TI E> RAR.Y
OF THE.
UNIVERSITY
OF ILLINOIS
1977.3
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1
SEP Ofc 199!
^ 2 6 iSSj
DEC ib 1934
NOV 2 7 1994
m 2 ? 1996
JULIV997
MAR 1 7 1998
FEB 2 7 ffl98
JAN 2 3 2003
T.161 — O-
1096
THE SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS FROM 1830 TO 1850
BY
WILLIAM VIPOND POOLEY
A THESIS SUBMITTED FOR THE DEGREE OP DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
1905
(REPRINTED FROM THE BULLETIN OF/THE UNIVERSITY or WISCONSIN
HISTORY SERIES, VOLV I, PP. 287-595.)
MADISON. WISCONSIN
1908 'C
77/3
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I— INTRODUCTION PAGE
Illinois offers good example of westward movement 307
Periods of settlement 307
The third period 307
Class of pioneers „ C30iP
The forces operating to change the characteristics of the pioneer
class in northern Illinois 309
Influence of the prairies 310
Comparison of northern and southern parts of the state with re-
gard to class of settlers (3H
Effect of physical characteristics on settlement 311
*" Internal improvements due to lack of markets 311
Prairies not conquered by 1850 312
Object of this investigation 312
CHAPTER II— ILLINOIS BEFORE 1830
*- 1. Early days in Illinois 313
Early organization of Illinois 313
Pew settlers in Illinois before 1800 313
Soldiers of George Rogers Clark 315
French settlements 315
2 . The American settlements before 1809 316
Illinois in 1800 316
Illinois from 1800 to 1809 316
3. Illinois territory from 1809 to 1818 317
Slow settlement before 1815 317
Unfavorable reports concerning the new country 317
The Ohio river the great highway of travel 318
Settlers from the South 318
Settlements in eastern Illinois 318
Settlements in southern Illinois 319
Settlements in western Illinois 319
Kaskaskia district the most populous 319
Edwardsville 319
Kickapoos held central Illinois 320
Isolated settlements 320
[3]
- -
290 CONTENTS
CHAPTER II— ILLINOIS BEFORE 1830— continued. PAGB
4. Illinois from 1818 to 1830
Population in 1818 -. . .
Nativities of the early settlers
The frontier line in 1818
Location of the settlements
A turning point in development of state (1824) 32
Settlements before 1830 322
Albion 322
Shawneetown. 322
Towns were frontier villages 323
Expansion 323
5. Sangarnon Country 323
Pioneers use the small prairies, 324
Still remain close to timber 324
Development after 1824 is rapid 325
Towns in the Sangamon country 325
6. The Military Tract 326
Earliest settlements 326
Settlements along the Illinois river 326
Settlements along the Mississippi 327
Character of the population 327
7. The Lead Region 327
8. Chicago (^)
9. General statement 328
Location of settlements 323
The prairies 329
CHAPTER III — THE CAUSES FOR THE SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS
^i. Tendency of Americans to migrate
General movement by classes ,
* 2 . General causes for migration
a. The restless spirit
People dissatisfied for various reasons
Land values
Effect of public lands on people in East
Clay's report of 1834
Reports from the West
b . The internal improvements
Traffic by steam
c . Financial depression .. „
Speculation
Federation of labor
Strikes
Most notable consequence was emigration to West..
M
CONTENTS 291
CHAPTER III — CAUSES FOR THE SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS— con. PAGE
3. Local causes 385
- a. New England 835
New Englander's desire to roam 335
Not a good agricultural region 335
Small farms 336
Sheep industry proves profitable 336
Value of industry increased by demand 336
Effect upon the supply of land 337
Decline in this industry after 1837 337
Dairying industry 337
Decrease in agricultural products 338
Farmers move to Maine and New Hampshire 338
Manufactures
Foreign laborers in the factories
<- b. Middle states 339
Complaints of hard times 339
Wages did not increase with cost of living. .. 340
Conditions equally unfavorable for farmers 340
Decrease in agricultural population 341
Reason assigned for decrease 341
Effect of Erie canal on competition 341
Decreased cost of transportation 342
Canal operated against welfare of a portion of
farming class of New York 342
Concentration of property 342
Anti-Rent riots 342
"Genesee Tariff" 343
Colony fever 343
Conditions in Pennsylvania similar to those in New
York , 343
Land not fertile 344
Circulars from the West 344
c. Southern states 344,
Migration into Gulf states 344
Difficult to determine amount to the North .• . ' 345-
General depression prevalent in old states of &6uth 345
Production of staples not always advantageous. . . 345
Effect of the tariff 346
Conditions in Southwest very bad 346
Influence of slavery ; 347
[5]
292 CONTENTS
CHAPTER III — CAUSES FOB THE SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS — con.
3. Local causes — continued PAGE
"~d. Northwest Territory 347
Monetary affairs in Ohio 347
Internal improvements in Indiana 348
Varied fertility of soils 348
Comparative values in Ohio 349
Like conditions in Indiana 350
Effect upon the farmers 350
Circulars and their effect . . . .' 350
"Generation" law 350
4. Causes for settlement of Illinois primarily economic 351
CHAPTER IV-^THE WAY TO THE WEST
1. General routes to the West 352
Great Lakes and the Ohio river 352
Southern road 353
Lines converging from New England 353
New York lines 353
Buffalo the great port of the lower lakes 354
The lines leading from the Middle Atlantic states 354
Prom the neighborhood of Baltimore .' . 355
The Old National Road 355
From the southern states 356
From Kentucky and Tennessee 356
The line of the Mississippi 356
From the older states of the Northwest Territory 357
Objective points 357
St. Louis 357
— Galena 358
• — Galena as a supply point
I
Chicago
Illinois roads centering at Chicago .\35J
2. Travel on the Great Lakes 359
Cost of transportation
Freight rates
Amount of goods shipped 351
Speed of travel 361
Boats used 361
3. Travel on the rivers 362
Early river traffic 362
Keel-boats 363
Rafts • 36
[6]
CONTENTS 293
CHAPTER CV— THE WAY TO THE WEST— continued
3. Travel on the rivers— continued PAGE
The early steamboats 364
Peculiar construction 364
Inconveniences of travel in early days 364
Amount of travel 365
Deck passengers 366
Comforts enjoyed by cabin passengers 366
Unfavorable accounts 36g
Rules governing conduct of passengers 367
Gambling 367
Cost of travel 367
Prices gradually lowered 368
Prices after 1840 368
Cost of transporting goods 368
Volume of travel 369
4. Travel along wagon roads 369
Many came west in wagons 370
Comments of newspapers 370
Conveyances used 371
The Pennsylvania wagons 371
The New York wagons
Goods of the immigrants
The stock 3"71
Howells' description of a trip 372
General method of making trip 372
Progress slow 373
Impossible to estimate cost of travel overland 373
Taverns 373
Only general statements can properly be made con-
cerning the methods by which the settlers came to
Illinois 374
CHAPTER V — THE ILLINOIS AND THE Fox RIVER VALLEYS * '
1. The middle Illinois rhrer counties 375
Mason county 375
Havana 377
Location of population 377
Tazewell county 377
Tremont 377
Delavan 378
The common house in Delavan 378
294 CONTENTS
CHAPTER V— THE ILLINOIS AND THE Fox RIVER VALLEYS— con.
3. The upper Illinois river counties — continued
Tazewell county — continued PAGE
A temperance colony 378
The Mackinaw colony 378
Other settlements in Tazewell county 379
Location of settlements 379
Woodf ord county 379
Settlements were small 380
Mixed population 380
Marshall county 380
Paper towns 381
Character of the population 381
Putnam county 381
2. Characterization of settlements of middle Illinois river coun-
ties 382
Nativities of settlers 382
Reason for the equal division of classes 382_
Character of woodland pioneer 383
Character of prairie pioneer 383
Increase of population during the period 383
3. The upper Illinois river counties 383
Early settlements 383
La Salle county 383
Rockwell colony 384
Grundy county 385
Will county 386
Small settlements 386
Lockport 386
General advancement of this section during period of 1832
to 1837 387
Effect of panic of 1837 387
Not noticeable at first 387
Effect upon various towns 387
Increased prosperity after 1842 388
Peru, the most important town 388
La Salle a type of western towns 389
*»Joiiet 389
Nativities of settlers 389
Influence of lines of communication
Location of settlements
Chicago's influence on growth of settlement
[8]
CONTENTS
295
CHAPTER V— THE ILLINOIS AND THE Fox RIVER VALLEYS— con. PAGE
N. The Fox river valley 391
Early settlements 391
Years following 1832 prosperous 392
Kane county 392
Aurora 392
St. Charles 3P2
Lake county 392
McHenry county 393
Period 1837 to 1843 one of slow growth 393
From 1843 to 1850 growth steady 393
Elgin becomes a manufacturing town 393
Waukegan 394
Nativities of settlers 394
5. General statement concerning development 394
Influence of transportation lines 395
The towns all on lines of communication 395
CHAPTER VI— THE MILITARY TRACT
1. Early settlement in the Military Tract 397
Few soldiers took advantage of their grants 397
Squatters 397
Peoria 398
Calhoun county 398
Pike county 399
Schuyler county 399
Fulton county 399
General location of settlers in the Illinois river counties . . 399
Adams county 400
Hancock county 400 •
Location of settlement in the Mississippi river counties... 400
Interior counties 401
Military Tract in 1830 402
2. Calhoun and Pike counties after 1830 402
3. Illinois river counties from 1830 to 1840 402
Brown county 402
Mt. Sterling 403
Schuyler county 403
Fulton county 403
Peoria county 404
[9]
296 CONTENTS
CHAPTER VI— THE MILITARY TRACT— continued PAGE
4. Mississippi river counties. (1830 — 1840) 405
Adams county '. . . . 405
Development of Quincy 405
Other settlements in Adams county 405
Hancock county 406
Henderson county 406
Mercer county 406
5. Inland counties of the Tract 407
Early settlements 407
Warren county 407
Knox county and Galesburg 407
Henry county 408
Andover settlement , 409
Wethersfiald colony 409
New York colony 409
Geneseo colony 410
Bureau county 410
Princeton 411
Rapid growth after 1836 411
Providence colony 411
6. Summary for decade 1831—1840 412
7. The Illinois river counties from 1841—1850 413
8. The Mississippi river counties from 1841 — 1850 414
Adams county and Quincy 414
Hancock county 415
• Mormons 415
Icarians 415
Henderson and Mercer counties 416
9. The inland counties from 1841—1850 416
McDonough, Warren and Stark counties 417
Henry county 417
Bureau county 417
10. Summary for the Military Tract 418
Increase for the period from 1831 to 1850 418
Prairies not settled by 1850 418
Cities in the Tract 418
Quincy an example of the effect of favorable location 418
Second class of towns 419
Third class of towns 419
Colonies
Nativities of the settlers
[10]
CONTENTS 297
CHAPTER VII -THE ROCK RIVER VALLEY PAGE
1 . The country 421
Exceptional growth, during the years 1831 to 1350 421
The settlements before 1830 421
Rock Island 421
Dixon 423
All early settlements were on the Rock river 423
2. From the Black Hawk War to 1837 424.
Troops in war see value of country 424
Settlements along the Rock river 424
Settlements away from the river 425
Town of Sterling 425
Northern settlements of the valley 425
Boone county 425
Winnebago County and Rockford 426
Polish grant 426
Stephenson county 426
Period shows pioneer preferences for settlement 427
Little development in the towns 428
3. From 1837 to 1843 , 428
Ogle county 428
Grand Detour 429
De Kalb county , 429
Rockford 429
Hard times in Winnebago county 430
Growth slow 430
Stephenson county 430
Freeport 431
The "prairie pirates" 431
V Scarcity of markets retarded settlement 432
Trouble over claims 432
4. From 1843 to 1850 432
Period of rapid growth 432
Reasons for the growth 433
Increase is in the country, not in towns 433
Ogle, DeKalb and Boone show little increase 434
The other northern counties show large increase 434
Rockford 435
Farmers prosperous 436
Stephenson county 436
Immigrants from Pennsylvania 436
Foreigners in the county 436
Freeport 437
Scattered settlements 437
[11]
298
CONTENTS
CHAPTER VII— THE ROCK RIVER VALLEY— coutinued PAGE
5 . Summary for the Rock river valley 437
Two periods of development 437
Rapid increase of the northern counties 438
Nativities of settlers 439
Education and religion 439
CHAPTER VIII— EASTERN ILLINOIS
1 . Wabash river counties 440
Few settlers on the prairies 440
Edgar and Vermilion counties 442
Danville 442
Decade 1831 to 1840 442
Decade 1841 to 1850 443
Settlement moves towards the interior of the state 443
Danville in 1850 443
Other settlements 444
2 . Settlements before 1830 444
McLean county settled rapidly 445
Important towns in 1830 445
Change comes in pioneer life 446
3 . Southern counties of eastern Illinois after 1830 446
Jasper county 446
Colonie des Frdres 447
Settlements after 1845 447
Cumberland county 448
Work on National Road helps increase settlement 448
County fills up slowly 448
Effingham county 449
Teutopolis 449
Shelby and Moultrie counties 450
Coles county 450
4 . Central counties of eastern Illinois 451
Champaign county 451
Urbana the county town 451
Settlement of Champaign county slow 451
De Witt county 452
Piatt county 452
Macon county 452
McLean county 453
Important settlements in McLean county 454
Ohio colony in McLean county 454
Rhode Island colony 454
[12]
CONTENTS
299
CHAPTER VIII— EASTEKN ILLINOIS— continued
4. Central counties of eastern Illinois — continued
McLean county — continued PAGE
Hudson colony 454
Bloomington 455
Bloomington in 1840 455
5 . Northern counties of eastern Illinois 456
Kankakee county 456
Livingston county 456
Pontiac 456
Location of settlement in the county 457
Slow growth 457
Iroquois county 457
Colonies in Iroquois county 458
Paper towns 458
6 . Summary for Eastern Illinois 458
Small urban population 459
Reason for few towns 459
Influence of timber on location of settlement 459
Nativities of the pioneers 460
CHAPTER IX— THE LEAD REGION
1. Early explorations 461
2. Lead Region before 1830 461
Under government control 461
First permanent settlements 462
Growth begins in 1822 462
Arrival of Meeker colony 463
Establishment of new mining camps 463
Lord Selkirk's colony 464
Rapid growth begins 1826—1827 464
Winnebago War 465
Organization of Jo Daviess county 465
Desire to organize a new territory 465
Galena in 1830 466
3. Lead Region after 1830 467
Black Hawk War 467
Expansion after Indian treaty 467
Galena gradually loses characteristics of a frontier town. . 467
Galena in 1840 468
Importance of the city as a trade center 468
Government administration of mineral lands 469
Minor settlements 470
[13]
300 CONTENTS
CHAPTER IX— THE LEAD REGION— continued PAGE
4. Carroll county 471
Savanna 471
Mt. Carroll 471
5. Settlement of the Lead Region exceptional 472
Frontier characteristics of Galena 472
Loss of frontier characteristics 473
Influence of water communication on character of settle-
ment 473
Influence of the mines on the character of settlement 473
CHAPTER X— CHICAGO -^
1. Chicago before 1832 (&&
Major Long's prophecy for Chicago 475
Chicago in 1826
Chicago in 1830
2. Chicago in 1832 476
Rapid growth begins in 1833
Increase in 1834
Influence of speculation in 1835 478
Speculation of 1835 and 1836 478
Chicago in 1835 and 1836 Ag^
Chicago obtains a charter in 1837 \480
3. The financial revulsion of 1837. : 481
Effect upon the city 483
4. Chicago from 1840 to 1843 4!
Character of population (48
City rapidly built up 482
xJhicago a shipping point 482
Origin of the export trade 483
~
The residence district
City improvements 484
Chicago in 1843 ($84
5. Chicago from 1843 to 1850
Heterogeneous population
Chicago a manufacturing city 4:
Commerce 485
Pew city improvements 486
Unfavorable comments on Chicago 486
Attempts to remedy defects 487
Schools 487
Churches 487
Other developments— police, light 487
Communication with interior 487
[14]
J
CONTENTS
301
CHAPTER X— CHICAGO— continued PAGE
6. Suburban communities 488
7. Chicago's development not typical of western growth
Influence of location on growth
Influence of location on character of population
Chicago the result of physiographic conditions
CHAPTER XI — FOREIGN ELEMENTS IN THE POPULATION OF ILLINOIS
1. General statement concerning emigration (491
Locations preferred by foreigners
Tendency to group together
\2. Germans in Illinois 493
Religious unrest a cause for emigration 493
Political grievances another cause 494
Economic causes 494
Crop failures 494
Transportation companies 4!
Early settlements (_4
Teutopolis 495
Settlements along Illinois river 496
Settlements in northern Illinois C^§§-
In the Rock River Valley 4
Germans desirable settlers (49
Vg=*
Reasons for some Germans settling in cities A49
Politics of the Germans 498
\ Irish
Causes for emigration
Tendency to locate in cities
Alon£ the line of Illinois-Michigan canal
Some became farmers ." ,
Characteristics of Irish settlers
N. English 501
Causes for emigration 501
General depression. . . . , 501
Exorbitant taxes 502
Political troubles 502
London Roman Catholic Migration Society 502
Early English settlements in Illinois
Later settlements
English as settlers ( 503
X5. Scotch
Economic distress the cause for emigration
Scotch as American citizens
[15]
302 CONTEXTS
CHAPTER XI — FOREIGN ELEMENTS IN THE POPULATION OF ILL-
INOIS— continued PAGE
6. Scandinavians
7. French
Early French in Illinois
Settlements after 1830
8. Swiss
9. Portuguese
10. Poles, Welsh, Bavarians, Jews
11. Line of the Great Lakes responsible for much of foreign ele- ^^
ment in Illinois C§PJ
Influence of climatic conditions, cheap lands and hatred ^-^
of slavery L 507
CHAPTER XII— THE MORMONS IN ILLINOIS
1. Social settlements in Illinois 508
The Mormons before coming to Illinois 508
In Missouri 508
2. Mormons in Illinois 509
Locate in Hancock county .. . 509
Rapid growth of Nauvoo . 509
Political contest for Mormon vote 510
Charter for Nauvoo 510
Nauvoo a government within a government 511
Nauvoo legion 511
Power abused 511
Charter a source of weakness as well as strength 512
3. Mormons from 1812-1846 512
Industries in Nauvoo 512
Mormon population in 1842 513
Settlement in 1842 513
Missionary plans 514
Results of missionary work 514
Newspaper reports of colonies 514
Growth during early forties 514
Foreigners composed most of settlement 515
City grows in wealth and beauty 515
Travelers' accounts of Nauvoo 516
Country farm houses not so good 517
Nauvoo in 1815.. 517
[16]
'7.-::"7-
CHAPTER XII— THK M
Hostility to the
Bennett'sexpose
Qimotionihln i
Arrest of Smith
Ford intetfena
Murder of Josrph
Panic in Xaovoo and Cvthage
a good thing fur Oiiiots
Eveu the fieedotn of the frostier co»H
CHAPTER XIII— CoMJitJMiic sn
laUodaeed into the Uaitgd States
Integni Phalanx
Trip fnm Nev York to
304 CONTENTS
CHAPTER XIII— COMMUNISTIC SETTLEMENTS IN ILLINOIS —con.
2. The Bishop Hill Colony— continued PAGE
Accounts of their appearance 529
Swedes in Illinois 529
Erect church 530
Method of living 530
Were farmers 530
Colony prosperous in 1850 531
Dissension 531
3. Cabet's settlement 531
Doctrine of Cabet 532
Supported in Europe 532
Cabet decides to move to America 532
The Texas venture fails 533
Move to Illinois 533
The Constitution 533
Everyday life of the community 534
Not molested by the people of Illinois 534
Breakdown of the colony 534
4. Smaller experiments 535
General plan of these colonies 535
Are a phase of western expansion 535
The Phalanx and Icaria as examples of the westward move-
ment 536
Icaria an example of democratic government and pure
communism 536
Phase of communism in the Bishop Hill colony 537
No new social organization attempted 537
CHAPTER XIV— THK PRAIRIE FARMER
1 . Pioneers before 1830 538
Influence of physiography 538
Hunter pioneers driven back from northern Illinois 538
Effect of steam navigation on the Great Lakes 539
Order of migration of classes reversed 539
^ Illinois prairies in 1830 639
Pioneers shun the prairies 540
Occupy small clearings made in timber 540
Scarcity of timber on prairies 540
Little water 540
Later settlers forced onto the prairies 541
Prairies improve upon acquaintance 541
Timberland still most highly prized 541
[18]
CONTENTS 305
CHAPTER XIV — THE PRAIRIE FARMER— continued
2. Illinois prairies in 1830— continued. PAGE
Reports concerning climate 541
Much sickness in the new country 542
High lands most heathful 543
3. The home of the prairie man 543
Furniture 543
Prairie houses 543
Cost of lumber 544
4. The farm 544
Ploughing 544
Difficulty of the work 544
Fences 545
Wire fence solves the problem 546
Trouble with gophers and prairie chickens 546
5. Products of the farms 547
Transportation problem 547
Illinois-Michigan canal 548
Other improvements 549
Immense plans for Illinois 549
Effect'on the state 549
Livestock , 549
Shee p 550
6.1mproved machinery 550
Effect upon products 550
Saw mills added to machinery 551
7. The pioneer 551
Woodland pioneers 552
The true southern woodsman 552
No classes in northern Illinois 553
People in the north well-to-do 553
The disreputable element 553
Unfavorable comment 553.
Good traits of pioneers 553,
Hospitality 554.
Effect of the country on the settlers 554
Daily life of pioneer 555
Amusements 555 v
Opposition to gambling 556;*
Education 556
Southern settlers and education 557
Northern settlers and education 557
Churches 557
Work of the early settlers 553
[19]
306 ^CONTENTS
CHAPTER XV— CONCLUSION PACK
1 . Comparative viewa of Illinois ,
Frontier line in 1830
Frontier line in 1840
Frontier line in 1850 (559~~
Vii_ —
Population maps give only general idea of location of set-
tlement 562
2. Period from 1830 to 1832 562
Effect of Black Hawk War 562
3. Period from 1833 to 1837 562
Effect of steam navigation on the lakes 563
Desire to emigrate to West. 563
Speculation and its influence upon the West 564
The years 1835 and 1836 564
Paper towns 564
Successful ventures 565
Substantial growth 566
Lack of money a drawback to settlement 566
Characteristics of northern Illinois settlement firmly < — ^
fixed during this period CpJiLj
Effect of steam on northern Illinois 567
•4. The period of depression, 1837 to 1843 563
Immigration to the West 563
Unfavorable conditions in Illinois 569
Effect of specie circular 569
Finances in 1842 569
Disputes over land claims 570
Struggle against repudiation 570
5. The period of recovery, 1843 to 1850 571
Finances in 1846 571
Recovery not rapid in all parts of the state 571
Effect of the Douglas land bill on the eastern counties. . . 571
Need of transportation facilities in the northern counties 572
Effect of transportation lines on settlement 572
Importance of lines of communication 573
Nativities of the settlers of Illinois 573
Lines of communication and their influence on sectionalism 573
Period from 1830 to 1850 one of beginnings; the railroad
necessary to solve the prairie problem 574
[20]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 309
close of this period since the effects of the fall of financial
credit were not felt as quickly in some parts of the state as in
others. The date falls between 1837 and 1840. The third
period extends to 1845 and is one of depression. The last
period, which follows 1845, is marked by a revival of confidence
in the financial condition of the state and a gradual increase
in the stream of immigration. In this period is felt the in-
fluence of the proposed railroads. In a general way it is
characterized by solid and substantial growth in wealth and
population.
Previous to 1830 the natural order of progression had been
observed in the movement of settlement to the West. The
hunter-pioneers of Kentucky and Tennessee had firmly es-
tablished themselves in the southern woodlands of Illinois and
had begun to send out new pioneers who traveled up the great
internal waterway of the state, the Illinois river, or passed
over into the Military Tract and followed the wooded banks of
the Mississippi northward to the lead mines. These pioneers
had become a permanent part of the state's population but as
yet had not ventured away from the woodlands. They were
content to cultivate their little clearings in the timber until
succeeded by the small farmer, who, in turn, was succeeded
by a third class, the more substantial farmer in search of a
permanent location. The prairies were still unknown and the
social organization of the South was waiting for some means
by which the difficulties accompanying the subjugation of the
prairies could be overcome.
The new force came too late to aid the earliest class of settlers,
for events operated in such a way as to act as a check upon the
expansion of the hunter-pioneer. vln 1832 the Black Hawk
War broke out, driving the out-posts of settlement backward
into the stronger southern communities and before a recovery
of lost ground could be effected a more powerful check was
administered to the expansion of settlement from the southern
part of the state. It was a new force in the westward move-
ment and by means of it the natural order of succession of
classes was overturned and the class of substantial farmers was
first upon the prairies of northern Illinois. The opening of
'[23]
310 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
k
steam navigation upon the lakes, therefore, introduced a new
class of pioneers into the westward movement. They were not
in possession of a fund of experience gleaned from pioneer
ancestors who for generations had battled with the hardships
and problems of the frontier. They were simple farmers who
were placed upon land already partly cleared by nature for oc-
cupation; but the clearing had been done on such a grand scale
that the abundance of riches caused trouble in the attempt to
make use of them. With these prairie settlers the discussion
is chiefly concerned and 1830 is taken as the starting point.
The influence of lines of transportation coupled with the in-
fluence exerted by the prairies of northern and eastern Illinois
has operated to change the character of the western pioneers.
As the route of the Ohio and the southern wagon roads gave
character to the settlements in the South, so the northern route
was to give character to the settlement of the northern counties
and, owing to the increased rapidity of communication and the
increased volume of immigration, the effect, if anything, was
to be more marked.
A dovetailing process had gone on in the central part of the
state where the men from the Middle States and New England
elbowed their way in between the timber tracts of the South,
while the southern man chopped his way northward, through the
timber along the rivers, until he had reached Woodford, Mar-
shall and Putnam counties. Here the characteristics are not
so marked.
\ A comparison of those of the northern and southern ends
of the state will, however, bring out clearly the distinction.
Instead of a gradual settlement by successive classes in the
North, as there had been in the South where the hunter and back-
woodsman with his rifle and hunting knife slowly moved on-
ward before the increasing tide of civilization, combatting the
savages and wild beasts, we see another development. The
pioneer was rapidly transported from his native state to the
West by the aid of steam and his conquest of the new country
was effected with like rapidity. Instead of the rifle and
hunting knife he brought his oxen and his farming implements.
Nor was this all; the merchant, the artisan, the school master
[24]
POOLEY— SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50
nd the preacher came also. The foundations of civilization
were laid rapidly and creation rather than growth ^ seems to have
been the order of things. The savages having left, the pic
had a free hand and the spread of settlement 'went on with
corresponding celerity. Churches and school ho. 3ess] ang up
together with comfortable dwellings, for the log-c
n^£^ ^ tad r —. ,-«
upon the location of population. Along the s teams lay V*
timber and to the timber went the early settlers both from
sasss
neither did the river, tend to overflow
FCTr, indeed, and small were ^fg-gj^^OT
312 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
wise were obliged to cart to a river port; those of central Ill-
inois looked to Chicago for a market, often going one hundred
or one hundred and fifty miles with farm produce at the cost
of much time. Internal improvements were meeting with suc-
cess in other parts of the land, so it was natural that they
should be attempted in Illinois where markets were in great
demand.
The succeeding periods show like development and it is
highly probable that little by little the prairies would have been
assimilated, but it would have been a slow process, owing to
the difficulties of transportation and of finding markets. When
1850 came, the northern part of the state presented a peculiar
bird's eye vie'w — strips of comparatively closely settled country
stretched away in every direction, indicating the timber tracts,
while between them was the unoccupied prairie. Here lay the
work for the railroads and these, by practically annihilating
distances, created markets by bringing the producer and the
consumer together, gave the settler something to cling to when
he swung clear of the timber ; in short, gave him the key to the
prairie.
Exceptions are, of course, to be found to the general laws
controlling the settlement of the prairies, but they are not fre-
quent enough to overthrow these laws which seem to be the
basis of the occupation of northern and eastern Illinois.
The object of this discussion is to show the progress of set-
tlement on the Illinois prairies, paying special attention to the
influence of physiographic conditions, to lines of communication
and to the change which took place so abruptly in the character
of the pioneer class of the "West, and to show the differences ex-
isting between the pioneer of the woodlands and the pioneer of
the prairielands. Causes for the settlement are to be noted,
as well as such settlements as appear to be exceptional in char-
acter and illustrative of some peculiar phase of the westward
expansion.
[26]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 313
CHAPTER II
ILLINOIS BEFORE 1830
For many years subsequent to the Revolution, Illinois at-
tracted but little attention. The legislature of Virginia, how-
ever, in 1778 organized a county to which it gave the name
now borne by the state and appointed for this newly organized
county a magistrate called a Lieutenant Governor. It came
under the control of the confederation when ceded in 1784 by
'Virginia.
Although for years Kentucky and Tennessee had afforded
homes for pioneer's who had found their way over the moun-
tains to the western world, Illinois and the Northwest seemed
to offer few inducements. After visiting the territory north-
west of the Ohio, preparatory to its organization into the North-
west Territory, Monroe wrote to Jefferson in a tone which showed
that he had as yet no comprehension of the future greatness of
this seemingly desolate country. "A great part of the territory
is," he said, "miserably poor especially that near Lakes Mich-
igan and Erie, and that upon the Mississippi and the Illinois
consists of extensive plains which have not had from appear-
ances, and will not have, a single bush on them for ages. The
districts, therefore, within which these fall will never contain1
a sufficient number of inhabitants to entitle them to member-
ship in the confederacy."1
For a time it seemed that Monroe had spoken truthfully for,
as yet, the railroads, the steamboats and the farming implements
which were to be of service in the settlement of the great
prairies were unkno'wn. Changes, however, soon began to take
1 Monroe. Writings, 1, 117.
[27]
314 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
enceville
hawneetown
ILLINOIS IN 1830
Shaded portion shows location of settlement : six or move per square mile ; by
counties.
POOLEY SETTLEMENT. OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 315
place. The soldiers of George Rogers Clark carried with them
to the East tales of a 'wonderfully fertile and well-watered land/-
and soon the familiar story of pioneer life was re-enacted in the
river valleys of Illinois. The descendants of the frontiersmen
who had chopped the first trails across the AUeghanies and
who first wandered through the lonely western wilderness and
built the small stockaded hamlets of Kentucky and Tennessee,
impelled by the same restlessness which carried their fathers
toward the West now moved across the Ohio to continue the
struggle with wild nature and the wilder redmen. for possession
of the territory which today constitutes the state of Illinois.
The scene of earliest settlement in Illinois was the great
American Bottom; The settlers were the French who acted
as a connecting link between the French of Canada and the
Great Lakes and those of the lower Mississippi. The American
Bottom, so called to distinguish it from the Spanish possessions
across the river, was an extremely fertile tract of land extend-
ing from the mouth of the Kaskaskia to the mouth of the Ill-
inois and containing about six hundred square miles.2 The
French settlements extended along this bottom from Kaskaskia
to Cahokia more than fifty miles, and back a few miles from
the Mississippi. By 1800 the French Creoles in these settle- \
ments numbered about 1,200.3
Several generations had flourished here happily under the
mild sway of French officials — the military commandant and
the priest — who ruled the people with an uncontrolled but
parental authority. Separated from all the world these people
acquired many peculiarities in language, dress, manners and
customs. Many of their original traits were lost but still many of
the leading characteristics of the nation were retained. The people
were kind-hearted, hospitable and social but rivalled the Indians
themselves for ignorance and laziness. A fruitful country
made agriculture profitable when carried on, but the great
amount of game within easy reach tended to make the young
Frenchman follow the life of a hunter rather than that of a
2 Brown, Western Gazetteer ami Emiyrun-ts' Guide (1817), 20.
3 Reynold , Illinois, 19.
[39]
316 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
farmer.4 In mechanic arts no progress had been made; the
old wooden plows used in the early days still served the needs
of this unprogressive people.
The dress, and homes of this quiet people were equally simple.
Coarse blue cotton clothes, deer skin moccasins for their feet,
blue handkerchiefs for their heads were worn by both sexes. In
cold weather the skins of animals replaced the cotton clothing.
Log houses, a single story high, with puncheon floors and
thatched roofs were their abodes. The furniture was designed
for usefulness rather than ornament.5
Around the village was a large tract known as the common
field. Most of this was allowed to remain in open pasturage
but parts were cultivated by those who chose to enclose them.
Occupancy gave a title to land but all reverted to the com-
munity when occupation ceased.
So the Americans1 found them, a people of simple habits, un-
ambitious and submissive, unoppressed by taxes or political
grievances, recognizing a single church and under the leader-
ship of the village priest who was their guide, friend and
philosopher.
By 1781 the earliest American settlements had been made in
the American Bottom. In 1800 there were three hundred and
fifty families settled here, most of the men having been soldiers
of George Rogers Clark during his campaigns against Vin-
cennes and Kaskaskia. Two colonies of Virginians had come
in 1786 and 1793 settling at New Design and in the surrounding
country forming the nucleus of the American settlements.6
Other settlers came from the various eastern states.7 In all
the population of the state numbered 2,000 in 1800.8
During the first decade of the new century population in-
creased rapidly,9 but the greater part was still in' the American
4 Hall, SketcJies (1835). 1, 148.
5 Mayazine of Western History, 1O, 562.
8 Settlements were made at Horse Prairie, Whiteside Station and Belie-
fontaine in Monroe county and at Turkey Hill in St. Clair county.
7 There were settlers from Virginia. Kentucky, Maryland, Tennessee, New York.
New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New England.
8 Reynolds. Illinois. 19.
• The census of 1810 states population as 12.284 ; Reynolds, Illinois, 10, gives
population as 2,000 in 1800.
[30]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 317
i Bottom although the frontier line was gradually moving towards
the interior of the state.10 Across the territory in the Saline
district a center of settlement had begun to form. In 1803 the
salt springs had been purchased from the Indians and leased
by the government to Captain Bell, a Kentuckian.11 Shawnee-
town, the center of the district, soon began to give evidence of
becoming a town of some importance especially as a commer-
cial center. (It was on the Ohio river, the great highway for
traffic and travel to the West and even at this early date "great
fleets of keel-boats concentrated at this point engaged in salt and
other traffic. ' n2 '; Indian treaties during the decade opened up
millions of acres of Illinois land for settlement but in spite of
this fact the settlements still clung to the Ohio and Mississippi
rivers.13
r"From the formation of Illinois territory in 1809 until the
close of the War of 1812, the settlements were engaged in a
struggle for existence. Many were abandoned during the war,
on account of Indian troubles. In the years immediately fol-
lowing 1810 the Chippewas, Kickapoos and Pottowatomies
committed so many murders and thefts that Gov. Edwards
raised a military force to suppress the disturbers. One expedi-
tion destroyed a French village at Peoria which had been the
headquarters of a band of savages who ravaged the country.
Reports of the unhealthfoilness of the new country, of Indian
outrages, of earthquakes, and the insecurity of land titles all
operated to 'retard the flow of settlers from the eastern states.
/Owing to the fact that Illinois had, at different times, been
'under French. British, Virginian and Federal rule, land titles
were often conflicting. A commission appointed in 1804 labored
for ten years to adjust these titles previous to the opening of
the land sale at Kaskaskia in 1814. /The pre-emption act of
1813 did much to secure the pioneers in theit' possessions.14
10 Riclse Farm. Goschen, Wood River, Silver Creek, and Shoal Creek were the
new settlements.
11 Moses, Illinois, 1, 265.
"Reynolds, Illinois, OB.
13 The treaties of Ft."- Wayne (1803) : Vincennes (1803) ; St. Louis (1804) and
the second treaty of Vincennes (1804) opened 28,000,000 acres of Illinois land1
to settlement.
14 Davidson and Stuve, Illinois, 291.
[31]
318 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY SIW
With the passage of this act and with the 0'ion of Indian'
raids after the close of the War of 18 1'. j a 3v epoch in the
settlement of the state began. The settlers acquired confidence,
land rose in demand and in value.15 New Englanders and
foreigners came in greater numbers than ever before. The close
of the European wars had ruined the lucrative commerce of
New England and thrown many out of employment, some of
whom found their way to Illinois.
^"^The great highway of travel was the Ohio river. A writer
of the time says ' ' there is scarce a day except when the river is
impeded with ice but what there is a greater or less number of
boats to be seen floating down its gentle current to some place
of destination. No less than five hundred families stopped at
Cincinnati at one time, many of them having come a great dis-
tance."16 Prom Kentucky and Tennessee groups of pioneers
still came seeking the extreme frontier.
Others came from the South Atlantic states. Cotton culture
had, through the invention of the gin and through the prevail-
ing high prices, become exceedingly profitable. The plantations
were increasing in size and numbers and the introduction of
the industry into the uplands tended to crowd out the small
farmer since his more wealthy neighbor could offer prices for
land which practically compelled him to sell. Some who moved
went to the Gulf States ; others wishing to avoid the competition
of slave labor turned to the northwest, and it became a familiar
sight to people along the roads, of western travel to see the old
southern wagons covered with white sheeting and loaded with
an enormous quantity of beds, buckets, old-fashioned chairs
and such household furniture as was usually owned by our
]og-cabin ancestors, slowly rattling along their way to the West.
On the eastern side of the territory the district of the Em- .
barras 'was still the northern limit of settlement although there
were a few settlers as far north as Edgar county. Crawford
county with Palestine as a center of settlement had 2,100 set-
tlers at the time of the admission of the state.17 Russelville
15 Brown, Western Gazetteer and Emigrants' Director!/ (1817), 33.
19 Harding, Tour through the Western Country, 5.
"History of Ciwfwfl and Clark counties, 108.
[32]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 319
in the county next to the south was the center of population.
Directly to the west of Wabash county was the English settle-
ment of Albion in Edwards county. This settlement, begun by
Birkbeck and Flower, was one of the most important ones1 in
Illinois.18 Gallatin county iwith Shawneetown as its chief settle-
ment was the most populous county on the eastern side of the
territory, having in 1818 about 3,200 settlers.19 Thirty or forty
of these families resided in Shawneetown. A bank and a land
office helped to make this village a decidedly important one.
America with a population of several hundred was the chief
southern town,20 Cairo had a "local habitation and a name"
having as yet not fulfilled the expectations of its founders.
On the western .side of the territory the pioneers grouped
their settlements into three divisions, those settlements around
the-Bio- Mnddv river, those along the Kaskaskia and those north
of this last named district extending as far as" Peoria, Of these
the settlements along the Big Muddy were the weakest for the
people moved very slowly towards the center of the state.
The old Kaskaskia district was still the most populous one
in the territory.21 Settlements had been made along the Kas-
kaskia and its tributaries for a considerable distance towards
the interior. Kaskaskia, the seat of the territorial government,
had a large floating population but the increase of permanent
settlers was not large. There were in the town in 1815 be-
tween seven and ten hundred people.22 Belleville, Cahokia,
and Prairie du Long were the other important settlements of
this part of the state.23 In the interior there were few settlers.2*
In the district above Kaskaskia, Edwardsville, the county
town of Madison county, had sixty or seventy houses, a court-
house, a jail, a bank, a land office and a newspaper.25 Alton
. ia Daviuson and Stuve, Illinois, 349.
"Dana, Sketches of Western Country (1819), 153.
20 History of Alexander, Union and Pulaski counties, 449.
11 Estimated at 11,842 (Dana, Sketches of the Western Country (1819), 153).
22 Edwards, Illinois, 254.
23 Cahokia had a population of between five hundred (Moses, Illinois, 1, 267)
and one thousand (Life of Gurdon 8. HuWxird, 47).
24 Bond county had only forty settlers in 1818 (History of Bond and Montgom-
ery counties, 181). The Washington county settlements were at Covington, Beau-
coup and Carlyle.
25 Dana, Sketches of the Western Country (1819), 143.
3 [33]
320 BULLETIN OF THE TJNIVEKSITY OF WISCONSIN
had one hundred houses, the owners of many of these being
people from the eastern states and in comfortable circum-
stances.26 The other settlements were smaller.27 In all the
population of Madison county was estimated at from 4,000 to
5,500.28
Beyond the frontiers already mentioned (the line of the Ohio
and "Wabash, the immediate vicinity of the Big Muddy and of
the Kaskaskia and in Madison county) little settlement was to
be found in the territory. The Kickapoos, a warlike Indian
tribe, held undisputed possession of central Illinois and con-
tinued to do so until the Treaty of Edwardsville was signed
in 1819. 29 A few venturesome Kentuckians and Tennesseeans,
together with some from the older settlements on the western
side of Illinois had, however, pushed into the Sangamon country
before the Indian title had been extinguished. These were the
only settlers of the region.
Far to the north in the lead region the first permanent white
settlers were beginning to locate on Fever river. Likewise a
few were at Ft. Dearborn which had been rebuilt in 1816. The
Military 'Tract, although laid off, was as yet entirely unoccu-
pied.
The population of the territory when it began to seek ad-
mission into the Union was 30,000. Since 40,000 was necessary
for admission it devolved upon the census takers to make up
the deficiency. One very effective plan was to station the enum-
erators on the largest thoroughfares so they might be able to
count explorers, movers and settlers. As a result more than
one family of ten people grew to three or four times that num-
ber when finally placed in the census books.30
Varied indeed was the population as the following quotation x
shows. "The early settlement of Clinton county will illustrate
the heterogeneous nativity of early immigrants. Before 1820
MIbid., 142.
27 Mound Piaira and Milton were the other settlements. The latter had fifty
houses (Htetory of Madison County, S3).
28 In the History of Madison County (130) the population of the county is
given as 4,000; Dana, Sketches (1819) 153, gives an estimate of 5,500.
29 Henderson, Early History of Sangamon County, 1.
^ *° Brown, Early Illinois, 82, in Fcryus Historical Scries 2.
[34]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 321
there was a little group from Ohio; another from England, and
several representatives from Virginia, Pennsylvania, North
Carolina, Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee and one man from the
Isle of Wight."31 It is true that the pioneers from the South-
west exceeded the others in numbers but foreigners, people
from the Middle Atlantic states and New Englanders were far
from being unknown in any of the regions. The Ohio river
was the means of directing these settlers to southern Illinois and
adding the northern element to the preponderating southern
stream which had come by way of the wagon roads.
Fifteen counties had been' organized but altogether they
formed but one-fourth of the territory and were by no means
thickly settled. A line drawn from Alton, on the Mississippi,
through Carlyle to Palestine on the Wabash would mark the
northern extremity of settlement, but by no means does it mark
the settled portion of the territory.32 The pioneers clung closely
to the great river systems, making their clearings and erecting
their cabins along the banks of these streams.
Within the boundary stated were prairies of considerable
/ size, some of them being three days journey across.33 The set-
| tiers, as yet, had not ventured upon them, believing them en-
tirely unfit for settlement. Palestine, Palmyra, Carmi, Shaw-
' neetown, Golconda and Albion were the population centers of
eastern Illinois at the time of its admission. On the west Jones-
boro, Brownsville, Kaskaskia, Harrisonville, Belleville, Cahokia,
Edwardsville and Alton were of greatest importance. In the
interior, Perrysville and Covington 'were the centers. Of these
Kaskaskia, the seat of government and Shawneetown were the
best known and thither as a rule the early pioneers came and
from these "points made explorations for the purpose of find-
ing suitable places to settle.
The year 1824 marks a turning point in the growth of the
state. By the ordinance of 1787 slavery had been forbidden in1
the Northwest Territory, but it nevertheless existed in some
portions of Illinois. A considerable number of the settlers of
81 History of Marlon and Clinton counties, 54.
"Davidson and Stuv6, Illinois, 302.
M Breese, Early History of Illinois, preface 3.
[35]
322 BULLETIN" OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
the state being southerners who favored the institution, arc
attempt was made in the early twenties to call a convention to
revise the state constitution in such a manner as to make slavery
lawful.34 The defeat of the plan came in 1824 and from that
time dates an increase in immigration. Growth now went on
more rapidly and when 1830 came the fifteen counties of 1818
had grown to twenty-six and the population was 157,44535 in-
stead of the scanty 40,000 required for admission.
New settlements continued to spring up and the older ones
to increase in size.36 America, G-reenville, Mayville, Frankfort,
Equality, McLeansboro, Vienna, Lawrenceville, Salem, Water-
loo, Pinckneyville, Jonesboro, Fairfield and Vandalia each grew
to some importance before 1830,37 the last named one being made
the capital city of the state in 1819. 88 These towns were in the
immediate vicinity of the rivers and often in the timber lining
the banks.
Albion was an exception to the rule, however, having no water
communication close at hand. Faux, who was not entirely
friendly, describes the village in 1820 as having but "one bouse
and ten or twelve log cabins, full of degenerating English me-
chanics, too idle to work" who passed their time eating, drink-
ing, brawling and fighting. The streets were almost impass-
able owing to stumps and roots of trees protruding and puddles
of dirty water standing before the doors of the cabins.39 The
town by 1830 had grown considerably, mechanics of every dis-
cription were here and a hotel, a smithy and some stores had
taken the place of the cabins.40
Shawneetown had grown from a town of three or four houses
to a town of sixty houses and three hundred inhabitants in
81 Harris, Negro Servitude in Illinois, 27-49.
35 Eleventh Census (1890), 14.
86 In 1819 some Shakers established a settlement in Lawrence county on the
Embarras river. Frederick Ernst, a German of wealth and education, founded a
German settlement at Vandalia in 1819 (Reynolds, Illinois, 183). Scattered settle-
ments were made along the Little Vermilion, the pioneers being generally en-
gaged in salt making.
87 The National Calendar, (1830).
38 History of Fayettc County, 12.
"Faux, Memorable Days in America, 26»; Smith, C. W., A Contribution
toward a "biography of Morris Birkbeck and the English Settlement in Edwards
County, Illinois In Transactions of the Illinois State Historical Society, (1905),
Fordham, B. P., Personal Narrative. (Ogg, F. A. Editor).
40 Stuart, Three Years in Nortli America, -. 237.
[36]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 323
1826.41 It was still, at the close of the decade 1821 to 1830,
the chief town of the eastern side of the state and the landing
place of a great portion of the immigrants coming by way of
- the Ohio.42 Cairo made no headway and in 1826 was still a
village with only a tavern and a store.43
The villages of southern Illinois at this period were but
frontier settlements containing from one to two hundred in-
habitants and many not more than twenty or thirty.44 The
risers were the connecting links between the settlements and the
chief lines of communication with the outside world. Roads,
'too, were opened up between the chief centers of settlement.
Prom Vincennes, Shawneetown, Golconda and America roads
went across the state to St. Louis and Kaskaskia. Throughout
the timbered tracts the settlers were scattered, forming ribbons
of settlement from the two great rivers on the south and west
of the state; but few indeed ventured further. Even as late
as 1830 the Indians came back to hunt within the limits of
settlement and fear of them retarded the advancement of the
frontier.
Although southern Illinois was as yet not thickly settled, it
had begun to throw out lines of pioneers towards the north.
The eastern portion of the state close to the rivers was well
taken up, as was the western part, but between the two lay
the unoccupied portion. Rather than risk the attempt to settle
and cultivate the prairies, the new settlers preferred to go
farther towards the frontier. It was a simple and natural
force which impelled them. The fathers and grandfathers of
these men from Kentucky and Tennessee had battled with
nature in the woodlands of the Southwest; the pioneers them-
selves had grown to manhood surrounded by the 'woodlands, they
were, in the settlement of Illinois, merely putting into operation
the results of the experiences of two or three generations of
pioneers. To them the prairies offered insurmountable ob-
stacles with which they felt it 'was useless to cope. When the
41 History of GaUatin, Saline, Hamilton, Franklin and Williamson Counties, 95.
12 Edwards, History of Illinois, 359.
** The Americans as They Are, 78.
** Patterson, Early Society in Southern Illinois, 109, In Fergus Historical
Series, 2, 14.
[37]
324 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
timberland of southern Illinois was all claimed, the stream of
men from the old settlements slowly urged their oxen north-
ward through the settled portions to the new country which at
that time was rapidly gaining in fame. Here in this Sangamon
country the hunter-pioneer found an ideal land and here we find
the re-enactment of the scenes of the first settlement of the ex-
treme southern portion of the state.
The fertile land of central Illinois, south of the Sangamon
river, was well watered and also well timbered. A few settlers
had found their way here before the Kickapoo title had been ex-
tinguished by the Treaty of Edwardsville in' 1819, but it was not
until the decade 1821 to 1830 that the true settlement took place.
It was with a certain degree of confidence that the settlers took
possession of the new land, for they were comparatively close
to the strong settlements north of the Kaskaskia river and thus
\|in touch with the rest of the state.
Here a sort of experimentation began. Between the tracts
of timber land were inviting stretches of prairie upon which,
owing to the proximity to the timber, the sod 'was not so tough
' nor the grass so long as it was on the large prairies. The tran-
sition from woodsman to prairie cultivator on a small scale was
. here made easy. The cabin, as before, was built at the edge
of the timber, if water was convenient, and a portion of the
prairie was fenced. The friendly timber gave shelter from the
excessive heat of summer as well as from the cold prairie winds
of winter; and moreover it furnished a refuge for stock in
summer when the open prairie was infested by myriads of
horse-flies. The open prairie saved the pioneer an1 enormous
amount of labor generally necessary to make his clearing and
he soon found that crops grew as well or even better here than
on cleared land. Success was then assured in the subjugation
of the prairies, providing they were very small ones, where
every man could, figuratively speaking, keep his back to the
' timber and his attention on the prairie.
It must not, however, be understood that the settlers went im-
mediately to such places where they were able to take advantage
of both prairie and woodland, for settlement clung closely to the
woods of the Illinois river and its tributaries for several years.
[38]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 325
Two hundred families were in the Sangamon country prior to
1820 and of these, sixty were grouped on Macoupin, Apple, and
Otter creeks, within thirty miles of the Illinois river.45 Cass,
Morgan and Scott counties, lying immediately between the
Sangamon and Illinois rivers, had only twenty families in
1820.46 Farther east along the Sangamon were a few scattered
families and others had ventured across the river to Macon
county by 1827.
The question of slavery in Illinois having been settled
in 1824, immigration set in with renewed vigor, reaching
its greatest development in 1827 and in 1828.47 The set-
tlers came in groups of five or ten families although it was
no uncommon sight to see one hundred wagons in a single
company going to the Sangamon country.48 Steam navigation
had begun on the Illinois river in 1828 and by connecting the
frontier 'with the older settlements strengthened the former to
such a degree that from these younger settlements a new migra-
tion soon began to take place. The extension took place rapidly
and by 1830 the timber lands of the Sangamon were densely
enough populated to warrant the erection of six new counties.49
The population of this Sangamon country in 1830 was 42,385.50
Of these twenty-eight were slaves.51
Springfield, at first called Calhoun, was established in 1819.52
Although it was perhaps the most important town in this part
of the state in 1830 and had between six and eight hundred
settlers, it was still characterized as "a straggling village."53
Jacksonville in Morgan county was about the same size, and the
other settlements were of less importance.54
45 Dana, Sketches of the Western Country, 144.
u History of Cass County, 18.
47 History of Macon County, 34.
"Perrin, History of Jefferson County, 124.
48 Greene, Morgan, Maeoupin, Montgomery, Macon and Shelby.
80 Eleventh Census, (1890) 15.
81 Nites' Register, 43, 35.
62 Barber and Howe, History of the Western States, 1072.
88 Stuart, Three Years in North America, 2, 216-224.
84 Carrollton, in Greene County, was begun In 1818 (History of Greene County,
328) ; Hillsboro, in Montgomery County, settled in 1817 or 1818 (History of
Bond and Montgomery Counties, 215) ; Decatur, In Macon County, was settled
in the early twenties (History of Macon County, 31) ; Shelbyville, in Shelby
County, was settled in 1825 (History of Shelby and Moultrie Counties, 42).
[39]
326 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
--
The Military Tract which comprised all the territory between
the Illinois and Mississippi rivers as far north as Rock Island
county, had been allotted by the Federal government to the vet-
erans of the war of 1812.55 Few of the original grantees deemed
the land of sufficient' value to repay the labor of settling and
cultivating and consequently but a small proportion took advan-
tage of the opportunity afforded for obtaining farms. Those
who lived close to the region, however, were awake to the value
of the land, and many settled upon it as "squatters" without
any valid title save that of occupation. To make improvements
under the existing circumstances was a venture which led to
doubtful returns. Often, indeed, when the pioneer had suc-
ceeded in making his clearing, building his cabin and perhaps
breaking a little plot of prairie land, the holder of the original
patent would appear upon the scene and oust him. So frequent
was this procedure that it soon became a profitable business for
a certain class of men to obtain these squatters' claims by means
of forged patents and it gave rise to much trouble.
The process of settlement in this part of the state was iden-
tical with that of the portions already studied. The two great
rivers served as connecting lines with the older settlements of
the South and along the tributaries we find the first settlers
establishing themselves. Peoria, the oldest town in this part
of the state had been deserted in the closing years of the eight-
eenth century. In 1813 Ft. Clark had been built and in 1819
the first permanent settlers came to Peoria.56 In 1825 the
county was organized and had at the time a population of
1,236" which included all the settlers of the northern part of
the state.
The counties at the southern end of the Tract (Calhoun and
Pike) are broken and hilly near the rivers. Gilead in Calhoun
county and Atlas in Pike county both situated in the timber
within convenient distance from the river but away from the un-
healthful bottoms were the only villages in 1830. Along the
creeks of Schuyler and Brown counties, Kentuckians, Virgin-
53 History of Fulton county, 191.
** History of Peoria county, 273-274.
*7 Ballance, Peoria, 45.
[40]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 327
ians, Pennsylvanians, Carolinians and Tennesseeans settled be-
side men from Indiana, Ohio, Missouri and Illinois. Lewi&ton
and Canton in Fulton county completed the list of settlements of
importance on the eastern side of the Tract.
. Adams county was the most populous district on the Mis-
sissippi river north of the mouth of the Illinois and Quincy was
the largest settlement.58 Venus in Hancock county was the only
other settlement of note in 1830. Few settlers had gone to
the interior.59
In all there were about 13,000 people in the Military Tract
in 183060 and by far the greater percentage were close
-to the great rivers forming the boundaries of the district.
In character the population was the same as that of the
Sangamon country, for the settlements: along the Illinois river
were only outgrowths of the older Sangamon settlements. The
Kentuckians and Tennesseeans appeared frequently as in south-
ern Illinois taking possession of the timberlands and leading a
half-hunter, half-farmer life. New Englanders and men from
the Middle States, however, were much more numerous than in
other parts of the state.
At the lead mines in the extreme northwestern part of Jll-
i»ois an exceptional settlement had already begun to form.
Lead had been found years before in the hilly region near the
Mississippi and after 1818 a steady stream of adventurers
flowed here. Southerners came in great numbers owing to the
convenient line of communication. By 1830 there were over
2,000 settlers at, the Illinois mines and many more at the Wis-
consin and Iowa mines.61
The primary object of this settlement was not to find suitable
farming lands well-supplied with timber and water. It was to
M In 1825 there were forty votes cast at a county election (History of Adams
county, 262) ; in 1830 the population was 2,186. (Eleventh Census [1890] 14) ;
the population of Quincy was estimated at two hundred in 1830 (Asbury,
Quincy, 41).
89 Warren, Mercer, Henderson, Knox and Bureau counties had a combined popu-
lation of less than six hundred and fifty. (Eleventh Census [1890] 14.)
80 lUd.
" Ibid.
[41]
-328 BULLETIN- OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
take advantage of the mineral deposits. Timber and water
were found in abundance, and also an excellent line of trans-
portation but these things were of secondary importance and
had the mines been found on the open prairie it is highly prob-
able that the settlement would have sprung up as rapidly as it
did under the existing conditions.
Chicago as yet showed no signs of its coming greatness. Lake
navigation by steam had not yet begun, nor had the settlers of
Illinois approached near enough to Lake Michigan to look to
Chicago for a market or a supply depot. The population of the
little village did not number more than one hundred.62
The population of the entire state in 1830 numbered 157,500
people.63 The population map for 1830 shows a nicely rounded
line of settlement which leads an unquestioning observer to be-
lieve that the advance of the frontier took place with mathemati-
cal precision. Closer study will reveal a different state of
affairs. Along the Ohio river and its numerous tributaries on
the eastern side of the state was a comparatively densely settled
area, Between the projecting ribbons of settlement which lined
the streams were the prairies as yet hardly occupied. The
same is true of the western side of the state along the Mississippi.
The Illinois river furnished the road to central and northern
Illinois.64
The pioneer of the Illinois frontier was still of the hunter
type. He was primarily a woodsman1 who had come to the new
country with his rifle, axe and hunting knife prepared to at-
tack the problem of the frontier in the same way his ancestors
had attacked it in Kentucky and Tennessee generations before.
He changed little before 1830, for his cautious contact with the
small prairies of the South gave him little real capital with
which to attack the broader expanses of the North. Practically
shut off from the prairie, he followed the woodlands until the
outbreak of the Black Hawk War in 1832, which date marks
42 Chicago Tribune, April 12, 1875.
« Eleventh Cemus, (1890) 14.
84 The census maps use the county as the unit, and therefore exhibit as settled
many areas really vacant.
[42]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 329
the beginning of a sudden and sharp transition in pioneer
characteristics. Before 1832 the settlement of the state was
only a continuation of pioneer days in the older states. Now
a new problem confronted the tide of pioneers who were crossing
the continent. On the wide treeless expanses of eastern and
northern Illinois were to be solved the problems which gave
rise to a new class of frontiersmen — the prairie pioneers.
[43]
330 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
CAUSES FOB THE SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS
The Americans as a people are prone to migrate. 'From the
earliest date at which the settlements scattered along the shores
of the Atlantic ocean were ahle to push their limits one mile
up the rivers towards the back country the gradual movement
to the West has appropriated the land step by step until the
entire expanse from coast to coast has been brought under the
direct control of the race.
The census of 1850 shows that of 17,737,000 free inhabitants
in the United States at that date over 4,100,000 or twenty three
per cent, had migrated from the states of their birth.1
A general law concerning the order of classes seems to have
been followed in this movement of settlement to the West, es-
pecially before transportation by steam lent its enormous in-
fluence towards the development of the great West. First came
the hunter-pioneer ; next, the small farmer who drove the hunter
farther toward the frontier and who himself gave way in1 time
to the third class of settlers, the larger farmers whose aim was
to improve the land, erect homes and become the permanent oc-
cupants of the country.
The causes leading to this movement towards the West are of
two classes; general causes affecting the entire nation, and
special causes affecting localities at various times and in vary-
ing degrees. . The general causes may be grouped under three
heads: the restless spirit pervading all classes, the systems of.
internal improvements developed during the period, and th6
financial causes.
1 Abstract of the Seventh Census, (1850) 15.
[44]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 331
The resilega_spirit which ever aimed towards expansion and
economic betterment is the great one among the general causes;
its growth was the result of a combination of local causes and
of general causes which operated constantly throughout the
period. Dissatisfaction with existing conditions was prevalent
among all classes. Moreover, it was believed that these con-
ditions could be improved in the new country where land was
cheap and fertile and could be acquired and turned into fruit-
ful farms1 'with a reasonable effort upon the part of the settler.
There were in every community, citizens who had lost their
credit and of necessity needed new homes. In the woodlands
these people became solitary pioneers who felt most at ease
when "twenty miles from law and calomel') and who breathed
easiest when the nearest neighbors were ten miles away. The
farm laborers who, dissatisfied with the existing scale of wages '
in the older communities and understanding the science of
agriculture well enough to manage and work farms of their
own, moved to the frontier, took up government lands and laid
the foundations of new settlements beyond the limits of civil-
ization. These became the small farmers who moved along in
the wake of the hunter-pioneers.
To a considerable degree the farmers in the "West were in-
fluenced by comparative land values. The available lands hi
the East were mostly cultivated and brought high prices. The
small farmer had not the means with which to buy out his
neighbor should the latter desire to sell. In the "West vast
stretches of land were offered for sale by the government at low
prices and consequently there was a desire among the eastern
farmers to take advantage of the opportunity offered and by
disposing of their small but high priced farms to those able and
willing to buy, they could take up larger and more fertile farms
in- the western country.
In earlier years the history of public lands is that of large
companies. Later, by successive changes in the administration
of such lands the prices and quantities were placed within the
reach of the smaller purchaser. "When in 1820 the price was
reduced to a dollar and a quarter per acre and land was sold in
lots as small as eighty acres, the incentive for the migration
[45]
332 BULLETIN OF THE
westward was increased. The effect is seen wh4lfe notice the
Foote resolution introduced into the House in Jlcember, 1829,
asking that an inquiry be made concerning the advisability of
the rapid sale of the public lands. The significance of this lies
in the fact that the rapid sale of public lands at low prices was
draining the East of its laboring class and acting as a detriment
to the industrial enterprises which the eastern men were at
that time attempting to foster.
Again in 1834 when the question of ceding the public lands to
the states in which they were situated was reported upon by
Henry Clay, the committee stated that it was not of the opin-
ion that the cession should take place, or the price of land be
reduced, giving among other reasons that such a procedure
would operate as a bounty to increase emigration from the
older states, lessening the value of the eastern lands and drain-
ing them of currency and population.2
To intensify the feeling of restlessness and dissatisfaction
already existing, another influence was brought to bear on those
who remained at home, by the people who had dared the. pri-
vations of the frontier. Letters from successful pioneers painted,
• in bright colors1, the wonderful opportunities of the West ; com-
panies, formed with the idea of taking up land and speculating
in it, sent hundreds of thousands of circulars to the East, worded
in such a>way that their readers felt that the time for the rapid
accumulation of wealth was at hand, and thousands hastened to
take advantage of the golden opportunities. Newspapers, in
some regions, aided in the work, pointing out the advantages
to be derived by farmers, and especially laboring men with a
small amount of capital, should they but move to the West.3
Moreover, the effect of western competition in agricultural pro-
ducts was pointed out and it was shown that before the lapse
of any great period of time the rapidly growing West would
undersell the East in its own market.
Rivalry among the great eastern cities for western trade
gave a cause for migration. The internal improvement systems
developed by the efforts of the various states in the attempt to
2 Senate Documents, 323, 23 Congress, I Sess., 24.
3 Buffalo Commercial Advertiser, Mar. 24, 1846.
[46]
POOLEY S^BfcMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 333
benefit theii^BBps afforded, when completed, an easy access to
the "West. Tlie dissatisfied settlers, who hitherto had needed only
some such stimulant to start him to the new country now took
advantage of the opportunity presented by a comparatively easy
journey westward. Others who were making a comfortable
living on their farms decided to remain at home but the new
lines of communication influenced these people in another way.
The West was growing and its farms produced ever increasing
amounts of grain. Home markets could not consume the supply,.
»o the products were turned eastward through these lines of
communication and brought into competition with the produce
of the eastern farm. Prices fell and the man who had remained
at home could no Ipnger make his comfortable living and was.
compelled either to lower his standard of comfort or to move to
the West where it could be maintained.
If a system of roads produced a noticeable effect upon the
volume of migration westward,, the introduction of steam navi-
gation had a still more marked influence. The inconveniences
of travel were diminished and the cost of transportation de-
creased by the steamboats of the Ohio river and the Great Lakes
which soon became the means of travel of an ever-increasing
number of immigrants. The importance of steam navigation in
aiding in the development of the West may be best illustrated __
by a quotation. ' ' Of all the elements of prosperity of the West —
of all the causes of its rapid increase in population, its growth
in wealth, resources and the improvement of its immense com-
merce and gigantic energies, the most efficient has been the navi-
gation by steam."4
Third in the list of general causes was the financial depres-
sion which swept over the country in the closing years of the
decade 1831-1840.5 The panic can be attributed to no one
thing. Prominent among the causes was over-speculation.
Suddenly the people of the East saw that there were fortunes
to be made in western lands and no sooner was the discovery
* Memorial of the People of Cincinnati (1844), 28.
5 See, Bourne, The Distribution of the Surplus ; Dewey, Financial History, Ch.
X ; Schurz, Henry Clay, 2., Ch. XIX ; Scott, Repudiation of State Debts; Shep-
hard, Martin Van Buren, Ch. VIII.
[47]
334 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
made than the price of town lots, either real or imaginary, went
up to enormous prices. "Wherever the surveyor took the magic
chain and compass — no matter how remote from population —
there it became certain that a mighty city would, at no distant
day, arise."6 Walls of buildings in the various cities were
covered with maps of towns that were still miles in the woods
or feet under water. Hundreds of acres of land which were
valued at prices ranging from one hundred to one thousand
dollars have not yet reached the value at which they were sold
and resold during these months of frenzied speculation.
Farmers, traders and capitalists were, however, not the only
classes to become involved in the general upheaval during the
closing years of the thirties. As a result of the increase of
speculation there was a movement among the laboring class,
and a general demand for an increase of wages, to correspond
with the increase in prices. To attain this end, combined ef-
forts on the part of laboring men were necessary and a tend-
ency towards the federation of labor became distinctly marked.
Trade unions were formed, and before 1840, ship carpenters,
joiners, house carpenters, painters, roofers, brick-layers, tailors
hatters, harness-makers, shoe-makers, masons, factory operatives,
and others had organized unions.7
The upward movement of prices was such that the average
cost of a workman's living was twenty-one per cent, greater in
July. 1835 than it was- in April, 1834 and sixty-four per cent,
greater in October, 1836 than in 1834.8 Higher wages and the
"ten-hour" day were the demands. Immediate concessions
were the only remedy and when these were not obtainable, strikes
followed. From 1834 to 1837 the cities of Philadelphia, Boston,
Hartford, Trenton, Washington, Natchez, St. Louis, Cincinnati
and Louisville all experienced labor troubles culminating in
strikes, showing the wide-spread influence of the movement.9
The days of the greatest monetary inflation saw the wages
of the laborers increased to a considerable extent, and quietude
ruled for a time. The revulsion came in 1837. Employers at
« Balestler, Annals of Chicago, 25, in Fergus Historical Series. 1.
T Yale Review, 1, 87.
8 Ibid., 1, 94.
• Ibid., 1, 98.
[48]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 335
first reduced the number of hours each laborer should work art'd
upon finding this of no avail, reduced the wages of the laborers.
With the fall in labor prices there came no corresponding fall
in prices of commodities. The army of the unemployed grew
rapidly and in September of 1837 the New York Era says "We
can state on the best authority that in the eastern1 states nine-
tenths of the factories have been stopped and the same propor-
tion of men, women and children thrown out of employment."10
Resulting from this change in the condition of the laborers,
meetings of a more or less riotous nature occurred in various
cities, but the most notable consequence was the unusual iin-
migrallon to_Jhe West,11 for these people, lacking the means
for support in their native cities, took up the heritage, of the
poor man, cheap lands in a new country.
To the causes which operated throughout the entire land, local
causes must be added if we are to understand the reasons for
the increase and decrease in the volume of the westward move-
ment. In New_ England there was a never ceasing desire "to
see how things went in other parts;" a desire to find a land i
which offered better advantages for accumulating wealth than
were found at home and as a consequence we find Yankees
everywhere. They moved up the river valleys of their native
states into the newer regions of northern Neiw England; next,
they settled western New York and later moved westward into
Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa. They found their way
to the southern states and even to the West Indies.12
The surface of New England, much broken by hills and rocky
ledges, while it does not afford the best facilities for agricul-
ture on a large sx;ale, offers opportunities for small farming.
