from the entire region from the
gulf to the lakes, although possession had not at that time been entirely acquired.
This law was never put in force and was repealed by the ordinance of 1787. The
territory continued to exist vuider the laws in force at the date of that deed as
they were administered by the otiticers then in power.

That transfer provided that the Erench settlers should Ijc protected in all
their rights and that they should be allowed to live under their old laws, which
they did in a satisfactory way, for they were not a quarrelsome or litigious
people.

From the time of the cession of this country by Virginia, congress was so
engaged in its efforts to secure concessions from other colonies and to secure
a re-organization of the United States by the adoption of a constitution to
"create a more perfect union'' that little attention was paid to the Northwest
territory until 1787. During this period of three years, the power of Virginia
to control had ceased and the government by congress had practically not begun
so that the people were without any superior control and were without any sub-
stantial protection from congress.

In 1785, an ordinance for ascertaining the mode of disposing of lands in the
western territory was passed by the continental congress which provided for
the present plan of surveying and platting the land into townships six miles
square and numbered consecutively from south to north and in ranges numbered
east and west from a base line and section one mile square, also numbered con-
secutively. Sections numbered sixteen of every township were reserved for
school i)urposes. which reservation has been continued through all forms of
government to the present time. This platting of the land into townships and
sections before selling it, is a wonderful advantage in locating and finding the
land, in describing it, and in indexing and abstracting the title. Nothing was done
under this law at this time in Illinois, which was then a neglected wilderness
harrassed by the predatory incursions of Indians, although none were of suffi-
cient importance to be called a war.

On July 13, 1787, the congress of the confederation passed the celebrated
ordinance of that date by which they provided that the whole territory northwest
of the Ohio river should be constituted one district for the purpose of temporary
government.

It will be interesting to notice the provisions of this ordinance at some
length for two reasons. It attempted to determine what the future laws of the
Northwest should be, and in this manner, to make it a sort of a bill of rights
for all time to come. It is also to be studied as a most valuable indication of
the progress of ideas, for it is a fact not generally understood that laws are not
made. They grow in the minds of the people from time to time and are a con-

52 HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY

trolling power before they are enacted into statutes, and sometimes they have
not much force after they are enacted because they are not grounded in the
hearts as well as the minds of the people.

By a study of this ordinance of '87, we will find how far social and political
ideas had progressed up to that time and be able to learn what advancement
we have made since. It provided for the descent of property in equal shares,
substantially as under our present laws. This just principle was not then
generally recognized in the states; (it, however, reserved to the French and
Canadian inhabitants who had become citizens of Virginia the laws and customs
under which they had lived, relative to descent and conveyancing.)

The governor was to be elected for three years and was required to be the
owner of at least one thousand acres of land. The secretary's term was four
years and he must be the owner of five hundred acres. A court was provided
for of three judges, who must each be the owner of five hundred acres. It will
be noted that their term of ofiice was during good behavior. All the above
officers were elected bv congress and were required to have been residents of the
district for the three years last past or to have been for the same time citizens
of one of the states, and to take an oath of office.

In considering these laws, we must remember that the people were so scat-
tered that some provisions that we would consider essential to good government
would have been utterly impossible of operation at that time, for the people
could not assemble in convention and it was not possible for them to consult
with each other as we can do, and they had necessarily very, very few news-
papers, if any. This may excuse the provision that as a protection against unwise
experiments, they could adopt only laws that were already in force in some one
of the original "states, and even after adoption, congress might disapprove of
them and they were to remain in force only until the organization of a general
assemblv, which might alter, repeal, or re-adopt them.

The' governor was constituted commander-in-chief of the militia, with the
power to appoint all officers below the grade of general, and, until the organiza-
tion of the general assembly, the governor was to appoint all of the civil officers
in each county. He was to establish counties from time to time to whose limits,
legal process 'was to run. When the territory should have five thousand free
male inhabitants of full age, it was to be entitled to a general assembly, the time
and place of election to be" fixed by the governor. Each five hundred voters were
entitled to one representative until the number reach twenty-five, after which
the legislature itself was to regulate the number.

A member of the legislature was to be elected for two years and was required
to be a resident in the territory for three years, or have had a citizenship in some
state for three years and a present residence in the territory and a fee simple
right to two hundred acres of land within the territory.

" The makers of this ordinance had confidence in the immigrants to the dis-
trict who came from any one of the states. He was supposed to be a developed
American. We have already seen the importance of studying in the beginning
the development of the older colonies for it was in them our first lUinoisans
were made. .

An elector must have been a citizen of one of the states or have a residence
of two years in the district and in either case have a freehold of fifty acres.

The'assembly consisted of the governor and council and the house of repre-
sentatives. The council was to consist of five members, three to constitute a
quorum, term of service five vears unless the members were sooner removed
by congress. Congress w^as to 'select the council from ten men-residents of the
territory, each having a freehold of five hundred acres— nominated by the House
of Representatives. Bills to become laws must be passed by both houses and
be approved by the governor. The two houses by joint ballot were to elect a
delegate to congress who was allowed to debate but not to vote. An oath of
office was to be taken by each of these officers.

HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY 53

It will be seen from the following extract from the ordinance that it was
intended to make it in many respects practically perpetual.

"13. And for extending the fundamental principles of civil and religious lib-
erty, which form the basis whereupon these republics, their laws, and constitu-
tion, are erected ; to fix and establish those principles as the basis of all laws,
constitutions and governments, which forever hereafter shall be formed in the
said territory ; to provide, also, for the establishment of states, and permanent
government therein, and for their admission to a share in the federal councils on
an e<|ual footing with the original states, at as early periods as may be consistent
with the general interest :

"14. It is hereby ordained and declared, by the authority aforesaid, that the
following articles shall be considered as articles of compact between the original
states and the people and states in the said territory, and forever remain unalter-
able, imless by common consent."

Among the unalteraljle provisions were these : That any one demeaning
himself in an ortlerly manner shall never be molested on account of his mode of
worship or religious sentiments. That the inhabitant shall always be entitled
to the benefits of the habeas corpus and of the trial l)y jury; of a proportionate
representation in the legislature and of judicial proceedings according to the
common law. All persons shall be bailable, unless for capital ofifenses, where the
proof shall be evident and the presumption great. All fines shall be moderate,
and no cruel or unusual punishment shall be inflicted. No one shall be deprived
of his libertv or property, but by the judgment of his peers, and the law of the
land. Private property shall not be taken for public use nor shall particular
services of anyone be required without full compensation made for the same,
and no law ought to be made or have force in said territory that shall in any
manner whatever interfere with or afi^ect private contracts or engagements
bona fide and without fraud, previously formed.

It will be seen that this in many respects is wonderfully like the old Magna
Charta of King John.

"Religion, morality and knowledge being necessary to good government and
the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be
encouraged."

The utmost good faith was required toward the Indians. Their land and
propertv should never be taken from them without consent and their property
rights and liberty should never be invaded or disturbed unless by just and lawful
wars authorized by congress ; but laws founded in justice and humanity shall
from time to time be made for preventing wrongs being done to them and for
preserving peace and friendship with them.

States formed from the territory were to remain forever a part of the gen-
eral government and to pay their proportionate part of the national debt. The
states were not to interfere with the disposal of the public lands by congress
nor tax those lands, nor to tax the land of non-resident proprietors higher than
they did that of residents. The navigable waters were to be forever free, as
well as the carrying places between the same, and should become highways to
the citizens of the United States. The territory was eventually to be divided in
not less than three nor more than five independent states.

It was provided that there should be neither slavery nor involuntary servi-
tude in said territory otherwise than in punishment of crime whereof the party
to be punished should have been duly convicted.

From the celebrated ordinance of 1787, which was the charter or constitution
of the Northwest territory, we have been able to learn something of the ideas
of the members of the continental congress at that time in regard to what was
necessary and expedient for the organization and construction of a govern-
ment for the people in a country such as the Northwest.

Major General Arthur St. Clair, who had been an officer in the English
army but resigned and settled in Pennsylvania, had rendered distinguished service

54 HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY

iiiuler Wolfe in the storming of Quebec in 1759, and had also served with honor
during the Revolutionary war, was elected by congress, governor of the North-
west territory. The three judges required by that ordinance were also elected
and entered upon the duties of their office July 15, 1778, and they with the gov-
ernor proceeded to legislate for the territories.

We must remember that many of the laws we now have would have been
impossible of execution under the circumstances of the country at that time.
There were no jails, workhouses, or penitentiaries in which convicts could be
confined, and the people were too poor and too widely scattered to build them ;
conse(|Ucntly that mode of punishment so common with us could not be adopted
by them. Some of the offenses, such as horse-stealing, which are the hardest to
suppress in new countries, were punished more severely than we would think
advisable. Their punishments were summary: Death for murder, treason and
arson (if loss of life ensued therefrom) ; whipping with thirty-nine lashes and
fine for larceny, burglary and robbery; for perjury, whipping, fine or standing
in the pillory : for forgery, fine, disf ranchizement, and standing in the pillory ;
drunkenness, fine, for non-payment of which to stand in the stocks ; for non-
payment of fines generally, the sheriff was empowered to bind out the convict
for a term not exceeding seven years ; obscene conversation and profane swear-
ing were admonished against and threatened with the loss of the government's
confidence; morality and piety were enjoyed and the Sabbath pronounced sacred.

President Washington wrote to Governor St. Clair that one of the most
important things to be accomplished as soon as possible was to quit the titles
to the lands of the settlers, and publication was made that all persons claiming
titles should bring them in to the government to be examined, approved if found
correct, and recorded. The difficulties of those in charge of this work were
very great, ^lany of the titles presented were fraudulent, forgeries, or issued
without authority. When a title was found correct, it became necessary to make
an accurate survey of the ground and stake it ofif so the owner not only would
know what his title was but would know exactly the boundaries of his land. The
law provided that the cost of the surveying and marking corners must be paid
by the owner of the land. Many of the settlers at that time were very poor,
indeed. They were not good managers. They had been harassed by warfare
and by the uncertain condition of business, and unfortunately at this same time
there had been unusual overfiows of the .Mississippi, destroying most of their
crops for a year or two in succession, so that they were utterly unable to pay
the necessary cost of staking off their land. The result was that their lands,
many of them, fell into the hands of land speculators who advanced the money
to pay for the cost of surveying. Many of the French inhabitants petitioned
congress to relieve them of the cost of surveying. Their pathetic and earnest
petition was drawn up by Father Gibault, the same priest who was so efficient
in securing the support t)f the French at Kaskaskia and also at Vincennes for
George Rogers Clarke. It certainly appears to us at this time that congress
should have paid that cost of surveying from the treasury.

The instructions of congress to Governor St. Clair were to promote peace
and harmony between the Indians and the United States, to defeat all com-
binations or confederacies between them and to neglect no opportunity to ex-
tinguish the Indian titles to lands westward as far as the Mississippi and north
as far as the forty-first degree of latitude. Why they should limit it in this man-
ner, does not appear. We" know that the forty-first degree was the northern line
of the claim of Virginia under its charter, but why stop at the boundary fixed by
the charter of old Virginia?

In 1790, there was only one lawyer in the Northwestern territory but he
was a very able man of Welsh descent, an accomplished linguist with a classical
education and a thorough knowledge of law, a hard worker and a forceful
speaker. Later when the territory of Indiana was organized, he moved to
Vincennes and rendered important services in revising the statutes for the terri-

HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY 55

tory of Indiana. His name was jolin Rice Jones. He left several distinguished
sons.

A curious record is mentioned by Governor Reynolds of a trial at Prairie
du Rocher which indicates the ai)sence of states attorneys or any other lawyers.
The jury, wishing to indict a negro, examined what books they had and con-
cluded to and did indict him, and under the indictment convicted him of the
"murder" of a hog. He had not stolen it, only shot it as a piece of malicious
mischief.

The neighborhood of Peoria was free from Indian massacres, incursions, or
battles, during the existence of the northwest territory but there were two or
three battles of importance farther east.

General St. Clair suffered a disastrous defeat November 4tli, 1791, on a
small branch of the \\'abash. He lost eight hundred ninety men out of a force
of fourteen hundred engaged in battle. Six hundred skulls were found three years
afterwards and buried Ijy men from General Wayne's army. The Indian force
consisted of one thousand forty men under the command of Little Turtle, chief
of the Aliamis. This battlefield was afterwards known as Fort Recovery.

Afterward, the conduct of the war was placed in the hands of General
Anthony Wayne, whose home was in the immediate vicinity of Valley Forge,
Pennsylvania. His campaign during the summer of 1794, culminated in a very
decisive victory on the 20th of August on the Maumee river. This was fol-
lowed by negotiations with (ireat llritain in which the king pledged a firm
peace with the United States and agreed to withdraw all his troops and garri-
sons from the posts within the boundary lines of the United States as fixed
by the treaty of 1783. This took away from the Indians the last hope of
British aid and the various chiefs hastened to the headquarters of General Wayne
during the winter and signed preliminary articles of peace which resulted in
the treaty of Greenville, in which all the sachems and chiefs of the confederacy
signed a lasting treaty of peace on the 3d of August, 1795.

Governor St. Clair, as we have seen, was himself a Pennsylvanian l)y adop-
tion and it appears that four-fifths of the laws, which were all imported from
other states, were from Pennsylvania. Among other things they adopted the
common law of England, and the statutes of parliament in aid thereof of a
general nature not local to that kingdom, down to the fourth year of James I,
which is the law in Illinois to this day except as varied by statute.

In 1796, the ]iopulation of the territory had become so large as to entitle
it to a delegate in congress and Shadrach Bond was elected. He was after-
wards the first governor of the state of Illinois. The representatives in the
legislature of the territory nominated ten men, in accordance with the provisions
of the ordinance of '87, from which President Adams selected five, who con-
stituted the legislative council. These were confirmed by the Senate and on
the i6th of September, 1799, both houses met and perfected their organization
on the 24th. This was the first time that the people of this country through
representatives elected by themselves enacted their own laws for their own
local government. The legislature confirmed many of the laws enacted by the
governor and judges, and passed forty-eight new ones, of w-hich the government
vetoed eleven. They were prorogued December 17, 1799.

This territorial government existed for only a few months, for on May 7,
1800, the territory was divided.

CHAPTER X
PEORIA PART OF INDIANA TERRITORY— 1800-1809

Congress, l)y an act approved 'May 7, 1800, divided the immense territory
of the northwest and the present states of Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, and
Indiana, except a little strip on the eastern side, were constituted the territory
of Indiana and so remained for nine years, which were not very eventful ones.

The act|uisition of land titles from the resident Indian tribes, and the settle-
ment of land titles, were the principle subjects receiving attention.

Captain William PI. Harrison, afterwards president, was appointed governor
and superintendent of Indian affairs and given full powers to negotiate treaties
between the United States and the several resident Indian tribes for the cession
of their lands.

There had been only one term of court with jurisdiction of criminal matters
held within that territory for five years.

In 1799, while Harrison was secretary of the great territory of the northwest,
he had been elected delegate to congress, and it was largely through his influence
that congress had created the territory of Indiana from the territory of the
northwest, and also provided for the sale of public lands in tracts as small as
three hundred twenty acres, upon cash payment of one-fourth the price, the
balance to be paid in one. two, and three years. Before that time, the smallest
tract sold was four hundred acres and cash payments were recjuired.

The first term of the general court under the law for Indiana Territory was
held on the _^d of March, 1801. It was about this time that the able, accomplished,
and distinguished scoundrel and traitor, Aaron Burr, attempted to organize an
independent nation including a large part of the coimtry between the AUe-
ghanies and the Mississippi river. After a long trial he was not convicted,
although universally believed to be guilty.

All the territory between the Illinois and the Mississippi rivers was acquired
from the Sac and Fox nations, by the treaty of St. Louis, November 3, 1804,
the Indians surrendering all jurisdiction over it and giving up all claim of title
to the lands, but it will be seen that the country was practically not opened to
settlement for several years, for the lands had not been surveyed and there was
no opportunity to acquire title to them, which is the chief object of the pioneer.
Land offices were established in T%:}:-at Kaskaskia, in which district Peoria /%0
county was situated, and the settlement of disputed land claims was begun.
This proved to be an exceedingly difficult matter. The register and receiver
examined eight hundred ninety land claims, of which three hundred seventy
were supported by perjury and a considerable number were forged. It seems
there was no less perjury and graft in that day than in this, and it is unpleasant
to contemplate that the names of many of the most prominent, respected, and
influential families were tarnished. This placed a terrible responsibility upon
the commissioners, who were compelled to resist these claimants who attacked
them viciously in every way. The commissioners felt this grievously and closed
their report with the following words :

"We close this melancholy picture of human depravity, by rendering our
devout acknowledgments that, in the awful alternative in which we have been

58 HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY

placed, of either admitting perjured testimony in support of the claims before
us, or having it turned against our characters and lives, it has, as yet, pleased
Divine Providence which rules over the affairs of men, to preserve us both from
legal murder and private assassination."

By vote taken in 1S04. September nth, the people adopted the second grade
of territorial government, under which they elected a general assembly. The
members elected to the legislature from Illinois were Shadrach Bond, afterwards
first governor of the state, William Biggs of St. Clair, and George Fisher of
Randolph. The legislature elected ten men from whom the president was author-
ized to select five to act as members of the council. The president waived that
right to nominate them and delegated that power to Harrison, only asking him
that he reject "land jobbers, dishonest men, and those who, though honest,
might suffer themselves to be warped by party prejudice." Perry and Menard
were selected for Illinois.

The legislature met the 29th of June, 1805. This was the second time that the
people of this country, through their representatives, exercised the law making
power for their own local government.

The governor in his first message recommended the passage of laws to pre-
vent the sale of intoxicating liquors to the Indians saying: "You have seen our
towns crowded with drunken savages ; our streets flowing with blood ; their
arms and clothing bartered for the liquor that destroys them ; and their miser-
able women and children enduring all the extremities of cold and hunger;
whole villages have been swept away. A miserable remnant is all that remains
to mark the situation of many warlike tribes."

The legislature enacted many general laws and provided for a thorough
collection and revision of the same by a commission. This was done by John
Rice Tones and John Johnson and the laws were printed in a bound volume, the
paper for which was brought on horseback from Georgetown, Kentucky. These
laws were not very different from those already in force. Gambling, profane
swearing, and Sabbath breaking were each punished by fine.

During the continuance of the territory of Indiana, the expedition of Lewis
and Clark to the far west was organized. This Clark was a brother of George
Rogers Clark. This expedition extended and preserved our boundaries west-
ward to the Pacific Ocean.

Here ends the work of Colonel Rice on the manuscript for this history.
"Man proposes, but God disposes," is an aphorism which has been fully exem-
plified in the plans of the author of the foregoing pages of historical events.
His aim and ambition were to leave to Peorians a work that would meet their
wishes and approval and. at the same time, redound to his credit and come up
to the anticipations of his many friends. He had given the matter his earnest,
sincere and careful attention, laying out a plan which would cover the subject
truthfullv and completelv : but, the'hand of death unexpectedly intervened and.
while in 'the full flush of apparently good health, he was laid low and another
was delegated to continue the program as mapped out by him and in accordance
with his wishes.

CHAPTER XI
REMINISCENCES OF OLD SETTLERS

The spirit of former times, and the hopes, desires, and ambitions of the old
pioneers, tlie motives that caused them to move to a new country, the spirit
that governed them in their social life and business, their trials, hardships and
their pleasures, the difficulties they had to overcome and the methods they took
to accomplish this and makeshifts they were compelled to resort to, their modes
of entertainment and the happy spirit they preserved with it all are best shown
by permitting them to tell their own story in their own way. Therefore, a
number of reminiscences and recollections of the old settlers themselves, ex-
pressed in their own words as nearly as practicable are embodied in this history.
Nothing else could give us such a vivid picture of those early days or could it
make it so attractive. In reading these reminiscences, we know we are getting
a description of the situation at first hands, and, if in some cases, their views
were different from ours, it indicates the progress of civilization and develop-
ment, for better or worse, as the case may be.

These early reminiscences will give the origin of many of the families now
living in Peoria and will be doubly interesting to their descendants because
given in the language of the actors in that stirring time.

Considerable effort has been made to secure as many of these reminiscences
as possible and make them as full as the lapse of time will permit.

The first one presented will be that of Airs. Julia M. Ballance who came to
Peoria in 1835 and became the wife of Charles ilallance who wrote one of the
first histories of Peoria.

Mrs. Ballance at the time these recollections were penned was an old lady
but her remembrance of persons and events was remarkably full and clear.
The reminiscences here given were written at the request of the Herald-Trans-
script, and printed in that paper in 1899, but one year before her death.

REMINISCENCES OF JULIA M. BALLANCE

My father's second wife was a Presbyterian, unused to slave labor and with
no faculty for controlling them. Naturally she disliked the blacks, a feeling
they were all too ready to reciprocate, and when Rev. Isaac Kellar, who was
married to my father's sister, moved to Illinois and wrote back glowing accounts
of the promise of the new country my step-mother added her entreaty to his
that we should break up our home in Alaryland and join the Kellar's in Peoria.
One line of argument had great weight with my father. He had four sons
rapidly approaching manhood, his farm was not large enough to settle them all
with the corresponding negro hands, other good farm land in the neighborhood
was scarce as well as high in price, and there seemed no better way to provide
for all these boys than to seek a new country. Accordingly in 1835, after the
crops were all gathered, he closed up his business, sold or rented his slaves
and started for the land of promise.

JOURNEY TO A NEW COUNTRY

The journey of course had to be made overland and for that purpose he
provided a large covered wagon drawn by four and sometimes five horses for

60 HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY

the accommodation of my brothers, John, David, Washington and Henry, my
sisters, Susan and Amanda and myself ; another wagon drawn by two horses
in which clothing, camp equipage and food were carried ; and a covered carriage
for father, his wife and two little children. Our horses were large, strong ani-
mals, our wagons provided with every comfort and convenience, experience or
ingenuity could suggest, and one beautiful sunny day in October we started on
our journey. It must have been hard for the older people to leave all that was
dear to them by association or recollection, but the young looked forward rather
than l)ack and in the excitement of that first day's travel my brothers and I
drew beautiful fancy pictures of the life that was before us.

So far as I can recollect our journey through Maryland and Pennsylvania
was uneventful. The road was perfect, the weather fine, and we easily made
a drive of twenty-five miles per day. As a rule there was no difficulty in obtain-
ing accommodations at a hotel or farmhouse, but if these failed we young
people thought it no hardship to spend the night in the wagons. Bedding was
abundant, and we were exceedingly comfortable. F"ather was particular about
the observance of the Sabbath, and we always laid by from Saturday till Mon-
day morning, but these stops must have been at unimportant points, for I remem-
ber none till we reached Wheeling, Virginia. Here we remained for two or
three days to readjust the loads of goods, the heavy and bulky articles being
separated from the others and shipped by water down the Ohio and up the
Illinois river to Peoria. This we accomplished through Mr. John R. Forsyth,
a commission merchant in Wheeling, who took charge of and shipped them to
the care of Andrew Gray, a commission man in Peoria, and our only knowledge
of the shipment for many long weeks was through this latter gentleman, who
was finally notified when they were transferred to another boat at St. Louis.
It may be mentioned in passing that Mr. Forsyth was the father of Henry
Forsvth, for a number of years clerk of our county court, and the grandfather
of Airs. C. R. \Varner. He removed to Peoria soon after we did, and formed
a partnership with Mr. Gray, whom all old citizens will remember and who
is still represented in our midst by his daughter, Mrs. John McDougal and her
sons. Both of these gentlemen were from the north of Ireland and were fine
specimens of that elocjuent and courtly race. There was much to interest us
in Wheeling, but unfortunately we had all been made more or less ill by eating
pawpaws gathered by the wayside and were unable to avail ourselves of half
our opportunities. One thing, however, we felt that all must see and that was
the steamer Algonquin, on which our goods were being stored. The Chesapeake
and Ohio canal was in operation and the older members of the family had in-
spected the boats on the canal and considered them a triumph of luxury, but
not even my father had seen anything so fine as a steamboat and to all of us
it seemed a floating palace. The boys were especially excited and could not
sufficiently admire its various parts from the wheel in the pilot house to the
conveniences for storing freight in the hold.

Another curiosity and. delight was the glass factory still in its infancy but
quite sufiiciently developed to draw crowds of interested observers. I remained
at the hotel, too unwell to undertake such an" expedition, but grew quite familiar
with its wonders at second-hand in the long days that followed.

On Monday we were all feeling much better and with our load of goods
greatly lightened, took up our journey across Ohio, still keeping to the National
road. Various schemes for facilitating travel were being urged but Illinois knew
of these things only by distant rumor. On the whole the greatest civilizer of
this and neighboring states was the National Road,* of which such fre(iuent

* This National Road at the time it was built was probably as important to the people
as the Union Pacific was at the time it was built and it cost the general government in
proportion to its means as much as the Transcontinental Railroad. It was built by Con-
gress under desires to provide for the mail service and was operated as a mail route, very
important in that particular and very important to bind the nation together by union of inter-

I.AKK AT (;IJ-;X OAK I'AlMv

LOG CABIN AT GLEX OAK I'AKK l!t ll.T \:\ I'KiHMA ((UXTY PIONEERS

HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY 61

and grateful mention is made by early settlers. Starting from Cumberland it
was finished as far as Wheeling in 1820 at a cost of $17,000,000, but was subse-
quently extended across Ohio and Indiana. In the language of Professor
Andrews, "It was thirty-five feet wide thoroughly macadamized, and had no
grade above five degrees." As it was kept in repair for the sake of the govern-
ment mail it can easily be imagined what a boon it must have been to immigrants
with their heavy wagons and helpless families. The first stop that I remember
was at Zanesville, which was considered a flourishing town, and for some
reason had an especial attraction for us, but I cannot remember why. Columbus
also met with our approval, but we drove briskly through it till we reached some
shade trees, where we rested and ate luncheon. W'e especially commended the
apples which were very fine and abimdant.

At this point my father decided to go by way of Dayton, so we left the

National road and drove through mud and slush for half a da)' to reach it. I

am not sure whether it was by appointment or accident, but at Dayton we met

a family of the name of W onderlich. the father of whom was an uncle of my

communications. It is proliable tliat railroads by facilitating intercourse as well as commerce
between different neigbborboods and states are not only among tbe greatest civilizers by en-
abling eacb portion of tbe country to learn the best tilings from otber parts but it enables the
people to become acquainted with each other.

"East of Alton was the town of Vandalia, where ended tbe unfinished National Pike.
The construction of that famous highway was begun at Cumberland, Maryland, in iSii; but
so slowly did the work progress that six years passed before tbe first mail-coach rolled over
it and entered Wheeling. Two years later Congress decided to continue the road from
Wheeling to some point on the Mississippi between St. Louis and the mouth of the Illinois
River, and appropriated ten thousand dollars for preliminary surveys. But five years elapsed
before a dollar was provided for building the road, and ground was broken at St. Clairs-
ville, a little town in Ohio, a few miles west of Wheeling. Columbus was reached bv 1830,
and when tbe last appropriation was made, in 1838, the road was finished as far as Spring-
field, and graded, bridged, and partially completed to Vandalia.

"In Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, the Cumberland Road wound and twisted
through the mountains, feut once across the Ohio the route was to be as straight as pos-
sible from Wheeling to the Mississippi, regardless of towns along the way. Against this
the General .Assembly of Illinois protested, and asked that tlie road should join the capital
cities of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. When tlierefore, the first appropriation for construc-
tion was made it was ordered that the great highway should pass through Columbus, In-
dianapolis, and Vandalia. then the capital of Illinois. Straightness, however, was not de-
parted from, and the road was built with little regard for topography. Hills were cut
through, lowlands were crossed on high embankments, and streams, large and small, were
spanned by massive stone bridges, the like of which cannot be found on any other road in
all our land.

"lo keep such a highway, eighty feet wide, in repair was .so costly a matter that Congress
ordered gates put up and tolls collected at regular intervals. This, in the opinion of Monroe,
was going too far; it was assuming jurisdiction over the land on which tbe road was built;
and tbe bill came back with his veto and a long dissertation on the intent and meaning of
the Constitution. Thereupon Congress repaired the road so far as built and turned it
over to the States through which it passed to be by them kept in repair forever. ,\s new
portions were constructed they, too, passed to tbe care of tbe States, wdiich at once put up
toll-gates.

"No highway was more travelled, more crowded, more interesting. Over it each day
went thousands of mail-coaches, passenger-coaches, freighters, .•\long its route had sprung
up hundreds of taverns, beneath whose roofs the travellers lodged, and hundreds of wagon
houses, where entertainment was provided for the teamsters and their beasts. Before tbe
doors of such taverns as went back to tbe early days of tbe road, might still be seen the
old-fashioned sign whereon was rudely painted tbe Green Tree, the Golden Lamb, tbe White
Horse, tbe Golden Swan, or tbe Indian Queen, by which the bouse was known. Those of
a later date had verandas and bore on their signs tbe names of their owners. Only the
newest were called .'\merican House. United States Hotel. National House, or Buckeye Hotel.

"On tbe outskirts of tbe towns and villages and at short distances along the road were
the wagon houses, plain frame buildings with great yards, long watering troughs and huge
barns, in many of which a hundred horses might rest. None but teamsters found enter-
tainment at such places, and at any of them after nightfall a group of wagoners might be
seen gathered at tlie bar or seated around the huge fireplace, and sleeping on tbe floor in
winter or in the great yard in summer.

"From each important town along tbe route stage lines ran out north and south." —
McMastcr.

62 HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY

step-mother. Tliis man was the grandfather of Mrs. Calvin Schnebly, of
Rich woods, and her mother was a young girl at the time and assisted in enter-
taining us. We remained two or three days with these kind friends, resting
and preparing for the worst part of the journey.

I remember little of Indianapolis, except from there on the road was very
had, and we seemed a long, long ways from home. The turnpike existed only
in spots from this time, and we would sometime jolt for hours over a corduroy
road formed of trees roughly cut and dropped carelessly into the oozy soil.
The prairies were uncultivated, and while the grass waved above the heads of
the horses the wagon wheel would suddenly sink to the hubs in an unsuspected
slough. This meant long delay. With a groan the boys would clamber from
their seats, double up teams, perhaps have to pry the wheels out of the mud,
and then repeat the process with the vehicles in the rear. Sometimes such
experiences would occur several times in a day, and were fiery trials to patience
and temper as well as weary bodies. Xow and then we would overtake movers
with oxen, and as it was a law of the road that each should help the other
these were often of great assistance to our lighter loads. The first question of
all such was: "Where are you going stranger?" and the almost invariable reply:
"To Logansport, Injianny." "Don't they have ague there?"' we would ask, and
the reply was: "Oh yes. sometimes." In fact malaria was the rule throughout
the state. In many houses where we stopped there was not a single well person
to wait upon the sick, and all the settlers looked bleached and sallow. Still all
were cheerful under the affliction and looked for better times in the spring —
not one was preparing to give it up and return east.

As we left the well settled portions of the country behind, we became more
dependent upon ourselves in the matter of food. We had brought with us a
liberal supply of potatoes, coffee, tea and dried fruit, nuts of various kinds
abounded in the woods and apples might generally be had for the asking ; eggs,
milk and butter were found at every farm house, and fish in every stream ; but
the great annoyance was the diflficulty of obtaining bread. Public bakers were
scarce and I recall one town where but a single loaf could be obtained. With
so large a family, this became a serious matter and at length my step-mother,
with the energy that distinguished her, took the matter in hand. Wherever we
might chance to camp at night, by the roadside or in the bleakest prairies, she
would set her bread to rise and then in the dim morning hours finish her baking
before the early drive began. The only utensil for this purpose was a large,
round iron pot or pan, with feet and a right cover, called a "Dutch oven," which
was heated by heaping coals beneath it and spreading a layer on the lid. In
the light of our present conveniences this appears a slow and troublesome proc-
ess, but after all these years it still seems to me that no cakes or bread or biscuit
were ever so sweet or so well baked as those turned out of that old "Dutch oven."

The ride through Indiana was dreary in the extreme ; we had seen no one
we knew anything about for days and when we reached Terre Haute and were
invited to dine with a J\Ir. StoU whom father had know-n as a boy the invitation
was eagerlv accepted. This gentleman was soon after appointed territorial
governor of Iowa and of course left the country, but I still think of Terre
Haute tenderlv for the sake of the dinner he gave us.

Richmond is also pleasantly remembered; the people were kind and hospitable
and we laid in a bountiful supply of provisions to last us through the wilderness
which stretched before us.

At another town in Indiana we had to lie by on account of the sickness of
a favorite mare named Dolly. I had never seen an animal doctored by filling
a bottle with medicine and forcibly pouring the dose down its throat and it
seemed very cruel, but in this case, at least, it was efficacious and the next day
DoUv was able to travel.

When we reached the Wabash the difficulties of the journey were greatly
increased. Hitherto we had crossed all streams by means of bridges, but here

HISTORY OF PEORIA COUXTY 63

there was only a rope ferry boat and when we drove on board all felt as if we
were taking our lives in our hands. For a long distance beyond this ferry we
drove through dark and forbidding woods and when at length we were called
upon to camp in their shadows we were all much depressed. To make the
situation more unpleasant we entirely lost our beloved National road from this
time. It had been surve^etl and partly graded in Illinois, but not a foot macad-
amized beyond the state line. For some reason our route lay midway between
Decatur and Springfield, and we passed no town in the state of sufficient im-
portance to vary the monotony.

Paris, our first stopping place, was not calculated to rouse our courage. The
ague was widespread and there was not an able bodied person in the town. As
a conse(|uence provisions were scarce and wc went on our way with many
forebodings.

The next day to our great surprise we met three cousins of father's who
had been through Iowa and Illinois buying land and were returning to Maryland.
Two of these gentlemen had made the entire journey on horseback, while the
third, who was lame, had driven in a buggy. We were much delighted to see
them, though our greetings were exchanged in the middle of a big prairie and
the visit lasted less than an hour. Their account of what they had seen did much
to encourage our party and we went on in far better spirits.

Pieyond Waynesville we had in a small way a really serious trouble, though
it seems insignificant enough in the retrospect — we lost our mush pot! Every
old housckeejjer will remember the value attached in the days before porcelain-
lined and galvanized \\are were invented, to any iron vessel that was perfectly
smooth and warranted not to discolor the most delicate food. Such a one was
our mush pot and valuable as it was under any circumstances, it was doubly
so in the present crisis. It had been tied throughout the journey to the wagon
pole and came loosened and rolled away. My step-mother felt ruined so far
as good cooking was concerned and would have driven back in search of her
treasure if mv father had not discouraged the attempt.

