City and Precinct of Albion

Early Settlers of Edwards County, Illinois

Transcribed by Laurie Selpien from the “Combined History of Edwards, Lawrence and Wabash Counties, Illinois with Illustrations Descriptive of their scenery and Biographical Sketches of some of their Prominent Men and Pioneers published by J. L. McDonough & Co., Philadelphia 1883

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The first of the early settlement and subsequent progress and development of the town and precinct of Albion is attended with more than ordinary interest to the reader of the history of the now commonwealth of Illinois. That the efforts of the founders were successful, the beautiful landscape of well-cultivated farms, dotted here and there with richly constructed farm buildings, amply attest on every hand. Albion precinct is centrally situated in the county, from north to south and extends itself entirely across the county, from east to west, comprising nearly one-third of its entire territory. The precinct is bounded on the north by the base line and Shelby precinct, on the east by Bonpas creek, on the south by French Creek and Dixon precincts, and west by Wayne County and Shelby precinct, and comprises a part of townships 1 and 2 S. and ranges 10 and 11 east. Originally it was divided between prairie and timber, the former interspersing the latter in a picturesque manner. The surface of the uplands is quite rolling and the soil is a chocolate-colored clay loam, and is very productive. The bottom land being a deep alluvial soil, and especially adapted to the cultivation of maize, grasses etc. The principal streams are the Bonpas and Big Creeks. The former constitutes the entire eastern boundary, and the latter is situated in the southwest, and discharges its water into the Little Wabash, the Peoria, Decatur and Evansville passing from north to south and the Louisville, Evansville and St. Louis road extended east and west forming a junction with the former at the town of Browns.

EARLY SETTLEMENTS

Really the first white man to locate here were emigrants from the south about 1816; and as it is due to them that the first blow was struck toward civilization in this once wild region, we have given them a place in history of this precinct; but as their stay was but transitory, the larger portion of the early settlement narration will be devoted to the English settlers, as it was they who mostly developed this part of the county, and have made it one of the richest communities in the state. Of the former class we find the names of Jeremiah Birk, Walter Anderson, Hugh Collins, John Hunt, Rollin and Joseph Lane and William Ham. These were located in a settlement in the west part of the precinct, a little north of Big Creek.

From the best information at this date, Mr. Birk or Captain Birk, as he was sometimes denominated, was the first to locate in the wilds of Albion precinct; and we here take the liberty of quoting from Mr. George Flower’s account as given by him on his first approach of Birk’s cabin: “In my wanderings, the thought struck me of finding out Captain Birk, mentioned to me by my friend Sloo, of Cincinnati, as being hereabouts, the oldest settler in these parts. Going in the direction in which I thought he lived, I espied a trail made by the dragging of a log. Following this, I suddenly came to a worm fence inclosing a small field of fine corn, but could see no dwelling. I wished to see Birk, but felt a little diffidence in appearing before the captain in my dishabille; for after several days’ travel and two nights’ camping out, my toilette was considerably compromised. Looking closely, I observed between two rows of corn a narrow path; this I followed until I came suddenly in sight of a small cabin, within twenty steps of me, a little lower than the surrounding corn. Looking in the direction of a voice, calling back a savage dog that had rushed out to attack me, I saw a naked man, quietly fanning himself with a branch of a tree.

My first surprise over, finding his name was Birk, I told him who I was and my errand, at which he did not seem well pleased. What surprised me was the calm self-possession of the man. No surprise, no flutter, no hasty movements. He quietly said that he had just come from mill at Princeton, thirty miles distant, and was cooling himself a bit. His cabin, 14 x 12 feet and 7 feet high, with earth for a floor, contained a four poster bedstead; said post driven into the ground, were sprouting with buds, branches and leaves. The rim of an old wire sieve, furnished with a piece of deer-skin punctured with holes, for shifting meal, a skillet and a coffee-pot were all the culinary apparatus for a family of seven. A small three-legged stool and a rickety clap-board table was the only furniture. An ox lay at the door and a rifle stood against the wall. Himself and boys, when clothed, wore buckskin; his wife and three daughters were in flimsy calico, sufficiently soiled and without rents.” Such is part of the description as given by Mr. Flower of the first pioneer of the precinct. [i]

Mr. Birk moved to “Sangamo” county about 1819. He was a genuine hunter and backwoodsman, and could not bear the onward progress of civilization. To use his own language, he “did not want to live where neighbors were so plenty; that to see three neighbors within a days ride was sufficient for him.”