The common grains — rye, corn, and buckwheat, together with,
potatoes and garden vegetables, were produced along the hill-
sides and in the valleys with considerable success.13. Wheat
growing was never a source of wrealth to the New England
10 The New York Era, Sept. 5, 1837.
11 Yale Review, 1, 99.
12NHes' Register, 5», 224.
13 Hunt's Merchants' Magazine, 5, 201.
[49j
336 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
farmer14 and of the other products little more than home sup-
plies were produced.
The farms were small, generally from fifty to two hundred
acres, divided into fields disproportionately small; sometimes
fifteen or twenty fields making a single farm.15 The imple-
ments of husbandry were simple and did not afford the best
* results. By 1830 all the available lowlands were taken up and
the hillsides were being used, especially in Vermont. The ris-
ing generation of young men finding how difficult it was to
support themselves on one hundred acres or less, turned their
eyes to the West.
If wheat could not be cultivated with advantage, and if the
narrow valleys did not afford support for a numerous agricul-
tural class, there was an industry which would flourish, but
unfortunately it, too, tended pratically to diminish the amount
of cultivated land. The wool industry had received a greatm
impetus when the Merino sheep was introduced. "The provi-1
dential acquisition of this inestimable animal" says a New
England paper "is in every point of view worthy the attention of
all classes of citizens, especially farmers. The golden fleece
of the Merino sheep presents to every prudent and thrifty
farmer a mine of wealth from which he may draw to his in-
dustry, economy and the extent of his means."16
The value of the industry to the investor had been further
enhanced by the protective tariffs of 1824 and 1828, the greatly
increased foreign demand and the competition among the wool
dealers at home. The average price of wool in Vermont for
the decade 1831-1840 was fifty-two cents a pound.17 After
1839 a gradual decline took place.18 Farmers interested in
varied agriculture had been unusually unsuccessful, especially
with their wheat crops from 1824 to 183710 and many looking
for better fields of industry turned to sheep raising. In western
4 The yew Englander, 52, 338.
5 Atlantic Monthly, 26, 333.
« Boston Patriot, Oct. 3, 1810.
7 House Misc. Document, 105, 52 Cong., 2 Sess., 319. Trices sometimes rose
to ninety cents per pound (files' Register, 4O, 292).
*Nilel8' Register, 72, 331.
"Goodhue, History of Shorcham (Vt), 59.
[50]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50
337
Massachusetts, in the Berkshire Hills, and in hill towns of the
Connecticut valley wool growing was one of the most lucrative
pursuits.20 Factories continued to spring up to increase the
demand for wool.21
Sheep farming, to be conducted with the greatest profit, re-
quires more extended tracts of land than do the other agri-
cultural pursuits, so the demand for desirable land in New
England grew rapidly as did the prices paid for it. Wealthy
men found paying investments by buying the land of the small
farmer, even at advanced prices. Sales were practically com-
pelled for the poor man was offered prices he could not afford
to refuse.
The crisis of 1837 and a crop failure in the same year brought
economic distress to New England and helped to swell the num-
bers migrating. A decline in the price of wool followed and
although the tariff act of 1842 acted for a time as a stimulus
to the manufacture of wool, it did not remain in operation long
enough to make clear what its permanent effect would have
been.22 Here, it appears, began the decline from which the
sheep farming industry did not recover.23
About this time the farmers became interested in dairy farm-
ing and~~whenr the -railroads of the forties increased the value
of dairy products by opening up the markets in the cities many
20 Howe Misc. Doc. 105, 52 Cong., 2 Sess., 239'; Niles' Register, 49, 68.
21 In 1832 the value of woollens in Mass, amounted to $6,500,000 ; in 1837
they were valued at $10,400,000. There were nearly two hundred mills in
operation manufacturing over 11,300,000 yards of cloth yearly. (Eighth Census
(I860), xxxii.)
^Taussig, Tariff History, 144, cf. Eighth Census (1860), xxxii.
23 House Misc. Doc. 105, 52 Cong., 2 Sess., 343, gives the following statistics
concerning sheep and wool :
Wool (Ibs. produced)
Sheep (number)
1840
1850
1840
1850
Maine
1,465,551
1,260,517
3,699,235
941,906
183,830
839,870
1,364,034
1,108,476
3,400,717
585,136
129,692
477,454
649,264
617,390
1,681,819
378,266
90,146
403,462
451,577
384,758
1,014,123!
188,651
44,396
174,181
New Hampshire
Vermont
Massachusetts
Rhode Island
Connecticut
Total
8,440,909
7,085,509
3,820,307
2,2i57,563
[51]
338 BULLETIN" OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
gave up wool-growing for dairying. The effect upon the sup-
ply of land was the same as before.
It appears that these causes combined to decrease the agri-
cultural population of New England, if relative amounts of
/products may be taken as a basis for comparison.24 The pro-
ductions of wool, wheat, oats and rye had decreased in vary-
ing degrees in most of the states1.25 The cultivation of corn had
increased. The number of cattle had increased in Maine and
Rhode Island but in all other states had decreased as had the
number of horses, sheep and hogs.
The decrease of the agricultural class can be accounted for in
two ways; these farmers either moved to the cities or to the
"West. During the decade 1831-1840 when the sheep indus-
try had reached its height and the rapidly developing cattle
industry was claiming the New England lands, many of the
small farmers preferred to go into the less populous states of
Maine and New Hampshire. In these states land was not costly
and upon the whole was good for cattle and sheep farming in:
spite of the severe winters experienced there. By 1840, how-
ever, there were no longer extensive new areas in New England
and again a change came in the direction of the tide of emi-
gration.
The industrial life of the New England people was altered at
this time and for a while -at least this seems to have stayed the
flow from this section. With the decline of agriculture there
came an increased activity along manufacturing lines. Dur-
ing the decade of 1841-1850 manufactures almost doubled in
value, giving employment to an increased number of hands. By
1850 over 298,000 people were employed and $158,000,000 were
invested in the factories of New England. Massachusetts alone
had in 1850 manufacturing industries valued at $83,360,000
which almost equaled the amount invested by all the New Eng-
land states at the opening of the decade.28
24 A change of methods in the censuses of 1840 and 1850 will not allow con-
clusions to be drawn from a comparison of figures denoting inhabitants engaged
in agriculture.
25 Rhode Island showed an increase in the amount of oats : Vermont, of wheat.
"Compendium of the Seventh Census (1850), 179; Compendium of the Sixth
•Census (1840), 111-127.
[52]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS,, 1830-50 339
It is reasonable to believe that the class turned from agri-
culture would attempt to gain a livelihood by taking advantage
of the opportunities manufacturing offered. At this point,
however, a new influence acted to turn the New Englander
westward. Foreign immigrants were landing on our shores in
constantly increasing numbers and many of these people
remained to seek employment in the eastern cities.27 These for-
eigners furnished a large percentage of the laboring class of
the factories and by beating down wages compelled their Ameri-
can competitors to withdraw. The New Englanders, moreover,
did not care to be associated with the foreign workmen and
hence social as well as economic influences operated to hurry
great numbers of these New England people westward over
the Great Lakes again to become farmers on the prairies of the
Middle West.
In the Middle Atlantic states conditions also favored emi-
gration. "Hard times" was the complaint of farmers, manu-
facturers and laborers in New York and Pennsylvania. Num-
erous memorials to Congress came from New Yorkers in 1834
asking that body to make some attempt to alleviate the distress
prevalent throughout the state. From Albany came the com- /
plain of a lost market and a great cut in the wages of the labor-/
ing men ;28 from Rochester came the news that the flouring mills
had closed on account of the instability of money ;29 from Otsego
county a memorial was presented saying that the merchants
could not collect their accounts; that mechanics could find no
employment ; that real estate was on the decline and loans could
no longer be obtained; that manufacturing interests could not
continue to operate to any advantage and that commercial con-
fidence was fast being lost and general stagnation of business
threatened.30 From Ontario county, an agricultural district,
came the report that produce had fallen in value from twenty-
five to thirty-three per cent.31 Like conditions prevailed in
27McLaughlin in Popular Science Monthly, July, 1904; The Nation, May 27,
1869.
28 Senate Debates, 23 Cong., 1 Sess., 1179.
297b«7., 23 Cong., 1 Sess., 1722.
80 IMd., 23 Cong., 1 Sess., 1780.
31 Ibid., 23 Cong., 1 Sess., 1473.
[53]
340 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
Pennsylvania. From Lancaster,32 Murray,33 Montgomery,34
York,35 Mifflin,36 Union,37 and other counties came memorials to
Congress during the year 1834.
Among the laboring classes uneasiness was evident but in the
period of speculation and of inflated wages and values during
the years immediately preceding 1837, the wage earners seemed
content. When wages began to decline, however, and the prices
of living did not decrease in a like proportion, labor troubles
followed in- the larger cities. An example of this is the 'flour
riot' in New York in 1837. 3S Rents remained high as did prices
of commodities. Labor was in over-supply and the crowd seek-
ing employment in the cities seemed constantly to increase. A
paper of the time commenting upon this increase attributed
it to the fact that the facilities for securing good educations
were so liberal and so generally accepted throughout the state —
New York — and that whenever the younger sons of the farmers
were qualified to engage in commercial pursuits they almost in-
variably hastened to the cities in search of employment, there-
by diminishing thei agricultural class and increasing the labor-
ing class to the detriment of both.39 Laborers' wages decreased
and by 1840 the decrease ranged from twenty-five to thirty-
three per cent.40 and conditions seemed not likely to improve.
Newspapers discussed the situation and some did not hesitate
to advise every class of laborers to embrace the first opportun-
ity offered for emigrating to the West.41
Conditions seemed equally unfavorable for the farming class
and a decrease of the agricultural population took place in many
of the New York counties. In Dutchess county from 1830 to
1835 there was a decrease in the population which would have
been more marked had not the towns of Poughkeepsie and
32 /bid., 23 Con., 1 Sess., 825.
KIbid., 23 Cong., 1 Sess., 1187.
"Ibid., 23 Cong., 1 Sess., 1803.
88 House Debates., 23 Cong., 1 Sess., 4188.
86 Ibid., 23 Cong., 1 Sess., 4039.
87 IUd., 23 Cong., 1 Sess., 3642.
88 Panics in the United States, 20.
*> Wisconsin Enquirer, June 25, 1842 (from the Albany Daily Advertiser).
*u Hazard. United States Commercial and Statistical Register, May 6, 1840.
« The New Yorker, April 22, 1837 ; July 21, 1838.
[54]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 341
Fishkill each added considerable numbers to their population
through the development of manufactures. The decrease was
attributed to "emigration to the West"42 In Columbia county
the hard times of 1837 and 1838 were felt and the effects were
noticeable in the unusual number of business and dwelling
houses offered for sale.43 Likewise in Chautauqua, Chenango,
Genesee, Ontario, Scheneetady and Otsego counties either a de-
crease was noticeable during the years following 1837 or the in-
creases were very small and these due not to agricultural but
to urban development.44 In the case of Chautauqua county,
especially, there had been, since 1835, a steady decline.45
This decrease was not a local thing as the Commercial Ad-
vertiser46 shows, for in 1840 in more than two hundred towns
of the state there were fewer farmers than in 1835, due to the
fact, the writer of the article shows, that it cost more labor than
formerly to produce agricultural products. "Unless a more
systematic form of husbandry be adopted" says thrj writer,
"the farms of this state will not exceed in price the worn-out
lands of Maryland and Virginia." Legislative aid was neces-
sary but was slow in coming. Competition by western produce
became yearly a more potent faster in driving down prices;
concentration— of property and rapid increase of mortgaged
lands each lent its aid to increase the existing dissatisfaction
with the economic situation and consequently to aid the move-
ment westward.
To competition, a considerable part of the westward emigra-
tion may be attributed and for the cause of this rapid increase
If competition we must look to the Erie_ canal. /While
he canal was a work as general in its character as any under-
taking of the kind could well be, it exercised a negative influence
upon the welfare of farmers living beyond a distance of twenty-
five or thirty miles from it, and was the means of retarding the
42 Niles' Register, 49, 226.
48 History of Columbia County (N. Y.) 1, 329.
44 Buffalo Commercial Advertiser, Aug. 19, 1845 ; Oct. 10, 1845.
« From 1830 to 1835 the increase had been 10,200 ; from 1835 to 1840 it was
but 2,700 and from 1840 to 1845 there was a decrease (History of Columbia
County (N. Y.), 1, 345; Buffalo Commercial Advertiser, Oct. 10, 1845.
48 Aug. 12, 1845.
[55]
BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
advancement of agricultural interests in the northern and
southern counties of the state47 In fact it held out induce-
ments to the farmers in these counties to emigrate.48
Prior to the opening of the canal wheat and other grains
were grown in large quantities in the fertile valleys of New
York and found profitable markets; but the high prices paid
in eastern markets rapidly drew western grain eastward when
facilities for transportation were obtainable. In 1835 when the
cost of sending wheat from Illinois to New York City averaged
from twenty-five to thirty cents a bushel49 the Illinois farmer
found it profitable and nearly 100,000 bushels besides a consid-
erable amount of flour passed through the canal from the West
during the year.50 Ten years later it cost the Illinois farmer
but five cents a bushel to send his wheat to Buffalo.51 The
effect is seen in the 1,355,000 bushels of wheat, which, with
717,500 barrels of flour and 3,000,000 pounds of wool, passed
through the canal from the West during that year.52
The competition was too severe for the New York farmers
and numbers were compelled either to change their industries
to the more profitable ones of grazing and dairying or to move
to the cheap lands of the West, where they, too, could take ad-
vantage of the fertile soil and cheap transportation. The Erie
canal had been completed at the expense of the tax-payers of
New York. Now each successive tax levy which was used to
keep the canal in repair served only to make the taxpayer's
property decrease in value owing to competition it helped to
create. The result of the canal policy seems evident— rit oper-
ated against the welfare of the farmers who did not live in di-
rect contact with the canal and forced them in many bases to
leave the state in search of more advantageous locations. \
The concentration of property also did its work towa-rds in-
creasing dissatisfaction and thereby increasing the number of
47 Winden, Influence of the Erie Canal (MSS. Thesis, University of Wisconsin,
1900).
48 American Railroad Journal and General Advertiser (1845), 58.
49 Northwestern Gazette and Galena (III.) Advertiser, Aug. 22, 1835.
*°DeBoic's Review, 2, 102.
61 Buffalo Commercial Advertiser, Aug. 19, 1845.
B: DcBoic's Review, 2, 102.
[56]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 343
emigrants. On account of this concentration of property the
AjxLLJient troubles broke out among the settlers living along
the Hudson and Schoharie rivers in eastern New York. Al-
though the movement was at first of little consequence it in-
creased in violence, culminating in an outbreak of a serious
nature which was only subdued by concessions by the land-
holders.53
A like disturbance over the "Genesee Tariff" took place in the
Holland Purchase in western Neiw York in 1835. The Holland
Land Company had contracted its unsold lands and lands upon
which there were outstanding claims and unexpired contracts, to
two speculators. The new controllers demanded higher rents as
well as the interest which had accumulated upon certain leases.
A general uprising of the farmers took place and some lawless
proceedings 'were carried on. These incidents are evidences of
a wide-spread discontent in the agricultural class of the state
and when coupled with the glowing reports of opportunities
offered in the "West they throw light upon the agricultural
emigration thither.
The fever for the establishment of colonies in the West grew
constantly during the thirties and forties and beyond a doubt
some people who under other conditions would have remained
at home were carried away by enthusiasm for such undertak-
ings.54
From Pennsylvania there came a steady stream of immi-
grants seeking better homes. In the cities conditions similar
to those described in New York prevailed for the number of un-
employed laborers increased and wages decreased after 1837.
Manufacturers 'were not as successful as they wished to be.
Some blamed the insufficient protection afforded by the tariff,85
but undoubtedly the general financial unsteadiness was the
cause.
53 Delaware (N. Y.) Gazette, Sept., 1874; Delaware (N. Y.) Courier, Jan. 29,
1864 ; Feb. 5, 1864 ; New York World, Jan. 19, 1880.
M Chicago Weekly American, June 20, 1835 ; June 27, 1835 ; July 9, 1836 ;
New York Weekly Tribune, Nov. 5, 1842; History of Henry County (111.), 135;
Edson, History of Chautauqua County (N. Y.), 338 : Curtiss, Western Portraiture,
292 : Thirtieth Anniversary of the Settlement of Geneseo (111.).
55 Hazard, United States Commercial and Statistical Register, 1, 333.
344 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
The farmers, save in the more fertile valleys of the state, were
not very successful. The soil in the less favored regions was
"poor and hard to cultivate" and the country "broken and
hilly."56 In the most desirable localities the process of subdivi-
sion of farms had gone on to such a great extent that by the be-
ginning of the thirties the farms were exceedingly small, com-
prising often but ten or twenty acres.57 The younger genera-
tion growing up at this time was in need of a place to earn a
ivelihood and some went to the cities, others to the West.
Many of the farmers (were renters and each year spent as
much money for rent as would buy a western farm. For a de-
cade after 1835 Pennsylvania was flooded with circulars describ-
ing the beauties of the Illinois country, recommending the land
.and offering flattering inducements to settlers.58 "When the less
prosperous years came the effect of these circulars became
marked and many took their 'way westward. By 1850 there
were nearly 38,000 Pennsylvanians in Illinois alone, but, as the
movement was a gradual one and due to no exceptional circum-
stances, the volume at different years is not easily determined.
From 1830 to 1850 the movement of population in the south-
•ernjitates was one of decided importance. Before 1850 Virginia
had lost by emigration twenty-six per cent, of her native-born
free inhabitants. South Carolina had lost thirty-six per cent,
and North Carolina, thirty-one per cent.59 Further exami-
nation of statistics, will, however show that the movement was
probably almost entirely within the limits of the planting states
themselves. From 1831 to 1840 Georgia gained nearly thirty-
four per cent, in population; Alabama, ninety-one per cent.,
Mississippi, one hundred and seventy-five per cent, and Arkan-
sas, two hundred and twenty-one per cent. In the next decade,
while the percentages of increase were lower, the actual gain
in population in these states was little less than in the preced-
ing decade and if Texas, which appears for the first time in the
66 Lothrop, Directory of Champaign County (111.), 118.
57 Hazard, Register of Pennsylvania, 8, 88.
58 History of Livingston County (111.), 500.
08 Abstract of the Seventh Census (1850), 15.
[58]
TOOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS,, 1830~50 : 345
census reports, be included, the increase was nearly 200,000 in
excess of that of the preceding decade.60
Just how large a part of this southern stream came to the
Northwest is difficult to determine but an examination of county
histories discloses the fact that during the decade of 1831-1840,
pioneers from the South and Southwest frequently came to take
up the woodlands along the Illinois rivers.
To a combination of causes, we must look for the explanation
•of this migration. The Indian lands of Georgia had been opened
for settlement and the cultivation of cotton was rapidly in-
creasing along the 'black belt' of the Gulf States. Moreover, a
.general depression pervaded the older states of the South in the^-
thirties, due primarily to agricultural conditions and aggra-^
vated by the general financial embarrassment of the last half
of the decade. From Maryland,61 Virginia,62 and the Caro-
linas63 came the cry of ' ' worn-out lands ' ' and general agricultural
depression. On account of the exhaustive process of the culti-
vation of the staples, tobacco and cotton, there had been going
on for years, a steady impoverishment of the land, but while the
price of cotton kept up it was a profitable industry for the
planter. A decline in prices, however, set in and following the
year 1837 there came a crisis in the cotton industry, which
proved a hard blow to southern interests, for prices fell so low
that the cultivation of this staple was no longer a paying ven-
ture.64 To make matters 'worse, the price of tobacco fell in a
corresponding degree.65
The cause for the ill-success of the agricultural, class may be
seen in the character of the products. As a staple was the
strength and life of the South so was it also the weakness.
In good years when crops flourished, all was well, but in' poor
years (when crops failed, disaster followed. Since the (rich
planter class held most of the best lands of the South, the poor
80 Seventh Census (1850), 4, 5.
81 Niles' Register, 49, 298.
62 Martineau, Society in America, 2, 41.
63 Niles' Register, 44, 222.
64 The Agricultural Prospects of South Carolina: Her Resources and Her True
Policy, in the Southern Quarterly Review, 8, 119.
Register, 52, 131.
[59]
346 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVEKSITY OF WISCONSIN
whites were confined to the less productive portions and from
this there arose a tendency to move. In the case of the planter,
the removal came with the wearing out of the old lands ; in the
case of the poor whites, the removal came whenever an oppor-
tunity presented itself.
In the southern mind many of the hardships experienced by
the people of that section could be attributed to the tariff.
This view is shown by Mr. Hayne, senator from South Caro-
lina, who in 1832 presented to the Senate a memorial which
stated that, ' ' Although other causes have conspired to reduce the
income of the citizens of the south, yet it is the tariff alone
which denies them the right of converting that reduced income
into such an amount of the necessaries and conveniences of life
as would certainly be at their command under a revenue sys-
tem of moderate duties . . . . "CG Charleston is the ex-
ample cited to show the conditions which prevailed during the
early thirties. The merchants were bankrupt, the mechanics
in despair, grass was growing in the streets, houses were falling
in ruins, real estate was reduced to one-third its true value and
rents amounted to almost nothing. In the surrounding country
the fields were abandoned, agriculture drooping and slaves and
masters working harder than ever and faring worse.67 Condi-
tions were not changed in 1837 as a correspondent writes to the
New York Star, He points out that the business houses were
failing and loans could be had only at rates ranging from four
to ten per cent, a month and then only on collateral securities
in the shape of jewels and other valuables.68
In the Southwest conditions were not much better. A me-
morial from Louisville, presented to the Senate in 1834 says,
"Had a large invading army passed triumphantly through our
country, it could not have so completely marred our prosperity.
. . . The countenances of our citizens are more gloomy
and desponding than when the dread cholera was amongst
us. ' '69 Money here commanded five per cent, a month.
w Senate Debates, 22 Cong., 1 Sess., 174.
«' Ibid., 22 Cong. ' 1 Sess.. 80.
88 Xiles' Register, 52, 114.
68 Refers to the removal of U. S. Bank Deposits. (Senate Debates, 23.
Cong., I. Sess., 719.)
[60]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 347
-''Another cause operated to turn migration northward" dur-\
ing this period. It was the influence of the institution of slav-
ery. Slavery, the emigrants from the South said, had a ten-
dency to create class distinction to a marked degree and to
depreciate the effectiveness of free, white labor. As a conse-
quence immigrants came to Illinois from Virginia,70 "West Vir-
ginia,71 Maryland,72 Georgia,73 Kentucky,74 and TennesX"
Vsee75 expressly to escape the effects of slavery, which as they
said, operated against their interests in their native states. In
all probability this was the greatest influence operating to move
southern emigrants to northern homes. Free labor in 1832
received but twelve and one-half cents a day.76 It was
unable to compete with slave labor and as a consequence it was
compelled to withdraw.
From the states north of the Ohio river, an exceedingly large
emigration came to the newerlsT^esT "The causes for this move-
ment are not clearly defined and much of the emigration can
probably be attributed to the ever present desire to obtain better
farming lands. Ohio and Indiana were both good agricultural •
states and owing to the fact that the chief industry was farm-
ing the revulsion of 1837 did not affect them to such an extent
as it did the eastern states.77 Monetary affairs in Ohio got into
a state of confusion, however, immediately after the panic, for
the " Three Dollar Law" was passed, by which no bank was
compelled to accept bills of any other bank for amounts of three
dollars or less. Considerable trouble was experienced owing
to this fact and undoubtedly losses resulted to all classes.
Money brought from ten to fifty per cent, a year,78 which placed
it beyond the reach of the average borrower and wrought hard-
ship upon the well-to-do.
70 Weekly Chicago Democrat, Feb. 4, 1848.
71 lUd.
n History of Mercer and Henderson Counties, (111.) 803.
78 Fen-all, Ramble through the'United States (1832), 166.
74 Recollections of John M. Palmer, 8.
75 Stuart, Three Years in North America, 2, 235.
78 House Debates, 22 Cong., I. Sess., 3154.
77 Greene County Torch Light, (Xenla, O.) Dec. 9, 1859; Ohio Statesman, Dec.
3, 1889.
78 Green County (O.) Torch Light, Dec. 9, 1839.
[61]
348
BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
Indiana had its experience with financial troubles. The in-
ternal improvement craze which seized upon so many of the
states before 1840 affected this state also and coupled with dis-
tress coming from too much banking, trading and speculation
threw the state deeply into debt.79 Many left to escape paying
their debts; some, ruined by paying them, migrated in search
of other homes where they cguld begin life anew and build
up their broken fortunes. Still others seeing the immense debt
burdening the state and noting the slowness of the return of
financial solidity, feared an increase of taxes, sold their land
and moved out of the state to escape the additional burden
which they expected would be laid upon the people.
"* Soils varied greatly in fertility all through the states of the
old Northwest Territory bordering on the Ohio river. The Wis-
"Haymond, Indiana, 216.
[62]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 349
cousin glacier had moved down over Illinois, Indiana and Ohio,
leaving a marked effect upon the fertility of the soil over
which it passed. Just how great this difference was can be
appreciated only by an examination of the agricultural statistics
for the two districts. The accompanying sketch80 shows in a
general way the glaciated and unglaciated portions of Ohio.
The portion of the state east of a line drawn through Canton,
Newark, Lancaster and Chillicothe has not had the benefit of
glacial action. In this area the streams run in deep narrow
channels whose valleys are fertile. On the highlands the soil is
shallow and the average production to the acre, especially in
wheat, not nearly so great as within the limits of the glaciated
district, being only as nine is to fourteen. Lacking the depth
of soil this unglaciated portion wore out rapidly and the crop
returns diminished each year. The census of 1900 shows that
on an average the counties inside the moraine produce $5,000
or more of agricultural products per square mile annually,
while outside the average production per square mile is between
$2,500 and $5,000.81
By 1850 the difference in the soils was noticeable. The reports
of 1850 for eight counties taken along the middle line of the un-
glaciated part of Ohio show forty-eight and six-tenths per cent,
of the land under cultivation; while in eleven counties selected
from those within the limits of the moraine but not bordering
upon it fifty-seven per cent, of the land was cultivated showing
that farmers were not inclined to allow good land to lie un-
cultivated. In the case of dairy products the difference was
not so noticeable for this industry seemed the best suited to
southeastern Ohio.
In land values the difference was still more marked. Outside
the moraine, land was worth on an average, thirteen dollars and
seventy-five cents an acre while inside it was valued at more
than nineteen dollars an acre. In other words, a farm of one
hundred acres in the glaciated part of the state was as valuable
as one of one hundred and forty acres in the less favored loca-
tions.82
80 For map see Geological Survey of Ohio (Columbus, 1884,) 5, 755.
81 Twelfth Census (1900) Agriculture, pt. 1, plate 4.
82 Seventh Census (1850), 862-868.
[63]
350 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
Like conditions prevailed in Indiana. The unglaciated part
of the state lacked fertility and the soil soon wore out. Statistics
for 1850 collected from eight counties inside the glacial moraine
and a like number outside of it show that glaciated land was
valued at twelve dollars and sixty cents per acre, while land not
glaciated was worth but six dollars and sixty cents per acre —
little more than half as much. The farms in the central part
of the state produced on an average fourteen bushels of cereals
per acre; in' the southern part, the average production was less
than eleven bushels per acre. In units of other produce, the
difference between the areas was as great; three and three-
fourths units being the average production per acre for the
glaciated portion and two and two-tenths units the average,
outside the moraine.83
At first glance the differences may not seem marked enough
to have had any great effect but to the farmer who spent his
time working earnestly it was disappointing to find that he
could raise but half as much produce per acre as his neighbor
who worked no harder than he and who cultivated no more
ground. In these relative land values it seems that a cause for
emigration can be found.8*
The flood of circulars which came from Illinois in the closing
years of the forties may have influenced some to move to that
state. At home, inducements were offered to some farmers to
move since capitalists found it a paying investment to buy up
the worn-out farms of southeastern Ohio and by means of fer-
tilizers to restore the strength of the land.85 Many took ad-
vantage of the opportunity to sell and moved away.
A general law which seems to have always been fundamental
in the westward movement was doubtless in operation. Ohio
and Indiana had been settled with rapidity and had now been in
the Union for a generation or more; the boys of the younger
8S Seventh Census (1850). 790-797.
M In the selection of examples care has been taken that New England settle-
ments should not be opposed to the southern settlements thus opposing thrift
and shiftlessness in agricultural methods. Contrast Von Hoist. Constitutional
History, 3, 570; Calhoun Papers in American Hist. Ass'n Reports (1898),
S, 196.
K Seventh Annual Report of the Ohio State Board of Agriculture (1852), 408.
[64]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 351
generation were growing to manhood and knowing by experi-
ence the possibilities of the West and the ease with which the
western land could be procured, and knowing the returns ob-
tained by ordinary effort <were anxious to become land owners.
The families of these pioneers were large as a rule, so a divi-
sion of the paternal inheritance could not be thought of by the
sons and they went out to take up lands for themselves. Travel-
ing by wagon they soon came to the prairies of Illinois and
finding the land here exceedingly fertile they were content to
settle wherever an opportunity, which generally meaprt timber,
presented itself. An examination of the nativities of-'the settlers
of the eastern Illinois counties will show a great percentage of
Ohio men and Indiana men, which leads one' to believe that
this immigration was a natural agricultural one produced by
no special causes save the general desire to obtain better eco-
nomic conditions. .^
From the foregoing causes it seems reasonable to believe that
the influences bringing about the western expansion in this > ;
period, were primarily economic. The movement may be
characterized as an attempt upon the part of the American
farmer and laborer to widen his industrial field and to uplift his
standard of living by taking advantage of the opportunities
offered in the new West.
[65]
352 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-
CHAPTER IV
THE WAY TO THE WEST
Broadly speaking the movement of the pioneers across the
continent has always been along the lines of least resistance,
following in a general way the lines of latitude. Illinois is a
remarkable illustration of the latter tendency. In length the
state is about four hundred miles and the parallels of latitude
which mark its northern and southern extremities include all
those states from northern Massachusetts to southern Virginia.
Xln the southern counties of the state a«great part of the settlers
are descendants of the pioneers who came from the southern
and southwestern states; in the northern and eastern counties
the settlers, exclusive of foreigners, are principally descended
. ^rom New Englanders or people from the Middle States.
In the early pioneer days there were fpur established lines
of travel to the West, following trails made by nature.
Farthest to the north lay the line of th^-Mohawk valley, after-
wards to be the path of the Erie canal. Next, to the south, was
a line of communication which folio-wed the course of the upper
Potomac and passed through southern Pennsylvania, western
Maryland and northern Virginia. Still farther south lay the
roads up the valleys of Virginia opening through the mountain
gaps into Tennessee and Kentucky, and lastly there were the
trails leading around the southern extremity of the Appa-
lachian system and spreading over the Gulf States.
To trace out any general line of travel is difficult but it ap-
pears that there was a tendency for the northern immigrants
to move towards the Ohio river or the Great Lakes and follow
these lines westward. This tendency is especially noticeable
when upon the completion of the Erie Canal the line of water
[66]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 353
communication extended unbroken from New York city through
the Great Lakes.
, Farther to the south it is a stiil more difficult matter to de-
termine the location of any general route of travel westward.
The southerner packed up his household goods, faced the West
and traveled by the most convenient road, f An illustration
of this characteristic is given in the answer made by a North
Carolina man who, traveling westward with all his earthly
possessions, was asked where he was going. "No where in
pertick'lar" he ans'wered. "Me and my wife thought we'd
hunt a place to settle. "We've no money, nor no plunder —
nothin' but just ourselves and this nag — we thought we'd
try our luck in a new country. "M The vague desire for
a change of location is shown here as well as one class of people
moving from the South in the early decades of the century.' •,
vjn' order to understand the lines of travel, it is necessary to
note the convergence of the several minor lines with the great N
trunk lines and also to note the divergence. From Montreal
and Quebec, which were the landing places of many Europeans
bound for the Northwest, the St. Lawrence river offered a cpn-
venient road.2 The New Englanders, after the opening of the
Erie canal, in 1825, if they lived near the Hudson river valley,
were inclined to travel the nearest road to Albany and proceed
by water. There was a decided tendency among those living
within a convenient distance from Boston to go to that city
and thence to Philadelphia3 or Baltimore* and westward by
stage, canal and railway to a point upon the Ohio river, gener-
ally Pittsburg or Wheeling.
The people of northern and western New York and such other
parts of the state as were close to the Erie canal generally
followed it to the Great Lakes and thence westward.5 Still
others found it more convenient to go by the southern wagon
road leading from Kingston on the Hudson through Ithaca and
1 Chicago TTeefcZy American, June 20, 1835.
a Boston Weekly Messenger, October 14, 1819.
8 Stories of the Pioneer Mothers of Illinois (MSS. in 111. State Historical
Library).
* Illinois Monthly Magazine, 2, 52. ,
* Stories of the Pioneer Mothers of Illinois (MSS. in 111. State Hist. Library).
[67]
354 BULLETIN" OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
Bath to the Alleghany river6 or to Erie (Pa.) and thence south
to Beaver on the Ohio where they embarked upon rafts or
> steamboats.
Buffalo was the great port for embarking for the West, and
/BO continued after the opening of the steamer lines on the lakes.
During the year 1834 some 80,000 people were counted leaving
Buffalo.7 Eleven years later the number had grown to almost
98,000.8 Thousands of the travelers were destined to the ports
of Detroit, Milwaukee and Chicago; the remainder were for
intermediate ports, for they did not believe the trip through the
entire length of the lakes to be the most advantageous. It
was a common occurrence for immigrants to leave the water
at Buffalo, or at Erie and then turn south to the Ohio river.9
Others went to Cleveland and reached the Ohio by way of the
Cuyahoga and Scioto rivers.10 The greater number of settlers
bound for the states around the upper Lakes went to one of the
three great ports and found their way to their homes by various
methods. Some bound for central Illinois left the Lakes at
Detroit, came over land to the Kankakee river and floated down
It to the Illinois.11
Those migrating from the Middle States turned towards the
great highways leading from Baltimore and Philadelphia over
the mountains to Pittsburg or Wheeling. From Philadelphia
the Columbia railway or the Schuylkill river and Union canal
connected with the Pennsylvania canal along the Susquehanna
and Juniata rivers. This route was followed to Hollidaysburg
where the Portage railway commenced. The railway acted as
a connecting link between the waterways of eastern and western
Pennsylvania. Writers and travele.rs__ comment upon it as one
of the wonderful achievements of the age. Jones in his Ill-
inois and the West (1838) says "the Portage Railroad over the
Alleghanies is a wonderful work. . . . The road consists
« Lloyd- Jones, Routes to Wisconsin (University of Wisconsin MS. Thesis (1902).
T Niles' Register, 58, 234.
8 Albach, Annals of the West, 958.
'Illinois Monthly Magazine, 2, 53.
10 Stephen A. Douglas came to Illinois by this road in the early thirties.
{Proceedings of the III. Ass'n of the Sons of Vermont (1877) 11).
"Duis, Good Old Times in McLean County (111.), 229.
[68]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS,, 1830-50
of five inclined planes on each side of the mountains with their
levels. The planes are from three-fourths of a mile to a mile
and a quarter in length and the levels from one to sixteen miles.
The short levels are furnished 'with horse power and the longer
ones with locomotives."12 From 1834 it seems to have been the
custom to load the canal boats from the eastern side on cars
furnished for the purpose, transport them over the mountains
and deposit them in the canal upon the opposite side;13 from
this point (Johnstown) the communication by water was un-
interrupted to th^Ohio. Some immigrants came by way of
Lancaster, Columbia, Chambersburg and Somerset to Pittsburg
on the Ohio or to Brownsville on the Old National Road.
Baltimore's connection with the West was by way of the-
National Road from Cumberland on the Potomac. The Chesa-
peake and Ohio canal leading to Pittsburg and the Baltimore-
and Ohio railroad to Wheeling although primarily planned to
give Baltimore close connection with the western country had
been slow in construction. By 1850 the canal was completed
only to Cumberland on the Potomac14 and the railroad had
reached this place but eight years before. The latter, however,
was of some importance at least in the conveyance of goods-
to the West, almost 782,000 tons of freight having passed west-
ward previous to 1851.15
From the surrounding country along all the wagon roads,
came load after load of household goods bound for the various
Ohio river towns.16 Hundreds preferred the National Road to
the Ohio, blocking it up with their caravans. Niles' Register17
says "the National Road has the whole season been blocked up
with movers' wagons and from the representations, people
enough have changed homes from the east to the west in 1839 to
add another state to the national constellation had they all lo-
cated in a single territory."
12 Jones, Illinois and the West, 16.
18 Galena Gazette, Dec. 13, 1834 (Extract from the Hollidaysburg (Pa.)
Aurora) ; Luchslnger, Neiv Glarus, in Wis. Hist. Colls., 12, 354.
14 Ward, Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, In Johns Hopkins University Studies, 17,
534.
15 Reizenstein, Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, in Johns Hopkins University
Studies, 15, 359.
18 Wheeling Gazette, Sept. 1, 1832.
17 Niles' Register, 52, 224.
[69]
356 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
From tire South Atlantic states much the same general course
was f olid week. The roads up the Virginia valleys converged at
the Cumberland Gap, although some movers preferred to travel
towards the Potomac river striking the Old National Road there.
Still others followed along the road leading through Ghar-
lottesville (Va.), Staunton, Lewisburg and Charlestown to
Guyandotte on the Ohio.18 From the Carolinas they followed the
Yadkin through Wilkesville, thence northward through Ward's
Gap (Va.) across the valley to the Great Kanahwa; or turning
southwest from "Wilkesville some went through the State Gap
(N. C.) and found their way to one of the Ohio river towns by
way of the Cumberland Gap. The roads of South Carolina
followed the rivers, and converging at the Saluda Gap in the
Blue Ridge, passed through Asheville (N. C.), through the
Smoky mountains and the Cumberland Gap to Kentucky.19 As
a general rule where there was any tendency to follow a beaten
line of travel it was towards some point on the Ohio between
Cincinnati and Louisville. If the whole trip was to be by
wagon the pioneers generally continued northward across the
Ohio to Vincennes (Ind.), Terre Haute (Ind.) or Shawnee-
town (111.)20
The great road from southern Kentucky, central Tennessee
and the Carolinas lay through Christian and Caldwell coun-
ties in Kentucky crossing the Ohio at Ford's Ferry and pro-
ceeding along the road through Equality, Mt. Vernon and
Carlyle. On this road could be seen every conceivable sort of
conveyance from a handsome family carriage to the humblest
sort of an ox-cart.21 \-
One more regular route of travel must be 'noticed. Thi
fs the Mississippi river. New Orleans 'was the great port of
the South and here a considerable number of foreigners landed
each year. Few of these, it seems, cared to 'stay in the South
for the up-stream boats each year brought hundreds of Ger-
mans, Irish and other foreigners seeking homes in the interior.22
18 Peck, Gazetteer of Illinois (1837), 323.
19 Reminiscences of Levi Coffin, 76.
20 History of Coles County (III.), 409. /
21 Personal Recollections of John M. Palmer, 11. »
22 Emigrants' and Travelers' Guide through the Valley of the Mississippi, 341 ;
Madison City Express, April 25, 1844.
[70]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 357
.The roads taken by the movers from the older states of the
Northwest Territory cannot be distinctly marked. The pio-
neers from Ohio living near the great river or its branches took
advantage of this convenient road.23 Others living along the
lire of the Old National Road were equally certain to take ad-
vantage of it. The people of Indiana, being close to Illinois,
were less likely to follow any one of these routes and it is dif-
ficult to find information regarding these settlers, other than
that they generally came in wagons or perhaps, when not in
possession of many household goods, on foot.
As there were points vfor congregation of immigrants, so were
there points for dispersion. Shawneetown, Vincennes and
Terre Haute on the eastern border" of the state have already
been mentioned. Detroit, to the northeast, has also been shown
to be a place from which the pioneers spread over the country,
some of them reaching northern and central Illinois. On the
south, beyond the bounds of the state lay another, Louisville,
from which several roads by land and water presented them-
selves according to the destination of the traveler.
(^ St. Louis was the important point for travelers coming by
way of the Mississippi. From this city nearly every point in
Illinois could be reached in a reasonably short time since steam-
boats departed almost daily for all Illinois towns lying along
the Mississippi,24 and others plied up and down the Illinois
river.25 By 1850 this latter line was increased in importance
by the opening of .the Illinois-Michigan canal which connected
St. Louis and Chicago by a waterway. In 1831 stage lines also '
led from 'St. Louis to various settlements throughout Illinois.
Three times a week the stage left St. Louis for Vincennes, In-
diana, passing through Belleville, Lebanon, Carlyle, Maysville
and Laurenceville ; once a week a stage went to Vandalia by
way of Edwardsville and Greenville and once a week to Galena
by way of Edwardsville, Springfield and Peoria.26
23 History of McLean County (III.), 467.
21 Illinois Monthly Mayazinc, 2, 54; Buffalo Commercial Advertiser, May 27,
1846. "
25 In 1836 there were thirty-five steamboats on the Illinois River. (History
•of Mena.nl and Mason Counties, 501.)
28 Illinois Monthly Magazine, 2. 54,
.
358 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
In the extreme northwest corner of the state in the lead re-
gion lay Galena, the objective point of all immigrants to tlat
region in the early days.27 It was most easily reached by way
of the Mississippi, and in 1822 the "Virginia" on her way 'to
Fort Snelling stopped at Galena, being the first steamboat to
enter the port.28 By 1846 steamers plied daily between St.
Louis and this port.29 As the lead mining industry grew, the
importance of Galena » as a distributing port for the Northwest
r grew also. In 1832, ten years after the coming of the fr.ist
/ j steamboat, one hundred steamboats and seventy keel-bolts
I landed there.30
During the time of the earlier days in the northwestern part
of the state before the railroads began to operate, the merchants
of the section carted their goods overland from Galena, which
was the most convenient point for receiving supplies from the
east and south. Here, too, was the market of the farmers, or
at least the shipping point for markets down the river. So
intimate was Galena's connection with the South by means of
the great river, that for years its people were decidedly southern
in their sympathies as was indicated by the sentiments expressed
- in their newspapers.
The objective point for immigrants to Illinois after 1834 was
Chicago, if the journey was made by way of the Great Lakes.
Frequently, indeed, we find mention of the number of immi-
grants landing at this point and of the rapidly increasing
number of vessels employed in transporting these people. In
1833 four vessels came to Chicago harbor,31 this number in-
creased to one hundred and eighty during the next year82 and
to over four hundred and fifty in 1836.33 "Almost all vessels
from the lower lakes are full of passengers and our streets are
thronged with wagons loaded with household furniture and the
implements necessary for farming. Foot-passengers, too, with
'>
27 Strong, History of Wisconsin Territory, 118.
28 Galena and its Lcadmines, In Harper's Magazine, 32, 693.
29 Buffalo Commercial Advertiser, May 27, 1846.
80 History of Jo Davicss County, 257.
81 Hunt's Merchants' Magazine, IS, 166.
32 Niles' Register, 47, 55.
S3 Hunt's Merchant Magazine, 18, 166.
[72]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 3591
well-filled sacks on their shoulders come in large numbers."3*
This was the comment of a Chicago newspaper in 1835. In
1836 the same paper states that the town "is rapidly filling up
with strangers."35 After the financial depression which lasted
from 1837 to 1842, Chicago again began to feel the westward
movement, the Chicago Express noting that "the tide of immi-
gration is gradually setting in again to Illinois."36
At a comparatively early date lines of communication were;
established from Chicago to various points in eastern, central
and northern Illinois. The chief road to the settlements along
the Vermilion and Wabash rivers was the 'Hubbard Trace.' or
the 'State Road' leading from Chicago to Danville.37 In 1836
a line of wagons, operating between Chicago and -the Kankakee
river was established. From this point connections were made
with the Illinois river steamboats by means of flat boats. Primarily
this transportation line was for the benefit of St. Louis andx
Alton merchants who were desirous of receiving their goods by
way of the lakes.38 Immigrants, however, took advantage of
the conveniences offered. Three years later the Frink and Bing-
ham stage line from Chicago to Galena was in operation adver-
tising that the entire journey of one hundred and sixty miles-
would be covered by their coaches in two days and that pas-
sengers would be carried for twelve and one-half dollars per
head.39
It has been indicated that, previous to the beginning of steam
navigation on the Great Lakes, the amount of travel along this
highway was limited. After its beginning the number of pas-
sengers desiring transportation increased with astonishing rap-
idity. With the increased demand by immigrants grew the
number of steamers. In 1833 eleven steamboats carried about
43,000 movers from Buffalo to the West.40 In the next year the
number of boats had grown to eighteen41 but it was not suffi-
34 Chicago 'Weekly Chronicle, Nov. 21, 1835.
55 IUd., June 18, 1836.
36 Chicago Express, June 27, 1843.
87 Beckwlth, History of Vermillion County, 651.
38 Northwestern Gazette and Galena Advertiser, Jan. 16, 1836.
39 IUd., Aug. 27, 1839.
40 MacGregor, Commercial Statistics of America, 675.
« IWd.
[73]
-360 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVEBSITY OF WISCONSIN
cient to satisfy the demand, for sailing vessels of all descrip-
tions were used. During the summer season of 1835, it was
estimated that 1200 people daily left the port of Buffalo bound
for the far West.42 The year 1839 saw the establishment of a reg-
ular line of steamers from Buffalo to JDefcroit_and_Chicago.43
\/ There were eight boats in this transportation line and they made
trips from Buffalo to Detroit every sixteen days. Between
Detroit and Chicago was a line of light boats and by 1847 the
traffic on the lakes had grown to such an extent that sixty
* steamboats and three hundred and forty vessels of other des-
criptions were necessary to handle the traffic.44
The cost of transportation along this route of travel varied
considerably as competition became brisk. From Albany to
Buffalo-at the beginning of the period the fare was fifteen dol-
lars and sixty-two cents45 by packet. Three years later it had
dropped to fourteen and one-half dollars46 and when railroads
got into running order transportation between these points cost
eleven dollars by land, and one and one-half cents per mile by
the canal, meals to be paid for by the travelers.47 From Buf-
falo to Chicago by steamboat cost twenty dollars in 1840 ;48
fifteen dollars in 1842,49 twelve dollars in 1847 ;50 and but ten
dollars in 1850 ;51 steerage passage could be obtained for about
half the above prices. Prices on propellers and schooners
ranged from four to eight dollars as steerage or cabin passage
was taken.52
Freight rates varied as did the prices of passenger traffic and
charges were made, sometimes by weight and sometimes by
barrel bulk.53 In 1836 the average cost per hundred weight
from New York to Chicago was one and one-half dollars.54 In
42 Chicago Weekly American, July 25, 1835.
43 Niles' Register, 44, 125.
44 De Boic's Review, 2, 102.
45 Illinois Monthly Magazine, 2, 52.
46 Emigrant^' and Travelers' Guide to the Mississippi Valley, 363.
47Norris and Gardiner, Illinois Annual Register (1847), 24.
>"Evanston Historical Society, Proceedings (1902), 3.
/ •*• Chicago Democrat, April 13, 1842.
/ /"°Norris and Gardiner, Illinois Annual Register (1847), 24.
| r^i Evanston Historical Society, Proceedings (1902), 3.
orris and Gardiner, Illinois Annual Register (1847). 24.
1 Albany Cultivator (1841), 8, 53.
54 Chicago Weekly American, July 9, 1836.
[74]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 361
the early forties rates from Buffalo to Chicago were quoted
at fifty cents per hundred weight on heavy stuff and eighty-
seven and one-half cents on light stuff.55 It is evident from
these classifications of rates that room rather than weight was
what the shipper paid for.
^ The amount of goods each mover brought depended upon his
financial condition and his inclination to pay freight. Some
loaded their horses, wagons and all upon the decks of the boats;
others came with only what they could carry on their shoulders.
Advice as to what the immigrant should take with him to the
West varied greatly. One authority told the travelers that
i they "should not pay freight on horses and cattle or upon
hogs."56 Another advised it, saying that the immigrants
need fear no difficulty in bringing stock with them as several
of the masters of boats seemed "to take great interest in the
\ shipment of choice stock to the West."57 It seems probable,
however, that what stock was brought to Illinois by the settlers
generally came with those traveling overland.
Speed of .travel increased as did the volume. In 1836, seven-
teen and one-half days were consumed in making the trip from
New York to Chicago;58 by 1840 the distance from Chicago to
Buffalo had been covered in two days and two nights.59 Three
and one-half days for the same trip was the best time made be-
fore 1850.60
The steamers seem to have been regarded as almost perfect
as is shown by the enthusiastic description of a lake steamer given
by a Chicago newspaper man in 1841. "It is difficult," he
says, "to conceive of their superiors whether we regard swift-
ness or beauty of model. They float upon the water like swans;
they move through it like its own finny inhabitants. Travelers
from the South and East are in raptures with them and they
may well be so. ' '61 The large boats sometimes carried nine hun-
dred passengers with their luggage at one trip. Many of these
55 Chicago Democrat, April 13, 1842.
60 Marshall, Farmers' and, Emigrants' Handbook, 24.
"Albany Cultivator (1841), 8, 53.
68 Chicago Weekly American, July 9, 1836.
"» Niles' Register, 58, 288.
/*> Chicago Times, Dec. 27, 1841.
91 Chicago Weekly American, Sept. 6, 1841.
[75]
362 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
probably were deck passengers having no more accommodations
than mere shelter from the weather. Towards the close of the
Aj forties the railroads which were developing slowly began to
j ^divert the passenger traffic from the Great Lakes.62
Many immigrants landed in Chicago who had not means
enough to take advantage of the stage lines, nor had they wag-
ons of their own. The more fortunate, ho'wever, possessing
some funds were often able to make an agreement with one of
the many farmers hauling produce to Chicago, to transport their
• goods into the interior. In such cases the owners trudged
1 along mile after mile to their destinations. The Bishop Hill
colonists are said to have travelled the entire distance from
Chicago to Henry county on foot, and some even came from
New York in the same way. In the summer the roads were
good but during the spring, before the sun had dried up the
moisture, they were in wretched condition.
In early days thousands of settlers had come to the West on
river steamers. Illinois, although situated in the very heart
\ of the interior, has exceptional advantages for navigation. Its
^A boundaries measure eleven hundred and sixty miles and more
than eight hundred and fifty miles of this extent is made up of
navigable waters.63
The first attempt to navigate the western rivers by the aid of
steam was made in 181164 and in 1817 the first steamboat to-
touch a port on the Upper Mississippi reached St. Louis.65 Five
p» -later Galena, at the extreme northern limit, of the state
was reached. Previous to 1811 crafts of various descriptions
had been used in river traffic. Log canoes, pirogues, large
enough to carry twelve or fifteen barrels of goods, Kentucky
boats, keel-boats, eighty feet in length with a capacity of one-
hundred barrels, New Orleans boats, capable of transporting
from four hundred to five hundred barrels at a time, barges,
with a capacity of 60,000 pounds, and finally great rafts upon1
which whole families together with their household goods, farm-
02 Evanston Historical Society Proceedings (1902), 3.
83 North American Review, 51, 113.
of the West, 853.
St. Clair County (111.). 21, in Illinois Local Histories, 12, Wist.
Hist. Society Library.
[76]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS,
ing implements and domestic animals floated singly or in groups
down the Ohio and the Mississippi rivers.66 Occasionally the
boats were "poled" back up the river but the rafts were broken
up and either used for building the homes of the immigrants
or were sold.
The keel-boats were built with the view of protection from the
Indians as well as for carrying large loads. Loopholes lined
the heavy wooden upper work of the boats. Partitions formed
four rooms, — a cabin for the steward, a dining room, a ladies'
cabin and one for men. In later days stoves were furnished
and rude berths were constructed along the walls.67 Generally
such boats were manned by three hands, one to act as pilot and
two for rowing. Occasionally some mover, with an idea of les-
sening labor and increasing speed fitted up a pair of side wheels
for his boat. These were kept in motion by horses walking in
a treadmill. Mention is made of such a boat, seventy-five
tons .burden, making the trip all the way from the Muskingum
in Ohio to Winnebago county, Illinois, in 1839. It carried a
typical immigrant load, eighteen persons, besides horses, cattle,
swine, geese, ducks, chickens and farming utensils of all sorts
from wagons to hoe handles. Beds, bedding, household furniture,
wearing apparel and a full year's stock of provisions were also
in the cargo.68
Down all the streams which fed the Ohio and especially
those leading from the lumber district of Pennsylvania and
New York floated immense rafts of lumber. Often two or three
were lashed together to make the trip which as a rule occupied
from three to four weeks. The immigrants in order to make
themselves as comfortable as possible on the voyage erected rude
shanties which served for parlor, kitchen, bedroom and store-
' house. Outside on the walls of the cabin could be seen all kinds
of sporting apparatus, dried meats, and every variety of men's
and women's wearing apparel. Occasionally a string of drying
clothes stretched along the raft suggested the dooryard of a
cabin rather than a floating village. Domestic animals and
88 See Schultz, Travels, 1, 129-133, for early river navigation ; also Hulburt,
Historic Highways, &.
«7 The Americans as They Are, 53.
** Miners' Free Press, May 14, 1839.
[77]
364 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
poultry mixed with ploughs, wagons and other agricultural im-
plements took up the remaining room. So equipped, the movers
floated down the river and if by good fortune they avoided the
numerous snags and sandbars, in due time they reached the
mouth of the Ohio where more strenuous labor commenced, for
the raft must be "poled" to St. Louis, the distributing point
of the Upper Mississippi. These rafts were broken up here and
often brought the owner between five and fifteen thousand dol-
lars according to the size.69
"When in 1811 The Orleans went steaming down the
from Pittsburg and when six years later the Washington con-
vinced a despairing public that steamboat navigation would
succeed on western waters, the new era in western history
dawned."70 In 1830 two hundred and thirty steamboats were
navigating the Mississippi ;71 by 1840 the number had increased
to four hundred and fifty.72 In 1850 this river commerce was
valued at $550,000,000.73 Lines of boats operated on the Wa-
bash and on the Illinois terminating at St. Louis, also between
Galena and St. Louis.
The first steamboats were not well fitted for river navigation.
The builders had copied the models adapted to deep water
navigation and as a result nearly all the boats drew too much
water, becoming useless during the later summer months when
the rivers were at a low stage. Owing to the patent held by
Fulton on side-wheel steamers the stern wheel was adopted.
Since the boats were very light in construction, many accidents
occurred from 'snags.' Explosions, too, were frequent owing
to defective boilers and carelessness upon the part of the oper-
ators. Two or three miles an hour74 was the average rate of
speed against the current and in 1820 six or eight miles was
considered exceptional.75
Many were the difficulties encountered by the pioneer steam-
boats and many were the inconveniences experienced by the trav-
69 Jones, Illinois and the West, 35 ; Howells, Recollections of Life in Ohio, 85.
ZSJLulfciirt, Historic Highways, 9, 101.
71 Nilcs' Register, 64, 124.
72 Memorial of the People of Cincinnati (1844), 13.
73 De Bow, Industrial Resources, 2, 400.
74 HoweMs, Recollections of Life in Ohio, 74.
75 Emigrants' and Travelers' Guide through the Mississippi Valley, 341.
[78]
V
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 365
/
elers. A voyage up the Mississippi is vividly described, but'
probably in an overdrawn manner, by one who made the trip
in 1832. "This hour," he says, "you get upon a sand-bank,
the next you are nearly snagged — driftwood in the river breaks
your paddle — the pilot is found to be a toper — the engineer an'
ignoramus — the steward an economist — the captain a gambler —
the black fireman insurgent and the deck passenger riotous.
This moment you have too little steam and hardly advance
against the current; another, too much and the boat trembles
with the tremendous force exerted by the power that impels
her. To complete your dismay the captain agrees to take a
disabled steamboat, or a couple of heavily laden barges in tow
for the next four or five hundred miles."76
The amount of travel on the large boats was great indeed.
A boat of five hundred tons often carried one hundred cabin \
passengers and five hundred deck passengers besides four hun-
dred tons of freight, making it a world in miniature. "In the
cabin you will find ladies and gentlemen of various claims to
merit; on the forward part of the boat the sailors, deck-hands
and those sons of Vulcan — the firemen — possessing striking
traits of character and full of noise and song and too often of
whiskey; whilst above in the deck cabin there is everything
which may be called human — all sorts of men and women, of
all trades, from all parts of the world, of all possible manners
and habits. There is the half-horse and half-alligator Ken:_____
tneky boatman, swaggering and boasting of his prowess, his
rifle, his horse and his wife. One is sawing away on his wretched
old fiddle all day long; another is grinding a knife or razor;
here is a party playing cards; and in yonder corner is a dance
to the sound of the Jew 's harp ; whilst a f e'w are trying to de-
mean themselves soberly by sitting in silence or reading a book.
But it is almost impossible — the wondrous tale and the horrible
Indian story are telling; the bottle and the jug are freely cir-
culating; and the boisterous and deafening laugh is incessantly
raised, sufficient to banish every vestige of seriousness and
thought and sense. A friend of mine some time ago went down
from Cincinnati to New Orleans on board the steamboat
78 Latrobe, Rambles in North America, 1, 224.
[79]
366 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
* * * which carried fifty cabin passengers ; one or two hun-
dred deck passengers; one negro driver with his gang of ne-
groes; a part of a company of soldiers; a menagerie of wild
"beasts; a whole circus, and a company of play actors."77 Ger-
man and Irish immigrants composed the greater number of the
deck passengers. Exposed to the inclemencies of the weather
many of these people were taken ill and on almost every voyage,
up the river especially from the ports of the extreme south it was
a common occurrence for some of these immigrants to fall vic-
tims to exposure. An exceptional case is noted in Niles' Regis-
ter where on one trip eighteen passengers died from illness con-
tracted through inadequate accommodations.78
The cabin passengers enjoyed more comforts it seems, but ac-
counts given by travelers are far from agreeing on this point.
One account says, "the American steamboats are in the point
of elegance superior to those of other nations, and none but the
English are able to compete with them. The furniture, car-
pets, beds, etc., are thought elegant and in good condition.
.. . . The fare is excellent and the breakfasts, dinners and
suppers are provided with such a multiplicity of dishes and
-even dainties as would satisfy the most refined appetite. The
beverage consists of rum, gin, brandy and claret to be taken at
pleasure during meals ; but out of that time they are to be paid
for."79 Still another writer tells of Brussels carpets, chande-
liers, armchairs, rocking chairs, mirrors and libraries and some-
times pianos on the Mississippi river boats.80 Such descriptions,
however, seem to be a little too brightly colored if we consider
the impressions of western travelers during the thirties.
I "Happy he whose foresight has secured to him all the enjoy-
ment of the luxury of his own clean towels as none but the dis-
agreeable alternative of drying his person by the heat of the
stove can be the fate of him who has not done thisy As to
making use of the common articles hung up for the accommoda-
tion of some thirty citizens in rotation no one can be termed
.. . . delicate for avoiding that,"81 says one.
77 Emigrants' and Travelers' Guide through the Mississippi Valley, 342.
78 Files' Register, 46, 361.
79 The Americans as They Are, 106.
80 New York Weekly Tribune, June 17, 1843.
-* Latrobe, Rambles in North America, 1, 221.
[80]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 367
An Illinois river steamboat of 1838 was described in a no less
slighting manner. ''There was but one bedroom candlestick on
board and this was made with one candle to serve the four
ladies' state-rooms in' turn, one being obliged to go to bed,
. . . the candle being then passed on to another. . . .
Of towels also there was but one, which had to go the round
from cabin to cabin in the same way ; and the whole equipment
in furniture, fare and attendance was upon the same starved,
stinted and miserable footing."82
The rules governing the actions of passengers were printed,
framed and hung in a conspicuous place. The gentlemen were
forbidden to go to the table without coats or in any garb which
would disturb the company, neither should they enter the ladies'
state-room without the consent of the ladies. Gentlemen were
not to lie upon the beds with their boots or shoes on; they
were not to smoke cigars in the state-room; neither were they
to play cards after ten o'clock, nor at any time engage in con-
versation with the pilot. Marking on the furniture with a pen-
cil or anything else which would disfigure it 'was also mentioned
among the things not to be indulged in. Any transgression of
the above named rules was punishable by a fine for the first
offense; for the second, the transgressor was sent ashore.83
In one point discipline seems to have been lax. Gambling on
board the boats was prevalent to a marked degree. Not only
did the ordinary passengers indulge, but there were gangs of pro-
fessional gamblers who infested the principal towns from Pitts-
burg to New Orleans and constantly traveled up and down the
river fleecing all whom they were able to entice into games.84
Murder, too, seems to have been no uncommon occurence if we
are to believe the current statements.85
In 1831 a passage from Beaver, Pennsylvania to Cincinnati,
by steamboat was twelve dollars; to Louisville, sixteen dollars;
to Shawneetown, twenty-two dollars and to St. Louis, thirty-one
dollars. From Philadelphia to St. Louis by stage and steam-
82 Buckingham, Eastern and Western States of America, 3, 207.
83 The Americans as They Are, 106 ; Steele, A Summer Journey in the West, 155.
M Emigrants' and Travelers' Guide Through the Mississippi Valley, 343.
85 Miles' Register, 54, 388.
[81]
368 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVEKSITY OP WISCONSIN
boat the cost, including meals, was about fifty-five dollars ; from
New Orleans to St. Louis, thirty dollars; from St. Louis to
' Beardstown on the Illinois river, six dollars; to Quincy, six
dollars and to Galena, twelve dollars. Deck passage was much
cheaper. From Beaver to Louisville cost four dollars; from
Louisville to St. Louis, three dollars; from New Orleans to St.
Louis, eight dollars and from St. Louis to Quincy and Galena
two dollars and three dollars respectively.86
Prices were gradually lowered. By 1834 a traveler could
procure cabin passage from New Orleans to Pittsburg for be-
tween thirty-five and forty-five dollars and deck passage for be-
tween ten and twelve dollars.87 In 1837 the "Western Trans-
portation Line operating between Philadelphia and St. Louis
by way of Pittsburg, Cincinnati and Louisville charged the fol-
lowing rates: To Pittsburg cost six dollars and the time for
the trip was six and one-half days ; to Cincinnati, eight and one-
half dollars, time eight and one-half days; to Louisville, nine
dollars, time nine and one-half days and to St. Louis, a distance
of seventeen hundred and fifty miles, the cost was thirteen dol-
lars and the time of travel, fourteen days. Packets which re-
duced the time cost more. The company charged seventeen
dollars to Cincinnati, nineteen dollars to Louisville and twenty-
seven dollars to St. Louis.88
After 1840 from New York to Cincinnati cost only twelve
dollars; to Louisville, thirteen dollars; to St. Louis, fourteen
dollars and to Galena, sixteen dollars.89 Meals were not in-
cluded. Their average cost was thirty-seven and one-half cents
each.80 Stage travel cost six cents per mile.91 Deviations from
these prices were often made when a party consisting of a large
family or number of families desired passage to one place.92
The rates for the transportation of goods were in accordance
with prices of travel. Sixty-two and one-half cents per hun-
•« Illinois Monthly Magazine, 2, 52.
87 Emigrants' and Travelers' Guide through the Mississippi Valley, 341.
M Illinois in 1837, 67.
89 Kapp, European Emigration to the United States, 70.
«* Mitchell, Sketchbook of Illinois, 27.
81 lUd.
« A ties' Register, 48, 242.
[82]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 ,'369
dred weight was the customary charge from New Orleans to St.
Louis; to Cincinnati it was about seventy cents and to Pitts-
burg between seventy-five cents and one dollar. Down stream
charges were less; thirty cents per hundred weight for dry
goods was the cost from Pittsburg to Cincinnati ; three and one-
half dollars per ton for iron goods for the same destination.98
To other points proportionate charges were made. i^
The Ohio river route was one of the great highways to the
West during the period 1830 to 1850. Some idea of the volume
of travel down this river may be had by an examination of the
newspapers published in the towns along the river. The Cin-
cinnati Mirror of September 6, 1834 says: "We are so com-
pletely overrun by emigrants or movers with carriages, wagons,
cattle, horses, dogs and sheep that we are compelled to speak.
Our streets are a moving mass of living men, women, children
and everything joyously wending their way to their new habi-
tations." During the next decade the tide had in nowise dimin-
ished. "The number of emigrants who have left this city,"
says the Cincinnati Gazette, "for the northern part of Illinois
and Iowa Territory by the way of St. Louis, as we are informed
by the officers of the boats, has been unusually large this season.
Boats leave our landing almost daily, crowded with substantial
emigrants from the back country with their live stock and farm-
ing apparatus bent upon seeking their fortunes in the West."9*
In the thirties the guide books published for the use of im-
migrants to the West frequently advised those intending to
move to do so in wagons. The expense was less than by other
methods. Live stock could be moved with less difficulty and if
occasion required the lighter goods only would be taken in
wagons and the heavier and bulkier farming implements sent
over the Lakes or down the Ohio. Sometimes furniture was
sent from New England all the way to/ Illinois by water, going
down the coast, around by New Orleans and up the Mississippi.9*
In these cases someone generally made the trip that way to
look after the goods.
*3 Emigrants' and Travelers' Guide Through the Mississippi Valley, 357.
M Cincinnati Gazette, April 21, 1842.
SB Stories of the Pioneer Mothers of Illinois. (Mrs. Julia Wolcott Carter's
•tory. M88. in Illinois Historical Library.)
[83]
A
.370 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
Prior to 1830 the ox-cart was much used for transportation
"by those taking land routes to the West. These carts were not
built for rapid transit but rather for capacity. A yoke of oxen
hauling an enormous load generally lounged onward at the rate
of one and one-half miles an hour. After 1830 wagons began to
be seen in greater numbers and in the autumn months when
the weather was mild, the roads dry and hard and the rivers
fordable, after the crops .of the year had been gathered and
sold, and when the cattle were fat and in good traveling condi-
tion, wagon' after wagon, caravan after caravan could be seen
rattling along the roads to the West.
All along the highways of travel the newspapers made occa-
sional note of parties of more than ordinary size. From these
articles we are best able to gain an idea of the volume of west-
ward travel by means of land conveyances. "On the 27th ult.,
quite a caravan of the hardy sons of Pennsylvania passed
through this city on their way to Stephenson county, Illinois.
There were fourteen wagons and sixty-one persons."96 Again,
"on Thursday the 15th inst., about one hundred and fifty per-
sons passed through this place southward, emigrating to Illinois
or perhaps to Missouri. They had their plunder in twenty-two
or twenty-three wagons."97 One man traveling through In-
diana towards Vincennes counted four hundred emigrants'
wagons within a distance of fifty-five miles.98 The Wheeling
Times in 1839 speaks of the unprecedented amount of travel by
wagons passing through the town.99 Numerous other news-
paper extracts to the same effect can be found. It seems prob-
able that those people living at any great distance from the
great waterways used wagons in traveling westward. This is
especially true among the fanners. There is, ho'wever, no way
of determining what percentage used this method of travel in
preference to the water routes.