Coming through Indiana we became acquainted with a family by the name
of Boone, and as they were traveling to the same section of the country we
were often thrown together. The party consisted of the old gentleman, his
wife, who weighed over two hundred pounds, and six grown daughters, and a
married son with his wife and two children. Each family had what was called
a "Jersey" wagon and a pair of little horses to take them from their distant
home in the eastern part of Pennsylvania to central Illinois. Although pleasant
acquaintances they became a great drawback to traveling. Their horses were
quite unequal to the load they had to draw and several times a day our teams
would be unhitched to drag them out of the mud. Finally one of the young
ladies was taken sick, and as the family was unable to travel in consequence,
our boys hastened on, much pleased to think we were rid of them. But their
joy was short lived, for by means of early rising our friends soon overtook
us and we continued to help them out of the mud till we reached Mackinaw.
Here they remained for a couple of weeks, but eventually came to Peoria to
spend the winter. Miss Susan Boone afterwards married Dr. Maus, of Mack-
inaw, and they moved to Pekin. Hopkins Boone, the son. and his family went
to loliet, where they had relatives, and I lost sight of them.

Another family we met in traveling was that of Major Walker. They left
us to go to Springfield, but eventually settled in Lewistown.

A disease as much dreaded by immigrants as ague was the "milk sickness,"
which we heard of in Illinois. It was said to come from a weed the cattle ate,
which poisoned the milk, and was thereby communicated to human beings. Our
first knowledge of I'ekin was through a report that milk sickness was especially
prevalent there, though indeed every new place was suspected of the same con-
tamination.

From Mackinaw we struck across the country, expecting to come through

64 HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY

Tremont, hut accidentally took the wrong road and passed down Deacon street
instead, and soon came to the bluffs overlooking Peoria. It was a beautiful
afternoon, and as the sunlight gilded the tops of the trees and played hide-and-
seek among the shadows, the panorama that stretched before us was most at-
tractive. The hardships of the long weary way over which we had passed
were forgotten as we looked at the glistening river and the village so pictur-
es(|uely hidden by the surrounding bluffs. Even the horses seemed to feel that
rest was near and cantered briskly down the long slope that led to the ferry,
which plied at the foot of Bridge street, and over which we must pass before
reaching our destination. By the time we got to Main and Water streets dark-
ness had set in, and strangers as we were it was impossible to find accommoda-
tions for so large a party. At length an old man by the name of Hardesty, who
lived in a little house where the Colburn & Birks' building now stands, oft'ered
to shelter my father and mother. He had but one room to offer, and even that
had no bedstead, but we sent over our own bedding and made a bed upon the
floor. This would not have been considered a privation by persons who had
lived as we had through the last six weeks of our journey, but unfortunately
a terrific storm of rain and wind came up in the night, the rain drifted under
the outer door and ran in streams to the bed, which was thoroughly soaked,
and the occupants driven to chairs and tables for protection. Those of us who
had slept in the wagons were dry and warm but much frightened, and altogether
our first night in Peoria was not a happy one. Nor can it be wondered at;
but it is rather a surprise that any of us lived through the hardships of the
first season, to tell the truth. The girls especially had been delicately reared,
and had never done a stroke of work unless for their own pleasure. Servants
had always been plentiful to attend to their slightest wish, and the transition
from a life of ease to the labor and deprivations of pioneer life was enough to
appal the stoutest heart.

The Rev. Isaac Kellar, who was married to my father's sister and had lived
near us in Maryland, moved to Peoria in the s]iring of 1835 and it was at his
solicitation that we determined to make our new home in the same place. After
a few months' residence in town Uncle Kellar had purchased a farm about five
miles in the country which included what is now Kellar Station on the Rock
Island & Peoria Railroad. Here he hastily put up a house and moved his family
into it, but so difficult was it to get workmen that when w^e arrived, November
10, it was a shelter and no more. The walls and roof were up but the winter
wind whistled between the unchinked logs and the only partitions upstairs were
formed of strips of carpets or blankets. As there was not a house to be had
and it was too late in the season to think of building we thankfully accepted
the offer of a share in this unfinished house and seven Kellars and eleven
Schneblvs clustered together as best they could under one roof. All hands
immediately set to work to make the place more comfortable. Such apology
for carpenters as could be obtained were put to laying floors and making and
hanging inside doors, and in the meanwhile big fires were kept burning day
and night. As the new^er family, we were able to add many comforts to the
general store. There were too many of us to be lonely or low-spirited, and in
spite of hardships, we were not unhappy. Air. John Kellar had bought the
farm adjoining his brother's, and gradually we came to know other neighbors,
all of whom were most kind.

Nevertheless it was a dreadful winter. The intense cold set in on the 15th
of November, 1835, a full month sooner than was anticipated, and found no
one prepared for it. Provisions were scarce not only with us but in the stores,
and the Illinois river, the only highway to the base of supplies, was frozen over.
Snow soon fell to a greater depth than had ever been known before and ren-
dered the country roads well nigh impassable while it was fresh and entirely
so when it turned to mud and slush. At the new house it sifted through every
crevice and it was no raritv to shake several inches of snow off' our beds in

■7

*"^ ■

7^ '

KF.Y TO THE PICTURE OF PEORIA IX 1846.
The folliiiK'iii;/ iiaiucd [^hiccs arc represented as folltrn's:

a. The foot of l-'erry Street aii<l llie ferry, since called ISridge Street and the

bridge.

b. Orin Hamlin's tlour mill.

c. The fir.st court hotise.

d. The first home of Charles Pallance.

e. .\. S. Cole's warehouse. PjCtween Cole's warehouse and llallance's first home.

in \\'ater Street and in Liberty Street, full\- lilling l)0th of them, was
Fort Clark at a former day.

f. Curtenius & Ciriswold's general store.

g. Slough's, or L'nion Hotel.

li. h'irst two brick buildings erected in Peoria.

i. Clinton House.

j. Asahel Hale's home.

k. Delweiller's 1 lotel.

1. \'oris Bros.' general store.

m. A, S. Cole's store in 1S43.

n. I'^armers' Hotel.

o. The notorious W hig flagstaff in 1S44.

p. The old court house.

q. Old Hamilton Street Baptist Church, now the site of the county jail.

r. The old Peoria House.

s. John Rankin's flour mill.

t. The residence of Isaac L'nderhill, for whom the |)icturc was painted, now the

site of St. h'rancis Hospital,
u.

V. Orr &; Schnel)le\'s saw mill.

HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY 65

the morning which had settled upon us in the night. The situation was not
helped by the knowledge that there was no lack of money to make us com-
fortable but that this was a time when money was of little use. There were
few mechanics of any kind in the state and if there had been many, there was
a dearth of materials with which to work. Every foot of lumber for building
purposeswas obtained by cutting logs on the farm, hauling them to a saw mill
on the Kickapoo where they were sawed on the shares, and then hauling them
back. Teaming was a business for which there was good demand, and as we
had the best horses in the neighborhood our boys were often importuned to do
something of the kind. On one occasion brother John and an assistant was em-
ployed to take the boiler of a sunken steamboat to Chicago; for this job he
received $ioo, which does not seem a munificent sum for the time and labor
expended, but he was probably glad of the opportunity to see the country and
satisfied to pay expenses. On his return he brought a load of lumber, which
was considered an exceedingly bright thing to do.

As the winter progressed provisions of all sorts became scarce and ex-
pensive. Flour, I remember, was $12 per barrel. New Orleans molasses $1.25
per gallon, and butter unknown. The only thing our family had in plenty was
coffee which we had brought with us and which seemed to be providentially
inultiplied till the spring. Flour gave out altogether and many of us were made
sick by the constant use of corn-meal. At length we obtained a little wheat
from a neighbor but to be ground it had to be taken across the river to
Crocker's Mill at the Narrows, the only flour mill in that section of the country,
and so great was the pressure of business that our messenger had to wait three
days for his turn. \Mien he returned with the beautiful white flour we wel-
comed him with open arms. He also brought some middlings which we made
into battercakes. and though we had no proper griddle and had to bake the
cakes on the stove lid, after our long course of corn they seemed a great luxury.

The necessity for provisions finally became so great that teams were sent
to Beardstown where a steamer from St. Louis had been frozen in the ice, to
bring up her supply of groceries by the wagon road. I'^rom this time we were
not so badly oft", though even when the river opened, boats were timid about
coming so far. Citizens were much in the habit of betting as to the time when
the river would open and this year heavy odds were offered that it would not
be before January 3. Fortunately the thaw came on the third to the delight
of people generally, though it made those who had lost wagers unhappy.

Among Uncle Kellar's earliest acquaintances in Peoria was Mr. Charles
Ballance who had come out from Kentucky in 183 1, and, when the Kellars came
in 1835, was already well known as a prosperous young lawyer, land agent and
surveyor. He had i)urchased a house on the corner of Water and Libertv streets,!
the site of old Fort Clark, and here his sister kept house for him. As any sort .
of shelter was hard to find, wdien the Kellar family arrived, he invited them
to stop with him till they could get a house of their own. This hospitality they
accepted for two or three weeks and then rented a house belonging to Mr.
Dakley on the corner of Hamilton and Adams streets, where they remained
till they moved into the country as already described. When, therefore, father
began to look for a farm. Uncle Kellar took him to see Mr. Ballance as one
likely to know where such a one as he wanted could be found. It happened
that Mr. Ballance was in X'andalia at the time, but as soon as he returned he

t The picture "Peoria in 1831" shows this house of Mr. Ballance and also shows some
of the old stubs of the burnt pahsades. John F. Kinff. a contractor of Peoria, in putting a
sewer down on Liberty street cut throujjli the foundations of the bastion of this old fort.
It stood so as to nearly obstruct Water street and Liberty street if it had been still standing.
The main part of the fort connected with the bastion extended down Liberty street and
down Water street and included probably nearly all of the ground on which the power plant
of the Electric Light Company now stands. The Daughters of the American Revolution
have put up a brass tablet on the corner of the power plant of the Electric Light Company
to show the former location of Fort Clark.
Vol. 1—5

66 HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY

rode out to the Kellar farm, partly on business, partly to make a social call.
Unfortunately in selecting land father was hampered by the idea that ground
which did not produce big trees would not produce big corn,* and as the rich
alluvial prairies which appear ready-made for the plow had no charms for him
and the wooded lands near the streams were generally taken up, this caused
some delay. At length, however, a place was found that seemed to fill the
requirements, and it happily belonged to a man who wished to sell. To us
its surroundings seemed primitive, but the owner, "Sammy" Elson, was one
of those restless nj^en who always flee at the approach of civilization and the
bargain was soon made. The purchase included a small house, which after-
wards became a part of the Schnebly homestead, and into it my brothers moved,
taking sister Susan with them as housekeeper. C ' - ->

As early as possible after coming to Peoria, ^Uncle Kellar had begun to
preach in a frame building on Jackson between Adams and Washington streets.
Here he would no doubt have done well, but unfortunately the discussion which
resulted in new and old school Presbyterians was rife even in this distant place
and had resulted in the formation of two Presbyterian churches where there
was hardly room for one. On the 21st of December, 1834, Joshua Aiken, Aloses
Pettengill and Enoch Cross with the assistance of Rev. Flavel Bascom and Rev.
Romulus Darnes had organized a church of eleven members with new school
proclivities, and on the next day Samuel Lowry, a zealous Presbyterian from
the north of Ireland, and Rev. John Birch had organized a second church with
old school preferences. This latter organization included Samuel Lowry, Mrs.
Andrew Gray, Mrs. Matthew Taggart, John Sutherland, Nelson Buck and others.
All this occurred before I came to Peoria and had created not a little feeling,
but in my first knowledge of the place both churches were leading a precarious
existence, and Uncle Kellar was preaching for the so-called old school body.
When my father came with his large family and a little later Mrs. Lindsay with
hers and identified themselves with this latter church, it seemed established on
a firm basis. And so it might have been but for enemies within the fold, who
were far more destructive than those without. The real cause of the trouble
which resulted in dismemberment does not appear on the records but in the
language of a contemporary arose from "a strong disposition on the part of Mr.
Lowry to rule whatever he was concerned with and an equally strong disposition
on the part of Mr. Kellar not to be ruled." Be that as it may, it was said at
the time that Mr. Lowry had taken the deed to the church lot in his own name,
and that he subsequently sold the lot, took the money and went away never to
return. To straighten the matter out the synod sent a commission to investigate
the matter and this commission dissolved the church which Mr. Lowry claimed
to have organized and established another in its ruins, of which Mr. Kellar was
elected pastor, and such he continued to be for several years.

Miss Kate Kellar and I, being the young ladies of the family, usually ac-
companied him to church. As soon as possible father purchased a carriage for
the use of the family, but during the first winter our only mode of traveling
was on horseback. I remember that Cousin Kate and I had cloaks alike, made
very full, wadded and lined and pleated into a yoke. As we rode along these

* Mr. Schnebly seems to have preferred timber land to tlie prairie because he tliought
it was more fertile. Mr. George Poage Rice, the father of tlie editor, came to Illinois first
in 18,^4 and was in Peoria. He went west and settled in Monmouth. His idea was that the
prairie land was the best farm land but that farms could not get along without timber to
build houses, make fences and for fuel. He took up his farm land in the edge of the prairie
adjoining the timber and spent all the money he could spare in buying timber land amongst
the breaks thinking that he was getting the key of the situation. Some money he had to in-
vest for his sister, he put all in timber land and also when his nephew wished to come and
open a farm he sold forty acres of the timber and took up as good farm land as there is
in Illinois with the money. One could sell forty acres of that farm land a day without im-
provements for enough to buy a section of timber land, even with the timber standing on it
as good as it was in those days.

HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY 67

cloaks would fill with wind like a balloon and must have presented a funny
appearance if there had been any spectators on that lonely road. Both Mrs.
Gray and Mrs. Lowry were very kind to us and often asked us to spend a day
or two at a time with them. On one of these occasions we were invited to a
dance given somewhere on Main street, but as neither of us knew how to dance
and would have been thought dreadfully wicked if we had, the party was not
a success as far as we were concerned.

As we had come from a country where snow was plenty, sleighing was one
of our ciiief amusements. We had only a home-made jumper, it is true, and in
going up and down the hills had to cling to each other to prevent falling off,
but youth and high spirits atoned for all shortcomings and we enjoyed it. On
one occasion we took the "jumper" and went by invitation to spend the evening
at John Clifton's. There was but a single room when we arrived, and the only
light came from a huge log fire about which the family was gathered. After
a while with some difficulty they rigged up a witch's lamp — a piece of rag drawn
through a potato and set in a saucer of oil — and that furnished the balance of
the illumination. We were made most welcome, however, and before our de-
parture the lady of the house jjassed around a dish of raw turnips — the only
refreshments she had. It was most kindly meant, but we were too recently
from the land of apples not to be struck with the fun of it, though our own
entertainments were little less primitive, being confined to hickory nuts or
parched corn, to which the children sometimes added potatoes roasted in the hot
ashes. It was years before we had any fruit of our own raising.

For many reasons the family reading took a narrow range that season. Two
weekly papers, the I'liiladelphia Presbyterian for religious items, and the Hag-
, erstown Torchlight for news of our old neighbors, bad been ordered to our new
home, and were carefully read. In addition we had our choice of the Bible, a
voluminous Concordance, Josephus, a treatise on the Whole Duty of Woman,
Grimshaw's History of the United States. Lives of Washington, Calvin, Frank-
lin, Marion, Patrick Henry, and for light reading Scottish Chiefs, Charlotte
Temple and the Children of the Abbey. How these latter managed to creep
into such dignified company I cannot remember, but I, at least, read them with
avidity, 'and was thereby beguiled of many weary hours. A little later, through
the kindness of a friend. I had access to all of Cooper's novels, then just coming
into vogue, and had a new world opened up to me even though the noble red men,
as there portrayed, had no resemblance to the specimens with which vve oc-
casionally came in contact.

The winter of 1835-6 dragged its slow length along, as has been said.
In February my stepmother presented us with a tiny addition to the family,
and notwithstanding many discomforts inseparable with our crowded quarters,
as well as the newness of the country, mother and baby both throve well. A
few weeks later Mr. Ballance and I were married, Uncle Kellar being the
officiating clergyman. My gown was of white jaconet, the material for which
I had providentially brought from ^Maryland, and my one bridesmaid was Miss
Amelia Boone, one of the family who traveled with us in our journey through
Indiana. There were but two carriages in the town, and one of these Mr.
Ballance hired for the wedding, but owing to the darkness of the night and
the miseral)le condition of the roads it was thought best to defer the drive into
town till morning. Our homecoming was naturally an event of some importance
in the little town, and Miss Prudence liallance had issued invitations for a ])arty
in our honor. It proved to be a large gathering and an elegant one for the
times, but after all these years I can recall no one who was there but the
Grays, Lowrys, Taggarts, Vorises, PickettS and Boones.* The house where
I began my married life and where my three older children were born was on

* This Miss .Amelia Boone was a cousin of the author's mother and was a relative of
the pioneer hunter, Daniel Boone of Kentucky. Their family settled at an early day in
Pennsylvania, fifty or sixty miles north of Philadelphia.

68 HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY

the lower side of Water street at the foot of Liberty street, and was considered
a superior one for the times. It was near the site of old Fort Clark, w-hich
was built in 1813, and which burned in 1819. The fort had been made of logs,
standing on end and the charred remains of these were sometimes found about
our garden as long as we remained there. One was in such a state of preserva-
tion that we used it years as a hitching post until its -age and history made it
too valuable for that purpose and when we moved away a man by the name
of Drown sawed it into walking sticks which he readily sold for 50 cents apiece.
The corner on the south of us had been a powder magazine, but nothing re-
mained of it but a few stones and the hole where the powder had been stored.
Below this and a little nearer the river — there was not a street laid out south
of this till you reach the ferry, now Bridge street — was the old Court House.*

In the rear, the house was generally sixty or seventy feet from the river,
but in the spring it often happened that the water came up to our back steps,
and it was not unusual at such times to attach a fishing rod to the back door to
catch a fish for the next meal. The front yard was quite barren when I came
to the house, but the next year we had it fenced in and wandering pigs fenced
out, so that I soon had a garden, gay with all colors of old-fashioned tiowers.

After we left this house for a larger one on South Adams street it was
rented to various tenants, but rapidly went to decay and the site is now so
changed by business houses and railroad tracks that even I find it difficult to
identify.

'Most of those who had been invited to my wedding reception were strangers
to me, but ^Irs. Andrew Gray seemed like an old friend. She and her husband
were warm hearted Irish people, and had been kind to me from my first arrival.
Indeed, to the extent of their means, they kept open house to all comers.
Among their frequent guests were William, generally called "Billy" Mitchell,
and two young ladies, Margaret and Louisa Heaton, who lived near where
(ubilee now stands. Mr. Mitchell was a young Englishman and at that time
and for years afterwards was clerk of the county court. Whether Mrs. Gray
had any hand in making the match I do not know, but these young people met
often at her house and the day before we were married Uncle Kellar was called
upon to perform the same services for Mr. Mitchell and Louisa Heaton. After
his marriage, Mr. Mitchell took his bride to live in the house on the bluff now
occupied by Mrs. Thomas Hurd and her daughter, Mrs. Hotchkiss, and soon
after he was joined by his mother and a sister who eventually became Mrs.
James Crawley.

Of the Lowrys I have spoken before. They were staunch Presbyterians
and according to their ideas of things good people, but Air. Lowry was a man
of determined will and strong prejudices, and it was impossible for him to see
any good in a scheme which ran counter to his preconceived ideas. Mr. Bal-
lance was fond of quoting Hudibras with reference to him where he described
the English Presbyterians:

"Who never kneel but to their God to pray,
Nor even then, unless in their own way."

He was a prominent citizen for a few years, but became involved in the
church quarrel before alluded to and left the place.

Mr. Taggart was another Irishman ; his wife was a sister of Mrs. Lowry,
and a most excellent kindly woman. They had two daughters. Jane and Mary,
the latter of whom was not fully grown at this time, but some years after mar-
ried Mr. Dalmain, an artist. In the first Peoria directory issued in 1844 Mr.
Taggart would seem to have no business, but the word "gentleman" is opposite
his name. On the same page appears the business card of Jane Amanda Tag-

*TIiis old courthouse is shown on the picture "Peoria in 1831."

HISTORY OF PEORIA COUXTY 69

gart's Select School, wherein is taught "i'hilosophy. History, Arithmetic, Geog-
raphy, Grammar, Reading and Spelling. Terms, $2.50 per quarter."

Mr. Ballance came from Kentucky to Peoria in 183 1 and soon afterward
induced his friends, the Vorises to join him here. The family consisted of Air.
and Mrs. Francis Voris, two younger brothers, Abram and Sam, a sister,
Hortensia, and Miss Sarah Congleton. The brothers kept a general store,
which de%'eloped into a forwarding and commission business. They also went
into the packing of ])ork in winter, which they would pack in flat boats and when
the river opened in the spring send it down the river where there was always a
ready market for provisions. Their store was located on Water street for
years and their various interests furnished employment for a number of young
men. Miss Hortensia \'oris married Dr. Hogan, a practicing physician, but in
a year or two they moved to Texas and I lost sight of them. Mr. Abram Voris
went down the river as supercargo of a line of flat-boats, and while in the
neighborhood of Natchez took the cholera and died. A year or two later Mr.
Samuel \oris married .Miss Congleton and for more than a c|uarter of a century
the two brothers, Francis and Samuel, with their families, lived together in
the homestead in perfect accord. As children grew to maturity and were mar-
ried, additions would be made to the original house, but so long as the first
couples remained there was no thought of separation. As time went on they
prospered and for years were considered among the wealthiest as well as the
most hospitable peojjle in the county. The house or rather the collection of
houses that sheltered so many was near the corner of .Adams and Oak street,
but has so fallen into decay that it is no longer habitable. The beautiful lawn
is entirely destro\cd. The garden that was the pet and pride of the neighbor-
hood had not left even a trace, and the fine old trees are all dead and gone.
It is a melancholy spectacle and one that I would gladly forget.

As I came from a southern state and belonged to a family of slave owners,
mv sympathies were naturally opposed to everything savoring of abolitionism.
In these days when the Christian world is unanimously convinced of the iniquity
of slavery, "it is difficult to realize the intensity of feeling fifty years ago (A.D.
1846) for and against the institution. As years went by sympathy on either
side developed into hatred, families were divided and the solid south was
arrayed against the solid north, but in New England was to hold him up to
approbrium and he must be singularly brave and conscientious who would avow
his-ielief in the hated doctrines.

U'hatever elements might have entered in to divide that most conservative
of l)odies, the Presbyterian church, it is certain that the crowning trouble was
the dift'erence of opinion on the subject of slavery. The north saw but one
side, and believing that it was wrong felt that it must be pulled up, root and
branch ; that it must be done at once regardless of consequences, and the results
be left to God. Many in the south on the contrary believed it to be a divine
institution, sanctioned by Scripture and the usages of antiquity; others of Africa
in touch with the civilizing influences of the whites, and all felt that right or
wrong, the blacks were here and to set them free was to, involve the country in
far greater troubles than could possibly arise from continuing them in slavery.

It would seem that whatever the moral aspect of the question it need not
have afl:'ected anv relations in the center of a free state like Illinois, but beliefs
are not bound by geogra]ihical lines and the old school Presbyterian church with
its supersensitiveness on the slave question and the new school, the offspring of
Puritan parents, were the results.

I do not undertake to give a history of this new school of Main street
church, as it was called, but I remember many of the people connected with it.
The leaders were Joshua .Aiken, Moses Pettengill and Dr. Cross, but William
A. Nurse, Robert E. Little. Dr. Castle, the Piurlingame brothers, a man by the
name of Tarleton and Mrs. Jeffries did much to make it a success.

One of the first j^astors was Rev. William T. .Alien, who was noted for his

70 HISTORY OF PEORIA COUXTY

anti-slavery i)roclivities, and wrote after his signature, "Preacher of righteous-
ness," as descriptive of his calhng. Joshua Aiken, who is now remembered
principally as a relative of the late Mark Aiken, lived at Cottonwood, the farm
afterwards bought and improved by the late S. S. Clark. He owned a small
flouring mill on the Kickapoo about three miles south of town, which was cap-
able of turning out fifty barrels of flour per day. He afterwards added a saw
mill to it and ran both together till on one of its periodical floods the creek
carried the whole plant away so successfully that not a suggestion of it can now
be found. It must have been a serious disappointment to those concerned, as
the vicinity had been staked ofl: into lots and a considerable amount of business
done in the way of selling building spots in the town which was called Peoria
Mills.

Moses Pettengill was one of the earliest merchants of the place and as he
was a careful business man whatever he undertook was a success. Although
stern, he was very pious and exceedingly conscientious. He was an avowed
abolitionist and it was said that he was connected with the so-called underground
railroad and gave protection to slaves who fled across the border. It was even
told with honor that Mrs. Pettengill had entertained colored women in her
parlor and the tale produced a large sized scandal. I am not sure that the
story is true, but feel that if either of these good people had felt it their
duty to entertain the lowest of the black race they would not have hesitated
a moment to do it.

Another prominent member of the new school church was Amos Stevens.
He was an educated man and opened a school when he first came to Peoria,
but left it in a year or two and went to Baton Rouge. Here he made the ac-
^quaintance of a family by the name of Silliman, who, perhaps, through his
influence, spent several summers in Peoria and built the houses occupied by
Singer & \\'heeler on Water street. After being away two or three years Mr.
Stevens returned and soon after married a Miss Morrow, who was a teacher
and a sister of Mrs. Rufus Burlingame.

Enos Cross belonged to the same organization. He was a practicing physician
of some ability and a brother-in-law of Mrs. Pettengill.

All of these had the reputation of being very serious men and as far removed
as possible from any hilarity. On one occasion the congregation undertook to
give a church social and Jim Alexander, who was considered the wit of the
town, was invited to attend. He remained but a short time and gave as a reason
that there was no one there but Moses and Aaron and Enoch, and it was too
near the flood for him.

]\Ir. Nurse was the first man to introduce fanning mills into central Illinois,
and furnished the nucleus that finally developed into the Proctor business. In
his advertisements he proudly announced that for wheat fans he made cross
wove riddles.

A valuable member of this church was Mrs. Jeffries, grandmother of Mrs.
Edward Gale. She was a widow with a large family of daughters, and a
devoted church worker. The young ladies were noted as capable, industrious
women, and as they came to maturity were married, three of them as I remember
becoming the wives of Theodore Adams, John Bolton and Alexander Allison.

Like all new settlements Peoria had its share of eccentric people. One of
them was |ohn G. Bryson. When he first came to the country he taught school
in Richwoods township and was very acceptable in that capacity till Jack Hines
started the story that he was in the habit of correcting his pupils by hitting
them over the head with stove wood. After that he clerked first for Aquilla
Wren and then for the \'oris Brothers, and finally had a dry goods store of
his own on Main street. This he ran in a slow old-fashioned way till more
progressive men monopolized the business. Those who knew him in later years
as an eccentric, taciturn recluse, will be surprised to hear that he was once
engaged to be married, at which time Mr. \'oris said he walked so much around

HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY 71

a certain tree, meditating on his beloved that the grass refused ever after to
grow on the spot. He was a great man to argue and whatever the (luestion,
he might safely be counted on the contrary side.

Early settlers will have no difficulty in recalling an old Pole named Klopiski,
who kept a sort of restaurant for many years on Main street. The boys dubbed
him "Old Pork and Beans" and on ordinary occasions he was rather addicted
to soiled linen and old slippers run down at the heels, but when dressed he
was a noble looking man and every inch a cultivated gentleman. He came to
America during the troublous times of Poland and professed to have been a
nol)leman and a military leader. He was very fond of chess and Mr. Ballance
used sometimes to invite him to the house that they might have a game together.
Very often the game would be forgotten and the old gentleman would talk for
hours of outrages practiced upon his native country. As I look back I think
we did not appreciate him as we should, and if he was still alive believe the
present generation would be disposed to make a hero of him.

One of the most conspicuous if not as he thought the greatest man of the
day was H. W. Cleveland. Where he came from or what his previous history
might have been I do not know, but he suddenly ap])eared among us in several
unexpected roles. Somebody had taken it upon himself to raise a company
of militia, though in a spirit of bragadocio they paid it the compliment of call-
ing it a regiment. Cleveland was a candidate for colonel, and. owing to the
unpopularity of the other aspirants, was elected, as much to his own surprise
as that of others. • He immediately appointed a complete line of staff officers
as though it was a full regiment, among whom I recollect Dr. Rouse as medical
officer and Mr. Ballance as quartermaster. About the same time the colonel
got a charter for a new ferry across the river which was to be propelled by
horse power and the lucky thought struck him to have a parade of his new
regiment and a jubilee over the launching of his new boat at the same time. At
length the auspicious day arrived. Horses were scarce but every officer that
could get one was mounted for the parade. The colonel resided in a frame
house on the corner of Madison and Jackson streets and in front of his door
he had a table set with wines and all sorts of liquors and every time the parade
went around the town the head of the column stopped at his door for refresh-
ments. The more they refreshed the more foolish they became, and one by
one the more dignified dropped out of the parade. There was a character
named "Tig Tom" who being a little in doubt as to his military duties hunted
up Dr. Rouse for advice. The doctor was a good deal disgusted by this titpe
and growled out, "if this stuff makes the colonel sick it's my duty to physic him
and yours to wait on him !"

After much fuss and feathers the parade finally reached the new boat and
Colonel Cleveland proceeded to make a speech, the opening words of which
were remembered and repeated by Peorians for many a day. He said : :

"Fellow citizens and countrymen : Let us now proceed to cominemorate
the memory of the immortal Washington who has long since been laid in the
tomb."

The whole thing became so ridiculous that the regiment was never again
heard of and even the boat seemed to partake of the general fooling and was
soon after sold to a circus company and taken down to St. Louis.

A GLANCn: BACKW.\RD
BY E. II. FERGUSON, PONTIAC, ILLINOIS

Times were very bad when we arrived in Illinois. There was no money
in the state ; no sale for grain except to travelers or emigrants ; groceries, boots
and shoes had to be paid for with cash ; pork was all the farmers had that
would sell for money. Fisher & Chapin l)Ought hogs at Lacon, and always
paid for them with Traders Bank of Boston bills. The money was new,

72 HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY

stamped F. & C— I'isher & Chapin. It paid taxes in Peoria, Marshall and
Woodford counties. It was currently reported that Fisher paid sixty cents on
the dollar in gold for money and had to redeem every dollar of it in gold that
came back to the bank in Boston. That was good financiering for both parties,
and a fair sample of early day business. Fisher always had a New Orleans
boat come up every spring during the high water to take his pork to New
Orleans. One spring, about 1843, or possibly a year or two later, David Heats,
a merchant of Chillicothe, sent one hundred sacks of corn to St. Louis and sold
it for money, getting about fifteen cents per bushel. Immediately on getting
returns from the shipments he sent word all around that he would take grain
in payment for boots, shoes, groceries and debts. That was the first shipment
of grain that I ever heard of. A little later that same year Isaac Underbill, of
Peoria, had Captain Moss, of Peoria, come up and take a load of his "rent"
corn to St. Louis, where he received cash for it. After harvest he sent word
to the farmers of La Salle Prairie that on a certain date he would have a boat
at Rome if they wished to sell their corn. They all availed themselves of the
opportunity, as that was the first chance they had had to sell grain for cash.
There were two boats loaded with corn at Rome that fall. After that there was
a market for grain at some price for cash.

My father made three trips to Chicago with wheat. On one of these trips
the load brought forty cents per bushel. He brought back shoes, tea and a
dollar's worth of cofifee and sugar, which mother made to last until the middle
of the next summer. I think this was in 1841. During thedry year — the year
of the big prairie fire — the mill race at Senachwine dried up and no flour could
be obtained. My mother grated corn on a tin pan punched full of holes and
made corn bread and cakes for about two weeks until we could get a grist
ground at Crown Creek mill, east of Chillicothe, about where the Santa Fe
railroad is now located.

Two of my mother's brothers, Elijah and Norman Hyde, came to Peoria
about 1823 or 1824. Norman was county surveyor, postmaster and county
judge when Chicago was in Peoria county. I have in my possession his text-
book and surveying instruments. I have a chest of drawers and some dishes
that belonged to my grandmother at the time of her marriage in 1790. In the
line of ancient documents I have a history of Greece, printed in 1699, and a
copy of a political discussion, published in 1671.

A HOUSE WITH MAXY HISTORIES
nv M. P. .SIMS. LAWN RIDGE, HXINOIS

The house now ( 1904) being torn down on the southeast corner of this
place is one with many thrilling historical events. It was built in the '40s, the
first house in Lawn Ridge, by Deacon, or Nathaniel Smith. The frame was
of large square-hewn timbers, some pieces eight by ten, mortised and braced
and cross braced so it might be sure and stand the howling winds from the
northwest. The other lumber was hauled from Chicago with ox teams, taking
up a load of wheat and bringing back lumber, the round trip taking about a week.

This house in the early '50s was one of the many depots on the underground
railroad. The next one on the south was Deacon Purge's of Farmington, and
the next on the north was Owen Lovejoy's of Princeton. Many a time when
the slaveholder, with sherifif and posse, backed up by the Tegeft slave law which
allowed him to call on any one to assist him to run down his slaves, and if they
refused, be liable to a fine, would be only a few hours behind his slaves as they
passed the place. The old house standing there looked so solemn and innocent,
that they never suspected that down in the cellar were three or four badly
frightened men and women trying to escape to free Canada, and waiting for
the excitement to go by and night to come so they could be transported on to
Princeton.

MIRROR LAlvE, BRADLEY PA UK

HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY 73

After occupj-ing this house a few years. Deacon Smith bought and built over
on the west side of the road a similar one, where he lived a number of years.
He was still depot master and fed the runaway slaves the same as before. He
was a great character. He was not only a farmer, but a blacksmith, and a
good one, too. He was an all around man. He could make a good speech and
make it interesting on any subject. He took the lead in all advance movements,
church and politics, established and maintained Sunday schools in all the country
around. Later in life, he drifted to the west and linally returned to his old
home in New York state, where he died. No doulit Deacon Smith had his
faulfs but on the whole I believe him to have been a great and good man and
one that helped to make this county what it is.

Deacon Smith sold this place in an early day to a man by the name of Job
Brown, or "Joby" Brown, as he was called. He was more of an inventor than
a farmer. There is no doubt but what Job Brown was the real inventor of
the corn planter. It was in this house that he studied and thought out the
great problem of planting corn by machinery. It was here by the door he first
pulled his machine by hand, and then with one horse, and finally made a planter
something similar to planters now in use. only dropping three rows, and instead
of wheels had sled runners. The dropping part was the real invention. It is
said the inventor seldom gets the profits ; it was so in this case. It was in this
house he signed away all his rights in the planter for the price of a horse, and
another person became rich from the manufacture of the corn planter.