The prairie, near this little improvement, is yet known as Birk’s Prairie.

Walter Anderson, before mentioned, cultivated a small patch of ground in section 30, and it is said that he planted on his place the first orchard in the county. This is about 1817. He like Birk, remained but a short time, when he removed to a less civilized part of the country. Hugh Collins settled in section 20, and in a year or two sold his improvement to John Woods, Senior. John Hunt, of the same settlement, died here in 1820, leaving quite a family of children. But one of his descendants, a grandson, James T. Hunt, is now living; he resides about one mile about one mile northwest from the old farm of his grandfather. Rollin and Joseph Lane and William Ham moved away long ago, none living now to tell where or whence they went.

In 1817, a new era opened to this part of the west. Morris Birkbeck and George flower, both well-to-do Englishmen, came to this country, the latter in 1816, and the former one year later. They had known each other in England and on meeting in this country, they mutually agreed to explore the western country together, and if possible find the new Eldorado that was then agitating the minds of people of the south and east. They had heard of the beautiful prairies of the Illinois territory, and so infatuated were they with the glowing accounts given, that they determined to see for themselves; and if it came up to their expectations, it was their intention to plant a colony of their own countrymen within the western wilds. They left Richmond, Virginia, in the spring of 1817, party being composed of Mr. Birkbeck and family and Mr. Flower. Mr. B. was a widower, but had four children with him, two sons and two daughters, named respectively, Bradford, Charles, Eliza and Prudence. There were also four others in the party, a servant boy of Mr. Birkbeck’s named James Gillard, Miss Eliza J. Andrews, Elias P. Fordbam and Elizabeth Garton an orphan girl adopted by the Birkbeck family in England, and desired to share the adventures with them in the new world. She afterward became the second wife of Mr. Flower.

The journey was a long and tedious one, the distance being made by stage and horseback. At Princeton a halt was made, and suitable quarters obtained for the parties except those who proposed to press forward and find the goal of their ambition. This trio was composed of Mr. Birbeck, and his son Bradford, and Mr. Flower. After several days’ travel they came in sight of Boltinghouse Prairie, and the emotions it brought forth when it first met their gaze, I will give in Mr. Flower’s own language. He says” Bruised by brushwood and exhausted by extreme heat, we almost despaired when a small cabin and low fence greeted our eyes. A few steps more and beautiful prairie suddenly opened to our view. At first, we only received the impressions of its general beauty. With longer gaze, all its distinctive features were revealed, lying in profound repose under the warm light of an afternoon’s summer sun. Its indented and irregular outline of wood, its varied surface interspersed with clumps of oaks of centuries growth, its tall grass with seed stalks from six to ten feet high, like tall slender reeds waving in a gentle breeze, the whole presenting a magnificence of park scenery, complete from the hand of nature, and unrivalled by the same sort of scenery of European art. For once, the reality came up to the picture on imagination. Our station was in the wood, on rising ground; from it, a descent of about a hundred yards to the valley of the prairie, about a quarter of a mile wide, extending to the base of a majestic slope, rising upward for a full half a mile, crowned by groves of noble oak. A little to the left, the eye wandered up a long stretch of prairie for three miles, into which projected hills, and slopes, covered with rich grass and decorated with compact clumps of full-grown trees, from four to eight in each clump. From beneath the broken shade of wood, with out arms raised above our brows, we gazed long and steadily, drinking in the beauties of the scene which had so long been the object of our search.”