The vehicles were of every kind; sometimes no vehicle was
used, for many a man traveled the whole way from the East on
»« Madison Express, July 27, 1843. (Extract from the Michigan City Gazette.)
" Chicago Weekly Democrat, June 18, 1834.
98 Niles' Register, 47, 163.
"Madison Enquirer, June 8, 1839.
[84]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 S7l
•oot. "Sometimes the light wagons containing the possessions
of the movers were drawn by the people themselves, the head of
the family between the shafts of the wagon, harnessed with a
collar and traces, while the rest of the family according to their
strength pulled with ropes attached to various parts of the ve-
hicle.100
The pioneers from Pennsylvania, Ohio and the southern
states betrayed their nativity and prejudice in the schooner-
shaped wagon box, the stiff tongue, the hind wheels double the
size of the forward ones and closely coupled together, the whole
drawn by a team of four or six horses guided by a single line
in the hands of the teamster riding the nigh wheeler. The har-
ness was of gigantic proportions ; the massive leather breeching,
the heavy harness and collar, the immense housing of bearskin
upon the harness, the heavy iron trace chains, and the ponder-
ous double-tree and whiffle-trees all made a striking picture.
The New Yorker and immigrant from farther east, was
marked as far as his caravan could be seen by a long coupled,,
low boxed, two horse wagon provided with a seat, from which
with double lines the driver guided his lightly harnessed pair
of horses.101 Occasionally the old 'steamboat' wagons were
seen, bearing some resemblance to the crooked, heavy wagons,
used by the people from the southern states.
The contents of the immigrant wagons were astonishing in-
deed in amount as well as variety of articles. A glance under
the canvas covering disclosed a startling array of baggage — if
"women, guns, rifles, boys, girls, babies -and other nick-nacks "10*
may be called baggage. Below on the axles of the wagons
dangled pots and kettles of all forms and sizes. Sometimes
dogs and even cats were included among the movables of the
immigrating families. To the Yankee mover, a plough, a bed, a
barrel of salt meat, a supply of tea and molasses, a Bible and a
wife were the indispensable articles.103
In front of these westward moving caravans rode the older
100 Niles' Register, 22, 320.
101 History of Grundy County (III.), 149.
102 Niles' Register, 52, 240.
108 Chevalier, Society, Manners and Politics in the United States, 112.
[85]
372 BULLETIN" OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
sons and sometimes the daughters. Their duties were chiefly to
attend to the driving of such domestic animals as had been,
brought along. Sometimes a considerable amount of live stock
was driven along by the movers — one family came with five
hundred sheep, another man drove one hundred and fifty hogs
but as a general rule a few horses and cows, several sheep and
hogs made up the wealth of the pioneer.
Mr. Howells in his book on pioneer life in Ohio gives an amus-
ing description of the difficulties experienced in driving the
domestic animals — "to start off with a mixed drove of animals
was no trifling affair, for, though they would drive pretty well
after getting used to the road and a day or two's experience, their
obstinacy and contrarity at first was without parallel, and a
boy to each animal was little enough. First a pig would dart
back and run like a deer till he was headed and turned, by which
time the others would meet him and all have to be driven up ;
while in the meantime a cow or two would be sailing down a by-
lane with elevated head and tail, and a breathless boy circling
through a field or the woods to intercept her career; and then
the sheep Would start over a broken piece of fence, the last fol-
lowing the first and leaping higher over every obstacle till they
were brought back to the road. ' '104 It was not an uncommon oc-
currence, too, for the horses to be seized with sudden homesick-
ness during the night and depart for more familiar scenes.
Excessively warm weather and numerous flies sometimes so
worried immigrants that they resorted to night traveling,105
being unable to make progress during the day. When the
movers traveled in the day time their nights were passed in
camp. If a number of families were traveling together, when
night came the wagons were grouped in a neighborly fashion
in a convenient spot where water and wood were close at hand.
The fire was lighted and the camp utensils brought into use
in the preparation of supper while the men unharnessed the
dusty horses and turned them loose on the rich unfenced
prairie pastures. The scores of happy children liberated
104 Howells, Recollections of Life in Ohio, 87.
105 History of Bond and Montgomery Counties, 328.
[86]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 373
from the tiresome day's journey romped through the grass en-
joying to their greatest capacity an unlimited play ground.
Beds were made up in the wagons and sometimes on the ground
when the weather permitted. In the morning the bustle of
preparation began, the stock was rounded up and started along
the road, horses harnessed and soon the work of another day
had begun.
The progress of such caravans was not rapid, being about
fifteen miles a day.106 From the eastern states seven107 to
nine108 weeks were consumed in making the trip to Ill-
inois. Sometimes heavy roads made the journey even more
difficult. The colony which settled at Geneseo, Illinois in 1836,
came along a road through Michigan which was so nearly im-
passable that but seven miles were covered in six days.109
jd is scarcely possible to make any estimate of value concern-
ing the cost of the overland travel. The equipments of the
pioneers, the amount of stock and the cost of tavern meals
varied greatly. Occasionally a scrap of information is found
which will serve as an illustration. A family of eleven persons
with two wagons, several cows and five hundred sheep came
a distance of two hundred and fifty miles to Illinois, in twenty-
one days at a cost of ten dollars spent for food!110
In the extreme western states taverns for the accommodati
of travelers wtere not numerous. Good houses of entertainment
were not to be found at all and such taverns as there 'were did
not receive much patronage from the immigrants who generally
brought all their supplies with them. Tavern prices were regu-
lated by the county commissioners court. Meals cost from
twenty-five to thirty-seven and one-half cents; lodging, twelve
and one-half cents a night. Horses were cared for at a rate
of fifty to seventy-five cents a day.111 The people who fre-
quented these taverns were of all classes and stations but the
108 History of Grundy County (III.), 314.
107 Beckwith, History of Vermilion County (111.), 381.
108, Thirtieth Anniversary of the Settlement of Ocneseo (111.), 5
109 Ibid.
"°Duis, Gcvd old Times in McLean County, 217.
111 Bent, History of Whiteside County (111.), 57; Perrin, History of Ejftngham
County (111.), 40.
[87]
BUULETTJf OF THE TTXIVEItSITY OF
\.^S
predominance of hunters and small farmers gave marked
frontier characteristics to them.
Since the early settlers of the state came from all directions
in all sorts of conveyances, at all times of the year, with vary-
ing amounts of property and at costs varying as greatly as the
conveyances used and the roads traveled, it is extremely diffi-
cult to draw any conclusions save very general ones. One,
however, may be reached. The settlers who located in southern
and western Illinois generally came hy way of the Ohio and
Mississippi rivers; those who settled in the northern part of
the state, by way of the Great Lakes: while the majority of
the pioneers of eastern Illinois came by wagons over no beaten
road. The migration to this part of the state is illustrative
of the simple agricultural immigration which goes on steadily
and so quietly as to attract little direct attention and con-
sequently is to be characterized with difficulty.
[88]
POOLJSY SETTLE1EEXT OF HXIXOIS, 1830-50
CHAPTER V
THE ILLINOIS AND THE Fox RIVER VALLEYS
Owing to the conditions which influenced the time as well as
the character and rapidity of settlement of this part of the
state, the Illinois river valley is divided into three parts: the
counties along the middle Illinois, those along the upper Illinois
and those in the Fox river valley.1 The counties of the middle
Illinois river valley were settled to quite an extent under the
influence of the Sangamon country and much earlier than the
northern counties, both Tazewell and Putnam counties having
organized local governments before 1S30. In the upper Illinois
river counties the influence of the Illinois-Michigan canal is
noticeable both in the character and location of settlement.
Likewise the influence of lake transportation was of much im-
portance in the settlement of the Fox river valley.
Although the Sangamon country was quite thickly settled
by 1330, Mason county, joining it on the north, had but few
settlers and not until 1841 was it organized as a county. During
the period 1821-1825 the county was surveyed and the land
opened for settlement; but owing to the fact that it was re-
garded for years as a sandy, barren waste fit only for the
abode of hunters and others who did not depend on agriculture
for a living, few pioneers came to settle here, preferring instead
to go further towards the frontier.5
1 The middle Illinois counties are those on the eastern side of the tiro- north
of the Sangamon river; Hasan, Tuewetl, Woodford. Marshall and Putnam.
Those on the western ride are included in the Military Tract. La Sail*. Grundy
and Will counties are grouped under the head of upper Illinois river counties,
whfle in the Fox river valley are the counties of Kendall, Du Page, Kane, Mc-
Henry and Lake.
* T* itory cf ITeMrtf 9*d JfCMM COM***, 408.
[89]
376
BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
© Cities of more than 2,000.
Towns of less than 2,000.
Villages.
ILLINOIS AND Fox RIVEE VALLEYS (1850)
Section west of the prairie line is more than 20 per cent, woodland. Year indi-
cates date of county organization.
[90]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 377
Havana, dating from 1832, seems to have been the most im-
portant settlement of early days. Its growth must have been
very slow, since six years elapsed before the building of the
first house.3 After 1834 groups of Canadians4 and Germans5
settled here, who, by 1850 formed a large part of the settlement
which was still the most important one in the county. In other
parts settlements grew no faster until after 1840.6
The character of the settlements sho'ws the influence of loca-
tion. An examination of nativities brings out the fact that
the greater number of the early settlers came from Kentucky,
Tennessee and Virginia, although New England and the Middle
Atlantic States had numerous representatives. There were also
settlers who came from Indiana and from the older counties
of Illinois. Of the foreigners present, Germans were in the
majority. The timbered parts of the county were taken up
first by the Kentuckians and Tennesseeans and when, during
the period of speculation just previous to the financial panic
of 1837, the New Englanders1 and the settlers from the Middle
States came, they were compelled to take up the unoccupied ter-
ritory which generally meant the small prairies. More rapid
gro'wth took place during the forties and in 1850 there were
5,900 settlers in the county.7
Tazewell county which was organized in 1827,8 had 4,700
settlers by 1830,9 most of them being pioneers of the type most
frequently found in the hardwood districts of the middle West.
"While immigrants came in steadily during these years, it was
after 1830 that the most rapid increase came.
In 1836 Tremont in the central part of the county was es-
tablished by a N^ew_England colony. Jones in his Illinois and
the West (1838) gives a decidedly favorable description of the
town, saying that it was beautifully laid off with wide streets
and a public square around which were arranged the business
3 Ibid., 520.
« IUd., 411.
*IUd., 509.
6 Bath, Masoa City, Allen's Grove, Crane Creek and other places each claimed
a few settlers.
''Seventh Censtna (1850), 702.
8 Historical Encyclopedia, of Illinois, 355.
'Seventh Census (1850), 702.
[91]
378 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
houses. The frame houses which composed most of the dwel-
lings of the town were painted 'white, giving the village a very-
neat appearance. Three-fourths of the population were Ne*w
Englanders, which probably accounts for the orderly appear-
ance of the village.10
A colony of importance was established in 1837 at Delavan
in the southern part of the county, being the result of the ef-
forts of a company of enterprising Rhode Island farmers. Like
other companies of the time it was a stock company with a
capital of $44,000. An agent sent to Illinois purchased
23,000 acres of land for the company and, to the great surprise
of all, located the tract upon the open prairie, at that time an
unheard of proceeding. Not a bush or a tree was in sight but
nevertheless the proprietors seemed well satisfied with the choice
and families immediately began to come in.
. For a time they were lodged in the common home which was
the first building erected in the town of Delavan. The erection
of such houses seems to have been a rule among the companies
sending colonies to the "West and probably the idea was to guard
against discouragement of the new settlers and alleviate the
hardships attendant upon the opening up of a new country.
When the settlers were desirous of making homes for them-
Xsselves at the earliest possible date such an arrangement certainly
must^have been advantageous, but should any be inclined to
live at the company's expense this convenience must have been
abused. No time limit appears to have been placed upon the
stay in the common home but probably such a safe-guard was
provided.
One point of the contract signed by the members of the com-
pany deserves mention as something out of the ordinary. No
ardent spirits were ever to be brought into the town and sold
or used as drink.11 This clause also appears in the laws of the
Rockwell colony in La Salle county.12
Still another colony was founded in Tazewell at this time,
at Mackinaw on the south side of the Mackinaw stream. As
10 Jones, Illinois and the West, 72.
11 The New Yorker, Aug. 31, 1839.
12 Ibid., Aug. 20, 1836.
[92]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 379
in the case of the Delavan colony, a common house was first
erected and in 1838 was occupied by several families who were
waiting for the completion of their homes.13
Washington, in the northern part of the county and Pekin
on the Illinois river were the other important villages in 1840, ,
the latter being a typical western town, with flouring mills, ;
saw mills and pork packing industry. To some extent it was
the point of contact between the back country and the outer
world, gaining by advantage of location such commerce as the
demands of the settlers increased. Other settlements brought up
the number of inhabitants to 7,200 in 1840.14
During the early years of the succeeding decade the increase
in population was slow, owing to financial depression, but after
1845 the number of settlers coming to the county gradually in-
creased. The number of southern immigrants decreased and
that of northerners increased but the growth of population was
not rapid, probably on account of the opening to settlement of
the northern and eastern counties of the state. The gain in
population had been about 4,000 since 1840 and the county now
had a population of over 12,000,15 with three towns, Pekin,
Tremont and Washington of some importance.
Judging from the small number of towns and from the fac£
that but one, Pekin, had over a thousand inhabitants it seems
safe to conclude that the population was an agricultural one.
Small streams with timbered banks traversed the county, of-
fering an ideal country for the agricultural pioneers who, by
1850, had placed under cultivation almost 73,000 acres of the
land. There still remained uncultivated some 92,000 acres,
nearly all of which was back from the rivers, a'way from the
timber.16
Settlers began to come to Woodford county in 1819 and by
1830 some forty-five arrivals, chiefly from Kentucky, Tennessee,
Ohio and Indiana had been received. In 1832, owing to the
Indian troubles, Woodford did not increase rapidly, since the
county was on the extreme frontier and not ;well protected
13 Western Pioneer, May 18, 1838.
"Seventh Census (1850), 702.
15 Seventh Census (1850), 702.
18 Peyton, Statistical View of Illinois, 13.
[93]
380 BULLETIN OF THE TJNIVEKSITY OF WISCONSIN
against Indian raids. Up to 1850 Metamora was the most im-
portant settlement. In 1835 a company of settlers from Han-
over, New Hampshire, had settled here giving the name Hanover
to their village. They were as welcome to the Kentuckians then
living in the county "as a band of Hottentots." In 1843 the
village became the county seat and the name was changed to
Metamora. In this year the first store was built.17
The settlements in the county during the period from 1831
to 1850 were numerous but small, composed of little groups of
settlers who built their cabins on the edge of the timber and
enclosed enough prairie land for cultivation. The eastern part
or the prairie district of the county was not settled for several
years after 1850 and then only by the aid of the railroads,1*
and it is safe to say that of the 36,000 acres of land under
cultivation in 185019 the greater portion was in the western
part of the county near the river.
In character of its settlers, Woodford county was typical of
the counties of the Middle Illinois Valley. Almost before the
Kentuckians and Tennesseeans were comfortably settled upon
their little farms on the borders of the timber lands Virginians,
Carolinians, New Yorkers, Pennsylvanians and others were
crowding in also. Men of all classes, nationalities and stations
met here. There were men who had been with Napoleon at
Austerlitz; who had followed him on his ill-fated Russian ex-
pedition; exiled Poles; Bavarians; men who had sat in the
legislatures of conservative New England ; abolitionists from the
same section and slaves from the south. Half the states of the
Union were represented here and many foreign countries.20
Since 1829 settlers had occupied Marshall county. Lacon, on
the Illinois river served as the shipping point for the farmers
and bade fair to become one of the most important of the towns
along the Illinois river. The site was purchased by a company
of Ohio men in 1831 and the town of Columbia laid out. Dur-
ing the next few years quite a number of settlers came from
17 History of Woodford County, 238 ff.
18 History of Woodford County, 400.
18 Peyton, Statistical View of Illinois, 13.
20 History of Woodford County, 227-235.
[94]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830~50 381
Ohio, and the village grew until 1837.21 In the western part
of the county, Henry was the most important settlement. Its
growth is illustrative of that of many of the settlements of
Illinois during this period. Founded in the early forties when
the state was in its financial difficulties, grolwth was slow until
after 1845 when better times came; by 1853 the population
numbered over one thousand.22
Among the settlements proposed in the period before the
panic, few grew into realities. Lyons, Dorchester, Auburn,
Centerville, Troy City and Chambersburg were all laid out
during the period of speculation, but these ventures like many
others of the time failed to fulfill expectations, and farms took
the places of the proposed cities. For a time the town of Web-
ster was a thriving settlement but it was later abandoned owing
to the unhealthfulness of the location.
Although Kentuckians and Tennesseans were first in the
groves of Marshall county,23 Ohio and New York had a num-
ber of representatives, while the name Yankee Street denoted
the presence of New Englanders. In 1850 nearly 5,200 set-
tlers24 were in the county and since but 36,000 acres of land
were cultivated25 it seems reasonable to assume that little of
the prairie was taken up excepting along its edges.
Putnam county which was organized in 1825 had in 1830
about 700 inhabitants.26 In 1850 there 'were but 3,900.27 Hen-
nepin, the county seat and only settlement receiving recogni-
tion in the Federal census of 1850, dates from 1829. In 1831
the town lots of Hennepin were advertised in the Springfield,
Galena and Terre Haute papers but growth was slow, for eleven
families composed the population in 1833,28 and in 1850 there
were but four hundred and thirty settlers here.29 Granville,
Florid and Mt. Palatine were the chief villages but important
81 Ford, History of Putnam and Marshall Counties, 106.
22 Ibid., 113.
23 IUd., 142.
24 Seventh Census (1850), 702.
26 Peyton, Statistical View of Illinois, 13.
28 Ford, History of Putnam and Marshall Counties, 29.
27 Seventh Census (1850), 702.
28 Ford, History of Putnam and Marshall Counties, 87.
28 Seventh Census (1850), 714.
[95]
382 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
only in showing the tendency of the early settlers to locate
near lines of communication. In the last case the tendency is
especially noticeable for the village attained what little import-
ance it enjoyed from its location on the Peoria-Ottawa state
road. Northern pioneers were the most numerous in this county
and of the New Englanders present Massachusetts furnished the
greatest number.30
In closing the discussion of this part of the state it may be
said that these counties along with those across the river, show
^/themselves to be border counties, the meeting place of the
T hunter-pioneer and the farmer types of settlers'. Following
i the results of experience gathered by generations of pioneers,
the Kentuckians arid Tennesseeans clung to the timber land and
•consequently .miyjyic^d-a^ojisixl^^ Illinois
river toward the northern part of the state. Close on their
heels ^thrjjugh^Jjie lowj?r_j^ntijsJ^j\^e.,J±£_^New Englanders
and New Yorkers^ and in1 the upper counties of the region,
when the settlements were_n_qt, W£U._ established and were com-
paratively wide-spread, we see_the northern element taking
the lead in numbers. An examination of county histories will
shoiw that in Mason and Tazewell counties, the great majority
of pioneers were southern men, in "Woodford the percentage
was not so great, in Marshall, still less, and in Putnam, the
northern county, the southern pioneer was an exception.
The reason seems evident since the locality was quite distant
from the influence of those southern communities below the
Sangamon river. Moreover, as the Kentuckian moved farther
and farther northward the Yankees became more and more
numerous much to his disapproval. Settlers frpjrL New Eng-
\ land and New York had begun to swarm in during the thirties
and taking up the unoccupied timber land, the frontier-loving
! southerner could no longer find country wild enough and far
enough removed from the limits of civilization to make an ideal
frontier.
Here was the beginning of the conflict between the hunter-
pioneer of the South and the agricultural pioneer of the North.
The hunter needed the woodlands for a field from which to
80 Illinois in 1837, 100.
[96]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 383
gain his livelihood; he needed the game which lived within its
limits and he needed little land for agriculture. His progress
northward so far had been carried on with comparative speed
owing to the fact that he met little opposition from any other
type of frontiersman. In the southern counties, being first
upon the scene, he took up the timber land at his leisure, cleared
his plot of ground and lived a life 'which satisfied him. The
New Englander and the man from the Middle States, arriving
somewhat later, took what was left and occasionally it was
the prairie land, as seen in the instance of the Tremont settle- ,
ment in Tazewell county. So far the hunter was firmly es- /
tablished in his native region, the woodland, and was slowly/
undergoing the transition from hunter to farmer.
The stream of settlers coming to the northern counties was
different in character. There was no desire among these pio-
neers to use the timber lands for hunting purposes but rather
for an aid in conquering the prairies. Faster and faster these
farmers poured into Illinois by the lake route. They filled up
the timber quickly and soon began to experiment with the
prairies. Weight of numbers and unity of purpose combined to
check the advance of the southern man, who, upon finding the
groves claimed, was compelled to look elsewhere for his kind of
country.
The population of the counties in this district amounted to
31,500 in 1850, the greater part having come in the decade
1841-1850 after the end of the financial depression.31 Havana,
Pekin, Lacon and Hennepin were the chief towns, each one
situated on the Illinois river and deriving its importance from
its location on the common line of communication with the
older settlements of the south. Of the 500,000 acres of land in
this district 220,000 were under cultivation.32
Few settlers had come to the counties of the upper Illinois
valley before the Black Hawk "War, La Salle county, which
was organized in 1831 being the only one with many settlers.
Beginnings of settlement were made at Ottawa in 1823 but the
Indian outbreak of 1832 put a stop to its growth. The Yankee
^Seventh Cemtte (1850), 701, 702.
32 Peyton, Statistical View of Illinois, 13.
7 [97]
384 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
settlement at Hickory Grove was the largest one in Will county
and this with Ottawa, was the only one in this part of Illinois,
strong enough to exist through the Indian "War.
Some experiments in establishing colonies were tried* here
but met with little success. The Rockwell colony, based upon
the principle of exclusion of intoxicating liquors, was an in-
teresting but unsuccessful New England experiment.33 In 1830
a colony of young men from Northampton, Massachusetts, de-
siring to obtain a suitable site for a settlement, sent commis-
sioners to the state to make a selection of lands. Influenced by
the fertility of the soil, by the reported existence of immense
coal beds and by the proposed canal and railroad communica-
tions, the committee fixed upon La Salle as the most advanta-
geous location. Several settlers came during the year, a cabin
was erected upon the site of La Salle town, but owing to the
inclement weather the greater number of the new settlers moved
away.34
The Black Hawk War effectually put a stop to settlement in
these counties for the space of a year, driving the greater part
of the settlers back upon the stronger settlements in the south
and practically checking the spread of the hunter-pioneer class
long enough to allow the swarms of New Englanders and New
Yorkers to gain possession of the northern part of the state and
successfully exclude the southern men.
From the end of this war until the financial crash of 1837
there was a decidedly rapid growth of population along the
\ Illinois river. The Illinois and Michigan canal from Chicago
\ to the Illinois river, was to connect with the latter somewhere
j in La Salle county. Settlers flocked in hoping to obtain lands
on or near the proposed line. When the land sales were made
in 1835, however, the speculators present took the lion's share,
leaving but a small portion for the actual settlers. During the
following year came the greatest immigration of the period.
Ground was broken for the canal, July 4, 1836, and the begin-
33 The ycio Yorker, Aug. 20, 1836.
34 Pa-it and Present of LaSalle County, 187 ; History of LaSalle County, 296.
[98]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 385
ning of active operations no doubt tended to increase greatly
the crowd of new comers.35
Ottawa was still the chief town of La Salle county, having a
population of seven or eight hundred, most of whom were
"Yankees — a shrewd, selfish, enterprising, cow-milking set of
men."36 A few stores, frame houses and Kentucky log cabins
composed the settlement.37 Peru, a few miles farther down the
river, had sprung into existence shortly after the Black Hawk
War. The growth which took place soon sifter it was laid out
in 1834 was due to the fact that work on the canal and rail-
roads began soon after.38
The arrival, at this time, of the first bandjpjLSeandinavians
was an event of some importance in the settlement of this part
of Illinois. From Ne'w York they followed the easiest and most
natural route to the state along the line of the Great Lakes. The
arrival of these foreigners gave a forecast of the influence
which the northern line of transportation was to have upon
the character of the settlements in these counties, for soon there
was to be a great throng of foreigners poured through the
Chicago gateway upon the prairies.
In Grundy county, a fringe of settlers established themselves
along the canal, but the spread of settlement was seriously in-
terfered with by the operations of land speculators who pro-
ceeded to buy up the lands back from the squatters ' claims
bordering the canal. Advanced prices forced the later settlers
to look elsewhere for homes and as a consequence the develop-
ment of the county was not rapid. Its chief settlement, Kan-
kakee City, was the outgrowth of the speculation of the times
and is a good example of the mushroom type of cities. In its
best days the population numbered seventy-five; lots were sold
in New York and Chicago for thousands of dollars, but the
city fell with the crash of 1837, and today the site of the once
promising Kankakee City is a farm.39
85 Past and Present of LaSalle County, 194.
36 The Chicago Weekly American, Feb. 4, 1837.
37 The New Yorker, June 10, 1837.
M Past and Present of LaSalle County, 306.
88 History of Grundy County, 319.
[99]
386 BULLETIN" OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
For two or three years following the eventful 1832, few set-
tlers came to Will county, but the land sale at Chicago in June,
1835, brought many immigrants. Farmers, speculators and
city promoters, jostled each other in their attempts to acquire
the more desirable portions. Those wishing land for homes
were, owing to a lack of ready money, not so fortunate in ob-
taining large quantities of ground as was the class of specula-
tors which took up section after section, and platted town after
town, some of which were never to know an existence. Pal-
myra, Williamsburg, Middletown, Vienna, Carlyle, West Lock-
port, New Rochester, Buffalo and Lurenbergh were all laid
out but were soon abandoned.40
All efforts at town-making were, however, not futile, and
where towns were not attempted, the little clusters of farm houses
clinging to the timber showed a steady advance in the numbers
of settlers and by 1836 the population was great enough to
warrant the formation of a new county.41 New Englanders
and New Yorkers, traveling westward over the lakes either to
Chicago or Detroit and from there by land, found their way
to Will county, founding Plainfield, Lockport, Joliet and other
places. A group of Ohioans, more venturesome than their
neighbors, or from necessity, at this time dared the prairie and
took up their abode in the eastern. part of the county at Monee.42
Lockport for a time seemed to offer the greatest possibilities
for growth. Anticipating its importance, settlers congregated
here, believing that its situation on the Illinois-Michigan canal
assured its success as a city. Gradually it grew in importance
and when the canal was opened in 1848 it became a shipping
point for the farmers of the surrounding country who were
eager to dispose of their surplus products in the most advan-
tageous markets.43 Joliet, which in 1835 was but a small vil-
lage, increased in size during the succeeding years and was, in
1837, the largest town in the county.44
40 Woodruff, Joliet and, Will County Forty Tears Ago, 33.
41 Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois, 589.
** History of Will County, 567.
43 History of Will County, 432.
44 Illinois in 1837, 123, gives the population as six hundred but the estimate
must be taken with caution, as the book is not entirely reliable.
[100]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 387
The period 1832-1837 while one of beginnings was also one
of rapid growth. Fear of the Indians had at last been removed,
new lands had been opened up and work on the canal begun.
Steam navigation on the lakes was rapidly attaining great di-
mensions, which, with the influences previously mentioned and
the almost universal desire for speculation in lands and prop-
erty, tended to make this period one of exceedingly great im-
portance in the settlement of this part of the state. Besides
the villages of Peru, Ottawa, Plainfield, Lockport and Joliet,
numbers of smaller ones had been made and hundreds of solid
New Englanders and New Yorkers had already established
themselves in the most desirable portions of the counties.
The bursting of the bubble of speculation in 1837 put a stop
to settlement for a time, however, and those parts of the state
dependent upon the advance of work on the canal for their
own increasing importance, felt a severe shock when, owing to
financial embarrassment, work on the system of internal im-
provements was, for the time, abandoned. Farm products de-
clined greatly in value but even in the face of this many of
those employed on the canal turned their efforts to farming
when operations on the canal ceased.
During the early years of the financial crisis the effect was
not so noticeable as it was in later years. The Rockwell Land
Company of Norwich, Connecticut, which had for several years
been interested in La Salle county lands sent one hundred colo-
nists to the county in 1837-38. The settlement gave promises for
the future but sickness among the settlers soon caused its de-
population. At one time it contained some two hundred in-
habitants.45
From the time La Salle was laid out in 1837 until work on
the canal and railroad ceased in 1841 there was a period of ac-
tivity and rapid growth, but decline began in 1840.48 Immigra-
tion practically ceased and in 1843 La Salle had only about one
hundred inhabitants.47 Ottawa, the only town not showing
the effects of the cessation of work on the canal, grew apace and
45 Past and present of Lafialle County, 296.
48 Mid., 297.
" Itid., 301.
[101]
388 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
from 1837 to 1840 doubled its population, becoming the most
important city in that portion of the state. One thousand in-
habitants, exclusive of canal laborers, composed its population.
.New Yorkers and New Englanders were present in the greatest
numbers with a smaller representation from Pennsylvania, Ohio,
Kentucky and other western states.
In Joliet especially it is said that the people suffered actual
hardships during this period of financial trouble. The same
is true of Lockport which, as has been said, seemed to give
promise of becoming a prosperous town. "Wheatland, settled by
a number of Vermonters who made the journey overland from
their native state, was the only new settlement of note es-
tablished during the period.
By 1842 the financial aspect of the state began to brighten
and immigration to increase. By 1846 repudiation was no
longer thought of, confidence had increased to such a degree
that immigrants to the West gladly settled in Illinois instead
of turning to the north or going still farther to the west. From
this point the future of the state was assured and when work
was again resumed on the canal and the railroad, the surround-
ing country began a most rapid development.
The following period, 1843 to 1850, was one of gradual re-
vival. Little by little the tide of immigration increased and
with the increase came the necessity of conquering the prob-
lems of the prairie. Step by step the pioneers advanced into
the open until the smaller spaces between the lines of timber
were entirely taken up. By 1850 about eighty per cent, of the
land of La Salle county was under cultivation; forty-five per
cent, in Grundy county and a somewhat smaller portion in
"Will county owing to its more extensive prairies.48
Most important of the settlements along the upper Illinois
was Peru which, owing to its advantageous position on the line
of water communication with the Great Lakes by means of the
Illinois river and the canal, and i#s communication assured with,
the northern and central portions of the state by railway, had
48 Seventh Census (1850), 728.
[102]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 389
become a town of 3,000 people who were at the close of our
period taking steps to procure a city government.48
La Salle, in a way, illustrated the type of western towns of
the time. Its two hundred inhabitants were, according to ac-
counts, of none too good a class. One traveler says that upon
inquiry at one or two of the stores he "ascertained that there
were Christians in the place."50 The two Ottawas Which had
a combined population of over 3,200 people51 were described
by the same author as making "a beautiful and flourishing
village . . . laid out and built with considerable taste
and beauty."51 It probably derived its neatness from the New
England population which was in the majority here. Streator
and Mendota, today towns of considerable size, were as yet
not thought of, needing the railroads to call them, into exis-
tence.
Will county in 1S50 had 16,700 inhabitants and Joliet, the
county town, had a population of 2,659.53 In its growth of bus-
iness and development of industries, we see the influence of the
shrewd New Englander and New Yorker. Mills and quarries
were in successful operation, fifty stores supplied the wants of
the townspeople and of the farmers of the surrounding country,
while the moral, religious and intellectual welfare of the com-
munity lacked nothing in the way of churches, schools and
newspapers.
Norwegians, "Pennsylvania Dutch" and thrifty German
farmers now came in numbers and added their stolid industry
to the shrewd, sharp methods of the New Englander, each in
his respective way adding to his own welfare and to the wealth
of the country. The foreign population, however, did not be-
come of much importance until after 1845.
An examination of the nativities of the pioneers who came to
this part of Illinois before 1850 shows the influence of location
upon the character of the settlements. Closely connected by
*» Past and Present of LaSaUe County, 309.
50 Curtiss, Western Portraiture, 312.
81 Seventh Census (1850), 710.
52 Curtiss, Western Portraiture, 68.
t3 Seventh Census (1850), 716.
[103]
390 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
the Illinois river, with the settlements of the southern and cen-
tral parts of the state it is natural to expect the presence of
southern settlers in these counties. But they appear here only in
very small numbers, being entirely outnumbered by the New Eng-
landers and New Yorkers who came by way of the Great Lakes.
The pioneers of Grundy county came principally from south-
ern Ohio with a number from the southern and eastern states.54
Most of the families had been pioneers in older settlements in
the states from which they came, and, having been trained on
the frontier, regarded it as the most attractive home. During
the last years of the forties Norw£gian&..4*egan to come in chiefly
from La Salle county. They were soon joined by .others. In
"Will and LaSalle counties the scarcity of settlers from the south-
ern states is plainly noticeable.55
The statistics given show more plainly than before the in-
fluence of lines of communication. The New Englanders and
New Yorkers were farther removed from this part of Illinois
than were the Kentuckians and Tennesseeans or their neigh-
bors of southern Illinois. Steam navigation, however, tended
to'wards the annihilation of distance and the Great Lakes offering
the highway to the fertile Illinois lands played by far the most
important part in fixing the 'Characteristics of this northern
settlement.
It must be noticed also where these pioneers settled. The
wide bottom lands of the larger Illinois rivers, which, from un-
healthfulness and liability to spring overflows, had kept the set-
54 History of Gritndy County, 148.
65 Three hundred biographies of Will County pioneers were examined with
the following results : one hundred and sixty came from the Middle Atlantic
states, and of the e one hundred and thirty-six were New Yorkers ; forty came
from New England ; seventy-five from foreign lands, one-third of the foreigners
being Germans ; sixteen were from the western states ; six from the southern
states and but three from Kentucky and Tennessee (History of Will County,
659-906). Eight hundred biographies of early settlers of LaSalle county were
examined. Three hundred and sixteen came from New York, Pennsylvania
and New Jersey ; New York sent two hundred and twenty ; two hundred and
eight came from New England ; one hundred from Ohio ; one hundred from foreign
lands ; thirty from the South Atlantic and Gulf states and but eighteen from
Kentucky and Tennessee (Baldwin, History of LaSalle County, 225^83).
Combining the statistics noted it is found that over forty-three per cent, of
these pioneers came from the middle Atlantic states ; twenty-two per cent, from
the New England states ; a little more than three per cent, from the southern
Etates and but two per cent, from Kentucky and Tennessee.
[104]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 391
tiers back from their immediate vicinities in the south, were un-
known in the north. The rivers were smaller, swifter and,
while they overflowed their banks in some instances, the-
overflows did not remain for any length of time, consequently
th'ere was,1 not the possibility of unhealthful locations near by.
The towns as well as the earliest farms of this section of the
state, were close to the rivers, a thing not true along the south-
ern rivers save in exceptional cases.
Chicago's influence upon the growth of settlement is marked.
As an agricultural country is one of the necessities for a city's-
growth, so is a market one of the requisites for the de-
velopment of an agricultural district. In Chicago these north-
eastern counties found both a market and a supply depot, and
before the coming of the railroads made transportation easy
from all parts of the state it must be noticed that the develop-
ment was greatest in those counties near Chicago or near the'
proposed Illinois-Michigan canal line. Numerous smaller
towns sprang up, Peru, Ottawa, La Salle, Aurora and Joliet, all
upon the rivers, thus showing the instinctive desire the pio-
neers had for communication with the outside world. These
places hardly reached the city stage before 1850, for their abil-
ity to dispose of agricultural supplies and to act as supply de-
pots was limited owing directly to imperfect communication.
The railroads came later and solved the problem.
In the Fox river valley, Kendall and Du Page counties were
the only ones which had settlements before the Black Hawk
War. Naper's settlement in Du Page county was the only im-
portant one and numbered one hundred and eighty souls in
1832.56 McHenry and Lake counties were not opened to set-
tlers at this date. By a treaty in 1833 the Chippewas, Ottawas
and Pottowatomies ceded the last of their lands in Illinois and
while these lands were not opened to settlers until 1836, a few
pioneers had taken up claims in this part of the state before'
that date.57
With the close of the Black Hawk War the pioneers ventured
56 Richmond and Vallette, History of Du Page County, 6.
"Eighteenth Annual Report of the American Bureau of Ethnology (1896-97),.
2, 750.
[105]
392 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
farther north along the river and all through the years 1834,
1835 and 1836 the immigrants poured into the state, animated
by hopes of sudden wealth. All the timber land in Du Page
county was claimed by 1835 but for several years, in spite of
the rapid immigration, few houses could be found away from
the timber. Naperville, advantageously situated on the road
from Ottawa to Chicago, was the most important town for a
time and its two taverns did a rushing business during the
period when land speculators thronged the neighborhood and
later when the farmers carted their surplus products to Chi-
cago.
By 1834 the line of settlements had reached Kane county and
cabins dotted the banks of the Fox river for miles, collecting
here and there into little villages where advantages were of-
fered. St. Charles, Elgin and Aurora sprang up along the
Fox in the course of a few years.
Aurora was located because the river at this point seemed to
offer some advantages of water power and by 1836 the settle-
ment had all the requirements of a thriving frontier village.
Even the panic of 1837 had no noticeable effect upon its steady
development, for unlike many of the early Illinois towns, Au-
rora was built upon a solid basis rather than upon imaginary
prospects. Elgin was also located upon the Fox river in 1835,
the location being selected on account of water power.58
St. Charles, a small settlement on the Fox between Aurora
and Elgin', lays claim to notice in this period through the class
of its settlers. In 1834 a colony of Virginians with over two
hundred head of live stock emigrated to this place. It seems
an exceptional case, for seldom indeed were southerners found
in this part of the state. During the same year another colony,
this time from New Brunswick, was added to the community.59
In spite of the fact that settlers were forbidden by the Fed-
eral government to reside in the recently ceded Indian lands of
Lake and McHenry counties until 1836, several claims were
made in Lake county on the Aux Plaines river in 1834.60 Little
88 History of the City of Elgin, 3 ; in Illinois Local Histories, Z, Wisconsla
Historical Society Library.
M Past and Present of Kane County, 329, 331.
0° History of Lake County, 220.
[106]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 393
settlement was made, however, until 1836, for the summer of
1835 'was exceedingly cold and many who came with the inten-
tion of settling here were induced to move farther towards the
interior.61 By 1837 there were probably three hundred people
within the county limits.62
The same conditions prevailed in McHenry county and the
population before 1836 consisted of a few squatters. Besides
the New Englanders who seem to have predominated there were
some VirgiHiaas.-and foreigners.63
The period 1837-43 was one of slow growth. Kendall and
Du Page counties were organized but neither had many set-
tlers. McHenry and Lake counties grew slowly in population
and especially in the size of their towns. Since these counties
were agricultural districts and had no markets in the immed-
iate vicinity there was no tendency towards concentration of
population.
During the remainder of the period until 1850 the develop-
ment is hard to trace, save in Kane county, where, owing to
water facilities, concentration took place to a greater extent
than in the other counties. The advancement which had been
made in population was accompanied by a like advancement in
the standard of living among the pioneers, for the farms at the
close of the period had the appearance of being well cultivated
and the log houses of the preceding decade had, in most cases,
given way to neater frame ones, prettily painted and well fur-
nished.64 The timber lands ;slowly disappeared and were sup-
planted by the orchards 6$ -the thrifty New Englander or Ger-
man. Schools were. .to .be found in every- village.
Elgin and Waukegan were towns of considerable importance
and each owed its growth to a different cause. Elgin was
primarily a manufacturing town, ranking well up as such
among the towns of the state in 1850. In addition to this fact
it could be called a railroad town also, for it was in 1850 the
terminus of the first railroad of northern Illinois, which was
41 Kingston, Early Western Days, 338, la Wis. Hist. Colls., 7.
82 History of McHenry County, 166.
83 Ibid., passim.
64 Prairie Farmer, 7, 298.
U071
394 BULLETIN OF THE .UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
in time to develop into a part of the Chicago and Northwestern-
system.
Waukegan, with a population of 3,000 in 1850,66 had shown
a surprising growth. The back country was an agricultural
one and since settlement was going on rapidly, lumber and mer-
chandise were necessities. Waukegan had a good pact, and be-
ing closer to the settlers of these counties, than was Chicago, it
naturally became the landing place for the lumber used in the
back country and to this rapidly increasing trade the growth of
Waukegan may be attributed.66 The development of the rail-
roads later acted as a detriment to the city when they diverted
the trade of this rapidly growing district towards Chicago.67
Aside from "Waukegan there was no town of any importance in
. either Lake or Mctlenry county.
From all portions of the nation the settlers came. After the
Southerners who trailed the 'army pursuing Black Hawk north-
ward, there came a swarm of Yankees from Boston, from the Con-
necticut valley, from the Berkshire Hills, from New Hampshire,
/ from Vermont and from Rhode Island. These were joined by New
Yorkers from the Genesee Valley, from Otsego, Syracuse, Utiea,
Plattsburg, Oneida, Orange, Tompkins, Washington and Che-
mung counties, and to these were added Scotch, Irish, "Penn-
sylvania Dutch," Welsh, French, Scandinavians, Germans and
even negroes.68 The men from the northern states predominated
and everywhere the fine appearance of the farms and dwellings
denoted the thrift, comfort and wealth of the careful New York
and New England farmers.
Viewing the field as a whole, noticeable results appear. In
1830 there were some 6,000 people in the counties treated in this
chapter. By 1840 there were almost 46,000 and in 1850 the
<* Seventh Census (1850), 710.
86 In 1845 one hundred and ninety boats landed at Waukegan ; in 1850 the
number had risen to 1095. In 1846 there were 1,500,000 feet of lumber brought
to the port and in 1850 the lumber trade amounted to 1,500,000 feet. (Haines,
History of Lake County, 103-108.)
67 The importance of the trade may be judged from the development in popula-
tion, the increase in the two counties for the decade 1841-50 being almost 24.000.
Seventh Census (1850), 702.
68 A summary based upon an examination of the biographies given in the
county histories.
[108]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 395
number had reached 132,000. Settlement took place most rap-
idly in the northern counties during the decade 1841-1850, these
counties gaming more than twice as many settlers during the
decade as did the five counties in the Middle Illinois valley.69
The influence of lines of transportation is plainly seen in the
•characteristics of the northern settlements. Slowly the hunter-
pioneer of the south had worked his way through the timber
lands of the Illinois Valley until the Black Hawk "War had
stopped his progress. When quiet again reigned along the
frontier line the pioneer returned to his work of conquest but
' too late, for before he could regain lost ground the development
of steam navigation upon the lakes had opened the way for the
New York and New England farmers and they were busy in the
woodlands coveted by the Kentuckians and Tennesseeans. In
the struggle between the two classes of pioneers for the posses-
sion of northern Illinois, numbers and speed of communication
had weight and the methods employed by the pioneer of the
earlier years gave way before the influence of steam, and the
hunter-pioneer was forced to leave this section of the country
and seek a home elsewhere. His work, however, had been ac-
complished, for these hardy hunters had, by following the line
of the Illinois river, cut the great prairie almost in two and had
given the agricultural pioneer a basis upon which he could
work when he grappled with the problems of the prairies.
While the agricultural population was much in excess of the
urban population there were in 1850 several towns of consider-
able importance in the valley. P&CH. and Ottawa each had
3,000 settlers, Joliet and Waukegan.had 2,500 each, Elgin and
St. .Charles more than 2,000 each, while Naperville and Pekin
had somewhere between 1,600 and 1,700 each. Several others
liad less. In each case favorable locations upon the Illinois river
or upon roads leading to Chicago explain the growth of the
cities; some were located on account of the presence of water-
power, others to become a point of contact between an agricul-
tural back country and the markets so much needed. \ ./
«o Prom 1841 to 1850 the five counties of the middle Illinois Valley gained
20,300 settlers; the three counties of the upper Illinois gained 18,boo and the
five Fox river counties gained 47,700. (Seventh Census (1850), 701-702.)
[109]
396 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
Cities over 2,500.
© Cities over 1,000.
• None Towns below 1,000.
Villages.
THE MUJTABY TRACT (1850)
Curved line shows the limits of the prairie ; less than 20 per cent, woodland.
Year indicates date of county organization.
[110]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830~50 397
CHAPTER VI
THE MILITARY TRACT
The Military Tract includes most of that portion of the
state lying between the Illinois and Mississippi rivers, south of
Bock Island county. This territory, which had been set aside by
the Federal government for the veterans of the War of 1812, con-
tains thirteen entire counties and parts of three others, in all
more than 5,000,000 acres, not far from the area of the state of
Massachusetts.1
Many grants were made but few were actually settled upon
by the grantees. Fearing the toils of pioneer life or lacking
a definite knowledge of the value of the lands ceded, many
sold their grants, (one hundred and sixty acres each) for nomi-
nal sums, considering themselves fortunate when able to con-
vert what seemed visionary wealth into actual wealth, even
though it was no more than a cow or a horse.2
However, the people who resided in Illinois at the time were
well aware of the value of the land and proceeded to "squat"
upon it, since they were unable to get any valid title to it, not
knowing the actual owners. Cultivation by the squatters fol-
lowed and often trouble came also. Land sharks, ever on the
lookout for bargains, watched the increasing value of the
farms, hunted up the original owners, bought their claims and
returned to Illinois to oust the occupants and profit by their
improvements. Forged titles resulted and with these came al-
most endless chains of entanglements and litigation.
1 See Van Zandt, A full description . . . of the Military Lands between
tlie Mississippi and Illinois Rivers (Washington, 1818).
2 History of Fulton County, 191 ; J. Flint, Letters from America, 187 (Thwaites
Ed.), says, shares sold even so low as half a dollar per acre.
[Ill]
-398 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
By 1831 eleven counties had been organized3 and the popu-
lation of the entire Tract numbered over 12,000 people, five-
sixths of whom were living in the southern part in the counties
of Calhoun, Pike, Adams, Schuyler and Fulton.4
The first successful settlement in the Military Tract and the
only one before 1820 was at Peoria. During the French regime
Peoria had acted as a connecting link between the French on
the lakes and those on the Mississippi but, having caused the
Americans no little worry during the War of 1812 it was de-
stroyed. At that date the village was a small one.5 Ft. Clark
was erected here in 18136 and in 1819 the permanent American
•occupation began, the earliest settlers coming from southern
Illinois.7 There were several other settlements in the county
by 1830 but of no great importance.8
Calhoun county at the extreme southern end of the Tract,
was never, during the entire period, thickly settled.9 The lum-
"bering industry in which most of the settlers were interested
tended to make the population an unstable one. Here we see
.an example of settlement which is an exception to the general
rule. Primarily the population was one aiming to exploit the
lumbering resources of the district but there was also a farmer
class. On the Illinois prairie which extends along the foot of
the bluffs of the Illinois river was the farming district of the
county. The land was fertile and the 'bottom' was high
enough above the river to escape flooding which in many locali-
ties compelled the early settlers to leave the cultivation of the
most fertile parts of the state until later and to take possession
•of the higher wooded portions first, being careful to remain
as near as possible to the rivers in order to profit by transporta-
tion facilities which they offered.
3 The counties organized were Calhoun, Pike, Adams, Hancock, Mercer, Schuy-
ler, Fulton, Peoria, McDonough, Warren and Knox.
« Seventh Census (1850), 701-702.
c There were sixteen men in the village. (Balance, History of Peoria, 18.)
6 Life of Gurdon 8. Hubltard, 28.
T Ballance, History of Peoria, 45.
8 Settlements were made at Chillicothe, Logan, Medina, Trivoli and there was
•also a colony of Ohioans in Halleck township. (History of Peoria County, 577,
591, 604, 606, 618.)
9 In 1830 there were over 1,000 settlers in the county and in 1850 the popula-
tion was a little over 3,000. (Seventh Census (1850), 701.)
[112]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 399
Pike county, which received its first settlers in 1820 had a
population of 2,400 in 1830. 10 The county extends the entire
distance between the Illinois and Mississippi rivers in the vicin-
ity of which the land is broken and covered to quite an extent
with timber. Between the great river systems are rolling
prairies traversed by creeks whose banks are lined with timber
making the district one admirably fitted for meeting the desires
of the pioneers. The county consequently filled up rapidly
after its first settlement in 1820 and in 1850 had a population
of 18,800 people.11
Schuyler county which until 1839 included Brown county,
was in 1830 the most thickly settled county of the Military
Tract, having nearly 3,000 settlers.12 The pioneers even at this
early day were gathered from many parts of the country. The
first settler was a New Englander who was soon followed by
a colony from Kentucky. Virginia, New York, Pennsylvania,
the Carolinas, Tennessee, Indiana, Ohio, Missouri and Illinois
each contributed settlers early.13 The settlements were small
and were generally placed back at some distance from the river.
Nearly twenty townships had received settlers before 1830.1*
Fulton county was organized in 182315 having been cut off
from Pike county. Lewiston and Canton were the chief settle-
ments in 1830, the former becoming the county town.
While the large river forming the eastern boundry of these
counties was the highway for communication with the rest of
the country, the first settlers did not congregate here. A few
grouped themselves near the river to take advantage of what
little commerce there was1, but as a rule the settlers, being inter-
ested in agriculture, preferred to leave the river bottoms of
the large streams and take the timber land along the smaller
ones, for the small prairies adjoining relieved the pioneers of
0 Seventh Census (1850), 70?.
1 IUd., 702.
*IUd., 702.
8 History of Schuyler and Brown Counties. 58, ff.
4 History of Schuyler and, Brown Counties, 267-373.
5 The county was supposed to have had three hundred and fifty voters at
the time of organization but at an election held that year only thirty-five votes
were cast (History of Fulton County, 214).
8 [ 113 ]
400 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVEESITY OF WISCONSIN
the labor of making clearings. Moreover, the high ground back
from the rivers seemed more healthful, for in the bottoms fever
and ague were enemies greatly feared.18
Of those counties bordering on the Mississippi river Adams
and Hancock were the most thickly settled. The first settlers
came to Adams county in 1820, and in 1825, when the county
was organized, forty votes were cast at the first election. Owing
to the scarcity of money and to the fact that the lands were
not yet on the market immigration to this county was slow.
Quincy, the largest settlement and the seat of county govern-
ment/wasTfirst settled in 1822 and by 1830 had two hundred in-
habitants.17 Various other smaller settlements brought the total
population of the county up to about 2,200.18 The names Adams
and Quincy both given in honor of John Quincy Adams, seem
to imply the presence of New, Englanders in the county at the
time of organization but the nativities of the early pioneers show
a majority of people from other sections of the country and
especially from Kentucky.
Hancock county also on the Mississippi river had but five
hundred inhabitants,19 Venus, later to be known as Nauvoo, be-
ing the chief town.20 A settlement" which had been made at
OciuawkaJ-anding on the Mississippi river in 1828 was the only
one in Henderson county in 1830.21 In Mercer county, New
Boston and Keithsburg were the places first settled. Here some
Pennsylvanians^ established themselves in 1827 and earned a
livelihood by cutting wood for Mississippi river steamboats.
For five years they remained but at the first Indian alarm they
left for central Illinois and Mercer county was again without
inhabitants.22
What has been said concerning the location of the settlements
in the counties along the Illinois river will apply equally well
18 By consulting a map of Illinois it will be noted that tfae early settlements
of Canton, Lewiston, Rnshville, Ripley, Cooperstown, Mt. Sterling, Versailles
and others are all placed back a few miles from the Illinois river.
17 History of Adams County, 259-268; Asbury, Quincy, 41.
18 Seventh Census (1850), 701.
"/bid., 701.
20 The National Calendar (1830), 249.
M History of Mercer and Henderson Counties, 869.
» IUd., 46, 119.
[114]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 183CH50 401
to the settlements along the Mississippi. The most important
town on this side of the Military Tract was, however, placed
directly upon the river. The location was admirable and
Quincy enjoyed all the advantages, of a good lauding place
and a healthful site on a high bluff over-hanging the river. To
the rear of the city was a rich agricultural district filling up
with settlers who, when their crops ripened, carted them to
Quincy for shipment to southern markets. Naturally it also
became the distributing point for the back country and through
the lively trade which sprang up the village made rapid strides.
The other early settlements in these counties were back a con-
siderable distance from the river, the pioneers selecting the
timbered tracts bordering the small prairies.23
The interior counties of the Military Tract, save in the case
of Bureau, had very few settlers. in 1830.24 In McDonough
county the settlements at Pennington's Point and Industry in
the southern part of the county seem to indicate that the first
settlement was made from the counties to the south. Nearly
all the pioneers were from Kentucky and Tennessee and it is
probable that they followed up the tributaries of the Illinois
which flow through Schuyler county. Probably there were not
more than sixty voters in the county in 1830.25 The settlement
of "Warren26 and Knox27 counties began in 1827 when a fam-
ily of New Englanders settled in the former. Stories of a rich
agricultural district were carried back to the older settlements of
Illinois by the 'bee-hunters' who passed through Knox county
in 1827 and in the following year pioneers from Schuyler
county came to settle here. Several settlements were started
and in 1830 the combined population of the counties numbered
about five hundred people.28 Bureau county had but five fami-
23 The other early settlements were in Adams county and were Camp Point,
Clayton, Columbus, Ellington and Fall Creek. All wei'e in the interior.
24 McDonough, Knox, Stark, Bureau and Henry counties had about six hun-
dred in all (Seventh Census (1850), 701).
25 Clarke, History of McDonough County, 19.
x History of Warren County, 107.
27 Hi&tcry of Knox County, 102.
** Seventh Census (1850), 701, 702.
[115]
402 BULLETIN" OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
lies in 1828 although the first settlement had been made in
1820.29
Such were the settlements of the Military Tract in 1830. By
far the greater part of the population was in the southern part
of the Tract close to the more thickly settled districts of cen-
tral Illinois. There were no towns of any consequence save
Quincy, and the prairie district of the north was practically
untouched. The pioneers were chiefly southerners. From 1831
to 1850 Calhoun county did not increase rapidly in population
since it did not offer the advantages for agriculture that were to
be found in other parts of the state. When the lumber industry
began to wane the stream of settlers decreased accordingly.
Four small villages formed the urban population in 1850.30
''.Zlke— county added over 16,000 settlers during the twenty
years and since there were but three villages in the county in
1850, it is natural to believe that the population was almost en-
tirely rural.31 The pioneers had for a time remained as close
.: as possible to the timber but by 1850 there were settlements on
the small prairies.32 ' ' Corncrackers and Hoosiers with a right
smart sprinkling of Yankees" made up the population but al-
most every state in the union was represented here. A Mor-
mon town had been founded and had declined before 1850.33
The Illinois river counties1,34 Schuyler, Fulton and Peoria, had
in 1830 an aggregate population of 5,000 and ten years later
their population amounted to over 26,000.35 Before Brown
county was cut off from Schuyler in 1839, La Grange and Mt.
28 It was not a permanent settlement, being made by a French fur trader
named Bourbonnais. He was In the employ of the American Fur Company
(History of Bureau County, 79-83).
80 Gilead, Hardin, Illinois and Point were the settlements. Each had between
five and eight hundred settlers. (Seventh Census (1850), 704.)
11 Pittsfleld, Perry and Griggsfield, each with less than seven hundred inhabi-
tants, were the villages. (Seventh Census (1850), 714.)
82 Almost half the county was under cultivation (Peyton, Statistical view of
Illinois, 13).
88 History of Pike County, 239.
84 For convenience of treatment the counties of the tract will now be divided
into three sections. The Illinois river counties being Schuyler, Fulton and
Peoria ; the Mississippi river counties being Adams, Hancock, Henderson and
Mercer ; the counties of McDonough, Warren, Knox, Stark, Henry and Bureau
being classed as the inland counties.
85 Seventh Census (1850), 701, 702.
[116]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 403
Sterling had become towns of some importance. Several east-
ern parties were engaged in business at the former place, which,
owing to its situation upon the Illinois river, became a port of
some consequence in the river traffic. All the goods shipped
to the county came up the river and La Grange was the landing
place as well as the shipping point for the back country towns,
especially Mt. Sterling and Versailles.36
Mt. Sterling, which was to be the county town of Brown
county when organized, enjoyed but slow growth before 1834
when a revival of energy took place, the village growing to one
of fifty houses by 1837.37 The same revival of energy which
was the result of the speculative spirit which swept over the
country during the decade also gave Brown county its first ex-
perience with "paper towns," "Washington being laid out in
1836.38 No further development was made, however.
Rushville, Frederieksville, Huntsville and Birmingham were
the principal towns of Schuyler county in 1850. Rushville
enjoyed a steady growth from the time of its establishment in
1829. A wool carding factory and other industries, begun1 in
1831.39 drew laborers and mechanics to the village which by
1832 had four hundred inhabitants clustered about five little
stores.40 Cholera during the year of 1834 swept away many
of the settlers but the little village continued to grow until in
1837 it was a town of 1,200 inhabitants having five churches,
twelve stores and four hundred houses.41 Most of the houses
were frame ones, the lumber probably being brought from
Calhoun county where the industry was carried on rather ex-
tensively. Frederieksville on the Illinois river was of some im-
portance as a shipping point. The other named towns were
still young and small, having been laid out in 1836.42
Fulton county from 1830 to 1840 gained 12,300 inhabitants,
most of them going to the rural districts.43 Canton was a
38 History of ScTiuyler and Brown counties, 322.
37 Illinois in 1837, 105.
** History of Scnuyler and Brown counties, 271.
**Tbid., 234.
*9 Illinois Monthly Magazine, 2, 260.
« Illinois in 1837, 128.
42 History of ScJiuyler and Brown counties, 363-373.
43 Seventh Census (1850), 701.
[117]
404 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
village of four hundred people in 1835,44 when it was completely
destroyed by a storm.45 It had recovered some of its import-
ance by 1837 when with Lewiston and Farminton it was
named as one of the largest settlements hi the county.48 "Wash-
ington, Fairview, Middleton, Liverpool, Ellisville and Bema-
dotte, all small towns consisting of a few cabins and a store,
make tip the list of Fulton county settlements. Vermont, a
similar village seems to imply by its name a New England set-
tlement which, however, was not true. Kentuckians made the
settlement but the name was given by the solitary New Eng-
lander residing there, he having purchased with a jug of
whiskey the right to name the settlement.47
Pepria county had in 1840 over 6,000 settlers48 and the town
of Pepria was the chief center of population. The town had a
favorable location being placed on a high bluff at the foot of
Peoria lake. In 1832 it was a small village of fifteen or twenty
log cabins but being the strongest one in this part of the frontier
it was the place of refuge for the pioneers who fled from the
northern districts at the opening of the Black Hawk War.49
Communication by steamboats on the Illinois river and by
stages overland kept Peoria in touch with the neighboring
settlements. In 1834 the population was estimated at between
three and four hundred50 and a year later at over eight hun-
dred.51 In this last year the first Germans52 came to settle here
and in 1836 New Englanders first appeared in the town.53 By
1837 it was a thriving town.54 Home, Chillicothe, Brimfield,
Northampton, Allentown, Kickapoo, Hudson and Caledonia
were settlements of lesser note.55
44 History of Fulton county, 527.
45 Chicago Weekly American, July 4, 1835.
46 Illinois in 18S7, 78-118.
47 History of Fulton county, 899.
48 Seventh Census (1850), 702.
49 History of Peoria county, 451.
80 Chicago Weekly Democrat, June 4, 1834.
51 St. Louis Commercial Bulletin, Dec. 18, 1835.
52 History of Peoria county, 489.
M Western Messenger, April, 1836.
54 Illinois in 1837, 126, says that Peoria had twenty-five stores, two hotels, sis
churches and over 1,600 inhabitants.
55 History of Peoria county, 572-577.
[118]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 405
Of the Mississippi river counties, Adams county gained over
12,000 inhabitants during the decade.56 Quincy with its ad-
vantageous location grew with equal rapidity. For several
years the lack of good building material and the high price of
lumber were difficulties1 to be overcome but the village doubled
its population from 1830 to 1832 and at the time of its incor-
poration in 1834 its population was estimated at six hundred.57
During the next few years while the state enjoyed great
prosperity, Qu-iney continued to develop and the tide of immi-
gration increased steadily until in 1838 the village had a popu-
lation of 1,500 or more,58 making it the largest settlement in
the Military Tract.59 Its importance as a shipping point for
agricultural products was now recognized, three hundred steam-
boats arriving or leaving during the year of 1837, while the
trade in pork, flour and wheat amounted to $112,500 for that
year.60 Sawmills were kept busy supplying lumber for new
buildings and with the increased demand for laborers the float-
ing population grew. The population was derived from all
countries but Yankees and Kentuckians were in the majority
and about equally divided.61 In 1840 Quincy obtained a city
charter.62
Outside of Quincy there were no settlements of much im-
portance. Payson, which was laid out in 1835, was surrounded
by a rich agricultural district and for a time gave promise of
becoming an important settlement but the development so well
begun soon ceased, probably owing to the rivalry with Quincy.68
The remaining settlements were small being only agricultural
villages giving little promise of immediate development.
58 Seventh Census (1850), 701.
57 Asbury, Quincy, 44.
88 Estimates varied; 1,500 (Illinois in 1837, 127); 1,053 (Redmond, Quincy,
15) ; 3,000 (Buckingham, Eastern and Western states, 3, 162).
59 In 1835 Quincy had a population of seven hundred people. (Redmond,
Quincy, 14.) There were ten stores, a printing office and over one hundred
houses in the village. (Asbury, Quincy, 47.) In 1837 there were twenty-five
stores, a land office, three taverns, two saw rni'.ls and two churches. (Illinois
in 1837, 127.)
60 Redmond, Quincy, 15.
81 Asbury, Quincy, 47.
82 History of Adams county, 454.
83 Ibid., 551.
[119]
406 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF "WISCONSIN"
Although Hancock increased steadily in number of settlers
it is difficult to speak accurately concerning their location since
there were no towns of size in the county. Warsaw on the
bank of the Mississippi was laid out in 1834 but did not grow
to any size for a number of years.64 Venus, also well located
on the great river, was slow in growth. The name was early
changed to Commerce which was in turn to be forgotten when,
under the regime of Joseph Smith, Nauvoo rose upon the site
of Venus. Before the coming of the Mormons it had a few
hundred inhabitants and such facilities for business as were
generally found in pioneer towns.65 Carthage and Fountain
Green, both later to be connected with the history of the Mor-
mon occupation, were the chief interior settlements. Pulaski,
Chili and La Harpe may also be mentioned.66
Henderson county, as yet unorganized, had some small settle-
ments. Oquawka, laid out in 1836, was probably of the great-
est importance, being for years, until the building of the rail-
roads, the shipping point for the produce of Knox, Henderson
and Mercer counties.67 Shokokon, also a river town, was the
center of a rich agricultural district and would probably have
increased in importance had it possessed the advantage of a
good landing. The river, however, was too shallow here for
the boats and instead of becoming a shipping point it developed
the lumber industry. Rafts came down from "Wisconsin and
were sawed here. Its population never exceeded three hun-
dred persons.88
Mercer county, although organized in 1825 grew very slowly
for ten years, there being not more than two hundred and fifty
settlers within its limits in 1835.69 In 1840 there were almost
10,000 people here.70 Keithsburg and New Boston were the
river towns but neither was of importance and of the numer-
64 History of Hancock county, 638.
65 Overland Monthly, 16, N. S. 620.
66 History of Hancock county, passim.
87 History of Henderson and Mercer counties, 887.
68 Ibid., 888.
**n)id., 48.
70 Seventh Census (1850), 702.
[120]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 407
ous inland settlements Sugar Grove, settled by Tennesseeansr
seems to have been the most thriving community.71
The inland counties of the Tract, McDonough, Warren, Knoxr
Stark, Henry and Bureau were all organized in the decade
1831-1840 and had in 1830 a combined population of a few
more than six hundred inhabitants.72 After the close of the
Black Hawk War the report was spread about that this portion
of the state was exceedingly fertile and would make an excellent
place for settlement. Accordingly, immigrants began to find
their way up the rivers and over the prairies from Ohio, In-
diana and various other places.
During the first few years immediately following the war
but little of note happened in McDonough county and but few
families moved in. The population, however, increased to over
2,800 before the close of 1835.73 Macomb, the seat of justice,
Edmonson's Prairie and Middletown were struggling settle-
ments in 1835. From 1837 to 1845 there were hard times in
McDonough county owing to the financial depression through-
out the state. Money was almost unknown and all business
transactions were carried on by means of barter, notes often
being made payable in a cow, a horse or half a dozen hogs.74 In
spite of the handicap, settlement increased and, at the close of
the decade 1831-1840, numbered over 5,000 inhabitants.75
After 1832 scattered settlements were located at various
points an Warren county and everywhere the pioneers peti-
tioned the county commissioners court for roads to connect the-
widely scattered hamlets with market places. Monmouth, the
chief town, had but eighty inhabitants in 1835 but grew more
rapidly during the closing years of the decade.76 The popula-
tion of the entire county in 1840 was a little over 6,700 people.77
In 1831 half a dozen weak settlements comprised all of Knox
71 Sugar Grove had sixty settlers in 1835. The other settlements were in
Ohio Grove, Abington, Suez, Greene, Pre-emption, Richland Grove, Rivoli and
Eliza townships. (History of Henderson and Mercer counties, 272-742.)
72 Seventh Census (1850), 701, 702.
78 Clarke, History of McDonough county, 76.
74 Clarke, History of McDonough county, 60.
75 Seventh Census (1850), 701.
78 Past and Present of Warren county, 142.
" Seventh Census (1850), 702.
[121]
408 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
county's population but at the close of the decade there were
7,000 settlers within the limits of the county.78 In 1835 Knox-
ville with a population of two hundred people was the chief
town.79 A year later Galesb.urg, which was destined to be the
most important city of the county, was founded. In 1834 Rev.
George W. Gale of Oneida county, New York, matured a plan
for planting a colony in the West which should be a center of
moral and intellectual influence. Later he issued a circular
setting forth his plan and soliciting subscribers. A committee
for exploration was sent out and upon its recommendation the
present site of Galesburg was purchased in 1835. Early in the
next year a colony of forty persons80 left New York and came
by canal boat up the Illinois river to a convenient landing place,
traveling from there overland. Log City was the name first
given to the settlement and by 1837 its populatpn was estimated
at two hundred and thirty.81 In ten townships settlements had
been located before 1840 but it seems nearly impossible to deter-
mine their size.82
Henry county which had but 1,260 settlers in 184083 was
occupied first by colonies thereby being an exception to the gen-
eral rule governing the settlement of the state. When specu-
lation in Illinois lands got fairly under way in 1835, Henry
county became the scene of an exceptionally large number of
this experimental class of settlements. Persons authorized to
purchase large tracts of land visited the county during that
year and much to the detriment of the individual settlers, if
not to the benefit of the companies represented, made purchases.
I As a result, Andover, Wethersfield, Geneseo, Morristown, La
' Grange, and later the Bishop Hill colonies were established.84
I The first three had religious aims and all aimed at the__dis-
' semination of education_save possibly the Bishop Hill colony "
which seems to have been strictly religious.
. \
78 Ibid., 702.
79 History of Knox county, 629.
80 Stories of the Pioneer Mothers of Illinois. (Letter of Mary Allen West.
MSS. in Illinois Historical Society Library.)