Brown was also the inventor of a seed sower, and a scalding tub, that could
be moved from one farm to another, in which hogs could be cleaned much
faster than in the old way. This was in the days when farmers dressed their
hogs at home for market and this machine could easily run out seventy or
eighty a day. He was a very odd and eccentric man but known in his day all
over the land as an honest, good man.

After a time Brown, too, sold out and moved away. Some twenty years
ago there came a man by the name of Scoon who lived in the house. He had
only one arm. He made and sold what he called Peoria bitters, made of several
kinds of drugs, a little whiskey and lots of water ; but it would make you drunk,
and that was enough. He did a thriving business for a while, sold it in pint
bottles, one dollar a bottle. The business increased, so he rented a small build-
ing on the east road, within a few rods of the Cornell house. He fixed it up
with shelves and counter and a big lamp in the center of the room and on the
opening night set the bitters up to the boys, went home late and to bed, and, I
suppose, fell into a sound sleep. It was one of those calm, still nights and not
a breath of afr stirring, when at midnight, or a little later, there was a terrible
explosion which was heard for miles. The next morning when Scoon came
down after breakfast, he found his sho]) and bitters blown to flinders; so that
ended Scoon and his bitters. But who put the jug of powder and laid the fuse
under the house will never be known. Many detectives came and lay around
from I^eoria but went back without solving the mystery.

A LEGEND OF H.\LLOCK
BY E. C. SILLIM.^N

About 1820 Lewis Hallock came to Peoria county. He had been a trapper
and fur trader among the Indians of Wisconsin and the northwest. Soon
after coming to the county he located on the land at the mouth of Hallock hollow
in Hallock township. He was a Quaker and was ojiposed to war and i^loodshed.
his life among the Indians and his kindness and truthfulness to them winning
for him great influence with them.

In 1825, Namac|ua, an Indian of the Pottawatomie tribe, killed a Frenchman
in a drunken brawl. He was arrested, and there being no place of confinement
nearer than the .Springfield jail, Hallock furnished bail. No one ever sup-

74 HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY

posed that the Indian would appear, but Hallock knew he would and on the
first day of the term of court Namac|na was on hand. He was tried and sen-
tenced to death at the November term of court that year, but through the in-
fluence of Hallock and others, who believed the sentence was unjust, his case
was taken to the supreme court, where it was reversed and remanded for a
new trial. The trial was put off from time to time, Hallock always appearing
with his prisoner. He remained a lifelong friend of Hallock.

In 1S31 the winter was very severe, a big snow falling early, some three
feet deep and drifting l)adly, and later was covered with a thick crust. A party
of Indians on a hunting trip were caught in what was later called Gimblet
hollow, west of Sparland. Hallock, knowing of their peril, went to their as-
sistance, piloting them down the hollow to the river, then on the ice to Sen-
achwine creek and up the creek to Northampton, along the liluff to his place,
where he had a pen of corn and his cabin, which he shared with them. He
and the braves took turns at breaking the road through the snow, the women
and ponies following. It took three days to make the trip. The deer could not
escape and Hallock had the Indians secure enough venison to last until spring.
When the Black Hawk war was first inaugurated, Hallock knew the peril
of the whites, and having made many trips to the lead mines near Galena, he
had many acquaintances between that place and Dixon, whom he determined to
warn, faking his rifle he started and as the dusk of the evening approached,
he arrived on a hill overlooking the Pottawatomie camp near "Indiantown"
now called Tiskilwa.

The young braves were holding a war dance and working themselves up to
a fighting mood. Hallock knew all the war whoops of the difi^erent tribes.
The Iroquois being their worst and most feared enemy, he gave their war cry
and rushed down the hill through the brush, landing at the chief's tent, who not
being fooled, sat quietly smoking, while all the "braves" ran for cover. Upon
seeing a lone white man they came out, brandishing their tomahawks and
making warlike demonstrations. Hallock stood his rifle against a tree, lit his
pipe and advised the old chief "to spank them papooses and send them to bed."
A wave of the old chief's hand and all slunk away. Hallock then handed his pipe
to the chief, who refused it. He then stepped back and said: "What! refuse to
smoke the pipe of peace with the white man that never sheds blood, that pro-
tects the red man from the anger of the pale face and from starving when hungry?
Who fed your tribe when the snow was deep? Hallock !" Slowly the chief arose,
took the pipe, gave it the customary whifif and returned it, then he produced his
sack of salt, took a pinch, and handed it to Hallock, who did the same. And all
the tribe knew Hallock was a friend and not an enemy. After supper with the
chief, he demanded safe conduct to the camp of Black Hawk. On the morrow
two Indians accompanied him on ponies. Near Dixon on the edge of some heavy
timber, thev came in sight of a band of some five hundred Indians, who, on dis-
covering a white man in charge of two Indians, sent a troop of about fifty Indians
out to meet them. They came galloping down upon them in full war paint,
demanding the pale face for sacrifice. A wave of the hand and announcement
of safe conduct to Black Hawk from their chief, caused them to fall in behind
in silence. Of Black Hawk he demanded a safe conduct to Galena, which was
granted. Two Indians escorted him to a point where they told him he was beyond
danger, and as he went along he gave the alarm and all white settlers, about thirty
families, fled to the block houses for safety.

For some years the lead mines of Galena were the only place where settlers
could get cash for their cattle or produce. Hallock often went there with cattle
and sometimes came back on horseback by way of Dixon, but more frequently
he came down the river to Rock Island, or a near point west. Sometimes he
floated down in a canoe, and at other times came with a flat boat, loaded for
St. Louis. From this point he would walk across the hundred miles home, always
carrying his rifle and camping wherever night overtook him.

HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY 75

After the war in 1832, Black Hawk and his hand located in Iowa near Des
Moines, and they, too, often went to Galena to trade.

And now comes the tradition of Hallock. Many people called it "Hallock's
dream." Some say it was a squaw after the death of Namaqua who showed
the vision to him, but from my boyhood recollection, having heard the tale from
many and from some to whom he had told it himself, I think Hallock's version
was this: Some years after the Indians left. Hallock made one of his trips to
Galena and there met Namat|ua, the Indian he had stood by in trouble and who
had never ceased to hold Hallock as his saviour. White men sometimes forget a
favor, an Indian never! He told Hallock he was going down the river and across
the country to his band and wanted him to accompany him in his canoe, which
Hallock consented to do. They floated down the Mississippi and at sunset they
landed, made their cam]) fire, ate their supper and smoked the pipe of friend-
ship. Namaqua said, "Would you like to see where the 'wliite bullets' come
from?" Hallock said he would.

In early days the Indians had many silver bullets which, until they learned
their value to the pale face, they traded pound for pound, as they were hard
and the Indians preferred the lead bullets. Namaqua said, "If my tribe knew I
had shown a white man this they would kill me. Promise you will never tell
of this until I am dead." Hallock promised and never revealed the story until
after Namaqua's death several years afterward. He blindfolded Hallock, they
got into the river, where he whirled the canoe around until it was impossible for
Hallock to tell the direction. He then rowed about an hour and landed. They
walked a short distance, waded what seemed to be a creek, went up an incline
for some distance and then stopped. Fie could hear him remove some stones.
He then told Hallock to crawl after him, which he did for a couple of rods.
The Indian then removed the blindfold and lit a torch. They were standing in
a passageway, which they followed a little distance and came into a cave, possibly
200 feet across and 20 to 50 feet high. On examining the walls he saw where
a large amount of silver had been dug out of crevices, some pure silver, other
places streaked with lead. Hallock was allowed to examine it and satisfy him-
self that it was silver and lead, but he was not allowed to carry any away, nor
did the Indian take any. There seemed to have been large quantities removed
and there was any amount of it in sight. Namaqua said none had been taken
away for a long time. They returned as they came and before landing at their
camp, the canoe was whirled until direction was lost. Hallock said they might
have rowed several miles, or as many rods. They may have crossed a creek
before going up to the cave, or they might have waded in the edge of the river
a few feet. Indian strategy and shrewdness threw all chance of tracing the route
to the winds.

Years afterward Hallock scanned and searched again and again for the silver
cave, but in vain. His belief was that it was on the Iowa side of the river.

Many persons said it was a dream of Hallock's ; others thought it was truth,
as Hallock was always truthful. Inasmuch as the Indians did have silver bullets
in early times and as but few places have been found where they could have
procured them and those places far to the north, and as quite an amount of
silver has been found in the lead mines of Galena, there is no good reason that
the "silver cave" does not exist. I am inclined to believe that the gratitude
of Namaqua in showing Hallock the cave was covered by the fact that his treach-
ery to his own tribe was death and he made the find so secure that years miist
elapse after his death before even a vigorous and systematic search could dis-
cover his treachery to his tribe.

Hallock believed it. And the reader can follow the legend in the same mys-
tery as have others in the years gone by. Do not lose sight of one fact, in your
judgment. The red man never forgot a friend or a friendly act, even in time
of war, w hen all the bloody passions of his race were called into play. I have
penned this for the eye of many who have heard the tradition as it was handed

76 HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY

clown through tlie years, often mutilated, and its truth destroyed. Such is one
of the legends of Hallock townshi]) of eighty years ago.

HISTORIC OLD SCHOOLHOUSE
IIV CALVIN STOWELL, SAVANNAH, GEORGIA

Lest the historic old brick schoolhouse, located upon Blue Ridge, in Hallock
township, and the many things, mostly educationally and socially, wdiich clustered
around it in the pioneer days should be forgotten, we have been tempted, partly
by our own feelings and partly by the solicitations of others, to attempt to write a
little sketch of the early days of the community who built it. We have often felt
that there were many things worthy of note that would be of abiding interest
to the present and future generations connected with the history of this com-
munitv, that so far as we can ascertain have never been made a matter of record,
which, with the lapse of time, must pass into oblivion. While at this late day
any record that we can write must be more or less defective for want of details,
still we feel that we have been very fortunate in finding two living witnesses
whose lives are practically contemporary with the first settlers of the little com-
munity of Blue Ridge, and they are the only ones living, so far as we can ascer-
tain, who were old enough to furnish items from personal recollections as far
back as 1837. We refer to James Will, now (1910) past eighty-five years of age,
and his brother George, two years his junior, who were for many years oiar
friends and neighbors in Illinois. It is through the courtesy of Mrs. Lura Will
Johnson and George Will and daughter Hulda, who have furnished us with much
of the memoranda in substance from which we write.

The earliest settlers on Blue Ridge were Leonard Ranstead, Zenus G. Bliss,
E. C. Root, Lucas Root and Egbert Palmer. The exact time of their settling
there is not known to us, but we think we are safe in saying not later than 1836.
William B. Will. Elihu Stowell, Roswell Nurse and son Isich, and Ebenger Stowell
came in 1836, the latter three making the trip from Chenango county, New York,
on foot, .\fter looking over the country and locating land they made the trip to
the nearest land office at Quincy and made their entry; returning, they built a
cabin. Leaving Isich in possession, the other two, Roswell Nurse and father,
returned to New York state late in the fall by way of the lakes. Roswell Nurse
with his familv moved to Illinois the following spring. Our father did not move
with his family until 1843. In 1837 Robert Wilson with his family moved to
this little community from Wilkesbarre, Pennsylvania.

In 1840 the little brick schoolhouse was built, the necessary funds being
raised by subscription, which certainly meant almost a sacrifice offering in those
early days of scarce and hard-earned dollars. Robert Wilson, a stone and brick
mason bv trade, assisted by his son George, did the mason work, while Zenus
Bliss and Egbert Palmer looked after the wood work. While the house would
hardly stand as a model for these more modern days, we doubt if a house was
ever built which was more highly appreciated by the public or served a better
purpose of general utility for all sorts of public gatherings. The first school
taught in this house was by William Atwood, who received twelve dollars per
month for his services. The school was thoroughly patronized for many miles
around, starting with fiftv scholars, which was soon increased to the fullest pos-
sible capacity of the house to accommodate. Everybody took in boarders, going
upon the old time pioneer plan, as we suppose, of "come in, if you can get in."

It was while Robert W'M was working upon the old Jubilee college building
at Tubilee that he met the old pioneer preacher of the Methodist Episcopal church,
Father Cummins, whom he invited to come to Blue Ridge to preach. It was he
who organized the Methodist church at the settlement in 1840, with John Furge-
son and wife, Jacob Booth and wife and two daughters, and Maverick Pratt
and wife as charter members — an organization that stands to this day. The fol-
lowing spring a revival was held, which increased the membership to forty. It

HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY 77

is said that some young men of a rowdyish turn of mind went out from Chilli-
cothe with the avowed object of lireaking up the meeting but with such men
as John h'urgeson, Jacob Ilooth and Maverick Pratt in the front rank, men with
the courage of their convictions and the physical abihty to defend them, the
rowdy crowd reconsidered the matter and concluded that under these circum-
stances "discretion was the better part of valor," and as they rode away one of
them called out '"I name this place Blue Ridge," and P>lue Ridge it has been called
from that dav to this.

PART TWO

CHAPTER XII

GEOLOGIC FORMATION AND GEOGRAPHY OF THIS SECTION OF THE COUNTY MANY

VALUABLE COAL VEINS STONE OF COMMERCIAL IMPORTANCE GRAVEL SAND —

TIMRER SOIL AND ITS PRODUCT] VITV — N'F.GETATION.

GEOLOGY AND GEOGRAPHY

The contents of this article, showing the physical features of the county,
are taken from the "Geological Survey of Illinois," and from articles prepared
by William Gifford, of Radnor township, to be found among the collections of
the Peoria Scientific Society :

"The cretaceous and tertiary periods are not represented in this or adjacent
counties. They were probably lost by denudation, together with some of the
upper coal veins, during the long and turbulent period.

"The four divisions of the quaternary are well defined. They rest directly
on the upper carboniferous, a coal measure. The alluvial deposits are confined
chiefly to the right bank of the Illinois river, forming a terrace of about twenty-
four square miles, called La Salle prairie, one of the best corn producing sections
of Illinois.

The great geological feature of Peoria county consists in its coal measures,
which are coextensive with its borders. Only two veins (four and six) are
worked to any extent. Coal from vein four is brought to the surface by hori-
zontal tunnels at an expense of one cent per bushel, and half a cent in localities
where it can be stripped. At no place in Illinois, or perhaps in the world, can
coal be mined and brought to market so cheaply as in this county. It is now
delivered to consumers in the city of Peoria for one dollar and fifty cents per
ton. The thickness of this vein is from three feet, ten, to four feet, eight inches,
and is generally covered with a ferruginous shale and concretions of bi-sulphuret
of iron, richly stored with marine fossils, which are eagerly sought for by scien-
tists. Its horizon is thirty-two feet above low water of the Illinois river.

Coal vein six is also worked with little labor, by horizontal tunnels. It is
sixty-two feet above coal vein four, and is a good blacksmith coal, makes a hard
vitreous coke, and is exclusively used in Peoria and contiguous cities for making
gas. It contains but little pyrite, and in most localities has a good limestone cov-
ering. One distinctive mark of this vein is a clay seam, or parting, from one to
two inches thick, dividing the coal horizontally into two equal sections. The
fossils overlaying this vein are well preserved and the species numerous. Among
the most common are nyalena angulata, i)leurotomania carbonana, solenomia
radiata, and productus pratteninus.

"Coal vein five has no reliable outcroj} in this county, but its horizon is well
defined in the towns of Limestone, Jubilee, and Kickapoo by its characteristic
fossils— fusalina ventriccosa, hempunites crasa, chonetas messeloba, etc. The
horizon of this vein has furnished a number of fossil coal plants, which have been
figured and described by Leo Lesquereux, and published by the state of Penn-
sylvania.

80 HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY

"Coal veins seven, eight and nine are the only other veins represented in this
county above the Illinois river, and they are too thin for mining and not easily
stripped.

"The horizon of coal vein nine in this county has given to paleontologists the
most perfect coal-measure fossil found in this state, if not in the world. Coal
vein three lies one hundred and thirty-three feet below four, consequently about
one hundred and twenty feet below the Illinois river. It is about three feet
thick, and is considered a good coal. It is not worked in this county. One hun-
dred and twelve feet below three, a coal vein was reached in Voris' boring —
opposite Peoria — three feet thick, which is considered coal vein one of the Illi-
nois field, and the base of the coal measure resting on the conglomerate, twenty
feet above the St. Louis limestone. Coal vein two has not been explored in Peoria
county, but crops out on Spoon river in the southwest part of Fulton county.

"Sandstone of good quality may be obtained from the beds overlying coal
Xo. 4, which at some points on the Kickapoo, is fully twenty feet in thickness
and it outcrops at many points under very favorable conditions for quarrying.
The rock is a brown micaceous, and partly ferruginous sandstone, in massive
beds, some of which are two feet or more in thickness. It presents a bold
escarpment at many points where it outcrops, indicating a capacity for with-
standing well the ordinary influences of the atmosphere. The ferruginous layers
harden very much on exposure, and would form the best material for bridge
abutments, and for all other purposes where a rock was required to withstand
well the influences of frost and moisture.

"On Aiken's and Griswold's land, on the south side of the Kickapoo, on sec-
tion 24 (Limestone township) this sandstone has been somewhat extensively
quarried, and the bed presents a perpendicular face of solid sandstone fully
twenty feet in thickness. It is rather soft when freshly quarried and can be easily
dressed, and splits freely into blocks suitable for building and for foundation
walls. These quarries are located just above the level of the railroad grade,
and very conveniently situated for the transportation of the stone by railroad to
the city of Peoria, or wherever else it might be in demand.

"At Lonsdale's quarries, on section 14, town 8 north, range 7 east, the lower
part of the limestone affords a durable building stone, though the layers are not
usually more than from four to six inches thick. This rock is in common use in
this part of the county for foundation walls, and there are several small build-
ings in this neighborhood constructed of this material. That portion of the beds
which affords a building stone is from four to six feet in thickness.

At Chase's quarries, three miles northeast of Princeville, the limestone is
nearly twenty feet in thickness, and though for the most part thin-bedded, yet
the greater portion of it can be used for foundation walls, flagging, etc., and is
the only building stone available in that portion of the county. The thickest
layers are at the bottom of the bed here, as well as at Lonsdale's, but the rniddle
and upper portion is more evenly bedded at this point, and may be quarried in
thin, even slabs of large size.

"The limestone coal over Xo. 6 may answer for rough foundation walls where
it can be protected from the atmosphere, but is generally too argillaceous to
make good building stone.

"Concretionary bands of iron ore occur in the shales overlying coals No. 4

and 7, but not in sufficient quantity to be of any economical importance. In the

south part of the county, concretions of iron and clay, the former mostly in the

• form of the bi-sulphuret, are quite abundant in the roof shales of No. 4 coal.

Some of these concretions are two feet or more in diameter.

"No beds of fire or potter's clay were found in this county in connection
with the coal seams that appear to be sufficiently free from foreign matters to
be of much value, but excellent brick clays are abundant, the sub-soil clays over
a large portion of the uplands throughout the county being used for this pur-
pose, and furnishing an abundant supply of brick of good quality at a moderate

ir.

HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY 81

cost. The best beds of fire and potter's clay known at the present time in this
state are associated with coal Xo. i, of our general section of the Illinois valley
coals, and, should a shaft be sunk to that horizon in this county, good clays
may proliably be found here and mined successfully in connection with these lower
coals.

"The modified drift deposits, forming the terrace upon which the city of
i'eoria is mainly built, will furnish an inexhaustible supply of sand of various
qualities adapted to the varied economical uses to which this material is applicable,
and it will also aiTord an excellent moldcr's sand, in quantities sufficient for the
supply for all the adjacent region.

"An inexhaustible supply of clean gravel may be obtained from the gravel
beds forming the bluffs at Peoria, and along the north side of the Kickapoo for
a distance of eight or ten miles above the outlet of that stream. All the railroads
in the state might obtain here an ample supply of ballast for their road beds,
without greatly diminishing the amount of this material to be found in this
county.

"There is an ample supply of timber in this county, the proportion of timber
and prairie land being originally about the same. The timbered land is mostly
confined to the ridges and valleys of the streams, though occasionally fine groves
are met with on the level land adjacent to the prairie. The growth on the upland
is mostly black and white oak, pignut and siiell-bark hickory, elm, linden, wild
cherry, honey locust, wild ])lum and crabapple, wdiile on the bottom lands and
the slopes of the hills, we find white and sugar maple, black and white walnut,
pecan, cottonwood, sycamore, ash, red birch, cofifeenut, hackberry, mockernut,
liickory, post-Spanish and swamp-white-oak, red-bud, dogwood, persimmon, mul-
berry, serviceberry, buckthorn and three or four varieties of willow and box
elder.

"As an agricultural region this county ranks among the best in this part of
the state. The western and northern portions of the county are mostly prairie,
and generally level or gently rolling. The soil is a dark, chocolate colored loam,
rich in organic matters, and producing abundant crops annually of corn, wheat,
rye, oats and barley, and, with judicious cultivation, this kind of soil will retain
its fertility for an indefinite period of years without the application of artificial
stimulants. On the more broken lands adjacent to the streams, the soil is of a
lighter color, but when it is predicated upon the marly beds of the loess, it is
still productive, and scarcely inferior to the best prairie soils. Where the soil
overlies the yellow driftclays, the timber is mostly white-oak and hickory; the
soil is thin and would be greatly improved by the annual liberal application of
manure. These lands, however, produce fine crops of wheat and oats, and are
excellent for fruit orchards and vineyards. The soil on the terrace and bottom
lands is a sandy loam, and generally very productive."

VKGF.T.\TION OF PEGRI.V .\ND VICINITY

Though the city of Peoria is centrally located in one of the prairie states of
the Upper Mississippi valley, its immediate surroundings present a diversity of
surface that would hardly ])e looked for from its geographical location. The
city is situated on the west bank of the Illinois river, the main part on a plateau
beginning at the river and gently sloping upwards, until terminating a mile or
more back in a chain of prominent and ])icturesque bluffs, that completely encircle
it, in a natural amjshitheater.

This chain terminates above the city, in a commanding eminence, rising
almost abruptly from the river, known as Prospect Heights, and affording a
panoramic view of the beautiful Illinois valley for miles.

The river at this point known as the "Narrows," spreads out into a placid
sheet of water termed Peoria Lake, so shallow on the east side, as to afford a
most congenial home to a rich aquatic flora. The east bank of the river is very

82 HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY

low, subject to overflow and still heavily wooded, running back to a chain of
bluffs similar to those on the Peoria side. From these bluffs numerous springs
gush forth, and making their way towards the river, form cold bogs affording
a home to a peculiarly characteristic flora, that would be sought for farther
north. The bluff's on both sides are frequently intersected by deep rocky defiles,
the sides of which under the influence of moisture and shade, support a luxuriant
vegetation. The splendor of the prairies, owing to the march of civilization,
has almost disappeared, and the prairie flora, is now, nearly confined to the
right of way of the railroads, or the gravelly and sandy bluffs, when it has crept
up from the original prairie, and secured a foothold it is likely to maintain,
as these bluff's are not susceptible to cultivation. The flora of the vicinity of
Peoria is a rich and varied one. About 900 native trees and plants grow in the
immediate vicinity of the city, and fully a hundred introduced plants have found
a congenial home of adoption. It has drawn outlying types from all points of
the compass, who foregather here in a harmonious whole.

The cold bogs and springs in the river bottom, furnish perfect conditions for
certain species of northern origin, which find their southern limit here.

Two Iseautiful dwarf willows {Sali.v Candida and myrtilloidcs) grow in these
bogs and upon Dr. Brendel, our first and foremost botanist, sending specimens
to Dr. Bebb a famous authority on willows, he commented thus on the find:
"Widely distributed in sub-arctic regions, extending southward along the Pacific
coast to Oregon, and on the Atlantic side to New Jersey. Its occurrence so far
south in the Mississippi valley as found by Dr. Brendel, taken in connection
with the equally unexpected finding of 5". Candida, indicate an exceptionally cold
spot for the latitude." Most of the woodland flora of the east is at home here.

Many of the characteristic plants of the great plains west of the Mississippi,
have pushed their way eastward to Peoria. Many of our strictly prairied plants
do not pass our state borders into Indiana and Ohio.

From the sunny southland, numerous species have crept up the Mississippi
and Illinois rivers to this favored locality of ours. Here the pecan tree finds
its northern limit in the alluvial river bottom, growing in vigor and producing
its delicious nuts.

The same niav be said of the persimmon whose astringent fruit becomes
so palatable after the advent of frost. Peoria and vicinity must have been a
heavily wooded country on the advent of the whites, as after nearly a hundred
years of cutting and clearing it still presents a varied and interesting tree growth.

The river bottom is still well covered with forest and every knoll and bluff
are clothed more or less.

In its tree growth Peoria is specially favored.

Of course from its location we would not look for cone bearing evergreen
trees and have only one representative, the common Juniper occurring in- starved
looking specimens on the brow of rocky bluffs.. But the deciduous tree growth
is rich in species. In the alluvial river bottom lands, the timber is mainly Syca-
more, Soft Maple, White Elm, Slippery Elm, Black Walnut, Butternut, Swamp
Hickory, five species of Ash, Cottonwood, Hackberry and scattering specimens
of Swamp White Oak, Pecan, Coff'ee Bean, Honey Locust, Mulberry, Box Elder,
Ohio Buckeye, PawPaw and Persimmon.

The first three sometimes attain a very large size, specimens five feet in
diameter not being uncommon.

On the bluffs and uplands the forest growth is materially different being rep-
resented by the Basswood, Wild Cherry, Sugar Maple, Shell Bark Hickory,
Pignut, Aspen White, Chestnut, Scarlet, Red, Bur and Laurel Oaks.

Not desiring to go into extreme detail, we will mention some of the most
obvious and characteristic features of our flora. Our first harbinger of spring
is the beautiful little Trillium nivalc. that in favorable seasons puts forth its
white waxy flower the last week in March, often in the proximity of some
lingering snow bank.

HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY 83

It is soon followed by the Liverwort, so common on wooded slopes, Dntch-
mans Breeches and Hlood Root.

A little later the woods are gay with the exquisite lUue Bells and a Phlox
with lavender bloom called Sweet \\'illiam.

Among the leafless woods the Service P.erry and Wild i'lum are conspicuous
in their snowy dress, while the Red Bud gives the brooks the appearance of
purple ribbons in the landscape. Turning to the prairie we meet with the Caro-
lina Anemone with its pretty star like blue and white flowers. In company with
it are the yellow flowered Puccoons, Pink Sorral and the almost extinct Troximon
crespidatiim with its showy dandelion like head.

The open bogs are golden with the Marsh ]\larigold, and the ill smelling
Skunk Cabbage pushes its flowers through the oozy mud. With the advent of
May, nature dons her brightest garb. The trees are putting forth their foliage
and the landscape, so bare but a few weeks before, is gay with a varied flora.
The Plaws, Crab Apple, Sassafras, \'iburnum and Bladder Nut are bursting
into bloom. Of interesting plants we would mention the rare Phlox bifida. It
clothes the precipitous sides of Rocky Glen and, with its pretty star like flowers
varying through every shade of pink, white and lavender presents a beautiful
sight when in full bloom. Growing with it is I'iola pcdata with two of the petals
as velvety as a pansy and known locally as '"Rocky Glen Pansy."

On the prairie grows a Baptisia, with its ample raceme of showy pea shaped
cream colored flowers.

As June approaches our Sedges and Grasses are a marked feature of our
flora. While inconspicuous individually, their abundance and variety challenge
notice.

We have seventy-eight species of Sedges and eighty-one Grasses native
to our flora. One of our representative prairie plants comes into bloom as the
Purple Cone Flower.

The large head with its pendulous jnirple rays makes it a showy plant. On
sandy barrens, we meet with Chrysopsis villosa, bearing a profusion of golden
yellow heads up till frost. In rich shady woods can be found the dainty Yellow
Lady Slipper while a little later its sister the rare and beautiful Royal Lady
Slipper appears in the cold springy bogs of the river bottom.

The woodsnare adorned with clinging vines — several species of grapes. Bit-
ter Sweet, Yellow Honeysuckle, Aloonseed and W'oodbine. Julv with its intense
heat forces a luxuriant vegetation. About the first w-eeks of the month our
Climbing Rose {Rose sctigcra) puts forth its flowers. It grows in large clumps,
its long flexible branches clambering rather than climbing over other shrubs and
when loaded down with bloom is a glorious sight lighting up the dense shades
of the river bottom where it delights to grow. In the cold rills and bogs of the
river bottom, one of our most beautiful plants, Queen-of-the-Prairie (Spiraea
lobata) finds a congenial home.

Its masses of peach colored blossoms are so delicately beautiful and appar-
ently so out of place in its uninviting surroundings, that no matter how often
one meets with it in a ramble, each succeeding plant brings out a fresh exclama-
tion of delight. On sand hills Callirhoc triamjidata occurs and all through July
produces its brilliant blossoms of purple. In foUow^ing uj) the rocky defiles of the
bluffs our attention is directed to Hydrangea arborcsceus with its showing radiant
flowers.

Occasionally specimens are seen with the flowers all radiant like the garden
species. High up the rocky sides, the Goats Beard {Spiraea arincies) is con-
spicuous by its ample feathery panicles of staminate flowers.

The shallows on the east side of the river nourish a rich aquatic flora. Acres
upon acres are covered with the pads of our Water Lily ( Casta! ia tHbcrosa).

The lovely flowers are very large, with a manifest perfume, though usually
described as odorless, and find a ready sale on the streets of our city.

In company with it but not so common, is Nelumbrium lutcurn, with its immense
leaves and cream colored flowers borne on stalks a foot or two above the water.

84 HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY

differing thus from the preceiiing which spreads its flowers on the surface of the
water. Intermingled with these plants are the Sweet Flag, Iris, Arrow Flead,
I'ickerel ^Vecd, Common Reed, Wild Celery and Wild Rice. The last two are
special dainties with the water fowl. In August the great order Compositse
becomes predominant.

The intense heat forces the Silphiuns, Sunflowers, Tickseeds, Con'e-flowers,
llawkweeds, etc., in a continual procession ending with the Asters and Golden-
rod in more variety than I know of in any other local flora. By the latter part
of the summer the rich soil of the alluvial bottom has produced a rank and
lu.xuriant vegetation that taxes one's efforts to push a way through. Near to
the river bank Hibiscus mililaris grows in abundance. Its peculiar halberd shaped
leaves and its showy flowers of flesh pink with purple throat render it a striking
plant.

The Cardinal flower with its spike of intensely red flowers makes a very
vivid bit of coloring in the somber shade of the bottom. With it grows its near
relative the Blue Lobelia. In the upland woods grows Gerardia grandiyora,
bearing a profusion of showy lemon yellow flowers.

In this summary of our flora we have touched upon, only, the most char-
acteristic features of our vegetation but one who undertakes the careful study
of our flora will find that this vicinity will afford him unbounded material and
a constant source of delight.

Many of our native trees, shrubs and flowers have been brought under cultiva-
tion for ornament.

As to trees might be mentioned the White Elm, as the leader of them all as
a shade tree. It is towering in height, with a graceful spread of branch, vigorous,
long lived anil in our climate becomes the equal of the "lordly elms of New Eng-
lan(l." On account of its height and spread, it should stand in the open for best
results.

The Sugar Alaple while slow growing is most desirable on account of its
compact crown and the luxuriance of its beautiful foliage. Alagnificent examples
of this tree can be seen across the river on the Spring Bay road. Its near ally,
the Silver Maple, is frequently planted. Though of quicker growth than the
preceding it is not as desirable on accovmt of its softer wood and brittle branches
which suff'er severely in heavy windstorms.

One of our commonest shadetrees to-day is the so-called Carolina Poplar.
It will surprise most people to know that this euphonious name is simply a dis-
guise of the well known Cottonwood so frequent along watercourses.

The male tree only is planted, as the cotton from the female tree creates such
a litter as to make it undesirable.

The chief thing in its favor is its very rapid growth.

The Bur Oak (Quercus macrocarpa) is a desirable shade tree. Its low and
wide spreading branches are covered with a foliage, fully as beautiful and almost
as dense as the Sugar Maple. Beautiful examples can be seen near the work-
house and at the turn of High street.

The Catalpa native from southern Illinois, southward is often planted. Its
quick growth, ample heart shaped leaves and showy flowers make it a favorite.
It has only one drawback — it is the last tree to unfold its leaves in the spring
and the first to shed them in autumn. All the evergreens do well in this
vicinity though not planted near as much as formerly.

From a cultural standpoint all the grains and fruits of the Temperate Zone
find congenial conditions here.

Some complain the apple does not seem to flourish as in the past, but this is
due mare to the ravages of insect ]3ests, that go hand in hand with civilization,
rather than changes in climatic conditions. Give our orchards the same attention
they would receive in Oregon, and there would not be as much talk about the
decadence of Illinois as an apple country. \'iewing our vegetation in its every
phase, only emphasizes the conclusion, that few localities are so generously
favored as ours.

CHAPTER XIII

CREATION AND ORGANIZATION OF PEORIA COUNTY DIFFICULTIES IN OBTAINING

TITLE TO COUNTY SEAT PRESIDENT JOHN OUINCY ADAMS LENDS HIS ASSIST-
ANCE- — WILLIAM S. HAMILTON, SON OF ALEXANDER HAMILTON, ATTORNEY FOR
THE COUNTY CLAIMS TO LAND OF JOHN HAMLIN AND OTHERS ADJUSTED.

The territory of Indiana was divided February 3, 1S09, and the new territory
of llhnois organized. The counties of St. Clair and Randoliih, which had been
formed at the time of the division of the Northwestern Territory in 1800, were
continued, their boundaries being designated and described as follows : "The
county of Randolph shall include all that part of Illinois territory lying south of
the line dividing the counties of Randolph and St. Clair as it existed under the.
government of the territory of Indiana on the last day of February, 1809, and
the county of St. Clair shall include all that part of the territory which lies north
of said line."

The following oflicers were appointed for the county of St. Clair: John Hays,
sheriff; William Arundale, formerly of Peoria, recorder; John Hay, clerk of
the court of common pleas, or county clerk ; Enoch Moore, coroner ; John Mes-
singer, surveyor. Among the justices of the peace appointed were Antoine Des
Champs, who lived at Peoria, and Nicholas Boilvin. The latter resided at Prai-
rie du Chien. He was the father of Nicholas and William C. Boilvin, who
became quite prominent in Peoria business circles.