Their ideal of the vast rolling prairies of the west was fully realized and verified, and now came their plans and action. After long and deliberate consultation, it was decided that they should jointly put together all the means that they could then command, and Mr. Birkbeck was to proceed at once to Shawneetown, the general land-office, and enter as much land as possible with his means at hand, while Mr. Flower was to hasten to England for more money, and also to superintend and expedite the scheme of forwarding emigrants to form the new colony. Mr. Birkbeck, it was understood, should return to their lately bought possession, to prepare and receive the emigrants. Both fulfilled the part they had to perform, and the English colony became a reality. Too much cannot be said of the indomitable energy and perseverance of these two pioneers; nay, more should be said; they were among the foremost philanthropist of their age. They left a home of plenty, surrounded with the comforts of life that wealth can give, and took upon the hardships, sufferings and dangers of the pioneer. Through their efforts, many of their countrymen were provided with comfortable houses, not having means sufficient, in their own country, to supply them. They risked their all in this mammoth enterprise, and virtually speaking, lost all, both of them dying comparatively poor in worldly means. Both were strong anti-slavery men, and did much to prevent the slave system being planted in the state of Illinois. Mr. Birkbeck, until his death, had a large influence in mater of State and new formed commonwealth, having the honor of receiving the appointment of Secretary of State under the administration of Governor Coles in 1824. He was drowned in the Fox River, near New Harmony, Indiana, in 1825. His remains were found and buried in the same place. It is but a short time since that a friend of the family received a letter from the Hon. E. B. Washburn, stating that he would be responsible for a donation of five hundred dollars toward erecting a suitable monument to Mr. Birkbeck’s memory, providing his remains could be brought to the State of his adoption, and place of his noble efforts. It is to be hoped that the future historian may be able to record the epitaph inscribed upon the proposed monument. After Mr. Birkbeck’s death his children scattered to the four corners of the earth, all of whom are dead, except Eliza, wife of Gilbert T. Pell, who, at last account was residing in Australia.

Mr. Flowers lived some years after Mr. Birkbeck, and aided as well as his crippled means would permit, to build up the little colony, being one of the founders of the neat little city of Albion. He died at Grayville the 15^th day of January, 1862. We insert the following closing words of tribute, paid to Mr. Flowers by Dr. Barry, then librarian of the Chicago historical Society and which appeared in the Chicago Tribune of March 22, 1862: “On the morning of the 15^th of January last, there lay, under the loving and sad watch of dear friends at Grayville, the sinking form of the aged man, whose worth we have poorly attempted to set forth, and the partner of his long and chequered life. But a week before they had expressed the hope, often repeated, that, happily united in life, they might not be divided in their death. While the rays of the morning sun were gilding the room of the fond wife, she expired; and soon after the going down of the same day’s sun, followed, to his last and welcome rest, the spirit of George Flowers.” Only three of Mr. Flower’s family are living; Camillus resides south of Albion; Alfred lives in Paris, Edgar county, and a daughter resides at Grayville, Illinois.

Another pioneer of 1817, was Alan Emmerson, a native of Kentucky, who in an early day, emigrated to the territory of Indiana. He was then a single man, but subsequently, in 1810, he married Nancy Mounce, and in the summer of 1817, he moved with his family to Edwards County, and located in section 4, township 2 south range 10 east. There were four pioneer children, Martha, Jessie, Sanford, and Indiana. The latter died soon after their coming and is said to be the first death in the precinct. Mr. Emmerson entered a quarter section of land, erected a log cabin and commenced the life of a pioneer. After many privations and hard struggles, he improved a good farm and enjoyed the fruits of his labors. Having the confidence of the people and extended acquaintances, he was elected, several times, to fill offices of trust by their suffrages. He was elected County judge for a succession of terms, filled the office of County treasurer and Assessor, and served 2 terms in the State Legislature. He and his wife both died in 1876, centennial year. They were widely known, and their loss to the community was mourned by a large circle of friends.

Rev. John Depew emigrated from the South in 1817, and located joining farms with Mr. Emmerson. He was the first Methodist preacher in this part of the country, and so fastidious with regard to his religious views that upon one occasion, when invited to eat honey that was taken from a bee tree on Sunday, he utterly refused the sweet morsel, although very fond of it. He remained here but a few years, moving to Marion County in 1820.

One of the oldest settlers of this part of the state was James Chism, a native of Virginia, who came to Illinois territory –now Wabash county-in 1813. He located at Bald Hill Prairie, near the center of the county. His family consisted of his wife Sarah, and three children, Ellen, Elisha and Permelia. The father and mother died more than a half century ago. Elisha is the only one of the family living. He resides in Albion, and is one of the oldest surviving pioneers, in either Edwards or Wabash counties. William and John Woodland were from South Carolina, and came to the precinct in 1817, and located about four miles from Albion. They both went off with Mormans.

The heavy tide of immigration commenced in 1818. It was in this year that Mr. Flower sent from England the first shipload of immigrants, and this was but the precursor of what was to followed in the way of immigration until 1820 or perhaps later. Among those who came at that early date, and who have descendants yet residing in the county are the following: Joel Churchill, john Woods, Sr., John Tribe, Brian Walker, William Nichols, Hugh Ronalds, John Brissenden, William Wood, William Fewkes, George Woodham, William Harris, john Skeavington, Elias Weaver, Henry Sydney, and John Spring, Henry Birkett, James O. Wattles and several others. It would be impossible in this chapter to give space to all the numerous newcomers of the years 1818, 19, 20.