81 Bascom, Settlement of Galesburg, 25.
82 History of Knox County, 479-507.
83 Seventh Census (1850), 701.
** History of Henry County, 117.
[132]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 409
First of these experiments was the Andover settlement, situ-
ated a few miles southwest of the center of the county. A com-
mittee acting for a New York association located a tract of land
here in 1835^began the first settlement upon it and platted a
city. Success did not crown their efforts to any marked degree
for the land was held by the proprietors at too high a price and
immigrants passed it by.85
Keturning from the planting of the Andover colony, Mr. Pills-
bury, one of the committee, immediately attempted to interest
Dr. Tjenney, an influential minister of Wethersfield, Connecti-
cut, in a similar undertaking. An association of sixty men
with a capital stock of $25,000 was formed, land was purchased
in Henry county and a settlement begun.86 Few of the pur-
chasers came west and consequently the growth of the settle-
ment was slow.
During the winter of 1834—35 notices were published in several
of the New York papers calling a meeting of all people interested
in western colonization. The result was the formation of a New
York colony and the appointment of the usual committee for
exploration and purchase. The committee purchased 20,000
acres of land in Henry county. Each member of the colony
bound himself to erect upon his claim buildings to the value of
two hundred dollars and should this provision not be carried
out the land should revert to the company on the grounds of a
broken contract. Moreover it was provided that the settlers who
fulfilled their contracts should be allowed to take the claims of
the delinquent ones by paying three dollars an acre, or double
the original price of the claim. Seeing the possibility of making
a good bargain at least four-fifths of the colonists failed to ful-
fill the building contract and by so doing doubled their money.
Many, however, were honest in their intentions but were pre-
vented from carrying them out because of the panic of 1837
which came before the two years had expired. The most de-
sirable lots were put up at auction and some six or seven thou-
85 History of Henry County, 524.
86 The shares In the company sold for two hundred and fifty dollars each and
entitled the purchaser to one hundred and eighty acres of land, twenty of which
were to be timber land (History of Henry County, 137-140).
[123]
410 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
sand dollars resulted to the association with which fund a pub-
lic lodging house was built for the accommodation of colonists
until they were able to erect their own abodes. A few colonists
came in 1836, five in all and by 1837 there were but ten families-
on the whole prairie.87 One more experiment therefore could,
for the time, be called a failure.
As a result of a religious revival of unusual excitement in<
New York the Geneseo colony was established in Henry county
in 1836. The idea was conceived in 1831 and after proper ex-
ploration a colony was formed. A village was to be laid out in
lots and the lots were to be sold only to such men' as were of
good character. The proceeds were to go towards building a
high school.
In September, 1836, forty persons in wagons started- across
Canada, southern Michigan and northern Indiana to Illinois.
The journey took nine weeks and when the little colony reached
its future home the members could not have been very favorably
impressed with the outlook. Their nearest neighbor on the west
was at Rock Island, twenty-five miles away; on the south the-
Andover and Wethersfield colonies were just establishing them-
selves; on the east the Northampton colony was struggling to-
gain a foothold at Princeton and on the north a fdw straggling-
families lived along the Eock river. However, the colony erected
its canvas roofed church, opened its school and proceeded ta
make the best of the situation.88
Henry county had but few settlers in 1840 and the settlement
does not seem to have been a natural one. Speculation was rag-
ing in the eastern states and the hope of sudden riches tempted'
many to invest in western lands. Settlements would increase
the value of the holdings so it is natural to believe that land
owners would also be promoters of colonizing schemes and to»
this it seems were due the colonies of Henry county.
Bureau county was settled slowly before the Black Hawk
War. Being a frontier county its inhabitants were exposed to-
Indian attacks and few of the pioneers, daring as they might be,
cared to risk their lives on the extreme frontier when it offered!
87 History of Henry County, 135.
88 Thirtieth Anniversary of the Settlement of Geneseo, 3-9.
[124]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 411
no advantages superior to those of the more protected parts.
By 1831 only sixteen families resided within the limits of Bureau
county. A year later there were forty cabins in the county,
thirty of which were grouped on Bureau creek in the south-
eastern part. The largest settlement was that at Princeton
which was composed of nine families.89
Princeton was settled in 1831 by a colony from Northampton,
Massachusetts. It was the first of a series of attempts at colo-
nization, such as have been spoken of in Henry county. The
Hampshire colony, as it was called, assembled at Albany, New
York, in May, 1831, and began its journey westward by way of
the Great Lakes to the St. Jo river in Michigan, whence the lit-
tle caravan proceeded on foot to the Kankakee river and floated
down it on a craft composed of two canoes lashed together. One
lone settler occupied the site of Princeton when the colony ar-
rived. The members established themselves here and called the
place Greenfield and although a settlement of a very small size,
it became in later years the nucleus1 of a considerable New Eng-
land population.90 A dozen other small settlements were begun
in the early years of the decade, Bureau and Selby being the most
important ones and these having but four families each.91
In 1836 the influx began, for the wave which had started some
years before from the eastern states as a result of the specula-
tion craze was just reaching the western prairies of Illinois.
The land had come into the market in 1835 and nearly all the
good timber land was taken up at once. In 1836 the popula-
tion of the county doubled, but even then there were few people
here.92 In the entire county there was but one meeting-house,
two or three log school houses, two surveyed roads and not a
bridge.93 Lamoille in the northeastern part of the county was
laid out in 1836. A store and a postoffice were added the next
year and a year later, a hotel.9*
Another colony of New Englanders was established about ten
88 Taxpayers and Voters of Bureau County, 90-91.
90 Matson, Reminiscences of Bureau County, 261.
91 Taxpayers and Voters of Bureau County, 102.
92 Ibid., 102.
83 Matson, Reminiscences of Bureau County, 397.
91 Taxpayers and Voters of Bureau County, 135.
[125]
412 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
miles southwest of Princeton in 1836. The colony had been
organized at Providence, Rhode Island and having taken the
usual steps for exploration, had purchased 17,000 acres. In'
1837, forty persons came to the proposed site of Providence
village. For some time they resided in the colony house but
soon were able to erect dwellings for themselves. Like all other
colonies sent out during this period of experimentation and
speculation, the greatest success did not attend the venture, but
the colony added wealth and numbers to the slowly growing
county which in 1840 had but 3,000 inhabitants.95
The decade 1831-1840 was one of rapid development in the
i Military Tract and the bulk of the population was still in the
I counties along the rivers.96 The process1 of settlement was
the same as had taken place in the decade previous. The new
settlements along the tributaries of the large streams multiplied
but the growth of the older settlements was not rapid, since the
tendency displayed by the pioneers was ever to move towards
the interior, taking up such land as was near the timber, and to
shun the older settlements. This last characteristic was a
natural one for the timber lands in the older settled regions had
long been occupied and prices had advanced beyond what the
pioneer could afford to pay. He was compelled, therefore, to
move on to the prairie or toward the frontier and at this date he
preferred the latter alternative as the great number of new
settlements in the interior shows.
In some cases the hitherto unoccupied bottom lands were
taken up as the settlements of Rome, Chillicothe, Fredericks-
ville, Oquawka and others show. Along the numerous wooded
tributaries of Spoon river and Crooked creek which penetrated
the Military Tract, settlements were frequent and upon these
settlements as bases the later pioneers were to build when they
66 Seventh Census (1850), 701.
*>In 1850 the population of Pike f.nd Cfllhoun counties was 13,469, a numeri-
cal gain of 9,983 and a per cent, gain of 286 ; the population of the Mi sissippi
river counties was 26,774, a numerical gain of 24,079 and a per cent, gain of
893 ; the population of the Illinois river counties was 30,450, a numerical gain
of 25,094 and a per cent, gain of 468 ; the northern counties had a population
of 25.007, a numerical gain of 24,384 and a per cent, gain of almost 4,000.
Bcrenth Census (1850), 701-702.
[ 126 ]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS,, 1830-50 413
began to experiment more seriously with the problem of the
prairies.
The colonial attempts at settlement were a new departure
and while as a general rule the colonies were not successful
they seem to indicate that aside from the desire to make money
the people felt that by systematic organization and numbers
the prairies could be subdued. They were attempts to establish
settlements which would be self-sufficing for a time at least.
The decade 1841-1850 was also one of considerable advance-
ment. During the early years of the decade financial troubles
hindered the growth of settlement for the time; the state was
in distress, being overloaded with debt and thinking seriously
of repudiation but still attempting to stave off disaster as long
as possible by heavy taxation. The farmers could get little
for their produce and even these small prices were not paid in
cash. Money was so scarce that it was next to impossible to
get enough to buy government lands, however low the price
might be. In some places the settlers borrowed money at fifty
per cent, in order to get a clear title to their lands.97 When the
state gradually emerged from its difficult position, times became
better, money looser, taxes lower, confidence greater and settle-
ment began again to extend.
The growth of the Illinois river counties seems to have been
slow during the first half of the decade but was more rapid
after 1845. Peoria was the most important city along the Ill-
inois river, having enjoyed a rapid increase in numbers98 and
being a substantially built city well supplied with churches and
schools.99 It wore a marked New England aspect.100
Mt. Sterling in Brown county with five hundred and fifty
inhabitants, Kushville in Schuyler county with twenty-six
hundred, Canton and Lewiston in Fulton county with over
fifteen hundred inhabitants each, were the chief villages of the
Illinois river counties. Fulton county had a population grouped
97 History of Henderson and Mercer Counties, 625.
98 Estimates of Peoria's population are as follows : In 1844, 1,619 ; in 1847,
4,079; In 1849, 5,061, (Ballance, Peoria, 204) ; in 1850, 5,890, (Drown, Histori-
cal View of Peoria, 148.)
89 Prairie Farmer, 7, 30.
100Curtiss, Western Portraiture, 317.
[127]
414 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
in several comparatively large settlements, for nine in the county
were credited with more than one thousand inhabitants in
I860.101 The whole district had in 1850 a population aggregat-
ing almost 59,000 being nearly double the population of 1840.102
There were 281,000 acres of land under cultivation in 1850
which shows the development of the farming portions of these
•counties.103
Adams county was still the most populous district along the
Mississippi river as well as in the entire Military Tract. Quincy
grew apace in numbers and commercial importance and in 1850
had a population of nearly 7,000, being second of Illinois cities
in size.104 The influence of its favorable location is even more
marked after 1840 than before. A great deal of business was
transacted here annually. In 1841, $330,000 worth of merchan-
dise was disposed of in the city and 420,000 bushels of grain
exported.105 The manufacture of flour which had begun some
years before 'was now a rapidly increasing industry for the out-
put which numbered 21,500 barrels in 1843 had reached 68,000
barrels per annum in 1846. Pork packing was also a paying
industry now and during the fiscal year 1847-48 about 20,000
hogs were packed by the dealers in the city.106 Business in-
creased and in spite of a temporary lull in 1849 caused by a
visitation of Asiatic cholera and the California gold fever which,
between them, carried away four hundred settlers,107 Quincj
yearly became of more importance. It was a city of substantial
residences and numerous public buildings and business houses
which with its green parks and shaded walks gave an eastern
air to the thriving city.108 The export trade of the city amounted
to $500,000 per year by 1850 and a line of steamboats which
01 Seventh Census (1850), 703-715.
°2 Ibtd., 701.
<* Peyton, Statistical View of Illinois, 13.
04 Seventh Census (1850), 703.
03 Redmond, Quincy, 15.
90 Asbury, Quincy, 113-116.
OT Ibid., 81.
08 There were twenty-six variety stores, two hardware stores, two book stores,
•five drug stores, ten ware-houses, six mills, four lumber yards, three machine
shops, two foundries, three printing offices, two hotels, thirteen churches, five
private and two public schools. (Redmond, Quincy, 15; Asbury, Quincy, 82;
Prairie Farmer, 7, 383.)
[138]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 415
made daily trips to St. Louis brought back such goods as were
needed by the settlers of the district.109
The entire population of the county was 26,500 in 1850,
fifteen settlements having more than eight hundred inhabitants
each.110 Almost 150,000 acres of land under cultivation
showed the activity of the farmer class and the healthful in-
fluence of a good market.111
In Hancock county the Mormons were the center of attrac-
tion until 1846, and while swelling the population of the county
until the date of their expulsion, their influence was a decidedly
negative one. At the time of their arrival Hancock county
had a population of about 7,000 but now all immigration, save
that of the Mormons ceased and emigration began until not
more than 4,000 American settlers were left in the county in
1845.112 Aside from Nauvoo, the only settlements of note were
"Warsaw and Mjacedonia, and neither had a population of five
hundred people.113
Coming from Missouri in 1839 the Mormon band settled at
Commerce, changed the name to Nauvoo and occupied almost
all the county together with portions of the neighboring coun-
ties. A charter was granted by the state legislature and the ,
city of Nauvoo grew rapidly as the Mormon power increased !
until it was estimated that there were in JNauvoo and the ad- \
joining country, about 30,000 of the sect. Next to St. Louis,
— • a « v"""" «T~ /t""'
it was the most important city of the Upper Mississippi.114 The
charter (was repealed in 1845 and decline set in. Expulsion
followed in 1846 and Illinois was rid of a class of people which
had caused only a passing prosperity.
Following the Mormon exodus came the Icarians. These
Icarians were Fr^chmen who, in an attempt to put to a prac-
tical test the communistic doctrine of M. Cabet of Dijon, had
come to America, intending to settle in Texas. The plan proved
unsuccessful and a part of the colony under the leadership of
09 Prairie Farmer, 7, 383.
10 Seventh Census (1850), 703.
11 Peyton, Statistical Tieic of Illinois, 13.
aNil&' Register, 69, 109. See chap, xii., post.
13 History of Hancock County, 638.
14 Smith and Smith, History of the Church of Jesus Christ of the 'Latter-
Day Saints, 3, 1.
9 [ 129 ]
416 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
Cabet himself landed at Nauvoo in March, 1846.115 Eight
hundred acres of land were rented and some of the abandoned
Mormon houses were bought. The industry of these people
and their peaceful, orderly habits caused them to be esteemed
by their American neighbors and consequently the settlement
prospered for several years. When the members left Illinois
some years later it was not by request.
After the Mormons left the state, settlers again flocked in and
at the close of the decade there were over 14,600116 people in
Hancock county and 80,000117 acres of land were under culti-
vation.
Henderson and Mercer counties were occupied chiefly by
farmers who had established themselves in the timber along
the small streams. Oquawka, with less than six hundred in-
habitants, was the center of population in Henderson county
and maintained some importance as a shipping point for the
county until the railroads were built. Keithsburg, Millers-
burg and New Boston were the largest settlements in Mercer
county and not one of these had three hundred inhabitants.118
During the decade the counties had nearly doubled in popu-
lation having in 1850 over 51,000 inhabitants.119 There were
under cultivation 300,000 acres making it the greatest farming
district of the Military Tract.120
The prairie counties of this division of the state did not in-
crease in population as rapidly during the decade 1841-1850,
as did the other portions lying along the Illinois and Mississippi
rivers. The gain in numbers amounted to over 20,000 or almost
5,000 less than during the preceding decade.121 Financial dis-
tress in the state, no doubt, had its effect but probably the
greatest influence working was the character of the district.
Primarily a prairie region, the amount of woodland was
limited. The rapid influx of immigration during the earlier
years had filled up much of the desirable timber land leaving
15 Reynolds, Illinois, 372. See chap, xiil., post.
™ Seventh Census (1850), 702.
17 Teyton, Statistical View of Illinois, 13.
18 Seventh Census (1850), 702-713.
19 Ibid., 702.
2°reyton, Statistical View of Illinois, 13.
21 Seventh Census (1850), 701-702.
[130]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS,, 1830-50 417
only the prairie for the later arrivals. Facilities for trans-
portation were limited and so much trouble was experienced
in obtaining lumber for fences and houses, that rather than re-
main and face such difficulties the later comers moved on.
McDonough, Warren and Stark counties where little unoc-
cupied timber was left and where communication was poorly
developed gained little in numbers during the decade.122 Toulon
in Stark county, Monmouth in "Warren county and Macomb in
McDonough county each has less than eight hundred inhabi-
tants. Knoxville and Galesburg in Knox county were of the same
size.123
During this period Henry county was the scene of another
colonizing venture. This time it was by foreigners. Dissatis-
faction with the state religion of Sweden caused quite a number
to contemplate emigration and accordingly preparations were
made and a messenger was sent to America to find a suitable
location. Henry county was selected and in 1846 about five
hundred emigrants arrived there.124 By 1850 the number had
doubled125 and Bishop Hill, as the settlement was called, was
the most important one in the county. At this time the infant
settlements of Andover, Geneseo, Wethersfield and La Grange
•were still struggling for life and Kewanee and Galva, towns of
importance in Henry county today, had as yet not .sprung into
existence, being products of the railroads.
Bureau county had increased at the close of the period about
5,800 but the increase was confined to the region of the rivers
and old settlements. Princeton, Lamoille, Dover and Clarion:
were the settlements best known, the largest being Princeton
with a population of less than eight hundred.126 One division
of Fourier's Phalanx made an unsuccessful attempt at estab-
lishing a settlement.127 The entire population of these interior
counties in 1850 shows an increase of eighty per cent, over 1840
22 The gain for tbe three counties was less than 5,000 (Seventh Census (1850),
701, 702).
123 Hid., 710-716.
12*Bigelow, Bishop Hill Colony, 101-108, in Transactions of 111. State Hist.
Society, 1902. See chap, xiii., post.
125 Mikkelson, Bishop Hill Colony, 36, in Johns Hopkins University Studies, 10.
126 Seventh Census (J850), 703.
127 Hinds, American Communities, 224. See chap, xiil., post.
[131]
418 BULLETIN" OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
which is a smaller increase than either of the other sections and
probably is due to the greater amount of prairie land here.
From 1831 to 1840 the entire Military Tract gained 83,500 in
population ; during the decade 1841-1850 the gain was but 80,-
600, in all a gain of over 165,000 for the twenty years.128 The
decline noticed in the last decade probably can be attributed to
increased competition from other parts of the state. The Rock
river valley, the Fox river valley and the upper Illinois river val-
ley were during the years 1841-1850 receiving great numbers of
settlers and, having excellent timber land in larger quantities
than remained unoccupied in the Military Tract, tended to at-
tract the new comers.
The rule concerning the late settlement of the prairies and the
early settlement of the woodlands holds in this portion of the state
as well as the others. The Illinois and Mississippi river coun-
ties, having numerous small streams and tracts of woodland,
settled rapidly but where the prairies were extensive the settle-
ment was slow. The local historians repeatedly mention this
fact and state that not until 1850, or even later, did the pio-
neers venture out into the open to any extent. The railroads
were a necessity and until they solved the problems of the prai-
ries, the pioneers were almost helpless in the face of the dif-
ficulties presented.
The largest settlements of the Military Tract, Peoria and
iQuincy, can be said to have advanced to the dignity of cities
jby 1850. Peoria iwas the most important port on the Illinois
river as was Quincy on the Mississippi and with the develop-
ment of the agricultural districts upon which they drew, as well
as the development of steam traffic on the rivers whereby the
southern markets were reached, these cities advanced rapidly
in wealth, population and importance.
In the case of Quincy the effect of a favorable location is par-
ticularly noticeable. Its easy communication with markets in
the South, its good landing place for steamers, its healthful site
upon a bluff above the river and its rich tributary agricultural
district aided in the rapid development already noted. More-
over the development of the flouring industry as well as that of
128 Seventh Census (1850), 701-702.
[132]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50
pork packing also aided in the city's prosperity and in order to
save transportation expenses on manufactured goods, factories
of various descriptions sprang up to add to the growth of the
community. In fact the growth of Quincy is an illustration
of the effect of favorable environment and of the interaction of
agricultural and manufacturing districts.
Next in order of size were those cities which, while not situ-
ated directly upon the large rivers, were in close contact with
them, being located from five to fifteen miles away, thus be-
ing free from the fevers which often swept the river bottoms,
and still not far enough away to offer any serious difficulties.
in transportation. Pittsfield, Mt. Sterling, Rushville, Lewis-
ton, and Canton City compose this class. In size they ranged
from 1,500 to 2,500 inhabitants.
The third class of towns comprised those of the interior
counties — generally the county seats — which, removed from
water communication with the outside world were handicapped
to such an1 extent as to hinder growth. When the railroads,
penetrated these counties their prosperity was to increase, but
not before. Macomb, Monmouth, Galesburg, Toulon, Prince-
ton and other towns ranging from five hundred to one thousand
inhabitants are examples of this class.
Settlements by colonizing companies began to be of import-
ance during the decade 1831-1840 when the whole country be-
came entangled in land speculation. The Military Tract and
especially Henry county, came in for its share of such ven-
tures. No great success resulted, generally due to the lack of
active settlers and the overabundance of those wishing to settle
the county by theory rather than by practical attempts.
In the southern portions of the Military Tract the settlers to
a great extent were men from the southern states, because these
counties were settled earliest when this class of pioneers was in
the majority. As has been mentioned before, the counties close
to the Sangamon country where many Kentuckians and Tenn-
esseeans resided, naturally received a large part of their set-
tlers from across the Illinois river. Along the Illinois river
the Kentuckians were numerous save in the cities, but as the
line of settlement moved farther and farther up the river the
[133]
420 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
percentage of Kentuckians in the population decreased and that
of the northern pioneers increased.129 In the other portions
of the Military Tract like conditions prevailed and as the north
is approached the percentage of southerners decreases.130
Statistics seem to show that in the Military Tract before
1850, the southern stream had begun to lose force and when
it met the stream of northern settlers in a contention for the
timber lands it gave way to the more energetic northern people
who took up the land. Having the faculty for adapting him-
self to his environments whatever they might be, the northern
pioneer seemed destined to succeed in the conquest of the
prairies. Far sighted, too, and believing in the feasibility of
railroads, having seen them succeed in the East, he was more
ready than his southern neighbor to venture away from the tim-
ber land and into the prairie.
129 An examination of the biographies of four hundred pioneers in Schuyier
and Brown counties before 1850 shows that one hundred and forty came from
the states of the Northwest Territory ; one hundred and six from Kentucky
and Tennessee, ninety of these being from. Kentucky ; sixty-six from the Middle
Atlantic states; forty from the southern states, sixteen from New England and
thirty from foreign lands. (History of Schuyier and Brown counties, 377-394.)
The biographies of 1,324 pioneers of Teoria at the same date show that four
hundred and thirteen had come from the Middle Atlantic states; one hundred
and sixty-five from New England; one hundred and six from the South) : one
hundred and fifty from the northwestern states; fify-three from Kentucky and
Tennessee and four hundred and thirty-five from foreign lands. (Ballance, Peoria,
201.) Also see further illustration in Chapter V on the Illinois and Fox river
valleys.
180 One hundred and forty-three pioneers of Quincy before 1850 came from the
following regions. Eighteen per cent, were New Englanders, twenty-eight per
cent, were from the Middle Atlantic states, twelve per cent, from the South
Atlantic states, fifteen per cent, from the Northwest, twelve per cent, from
Kentucky and Tennessee and eleven per cent, from foreign lands. (Asbury.
Quincy, 103-106.) In New Boston and Keithsburg in Mercer county forty-six
per cent, of the pioneers whose nativities are recorded by the local historian
came from the Northwest ; twenty-eight per cent, from the Middle Atlantic
states ; eight per cent, from the South ; five per cent, from New England ; three
per cent, from Kentucky and Tennessee and ten per cent, were foreigners.
(History of Mercer and Henderson Counties, 92.) Monmouth, an inland town,
shows practically the same results, for seventy per cent, of the biographies ex-
amined show the subjects to have come from northern states, twenty-one per
cent, from southern states and nine per cent, from foreign lands. (Past and
Present of Warren County, 203.)
[134]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 421
CHAPTER VII
THE ROCK RIVER VALLEY
As an agricultural district the country around the Rock river-
can scarcely be surpassed. The surface is rolling prairie land
dotted with groves and springs while along the streams are
denser woodlands1. The open country is exceedingly fertile
and especially well adapted to the cultivation of grain. The
climate is delightful and while it is one which, like other por-
tions of our northern country, is subject to occasional marked
changes in temperature, these changes have never been severe
enough to cause more than slight inconveniences for the time.
It is scarcely to be wondered at that when once the pioneer
settlers became acquainted with this region they nocked to it
with almost incredible rapidity. In 1834 not a single county
had been formed, but before 1840 eight counties had been or-
ganized and had a combined population of nearly 21,500. Dur-
ing the decade following, the increase was even more striking,
for by 1850 the population had trebled itself, numbering at that
date GB^OO.1 This rapid growth seems wonderful in view of
the fact that it took place in a region practically isolated so far
as facilities for communication were concerned, and also at a
time when financial troubles oppressed the state as well as the
rest of the country.
Slight settlement had taken place in the valley previous to
1830. In 1804 by the treaty of St. Louis the federal govern-
ment acquired Rock Island in the Mississippi river from the
Sac and Fox Indians.2 Shortly after Ft. Armstrong was built
1 Seventh Census (1850), 701-702.
2 Flagler, History of the Rock Island Arsenal, 2.
[135]
422
BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
7
g) Chief towns.
• Villages.
ROCK RIVEE VAIXEY (1850)
West of the prairie line 20 per cent, of the country is woodland. East of the line*
all timber is along the rivers. The years indicate date of county organization.
[136]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 42$
and when the garrison came in 1816, Col. Davenport and his-
family accompanied them, being for a number of years the only
whites in the vicinity, save the garrison. In 1826 the begin-
nings of the town of Farnhamsburg, the predecessor of Rock
Island, was made, Col. Davenport and Russell Famham, part-
ners in the Indian trade, erecting a house on the mainland.3
For years the house was to act as post-office, hotel and court
house. Two years later a few families came to live on the
island but being impressed with the fertility of the mainland
and owing to its protected condition they ventured upon it.4
The little settlement grew so rapidly that when the Black Hawk
War broke out four years later, it furnished fifty-eight men for
the service.5
Some sixty miles up the river was another small settlement^
On the present site of Dixon where the trail connecting Peoria
and the lead region crossed the Rock river, a half-breed named
Ogee, attracted by the yearly tide of immigration flowing to
and from the lead mines, had established a ferry in 1826.8 By
1829 some, tired of the ceaseless traveling to and from the
mines, and impressed with the fertile land around them, had
settled at the ferry. A post-office for the accommodation of the
travelers had been established here and the settlers from as far
up the river as Rockford came here for their mail.7 At the
last named place stood a solitary pioneer cabin.8 Along the-
Galena trace in the neighborhood of Dixon were scattered other
small settlements.
These were the settlements in the Rock river valley at the
outbreak of the Black Hawk War. They were few in number
and small in size but they portrayed pioneer tendencies by their
location. The pioneer wished elbow room and disliked the ham-
pering effects of civilization but still he was reluctant to give
up all connection with his fellow men. As a consequence his*
3 History of Rock Island County, 118-142.
4 Stevens, Black Hawk War, 79.
5 History of Rock Island County, 122.
6 History of Dixon and Lee County, 14.
T History of Lee County, 38T"
* History of Dixon and Lee County, 4.
[137]
424 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
settlements were established on the waterways in the new coun-
try, or, better still, where the much traveled wagon road crossed
the waterway, as at Dixon. The pioneer liked company but
not too much of it and by establishing himself in such places
as have been named he was able to fulfill his desires. Where-
ever the wagon roads offered good connections with the neighbor-
ing settlements, there were to be found the settlers ' cabins. This
is especially noticeable along the Peoria-Galena trace through the
valley.
In view of the facts cited, it seems proper to date the real set-
tlement of this portion of Illinois from the Black Hawk War.
Moreover, the last strip of Indian territory in the valley was
ceded to the government by the Winnebago Indians in Septem-
ber, 1832.9
The year 1831 had not been one of agricultural success
and this, followed by the Indian troubles of 1832, reduced
the settlers of the northern country to dire straits. So
far everything seems to have operated against the pioneers and
the country was not yet known to any- extent.
The maneuvers of the troops in the Rock river valley while in
pursuit of Black Hawk gave the men some opportunity to be-
come acquainted with its advantages. It is evident that some of
the soldiers from the eastern states were wide awake to the pos-
sibilities of this region, for shortly after their return home the
vanguard of the New England and Middle states pioneers be-
gan to arrive in Illinois. One of the great causes for this im-
migration,10 we are informed was the stories told by the soldiers
concerning the beauty of the country and the fertility of the
soil.
During the next three years (to 1835) the pioneers, slowly
gaining confidence owing to the settlement of the Indian troubles,
again came to the Rock river valley, and, during the year
immediately preceding the revulsion of 1837, settlers followed
with increasing frequency. The Rock Island settlement under
the shelter of Ft. Armstrong grew rapidly, developing into the
8 Annual Report of the American Bureau of Ethnology 1896-1897, 2, 737.
">Evanston Historical Society Publications, (1902), 3.
[138]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 425
town of Stephenson, which was the county seat of the newly
organized Rock Island county.11 In the immediate neighbor-
hood, Fulton, at the narrows of the Mississippi was founded.12
Clinging to the wooded banks of the Rock river, were Prophets-
town, Sterling, Dixon, Oregon and Rockford, each at the time a
very small settlement and having no importance save that of
being a pioneer village.
Away from the river, however, in the groves bordering the
smaller tributaries were settlements equal in importance, at
that time, to the better known ones; but, later outstripped in
growth because of increasing advantages of their neighbors,
they are today deemed insignificant. Still in this study of
settlement such places as Squaw Grove, Paw Paw Grove and
Buffalo Grove have significance for the names call attention to
the fact that in the early days of the conquest of the prairies
the pioneers first sought the timber as a base of operations be-
fore venturing out into the open.
Sterling, one of the largest towns in the lower Rock river val-
ley was organized in this decade and derived its name from a
peculiar incident. Chatham and Harrisburg, rival pioneer
towns situated opposite each other on the Rock river, struggled
through three years for leadership in the newly organized county
of Whiteside, each desiring the honor of being the county town.
Each attempt upon the part of either contestant to gain prece-
dence failed until finally the right to the county seat was de-
cided by tossing a coin. The towns were united and the name
Sterling was given to the new town.13
The northern part of the district did not, during the early
years, make as much headway in settlement as did that part
already mentioned. The most important center of population
in Boone county had but twenty-three voters14 in 1836. Its
importance was due to the efforts of a stock company which
endeavored to take advantage of the waterpower of the Kish-
11 Organized in 1835.
12 History of Whiteside County, 157.
13 Whiteside county was organized in 1836.
14 Past and Present of Boone County, 231.
[139]
426 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
waukee river where it was crossed by the state road from Ga-
lena to Chicago.15
Rockford, which was also, from its situation on the Rock river
where the state road crossed it, in an advantageous position, be-
gan its growth in 1835 and 1836. At the end of the latter year
frame houses had begun to supplant the rougher log cabins1 of
the previous years. Its greatest rival was Winnebago which
for a time bid fair to become the most important towns of the
county but upon its defeat for the honor of being the county
seat a decline set in from which it never recovered.
In 1834, Congress made the Polish grant in Winnebago coun-
ty.16 After the Polish insurrection of 1830 and 1831 numbers-
had been forced into exile, many coming to America. Those
who came to this country sent a committee to Congress petition-
ing it for a grant of land. Congress replied by granting them
thirty-six sections to be selected from the lands of Illinois and
Michigan, laying but one restriction upon the choice, that those
making the choice must select three townships adjoining each
other. When the selection was finally made by the Polish dele-
gate, Count Chlopiski, a year later, he selected the townships
on which Rockford and Rockton stand, thereby both violating
the terms of the grant and causing consternation among the
settlers who hoped in due time to obtain lawful possession of
the land upon which they had settled. Nothing, however,,
came of the Polish grant, for these people settled in another
part of the country, and caused the Rock river settlers no more
trouble than that of keeping them from establishing clear titles
to their lands, for Congress, anticipating that the Poles would
eventually take up their residence upon the selected tracts, did
not put this land on the market until 1843.17
During the years 1835 and 1836 many settlers came to Stephen-
son county, especially in the latter year. While many of
these were miners from the lead region, some were from the east-
ern states and a considerable number from the southern part
15 IUd., 280.
u Senate Debates, 23 Congress, 1 Bess., 1724.
17 Church, History of Rockford, 210. The Poles settled in Texas. (North-
western Gazette and Galena Advertiser, Sept. 24, 1836.
[140]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830~50 427
of Illinois. This last class had, like many others, been impressed
with the fertility of the country when they had passed through
it in pursuit of Black Hawk and were now coming to take ad-
vantage of the opportunities it offered.18 The Winnebago In-
dians, who, up to this time had by their presence in this part of
the state retarded settlement to a great degree, now withdrew
across the Mississippi and by their withdrawal made the set-
tlers in the district breathe easier, for the remembrance of the
'Sac and Fox disturbances was still fresh in the minds of the
pioneers. The most important settlement was at Freeport,
where an Indian trading post was established upon the Peca-
tonica river in 1835. Over fifty families congregated at this
point during the following year.19
Such was the Rock river valley in 1837 when, owing to the
failure of so many speculative schemes, the financial depression
came and with it a new era in the settlement of the state. In
the period just discussed only beginnings were made; some vil-
lages of respectable size had sprung up and hundreds of fam-
ilies were scattered here and there at the most attractive points.
This early period of settlement in the valley may be taken
as typical of the progress of settlement into a new country. The
river served as the highway of communication with the outer
world; the two great roads through the valley, the one crossing
the river at Dixon, the other at Rockford, also played their
part. The map will show the location of the principal towns
where the intersection of these highways took place, Rockford,
Freeport and Dixon, with Rock Island at the mouth of the val-
ley. Gradually the filling-in process took place and numer-
ous smaller towns dotted the banks of the river. Along the
two great wagon roads, settlements were also found but these
were not to develop even into villages until the railroads came.
Back from the main stream along the tributaries were still
other settlements. Could we be allowed to view the valley as
a whole the scene would be one of a line of cabins following the
18 Johnston, Sketches of Stephcnson County, 55.
19 History of StepJienson County, 238.
[141]
428 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVEKSITY OF WISCONSIN
timber lands, along the streams, and leaving the great prairies
as yet untouched.
The towns, so far, had shown no signs of becoming cities and
they were not to make rapid strides for another decade. The
reason seems simple. Lines of transportation were not devel-
oped save a poor one in the Rock river. Lack of transporta-
tion facilities caused a lack of markets and since good markets
help in the development of an agricultural district and are de-
pendent upon this development for support, it seems that the
problem of transportation was the key to the situation and in
the interacting influences of agriculture and steam was to be
found the solution of the prairie problem. When transpor-
tation was assured, development was rapid but it was not to
take place for several years to come because of the period of
financial embarrassment experienced by the state from 1837 to
1843.
This second stage of growth (1837-1843) was not one of
rapid development. It is true that settlers still came, but not
in large numbers; timber claims were still in dejnand but in
a less marked degree than formerly. Rock Island and Dixon
increased a little as did the smaller settlements of the lower Rock
river valley. A local historian notes the arrival of a colony of
wealthy New Yorkers near Discm-in 183820 but it seems scarce-
ly probable that men of much property would care to exchange
.their homes for the privations of the frontier.
In the closing years of the decade, 1831 to 1840, Ogle county
grew little, but in the early forties settlers came more frequently.
Money was scarce; times were hard; few markets for farm pro-
duce presented themselves; the merchants refused to pay cash
for products, all of which served to make the lot of the pio-
neers a harder one. Those already in the country, believing in
the ultimate adjustment of conditions on a more favorable
basis, were willing to endure the hardships for the sake of fu-
ture possibilities and remained. A few others came. Grand
Detour, Oregon, Mt. Morris, Buffalo Grove, Rochelle and By-
ron were the most important centers of settlement.
20 Htetory of Dixon and Lee County, 1.
[142]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 429
Grand Detour, so-called from its situation in the great bend1
of the Kock River, grew from a small village of a store and two
dwellings in 183721 to one of considerable size in 1842.22 Its
growth is typical of the development of the early towns1. Some
advantages of transportation facilities were enjoyed and the
surrounding agricultural country looked here for a market.
Manufactures developed to an extent owing to high prices of
transportation and it seemed the object of the community to be
as nearly as possible self-sufficing.
DeKalb county in 1840 had the least number of inhabitants
of any of the Rock river valley counties. This may be at-
tributed to its location which was midway between the line of
settlement along the Fox river and that along the Rock. No
river of size penetrated the county and consequently there was
no easy opening allowed for the settlers. There were, how-
ever, some settlements in the vicinity of the groves. Sycamore,
which today is one of the important towns, was in 1840 "a
dreary little village" of a dozen houses.23
Rockford was the__chief town of Winnebago cj3mityL_and be-
f r>rP_JJU9. . li a A hpr»0™ o rrnp^ jvf_ JP size. In 1838
Rockford and West Rockford were two settlements apart from
each other. West Rockford had eighteen Jbuildings ; while__the
settlemenT across the rfvef"~was slightly larger.24 Similarity
of interestSlj^ausacL them to eombine~in~183^," when, together,
they^weTe^mcjp^p_pj^teiL_a^Jth^^ty of Rockford. At that time
the population amounted to two hundred and thirty-five.25
From thia-timeTin spite of the-general depression throughout
the state, Rockford jenjoyed a rapid growth. Chosen as the
seat of government for Winnebago county in 1839jjits .import-
ance increased and by 1841 it had come to be the most popu-
21 Sketches o'' Ogle County, 69.
22 Rock River Gazette, Oct. 4, 1842, says the town had a good hotel ; two stores,
one of which did $30,000 worth of business in a single year ; a broom factory ;
a cigar factory ; a flour mill with a capacity of 6,000 to 8,000 barrels a year ;
a printing press ; and a saw mill. There was also a plow factory with a daily
capacity of fifty plows.
23 History of DeKalb County, 386.
24 Church, History of RocJcford, 134.
25 luid., i48.
143]
430 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
lous town along the Rock river, having eight hundred inhabi-
tants.26
-^Hnough Winnebago was the most populous county in this
portion of the state in 1840, settlement was carried on under
adverse conditions especially during the later thirties. Prices
were exceedingly high and money was scarce and those pioneers
-who as yet were unable to raise products varied enough to sat-
isfy all their wants met with many hardships.27
"With money scarce as it was during this time it may well be
imagined what smaHchance the pioneer had to purchase the
necessities of life in such a country. One man ventured to say
-that there were not twenty farmers1 in the entire county in 1841
and 1842 who had a suit of clothes suitable to wear to church
or to court, which they had purchased with the fruits of their
labor on their farms. The truth of the situation was that those
who had an abundance of products were unable to sell because
none were in- a position to buy, owing to lack of funds. It was
indeed a time of discouragement and some men past the prime
of life, tired of battling with the hardships of the new country,
returned to their old homes in the East.28 Such people, it is
certain, would by their stories of frontier trials and privations
'actively oppose the movement of any of their friends to the West.
Here we find one of the causes which operated against the settle-
ment of the state even as late as 1845.
To a certain degree, Stephenson county seems also to have
been an exception to the rule of slow settlement during the
years immediately following 1837. In that year there were
four or five hundred29 settlers in the timber and in 1840 there
were 2,800.30 New England contributed most of the pioneers
•during this period although numbers of "Pennsylvania Dutch,"
Norwegians and English came also. The chief colony of Nor-
28 Chicago Weekly American, Jan. 22, 1841. The town had two newspapers
•at this date. (Church, History of Rockford, 215, 300.)
27 Church, History of Rockford, 131, quotes the following prices : — Flour, six-
teen to thirty-two dollars a barrel ; pork, thirty dollars a barrel ; wheat, from
ithree to four dollars a bushel ; and sugar, twenty-five cents a pound.
KIWd., 131.
19 Hlinois in 1837, 100 : History of Stephcnson County, 257.
80 Keven th Census (1850), 702.
[144]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 431
wegians came from Nummedal and Thelemark in 1839 and set-
tled at Rock Run. There were one hundred and fifty in the
colony.31 In 1842 a colony of English peasants from Devon-
shire and Sussex settled in Ridott township.32
Freeport developed as rapidly as did the rest of the county.
A few houses were erected in 1837, but owing to the high price
of lumber they were small ones.33 All supplies were carted
overland from Galena, a distance of more than fifty miles, and
as a consequence prices were high and Freeport felt keenly the
lack of transportation facilities. However, the town soon began
to bear evidence of possibilities in the future and when in 1840
its population numbered almost five hundred it began to ape
the manners of a city.34 It appears to have been1 a frontier
town of none too good a type. "Saloons were maintained and
gambling indulged in without limit. John Barleycorn reigned
in those days more generally in proportion to the number of
inhabitants than he does now, while the Tiger of Pharaoh was
a beast that roamed about freely."35
Before passing from the discussion of this period it is neces-
sary to mention an impediment to immigration to this country,
which exercised more weight in the locality than financial
troubles or the want of transportation facilities. The settlers,
as we have noticed, were^ of all nations and from all portions of
the United States, so it is not to be wondered at that there was
infestingthe Rock river country, a liberal share of counter-
feiters, thieves and murderers. .To 'a greater or less extent this
class is always found on the outskirts of civilization and the
Rock river valley was particularly unfortunate in being the
rendezvous of such a band. These "Prairie Pirates " as they
were called numbered about three hundred men who made it a
business to buy moveable property and pay for it in counter-
feit money, to steal horses and rob the cabins of the pioneers.36
The law seemed powerless against these desperadoes, for often
81 kelson, Scandinavians in the United States, 1, 132.
32 History of Stephenson County, 268.
33 Johnston, Sketches of Stephenson County, 91, 92.
34 Ibid., 93.
35 History of Stephenson County, 264.
** The New Yorker, May 30, 1840.
10 [ 145 ]
432 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
members of the band were filling local offices and shielded their
companions. Lynch law alone restored~~order 'to the troubled
district when two of the "Pirates" were hanged.37 Over one hun-
dred men sat upon the jury which convicted them and later pro-
ceedings were brought against these jurymen. They were in-
dicted for murder, tried but acquitted. The decisive action of
the pioneers effectually stopped the raids and settlers were more
secure thereafter in their lives and the possession of their prop-
erty.
Other conditions unfavorable to the rapid settling of the
country also prevailed in this period. Markets were scarce.
The Rock river man was compelled to cart his produce to Ga-
lena or Savanna, on the Mississippi river, or to Chicago if he
had a great quantity to sell. The expense of transportation
taken in connection with the value of his time left little or no
reward for the farmer who journeyed to market. To Galena
was a trip of a week or more ; to Chicago, anywhere from four-
teen to twenty days, and after arriving, his wheat was worth
but forty or fifty cents a bushel.38
Moreover, the pioneer had trouble over his claims. Specu-
lators, always on the lookout for improved farms, not held by
good titles, were prone to snap up all such pieces until the
Claims Associations were formed and by might secured to every
settler his claim against "land-sharks" or "claim-jumpers."
After the land sales of 1842 and 1843 these associations, no
longer needed in this part of Illinois, gradually fell to pieces.
In spite of these drawbacks there was a Rock river emigra-
tion fever prevalent in many parts of the country, and settlers
poured in and scattered themselves along the timbered portions
until in 1840 the population of the valley had reached 21,500.3*
After 1843 the country filled up with amazing rapidity and
in 1850 had in it over 66,000 settlers.40 No longer did the small
colonies attract the attention of local historians and our infor-
mation concerning. the development of this part of Illinois must
37 History of Ogle County, 356.
38 History of Rock Island County, 225.
™ Seventh Census (1850), 701, 702.
*»lbid., 701, 702.
[ 146 ]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 433
be derived from such things as are deemed of importance by
those writers. From the growth of the cities also we are able
indirectly to form some conclusion concerning the growth of the
agricultural class1, for wherever a prosperous agricultural com-
munity was formed, a town of some importance was close by,
since the latter must look to the former for support.
This great increase may be attributed to several causes. The
Bock river country was known as a place of extraordinary
facilities for agriculture. Those coming during the period
previous to 1843 had sent extremely favorable reports to the
East and naturally others followed the lead of the pioneers.
The financial revulsion was over and money became more plenti-
ful. Those people who had property in the East and wished to
move west could now find purchasers and were set at liberty.
During this period Illinois began to regain her good name, lost
with the breaking down of her internal improvement scheme,
and her half notion of repudiation of her debts. Heavy taxes,
too, had kept many away, but with the re-establishment of her
finances upon a firm and honorable basis it seems that immi-
gration began anew. Finally the railroad through from Chicago
to Galena was1, before the close of the decade, an assured fact.
Many flocked to the neighborhood of its line seeing its value
as a market maker.
From 1843 to 1850 is a period of rapid growth, but chiefly in
the agricultural districts. For example, the river towns of
Whiteside county show very little growth, while those settlements
farther inland show a rapid increase. The reason is evident.
This portion of the county had been settled at the earliest date
and all the available land had been taken up, consequently the N
new comers moved further up the small streams toward the in-
terior. In Lee county the number of small settlements increased
in numbers and in size while Dixon had nearly eight hundred
inhabitants by 1851. 41 Property valuation had increased as had
the amount of agricultural products.42
41 History of Lee County, 105.
42 Real estate was valued at $L)15.000 ; personal property at $168,000, and
430,000 bushels of small grain were produced each year (Seventh Censws
(1850), 730-2). There were also twelve corporations producing $60,000 worth,
of articles each year (History of Lee County, 74).
[147]
434 BULLETIN OF THE TJNIVEKSITY OF WISCONSIN
In the counties of Ogle, DeKalb and Boone there was little
growth in population. Lack of ready money and of markets as
well as disputes over land claims operated against the growth
of settlement. Moreover when the news of the discovery of
gold in California reached Illinois a number of the farmers left,
preferring to try their fortune in the far West rather than to
struggle against the difficulties at home.43 The population of
these counties was chiefly of the agricultural class although
Sycamore, DeKalb and Belvidere were settlements of some im-
portance, the last having a population of about one thousand.44
After 1845 the increase is more marked.
An examination of the sources of population in the counties
treated so far shows a decided predominance of immigrants
from the northern states and a very few from the southern
states.45
In the other northern counties of the valley the increase of
settlement was more rapid. Winnebago county was in 1850,
as in 1840, the most populous county of the district, having
nearly 12,000 inhabitants.46 Remembering the unfavorable
conditions prevailing in the county during the early forties,
this increase of settlement which must necessarily have come
during the last five or six years of the decade, is remarkable.
As the railroad across the northern part of the state was to pass
through the most thriving town in the county, a market and an
outlet for produce was thereby assured. The outlaw gang had
been driven from the country, the financial difficulties were re-
moved and settlements having sprung up all over the county,
it was no longer a frontier. In these things, we are able to see
the causes of the thriving condition of the new country scarcely
two decades old.
In character the settlers did not differ from those hi the other
<3 Boies, History of DeKalb County, 404.
44 Seventh Census (1850), 703.
45 An examination of the biographies of two hundred and seventy-seven early
settlers of Whiteslde county shows that two hundred and seven came from
New England and the Middle Atlantic states and but nine from the southern
states (History of Whiteside County, 77). Of three hundred and twenty-nine
in Lee county, two hundred and nineteen were northern men ; many were
foreigners and a few southerners (History of Lee County, 177).
« Seventh Census (1850), 702.
[148]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OP ILLINOIS, 1830-50 435
counties of the valley. New Yorkers and New Englanders
greatly outnumbered the settlers from other places, if Rockford
and Rockton may be taken as examples.47 Foreigners were also
present.48 i
Rockford was the metropolis of the northern prairies and en-
joyed the most rapid and steady growth of any of the towns
along the Eock river.49 From a few scattered houses in 1838
it had grown to a town of 1,500 houses in 1850.50 Business was
thriving and numerous stores1 were supported by the people of
the surrounding country because this was the only supply
depot between Chicago and Galena. -\ The appearance of the
town' was not prepossessing^ State street, -the business street,
was "a crooked line of low wooden shops a~nd stores,"51 al-
though there were some respectable brick stores in the town.52
A low wooden bridge separated rather than united the towns
which were even yet rival encampments instead of parts1 of the
same town. The inhabitants of one town very seldom ventured
across to the opposite side of the river save on business and the
adventurers generally came home as quickly as possible. The
rivalry did not cease until the railroad came and put its depot
on the west side, which in the minds of the townsmen balanced
the prestige enjoyed by the east side in the possession of the
post-office.
Travelers seem to have been favorably impressed with Rock-
ford at this date. A correspondent for a New York paper
praises its location and says, "A better place for investments in
47 The early homes of eight hundred and seventy-one of Rockford's settlers
are known. Four hundred and seventy came from New York, two hundred and
thirty-seven from New England and one hundred and sixty-two from other places
in Illinois. (Church, History of Rockford, 281.)
One hundred and two of the early settlers of Rockton are known. Fifty-
eight were New Englanders ; twenty-three from the Middle states ; eighteen,
foreigners and the rest from various places. (Carr, History of Rockton, 16.)
48 A colony of Scotch were at Willow Creek (History of Winnebago County,
454).
48 Population of Rockford is given as follows ; in 1839, 235 (Church,, His-
tory of Rockford, 148) ; in 1841, 800 (Chicago Weekly American, Jan. 22, 1841) ;
in 1845, 1278 (Church, History of Rockford, 281) ; in 1850, 2093 (Seventh Cen-
sus (1850), 717).
50 New York Weekly Tribune, Aug. 30, 1848.
51 Goodwin, Commemorative Discourse (Rockford, Aug. 14, 1870).
12 Church, History of Rockford, 233.
[149]
436 BULLETIN- OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
milling, manufacturing, etc., I did not see in the western
states."53 Still anotEer-speaks of it as, "one of the most beau-
tiful and prosperous villages on Rock River^ doing a large,
active business and containing "many fine buildings and
• mills."54
fC..
The farmers of the adjoining county were rapidly acquiring
wealth and on the whole were abundantly satisfied with their
V circumstances. They possessed live stock valued at almost
$270,000 in 1850, and during the preceding year had produced
786,000 bushels of small grain,55 a remarkable development when
one stops to think that fifteen years before there were no farms
under cultivation in Winnebago county.
Stephenson county more than kept pace with Winnebago dur-
ing the decade, receiving about 1,700 more settlers than did the
latter county and reaching a total population of 11,666.56 In
spite of the statements made by the local historians concerning
the slowness of settlement during the decade 1841-1850, it is
a fact that this county increased more rapidly than did any
other county of the valley.
Immigrants from the Middle States and particularly from
Pennsylvania formed the greatest part of the early pioneers of
Stephenson county. The Pennsylvanians were Germans who
proved themselves to be a substantial, industrious and thrifty
class of settlers. A typical "Pennsylvania Dutch" colony came
in 1843 and is described by one of the Pennsylvania papers in
the following manner.57 "On "Wednesday May 31, a company
of about sixty emigrants passed through this place on their
way ... to Stephenson county, Illinois. They had four-
teen wagons, each drawn by an elegant span of horses.
They were all from one neighborhood, had plenty of cash and
appeared in fine spirits."
The foreign population of the county constantly increased
53 New York Weekly Tribune, Aug. 20, 1848.
84 Curtiss, Western Portraiture, 283.
M Seventh Census (1850), 730, 732.
53 Ibid., 702.
67 Clarion (Pa.), Register (F^tract copied from this paper by The Northwestern
Gazette and Galena Advertiser, July 7, 1843).
[150]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 437
and congregated in and around Freeport. This place had in
1850 a population of 1,436,58 one fourth of which were foreign-
ers, mostly Germans.59
As Rockford was the center of the agricultural district of
"Winnebago county, so was Freeport of Stephenson county. It
was situated on the Galena-Chicago state road along which the
proposed railroad was to be built. Its growth was as yet re-
tarded by the fact that supplies were carried from Galena to
stock its stores, but the energy and hopefulness of the settlers
helped to build it up and give it a prominence in the district
which was to be increased when steam traffic was finally a reality.
Scattered along the line of the proposed railroad were small
settlements patiently awaiting the time when they, too, by the
aid of steam, would become markets for agricultural produce
and derive benefit from the products of the country.
To the north and south of the railroad line, wherever a patch
of timber gave shelter from the heat of summer and the cold
winds of winter, there could be found a settler's cabin and be-
fore the end of the period every available bit of timber had
been claimed. The farmers owned $326,000 worth of live stock,
and produced 759,000 bushels of small grain in 1850.60 The
prairies were, however, still unsubdued if we may judge from
the amount of unimproved land at this date, there being 123,300
acres not yet under cultivation and only 76,300 cultivated.61
Low prices alone worked to destroy the prosperity of the farmer
and when not long afterwards a remedy was1 applied the ad-
vance made by the district was a rapid one. For a time the
effect of the gold excitement was noticeable, for between one
and two hundred settlers left Stephenson county for the West.62
In the discussion of the settlement of the Rock river valley
there are really but two periods; the first extending to about
1843 when the revival from financial troubles took place; the
second extending to the coming of the railroads. The first is
one of beginnings in which settlement was retarded by both in-
58 Seventh Census (1850), 715.
69 Johnston, Sketches of Stephenson County, 79.
80 Seventh Census (1850), 730, 732.
61 Johnston, Sketches of Stephenson County, 71.
82 History of Stephenson County, 283.
[151]
438 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
ternal and external influences. Speculators had caused a period
of 'boom' which collapsed with the weakening of the financial
system. Troubles over land claims, lack of markets, the pres-
ence of the "Prairie. Pirates" and poor communication with the
outside world all tended to make this earlier period one of un-
certainty among the settlers.
The later period is the one in which the true growth began.
Finances were again comparatively sound, the people were be-
coming acquainted with their prairie environments and most of
all the coming of the railroad was to give them markets. Fully
appreciating the advantages of the country, and fully realizing
that in order to take advantage of the opening opportunities
they would necessarily have to be on the scene at an early date,
settlers flocked there in thousands, coming to the northern
counties in the greatest numbers.63 Likewise in the northern
counties were located the chief towns, Freeport, Eockford and
Belvidere. In the southern part of the valley" Dixon and Bock
Island alone Lad reached the dimensions of towns.
A glance at the census figures will show the northern counties
to be developing more rapidly than their southern neighbors.
The explanation of this lies in the influence which lines of com-
munication have upon the growth and character of new settle-
ments. Stage roads lead from Chicago westward across the
state in various ways to the Mississippi river towns. Chief of
these was Galena. The road leading to Galena passed to the
northward from Chicago through Belvidere, Eockford and Free-
port. Emigrants arriving in Chicago from the East by way of
the lakes and bound for the Eock river valley seemed inclined
to select this road to their destination. As an example, Belvi-
dere, according to the local historian, owed its develop-
ment to the fact that it was situated on this road.
Moreover, the railroad was surveyed through these counties and
the farmers1 knew that the value of their produce, to a
^Whiteside and Lee counties had a combined population of 17,590 In 1850,
a gain of 10,400 In the decade; DeKalh and Boone had about 15,000, having
gained 11,760 while Winnebago and Stephenson had 33,500 inhabitants which
was a gain of almost 23,600 for the decade (Seventh Census (1850), 701-2).
[152]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 439'
great extent, depended upon the expense incurred in getting
it to market, so they got as close as possible to the new line of
transportation.
New^_Enoianders and New Yorkers ..were by far the most
numerous elements in the population. "Pennsylvania Dutch,"
Germans, Norwegians, and English, Irish and Canadians were
generally grouped in settlements by themselves, but they formed
a considerable part of the population of some districts,
especially in Freeport and the northern portions of Stephenson
county.
As a result of this influence of New England and the northern "A >c y
states, schools and churches rapidly sprang into existence, for
it was evident that wherever half a dozen families were-
grouped there must be a school and there must be divine services
if these people were to be contented with their lot in the western
country. If we could follow their development farther it would
be seen that but few years indeed elapsed between the log church
and school house and those of more pleasing and imposing
appearance.
However, it must be said that the true development of the
Rock river valley was just beginning; vast stretches1 of prairie
land still were lying unoccupied and the work of the railroads-
was yet to be done. The foundations had been laid during the
period previous to 1850 but the social and industrial develop-
ment of the region was to be the task of those who were to come
later, and who by the aid of transportation facilities and im-
proved farm machinery were to leave the woodlands for the open,
prairies.
[153]
440 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
CHAPTER VIII
Eastern Illinois is truly the prairie district of the state ; and
// in this district settlement developed slowly, but five counties
having been organized previous to 1830.1 The period from 1830
to 1850 was one of beginnings in this part of Illinois. From
the first appearance of American settlers until the railway had
developed into a probability, the settlements were sparse, for
here, too, the prejudice of the pioneers against the prairies dis-
played itself. Few indeed were the settlers who ventured away
from the sheltering timber along the rivers and in nearly every
case the early settlements are to be found on the edge of the
timber lands. Exceptions, of course, there were but they were
few. Along the most-traveled roads leading from the Wabash
river settlements to those along the Illinois river or to Chicago,
an occasional pioneer more venturesome than the rest built his
little cabin, but even in such cases he was careful to select some
spot where timber was close.
Local historians of eastern Illinois are agreed on the point
that the scarcity of settlement in that-district prior to 1850 was
due entirely to the inaccessibleness of the country. Mr. Beck-
with in his History of Vermilion County says there was no settle-
ment on the prairie until 1849 when a rush of immigration
came in, in anticipation of the passage of Douglas's Illinois
1 The counties discussed under the head "Eastern Illinois" are Jasper, Effing-
ham, Cumberland, Coles, Shelby, Moultrie, Douglas, Edgar, Vermilion, Champaign,
Piatt, Macon, Logan, DeWltt, McLean, Livingston, Ford, Iroquois and Kanka-
kee. Of these Vermilion, Edgar, Shelby, Macon, and McLean were organized
before 1831.
[154]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 441
© Towns of over 1,000 inhabitants.
• Towns of less than 1,000.
EASTERN ILLINOIS (1850)
North and east of the curved line is the prairie ; less than 20 per cent, woodland.
Year indicates date of county organization.
[155]
442 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF "WISCONSIN
Central Railroad bill, the discussion of which in Congress had
attracted much attention to the prairie lands of the state.2
The combined population of the five counties organized at the
opening of the period (1830) was less than 14,500 and two-
thirds of this number were within the limits of Vermilion and
Edgar counties on the Wabash river.3 Before the organization
of the state Edgar county had received settlers and during the
closing years of the decade 1821-1830 immigrants had poured
into this portion of the state in increased numbers, distributing
themselves along the rivers. Generally speaking, these early
pioneers were from Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio and the Caro-
linas. Directly to the north lay Vermilion county. Here the
population was grouped in the timber lands along the Vermilion
river and its tributaries in the southeastern part of the county.
IDaiiville, the chief town, situated on the Vermilion river
which, at that time, was navigable for steamboats during a
great part of the year, had a population of three hundred and
fifty and was the most important settlement in this part of the
state.4 Coal mining which later was to become the great in-
dustry around the settlement had begun, but only on a small
scale for the settlers did not comprehend the value of the coal
fields and instead of claiming great portions were content to
dig only what they needed for immediate use.5
"While the early years of the decade 1831-1840 were prosper-
ous years for central Illinois the spread of population was not
rapid in either of the "Wabash river counties although they both
increased considerably in numbers of settlers.6 A. filling-in
process was going on here instead of an extension of the frontier
line and the timbered banks of the numerous branches of the
Wabash which crossed this part of the state were being taken up.
Timber seemed plentiful and as yet there was no necessity for
2 Beckwith, History of Vermilion County, 801.
* Vermilion and Edgar counties had 5,800 and 4,100 settlers respectively ;
Shelby county had 3.00O ; Macon county 1,100 ; and McLean county had less
than one hundred families. Seventh Census (IS50), 701, 702.
4 Danville had six stores, four saw mills', two grist mills, a post-office, a court-
house and a land office. Illinois Monthly Hagazine, 2, 4o6.
5Beckwith, History of Vermilion County, 847.
' Some 7,500 settlers were added to the population of the two counties during
the decade. Seventh Census (1850), 701, 702.
I 156 ]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 443
the pioneer to move out into the prairies. Condensation, how-
ever, was aided by another influence, for early in the thirties' the
Indian troubles in the north frightened many of the settlers of
the uppe'r Illinois river counties back to the stronger settlements
in the south. Here and there in the small groves of northern
Vermilion county and along the Hubbard trace leading to Chi-
cago were small settlements which were broken up at the first
alarm, the settlers moving to safer places and it was some time
before they dared to return to their former abodes.
From 1841 to 1850 new forces were at work, tending to at-
tract settlement to other parts of the state rather than to the
Wabash river counties. Little timber land was left on the
eastern side of the state and the ordinary immigrant could not
afford to pay fancy prices to be allowed to remain in the older
settled regions. The prairies alone were left in Vermilion and
Edgar counties and since practically nothing was known con-
cerning pioneer life on these enormous tracts of unsheltered
country the pioneer feared to settle on them, thus being prac-
tically compelled to pass on by the eastern line of settlement
and head for the timber line of the Illinois and Sangamon
rivers or northward to the Iroquois and Kankakee. Favorable
reports, too, came from the interior of the state concerning
fertile land, fine timber and good water.
Later in the decade the Douglas Illinois Central Railroad
bill drew much attention to that portion of the state west from
Vermilion and Edgar and when the rush of settlers came dur-
ing the closing years of the decade this influence also operated
to the detriment of these counties for the railroad was too far
to the west to come in contact in any way with the "Wabash
river settlements.
Besides, across the prairie in the neighborhood of the San-
gamon river, settlements occurred often enough to remove the
more evident frontier characteristics, but not so often as to leave
no desirable land for newcomers. In short, central Illinois \
along the western skirts of the great prairie offered more ad-
vantages to the pioneer at a less expense than did the older
Wabash settlements and naturally he went there.
Danville was in 1850, the most important town in this part of
[157]
444 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
the state but it was not a city. In other parts of the state
Quincy, Galena and Chicago had grown to be cities at this date
because of developed resources and because of favorable loca-
tions, but Danville not being a market of consequence, or the
key to a great transportation line, was dependent, upon an un-
developed resource — coal. "When mining was begun on a large
scale, Danville became a population center of sufficient import-
ance to be called a city.
The other settlements of importance in these counties were
Paris, Georgetown, Grand View. Enibarras and Butler's Point.*
Paris was the chief town of Edgar county and Georgetown in
Vermilion county, being the seat of a seminary which for quite
a time was an educational center of importance, was a settle-
ment of considerable size in 1850.8 The population of the two
counties amounted to over 22,100 souls.9
As the pioneers approached the heart of the great prairie,
the headwaters of those streams flowing into the "Wabash. Ohio
and Mississippi rivers were reached. These tributaries being
small, unnavigable streams, offered little communication with
the rest of the state and it was with slow and somewhat uncer-
tain steps that the settlers ventured from southern Illinois, or
the Sangamon country, to take possession of the timber lands in
the prairie. The scanty settlements in this part of the state in
1830 show how slowly the acquisition of territory was going on.
Effingham county had but fifty families in 1830,10 all collected
in five communities in the timber near the Enibarras river; St.
Marie and Xewton settlements near the same stream were the
settlements of greatest note in Jasper county. The scanty pop-
ulation of Cumberland county must be attributed to the wet,
swampy character of the soil, which made it poorly adapted for
farming land. A settlement of Kentuckians and Tennesseeans
on Bear Creek was the most important one in the county in
1830." Coles county had sixty voters in 1831.12 Moultrie and
• -i*» Cm*** (1S50). 7C7.
* Beckwith. Higtcrp o~ Vermilion County, 521.
» Srremn Cmnw (185O), 701-702.
" Perrin. History of EffSngiiam County. 12.
-1 Hitiory of Cumberland, Jczpfr and Richlamd Countiet, 112.
a History of Coles County. 244.
[158]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 445
Douglas counties, not so many. Macon county, on the ex-
treme eastern side of the Sangamon country, profiting by the
timbered portions of the streams and by its proximity to the
older established settlements of Sangamon county, had a con-
siderable population. The Stevens and Ward settlements, sit-
uated one on either side of the Sangamon river, near the present
site of Decatur, were the chief settlements.13 The greater part
of the population lay along the river near the above-mentioned
villages. Decatur was a settlement having no distinction save
that of having a dozen log cabins and a street filled with
stumps.14
Although De Witt county had settlers in the early twenties, the
spread of settlement progressed slowly. In 1829 Governor
Reynolds addressed the voters of the county at a political meet-
ing which was attended by all the voters for miles around.
Twenty-five in all came, "a motley crew, half of them at least
wereybare foot, while the best dressed were in their shirt
sleeves."15 Logan, Piatt, Champaign and Ford counties had
small settlements here and there but with the exception of
Champaign county they remained unorganized for years.
McLean county, owing to its abundance of good timber land
and the fact that it lay close to the older settlements, filled up
rapidly, especially in the timbered tracts. The names Dry
Grove, Twin Grove, Blooming Grove and Funk's Grove, tell „
plainly the story of settlement in McLean as well as in other
counties of this part of Illinois. No settlers ventured away
from the timber before 1849 or 1850.16 Blooming Grove, soon
to become Bloomington, was the most important settlement in
the county and had twenty families hi 1830." Along the Ver-
milion in Livingston county and at Bunkum and Milford in
Iroquois were gathered a few families.
Tri_1j30 Danvinp, Paris, Blooming Grove and_Decatur v -re
the ftnlv__sgtt.]ftmp!Tits of any size in this part of Illinois. The >
rest of the population was scattered throughout the country in
"History of Macon County, 31.
14 History of Edgar County, 306.
15 History of DeWitl County, 296.
14 History of McLean County, 591.
17 Ibid., 306.
[ 159 ]
446 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
the timber lands, practically cut off from the rest of the state,
almost destitute of markets and of those commodities generally
enjoyed by older settlements.
However, a change was beginning to come about, for agri-
cultural implements were now of as much importance as the axe
-and the rifle ; and the pioneer began to forsake the bluffs and the
bottomlands along the rivers and to adapt himself to new en-
vironments. The outside edge of the timber was found to be
more convenient than the river banks, for the only chopping
necessary was for the cabin since nature had made the clear-
ings long before the coming of the pioneers. Here began' a
period of experimentation in which the pioneer was to get an
idea of the possibilities of the great uncultivated fields all around
him. For a time he felt himself powerless to take advantage
of them since he had no means by which he could keep in touch
with the rest of the world. Neither could he solve the problem
of wood and shelter, when separated from the friendly timber.
Hard times, lack of markets close at hand, financial distress,
state debts, high taxation, unfavorable reports spread by dis-
satisfied pioneers, which tended to keep back settlers, all made
the task of the prairie man harder through this period from 1830
to 1850. The railroads had not been built yet and without their
aid in solving the problem of transportation and communica-
tion it is small wonder that the pioneers from Kentucky, Tenn-
essee and Ohio whose experience had all been with the timber
lands, advanced with caution and even timidity to the task which
lay before them.
Turning now to the southern counties of the prairie region,
the growth of settlement shows that the pioneers of Jasper
county came principally from Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana with
some from the eastern' and southern states. They were "squat-
ters" who had been obliged by circumstances to leave the more
thickly populated districts and begin life again in a new
country.18 By 1834 there were enough people to warrant the
formation of a new county, but the number must have been
small, since at the first few courts held, the services of nearly
18 History of Cumberland, Jasper and Richland Counties, 382-383.
[160]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 447
all the male inhabitants in the county were required to conduct
the court proceedings.19 Land was taken up slowly. In 1836
there were possibly ten pieces of deeded land in the county and
conditions remained so until about 1845.20 Newton, the chief
village, in 1835 consisted of but four or five families and while
it had no public buildings, the Village was fortunate in having
a sawmill, an institution highly prized by our pioneer an-
cestors.21 The mail came once a week when the water was not
too high.