Eventually, St. Clair county was divided into other counties. In 1812, Madi-
son was organized, within the limits of which was Peoria and so remained until
1821, when it became part and parcel of the newly created county of Pike. Many
conveyances of land in Peoria had been recorded in Madison county, at
Edwardsville. which have been transcribed and now are included in the records
of this county.

Pike county was organized in 1821 and for two years thereafter Peoria
countv was embraced within its boundaries and all records of conveyances of
land were kept at its county seat. During this period the following persons
were at the head of afifairs of Pike county; Abram Buck, probate judge, from
February 12. 1821, to June 11, 1821, when he resigned and was succeeded by
Nicholas Hanson, who also resigned and was followed in the office February 15,
1823, by William Ross; April 2, 1821, Leonard Ross, John Shaw and William
Ward were elected county commissioners, Bigelow C. Fenton, sheriff, and Dan-
iel Whipple, coroner. At an election held August 5, 1822, James M. Seeley,
David Dulton and Ossian M. Ross were elected county commissioners, Leonard
Ross, sherifi, and Daniel Whipple, coroner. During this period Abner Fads,
John Shaw, Daniel Whipple, William Ross, Henry Tupper, Leonard Ross and
William Ward were appointed justices of the peace for Pike county. For the
same office Ebenezer Smith and Stephen Dewey were commissioned on May
26, 1821, Ossian M. Ross, November 29, 1821 ; John Bolter, .\ugu.st 29, 1821 ;
Charles B. Rou.se, January 22. 1822; Amos Barcroft, May 22, 1822.

Sangamon county was organized at the same session of the legislature as
Pike and on January 28, 1823, the county of Fulton was formed, the boundaries
of which were described as follows: "Beginning at the point where the fourth

86 HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY

principal meridian intersects the Illinois river, thence up the middle of said
river to where the line between ranges tive and six east strikes the said river,
thence north with said line between ranges five and six to the township line
between townships 9 and 10 north, thence west with said line to the fourth
principal meridian, thence south with said line to the place of beginning." It
will be observed that within these boundaries the townships of Trivoli and
Elmwood were embraced.

On tlie second Monday of April, 1823, an election was held and Joseph
Moffatt, David W. Barnes and Thomas R. Corell were chosen as county com-
missioners, Abner Eads, sheriff, and William Clark, coroner. Later, on August
2, 1824, James Gardner, James Barnes and David W. Barnes were elected county
commissioners. Ossian M. Ross, sheriff, and Joseph Moffatt, coroner, all of
whom were in office until after the organization of Peoria county. At this point
it is worthy of note that in the list of officials, both for Pike and Fulton coun-
ties, Peoria countv was well represented.

Abner Eads, who was elected the first sheriff" for' Fulton county, was a
Peorian, and his chief opponent for the office was Ossian Ross, who had only
been defeated in his ambition by one vote. Ross contested the election of
Eads, setting up as his grounds of complaint that some of Eads supporters lived
on the east side of the river and, consequently, were not residents of Fulton
county and, further, it was contended that Eads was illiterate and could riot
write,' therefore, incompetent to fulfill the duties of the office. The case was tried
before judge Reynolds, a brother of Governor John Reynolds, in a log cabin at
Fort Clark, which served as an office for 'Squire John Hamlin, and Eads was
declared elected and qualified to the office of sheriff.

The counties of Schuvler, Adams, Hancock, \\'arren. Henry, Putnam and
Knox were formed by an act of legislature. January 13. 1825, and on the same day
and with the passage of the act herein mentioned, Peoria county was created,
under the provision of an act entitled, "An Act to form a new county out of the
country in the vicinity of Fort Clark," which provides as follows :

"Section i. Be it enacted by the people of the State of Illinois, represented
in the General Assemblv, That' all that tract of country within the following
boundaries, to wit: Beginning where the line between towns 11 and 12 north
intersects the Illinois river ; thence west with said line to the line between ranges
4 and 5 east: thence south with said line to the line between towns 7 and 8; thence
east to the line between ranges 5 and 6; thence south to the middle of the mam
channel of the Illinois river; thence up said middle of the main channel to the
place of beginning, shall constitute a county to be called Peoria."

Section 2 provided "That all that tract of country north of town 20, and west
of the third principal meridian, formerly part of Sangamon county, be, and is
hereby attached to said county of Peoria, for county purposes. Provided, how-
ever, The citizens of the attached part of said county are not to be taxed for the
erection of public buildings, or for the purchase of the quarter section herein-
after mentioned. r • 1 r
"Section 3. Be it further enacted, That the county seat of said county ot
Peoria shall be established on the northeast quarter of section 9. town 8 north,
range 8 east and that the countv commissioners of said county are hereby auth-
orized to purchase said quarter 'section of land of the United States as provided

for by the law of congress. , ^ , r ht 1

"Section 4 Be it further enacted. That on the first day of .March next
(182s) an election shall be held at the house of William Eads, at which time
there' shall be elected one sheriff, one coroner and three county commissioners
for said county, which election shall, in all respects, be conducted agreeably to the
provisions of the law now in force regulating elections. Provided, That the
qualified voters present may select from among their number three competent
electors to act as judges of said election who shall appoint two qualified voters
to act as clerks.

HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY 8%

"Section 5. Re it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the clerk
of Sangamon county to give public notice in said Peoria county and the at-
tached part, at least ten days previous to the election to be held on the first
Monday in March next ; and in case there should be no clerk, then the sheriff
of said county shall give notice, as aforesaid, of the time and place of holding
the election."

Section 6 provided, "That the county of Peoria should receive two hundretl
dollars out of the public treasury, as full compensation for their proportion
of non-resident land tax, in the same way as the county of Pike might or could
do under the act entitled An Act amending an act entitled an act providing for
the valuation of lands and other property, and laying a ta.x thereon, approved
February 15, 1821."

Section 7 provided, "That the said county of Peoria and the attached part
of said county mentioned in section 2 (the portion detached from Sangamon —
Ed.) should vote with the county of Sangamon for representative and senator
to the general assembly."

Section 8 declared, "That all that tract of country north of said Peoria
county, and of the Illinois and Kankakee rivers, be, and the same is hereby
attached to said county, for all county purposes. This did not include any of
the newly formed counties of Knox, Henry, Warren or Mercer."

While Cook county and what is now the great and wonderful city of Chi-
cago was embraced within the territory set off to Putnam county, yet for the
next six years after the formation of Putnam, Cook county was attached to
Peoria county for county purposes and all its county affairs were administered
in Peoria.

Under the act creating the county of Peoria, provision was made for the
election of officers and the first day of March, 1825, was designated as the time
for holding said election. Another section of the act, however, required notice
of the election to be given for the first Monday in -March. This was a confusion
of dates, and, as a result, the election did not take place until the 7th day of
March, of the year mentioned, when Samuel Fulton was chosen for the office of
sheriff; William Phillips, coroner; William Holland, Nathan Dillon and Joseph
Smith, county commissioners.

COUNTY COMMIS.SIONERS' COURT

The officers chosen by the electors of the county duly qualified, so tliat juris-
diction over public matters pertaining to the county vested in them and they at
once took up the duties of their respective offices, and the next day after the
election the commissioners' court was organized. Xorman Hyde had been chosen
clerk, at about the same time of the passage of the act creating the county. The
following named persons were appointed and commissioned justices of the peace
for the county at the time of its organization : Thomas Camlin, George Ash,
John Phillips^ Stephen French, Nathan Dillon, Isaac Perkins, Jacob Wilson,
Joseph ^loffatt, Austin Crocker, John Kinzie.

The first duty devolving upon the commissioners' court was the purchase of
land for a county seat and the securing of title thereto. Congress had passed an
act providing that new counties might locate their seats of government upon
public land subject to preemption and purchase, upon the same terms as individ-
uals, and in pursuance thereof, the general assembly had designated, in section
three, a tract of government land, upon which the county seat should be estab-
lished. However, when the commissioners endeavored to follow out the require-
ments of the law they met with unanticipated objections at the land office.

The contentions of the land office were that the quarter section chosen by the
legislature was a fractional one and for that reason was not subject to entry.
Another objection upon which much stress was laid was the existence of certain
French claims. The third contention was that one James Latham, who set up an

88 HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY

e(|uity in the land 1)V reason of a private entry, liad interposed a counter-claim to
the land. And it was not until nine years later that the county came into its
own.

A concise history of the struggle of Peoria county for a seat of government
is well worth relating and to further that end no better means can be adopted than
to present here the minutes of the commissioners' court and other documents
relating to a subject, which is still one of interest to many now living.

The county commissioners held a special term of their court on April i6,
182s. at which time Nathan Dillon, one of the members, was authorized to make
application at the land office, in Springfield, for the right of preemption of the
northeast quarter of section 9, town 8 north, range 8 east, which was designated
in the act creating the county as the site for the county seat, for the purpose of
establishing thereon the county seat of Peoria county, under the provision made
and enacted by congress. Pursuant to instructions, Commissioner Dillon made
application to the register of the land office for leave to enter the said quarter
section of land and was refused, the reason being advanced that the tract was not
subject to entry. Thereupon, a memorial was addressed to the president of the
United States in relation thereto, by the board of commissioners. This the presi-
dent referred to the land oiSce, and on November 23, 1825, the register at
Springfield was instructed by the commissioner as follows :

'"Gentlemen: A memorial from the Comrs. for the county of Peoria and
other citizens thereof stating 'that application had been made to your office to
enter the N. E. quarter of Sect. 9, 8 N., 8 E., for the Seat of Justice for said
County, and that entry had been refused because said quarter section was a frac-
tional one,' was addressed to the President & lately referred to this office by him,
with instructions to admit the entry if the objection stated is the only one to its
admission. If there are others you will report the facts in relation to the case
to this office. "I am, etc.,

"George Gr.\h.\m."

It would appear by the foregoing that Peoria county had a friend at court
and it was surmised at the time by those most interested that Hon. Daniel P.
Cook, the only representative from Illinois then in congress, had used his good
offices in her behalf. At any rate, the people were highly gratified by the prompt
consideration of President Adams. This feeling is indicated by the fact that on
the 6th dav of Alarch, 1826, the clerk of the county commissioners, acting under
authority of that body, transmitted to John Quincy Adams, president of the
United States, the thanks of the court for his prompt compliance with the prayer
of their petition for leave to enter the fractional quarter section of land, on
which to locate their county seat ; the president by the same token, was informed
that his intervention in behalf of Peoria county had not produced the desired
result. On the 8th day of March, 1826, the following was made a matter of
record ;

"Ordered that lohn Di.xon be and he is hereby authorized in behalf of this
court to make application officially to the Register and Receiver of the Land
Ofifice at Springfield for a written statement of the obstacles and objections (if
any exist) which prevent the entry by the Commissioners of said County of
the North East fractional quarter of Sec. 9, Township 8 North, Range 8 East of
the fourth principal meridian, on which the Seat of Justice for Peoria County
is located, pursuant to an act of Congress by Statute of this State. And as it is
anticipated that some objections may arise on account of the exact quantity of
land in said fractional c|uarter not being accurately known, he,_the said John
Dixon, is further authorized after procuring from the Land Officers aforesaid
a statement of all the said objections, etc., to proceed to St. Louis and apply to
the Surveyor General for a plat of the survey of the above mentioned quarter
Section, and if no plat can be furnished without a re-survey, to contract with the
Surveyor General for that purpose, at the expense of this county, for a speedy

HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY 89

completion of said survey, and request a plat thereof to be immediately made
out, properly authenticated and forwarded to the said Register and Receiver.

"And the said Joiin Dixon is further authorized, if no objections are made,
to enter the said fraction in behalf of and for said county of Peoria."

At a special term of the commissioners' court, held Alay 2, 1826, this entry
was made and forms a part of the history of the county : "Ordered, that John
Dixon be and he is hereby autliorized to borrow on the credit of Peoria county
one hundred and eighty-four dollars 62)/, cents, by him to be paid to the Receiver
of the Land Office at Springfield, in payment of the N. E. fractional qr. Sec.
No. 9, Town 8 North, Range 8 East of the fourth principal (meridian), and
that he be authorized to issue orders on the Treasurer to such persons as shall
loan the county the above money, at any interest not exceeding 25 per cent per
annum until paid." Tradition has it that when the money by loan was not
forthcoming, a number of the loyal citizens made up the desired amount out of
their own pockets and helped solve one of the county seat problems.

At the time of the organization of the county, James Latham, who had set
up a counter-claim to the tract of land set off by the legislature as the site for
the county seat, was in possession of a house on the land, and this, in a measure,
was made use of as a basis for his contention. On the 12th day of July, 1826,
the commissioners' court caused to be entered of record the following:

"Ordered that Isaac Perkins, William Woodson and Henry Thomas be
summoned by the sheriff to be and appear at the next regular term of this court,
on the first day of said term, to assess the damage, if any incurred, by James
Latham, in consee|uence of being deprived of his claim to the land on which the
county seat of Peoria is located, the improvement of which was purchased
previous to the location of the said county seat." .Soon after this entry Latham
died, leaving to his heirs the prosecution of his claim.

At a regular term of the commissioners' court, held December 5, 1826, a
change in the personnel of the court appears. The sitting members at this time
were Nathan Dillon, William Holland and John Hamlin. Under their direc-
tion, at this term, an entry in the records was made as follows :

"That William .S. Hamilton be authorized to act as counsel on behalf of
this court for the purpose of obtaining the title to the land on which the county
seat of Peoria county is located, with full power for said purpose, except that
of commencing suit at law. Also that the clerk of this court inform said Hamil-
ton that compensation will be allowed only in event of their obtaining said title."
It is rather remarkable, but true, that the William S. Hamilton referred to, was
a son of Alexander Hamilton, who figured so largely in the colonial and early
history of the United States. William S. Hamilton was a brilliant lawyer and
his name appears more than once in these pages.

On January 26. 1827, Commissioner Graham of the land office at Wash-
ington addressed the following letter to Colonel William McKee, surveyor gen-
eral at St. Louis:

"Sir: — The act of congress passed on the 3d of March, 1823, confirming
certain claims to lots in the village of Peoria, in the State of Illinois (the
French claims — Ed.), declares that it shall be 'the duty of the Surveyor of
Public Lands of the U. S. for that District to cause a survey to be made of the
several lots, and to designate on a plat thereof, the lot confirmed and set apart
to each claimant, and forward the same to the Secy, of the Treasury.' As the
plat above required to be made has not been received, and a Mr. James Latham,
having entered the N. E. fr. J4 9. 8 N. 8 E. of the 4th P. M. under a 'Vincennes
pre-emption,' I will thank you to inform me if the survey of the village has been
made, and if it has. to furnish me with a copy of the survey, exhibiting the con-
nection between it & the adjacent pulilic surveys. I am, etc.,

"Geo. Graham.

"P. S. — It is presumed that the Regr. at Edwardsville who acted as commr. for

90 HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY

the settlement of these claims furnished Gen. Rector with a copy of his report
on the subject; if he did you can obtain a copy from the Regr. Office at that
place."

An election was held August 4, 1828, when a new commissioners' court was
made up bv the selection of George Sharp, Isaac Egman. and Francis Thomas
who, in their official capacity, addressed a memorial to Elias Kent Kane and John
McLean, senators from Illinois, and Joseph Duncan, the successor of Daniel P.
Cook in congress, in which was set forth in detail the problem of the county seat
title, and a request that they use their influence with the president, to induce him
to permit the entry of the land to be made in the name of the county, and if that
was not feasible, to put forth every eft'ort to have passed by congress a special
act to afford the relief desired.

On the 28th of January, 1830, Senator Kane received the following letter
from Commissioner Graham of the land office at Washington:

"Sir: — I return the letter of Messrs. Hyde & Stillman enclosed in your let-
ter of the 26th inst.

"Upon examination it appears that in 1825 the commissioners for the county
of Peoria made application to the Land Officers at Springfield to enter the N. E.
frac. >4 of S. 9 T. 8 R. 8 E. under the provisions of the act of the 26th of May,
1824, granting pre-emption to certain counties for their Seats of Justice (Land
Laws, page 86g) which, being refused by these officers on the ground of the
tract being a fractional quarter section, they memorialized the President on the
subject, and, under his instructions at that time, had they entered and paid for
the land, there would have been no difficulty in the case, but they having failed
to make such a payment, that tract was entered in November, 1826, by James
Latham under a pre-emption certificate, granted by the Register at Vincennes
under the 2d section of the act of the nth of May, 1820 (Land Laws p. 778),
and payment in full made to the Receiver and regularly entered in the returns
of those officers to this office. The letter of the Register to this office that cov-
ered this entry by Latham also enclosed a protest against it by William S. Hamil-
ton as attorney of the County Commissioners.

"In consequence of the belief entertained at this office that that fractional
Section included the lots which had been confirmed to certain individuals at
Peoria by the act of the 3d of March, 1823 (the French claims — Ed.), and that
therefore it could not be legally granted to either the County Commissioners
or Mr. Latham, the Register was informed in January, 1827, that this office,
not being in possession of a survey of those confirmed lots, could not decide upon
the rights of the respective parties until it was ascertained that there was no
interference between those lots and that quarter section. A survey has not yet
been forwarded to this office of the confirmed Peoria Claims, and until one is
received the Case will have to be suspended."

On the next day Senator Kane addressed to Stephen Stillman, of Peoria, the
following letter :

"Dear Sir: — I have delayed to (answer?) you until I could hear in answer
to the application of your County Commissioners something satisfactory. I
have waited, however, only to be informed of the embarrassments which surround
the subject. I send all the papers received from the Comr. of Gen. Land Office,
which gives as full a view of the matter as can be obtained. Present me respect-
fully to the Commissioners with the assurance that it will at all times give me
pleasure to attend to their requests whether made in an official or individual
character.

"With great respect, your obt. st.,

"E. K. Kane.
"S. Stillman, Esq."

HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY 91

On the 3d of March, 1830. the county commissioners' court made the fol-
lowing order:

"Ordered that Stephen Stillman be and he is hereby appointed a Special
Agent on the part of the county of Peoria for the purpose of ol)taining for the
use of the county the right of soil to the North East fractional quarter of Section
No. 9, in Town Eight North and Range Eight East — with full power to act for
the county in the Name & in behalf of County Commissioners, and that he be
particularly instructed & re(|uired to use his utmost exertions and all necessary
means to procure if possible the title to said quarter Section, as it is considered
of the utmost importance that it should be obtained immediately.

"The Commissioners on the part of the county do hereby agree to accept
any part of said quarter Section (be the same more or less) that may remain
after deducting that which is appropriated by the law of Congress for Peoria
Claims in lieu of a full c|uarter allowed by law to each new county.

"The County Commissioners recommend that a special act of Congress be
passed, granting to the county of Peoria the remaining part of the fractional
quarter section after deducting the Peoria Claims, as aforesaid, let there be
more or less."

On the 5th day of February, 1831, Elijah Hayward, Commissioner of the
Land Office, addressed the following letter to Senator Kane:

"Sir : — In replv to your inquiry respecting the entry of the village of Peoria,
I beg leave to refer you to the letters to you from this office of the 28th of Janu-
ary & 5th of May, 1830, and to state that as the Commissioners of the county of
Peoria did not enter the fractional quarter, at the time they might have done
so, under the instructions to the Land Officers, and as there now exist conflicting
claims under different laws, to the same land, no entry of it by the County Com-
missioners will be authorized without special legislative provisions on the sub-
ject. With great respect. Sir."

On the /th day of March, following, the county commissioners' court, which
then consisted of John Hamlin, George Sharp and Stephen French, made the fol-
lowing order:

"Ordered that Abner Fads be and he is hereby authorized to make a tender
of money to the Register & Receiver of the Land Office at Springfield, sufficient
to purchase, at the rate of one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre, the frac-
tional quarter section on which the County Seat is now located, being the N. E.
of S. 9, T. 8 N. R. 8 E. in behalf and in the name of the County Commissioners
of Peoria county, for the use of said county, and obtain from said Land Office a
certificate of entry that a patent may be speedily obtained if possible. Said
Eads is authorized to assure the Register & Receiver of the Land Office, that
the Com. of Peoria county for said county are willing to accept that part of the
fractional quarter section before named which may remain after deducting what-
ever portion may be set apart by the act of Congress granting Peoria Claims
to the Old French settlers as surveyed by W'm. L. Hamilton in 1823. And said
Eads is hereby authorized to call on the Treasurer for all specie or U. S. paper
said Treasurer may have on hand and borrow the balance or a sufficient sum to
purchase said fractional qr. Section."

And the years were still going into history with the matter unsettled. But
no link in the chain has been left unrecorded, save that, on the 14th day of March,
1831, a letter was addressed to the register of the land office at Springfield, the
author of which is in doubt. From the fact, however, that it sets forth the case
of the county in detail, it is presumed that William S. 1 lamilton, who had been
retained by the commissioners to take charge of the matter, prepared it.

On July 3. 1832 the record shows the following entry:
"Ordered that John Coyle and Atiuilla Wren, two of the members of the
court, receive two" hundred' dollars from the county treasurer for the purpose of

92 HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY

making a tender of the same in the land oiifice in payment for the fraction of
land vipon which the town of Peoria is located.

"Ordered that the treasurer furnish the said Coyle & Wren with twenty-
five dollars to bear their expenses on the foregoing order."

When the September (1832) term of the commissioners' court sat, its mem-
bers were composed of John Coyle, Aquilla Wren and Edwin S. Jones, and it
was ordered that the treasurer pay Aquilla Wren nine dollars and John Coyle
four dollars and fifty cents, to reimburse them for money expended in visiting
the land office at Quincy, where they tendered the money for the county seat
land. It might here be mentioned that the land office at Quincy had been estab-
lished after the last memorial of the commissioners had been sent to congress.

On the second day of the term the following entry was made:

"Ordered that Jolm Coyle, one of the members of this Court, receive of the
County Treasurer two hundred and twenty dollars and repair with the same to
the Land Office at Quincy, to make payment for the fraction of land upon which
the County Seat is located. If the necessary papers or returns have not been
furnished by the Surveyor General in the case the said Coyle is directed to go
to the Surveyor General's Office in order to procure the papers that may be
wanted ; he is also directed to keep a bill of his expenses."

At last congress, presumably through the efforts of the Illinois senators and
congressmen, took a hand in the matter, and, on the second day of March, 1833,
passed an act permitting the county of Peoria to enter the land assigned it by
the Illinois legislature for county seat purposes. But this did not end the trouble,
although it was the beginning of the end thereof. In so far as Peoria county
and the national government were concerned the incident was closed and a
patent for the land was issued.

John j\I. Aloore, acting connnissioner of the land office, on the 24th day of
June. 1833, addressed the following letter to Isaac Waters, clerk of the county
commissioners' court :

"Sir: — Your letter of the sth ulto., has been received and I enclose herewith
for your information a copy of a letter of this date to the Land Officers at Spring-
field, 111., in relation to the entry of the fractional quarter Section in which Peoria
is situated, under the provisions of the act of Congress of the 2d of March last."

And on the same day the same officer addressed the following letter to the
register and receiver of the land office at Springfield :

"Gentlemen : — Under the provisions of the act of Congress of the 2d of Alarch
last "to authorize the County Comrs. of the County of Peoria in the State of
Illinois to enter a fractional quarter section of land for a Seat of Justice and for
other purposes,' you will permit those Commissioners to enter & pay for the
fractional quarter Section mentioned in said act.

"The receipts, monthly returns and the certificate of purchase must all
designate the entry as being made under this act, and the Certf. of Purchase
must conform to the proviso to the ist Section of the act by declaring that "the
said purchase shall not be so construed as to interfere with the claim or claims
of any other person or persons to the said fractional quarter section,' and at
the same time of making the entry the Commissioners should deposit with you
for transmission a duly executed instrument of writing stating that in making
such entry they expressly exclude therefrom any lands or lot, within the limits
of the fractional quarter Section, belonging to or lawfully claimed by another
person or persons."

The last chapter in the long struggle of the county to secure a perfect title
to the land for its county seat ended when a compromise was effected with the
heirs of James Latham, in settlement of their claim against the property. The
first step in this direction led to the adjustment of the matter when, on the 28th
day of May, 1834, an action of ejectment was commended in the circuit court,

HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY 93

a "friendly" action nominally to recover two lots in the town of Peoria, but
actually to settle the title to the whole tract of land. The case was decided by
the court on an agreed (by the attorneys) state of facts and taken to the supreme
court. However, the case was finally settled out of court as the following will
show :

"lientlemen : — 1 have this day been able to etTect a compromise with the
Lathams in the suit to recover our town. They have withdrawn their entry at
the Land Otifice, given up their certificate of entry, and taken their money ; and
also withdrawn the suit now pending. I have given them my notes for seven
lunidred dollars as you will perceive by the receipts herewith enclosed. $500 is
to be paid to them in six mos. and the other two hundred in twelve. You will
perceive the arrangement is much less than what I was limited at.

"As I have made myself responsible for the payment of the money, I wish
the Court to pass orders in my favor for that amount and payable at the time
these notes are due to enable me to meet the payment of the same. Say one
order for $500 to be paid on the 17th of May, 1835, and one of $200 to be paid
on the 17th of November, 1835; I was not able to get them to relinquish up the
bond they held for the two lots. Richard & Philip Latham, who I saw would
not take any responsibility on their part on account of the other heirs ; if it
should be thought expedient to give them anything for their claim to those two
lots it can be done yet, but the grand obstacle in the way of improvement is now
settled and people can now make investments with perfect safety; I saw all the
papers at the Land (Jffice canceled and given up. If Mr. Waters has not yet
made out a transcript of the docket he need not do it."

This letter was accompanied by the following document signed by Stephen
T. Logan, attorney for the Latham heirs:

"John Hamlin has this day executed to Richard Latham for the use of the
heirs of James Latham his note for five hundred dollars payable in six months,
also for one hundred dollars payable in twelve months, also at the request of
said Lathams his note to S. T. Logan for one hundred dollars payable in twelve
months, in all amounting to seven hundred dollars, on a compromise of a suit
l)rought by said Latham Heirs against said Hamlin &- as a compromise by which
Lathams are to withdraw in the Land Office at Springfield their entry on the
fractional c|uarter Section on which the Town of Peoria Stands."

On the 5th day of December, 1834, the county commissioners' court of Peoria
county entered the following orders :

"Ordered that the Treasurer pay John Llamlin five hundred dollars on the
17th day of JMay, 1835, ^s compensation for a note for the said amount due at the
said 17th Alay to the heirs of judge Latham as a compromise of a law suit, etc."

"Ordered that the Treasurer pay John Hamlin two hundred dollars on the
17th day of November, A. D., 1835, as comi)ensation a note given him to the
heirs of Judge Latham comi)leting the payment of the compromise on the law
suit, etc."

"The $700 of the two last orders is the price of the compromise with the
said heirs of Judge Latham relinquishing their claim and withdrawing their
entrv at the Land Office for Peoria Town fraction."

CHAPTER XIV

PROCEEDINGS OF THE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS' COURT — THE COUNTY SEAT IS NAMED

PEORIA GRAND AND PETIT JURY SELECTED — FINANCIAL CONDITION REPORTED —

ELECTION PRECINCTS ESTABLISHED COOK COUNTY A PART OF PEORIA COUNTY

FIRST ELECTION HELD IN CHICAGO COUNTY COURT SUPERSEDES BOARD OF

COUNTY COMMISSIONERS TOWNSHIP SYSTEM IS ADOPTED THE PROBATE COURT.

Owing to the importance of the county seat controversy, much space has been
given that subject and the general proceedings of the commissioners' court
ignored. iSut while that matter was taking its course and reaching a final adjust-
ment the business affairs of the newly created bailiwick were in good hands and
looked after in a business-like manner. The election for county officials had
been held March 7, 1825. and on the next day the commissioners, Nathan Dillon,
of Mackinaw Point, \\'illiam Holland, of Peoria, and Joseph Smith, of Farm
Creek, met at the house of Joseph Ogee, below the ferry landing, where the court
was organized by its members taking the prescribed oath of office, and they at
once proceeded to perform the duties for which they were elected. Their first
act was to appoint, or rather accjuiesce in the a])pointment of Norman Hyde
as clerk. Then Aaron Hawley was selected by the court as county treasurer
and the county seat was named Peoria. Another measure of imjiortance tran-
sacted was the levying of a county ta.x of one-half of one per cent upon the
taxable property of the county.

The next session called for the performance of an important function of the
commissioners, that of selecting a grand and petit jury, as the first term of the
circuit court would sit in the following June. The sheriff was ordered and
performed his duty in summoning the following named j^ersons to serve as grand
jurors: William Kads. Abner h:ads, Alva Moft'att, Elijah Hyde, Noah Beacham,
Sr., William Wright. John Ridgeman, Robert I'.errisford, Josiah Fulton, Thomas
Gamblin, John l'liillii)s, George Ish. David Matthews, Jacob Wilson. Elisha Fish,
Isaac Perkins, Nathaniel Cromwell, Walter Dillon, William Davis. Alexander
McNaughton, George Sharp, Austin Crocker, Augustus Langworthy, Allen
Dougherty. The following were selected as petit jurors: Stephen French,
Joseph Ogee, Abner Cooper, George Love, Joseph O'Brien, Elias P. Avery,
Thomas Dillon, Jesse Dillon, Seth Wilson, John Klein. George Klein. Stephen
Carle, James Walker. At the June session these names were added : Horace
Crocker, Noah Beacham, Jr., Aquilla Moffatt. Henry Neely, William Smith,
Charles Love, John Sharp, William ISarker, John Cooper, David Hukey. Philip
Latham. It was at this term of the commissioners' court that Norman Hyde,
who had been elected probate judge, as stated heretofore, resigned his office as
clerk, to take up the duties for which he first had been chosen. For services ren-
dered as clerk and stationery furnished by him the treasurer was ordered to pay
him $12.50 and the court appointed John Dixon as his successor. At this same
June session Rivers Cormack was appointed by the court to take the census of
the county, but declined to (|ualify and at a subsequent term of the court John L.
Bogardus was selected for the work desired. Being empowered to a]:)point
justices of the peace, under confirmation of the governor, Stephen French, Nathan
Dillon, John Phillips and Jacob Wilson were so selected immediately after the

96 HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY

organization of the county and during the same year John Kinzie, of Chicago,
an<i John Dixon and John L. Bogardus, of Peoria, were appointed. During the
July session of the court other recommendations were made to the governor
for the appointment of justices, and Fredericl< A. Countryman, Elijah Hyde
and Hiram M. Curry were appointed constables. For the same office Archibald
Clyborne, of Chicago, was appointed. But, in 1827, the legislature passed an
act making the offices of justice of the peace and constable elective, so that no
further appointments to them were made by the commissioners' court.

At the December term the sherift made his report, which is here given, as it
is an index to the financial condition of the county for the first fractional year
of its existence, and the attention of the reader is called to the fact that the
"state paper" which is an important item mentioned was, at that time, worth
about tifty cents on the dollar :

"Dr. To amount of taxes as returned by Assessor, including

twenty dollars received from Clerk for tavern license. . . . $339-i5

Cr. By amount of bad debts $ 29.90

By County orders and percentage on same 105.04

By State paper 46.50

By State paper, including interest thereon 21.60

^y $3345 i'l specie, being equal in State paper 66.90

By State paper . 19.21 $289.15

At this term the county was divided into three election precincts. "The Chicago
Precinct"' to contain all that part of the county east of the mouth of the La Page
river where it empties its waters into the Aux Plain ; the elections to be held at the
Agency House or "Cobwel) Hall." and Abner (Alexander?) W'olcott, John Kinzie
and J. B. Beaubien to be judges at all general and special elections.

"Peoria Precinct" to contain all that tract of country north and west of the
Illinois river and (east of the river — Ed.) north of township twenty-four and
west of the third principal meridian, the elections to be held at the clerk's office
and Stephen French. Abner Eads and John Phillips to be judges.

"Mackinaw Precinct" to contain the residue of the county, the elections to be
held at the house of Jesse Dillon, and Isaac Perkins, William Eads and Thomas
Dillon to be judges. The Mackinaw precinct was the smallest, territorially, of the
three, doubtless for the reason it had a greater population.

Another election precinct was added to the others, at the March, 1826, session
and designated as the "Fox River Precinct." It contained all that district of
country north of Senachwine creek and the Dupage river, and it was ordered
that the ]3lace for holding elections therein should be at the house of Jesse Walker,
near the junction of the Illinois and Fox rivers, and that Aaron Hawley, Henry
Allen and James Walker be the judges. Still another precinct was added, at the
June session, known as the "Fever River Precinct," which comprised the counties
"of Warren and Mercer. The house of Dr. Garland was chosen as the place for
holding elections. At this term Stephen French and Isaac Perkins were appointed
overseers of the poor and John Hamlin and Archibald Allen "fence viewers."
whatever that may have been.

FIRST ELECTION HELD IN CHIC.\GO

.\t the September term of the commissioners' court, the following persons were
ordered paid certain allow-ances :

To John Kinzie, John B. Beaubien, and B. Caldwell, judges, and Archibald
Clvborne, clerk, each one dollar ; and to John K. Clark, sixteen dollars, for return-
ing polls of the election held at Chicago in the preceding month of August (1826),
and to John Kinzie $1.50 for a ballot box used at said election. This was the
first election ever held in Chicago and a much more peaceful one than some others
of later vears.

PEORIA'S FIRST FISH .MAUKKT

PEORIA'S FIRST PUBLIC BATH HOUSE— IDEA OF HOX. THt)MAS X. COKMAX

HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY 97

In the election of 1826, which took place in August, the candidates for county
commissioners were Nathan Dillon, William Holland, John Hamlin, Stephen
French, Hiram M. Curry, Rivers Cormack and Gideon Hawley. The successful
ones were Nathan Dillon, William Holland and John Hamlin. This court held
a term in December, at which time the sheriff made his second report as follows:

''To amount returned by Assessor's books $ 855.93

DEBIT

To amount in State Paper equal to 641.93

To balance in treasury, December, 1825 54-i5^

To overcharge for collecting the above 10.25

To order on State Treasurer, 1825 100.00

To amount of tines collected 16.50

To amount of tavern licenses 3.00

To amount of sale of town lots 21.00

To amount of State Treasurer, 1826 168.75

To amount collected from list of bad debts, 1825 6.825^

CREDIT

$I,022,43>4"

"P>y amount of delinquent tax list for which the Sheriff is allowed until
the March term to collect, it being .State Paper, $416,695/2

equal to $312.52

P)y amount lost by collecting at Chicago at 50 per cent 27.05

By county orders amounting to 358.65

By percentage for collecting the above $64,405^, on which commission

has been paid 22.08

By percentage on above orders 7-i73^

$728.07>4

$294-35M"

A special meeting of the commissioners was held in March, 1827, and a tax
levy was made of one-half of one per cent. George Sharp was appointed county
treasurer and his bond fixed at $2,000. If Sharp served as treasurer it could
not have been for long, as the records show that at the April term John Birket
was appointed to the office, but having declined the honor (if any), Norman Hyde
was chosen in his stead. .A session of the court was held in June. A new elec-
tion precinct was created and named "La Salle Precinct." It embraced all that
territory north of the south line of township 10 north, and south and west of
Sand river ; and Peoria precinct to embrace all of Peoria county proper, south of
the north line of township 9 north. It also appears by the record that further
difficulty had been encountered in securing a suitable person for the office of county
treasurer, for the reason that Simeon Crozier had been appointed to succeed Nor-
man Hyde and his bond fixed at $2,000.

