of Menard and Mason Counties
By T.G. Onstott
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CHAPTER XXXI Page 305 The first settler in Allen's Grove township, that we have any account of, was a man named Allen. He came to the grove that bears his name in 1830. He had a crop of wheat the winter of the deep snow, having forty acres which is said to have yielded fifty bushels per acre. What disposition he made of it is not known, as there was no market nearer than Pekin or Peoria. It is said by some that a man by the name of Smith settled there about the same time. Both were bachelors. Of Smith nothing is known. Allen is said to have come from Kentucky and, after staying at the Grove two years, to have gone to St. Louis. The account given of these two primitive squatters is more traditional than historical. David Taylor came from Tennessee in 1831 and bought Allen's claim. He resided there till his death and was buried near the spot where he had lived so many years. A number of his relatives are still living in the township. The first entry of land in the township was made by Benjamin Kellogg of Pekin. This was under a patent from the United States, bearing date September 29, 1832. Samuel Larrimore had settled near Mackinaw in an early day and came to Allen's Grove near the close of the "thirties," though the exact date of his removal could not be ascertained. He remained a citizen until he moved to Kansas. James Higgins and James Sherry came there early in 1844 from Kentucky. Sherry was a single man but married a daughter of David Taylor. Settlements were made slowly for several years until land began to grow scarce in favored localities. Harvey Hawthorn settled east of the Grove in 1848. He was from Kentucky, but moved from Crane Creek before he came to Allen's Grove. After a residence of several years he moved back to Crane Creek. About the same time the settlement was increased by the coming of Hiram Stanton, Ales Woods, Levi Engle and George Alkers. Stanton was from New Jersey, Woods and Alkers from Ohio, while Engle was a Hoosier and also a preacher. These were all in the township before 1850. During the years of 1850 and 8151 the following new settlers came in: Samuel Hingleford, George and Lewis Dowell, John Nagle, William Legg, Hank Wadkins, Benjamin Davenport, Joseph Taylor, George Leoni and Jackson Houchin. These all settled not far from the Grove and it was some years later before any settlers had courage to venture out on the prairies. The most of those who located in the township as early as 1851 have crossed the dark river or sought other fields of labor. Jack Roundtrree came from Ohio in 1851 with Magee. He had quite an amount of money for one in those days and, there being no banks at that time, he intrusted it to Mother Earth. Some time after burying it he decided to make a draw on his bank and after much fruitless searching he gave it up for lost. Some days later, after a hen scratching for her daily food scratched it up and brought the lost treasure to the surface. The Houchin family came from Kentucky to Indiana in 1836. In 1850 Jackson severed the ties that bound him to the paternal roof, and set sail in an ox team for Mason county. He built a cabin and spent the summer and winter of 1850 in Salt Creek township. In 1851 he came to Allen's Grove, entered a quarter section, built a cabin and began farming. At the date of his settlement, but three cabins had been erected. On the road to Delavan, a distance of fourteen miles, on either hand the broad expanse of prairie stretched away as far as the eye could reach. The first year after Houchin came proved to be a very sickly one, and to such an extent did bilious fever, flux, chills and fever prevail that there were but two well families in the whole settlement. The doctors were not then found, as now, on every cross road and in every town and hamlet. Hiram Sykes, who in this day would be considered a "home made physician," lived in Sugar Grove and to his hands the entire settlement committed their destiny. By strict attention to his patients he restored them to health and at the end of a month's faithful service he had so conquered the disease as to be permitted to visit his own home, the first time since coming to Allen's Grove. The following year, a difficulty having arisen between him and his son, he mounted his horse and rode away and did not return. During the years of 1852 and 1853 the names of Daniel Dillon, Jonathan Hyatt, Talmon and the McKinneys were added to the settlers of the township. Dillon was a native of North Carolina. Eight brothers of them came west and settled on the north side of Mackinaw in 1822. They opened up farms near Tremont in what is now Dillon township. The red men in the forest were their only neighbors. Their early habitations gave rest and comfort to many a way worn traveler without money or price. At the time of settlement, they were included in the limits of Sangamon county. His brother, Nathan, was a justice of the peace and his jurisdiction extended to Chicago. Daniel Dillon took up his residence in Allen's Grove township in 1852. He was one of the proprietors of San Jose. Hyatt and the McKinneys were from Indiana. Talmon was from the east and had spent much of his life upon the sea. The nearest trading point was Delavan. To purchase the smallest amount of merchandise it required a journey of thirty miles; to get a plow sharpened, it took the same amount of travel. Their milling was done at Mackinaw, either at Doolittle's or Woodrow's mills. Their mail was also received from Delavan. The era of railroads gave every section conveniences to which they were strangers before. Dr. J.P. Walker was the first medical practitioner. In 1857 he helped to lay out Mason City and in 1859 made it his permanent home. The first school building was erected in 1853. The old log schoolhouse is still dear to memory. The first teacher was a Miss Woods, daughter of Aleck Woods. The earliest religious services were held by the Rev. Levi Engle, a preacher of the new light order. Rev. George Miller was the first circuit rider. Meetings were held in private houses till the schoolhouse was built. The remarkable hail storm that occurred throughout this section of the country on the 27th of May, 1852, is well remembered by the settlers. The storm was of short duration, yet the vast amount of hail that fell to the depth of six feet drifted so that on the Fourth of July following, large quantities could be gathered up. Mr. Houchin was an eye witness to this fact. As late as 1851 four-fifths of the land in the township had not been entered. During the years of 1851 and 1852 large tracts were entered by capitalists. With the completion of the C. & A. Railroad from Jacksonville to Bloomington came a flood of settlers and the establishment of towns along its line. Though of but recent settlement when compared with other sections of the county, in the importance and value of its products it ranks second to none in the county. It embraces within its limits large areas as well adapted to agriculture as any to be found in this entire region. Her educational interest has kept pace with her rapid development she is well supplied with schoolhouses in which school is kept most of the year.
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