In 1837 an important addition was made to the population of
the county. For years there had been, in some parts of France,
a desire among the peasantry to attempt the planting of a colony
in America. The Picquet families, all well-to-do people, being
attracted by the plan, sent one of their number to America to
select and purchase a place suitable for the establishment of a
colony. After traveling quite extensively through the states of
the middle West the agent selected a site in Jasper county and
returned to France in 1836 to make his report. In the follow-
ing year a colony of twenty-five people arrived from France,
purchased 12,000 acres of land and settled at St. Marie, calling
their settlement the Colonie des Freres.22 In 1840 the settlers
in the county did not number 1,500 in all. The chief settle-
ments were Newton and St. Marie.23
After 1845, the lands began to be taken up more rapidly and
new settlers were not so scarce. In the closing years of the dec-
ade, when the hard times were over and Illinois had voted
against repudiation and when the railroad seemed more than a
mere possibility, settlements increased in number. The popula-
tion of the county numbered in 1850 more than 3,200 souls and
Newton, the chief center of population, had with its surrounding
farms a population of more than 1,100. The Crooked Creek,
North Fork and St. Marie settlements had between four and
seven hundred settlers each.24
™IMd., 389.
20 Ibid., 388.
21 Ibid., 481.
22 Ibid., 484.
23 Seventh Census (1850), 709.
24 Ibid., 709.
11 [ 161 ]
448 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
Cumberland county, directly north of Jasper, was settled to
some extent by 1830, but was not organized until 1843, since the
development, like that of Jasper, was slow during these years.
Like Jasper, too, the greater part of the county was not in the
hands of actual settlers until about I860.25
The beginning of work on the National Road through this
county in 1832 gave an impetus to immigration and attracted
not a few settlers to its immediate vicinity, most of whom came
from Ne'w York and Ohio.26 Greenup, located on the Embarras
river where it was crossed by_ the Old National Road, was the
most desirable place for settlement, and by 1840 it was' a thriv-
ing village with mills and business advantages superior to any
other settlement for miles around.27 In 1850 its population
numbered more than nine hundred.28
Outside of Greenup, the county filled up slowly and before
1850 settlement was at a standstill. Cholera visited this part
of Illinois during the forties and added to the difficulties beset-
ting the pioneers and when the news of the discovery of gold in
California came, quite a number of the settlers left.29
Although there were no public buildings in Cumberland
county for several years, owing to the inability of the inhabitants
to decide upon a county town,30 it was very well supplied with
school-houses. One church, built of logs, was the only house of
worship in 1840.31
Immediately after the close of our period, a time of prosperity
began, for the land warrants issued by the United States gov-
ernment to the soldiers of the Mexican War were converted into
holdings by the soldiers themselves, or had passed into the
hands of others desiring land and in the years following 1850
nearly every acre in the county was taken up.32 The population
of the county in this year was a few more than 3, TOO.33
25 History of Cumberland, Jasper and Richland Counties, 105.
28 /bid., 113-114.
*7 IUd., 123.
JS Seventh Census (1850), 706.
28 History of Cumberland, Jasper and Richland Counties, 114.
*° Ibid., 136.
S1lbid., 172.
32Il>id., 114.
88 Seventh Census (1850), 701.
[162]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS., 1830-50 449
In 1831 Effingham county was organized and during the
early part of the decade increased in population quite rapidly,
especially along the National Road which crossed the county.
A census taken in 1835 credits Effingham county with about
1,000 settlers and two hundred acres of improved farm lands.34
Soon after, owing to the arrival of the German colony which set-
tled at Teutopolis, the land market was active and a consider-
able amount of land was taken up.
In 1837 Teritopolis was located and at once became a settle-
ment of importance and the nucleus of the foreign population
of the county. A company of Germans, one hundred and forty
in number, was formed in Cincinnati for the purpose of found-
ing a settlement in some western state. The subscribers were to
pay ten dollars a month until a sum of $16,000 had been raised.
In the meantime an investigating and exploring committee was
appointed to select a suitable place for a town. This committee,
after tramping through a considerable part of Indiana and Ill-
inois, decided upon Effin«tanj_^ounty as the most desirable lo-
cation, and reported it to the company as such. The comjiany
boughtlO,000 acres of land jand laid out a town whose main
street was the National Road.
In 1838 the settlers "Bejpn to arrive, some coming directly
from Germany and others from the German settlements around
Cincinnati. Those from the latter place came by water to St.
Louis and then by wagons to Teutopolis, a distance of one hun-
dred miles.35 In all there were ninety families.36 From time
to time other families came and settled in the neighborhood.
Douglas,37 St. Francis38 and Liberty townships were centers of
German settlement. The latter had a varied population, how-
ever, numbering 'New Englanders, Buckeyes, Southerners,
Hoosiers, English, Irish and Poles' along with its Germans.39
Although the county had 3,700 inhabitants in I860,40 it had
34 Perrin, History of Efflngliam County, 56.
S5/6tcZ., 251.
36 Salsbacher, Heine Reise nacJi der Vereinigten Btaaten, 229, note.
37~Douglas township had forty-four adult male Germans in 1840. Perrin,
Effingham County, 147.
88 IUd., 232.
39 Ilild., 239.
«° Seventh Census (1850), 701.
[163]
450 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
I not a single church and not until 1852 was a house of worship
(erected. When the first church was built, it was a simple log
structure and was made to serve as both school-house and church
and was free to all denominations.41
The beginnings of settlement were made in Shelby county
before 1830 and at that date the county had already been or-
ganized and had nearly 3,000 settlers. The early date of set-
tlement may be explained by the fact that the county is well
watered and well timbered since it is drained by many tribu-
taries of the Kaskaskia river. The increase in the number of
settlers during the twenty years amounted to 4,800. Moultrie
county, however, had been cut off from Shelby county in 1843
which serves in part to account for the small increase in the
number of settlers. Moultrie county's population in 1850 was
.a few more than 3,200.42
By far the greater number of the pioneers of these two counties
•came from states west of the Alleghanies1, which seems to
Indicate that in this part of Illinois the absence of lines of com-
munication with the far eastern states served to limit the classes
of settlers to those who came from neighboring states.48
At the first election held after the organization of Coles
county in 1831, sixty votes were cast.44 At the end of the de-
cade the population numbered 9,000, Mattoon and Charleston
being the chief towns.45 Unfavorable conditions existed in the
county but the number of settlers increased in spite of the lack
of markets and the existing poor prices.48 In 1850 there were
eight townships claiming between seven and fourteen hundred
settlers each. Charleston was a village of importance, having
« perrin( History of Efftngliam County, 176.
0 For population of Shelby and Moultrie counties see Seventh Census (1850),
701-702.
*3 The biographies of four hundred and fifty pioneers of Shelby and Moultrie
counties have been examined with the following results. Ninety-five settlers
came from Ohio, eighty-seven from Kentucky, seventy from Tennessee, sixty-
six from other parts of Illinois, forty from the southern states, thirty-six from
Indiana and a few were- foreigners and from the eastern states. History of
Shelby and Moultrie Counties, 319-333.
0 History of Coles County, 244.
"Seventh Census (1850), 705.
49 Corn sold for eight cents a bushel and wheat for twenty-five cents. A cow
and a calf brought eight dollars and good horses were bought for forty dol-
lars. History of Coles County, 460.
[164]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 451
eight hundred and fifty inhabitants.47 School houses had been
erected at various places in the county and Charleston had a
church and a newspaper office.48 The settlers came chiefly from
Kentucky with some representatives from Virginia, Tennessee,
the Carolinas and the states of the Middle West.49
Champaign county owing to its location in the heart of the
great prairie district, did not fill up rapidly, for timber was
scarce. Permanent settlements were few before the Black Hawk
War but after danger from the Indians had passed settlements-
sprang up in the timber. Urbana, Mahomet, Newcomb, St.
Joseph, Condit and Sidney all had settlers by 184050 when the
population of the county amounted to about 1,500 people.81
Urbana, the county town, was the most important settlement
and boasted of having a store in 1834. The goods sold here had
been purchased in Philadelphia, carted over the mountains to
Pittsburg and shipped down the Ohio to Evansville, Indiana,
from which place they were brought to Urbana by wagons.
Owing to the heavy cost of transportation, it is not surprising:
to learn that calico and the coarsest kind of brown muslin brought
prices varying from thirty-five to fifty cents a yard. Other
articles sold at correspondingly high prices.52 Among the
settlers of Urbana were numbered a physician, a preacher,
a lawyer and still more important personages for frontier set-
tlements, a blacksmith and a wagon maker.53
In the next decade the population of the county increased to
about 2,700 souls with Urbana and Homer as the chief towns,,
neither of which had more than two hundred settlers.54 Cham-
paign, now by far the most important city of the county, hacl not
a single settler, being entirely the product of the railroad which
crossed the county in the next decade.
While Champaign was not a frontier county in 1850, and
while it was a large county with exceedingly fertile land, the
"Seventh Census (1850), 705.
48 History of Coles County, 318-322.
48 Ibid., 500.
50 Lothrop, Champaign County Directory, 373-428.
61 Seventh Census (1850), T01.
82 Lothrop, Champaign County Directory, 124.
53 Ibid., 439.
"Seventh Census (1850), 701-705.
[165]
452 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
population was much smaller than that of many other counties
located in the northern or western parts of the state. The slow
settlement can be attributed to two things; the lack of lines of
communication with the populous eastern states, and the
scarcity of tjf&iber land. The pioneers had not by 1850 learned
the solution of the problems of the prairie and those who came
to eastern Illinois sought places where timber was more plenti-
ful than here.
The earliest settlers had come to De Witt county before 1830
but the organization of the county did not take place until
1839, owing to the small number of inhabitants. The Salt
Creek settlement, now known as Farmer City, had but four
families in 1832 and the nearest neighbors were ten miles away.
In 1839 the number of families1 had grown to nineteen.56 De Witt
and Clinton villages had their first houses erected in 1835 and
1836.56 By 1840 the former had a store, a mill, a hotel, a post-
office and a church which made it a town of much importance
in the county.57 In 1840 the population of the county was
about 3,250 and in 1850 it was 5,000; Clinton and Waynesville
with from three to four hundred inhabitants each, being the
principal settlements.58
The nativities of the pioneers of De Witt county show that
the early settlers came chiefly from the states of the Middle
West, the representatives of the eastern states being few.59
The settlement of Piatt county began in 1830 when some
settlers came from Ohio. The county government, was organ-
ized in 1840 with Monticello, a village of one hundred inhabi-
tants, as the county town.60 Settlement increased but slowly
in the county and in 1850 the population was but 1,600.61
Macon county which at the opening of this period had 1,100
85 History of De Witt County, 214-215.
™IUd., 151.
57 /bid., 287.
88 Seventh Census (1850), 706.
59 Of two hundred and sixty settlers who came to De Witt county before 1850,
ninety-five came from Ohio, thirty-eight from Kentucky, thirty from other parts
of Illinois, twenty-two from New York, twenty from Indiana, eighteen from
Tennessee and seven from New England. History of De Witt County, 389.
80 Norris and Gardiner, IlUnote Annual Register (1847), 105.
61 Seventh Census (1850), 702.
[166]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 453
inhabitants, had in 1840, over 3,000 and in' 1850 about 4,000.62
Decatur was the chief town but enjoyed a rather unsteady
growth. It was begun in 1825 and was still a hamlet in 1836.
In spite of the fact that from 1836 to 1842 the state of Illinois
went through her darkest days, Decatur experienced her best
ones until after 1850. During this period the growth of the
village was comparatively rapid, owing to a belief among the
people that a railroad was soon to be built through the town.
In 1842 its population had reached five hundred, and here the
decline set in because of the vanishing hope concerning the
proposed railroad.63 Through the rest of our period the town
was at a standstill and to some extent this seems true of the
county as a whole, for the gain of one thousand inhabitants in
a period of ten years does not seem a great deal for a county
which was situated in a rich agricultural district and no longer
on the frontier. From its proximity to the Sangamon country
and owing to its early settlement, it seems probable that a great
part of the population was from the southern states, having
followed up the Sangamon river.64
McLean county, fortunate in having a liberal supply of
timber besides fertile prairie land, was an ideal country for new
settlers. As a result of these advantages the county which had
but ninety-three families at the time of its organization in 1830,
had, by the end of the decade, over 6,500 settlers, and by 1850
had reached the 10,000 mark.65 To the natural advantages
favoring McLean county there was one drawback which was of
a serious nature, and that was the lack of a handy market.
Chicago was the market for stock, and those farmers who had
produce to sell were of necessity forced to carry it to Chicago —
everything which could walk, sheep, hogs, horses, cattle, turkeys
and geese, was driven. Occasionally other places served as
62 Ibid., 702.
63 History of Macon County, 116.
** Information here is inadequate. The nativities of fifty-five lawyers and
judges have been recorded by a local historian. Twenty-four came from the
South Atlantic States, seventeen from Kentucky and Tennessee, five from the
Middle Atlantic States, two from New England, two from western states, and
two were foreigners. History of Macon County, 31.
85 Seventh Census (1850), 702.
[167]
454 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
markets but it seems to have been a general rule to trade at
Chicago.
Although McLean county was considered as a frontier county
as late as 1840, yet it had some settlements of importance before
this date. Big Grove had one hundred and fifty families, Dry
Grove had fifty, Cheney's Grove had twenty-four and Bloom-
ington had four hundred and fifty inhabitants.66 Besides these,
there were two or three settlements made by colonies formed in
the East.
In 1830 a company in Butler county, Ohio, sent an agent to
Illinois to select and buy land preparatory to the establishment
of a settlement. The instructions were carried out and in the
fall of the year the colony, comprising five families in all, set-
tled in Dale township.67
Five years later another enterprise of the same sort was be-
gun, but on a much larger scale. This time the promoters
were Rhode Island men and their plan was to open up the
western lands and settle enterprising farmers, merchanics and
tradesmen upon them. A charter was obtained from the state
and a company formed with a capital stock of $12,500. Each
subscriber was to receive three hundred and twenty acres of
land and four lots in the village of Mount Hope. In 1837
fifteen families left Rhode Island and Massachusetts and settled
upon their Illinois claims. A few houses were erected but
owing to the panic of 1837 the plan never succeeded well and
practically fell through. Eight thousand acres of land werer
however, taken up and entered by the company.68
A similar fate overtook the Hudson colony in the same year.
The Illinois Land Association, as it was called, was organized
at Jacksonville in February, 1836. In the name of one of the
promoters, nearly all the township of Hudson was entered.
The plan was to get subscribers for the company at two hun-
dred and thirty-five dollars per share. Each share entitled the
holder of the certificate to one hundred and sixty acres of land
ce History of McLean County, 330.
67 Ibid., 612.
w History of McLean County, 579 ; Duis, Good Old Times in McLean County ,
736.
[168]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 455-
besides twenty acres of timber for fencing, building and fuel,
and also four town lots in the village of Hudson which was to-
be built upon the company's land. Since the greater part of
the timber land of the county had already been settled upon,
the agreement concerning the allotment of timber to each sub-
scriber could not be fulfilled and some dissatisfaction arose
therefrom, causing a number to withdraw. Twenty of the
stockholders became settlers in 1837 but the financial trouble
of that year put an end to the scheme. The settlers and pro-
moters were from Hudson, New York.69
Bloomington, it was believed in the early days, would never
be a town of any importance since stone, timber, coal, water
power and navigable waters, which were thought to be neces-
sities for a successful settlement, were not to be- found in any
quantities near its site. Its growth, however, was a steady one,
save only in the period of depression following 1837. From a
village of eighty inhabitants in 183170 it increased to one hun-
dred and eighty in 1834 and four hundred and fifty by 1836.71
The population had increased to six hundred in 1840 in spite
of the unfavorable conditions existing at the time.72 During
the next three years, however, the little town suffered. Lands
and town lots became almost worthless; improved land could
be bought for a dollar and a quarter an acre.73 By 1843 every
merchant had been forced into bankruptcy, money was scarce,
farm produce was well-nigh worthless, emigration began' among
those who could get away and immigration had practically
ceased. Much property was forfeited because of the inability
of the owners to pay taxes.74 From this date times improved
and the village again began to grow. The small, irregular,
sparsely settled town developed from one of 600 in 1840
to one of 1,600 in 1850, while the precinct outside of the
town had an additional 1,000 settlers. Several other settle-
ments in the county had more than seven hundred settlers.75
••4
88 History of McLean County, 603.
70 Ibid., 316.
71 Duis, Good Old, Times in McLean County, 45.
78 History of McLean County, 335.
™Ibid., 336.
74 McLean County Historical Society Publications, 1, 409.
75 Seventh Census (1850), 712.
[169]
456 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
Most of the early pioneers came from western states; Ohio
and Kentucky sending the greatest numbers.76
Of the northern counties of eastern Illinois, Livingston and
Iroquois counties were organized before 1850. In Kankakee
county, then a part of "Will county, was a settlement of interest.
It was a Canadian community, established by Noel Vasseur,
and for a time it flourished. Later, Americans came and filled
up the surrounding county, but Bourbonnais as late as 1879
still preserved to a great extent the customs and appearances of
a genuine Canadian village. In its best days possibly 6,000 or
7,000 people lived there in their quiet cottages, grouped about
the church, college, and convent.77 The census of 1850 credits
the village with a population over 1,700.78
"While Livingston county was still a part of McLean county,
settlements were started in it and by 1832 the Rook Creek, Belle
Prairie and Indian Grove settlements each had a few pioneers.
At Pontiac and Amity, and in Oswego and Forrest townships, a
few settlers grouped themselves during the next few years.79
Pontiac, one of the two important settlements, was located by
New Yorkers who erected their cabins at this place in 1833.
Four years later the town was surveyed, platted and lots sold
at five dollars each. In 1850 a whole block in the same town
could be bought for ten dollars and if it was an unusually de-
sirable one perhaps twenty dollars would be required to pro-
cure it. In 1835 a few families from Ohio, Vermont and New
York joined those already in Pontiac and three years later the
first substantial addition was made in the shape of a colony
of seventeen persons from New York.80
A decade later the village presented the same appearance,
having experienced no growth whatever. Half a dozen cabins,
76 Of two hundred and sixty pioneers who came to McLean county before 1850,
sixty-one came from Kentucky, sixty from Ohio, thirty from Virginia, four-
teen from Pennsylvania, thirteen each from New York and Tennessee and ten
from North Carolina. Only thirteen were New Engenders, eighty-eight from
the other Atlantic states, while one hundred and fifty were from the states west
of the mountains. Duis, Good Old Times in McLean County, 125-865.
" American Catholic Quarterly Review, 4, 598.
™ Seventh Census. (1850), 716.
79 History of Livingston County, 295-405.
80 Ibid., 300-301.
[170]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 457
so hidden away in the bushes as to be almost invisible, and a
court house composed the town of Pontiac. So insignificant
was this county town at this date that, it is said, travelers some-
times inquired of its residents the distance to Pontiac. Its
population in 1849 was seventy-eight souls.81
To the township of Amity must be accorded the honor of
being the most important center of population in Livingston
county prior to 1850. Settled first in 1833, its population num-
bered two hundred in 1843 and about two hundred and fifty
in 1850.82 Many of the settlers had come from Ohio and were
decidedly above the class of pioneers generally found on the
frontier.83
Besides these two settlements, but little else existed until along
into the fifties, for the true development of the county dates
from 1854, when the Chicago and Alton built its line.84 The
opening of the Illinois and Michigan canal in 1848 served to
bring some settlers from northern Ohio and Indiana and
southern Michigan, but the number was not large.85 Settle-
ment had not left the line of the Vermilion river by 1850 and
even where so closely grouped this ribbon of settlement over
the county did not exceed five miles in width. Beyond these
limits occasional settlements were found but the largest ones
had but four or five families each.86
Development in all lines seems to have been slow. In 1847
not a store existed in Livingston county, the nearest approach
to such an institution being a peddler who made monthly trips
from Ottawa, supplying from his wagon the needs of every
family in the county. The mediums of exchange acceptable
were feathers, ginseng and deer skins.87 The population in 1850
was 1,550,88 the least of any county in Illinois.
The history of settlement in Iroquois county is a repetition of
that of the other prairie counties. Scattered settlements are
*lI1)id., 300-301.
82 Ibid., 406-411; Seventh Census (1850), 711.
83 History of Livingston County, 411.
84 Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois, 341.
85 History of Livingston County, 534.
Mn>M., 422.
viMd., 245.
«3 Seventh Census (1850), 702.
[171]
458 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVEKSITY OF WISCONSIN
found along several of the wooded streams. The Kickapoo and
the Pottowatomie Indians remained in the county until the years
1836 and 1837 and while they were friendly undoubtedly their
presence served to retard settlement, for the Indian scare of 1832
was still fresh in the minds of the frontiersmen.89
Several colonies of some note came during the years 1834 and
1835. First to come was a Pennsylvanian colony numbering
thirty-two people, all of whom were owners of considerable
property. They settled at Milford, and two years later were
joined by a party of Virginians.90 In 1835 a colony of Nor-
wegians came, but in1 selecting a spot for settlement this colony
was unfortunate and hit upon a place which was unhealthful.
Sickness broke out among them and, discouraged by the outlook,
the entire colony, numbering thirty people, left Beaver Creek
in 1837 and went to Wisconsin.91
One example of a "paper town," we find in Iroquois county
in 1835 during the period of the craze for speculation which
swept over the country during the thirties. A company, known
as the Plato company, bought some land, laid out a town and
advertised it in New York and Boston as "the head of naviga-
tion on the Iroquois" and "one of the handsomest locations for
a city in the world." Some lots were sold for higher prices
than Chicago lots commanded but the undertaking proved a
failure.92
Various small settlements were made during the decade but
the settlers clung closely to the timber and remained there until
the Illinois Central Railroad crossed the county.93 The pio-
neers came chiefly from Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky but repre-
sentatives from Pennsylvania, Virginia, Canada and Europe
were also present. The population in 1850 had reached 4,100.°*
In 1830 the population of the counties of eastern Illinois
amounted to 14,000 souls ^ in 1850 it numbered over 87,500r
88 Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois, 299.
80 History of Iroquoia County, 138.
817ZmZ., 339.
827b:cZ., 3S8.
83 Settlements were located at Onarga, Ash Grove, Belmont, Upper Spring
Creels, Lower Spring Creek and In Mlddlefort, Del Rey, Concord, Iroquois and
Stockland townships. Ibid., 209-480 ; pt. II, 7-12.
84 Seventh Census (1850), 702.
[172]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 459
which seems small when the immense tract of land over which
it was scattered is thought of. Little of the population was
urban for in all this region there were but four settlements
claiming more than one thousand inhabitants, and but nine
more having over seven hundred and fifty.95
The reason for the lack of towns seems1 a simple one; cities
spring up either where natural resources are to be exploited
or where business will naturally concentrate. Industry in
eastern Illinois was wholly argicultural and the products were
stock and grain. The great requirement was a market, and
inland towns such as Bloomington could not furnish it, because
there were no lines of transportation, whereby the accumulated
produce could be transferred to another larger market for dis- l
tribution. Consequently a city could not exist in this agricul-
tural region save only with an outlet. When the railroads wTere
built from Chicago south and southwest, tapping this agricul-
tural region, prosperity was assured and a market placed close
at hand for the farmer. The produce buyers of the inland
towns no longer feared an accumulation of goods either agri-
cultural or mercantile. The farmer, able to dispose of his pro-
duce, was inclined to buy more merchandise and the dealer
realized his profits. Business increased with the increase of
markets for farm produce, which was the work of the railroads.
The influence of timber upon the location of settlement is
noticeable in this part of the state.96 Even in 1850 the pioneer
felt safest when reinforced by a friendly strip of timber, and
at this date the process of taking up the woodlands was still
under way. In the southern and central counties these timber
tracts had been wholly taken up and around each patch of
timber was a circle of cabins whose occupants cultivated that
part of the prairie lying close by. Where the well-traveled
roads, such as the Hubbard trace or the National Road, crossed
the prairie, there were always found a string of settlers' cabins.
The filling up process which was to go on in the spaces inter-
M Bloomington and Newton were the largest towns.
98 Note the location of the county towns of eastern Illinois. Effingham, Dan-
ville, Charleston, Shelbyville, Sullivan, Decatur, Montlcello, Urbana, Clinton,
Bloomington, Pontlac, Watseka and Kankakee, were situated In the timber along
the streams.
[173]
460 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
vening between the timber settlements had thus begun but as
yet could not be carried on with any rapidity since transporta-
tion was no easier than before. On the northern frontier the
timber had not all been claimed and here the development of
settlement was not so far advanced as farther south. Besides
in the northeastern counties of eastern Illinois the swampy
lands practically prohibited settlement and it was not until
these swamps were drained that the counties were settled with
any degree of density.
An examination of the nativities of the early pioneers dis-
closes a different state of affairs than existed in southern Ill-
inois or in northern Illinois. It differs from southern Illinois
in the fact that a considerable number of settlers came from the
states north of the Ohio, but west of the mountains. In com-
paring the population with that of the northern counties it
is found that the percentage of settlers from New England or
the Middle Atlantic states is much smaller in eastern Illinois
than in the northern section of the state. Here there were no
great trunk lines of transportation to influence settlement and
since many of the pioneers came from the neighboring states,
it seems reasonable to believe that the settlement of this part of
Illinois was the result of a natural movement of the agricul-
tural classes such as has taken place within recent decades from
those states east of the Mississippi river to Kansas, Nebraska,
Minnesota and the Dakotas. The impelling force was not one
which caused whole communities to move, but a force which
came from the belief that conditions for the accumulation of
wealth were better "farther west."97
87 Tlie biographies of 1,138 early settlers in this part of the state have been
examined with the following results ; two hundred and eighty came from Ohio,
two hundred and ten from Kentucky, one hundred and six from Tennessee,
eighty from Indiana, eighty from other parts of Illinois, one hundred and sixty
from the southern states, eighty from the Middle Atlantic states and but a few
from New England. Six hundred and seventy-seven came from the four western
states, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee, and four hundred and sixty-one-
from other places.
[174]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 461
CHAPTER IX
THE LEAD REGION
Long before the rest of northern Illinois received any settlers
the lead district had been explored. Hennepin's map of 1687
locates a mine in the neighborhood of the present site of Galena
and it is said that the French traders at Peoria purchased lead
from the Indians as early as 1690.1 A map of Louisiana pub-
lished in 1703 shows plainly the location of Dubuque's mines
west of the Mississippi and alspthe Gj-alen^ mines.2 Forty years
later a score of miners eked a scanty existence here by means
of surface mining.3 In 1769 Martin Duralde received a conces-
sion of land on Le Seuer's River of Mines for the purpose of
mining4 and after a lapse of nearly twenty years Julien Du-
buque appeared in the region and began mining on both sides of
the Mississippi, working 'diggings' as far east as Apple River.5
It soon became known to the Americans that valuable_lead_
mines existed in this region and accordingly negotiations were
entered into with the Indians for the purchase of a tract of
land fifteen miles square, to be located somewhere on the right
bank of the Mississippi. In 1804 the treaty was signed6 and
Congress passed a law providing for leasing the tract for terms
not to exceed five years. No leases were made, however, until
1822.7 Now the miners began to come one by one, to share in
1 Thwaites, Notes on Early Leadmining, in Wis. Hist. Collections, 13, 272.
2 Ibid., 274.
»/&»</., 276.
*Ibid., 278.
6 Ibid., 280.
8 Davidson and Stuve, Illinois, 346.
7 Washburne, Lead Region and Lead Trade of the Upper Mississippi in Hunt's
Merchant's Magazine, 18, 288.
[175]
462 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
the industry which the Indians carried on to the best of their
ability.8 In 1816 the first boat load of lead — seventy tons — was
sent down the river.9 Col. Davenport, of Rock Island, an agent
for the American Fur Company, established a trading post at
Portage near the mouth of Fever river.10
Even now the United States government had not convinced
itself of the exact location of the mines, for in the treaty con-
cluded with the Indians, August 24, 1816 at St. Louis, when all
lands lying north of a line drawn due west from the southern
extremity of Lake Michigan to the Mississippi River were con-
ceded to the Indians, a reservation of five leagues square on the
same river was made by the treaty. This reservation was to be
designated at some later time by the President and it seems
•evident that the sole object of this reservation was to obtain
control of the lead mines whenever their location could be defi-
nitely determined.11
The exact date of the first permanent settlement by whites
in this region is not known. Boutilier,12 Shull and Muir were
probably here before 1820 and tradition has it that a man named
January had for some years previous conducted a trading post
at the mines.13 In 1819 an expedition consisting of six or eight
boats carrying possibly one hundred men left St. Louis under
the command of Col. R. M. Johnson bound for Fever river.
After a slow trip of twenty days it reached Galena and the
business of making a treaty with the Indians was accomplished
after a parley of nine days. This negotiation concluded, "the
mines were then for the first time opened for civilized enter-
prise. ' '14
For three years little or no addition was made to the settle-
ment. Estimates of the size of the settlement vary15 probably
8 Thwaites, Notes on Early Leadmining, in Wis. Hist. Collections, 13, 285.
o Personal Recollections of Col. John Shaw, in Wis. Hist. Collections, 2, 228.
0 History of Jo Davies's County, 233.
1 Thwaites, Notes on Early Leadmining, in Wis. Hist. Collections, 13, 286.
2 Davidson and Stuve, Illinois, 346.
3 History of Jo Daviess County, 231.
4 Bonner, Life and Adventures of Beckwourth, 20.
5 Tenny, Early Times in Wisconsin, in Wis. Hist. Collections, 1, 95, says there
were but two cabins at the mines; the author of The Htetory of Jo Daviess
County (228), gives the number of cabins as ten or twelve.
[176]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 463
owing to the instability of the mining population; but with the
arrival of Col. Johnson 'with his band of slaves10 the rapid
growth of population in the region begins. The first steam-
boat came up the Fever river in this year and the shipment of
lead in considerable quantities began. With the increase of
this product, the increase of population advanced.17 During the
years 1821, 1822 and 1823 an aggregate of 335,000 pounds was
shipped from here; by 1827 it had increased to over 5,000,000
pounds and by 1829 to 13,344,150 pounds.18 which appears to
have been the high water mark of export.
In 1824 two events of considerable importance happened;
the establishment of a store in the village19 and the arrival of
the first colony of settlers. Up to this time the settlers were
entirely dependent upon the supplies which they brought with
them or upon those brought by the boats which occasionally
came to the mines. The building of a store shifted a responsi-
bility which, in all pioneer communities, was one of great weight
and especially so in the case of the miners whose nearest neigh-
bors at this time were at Peoria on the Illinois river. The
colony hailed from Cincinnati and consisted of forty-three
people under the leadership of Dr. Meeker.20 The voyage from
Cincinnati had consumed sixty days but this was considered
good time for a keel-boat. Upon their arrival they found a
settlement of about one hundred miners.21
Immigration now flowed in rapidly and the fifteen mile
boundary prescribed by the treaty of 1816 was overstepped.
Here and there in the surrounding country, at Shullsburg,
East Fork and New Diggings, were grouped little mining
camps,22 and when the season opened in 1826 nearly two hundred
men were digging in the vicinity of Galena.23 The number in-
18 Johnson brought between one hundred and one hundred and fifty slaves with
him. (History of Jo Daviess County, 243.)
" Chicago Evening Post, Sept. 5, 1896.
18 Illinois and her Resources, In Hunt's Merchants' Magazine, 5, 434.
19 Galena and its Leadmines, in Harper's Magazine, 32, 692.
20 History of Jo Daviess County, 238j: Meeker, Early History of the Lead Re-
gion of Wisconsin, in Wis. Hist. Collections, 6, 276.
21 History of Jo Daviess County, 242.
22 Davidson and Stuvd, Illinois, 346.
*•* House Executive Documents, 19 Congress, 1 Sess., 2, 7.
12 [ 177 ]
464 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
creased to over four hundred in June2* and by the coming fall
five hundred and fifty were there.25 In the whole region it was
estimated that nearly sixteen hundred men were at work by
this time.26 Fever River post office, of Crawford county, Ill-
inois was established in 182627 and the mail came from Vandalia
once every two weeks.28 Fever River voting precinct, contain-
ing all the voters in the mining region as far north as Michigan,
was also established in the same year,29 and at the first election
two hundred and two votes were cast.30 The tax collector for
this settlement resided at Peoria and for a time could do no
more towards the completion of his task than to record the
names of the tax payers for the miners openly defied him and
refused to pay taxes.31
Although Kellog's trail and Bolle's trail were the great lines
of communication with the interior of the state, the most in-
teresting accession to the population of the mining district came
from the north. In the year 1821 Lord ^ Selkirk's Swiss colony
had come to America and settled in the far-away valley of the
Red River of the North. For a period of five years they ex-
perienced many hardships, and becoming dissatisfied with their
lot, a part left for the South, settling in St. Louis, still another
part came to Galena in the autumn of 1826 and being financially
well-to-do these new arrivals proved welcome additions to the
settlement.32
The fame of the lead mines spread abroad and the year 1827
saw a noticeable increase in the numbers of immigrants. House
after house was built and in place of the twenty cabins reported
by the mayor of Galena in 1826,33 with their five hundred and
fifty inhabitants, there were now more than one hundred houses
and stores,34 and between 6,000, and 7,000 people residing w
** IUd.
26 History of Jo Daviess County, 265.
16 Davidson and Stuv£, Illinois, 346.
27 History of Jo Daviess County, 246.
^Davidson and Stuvg, Illinois, 346.
29 History of Jo Daviess County, 247.
30 History of Ogle County, 249.
31 IUd.
82 Chetlain, Recollections of Seventy Years, 6.
33 Niles' Register, «3, 388.
34 History of Jo Daviess County, 253.
[178]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 465
the district.35 The population at this date was also becoming
more stable. Americans, Irish and French predominated, al-
though in 182736 there came the first representative of a nation-
ality which was soon to form an important element in the min-
ing country. The new-comer was a Cornishman and, having
emigrated from the lead mining region of England, naturally
sought out that portion of the United States where he could to
the best advantage pursue his vocation. From 1830 to 1850
the Cornish population in this region increased rapidly.37
Through the unwise action of some of the miners the Winne-
bago war38 broke out in 1827 and although the consequences
were not serious much inconvenience was experienced by those
miners living at some distance from Galena. All operations
ceased at the first alarm and the miners hurried to the settle-
ment where they were compelled to remain for some time ex-
periencing actual hardships owing to inclement weather, scar-
city of provisions and the limited accommodations for housing
the additional population. The trouble with the Indians once
over the miners again scattered over the country.
In the same year Jo Daviess county was organized and the town
of Galena surveyed and divided into lots. No title was given
to those occupying the lots and moreover it was provided that
upon thirty days notice lots were to be vacated by the settlers
no matter how much improvement had been made upon them.3*
Titles were, however, given in 1838. Although organized as a
county of Illinois the people were not enthusiastic about be-
coming a part of the state, preferring rather to be part of a
new state. In 1828, accordingly, a petition signed by the resi-
dents of this region was sent to Congress, praying that the
territory north of the line of 1787 be organized into a new
territory, the seat of government being at Galena.40 Nothing
85 Ford, Illinois, 67.
36 History of Jo Daviess County, 253.
87 Copeland, Cornish in Southwestern Wisconsin, in Wls. Hist. Collections,
14, 305.
38 McLaughlin, Lewis Cans, 124 ; Edwards, Illinois, 218.
39 Davidson and Stuve\ Illinois, 346.
40 The line connected the southern point of Lake Michigan with a point on
the Mississippi River directly to the west. The Galena settlement was north
of the line. At the admission of the state, the boundary was made 42° 30'
(Sanford, State Sovereignty in Wisconsin, in Am. Hist. Assn. Reports (1891),.
177-193). For the petition see House Document 35, 20 Cong., 2 Sess. 2.
[179]
466
was done in the matter till in the forties when another attempt
was made by the northern counties to_ .s^parate^Jj^m^_thel_rest
of the state. At this time the boundary question was settled
.at the present line.
Year by year the population of the lead region grew and
with it grew the importance of Galena, its market place and its
base of supplies. In 1830 the town had some nine hundred
inhabitants,41 ' ' a most singular and mysterious medley of people
from all quarters of the earth" seeking wealth. Illinois
settlers predominated, although there were probably representa-
tives from every state in the union.42 Of the foreign popula-
tion, the Irish seem to have been most in evidence.43 In 1832
one writer estimates the population of the village at six hundred
and sixty-nine people, there being some two hundred dwelling
houses, warehouses and shops.44 Another places the number
at between 1,000 and 1,500,45 while the Galena correspondent
for the Baltimore American stated that "the town contained a
population of 5,000 to 7,000 inhabitants."46 Of these estimates
probably the first is the most reliable as it is the most conserv-
ative and is given by a resident of the town. Allowing for
the rapid increase of the summer the second estimate may prob-
ably be correct also, but the third one, published by Niles' Reg-
ister is much too high and possibly refers to the entire district,
the population of which had already been estimated at 10,000
souls.47 "It was a lively little town giving promise of great
things in the future. ' '48 A considerable number of stores had been
established, groceries abounded, a dozen lawyers and four or
five physicians were located there. The Methodists, Presbyter-
ians and Roman Catholics represented the religious sects, each
having established congregations.49
The story of the settlement of the lead region has practically
"Nile? Register, O3, 388.
"Reynolds, Illinois, 168.
« /bid.
" Milters' Journal (Galena, Ills.), May 9, 1832.
45 Thwaltes, Narrative of Morgan L. Martin, in Wis. Hist. Collections, 11, 398.
46 Niles1 Register, 34, 344.
47 Miners' Journal, May 9, 1832.
48 o.u.waites, Narrative of Morgan L. Martin, in Wis. Hist. Collections, 11, 398.
*»Atwater's, Writings, 238.
[180]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 467
been told in the development of Galena. The succeeding years
are but repetitions of the earlier ones with this exception — the
field widened and soon the surrounding region for miles was
dotted with small mining camps and trading posts.50 The occu-
pation was, however, interrupted, for the Black Hawk War
broke out in 1832 and again the miners hurried to Galena
asking protection from the Indians. The battle of the Bad Axe,
in August, 1832, broke forever the power of the Sac and Fox
Indians and when by the treaty closing the war the remnants
of the once powerful tribes were removed beyond the Missis-
sippi, the miners 'were at last allowed to carry on their work
in safety.51
With the close of the war, growth again began and the
"wonderful mixture of humanity"52 gathered new ingredients,
for men of all nations and stations covered the "whole earth,
north, east and south of Galena . . . prospecting, digging
and looking for lead ore."53 At Berreman, Vinegar Hill,
Hanover, Council Hill, Elizabeth, Rush, Apple River and Scales
Mound, settlements formed varying in size but generally small,
consisting of from three to a dozen miners each.54 Of these
Elizabeth, on the Apple River, was most important and had in
1832 a population of forty-five. Before 1840 the village was
laid out and there were a school, a grist mill and a sawmill in
operation.55
Slowly indeed Galena lost the characteristics of a frontier
town since the industry from which it drew its life tended to
keep the population unstable and operated against the advance-
ment of varied industries. However, in the closing years of the
decade from 1831 to 1840 it was described as a town of 1,800
inhabitants and as having all the appearance of an old city, but
deficient in cleanliness and comfort.56 In addition to the
churches already established an Episcopal parish was organized
s, Story of the Black Hawk War, in Wis. Hist. Collections, 12, 228.
M Stevens, Black Hawk War, 221-225.
62 Murray, Travels in North America, 2, 129.
B3 Reynolds, Illinois, 169.
84 History of Jo Daviess County, 555-608.
BS History of Jo Daviess County, 586.
K Niles' Register, 63, 388.
[181]
468 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
and a chapel erected in 1838.57 A temperance society had been
organized;58 newspapers had from time to time been published,
but owing to difficulties had died out until the establishment of
The Northwestern Gazette and Galena Advertiser in Novem-
ber, 1834 59 which has continued to the present time; a Library
Association had been formed supporting a library of over eight
hundred volumes ;60 there was a fire department,61 and a branch
of the State Bank of Illinois.62 Balls63 and theatres64 furnished
amusement for the people, although accommodations for such
gatherings were limited. Such was the 'Leadmine City' when
it was incorporated by Act of the State Legislature in Febru-
ary, 1839.65
By 1840 the population had increased to 3,000 and there
were in the city five hundred and fifty buildings, the rateable
property being estimated at from $1,600,000 to $l,700,000.6e
The bustle of business caused many an observer to prophesy a
brilliant future for the town for it was then the distributing
point for northwestern Illinois, as well as for southwestern
Wisconsin. To its inhabitants and to those of the surrounding
country it seemed destined to become "the largest and most
flourishing city of the West, north of St. Louis. ' '67 Its location
was peculiar; crowded together at the base of the bluffs, to a
visitor it presented a singular appearance. Its compactness
coupled with the instability of its population caused the elec-
tion officials occasional embarrassment for, as N lies' Register
stated, "the inhabitants shift about so from place to place and
so many of them dwell in the holes and clefts of the rocks that
it is difficult to say where they belong."68
From a commercial standpoint Galena as the center of the
57 History of Jo Daviess County, 504.
K Miners' Journal, May 9, 1832.
69 History of Jo Daviess County, 433.
«° Ibid., 476.
"IWd., 458.
« IUd., 475.
KIMd., 254.
84 A Winter in the West, 2, 50.
65 Galena and its Leadinines, in Harper\s Magazine, 32, 693.
68 Senate Document, 349, 26 Congress, 1 Sess., 6.
97 Madison Express, Feb. 1, 1840.
« Niles' Register, 65, 171.
[182]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 469
mining region gained in importance during the decade. In
spite of adverse tariff legislation and the unsatisfactory govern-
mental administration of the mining lands, the industry in-
creased, until 1847, when owing to the closing down of furnaces
on account of the tariff,69 the shipments of lead steadily de-
creased.70 The exportation of wheat began71 and although
nothing is stated concerning other farm produce it is not improb-
able that since this city was the most convenient trading post
of the region, the agricultural class looked to it as a market
for their products. The amount of exports was greater than
that of any town on the Mississippi above St. Louis, amounting
to about $2,500,000 in 1846.72 Steamboats in great numbers
plied from this port down the Mississippi; in 1840 there were
three hundred arrivals and departures;73 in 1846 there was a
still greater number.74 Thirty thousand families were depend-
ent upon Galena for their supplies of merchandise.75 The pop-
ulation of the city itself was reported to be 5,500.76
In 1846 a radical change was made by the government in the
administration of its mineral lands, which operated for the good
of those occupying claims upon such lands. After the acqui-
sition of this portion of the country by the treaty of 1804, Con-
gress had passed a law reserving several of the lead mines from
sale and authorizing the President to lease such mines. At that
time the superintendence of the mines was one of the duties
of the treasury department, but in 1821 was transferred to the
war department which made the first leases in 1822. This sys-
tem which was practically beyond the control of law, and sub-
ject only to the will of the secretary of war was productive of
evils. Special agents, attorneys and others were finally
entrusted with the duties of granting leases and collecting the
rents. Favoritism and possibly worse things resulted. In 1835
89 Madison Express, Sept. 8, 1846; Weekly Northwestern Gazette, Aug. IS,
1846.
70 Western Journal and Civilian, March, 1S52, 309.
» files' Register, CO, 304.
72 Hall, The Wast (1848), 102.
73 Files' Register, «O, 388.
74 Hall, The West (1848) 102.
75 Galena Jeffcrsonian, Oct. 31, 1S45.
76 Ibid.
[183]
470 BULLETIN OF THE TJNIVEBSITY OF WISCONSIN
the system was for the time abandoned but was again revived
in 1841 and the efforts made by occupants to obtain possession
of their claims failed, owing to the exaggerated idea prevalent
among the government officials at Washington concerning the
mineral wealth of the region. In his report of 1845, Judge
Shields, who was commissioner of the General Land Office, ex-
posed the defects of the system and urged the sale of the min-
eral lands. As a result the Senate took hold of the question and
in July, 1846, a law was passed directing the President to
sell such mineral lands as were reserved in Illinois, Wisconsin
and Iowa. Accordingly they were sold the next year and the
squatters who had heretofore held but little right to their land
now came into full possession of it.77
Throughout the country few settlements had been made which
were of any importance, save only those which were mining
camps. Apple River, which in 1832 had a few stragglers, had
in 1845 some two hundred men all of whom were engaged in
mining.78 Council Hill, a few miles to the east from Galena,
had at the close of the decade three hundred settlers, most of
whom were English.79 Some agricultural settlers had congre-
gated on the Old Sucker trail near the present village of Scales
Mound80 and Warren, Nora and Dunlieth (now East Dubuque)
had each a few scattered settlers drawn from New York, Ten-
nessee, Ohio and from foreign countries.81 These settlements,
however, amounted to nothing until the Illinois Central road
pushed its way across the state during the succeeding decade.
Millville, laid off in 1846, contained a dry goods store, a black-
smith shop and a tavern ; this made it for several years the most
important village between Freeport and Galena.82 At the close
of the period 18,600 people lived in Jo Daviess county,83 and
since there were at this time 60,000 acres of land under culti-
77 Washburne, Lead Region and Lead Trade of the Upper Mississippi, In Hunt's
Merchant's Magazine, 18, 288.
™New York Weekly Tribune, April 12, 1845.
'"Guide to Illinois Central Rail Road Lands, (1861), 56.
80 History of Jo Daviess County, 555.
slIMd., 542-558.
**IUd., 578.
KIUd., 216.
[184]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 471
vation, we may believe that the agricultural as well as the min-
eral resources of the region were being developed.84
Carroll county joins Jo Daviess county on the south and,
in a way, its settlement is connected with the expansion of the
lead region. Ten years after the whites settled on Fever River
the first settlers came to Carroll county. Three families estab-
lished themselves on the present site of Savanna in 1828.85 Set-
tlement developed slowly before the Black Hawk War, but after
the war settlers came a little more regularly. By 1837, per-
haps, Savanna, which was yet the only town of any importance
between Rock Island and Galena, began to enjoy a period of
comfortable prosperity. It became the shipping point for hun-
dreds of pioneers of the middle and upper Rock river country,
since it was easier to reach than Galena. From as far up the
Rock river as Rockford and Freeport the pioneers came with
their farm products and returned with merchandise and lumber.86
In 1839 Savanna was chosen as the county seat. The fact that
two hundred and twelve votes were cast at the election87 shows
that the growth during the period of the preceding ten years
had not been excessively rapid.
Through four years Savanna enjoyed the distinction of being
the county seat of Carroll ; at the end of this time another town
more centrally located took that position. In 1837 a Virginian
had located where Mt. Carroll now stands and laid out a town
called Richmond. Offering liberal inducements to settlers he
secured a few, but the financial troubles of 1837 killed the en-
terprise.88 Before the close of the year, however, a mill com-
pany located its buildings at Richmond. Being the scene of
improvements it naturally attracted settlers, who, increasing
in number, made vigorous efforts to bring their town to a place
where it would be a rival of Savanna. Savanna had failed to
comply with the provisions of the county organizing act, so
when Mt. Carroll made an attempt to become the seat of county
84 Peyton, Statistical View of Illinois, 13.
85 History of Cai-roll County, 222.
MIMd., 359.
"/bid., 229.
254.
[185]
472 BULLETIN OF THE TJNTVEESITY OF WISCONSIN
government, it was successful.89 Steadily the settlements grew
and smaller ones sprang up at places of vantage. In the course
of a few years Elkhorn Grove, Wysox, Lanark and Salem set-
tlements were added. The towns were small, however, and in
1850 the combined population in the county did not number
5,000 people.90
The settlement of the lead region cannot be taken as typical
of the westward expansion. Exceptional conditions to a re-
markable extent influenced the settlement, and transporta-
tion facilities combined with a concentrated resource brought
out frontier characteristics. The life of the settlement in
the earlier days depended entirely upon the success of
mining ventures and during this period, Galena, the centre
of population, may be said to have had all the characteristics of
a frontier mining town. On every frontier, it is true, we find
a mixture of peoples but in the lead region this mixture is found
in1 a peculiarly marked degree. Foreigners from all portions
of the world and Americans from every state of the Union were
here thrown together indiscriminately. For the few bonds of
sympathy which would naturally exist in such a community, the
miners got along well together. Some were, perhaps, inclined
to vote before they were legally entitled to the privilege; others
openly opposed the tax collector. Some were men of question-
able character and nearly all were adventurers, but in spite of
these characteristics it is a noticeable thing that little "claim
jumping" was indulged in, few infringements made upon law
and above all there seemed to exist among this people a thorough
trust and goodwill for every one. The only laws at first gov-
erning this portion of the state were contained on a single sheet
of foolscap paper, signed by the superintendents of the mines
and posted up in the most public places. They dealt with the
settlement of disputes over mining claims; but as for ordinary
business transactions such as credits, the people were to settle
these among themselves, entirely on the law of honor.91 In
spite of this lax code of laws, seldom indeed did a miner fail
»9/b«., 243.
•o Seventh Census (1850), 704.
81 History of Jo Dariess County, 348.
[186]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 473
to meet his obligations and debts were freely contracted and
honestly paid; unruly characters were speedily and perhaps
often roughly expelled from the town. On the whole the com-
munity seems to have been a law-abiding one, even if the law
adhered to was the simple law of the frontier. As late as the
thirties, we are told, there was little or no use for a jail, for dur-
ing a period of three years but one criminal /had occupied it and
he but for a week.92
The change of Galena from a frontier settlement to a city
came when the development of the agricultural resources re-
sulted in a yearly surplus which demanded a market, as did
the products of the mines. Physiographic influences now be-
came of greater moment. The concentrated mineral resource
was in itself cause enough for the establishment of the city. To
this was added the influence of the surrounding agricultural
country which was developed by those who failed to find wealth
in the mines. Lack of railroad communication made water
communication all the more important, and Galena, situated
conveniently upon the great water route to the southern markets
became the collecting point for agricultural products for the
markets of the South, as well as the distributing point for sup-
plies brought up the river. "With the increase of the settled
area of the back country the importance of the city increased,
and so it continued until the Illinois Central railroad pene-
trated the sphere of influence of Galena and drained the trade
of the farming district towards the great lake port of Chicago.
Another characteristic in the lead district needs mention — the
population. It has been noted that foreigners formed a con-
siderable part of the population, but there was also a southern
element present in large numbers and southern sentiment was
for years strong in the community. To the mines may be
traced the cause for the foreign population, but to the line of
communication we must attribute the presence of the south-
ern people. The Mississippi river was the thread of con-
nection between this region and the outside world. To the
east and the southeast especially before 1837 there was
nothing save the prairie. Peoria far to the south (one hundred
92 Miner's Journal, May 9, 1832.
[187]
474 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
and seventy miles) was the only neighbor during the early
days, consequently there existed little or no tie between Galena
and the rest of Illinois. Before the prairies of the north were
settled, a decidedly southern aspect had been assumed by the
city and it was to remain so for many years. This characteris-
tic, it seems, goes to show the influence which transportation
routes have upon newly settled countries. Wherever a compara-
tively good line of communication leads through a locality in
which a tendency to emigrate exists, it is natural for those emi-
grating to follow this line of travel. An examination of the
nativities of settlers residing along the line in the newer country
will reveal the fact that a considerable number of these settlers
are from the older country bordering the same route of travel.
The settlement, development and prosperity of the lead region,
therefore are due to a series of causes in which mineral wealth,
transportation facilities and agricultural development each
plays a part.
[188]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 475
CHAPTER X
CHICAGO
For a number of years after the war of 1812 Chicago grew
slowly. In 1818 there were, outside of the garrison enclosure,
but two log huts in the settlement and the nearest post office was
at Ft. "Wayne, Indiana, from which the mail was brought once
a month.1 In 1820 when Schoolcraft visited Chicago he found
"a small village of ten or twelve houses accommodating sixty
people — half-breeds, Canadian-French fur-traders and Virgin-
ians."2
Three years later Majpr_Long visited Chicago and passed de-
cidedly unfavorable comments upon it. "The village presents
no cheering prospect as, notwithstanding its antiquity, it con-
sists of but a few huts, inhabited by a miserable race of men
scarcely equal to the Indians from whom they are descended.
Their houses are low, filthy and disgusting, displaying not the
least trace of comfort. ... It is not impossible" he added,
"that at some distant period when the banks of the Illinois shall
have been covered with a dense population and when the low
prairies which extend between that river and Ft. "Wayne shall
have acquired a population proportionate to the produce they
can yield, that Chicago may become one of the points hi the
direct line of communication between the northern lakes and
the Mississippi but even the intercourse which 'will be carried
on through this communication will, we think, at all time be a
limited one; the dangers attending the navigation of the lake
and the scarcity of harbors along the shores must ever prove a
1 Mason, Early Chicago and Illinois, 12 ; Life of O-urdon S. Hubbard, 38.
* Wentworth, Reminiscences of Early Chicago, 3 in Fergus Historical Series
I., No. 7.
[189]
476 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVEKSITY OF WISCONSIN
serious obstacle to the commercial importance of Chicago."3
Later development has shown beyond any doubt that the posi-
tion of Chicago together with the scarcity of good ports along
the lake has been of enormous advantage to the city.
By 1826 the taxable property in the Chicago settlement was
valued at_$8,000, the American Fur Company owning by far
the greater ^art7~ Thirteen other property holders resided here
and the voting population numbered thirty-five.4 In 1829 the
town was platted by the canal commissioners on land donated
by Congress to aid the state in the construction of the Illinois-
Michigan canal. The land sale took place in the fall of 1829
and competition among the land speculators forced the prices
of lots up to a fancy figure for a frontier village.5
In 1830 the population was estimated at anywhere from
twenty-five0 to one hundred people,7 although from time to
time an influx of immigrants bound for the interior increased
the population several fold for a short period.8 Still, Chicago
had no post office but the village was now of sufficient importance
to receive a call from the mail-carrier once a week instead of
once a month, as f ormerly. Prospective work-On the canal attracted
populati on. .aniL jjuriog-4he- -year immigrants Jbegan-i
A brisk trade sprang up with the Indians who remained in the
regjion, increasing the profits of the few traders located there,
but otherwise injuring the prospects for the growth of white
settlement. In 1831 Cook county was organized.9 Previously
it had been a precinct of Crawford county and had caused the
tax collector of the county no end of trouble, for each year he
was compelled to make the trip to Chicago to collect a few dol-
lars which would not pay the expenses of the trip.
When 1832 opened there were half a dozen white families in
Chicago and some Indians,10 five log buildings composing the
3 Biles' Register, 57, 35.
^SKeMJEonilV-JfemifHscejices of Early Chicago, 15 in Fergus Historical Series
1, No. 7.
5Kingston, Early Western Days in Wis. Hist. Collections, 7, 333.
6 Land We Love, 5, 470.
7 Chicago Tribune, Apr. 12, 1875.
8 Four hundred immigrants wintered here in 1831-32. (Moses and Kirkland,
Chicago, 1, 87.)
• Sheahan and Upton, The Great Conflagration, 26.
10 Chicago Weekly American, Aug. 15, 1835.
[190]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 477
settlement.11 As to the quality of the population at least one
writer had decided views and expressed them. "Next in rank
to the officers and commissioners may be noticed certain shop-
keepers and merchants resident here; looking either to the in-
flux of new settlers establishing themselves in the neighborhood
or those passing yet farther to the westward for custom and
profit; not to forget the chance of extraordinary occasions like
the present. Add to these a doctor or two, two or three law-
yers, a land agent and five or six hotel-keepers. These may be
considered as stationary and proprietors of the half a hundred
clapboard houses around you . . . Then for the birds of
passage exclusive of the Pottawatomies — of whom more anon
— and migrants and land speculators as numerous as the sand,
you will find horse dealers and horse stealers — rogues of every
description, white, black, brown and red — half breeds, quarter
breeds and men of no breed at all; dealers in pigs, poultry and
potatoes — men pursuing Indian claims, some for tracts of land
. _*. . others, for pigs which the wolves had eaten; credi-
tors of the tribes or of particular Indians who know that they
have no chance of getting their money if they do not get it
from the government agents — sharpers of every degree, pedlars,
grog sellers ; Indian agents and Indian traders of every descrip-
tion and contractors to supply the Pottawatomies with food.
The little village was in an uproar from morning to night
and from night to morning; for during the hours of darkness
when the housed portion of the population of Chicago strove
to obtain repose in the crowded plank edifices of the village,
the Indians howled, sang, wept, yelled and whooped in their
various encampments; with all this the whites to me, seemed to
be more pagan than the red men."12 This view shows the con-
stant changing and shifting of population which renders it
almost impossible to make an intelligent estimate of the size
of the village.13 It also brings to light the frontier character-
istics which the village was not long to retain.
11 Early Days on the Lakes (Walker Mss., In Buffalo Historical Society Publi-
cations), (1902), 5.
12 Latrobe, Rambler in North America, 3, 152.
13 Chicago Weekly American, AUK. 15, 1835 estimates the population at two
hundred; Andreas, Chicago (1, 159) says three hundred and fifty; In (1, 177),
his estimate for 1833 is two hundred and fifty.
[191]
478 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
Beginning with the year 1833 Chicago enjoyed a wonderfully
rapid growth until 1837. In May, 1833, the settlers organized
the village of Chicago and by the end of the year there were
one hundred and sixty frame houses14 in the settlement, which
showed a distinct advance over the few log huts of but two
years before. Commerce now began to spring up and in' 1833
four vessels, aggregating seven hundred tons burden, arrived.15
Congress, to foster the new trade, made appropriations for the
improvement of the harbor which at this date was an exceed-
ingly poor one.16 A newspaper was established, The Chicago
Weekly Democrat, which was obliged to suspend publication
from time to time, owing to lack of paper.17
The immigration of 1833 became a flood in 1834. During a
part of the month of April the arrivals numbered one hundred
a day, and it was estimated that in May some eight hundred
more arrived. Building grew apace and by the end of June
seventy-five new buildings had been added. The price of land
had begun to advance and desirable locations upon business
streets commanded a rental of three dollars per front foot.18
The population was now established at 1,800.19
If immigration to 'Chicago was remarkable in 1834 it was
enormous in 1835. In addition to the actual immigrants who
came yearly in ever-increasing numbers, the land sale which
was advertised to take place early in the year brought a crowd
-of strangers and capitalists ready to avail themselves of the
rapid rise in land values which seemed sure to take place in
and around Chicago and along the line of the canal.
Speculation. reached its height in 1835 and 1836 and in the
West, Chicago was its center. One transaction may be noted in
the way of illustration. Early in the spring of 1835 a Mr.
Hubbard bought eighty acres east of the river paying for it
$5,000. A few months after his purchase he had occasion to
.go east and upon visiting New York, much to his surprise, he
* Flinn and Wilkle, Chicago Police, 44.
5 Ni l<%> Register, 51, 274.
8 American Railroad Journal and General Advertiser (1847), 729.
T Gale, Reminiscences of Chicago, 47. ,
8 Chicago Weekly Democrat, June 18, 1834.
9 Andreas, Chicago, 1, 159.
[192]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 479
found quite a speculation in Chicago property raging there.
Grasping the opportunity for a good bargain he hired an en-
graver, had a plat of his eighty acres prepared and sold half
of his land for $80,000. Upon returning to Chicago and spread-
ing the news, city property went up enormously in price ; ' ' every
man who owned a garden patch stood on his head, imagined
himself a millionaire, put up the corner lots to fabulous figures
and what is strange, never could ask enough."20 The price of
land rose an hundred and frequently a thousand fold.21 Saga-
cious men, looking far into the future, now seemed to perceive
that cities and villages covering but small plots of ground were
destined to grow without limit, and accordingly plunged wildly
into speculation in lands, fearing all the time that it was al-
ready too late to reap the greatest benefits from investments.
Over 572,000 acres of land were sold by the Chicago Land Of-
fice during the years 1835 and 1836.22
To aid the spirit of speculation which now raged in the West,
business was done almost entirely upon a credit basis and it so
continued until loss of confidence precipitated a financial crash.
The incessant coming and going of people made the population
of Chicago an unknown quantity during these years of specula-
tion and, as one authority says it was "so mercurial in its evolu-
tion that it was almost impossible to keep your finger on a man
long enough to count him. ' '-3 So rapidly did newcomers throng
into the town that the taverns could not begin to hold the
crowds; and men, women and children thronged the wharves
and streets. Storehouses were thrown open for their shelter
and when this device could no longer supply the demand for
lodging places tents were set up in the streets.24
The business blocks of the town had grown considerably25
and the demand of lumber for new buildings was beyond the
power of transportation facilities to supply, while the lack of
20 Il)id.
21 Balestier, Annals of Chicago, 25. Fergus Hist. Series, 7, 1.
22 Prairie Farmer, 8, 231.
23 Gale, Reminiscences of Chicago, 103.
24 Chicago Weekly American, June 13, 1835.
25 Chicago Weekly American, Aug. 15, 1835, gives the following list of business
houses in the town : Fifty stores ; eight taverns ; twenty-five mechanic's shops ;
two printing offices ; one steam mill ; one brewery.
13 [193]
480 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
mechanics to construct new buildings was for the time being a
drawback to the growth of the town.26 The streets were in no
better condition than formerly. Lake street had been turn-
piked but the irregular manner in which the boards had been
laid and the lack of proper slant in the gutters tended to collect
and stagnate the water drained from the streets, making them
places favorable to the breeding of fevers.27 Such conditions
caused some people to hesitate to settle here and rather than
risk their health among such surroundings they went into the
interior.
The year 1836 was but a repetition of 1835 so far as develop-
ment was concerned. Excavation began on the Illinois and
Michigan canal28 which wa^jL-signal for a new crowd of settlers
and speculators to flock into the city. For the year29 four
hundred and fifty-six arrivals of boats are recorded. Besides
bringing immigrants in great numbers, large amounts of mer-
chandise were brought to supply the trade which had now de-
: veloped with the back country. A person reading the county
histories of central and northern Illinois is struck by the fact
that a great proportion of the agricultural class1 of all these por-
tions of the state looked to Chicago .for^tlie-naarket for their
produce and for the supply depot for such merchandise as they
needed. Rapidly indeed did this trade increase as the country
filled up and the demand was so great in both country and in
the city itself that there was a shortage in 1836 since the dealers
had not calculated on such a tremendous increase in trade.80
Stores became in great demand, ordinary places of business
bringing from $1,000 to $1,500 a year rent.31 Population in-
creased, but not with such rapidity as in preceding years, due
probably to the fact that the commencement of work on the
canal drew away many from the town, for a time at least.
In March, 1837, Chicago was given a city government and
in the following May, William B. Ogden was elected mayor, at
26 Chicago Weekly Democrat, Dec. 4, 1835.
2Tbid., July 25, 1835.
28 Colbert and Chamberlain, Chicago, 46.
29 Niles' Register, 51, 274.
30 Chicago Weekly American, July 9, 1836.
31 1 old.
[194]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 481
which election seven hundred votes were cast.32 Chicago was
now a oity indeed, in size as well as in government. By the
census of July of 1837 it was found that 4,179 people33 resided
within the city limits, which extended over ten square miles.
There were nearly five hundred buildings and the taxable valua-
tion of property, placed at one-fourth the true value, amounted
to $236,842. The city taxes for the year were $5,900.34 The
fact that the male population in the city, over twenty-one years
of age, out-numbered the female population over two to one85
gives evidence of the pioneer character of the city even at such
a late date.
So far everything had been prosperous in this rapidly grow-
ing western town and indications pointed to a still more pros-
perous future; but the financial revulsion which swept over
the country upon the heels of the craze for speculation proved a
sad blow to Chicago. Immigration to the city stopped, or at
least was checked to a great degree ; business stagnated and city
property became almost worthless, for no one wished to buy
and every one wished to sell. Some men, accounted the most
prosperous of Chicago's population in later years, owed their
wealth to their inability to dispose of their property during
these dark years of the city's history. The city gradually sank
lower and lower in public favor and in commercial importance
until it seemed "to sleep the sleep of death."36 Slowly it
revived from its lethargy and from 1842 again began to show
signs of returning activity.
The population in 1838 was numerically less than in 1837
but a slight gain was enjoyed in 1839, as in 1840, from which
date the yearly gains were more substantial.37 The greater
8J Illinois Blue Book, (1900), 147, gives seven hundred and nine votes.
33 Andreas, Chicago, 1, 159.
31 Colbert and Chamberlain, Chicago, 49.
35 Andreas, Chicago, 1, 177.
36 Chicago Times, Apr. 30, 1846.
37 Andreas, Chicago, 1, 159, and Balestter, Annals of Chicago, 35 In Fergus
Hist. Scries, 1, give statistics for the population of Chicago as follows :
1836 (A) 4000, (B) 3820
1837 (A) 4179, (B) 4179
1838 i (A) 4000, (B) 4000
1839 (A) 4200, (B) 4200
1840 (A) 4470, (B) 4479
1841 (A) , (B) 5752
1842 (A) , (B) 6248
[195]
482 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
portion of the inhabitants were, actively engaged in trade, but
there were also a number of "retired families, army officers and
persons living on incomes derived from land and funds."38 A
majority of the people were from the eastern states and thiis
elass of settlers held control of the city government. In 1841
Mayor Sherman and the twelve aldermen in the city council
were all from the East.39 Probably foreigners were next in
number, there being 2,256, or almost thirty per cent, of the
total population, of foreign birth or parentage in 1843. The
population of the city at that date was 7,580.40 Of the foreign
element one-third were Irish and the greater part of the re-
mainder, German and Scandinavian.
Business houses had increased in importance as well as num-
bers;41 new buildings were rapidly going up, and the number
in the city had already nearly reached 1,400.42 The valuation
of city property was a matter of conjecture and estimates varied
widely.43
Chicago had now become a shipping point^ofjeqnseo^uence.
Previous to 1839 the city and the back country had been sup-
plied with flour and other provisions from the East but in that
year a vessel laden with seven hundred barrels of flour entered
the port and was compelled to leave again without being able
to dispose of her cargo.44 The small consignment of wheat,
38 Buckingham, Eastern and Western States, 3, 265.
48 Blanchard, The Northwest and Chicago, 1, 671.
40 Norris and Gardner, Illinois Annual Register (1847), 76.
* Macgregor, Commercial Statistics, 338. In 1840 there were four commercial
houses with a capital of $35,000 ; ninety-seven retail stores, capital $400,000 ;
eleven lumber yards, capital $40,000 ; four newspapers and three printing offices ;
two flour mills ; one distillery and one furnace.
42 Colbert and Chamberlain, Chicago, 56 ; two hundred and fifty-six stores of
which thirty-seven were brick and eight hundred and eighty-four dwelling houses
of which eight hundred and forty-two were frame.
43 Blanchard, The Northwest and Chicago, 2, 17.
1843 $1,441,314
Parker, Growth of Illinois and Chicago, 19.
1841 $1,967,445
1842 $1,530,213
1843 $1,570,490
Western Journal and Civilian, 12, 5.