As has been heretofore related a new commissioners' court had been elected
in .\ugust, 1826, but at the June term of 1827 only one of the members elected,
John Hamlin, was present. His associates were George Sharp and Henry Thomas,
but by what process they superseded Nathan Dillon and William Holland, the
records fail to denote. At the October term it was ordered that state paper be
received by the county treasurer at seventy-five cents on the dollar, which would
be an indication that the credit of the state had improved in the course of two
years at least twenty-five per cent.

The members for the commissioners' court elected in August, 1828, were Isaac

Egman, George Sharp and Francis Thomas. Orin Hamlin, sheriff. A session
Vol. 1—7

98 HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY

of the court was held in September and John llaniUn was appointed treasurer
with bond at $1,000. At this term "Henderson precinct" was created, embrac-
ing Alercer and Warren counties. Francis Thomas did not ciualify as commis-
sioner until the December term.

The office of county treasurer seems to have "gone a beggin'." Several ap-
pointees to the office had declined or failed to (jualify. The last one to decline
the office was John Jlamlin, at the May session of the year 1829, and in his place
Henry li. Stillman was named, with bond in the sum of $1,000. Stillman served
almost a year and within that time furnished the county with seals ; one for the
commissioners' court, one for the probate court and one for the circuit court, and
at the September term he was allowed live dollars for each. Judge McCulloch,
in his history of Peoria county describes the seal of the circuit court as having
been "a flat piece of metal like a coin; a piece of paper would be laid on the
face of it and rubbed with lead to give the impression of the inscription, and this
would l)e fastened to the official document by means of a large wafer."

Once again the personnel of the county treasurer's office was changed. At
the March term Isaac Waters was appointed county treasurer, assessor and
census taker, his bond being placed at $1,000. John Dillon resigned as clerk
of the commissioners' court and Stephen Stillman became his successor.

Fox River precinct was reorganized at the June session, its new boundaries
being fixed as follows : Commencing at the northeast boundary of the Military
Land and including the country north and west of the Desplaines river as far
north as the north line of township 34 north, extending west as far as the east
line of Jo Daviess county.

In August, 1830, George Sharp. John Hamlin and Stephen French were
elected county commissioners and at the September term of the court were
sworn into office. An interesting item recorded at that term was the allowance
of five dollars to Elisha Fulton for carrying the abstract of votes to Fulton
county and one dollar to Augustus Langworthy, for the use of his horse' upon
which Fulton rode to his destination. The minutes of the December session show
that the clerk was ordered to transmit to the sheriff of Warren county the tax
books maintained for that county, at the request in writing of the county com-
missioners' court, and that the said commissioners' court of Warren county be
requested to send the amount of sixteen dollars, due Peoria county for assessing
the property, by mail as soon as convenient. This item would indicate that
Warren county had taken control of its own atifairs and had been released from
the jurisdiction of Peoria county.

At the April (1831) session of the court. Resolved Cleveland qualified as
county commissioner and fulfilled the duties of George Sharp, whose death had
made a vacancy. Isaac Waters was appointed county treasurer.

By this time, the counties of Cook, \\'arren, Tazewell, Putnam and other
counties which had remained attached to Peoria county when the latter was
created, became separate organizations and for that reason the Chicago. Hen-
derson and Fox River precincts became extinct.

Those remaining in 183 1 were Peoria, La Salle and La Marsh, and the
judges of elections were thenceforth only appointed for those precincts.

In December a session of the court was held and John Hamlin having re-
signed as a member, John Coyle was qualified as his successor, Coyle previously
having been elected to the office. At the session held in '^Nlarch, 1832, Aquilla
Wren became a member of the court, Stephen French having resigned.

The members of the court in the session of September, 1832, were Edward
J. Tones, John Coyle and Aquilla Wren. At this term Isaac Waters was allowed
$1.50 for a record book purchased for the court, and seven dollars for attending
the canvass of votes for senator and representative at Hennepin. Jesse W'alker
was allowed sixteen dollars for bringing the election returns from Chicago in

1830.

Seth Fulton was allowed one dollar, at the ]\Iarch term of 1833, for the use

HISTORY UF i'EORIA COUNTY 99

of a room in which the presidential election had been held the previous year.
Orin Hamlin, Alva and Aijuilla Moffatt were granted leave to build a mill dam
in Limestone township, on section 13, long known as the Monroe mill. For this
session of the court Stephen Stillman was allowed five dollars for the use of a
room. Before the e.xpiration of the year Asahel Hale was appointed county
treasurer and reappointed in 1834 and 1835. F'rom the fact that his bond was
fi.xed at $10,000 under the last two appointments, the reader may gather that
the affairs of the county were "looking up" and the responsibilities of the office
were "assuring proportions." As a matter of fact, the sum of $5,560.37 passed
through the treasurer's hands in 1835, the largest amount the treasurer had
ever handled in his official capacity. This can be accounted for by the generous
sale of town lots, going on at that period and which had been delayed throughout
the previous years, by reason of the difficulty the county experienced in securing
a patent for the land from the government and perfecting its title thereto.

At the April session of court, in the year 1835, the infirmities of years and
other disabilities of Isaac Waters had become so apparent that he was removed
from the office of clerk of the county commissioners' court and William .Mitchell
was appointed his successor. Waters had been one of the faithful pioneer ser-
vants of the new county of F^eoria and had served as clerk five continuous years.
By reason of his infirmities of body and brain it also became necessary to ap-
point in his stead a clerk of the circuit court. This was accom]jlishecl by the
selection of Lewis Bigelow, for the position. Judge Thomas Ford, afterwards
governor of the state, making the appointment, July 13, 1835.

The court for the September term, of the year 1834, was made up of Andrew
Thorpe, John Coyle and Orin Hamlin, and continued in office until August,
1836, when .\quilla Wren, William J. Phelps and Samuel T. McKean were
elected. These latter were succeeded, in .August. 1838, by Smith Frye, Clark
D. Powell and Moses Harlan. From this time on the tenure of the office was
three years, one member being elected each year. Those elected to the office
under the new law were: Clark D. Powell, August, 1839; W'illiam Hale, January
10, 1840, to fill the vacancy made by the election of Moses Harlan to the legis-
lature; Nathaniel Chapin, August, 1840; Smith Frye, August, 1841 ; Thomas P.
Smith and Clementius Ewalt, August, 1842, one to fill the vacancy caused by
the election of Smith Frye to the office of sherifif ; William Dawson, 1843;
Clementius Ewalt, 1844; Thomas P. Smith, 1845; Thomas Alooney, 1846;
James L. Riggs. 1847; Joseph Ladd, 1848. On the 23d day of November, 1849,
the last term of the coimty commissioners' court was held.

By the year 1837 the population had been greatly increased, so much so that
the necessity for a larger number of precincts was self evident. Therefore, at
the June term of the commissioners' court the county was laid off into thirteen
precincts, namely:

No. I to consist of fractional township 11 north, range 9 east (now Chilli-
cothe) known as Senachwine precinct, the election to be held at the house of
William Dunlap in Chillicothe.

No. 2. Northampton, to consist of township 11 north, range 8 east (now
Hallock), the elections to be held at the house of Reuben B. Hamlin.

No. 3. Prince's Grove, to consist of townships 1 1 north, range 6 east, and
II north, range 7 east (now Princeville and .\kron). the elections to be held at
the schoolhouse at Prince's Grove.

No. 4. Rochester, to consist of townshi]) 11 north, range 5 east (now
Millbrook), the elections to be held at the schoolhouse in Rochester.

No. 5. Charleston, to consist of township 10 north, range 5 east and east
one-half (properly west one-half) of township 10 north, range 6 east (that is
to say all of l>rimfield and the west half of Jubilee), the election to be held at
the house of Daniel lielcher in Charleston (now Brimfield).

No. 6. La Grange, to consist of sections No. i to 24 in each of the town-
ships No. 9 north, range 6 east, and 9 north, range 7 east, the east half of town-

100 HISTORY OI' PEORIA COUNTY

ship lO north, range 6 east, and all of township lo north, range 7 east (.that is
to say the north two-thirds of townships Rosefield and Kickapoo, the east half
of Jubilee, and all of Radnor), the elections to be held at the house of Lewis
Coolidge.

No. 7. La Salle, to consist of townships 10 north, range 8 east, and 10
north, range 9 east (all of Medina and Rome), the elections to be held at the
house of Jefferson Taliafero.

No. 8. Peoria, to consist of sections i to 4, 9 to 12, 13 to 16, 21 to 24, 25 to
28, 33 to 36 in township 8 north, range 7 east ; sections 25 to 28 and 32 to 36 in
township 9 north, range 7 east, and all of fractional township 8 north, range

8 east (that is to say, the east two-thirds of Limestone and eight sections ad-
joining the same in the southeast corner of Kickapoo, and all of Peoria and
Richwoods), the elections to be held at the court house.

No. 9. ^liddle, to consist of township 8 north, range 6 east ; sections 25 to
36 in township 9 north, range 6 east; sections 5 to 8, 17 to 20, 29 to 32 in town-
ship 8 north, range 7 east ; and sections 29 to 32 in township 9, range 7 east
(that is to say all of Logan, the south one-third of Rosefield, the west one-third
of Limestone and four sections in the southwest corner of Kickapoo), the elec-
tions to be held at the house of Thomas P. Smith, at Smithville.

No. 10. Harkness, to consist of township 9 north, range 5 east (Elmwood),
the elections to be held at the house of John Ewalt.

No. II. Copperas, to consist of township 8 north, range 5 east (Trivoli),
the elections to be held at the house of Joseph Berry.

No. 12. LaMarsh, to consist of township 7 north, range 6 east, and 6 north,
range 6 east (Timber), the elections to be held at the house of William Duffield.

No. 13. Lafayette, to consist of township 7 north, range 7 east (Mollis),
the elections to be held at the house of Francis Johnson.

At the March term, 1840, township 10 north, range 7 east (Radnor) was
constituted an election precinct to be called Benton, the elections to be held at
the house of Alva Dunlap.

At the same term township 9 north, range 8 east (Richwoods) was consti-
tuted an election precinct by the name of Jackson, the elections to be held at
the house of John Clifton.

At the September term, 1841, the name of LaMarsh precinct was changed to
Lancaster precinct.

At the March term, 1842, sections 31 and ^2 in township 11 north, range

9 east all of fractional 10 north, range 9 east; sections i, 2, 11 and 12, 13, 14,
23, 24, 25, 26 and 33 in township 10 north, range 8 east (that is to say, the south
tier of Chillicothe, all of Rome and one-third of I\Iedina) were formed into a
precinct called Rome, but at the June term, 1842, sections 31 and 32, township
II north, range 9 east, were taken from Rome and re-attached to Senaclnvine.
At the June term, 1843, sections 25 to 36 in township 9 north, range 7 east and
sections i to 17, 20 to 30 and 34 to 36, in township 8 north, range 7 east (that
is to say, the south one-third of Kickapoo and all of Limestone, with the excep-
tion of five sections in the southwest corner) were constituted a precinct to be
known as the Limestone precinct, the elections to be held at the house of James
Jones.

This was the condition of the county when S. De Witt Drown published
his map of the same in 1844. Subsequently at the June term, 1847, section 32,
8 north, 7 east, was taken from the middle and added" to Limestone precinct.

At the June term, 1848, the Rome and La Salle precincts were vacated and
a new precinct called La Salle was constituted out of the following territory :
Sections i. 2, 3, east half of 4, east half of 9, all of 10 to 15, the east half of
16, east half of 21, all of 22 to 27, east half of 28, east half of 33, all of 34 and
35, in township 10 north, range 8 east, and all of fractional township 10 north,
range 9 east (that is to say, all of Medina east of a line running through the
center of sections 4, 9, 16, 21, 28 and 33, and all of Rome), the elections to

HISTORY UF PEURJA COUNTY 101

Ije held at the house of Thomas ^Mooney. subse(|uentlv in obedience to a vote
of the people at the August election, changed to the house of Thomas B. Reed.
In 1849 this section was visited by the scourge of cholera and many were
the deaths that followed in its trail. The stricken became so numerous and
the disease was so deadly that few of those left untouched by its ravaging
hand had the temerity to nurse the sick and dying. Hence it was that the
Peoria board of health was forced to find some place to house and segregate
cholera patients and, on July 11 of the year above mentioned, the county com-
missioners' court was prevailed upon to grant the use of the three upper rooms
in the court house for hospital purposes. In addition, the county furnished beds
and necessary medicines and delicacies for both town and county patients. At
a special term of the court held in September, Alva .Mofifatt was given the
contract to furnish coal for the court house and jail at five cents a bushel, and
William Compher was authorized to procure three hundred dollars to be ex-
pended in Pittsburg for iron used for the roof of the county jail. At this time
William Alitchell was clerk, but before the next session of the court, held in
November following, he fell a victim of cholera. Ralph Hamlin was appointed
his successor and, on the 23d day of November, 1849, the last term of the com-
missioners" court was held, it ceasing to e.xist, a county court having been jjrovided
for by law.

COUNTY COURT

.At the election held in the fall of 1849, Thomas P)ryant was elected county
judge, who superseded the county commissioners' court in the transaction of
the county's business. The first term of the county court was held on the 3d
day of December, 1849, but in the spring of 1850, a board of supervisors had
been elected, which took full management of the county's afTairs on the 9th of
July following. The (|uestion of adopting the "township system" of govern-
ment had been submitted to a vote of the electors in the fall of 1849, which
resulted in a majority vote of 2,128 being cast in its favor. There were only
nineteen votes in the negative. David Sanborn, George Holmes and Mark Aiken
were appointed commissioners to divide the county into townships and the first
election of supervisors was held in April, 1830. The newly elected body held
its first meeting on the 8th day of April, 1850, at which time the twelve town-
ships then organized were represented by the following named persons:

Townships Supervisors

Hollis Stephen Wheeler

Rosefield John Combs

Orange Samuel Dimon

Rich woods Josiah Fulton

Chillicothe Charles S. Struther

Benton Jonathan 1 Jrassfield

Akron Benjamin Slane

Limestone Isaac Brown

Princeville L. B. Corn well

Jubilee William W. Church

■Millbrook Clark W. Stanton

Trivoli David R. Gregory

Samuel Dimon was elected by liis fellow members chairman of the board,
and Charles Killette was clerk.

In the June (1850) meeting of the board Orange township was given the
name of Kickapoo, Benton was changed to Fremont and later the name was
discarded for that of Radnor, in honor of one of the pioneers of that region.

The last session of the county commissioners' court was a special one, which

102 IIIS'IORY OF PEORIA COUNTY

lasted three days and adjourned on Friday, November 23, 1849. The first term
of the county court was held December 3, 1849, ^nd the last term on the 4th
day of June. 1850.

THE PROBATE COURT

In the legislative act creating the county of Peoria, provision was made for
the election of a probate judge for the county, whose tenure of office should be
during good behavior. The probate courts were first established by law Feb-
ruary 10, 1821, and their jurisdiction was similar to that of the probate courts
of the present day, although many changes had been made as the years went by.
They were courts of record and the judge also acted as his own clerk. Norman
Hyde was the first incumbent of this office and was elected within a day or
two after the passage of the bill organizing the county. Governor Edward
Coles issued to him his commission on the i8th day of January, 1825, but he
did not qualify until the 4th day of June following, John Di.xon, clerk of the
circuit court administering the oath of office. In the meantime, Air. Hyde had
been appointed clerk of the commissioners' court and performed the duties
of that office until his induction into the office of probate judge. On the 6th
of June, 1825, Judge Hyde opened his court, but there being no matters for
settlement, an adjournment was taken until the next term, and so on for the
next four terms the court was without anything to do and at once adjourned
for that reason. It was not until the 30th day of September, 1825, that the
first estate of a deceased person was entered in the court. On that day John
P.arker took out letters of administration upon the estate of John O'Brien, giv-
ing bond in the sum of S800, with John L. I'.ogardus and Daniel Like as securi-
ties. The court then adjourned, that having been all the business before it.
Nothing came up before the court until December 5th, when the will of Isaac
Remsden, Jr., made in Muskingum county, Ohio, dated May 13, 1825, was
probated. The witnesses to the will were Thomas Bell and Gilbert Crandall.
Letters of administration were issued to Jacob Crooks.

No business was brought before the court until April 11, 1826, several ad-
journments having been taken in the meantime. On this day Isaac Perkins was
appointed administrator of the estate of Elza Bethard. deceased. However,
at the October term. Handy Bethard proved himself to be the next of kin and
the letters of administration granted Perkins were revoked and Bethard was
appointed in his stead.

WHEREIN CHICAGO FIGURES

Alexander Wolcott appeared at the .A.pril (1826) term of court and made
proof of the death of John Crafts of Chicago, a prominent member of the
American Fur Company. Upon filing a bond of $3,000, Wolcott was issued
letters testamentary, having for his sureties John Kinzie, of Chicago, and John
Latham. On the 20th day of November, 1826, Wolcott submitted his appraise-
ment and sale bills of the estate, which were recorded. The appraisers were
John Kinzie and "Billy" Caldwell, both of Chicago. On this day also came
Jacob Crooks, administrator of the estate of Isaac Remsden and filed his ap-
praisement of the estate, made by Alexander McNaughton, John Griffith and
Hugh Montgomery, and sworn to before 'Squire John Dillon.

On the 10th day of December. John P>arker, as executor of the estate of
Joseph O'Brien, filed his appraisement of property of the deceased, which had
been sworn to before Stephen French, justice of the peace. On the next day
Margaret Latham and Richard Latham, her son, were appointed administrators
of the estate of James Latham (the same who claimed title to part of the town
site of Peoria) "deceased, Benjamin Briggs. Grant Blackwell and John Hamlin
becoming their sureties on a bond of $2,000.

HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY 103

The first final settlement of an estate in Peoria county was that of Joseph
O'Brien, John Barker, on the i6th day of April, 1826, having filed his final
account, which showed a balance for distribution among the heirs of $416.31^.

The appraisement of the property of James Latham was made by Peter G.
Cowerdin, Charles Finley and Grant Blackwell, and an additional appraise-
ment was made by John Hamlin, John Barker and Henry Neely, and sworn
to before John L. Bogardus, of Peoria. The papers showed that after the
deduction of expenses a balance of $968.21 remained. This appraisement was
filed b\' Richard Latham, April 19, 1827. On the 8th day of January, 1828,
Richard Latham filed the sale bill of James Latham's property at Elkhart
Grove, Sangamon county, amounting to $722.46, of which the widow's award
was $301.75.

Alexander Wolcott, administrator, closed up the afifairs of the estate of
John Crafts, in which, among other items, he charged himself with $2,500,
received from the American Fur Company in New York, Craft's share of
profits on the Chicago assets for 1825-6, according to the award of Thomas
Addis Emmet, a noted lawyer of New York city, arbiter in the matter. After
crediting himself with an item of $784, being the amount of an account of the
American Fur Company against the estate, one of John Kinzie's for $87.88
and one of Gurdon S. Hubbard for $22, a Ijalance was shown in favor of the
heirs in the sum of $1,454.25. On the same day Wolcott made proof of the
death of John Kinzie, of Chicago, and was granted letters testamentary on
his estate, the bond being placed at $3,000, with John Beaubien and James
Kinzie as sureties. On the I'gth day of May, W'olcott filed a schedule of the
property of John Kinzie, made at Chicago, on April 22d, by Alexander Doyle
and J. P.. Beaubien and acknowledged by R. A. Kinzie, clerk. The property
amounted to $805.40, plus a sale bill amounting to $254.87^/2.

josiah Fulton applied for letters of administration upon the estate of his
brother, Samuel Fulton, late sheriff of Peoria county, December 4, 1829. He
was appointed administrator and the bond was fixed at $1,000. An appraise-
ment was made of the estate by H. B. Stillnian and Norman Hyde and filed
with the court.

On the 17th day of December, 1830, John B. Beatibien obtained letters of
administration upon the estate of Francis La Frambois, of Chicago. John
Hamlin and David Hunter were his sureties on a bond of $3,000. On the same
day, David Hunter proved the death of Alexander Wolcott and was appointed
administrator, dcbonis iioii of the estate of John Kinzie, late of Chicago. His
bond was $3,000 and with him signed John B. Beaubien and John Hamlin.
By this time the reader must have gathered the idea that the two men just
mentioned were professional bondsmen.

Francis Sharp, on the 27th day of January, 183 1, proved the death of his
father, George Sharp, a member of the county commissioners' court. Letters
of administration were granted him and Elizabeth Sharp, the widow of the
deceased, with bond of $4,000. The sureties were John Hamlin and Alexander
Caldwell. The inventory and sale bill of the estate was filed in May, which
showed a personal estate amounting to $524.06^4- On the same day David
Hunter, administrator of the estate of John Kinzie, filed a report, showing he
had received from various sources the sum of $740.25 due the estate. The
report also showed that the sum of $2,190.12 was due the estate from the
American Fur Company, with interest at five per cent from May 12, 1828.

The David Hunter here mentioned was a man of no ordinary distinction.
He was an officer in the regular army and was for some time in command of
Fort Dearborn. During the Civil war he became one of the leaders among
the many brave commanders in the army and rose to the rank of major-general.

The last entry made by Judge Norman Hyde was the notation on his record
of the adjournment of court February 6, 1832, as his death occurred soon
thereafter. His successor, in the person of Andrew M. Hunt, was commis-

104 HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY

sioned as judge of the probate court, by Governor John Reynolds, November
lO, 1832, and on the 15th day of November took his seat on the bench. On the
2ist day of November John Hamlin and Simon Reed filed the will of Norman
Hyde, in which John Hamlin, Simon Reed and Andrew M. Hunt were named
as executors. Only the first two could qualify, as the latter had become the
judge of the court before whom the estate must be settled.

The office of probate judge was abolished by act of the legislature March
4, 1837. Ikit an additional justice of the peace, styled probate justice of the
peace, was elected in August of that year, whose jurisdiction was the same as
other justices, in addition to which he was clothed with authority and minis-
terial powers in probate matters and jurisdiction when executors or adminis-
trators were parties to a suit to the amount of $1,000; also the same judicial
powers of a probate judge. However, all his acts were subject to the approval
of the circuit court. It will be seen, therefore, that Judge Andrew M. Hunt's
ofiicial career was a short one. At the election held in August, 1837, George
B. Parker was elected the first probate justice of the peace. In 1839 he was
succeeded by Dr. Edward Dickinson, who served until 1843, when William H.
Fessenden was elected. Thomas Bryant followed Fessenden in 1847 ^^'^ re-
tained the office until November 29, 1849, when the office was abolished.

CHAPTER X\-

SELECTION OF A SITE EOR AND ERECTION OF A COURT HOUSE CIRCUIT COURT — ■

JAILS THE FIRST COURT HOUSE, SO-CALLED, A LOG CABIN THE FIRST BUILD-
ING ERECTED BY THE COUNTY A BRICK STRUCTURE THE SECOND COURT HOUSE

COUNTY INFIRMARY — HOME FOR THE INSANE — COUNTY OFFICERS.

One of the first orders entered in the minute book of the county commis-
sioners' court, at its tirst term, was for the selection of a site and the erection
thereon of a court house, the same to be twenty feet square and nine feet from
the floor to the joists, with a good plank or puncheon floor; also a clerk's office
fourteen feet square, with a good puncheon floor, both to be of good materials
and finished in a workmanlike manner — the clerk's office to be ready for occu-
pancy by the 20th day of April, and the court house on the 25th day of May.
Four (lays later the order for these buildings was rescinded.

The first court house, or rather, the first meeting place of the county com-
missioners, was at the house of Joseph Ogee, below the ferry and some dis-
tance from the tract of land designated by the legislature for the county seat,
and for the use of the house Ogee was allowed one dollar. This place had
also been chosen in which to hold the circuit court, and the records show that
the November term of the circuit court was held at the Ogee home and the
May term of the commissioners' court in 1826, for the use of which Ogee was
allowed three dollars. The next term of the circuit court was held at the
house of Louis Beeson, who at the December term, was allowed for the use of
his house the sum of $16. Joseph Ogee was a half-breed, with a strain of
French blood. His wife was a Pottawatomie. He was in the employ of the
American Fur Company, as was also Beeson. The Ogee house was reputed
to have been the best in Peoria at the time of which we write, being con-
structed of hewn logs, and this probably accounts for his place being chosen by
the courts for their meetings. It is surmised that the Beeson house was the
same as that mentioned as Ogee, for the latter had moved from the settle-
ment soon after the May (1826) term of the commissioners' court. In Drown's
Historical \"iew of Peoria, published in 1844, a writer, presumably John Ham-
lin, says the house in which the court was held in November, 1826, was "a log
building on the bank of the river, in whicli jurors slept on their blankets on
the floor."

THE CIRCUIT COURT

In the session of the legislature which convened in December, 1824, the
judiciary of the state was reorganized and divided into five judicial circuits
and in the same act five circuit judgeships were created. Prior to this, members
of the supreme court of the state held the circuit courts. The first circuit was
composed of the counties of Sangamon, Pike, Fulton, Morgan, Greene and
Montgomery, and the judge for this district, as for the others, was elected by
the general assembly, their commissions being dated on the 19th day of Janu-
ary, 1S25. John Sawyer was elected to the first circuit, to which Peoria county
upon its organization, was attached. The first term of the circuit court in the

105

106 HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY

first district convened on the 14th day of November, 1825, with John York
Sawyer, judge: John Dixon, clerk; Samuel Fulton, sherit? ; James Turney,
attorney general. Judge Sawyer was a large man, physically, and of an impos-
ing appearance. He was a terror to evil-doers and severe upon criminals. An
incident related of him in this connection is that of a man who had lieen con-
victed of petty larceny, the penalty for which was a whipping on the Ijare back,
the stripes not to exceed forty. The attorney for the defendant had made a
motion for a new trial, but before the question was argued the attorney's atten-
tion was called temporarily to some other matter and in his absence the judge
ordered the ofifender to be punished according to law by being tied to a tree
near the court house. It is said that Judge Sawyer witnessed the whipping
from his seat on the bench, counting the stripes as they were laid on. When the
job was finished, and not until then, the defendant's attorney appeared and he
was informed by the judge that he could have a new trial if he wished; but the
defendant was averse to anything of the kind, having protested that he had had
trials enough.

It will have been seen that the county commissioners' court at its April
terrn in 1825 had ordered the sheriff to summon grand and petit jurors selected
at the first term of the court to appear on the second Monday in June, but
there is no record of any court having been held on that date and it is therefore
presumed that the first term was convened in the month of November. Only
sixteen of the twenty-four grand jurors selected, appeared, namely: John Ham-
lin, Stephen French, Thomas Dillon, Henry Thomas, George Harlan, Isaac
Waters, Augustus Langworthy, George Sharp, Seth Wilson, John Klein, George
Klein, Isaac Perkins, John Phillips and ^lajor Donaho. The grand jury re-
turned five indictments, one of which was for murder, two for assault and two
for minor offenses.

The murder case referred to brought to Peoria nearly all of the settlers
of this locality. The prisoner at the bar was an Indian named Nomaque, who
was charged with the killing of a Frenchman by the name of Pierre Landre.
Jacques Alette and Joseph Ogee were appointed interpreters. William S. Ham-
ilton ^vas counsel for the defendant but great difficulty was encountered in
obtaining a jury. The following named persons, however, were empaneled:
Austin Crocker, Allen S. Daugherty, Alexander AIcNaughton, Nathan Dillon,
Henry Neely, William Woodrow, Peter Dumont, Aaron Reed, Abram Galentine.
Josiah Fulton, Cornelius Doty and David Matthews. This jury convicted
Nomaque, and Hamilton carried the case to the supreme court, where he ob-
tained a reversal of the judgment, but the Indian was held as a prisoner until
the next grand Jury should pass upon the case. The other indictments found
at this term were against Joseph Ogee and Jacob Frank for an affray ; Levi
Ellis and Lyman Leonard charged with a like offense ; Abner Cooper for as-
sault and battery ; and John Griffin, charged also with assault and battery.
During this term William S. Hamilton was twice fined by the court for con-
tempt. At this term Judge York issued peremptory writs to compel the ap-
pearance of Louis Beeson, Pierre Chevilire, Francis Borbonnie, Sr., Francis
Borbonnie. Jr., and Antoine Borbon, who had failed to recognize the original
summons for their appearances as witnesses in the Nomaque case.

The duration of the first term of court was four days and no other term
was held until in October, 1826, when Judge 'S'ork again sat upon the bench.
The most important case to be tried was that of Nomaque, the Indian, against
whom a second indictment had been found. Of this second trial and its results
an interesting description is given by one of the grand jurors in Drown's direc-
tory for 1844:

"In the year 1826, I lived three miles from Mackinaw river, on the Peoria
and Springfield road, in what is now Tazewell county, but then attached to
Peoria, and being that year twenty-one years old, I was summoned upon the
grand jury. There were not then enough adults in Peoria county proper to

i'i;(isi'i;( I' \.\i.i.i-.'i i'i;iisi'i:( 'I' iii-;i(;iirs

HISTORY OI" i'EORIA COUXTY 107

form the grand and petit juries, hence they were summoned from the attached
portion. All the grand jury but two were from the east side of the Illinois
river, chiefly my acquaintances and neighbors. We took our provisions and
bedding, the latter being a blanket or quilt for each. It was the practice also
in those days to take a flagon of liquor, and this was not omitted on the occasion
spoken of. In truth, so faithfully was the flagon put under requisition, that
but two of our number were sober when we appeared in court and received our
charge. Judge Sawyer was then the presiding officer ; James Turney the prose-
cuting attorney ; and Messrs. Cavarly, Pugh, Bogardus and Turney, the entire
bar.

"There were about eight bills of indictment found by the grand jury, one
of which was against an Indian nained Nomaque for murder. He had been
tried the fall before; but obtaining a new trial, he was indicted again this term.
There being no secure jail, the sheriff (Samuel Fulton) kejit him under guard
in the house of Mr. Allen. At night about a dozen drunken Indians met to
rescue him. and attempted to enter the door for that purpose. Allen sprang
out of a back window, and seizing a clapboard, rushed to the front of the house
and laid aliout him with great fury. He felled four of the Indians to the
ground before they could recover from their consternation, when the others
retreated. Allen pursuing the hindmost, continued his blows, the retreating
fellow crying out 'Schtop, white man! for God's sake schtop!' Felling him also,
the five laid till morning, when they were able to crawl off. Nomaque after-
wards made his escape — joined Black Hawk in the war of 1832 — was wounded
in Stillman's defeat, and afterwards found nearly dead by some Peorians, who
humanely shot him through to put an end to his sufferings.

"The court house was a log Iniilding on the bank of the river, in which
the jurors slept at night on their blankets on the floor. There was a tavern
kept by Mr. Bogardus, but it was not large enough to furnish sleeping accom-
modations for them. The grand jury room was a lumber cabin in which Bo-
gardus kept saddles and other cattle fixings."

The session of the legislature held in 1827 reorganized the judiciary by
abolishing the office of circuit judge and assigning the judges of the supreme
court to do circuit duty. The first circuit was then composed of the counties
of Peoria, l-'ulton, Schuyler, Adams, Pike, Calhoun. Greene, Morgan and San-
gamon, to which Samuel D. Lockwood was assigned. This jurist is said to
have been a most scholarly and polished gentleman and the peer of any judge
that had ever sat on the supreme bench of the state. It was said of him by a
recent historian that "he stands out conspicuously as the beau ideal of a judge.
His appearance on the bench was the very personification of dignity, learning
and judicial acumen." Judge Lockwood presided over this court from the
May term, 1827, to the October term, 1828. At his first term held in Peoria,
the sheriff', Samuel Fulton, was indicted for malfeasance in office. The charge
was negligence in allowing the Indian, Nomaque, to escape from his custody.
The indictment, however, was twice quashed on the ground that no capias had
been issued, requiring the sheriff' to take him into his custody.

Another change in the judiciary was made by the legislature in 1829. A
circuit was established consisting of the territory west and north of the Illinois
and Kankakee rivers, embracing that portion which had formerly been at-
tached to the county of Pike. At this same session of the legislature Richard
M. Young was elected and commissioned on the 23d dav of January, 1829, as
judge of this circuit. His first term of court in Peoria was in June. 1829, and
his last was the October term of 1834. Judge Young was the first judge elected
to preside in the third circuit and on the formation of the fifth circuit just
designated, he removed to Quincy, where he resided during the time he was
upon the bench. In 1836 he was elected United States senator and served the
full term of six years. In 1843 he was elected to the supreme court and held
the office until 1847. when he was appointed commissioner of the land office

108 HISTORY OF PEORIA COL'XTY

at Washington. In 1850 he was appointed clerk of the national house of repre-
sentatives. His later years, however, were quite tragic, as his intellect became
impaired to the extent that it was necessary to send him to an asylum, where
he died.

John Di.xon resigned as clerk of the circuit court and on the 8th day of
June, 1830, Stephen Stillman was appointed his successor.