Mr. Churchill, above mentioned, was one of the immigrants of 1818. At his coming, he a single man. He entered quite a tract of land southeast of Albion, where he located and remained until 1823, when he moved to Albion. In 1824, he married Elizabeth Simpkins by which eleven children were born, nine of whom are living. Mr. Churchill led a busy and active life. He died in the spring of 1872, in the city of Albion. Mrs. Churchill is yet living and is active for her age. Charles and James Churchill are prominent business men in Albion. John Tribe came to the precinct in 1819, and located at Wanborough. He was then a single man, and a carpenter by trade. Sometime after coming he married Jane Stanley. A large family were reared by them, eight of whom are now residents of the county. William B. Tribe, a son, is the present efficient Circuit Clerk of Edwards County. Mr. Tribe was noted for his intelligence and good heart. He died at Albion in August 1880, his wife surviving him.

John Woods Sr., came to Edwards County in the fall of 1819, and located in Wanborough. His family then consisted of his wife and five children, William, John, Jr., George, Ann and Elizabeth. One son was born in this county, Thomas T. Mr. Woods subsequently moved to Albion, and thence to Shawneetown, where he died. Two pioneer children are living, John, Jr. and George. The former is a merchant in Albion now upwards of eighty years of age. In 1829, he married Elizabeth Penfold, daughter of Abraham Penfold, another pioneer, who located in Wanborough, in 1819. John Jr. held office of County Treasurer for about forty years. George Woods is residing in Wisconsin, and Thomas T. is a prominent farmer in Albion precinct. Other settlers of about the same date, were three brothers, Moses, John and George Michels, who were natives of the state of Main. The former was elected to the State legislature for the term of 1820 – 22. George Jr. a son of pioneer George, is a resident of Albion.

A prominent accession to the colony in 1821, was Gen. William Pickering, a native of Yorkshire, England. He made his first settlement in the Village Prairie, but subsequently moved to Albion. He was the first to introduce blooded stock from England to the new colony. In 1824, he married Martha Flower, sister of George Flower. Mr. Pickering took a lively interest in all matters of State and becoming a leading WHIG politician. He represented his constituency in the State Legislature from 1842 to 1852. he was an intimate friend of Abraham Lincoln; on the latter’s election to the presidency, he appointed him Governor of Washington Territory. He died at his son’s residence, near Albion, in 1875. Only one of the family now living in the county, Richard, who resides in section 2, a little west of Albion.

A prominent settler of 1827, was Alexander Stewart, who was born in Scotland, and a descendant of one of the old Scotch families. He landed in New York City, in the fall of 1818. On Christmas that same year he reached Illinois and located in Carmi, White County. His family then with him consisted of five sons, and his wife Mary, nee McLaughlin. Four daughters were left in Scotland; who afterwards came to America in 1824. one of the sons, Alexander Jr., came to Edwards County, in 1827, and located in Albion, his family then being his wife and one daughter. He commenced the business of blacksmithing, which occupation he followed for several years. Subsequently he engaged in mercantile and pork-packing business, etc. He was very successful in all his transactions, and retired from active life in 1876, with good competency. He is yet residing in Albion with a host of friends, who feel that their community has been largely bettered by the industry and example of Mr. Stewart. Two sons, Charles and Edwin, are extensive merchants in Albion.

George Bower, Sen., was another early settler, and came from Germany to the United States in 1827, and in 1831 he moved to Albion. He had a family of three children, Adam, John and Margaret. Two children were born to the family after coming – George Jr., and Henry. Mr. Bower was a potter by occupation, and was one of the first to establish a business in Edwards County. He was a useful citizen in his day; both he and his wife died some years ago. Only three of the family are now living-Adam, John and George Jr., all of whom reside in Albion. Among the other early residence of the precinct are: F. W. Johnson, Joseph Skeavington, john Walker, Joseph Michels, Mary A. Morgan, Charles Nichols, Mrs. Sarah J. Daver, nee Wells, George, Frances, and Lucius Harris, Dr. F. B. Thompson, Dr. H. D. Dixon, John Smith, S. N. Dalby and his wife (Sarah H. nee Skeavington), George Gillard, George Bunting, William Bowman, and others.

[i] For much of the data of this chapter relating to the early English settlement, we are indebted to the notes prepared by George Flowers, now deceased.