1840 $1,864,205
1841 $1,888,160
1842 $2,325,240
1843 $2,250,705
44 Mies' Register, 74, 265.
[196]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 483
(seventy-eight bushels) which was shipped from Chicago in
1838, was followed by 3,700 bushels in 1839. Rapidly this
trade increased and during the early forties, great quantities
of . grain poured into the city from the surrounding country.
In 1845, 1,000,000 bushels were exported and this amount was
doubled in 1847.45
Probably the origin of this export trade in wheat can be
traced to the failure of navigation 011 the Ohio and Upper
Mississippi. Supplies could not be obtained at St. Louis
in quantities Inrii'e enough to supply all northern Illinois.
Neither could they be obtained at Galena, the other supply
point of the Upper Mississippi. As a consequence the
farmers turned their faces towards Chicago in search of their
winter supplies. Team after team wended its way to Chicago,
carting loads of wheat, the great staple of the farmers. Having
no money with which to buy supplies the farmers exchanged
their produce for such ones as they needed and, since wheat
was the most valuable agricultural product it became the me-
dium of exchange for the farmer. Once trading at Chicago
they found that, owing to better facilities for transportation,
goods were not as high in price as in the towns along the river.
By 1841 nearly all the farmers in Illinois, Indiana and Wiscon-
sin within a radius of two hundred and fifty miles carted their
wheat to Chicago.46 Before 1850 other articles of farm prod-
uce were shipped in considerable quantities. Lake commerce
made rapid strides even during this unfavorable period and the
export list which amounted to but $1,100 in 1836 had grown
to over $680,000. in 1843. The amount of imports which was
$325,200 in 1836 had increased to $971,850 in 1843 although in
1840 and 1841 it was considerably lower than in 1839. "
North of the Chicago River lay the residence district connected
with the business portion by bridges and ferrys. Here pleas-
ant residences surrounded by piazzas and gardens lined both
sides of the streets. During the period of depression the citi-
zens, despairing of ever seeing Chicago a great city, determined
48 Eighth Census, (1860), Agriculture, xlii.
46 Albany Argus, Oct. 11, 1841.
47 De Bow's Review, 5, 374.
[197]
484 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
to make it at least a pleasant one, and from the gardens which,
one by one, sprang into existence came the name "Garden
City. ' '48 Kows of trees separated the sidewalks from the streets
and added much to the appearance. As yet the streets were not
paved and many of them still had the green turf of prairie
grass in the center.49 In wet weather and in the early spring
and fall they were often rendered impassable. It was even
necessary for the men to attend social events in long boots and
the ladies to take advantage of drays as a means of conveyance
for as yet carriages were scarce in this western city.50
A system of waterworks was established in 1839 when a com-
pany was chartered to supply the city with water. A reservoir
was erected on the lake shore and a pump installed. A twenty-
five horse power engine drew the water from the lake into the
reservoir and distributed it through the city by means of a pipe
line composed of logs with a three to five inch bore.61 Where
the pipe line did not reach, water carts supplied the residents.
This system was not replaced until 1851.
Such was Chicago in 1843. In spite of the disadvantages
experienced during the years immediately preceding, the city
had made rapid advance. Churches, hotels, school houses,
libraries and a medical college had been established;52 its com-
merce had materially increased as had trade with the interior;
its population had increased in numbers and was no longer
marked with such instability as had formerly characterized it
and moreover speculation of the wilder kind had been effectually
dampened. Everything seemed favorable for greater prosperity
and more rapid growth.
During the period 1843-50 Chicago enjoyed a steady de-
velopment. Its population which numbered 7,580 in 1843 had
increased to over 28,000 by 1850,53 and in the large percentage
of foreigners present partook to an extent of the characteristics
^Colbert and Chamberlain, Chicago, 52.
49 Moses and Kirkland, Cliicago, 1, 105.
00 Buckingham, Eastern and Western States, 3, 262.
B1 Sheahan and Upton, The Great Conflagration, 29.
52 Balestier, Annals of Chicago, 32 In Fergus Hist. Series, 1; Norrts and Gard-
ner, Illinois Annual Register (1847), 18-19.
53 Andreas, Chicago, 1, 159.
[198]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 485
of a seaboard city.54 Speaking of this the Chicago correspon-
dent of the New York Tribune says "of all the heterogeneous
compounds that ever agreed to live neighbors, I think the like
cannot be found this side of Ne'w York. It is only now and
then a man, taken as they come, who can talk English without a
'rurr-r-r' to his tongue. Yet we get along very peaceably,
each man having enough to do to attend to his own business
without taking upon him the weight of other men's affairs."55
Business increased rapidly as did manufacturing industries
and commerce, property valuation rising proportionately.58 The
manufacturing establishments numbered one hundred and
seventy-seven and employed 14,000 men,67 of these concerns the
McCormick Reaper Works1 probably became of greatest import-
ance. City property was valued at from seven to eight millions
of dollars.58
By means of commerce more than by other means was Chicago
now able to lay claims to importance. In 1836 the harbor of
Chicago received four hundred and fifty-six vessels, bringing
goods valued at something over $325,000; exports for the year
amounted to but $1,100. The following decade wrought a
wondrous change. In 1846 the vessels arriving at Chicago
and leaving numbered 2,79059 and carried merchandise valued at
^$4,938,000.60 The products of the richest agricultural portion
of Illinois poured into the city bound for the East ; wheat, flour,
corn, oats and meat being the leading products. In 1836 not
a bushel of wheat was exported. In 1840 there were only
10,000 bushels, but in 1848 the amount exported was 2,160,000
04 Prairie Farmer, 9, 220.
KNew York Weekly Tribune, Sept. 8, 1845.
56 Hunt's Merchant's Magazine, (18, 171) gives the following list of busi-
ness houses ; ' twenty-eight commission houses ; eleven clothing houses ; seven
drug stores ; eight dry goods stores ; sixty-four wholesale and retail dry gro-
cery stores ; sixty-three retail grocery stores ; four hat and cap stores ; twenty-
three hotels;: ten newspapers; twelve or fifteen insurance agencies; fifteen lumber
dealers besides others. This was in 1845.
87 Industrial Chicago, 3, 585.
58 Parker, Growth of Illinois and Chicago, (19,) estimates the property at
$7,222,999; Blanchard, The Northwest and Chicago, (2, 17) places it at the same
figure. Western Journal and Civilian (12, 5) gives it as $8,101,000.
59 Hunt's Merchants' Magazine, 18, 171.
60 De Bow's Review, 5, 374.
[199]
486 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
bushels, some of which went directly to Europe.61 In the
bgfif and lumber .trade Chicago was equally as important,
becoming, by 1850, the foremost market in the country in the
amount of meat and lumber handled.62
Chicago had grown with such wonderful rapiduty both in
population and commercial importance that in the struggle for
wealth little attention had been paid to city improvements such
as lighting the streets, paving them, providing proper supplies
of water or proper sanitary arrangements. Criticisms un-
favorable in the extreme are abundant. For example one writer
says concerning drainage "the flat of the town is so level that
it cannot be drained. The rain soaks in and dries up. It is a
dry spell now but the deep gutters at the sides of the streets
have yet abundant pools of green stagnant water. In a wet
spell the depth of the mud depends entirely upon the specific
gravity of the object fathoming" it. There are no pavements
for there is not a stone as large as a bullet tin the whole country.
The sidewalks are laid with plank and the cross walks with
timbers. In the absence of mud there is a dust as fine as flour
and some twelve inches or more in depth which is set in motion
by every breeze and by the vehicles which plough through it.
The water from the wells is a filtration through this mud. The
inhabitants say they use lake water brought in by a hydrant but
the article I have seen is very different from what we used on
board the boat. It is decidedly dirty in its appearance and its
taste also, a very essence of fever and ague. . . . Upon the
whole, Chicago is about the last place a stranger would fancy
as a place of residence."63
Another says, "it was a rickety city of frame shanties . . .
inhabited by a pushing, hustling, lively people, shut off as one
looks at it now, from half the privileges and enjoyments that
make life endurable."64
81 First cargo of wheat bound for England left Chicago in 1S47. ^American,
Agriculturist, «, 226.)
62 Curtiss, Western Portraiture, 51 ; Hunt's Merchants' Magazine, (18, 169 >
states that 7,550,000 feet of planks were handled In 1843, and 100,368,000 feet
in 1850 ; Curtiss, Western Portraiture, (45) gives the amount for 1850 as 175,-
000,000 feet.
«' Prairie Farmer, 7, 260. (Extract from the Utica (N. Y.) Gazette, 1847.)
** Van Dorn, View of Chicago in 1848, in Magazine of Western History, 1O, 42.
[200]
POOLEY - SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 48T
Its position among the cities of the country once established,,
Chicago citizens began to look to local _ improvements. The old
frame buildings thrown together in the shortest possible time
rapidly gave way to more substantial brick edifices, in keeping-
with the times. Previous to 1844 the city had practically been
at a loss to provide school houses for the children, being de-
pendent principally upon renting such rooms as could be fitted
up for the purpose. When, a few years later, one alderman
had persisted in obtaining an appropriation and building a
school-house, the people indignantly called it ' * Miltimorfi^s
ffolly" °n account of the supposedly enormous expenditures of
money for an object the wisdom of which was questioned. The
mayor ridiculed the extravagance of the venture for it would
accommodate more children, he said, than would ever be in Chi-
cago. Moreover, he suggested that it be turned into an asylum
for the insane.65 A change came about, however, and a traveler
through the cityjn_jy^jsajsjlth_e^re^
is_itsJBri«MHpy Sehools, — -its common or^free school edifices are the
best buildings for that purpose I have even seen in any city."06
Churches, too, shared in the increased prosperity. From
cramped quarters occupied in the earlier years of the decade,
these churches had come to occupy more elegant and spacious
ones. Gothic architecture and stained glass windows had sup-
planted deserted warehouses and small frame buildings as places
of worship,67 and in 1850 the property of the twenty-nine
churches in Chicago was valued at $273, OOO.68
In 1850 the Chicago Gas Light and Coke Company was or-
ganized and secured a c6ntracT~tb furnish gas light to the city
for ten years.69 The police force was also enlarged, one marr
being assigned to each of the nine wards.70
Communication with the interior was improved. In the
early spring the low prairies around Chicago were well-nigh
impassable for teams and this condition operated to the detri-
65 Binckley, Chicago of the Thinker, in Lakeside, 1O, 261.
86 Curtiss, Western^Portralture, 59..
88 Compendium of the Seventh Census (1850), 140.
68 Colbert and Chamberlain, Chicago, 69.
70 Flinn and Wilkie, Chicago Police, 58.
[201]
488 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
ment of the city people as well as the farmers in the interior.
To overcome this difficulty substantial "plank roads" were
constructed in every direction at a cost of from $1,000 to $1,500
per mile and kept in repair by the tolls collected. Although
this was but one and one-half cents per mile the roads paid
dividends ranging from fifteen to forty per cent, annually.71
To add to the facility of communication with the back country,
the Illinois jand .Michigan canal was opened for traffic in 1848,
as was part of the Galena and Chicago Union railroad a year
later. For a time it seemed as if these additional lines of trans-
portation operated to the detriment of Chicago, especially in
the retail trade for it tended to draw the retail dealers nearer
to their customers. This loss, however, was rapidly supplanted
by a gain in the wholesale trade,72 for around the city grew
up many smaller settlements which looked to Chicago as their
supply depot.
Of the thousands of acres of land sold at the Chicago Land
Office during the decade 1841 to 1850 much was close to the
city and little fell into the hands of speculators. This latter
fact aided in the settlement of the vicinity. Of the small
towns in the immediate neighborhood of the city, Jefferson was
settled in 1830,73 Oak Park in 1833,74 Norwood Park in 1834,75
Blue Island in 1835,76 Evanston in 1836,77 Lake View in 184478
and Hyde Park in 1848.79 By 1845 there were in Cook county
twenty-two settlements besides Chicago, and twelve of these
claimed five hundred or more inhabitants each.80 The popula-
tion of the entire county was 43,385 in 1850.81
The development of Chicago must be called wonderful rather
than typical of the westward movement. During the early
years of its existence, while it passed through the 'log cabin'
71 Curtiss, Western Portraiture, 52.
™Ibid., 52.
73 Andreas, Cook County, 744.
™Ibid., 782.
"^Wrf., 477.
70 Ibid., 629.
77 Ibid., 417.
78 Ibid., 708.
" Ibid., 607.
80 Ibid., 341.
81 Seventh Census, (1850), 701.
[202]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 489
stage of development the growth may be safely called typical
of the growth of the West. Slowly the settlers came at first
and in the accounts of travelers can be found the incidents which
prove the frontier characteristics of the village. The years
of booming and speculation came during the period 1833-37;
steam navigation upon the lakes made the village a port of
importance; the land fever gave aid to an unnatural growth
but Chicago still remained a village for the lack of substantial
support. The financial revulsion of 1837 checked the growth
of the town as wrell as the state but with the return of confidence
in the early forties Chicago again came to life, this time to en-
joy a steady growth in numbers and in prosperity and to take
advantage of its location.
At this date it appears that no longer can Chicago be taken
as a type of western frontier towns but from this time on one
must look to physiographic conditions for an explanation of
its wonderful growth. As yet railroads had not penetrated the
great agricultural fields of the West, but there was nevertheless a
demand for markets for produce and these markets were in the
East. . During the decade 1841 to 1850 the prairies of Indiana,
Illinois and Wisconsin were filling up rapidly and ever increas-
ing fields of wheat, oats and com ripened with each autumn.
The increased number of settlers meant an increased demand
for lumber and supplies of all kinds and Chicago, situated at
the terminus of the great highway of communication with the
East naturally attracted farmers by thousands, who came to
exchange their farm products for the products of the East.
Chicago's growth was now substantial and normal because of
its1 situation at the gateway of commerce. The great West, with
its ever increasing wealth of agricultural products, was its store-
house; the East w^as its market and the city, being the favored
point of collection and distribution, the connecting link between
East and West, was destined to grow in wealth and power with
the increasing demands of producer and consumer. Still
greater possibilities were to open up when during the fifties the
railroads were to radiate from the city to various points of
the rich farming lands around the lakes, greatly increasing the
area of influence of the rapidly growing metropolis. Primar-
[303]
490 BULLETIN OF THE TJXIVEKSITY OE WISCONSIN
ily a commercial city, for a time, to commerce must be attrib-
uted the development, but soon manufactures grew up to add
to wealth and industry and in this departure may be seen still
another cause for growth.
Another point must next claim attention — the character
of the population. Here also is seen the influence of transpor-
tation routes. The line of the Great Lakes was the connecting
link between the West and the seaports of the North(ges$) and
along this great highway came many foreigners, who, desirous
of making their homes in the interior, took the easiest road
thither and came to the best known port. The result is seen
in the fact that one-third of Chicago's population was of for-
eign descent. Moreover, New Yorkers and New Englanders
abounded in the city and vicinity, probably for the same reason.
In a word, it appears that Chicago is the result of physio-
graphic influences, its favorable location allowing it to profit
by the influences of the interaction of the agricultural "West and
the manufacturing East. Its location at the terminus of the
great line of communication with the East, thus becoming both a
distributing and a collecting point for an exceedingly wealthy
back country gave it the permanent foundation upon which to
build its industrial life.82
*2 Hunt's Merchants' Magazine, (9, 31) prints an article in 1843, discussing
the claims to future greatness of the cities of the section. The writer offers evi-
dence to show that it will lie on the Great Lakes rather than on the Ohio river,
but Tie decides in favor of the location at the mouth of the Maumee, rather than
Chicago. The article is of interest as showing the difficulty of contemporaneous
estimate of the condition which produced Chicago's ascendency.
[204]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 491
CHAPTER
Immigration first assumed large proportions during the V
•decade 1831-1840 and increased progressively during the ne'si
twenty years, being relatively greater in proportion to the
native population than at any other period.1 Just what per-
centage of the immigrants to the United States found their
way to the Mississippi valley is difficult to determine as the es-
timates of the writers vary considerably and census statistics
are not available before 1850.2
In 1850 Illinois had a population of_£5J+5QQ_and of this num-
ber J.10,600 were jEoreigners.3 Owing to the fact that Illinois
was still a new state with an abundance of fertile land yet
unclaimed in 1830, when European emigration began to become
of some consequence, and that the state was situated at the ter-
minus1 of the northern route of travel over the Great Lakes, it
is natural to expect that it would have a considerable and
varied foreign population and this is the case.
In selecting places for settlement there were decided prefer-
ences displayed by the various nationalities. The Germans,
naturally, inclining towards agriculture were most frequently
found in the agricultural districts ; the Irish seem to have stayed
in the cities or to have served as laborers along the lines of
communication although an example of agricultural pursuits
1 McLaughlin, The Immigrant, Past and Present, in The Popular Science
Monthly, July, 1904, 225.
2 One writer says thata seventy-five of every hundred continental Immigrants to
•the United States went west, but only twenty-five of every hundred Irish and
English went west. (Walker, Mississippi Valley, 347.) Another says that oner
third the total Immigration located in the West. (Edinburgh Revieic, 1OO, 242.)
3 Seventh Census (1850), 36.
[205]
492 BULLETIN OP THE UNIVEKSITY OF WISCONSIN
adopted by Irishmen is to be had in the country along the
lines of the Illinois and Michigan canal. When the work on the
canal stopped in the early forties the Irish laborers turned their
attention to agriculture, some of them following it permanently.
The English, Scotch, French and Swedes also inclined to-
wards agricultural pursuits, (generally speaking the foreign-
ers tended to settle together in localities apart from the other
settlers and to maintain their national language and customs
as long as possible. This tendency is displayed even today in
both the country and the large cities. As time went on, how-
ever, the intermixture of Americans and foreigners became fre-
quent, and as the country became more and more densely set-
tled it was impossible for the various nationalities to avoid con-
tact and in many counties the varied composition of population
suggests an indiscriminate throwing together of representatives
a dozen nationalities. >
The lead region affords an excellent example. One traveler
speaking of the district and its inhabitants says : ' ' The miners
are the most wonderful mixture of humanity that ever I
beheld; they are from all parts of the world but chiefly from
Ireland, Derbyshire, Cornwall and Germany."4 Still another
says concerning the same district, "I visited Galena in 1829
and found a most singular and mysterious medley of people
located in that place. People from all quarters of the earth
had flocked there on account of the celebrity of the lead
mines."5 In 1843 about thirty per cent, of Chicago's popu-
lation were foreigners6 and by 1850 fully one-third were of for-
eign birth.7 One-third of the votes in Peoria in the election of
1849 were cast by foreigners.8 Almost twenty-five per cent., of
the population of Freeport in 1850 were foreigners.9 "In all
* Murray, Travels in North America, (1854), 2, 129.
8 Reynolds, Illinois, 168.
"Norris and Gardiner, Illinois Annual Register (1847), 76; population of
Chicago, 7,580 ; of these 2,256 were foreign. The Germans and Irish together
numbered about 1,600. They were nearly equally divided.
7 Prairie Farmer, 9, 220.
*Ballance, Peoria, 201. The total vote was 1,324. Foreigners cast four hun-
dred and thirty-five of these. Germans and Irish were most numerous.
8 Johnston, Sketches of Stephcnson County, 94. Population of Freeport 1,436 —
foreigners, 352.
[206]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 493
the large cities and towns of Illinois, Europeans, mostly Ger-
mans and Irish, have located to a considerable number within
the last fifteen or twenty years and in some localities the num-
ber far exceeds the native Americans,"10 says Reynolds in his
history of Illinois and the statement does not appear to be
overdrawn.
These conditions appear true also for the parts of the state
outside the cities. Take for example Kane county. The local
historian says, ' ' There is probably no county in Illinois that has
accumulated its population from such varied sources as has
Kane county. From first to last there have been no less than
ten distinct and separate nationalities which have furnished not
individuals only but colonies, who have made their settlements
in the borders of the staunch old county."11 These examples
do not, however, seem to be exceptional cases.
Germans were the most numerous of the foreigners in Ill-
inois in 1850, composing over one-third of the foreign popu-
lation of the state.12 Economic, political, and religious influ-
ences were at work in the fatherland causing a tide of migra-
tion from all parts of the country to America.13 Once in Amer-
ica the cheap land of the fertile Mississippi Valley was an in-l-
ducement sufficient to bring the Germans westward and the '
line of transportation over the lakes directed the course of the
stream to the Chicago gateway of the Illinois prairies.
Religious^unrest was one cause for German emigration. A -
reorganization of the Lutheran church had taken place in the
later thirties and the ruling Hohenzollerns had ordered all sub-
jects to conform to the new belief. Penalties were threatened
for those who refused. Imprisonment, confiscation of property
10 Reynolds, Illinois, 184.
11 Past and Present of Kane County, 222.
12 Seventh Census, (1850), xxxvi.
13 Emigrants came from Luxemburg (Mrs. Levi, Geographical Origin of the
German Immigration to Wisconsin, In Wls. Hist. Collections, 14, 377) ; Pomer-
ania, (Ibid., 14, 349) ; Prussia, (Madison Enquirer, Oct. 26, 1839) ; Hesse, (Wis-
konsan Enquirer, July 28, 1842) ; Bavaria, (Sohriften des Vercins fiir Social
Politik, 52, 90) ; Baden and Wartenburg, (Bahr, German Immigration to the
United States, 18JtO-1850, 15, (MS. Thesis, University of Wisconsin, 1903) ; Baltic
Countries, (Mrs. Levi, German Immigration, in Wis. Hist. Collections, 14, 349) ;
Rhine districts (Littel'a Living Age, 11, 201) ; and from the region of the Black
Forest (Mies' Register, 72, 392).
[207]
494 BULLETIN" OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
and allied persecutions were practised to such an extent that
many left their native land.14
Political grievances, too, were of importance all through this
period. The unsuccessful attempts to obtain more liberal con-
stitutions, coming immediately after the July Eevolution of 1830
in France, had not left the minds of the people in peace, and
many had emigrated. Gradually the movement gathered
strength for a new out-break against the bonds of absolutism.
The attempt was made for a more liberal government in 1848,
tut it failed. The result is seen in the emigration of the ' ' Forty-
eighters."
Greatest of all the influences, however, were those of an eco-
mic^ nature, and to these is due the increase of German emi-
grants"liT~the decade 184.1-1850^ ' The small hand industries
which for years had been a means by which the poorer Germans
were enabled to make livings were now being beaten down by
competition arising from the introduction of machinery.15 The
evils of over-production and of over-population were at work.
Subdivision of-the land had gone on to a great extent and so
small were the little plots of ground held by each peasant that
it was with difficulty that the poor people eked out a bare ex-
istence. In normal years, at the best only a few potatoes, a
little corn, oats, clover and hay could be raised by the peasants,
and even well-to-do farmers subsisted on milk, potatoes
,and corn bread.16
— When crops failed these poor peasants were destitute. Dur-
ing the early years of the decade crops were good but beginning
with the extremely severe winter of 1844 and 1845 a change
^came. In that -winter many of the vineyards were destroyed17
and in the following spring floods in the valleys of the Rhine,
Moselle, Main, Neckar, Danube, Elbe and Vistula rivers materi-
ally interfered with agriculture.18 Moreover the potato crop
failed, causing a correspondingly large increase in the price of
bread stuffs and making it exceedingly difficult for the peasants
u Madison Enquirer, Oct. 26, 1839.
15 See references in note 13 above.
16Rahr, German Immigration, 14 (MS. Thesis, University of Wisconsin, 1903).
17 Niles' Register, 68, 145.
"Eahr, German Immigration, 15 (MS. Thesis, University of Wisconsin 1903).
[208]
POOLEY— SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 495
to gain a livelihood. The severity of the famine increased in
184619 and the cold winter following added misery to the lot
of the peasants. In many places the wealthy class was com-
pelled to provide for the poor, to keep them from starving.20
During these years the agents of transportation companies
were busy among the people. They were well dressed and well
supplied with money and told wondrous stories of wealth to
be easily acquired in America, of political freedom, Tight taxes
and easy government.
Resulting from these influences were such ventures as the
Geissner Gesellscliaft which had a plan to organize a German^ _,
community in America as a state of the Union while retaining
its German characteristics.21 Besides the organized colonies
which emigrated to America, thousands of Germans came
singly or in groups of two or three families and by 1850 there
were in Illinois over 38,000.22
Before 1830 there seem to have been few communities of
Germans in the state but in the following years a rapid increase
took place. The earliest settlements were probably at Dutch «,
Hollow in St. Clair county and at Vandalia in Fayette county.23
During the years 1831, 1832 and 1833 frequent additions were
made to the settlement in St. Clair county. The village of
Darmstadt marks the location of a colony of well-to-do agri-
culturists and tradesmen which sprang up in 1832. The so-
called 'immigration of 1833' brought a number of highly-edu-
cated Germans to this portion of the state giving the name
Lateiner settlement to the community. In 1837, the German r-**
settlers formed forty per cent, of the population of the town-
ship.2*
In Effingham county on the southern edge of the prairie dis-
trict was another center of German settlement. A stock com-
pany was formed by some Cincinnati Germans and a site for
a town was selected touching on the National Road in the
19 Niles' Register, 72, 392.
20 The Harbinger, 2, 287.
11 KSrner, Das Deutaohe Element, 300.
22 Seventh Census (1850), xxxvi.
23 Davidson and Stuvfi, Illinois, 349 ; Kopfll, S., and Eggen, J., Die Schweiser-
Eolonie Highland in Illinois In Deutache-AmetUJcanische GescMchts-Bl&tter,
April-July, 1906.
84 History of St. CloAr County, 64.
14 [209]
496 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
above named county. The first settlers came in 1838, 25 and
were soon joined by others from Cincinnati and Germany. In
1840 there were ninety families in and around Teutopolis, the
most important settlement.28 In the nearby townships there
were scattered German settlements.27
German communities were scattered here and there along the
Illinois river before 1850. One of the early settlements began
in 1833 in Woodford county and increased steadily.28 Another
German community was established in Peoria about 1835 ;29 it
formed almost one-sixth of the voting population of the town
in1 1850.30 During the latter half of the thirties a considerable
colony congregated at Havana, in Mason county.31 A few years
later another settlement of Germans began at Bath in the same
county.32 At Perry in Pike county there was a German settle-
ment of some importance before 1850,33 and in La Salle county
the German population was large enough to support three
churches.34 It appears that the above named settlements were
not the result of colonies organized in Germany, but that the
settlers came in smaller groups from the older settlements at
Cincinnati and St. Louis. After the political troubles in Ger-
many in 1848 the German population was generally derived
directly from Europe and the increase was more rapid.
In the northeastern and northern counties of the state the
Germans settled more frequently than in the southern counties.
Wishing to follow agriculture, they were attracted by the rich
prairie lands of the northern and eastern part of the state. A
convenient line of communication also helped to turn the swarm
of immigrants to Chicago, whence it scattered over the surround-
ing country. Cook, Lake, Du Page and Kane counties received
German settlers in numbers sufficiently large nearly to crowd
»Perrin, History of Efflngham County, 251.
26 'Salsbacber, Meine Reise nach der Vereinigten Staaten, 229, note 2.
" Perrin, History of Efflngham County, 147, 230.
48 History of Wood-ford County, 368.
89 History of Peoria County, 489.
30 Deutsch-Amerikanteche Geschichtsblatter, Jan., 1901, 22.
81 History of Menard and Mason Counties, 509.
»7M<Z., 576.
43 History of Pike County, 474.
M Baldwin, History of La Salle County, 533.
[210]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 497
out the original settlers. After 1848 the numbers increased
rapidly, especially in Kane and "Will counties, Aurora35 and
Elgin36 in the former county being the chief centers of German
settlement. The settlements in Will county date from 1846 and
the success and growth of the communities seems due to the
efforts of Conrad Tatge. During the years immediately fol-
lowing, most of the government railroad lands were bought up
by Germans and soon those lands held by speculators also came
under their control.37
In the Rock river valley there were but three German settle-
ments of any importance before 1850 — Oregon in Ogle county,38
Dixon in Lee county,39 and Freeport in Stephenson county.40
Of these Freeport was the most important; foreigners composed
one-fourth of the population of the town and the German ele-
ment was by far the most numerous. A short distance north
of the town' was another community of Germans located in
Ridott township.41
At Galena in Jo Daviess county,42 Warsaw in Hancock county4*
and Quincy44 and Melrose45 in Adams county were the chief
German communities of that portion of the state bordering on
the Mississippi river. The settlements were, however, not large
in 1850, the greater part of the present German population
having come at a later date.
Other settlements of Germans in all probability existed in
Illinois but since mention is not made of them in local histories,,
it seems safe to- conclude that in 1850 at least, they were of no
great importance.
As a class the Germans were desirable settlers owing to their
quiet, sober, steady habits, their ability and industry. Those
33 Past and Present of Kane County, 236.
38 Chicago Republican, Mar. 16, 1867.
37 History of Will County, 559.
38 History of Ogle County, 489.
39 History of Lee County, 177-185.
40 Johnston, Sketches of Stephenson County, 94.
41 History of Stephenson County, 283.
42 Rodolf, Pioneering in the Wisconsin Lead Region, in Wis. Hist. Collection*,
15, 350.
** History of Hancock County, 638.
"Asbury, Quincy, 103-106.
** History of Adams County, 540.
[211]
498 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVEKSITY OF WISCONSIN
who came without money to buy land hired themselves out to
landowners and were contented to serve as laborers until they
had learned the industry and acquired enough capital to make
purchases for themselves. They applied themselves to the cul-
tivation of the soil, not as adventurers for the sake of experi-
ment, but as farmers who meant to keep possession of it. They
brought with them the same patient laborious habits which had
distinguished them in their native land and as a consequence
the settlements made, while retaining the characteristics of the
fatherland to some extent, were models of well-ordered industry.
The head of the family worked, the children worked and the
women worked, too, often as hard as the men, sharing the men's
labors in the fields; for the German 'although not destitute of
romance was far from believing that women were made only to
-*s fee ornamental.'46 Following this rule it was not long before
each of these German families owned not only its dwellings but
the land upon which they stood.
While agricultural in their tastes the Germans were often
found an the cities, Chicago especially having quite a large Ger-
man population. It will be remembered that many of the early
German settlers came by way of the Great Lakes, landing at
Chicago. Few of these had money to spare, some had none at
all. In the latter case they were unable to buy land but the in-
dustries of the city afforded abundant opportunities for mak-
ing good wages and many a German remained here hoping by
thrift soon to acquire enough capital to carry out his pet scheme
-x • — to buy a farm. Living was high_ in the city, money accumu-
^^ lated slowly, land rose rapidly in value and the would-be farmer
gradually changed to a city man. Others came and the tend-
ency to settle together manifesting itself, these later comers
remained with their countrymen in the towns.
In politics the Germans were strongly democratic, even tend-
ing towards socialism. Their leading political newspapers
called American democracy a mongrel affair. They were
radical on questions of land reform and often led observers to
believe they supported communism, apparently denying the
right of private property and suggesting the experiment of a
"Atlantic Monthly, 32, 463.
[212]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 499
general division of goods among the people. This was true
especially about 1850, but probably did not fairly represent the
feeling of the great body of Germans, since the editors of that
time had but recently come from the revolutionary scenes of
1848.47 However, it is probable that in spite of their tendencies
toward radical political views and in spite of the fact that they
attempted to an extent, at least, to retain the customs and lan-
guage of their native land, the Germans were a valuable addi-
tion to the population of the state.
Causes for Irish immigration are not difficult to find: re-
ligious troubles,48 oppressive tithes,49 absentee landlords,50 high
rents,?1 poor wages,52 poor cultivation of the soil, famines. The
moral degradation and lack of education all combined to make
the condition of the Irish peasant one of abject misery.
Greatest among the causes were crop failures and famines.
The years 1831, 1835, 1836, 1837 and 1839 were ones of partial
crop failure and the .great f amine of 1847 spread misery through-
out the entire island. It is reported that during this year five
and one-half millions of the population were dependent upon
the charity of the rest of the population — about three million
in number — for food.53 Misery, destitution and sickness were
prevalent as is shown by the writers of the time,54 and a corres-
ponding increase of Irish immigration to America resulted.65
The Irish upon landing an America tended to remain in the
eastern cities, becoming day laborers or factory employes.
When they left the cities it was generally to find work upon the
lines of transportation then in the process of construction. A
very small number devoted themselves to agricultural pur-
47 Christian Examiner, 51, 355' ; Bruncken, in Wis. Hist. Soc. Proceedings
(1901), 190.
48 Gilds' Register, 4O, 406.
*» ni(J., 406.
«> Dublin Review, 1, 281-313 ; 15, 148-168 ; 317-363.
51 American Review, 6, 461, $15-$25 per acre.
53 Fortnightly Review, 8, 40.
63 American Review, 6, 637.
M Blackwoods, 64, 477 ; British Quarterly Review, 6, 524 ; Condon, Irish Race
in America, 302 ; Madison Express, April 13, 1847. (Extract from London Her-
ald. A letter written by a Mr. Shaw then in Ireland) ; N lies' Register, 23, 5;
38, 431 ; 4O, 455 ; 41, 379, 448 ; Western Journal and Civilian, 6, 247.
65 Young, Report on Immigration (1872), 14, reports over 500,000 Irish land-
Ing in America during the years, 1847, 1848, 1849 and 1850.
[213]
500 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVEKSITY OF WISCONSIN
suits for they were too poor to acquire land and, moreover, the
unpleasant experiences of their native home made Irishmen
skeptical concerning the possibilities of returns from this in-
dustry.
In 1850 there were almost 28,000 Irish in Illinois.56 There
were scattered settlements in the state before 1830, but the in-
flux came when work was begun on the Illinois and Michigan
canal, and for some time the greater portion of the Irish settle-
ment of the state lay close to the canal. - The work invited large
bodies of laborers and naturally the Irish made their way in
considerable numbers from the seaboard-cities to this district
where good wages and steady work seemed assured.57 They
were scattered all along the line, two hundred or more being at
Peru58 and La Salle59 in La Salle county, some in Grundy
county60 and some in Will county.61 In Chicago the largest
number were gathered, there being almost eight hundred Irish
in the city in 1843. '^ Nine per cent, of the voters of Peoria in
1849 were Irish.63 ^
The course of events, however, operated in Illinois to change
a number of Irish from laborers to farmers'. The work on the
canal progressed slowly for ten yearsr-' All sorts of expedients
were resorted to by the state authorities to sustain the work.
When money was no longer available the laborers were paid off
in canal scrip which in consequence trf ~ the growing financial
embarrassments of the state sank a great deal in value and at
times was scarcely convertible at all. Much of this scrip was
converted into land, "however, and wheri~work on the canal was
for the time abandoned in the eaT4y~forti«s-isarLy- of the Irish
laborers took up sections of land iirthe neighboring counties, or
in other portions of the state; when they^ould be obtained town
lots were taken. As a consequence the farming-population of
that part of the state immediately "bordering the Illinois river
84 Seventh Census (1850), xxxvi.
57 Onahan, Irish Settlements in Illinois, In Catholic World, 33, 357.
68 Buckingham, Eastern and Western States, 3, 222.
59 Baldwin, History of La Salle County, 225-483.
80 History of Grundy county, 143.
61 History of Will county, 659-906.
c2Norris and Gardiner, Illinois Annual Register (1847), 76.
63 Ballance, History of Peoria, 201.
[214]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830~50 501
from Peoria northward and along the Illinois-Michigan canal
is composed largely of Irish. Some Irish farmers are also
found as far north as McHenry county.64
In Monroe county an Irish settlement began in 1844 and be-
fore the elapse of a decade more than three hundred families
had congregated in this portion of the state.65 At Dixon in
Lee county,66 at Quincy in Adams county67 and at Galena in
the lead region68 were communities of Irish but they were not
large.
As a class the Irish sptfjprs were not so desirable as1 were the
— f -i —
Germans. Their poverty, their faith and^Eetr earty e«.
made their immediate assimilation into the population of the
state impossible.60 Their mission in the early days seems to have
been the construction of the internal improvements of the state.
By their native adaptability to new surroundings the Irish
seemed best fitted for city life and many settled in the cities,
especially in Chicago. In speaking of the Irish settler a writer
of the time says: "His weakness lies in success . . . for
with ten dollars in his pocket he is abashed>JDy nothing in
Heaven, earth or Chicago."70
From Tfoglanrj^ also there came many immigrants and for
reasons similar to those causing the Irish immigration. Agri-
cultural and industrial depression, enormous tithes, heavy taxes,
poor wages and poor cultivation of the soil made the lot of the
peasant class a hard one. Periods of rash speculation were
followed by commercial crises which added their influence to
that already operating to injure the peasant class and to in-
crease dissatisfaction.
During the early thirties a general depression existed.
"Landlords with mortgages or rent charges were ruined, tenants
farming on borrowed capital became parish paupers, bankrupt-
cies, seizures, executions and imprisonments for debt were prev-
MOnahan, Irish Settlements in Illinois, in Catholic World, 33, 159-160.
85 Reynolds, Illinois, 183..
66 History of Lee County, 117-185.
47 Asbury, Quincg, 103-106.
48 Reynolds, Illinois, 168; Murray, Trarels in North America (1854), 2, 129.
69 Metropolitan, 4, 721.
70 Putnam's Magazine, 4, 628.
[215]
502 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
alent; rents fell into arrears, tithes and poor rates remained
unpaid; labor bi]ls were reduced and improvements discon-
tinued.'>T1 Wages were exceedingly low,72 artisans and farm
hands sharing alike in the poor returns to labor. Tithes were
exorbitant73 and the taxes were equally heavy.74
The results of these conditions soon showed themselves in
riots of a serious nature partly aimed at the wealthy classes
and the clergy and partly to break up the new industrial devel-
opment which had come with the introduction of machinery.75
For a time reform legislation allayed the trouble but riots and
disturbances broke out anew during the closing years of the
decade 1831 to 1841, and continued till 1844.
With each renewed agitation the number of emigrants in-
creased. Farmers', wishing better returns for their labor, ar-
tisans and professional men began to leave the country.76 Clergy-
men urged their parishioners to emigrate to America where
wages were good.77 The London Roman Catholic Emigration
Society hastened to complete preparations whereby various
parties, each with its clergyman at its head might find new
homes in America.78 New agitations by the trade unions and
the Chartists broke out to swell the numbers already crossing
the ocean. In fact "there probably never was a nation to which
emigration on a great scale was more urgently suggested than
to England in the middle of the nineteenth century."79 Al-
though her wealth was increasing rapidly, so too was1 her popula-
tion and the field for employment was constantly being confined
to narrower limits, profits were diminished, rates of interest
reduced and the ranks of the uneasy class were being constantly
"Tralll, Social England, 6, 211.
72 Farm laborers received nine shillings per week, in haying time a trifle more.
(Nilcs' Register, 39, 454) ; annual wages amounted to from twenty to twenty-
one pounds for farm laborers, (Ibid., 41, 321) ; artisans' wages were from fifty
to sixty cents per week. (Ibid., 42, 124.)
73 In England 6,000,000 parishioners paid £8,896,000 tithes while 198,000,000
in other parts of the world paid but £8,852,000. (Nilcs' Register, 4O, 160.)
74 Family Magazine, 6, 416.
"Traill, Social England, 6, 211. Niles' Register, 39, 454-456.
76 fines' Register, O2, 400; North British Review, 18, 262.
77 Placards posted throughout the country said that laboring men in America
received from three to four dollars per day. (The New Yorker, June 17, 1837.)
78 Madison Express, June 1, 1843.
•"North British Review, 18, 259.
[216]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 503
augmented. During the years 1845-1847 emigration to the
United States doubled, which shows the dissatisfaction with
conditions existing in the kingdom.80
Of this immigration a portion came west and in 1850 there
were 18,600 English settlers in Illinois.81 Settlements were
made early at Albion,82 Carlyle83 and Prairie du Long.8*
Shortly after the opening of the lead mines the Cornish began
to settle there and grew rapidly in numbers.85 At Nauvoo dur-
ing the days of Joseph Smith a great number of English con-
gregated. Missionaries sent to England by the Prophet never
returned without a band of converts. In 1840 the first band
came86 and by 1844 it was estimated that of 16,000 saints then
in and around Nauvoo, 10,000 were English.87 Other settle-
ments of less note were scattered over the state.88
As a class the English did not make good prairie pioneers for
they knew little of agriculture as it was carried on in the great
western country, and of all immigrants they experienced the
most difficulty in settling down and yielding themselves to the
conditions of a new country. Their minds were hampered with
prejudices in favor of the customs and habits of the mother
country, which, combined with the lack of those qualities which
make good pioneers, kept the English from being classed with
the successful settlers of the new country.89
oung, Report on Immigration (1872), 12.
81 Seventh Census (1850), xxxvi.
82 Flower, English Settlements in Edwards Co. III., 147.
83 ibid., 1(53.
84 Davidson and Stuv6, Illinois, 349.
85 Copeland, The Cornish in Southwestern Wisconsin, in Wis. Hist. Collections,
14, 305.
86 Smith and Smith, Latter Day Saints, 2, 450.
87 Lewis, Impressions of America, 265. See also Beadle, Life in Utah, 59 ;
Cincinnati Chronicle, Au£. 26, 1840 ; Kennedy, Early Days of Mormonism, 219 ;
Neto York Weekly Herald, April 9, 1842 ; Niles' Register, 69, 144 ; 6O, 304 r
63, 400 ; 64, 96.
88 Settlements were made at: Rockton, Winnebago county (Carr, Rockton,
16) ; Butler's Point, Vermilion county (Beckwith, Vermilion Co., 640) ; Dixon,
Lee county (History of Lee County, 177-185) ; La Salle, La Salle county (Bald-
win, La Salle County, 225-483) ; Peoria (Ballance, History of Peoria, 201) ;.
Ridoft township, Stephenson county (History of Stephenson County, 268) ; Will-
county (History of Will County, 659-906) ; McHenry countjy (History of
McHenry County, 637).
atrobe, The Rambler in Xoith America, 2, 163.
8°is
[217]
BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
Economic causes operated in Scotland after 1830 to cause
emigration. The growth of the wool industry compelled many
of the peasant class to leave the country during the decade 1831-
1840.90 The famine of 1847 rendered many others destitute and
aided in increasing emigration.91 In 1834 they began to come
to Illinois and formed little settlements throughout that part
of the state north of Peoria.92 By 1850 there were 4,660 Scotch
in Illinois.03 As citizens in the new country they wer& well
thought of on account of their frugality, sobriety and industry.
As agriculturists they ranked high, it being estimated that seven
of every twelve families succeeded.94
SjCjnJinavian immigration to the United States was slight in-
deed before 1830 But by 1850 there were settled in Illinois some
3,500 people of this nationality.95 The first Norwegians settling
in Illinois came from New York in 1834.98 They settled at
La Salle and Ottawa and at other points in the Fox river val-
ley.97 The most interesting Scandinavian settlement in the
state was the Bishop Hill Colony in Henry county. Owing to
religious difficulties at home five hundred left for America in
1846 and settled in the above named county. By 1848 the set-
tlement numbered 1,200 souls and continued to flourish for some
years after 1850.98 Various other settlements were scattered
about the state at this date.99
*>Niles' Register, 4O, 93.
81 Littel's Living Age, 13, 97.
02 Settlements were made at : Argyle, Wlnnebago county (History of Winne-
County, 454) ; Dundee, Kane county (History of Kane County, 230).: Will
county (History of Will County, 242, 659-906) ; La Salle county (Baldwin, La
Salle County, 225-483) ; Peoria (Ballance, Peoria, 201).
83 Seventh Census (1850), xxxvt.
9* Collins, Emigrants' Guide, 77.
85 Seventh Census (1850), xxxvi.
00 Baldwin, La Salle County, 164.
97 Historical Magazine, 2, 202.
98 Mikkelson, Bishop Hill Colony, in Johns Hopkins University Studies, 10 j
Bigelow, Bishop Hill Colony, in Transactions ot the Illinois Historical Society,
(1902) ; Niles' Register, 72, 260; Bremer, Homes of the New World; 2, 67.
68 Beaver Creek, Iroquois county (Anderson, Norwegian Immigration, 200, and
Nelson, Scandinavians in the United States, 1, 129) ; Rock Run, Stephenson
county, (/bid., 1, 132 ; History of Stephenson County, 255) ; Nettle Creek,
Grundy county (History of Orundy County, 287) ; Mercer county (Reynolds, Illi-
nois, 183) ; Lee county (History of Lee County, 767)(: Princeton, Bureau county,
(Taxpayers and Voters of Bureau County, 133) ; Andover, Henry county (Nel-
son, Scandinavians in the United States, 1, 217) ; Moline, Rock Island countj
(Tbid., 1, 217) ; Galesburg, Knox county (IWd., 1, 217).
[218]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 505
French, Swiss, Portuguese,, Poles, Welsh^panish, Belgians,
Dutch, Italians, Austrians, Danes, Greeks, Mexicans, West In-
dians, Hawaiians, South Americans and even Chinese were rep-
resented in Illinois in 1850.100 Of these nationalities the French
were the most numerous. When the Americans first came to
Illinois the French settlements along the American Bottom and
at Peoria were practically the only ones in the territory. The
Americans with their new ways and ideas of government and
law caused such wonder and even distrust among this simple
people that many moved away. Those remaining assumed by
degrees the American manners and language, but became of
less importance politically and socially as the American settlers
increased in number. Few indeed were the French immigrants
before 1830 and at no time during our period did the annual im-
migration to the United States number 10,000 save in the years
1846 and 1847.101 During the early days in the northern part
of the state lone French-Canadian cabins were often found
along the rivers, inhabited by traders in the employ of the
American Fur Company.
The first French colony of any importance to be established
in Illinois after 1830 was at Metamora, Woodford county, in
1831.102 In 1837 another was established by the Piquet brothers
at Saint Marie, Jasper county. The colony numbered twenty-
five persons and owned 12,000 acres of land.103 An interesting
colony of French was located in Hancock county where three
hundred followers of Cabet lived in the old Mormon town of
Nauvoo. Coming to Illinois in 1849 they remained there for
several years seemingly enjoying prosperity but internal troubles
finally broke up the settlement.104 In Kankakee county there
was a cluster of French-Canadian settlements, chief among
which was Bourbonnais, which had a population of 1,719 in
1850.105 Here the old Canadian customs were maintained for
1M Seventh Census (1850), xxxvi.
101 Young, Report on Immigration (1872), 12-10.
102 History of Woodford County, 268, 368.
103 History of Cumberland, Jasper and Richland Counties, 484.
104 Iceynolds, Illinois, 372 ; Open Court, August 28, ' 1890 ; Hinds, American
Communities; Shaw, Icaria ; Hillquit, Socialism in the United States.
108 Seventh Census (1850), xxxvi; Campbell, Bourbonnais In Transactions of
the Illinois State Historical Society, (1906).
[219]
506
years. The other settlements in the state were of lesser im-
portance.106
Swiss settlements in the state were few. A general business
stagnation in 1844 caused a considerable number of Swiss to-
leave their native land.107 In 1815 a Swiss colony from Neuf-
chatel had established itself at Dutch Hill in St. Clair county.108
A portion of Lord Selkirk's Red River colony settled at Galena
in 1826.109 In Madison county near Highland another colony
was begun in 1831. It grew slowly until 1844 when over one
hundred colonists were added making it the most important
center of Swiss settlement in the state.110
Two Portuguese colonies, one near Springfield and one near
Jacksonville were interesting additions to the population of
Illinois in 1849. Exiled from the island of Madiera in 184T
owing to religious differences with the Catholic rulers, they
landed on the island of Trinidad, from which a number came to
the United States subsequently settling in Illinois. It is diffi-
cult to state the number of people composing the colonies ac-
curately.111
Of other nationalities but few representatives were in the
state. A Polish settlement was planned early in the thirties and
a grant of land obtained on the Rock river, but the colony never
materialized. There 'were, however, a few Poles in the state.112
In Kane county a considerable Welsh population grew up after
106 Settlements were made at: Peoria (Ballance, Peoria, 201); Dixon, Lee
county (History of Lee County, 117-185) ; Rockton, Wirinebago county (Carr,
Rockton, 16) ; Will county (History of Will County, 659-906) ; Iroquois county
(Beckwith, Iroquois County, 336).
10' Luchsinger, New Glarus, in Wis. Hist. Collections, 12, 340.
108 History of St. Clair County, 62.
109 Chetlaln, Recollection* of Seventy Tears, 6.
110 Steinach, Schweiser Kolonien, 248, Newbauer, Miss., The Suites Settlements
in Madison county, Illinois in Transactions of the Illinois State Historical So-
ciety, (1906).
111 Number placed at forty-two (Seventh Census (1850), xxxvi,) History of
Sangamon County, 578, says, "On the 19th of October, 1849, nearly three hundred
left New York for their new homes in Illinois" ; Reynolds, Illinois, 183, "I presume
the whole would amount to five or six hundred souls" ; Deutsch-Amerikanischd
QeschichtjsWatter, Jan. 1, 1904, 32, "Und von1 dort wurden in Jahre 1849 gegen^
300 . . . nach Illinois gebracht."
112 Beckwith, Vermilion County, 763.
[220]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 507
1836.113 Chicago had a colony of Bavarian Jews.114 and prob-
ably in this city could have been found the few Mexicans, Ital-
ians, Austrians and others which are enumerated in the census
of 1850.
To the influence of cheap land and easy communication, it
seems, can be traced the cause for the foreign population of
northern Illinois. When immigration from European countries
had reached large numbers the lakes were navigated by steam
and afforded easy access to the ulterior of the continent. As
a general rule the immigrants were of the lower classes of
European society and had little money to spend. Those who
wished to become farmers needed land, and lack of money
necessitated cheap land, which lay in the West. The great
port at the end of the lakes was Chicago, the doorway to the
prairies where government lands could be had in abundance
at exceedingly low prices. Towards this city the immigrant
made his way as an examination of the population of the coun-
ties around Chicago will show.
Other influences were probably at work also. The greater
part of the immigration to the United States was from north-
ern Europe and in the minds of the people was a well grounded
dislike for the institution of slavery owing to the competition
arising from it ;in fields of labor. To this influence can be at-
tributed the fact that little of the cheap land of the Southwest
was taken up by foreigners. The climate may also have oper-
ated to turn the stream of immigration northward, for in the
northern states was found a climate more nearly corresponding
to that of northern Europe and consequently more to the liking
of the immigrants, for here crops could be raised similar to
those raised at home
113 History of Kane County, 228.
114 Historical Magazine, 7, 346.
[221]
508 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
CHAPTER XII
The decade 1841-50 in the history of Illinois settlement is
particularly and peculiarly interesting owing to the foundation
of several settlements, within the limits of the state, whose im-
pelling motive was either religion or a desire to build up a new
and reformed social structure. First in order of time came the
Mormons, a sect believing themselves thoroughly imbued with
the true religion and wishing, by taking up their abodes within
the limits of friendly Illinois, to escape the persecution which
had followed them from place to place.
It is not necessary to speak of the doctrines of the Mormon
church which have made this institution a source of suspicion
and distrust to society in general and of hatred to those who
have come into direct opposition to its members. Of its early
history little need be said save that after the discovery of the
Golden Plates by Joseph Smith the prophet, the church grew
with rapidity. A permanent settlement was not to be founded
however, since the people who were compelled to live as neighbors
of the Latter Day Saints looked upon them with a feeling of
aversion.
First settling in Ohio, they afterwards moved to Missouri
where they lived in peace for a short space of time. Here again,
after accumulating much property and bringing their lands to
a high state of cultivation, they were driven from their homes1
by the Missourians, who, incensed by thefts and robberies com-
mitted in the neighborhood of the Mormon colony, did not stop
to inquire into causes or to seek out the guilty ones but in the
midst of the winter of 1838-39 fell upon the settlement and ex-
pelled the whole church from the state. In the dead of winter,
[222]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 509
suffering from hunger, cold and sickness, numerous families set
out on foot walking the entire distance to Illinois.1 Others, by
virtue of a treaty made with the men of Missouri, were allowed
to stay until spring. They offered their lands for sale a± small
prices and even bartered farms for wagons and teams2 by means
of which to convey their families out of the state.
In the spring of 1839, the main body of the Saints arrived
in Illinois where they told tales of persecution and privation
which, linked with the spectacle of utter destitution and wretch-
edness which they presented upon arriving, awakened the warm-
est sympathy among the citizens3 of Hancock county where they
landed. Great hospitality and kindness were shown them by
the Illinoisans.
The town of Venus, later called Commerce, containing a few
hundred inhabitants,* and occupying one of the most beauti-
ful sites on the Mississippi river was the destination of the
Mormon emigrants. Here they settled to the number of 5,0005
and changing the name of Commerce to Nauvoo, which, accord-
ing to the Prophet means in the Hebrew "the beautiful," they
began to build their habitations. They were soon located at
different points all over Hancock county and to some extent
through the adjoining counties of Pike, Schuyler, McDonough,
Henderson and Warren. The largest settlements outside of
Nauvoo were at LaHarpe, Plymouth, Macedonia, Green Plains
and Montebello — all in Hancock county.6 Besides land pur-
chased in Illinois, additional purchases were made in Iowa terri-
tory just across the river. Together the total amount of land
purchased was about $70,000 in value.7 On the Iowa side of
the river some 2,000 people (were located.8
"With almost incredible rapidity the town of Nauvoo sprang
1 Smith and Smith, Hist, of the Church of Jesus Christ and of the Latter Day
Saints, 2, 340.
*IUd., 2, 340.
3 Bennett, History of the Saints, 139.
* Overland Monthly, 1C, N. S., G20.
5 Buckingham, Eastern and Western States, 3, 193. For illustrations of
Nauvoo see Berry, The Mormon Settlement in Illinois in Transactions of tftW
Illinois State Historical Society, (1906).
u Gregg, The Prophet of Palmyra, 156.
8 Cincinnati Chronicle, Aug. 26, 1840.
[223]
•510 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
up. By May, 1840, about three hundred dwellings had been
erected.9 These were block houses,10 small wooden dwellings,11
and occasional structures of more imposing size and appear-
ance.12 Many more were in the process of construction. The
city was laid out with geometrical exactness. In dimension, it
was four miles in length and three in breadth,13 filling up the
.semicircular bend made by the river. The streets were wide,
.crossing each other at right angles14 forming squares having
.an area of four acres each. These squares were subdivided into
four lots of an acre each.15 In the center of the city was the
Temple Block.
At the time of the coming of the Mormons, two political par-
ties 'were contending for supremacy in the state and the ad-
vent of so many voters necessitated the party leaders taking
steps to gain control of the new vote and consequently each vied
with the other in its efforts to conciliate the Saints.16 Just previ-
ous to the election of 1840, the politicians crowded around the
Prophet offering various inducements, but Smith, who was a
shrewd man, if nothing else, wisely kept from giving pledges
:'to either side until his price was offered.17
The price asked and given proved to be a high one and one
which was to cause the citizens of the surrounding country as
well as the state officers much trouble before many years had
passed. Charters for the city of Nauvoo; for the Nauvoo Le-
.gion, a military organization wholly under the control of the
city but nominally part of the Illinois militia; for the Nauvoo
University, and for manufacturing purposes was the price.18
'The Whig party, believing the price satisfactory, signified its
willingness to pay it and the Mormons at the command of their
leader cast a solid Whig vote, cutting down the Democratic
*Niles' Register, 58, 192.
10 Smith and Smith. Latter Day Saints, 2, 450.
11 Kennedy, Early Days of Mormonism, 200.
12 Ibid.
13 IUd.
" Smucker, History of the Mormons, 158.
15 Overland Monthly, 1«, N. S., 620.
*« Amberley, The Latter Day Saints in. Fortnightly Review, 12, 52ft,
" Kennedy, Early Days of Mormonism, 204.
>M Bennett, History of the Saints, 139.
[224]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 511
majority in the state to 1,900, the lowest it had ever been known
to be.19 The charters were granted at the meeting of the state
legislature.
The charter to the city granted almost unlimited powers.
It established a government within a government.20 It placed
the legislative power of the city in the hands of a mayor, a vice-
mayor, four aldermen and nine counsellors.21 This council, the
charter said "shall have power and authority to make, ordain,
•establish and execute all such ordinances not repugnant to the
constitution of the United States or this state as they may deem
necessary for the peace, benefit, good order, regulation, conven-
ience and cleanliness of the city."22 This, it will be observed,
did not bind the Mormon council to observe the individual laws
of the state and they could claim the right to establish
a distinct and independent code of laws and it so happened.23
Jurisdiction within the city was granted to a municipal court
composed of the mayor acting as Chief Justice and the four
aldermen as Associate Justices.24
A power as great, or- even greater, was conceded in the char-
ter for the Nauvoo Legion. This was a military body composed
of divisions, brigades, cohorts, regiments, battalions and com-
panies under the command of the Prophet,25 and at the disposal
of the mayor for executive purposes. The number of troops
was 3,000.26 The university was organized with a President,
a Board of Regents and chairs of Mathematics, English Litera-
ture, Languages, Rhetoric and Belles Letters, and Church His-
tory.27
For a time, the power granted by these several charters was
used wisely enough and Nauvoo prospered, but the plenitude of
power was too much for those in command and it was abused
eventually when the authorities of the city went so far as to
"Norris and Gardiner, Illinois Annual Register and Western Business Di-
rectory (1847), 40.
20 Kennedy, Early Days of Mormonism, 209.
21 ma., 207.
™IUd., 206.
23 Aniberley, The Latter Day Saints, in Fortnightly Review, 12, 52G.
u Kennedy, Early Days of Mormonism, 207.
25 IUd., 208. ^
28 Amberley, The Latter Day Saints, in Fortnightly Review, 12, 526.^
2T The New York Weekly Herald, Jan. 15. 1842.
15 [225]
512 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
establish a recording office in which alone transfers of land
could be recorded.28 In addition to this an office for the issue
of marriage licenses was established which was in direct oppo-
sition to the rights of Hancock county.20 At last it was pre-
sumed by the municipal council to ask that the mayor be
allowed to call in and use the United States troops whenever he
should deem it necessary for the protection of himself or fol-
lowers.30
Here, in the powers of the charters granted by the state of
Illinois to the city of Nauvoo lay both the strength and weak-
ness of the Mormon government. The strength was due to
privileges granted which allowed the feeling of security to the
inhabitants necessary to development; the weakness, in the
jealousy aroused in the minds of the citizens of the surrounding
country due to the rapid advance of the Mormons in wealth
and the overbearing attitude arising therefrom.
Before following out the adverse effects of the charters upon
the Mormon Community, a glance must be taken at the rapid
development of the city in size and wealth. The latter part of
1841 and the early months of 1842 may be regarded as the high
tide of Mormon prosperity in Illinois, — "the season of peace-
ful sunshine before the -storm."31 Great improvements were
made in the city during the time. Several hundred houses,
some of them brick and stone were erected,32 and on April 6,
1841, the eleventh anniversary of the founding of the church
in New York, the cornerstone of the Temple was,1 laid in the
presence of several thousand assembled Saints.33 It was an
imposing structure of gray limestone34 and represented on out-
lay of $1,000,000.8S
Industry did not lag in the meantime. Sawmills at Nauvoo
28 Kennedy, Early Days of Mormonism, 207.
31 Ibid., 221.
82 Nauvoo Times and Seasons, Sept. 15, 1841.
BS Gregg, The PropTtet of Palmyra, 183.
84 The building was one hundred and twenty feet by eighty feet It was
sixty feet in height and to the top of the dome measured one hundred and fifty
feet. (IUd., 383.)
KNew York Weekly Tribune, July 15, 1843. Gregg (383) cites an estimate of
the cost at $1,500,000, which he says is an exaggeration.
[226]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS,, 1830-50 513
and Black River Falls36 in Wisconsin were in operation, manu-
facturing lumber for building purposes. A steam flour mill,
a tool factory, a foundry and a factory for chinaware were in1
busy operation, bearing testimony of Mormon industry.37 The
city also owned a steamboat.38
It is hard to fix the population exactly at this or any other
date during the colony's stay in Illinois, for the various writ-
ers seldom, if ever, agree. Estimates of the population of Nau-
voo during 1841 vary from 3,00039 given by the Prophet him-
self to 10,000 given by a later writer.40 Probably the former
is nearer the correct number. Estimates of the Mormon popu-
lation in Nauvoo the next year show similar discrepancies.
Agreeing upon one point alone, that the growth of the commun-
ity was wonderfully rapid, the authors proceed to place the
numbers at anywhere from 5,00041 to 30,000.42 Here again,
fortunately, we have an estimate made by a Mormon and pub-
lished in the Nauvoo Times and Seasons, which places the popu-
lation of the city itself at 10,000.43 Allowing for others
scattered through the towns around Nauvoo, 16,00044 may be
said to cover the entire number.
In the latter half of 1842, Nauvoo had its greatest popula-
tion. Not only had the Saints from Missouri occupied the new
city, but hundreds from all over the country, complying with
the summons of the Prophet to assemble at Nauvoo and aid in
the construction of the Temple and the University, turned their
faces toward the home of the church and hastened to take up
their abodes either within the city or its immediate neighbor-
hood.45
3B Brunson, A Western Pioneer, 2, 168.
37J£ennedv. Early
38 Ibid.
39 Smith and Smith, The Latter Day Saints, 2, 501.
40 Caswell, The Prophet of the nineteenth Century, 212.
« Gregg, The Prophet of Palmyra, 223.
"The New fork Herald, June 17, 1843.
43 The New York Weekly Herald, Jan. 15, 1842 — copied from The Nauvoo Times
and Seasons.
44 Davidson and Stave1, History of Illinois, 498 ; New York Weekly Tribune,
July 15, 1843, estimates 15,000 — 17,000; Madison City Express, July 27, 1843,
copies from the Burlington Iowa Gazette and estimates 15,000 to 17,000.
48 Gregg, The Prophet of Palmyra, 162.
[227]
314 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
The plans of Joseph Smith were far-reaching and he deter-
mined that the sinners of other lands should be called to re-
pentance. Elders were appointed to go to England,46 Scotland,
Ireland and Nova Scotia, besides others who were to spread the
new doctrine in the eastern states, Wisconsin Territory and
Galena.47 Handsome young 'women were chosen also to aid in
the missionary work.48
The work prospered, especially in England, from which place
many came to swell the congregation at Nauvoo. On June 6,
1840, a colony of forty emigrants sailed from England, under
the leadership of Elder Moore.49 Three months later the Liver-
pool Chronicle mentions the sailing of a packet from that port
having on board two hundred steerage passengers belonging
"to a sect called Latter Day Saints and bound for Quincy in
the state of Michigan, on the borders of the Mississippi, where
& settlement has been provided for them by one of their sect,
who has purchased a large tract of land hi Michigan."50
Occasionally newspapers recorded the movement of these col-
onies to Nauvoo. The Cincinnati Chronicle, evidently mean-
ing the first colony mentioned, speaks of thirty Mormons ar-
riving in that city by keel-boat.51 They had split into two par-
ties at Pittsburg and the route of the second party does not
seem to have been known by the writer. He, however, states
that another party of the same sect, (probably the larger party
which left in September) is on the way from England des-
tined for Nauvoo. In all there were two hundred and forty who
came in 1840.52
The years 1841, 1842, 1843, 1844 and 1845 saw additional
converts from foreign lands come to dwell under the direct
guidance of the Prophet.53 The immigrants generally came in
«« Beadle, Li;e in Utah, 59.
"files' Register, 64, 336.
« IUd., 63, 400.
49 Smith and Smith, The Latter Day Saints, 2, 450 ; Kennedy, Early Days of
Mormonism, 219, states the colony was under the leadership of Brighaiii Young.
™Niles' Register, 59, 144.
M Cincinnati Chronicle, Aug. 26, 1840.
45 Kennedy, Early Days of Mormonism, 219.
53 Smith and Smith, The Latter Day Saints (3, 1) give the following figures:
1841 (769) ; 1842 (1991) ; 1843 (769) ; 1844 (501) ; Kennedy, Early Days of
Mormonism (219), gives: 1840 (240) ; 1841 (1135) ; 1842 (1614) ; 1843 (769) ;
no statistics for 1844 and 1845.
[228]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 515
large colonies numbering sometimes two,54 three55 or even five
hundred56 souls. They landed at various ports from Quebec57
to New Orleans58 and came to Nauvoo either by way of the Ohio
or Mississippi river. The unanimous opinion of people coming
in contact with these emigrants on their way to the West was
that they were respectable looking59 farmers or mechanics and'
by no means from the lowest classes in England,60 people "who-
would make good settlers if they were free from the infatua-
tion of Mormonism. "G1
This constant stream of immigration^ it will be seen, did
much towards aiding the rapid growth of Nauvoo and the pe-
culiarity worthy of most attention seems to be that by far the-
greatest number of foreign converts were English. One writeiA _-
who visited Nauvoo during 1844 says that "of the 16,000 fol-J7
lowers assembled at Nauvoo, 10,000 are said to be from Eng-
land."62 The other foreigners were from Germany and Scot-
land.
With increase of numbers, an increase of prosperity came and'
with increased prosperity, more effort was made towards beau-
tifying the city. In the construction of houses taste was showa
and often evidences of wealth.63 The work on the temple-
progressed steadily, additional manufactures were added to the
number already in operation, evincing industry and economic-
success.64 New farms were enclosed, the land was put under
cultivation and a general air of success pervaded the whole-
neighborhood.65
Nauvoo impressed visitors in various ways. One visitor int
speaking of the city says, "Such a collection of miserable-
M New York Weekly Herald, Apr. 9, 1842.
55 Museum of Foreign Literature, 45, 9.)
Amies' Register, 64, 96.
w IWd., 60, 304.
M New fork Weekly Herald, Apr. 9, 1842 ; Madison City Express, Apr. 25r
1844. (From St. Louis Era.)
M New York Weekly Herald, Apr. 9, 1842 ; Cincinnati Chronicle, Aug. 26, 1840.,
00 Museum of Foreign Literature, 45, 9.
61 Madison City Express, Apr. 25, 1844. (From The St. Louis Era.)
*2 Lewis, Impressions of America and the American Churches, 265.V^~_
"Madison City Express, July 27, 1843.
64 Smucker^ JJisttnry r>f the Mnrmons. 159.
•» Ibid.
[229]
516 BULLETIN" OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
houses and hovels I could not have believed existed in one
place."66
Other writers who have visited the place speak more highly
of it and some with marked enthusiasm. Among these a cer-
tain Mr. Newhall, who visited Nauvoo in the autumn of 1843,
published his impressions in a New England newspaper, giving
a description which is both vivid and interesting. He says,
"Instead of seeing a few miserable log cabins and mud hovels
which I had expected to find, I was surprised to see one of the
most romantic places that I had visited in the West. The
buildings, though many of them were small, and of wood, yet
bore marks of neatness which I have not seen equalled in this
country. The far-spread plain at the bottom of the hill was
dotted over with the habitations of men, with such majestic
profusion that I was almost willing to believe myself mistaken,
an'd instead of being in Nauvoo of Illinois among Mormons,
that I was in Italy at the city of Leghorn which the location of
Nauvoo resembles very much. I gazed for sometime with fond
admiration on the plain below. Here and there rose a tall
majestic brick house, speaking loudly of genius and the untir-
ing labor of the inhabitants. I passed on into the more active
parts of the city looking into every street and lane to observe
all that was passing. I found all the people engaged in some
useful and healthy employment. The place was alive with
business — much more than any place I have visited since the
hard times commenced. I sought in vain for anything that
C bore marks of immorality but was both astonished and highly
pleased at my ill success. I could see no loungers around the
streets nor any drunkards about the taverns. I did not meet
with those distorted features of ruffianism or with the
illbred and impudent. I heard not an oath in the place. I
saw not a gloomy countenance, all were cheerful, polite and in-
dustrious. "67 From this description we may conclude that
there was something to commend in Nauvoo and its inhabitants,
for the writer had visited many places in his trip through the
/" 87 Smucker, History of the Mormons, 152. (Extract from the Salem (Mass.)