Still another change was made in the judiciary in 1835. In that year the
state was again divided into circuits and five judges in addition to the one
already in office were chosen. These new judges were Stephen T. Logan, Sid-
ney Breese, Henry Eddy, Thomas Ford and Justin Harlan. Thomas Ford was
assigned to the sixth district, in which Peoria was situated. For some reason,
however, Judge Breese presided at the first term of the circuit court in Peoria.
At the September term Judge Stephen T. Logan presided. He resigned his
office in 1837 and was again elected by the legislature in 1839, but declined to
accept and never afterwards occupied a position u])on the bench. Judge Logan
was one of the ablest lawyers and jurists of his time. He had been profession-
ally associated with Abraham Lincoln for three years and also filled many posi-
tions of public trust, for which he was ably fitted. Thomas Ford, who was
assigned to the sixth circuit in which Peoria was situated, afterward became
governor of the state. The first term at which he presided was May, 1836,
but in March, 1837, he resigned and was succeeded by Dan Stone, one of the
noted men of his day. Judge Stone presided from the May term, 1837, until
the May term, 1838. One of the noted cases decided by him was political in
its character which touched upon the right of aliens to vote at the general elec-
tion. The matter was carried to the supreme court but before a final decision
had been reached the eighth and ninth judicial circuits had been formed by the
legislature and Thomas Ford, on the 25th day of February, 1839, had been
elected and commissioned as judge of the ninth district. The controversies
growing out of the decision of Judge Stone in the case above referred
to led the legislature to again reorganize the judiciary of the state and by an
act, February 10, 1841, all former laws authorizing the election of circuit judges
or establishing circuit courts was repealed. The act then provided there should
be appointed by joint ballot of both branches of the general assembly at that
session five additional associate justices and the three associate justices then in
office should constitute the supreme court of the state. The state was then
divided into nine circuits and the chief justice and his eight associates were
recfuired to hold court in these circuits. Thomas Ford was elected one of the
five new justices of the supreme court, February 15, 1841, but he resigned
August 1st, 1842, to accept the office of governor of the state, to which he was
called soon after being elected. While acting as supreme judge he again pre-
sided over the circuit court at Peoria from 1841 until 1S42, and Judge Richard
M. Young again held court here as one of the supreme judges at the May
term, 1843. Judge John Dean Caton presided over the circuit court at the
October term," 1842, and the October term, 1843, and from thence on to the
October term, 1848. He was a member of the supreme court for twenty-one
years, having succeeded Governor Ford upon his resignation in 1842. He was
reappointed by Governor Ford in 1843 to fill the vacancy occasioned by the
death of Judge John M. Robinson. He resigned in 1864.

After "the adoption of the constitution in 1848, T. Lyle Dickey presided at
the May and October terms of 1849, and William Kellogg, of the tenth circuit,
to which Peoria then belonged, from the March term of 1850, to November,
1852. fudge Kellogg had been commissioned as judge of the tenth circuit,
February 12, 1830. Resigning in November, 1852, he was succeeded by Heze-
kiah M. Wead, but before the latter could hold a term of court the sixteenth
circuit, composed of Peoria and Stark counties, had been formed, of which
Onslow Peters had been elected judge. Judge Wead, however, held court here
at the fall term of 1863 to finish up certain cases in which Judge Peters had

HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY 109

been engaged as counsel, judge Kellogg was elected to congress in 1856 and
again in 1858 and i860.

There is some uncertainty as to where the courts were held in the two fol-
lowing years. At the January term of the county commissioners' court, the
sheriff was authorized to procure a house for the holding of court but the
records do not show where the place or places selected were located. At the
March term, 1829, a record was made of the purchase from John Hamlin of a
log house 16x14 feet, under which was a cellar, which subsecjuently served as
a jail. This building John Hamlin, in consideration of $75, conveyed to the
county, as the following instrument indicates :

"I do hereby assign to the county commissioners of Peoria county for the
use of said county, all my right, title and claim to a certain log house situated
in the town of Peoria for and in consideration of $75 — the said house known
as the one built hy Simon Crozier and formerly occupied as a store house by-
said Crozier.

"John H.-\mlin.
''Peoria, Illinois, .March 3, 1829.
"Witness, John Di.xon."

It was therefore ordered at this same term that the treasurer pav John
Hamlin $75 for a house to be used for county purposes and here it might be
well to explain that this house is also said to have been situated below the pres-
ent railroad bridge. ^Ir. Ballance, who arrived in Peoria soon after its pur-
chase, in his history of Peoria says in a description of the building that it was
located "at or near where the Fort Clark mill stands," to which Judge ]\IcCul-
loch in his history of the county of more recent date adds "which was on the
river bank on the northeasterly side of Harrison street. The building remained
standing until 1843, when it was replaced by Orin Hamlin's steam flouring
mill." A pencil sketch of Peoria in 1831 said to have been executed by J. Al.
Roberts, indicates from the grouping of the l)uildings that the historians,' Drown
and Ballance, were correct in their location of this building and that it was
the cabin on the site upon which the Fort Clark mill stood and now covered
by the warehouse of the Peoria Transfer Company.

.\t the June term (1829) it was ordered that the lower story of the court
house, as the building was now termed, be used as a jail, and at the Septemlser
term, 1830, John Hamlin, from whom the building had been purchased, was
given the use of the cellar until the month of April following, for the sum of
$3, which same amount had been paid by F. Bournonait the preceding winter
for storing goods therein.

At the September term, 1830, the clerk was authorized to have certain
repairs made on the court house. That is to say, "plastered in the joints,
weather boarded, a window with glass on the river side, and a plank floor laid
loose on the joice above — the work to be done on as good terms as could be
had reasonable and that he should present his bills to the next commissioners'
court properly authenticated." At the same time John Plamlin was given au-
thority to buy a ten plate stove, with the necessary pipe, the cost of which was
not to exceed $30. Whether or not these repairs were made the record does
not show.. However, at the June term, 1831, the following entry was made:

"Ordered that the treasurer pay $16 for repairs to the court house as fol-
lows : .\ desk, the boarding and casing to be of walnut plank 6 feet long, 43/^
feet high, 31,2 feet wide from the wall, sided in front and posts cased at their
end; narrow strip on front top. from that inward slope 12 inches, floored with
any kind of sound plank, one step from the room floor, all but the floor to
be planed, a narrow strip on the inside end of the slope — four benches, two 14
feet long, or the length of the room, two 6 feet long, one and one-half inches
thick, with an additional strip or piece where the legs are put in. The lower

110 HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY

room, tlie three hewed logs missing to be put in place, that is, replaced with a
door cheek, a door to be made of- strong inch plank, hinges, pad-lock and staples
to be furnished by the workmen. Also two benches for table."

It is very probable these improvements were all made, for an allowance
was made to Moses Clifton of $16.75 ^or repairs to the court house. The
building, however, was not adequate for the purpose it was intended when pur-
chased, as the record shows several orders subsequently made for the use of
private houses by the commissioners. However, an entry indicates that on July
10, 1834, leave was granted (some one not shown) to keep a school in the
court house for a quarter, except in term of court or when needed by the county
commissioners or for elections. The building was also used for religious meet-
ings but was sold to Bigelow & Underbill in 1835 for $60.

The year 1833 finds the county without a building specially constructed for
county purposes, and however necessary might have been a court house at that
time, the necessity for a jail was more present. Thieving and outlawry in the
county was becoming more prevalent and many arrests in cases of a petty
nature were being made at shorter intervals, which placed the authorities at a
disadvantage, from the fact there was no proper place in which to incarcerate
the culprits pending trial of their cases. A gang of thieves had made their
appearance in the county and it became necessary to send one of them to
Schuyler county for trial and two others to the jail in Putnam county for safe
keeping. This the authorities maintained was putting the county to much ex-
pense. The items below would indicate that the county commissioners were
not far from wrong in their contention :

To Giles C. Dana for arresting and keeping L. Thomas and

Joseph McMeehan $ 2.50

Amos Stevens for conveying Thornton Hollis to Schuyler

county 49-50

William Compher for conveying Webster Evans to Putnam

county 29.00

William Compher for conveying Joseph McAIeehan to

Putnam county 29.00

William Compher for pursuing Thornton Hollis 9.37

William Compher for bringing two prisoners from Put-
nam jail 3100

Obadiah JMolley, sherilt Putnam county, for keeping Evans

from November 21 to April 22 68.50

Obadiah ]\Iotley for keeping McMeehan November 28, to

April 22 65.37

Total for three prisoners $284.25

THE FIRST .T.\IL BUILDING

It was therefore ordered that lot 3 in block 37 be set apart for the site of
a jail. The contract for the building was let to George De Pree, who was awarded
on his contract at the April term, 1835, the sum of $381, which was probably but
a portion of the contract price. The description of this building in Ballance's
history is as follows: "About the year 1834 a jail was built of square logs, on
the alley between Main and Hamilton and between Monroe and Perry streets.
It was sixteen feet square and fourteen feet high. The lower story was con-
structed of three thicknesses of logs, two lying horizontally and the one between
them standing perpendicularly, so that should any attempt be made to bore the
logs, the perpendicular ones would come down and stop the hole. The upper
story was only one thickness of logs. To give strength, these logs were dove-
tailed at the corners. Above the strong room there was a strong floor and trap

•lAii. AM) (orirriKii sK ix is4.-,

I'EoKlA's FIKST ( ( H irii i( ush:. iirii/r i\ is:;(i

HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY 111

door. Through this trap door prisoners were passed and then the ladder drawn
up. The rtoor of the lower part was made of timbers fitted close together and
the whole covered with oaken planks sjjiked down." Xo mention is made of
any windows in the lower story and when the building was first constructed
there probably were none, for at the March term. 1839. Henry Hahn was ordered
to put one in. This was the only jail building in the county until 1849. when a
new one was erected. When it was replaced the lot was sold to Halsey O. .Merri-
man, June g. 1847, for $150. Soon after the erection of the jail a log cabin
was built on the same lot for the use of the janitor. Daniel Bristol was the
contractor and was paid $2.70 at the June term for his work.

THE SECOND J.ML

The second jail was erected in 1849 on the corner of Washington and North
Fayette (now Eaton) streets. On June 7, 1844, the commissioners' court had
ordered notices to be published in the Press and Register, newspapers then pub-
lished in Peoria, inviting the submission of plans at the coming September term
for a jail to be constructed of stone. The records do not show that anything
further was done in this matter until December 4. 1845. when a contract was
let to George O. Kingsley for the erection of a jail for $6,640. At the March
term, 1846. lot i. No. i of the subdivision of lots i and 3 in block 18, was chosen
as the site for the new bastile. Chester Hamlin was appointed superintendent
of the work, for which he was to have two per cent commission. Charles Ul-
richson, an architect, was allowed $10 for examining the plans and specifica-
tions, but what they were, the records do not show. After having made some
progress in his work, for which he was paid $616, Kingsley 's contract was re-
scinded at the September term 1846. For that reason the work was suspended
and nothing further was done until the December term, when the clerk was
directed to advertise for proposals to be submitted at the January term, 1847,
for the building of a jail according to plans and specifications in the clerk's
office. On January 6, 1847, the contract was let to Thomas Turbit, Thomas P.
Smith and William Smith, farmers, then living in that part of the county which
afterwards became known as Logan township. The contract price was $7,450.

Three years after it had been commenced, or, to be exact, on April 14, 1849,
the new jail building was accepted as fullv completed and on settlement there
was found due the contractors the sum of $1,695.99. This sum w-as allowed,
notwithstanding the contractors had placed upon the building a temporary roof
instead of a copper roof required of them in the contract. From this it seems
they had been relieved.

That part of the new .structure which fronted the street liad the appearance
of an ordinary brick building. It was brick and was used for the sheriff's
home, while the rear portion, or jail proper, was stone. The cells were on the
first floor and arranged around the outer walls, in which grated windows were
inserted. A hall separated the two ranges of cells. On the second floor was a
large room called the debtor's room, which w'as intended for the imprisonment
of imfortunates not able, or refusing to pay their debts. As this barbarous
practice became illegal, the room was later used as a place of confinement for
female prisoners.

THE THIRD J.ML

In 1867 the board of supervisors bought the lot on wliich the present jail
is located, for the sum of $6,000. It had originally belonged to the county but
after having olitained title to the county seat site, the county commissioners
had sold the lot for $75. The new jail was completed at a cost of $75,000 and
was placed in custody of the sheriff on the 24th day of January, 1869.

112 HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY

THE FIRST COURT HOUSE

It was at the June term, 1833, that initial steps were taken for the building
of a court house. The clerk was ordered to advertise in the Sangamon Journal
for sealed proposals to be delivered at the clerk's office until the 9th day of July-
following, for the furnishing of 150,000 brick on the public square, at which
time contracts would be awarded, also at the same time contracts would be let
for the stone and lumber that might be wanted in the construction of a court
house. .At the l^larch term, 1834, Reuben B. Hamlin, one of the contractors
for furnishing lumber, was allowed $15 for a drawing of the proposed court
house. Bids for brick were received at the July term, 1833, and the contract
for the same was awarded to Samuel Hackelton at $5 per thousand, and the
firm of Moffatt & Hamlin was awarded the lumber contract. The brick used
in the building was burned at the foot of the bluff near Knoxville avenue by
Moore & Pitt, who had in their employ at the time Robert Smith, later a resident
of Mossville.

At the January term, 1834, John Hamlin was made agent to procure rock
and have it placed upon the ground for the foundation and also to procure
hewn timber for the court house upon the best terms obtainable. The clerk
was directed to advertise in the Sangamon Journal, Beardstown Chronicle and
St. Louis Republic that sealed proposals would be received at the clerk's office
ujitil the third day of the next term for the mason work in the foundation
walls and also the brick work, the county to furnish the materials. Proposals
were also asked for the carpenter work exclusive of the doors and windows,
plans and specifications to be sent to the clerk's office.

The query might here arise as to why these notices were not published in a
Peoria paper, and the answer is, there was no paper published in Peoria at
that time.

The contract for the mason work was awarded to Charles W. McClallan,
and the carpenter work to George B. Macy, at the March term, 1834. John
Hamlin was released as agent to procure materials, and at the April term fol-
lowing Francis Voris was selected to superintend the erection of the building
and served in that capacity until July 10, when he was succeeded by Isaac
Waters. By this time work was progressing on the new county building, and
at the June term, 1834, orders were entered for the payment for the first work
done thereon :

F. Voris, digging 853^ yards foundation at 10 cents

per yard $ 8.50

C. W. McCkllan for quarrying 58 window sills at 62^4
cents each, 2 door sills at 623/^ cents each, and 200

feet water table at 6yi cents per foot 50.00

Alvah Moftatt for hauling 16.621^

George .Martin for pine plank 283.00

John H. Dusenberry for time and $5.00 advanced for

quarrying rock 6.123^

From what has been related the reader will at once see that a great deal of
work in connection with the new court house devolved upon the commissioners'
court. At a special term held in July, 1834, Joseph Mitchell was paid for haul-
ing caps, sills, water tables and scaffold poles. Alva Moffatt was refunded
$150 for money advanced to purchase lumber; C. W. McClallan $50 for mason
work ; and John Pitt for hauling caps and sills. At the October term John
Hamlin was again appointed agent to procure materials, the lack of which had
caused delay in the progress of the work.

The first plans for this building made no provision for ornamentation but
after the four walls had reached completion it was determined that a portico

.MOTl)l!( V( I.K I'Ol.K i;.\li:.\ L\ FlldXI (iF ( 11 V I'KISOX

I'A'ir.oL IIOLSE. PEORIA

HISTORY OI- PEORIA COUNTY 113

and cupola should be added ; consequently, at the April term, 1836, Joshua
Bowman was awarded a contract for foundation stone for the columns, the
same to be four feet square, ten inches thick and to cost $35.

At the August term, Joshua ISowman was awarded a contract to furnish,
cut and lay stone steps around the piazza and up to the back door of the court
house at 62^^ cents per foot. On October i6th Charles W. McClallan was
ordered paid $100 on his contract for plastering, and soon thereafter the No-
vember term of circuit court convened and seems to have been in the new
court house while in an unfinished state, for at the December term, Reuben
Hamlin, William P. BUxton, Nathaniel Dyes, John Brown, Albert Hurd and
Job Ross were allowed compensation for suspension work on the court house
during the sitting of circuit court. At the same term Henry Gilbert on the
part of the county and \V. A. I'.lair on the part of Reuben B. Hamlin assessed
the additional compensation demantled by the latter, as follows :

To additional size of building $ 300.OO

To one extra window 1 1.50

To extra work on windows 75oo

To balustrades around bell deck 50.00

To damages for failure on part of contract S/O.oo

To hindrance for lumber this summer 50.00

To glue 20, at 31^ cents 6.25

To extra work on capitals 150.00

To cash paid for labor 1.50

To cash paid for drayage .50

$1,214.75

At this time, while the court house had not reached completion, it was far
enough advanced to admit of occupancy of a portion of the first story, which
was divided into six rooms. Plorace P. Johnson, an attorney, was granted
leave to occupy room No. 2 from and after the 9th of December. On the nth
Joshua Bowman was awarded a contract for building and erecting four plain,
round columns in front of the court house, to be completed by the ist day of
July following, at $10 per foot, running measure. C. W. ]\IcClallan was also
given a contract to ornament the court room by putting a cornice around the
ceiling. Both these contracts were settled for at the June term 1836, and the
court house was practically finished.

It seems to have been the aim of the county commissioners, business man-
agers of the county, to make the court house in a measure pay for itself, for
there are entries showing that several rooms were rented to parties who had
no official relation to the county. As has been stated, Horace P. Johnson was
granted leave to occupy room No. 2 on the ground floor of the building, for
which he was assessed as rent $50 per year. Others to whom rooms were rented
were Charles Kettelle, who secured room No. 3, and E. N. Powell, room No. 5,
all at the same rent. The grand jury room given over to A. M. Hunt at $45
the year, with liberty of the grand jury to occupy it during the sitting of the
circuit court. At the July term, 1837, No. 4 was rented to Onslow Peters until
the December term, for $12.50. At the December term there was a re-letting
as follows : No. 2, to Horace P. Johnson and Jacob Gale ; No. 3, to Charles
Kettelle; No. 4, to Onslow Peters; and No. 5 to E. N. Powell, at $50. There
was a re-letting of the rooms the next year. Horace P. Johnson retained No.
2; Charles Kettelle was given No. 3; Peters & Gale, No. 4; George B. Parker,
who had recently been elected probate justice of the peace. No. 5 ; and Frizby
& Metcalfe, No. 6, at $50 a year. The jury room was let to Lincoln B. Knowl-
ton at the June term, 1839. with the condition that the jury should use it when
needed. Later some of the partitions were removed and the enlarged rooms

Vol, 1—8

114 HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY

occupied l)y the sheriff and circuit clerk. On the left of the hall was the county
clerk's office, which was afterwards used by the board of supervisors. Xext to
the county clerk's room was a small one occupied by the county judge, who
also shared it w-ith a hrm of attorneys.

The court room was in the second story, on each side of which was a jury room,
but some years later a balcony was constructed in the portico, which was ap-
proached by thin stairways, one on each side of the main entrance. From that
time onward the court room occupied the entire second floor.

THE SECOND COURT HOUSE

I'.v the year 1838 the court house became insufficient for the needs of the
county and a more secure place for the records became a matter of prime neces-
sity. It was therefore determined to erect a new temple of justice, which was
begun on an elaborate plan that year, but only the first story of the northeast
wing was erected. It was divided lengthwise into two rooms, which were occu-
pied by the circuit and county clerks. It was thoroughly fireproof and although
not pleasing to the eye served the purposes for a period of nearly twenty years.
The present court house is the second and last completed building of the kind
erected in the county. The plans for the one contemplated in 1858 had been
abandoned after part of the building had been completed, but it was not until
the December session of the board of supervisors that concrete action was taken
toward the erection of a new and adequate court house. On the loth of De-
cember, 1874, Horace G. Anderson, chairman of the committee on public build-
ings submitted a report to the board of supervisors in favor of the building of
a new court house. The report concluded with the following resolutions :

"Resolved, i. That the county of Peoria needs a new court house and
that in order to build the same it is necessary to issue county bonds.

"2. That the question of issuing county bonds to the amount of $250,000,
to run not to exceed ten years and to draw not to exceed 8 per cent interest, be
submitted to the legal voters at the next April election.

"3. That the county clerk be instructed to give the proper notice that the
question will be submitted to be voted upon at that election and that he cause
to be printed on the ballots to be used at that election "for county bonds' and
"against county bonds' as provided by law."

After amending the resolutions so as to change the time of voting from
April to the next November election, they were adopted by a vote of 16 to 9.

The vote on the question of issuing jjonds was submitted to the electors of
the county at the November election of 1875 and the proposition was carried by
a majority of 1,516. There were 6,910 votes cast. Plans were at once adver-
tised for and after many had been submitted for examination, those of the
firm of Wilcox & Miller." architects of Chicago, were adopted March 31, 1876.
The contract for the building was let to Philip H. Decker, of Chicago, May
12, 1876, his bid being $206,071.31. Work at once began on the new building
and on Saturday, September 30, 1876, the corner stone was laid, with very
simple ceremonies. Addresses were made on that occasion by Jonathan K.
Cooper, one of the pioneer members of the bar, and Hon. Joseph "W. Cochran,
judge of the circuit court. After the speeches, Thomas Cratty, member of the
bar, and Mark M. Aiken, one of the oldest settlers of the county, placed within
the stone a number of documents and articles of historical value.

Early in the month of November, 1878, the building was completed, and on
the 1 8th the event was celebrated by a grand reception to the public, which ter-
minated with a banquet, at which time a number of speeches were delivered,
being preceded, however, with prayer by Rev. J. D. Wilson, rector of Christ
English Reformed church. The orators of the occasion were Judges David
McCulloch, loseph W. Cochran and Sabin D. Puterbaugh, and Messrs. Law-
rence W. James, Washington Cockle, Thomas Cratty, ^McCoy, Tipton, Cremer

PEORIA torXIV ( (IL'KTIIOI.'SE

HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY 115

and Fuller. The day was spent by a vast throng of visitors to the building and
by night time their numbers liad increased amazingly. The banquet was pre-
pared by Charles H. Deane, proprietor of the Peoria House, which was dis-
cussed by about 250 persons. The total cost of the building, to which, as a
matter of course, various additions and changes have been made after the plans
had been adopted, was $248,968.70. The clock in the tower was manufactured
by the Seth Thomas Clock Company, of New York ; the bell, which weighs
four thousand pounds, was made at the McNeely & Kimberly bell works, Troy,
New York, both bell and clock furnished by the American Clock Company of
New York, cost $2,495.

The architects' description of this beautiful building is as follows: "Style,
Venetian Italian; plan, cruciform, with grand colonnade entrance or porticoes,
42 feet wide on the two fronts; at Main and Hamilton street fronts, two story
colonnades and arcades; size, 177 feet front by 90 feet on Main and Hamilton;
height to cornices, 90 feet, and to top of lantern, 166 feet from the base line.
Material of exterior w'alls Amherst stone from the Clough cjuarry near Cleve-
land, Ohio."

"The old court house was sold to David P)Urns for $250 to be removed
within ten days. On Saturday, the 13th of May, the members of the Peoria
bar, many of whom had grown old in the practice of their profession beneath
its shadow, assembled in the court room of the condemned structure for a
formal leave-taking before the work of demolition should commence. Jonathan
K. Cooper presided, speeches were made by Judge Gale, E. G. Johnson, E. P.
Sloan, D. '5lcCulloch, Judge I.oucks and John Holmes. The speeches were
full of reminiscences incident to the court houses, lawyers and judges of early
times. Some of them were historical, some humorous, but all appropriate to
the occasion."

THE COUNTY INFIRM.\RY

Every commimity has its helpless and indigent individuals who through
stress of circumstances, disease or shiftlessness become a care and oft times a
burden upon the community at large. Provision for supplying them with food
and shelter are incumbent upon the taxpayers, and in conseciuence of this fact
the county commissioners' court on the iith day of December, 1847, purchased
of William Alitchell the south half of the northeast c|uarter of section 9. town-
ship 8 north, 7 east, to be used as a comity farm, for the sum of $i,ocxd. There
were buildings on the place at the time which were considered sufficient for
the needs of the county, and provisions were made to prepare them for occu-
pancy by the ist of February, ensuing. Furniture and provisions were secured
and the commissioners in person made all necessary arrangements for the sup-
port and accommodation of those who should come under their care. From a
number of ap]ilicants, Hiram Partridge was selected as superintendent of the
infirmary, and on tiie 2(1 day of February, 1848, he w^as appointed to the posi-
tion, at a salary of $275, after giving bond to the county in the sum of $1,000.
On the 9th of Alarch notice w-as published in the newspapers requiring all per-
sons chargeable to the county to be conveyed to the new home for the indigent.
On the 7th of February, 1849, Hiram Partridge w-as reappointed superintendent
for another year, and for his wife's services and that of his three boys, also the
use of a cow and a yoke of oxen, he was to receive $373 for the ensuing year.
This was Partridge's last appointment by the commissioners' court, but he was
kept in the position for several years by the board of supervisors.

In 1865 the board of supervisors bought a tract of land, consisting of one
hundred and sixty acres, known as the Herron farm, adjoining the land already
secured, for which was paid $9,000. This increased the county farm to two
hundred and forty acres. In February, 1869, the building committee of the
board reported, among others, a bid for the construction of an infirmary build-

116 IIIS'I'ORV ()!• r'EORIA COUXTV

ing according to plans and specifications already adopted, by G. L. Royce for
$50,000. The rejjort also set forth that the committee had prepared a bill to be
presented to the legislature, authorizing the board to issue bonds to the amount
of $0o,ooo, to pay for the erection of the building, but the board determined
to only spend 830,000 for that purpose and accordingly let the contract to
Charles Ulrichson. In the month of February, 1870, the building was com-
pleted and turned over to the county by the contractor. The total cost, including
lieating apparatus and outhouses, amounted to $37,950. To this should be added
$500, voted by the board to be paid Contractor Ulrichson, in recognition of the
faithful and honest performance of his work.

COUNTY HOME FOR THE INS.\NE

At the December ( 1880) session of the board of supervisors a committee
was appointed to secure plans for a building to l)e used in caring for the insane
of the count} . Plans were adopted by the committee and so reported at the
following March term, but no action was taken thereon, as legislation pertinent
to the subject was at that time progressing in the general assembly. The matter
again came up before the board at the March session of 1882, Charles Ulrichson
submitting plans for a building to cost $28,390, w'hich were adopted, and no
further action was taken until at the September session, when the proposition
to issue $50,000 in bonds was carried by the board and ratified by the electors
of the county at the November election.

In April, 1883, the board of supervisors awarded to A. F. Miller the con-
tract for the erection of the main building for the insane, which was completed
the following December at a cost of about $37,000. The structure is of brick
and three stories in height. It was built contiguous to the main building of the
infirmary and when the latter was destroyed by fire in March, 1886, it was not
touched by the flames.

The main, building of the county farm, the walls of which were standing
after the fire, was rebuilt by Contractor Fred Meintz, and completed in De-
cember, 1886, the total cost of which was $17,021. The insurance money re-
ceived on the old building, $14,030.43, went a long way toward meeting this
unanticipated expense. The last extension improvement made here was the
erection of a hospital building. This building was started late in 1896 and com-
pleted in the early fall of 1897, at a total cost of $11,419. It has a capacity of
sixty patients and is modern in its conveniences. There are now two hundred
inmates at this home for the infirm and indigent of the county, who are well
provided for. The present superintendent is D. J. Davis.

n.LINOIS .\SYI.UM FOR THE INCUR.\BLE INS.\NE

One of the great eleemosynary institutions of the state, the Illinois Asylum
for the incurable insane, is located at the suburban town of Bartonville, in Lime-
stone township, and to certain energetic, charitably disposed women of Peoria,
may be given credit for the selection of Peoria as the location for this great
home for the state's unfortunates. In his report to the governor in 1904, Dr.
George A. Zeller, superintendent, among other things, had the following to say:

"As local federations of charities multiplied and county supervision of alms-
houses became more strict, the necessity of state care for incurables became more
and more apparent, and finally culminated in the formation of an organization
of Peoria women, headed by that able, energetic and public-spirited woman,
Clara Parsons P.ourland. then, as now, president of the Women's Club.

"These women agitated the question through the local and state press be-
fore meetings of men and women in many localities, they besieged the conven-
tions of both parties and secured endorsement of their views and finally sent a
lobby to Springfield to present the matter to the legislature, where, in the ses-

liriu'ial KitrlH'ii('a|Jarity I'iftccii 'riKuis.iihl McaU Daily

'I'Ih' Xiirsi's" Home, witli (liiiii|i .ii Iiiiiiatr> in tlii' lMirc.i;iiiiiiiil

'l'y|iifal t'dttafic \ iiii's and Flowers. Sliowini; Inmates' ( are

HAirmw ii.i.K .\svi.i\\i Fill; insank

HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY 117

sion of 1895, they finally succeeded in securing an appropriation of $65,000
for the erection of a main building, so constructed as to permit of extensive
additions.

"In the meantime an organization of Peoria citizens became active in secur-
ing desirable sites and a commission named by Governor Altgeld, consisting of
Hon. John Finley, of Peoria, Hon. J. J. McAndrevvs, of Chicago, and Hon.
Henry \\". Alexander, of Joliet, selected the site oftered by the people of
Bartonville — a clean donation of three hundred and eighteen acres of land, paid
for out of voluntary subscriptions secured by a commission headed by Joseph
P. Barton, and others.

"The fact that the first building was found defective and unsafe, owing to
the discovery that it was located over abandoned coal drifts, perhaps proved
a blessing rather than a misfortune, since it enabled the succeeding governor,
John R. Tanner, through his al)le adviser, Dr. Frederick H. Wines, secretary
of the State Board of Charities, to re-plan and re-construct it upon the present
magnificent and niotlern lines. Its construction occupied the whole of Governor
Tanner's term and he left no greater monument than the splendidly eciuipped in-
stitution. It came into the hands of Governor Yates as the unfinished task
of two previous governors, and he made it the object of his special solicitude,
succeeding not only in securing for it the necessary funds to permit of its
opening on February 10, 1902, for the reception of seven hundred inmates,
but in the legislature of 1903 he again urged measures which doubled its ca-
pacity."

'1 he original plan was for one large building with wings, the building of
which was practically completed when the scheme was changed to the cottage
system, and in all probability that was the real reason for discarding the struc-
ture already erected at a large expenditure of money, for as a matter of fact,
while the building was located upon an abandoned coal mine, the roof of the
mine was one hundred and fifty feet from the outer surface of the ground.
The change of plans, however, was a most desirable one. The cottage system
was selected and now, in addition to the administration buikling and nurses'
home, there are some thirty or forty cottages.

In 1910 a beautiful octagonal building, the circle being composed prac-
tically all of glass and capable of seating one thousand patients, was con-
structed as a dining hall, and otTers a most pleasing contrast to the numerous
cottages of uniform design.

In 1 9 12 the construction of a new administration building was commenced,
which, when finished, will cost about $75,000. The last biennial report, pub-
lished in June, 1910, showed the actual daily average jiopulation present at
this institution during the entire two years of 1909 and 1910 was 2,089.

Dr. (leorge A. Zeller is the present superintendent and has been in charge
of the institution since it was first opened in 1902.

COUNTY F.'MRS

The Peoria Agricultural Society was formed in the year 1841. Smith
Dunlap was the first president; John C. Flanagan, recording secretary; Amos
Stevens, corresponding secretary ; and Peter Sweat, treasurer. There were
fifteen members in all. I'Vom this time on it held its annual meets at various
places, the third one in the town of Kickapoo. That year new officers were
elected. William J. Phelps was chosen jiresident ; John Armstrong and Samuel
T. McKean, vice ]iresidents ; John C. I'lanagan, recording secretary; Thomas
N. Wells, corresponding secretary. The records were kept in so indifferent a
manner as to make it impossible to give any account of subsequent meetings
of the association up to the year 1855. However, that year twenty acres of
land, now known as the Taole Grove Addition to the city of Peoria, was pur-
chased, and in 1856 a fraction over two acres more were added. Buildings
were erected and fairs were held there for several vears.

118 HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY

The society was reorganized in 1855 under the name of Peoria County
Agricultural and Mechanical Society, and fairs were held under that name
until 1872. The board of supervisors who had purchased the ground, leased it
to the society May 4, 1871, for a period of ninety-nine years, upon a nominal
rental of one dollar per year, and upon condition that the county fairs should
be held there annually. At this time it was thought probable that state fairs
would at times be held here but the grounds were so remote from railroad
stations and difficult of access that they were found unsuitable and the Peoria
Fair Association was organized early in the year 1873, with a capital stock
of $50,000. This new society purchased a tract of land lying on the east side
of the Rock Island & Peoria railroad, containing about thirty-five acres, and
fitted the grounds for the accommodation of the state fair, as well as for county
fairs. State fairs were held there in the years 1873 and 1874, with a fair
measure of success. In the '90s the state fair was permanently located at Spring-
field, and the capital being within such easy distance for the people of Peoria
county to reach with a small expenditure of time and money, the local meet-
ings were superseded and have ceased to be held.

COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

Nathan Dillon, 1825-27; Joseph Smith, 1825-26; William Holland, 1825-27;
John Hamlin, 1826-28; George Sharp, 1827-31; Henry Thomas, 1827-28; Isaac
Egman, 1828-30; Francis Thomas, 1828-30 ; Stephen French, 1830-32; John
Hamlin, 1830-31; Resolved Cleveland, 1831-32; John Coyle, 1831-36; Aquilla
Wren, 1832-34; Edwin S. Jones, 1832-34.

CLERKS OF THE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS COURT AND COUNTY CLERKS

Norman Hyde, March to June, 1825; John Dixon, 1825-30; Stephen Still-
man, (resigned) 1830-31; Isaac Waters, 1831-35; William Mitchell (died ii
office) 1835-49; Ralph Hamlin, (to fill vacancy) 1849; Charles Kettelle, 1849
65; John D. McClure, 1865-82; James T. Pillsbury, 1882-90; James E. Walsh,
1890-94; Charles A. Rudel, (resigned) 1894-1900; John A. West, June 16, (to
fill vacancy) 1900; Lucas I. Butts, 1900-06; Oscar Heinrich, 1906-.

JUDGES OF PROB.XTE COURT .\ND PR0B.\TE JUSTICES OF PE.\CE

Norman Hyde (died in office), 1825-32; Andrew M. Hunt. 1832-37; George
B. Parker, 1837-39; Edward Dickinson, 1839-43; William H. Fessenden, 1843-
47; Thomas Bryant, 1847-49.

At this point the office of probate justice of the peace was abolished and juris-
diction in probate matters was conferred upon the county courts created by the
new constitution. The constitution of 1870 provided for the reorganization of
probate courts in counties having 70,000 population. Peoria county having in
1890 attained the requisite population, the office of judge of the probate court
was revived, the following being the list of incumbents since that period :

Leslie D. Puterbaugh (resigned), 1890-97; Joseph W. Maple (to fill vacancy),
1897-98; Mark M. Bassett, 1898-1906; Leander O. Eagleton, 1906-10; A. M.
Otman, 1910-.

PROBATE CLERKS

George M. Gibbons, 1890-94; Fitch C. Cook, 1894-98; Charles A. Roberts,
1 898-.

COUNTY JUDGES

Thomas Brvant (with two assistants for county business until 1850). 1849-
57; Wellington Loucks, 1857-61 ; John C. Folliott, 1861-65; John C. Yates, 1865-

HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY 119

82; Lawrence \\'. James, (resigned), 1882-1890; Israel C. Pinkney, 1890; Samuel

D. Wead, 1890-94; Robert H. Lovett, 1894-1902; W. I. Slemmons, 1902-10;
Clyde E. Stone, 1910-.

COUNTY TREASURERS

Aaron Hawley, March 8, 1825; George Sharp, March 14, 1827; Norman
Hyde. April, 1827; Simon Crozier, June, 1827-28; John Hamlin, 1828-29; Henry
P. Stillnian, 1829-30; Isaac Waters, 1830-32; Asahel Hale, 1832-37; Rudolphus
Rouse. 1837-38; Ralph Hamlin, 1838-39; Joseph C. Fuller, 1839; Allen L.
Fahnestock, 1865-67; Thomas A. Shaver, 1867-69; Edward C. Silliman, 1869-
71; Isaac Taylor, 1871-82; Frederick D. Weinette, 1882-86; Henry H. Forsythe,
1886-90; Charles Jaeger, 1890-94; Adolph H. Barnewolt, 1894-98; Jacob F.
Knupp. 1898-1902; Frederick Olander, 1902-06; William P. Gauss, 1906-10;
Lewis M. Hines, 1910; Amos Stevens, 1839-41; Charles Kettelle, 1841-43; Wil-
liam M. Dodge, 1843-45; Ralph Hamlin, 1845-51: John A. McCoy, 1851-55;
Joseph Ladd, 1855-59; Isaac Brown, 1859-65.

CIRCUIT CLERKS

John Dixon, 1825-30; Stephen Stillman, 1830-31; Isaac Waters, 1831-35;
Lewis Bigelow, 1835-39; William Mitchell, 1839-45; Jacob Gale. 1845-56; Enoch
P. Sloan, 1856-64; Thomas Mooney, 1864-68; George A. Wilson, 1868-76; lohn
A. West, 1876-80; James E. Walsh, 1880-88; Francis G. Minor, 1888-92; James

E. Pillsbury, 1892-96; Thaddeus S. Simpson, 1896-1908; Richard A. Kellogg,
1908-.

state's ATTORNEYS

Prior to tlie year 1853, '' does not appear that Peoria had any resident state's
attorney. After the formation of the sixteenth circuit, and until 1870, the state's
attorney was elected for the entire circuit. Since the adoption of the new con-
stitution of that year, each county has elected its own. The following is the list
of state's attorneys from 1S53 until the present time, all of whom have resided
in Peoria.

Elbridge G. Johnson. 1853-56; Alexander McCoy, 1856-64; Charles P. Tag-
gart, 1864-67 ; George Puterbaugh. 1867-72 ; William Kellogg, 1872-80 ; Alva
Loucks, 1880-83; John M. Niehaus, 1883-92; Richard J. Cooney, 1892-96; John
Dailey, 1896-1900; William \'. Teft, 1900-1904: Robert Scholes, 1904-.

sheriffs

Samuel Fulton, 1825-28; Orin Hamlin, 1828-30: Henry B. Stillman, 1830-
32 ; John W.Caldwell, 1832-34; William Compher, (resigned), 1834-35; Thomas
Bryant, 1835-40; Christopher Orr, 1840-42; Smith Frye, 1842-46; William
Compher (vacated office — left deputy in charge), 1846-50; Clark Cleveland,
(depty), 1850; James L. Riggs, 1850-52; Leonard B. Cornwell, 1852-54; David
D. Irons, 1854-56; Francis W. Smith, 1856-58; John Bryner, 1858-60; James
Stewart, 1860-62; J- A. J. Murray, 1862-64; George C. McFadden, 1864-66; Frank
Hitchcock, 1866-68; Samuel L. Gill, 1868-70; Frank Hitchcock, 1870-80; Samuel
L. Gill, 1880-82; Cyrus L. Berry, 1882-86; Warren Noel, 1886-90; Cyrus L.
Berry, 1890-94; Charles E. Johnston, 1894-98; John W. Kimsey, 1898-1902;
Daniel E. Potter, 1902-06; Lewis M. Hines. 1906-10; Francis G. Minor, 1910-.

SCHOOL commissioners AND SUPERINTENDENTS OF SCHOOLS

Jeriel Root. 1831-33; Andrew M. Hunt, 1833-37: Charles Kettelle. 1837-45;
Ezra G. Sanger, 1845-47; Clark B. Stebbins, 1847-51: Ephraim Hinman, 1851-
55; David McCulloch, 1855-61 ; Charles P. Taggart, 1861-63; William G. Randall,

120 HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY

1863-65; X. E. Worthington, 1865-73; ^I^ry E. VVhitesides, 1873-77; James E.
Pillsbury, 1877-82; Mary Whitesides Emery, 1882-90; AloUie O'Brien, 1890-94;
Joseph 1'.. Robertson, 1894-1902; Claude U. Stone, 1902-10; John Arleigh Hayes,
1910-.

COUNTY SL'RVEVORS

Norman Hyde, 1832; Charles Ballance, 1832; Thomas Phillips, 1835-39;
George C. .McFadden, 1839-49; Henry W. McFadden, 1849-53; Daniel B. Allen,
1853-57: Samuel Farmer, 1857-59; Richard Russell, 1859-61; Daniel B. Allen,
1861-65 ; Luther F. Nash, 1865-67; Charles Spaulding, 1867-69; Arthur T. Birkett,
1869-75; Robert Will, 1875-76; Daniel B. Allen, 1876-96; Leander King, 1896-97;
Charles H. Dunn, 1897-.

CORONERS

William E. Phillips, 1825-26; Henry Neeley, 1826-28; Resolved Cleveland,
1828-32; William A. Stewart, 1832-36; John Caldwell, 1836-37; Edward F. Now-
land, 1837-38; Jesse Miles, 1838-40; James Mossman, 1840-42; Chester Hamlin,
1842-44; tereniiah Williams, 1^844-48; John C. Heyle, 1848-50; Charles Kimbel,
1850-52; Ephraim Hinman, 1852-56; Milton McCormick, 1856-58: John N. Nig-
las", 1858-60; Charles Feinse, "1860-62; Thomas H. Antcliff. 1862-64; Willis B.
Goodwin, 1864-68: Philip Eichorn, 1868-70; Willis B. Goodwin, 1870-76; Michael
M. Powell, 1876-82; John Thompson, 1882-84; James Bennett, 1884-92; Henry
Hoeffer, 1892-96; Samuel Harper, 1896-1904; R. Leslie Baker, 1904-08; William
B. Elliott, 1908-.

CHAPTF.R X\'I
"old peorias" home of the French and Indians founded about 1763 — in 1778

THE NEW VILLAGE WAS ESTAHLISHED BY JEAN BAPTISTE MAILETT AND SINCE

known as fort CLARK, THE PRESENT CITY OF PEORIA THE VILLAGE DESTROYED

IN 1812 — DESCRIPTION OF EARLY INHABITANTS AND THEIR HOMES — SOME WHO
LIVED IN OLD PEORIA SETTLEMENT OF FRENCH CLAIMS TO TRACTS OF LAND.

At the time ni the cession of the Ilhiiois countr\' l)y France to England (1/63),
there was a village composed of I'rench and Indians, on the west bank of Lake
Peoria, near the foot of Caroline street, which extended as far as "Birket's
Hollow." Here a fort had been erected and the place was known as "Old Peoria's
Fort and \'illage." When the fort was built is not definitely known. It was
probably put up soon after the destruction of Fort Creve Coeur. In his "Pioneer
History of Illinois" Governor Reynolds says :

"The Traders — their voyageurs, and others in their employment, occupied
this post, more or less, ever since its first establishment. As it has been said,
the Indian trade of that section of the country was better than at any other point.
This made it to the interest of the traders to occupy the place.

"Peoria never, in ancient times, was as large a village as either Kaskaskia or
Cahokia, but it is more ancient than either of them. La Salle, when he first saw
the country, was charmed with the beauty of the place and established a fort
there. He also knew the resources of the country arising from the In<lian trade,
which was another, and perhaps a greater, inducement to erect his grand depot
here for the Indian trade than for any other consideration.

"In the first settlement of the country, the missionaries settled at this point,
and had their flocks of the young natives around them. Peoria can boast of
a higher anti(|uity than any other town in Illinois, and about the same date with
St. Josephs, Green Bay, Mackinaw and Detroit.

"The French cultivated some ground, more or less, at Peoria, for more than
one hundred years past. They cultivated at the old village to some e.xtent and
at the new one since the year 1778, when it was commenced by Maillet. It will
be seen by the report of the United States officers, sustained by positive proof,
that one .-\ntoine St. Francois had a family in Peoria in the year 1765, and
cultivated a field of corn adjacent to the village.

"Other inhabitants also resided there at the same time and lone before. It
is true, most of the citizens were Indian traders and those living on the trade ;
but this trade required support by men and provisions which were both furnished,
to some extent, by the settlers of Peoria."

Peoria was in the early and strenuous days an important military and trading
post, as shown by the famous treaty of Greenville. Under that treaty sixteen
military or trading posts were ceded to the government, one of which was de-
scribed as "one piece (land) six miles square at Old Peoria's Fort and \^illage,
near the south end of the Illinois lake, on the said Illinois river." Thus it will
be seen that the village of Peoria was one of a chain of trading posts with a fort,
extending from Detroit by way of Michilimackinac and Chicago, to the mouth
of the Illinois river.

Of the remote history of Peoria and when it was first settled liy white men

121

122 TTISTORY OF PEORIA COUXTY

there are some discrepancies among historians. It is said, however, that in the
spring of 1712 a party of Frenchmen came from Fort St. Louis (Starved Rock)
and estabhshed a trading post among the Indians at this place ; but that is dis-
puted. It is a fact, however, that for many years the only inhabitants of the
primitive village of Peoria were the French and Indians ; and the houses were
built about one and a half miles above the lower end of Lake Peoria. Later,
about 1778, one Jean Baptiste Maillet, formed a settlement about one and a half
j miles i)elow the old village, which was known as Fort Clark. By 1797 the old
' village had been entirely deserted for the new.

N. Matson, long since deceased, who had been one of the pioneers of Prince-
ton, the capital of Bureau county, published a small volume of history in 1882,
which he entitled "The Pioneers of Illinois." In the preface to this work Mr.
Matson tells his readers that he had visited descendants of French pioneers, then
living in the "American Bottom," and had heard them relate the stories of their
forebears. As these persons were of the third and fourth generation a repetition
of their narrations can only be given in the way of tradition, especially that part
pertinent to the village of Peoria and its people. Mr. Matson says:

"According to the statement of Antoine Des Champs, Thomas Forsyth and
others, who had long been residents of Peoria previous to its destruction in 18 12,
we infer that the town contained a large population. It formed a connecting link
between the settlements on the Mississippi and Canada, and being situated in
the midst of an Indian country caused it to be a fine place for the fur trade.
The town was built along the beach of the lake, and to each house was attached
an outlet for a garden, which extended back on the prairie. The houses were
all constructed of wood, one story high, with porches on two sides, and located
in a garden surrounded with fruits and flowers. Some of the dwellings were
built of hewed timbers set upright, and the space between the posts filled in with
stones and mortar, while others were built of hewed logs notched together after
the style of a pioneer's cabin. The floors were laid with puncheons and the
chimney built with sticks and mud.

"When Colonel Clark took possession of Illinois in 1778 he sent three soldiers,
accompanied by two Frenchmen, in a canoe to Peoria to notify the people that
they were no longer under British rule, but citizens of the United States. Among
these soldiers was a man named Nicholas Smith, a resident of Bourbon county,
Kentucky, and whose son, Joseph Smith, was among the first American settlers
of Peoria. Through this channel we have an account of Peoria as it appeared
a century ago, and it agrees well with other traditional accounts.

"Mr. Smith said Peoria at the time of his visit was a large town, built along
the beach of the lake, with narrow, unpaved streets, and houses constructed of
wood. Back of the town were gardens, stockyards, barns, etc., and among these
was a wine press, with a large cellar or underground vault for storing wine.
There was a church with a large wooden cross raised above the roof, and with
gilt lettering over the door. There was an unoccupied fort on the bank of the
lake and close by it a windmill for grinding grain. The town contained six
stores, or places of trade, all of which were well filled with goods for the Indian
market. The inhabitants consisted of French, half-breeds and Indians, not one
of whom could understand or speak English.

"Among the inhaljitants of Peoria were merchants or traders who made
annual trips to Canada in canoes, carrying thither pelts and furs and loaded back
with goods for the Indian market. They were blacksmiths, wagon makers,
carpenters, shoemakers, etc., and most of the implements used in farming were of
home manufacture. Although isolated from the civilized world, and surrounded
by savages, their standard of morality was high ; theft, robbery or murder were
seldom heard of. They were a gay, happy people, having many social parties,
wine suppers, balls and public festivals. They lived in harmony with the Indians,
who were their neighbors and friends, adopting in part their customs, and in
trade with them accumulated most of their wealth.

HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY 123

"The dress of both men and women was very plain, made of coarse material,
and the style of their wardrobe was partly luirop'ean and partly Indian. The men
seldom wore a hat, cap or coat, their heads being covered with a cotton handker-
chief, folded on the crown like a nightcaj), or an Arabian turban. Instead of a
coat they wore a loose blanket garment called capote, with a cap of the same
material hanging down at the back of the neck, which could be drawn over the
head as a protection from rain or cold. The women wore loose dresses, made
mostly of coarse material, with their heads covered with a hood or blanket, and
their long hair hanging down their back like an Indian s(|uaw. But these women
were noted for sprightliness in conversation,, with grace and elegance of manners,
and notwithstanding the plainness of their dress many of them were not lacking
in personal charm."

Under the treaty of 1783 between Great Britain and die United States, the
French became citizens of the United States, and when the war of 1812 broke
out the French inhabitants of Peoria were suspected of giving aid to the British,
by furnishing arms and ammunition to the hostile Indians. Especially was this
the case with the leading man in the village, Jean Baptiste Maillet, who was
captain of militia and posed as the friend of the government and as such had
been rewarded. He had been openly charged with stealing cattle and turning
them over to the Indians and Captain Craig had been sent to Peoria, in the autumn
of 1812, to investigate the matter. There being no roads between the southern
part of the territory and Peoria, Captain Craig with his command ascended the
river in small row boats and on the 5th day of November reached Peoria. Upon
his arrival, so he reported to Governor Edwards, he was told the Indians had
all left the village, but this was not true, as his sentinels on the boats had seen
Indians passing through the town with candles and heard their canoes crossing
the river all through the night. On the following night, one of their boats dragged
its anchor and drifted ashore and so, the report continues, in the morning the
boat was fired on, as the Captain thought, by ten or more Indians. He then gave
battle, but the Indians at once took to their heels and esca])ed. This convinced
Captain Craig that the French were in league with the Indians and guilty of
treason and he took all of them prisoners, after having located them all in one
house. How many there were he does not state in his report. He then finished
his work by setting fire to the buildings and practically destroying the town.

In 1820 many claims to title in the land in and about Peoria were set up by
these same French settlers and their representatives. At that time Edward
Coles was register of the United States land ofiice at Edwardsville, and he was
deputized to take proof of these claims. In November of that year he submitted
a report to the secretary of the treasury, part of which is here cjuoted, as it gives,
in a measure, a description of the village which was the forerunner of the present
thriving and growing city of Peoria :

"The old village of Peoria was situated on the northwest shore of Lake Peoria,
about one mile and a half above the lower extremity of the lake. This village
had been inhabited by the French previous to the recollection of any of the present
generation, .About the year 1778 or 1779, the first house was built in what was
then called La\ ille de Alaillet, afterwards the new village of Peoria, and of late
the place has been known by the name of Fort Clark, situated about one mile
and a half Iselow the old village, immediately at the lower point or outlet of Lake
Peoria, tlie situation being preferred on account of the water being better and
its being thought more healthy. The inhabitants gradually deserted the old
village, and by the year 1796 or 1797 had entirely abandoned it and removed to
the new village.

"The inhabitants of Peoria consisted generally of Indian traders, hunters,
and voyageurs, and had formed a link of connection l:)etween the French residing
on the waters of the great lakes and the Mississippi river. From that happy
faculty of ada])ting themselves to their situation and associates for which the
French are so remarkable, the inhabitants of Peoria lived generally in harmony

124 HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY

with their savage neighbors. It would seem, however, that about the year 1781
they were induced to abandon the village from apprehension of Indian hostilities ;
but' soon after the peace of 1783 they again returned, and continued to reside
there until the autumn of 1812, when they were forcibly removed from it and
the place destroyed by Captain Craig of the Illinois militia, on the ground, as it
is said, that he and his company of militia were fired on in the night, while at
anchor in their boats, before the village, by Indians, with whom the inhabitants
were suspected by Craig to be too intimate and friendly.

"The inhabitants of Peoria, it w-ould appear from all I can learn, settled there
without any grant or permission from the authority of any government; that
the only title they had to their lands was derived from possession, and the only
value attached to it grew out of the improvements placed upon it. That each
person took to himself such portion of unoccupied land as he wished to occupy
and cultivate, and made it his own by incorporating his labor with it, but as soon
as he abandoned it his title was understood to cease, with his possession and
improvements, and it reverted to its natural state, and was liable again to be
improved and possessed by any who should think proper. This, together with
the itinerant character of the inhabitants, will account for the number of persons
who will frequently be found, from the testimony contained in the report, to have
occupied the same lot, many of whom, it will be seen, present conflicting claims.

"As is usual in French villages, the possessions in Peoria consisted generally
of village lots, on which they erected their buildings and made their gardens,
and of outlots or fields, in which they cultivated grain, etc. The village lots con-
tained, in general, about one-half of an arpen of land ; the outlots or fields were
of various sizes, depending on the industry or means of the owner to cultivate
more or less land.

"As neither the old nor new village of Peoria was ever formally laid out or
had defined limits assigned them, it is impossible to have of them an accurate
map. ... I have not been able to ascertain with precision on what par-
ticular quarter sections of the military survey these claims are situated."

SOME WHO LIVED IN OLD PEORI.\

Congress passed an act on the 3d day of March, 1791. in which was a provi-
sion that four hundred acres of land be given to each of those persons who in
the year 1783 were heads of families at Vincennes or in the Illinois country,
and who since then had removed from one place to another within the district,
and also to such as had removed out of the limits of the territory specified, upon
condition of their returning and occupying said lands within five years. The
further provision was made that when lands had been actually improved and
cultivated within the limits mentioned, under grants presumed to be valid, issued
by any commandant or court claiming authority in the premises, the governor
was empowered to confirm said grants to such persons, their heirs or assigns,
or such parts thereof deemed reasonable, not to exceed four hundred acres to any
one person ; also, "That the governor be authorized to make a grant of land,
not exceeding one hundred acres, to each person who hath not obtained any grant
of land from the United States, and who on the first day of August, 1790, was
enrolled in the militia at Vincennes or in the Illinois Country, and has done
militia duty." These provisions resulted unsatisfactorily, however, and congress
passed an act on March 26, 1804, establishing land offices at Mncennes and Kas-
kaskia. Michael Jones was appointed register at the latter settlement, and Elijah
Backus, receiver, "who were vested with authority to receive proof of all claims,
coming under the acts mentioned, and adjudicate them. This commission made
several reports and continued in existence until 1815, when it was terminated.

The grants of land were separated by the register into four classes — ancient
grants; donations to heads of families; donations on account of improvements;
donations to militia men. The records of the land office do not show, however.

EAKl.V I'KtiUIA .MAXSluX. LII'.EUTY STREET BETWEEN .lEFEERSON AND

JIADISON STREETS

Note tho lirownll gables

Te.Corherof Apams .

AND FDLTOI- StREETSAS

rrAPPEAREPir< 1844 ♦ •

HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY 125

that any claims were filed by Peorians under ancient grants from the I'Vench or
English proprietors, but a number were made under the classification herein
noted, and the following claims were recommended for confirmation:

"Pierre Troge, in the right of his wife Charlotte, who was the daughter and
heir-at-law of Antoine St. Francois, was reported as entitled to four hundred
acres on account of improvements and cultivation, and four hundred on account
of St. Francois, the ancestor having been the head of a family at Peoria in 1783.
It was proved by Louis Pilette, an ancient inhabitant of Cahok'ia, that St. Francois
was the head of a family at Peoria and that he cultivated the land, having a small
field in which he sowed corn in the year 1765; and that he remained there sev-
eral years thereafter; also that Pierre Troge married his daughter. This little
item of evidence lets the light in upon the life of "Old Peoria" at the time when
the sovereignty of the country was transferred from France to Great P>ritain.
The fact that St. Francois remained after that period raises the presumption, at
least, that he became a P.ritish subject ; and the fact of his heir having been
granted land by the government of the United States afl'ords almost conclusive
evidence that he had become a citizen of Virginia or of the United States at or
after the time of the Revolution. Of his wife's name or parentage we have no
information. Nor do we know anything of Pierre Troge, except that he married
the daughter. The name of Louis Pilmette is closely and inseparably connected
with the history of Peoria. It also appears from the report of Edward Coles
that this same Charlotte Troge, nee St. Francois, laid claim to a lot containing
two arpens, situated two miles above Fort Clark, near "Old Fort Peoria." We
therefore discover in this one instance the name of five persons who lived at
"Old Peoria," namely : Antoine St. Francois and his wife, his daughter Char-
lotte, her husband Pierre Troge, and Louis Pilette.

"That Louis Pilette was a good and loyal citizen is shown by the fact that he
received a donation of one hundred acres of land from the government upon
Governor Harrison's confirmation, on account of military services.

"The claims of a large majority of the inhabitants had been sold before being
proved, principally to Nicholas Jarrott, Isaac Darneille, William Russell and
William .Arundel, in whose names the proofs were made. These purchasers will
be disregarded and the names of the original claimants given as the donees.

"To Louis Bihore there was confirmed four hundred acres on account of
improvements and four hundred acres on account of his having been the head
of the family at Peoria in 1783. That Bihore was a very early inhabitant of
Peoria is shown by the fact of his having been a witness on behalf of some of
the oldest claims.

"To Jean Baptiste Sheonberger, alias St. Jean, were confirmed four hundred
acres on account of improvements near the "Old Fort" of Peoria. No other
claim having been made on his behalf, it is to be presumed he was neither the
head of a family nor a militiaman within the terms of the law.

"To Louis Chattlereau were confirmed one hundred acres as a militia man,
four hundred as head of a family at Peoria in 1783, and four hundred on account
of cultivating about forty acres of land and improving the same by building a
house, a horse mill, etc., thereon.

"To Pierre Verbois, alias Blondereau, were confirmed at Peoria one hundred
acres as a militia man. No other information obtainable.

"To Pierre Lavassieur ( dit Chamberlain) were confirmed one hundred acres
as a militia man. This man was also a claimant before Edward Coles for a
lot containing two arpens in the "Old \'illage" and of another lot containing twelve
arpens near the same.

"To John B. Chevy were confirmed four hun<hed acres on account of improve-
ments and four hundred acres as head of a family. It was proved by Louis La-
perche, Louis Boisman and Louis Bihore that Chevy was an inhabitant of Peoria,
that he was the head of a family and cultivated ground, planting it in corn, as early
as the year 1779.

126 HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY

"To fean 1!. Jourdain, who lived at Peoria, were confirmed four hundred acres
on account of improvements made upon and the cultivation of a farm on Maillet's
river (probably the Kickapoo) where he had a house and jjlanted corn as early
as 1783.

"To Jean B. Amlin, who lived at Peoria from 1779 to 1799, were confirmed
four hundred acres on account of improvements l)y cultivating land and planting
it in corn, also four hundred acres as head of a family in 1783, and one hundred
as a militia man.

"To Francois Arcoit were confirmed four hundred acres on account of
improvements and four hundred acres as the head of a family at Peoria in 1783-
It was proved by Baptiste Pelitier, Pierre Verbois and Jean B. Parent that Arcoit
was the head of a family at Peoria in 1783; that he made improvements near the
village; that he had a house and cultivated ground by planting corn in 1782, but
had to leave on account of the Indians.

"To Louis Brunette were confirmed four hundred acres as head of a family
at Peoria in 1783, which was proved by Jaque Ducharme and Francois \'ailett;
also that he continued to reside there for some time thereafter.

"To Jean B. Parent were confirmed four hundred acres as head of a family
and four hundred on account of his improvements. It was proved by Jean B.
Pointstable (Point de Saible), Jaque Ducharme, Louis Bihore and Pierre Valois
that before and after the year 1783 Parent was the head of a family at Peoria,
that he had a house built and cultivated land near the "Old Fort" in the year 1780,
and that he had a farm and raised crops.

"To Antoine Grandbois were confirmed one hundred acres as a militia man,
which had been confirmed by Governor St. Clair. The location of this grant is
not given, but it is known that Grandbois was a resident of Peoria.

"To Francis Babo (Babeau) were confirmed at Peoria, one hundred acres as
a militia man.

"To .-Vugustus Roque were confirmed four hundred acres on account of
improvements made near Peoria, and four hundred acres as the head of a family
at Peoria in 1783.

To Francois Bouche ( lioucher ) were confirmed four hundred acres on
account of improvements about one league from Peoria (Old Fort), four hun-
dred acres as head of a family at Peoria in 1783, and one hundred acres as a
militia man.

To Etiene Bernard were confirmed four hundred acres as the head of a
family at Peoria in 1783, and on account of improvements four hundred acres near
the River Coteneau (Kickapoo), within three miles of Peoria.

To William Arundel were confirmed on account of improvements three
hundred acres near Peoria, he having already had a military bounty under the
fourth class, also as head of a family at Peoria in 1783 three hundred acres, he
having received a militia right confirmed by the governor.

William Arundel was a man of fine education. He was born in Ireland,
had lived in Canada and some time prior to 1783, came to Peoria with his family
and became a trader, or merchant. Some time thereafter he removed to Cahokia,
where he kept a general stock of merchandise and at the organization of the ter-
ritory was appointed recorder of St. Clair county. He^ was the first secretary
of the first lodge of Masons, which was organized at Kaskaskia, June 3, 1806,
and at an extremely old age died at Kaskaskia, in 1816.

lean Baptiste Point de Sable (often called Pointstable) was another person of
note whose history makes a part of this and Cook county. As the head of a
family his claim for four hundred acres was confirmed and also for another four
hundred acres on account of improvements. Pointstable, as he was called, most
likely for the sake of brevity, was a negro, but as the Indians designated all races
other than Indians as "white," this man became noted as the first white settler
in Chicago. As to the exact date of his arrival in Chicago there is no evidence,
but it was prior to his residence in Peoria, which commenced about 1782. The

HISTORY OF I'EORIA COUNTY 127

most authentic account is in part quoted here, as taken from Mrs. John H. Kin-
zie's (of Chicago) "W'aubun :''

"Jean Baptiste Point-au-Sable, a native of San Domingo, about the year 1796
found his way to this remote region and commenced life among the Indians.
There is usually a strong affection between these two races (negro and Indian),
and Jean Baptiste imposed upon his new friends by making them believe that
he had been a great chief among the whites. Perhaps he was disgusted by not
being elected for a similar dignity by the Pottawottomies, for he quitted this
vicinity and finally terminated his days at Peoria, under the roof of his friend
Glamorgan, another San Domingo negro, who had obtained large Spanish grants
in St. Louis and its environs, and who at one time was in the enjoyment of an
extended landed estate."

It was, probably, not until after the treaty of 1783 that some of the inhabitants
returned to Le \'ille de Alaillet, or New Peoria. Jean Baptiste Maillet, as has
been said, founded this village about the year 1778. Here a new fort had been
built, in which his son, Hypolite, was born, from which the reader may take
it that Alaillet, who was captain of militia, resided for some time in the fort. He
was killed in an aft'ray with one Senegal, in the latter part of the year 1801.

The two donations of land, consisting of four hundred acres each, which had
been confirmed under Maillet's claim, were conveyed by Maillet by deed on the
6th day of July, 1801, to Isaac Darneille. The deed was simply signed "Maillet,"
without the given name. To prove the authenticity of the deed affidavits were
made before Antoine Des Champs and Raphael Belongier, justices of the peace
of Indiana Territory, on the 17th day of May, 1802. Des Champs later became
manager for the American Fur Company in this section.

Isaac Darneille, on the 5th day of October, 1807, executed and delivered a
deed to William Russell, of St. Louis, alienating among other tracts of land,
those mentioned in the deed conveyed by Maillet. Also "one lot of land and a
house at the "Old Peorias Fort' and a tract of land near said 'Peorias Old Fort,'
quantity unknown, purchased of Jean Baptiste Point Sable, assignee of Jean
Baptiste Maillet, by deed dated Alarch 13, 1773." This plainly indicates that
Pointstable was at Peoria in the year just mentioned. Another description of
property located in Peoria was "a house and lot in the town of Peorias and a
(|uantity of land near the same, bought of Theresa .Maillet, widow Cattenoir,
assignee of Francis Babeaux by contract dated October 11, 1778.

PKORr.'V's FIRST l..\WYER

Isaac Darneille, whose name figures so largely in the initial transfers of prop-
erty in the county, was the first lawyer to make his appearance in Peoria. Gov-
ernor Reynolds, in his History of Illinois Pioneers, has the following to say
of him :

"In the year 1794 the celebrated Isaac Darneille arrived in Cahokia and re-
mained in the west for several years. He was the second professed lawyer that
emigrated to Illinois, John Rice Jones being the first. He was a classic scholar,
and was, in his person, genteel and agreeable ; he possessed the easy and graceful
manners of a polished gentleman. He was large and portly, and made it a sine
qua non to be extremely neat in his dress and attentive to his personal appear-
ance. He studied all the arts and mysteries of gallantry, and thereby made a
very deep and rather lasting impression on his female friends. Darneille studied
the ladies more than he studied his profession of the law. He was benevolent
and kind to all mankind, and ]:>articularly to the ladies.

"While Darneille retained his youthful vigor, this life passed off very well;
but when old age crept on him his former pursuits were abandoned, from neces-
sity, and he remained an old man, without sincere friends or means of support.

"He taught school in the western part of Kentucky, where he died,_ rather
humble and neglected, in 1830, aged sixty years.

128 HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY

"If Darneille had abandoned this one failing, the excess of gallantry, he
would have enjoyed the character of one of the most honorable and respectable
gentlemen in Illinois."

FOUNDER OF DAVENPORT, IOWA, A PEORIAN

It might be well to note here, in passing, that among the prominent inhabitants
of New Peoria was one Antoine Le Claire, who had come to the town from
Canada. He subsequently, after removing to Iowa Territory, owing to his
familiarity with several Indian languages, and of his own people, was educated
by the United States government and under its authority acted as interpreter
for the government in its dealings with the Indians, prior to and after the Black
Hawk war. He was adored by the Sac and Fox tribe of Indians and when they
ceded their lands in Iowa to the government, it was provided in the treaty that
Le Claire should have a tract of land, consisting of some thousands of acres,
and that a certain tract should be set apart and given to Le Claire's wife,
Marguerite, the daughter of an Indian chief. Part of this land is now the site
of the important city of Davenport, founded by Le Claire and others, chief
among whom was Colonel Davenport, a trader on the island of Rock Island, after
whom the city was named. Le Claire became the wealthiest man of his time,
was a benefactor to his community and died, mourned by that whole section of
the country. Le Claire, an important village near Davenport, which he at one
time confidently hoped would be the metropolis and seat of government of the
county, was named for him.

Probably the most noted citizen of Peoria in its primitive days was Thomas
Forsyth, to whom allusion has heretofore been made. Another pioneer citizen
who played a notable part in the affairs of the community was Michael La Croix.

COLONEL GEORGE DAVENPORT

Colonel George Davenjiort, who was a contemporary of Antoine Le Claire,
was a non-commissioned officer in Captain Owen's company of the regular army,
and took part in a primitive expedition against the Indians in 1813, organized by
General Howard, ex-governor of the Territory of Missouri. The little army
numliered about eight hundred men and marched up the Mississippi bottom to a
point above Ouincy and thence to the Illinois river about forty miles above
Peoria, and then on down the river to that village. From Colonel Davenport,
Historian Matson obtained the following account of the proceedings of the
expeditionary party at Peoria :

"On arriving at Peoria Lake, the soldiers commenced building a block house
for storing the baggage as well as a protection against an attack from the enemy.
A well having been dug near the block house to supply it with water, it became
necessary to have a sweep to draw it ; consequently, Mr. Davenport, with two
companions, went into the woods to get a grapevine for that purpose. Having
found one suitable, Davenport climbed the tree to cut it ofif, and while doing so
he discovered a large body of Indians skulking in the timber, going in the direction
of the block house. On seeing this war party, Davenport and his companions
gave an alarm and in all haste fled toward the block house, but finding Indians
in that direction turned their course for the gunboats, which were moored in the
lake. With all speed the fugitives ran for the boats, closely followed by the
Indians, who fired at them many shots, while yelling like demons. The soldiers
on the gunboats, thinking only of their own safety, pushed them of? from the
shore but fortunately one of them grounded on a sand bar, which was the means
of saving the life of Davenport and his companions. The fugitives ran into the
water waist deep, pushed the grounded boat off, and jumped on board of it, while
the Indians fired on them, many of the rifle balls whizzing by their heads and lodg-
ing in the sides of the vessel. The boats went ofif some distance from the shore,

TllK Hljsr AlTOMDlilLE IX AMERICA WAS MADE IX PEORIA TWO YK^RS AFTER

THE AUTOMOBILE WAS PERFECTED IN FRANCE

C. E. DURVEA. IX\EXT()R

PEORIA'S FIRST ELECTRIC CARS l-.KTWEEX TTIE (ITV

'V AND KAS-|- 1>E()I!IA. liiOO

HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY 129

nevertheless the Indians continued to fire on them, but without effect. A cannon
on one of the boats was brought to bear on the savages, but in the excitement of
the moment its muzzle was raised above the port hole, and the ball tore off a por-
tion of the side of the vessel. The Indians also attacked the block house, which
was in an unfinished condition, but met witii a warm reception from those within.
The cannons on the boats having been brought to bear on the Indians, they fled
from the thick timber where thev had taken shelter, and the fight ended."

Colonel Davenport, as has been said, was the government's agent at the island
of Rock Island, and accumulated a fortune trading among the Indians. He had
built a home on the island, where he was enjoying the fruits of a strenuous life,
when he was murdered by a band of thieving cuttiiroats in broad daylight, dur-
ing the absence of his family at Rock Island, who were attending a Fourth of
July celebration.