Advertiser.)
[230]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 517
West and had had abundant opportunities offered for compar-
isons.
The newly built dwellings of the rural districts around Nau-
voo did not present the same uniform prosperity. This can be
explained by the fact that these farms were just being opened
up and the habitations erected upon them were in keeping with
the general character of pioneer dwellings.
Such was Nauvoo, the city of the Latter Day Saints, when the
storm broke over them. The city itself was the largest one in
Illinois, having in 1845 some 15,00008 inhabitants. Next to St.
Louis, it was the most important central point and supply de-
pot of the western territory.69 Some families had left by
1844, already anticipating a visitation similar to the one exper-
ienced in Missouri, but others had been added in greater num-
bers to take their places70 until by the end of 1844, 30,000 Mor-
mons resided in Nauvoo and its vicinity.71
In order to understand the expulsion of the Mormons, it
is necessary to return to the early history of the settlement.
Scarcely had the Mormons settled in Hancock county when
trouble arose. Several inhabitants of Shelby county became
converts, whereupon a mob attacked them. The Mormons in
retaliation secured warrants from Judge Breese calling for the
arrest of fifteen of the leaders, but the militia, when called upon
to assist in serving the warrants, flatly refused.72
Little by little the opposition grew, quietly at first, but
turned by later events into an open and bitter hostility. The
extraordinary privileges granted by the charter73 to Nauvoo
were instrumental at first in exciting the envy and distrust of
the citizens of the surrounding country. An independent mili-
tary force devoted to the Prophet and the right claimed by
him to disregard warrants for the arrest of any person in Nau-
voo, if issued from other places, seemed more than the people
could bear. Moreover, ,;the political party which had not re-
68 Beadle, Life in Utah, 134.
89 Chicago Tribune, Mar. 6, 1886.
70 Nauvoo Times and Seasons, 5, 743.
n Smith and Smith, Latter Day Saints, 3, 1.
Amies' Register, 56, 336.
73 Amberley, The Latter Day Saints, in Fortnightly Review, 12, 527.
[231]
518 BULLETIN OF THE TJNIVEESITY OF WISCONSIN
ceived the Mormon vote was exasperated and combining forces
with others, incensed by different causes, they conspired against
the power of the Saints. On December 9, 1842, a motion was
made in the legislature of Illinois to repeal the charter.74
Joseph Smith's brother, at that time a member, spoke earnestly
against the proceeding, appealing to the Locofoco party to
sustain his city. As a result no vote was taken and the Nauvoo
charter was safe for the time.
Reports also spread through the state that some Mormons
at the instigation of Smith, had made an attempt upon the life
of ex-governor Boggs of Missouri.75 Some foundation was
given to the reports when Governor Eeynolds issued requisition
papers for the arrest of Smith as a fugitive from justice. After
some delay, caused by the Mormon authorities at Nauvoo, Smith
gave himself up for trial, and after being heard, was released,
owing to insufficient evidence being produced agaginst him.7*
Still another episode helped to inflame the Illinoisans. John
C. Bennett, at one time the right hand man of Smith and com-
mander of the Nauvoo Legion, quarreled 'with his chief and left
the city in great wrath.77 Having been for several years in
high circles in Nauvoo, he worked great harm to the Saints by
publishing an expose78 of Mormonism, severe and scathing in its
nature, and substantiating in every respect reports of corrupt-
ness and immorality existing within the city. Eagerly grasp-
ing at anything which would give them a right to work ven-
geance upon the citizens of Nauvoo, many good and patriotic
men began to believe that Nauvoo was a second Sodom and a
foul spot which should be blotted out.79
As time went on the hatred increased and difficulties multi-
plied. One of the many charges made against these people
was that they were prone to appropriate the property of their
Gentile neighbors.80 This was strenuously denied by the Mor-
Register, 63, 304.
™IUd., 63, 389.
7«7&tU, 63, 389.
77 Kennedy, Early Days of Mormonism, 222.
78 The work is entitled, History of the Saints : or an Expo86 of Joe Smith
and Mormonism, (Boston, 1842.)
7» Kennedy, Early Days of Mormonism, 222.
80 Gregg, The Prophet of Palmyra, 189.
[232]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 519'
mons. Extremely poor when they arrived in Illinois, owing
to the fact that they had been dragged about from place ta
place and robbed of their goods either by unbelievers or by the
elders of the church in attempts to accumulate property for
their own personal benefit, the Mormons had gained in wealth so
rapidly that their honesty was questioned.
The doctrines of the church did not support theft but they
did teach that, sooner or later, the goods of the Gentiles were
to fall into the hands of the Saints.81 Since they 'were the true
children of the Lord to whom belonged the earth and its rich-
ness, it was only just and proper that the Mormons should ap-
propriate such portions as were deemed necessary.82 Such were
the allegations of their critics.
Out of fairness to that part of the Mormon population of
Nauvoo which believed in the church and tried to live moral
lives it must be said that probably a large number of the thefts
committed were the work of a class of horse-thieves, house-
breakers and villains who gathered in Nauvoo that they might
cloak their deeds in mystery.83 This class cared nothing for re-
ligion and were baptised that they might find refuge in the city,
for refuge 'was given to all claiming a part in the church.
"When stolen property was traced to Nauvoo, which was often
the case, neither the owner nor even officers of the law were
able to recover it. Pursuers were set at defiance within the
Mormon stronghold, often robbed of their horses and driven,
out of the city with insults1.84 Because of this protection it
was not long until thefts were committed in broad daylight
before the eyes of the farmers themselves who were powerless to
prevent depredations.
Moreover, it was charged that Nauvoo harbored a nest of
counterfeiters who operated in the surrounding county.85 Specie
alone would be taken at the government land offices in payment
for lands. These men would on occasions load their bogus
/Ottt. i 1
82 Letter of Henrietta C. Jones in Storied of the Pioneer Mothers of Illinois/^ J T6"
(M88. in 111. Hist. Library.)
63 Gunnison, The History of the Mormons, 116.
** Niles' Register, 69, 110.
85 New York Weekly Tribune, Jan. 5, 1846.
[233]
520 BULLETIN- OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
coin into a wagon, cover it with light articles of merchandise to
give the outfit the appearance of a peddler's wagon, and proceed
into land districts where specie was in demand. There they
would trade off their coin for paper money. Tales of the
" spiritual- wife" doctrine were also afloat in the country, which
supported by the expose of Bennett added fuel to the fire.
Even this list of grievances shows but in part the reason for
the downfall of the Church of Mormon in Illinois. Jealousy,
rivalry and dissension within the church itself at last opened
the road, by means of which the final expulsion took place. A
new church with William Law as President was established
during the spring of 1844.86 Not satisfied with this move Law,
with the faction, decided to establish a newspaper in the strong-
hold of Mormonism with the avowed purpose of making an at-
tack upon the leaders of the church. Accordingly on June 7
of the same year, the Nauvoo Expositor appeared, bearing the
motto, "The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the
truth."87 It boldly attacked Smith and his associates for im-
morality. The first issue was the last, for on the tenth of the
month the city council declared the Expositor a nuisance and
the city marshal at the head of the police force destroyed the
press, while the editors fled from the city making appeals to the
laws of the state for redress.88
The action of the Mormon authorities was construed as an
attack upon free speech, liberty of the press and the right of
private property,89 and writs for the arrest of Joseph Smith
and others were secured at Carthage, the county seat of Hancock
county.90 Officers were sent to make the arrests but after they
were effected the constable of Nauvoo produced a writ of habeas
corpus sworn out before the municipal court of the city and
compelled the release of the prisoners.91 Feeling against the
Mormons ran high and many of them foreseeing serious trouble
86 Gregg, The Prophet of Palmyra, 237.
"Kennedy, Early Days of Mormonism, 234.
MAmberley, The Latter Day Saints In Fortnightly Review, 12, 527; Nile?
Register, 66, 278.
88 Kennedy, Early Days of Mormonism, 234.
«>Niles' Register, 6tt, 278.
81 Kennedy, Early Days of Mormonism, 239.
[234]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLHSTOIS, 1830-50 521
left the city. Joseph Smith placed the city under martial law,
while armed bands of Gentiles formed throughout the country
enrolled under the sheriff's orders, ready to march upon Nau-
voo.92
Here Governor Ford interfered. Coming to Carthage he
sent a message to the prophet demanding an explanation of the
trouble. Smith went in person to Carthage to make his defence
and was bound over, together with the members of the Nauvoo
city council, to appear at the following term of court. Almost
immediately after the hearing, the prophet with three followers
was arrested upon the charge of treason and thrown into jail.93
Rumors were afloat that an attempt would be made to rescue
the prisoners, and, to frustrate this plan, an entrance was forced
into the jail by a party of militia-men and both the Smiths were
murdered.94
The Mormons in Nauvoo feared a general attack upon their
city, wh'ile a panic spread through Carthage. In two hours the
town was deserted. Men, women and children, all fearing
Mormon vengeance fled on foot, on horseback and in wagons.95
The shock was too great for the Mormons and they made no
attempt to take vengeance.96 Nine men were indicted, charged
with the murder of the Smiths but were acquitted after trial.97
The Mormon power, although it had received a severe blow,
was not broken. Brigham Young took up the reins of govern-
ment and Nauvoo gave promise of prosperity but another setback
was experienced almost immediately. The August election had
resulted in the success of the Mormon ticket in Hancock county
and officials obnoxious to the Gentiles were elected.98 The pre-
vious September had seen a body of resolutions passed by the
citizens of the county stating that they would refuse to obey
officers elected by the Mormons.99 This was followed in June,
1844, by another act, passed by the citizens of Warsaw, being
«*Nlles> Register, 66, 278.
83 Kennedy, Early Days of Mormonism, 240-242.
M Wiles' Register, 66, 311.
95 Gregg, The Prophet of Palmyra, 280.
Mtfiles' Register, 66, 329.
97 Gregg, The Prophet of Palmyra, 298.
88 /bid., 320.
Register, 65, 70.
[235]
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524 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVEKSITY OF WISCONSIN
several on each side,116 the Mormons surrendered and agreed to
leave the state at once.117
Nauvoo was now abandoned save for the lone Mormon agent
who remained in charge of the property,118 wistfully looking
for purchasers or tenants, and waiting for any possible answer
to the following advertisement :
"Temple for Sale.
The undersigned Trustees of the Latter Day Saints propose to
sell the Temple on very low terms, if an early application is
made. The Temple is admirably designed for Literary or Re-
ligious purposes. Address the undersigned Trustees.
Almon W. Babbitt,
Joseph L. Heywood,
John S. Fullmer.
Nauvoo, May 15, 1846. "119
To Illinois, the expulsion of this sect seems to have been a
blessing, for peace and quiet had for years been almost unknown
in that portion of the state lying around the Mormon strong-
hold. Of the four religious or communistic settlements in Ill-
inois this one alone was not welcome, and alone of all was not
allowed to work out its o'wn destiny unmolested. One reason
may be assigned. The people of the state firmly believed the
Mormons nothing more than a band of impostors and rascals.
"While the Mormon settlement in Illinois is an exceptional case
in the settlement of the state it can be considered as a phase
of the westward expansion. It is an example of a body of
religious enthusiasts attempting to find a place on the frontier
where they could put into operation their social and religious
views.
Originating in western New York which was a hot-bed for
religious excitement, the followers moved to Ohio, then to Mis-
souri, then to Illinois and finally to the far West. Smith was
born in Windsor county, Vermont, and moved to New York in
1815. The people among whom he found himself were ex-
116 tiles' Register, 71, 64.
117 Warsaw Signal, Oct. 13, 1846.
118 Hillquit, History of Socialism in the United States, 129.
«• Nauvoo New Citizen, Feb. 24, 1847.
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 525
tremely religious and superstitious. Prophecies and miracles
were believed in and the Bible accepted literally making the
state a natural field for wild religious speculation. "With in-
creased converts came the vision of a community devoting itself
entirely to the teachings of the Book of Mormon. The frontier
was the natural place for such a community to work out its
destiny and a home was sought, first in Ohio, then in Missouri
and then in Illinois.
However free the life and thought of the "West might be it
could not be brought to agree with or even, at last, to allow the
exercise of views which seemed to be pernicious and destructive
to religious and social order. The expulsion of the Mormons
from Missouri and from Illinois shows another pioneer char-
acteristic yet in the early stages of development. It was one
of the first signs of "border ruffianism" which was developed
so rapidly in the Kansas struggle of the next decade. In this
early stage the characteristic displayed was the beginning of the
intolerant spirit towards a disliked institution. The expulsion
was arbitrary; it was done simply because of antagonism and
while Mormon ideals, beliefs and customs can in no way be sup-
ported, the action of the citizens of the states is open to con-
demnation.
In some ways the city of the Mormons followed the general
tendency and laws of development of western towns. Situated
on a convenient transportation line and having a good back
country to draw upon, it was bound to grow should external
conditions not hinder. The development cannot, however, be
attributed to natural causes at work in the western country;
but it must be attributed to an immigration growing under
fanatical religious pressure and here again Nauvoo is the ex-
ception in westward expansion. Aside from the desire of a
body of people to 'work out a social, communistic and religious
experiment near the frontier line, the Mormon colony is not
typical in the western movement.
[239]
£26 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
COMMUNISTIC SETTLEMENTS IN ILLINOIS
Before the Mormons were driven from Illinois, another inter-
esting community was established within the bounds' of the
state. The newcomers were followers of the French socialist,
.Fourier, and were putting to a practical test the theory ad-
vanced by this man. The workings and life of the two settle-
ments founded in Illinois seem to have attracted but little at-
tention and almost nothing is known of the communities save
that one of them numbering over one hundred members existed
for a year and a half in Sangamon county. Of the earlier ex-
periment in Bureau county nothing is known.
Fourier, the father of the theory, founded his philosophy of
human relations to God, the world and fellowmen upon the basis
of harmony. God created the universe on an harmonious plan,
hence harmony was the keynote of all things. "Within each
•person certain instincts and passions predominate and where-
ever these passions and instincts were properly developed for
the good of society, there the ideal state was to be found.
For the proper development of the Phalanx, the basic unit
•of the system, three square miles of land were necessary upon
which was to be built the Palace or common house. Every-
thing was held in common and division of labor was highly
developed. Farmers, capitalists, scientists and artists all had
their spheres of employment. To each laborer a fixed sum was
paid according to the amount of work he did and according to
his ability. All profits went to a common fund. All children
received equal instruction and from earliest childhood were
trained for the Phalanx according to their inclination.1
Hillquit, History of Socialism in the United States, 85.
[240]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 527
Practical tests of these dreams were made and, through the
efforts of Albert Brisbane, Fourierism was introduced into the
United States.2 Societies were formed in Massachusetts, New
York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, "Wisconsin,
Michigan and Illinois. As a rule they were shortlived affairs
and the ones in Illinois were no exception to the rule.
Bureau county was the scene of the first experiment in Ill-
inois. No definite information is obtainable concerning the
number of members, the amount of land held by the society
or the length of life of the community. It had its beginning
in 1843 and was apparently a venture 'which met with no suc-
cess.3
Two years later the Integral Phalanx began its life in San-
gamon county, a few miles from Springfield. The settlement
had one hundred and twenty members and owned over five
hundred , acres of land. Five or six buildings were erected
upon the land besides the large central building which was a
two-story structure, three hundred and sixty feet long and
twenty-four feet wide.4
In actual life this community, while intending ultimately to
follow out Fourier's idea in its details, does not seem to have
conformed to the established rules during the early days of its
existence. A correspondent to the New York Tribune wrote
that "until the members were prepared to organize they in-
tended to operate on a system of hired labor and pay each in-
dividual a full compensation for all assistance rendered in labor
or other services and charge each a fair price for 'what he re-
ceived from the common store house of the Phalanx. "What
remained to each individual was then credited to him as stock
and drew ten per cent, compound interest."5 A further evi-
dence that the community was never thoroughly organized as a
Phalanx operating upon a communistic basis is found in the
same article, for the correspondent says; "It is better that the
different families should remain separate for five years than
2 ma., 87.
8 Hinds, American Communities, 224.
* New York Weekly Tribune, Nov. 15, 1845.
* Ibid.
16 [241]
528 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
to bring them together under circumstances worse than civil-
ization." The venture lasted but seventeen months.6 Prob-
ably only the more enthusiastic members moved away to similar
settlements in other places, the others remaining to take advan-
tage of the excellent farming country.
Next in order of time came the Swedish colony at Bishop Hill
in Henry county. It 'was both religious and communistic in
character.
In Sweden no one was allowed to worship excepting accord-
ing to forms of the established Lutheran church. In 1825 a
split came in the church. A new sect composed of peasants and
a few of the clergy, and known as the Devotionalists arose hi
the province of Helsingland.7 For seventeen years these De-
votionalists, under the guidance of their highly respected leader
Jonas Olson, assembled unmolested to read their Bibles, still
enjoying their privileges as full members of the Established
Church.8 The work of the Devotionalists was commendable
for it tended towards furthering industry and sobriety among
the peasant class whose morals had been very low.
Eric Jansen, who was also the head of a dissenting sect now
(1842) appeared upon the scene, speaking with great effect to
various assemblages of Devotionalists. The Jansonists had been
cast out of the Established Church in 1834 and from that time
had been subjected to persecutions by the orthodox party.9
Jansen had been imprisoned but escaped through Norway to
Denmark and thence to New York.10
A large number of Swedes having now become dissatisfied
with the state of religious affairs in their native land resolved
to emigrate. The Jansonists included many among their num-
ber Who were miners and poor peasants unable to bear the ex-
pense of a voyage to America. To remedy this, the idea of
making the colony communistic was conceived and carried out.11
A messenger sent in 1845 to seek a place suitable for a colony,
9 Hinds, American Communities, 224.
i Mikkelsen, The Bishop Hill Colony, In Johns Hopkins Univ. Studies, 10, 15.
»IUd., 24.
10 Nelson, Scandinavians in the United States, 2, 2-3.
11 Mikklesen, The Bishop Hill Colony, in Johns Hopkins Univ. Studies, 1O, 27.
[242]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 529
upon arriving in New York, was directed to Victoria, Knox
county, Illinois. A satisfactory location having been found
and the news conveyed to Sweden, preparations for departure
were completed.
In the early summer of 1846 between four and five hundred
emigrants12 set sail from Sweden, landing at New York where
they were met by Eric Jansen, who acted as their conductor to
Illinois. The scant means of the party were almost exhausted
upon landing and as they were still far from their destination
a serious problem confronted them. It is said that some of the
men traveled the whole distance from New York on foot while
the (women and children were sent by way of the Erie canal
and the Great Lakes to Chicago. From Chicago to Henry
county (the destination having been changed from Knox county
owing to the reported unhealthful climate of that place) all
excepting the weakly, women and children journeyed on foot,
a distance of more than one hundred miles.13
The Harbinger in speaking of the party as it left Chicago
in September, 1846, says that on the faces of these immigrants
there were expressions of patient, intelligent endurance. "They
were not bowed down with weakness and care like the French
and Italian emigrants, nor stern and stolid like the newly arrived
Germans, nor wild and vehement like many of the Irish — they
walked erect and firm, looking always hopeful and contented
though very serious, ' ' and the greatest gentleness and good will
prevailed among them.14 When they arrived in Henry county
they purchased land and named their new home Bishop Hill in*
honor of the birth place of Jansen.15
It could not be said that their lives were happy during the
first winter in Illinois. They lived in several log houses, two
tents and a dozen "dug-outs."16 Their fare was no better than
their lodgings — pork with bread baked from the cornmeal ground
by their mill furnished their food. When the stream which
12 Nelson, Scandinavians in the United States, 2, 2-3 ; Bigelow, The Bishop
Hill Colony in the 111. Hist. Society Transactions (1902), 101-108.
13 Hinds, American Communities, 303.
14 The Harbinger, 3, 257.
15 Hinds, American Communities, 303.
16 Nelson, Scandinavians in the United States, 2, 3.
[243]
530 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
turned the mill wheel could not be used, the work was done by
two or three men. Scanty fare and poorly ventilated apart-
ments soon brought on disease and the new settlers were either
shaking with ague or burning with fever. Cholera appeared
and a score died, while many fled to escape this scourge.17
During 1847 four hundred more arrived and by the close of
the following year there were 1,200 in the settlement.18 Cholera
broke out again in 1849 and checked immigration.19
Like the Puritans the first thoughts of the Swedish settlers
were for a church and a school. A large tent20 (some say a
log structure)21 was erected for divine services. In summer
the meetings were held in the open air. A. mud cave at first
answered the purpose of a school house.22
During the first year at Bishop Hill the colonists divided
their waking hours between labor and worship save the time
when they gathered around the common tables. "At five in
the winter and four in the summer the bell summoned them to
their morning devotions which sometimes lasted two hours."23
Sometimes at noon and after the evening meal services were
again held. A school of theology was instituted and young
men after studying the English language a few months, were
sent forth to convert the United States and the world.24 Their
success was moderate, the Yankees being especially hard to
convert since they were "too busy inventing bad clocks and
peddling cheap tinware to listen to what the missionaries had
to say."25
Farming was carried on extensively and was well done.28
Thousands of acres of land were cultivated and hundreds of
cattle and horses went to make up the wealth of the settlement.271
17 Hinds, American Communities, 305.
18 Bigelow, The Bishop Hill Colony in the 111. Hist. Society Transactions
(1902), 101-108; Niles' Register, 7O, 260; gives the population as 1,100.
18 Bigelow, The Bishop Hill Colony in the 111. Hist. Society Transactions
(1902), 101-108.
*> Hinds, American Communities, 305.
71 Nelson, Scandinavians in the United States, 2, 3.
a Hinds, American Communities, 305.
» IUd., 306.
w Nelson, Scandinavians, in the United States, 2, 4.
» Mikklesen, The Bishop Hill Colony in Johns Hopkins Univ. Studies, 10, 31.
m Nelson, Scandinavians in the United States, 2, 4.
37 Hinds, American Communities, 310.
[244]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 531
Men, women, boys and girls alike worked in the fields.28 Flax
and broom corn were produced, and as many of the colonists had
been expert weavers in their native land they pursued the in-
dustry in their new homes.29 Sawmills were erected and fur-
nished an abundance of lumber.30 The manufacture of kiln-
dried bricks became one of the industries.31
By 1850, when the greatest prosperity of the colony began,
nearly every province of Sweden was represented at Bishop
Hill, which was, at that time, by far the most populous and im-
portant settlement in Henry county.32 Between $10,000 and
$15,000 in gold had been put into circulation by these Swedes
in purchasing land and the necessaries of life, which, since trade
in the section of the state was being carried on almost entirely
by barter, was a matter of no little importance to the people.33
Dissension finally arose within the colony and culminated in
the murder of Jansen in 1850.34 As has been stated the Bishop
Hill settlement was communistic in character and the wealth
of the colony which was held in common was controlled by
seven trustees who held office subject to the approval of the
male members of the colony.35 The common dining hall, where
the whole community numbering more than a thousand were
fed, was a feature distinctly communistic.36 The trustees were
provided for by a charter granted to the colony by the legisla-
ture of Illinois in 1853. Two years later financial entangle-
ments due to unsuccessful speculation by the trustees caused
the dissolution of the colony,37 and here ended perhaps the most
successful experiment among the communistic settlements of
Illinois.
In the closing years of the decade 1841-1850 another social
experiment was begun on the site of the Mormon city, Nauvoo.
28 Ibid., 307.
29 Nelson, Scandinavians in the United States, 2, 4.
™IMd., 4.
81 Hinds, American Communities, 310.
32 Mikkiesen, The Bishop Hill Colony in Johns Hopkins Univ. Studies, 1O, 36.
33 IMd.
84 Bremer, The Homes of the New World, 2, 67-70.
85 Hinds, American Communities, 311.
™Tbid., 310.
37 Nelson, Scandinavians in the United States, 2, 6.
[245]
532 snxETix OF THE L-NIVIIBSITY OF wiscoxsrs
The founder was M. JEtigupp Qahpt, a Frenchman, whose child-
hood had been passed during the stormy days of the French
Revolution and whose youth had witnessed the struggle of
France in her vain endeavor to satisfy the ambition of Napo-
leon. It is scarcely to be wondered at that this man who was
one of some ability as a statesman and a writer should have
conceived a plan by means of which he thought to correct the
corrupt organization of society. . The abolition of self-interest
and selfishness must, he believed, be effected; common owner-
ship of property must be established; freedom of religion must
be tolerated; women must be given the same social rights as
men and equality be made the basis of society.38
These communistic doctrines met with much support among
the common people of France but not with the higher classes.
Not only were the French interested but other nationalities and
in foreign countries the better classes of artisans seemed to be
the ones most in favor of Cabet's teachings.*9 By the Social-
istic paper La Populaire, Cabet's ideas were disseminated
among the artisans of Germany. Spain. Italy and Switzerland —
everywhere that the French language could be read. By 1848
some 400,000 people adhered to the Icarian doctrine.40
Owing to the fact that it was not generally accepted in France,
Cabet decided to move to America and establish his settlement
there. Thousands who wished to go had not the means, so
sixty-nine were chosen as a vanguard, from among those who
could afford to make the voyage, and in February, 1848, they
left Havre bound for New Orleans.41 Fifteen hundred were
soon to follow, but upon the establishment of the Second Repub-
lic in 1848 it seemed as if better days were coming in France,
and the greater part of those intending to leave for America
changed their plans and remained at home. Later in the year
four hundred came.42 The destination of the colony was Texas4*
but H was not long before the dream of a community farm of
> Reynolds, Illinois, 374.
'Robinson, A Soetal Experiment in The Open Court, Aug. 28, 1890.
'Aft
'Hinds, American Communities, 328.
[246]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-60 533
a million acres in that state faded away under a series of hard-
ships too severe for the people to stand. On January 1, 1849,
Cabet landed in New Orleans.44 The colony now consisted of
four hundred and eighty souls with an average capital of
thirty-five dollars per individuaL45
The Texas venture was a failure. Some were discouraged
and gave up;46 others remained firm, determined to carry out
their original plan of a colony based upon a proper social
structure. Exploring parties were sent out to seek a more
favorable location and Nauvoo was selected.47 Brigham Young
when he had organized the migration to Salt Lake had left the
Mormon property at Xauvoo in the hands of an agent who re-
mained waiting for a purchaser. This was an excellent op-
portunity for the Icarians. since the land was well cultivated
and there were good houses all of which could be obtained at a
nominal figure. Eight hundred acres of land were rented and
a mill, distillery and several houses were purchased.48 Here,
dispirited and homesick as they were, the Icarians attempted
to carry out their ideas of a reorganized social life, as well as
circumstances would allow.
A constitution was drawn up setting forth the fundamentals
of governmental and social structure. The idea was to replace
the old world by a new one; to supplant the rule of Satan by
the rule of God ; moral death by regeneration ; ignorance by edu-
cation; domination and servitude by enfranchisement and lib-
erty; aristocracy by democracy; and monarchy by republican-
ism. Furthermore, they desired to replace excessive opulence
of a few by the well-being of all; to substitute a religion of
reason which would induce men to love each other, for religions
mixed with superstition, intolerance and fanaticism; to adopt a
social organization in which the word "society** would no
longer be mockery and falsehood; to replace individual prop-
erty, the source of all abuse, by social property; to purify the
institutions of marriage and family by educating women as
*» Robinson. A Social Experiment in The Open Camrt, Aug. 28, 1890.
«• Reynolds, /f*tj»oi», 372.
" Robinson, A 8ocM Erjmrimfnt In The Open Court, Aug. 28, 1890; Miller,
Mrs. J. G.. Tike Jearira Commmmity of ITavroo, IBmoi* in lYmuaettoM aC tte
Illinois State Historical Society, (1906).
45 Hillqnit, History of SorMim t» the United State*, 129.
[247]
534 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
well as men and allowing them unrestricted choice in the selec-
tion of husbands, and finally to base all upon liberty, equality
and fraternity.49
Unity, solidarity, equality and respect of law 'were to be per-
fected by having all live as one family, assuming mutual re-
sponsibility, suppressing servitude and submitting to the rule
of the majority. The exercise of natural liberty should extend
to the right of defense from attack, social liberty should not be
exercised beyond the law while political liberty consisted in as-
sisting to make laws. The fundamental guiding principle was to
be found in the maxim "Love thy neighbor as thyself."50
All male members over twenty-one years of age were allowed
to take an active part in the government. All branches of so-
ciety were under the supervision of committees and education
was given special attention, for in the younger generation Cabet
hoped to see the realization of his ideals of social and govern-
mental structure, and the children were educated accordingly
by the community, living together as a single family.
The everyday life of the community was simple but inter-
esting. Each member worked according to his strength, labor-
ing ten hours a day. On Sunday lectures were given on moral
and religious subjects; dancing and the enjoyment of nature
were indulged in during the day while theaters and concerts
were held in the evening. The business of the community was
discussed on Saturday evening.51
The industry of the members, their peaceful and orderly
habits caused them to be esteemed by their American neighbors.
They were a sociable and intellectual people living a better life
than could have been lived under a system of individualism and
they formed a pleasant contrast to the people who had occupied
the site of their colony only a few years before.
Financial troubles, however, at last caused dissension and
numbered the Icarian community among the failures of social-
istic experiments. The colony divided, part going with Cabet
to St. Louis and the remainder to Iowa.52
*» Charter and By-Laws of the Icarian Community, 7-8.
50 Ibid., 9-16.
51 Reynolds, Illinois, 376.
B2~Rol)inson, A Social Experiment in The Open Court, Sept. 11, 1890.
[248]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 535"
There "were a number of smaller colonies in the state based
upon plans of a more or less communistic nature. In the Ill-
inois river valley53 were the Tremont, Delavan and Mackinaw
colonies in Tazewell county and the Rockwell colony in La Salle
county; in the Military Tract54 there were the Andover, "Weth-
ersfield and Geneseo colonies in Henry county, the Hampshire
and Providence colonies in Bureau county and Gale's colony
in Knox county; in Eastern Illinois55 there were the Rhode
Island and Hudson colonies in McLean county, the German
colony at Teutopolis, Effingham county, the French Colonie des
Freres in Jasper county and Noel Vasseur's Canadian colony
at Bourbonnais, Kankakee county.
It was generally the plan of the organizers of these colonies
to form stock companies, purchase land and allot tracts of it
to the members of the companies in proportion to the amount
of stock held.56 Some of the colonies were chartered by the
state.57 Often a common house was erected by the company
for the accommodation of the settlers until homes could be pro-
vided for the families.58
These colonies may be taken as a phase of the westward move-
ment which seems to have appealed particularly to New Eng-
landers and New York. There had been, since earliest times,,
a desire among New Englanders to live in compact settlements.
From political and religious instincts the earliest settlers in'
New England clung closely together. This tendency was
strengthened by Indian wars and physiographic influences.
It appears that, although many New Englanders came west
alone trusting to individual efforts to establish homes in the
new country, there was also a distinct movement to settle in
53 See Ch. IV. for details of settlement and growth.
M Ch. V.
w Ch. VIII.
56 The Delavan company had a capital of $44,000 and held 23,000 acres of
land (ch., IV.) ; the Wethersfleld colony had a capital of $25,000 and held 20,-
000 acres of land (cJi., V) ; the Rhode Island colony had a capital of $12,500
(ch., VIII) ; the Providence colony held 17,000 acres (ch., V) ; the German colony
at Teutopolis held 10,000 acres (ch., VIII) ; and the French colony in Jaeper
county had 12,000 acres (ch., VIII).
"The Rhode Island Colony in McLean county was chartered by the state of
Illinois (ch. VIII).
58 The Providence colony (ch., V), the Delavan and Mackinaw colonies all-
provided common houses (ch., IV).
[249]
536 BULLETIN" OF THE UNIVEESITY OF WISCONSIN
colonies. From New York, also, similar attempts were made,
but when one remembers that western New York was settled
by New Englanders shortly after the Revolution, an explanation
may be found in the New England origin of the New Yorkers.
Probably many of these colonies which were planned in the
thirties are due to the spirit of speculation which was rife in
the country at the time. It is equally true that the financial
difficulties of the closing years of that decade brought many of
these ventures to an untimely end. Still another idea may have
been in the minds of the promoter's. The great prairies of the
West could hardly be occupied successfully by individuals but
with the concerted efforts of numbers it seemed that success
could be obtained. Occasionally religion played a part in the
birth of new colonies but it appears that the religious and social
influences acted more strongly in those ventures which foreign-
ers attempted.
In the cases of the Phalanx and of Icaria can be seen an in-
teresting phase of the westward expansion. These were at-
tempts by a number of enthusiasts to put into operation cer-
tain social ideals which they held. The frontier, or at least
the new western country, was the most favorable place for these
experiments, for here the members believed they could work
out their plans unhampered. Illinois was still enough of a
frontier state to allow the greatest possible social freedom and
yet it lacked the dangers of the extreme frontier.
The followers of Fourier were quiet, peaceful agriculturists
who preached no doctrine harmful to society and they were con-
sequently allowed to remain undisturbed, being regarded by the
people of Illinois as a band of dreamers1, who sooner or later
would see the weakness of their beliefs and abandon them.
In the Icarian community is found an excellent example of
a democratic government combined with pure communism in
property. When one examines the difficulties which confronted
the Icarians, and remembers that the members of the commun-
ity were only average Frenchmen endowed with ordinary traits
of human nature he will see that even though these people tried
earnestly to live more equal, unselfish, altruistic lives they had
embarked upon a difficult enterprise. Moreover, when it is
[250]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 537
remembered that the colony was composed chiefly of artisans
from the French cities, rather than people of the farming class,
and that they were totally ignorant of American customs, lan-
guage, laws and business it may be wondered at that the colony
attained the degree of success which it did. Besides there was
no religious sentiment to spur on the members to success as was
the case in the Bishop Hill settlement.
The Bishop Hill colony, primarily religious in character, de-
veloped, through necessity, into a communistic experiment.
Upon arriving in Illinois, circumstances further developed com-
munistic traits. Being from a foreign land and being un-
familiar with American customs and forms of government, these
newcomers felt that they were strangers, and being attached
to the customs of their native land they continued to enjoy them.
Moreover, in the new country there was, owing to the lack of
transportation facilities, little opportunity for contact with the
outer world. Agriculture was the chief industry, but with the
manufacture of cloth, lumber and other necessaries and with
the establishment of a college in connection with their church
and school, the settlers made their community nearly self-suf-
ficing. The common kitchen and dining-room and the super-
vision of all business by trustees were important communistic
features. The log houses and ' ' dug-outs ' ' for abodes ; the meals
of pork and corn bread; the attacks of fever and ague, all show
the frontier characteristics of the colony.
In some respects the Bishop Hill colony differed from the other
settlements of the same general class. The members attempted no
new social organization as did the Icarians or the followers of
Fourier, neither were they, like the Mormans, attempting to es-
tablish a new religion, but they were, like the Puritan fathers,
fugitives' from their native land attempting to worship as they
wished in a new country. The communism practiced was not
based upon a theory but was merely the outgrowth of existing
circumstances and the desire of the well-to-do to aid the more
unfortunate ones.
[251]
538 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OP WISCONSIN
CHAPTER XIV
THE PRAIRIE PIONEER
So far in the march of the frontiersmen to'vvard the "West, the-
way had been blazed by the hunter-pioneer type. The woods-
men from Kentucky and Tennessee, impelled by an increasing
desire to claim new lands had, by sheer force pushed the frontier
line slowly towards the western horizon. Behind this class
of settlers came another which moved more slowly and which
for a time seemed to be outstripped in the race for new lands.
Small farmers composed the class. They were not constantly
changing their locations but rather were content to remain in
one place until they could dispose of their farms with some
profit. By 1830, therefore, the frontier line of the farmers was
far in the rear of that of the woodsman.
Physiography, however, caused the two classes to meet and
oppose each other in the state of Illinois. Bounded on the south
by the Ohio river, the highway of the hunter-pioneer from the
Southwest; and covered by a network of streams on whose
banks were groves of hard wood, Illinois was first sought by
the pioneers from Kentucky and Tennessee. Slowly, at first,
these groves were taken up, but by the early twenties1 the San-
gamon country had been reached and soon the valley of the
Illinois was the site of hunters' cabins. It seems that a part
of the wave of frontiersmen, which was crossing the valley of
the Mississippi, paused, turned northward and followed the
line of the Illinois river towards the prairies.
By 1830 the noise of the southern axe and the crack of the
southern rifle were heard along northern Illinois rivers, but
before the decade was two years old the outbreak of Black
[252]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 539
Hawk's warriors drove even the most venturesome back to the
stronger settlements of the south. The re-occupation of the
territory was slow, the advance cautious and the volume of the
stream from the South slight. An improvement in transpor-
tation facilities now took place which gave the agricultural
settlers an advantage in the westward movement, and by open-
ing a line of direct communication with the East, allowed the
farmer to compete with the hunter for the first occupation of
northern Illinois.
Boats of any considerable size were few on the Great Lakes
and few indeed, at first, were the immigrants who came to Ill-
inois by the lake route. The advent of steam navigation brought
a flood of settlers from the East. Yankees and New Yorkers,
despised by the men of the Southwest, were poured upon the
prairies of Illinois and took up the woodlands coveted by the
Kentuckians and Tennesseeans before the latter could recover
the ground lost in the Black Hawk War. Consequently, a bound-
ary was placed to the activity of the hunter-pioneer in Illinois.
So far in the movement of settlement across the continent the
large farmer had followed in the wake of the hunter and the
small farmer, buying up the clearings of the latter, extending
their limits and devoting himself to intensive cultivation.
Navigation of the lakes by steam reversed the order of things
and the man twho was formerly in the rear guard of this army
of occupation was now in the front ranks. In the sense of
making clearings for cultivation he was not a pioneer, for nature
had already made clearings on a scale so vast that the settlers
who wished to take advantage of them must of necessity become
the pathfinders in the solution of the new problem which con-
fronted the advancing frontier. A direct line of water com-
munication with the East, therefore, confronted the best New
England stock, and the substantial men of the Middle States
with the question of the occupancy of the prairie. In short,
northern Illinois did not go through the ordinary evolution -
which marks the growth of settlement in the wooded sections
of the West, for the permanent occupants of the soil were the
first occupants.
At the opening of the period, 1831-1850, the great prairies
[253]
540 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
which extended over central, eastern and northern Illinois,
were scarcely marked by improvements save on the southern
and western bounds, and then only to a very limited degree.
The hunter-pioneer had shunned them, firmly believing that ow-
ing to many disadvantages they never would be settled.1 This
belief is only a repetition of the prophecy of Monroe, made half
a century before, when he said, "the districts . . . will
never contain a sufficient number of inhabitants to entitle them
to membership in the confederacy."2
Inviting as were the prairies in appearance, there was a sense
of vastness connected 'with them which seemed to overpower the
observer, leaving on him an impression of greatness which could
not be subdued. They offered a new problem for the pioneer
to solve and of necessity he was compelled to approach it cau-
tiously at first.
Thus far the settler in Illinois had by dint of hard work
cleared small tracts of land on the borders of the rivers, erected
his cabin and planted a crop of grain, trusting that from small
beginnings he would, in time, be able to widen the limits of
his clearing to more respectable dimensions. "Wood and water
he had in abundance and where these were lacking he thought
was no fit habitation for man. Moreover, the timber always
proved a welcome protection from the icy winds of winter and
the myriads of flies in the summer.3
Timber was scarce on the prairies and what little there was,
was grouped along the river courses leaving vast stretches of
country without shade. Here and there stood a bunch of
scrubby oaks, sometimes interspersed with rough and stunted
pine and black walnut, hazel brush and long tough grass. From
appearances the settlers reasoned that the sterility of the soil
was responsible for such lack of development in the timber and
the name "barrens" was given to such lands.
The water supply, too, was a most serious objection to any
attempt to cultivate the prairies. In some places the land was
low and swampy and required draining. Fever and ague at-
1 Personal Recollection^ of John M. Palmer, 12.
2 Monroe, Writings, 1, 117.
8 Henderson, History of the Sangamon Country, 174.
[254]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS,, 1830-50 541
tacked the settlers in these parts of the prairie and proved a
great drawback to settlement.4 In other places running water
was exceedingly scarce — so scarce that it would necessitate dig-
ging wells should the settler desire to keep any stock.5
Necessity, however, caused expansion and practically forced
the first stream of settlers out upon the prairies. The earli-
est arrivals had very naturally taken up their abode on the edge
of the timber, appropriating a certain amount of it for use in
building cabins, out-houses and fences. The later comers could
do but one of two things, either move farther west where all the
timber was not taken, or move on to the prairie, going no far-
ther than circumstances compelled them.
The prairies improved upon acquaintance and gradually the
more venturesome cut loose from the woodlands and selected
the higher portions of the prairie but in doing so they were care-
ful to remain as near as possible to a road. The fertility of the
soil abundantly repaid any additional labor necessary for the
hauling of fuel, rails or house timber. In some cases, fuel was
furnished by nature, for where timber failed, coal was often
found6 and could be mined at a small cost.7
Still, timber land was so highly prized by the settlers that it
would bring more money than a cultivated farm of prairie land.
The lack of timber was soon partially overcome, however, for
the settlers early began to experiment with young timber and
it did not take long to find out that within a comparatively
short time quite large trees could be gro'wn from seed.8
Reports of a climate severe in winter and productive of
epidemics in summer made many question the advisability of
emigrating thither. Although the climate of northern Illinois
seemed to be about the same as that in New England, on the
average, it was also subject to greater changes.9 The snow
4 Lewis, Impressions^ 277.
B New York Weekly Tribune, Aug. 30, 1848.
8 Harding, Tours Through the Western Country, 8.
''New York Weekly Tribune, Sept. 15, 1845, says the cost of coal was but
three cents per bushel. It also gives the price of land as follows : unimproved
prairie land, one and one-fourth to eight dollars per acre ; improved prairie land,
seven to twenty dollars per acre; and Improved timber land, eight to twenty
dollars per acre.
8 Jones, Illinois and the West, 35.
»New York Weekly Tribune, Aug. 30, 1848.
[255]
-542 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
did not fall in such quantities as in New England but the cold
was more intense and the winds which swept the prairies were
harder to bear in these exposed districts. Domestic animals
sometimes fell victims to the hard prairie winters10 and occa-
sionally some unfortunate person froze to death.11 It appears,
however, that such winters were exceptional and when one hap-
pened to be colder than usual it was recorded. The winter of
1830-31 was one long remembered in Illinois. Snow fell al-
most continuously from November until January, measuring in
some places twelve feet in depth.12 It was taken by many of
the old pioneers as a convenient event from which to reckon
time, showing that such severity of the climate was not by any
means a common thing.
All through the period during which emigration came in large
numbers to Illinois, a constant discussion was kept up as to
whether or not the climate was favorable to the health of the
settlers. So important was the question and so much effect did
the discussion have upon' travelers, newspaper men and writers
of emigrant guide books, that in many places comments are made
upon the general condition of health in the newly settled dis-
tricts.
An examination of the statements made by both sides reveal
the fact that there was a considerable amount of sickness in the
new settlements and the older ones which were located along the
river valleys. One account says that in 1840 "at Oregon City
more than seven-eights of the inhabitants were sick at one time ;
•at Daysville and at Watertown in a population of ninety or
one hundred inhabitants not more than six or eight escaped;
and on the Illinois and Mississippi rivers hundreds were sick
and many more died in proportion to the number of inhabi-
tants than on Rock River."13 This is later modified by another
writer who, while he admits that in the early days on Rock River
there was much sickness, says that, ' ' Since that time the mortal-
ity of northern Illinois has ranged on a per cent, that would
contrast favorably with what are generally deemed the most
l« Illinois Monthly Magazine, 2, 100.
" A Winter in the West, 1, 202.
13 History of Greene County, 286.
•" The Neio Yorker, May 30, 1840.
[256]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 543
salubrious sections of the Union — the New England States."1*
It was generally conceded that those people who settled on the
higher portions of the prairies escaped the fevers and the ague
which infested the regions around the rivers and in the low
prairies. Exposure to hardships, lack of a comfortable habita-
tion, unwise selections of places for the building of houses, the
change of food15 and overwork16 caused as much sickness as did
unhealthful locations. In spite of adverse tales from the prairie
land and in spite of the distance from the eastern states and the
inconveniences and slowness of travel a continuous stream of set-
tlers spread over the prairies and began to build homes and to
till the land.
As was the case in southern Illinois, the first habitations of
the settlers were log cabins built close to the edge of the timber
for protection from the wind and that fuel and timber for
outbuildings and fences might be easily obtained. Generally
these cabins had but a single room, but occasionally two or even
three. Boards, shingles and puncheons were all made by the
settlers and, while rough, they answered the purpose very well.
Windows were few, most of the light coming in through the door
and chimney.
In early days lack of furniture and agricultural implements
was the rule, not the exception. One man came to begin life
in the new country with no other equipment than "a rifle gun
and fifty cents worth of powder and lead, a little scant bedding
and a skillet and piggin." Another had but a "straw tick, a
broken skillet, a bucket, a rifle-gun, a butcher knife and a steel-
yards."17 The prairie man needed more goods and since he
generally came by way of the lakes he could bring such furni-
ture and implements of agriculture as he needed.
Although log cabins were the first abodes of the prairie men
they were not satisfactory, neither did they last long, for as the
pioneers moved farther and farther from the timber the labor
of hauling logs grew greater, and other expedients seemed neces-
sary. Houses of a very comfortable kind could be built of clay
14 New York Weekly Tribune, Sept. 15, 1845.
15 Illinois Monthly Magazine, 2, 51.
"Albany Cultivator, 8, 53.
"History of Johnson County (Ind.), 330.
17 [257]
544
BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
and roofed with lumber at no very great expense, provided the
place was not too far removed from Chicago.18 In 1841 ordinary
lumber which cost from eight to thirteen dollars a thousand
in Chicago sold for fifty-five dollars a thousand in McDonough
county in the Military Tract.19
Transportation was the great expense and had to be over-
come, for the Yankee was not satisfied with mud cabins. He had
not lived in such dwellings in New England and therefore he
made strenuous efforts to increase his comforts. Lumber,
transported by way of the Great Lakes and hauled overland
from Chicago was too expensive, but lumber was necessary and
as a consequence saw mills were among the first improvements
in the new country. "With the advent of this industry the
change from log or mud cabins to more comfortable frame houses
was by no means slow. Small, at first, the houses of the settlers
grew as necessity required and wealth permitted.
=at After preparing a habitation, be it a mud cabin or a lumber
shanty, the next thing which the settler had to do was to pre-
pare some land upon which to raise a crop and here, too, was
a problem as difficult to solve as the erection of a dwelling.
True, there were no trees to clear away but there was a sod to
break which was so tough that it would yield to the plow but
slowly. Should the settler hire some one to do the breaking for
him the expense would be greater than the cost of the land
itself.20 If he did it himself the process was slow and laborious.
Operations were begun during the last days of April and finished
by the first of July,21 for the sod when turned over must have
time to rot or it would remain heavy and unproductive for two
or three years. At the first plowing it was customary to drop
corn in every second or third furrow, from which twenty or
thirty bushels to the acre were often gathered.22
Ox teams to the number of three, four, five or even six yokes
were used, hitched to a pair of cart wheels and these to a plow
"American Agriculturist, (1843), 15.
19 Chicago Weekly American, Sept. 21, 1841.
20 Marshall, Farmers' and Emigrants' Handbook, 403. Land cost one and one-
quarter dollars per acre; breaking cost one and one-half dollars per acre.
21 The Cultivator and Farmer (Albany), 1, 80.
22 American Agriculturist (1843), 8, 15.
[258]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 545
with a beam fourteen feet long and a share which weighed any-
where from sixty to one hundred and twenty-five pounds.23
The furrow cut measured from sixteen24 to thirty25 inches in
width, and from two to six in depth.26 Deep plowing was not
as satisfactory as the more shallow plowing, for in the latter
case the roots of the grass would rot more quickly.27 In some
cases, in order to hasten decomposition of the matted tangle of
roots, the land was cross-ploughed, but generally this was not
deemed necessary.
Estimates as to the amount of land which one of these large
"breaking teams" could plow in a day varies from one acre28
to two and one-fourth acres.29 When a team of horses was
used and a smaller plow, an acre was considered an average
day's work.30 Between eighty and one hundred acres could be
plowed in a season.31 . Generally, two or three seasons were
necessary to decompose the sod thoroughly and render the soil
light and loose enough to be turned readily by ordinary plows.
When the prairie man had broken his land, generally about
twenty-five acres, the first year, and had planted his crop of
corn, another problem presented itself. Fences were necessary
to protect the growing fields from the devastations of live stock.
When the farmer had access to timber the problem did not pre-
sent a difficult aspect, for a rail fence could be made with a
reasonable amount of labor, but when he was on the open prairie,
some twenty miles from timber, another solution had to be
found. Some firmly believed that any money spent on fencing
the prairies was money thrown away;32 but others persisted in
experimenting. Sod, picket, hedge, board and lastly wire were
tried.33 All kinds were expensive,34 however, with the exception
23 American Agriculturist (1843), 1, 15.
24 Ibid., 1, 15.
26 Madison Express, Dec. 1, 1841.
*• Albany Cultivator, 8, 80, or Cultivator and Farmer, 1, 80.
27 Ibid.
28 American Agriculturist (1843), 1, 15.
29 Prairie Farmer, (1847), 7, 140.
30 Albany Cultivator, (1840), 7, 80.
81 Prairie Farmer, (1847), 7, 140.
32 American Agriculturist (1843), 1, 370.
M Prairie Farmer, 6, paslsim.
34 Rail fence cost over one hundred and forty dollars a mile ; wire fence, one
hundred and fifty-six and one-hall dollars a mile ; board fence, one hundred and
eighty-two dollars a mile. Prairie Farmer, 8, 302.
[259]
546 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
of the hedge fence, and this 'was objectionable, owing to the
amount of grass and weeds growing up around it, and furnish-
ing food for the prairie fires.35
Prof. J. B. Turner of Illinois College experimented for some
time with various shrubs, hoping to find some one which would
solve the problem of fence for the prairie. After several fail-
ures he found the osage orange would answer the purpose very
well.36 Ditching, embanking and surmounting the embank-
ment by a three rail fence was also found to be satisfactory, and
was used to some extent,37 but it, like other fences tried, showed
a woeful lack of ability to keep the farmer's hogs out of his
•corn.
Only when wire was at last manufactured in large quantities
at a comparatively low price was the fence problem on the
prairie solved. Up to that time the prairie farmer was accus-
tomed to fence larger tracts of ground for cultivation and omit
partition fences, leaving all his fields in one. It was advised
that this method should be followed among neighbors, allowing
them the protection of large enclosing fences and relieving each
>of the expense of division fences.38 Often, instead of fencing
the cultivated portions of the farm, the order was reversed and
the stock was enclosed in pastures, leaving the fields open.39
Gophers and prairie chickens added materially to the troubles
of the prairie farmers, for they dug and scratched out newly
planted grain.40 Sometimes the ravages of these offenders
•necessitated the planting of a field as often as three times in a
season, and then the farmers would sometimes get only half a
crop. Men, boys, dogs and all available combatants were en-
listed against the pests and regularly organized gopher hunts
were sometimes indulged in.41 A more dangerous antagonist
was found in the prairie wolf. This animal had a great capacity
for stealing young pigs, robbing hen-houses and committing other
depredations. To clear the country of them, hunts were also
35 Marshall, Farmers' and Emigrants' Handbook, 97.
39 Willard, Early Education in Illinois, 115.
"Marshall, Farmers' and Emigrants' Handbook, 97.
88 American Agriculturist, (1843), 1, 15.
*• Reynolds, Sketches, 102.
40 The New Yorker, May 22, 1841.
** Weekly Chicago Democrat, May 26, 1848.
[260]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 547
organized42 and the days upon which they took place were
holidays.
Wheat and corn were the staple products of the prairie, but
oats, potatoes, turnips and buckwheat were also cultivated with
success. Fruit, however, did not bring good returns to the
farmer. Prices were far from encouraging,43 the fact being
probably due to the lack of a market. Since supplies could be
obtained at very reasonable rates at the lake ports, and since
prices paid for farm produce were higher in the lake cities,44
Chicago was the natural center for Illinois produce. Although.
Chicago was a great deal over a hundred miles from the central,
Illinois counties, the farmers came in numbers from this part
of the state, as well as from the north to sell their grain at this-
place and to take their supplies from it. The market was so-.
far, that sometimes the farmers could go but once a year; some-
times they went more than once. In some cases a number of
neighbors would club together, load one or two wagons, hitch.
two or three yoke of oxen to each wagon and so haul their prod-
uce.45 It was not an uncommon sight in the autumn after
the harvests were gathered to see in one day two hundred
wagons, all loaded with farm produce,46 rattling their way along
the old State Road from Galena to Chicago.
In the early forties high rates for transportation along the
Erie canal did much to keep western farmers from shipping their
produce to New York; but a considerable amount, howeverr
found its way thither.47 "While this operated against the west-
ern farmer and tended to depress his market, another influence
from the East tended to make the lake route the natural high-
way for western produce to the East. England in the forties-
levied a discriminating tariff upon foreign wheat, flour, beef,
pork and lard. Canadian flour was admitted into English
a History of Coles County, 464.
*3 History of Coles County, 460; Lothrop, Champaign County Directory, 125;
Prices were as follows : Wheat twenty-five to thirty-seven and one-half cents
per bushel, In the best years sixty cents ; oats eight to nineteen1 cents ; corn
ten to twenty-five cents ; hogs twenty-five cents to one and one-half dollars per
hundred weight ; a cow and a calf eight dollars and a good horse forty dollars..
"Madison (Wis.) Enquirer, Aug. 11, 1841.
« Anderson, First Chapter of Norwegian Immigration, 228.
49 Past and Present of Kane County, 460.
"Albany Cultivator, (1842), 150.
[261]
548 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
ports at one dollar less per barrel than flour from other coun-
tries. Similar favors were shown in other produce. It did
not take the Yankee or New Yorker of northern Illinois long
to see that he could ship his wheat to Canada, have it made into
flour there and take advantage of the discriminating duty in
that manner.48 This tended to center the wheat industry at
Chicago and the growth of this industry is noticeable during
these years.
In spite of low prices, however, agriculture flourished and
offered better returns to the western farmer than to the eastern
man. Less labor by one-half was needed, less capital was in-
vested; the average yield per acre was more in the West than
in the East and the cost of lake transportation Was low enough
to allow the western man to compete successfully in the eastern
market.49 The great problem before the farmer was how to
reach one of these lake ports to dispose of his produce as well
as to receive lumber and other necessaries. The outgrowth of
these desires was the internal improvement system of the
thirties.
The Illinois-Michigan canal was of primary importance in
the Illinois internal improvement system. Joliet was perhaps
the first to notice the possibility of connecting the Illinois river
and Lake Michigan by a canal.50 Governor Bond at the first
meeting of the Illinois legislature in 1818 brought up the sub-
ject of the canal; his successor, Governor Coles, devoted some
space to it in his message of 1822. A board of commissioners
was appointed in 1828 and two years later an act to incorporate
the canal with a capital of $1,000,000 was passed; but failure
to have the stock subscribed caused the plan to fall through for
the time. In 1827, Congress granted to the state of Illinois
every alternate section in a belt of country extending six miles
on either side of the canal, and in 1829 a canal board was or-
ganized.51 In 1835 the first loan was made and work began
in 1836, continuing until March, 1843, during which time the
48 Executive Documents, 190, 28 Cong., 1 Sess.
*• New York Weekly Tribune, Sept. 15, 1845.
60 Hulburt, Antiquities of Chicago, 147.
81 De Bow's Review, 17, 266.
[262]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1880-50 549
state expended $4,679,494 on the project.52 In September, 1845,
the work was resumed and by 1848 was completed.53
Other improvements besides the canal were planned ; $100,000
was to be expended for the improvement of the Great Wabash,
a like sum on the Illinois and also on the Rock river; the Kas-
kaskia and Little Wabash were to get $50,000 each for improve-
ments; the Great Western mail route from Vincennes to St.
Louis, $250,000; the Central railroad from Cairo to Galena;
the Southern Crossroad from Alton to Mt. Carmel; the North-
ern Crossroad from Quincy to the Indiana state line, and other
minor roads were to be built.54
The immensity of the system can best be grasped by noticing
statistics. A census taken in 1835 records the population of
the state as 271,700 ;55 in 1900 it was 4,821,550.56 The debt
authorized for these improvements in the first instance was
$10,230,000, but the estimate was found to be too low by half
and the state was committed to a liability of $20,000,000 or at
the same ratio today the debt would amount to some $350,000,-
000, a debt which the state would not care to assume.
So intent were the people in providing markets, in furnishing
suitable transportation facilities and thereby opening up the
resources of their state, that they did not count the cost, seeing
only results. The immediate results were not what had been
anticipated and with the breaking of the bubble of speculation
and the collapse of the system as planned in Illinois1, the finances
of the state were almost ruined, simply because it had not the
strength to solve the transportation problem.57
The livestock industry developed rapidly on the prairies.
Abundant pastures were within the reach of all, and the farmer
naturally developed the grazing industry. As early as 1818,
some Illinois farmers had made it a business to raise cattle for
the Baltimore and Philadelphia markets,58 and the industry had
" Moses, Illinois, 1, 465.
83 Davidson and Stuv6, Illinois, 485-G.
84 Davidson and Stuv6, Illinois, 436.
88 /bid., 438.
M Twelfth Census, (1900), Population, 1, 16.
87 Scott, Repudiation of State Debts, 199-217.
M Warden, Statistical, Political and Historical Account of the United States, 3,
2.
[263]
550 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
grown steadily. Before 1850 thousands of cattle were raised
on the prairies of Illinois, Missouri and lo'wa each year and
sold to drovers who took them to Ohio to fatten for the eastern
markets.50
In spite of the fact that sheep could not be kept upon the
prairies without considerable attention, especially during the
winter months, the industry rapidly gained favor among the
farmers. Heavy losses were at first experienced, due chiefly to
mismanagement, for the animals usually purchased in western
New York or Philadelphia were driven the entire distance dur-
ing the hot summer months or the colder ones of autumn to a
new home where scarcely any provision had been made for their
shelter.60 As a consequence many died.
Gaining knowledge by experience, the various branches of
industry were soon put upon an excellent paying basis. Some
found stock raising profitable, others adapted themselves to the
cultivation of grain which at first was harvested and threshed
by hand ; but before 1850 these primitive methods had given way
to more improved ones. Drills were used in planting the seed;
mowing machines 'were used in cutting the hay and reapers for
the grain ; threshing machines, too, were used before the period
was over.61
The effect of machinery upon the amount of produce was
marked. In 1850 Illinois was fifth among the states in the
amount of wheat produced ; in 1860 it was first with an annual
product of more than 23,800,000 bushels.62 In 1840 Illinois
•was seventh in the production of Indian corn; in 1850 it was
third with an annual output of nearly 57,650,000 bushels
and ten years later it led all the states, producing over
115,000,000 bushels or nearly one-seventh of the entire amount
produced.63 Like increases appeared in other productions.64
B9 The Prairie Farmer, 9, 305.
60 American Agriculturist, 4, 247.
61 Curtiss, Witetern Portraiture, 291.
62 Eighth Census, (1860), Agriculture, 29,
™iUd., 46, 47,
64 Bunt's Merchants' Magazine, 5, 436, gives statistics for 1840; Abstract of
the Seventh Census, (1850), £9-90, gives statistics for 1850:
[264]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 551
With the increased ability for handling large crops and with-
the possibility of increased land communication the farms tended
to increase in size. Practically, the prairie man had done all
he could in the way of subduing these vast stretches of land.
The railroads were now necessary to solve the remaining prob-
lems. Each successive wave of settlement helped to add cells to*
the comb already forming on the edge of the prairies; but the
process of assimilation was slow save where a line of transpor-
tation added its influence.
Pioneer saw mills worked away steadily causing a transition
from the log-cabin age to that of lumber houses, but the change
was slow at first. Previous to the opening of the Illinois-Mich-
igan canal, lumber sold at sixty dollars a thousand in Ottawa ;
but the first load through the canal cut the price in two and
successive loads reduced it still more. Freight rates the other
way were high; at first the price for transporting wheat from
Ottawa to Chicago was twelve and one-half cents per bushel.
Later it dropped to eight and then to four cents per bushel,65 a
price which the farmers were glad to pay to have their produce-
taken across the swampy country around Chicago. This was
in only one locality, however, and the other parts of the state
were sadly in need of transportation facilities to assist in their
development.
The life of the pioneer has characteristics which are the same
no matter what his location may be. While new difficulties
were encountered by the prairie pioneer, and he himself, gen-
erally speaking, was different from the pioneer of southern
Illinois, there were characteristics which these two types of set-
tlers held in common.
The first settlers of the southern part of the state were often
1840 1850
Horses and mules 200,741 278,220
Cattle 612,000 912,000
Hogs 1,446,000 1,916,000
Sheep 487,000 894,000
Bushels of wheat 3,263,500 9,414,600'
Bushels of oats 5,682,000 10,087,241
Bushels of corn 22,524,000 57,647,000
Lbs. of tobacco 475,250 841,394
M Illustrated History of La Satte County, 1, 212.
[265]
552 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
of the wandering type and were constantly seeking new homes.
These pioneers were followed by a second class of settlers who
generally had some property and were able to pay cash for at
least part of their lands, and to make additional improvements.
Lastly, came the man of property whose idea was to cultivate
the land in the best possible manner and become a permanent
resident.60
The pioneers of the first class were poor, indeed, enjoying few
of the comforts of life and too often were so lazy as to make no
effort whatever to better their condition. They lived in rags
and idleness, providing for their families by hunting and oc-
casionally cultivating a small patch of corn and vegetables but
doing no other work, leading, on the whole, a most shiftless life
and seeking no advancement. Morality, too, was of a low
standard especially among these people and the poorer European
immigrants who settled in the South.67
The second and third classes were much advanced beyond
the first. These people aimed to advance their material condi-
tion and worked constantly to accomplish their object.
Immigration to Northern Illinois after the opening of steam
navigation on the Great Lakes reached such a volume that it
seems impossible to make any such classification as has been
made for Southern Illinois. There was no gradual procession
of types but an influx of the agricultural type. So rapidly was
the land filled up that a residence of three months in Chicago,
for example, gave one the right to be recognized as an old
settler.68
Travelers through this part of the state give conflicting ac-
counts regarding the inhabitants and their homes. The general
sentiment seemed to be that the settlers were of a class superior
to fhe early pioneers of the southern counties. In many places
"neat white houses, tasteful piazzas, neat enclosures and newly
planted shrubberies" gave evidence of New Englanders or peo-
ple from the Middle Atlantic states.69 The people, as a rule,
were contented with their homes and evinced no desire to emi-
ee \Vyse, America, Its Realities and Resources, 2, 349-352.
« Christian Examiner, 87, 272.
« A Winter in the West, 1, 200.
*> Ibid., 2, 62.
[266]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 553
grate,70 save a few who desired to go to the Oregon territory.
Occasionally surprise is manifested at the character and intel-
ligence of settlers.71 •
The frontier, however, seems always to have been also the
home of a disreputable class of people, and northern Illinois
was no exception to the rule. The more quiet citizens were
constantly terrified by gangs of horse thieves, robbers, mur-
derers and counterfeiters. For years southern Illinois had been
infested by such individuals and as the frontier moved north-
ward across the state, these bands of desperadoes followed it.72"
The islands of the Mississippi and the groves along its banks
were homes for such bands.73
The heterogeneous character of settlement in the northwestern
part of the state is described by a New York paper of the time.
It says; "The settlers here are all descriptions of people; for-
eigners, Canadians, Hoosiers, Buckeyes, Marylanders, Virgin-
ians, Kentuckians, Yankees, etc., with a large share of cut-
throats, blacklegs, murderers, counterfeiters, robbers, thieves and
all manner of scamps that infest a newly-settled country; and
what is still worse . . . when any such rascals are caught,
which is seldom, there is no such thing as putting the law in
force or convicting them in anyway before they will be smuggled
out of the reach of justice and get clear."74 "While the illus-
stration may be exaggerated somewhat and intended to check
the flow of population it also serves1 to show that among the law-
abiding settlers there were also many who were a decided detri-
ment to the country.
Such conditions did not exist everywhere. The frontier, it
is said, brings out the worst as well as the best of men's char-
acters and incidents may be cited to prove this. During the
early mining days at Galena, men from the South and West
congregated to work the mines, and these men as a class pos-
70 Scott, Journal of a Missionary Tour (1843), 107.
n The New Yorker, Aug. 19, 1837.
"Barber, History of all the Western States and Territories, 248.
73 The names of the Driskel brothers, Daggett, Bowman, and others for years
were connected in the minds of the settlers with every outrage committed in
the northwestern counties. Galena Gazette and Northwestern Advertiser,
July 6, 1841.
71 The New Yorker, May 30, 1840.
[267]
554 BULLETIN- OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
sessed and practiced many of the noblest traits of manhood,
"As an illustration of their innate integrity of character it is
perhaps only necessary to state that locks and keys were un-
known in the country and all places of abode were always left
unfastened and open to the reception of all, who received a
cordial welcome and a free invitation to partake of every hos-
pitality the 'dug-out' or shanty afforded. Debts were con-
tracted without reserve at the first interview With a new comer
and he seldom ever failed to meet his promise of payment. "7*
Most noticeable of characteristics common alike to the pio-
neers of the prairie and the woodland was that of boundless
hospitality. The new settler was received kindly and given
substantial aid by those who had been in the country longer ; his-
cabin was quickly built and often in addition to assistance thus
received it 'was not improbable that the friendly neighbors
would furnish the new settler with some live stock if he had
none.76 One would give poultry; another, a hog; a third, a
calf and so on until there would be quite a drove of stock upon
the clearing. No matter how poor the new settler might be, if
he did not show a prospensity to dispute over trifles or to com-
plain of the disadvantages of the new country, and criticise the
manners and habits of the people, and cite the superiority of
things in the place from whence he came, he would be received
with blunt frankness and unaffected hospitality. His reception
was just as much of the opposite character should he presume
to cast reflections upon conditions existing in his new home.
To the wayfarer, likewise, the western' man extended his
simple but hearty hospitality. Every stranger was made wel-
come to all the primitive home afforded. There was always a
place at the table and always room for another lodger, no mat-
ter how many already occupied places in the home. This hos-
pitality was extended in a manner peculiar to the frontiersman.