In a letter written in 1850, by one of the participants in this expedition, John
S. Brickley, to John Lindsay, then a prominent Peoria lawyer, among other things
mentioned was the following:

■'When the mounted riflemen arrived at Peoria they found the village con-
sisting of a great number of huts, all deserted a few days before, and two or
three frame houses, one thirty or forty feet long (said to have been built by the
French), although they did not appear to have been inclosed or covered. The
Indians in their flight had left nothing but some dried pumpkins, corn and beans,
which were found in some of the houses, but much more was found wrapped
up in skins and hid in the ground, all of which was seized and used by those who
found them. Every house in the village was demolished the same day we en-
tered .... and used for fuel during the stay of the army at that place. .

"As the army- approached Peoria from the northwest and got a first view of
its situation from the high land prairies, two or three miles from the lake, looking
easterly and southerly, beheld the smooth prairie gradually descending to the
town, the lake stretching miles far to the northeast, the gunboats lying quietly
at anchor upon the water, the towering forest across the water, and the lovely
prairies bounded only by the horizon, there was an involuntary halt — the men
all gazed in silence for a moment, and then of a sudden, as if moved by one im-
pulse, expressed universal admiration of the beauty and grandeur of the pros-
]:)ect s]iread out before them. At this time there was no road to Peoria except
the Indian trail, not a forest tree amiss, not a house within one hundred miles
(except the town before described), no plow had ever broken the turf that cov-
ered the rich soil beneath. The lake was covered with wild geese, ducks and other
water fowls ; game such as deer, bear, elk and turkeys everywhere in the thick
woods and adjacent prairies. Bees and honey were found in almost every hollow
tree, and, notwithstanding express orders to the contrary, the men would and
did, on the march, fre(|uently stop and cut down the trees and get large quan-
tities of the most delicious honey. While employed in building the fort, many
of the men were well supplied with venison, fowls, honey and sometimes with
fish caught in the lake. This description fully justifies the Indian name of the
place, 'Pimiteoui — The Land of Plenty."

"For want of suitable timber and materials within several miles of the place,
on the west side of the lake, on account of the country back from the river being
prairie, it became necessary to obtain all timber from a fine forest on the east
side of the Illinois river at the lower end of the lake and raft it over. The
men commenced felling the trees, the most of which were white oak, and for
the palisades cut them about eighteen feet long and each log not less than fifteen
or eighteen inches in diameter — the timbers for the block houses at the corners
of the enclosure were much longer; the era (area) inclosed for the fort con-
tained, according to my recollection, two or three acres. While a portion of the
men were cutting, others were employed in hauling and rafting the logs over
to the opposite side of the lake, and from there to the site for the building ;
having no carriages of anv description, all the materials were drawn bv men

Vol. 1—9

130 HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY

on trucks, by means of large ropes, a distance of from one to two miles. Thus
was I'ort Clark erected where Peoria now stands, in less than two months, by
the Missouri and Illinois volunteers of mounted riflemen, in September and Oc-
tober in the year 1813, at a distance of more than one hundred miles from any
white settlement, and with no other means than above described."

Colonel Davenport's description of the building of the fort is here added to
the above for obvious reasons :

"Preparations having been made to build a fort on the site of the old French
town for the purpose of holding possession of the country, timbers were cut on
the opposite side of the lake and floated across to build l)lock store houses, and
enclose them with palisades. On a high piece of ground near the bank of the
lake a fort was built, consisting of stockades made of two rows of split timbers,
and the space between them filled with dirt. A ditch surrounded the fort, and
at two corners were bastions for mounting cannon. Inside of the stockades
was a large block house, two stories high, and on three sides of it were port holes,
so the inmates could fire on the enemy in case of an attack. Besides this block
house were store houses and quarters for officers and soldiers.

"When the fort was completed and cannons mounted on its ramparts, with
flags waving on each bastion. General Howard ordered all the soldiers on duty,
forming in double file, fronting the gateway. A speech was made by the com-
manding officer, drums beat, soldiers cheered, the cannons fired a salute, and with
much enthusiasm the fort was dedicated and named 'Fort Clark' in honor of
General George Rogers Clark, the hero of Kaskaskia and X^incennes."

Ballance, in his History of Peoria, gives the dimensions of Fort Clark. He
says :

"This fort was about one hundred feet square, with a ditch along each side.
It did not stand with a side to the lake, but with a corner towards it. The cor-
ner farthest from the lake was on the upper side of Water street, near the inter-
section of the upper line of Water and Liberty streets. From there the west
line ran diagonally across the intersection of Water and Liberty streets nearly
to the corner of the transportation warehouse, at the lower corner of Liberty
and Water streets, x^t this corner was what I suppose military men would call
a bastion, that is, there was a projecting corner made in the same manner as the
side walls, and so constructed, as I imagine, as to accommodate a small cannon
to command the ditches. And the same had, no doubt, been at the opposite cor-
ner, but when I came to the country in November. 183 1, there was no vestige of
it remaining. In fact at that time there was but little to show that there had
ever l.een a fortification there, except some burnt posts along the west side, and
a square of some ten or twelve feet at the south corner with a ditch nearly filled
upon two sides of it, and on the west side of the square."

To the above, Judge McCulloch, in his History of Peoria County, takes ex-
ceptions to the dimensions of Fort Clark, as given by Mr. Ballance, in the fol-
lowing paragraph :

"Observing, iiowever. that Water street is one hundred feet wide at the point
indicated, and that the location of the magazine which must have been within
the fort was very close to the base of the smokestack of the electric light plant,
some distance below Water street, the conclusion is forced upon us that his esti-
mate of its dimensions is erroneous. If the fort was of a square form and con-
tained one acre, one side of it would measure 208.7 ^^^t, which would correspond
more nearly with the points given by Mr. Ballance than does his own estimates."
How long Fort Clark was occupied has not been definitely settled by those
who have taken the pains to delve into the matter. Some say it was abandoned
in 181 5. others, not until i8j8. It would appear from Matson's account that the
former contention is the correct one, for he has this to say in that relation:

"The gate of the fort having been left open, it became a lair for deer and a
roost for wild turkeys. In the fall of 1816 a party of hunters from St. Clair
counlv came to Fort Clark and found about twentv deer in the fort and the

HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY 131

floors of the block house covered with manure. The hunters cleaned out this
building and occupied it as a residence during a Stay of ten days while hunting
deer and collecting honey in the river timber. Fort Clark stood unmolested until
the fall of 1818, when it was burned by the Indians."

There is no doubt that the fort was partially destroyed prior to 1819, but
there must have been part of it left standing, for in the year last mentioned, the
first American settlers (permanent) arrived here and they sj^eak of it in a way
to leave the impression a remnant of the structure remained at that time.

.\RK1V.\L OK .VMERICAN .SETTLERS

In the sjjring of 1819, a party of hardy and venturesome pioneers, composed
of Scth and Josiah l-'ulton. Aimer Fads. \'irginians; Joseph Hersey, of New
York; J. Davis, S. Doug^herty and T. Russell, natives of Kentucky, left Shoal
Creek, now a part of Clinton county, where they had lived for some little time,
found their way to the east bank of the river and, on April 15, 1S19, Hersey and
Eads, placing their horses in a boat, ferried across the river and landed at Fort
Clark. Two days afterward they were joined by their companions. Josiah
Fultcr often related the following details of the advent of this pioneer band of
settlers to Fort Clark :

"We found the walls of two small log cabins, which we supposed to have been
built by the soldiers of the garrison stationed there, and at once set to work to
cover tlicm over and finish them up for dwelling places. While we were em-
ployed at this work we made out to be comfortable in the shelter of our tents
and boats. The cabins stood on what is now Water street, and almost directly
in front of the Germania Hall building. These cabins were the first American
dwelling places at what is now the city of Peoria.

"There were also rails enough, which the soldiers had made, to inclose fifteen
acres of ground. The ground was broken up and planted to corn and potatoes,
from which a pretty good crop was gathered in the fall. The north line of that
first field ran west from the river and not far from Fulton street.

"About the first of June, Eads, Fulton and Dougherty returned to Shoal
Creek with their two horses to move Eads' family, consisting of his wife and
two children, to their new home. After settling up his affairs in that neighbor-
hood Eads loaded his household effects, wife and children on a two-horse wagon
and headed across the country in the direction of the beginning of Peoria — the
new settlement at Fort Clark. They reached and crossed the Illinois river at
the present site of Wesley City, where there was a trading post, and where
Indians and Indian canoes were nearly always to be found. Some of the canoes
were secured, the household goods were unloaded from the wagon, and with the
family transferred to the canoes and carried over to the west side of the river.
The wagon was then taken to pieces and carried over in the same manner. The
horses and cattle were made to swim across.

"Mrs. Eads was the first American woman to see the site of Peoria."

Captain Jude Warner came into the settlement from St. Louis on the loth of
June, in a boat loaded with provisions and fishing nets. With him were David
W. P.arnes, James Gotif, Isaac De Boise, William Blanchard, Theodore and
Charles Sargent. This arrival swelled the number of Americans to fourteen
men. Mr. Fulton's recital continues:

"We were about as happy a little circle as has ever lived in Peoria. We were
isolated, completely shut out from the rest of mankind, it is true. We heard but
little from the outside world, and the outside world heard but little from us.
I'>ut little was known at that time about the Fort Clark country. There were
no roads, nor steamboats, nor mail routes, nor communications of any kind, so
that in point of fact we were as much a community by ourselves as if our cabins
had been built on an island in the middle of the sea. Our postoffice was St.
Louis, and we never got our mail, those of us who got any, only when we went

132 HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY

there for supplies, and then our letters cost us twenty-five cents, and we couldn't
muster that much money every day.

"•Mrs. Eads was duly installed as housekeeper, and the rest of the company,
except Hersey, who didn't remain long, boarded with her. It was a pretty hard
winter on us, but we managed to get through. Bread stufif gave out and we had
to fall back on hominy blocks and hominy. It was a coarse kind of food we got
this way, but it was a good deal better than none, and served to keep hunger
away. Hominy blocks went out of use long ago, and there are thousands of
people in Peoria county who never saw one, but they were a blessing to hundreds
of the pioneers of Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Iowa, and in fact to the
first settlers of the entire country, and were the means of keeping many of the
pioneers and their little ones from starving to death."

Two of these pioneers, Seth and Josiah Fulton, were attracted bv the east side
of the river and selected claims on Farm creek in that locality, remaining there
until 1834, when they sold out and returned to Peoria county, and both proved
themselves good citizens and gained their full meed of respect from their neigh-
bors. Seth Fulton, however, lending an ear to the tales then told of the rich
lead mines at Galena, removed to that place and remained there for a while. He
afterwards removed to Henry county. Josiah Fulton spent the rest of his life
in Peoria county and died March 4, 1894, at the age of ninety-four years.

Abner Eads, another one of the first seven, who came to Peoria, bought the
northwest quarter of section 17, in wdiat is now Peoria township, on which Lin-
coln Park is situated. He also came into possession, by purchase, of valuable
coal mines on Kickapoo creek, which was subsequently developed by others. He
became a man of importance in the community and served valiantly as captain of
a Peoria company which marched under General Stillman in the Black
Hawk war. Absorbing the lead mine fever, he removed to Galena about 1833,
from which district he served in the legislature two sessions. In 1854 he went
to California and having started back for his family, died on the way, with fever.
He was buried at St. Louis.

Hersey and Dougherty, the latter a reckless Kentuckian, after a residence of
some little time, departed for other scenes of activity not known to the writer.
Davis first settled on Farm creek and after a while removed to Sangamon
county. He then went to Texas, where he died. Russell was here but a short
time and then went to St. Louis, and was last heard of as a river man.

Of the Captain Warner party, \Mlliam Blanchard soon after his arrival re-
moved to Woodford county, which was his home until his death, which occurred
but a comparatively few years since. Barnes and the two Sargents became prom-
inent citizens of Fulton county, and Jacob \\'ilson, one of the county's first jus-
tices of the peace, on the 22d day of March, 1825, officiated in the marriage of
William Blanchard with Betsey Donohoe. This was the first marriage ceremony
performed in the new county.

John Hamlin, in company with several others, arrived in Peoria in 1821. In
March, 1822, he had his personal belongings removed from his former home at
Elkhart Grove, then in Madison county, and from that time on he made Peoria
his home. In 1823, with William S. Hamilton, who had a contract to supply
Fort Howard, now known as Green Bay, with beef cattle, Mr. Hamlin, on ac-
count of his knowledge of the Indian character, accompanied the expedition
made up by Hamilton, to that place. The journey was made in thirty days. On
his return to Peoria, in his capacity as justice of the peace of Fulton county, he
performed the first marriage cermony at Fort Dearborn, the parties most in-
terested being Dr. Alexander Wolcott and his bride, a daughter of John Kinzie,
the first permanent settler of Chicago. This was the first marriage ceremony to
take place in the great city of Chicago. John Hamlin, as will be seen further on
in this volume, was intimately connected with the early history of this county
and became one of its most prominent and influential citizens.

Gurdon S. Hubbard, of the American Fur Company, spent the winter of

JOSIAH FlUTOX

Born in ISOO— Died :\Iaroh 4, 1S94

LiiMili'd iit a place called Fort Clark, now the city of Peoria, on April 15, 1819

HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY 1^3

1821-2 along the Illinois river. Reaching Bureau Station, he says, he found
Mr. IJeebeau in charge, though much enfeebled on account of age. Hubbard
also relates that: "After resting a few days and selecting the goods and men to
be left at that post (Bureau), we proceeded on our way, making our ne.xt halt at
Fort Clark-, where we found several families located^ among whom were Mr.
Fulton, the first settler at that point, who still resides in that county, and a Mr.
Bogardus, a brother of General Bogardus, of Xew York, a highly intelligent
gentleman, and his estimable wife. Two miles below, at a point now known as
W'esle)- City, was Mr. Beeson's post, and there we remained about one week,
during which time I went almost daily to the fort."

During the period between 1821 and 1825 a number of new settlers arrived
in the territory now embraced in Peoria county. Among those who settled at
Peoria were \\illiam Fads, brother of Abner Fads, Judge James Latham, with
whom John Hamlin had made his home in Madison county ; Joseph A. Moffat
and his three sons, Alvah, .Atjuilla B. and Franklin, also two Miss Moffatts,
daughters; Isaac I>"unk, Xorman Hyde, Elijah Hyde, William Holland, John
Dixon. Isaac Waters, George Sharp and Dr. Augustus Langworthy.

From an assessment made in the year 1825 by John L. Bogardus, the distri-
bution of population and wealth of the new county of Peoria is well shown. At
Peoria the following named persons were assessed in the amounts here given:
Archibald Allen, $150; Noah Beauchamp, Sr., $200; Noah Beauchamp, $200;
John Barker, $400; John L. Bogardus, $500; Joseph Bryant, $300; Cornelius
Brown. .$150: John Di.xon, $350; William Fads, $350; Abner Fads. $Soo ; Sam-
uel Fulton, $300; Lsaac Funk, $200; Jesse Harrison, $50; John Hamlin, $400;
William Holland. ,%Soo ; E. and N. Hyde, $700; Jacob M. liunter, $50; Charles
l.ove, $150; Augustus Langworthy, $200; J. Latham, $300; Philip Latham, $100;
Daniel Like. $50; Alvah^ Moffatt, $60; Aquilla Mofifatt, $40; Jesse McLaree,
$25; Henry Neely, $150'; Martin Porter, $100; Amherst C. Ransom, $100;
George Sharp, $600; Joseph \an Scoik, $50; Isaac Waters, $100.

At Chicago the following assessments were made: John B. Beaubein, $1,000;
Jonas Clyborne. $625 ; John K. Clark, $250; John Crafts, $5,000; Jerrv Clermont,
Sioo; Louis Cantra, $50; John Kinzie, '$500 ; Joseph Laframboise, $50; C. La-
framboise, $100; David AicKcc, $100; Peter "Piche, $100; Alexander Wolcott,
$572; Antoine Wilniette, $400 — thirteen in all.

At the Trading House (Wesley City) Antoine Alscome, $50; Francis Bour-
bonne, S200; Louis Beabor, $700; Francis Bourbonne, Jr., $100 — four in all.

At Mackinaw Point (near which is the village of Dillon) Allen S. Dougherty,
$100; Walter Dillon, $250; Nathan Dillon, $400; Absalom Dillon, $200; Thomas
Dillon, $300; Jesse Dillon, $727; John Dillon, $93; William Davis, $200; Hugh
Montgomery, $200; Alexander McNaughton, $150; Eli Redmon, $35; Henry
Redmon, $35 ; Peter Scott, $30 — thirteen in all.

At Ten ^lile Creek, William I'.lanchard, $150; Elza Bethard, $275; Reuben
Bratton, $135; Thomas Banks, $50; Hiram M. Curry, $225; Major Donahue,
$200; Seth Fulton, $100; David Mather, $200; John and William Phillips, $400;
John Stephenson, $40; Edmond Weed, $174; Jacob Wilson, $300 — twelve in all.
At Farm Creek, Andrew P.arker, $100: Austin Crocker, $200; Thomas Cam-
lin. $300; Stephen French, $200; James Fulton, $12.50; Josiah Fulton, $150;
Elisha Fish, $200; Jacob Funk, $500; Joshua Harlin, $150; George Ish, $250;
Joseph Smith, $550 — eleven in all.

At La Salle Prairie, Elias P. Avery, $200; Stephen Carroll, $150; Gilbert
Field, $150; John Griffin, $50; George Harlan, $150; Lewis Hallock, $50; John
Ridgeway, $100; Hugh W^alker, $50 — eight in all.

At Illinois Prairie (Tazewell county) George Cline. $70; John Cline, $264;
Nathan Cromwell, $300; Jesse Egman, $100 ; Levi Ellis, $25; William Clark,
$250; Levi Gilbert, $25; James Latta, $200; Levi McCormick, $50; Joseph Ogee,
$200; Isaac Perkins, $400; John Sommers, $300; Ephraim Stout, Sr., and Jr.,
$500; Jonathan Tharp, $100; Ezekiel Turner, $150; Seth Wilson, $200; Samuel
Woodrow, $150; Hugh W^oodrow, $250 — eighteen in all.

134 HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY

At Fox River, Robert Baresford, $50; Fred Countryman, $50; Aaron Haw-
ley, $200; Pierce Hawley, $300; John L. Ramsey, $200; Jesse Walker, $50 —
six in all.

At Little Detroit, Thomas N. lirierly, $100; Abner N. Cooper, $120; Peter
Du Mont, $50; George N. Love, $350 — four in all.

At Prince's Grove ( Princeville ), John Patterson, $20 ; Daniel Prince, $200 —
two in all.

It will have been seen by the reader that in the year 1825 or two years after
the organization of the county, there were but one hundred and twenty taxable
inhabitants, one-fourth of which were assessed at Peoria, forty-four in all, living
in what is now Peoria county. The others were at Chicago, Mackinaw Point,
Ten Mile Creek, Farm Creek, La Salle Prairie, Fox River, Little Detroit and
Prince's Grove.

CHAPTER XVTI

EARLY THOROUGHFARES FIRST ROAD LAID OUT liV PEORIA AUTHORITIES — FERRIES

AND BRIDGES DIXON's FERRY THE ILLINOIS RIVER — PRIMITIVE STEAMBOAT-

ING — PEORIA AN IMPORTANT RAILROAD CENTER ILLINOIS TRACTION SYSTEM.

It is liighly prohahle that at the time of the huihling of Fort Clark there
was not a white man's cIwelHng witliin man}- miles of it and the only roads, if such
they may be called, were Indian trails. However, the public surveys of Tazewell
county, made in 1823, show a thoroughfare marked "Road to Fort Clark," which
on the map indicated that the road run along the township line between Grove-
land and Fond du Lac, at the head of a ravine through which meanders Cole
creek. This was the original course of the road running from Peoria to Spring-
field, and it might be taken for granted, there was a road, as described above,
from Fort Clark to the lower settlements anterior to the birth of either Peoria
or Springfield, and was used by the soldiers of the fort. If such is the case,
then this was the first road coimecting the future Peoria with the outer world.

.\ history of Illinois was published Ijy Rufus Blanchard in 1883 and the map
it contained shows a trail styled the "Fort Clark and Wabash Trace," running
from Fort Clark to Terre Haute. Historian Blanchard says: "It was a well
traveled road from the settlements of southern Ohio and Indiana to Fort Clark
in an early day." This was, in all probability, the road marked on the Tazewell
surveys. This survey also shows a road called "Kellogg's Trail from Peoria to
Galena, 1825," on practically the route chosen for the Galena state road, after-
wards laid out by way of Princeton. Of this Air. Blanchard says: "This trail
shows the first overland route from Peoria to Galena. It was made by Mr. Kel-
logg, an old pioneer settler, in 1825, and subsequently became a well known
route." Another road, as shown by the map, was laid out or in existence in
1822, and was designated as a mail route from Peoria, by way of Lewistown to
Rushville, and diverging from the latter place to Quincv, Pittsfield and Jackson-
ville.

The first road laid out by the authorities of Peoria county was that for which,
at the June session (1825) of the county commissioners' court, Norman Hyde
and Alexander McXaughton had been appointed viewers, with authority to lo-
cate. This road led from the ferry landing opposite the hamlet of Peoria to the
"Old Crossing" on Sugar creek, near Robert Musick's where the remains of a
bridge were found. As this road trended south, it is presumed the old Fort
Clark road crossed the creek at this point. Two years after the laying out of
this road by the county, the legislature, on the 12th day of February, 1827, made
it a state road, and it became the stage and mail route between Peoria and Spring-
field. In the act of creating the state road Springfield. Musick's on Salt creek,
Thomas Dillon's and Peoria were mentioned as l)eing on its line.

On January 23, 1826, an act of the legislature was passed providing for a
state road leading from Peoria to Danville, the county seat of \'ermilion county.
and thence to the state line. Abner Eads, Samuel Fulton and Dan W. Beckwith
were named in the act as viewers to locate the road. These men performed their
duty and were assisted by Orlin Gilbert and James Barnes, chain carriers, and
William Rowan, who blazed the trees marking the line of direction. A special

135

136 HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY

act passed by the legislature in 1831, five years later, by which they received pay
for their labors, was secured.

At the January (1826) session of the county commissioners' court, viewers
were appointed to locate a road leading from Peoria to a point at the northern
boundary of the county and also for a road leading from Peoria to as equally
an indefinite point at its southern boundary. These roads were subsequently
ordered to he opened a sufficient width for the passage of teams. At this same
term viewers were appointed to locate a road from Peoria, passing the "Trading
Post" — later Wesley City — and the house of Isaac Perkins, to intersect the
Springfield road at or near Prairie creek.

The first road laid out leading in the direction of Chicago was provided for
by the commissioners' court, when, at its September (1826) session, John Barker,
George Harland and Samuel Fulton, viewers appointed to locate a road from
Peoria to the eastern boundary of the county, made their report and the road was
established. Later, in 1833, the legislature appointed Lewis Bigelow, of Peoria
county, John M. Gay, of I'utnam county, James B. Campbell, of La Salle county,
and James Walker, of Cook county, viewers to locate a road from Peoria to the
mouth of Fox river (South Ottaw'a) and thence to Chicago. That part of the
road mentioned to run "from Peoria to the mouth of the Fox river," was sub-
stantially the one located by the viewers appointed by the county commissioners
at their'june session of 1826. It went by way of Metamora (Hanover), Mag-
nolia, Union Grove, Ottawa and thence to Chicago. It will have been seen by
the reader that by this time, the year 1833, Peoria had secured the state roads of
great importance to the settlement — one to Springfield and the south, one to Dan-
ville and the east — which became the main thoroughfare for immigration, and the
other, to Chicago and the great lakes.

The lead mines at Galena early attracted that class of settlers who were short
of ready money, and they sought the wages paid there with which many of them
subsequently bought land here and in other settlements. .\ thoroughfare to
Galena, therefore, became a matter for the consideration of those in authority
and consequently, at the September term of the commissioners' court Isaac
Waters, Norman Hyde and John Ray were appointed viewers to locate a road to
"the lead mines." At the March term, 1828, the order was modified so as to read,
towards the lead mines as far as the jurisdiction of the court extended. From
this beginning the famous Galena road came into existence and the legislature,
on the i8th day of January, 1833, declared it to be a state road. It commenced
at the public square and followed the line of Adams street to the limits of the
city, thence by the river road to a point near Mossville, thence on a line north
through Northampton, Windsor (now Tiskilwa), Princeton, Dixon's ferry,
thence northwesterly to the west line of Stephenson county, where it intersected
the Chicago and Ga'lena road and from there on to Galena. From this time on
roads were laid out when needed, but it was several years before another state
road was established in the county.

FERRIES .\ND BRIDGES

The first ferrv in Peoria is supposed to have been located at the foot of the
bridge, but when'and bv whom remains in the dark. It was there in 1821, when
Ossian Ross came to the mouth of the Spoon river and learned of this ferry and
the only other one on the river, which was at Beardstown. He at once saw the
virtue of another ferry, as the two then doing business were ninety miles apart.
He, therefore, established a third one at what is now Flavana and prospered, his
enterprise yielding him, so history has it, an annual income of $2,000 for many
years. .McCulloch, in his history of the county, relates that "James Eads, son
of William Eads, says his unc'le, Abner Eads, established the first ferry at
Peoria."

The legislature in 1827 passed an act re(|uiring all ferry keepers chargmg toll

THE COJ.K BKIDGE,

OKICIXAL TOLL nPJlXiE ACROSS 'ITIE ILI.IMMS i;i\i:i;
TO TAZEWELL COUNTY

THE PEORIA & PEKTX IXIOX I!AILI;m\|i I'.IMIiilE. RECENTLY SUPPLAX'TED BY
A FINK lirNDKKl) TIlorsAM) IKil.I.AR STRt'( 'irill':

HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY 137

to procure a license from the county commissioners" court before commencing
operations and by the same legislative measure the court was vested with author-
ity to grant such licenses, fix the toll rates and license fee and sit upon complaints
against keepers not observing the law governing their vocation. By the same
act ferry keepers were required to have good boats and eiiuipment, to run their
boats from daylight until dark, and, upon call, to carry passengers at any hour
of the night and charge double for the service if they so desired. And it seems
that passes for public servants were in vogue even at that early day, for the act
also stipulated that public messengers and expresses, and jurymen while on their
way to court, should be carried free of charge.

The custom had been heretofore upon the granting of a ferry license to fix
the rates of toll. For example, John L. Bogardus had been authorized to make
certain charges at his ferry and those licensed after him were allowed to fix
the same rates. However, at the June term, 1826, the county commissioners'
court fixed the tolls to be charged on all ferries crossing the Illinois river as
follows :

For each foot passenger 634 cents

For man and horse 121/2 cents

For Dearborn, sulky, chair with springs 50 cents

One-horse wagon 25 cents

For four-wheeled carriage drawn by two oxen or horses ZlY^ cents

For cart with two oxen 37>4 cents

For every head neat cattle, horses or mules 10 cents

For each hog, sheep or goat 3 cents

For every hundred weight of goods, wares and merchandise 6^4 cents

For each bushel of grain or articles sold by the bushel 3 cents

All other articles in equal and just proportion.

It was further ordered by the court that the Bogardus ferry might collect
double rates when the river should be out of its banks and prevent a landing at
the first material bend in the (Farm) creek from the ferry.

At the December, 1829, term of the county commissioners' court George Miller
and James Scott were licensed to keep a ferry at Hennepin, and at the June term
William See, a Methodist minister, was authorized to keep a ferry on the Calu-
met river, at the head of Lake Michigan. In July, 1830, the list of ferries given
below paid licenses as follows :

William Haines, Pekin $ 4.00

\\'illiam Eads, Trading House 2.00

John L. Bogardus, Peoria lo.oo

Matthew & Chandler, The Narrows 2.00

Miller & Scott, Hennepin 2.00

James Adams, Little \'ermilion 2.00

Clyborne & Miller, Chicago 2.00

^^'illiam See, Calimink 2.00

Other ferry licenses were granted from time to time to Jesse Egman, Septem-
ber 30, 1830, at Kingston; Thompson and Wright, December, 1830, at Au Sable;
Abner Eads, January, T831, at foot of Liberty street, near the ravine. In March,
1832, the license of ]\Iatthews & Chandler, at the Narrows, was revoked and
one granted to Yincent Barton, father of W. C. H. Barton, for whom the vil-
lage of Bartonville was given its name. The ferry in a year or two thereafter
passed into the control of Charles Ballance. In 1832 a license to keep a ferry
at a point opposite the extinct village of Allentown. between Rome and Chilli-
cothe. was granted Samuel Allen.

With the advent of bridges the ferries soon went into a state of "innocuous

138 HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY

desuetude." The first attempt to build a public bridge in the county was in
March, 1827, when the county commissioners' court "then proceeded to examine
and ascertain a suitaijle site for a public bridge across Kickapoo creek and, after
thorough examination, decided on the following place: 'Immediately above the
present crossing of the iniblic road from Peoria to I.ewistown.' " The matter
went no further than this until the December term, when the proposed location
was again inspected and a contract was awarded John L. Bogardus for the build-
ing of the bridge, whose bond was fixed at $500. This he gave with John Dixon
and Augustus Langworthy as sureties. Bogardus failed, however, in making
good his contract and at the ]\Iarch, 1828, term it was ordered that suit be
brought against him and his bondsmen.

Another order was entered by the commissioners' court, June 13, 1829, for
the erection of a bridge across the Kickapoo creek at the ford on the Lewistown
road frni Peoria, "164 feet in length, to rest against two certain trees, one on each
side marked 'B.' " The contract was let to John Cameron, who finished work
the same year, which was accepted and a balance of $50 due him was paid. The
total cost of the structure has not been recorded. Subsequently the building of
bridges became more frequent and today, wherever a road crosses a stream of
any importance, there a good bridge is standing for the accommodation of the
public. And the Illinois, as wide as it is in this locality, is spanned at more than
one point in the county, by both wagon and railroad bridges, made and erected
to meet the requirements of a busy and prosperous community.

Early in the year 1912 a magnificent new bridge crossing the Illinois river was
completed by the Peoria & Pekin Union Railway Company, at a cost of about
$750,000. The work was begun on the structure early in 1909. It is 1,032 feet
in length and the channel opening is 127 feet in the clear. While in course of
construction two attempts were made to blow up the structure by dynamite. An
unex]>loded bomb and mechanism attached to it was happily discovered in time
and it is suspected that John and James McNamara, recently convicted of dyna-
miting the Los Angeles Times building, in which a number of lives were lost,
were implicated in the movement to destroy the Peoria bridge. This new high-
way across the river, it is estimated, has increased the transportation facilities of
Peoria at least one hundred per cent.

DIXON 's FERRY BECOMES THE CITY OF DIXON

There are not many people in this vicinity nor in the locality where the people
are more interested in the matter, who are aware of the fact that a Peorian was
the primary means of the founding of the city of Dixon, but such is the case.
Judge McCulloch, in his history of Peoria county, gives the facts in the follow-
ing short paragraph, and as they relate to men who were pioneers of Peoria
county, they are here preserved as a part of local history :

"John Dixon, who had for some years been clerk of the circuit court of
Peoria county, had taken a government contract to carry the mails every two
weeks from Peoria to Galena. To facilitate the work Joseph Ogee, the half-
breed heretofore mentioned, was sent, or went of his own accord, to establish a
ferry across Rock river at the present site of the city of Dixon, which was for
a short time operated by him ; but his management not proving satisfactory to
Dixon, the latter bought him out and removed with his family to that place. The
ferry was ever afterward called Dixon's Ferry, and it was in this way and by
two Peorians, the city of Dixon was started and received its name. The viewers
were Joseph B. Meredith, of Peoria county ; John D. Winter and Joseph Smith
of Jo Daviess county, and Cliarles Boyd, of Putnam county. Meredith drew from
the treasury of Peoria county $50 for his services as surveyor."

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HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY 139

RIVER AND RAII.RUAU TRAFFIC

The first travelers of the white race came to Peoria by way of the Illinois
river and for many years thereafter, before land vehicles were available, the
canoe, skiff and flatboat were used by the Indians, hunters, adventurers, voy-
ageurs and settlers. The Illinois river was the favorite thoroughfare for the
transportation of articles of value and until the advent of the railroad traffic by
water was of no inconsiderable consequence and value.

Tradition, or history has it that the first steamboat seen at the city of Peoria
was the "Liberty,"' which had arrived at this port in December, 1849, but from
whence no one knows. In the spring of 1830 the "Triton'' tied up here, having
come from St. Louis with a stock of merchandise for John Hamlin. This same
John Hamlin, whose name appears in this volume many times, secured a half
interest in the "Fairy," in 1832, which on its return trip from Peoria was lost near
the mouth of the Alissouri river. In 1839 the "Friendship," the "Exchange,"
the "Utility" and the "Peoria" were all in these waters.

By 1834 immigration to Peoria had set in steadily and river traffic increased
to a comparatively large extent. The "Winnebago," the "Argus," the "Herald"
and "Jo Daviess" plied between ports all along the river and carried many tons
of freight to and from Peoria. All of these vessels did a passenger business and
brought a number of distinguished visitors to the growing city. The "Jo Da-
viess" was owned in Peoria, by its captain. William A. Hall and his brother,
David. The craft was sunk near the mouth of the Spoon river early in 1836.
There were other citizens of Peoria who had an interest in vessels touching here.
Captain W. S. Moss, a prominent merchant, bought the hull of a damaged boat,
at St. Louis, and brought it to Peoria, where it was completely rebuilt. By 185 1
the traffic had become so large that Drown, in his history of the times, gives con-
siderable space to the subject and mentions the landing of 1,236 vessels at Peoria
during the year.

When the Illinois and Michigan canal was completed in 1848, the river trade
at Peoria began to suffer. There was an alert and vigorous rival with which to
contend. Chicago held out inducements to those engaged in the river business
and the tide of commerce turned her back on Peoria and headed for the embryo
metropolis.

In 1851, the "Illinois River Express Line," with its packet boats made weekly
trips from St. Louis to La Salle, one leaving St. Louis every day except Sunday.
These vessels, the "Ocean Wave," the "Connecticut." the "Gladiator," the "Ava-
lanche," the "Prairie Bird" and the "Prairie State" catered principally to pas-
senger business, but on their lower decks merchandise and other articles of com-
merce were shipped in large quantities. One of the noted river men of those days
was Captain Thomas I'.aldwin, master of the "Aunt Letty.''