He gave it in a simple, unassuming way and wished no remarks
even if complimentary, and above all things he wished no cita-
tion of unpleasant things encountered before, or any mention of
entertainment received elsewhere which was not so good. Such
75 Parkinson, Pioneer Life in Wisconsin, in the Wis. Hist. Collections, 2, 332'.
76 Holmes, Account of the United States, 133.
[268]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 555
remarks were considered as reflections upon the people of the
-country and from them it was inferred that like remarks would
be made again and perhaps in connection with the entertainment
then enjoyed.
The country and the surroundings of the pioneer seemed to
change him in a few years. Even the quiet, conservative men
from the East became rough, independent and simple in habits,
careless of dress, frank in speech, friendly and generous to all
whom they could trust. Seldom, if ever, did the prairie man
.fail to make a favorable impression upon those he chanced to
meet. When he had reached a period of comparative prosperity
nothing was too good for him. He lived in the midst of plenty.
His cattle, horses and acres he numbered by the hundreds; his
fields of grain and corn were wide in extent and he enjoyed his '
prosperity continuously which seemed only to improve his good-
will, for nowhere could be found men who would obey the calls
of friendship or ans'wer the claims of benevolence with more
cheerful promptness or with greater sacrifices to personal con-
venience.77
The daily life of the pioneer was a varied one. Besides cul-
tivating his farm, repairing his buildings and agricultural im-
plements he found time to hunt, to assist his neighbors and
sometimes to make attempts to educate himself.78 Besides the
•smaller affairs these pioneers provided for local government,
for churches, for schools, for higher education and for the rail-
ways and telegraph systems.
Naturally enjoying society, primitive as it might be, these
early settlers met often at races, shooting-matches, house-rais-
ings, log-rollings, weddings, funerals, elections and on court
days.79 Political and religious questions were freely and some-
times violently discussed, at all such meetings and often with
" Hall, Sketches, 2, 70.
78 Mr. Conant records that on one day he "read the Latin Grammar" ; on
another he "made a coffin i'or Mrs. Dougherty and helped to bury her" ; ou
another he "planted corn and prepared for the wedding" ; on another he "married
Betsy Kelsey" ; on others he " made a table and borrowed six buslieis of pota-
toes", "read a sermon" ; "made a wagon" and on one day being unwell he "studied
algebra" and "wrote a temperance address". Life of A. H. Conant, 43.
79 Western Monthly Magazine, 1, 52. Haines, Social Life and Scenes in the
Early Settlement of Central Illinois in Transactions of the Illinois State Histori-
cal Society, (1905.)
[269]
556 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
keenness and ability. News of the outside world 'was passed
from neighbor to neighbor, for newspapers were scarce in the
early days. Books were few. Horse-racing, jumping, wrestling,
hunting and dancing were the amusements enjoyed. Card
playing 'was not tolerated by respectable people and a fiddle
was, to the church people, only the devil painted red.80
Active measures were taken by the legislature of Illinois to
stop gambling. A law was passed in the early thirties by which
a fine of twenty-five dollars was to be levied on any person
bringing into the state or selling a pack of playing cards or a
set of billard balls "or any other device or anything invented
or made for the purpose of being used in games of hazard. ' ' A
like fine was to be imposed upon a purchaser of the condemned
articles, or anyone indulging in games of dice, billards or cards
"for money or property" and a fine of one hundred dollars
upon "any tavern keeper or owner of a grocery or tipling shop"
who should allow any form of gambling in his place of busi-
ness.81 The pioneer had a standard of morality of his own
and thought nothing of the free use of intoxicants. At every
gathering the whiskey jug seemed indispensable, occasioning
at times disturbances which, from a present day view-point,
could never be overlooked.
""Education82 did not thrive well among the early settlers of
southern Illinois. The poverty of the settlers, the hardships of
frontier life, the long Indian wars, the slight returns which the
lands yielded for school purposes were all so many hindrances.
Save a few settlers who came from New England in the early
days, the mass of pioneers was composed of people from Ken-
tucky and Tennessee with others from Virginia and Pennsyl-
vania. In these states the common school system had not been
80 Chicago Inter-Ocean, Dec. 14, 1904.
81 Extract from statute. (Sangamon Journal, May 7, 1836.)
82 For a discussion of education in the Northwest and especially Illinois, see :
McMaster, History of the People of the United States, 5, 370 ; S. Willard,
Brief History of Early Education in Illinois in Report of Sup't of Public Instruc-
tion of Illinois (1884) ; W. L. Pillsbury, Early Education in Illinois, in ioid.,
(1886) ; Rev. A. D. Mayo, Education in the Northwest dwring the first half Cen-
tury of the Republic, 1790-1840 in Report of the Commissioner of Education, 1895-
96 (House Documents, 54 Cong., 1 Sess., No. 5.) ; Rev. A. D. Mayo, The Develop-
ment of the Common School in the Western States 1850-1865 in: Report of toe
Commissioner of Education, 1898-99, 1, 357-450.
[270]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 557
developed and naturally little attention was paid to the develop-
ment of such a system in early Illinois.
By an act of 1825, voters in any county might create districts,
establish schools for white children between the age of five and
twenty and maintain them by a tax of one-half mill on each
dollar of taxable property. The law was not compulsory and
unless a majority of the voters favored a school, none would
exist. The people vigorously resisted the law and the legis-
lature in 1829 repealed as much of it as provided for state aid
and declared that no man should be taxed for the maintenance
of schools unless he first gave his consent in writing.
Education was not wholly neglected, however. Here and
there in the pioneer communities, teachers such as they were
gathered the children of the neighborhood together in some
kitchen or abandoned log cabin and gave them instruction for
scanty pay. By 1840 Baptists, Methodists, Congregationalists,
Episcopalians, Presbyterians and Catholics all had seminaries
of higher education located in the state.
With the influx of New Englanders and New Yorkers to
northern Illinois, changes for the better took place. These
pioneers believed thoroughly in the value of schools and wher-
ever two or three families settled together, there it was certain
a school was soon to be started. The Ladies' Association for
the Education of Girls; the Illinois Institute of Education and
the State Association of Educators with other similar organi-
zations fought to bring about the system of common schools
which was finally organized in 1854. The effect of the agita-
tion is seen in the results of the decade 1841 to 1850. In 1850
there were 2,640 public schools in Illinois and 132,000 pupils in
attendance — the number of schools having doubled in the ten
years and the attendance increased four-fold.
In a general way the development of churches was the same.
While meetings were held with regularity among the pioneers
of southern Illinois it was not until the advent of the northern
stream of immigrants that we find churches erected for every
community of any size. The circuit riders were to remain for
years until the pioneer communities were wealthy enough to
maintain a pastor in each one.
[271]
558 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
It appears that previous to 1850 the agricultural pioneer had
only made beginnings. His knowledge of the prairies was lim-
ited; he could see the problems confronting him and did his
best to cope with them using such means as he had. The prob-
lems of transportation and markets were the serious obstacles
to be overcome. Rivers formed one solution to these problems
but where they failed it was necessary to construct roads. An
examination of the location of the most important roads of the
decade 1841-1850 shows well the needs of the farmer. From
eastern, central, western and northern Illinois, roads centered
at Chicago. Here was the supply depot of the prairies; here
was the great shipping point, for lake transportation was cheaper
than that on the rivers. Chicago was the connecting link
between the land and the lake transportation as is shown in
later days when so many of the great railway systems which tap
the agricultural districts of the West center at Chicago.
The great unoccupied stretches of land between the timbered
tracts Were to be left for the settlers of the next decade to claim.
When an increased use of improved farm machinery allowed the
.settlers to handle larger tracts of land with success and when
the railroads penetrated the prairies and placed markets within
the reach of the farmers, then the almost insurmountable ob-
stacles presented by the great tracts of treeless land were over-
-come.
[272]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 559
CHAPTER XV
CONCLUSION — A Resume
The population map of 1830 shows that in no part of Illinois
were there more than eighteen inhabitants to the square mile
and that about two-thirds of the state was either entirely unoc-
cupied or had less than seven inhabitants to the square mile.
The most thickly settled parts of the state were along the Wa-
bash, Ohio and Mississippi rivers. . In the interior considerable
settlement had been made along the Illinois and Sangamon
rivers.1
By 1840 it appears that further encroachment had been made
upon the great prairies, for all of the state, with the exception
of a small part on the eastern side was credited with at least
two inhabitants to the square mile. At this date the Military
Tract is shown as settled and the outskirts of settlement along
the Illinois river extended to Chicago instead of Peoria as desig-
nated a decade before. Population was densest on the west-
ern side of the state in a belt extending from Quincy to Jack-
sonville and thence south into Madison and St. Clair counties.
The least number of settlers was on the northern and eastern
prairies.2
In 1850 those parts of the state bordering the "Wabash, Ohio
and Mississippi rivers were all credited with not less than
eighteen inhabitants to the square mile. The strip of territory
along the Illinois river was equally well settled as were those
counties in the extreme north.
The prairies of eastern Illinois and of the Military Tract are
Twelfth Census, (1900), Statistical Atlas, plate 6.
Ibid., plate 1.
18 [273]
560 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
"I Six or more per square mile in 1840.
I j Six or more per square mile : added during decade 1841-50.
| | Less than six per square mile in 1850.
DlSTBIBUTION OF POPULATION BY COtJjSTTIES
[274]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 561
x jn )— 7
\^J-^ y-^ / x^ V
Eighteen or more per square mile.
DISTRIBUTION OF POPULATION BY COUNTIES (1850)
[275]
562 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
clearly marked by the sparseness of settlement. No part of the
state had more than forty-five settlers to the square mile.3
These maps give a general idea of the location of population,
but in detail they are not accurate. Settlements in 1830 were
entirely within the timbered tracts; by 1840 the frontier had
moved farther to the north, but still the settlers clung to the
timber. Not until after 1850 was the settlement of the open
prairies to be really accomplished.
During the years 1831 and 1832 the beginnings of settlement
were made in northern and eastern Illinois. At the first alarm
of the Black Hawk War the settlers, save in a few instances
where communities seemed strong enough to maintain themselves
against an Indian attack, fled back to the more thickly populated
portions of the state and for the time the spread of settlement
ceased along the northern Illinois frontier. These settlements
had been planted by pioneers of the hunter type and when the
flight southward came it appears that the hunter-pioneers lost
their opportunity for settling the woodlands along the rivers
of northern Illinois.
Several causes operated to make this retreat before the In-
dians a permanent one. The trip through the northern portion
of the state" in pursuit of the fleeing Indian chief disclosed for
the first time its wonderful resources as an agricultural district.
Here we see the greatest effect of the war of 1832 and one over-
powering the temporary compression of settlement during that
year.
From 1833 until 1837 or 1838 Illinois had a wonderful growth.
The last of the Indian land titles within the limits of the state
were extinguished, and the Indians themselves were either in-
duced or compelled to vacate their claims in Illinois and to cross
the Mississippi, thus removing the last cause for Indian scares
and reassuring the immigrants from the East that their families
and homes would be safe on the Illinois frontier. Land sales
were constantly taking place at the various offices of the state
and the immense internal improvement system already planned
and soon to be begun, lead the people not only of Illinois but
3 JbM., plate 8.
[276]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 563
of the eastern states, to believe that here were to be presented
numerous opportunities for rapid acquisition of wealth.
So far in the history of the westward movement the difficul-
ties of travel had been many and severe. The trips made across
the western country in wagons were tiresome indeed and the
easier journeys down the Ohio had been attended with difficul-
ties and dangers not to be overlooked, while a journey to the
West by 'way of the Great Lakes was not to be thought of,
since a vessel in the upper lakes was as yet a curiosity. The
year 1834 saw the solution of this problem of transportation, at
least to a great degree, for the advent of the steamer upon the
lakes gave to the immigrant the means of comparatively safe
and easy passage to the West and moreover, allowed him to
carry more household goods, farming implements and domestic
animals with which to begin life in the new country.
There has always been among Americans a disposition to
immigrate to the West in order to benefit themselves in the at-
tempt to acquire wealth. During the thirties this desire was
greatly, increased in the East. The national debt had been paid
and had been divided among the various states; trade had
reached a high development and there was a feeling among the
people that money was abundant, that every one was well-to-do
and that investments, in land especially, could not help but
result in the rapid accumulation of wealth. The farmers of
New England, especially the generation of young men who could
see no future for themselves in their native states, began to look
to the great West for a livelihood. The development of the
wool industry tended also to consolidate the small farms into
large ones, and those farmers seeing an opportunity to dispose
of their small holdings at good prices did so with the intention
of moving to a new country. In the middle states frequent re-
ports came, telling of the wonderful opportunities in the west-
ern country. Pamphlets advertising Illinois lands flooded the
states from Ohio to the sea-board. Since the subdivision of
farms had, in the Middle Atlantic states, reached such a degree
that the small patches of ground would no longer comfortably
support families, and since renters began to see that in the
space of a few years they could own farms in the West by the
[277]
564 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
investment of no more capital than they paid from year to year
for rent, many were more than willing to try the experiment of
western life.
All things seemed favorable for a period of speculative mania ;
money seemed plentiful, western lands offered excellent oppor-
tunities for the rapid accumulation of wealth, a generation of
young men was ready to begin life for itself and lastly, the
problem of transportation had, to a great extent, been solved.
The result was a natural one; the period of speculation mater-
ialized and there came to the western country an unequalled
flood of immigration.
Gradually the stream increased in size and by 1835 the specu-
lation in Illinois lands was fairly under way. The stages,
steamboats, hotels, taverns and places of general resort were
thronged with land sellers and land buyers and in advance of
the thickest of the throng like an army of locusts seeking to
devour the broad acres of the National domain,4 was the crowd
of land speculators. Five million dollars worth of lands
was entered during 1836.5 Even business men of sober,
careful judgment, farmers and mechanics formerly wary
and conservative, added their stimulus to the ever-increas-
ing scramble for land and invested to the utmost limit which
their credit would allow. Individuals who had reached
their limit of credit, joined themselves together into companies
and with the aid of the banks continued their financial gym-
nastics.
It is estimated that during the years 1835, 1836 and 1837
more than five hundred new towns were laid out in Illinois,6
each company believing that its town was, in the near future,
to become a metropolis, the center of a thriving, populous,
wealthy community. During the year 1836 hi Will county
alone, nine towns7 were laid out. and Will county was no ex-
ception to the general rule prevailing in the state. The lots in
these "paper towns" were advertised in eastern cities and many
« Salisbury, The Speculative Craze of ''S6, in Buffalo Hist. Soc. Publications,
(1906), 4, 324.
* Davidson and Stuv6, Illinois, 434.
• History of McLean County, 487.
7 Woodruff, Joliet and Will County, 33.
[278]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 565
which today are sites of some fanner's field brought fancy
prices.
It is not to be understood that, during all this period of
wild speculation, Illinois received no benefit or did not increase
in permanent population, or that no towns of this period were
to become permanent ones. Some companies organized by New
Englanders and New Yorkers were sound enough financially to
withstand the shock of 1837 and to establish in Illinois, towns
which were destined to weather the financial storm which swept
over the state during the years immediately following. In Mc-
Lean county the Hudson8 and Mt. Hope9 colonies; in Tazewell
county the Tremont10 and Delavan11 colonies; in Henry county
the Andover,12 Wethersfield13 and Geneseo14 colonies; in Bureau
county the Providence15 colony and in Knox county the Gales-
burg16 colony are all examples of the successful town building
ventures of the time.
These colonies seem to have been carefully planned and well
financed. The land upon which they were located was, as a
general rule, purchased before any move Was made from the
East by the settlers. It is true that the success attendant upon
these various enterprises was at first not marked but they were
able to maintain a footing during adverse circumstances and to
take advantage of the more favorable conditions which followed
during the later forties.
The lack of success experienced by the Rockwell colony17 in
La Salle must be attributed rather to the drawback of an un-
healthful location than to financial distress. The Morristown
colony18 established in 1836 cannot be classified as a successful
colony because of the few settlers who came. An unwise pro-
8 History of McLean County, 603.
Ibid., 597.
0 Chicago Weekly American, Feb. 20, 1836.
1 The New Yorker, Aug. 31, 1839.
2 History of Henry County, 524.
*IMd., 137.
4 Thirtieth Anniversary of the Settlement of Geneseo, 5.
5 Matson, Reminiscences of Bureau County, 331.
8 Stories of the Pioneer Mothers of Illinois, (Letter of Mary Allen West, Ms.
in Illinois Hist. Library).
T 'Baldwin, History of La Salle County, 375.
* History of Heni-y County, 135.
[279]
566 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
vision concerning the holding of land and the forfeiture of it
in case of default upon the part of the settlers to make improve-
ments within a limited time, operated to the detriment of set-
tlement. The provision placed a premium on the non-accept-
ance of land, for by so doing the defaulter was able to double
the money he had invested.
Illinois, however, does not owe her wonderful growth in pop-
ulation during this period, to the establishment of colonies.
The substantial growth took place through the efforts of individ-
uals to establish homes for themselves and to acquire prop-
erty in the new country. Along the border of the Great Prairie
in Eastern Illinois the numerous pioneers from Ohio and Ken-
tucky settled. Fearing as yet to venture out into the open,
they took up the lands near the sheltering timber and thus
formed a net-work of settlement far out into the prairie without
encountering any of its real difficulties. Along the great river
system of the Illinois, the Kentucky and Tennessee hunter, fol-
lowing the experience of generations of pioneers accustomed to
combat the difficulties of the forest rather than the prairie,
pushed their way northward to meet the stream of Ne'w Eng-
landers and New Yorkers following the line of the proposed
canal. Across in the Military Tract the same operation was
going on along the Mississippi river and its numerous branches.
The lead region, of course, owes its development to other than
agricultural causes or desires to subdue a new country. The
Bock river valley was rapidly filling up, especially in the upper
portion where water and good timber tracts were freely inter-
spersed with the prairie lands. Here the southwestern and
southern pioneer was seldom seen and New Englanders, New
Yorkers and Pennsylvanians formed the greater part of the
population.
Lack of money among the new settlers, trouble over land
claims and the difficulty of getting lumber and supplies from
the lines of water transportation, coupled with a lack of markets
for farm produce Were the only drawbacks to the development
of the state at this time. Serious as these may seem, the de-
velopment of Illinois during this period of "boom" was a rapid
one and the ground work of settlement laid in the northern
[280]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 567
part of the state during these years of prosperity was strong
enough to tide the young communities over the trying year's
to follow when it looked as if the state was surely to encounter
financial shipwreck.
In this period just described (1833 to 1837) the character of
the settlement of northern Illinois was fixed once for all — the
prairie man who was primarily a pioneer of the agricultural
class, or the third type in the succession as followed heretofore,
had now jumped into first place to the exclusion of the hunter
and the small farmer. Events had operated for this and the
result was inevitable. While the pioneers who had occupied the
Illinois river woodlands were still safely residing in the south-
ern settlements waiting for the last echoes of the Black Hawk
War to die away on the frontier, events were shaping themselves
for a new immigration of a different type. Eestlessness had
ever been a failing of Americans and it was increased after 18301
by a combination of influences. In the previously enumerated
causes19 may be found the reasons for the new flow of immi-
gration to Illinois, and in the application of steam to lake traffic
may be found the influence directing this stream of immigra-
tion, which gave eastern rather than southern characteristics to-
northern Illinois. Illinois land was as fertile as any in the
West and land was what the immigrant wanted; Chicago was
the terminus of the lake route, a natural gateway to the prairies
and as a consequence when the great rage for speculation broke
out in the thirties and a wild rush was made to the West, Illi-
nois received a liberal share of the new settlers.
The hunter-pioneers who were again returning to the wood-
lands of the upper Illinois were few in numbers; the agricul-
tural pioneers from New England and Ne'w York were poured
into Illinois in swarms by the ever-increasing number of lake
steamers. As the mania for speculation increased, the army of
immigrants increased also, until all the available timber of
this portion of the state was taken up. The hunter was primar-
ily a frontiersman ; the new immigrant was primarily a farmer.
The former wished to keep the new country as a hunting ground,,
a sort of frontier; the latter wished at the earliest possible per-
" en., n.
[281]
568 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
iod of time to convert the new country into an agricultural
one. The hunter's woodlands were taken up; he knew nothing
of the prairie and in all probability did not care to cultivate
it. There was nothing left for him then but to move farther
to the West in quest of the frontier. In this contest for the
northern part of Illinois, volume and rapidity of transportation
had been on the side of the agricultural man and numbers and
steam had won, over inferior numbers and slower communi-
cation. The result was inevitable as soon as the transportation
problem had been solved, and to this element, primarily, it
seems, must the northern complexion of this part of Illinois
population be attributed.
The period of depression extends over the years from 1837
to 1843. Beginning in the eastern states the panic and its with-
ering results swept quickly over the entire country. Specula-
tion in western lands, in railways, in canals, in corner lots and
river fronts tied up much money which was needed to conduct
the business of the country. Overtrading, by means of which the
country was drained of its specie;20 the rapid multiplication of
'wild-cat' banks21 and subsequent suspension of specie pay-
ments, together with Jackson's specie circular, precipitated the
panic of 1837.22
Distress prevailed in the East, especially among the laborers
and mechanics and in the rural districts the farmers soon began
to feel the effects of the situation. Those who could get away
from the cities did so and facing the West, looked to it to sup-
ply homes and a new start in life. Farmers were, however, not
able to sell their lands, for there were none who could buy.
Consequently it appears that the majority of the immigrants
to the West at this particular period, could not have belonged
to the agricultural class in their native states. It was expected
that a great influx of settlers would follow on the heels of this
panic and it was so stated by some of the western papers.2*
Observations made in the East show similar expectations, and
they, for a time at least, proved correct. A Boston paper of
20 Banker's Magazine, 12, 390.
21 Walker, Money, 319.
22 Wilson, Division and Reunion, 94.
23 Chicago Weekly American, May 13, 1837.
[282]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 569
April 14, 1837, says ' ' The emigration to the great west is rapidly
increasing from different parts of the country. The present
stagnation in business — and the disastrous effects upon our
mechanics and laborers — will tend to send many of them from
our large towns and cities, where their services have been in
constant demand for some years."24
The course of events in Illinois operated against the rapid
settlement of the state during this period. Had not its own
finances come into such a deplorable condition, Illinois could
have profited by the movement to the West. Local conditions
coupled with the general unsettled situation of the country
served to intensify the depression in the state and the six years
following 1837 were perhaps the darkest ones in its history.
Thousands of acres of land had been purchased by the set-
tlers and payments were regularly falling due. The effect of
the Specie Circular was to draw off coin. Money became very
scarce and the farmers, in order to obtain specie with which to
make payments on their lands, were compelled to pay rates of
interest which were excessively high. Twenty-five per cent,
was exacted on five year loans and sometimes as high as seventy-
five per cent, paid for one year loans.25 To make matters worse
counterfeit bank notes and much bogus coin got into circula-
tion.26 The agricultural class suffered severely, too, on ac-
count of lack of markets. Few or no cash sales could be made
for farm produce and when such sales could be effected, prices
were exceedingly low. Barter was the means of carrying on
trade and notes were sometimes drawn, payable in a cow or a
horse or other farm products.27
The state by 1842, was in debt $14,000,000 for money wasted
on internal improvements;28 the domestic treasury was in ar-
rears over $300,000 for ordinary governmental expenses; the
state banks were beginning to grow shaky and then to collapse.
After July, 1841, no attempt was made to pay even the interest
24 Chicago Weekly American, May 6, 1837 (Boston Mercantile Journal, April 14,
1837).
25 The New Yorker, Jan. 12, 1839.
28 The New Yorker, June 5, 1841.
27 Clarke. History of McDonough County, 60.
28 Blanchard, The Northwest and Chicago, 1, 663.
[283]
570 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
on the public debt; taxation was high and the people were un-
able to pay even moderate rates. Illinois was in ill repute.
There was no trade; real estate was almost unsalable; business-
was stagnated; everybody wanted to sell his property and move
away but there were only a few either abroad or within the
state who cared to buy. As it is summed up by Mr Blanch-
ard, the increase or decrease of Illinois' population for the per-
iod was small for "the impossibility of selling (property) kept
us from losing population and the fear of disgrace and high
taxes prevented us from growing materially."29
Almost endless disputes over land claims arose during this
period to increase the turmoil in the state. Squatters had set-
tled upon government lands and made improvements and upon
the sale of these lands at the land offices, disputes over posses-
sion arose, for often those who had purchased a title to certain
lands found, upon their arrival upon their purchases, that they
were already occupied and portions placed under cultivation
by settlers Who seemed not at all disposed to yield their rights.
to the disputed tracts.
Affairs began to assume a better aspect towards the end of
1842 and the people began to take courage and commenced to
work their way out of the depression. Governor Ford, then the
chief executive of the state, opposed with might and main the
movement towards repudiation of the state's debt. Neither
did he wish immediate payment of this debt, if it Was to in-
crease the' burden of taxation. The sentiment of the legis-
lature of 1842 and 1843 was also against any great increase
of taxes, but finally a direct tax of one and one-half mills wa&
levied for the purpose of paying the interest on the debt.30 The
most noteworthy move of this legislature was the passage of a
set of resolutions in which it was stated that as representatives,
of the state of Illinois the members of the legislature recog-
nized the legal and moral obligation of discharging every debt
contracted by authorized agents of the state. Furthermore,
the resolution contained a direct disavowal of repudiation, and
as direct a statement that the revenues and resources of the-
*>J6id., 1, 659.
»/bid., 1, 662.
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 57l
.state 'would be appropriated to pay its debts as soon as such
appropriations could be made without impoverishing and op-
pressing the people.31
The wise financial administration of Governor Ford and the
expression by the legislature against repudiation did much to-
wards renewing confidence in the state of Illinois, and, attracted
by the brilliant opportunities presented, immigrants again be-
gan to come in. The seasons of 1843 and 1844 were seasons of
poor crops which operated against the state's prosperity and
tended to delay the revival for a short time.
By 1846 there were $9,000 in the state's treasury instead of
a deficit; the auditor's warrants sold at par, or nearly so in-
stead of at a fifty per cent, reduction as in 1842; silver and
gold coins were replacing the bank notes of a few years before
and $3,000,000 of the state debt had been paid and the pay-
ment of $5,000,000 more provided for immediately upon the com-
pletion of the Illinois-Michigan canal.32 It appeared that Ill-
inois had at last started upon the road to a sound financial sys-
tem and the increase of population by immigration during the
succeeding years shows to what extent this feeling of confidence
in the future of the state, was shared by such people of the
eastern states as were seeking homes in the West.
The recovery was, however, not an immediate one in all dis-
tricts. In the western portion of the state, in Mercer and Hen-
derson counties, as late as 1848, it was 'with great difficulty that
the farmers were able to procure enough money to pay for their
lands.33 In Ogle county, too, money was scarce for several years.
Gradually the stream of new settlers increased, the timber lands
were all taken up and the more venturesome settlers pushed
short distances out into the prairies.
During the closing years of the decade, however, when Doug-
Tass' Bill asking for a grant of land for the Illinois1 Central
railroad, was being discussed in Congress, attention 'was at-
tracted to the prairie region of the state and upon the passage
of the bill when the railroad became an assured fact, settlers
31 mies'' Register, 63, 325.
3- Blanchard, Northwest and Chicago, 1, 664.
33 History of Mercer and Henderson Counties, 625.
[285]
572 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
began to take up the prairie land which had for more than
twenty years been open for occupation, but had not been bought.
The construction of the road effectually opened up the country,
giving the pioneers something to connect them with the rest
of the world.
In the northern portion of the state conditions were some-
what similar. Lack of communication and of ready markets
retarded settlement. Chicago and Galena in opposite corners
of the state were the only markets of considerable importance
and carting supplies to and from these points was slow work.
The northern railroad line was begun late in the forties and with
it came an increase of population, but in 1850 there was still
a great amount of unsettled country.34 Some emigration took
place from various quarters of the state in 1849 and 1850,
owing to the discovery of gold in California,35 but it was hardly
enough to be of much consequence.
Lines of transportation and communication influenced the
character of the settlement of the various districts of the state.
On the outskirts of the Great Prairie of eastern Illinois, in
the timbered portions, were found the pioneers of the south-
western states, who had come by the southern wagon roads to
this district. Later the men from Ohio and Indiana filled up
the remaining spaces. They, too, to a great extent, came by
various wagon roads and finding good land in this region were
content to settle upon it. In the middle Illinois river counties
the same thing is noticeable as in the southern portion of the
Military Tract. Contact with the central Illinois counties,
which were populated to a great extent by Kentuckians, in-
fluenced the population of these districts. Going farther to the
north we find in the upper Illinois river counties and the val-
leys of the Fox and Rock rivers, the New Yorkers and New
Englanders. They had come by the easiest road, over the Great
Lakes, and had settled in the northern counties before the south-
ern stream had reached the northern timber tracts. Across the
31 Lothrop, Directory of Champaign County, 122 ; Beckwith, History of Iro-
quois County, 337 ; Beckwith, History of Vermilion County, 801.
88 History of McLean County, 232 ; Boies, History of DeKalb County, 404 ; His-
tory of Sangamon County, 536.
[286]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830~50
573
state in the lead region a community with southern sympathies
was planted. The Mississippi river was the highway of com-
merce and travel for this part of the state and the southern
cities were the outlets of its commerce. As a consequence
southern influences were brought to bear directly on the inhab-
itants of the district. Many of the settlers were southerners by
birth and this fact combined with the close connection with
the South by way of the river tended to give the entire region
a marked southern tone.
The importance of communication is shown by the fact that
the chief cities, Quincy, Peoria, Rushville, Peru, Ottawa, Joliet,
Elgin, St. Charles, Rockford and Galena36 were on or near the
rivers. Chicago and Waukegan were on Lake Michigan.
Many of the small inland villages, through the influence of the
railroads, grew to be of importance after 1850.
The census states that 736,931 native born Americans re-
sided in Illinois in 1850. Of these 343,618 were natives of the
state itself and 393,313 had come from other localities. Over
36.^00 were New__En glanders; 112,000 were from the Middle
States; nearly 52,600 were from the South Atlantic States;
2,400 from Kentucky and Tennessee; 98,400 from the states of
the Northwest Territory, and 9,469 were from across the Miss-
issippi. New York sent 67,180 immigrants ; Ohio 64,219 ; Ken-
tucky, 49,588 ; Pennsylvania, 37,979 ; Tennessee, 32,303 ; Indiana,
30,953 and Virginia, 24,697. The other states each sent less
than 20,000. Not one New England state is found in the above
list, the greatest number coming from any of those states came
from Vermont, which sent 11,381. The representation from
California was the least of all — three.37
In closing the discussion it may be stated that the great per-
vading power which influenced the settlement of northern Ill-
inois and built up this portion of the state with astonishing"
rapidity and which gave the northern character to its popula-
tion was the development of steam navigation upon the lakes.
It is true that the spirit of immigration pervaded the entire
nation and that this factor augmented by general influences
86 Each town had 2,000 or more Inhabitants.
« Seventh Census, (1850), xxxvl.
[287]
574 BULLETIN OF THE UNTVEKSITY OF WISCONSIN
.sweeping over the East and by local conditions in its various
regions served as levers to start the movement westward with
tremendous force; but it remained for the transportation lines
of the Great Lakes to shape the course of the movement and to
turn the stream into Illinois through its gateway at Chicago. In
.this respect the settlement of northern Illinois is typical of the
development of the North Middle States in that the influence
of the lines of transportation tended to reproduce in the New
West hundreds of communities in sympathy with their parent
states across the Alleghanies. The strong bonds of lines of
transportation connecting the East and the West, tended to
wipe out sectional feelings between these parts of the nation and
the lack of lines connecting the North and South serves to in-
.crease this feeling between the North and the South. Sectional-
ism in the United States, with the increase of these transporta-
tion lines now changed rapidly from longitudinal to latitudinal.
Strictly speaking, the period from 1830 to 1850 is one of
varied characteristics, but taken in the light of the solution of
the problem of the prairies, it is one of beginnings only. The
pioneer as yet did not understand the wide, treeless areas around
him ; he lacked confidence in his ability to cope with the difficul-
ties they offered and he lacked the power to overcome these
obstacles, single-handed. Steam was again to be the key to the
situation and during the following decade when the railroads
spanned the state south and west from Chicago the line of com-
munication with the East 'was completed. The market was
brought closer to the consumer and to the producer, the prob-
lem of obtaining lumber and merchandise at reasonable prices
was solved and most important of all, when the prairie farmer
was finally able to see railroad trains cross the state day after
day, he felt that no longer was he shut off from the rest of man-
kind when at last he swung clear of the timber and built his
•cabin on the open prairie.
[288]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 575
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Owing to the nature of the subject matter in this monograph
the material used is 'widely scattered. There are no works deal-
ing exclusively with the settlement of the state and one is,
therefore, compelled to search the state, county and city histories
for the desired information.
Information concerning the social and economic conditions
influencing the movement of population towards the "West must
be sought in the local histories and newspapers of the eastern
states. Some of the government reports contain considerable
valuable material on these points. Estimates of the cost of
transportation are accessible in the numerous emigrants' guides
and gazetteers of the period ; routes of travel are also designated
but much information can be obtained on this point by con-
sulting the biographies of the early pioneers. The newspapers
tell much of the volume of immigration.
For the struggles of the pioneers with the prairies, local his-
tories, autobiographies and reminiscences of the early pioneers
are valuable, as are periodicals such as the Prairie Farmer
which contains much information concerning the cultivation of
the prairies. In the writings of the many travelers who passed
through the West in the years preceding 1850, information can
be had concerning pioneer society. However, it is well to use
these accounts with caution since many of the writers were not
friendly. J. B. McMaster's History of the People of the United
States, 5, chap, xlviii shows the feeling entertained by English
travelers towards the people and institutions of the United
States. In the proceedings, publications and collections of
learned societies are often found articles of interest treating of
pioneer days.
19 [ 289 ]
576 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
I. GENERAL. AUTHORITIES
(1) ILLINOIS:
Ittin&is in 1837 (1837);
Illinois Blue Book. (1900) ;
Historical Encyclopaedia of Illinois. (1900) ;
Breese, S., Early History of Illinois (1884);
Brown, EL, History of Illinois (1844) ;
Brown, W. H., An Historical Sketch of the Early Move*
ment in Illinois for the Legalization of Slavery, in
Fergus Historical Series, 4 ;
Carpenter, W. H., and Arthur, T. S., History of Illinois
(1857) ;
Davidson, A., and Stuve, B., A Complete History of Illi-
nois from 1673 to 1873 (1874) ;
Edwards, N. W., History of Illinois and Life and Times
of Ninian Edwards (1870) ;
Ford, T., History of ' Illinois (1854);
Flower, G., History of the English Settlement in Ed-
wards County, Illinois (Chicago 1882) ;
Gerhard, F., Illinois As It Is (1857) ;
Goode, J. P., The Geography of Illinois. Maps;
Harris, N. D., History of Negro Servitude in Illinois
1719 to 1864. (1904) ;
James, E. J., Territorial Records of Illinois, in Illinois
State Historical Society Publications (1901) ;
McCormick, H., A Topical Guide to the Study of the
History of Illinois. (Normal 111. 1906) ;
Moses, J., History of Illinois (2 vols. 1889-1892) ;
Parker, J. M., The growth of the State of Illinois and the
City of Chicago (1872) ;
Patterson, E. W., Early Society in Southern Illinois in
Fergus Historical Series, 2 ;
-Reynolds, J., Illinois: My Own Times (1854, 1855 also
1879) ;
[290]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830~50 577
Shaw, A., Local Government in Illinois in Johns Hop-
kins University Studies, 1.
(2) GENERAL, WORKS:
Panics and Commercial Revulsions in the United States
(1857) ;
Blanchard, R., The Northwest and Chicago (2 vols, Chi-
cago, 1898-1900) ;
Bourne, E. G., Distribution of the Surplus (1885) ;
Dewey, D. R., Financial History of the United States
(1903) ;
Gould, E. W., Fifty Tears on the Mississippi (1889) ;
Haymond, W. S., Indiana (1879) ;
Hulburt, A. B., Historic Highways of America (16 vols.
1902-1905) 9, Waterways of Expansion;
McCulloch, H., Men and Measures of Half a Century
(1888) ;
McMaster, J. B., A History of the People of the United
States 5, 6. (7 vols. 1883-1900) ;
Seott, W. A., Repudiation of State Debts (1893) ;
Stevens, F. E., The Black Hawk War (1903) ;
Strong, M. N., History of -the Territory of Wisconsin
from 1836-1848 (1885);
Taussig, F. W., Tariff History of the United States (re-
vised edition 1898) ;
Von Hoist, H., The Constitutional and Political History
of the United States, 2, 3. (8 vols. 1876-1892) ;
Walker, C. B., The Mississippi Valley (1880);
Wilson, W., Division and Reunion, 1829-1889 (1901).
II. PUBLIC DOCUMENTS, STATE REPORTS, ETC.
Reports of the Superintendent of the Federal Census, especially
for 1830, 1840 and 1850;
Abstract of the Seventh Census (1850) ;
Compendium of the Seventh Census (1850) ;
Eighth Census (1860) Agriculture;
[291]
578 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
Twelfth Census (1900) Statistical Atlas;
Congressional Debates (1825-37) ;
The Congressional Globe (1833-1873) ;
Senate Documents (1817-1849) ;
Senate Miscellaneous Documents (1847-) ;
Executive Documents (1830-1847) ;
House Executive Documents (1847-) ;
House Miscellaneous Documents (1847-) ;
House Reports of Committees (1819-) ;
Reports of the Commissioner of Education;
Eighteenth Annual Report of the American Bureau of Ethnol-
ogy (1896-97) ;
Seventh Report of the Ohio State Board of Agriculture (1852) ;
Report of the Geological Survey of Ohio, 5; Economic Geology
(1884) ;
Report of the Illinois and Michigan Canal Commissioners
(1884) ;
Pillsbury, W. L., Early Education in Illinois in Sixteenth Bien-
nial Report of the Superintendent of Public Instruction of
the State of Illinois- (1886) ;
Willard, S., Brief History of Early Education in Illinois in
the Fifteenth Annual Report of the Superintendent of Pub-
lic Instruction in the State of Illinois (1884) ;
Memorial of the Citizens of Cincinnati to the Congress of the
United States Relative to the Navigation of the Ohio and
the Mississippi Rivers (1844) ;
Constitution of the South Carolina Institute, for the Promotion
of Art, Mechanical Ingenuity and Industry (1849).
III. PUBLICATIONS OF HISTORICAL SOCIETIES
Publications of the Illinois State Historical Society (1899-
1905).
Annual Proceedings of the Illinois Association of Sons of Ver-
mont (10 vols. 1877-1776) ;
Evanston Historical Society Publications (1902) ;
Early Campmeetings in the McLean County (III.) Historical
Society Transactions, 2, (1903) ;
[292]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 579
Armstrong, P. A., Historical Oration delivered before the Old
Settlers Association of Grundy County, Illinois, July Jf.,
1876 at Morris, Illinois (1876);
Boss, H. R., Early Newspapers in Illinois in Franklin So-
ciety Publications, 2, (1870) ;
Cheyney, E. P., The Anti-Rent Agitation in the State of New
York 1839-1846 in the University of Pennsylvania Publi-
cations (1887) ;
Goodwin, H. M., A Commemorative Discourse delivered in the
First Congregational Church, Rockford, August H, 1870
(1870) ;
Gratiot, H., A Pioneer of Wisconsin in Wis. Hist. Society Col-
lections, 10;
Haines, J., Social Life and Scenes in the Early Settlement of
Central Illinois in Transaction of the Illinois State lifter-
ical Society (1905) ;
Kingston, J. T., Early Western Days in Wis. Hist. Society Col-
lections, 7 ;
Kofoid, Carrie P., Puritan Influence in the Formative Years of
Illinois History in Transactions of the Illinois State His-
torical Society (1905) ;
Murray, D., The Anti-Rent Episode in the State of New York
in Am. Hist. Association Reports, 1, (1896) ;
Parkinson, D. M., Pioneer Life in Wisconsin in Wis. Hist. So-
ciety Collections, ' 2 ;
Reizenstein, M., The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in John Hop-
kins University Studies, 15;
Rodolf, T., Pioneering in the Wisconsin Lead Region in Wis.
Hist. Society Collections, 15;
Salisbury, G. H., The Speculative Craze of '36 in the Buffalo
Historical Society Publications, 4, (1896) ;
Sanford, A. H., State Sovereignty in Wisconsin in the Am. Hist.
Association Reports (1891) ;
Tenney, H. A., Early Times in Wisconsin in Wis. Hist. Society
Collections, 1 ;
Thwaites, R. G., Story of the Black Hawk War, in ibid., 12 ;
Notes on Early Leadmining in the Fever (or Galena} River
Region, in ibid., 13;
[293]
580 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
Tipton, T. F., Sports and Pastimes of the Pioneers in McLean
County Historical Society Transactions, 1, (1899) ;
Walker, Capt. A., Early Days on the Lakes in the Buffalo His-
torical Society Publications, 5, (1902) ;
Ward, G. W., The Early Development of the Chesapeake and
Ohio Canal Project in the Johns Hopkins University Stud-
ies, 17;
Winden, J., Influence of the Erie Canal (MSS. Thesis, Univer-
sity of Wisconsin 1900).
IV. REMINISCENCES, BIOGRAPHIES, PAPERS, ETC.
Calhoun Papers in American Hist. -Association Reports, 2,
(1899) ;
Stories of the Pioneer Mothers of Illinois (MSS. in the Illinois
Historical Library) ;
Coffin, Levi, Reminiscences (1880) ;
Palmer, John M., Personal Recollections (1901) ;
Collyer, R., The Life of A. H. Conant (1868) ;
Bonner, T. D., Life and Adventures of Beckwourth (1858) ;
Chetlain, A. L., Recollections of Seventy Years (1899) ;
Ford, W. C., [Ed] Papers of James Monroe (1904) ;
Hamilton, H. E., [Ed] Incidents and Events in the Life of Gur-
don Saltonstall Hubbard (1888) ;
Howells, W. C., Recollections of Life in Ohio from 1813 to
1840 (1895) ;
McLaughlin, A. C., Lewis Cass (Boston, 1900) ;
Reid, H., Biographical Sketch of Enoch Long, an Illinois Pio-
neer (1884) ;
Rombauer, R. E., Life of the Hon. Gustavus Koerner in Trans-
actions of the Illinois State Historical Society (1904) ;
Schurz, C., Henry Clay (2 vols., Boston, 1900) ;
Shaw, Col. J., Personal Narrative in Wis. Hist. Society Collec-
tions, 2 ;
Shephard, E. M., Martin Van Buren (Boston, 1900) ;
Thwaites, R. G., Narrative of Morgan L. Martin in Wis. Hist.
Society Collections, 2 ;
[294]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 581
Tillson, C. H., Reminiscences of Early Life in Illinois, 1819 to
1827 (1870) ;
Willard, S., Personal Reminiscences of Life in Illinois, 1830~
1850 in Transactions of %he Illinois State Historical Society
(1906.)
V. TRAVELS, GAZETTEERS AND EMIGRANTS' GUIDES
i
Those works which have been most useful in the preparations
of this monograph are the following:
Abdy, E. S., Journal of a Residence and Tour in the United
States of North America 1833-1834 (London 1835) ;
Albach, J. R., Annals of the West (Cincinnati 1846, St. Louis
1850, Pittsburg 1857) ;
The Americans as They Are (London 1828) ;
A New Yorker, A Winter in the West (2 vols. New York 1835) ;
Atwater, C., Writings (Columbus, 0., 1833) ;
Barber, J. W., and Howe, H., All the Western States and Ter-
ritories (Cincinnati 1867) ;
Barclay, Capt, An Agricultural Tour in, the United States and
Upper Canada (Edinburgh and London 1842) ;
Beck, L. C., A Gazetteer of the States of Illinois and Missouri
(Albany 1823) ;
Blois, J. T., Gazetteer of the State of Michigan . . . and a
Directory for Emigrants (Detroit and New York 1840) ;
Bremer, Fredrika, The Homes of the New World; Impressions
of America (2 vols. translated by Mary Howett, New York,
1853) ;
Brown, R. S., Western Gazetteer (1817) ;
Buckingham, J. S., The Eastern and Western States of Amer-J
ica (3 vols. London 1842) ;
Chevalier, M., Society, Manners and Politics in the United States
(Boston 1839) ;
Collins, S. H., The Emigrants' Guide to and Description of
the United States of America (London 1830) ;
Conkey, W., A Journey from Massachusetts to Illinois in 1830
in Transactions of the Illinois State Historical Society
(1906) ;
[ 295 j
582 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
Curtiss, D. S., Western Portraiture and Emigrants' Guide (New
York, 1852) ;
Dana, E., Geographical Sketches on the Western Country (Cin-
cinnati 1819) ;
Davis, W. W., A Trip From Pennsylvania to Illinois in 1851
in Transactions of the Illinois State Historical Society
(1904) ;
De Bow, J. D., The Industrial Resources of the United States
(3 vols. New York 1854) ;
Faux, W., Memorable Days in America (London 1823) ;
Farnham, Eliza W., Life in Prairie Land (New York 1846) ;
Ferrall, S. A., A Ramble of 6000 Miles Through the United
States of America (London 1832) ;
Ferguson, W., America by Eiver and Kail (London 1856) ;
Flint, T., History and Geography of the Mississippi Valley (2
vols., edition 1832) ;
Letters from America (Thwaites Edition) ;
Fordham, E. P., Personal Narrative (edited by F. A. Ogg) ;
Godley, J. JR., Letters from America (2 vols. London 1844) ;
Guide to the Illinois Central Railroad Lands (Chicago
1861) ;
Grund, F. J., The Americans in Their Moral, Social and Polit-
ical Relations (2 vols. London 1837) ;
Hall, J., Letters from the West (Cincinnati 1828) ;
Legends of the West (Cincinnati 1833) ;
Statistics of the West :( Cincinnati 1836) ;
Notes on the Western Stages (Cincinnati 1838) ;
Hall, E. H., The Northern Counties, Gazetteers and Directory
for 1855-1856; A Perfect and Complete Guide to Northern
Illinois (Chicago 1855) ;
Harding, B., Tours Through the Western Country, 1818-
1819 (New London 1819) ;
Hawes, G. W., Illinois State Gazetteer and Business Directory
for 1858-1859 (Chicago 1859);
Jones, A. D., Illinois and the West (Boston and Phila. 1838)';
Latrobe, C. J., The Rambler in North America (2 vols. New
York 1835) ;
/ Lewis Rev. G., Impressions of America (Edinburgh 1845) ;
^Lloyd-Jones, C., Immigration Routes to Wisconsin (MSS. Thesis
University of "Wisconsin 1902) ;
[296]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 583
MaeGregor, J., Commercial Statistics of America (London) ;
Marshall, J. T., Farmer's and Emigrant's Handbook (Ne'w
York 1845) ;
Martineau, Harriett, Society in America, 1834-1836 (3 vols.
London 1837);
Meeker, N. C., Life in the West (New York 1868) ;
Mitchell, S. A., Sketches of Illinois (Phila. 1838) ;
Murray, C. A., Travels in North America (2 vols. London 1854) ;
Norris and Gardiner, Illinois Annual Register and Western
Business Directory for 1847 (Chicago 1847) ;
Patten, E., A Glimpse at the United States and the Northern
States of America (London 1853) ;
Peck, J. M., Guide for Emigrants (1831) ;
Peck, Rev. G., Traveler's Directory for Illinois in the Metho-
dist Quarterly Review, July, 1843;
^Peyton, J. L., A Statistical View of the State of Illinois (Chi-
cago 1855) ;
Rantoul, R., Letter to Robert Schuyler . . . on the Value
of the Public Lands of Illinois (Boston 1851) ;
Regan, J., The Emigrant's Guide to the Western States of
America (Edinburgh 1852) ;
Reynolds, J., Sketches of the Country on the Northern Route
from Belleville, Illinois to the City of New York (Belle-
ville 1854);
Salsbacher, Dr. J., Heine Reise nach der Vereinigien Staa-ten
(Vienna 1845) ;
Scott, Rev. J. L., A Journal of a Missionary Tour (Providence,
1843) ;
Shultz, C., Travels on an Inland Voyage (2 vols. New York
1810) ;
Smith, J. C., The Western Tourist and Emigrants' Guide (New
York 1839) ;
Stuart, J., Three Tears in North America (2 vols. New York
1833);
Steele, Mrs., A Summer Journey in the West (New York 1841) ;
Tanner, H. S., View of the Valley of the Mississippi (1834) ;
Thomason, Rev. D. R., Hints to Emigrants (London 1849) ;
Thwaites, R. G. [Ed.], Early Western Travels (1748-1846);
[297]
584 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
Van Zandt, N. B., A Full Description ... of the Mil W dry
Lands between the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers (Wash-
ington, 1818) ;
View of the Valley of the Mississippi or the Emigrants' and
Travellers?' Guide to the West (Phila. 1834);
Warden, D. B., Statistical, Political and Historical Account of
the United States of North America (3 vols. Edinburgh,
1819) ;
Whittlesey, C., Recollections of a Tour through Wisconsin in
1832 in Wis. Hist. Society Collections, 1 ;
Wyse, F., America; Its Realities and Resources (3 vols. London,
1846).
VI. PERIODICALS
Considerable information has been gathered from periodicals
both American and European, but the material is scattered.
The articles in the European magazines deal chiefly with eco-
nomic and social conditions and are noted in that part of the
bibliography dealing with immigration and foreigners in' Ill-
inois.
Many newspapers of value for material on Illinois are found
in the files in the Chicago Historical Society and those in the
Merchants Library at St. Louis.
For the files in the State Historical Library of Wisconsin, see
the Annotated Cdtalogue of Newspaper Files (1899) ;
The following publications were used constantly:
DeBow's Commercial Review of the South and West (1846-
1860).
Hazard, S., [Ed.] United States Commercial and Statistical
Register (1839—).
Hunt's Merchants' Magazine and Commercial Review (1839-
1870).
Nties' Weekly Register (1811-1849).
Illinois Monthly Magazine (1831-1832).
The Prairie Farmer (1840 — ).
The Western Monthly Magazine (1833-1837).
Others which have been used to a less degree are :
[298]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 585
Hazard, S., [Ed.] Register of Pennsylvania (1828-1836).
Homans, J. S., [Ed.] The Banker's Magazine and State Fi-
nancial Register, 12.
Land We Love, 5.
Magazine of Western History (1884r-1891).
Putnam's Monthly Magazine of American Literature, Science
and Art, 4.
The American Railroad Journal and General Advertiser (1845-
1861).
The Atlantic Monthly, 26.
The Christian Examiner, 51, 82.
The Family Magazine, 6.
The Nation, 8.
The National Calendar (1830).
The New Englander, 52.
Yale Review, 1.
Scattered material has been found in the following Illinois
newspapers :
Chicago American (1835-1842).
Chicago Democrat (1833-1861).
Chicago Express (1843).
Chicago Evening Post (for Sept. 5, 1896).
Chicago Inter Ocean (for Dec. 14, 1904).
Chicago Journal (1844-1853).
Chicago Times (for April 30, 1846).
Chicago Tribune (1847).
Gem of the Prairies (1847-1851).
Illinois Advocate and State Register (1833-1835).
Minef's Journal (1826).
Miner's Free Press (1840).
Nauvoo Neighbor (1843-1845).
Nauvoo New Citizen (for Feb. 24, 1847).
Nauvoo Times and Seasons (for Sept. 15, 1841).
Northwestern Gazette and Galena Advertiser (1834 ).
Peoria Register and Northwestern Gazetteer (1837-1839).
Rockford Forum (1847).
Rock River Gazette (for Oct. 14, 1842).
Sangamo Journal (1836-1838).
[299]
586 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
Semi-Weekly Galena Jeffersonian (1845-1855).
The Western Pioneer and Baptist Standard Bearer (1830-
1835).
Warsaw Signal (for Oct. 13, 1846).
Western Citizen (1842-53).
Western Herald (1846-1847).
Newspapers published outside of Illinois:
Albany Argus (1813-1856).
Albany Cultivator (1834).
American Agriculturist (1842).
Boston Patriot (1809-1831).
Boston Weekly Messenger (1811).
Buffalo Commercial Advertiser (1811 17).
Cincinnati Chronicle (1836-1850).
Cincinnati Gazette (1815 ).
Delaware (N. T.) Courier (for Jan. 29, Feb. 6, 1864).
Delaware (N. Y.) Gazette (for Sept., 1841).
Genesee Farmer (1831-1840).
Greene County (0.) Torchlight (1838).
Louisville Weekly Messenger (1836-1838).
Madison Express (1839-1848).
New York Era (for Sept. 5, 1837).
New York Weekly Herald (1841).
New York World (1860).
The New Yorker (1836-1841).
The Ohio Statesman (1837).
Wheeling Gazette (for Sept. 1, 1832).
Wisconsin Enquirer (1838-1842).
Wiskonsan Enquirer (1842).
VII. LOCAL HISTORIES
Much of the material upon the specific settlements of the state
has been obtained from county histories. "When there are two or
more of the same county, both are noted. They differ in re-
liability and must be used with caution. When the histories
of two or more counties are in one volume, they are grouped
in the summary under one title. The following works have
been consulted in addition to county histories of other states ;
[300]
TOOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 587
Adams County, (1879).
Alexander, Union and Pulaski Counties, (1883).
Bond and Montgomery Counties, (1882).
Boone County, (1877).
Bureau County, Voters and Tax payers, (1877).
Bradsby, Henry C., History of Bureau County, (1885).
Matson, Nehemiah, Reminiscences of Bureau County, (1872).
Carroll County, (1878).
Cass County, (1882).
Champaign County, (1878).
Lothrop, J. S., Champaign County Directory, (1871).
Coles County, (1879).
Andreas, A. T., Cook County, (1884).
Crawford and Clark Counties, (1883).
Cumberland, Jasper and Richland Counties, (1884).
Boies, Henry L., De Kalb County, (1868).
De Kalb County, Voters and Tax payers, (1876).
De Witt County, (1882).
Blanchard, Rufus, Du Page County, (1882).
Richmond, C. W. and Valletta, H. F., Du Page County, (1857).
Edgar County, (1879).
Effingham County, (1883).
Fayette County, (1878).
Fulton County, (1879).
Gallatin, Saline, Hamilton, Franklin and Williamson Counties,
(1887).
Greene County, (1879).
Grundy County, (1882).
Gregg. Tfiomas, Hancock County, (1880).
Henry County, Tax Payers and Voters, (1877).
Beckwith, Hiram W., Iroquois County, (1880).
Jefferson County, (1883).
Jo Daviess County, (1878).
Kane County, (1878).
Hicks, E. W., Kendall County, (1877).
Knox County, (1878).
Haines, Elijah "W., Lake County, (1852).
[301]
588 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
Lake County, (1877).
La Salle County, (1886).
La Salle County, Past and Present, (1877).
Baldwin, Elmer., La Salle County, (1877).
Lee County, (1881).
Livingston County, (1878).
Macon County, (1880).
Madison County, (1882).
Marion and Clinton Counties, (1881).
Me Donough County, (1878 and 1885).
Me Henry County, (1886).
Me Lean County, (1879).
Duis, Dr. E., Good old Times in Me Lean County, (1874).
Menard and Mason Counties, (1879).
Mercer County, (1882).
Ogle County, (1878).
Ogle County, Sketches, (1859).
Peoria County, (1880).
Pike County, (1880).
Ford, Henry A., Putnam and Marshall Counties (1860).
Rock Island County, (1877).
Henderson, John G., Early History of the Sangamon Country,
(1873).
Schuyler and Brown Counties, (1882).
Shelby and Moultrie Counties, (1881).
8t. Clair County, (1881).
Stephenson County, (1880).
Johnston, "W. J., Sketches of Stephenson County, (1854).
Beekwith, Hirarn W., Vermilion County, (1879).
Coffeen, Henry A., Vermilion County, (1871).
Warren County, (1877).
Whiteside County, (1877).
Witt County, (1878).
Winnebago County, (1877).
Woodford County, (1878).
[302]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 589
VIII. BIOGRAPHICAL RECORDS
In connection with the county histories enumerated, the fol-
lowing Biographical Records were of value in determining the
nativities of the early settlers:
Bureau, Marshall and Putnam Counties, (Clarke, Chicago,
1896).
De Kalb County, (Clarke, 1898).
De Witt County, (€larke, 1901).
Hancock, McDonough and Henderson Counties, (1894).
Jo Daviess and Carroll Counties, (Chapman Bros., Chicago,
1889).
Kane County, (Beers, Leggett & Co., Chicago, 1888).
Kankakee County, (1893).
Kendall County, (George Fisher & Co., Chicago, 1876).
Livingston and Woodford Counties, (1900).
McLean County, (Clarke, 1899).
Ogle County, (Clarke, 1899).
Rock Island County, (1885).
Whiteside County, (Chapman Bros., 1885) ; also one by Clarke,
1900.
Winnebago and Boone Counties, (Chicago Biographical Pub-
lishing Co., 1892).
Woodford County, (Chapman Bros., 1889).
IX. HISTORIES OF CHICAGO
A great deal has been written upon Chicago and its wonder-
ful growth. Of the mass of material, the following works were
found most useful :
Andreas, A. T., History of Chicago, (3 Vols. 1885).
Balestier, Joseph N., Annals of Chicago in Fergus Historical
Series, 1.
Binckley, J. M., The Chicago of the Thinker, in the Lakeside,
Oct., 1873.
Bross, W., History of Chicago, (1876).
Colbert, E. and Chamberlin, E., Chicago and the Great Con-
flagration, (1872).
[303]
590 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
Cleaver, C., A History of Chicago from 1833 to 1892, (1892).
Flinn, J. J., and Wilkie, J. E., A History of the Chicago Police,
(1887).
Gale, E. 0., Reminiscences of Early Chicago and Vioinity,
(1902).
Hayes, A. A., Jr., Metropolis of the Prairies, in Harper's Maga-
zine, Oct., 1880.
Hulbert, H. H., Chicago Antiquities, (1881)..
Kirkland, J., Story of Chicago, (2 vote. 1892-1894).
Mason, E. G., Early Chicago and Illinois, (1890).
Moses, J. and Kirkland, J., History of Chicago, (2 vol. 1895).
Sheahan, J. W., and Upton, G. P., The Great Conflagration,
(1872).
Van Dorn, L., A View of Chicago in 1848 in Magazine of West-
ern History, May, 1889.
Wentworth, J., Reminiscences of Early Chicago, in Fergus
Historical Series, 1.
By Gone Days and Early Chicago, (A collection of newspaper
articles on the early history of Chicago. Chicago Histori-
cal Society Library).
General Directory and Business Advertiser of the City of Chi-
cago, (1844).
Historical and Commercial Statistics of Chicago in Western
Journal and Civilian, April, 1854.
Industrial Chicago, (6 vols., 1894).
Statistical and Historical View of Chicago, (1869).
Other local histories are:
Asbury, H., Reminiscences of Quincy? (1882).
Ballance, C., The History of Peoria, (1870).
Bascom, Rev. F., An Historical Discourse: Commemorative of
the Settlement of Galesburg, (Galesburg, 1866).
Carr, E. L, The History of Rockton, 1820 to 1893, (1898).
Church, C. A., History of Rockford, (1900).
Davidson, J. N., Some Distinctive Characteristics of the History
of our Lead Region in Forty Sixth Annual Proceedings of
State Historical Society of Wisconsin, (1899).
Drown, S. D., Record and Historical View of Peoria, (1850).
Eads, A. B., Illustrated History of Rockford, (1884).
[304]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 591
Flagler, D. \V., History of the Rock Island Arsenal, (1877).
Meeker, M., Early History of the Lead Region of Wisconsin in
Wis. Hist. Soc. Collections, 6.
Redmond, P. H., History of Quincy, (1869).
Roy, J. E., Memorial Address and Proceedings at the Thirtieth
Anniversary of the Settlement of Geneseo, (Chicago, 1867).
Sellon, C. J., History of Galesburg, (1857).
Washburne, E. B., The Lead Region and Lead Trade of the
Upper Mississippi in Hunt's Merchant's Magazine, March
1848..
Woodruff, G. H., Forty Years Ago — A Contribution to the
Early History of Joliet and Witt County, (1874).
History of Dixon and Lee County, (1870).
History of the City of Elgin, (Chicago Republican, March 16,
1867).
Galena and Its Lead Mines in Harper's Magazine, May, 1866.
X. FOREIGNERS IN ILLINOIS
Information concerning the conditions in Europe which lead
to emigration can be found in the periodicals of the time. The
location of this population in Illinois is easiest found in the
local histories and in the secondary works on foreigners in the
United States. The following works have been useful in
gathering material:
Deutsch-Amerikanische Geschichsbldtter (Chicago 1900 — ).
Schriften des Vereins fur Social Politik, 52.
European Emigration to the United States in Edinburgh Re-
view, July, 1854.
Foreign Immigration, Its Natural and Extraordinary Causes
in American Whig Review, Nov., Dec., 1847; April ,1848;
Immigration into the United States in DeBow's Review, March,
1848.
Manufacturing Emigration in Litt ells' Living Age, Jan., 1847.
The Famine Lands in ibid., April, 1847.
The Revolutions of Europe, 1830-1840 in the North American
Review, July, 1848.
German Emigration in Litt ell's Living Age, Oct., 1846.
20 [ 305 ]
592 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
German Emigration to America in the North American Review,
July, 1820.
Our Poor Law Administration in the British Quarterly Review,
April, 1868.
Present Conditions of Great Britian in the Edinburgh Review,
April, 1851.
The Modern Exodus in its Effects on the British Isles in the
North British Review, Nov., 1852.
/-Ireland and Its Famine in the British Quarterly Review, May,
1847.
^reland in 1834 in the Dublin University Magazine, Jan., 1835.
^- The Irish in America in the Metropolitan Jan., 1857.
The American Review, 6.
Blackwood's Magazine, 64.
The Dublin Review, 1, 15.
The Fortnightly Review, 8.
The Harbinger, 2.
Anderson, R. B., The First Chapter on Norwegian Immigration,
1821-1840 '(Madison, 1895).
- — Bagenal, P. H., The American Irish and their Influence on Irish
Politics (London 1882).
Becker, M. J., The Germans of 1849 in America (1887).
Bruncken, E., How Germans become Americans in Wis. Hist.
Society Proceedings (1898).
Burritt, E., Ireland; in Litt ell's Living Age, April, 1847.
Campbell, C. B., Bourbonnais; or the Early French Settlement
in Kankakee County in Transactions of the Illinois State
Historical Society (1906).
_ —- Ohickering, J., Immigration into the United States, (1848).
~<Condon, E. O., The Irish Race in America (1887).
Copeland, L. A., The Cornish in Southwestern Wisconsin in
Wis. Hist. Society Collections, 14.
Engels, F., The Condition of the Working Class in England in
1844 (Translated by Florence K. Wischnewetzky, New
York, 1887).
Flom, G. T., The Scandinavian Factor in the American Popu-
lation in Iowa Journal of History and Politics, 3.
/Hale, E. E., Letters on Irish Emigration (1852).
[306]
POOLEY SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 593
Kapp, F., Immigration and the Commissioners of Emigration
of the State of New York (1870).
Kopfli, S., and Eggen, J., Die Schweizer-Kolonie Highland in
Illinois in Deutch-Amerikanische Geschichtsblatter, April-
July, 1905.
Korner, G., Das Deutsche Element in den Vereinigten Staaten
von Nordamerika 1818-1848 (Cincinnati, 1880).
Lalor, J. J., The Germans in the West, in the Atlantic Monthly
Oct., 1873.
Levi, Mrs. K. E., Geographical Origin of German Immigration to
Wisconsin, in Wis. Hist. Society Collections, 14.
Luchsinger, J., The Planting of the Swiss Colony at New Glarus,
Wisconsin in Wis. Hist. Society Collections, 12.
, Maguire, J. F., The Irish in America (1868).
McLaughlin, A., The Immigrant, Past and Present, in the Pop- \
ular Science Monthly, July, 1904.
Nelson, O. N., History of Scandinavia and Successful Scandi*
navians in the United States (2 vols. 1893).
Newbauer, Ella F., The Swiss Settlements in Madison County, ^
Illinois in Transactions of the Illinois State Historical So-
ciety (1906).
Onahan, W. G., Irish Settlements in Illinois in the Catholic
World, May, 1881.
Rahr, L. F., German Immigration to the United States i840-
1850 (MSS. Thesis, University of "Wisconsin 1903).
Shea, J. G., The Canadian Element in the United States, in the
American Catholic Quarterly Review, Oct. 1879.
Smith, C. W., A Contribution towards a Bibliography of Morris
Birkbeck and the English Settlement in Edwards County,
Illinois in Transactions of the Illinois Historical Society
(1905).
Steinach, A., Schweizer Kolonien (N. Y. 1889).
Traill, H. D., [Ed.] Social England, 6. (6 vols. 1897.)
• Turner, F. J., German Immigration into the United States in
the Chicago Recorolr-Herald, Sept. 4, 1901.
Young, E., Special Report on Immigration (1872).
Young, E., Labor in Europe and America (1875).
[307]
594 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
XI. SOCIAL SETTLEMENTS
^ 'Amberley, V., The Latter Day Saints in the Fortnightly Re-
view, Nov., 1869.
Beadle, J. H., Life in Utah.
Bennett, J. C., History of the Saints, (1842).
Berrian, W., Catalogue of Books, Early Newspapers andPamph-
^ lets on Mormonism, (1898).
Berry, O. F., The Mormon Settlements in Illinois in Transac-
tions of the Illinois State Historical Society (1906).
Bigelow, H., The Bishop Hill Colony in the Illinois Historical
Society Proceedings (1902).
Brisbane, A., Articles on Fourierism in the New York Tribune
(1841-1843).
Caswall, H., The Prophet of the Nineteenth Century (London
1843).
(runnison, J. W., The Mormons or Latter Day Saints in the
Valley of the Great Salt Lake (1852).
Gregg, T., The Prophet of Palmyra (1890).
Haven, Charlotte. A Girl's Letter from Nauvoo in the Overland
Monthly, 16, 17.
Hillquit, M., History of Socialism in the United States (1903).
Hinds, W. A., American Communities (1902).
Kennedy, J. H., Early Days of Mormonism, (1888).
Mikkelson, M. A., The Bishop Hill Colony in the Johns Hop-
kins University Studies, 10.
Miller, Mrs. J. G., The Icarian Community of Nauvoo, Illinois
in Transactions of the Illinois State Historical Society
(1906).
Noyes, J. H., History of American Socialism (1870).
Robinson, Madame E. Fleury, A Social Experiment in The
Open Court, Aug. 28, Sept. 11, 1890.
Shaw, A., Icaria, (1884).
Smith, President Joseph, and Smith, Apostle H. C., History of
the Church of Jesus Christ of ttie Latter Day Saints, (4
vols. Lamoni, la., 1902).
[308]
POOLEY — SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS, 1830-50 595
Smucker, S. M., The Religious, Social and Political History of
the Mormons (1858).
'Stenhouse, T. B. H., The Rocky Mountain Saints (1873).
Charter and By-Laws of the Icarian Community, (1857).
The Detriments of Civilization and Benefits of Association, as
taught ~by Charles Fourier . . . (1844).
A Handbook of Reference to the History, Chronology, Religion
and Country of the Latter Day Saints . . . (1884).
[309]
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